792 research outputs found
Survey of the Boletes from Fish River Nature Preserve
Boletes are a special kind of mushroom inside of the Kingdom Fungi that are distinguished from other mushrooms by their uniquely pored hymenium, as opposed to gills. Many boletes are ectomycorrhizal, meaning they are mutualists with vascular plants, and thus beneficial to the overall health of the terrestrial ecosystem. Some are well-known for their edibility and are of economic importance. In the United States 59 genus-level clades comprising 290 operational taxonomic units have been reported. The southeastern US and Gulf Coast regions however are less researched and recorded for their mushroom ecology. In Alabama, only 56 bolete species have been reported so far. Specimens in this project were collected from Baldwin and Mobile Counties, AL, with the majority of specimens collected at The Fish River Nature Preserve. The Fish River Nature Preserve (FRNP) is located south of Fairhope in Baldwin County, and was recently purchased by the South Alabama Land Trust Conservation group. This property includes an upper level section with a tract dominated by oaks and another by pines, which is fire-controlled, and one near the river dominated by palmetto palms.
Upon collection, all collected specimens were brought from the field to the South Alabama campus lab for technical descriptions, imaging, freezing of a small tissue sample, dehydration preservation of the fruiting body, and storage of the specimen. Microscopic work followed that and included the measurement of basidiospores. A primary list of the suspected species of each specimen was created based on morphological descriptions, and spore measurements. The frozen tissue sample then underwent DNA extraction via Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) amplification. Specimens that yielded DNA products were then uploaded into GenBan via Blasting to find matches of named sequences that are already in the GenBank database. A total of 26 specimens were collected at the FRNP and Mobile County. 19 of the 26 specimens\u27 identities were confirmed via DNA blasting from which 2 were confirmed to the genus level and the other 17 the the species level. Those remaining 7 that did not yield a DNA confirmed identity were identified morphologically. Together with morphological descriptions and DNA confirmation, a total of 17 species were identified, and they include: A. russellii (NTN-16); B. alutaceus (NTN-09); B. vermiculosoides (NTN-21); E. floridanus (NTN-14); G. castaneus (NTN-01; NTN-03, NTN-06, NTN-12, NTN-17, NTN-22); H. rubellus (NTN-10, NTN-13); L. albellum (NTN-04, NTN-18); P. bellus (NTN-02); P. rhodoxanthus (NTN-15); S. floccopus (NTN-05); S. decipiens (NTN-23); T. balloui (NTN-11); T. rhoadsiae (NTN-08); T. rubrobrunneus (NTN-20, NTN-26); X.affine (NTN-24, NTN-25); X. intermedius (NTN-07); X. subtomentosus (NTN-19). One species, B. alutaceus (NTN-09) commonly known as the “Leather Colored Bolete” is a species native to New England that was identified on the FRNP with no previously reported collections in Southern Alabama.https://jagworks.southalabama.edu/honors_college_posters/1022/thumbnail.jp
Survey of the Bolctes from Fish River Nature Preserve
Boletes are a special kind of mushroom inside of the Kingdom Fungi that are distinguished from other mushrooms by their uniquely pored hymenium, as opposed to gills. Many boletes are ectomycorrhizal, meaning they are mutualists with vascular plants, and thus beneficial to the overall health of the terrestrial ecosystem. Some are well-known for their edibility and are of economic importance. In the United States 59 genus-level clades comprising 290 operational taxonomic units have been reported. The southeastern US and Gulf Coast regions however are less researched and recorded for their mushroom ecology. In Alabama, only 56 bolete species have been reported so far. Specimens in this project were collected from Baldwin and Mobile Counties, AL, with the majority of specimens collected at The Fish River Nature Preserve. The Fish River Nature Preserve (FRNP) is located south of Fairhope in Baldwin County, and was recently purchased by the South Alabama Land Trust Conservation group. This property includes an upper-level section with a tract dominated by oaks and another by pines, which is fire-controlled, and one near the river dominated by palmetto palms.
Upon collection, all collected specimens were brought from the field to the South Alabama campus lab for technical descriptions, imaging, freezing of a small tissue sample, dehydration preservation of the fruiting body, and storage of the specimen. Microscopic work followed that and included the measurement of basidiospores. A primary list of the suspected species of each specimen was created based on morphological descriptions and spore measurements. The frozen tissue sample then underwent DNA extraction via Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) amplification. Specimens that yielded DNA products were then uploaded into GenBan via Blasting to find matches of named sequences that are already in the GenBank database. A total of 26 specimens were collected at the FRNP and Mobile County. 19 of the 26 specimens\u27 identities were confirmed via DNA blasting from which 2 were confirmed to the genus level and the other 17 the the species level. Those remaining 7 that did not yield a DNA confirmed identity were identified morphologically. Together with morphological descriptions and DNA confirmation, a total of 17 species were identified, and they include: A. russellii (NTN-16); B. alutaceus (NTN-09); B. vermiculosoides (NTN-21); E. floridanus (NTN-14); G. castaneus (NTN-01; NTN-03, NTN-06, NTN-12, NTN-17, NTN-22); H. rubellus (NTN-10, NTN-13); L. albellum (NTN-04, NTN-18); P. bellus (NTN-02); P. rhodoxanthus (NTN-15); S. floccopus (NTN-05); S. decipiens (NTN-23); T. balloui (NTN-11); T. rhoadsiae (NTN-08); T. rubrobrunneus (NTN-20, NTN-26); X.affine (NTN-24, NTN-25); X. intermedius (NTN-07); X. subtomentosus (NTN-19). One species, B. alutaceus (NTN-09) commonly known as the “Leather Colored Bolete” is a species native to New England that was identified on the FRNP with no previously reported collections in Southern Alabama
Translational treatment paradigm for managing non‐unions secondary to radiation injury utilizing adipose derived stem cells and angiogenic therapy
BackgroundBony non‐unions arising in the aftermath of collateral radiation injury are commonly managed with vascularized free tissue transfers. Unfortunately, these procedures are invasive and fraught with attendant morbidities. This study investigated a novel, alternative treatment paradigm utilizing adipose‐derived stem cells (ASCs) combined with angiogenic deferoxamine (DFO) in the rat mandible.MethodsRats were exposed to a bioequivalent dose of radiation and mandibular osteotomy. Those exhibiting non‐unions were subsequently treated with surgical debridement alone or debridement plus combination therapy. Radiographic and biomechanical outcomes were assessed after healing.ResultsSignificant increases in biomechanical strength and radiographic metrics were observed in response to combination therapy (p < .05). Importantly, combined therapy enabled a 65% reduction in persisting non‐unions when compared to debridement alone.ConclusionWe support the continued investigation of this promising combination therapy in its potential translation for the management of radiation‐induced bony pathology. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 38: E837–E843, 2016Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137613/1/hed24110.pd
Light Sterile Neutrinos: A White Paper
This white paper addresses the hypothesis of light sterile neutrinos based on
recent anomalies observed in neutrino experiments and the latest astrophysical
data
US Cosmic Visions: New Ideas in Dark Matter 2017: Community Report
This white paper summarizes the workshop "U.S. Cosmic Visions: New Ideas in
Dark Matter" held at University of Maryland on March 23-25, 2017.Comment: 102 pages + reference
Microbial Biogeography of Public Restroom Surfaces
We spend the majority of our lives indoors where we are constantly exposed to bacteria residing on surfaces. However, the diversity of these surface-associated communities is largely unknown. We explored the biogeographical patterns exhibited by bacteria across ten surfaces within each of twelve public restrooms. Using high-throughput barcoded pyrosequencing of the 16 S rRNA gene, we identified 19 bacterial phyla across all surfaces. Most sequences belonged to four phyla: Actinobacteria, Bacteriodetes, Firmicutes and Proteobacteria. The communities clustered into three general categories: those found on surfaces associated with toilets, those on the restroom floor, and those found on surfaces routinely touched with hands. On toilet surfaces, gut-associated taxa were more prevalent, suggesting fecal contamination of these surfaces. Floor surfaces were the most diverse of all communities and contained several taxa commonly found in soils. Skin-associated bacteria, especially the Propionibacteriaceae, dominated surfaces routinely touched with our hands. Certain taxa were more common in female than in male restrooms as vagina-associated Lactobacillaceae were widely distributed in female restrooms, likely from urine contamination. Use of the SourceTracker algorithm confirmed many of our taxonomic observations as human skin was the primary source of bacteria on restroom surfaces. Overall, these results demonstrate that restroom surfaces host relatively diverse microbial communities dominated by human-associated bacteria with clear linkages between communities on or in different body sites and those communities found on restroom surfaces. More generally, this work is relevant to the public health field as we show that human-associated microbes are commonly found on restroom surfaces suggesting that bacterial pathogens could readily be transmitted between individuals by the touching of surfaces. Furthermore, we demonstrate that we can use high-throughput analyses of bacterial communities to determine sources of bacteria on indoor surfaces, an approach which could be used to track pathogen transmission and test the efficacy of hygiene practices
Characteristics of the Earliest Cross-Neutralizing Antibody Response to HIV-1
Recent cross-sectional analyses of HIV-1+ plasmas have indicated that broadly cross-reactive neutralizing antibody responses are developed by 10%–30% of HIV-1+ subjects. The timing of the initial development of such anti-viral responses is unknown. It is also unknown whether the emergence of these responses coincides with the appearance of antibody specificities to a single or multiple regions of the viral envelope glycoprotein (Env). Here we analyzed the cross-neutralizing antibody responses in longitudinal plasmas collected soon after and up to seven years after HIV-1 infection. We find that anti-HIV-1 cross-neutralizing antibody responses first become evident on average at 2.5 years and, in rare cases, as early as 1 year following infection. If cross-neutralizing antibody responses do not develop during the first 2–3 years of infection, they most likely will not do so subsequently. Our results indicate a potential link between the development of cross-neutralizing antibody responses and specific activation markers on T cells, and with plasma viremia levels. The earliest cross-neutralizing antibody response targets a limited number of Env regions, primarily the CD4-binding site and epitopes that are not present on monomeric Env, but on the virion-associated trimeric Env form. In contrast, the neutralizing activities of plasmas from subjects that did not develop cross-neutralizing antibody responses target epitopes on monomeric gp120 other than the CD4-BS. Our study provides information that is not only relevant to better understanding the interaction of the human immune system with HIV but may guide the development of effective immunization protocols. Since antibodies to complex epitopes that are present on the virion-associated envelope spike appear to be key components of earliest cross-neutralizing activities of HIV-1+ plasmas, then emphasis should be made to elicit similar antibodies by vaccination
Science Forum: Consensus-based guidance for conducting and reporting multi-analyst studies
Any large dataset can be analyzed in a number of ways, and it is possible that the use of different analysis strategies will lead to different results and conclusions. One way to assess whether the results obtained depend on the analysis strategy chosen is to employ multiple analysts and leave each of them free to follow their own approach. Here, we present consensus-based guidance for conducting and reporting such multi-analyst studies, and we discuss how broader adoption of the multi-analyst approach has the potential to strengthen the robustness of results and conclusions obtained from analyses of datasets in basic and applied research
Consensus-based guidance for conducting and reporting multi-analyst studies
International audienceAny large dataset can be analyzed in a number of ways, and it is possible that the use of different analysis strategies will lead to different results and conclusions. One way to assess whether the results obtained depend on the analysis strategy chosen is to employ multiple analysts and leave each of them free to follow their own approach. Here, we present consensus-based guidance for conducting and reporting such multi-analyst studies, and we discuss how broader adoption of the multi-analyst approach has the potential to strengthen the robustness of results and conclusions obtained from analyses of datasets in basic and applied research
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