5 research outputs found
The Model of Motivational Dynamics in Sport: Resistance to Peer Influence, Behavioral Engagement and Disaffection, Dispositional Coping, and Resilience
No full textThe Model of Motivational Dynamics (MMD; Skinner and Pitzer, 2012) infers that peers influence behavioral engagement levels, which in turn is linked to coping and resilience. Scholars, however, are yet to test the MMD among an athletic population. The purpose of this paper was to assess an a priori model that included key constructs from the MMD, such as resistance to peer influence, behavioral engagement and disaffection, coping, and resilience among athletes. Three hundred and fifty-one athletes (male n = 173, female n = 178; Mage = 16.15 years) completed a questionnaire that measured each construct. Our results provide support for the model. In particular, there were positive paths between resistance to peer influence and behavioral engagement, behavioral engagement and task-oriented coping, and task-oriented coping with resilience. There was also a positive path between resilience and resistance to peer influence, but a negative path from resistance to peer influence to behavioral disaffection. Due to the reported benefits of enhancing resistance to peer influence and behavioral engagement, researchers could devise sport specific interventions to maximize athletes’ scores in these constructs
Modelling rock–water interactions in flooded underground coal mines, Northern Appalachian Basin
No full text
Inverse geochemical modelling was used to investigate rock–water interactions in flooded underground coal mines in northern Appalachia, USA. In early flooding, Pittsburgh seam mine waters are usually acidic (
c.
pH 3), with dissolved metals Fe and Al ranging from 10 to >100 mg l
−1
. Within a few decades, however, waters in fully flooded mines usually have pH of about 7 S.U., and alkalinity >300 mg l
−1
CaCO
3
Eq. Eh shifts from oxidizing (
c
. 500 to 700 mv) to reduced (−100 to −200 mv) conditions. Sodium concentrations may increase an order of magnitude; sulphate and iron concentrations may also increase. Water samples were collected from several mine-pools in West Virginia and Pennsylvania. A conceptual model was developed based on quantitative hydrology, mine-pool chemistry, mining conditions and mineralogy. The model was tested with the geochemical code PHREEQC. Simulations included mixing recharge and acid mine waters, precipitation–dissolution reactions involving carbonates, sulphates, oxy-hydroxides and sulphides, and ion adsorption and exchange. Na exchange was a dominant process in all models. Carbonates are orders of magnitude undersaturated in the juvenile mine-pool, but near saturation in the mature mine-pool, suggesting they are a primary source of acid neutralization and alkalinity. The mature mine-pool is simultaneously near equilibrium with iron sulphide, iron carbonate and iron oxy-hydroxide mineral phases. The rapid change in mine-pool water quality has substantial implications for management of these systems. Corresponding author [email protected]
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EMR-linked GWAS study: Investigation of variation landscape of loci for Body Mass Index in children
No full textCommon variation at the loci harboring the fat mass and obesity gene (FTO), MC4R and TMEM18 are consistently reported as being associated with obesity and body mass index especially in adult population. In order to confirm this effect in pediatric population five European ancestry cohorts from pediatric eMERGE-II network (CCHMC-BCH) were evaluated.Method:Data on 5049 samples of European ancestry were obtained from the Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) of two large academic centers in five different genotyped cohorts. For all available samples, gender, age, height and weight were collected and Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated. To account for age and sex differences in BMI, BMI z-scores were generated using 2000 Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) growth charts. A Genome-wide association study (GWAS) was performed with BMI z-score. After removing missing data and outliers based on principal components (PC) analyses, 2860 samples were used for the GWAS study. The association between each SNP and BMI was tested using linear regression adjusting for age, gender, and PC by cohort. The effects of SNPs were modeled assuming additive, recessive and dominant effects of the minor allele. Meta-analysis was conducted using a weighted z-score approach. Results:The mean age of subjects was 9.8 years (range 2-19). The proportion of male subjects was 56%. In these cohorts, 14% of samples had a BMI≥95% and 28%≥85%. Meta analyses produced a signal at 16q12 genomic region with the best result of p=1.43x10E-07 (p (rec)=7.34E-08) for the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs8050136 at the first intron of FTO gene (z=5.26) and with no heterogeneity between cohorts (p=0.77). Imputation in this region using dense 1000-Genome and Hapmap CEU samples revealed 71 SNPs with
Phenome-wide association study (PheWAS) in EMR-linked pediatric cohorts
No full textObjective: We report the first pediatric specific Phenome-Wide Association Study (PheWAS) using electronic medical records (EMRs). Given the early success of PheWAS in adult populations, we investigated the feasibility of this approach in pediatric cohorts.Method: Data on 5049 samples of European ancestry were obtained from the Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) of two large academic centers in five different genotyped cohorts. After standard quality controls, removing missing data and outliers based on principal components (PC) analyses, 4268 samples were used for the PheWAS study. We scanned for associations between 2476 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) with available genotyping data from previously published GWAS studies and 539 EMR-derived phenotypes. The false discovery rate was calculated and, for any new PheWAS findings, a permutation approach was implemented.Results: This PheWAS replicated a variety of common variants (MAF>10%) with prior GWAS associations in our pediatric cohorts including Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis (JIA), Asthma, Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) and Type 1 Diabetes with a false discovery rate < 0.05 and power of study above 80%. In addition, several new PheWAS findings included a cluster of association near the NDFIP1 gene for mental retardation (best SNP rs10057309, p=4.33x10-7, OR=1.70, 95%CI=1.38-2.09), association at vicinity of (PLCL1, PRIP-1) gene for developmental delays and speech disorder (best SNP rs1595825, p=1.13x10-8, OR=0.65(0.57-0.76)), a cluster of SNP associations in the IL5-IL13 region, previously implicated in Asthma, Allergy, and Eosinophilia, with Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EE) (best SNP rs12653750, p=3.03x10-9, OR=1.73 95%CI=(1.44-2.07)) and association of variants in GCKR and JAZF1, responsible for metabolic disease and diabetes in adults with allergic rhinitis in our pediatric cohorts (best SNP rs780093, p=2.18x10-5, OR=1.39, 95%CI=(1.19-1.61)).Conclusion: By using the PheWAS approach an
A metagenomic approach to characterize temperate bacteriophage populations from Cystic Fibrosis and non-Cystic Fibrosis bronchiectasis patients
No full textPseudomonas aeruginosa (Pa), normally a soil commensal, is an important opportunistic pathogen in Cystic Fibrosis (CF) and non-Cystic Fibrosis Bronchiectasis (nCFBR). Persistent infection correlates with accelerated decline in lung function and early mortality. The horizontal transfer of DNA by temperate bacteriophages can add gene function and selective advantages to their bacterial host within the constrained environment of the lower lung. In this study, we chemically induce temperate bacteriophages from clonal cultures of Pa and identify their mixed viral communities employing metagenomic approaches. We compared 92 temperate phage metagenomes stratified from these clinical backgrounds (47 CF and 45 nCFBR Pa isolates) using MG-RAST and GeneWise2. KEGG analysis shows the complexity of temperate phage accessory gene carriage increases with duration and severity of the disease. Furthermore, we identify the presence of Ig-like motifs within phage structural genes linked to bacterial adhesion and carbohydrate binding including Big_2, He_Pig, and Fn3. This study provides the first clinical support to the proposed bacteriophage adherence to mucus (BAM) model and the evolution of phages interacting at these mucosal surfaces over time
