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\"Discovering Plate Boundaries\" is a classroom exercise based on four world maps containing earthquake, volcano, topography, and seafloor age data. A novel aspect of the exercise is the \"jigsaw\" manner in which student groups access the maps and use them to discover, classify, and describe plate boundary types. The exercise takes three 50 minute class periods to complete and involves the students making presentations to one another in small groups and to the whole class. The students are first organized into four groups where they work together to become \"specialists\" in a particular data type. They are later reorganized into groups containing a specialist in each data type to study the boundaries of a particular tectonic plate. The exercise concludes with student presentations of their group work, followed by a presentation by the teacher and a group discussion. The exercise is useful at a wide variety of levels because it is based only on observation and description. We have used it successfully with middle school, high school, and college major and non-major Earth science classes, as well as with pre-service and in-service K-12 teachers. The students come away from the exercise with knowledge of the key features of each type of plate boundary and a sense of why each looks the way it does. While the materials to conduct the exercise are available on the Internet ( http://terra.rice.edu/plateboundary/ ), the actual exercise is not based on student access to the Web and does not require sophisticated classroom technology equipment.

Institutions of all types attend to their educational missions, but at a research university, the focus on good teaching feels countercultural. Teaching centers on research university campuses face unique challenges as they work to fulfill their mission of improving teaching and student learning. Institutional requests for faculty development programs that sponsor or support pedagogical innovations in general education, blended and online learning, first-year seminars, learning and teaching commons, and new classroom spaces have mushroomed over the last few years. The instructional consultants at the Schreyer Institute have implemented a variety of methods to increase faculty awareness and use of services. A key factor in the success of SciFri is building trust and community among faculty, all of whom are time-poor and overcommitted but care deeply about teaching. The common thread running through these narratives is the creativity and adaptability needed to make a teaching center flourish at a research university.

Paediatric pulmonary hypertension, is an important cause of morbidity and mortality, and is insufficiently characterised in children. The Tracking Outcomes and Practice in Pediatric Pulmonary Hypertension (TOPP) registry is a global, prospective study designed to provide information about demographics, treatment, and outcomes in paediatric pulmonary hypertension. Consecutive patients aged 18 years or younger at diagnosis with pulmonary hypertension and increased pulmonary vascular resistance were enrolled in TOPP at 31 centres in 19 countries from Jan 31, 2008, to Feb 15, 2010. Patient and disease characteristics, including age at diagnosis and at enrolment, sex, ethnicity, presenting symptoms, pulmonary hypertension classification, comorbid disorders, medical and family history, haemodynamic indices, and functional class were recorded. Follow-up was decided by the patients' physicians according to the individual's health-care needs. 362 of 456 consecutive patients had confirmed pulmonary hypertension (defined as mean pulmonary artery pressure ≥25 mm Hg, pulmonary capillary wedge pressure ≤12 mm Hg, and pulmonary vascular resistance index ≥3 WU/m−2). 317 (88%) patients had pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), which was idiopathic [IPAH] or familial [FPAH] in 182 (57%), and associated with other disorders in 135 (43%), of which 115 (85%) cases were associated with congenital heart disease. 42 patients (12%) had pulmonary hypertension associated with respiratory disease or hypoxaemia, with bronchopulmonary dysplasia most frequent. Finally, only three patients had either chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension or miscellaneous causes of pulmonary hypertension. Chromosomal anomalies, mainly trisomy 21, were reported in 47 (13%) of patients with confirmed disease. Median age at diagnosis was 7 years (IQR 3–12); 59% (268 of 456) were female. Although dyspnoea and fatigue were the most frequent symptoms, syncope occurred in 31% (57 of 182) of patients with IPAH or FPAH and in 18% (eight of 45) of those with repaired congenital heart disease; no children with unrepaired congenital systemic-to-pulmonary shunts had syncope. Despite severe pulmonary hypertension, functional class was I or II in 230 of 362 (64%) patients, which is consistent with preserved right-heart function. TOPP identifies important clinical features specific to the care of paediatric pulmonary hypertension, which draw attention to the need for paediatric data rather than extrapolation from adult studies. Actelion Pharmaceuticals.

Uncorrected congenital heart disease (CHD) frequently leads to pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), the most severe form of which is Eisenmenger syndrome (ES). We compared patients with idiopathic or heritable PAH (IPAH or HPAH; n = 1,626) against those with CHD-associated PAH (n = 353) who were enrolled in the Registry to Evaluate Early and Long-Term PAH Disease Management (REVEAL Registry). Of patients with CHD-associated PAH, 151 had ES. Compared with the IPAH or HPAH cohort, the ES cohort had greater systemic blood flow (2 ± 1 vs 3 ± 2 L/min/m2, p <0.001), lower mean right atrial pressure (10 ± 6 vs 7 ± 4 mm Hg, p <0.001), higher mean pulmonary artery pressure (53 ± 14 vs 65 ± 17 mm Hg, p <0.001), higher pulmonary vascular resistance index (22 ± 12 vs 32 ± 31 Wood units × m2, p <0.001), and lower systemic arterial oxygen saturation at rest (92 ± 11% vs 84 ± 13%, p <0.001). At 4 years from enrollment and 7 years from diagnosis, survival rate was similar between IPAH or HPAH and CHD-associated PAH cohorts. For the overall CHD-associated PAH cohort, longer 6-minute walk distance, lower mean right atrial pressure, brain natriuretic peptide level <50 pg/ml, and the presence of acute vasoreactivity were predictors of survival at 4 years from enrollment; younger age and lower mean right atrial pressure were predictors of survival at 7 years from diagnosis. In conclusion, these observations support predicted physiologic differences (e.g., hemodynamics) between patients with IPAH or HPAH and patients with CHD-associated PAH, with or without a systemic-pulmonary shunt. These differences, however, did not translate into significantly improved 4- and 7-year survival rates in patients with ES versus IPAH or HPAH and CHD-associated PAH.

The objective of this project was to evaluate the accuracy of owner-reported health diagnoses in dogs compared to veterinary electronic medical records (VEMRs) using data from the Dog Aging Project (DAP), a longitudinal study of companion dogs in the United States. We hypothesized that owner-reported diagnoses would align more closely with VEMRs for acute or emergent conditions and less so for benign or self-limiting conditions. A subsample of 350 dogs was selected from the 2020 curated DAP dataset (n = 27,541). Dogs were included if they had VEMRs covering ≥ 85% of their life up to the time of survey completion. Forty-one dogs were excluded due to incomplete VEMRs, resulting in a final sample of 309 dogs included in this observational study comparing owner responses in the Health and Life Experience Survey (HLES) ( https://github.com/dogagingproject/dataRelease/tree/master/SurveyInstruments/HLES ) to VEMR data abstracted by masked reviewers. VEMR reviewers completed a survey mirroring HLES and identified supporting evidence for each diagnosis. Agreement between owner-reported and VEMR-verified diagnoses was assessed across 20 disease categories, with a focus on five target disease categories (TDCs). Agreement between owner and VEMR data was ≥ 90% in 10 of 20 disease categories. Agreement was highest in endocrine, immune, and “other” categories (99%) and lowest in dental/oral (44%). Among TDCs, orthopedic and traumatic conditions had higher agreement (>78%), while dermatologic and dental/oral categories showed the least. Owner-reported dog health data showed substantial concordance with VEMRs for many disease categories, supporting their utility in research. Thus, owner-reported diagnoses might provide a reliable and scalable supplement or alternative to VEMRs in veterinary research and epidemiology.

Canine cognitive dysfunction (CCD) is a neurodegenerative disease in aging dogs. It has been described previously in relatively small cohorts of dogs using multiple different rating scales. This study aimed to use a minimally modified CCD rating scale developed by previous researchers to describe the prevalence of CCD more thoroughly in a large, nationwide cohort of companion dogs participating in the Dog Aging Project (DAP) (n = 15,019). Associations between various canine characteristics, predicted lifespan quartiles, and CCD were examined using univariable and multivariable logistic regression models and receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis. When controlling for all other characteristics, the odds of CCD increased 52% with each additional year of age. Among dogs of the same age, health status, breed type, and sterilization status, odds of CCD were 6.47 times higher in dogs who were not active compared to those who were very active. When controlling for age, breed type, activity level, and other comorbidities, dogs with a history of neurological, eye, or ear disorders had higher odds of CCD. Lifespan quartile analysis showed excellent discriminating ability between CCD positive and negative dogs. Weight-based lifespan quartile estimation could therefore serve as a tool to inform CCD screening by veterinarians.

The Dog Aging Project is a long-term longitudinal study of ageing in tens of thousands of companion dogs. The domestic dog is among the most variable mammal species in terms of morphology, behaviour, risk of age-related disease and life expectancy. Given that dogs share the human environment and have a sophisticated healthcare system but are much shorter-lived than people, they offer a unique opportunity to identify the genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors associated with healthy lifespan. To take advantage of this opportunity, the Dog Aging Project will collect extensive survey data, environmental information, electronic veterinary medical records, genome-wide sequence information, clinicopathology and molecular phenotypes derived from blood cells, plasma and faecal samples. Here, we describe the specific goals and design of the Dog Aging Project and discuss the potential for this open-data, community science study to greatly enhance understanding of ageing in a genetically variable, socially relevant species living in a complex environment. The Dog Aging Project is an open-data, community science study to identify genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors associated with canine healthy lifespan, generating knowledge that could readily translate to human ageing.

Background and aims The Tracking Outcomes and Practice in Pediatric Pulmonary Hypertension (TOPP) registry is a global network established to gain insights into the disease course and long-term outcomes of paediatric pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Previously published cohorts in paediatric PAH are obscured by survival bias due to the inclusion of both prevalent (previously diagnosed) and incident (newly diagnosed) patients. The current study aims to describe long-term outcome and its predictors in paediatric PAH, exclusively of newly diagnosed patients. Methods and results Five hundred thirty-one children with confirmed pulmonary hypertension, aged ≥3 months and <18 years, were enrolled in the real-world TOPP registry at 33 centres in 20 countries, from 2008 to 2015. Of these, 242 children with newly diagnosed PAH with at least one follow-up visit were included in the current outcome analyses. During long-term follow-up, 42 (17.4%) children died, 9 (3.7%) underwent lung transplantation, 3 (1.2%) atrial septostomy, and 9 (3.7%) Potts shunt palliation (event rates: 6.2, 1.3, 0.4, and 1.4 events per 100 person-years, respectively). One-, three-, and five-year survival free from adverse outcome was 83.9%, 75.2%, and 71.8%, respectively. Overall, children with open (unrepaired or residual) cardiac shunts had the best survival rates. Younger age, worse World Health Organization functional class, and higher pulmonary vascular resistance index were identified as independent predictors of long-term adverse outcome. Younger age, higher mean right atrial pressure, and lower systemic venous oxygen saturation were specifically identified as independent predictors of early adverse outcome (within 12 months after enrolment). Conclusion This comprehensive analysis of survival from time of diagnosis in a large exclusive cohort of children newly diagnosed with PAH describes current-era outcome and its predictors.

Objectives. HIV preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use has increased since its US Food and Drug Administration approval in 2012. Our objective was to describe trends in PrEP use by US women. Methods. Using national pharmacy and HIV surveillance data, we calculated the PrEP-to-diagnosis ratio (PDR), a measure of PrEP prescriptions each year compared with HIV diagnoses the previous year, for women from 2017 to 2023. We also calculated PDRs in 2023 for the 20 counties with the highest numbers of diagnosed HIV infections among women and reviewed reports of public health activities conducted by recipients of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention HIV prevention funding. Results. The PDR for women was 1.5 in 2017, and it increased to 5.8 by 2023. In the 20 counties with the highest number of diagnosed HIV infections among women, PDRs ranged from 2.2 to 16.9. Counties with the highest PDRs conducted PrEP activities designed for women. Conclusions. PrEP is a highly effective HIV prevention intervention that can empower women to protect their health, but its use has been low. Public health and clinical interventions designed for women can increase their PrEP use and support ending the US HIV epidemic. ( Am J Public Health. 2025;115(6):920–923. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2025.308056 )

Canine cognitive dysfunction (CCD) is a form of dementia that shares many similarities with Alzheimer’s disease. Given that physical activity is believed to reduce risk of Alzheimer’s disease in humans, we explored the association between physical activity and cognitive health in a cohort of companion dogs, aged 6–18 years. We hypothesized that higher levels of physical activity would be associated with lower (i.e., better) scores on a cognitive dysfunction rating instrument and lower prevalence of dementia, and that this association would be robust when controlling for age, comorbidities, and other potential confounders. Our sample included 11,574 companion dogs enrolled through the Dog Aging Project, of whom 287 had scores over the clinical threshold for CCD. In this observational, cross-sectional study, we used owner-reported questionnaire data to quantify dog cognitive health (via a validated scale), physical activity levels, health conditions, training history, and dietary supplements. We fit regression models with measures of cognitive health as the outcome, and physical activity—with several important covariates—as predictors. We found a significant negative relationship between physical activity and current severity of cognitive dysfunction symptoms (estimate =  − 0.10, 95% CI: − 0.11 to − 0.08, p  < 0.001), extent of symptom worsening over a 6-month interval (estimate =  − 0.07, 95% CI: − 0.09 to − 0.05, p  < 0.001), and whether a dog reached a clinical level of CCD (odds ratio = 0.53, 95% CI: 0.45 to 0.63, p  < 0.001). Physical activity was robustly associated with better cognitive outcomes in dogs. Our findings illustrate the value of companion dogs as a model for investigating relationships between physical activity and cognitive aging, including aspects of dementia that may have translational potential for Alzheimer’s disease. While the current study represents an important first step in identifying a relationship between physical activity and cognitive function, it cannot determine causality. Future studies are needed to rule out reverse causation by following the same dogs prospectively over time, and to evaluate causality by administering physical activity interventions.