Catalogue Search | MBRL
Are you sure you want to remove the book from the shelf?
{{itemTitle}}
31,090
result(s) for
"Williams, H"
Sort by:
Genetics of Human Primary Hypertension: Focus on Hormonal Mechanisms
Abstract
Increasingly, primary hypertension is being considered a syndrome and not a disease, with the individual causes (diseases) having a common sign—an elevated blood pressure. To determine these causes, genetic tools are increasingly employed. This review identified 62 proposed genes. However, only 21 of them met our inclusion criteria: (i) primary hypertension, (ii) two or more supporting cohorts from different publications or within a single publication or one supporting cohort with a confirmatory genetically modified animal study, and (iii) 600 or more subjects in the primary cohort; when including our exclusion criteria: (i) meta-analyses or reviews, (ii) secondary and monogenic hypertension, (iii) only hypertensive complications, (iv) genes related to blood pressure but not hypertension per se, (v) nonsupporting studies more common than supporting ones, and (vi) studies that did not perform a Bonferroni or similar multiassessment correction. These 21 genes were organized in a four-tiered structure: distant phenotype (hypertension); intermediate phenotype [salt-sensitive (18) or salt-resistant (0)]; subintermediate phenotypes under salt-sensitive hypertension [normal renin (4), low renin (8), and unclassified renin (6)]; and proximate phenotypes (specific genetically driven hypertensive subgroup). Many proximate hypertensive phenotypes had a substantial endocrine component. In conclusion, primary hypertension is a syndrome; many proposed genes are likely to be false positives; and deep phenotyping will be required to determine the utility of genetics in the treatment of hypertension. However, to date, the positive genes are associated with nearly 50% of primary hypertensives, suggesting that in the near term precise, mechanistically driven treatment and prevention strategies for the specific primary hypertension subgroups are feasible.
Journal Article
Shared decision-making around anal cancer screening among black bisexual and gay men in the USA
Shared decision-making is a strategy to achieve health equity by strengthening patient-provider relationships and improve health outcomes. There is a paucity of research examining these factors among patients who identify as sexual or gender minorities and racial/ethnic minorities. Through intrapersonal, interpersonal and societal lenses, this project evaluates the relationship between intersectionality and shared decision-making around anal cancer screening in Black gay and bisexual men, given their disproportionate rates of anal cancer. Thirty semi-structured, one-on-one interviews and two focus groups were conducted during 2016-2017. Participants were asked open-ended questions regarding intersectionality, relationships with healthcare providers and making shared decisions about anal cancer screening. Forty-five individuals participated - 30 in individual interviews and 15 in focus groups. All participants identified as Black and male; 13 identified as bisexual and 32 as gay. Analysis revealed that the interaction of internalised racism, biphobia/homophobia, provider bias and medical apartheid led to reduced healthcare engagement and discomfort with discussing sexual practices, potentially hindering patients from engaging in shared decision-making. Non-judgemental healthcare settings and provider relationships in which patients communicate openly about each aspect of their identity will promote effective shared decision-making about anal cancer screening, and thus potentially impact downstream anal cancer rates.
Journal Article
(Re)constructing memory : school textbooks and the imagination of the nation
This book examines the shifting portrayal of the nation in school textbooks in 14 countries during periods of rapid political, social, and economic change. Drawing on a range of analytic strategies, the authors examine history and civics textbooks, and the teaching of such texts, along with other prominent curricular materials--children's readers, a required text penned by the head of state, a holocaust curriculum, etc. The authors analyze the uses of history and pedagogy in building, reinforcing and/or redefining the nation and state especially in the light of challenges to its legitimacy. The primary focus is on countries in developing or transitional contexts. Issues include the teaching of democratic civics in a multiethnic state with little history of democratic governance; shifts in teaching about the Khmer Rouge in post-conflict Cambodia; children's readers used to define national space in former republics of the Soviet Union; the development of Holocaust education in a context where citizens were both victims and perpetuators of violence; the creation of a national past in Turkmenistan; and so forth.
Book
Evaluating Presence-Absence Models in Ecology: The Need to Account for Prevalence
1. Models for predicting the distribution of organisms from environmental data are widespread in ecology and conservation biology. Their performance is invariably evaluated from the percentage success at predicting occurrence at test locations. 2. Using logistic regression with real data from 34 families of aquatic invertebrates in 180 Himalayan streams, we illustrate how this widespread measure of predictive accuracy is affected systematically by the prevalence (i.e. the frequency of occurrence) of the target organism. Many evaluations of presence-absence models by ecologists are inherently misleading. 3. With the same invertebrate models, we examined alternative performance measures used in remote sensing and medical diagnostics. We particularly explored receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) plots, from which were derived (i) the area under each curve (AUC), considered an effective indicator of model performance independent of the threshold probability at which the presence of the target organism is accepted, and (ii) optimized probability thresholds that maximize the percentage of true absences and presences that are correctly identified. We also evaluated Cohen's kappa, a measure of the proportion of all possible cases of presence or absence that are predicted correctly after accounting for chance effects. 4. AUC measures from ROC plots were independent of prevalence, but highly significantly correlated with the much more easily computed kappa. Moreover, when applied in predictive mode to test data, models with thresholds optimized by ROC erroneously overestimated true occurrence among scarcer organisms, often those of greatest conservation interest. We advocate caution in using ROC methods to optimize thresholds required for real prediction. 5. Our strongest recommendation is that ecologists reduce their reliance on prediction success as a performance measure in presence-absence modelling. Cohen's kappa provides a simple, effective, standardized and appropriate statistic for evaluating or comparing presence-absence models, even those based on different statistical algorithms. None of the performance measures we examined tests the statistical significance of predictive accuracy, and we identify this as a priority area for research and development.
Journal Article
The Technology Path to Deep Greenhouse Gas Emissions Cuts by 2050: The Pivotal Role of Electricity
Several states and countries have adopted targets for deep reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, but there has been little physically realistic modeling of the energy and economic transformations required. We analyzed the infrastructure and technology path required to meet California's goal of an 80% reduction below 1990 levels, using detailed modeling of infrastructure stocks, resource constraints, and electricity system operability. We found that technically feasible levels of energy efficiency and decarbonized energy supply alone are not sufficient; widespread electrification of transportation and other sectors is required. Decarbonized electricity would become the dominant form of energy supply, posing challenges and opportunities for economic growth and climate policy. This transformation demands technologies that are not yet commercialized, as well as coordination of investment, technology development, and infrastructure deployment.
Journal Article
The Role of Bedrock Circulation Depth and Porosity in Mountain Streamflow Response to Prolonged Drought
Quantitative understanding is lacking on how the depth of active groundwater circulation in bedrock affects mountain streamflow response to a multi‐year drought. We use an integrated hydrological model to explore the sensitivity of a variety of streamflow metrics to bedrock circulation depth and porosity under a plausible extreme drought scenario lasting up to 5 years. Endmember depth versus hydraulic conductivity relationships and porosity values for fractured crystalline rock are simulated. With drought, a deeper circulation system with higher drainable porosity more effectively buffers minimum flow and significantly limits perennial stream loss in comparison to a shallow circulation system. Streamflow buffering is accomplished through extensive groundwater storage loss. However, deeper circulation systems experience prolonged recovery from drought in comparison to storage‐limited shallow systems. Research highlights the importance of characterizing the deeper bedrock hydrogeology in mountainous watersheds to better understand and predict drought impacts on stream ecosystem health and water resource sustainability.
Journal Article