In this, my third annual report, I contemplate inquiries about time as these might impact the work of GIScience. I review how GIScience grapples with, and thereby constitutes, the temporal dimension. ...I suggest that while efforts in critical cartography and critical geographic information systems have opened GIScience to alternative spatial representations and imaginings (sometimes beyond Cartesian analytics), unsettling temporal linearity in GIScience remains an important pathway to realize political and radical agendas for the field.
Decision-making requires the coordinated activity of diverse brain structures. For example, in maze-based tasks, the prefrontal cortex must integrate spatial information encoded in the hippocampus ...with mnemonic information concerning route and task rules in order to direct behavior appropriately. Using simultaneous tetrode recordings from CA1 of the rat hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex, we show that correlated firing in the two structures is selectively enhanced during behavior that recruits spatial working memory, allowing the integration of hippocampal spatial information into a broader, decision-making network. The increased correlations are paralleled by enhanced coupling of the two structures in the 4- to 12-Hz theta-frequency range. Thus the coordination of theta rhythms may constitute a general mechanism through which the relative timing of disparate neural activities can be controlled, allowing specialized brain structures to both encode information independently and to interact selectively according to current behavioral demands.
In this first report, I overview research on storytelling of the histories of GIS. I suggest that these efforts reveal important pathways for thinking the current moment and conditioning ...technoscience futures. I argue that these stories around technology illustrate various disciplinary crucibles around technical practices and knowledge work. To report on progress in GIScience is also to narrate the moments of change in the discipline, whether marked as quantitative, qualitative, radical, critical, black, feminist, Marxist, indigenous, environmental, postcolonial, queer, or minor, among others. I suggest ‘minor GISciences’ to encourage attentiveness to the historical conditions and social implications of geographic technologies.
In this second report, I discuss the role of newness in GIScience, drawing distinctions between ‘the new’, as a state of emergent technology and technical situation, and imminence, a state of ...happenings and becomings. I suggest that GIScience often reduces the two to each other – what is imminent is that which is new – with specific implications for the use of geospatial techniques and technologies in explicitly radical, critical, and anti-racist projects. To engage in this work means often to make do with what is available and accessible, with no less need for experimentation and innovation.
The increased occurrence of extreme climate events, such as marine heatwaves (MHWs), has resulted in substantial ecological impacts worldwide. To date, metrics of thermal stress within marine systems ...have focussed on coral communities, and less is known about measuring stress relevant to other primary producers, such as seagrasses. An extreme MHW occurred across the Western Australian coastline in the austral summer of 2010–2011, exposing marine communities to summer seawater temperatures 2–5°C warmer than average. Using a combination of satellite imagery and in situ assessments, we provide detailed maps of seagrass coverage across the entire Shark Bay World Heritage Area (ca. 13,000 km2) before (2002 and 2010) and after the MHW (2014 and 2016). Our temporal analysis of these maps documents the single largest loss in dense seagrass extent globally (1,310 km2) following an acute disturbance. Total change in seagrass extent was spatially heterogeneous, with the most extensive declines occurring in the Western Gulf, Wooramel Bank and Faure Sill. Spatial variation in seagrass loss was best explained by a model that included an interaction between two heat stress metrics, the most substantial loss occurring when degree heating weeks (DHWm) was ≥10 and the number of days exposed to extreme sea surface temperature during the MHW (DaysOver) was ≥94. Ground truthing at 622 points indicated that change in seagrass cover was predominantly due to loss of Amphibolis antarctica rather than Posidonia australis, the other prominent seagrass at Shark Bay. As seawater temperatures continue to rise and the incidence of MHWs increase globally, this work will provide a basis for identifying areas of meadow degradation, or stability and recovery, and potential areas of resilience.
An extreme marine heatwave (MHW) occurred across the Western Australian coastline in the austral summer of 2010/2011. We quantified change in seagrass coverage across the entire Shark Bay World Heritage Area (ca. 13,000 km2) before (2002, 2010) and after the MHW (2014, 2016). Our temporal analysis documents the single largest loss in dense seagrass extent globally (1,310 km2) following an acute disturbance. Spatial variation in seagrass loss was best explained by a model that included an interaction between two heat stress metrics. As MHWs increase globally, this work provides a basis for identifying areas of meadow degradation and resilience.
•Geodesign has become a key marketing buzzword at Esri.•Geodesign emerges from interactions among academics and private industry.•Critical geodesign is both a visioning of alternative futures and a ...persistent questioning.
In recent years, geospatial design (or geodesign) has emerged as an area of technological development, GIScience research, and design practice. With Esri leading the branding of this emerging area, geospatial technology developers, design consultancies, and academic units are recognizing the affordances of applying geovisualization and geoanalytical techniques to more conventional practices within design and planning fields. Additionally, the GISciences are being called to rearticulate their research agendas in the face of ‘big data’ and neogeography. This paper examines these developments with regard to criticality, or the ways in which mapping practices are applied in critical research – both research that seeks to situate the emergence of geospatial technologies and enrolls these technologies more directly as method. What is the criticality of mapping practices amid these developments? More specifically to the design and planning fields, how might geodesign align with critical GIS? I take up these questions by tracing three presuppositions of criticality in mapping while examining the conditions of geodesign's emergence: representation and futurity, neutrality and efficacy, and relationality and complexity. I conclude by outlining a research agenda for further advancement of a critical geodesign.
Aim
To identify distinct phenotypic subgroups in a highly‐dimensional, mixed‐data cohort of individuals with heart failure (HF) with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) using unsupervised clustering ...analysis.
Methods and results
The study included all Treatment of Preserved Cardiac Function Heart Failure with an Aldosterone Antagonist (TOPCAT) participants from the Americas (n = 1767). In the subset of participants with available echocardiographic data (derivation cohort, n = 654), we characterized three mutually exclusive phenogroups of HFpEF participants using penalized finite mixture model‐based clustering analysis on 61 mixed‐data phenotypic variables. Phenogroup 1 had higher burden of co‐morbidities, natriuretic peptides, and abnormalities in left ventricular structure and function; phenogroup 2 had lower prevalence of cardiovascular and non‐cardiac co‐morbidities but higher burden of diastolic dysfunction; and phenogroup 3 had lower natriuretic peptide levels, intermediate co‐morbidity burden, and the most favourable diastolic function profile. In adjusted Cox models, participants in phenogroup 1 (vs. phenogroup 3) had significantly higher risk for all adverse clinical events including the primary composite endpoint, all‐cause mortality, and HF hospitalization. Phenogroup 2 (vs. phenogroup 3) was significantly associated with higher risk of HF hospitalization but a lower risk of atherosclerotic event (myocardial infarction, stroke, or cardiovascular death), and comparable risk of mortality. Similar patterns of association were also observed in the non‐echocardiographic TOPCAT cohort (internal validation cohort, n = 1113) and an external cohort of patients with HFpEF Phosphodiesterase‐5 Inhibition to Improve Clinical Status and Exercise Capacity in Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction (RELAX) trial cohort, n = 198, with the highest risk of adverse outcome noted in phenogroup 1 participants.
Conclusions
Machine learning‐based cluster analysis can identify phenogroups of patients with HFpEF with distinct clinical characteristics and long‐term outcomes.
Significance We present highlights of the first complete domestic cat reference genome, to our knowledge. We provide evolutionary assessments of the feline protein-coding genome, population genetic ...discoveries surrounding domestication, and a resource of domestic cat genetic variants. These analyses span broadly, from carnivore adaptations for hunting behavior to comparative odorant and chemical detection abilities between cats and dogs. We describe how segregating genetic variation in pigmentation phenotypes has reached fixation within a single breed, and also highlight the genomic differences between domestic cats and wildcats. Specifically, the signatures of selection in the domestic cat genome are linked to genes associated with gene knockout models affecting memory, fear-conditioning behavior, and stimulus-reward learning, and potentially point to the processes by which cats became domesticated.
Little is known about the genetic changes that distinguish domestic cat populations from their wild progenitors. Here we describe a high-quality domestic cat reference genome assembly and comparative inferences made with other cat breeds, wildcats, and other mammals. Based upon these comparisons, we identified positively selected genes enriched for genes involved in lipid metabolism that underpin adaptations to a hypercarnivorous diet. We also found positive selection signals within genes underlying sensory processes, especially those affecting vision and hearing in the carnivore lineage. We observed an evolutionary tradeoff between functional olfactory and vomeronasal receptor gene repertoires in the cat and dog genomes, with an expansion of the feline chemosensory system for detecting pheromones at the expense of odorant detection. Genomic regions harboring signatures of natural selection that distinguish domestic cats from their wild congeners are enriched in neural crest-related genes associated with behavior and reward in mouse models, as predicted by the domestication syndrome hypothesis. Our description of a previously unidentified allele for the gloving pigmentation pattern found in the Birman breed supports the hypothesis that cat breeds experienced strong selection on specific mutations drawn from random bred populations. Collectively, these findings provide insight into how the process of domestication altered the ancestral wildcat genome and build a resource for future disease mapping and phylogenomic studies across all members of the Felidae.
Retinoblastoma (Rb) is the most common primary intraocular tumor in children. Local treatment of the intraocular disease is usually effective if diagnosed early; however advanced Rb can metastasize ...through routes that involve invasion of the choroid, sclera and optic nerve or more broadly via the ocular vasculature. Metastatic Rb patients have very high mortality rates. While current therapy for Rb is directed toward blocking tumor cell division and tumor growth, there are no specific treatments targeted to block Rb metastasis. Two such targets are matrix metalloproteinases-2 and -9 (MMP-2, -9), which degrade extracellular matrix as a prerequisite for cellular invasion and have been shown to be involved in other types of cancer metastasis. Cancer Clinical Trials with an anti-MMP-9 therapeutic antibody were recently initiated, prompting us to investigate the role of MMP-2, -9 in Rb metastasis.
We compare MMP-2, -9 activity in two well-studied Rb cell lines: Y79, which exhibits high metastatic potential and Weri-1, which has low metastatic potential. The effects of inhibitors of MMP-2 (ARP100) and MMP-9 (AG-L-66085) on migration, angiogenesis, and production of immunomodulatory cytokines were determined in both cell lines using qPCR, and ELISA. Cellular migration and potential for invasion were evaluated by the classic wound-healing assay and a Boyden Chamber assay.
Our results showed that both inhibitors had differential effects on the two cell lines, significantly reducing migration in the metastatic Y79 cell line and greatly affecting the viability of Weri-1 cells. The MMP-9 inhibitor (MMP9I) AG-L-66085, diminished the Y79 angiogenic response. In Weri-1 cells, VEGF was significantly reduced and cell viability was decreased by both MMP-2 and MMP-9 inhibitors. Furthermore, inhibition of MMP-2 significantly reduced secretion of TGF-β1 in both Rb models.
Collectively, our data indicates MMP-2 and MMP-9 drive metastatic pathways, including migration, viability and secretion of angiogenic factors in Rb cells. These two subtypes of matrix metalloproteinases represent new potential candidates for targeted anti-metastatic therapy for Rb.
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