A Study of the Participatory and Financial Opportunities Afforded to Women’s Athletic Programs by North Carolina NCAA member institutions

This study examined financial and statistical data from North Carolina NCAA athletic programs. The purpose of the study was to determine the state of women’s athletic programs in the state. The study sought to find if opportunities for women’s athletics increased at the same rates as men’s athletic programs. The study found that not only were men were given more opportunities than women, but the percentage of increase for men was higher than that of women. The study also sought to compare women’s opportunities in North Carolina with other women’s NCAA programs in the United States. Overall, the study found that North Carolina athletic programs received fewer opportunities than the national average

Protozoal Coinfection in Horses with Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis in the Eastern United States

Background: Infection by 2 or more protozoa is linked with increased severity of disease in marine mammals with protozoan encephalitis. Hypothesis/Objectives: To assess whether horses with equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) caused by Sarcocystis neurona also have evidence of infection with Neospora hughesi or Toxoplasma gondii. We hypothesized that horses with EPM would be more likely than horses with cervical vertebral stenotic myelopathy (CVSM) to be positive for antibodies to multiple protozoan parasites. Animals: One hundred one horses with neurologic disease: 49 with EPM and 52 with CVSM. Methods: Case review. Archived serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from 101 horses were examined. Inclusion criteria included neurologic disease, antemortem or postmortem diagnosis of EPM or CVSM, and availability of serological results or archived samples for testing. Additional testing for antibodies was performed on serum for T. gondii, as well as serum and CSF for N. hughesi. Results: Horses with EPM were more likely than horses with CVSM to have positive immunologic results for S. neurona on serum (95.9% versus 76.9%, P = .0058), CSF (98.0% versus 44.2%, P \u3c .00001), and serum : CSF titer ratio (91.8% versus 0%, P \u3c .00001). Positive results for Neospora and Toxoplasma were uncommon, with total seroprevalence rates of 12.9% and 14.9%, respectively. The proportions of EPM cases testing positive for Neospora and Toxoplasma (16% and 12%) were not different from the proportions of CVSM cases testing positive (10% and 17%, P = .31 and .47, respectively). Conclusion: Results do not indicate an important role for protozoal coinfection in EPM in the eastern United States

Analysis of Non-Kinship Foster Parent Training Needs and Their Support of Foster Youth: An Occupational Therapy Perspective

This poster discusses the training needs of non-kinship foster parents and how they support the youth in their care. A quantitative survey was used to find relationships between experience fostering and foster parent preparedness or desire for additional training. The survey also included a section for participants to write down their training needs; themes from this question are found on the poster. The poster further discusses future recommendations and implications for OT practice in working with this population.https://soar.usa.edu/otdcapstonesfall2023/1007/thumbnail.jp

Improving WIC Retention in Vermont: Beneficiary attitudes toward co-location in medical homes

Introduction: The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is a national program aimed at improving the nutrition and health of pregnant women and children. Those eligible for Vermont WIC include anyone pregnant or with children under 5 that has an income below 185% of federal poverty level or is enrolled in Vermont Medicaid. WIC has been shown to improve birth outcomes1, breast feeding rates2, infant growth and development, and consumption of important nutrients. Those enrolled in WIC report high levels of satisfaction Despite the benefits of WIC, retention rates of eligible families remain low. Studies have shown that mandatory bi-annual recertification appointments pose logistical problems. Rescheduling missed appointments and long waiting times at the WIC offices were also barriers. Other states have found that integration of WIC recertification appointments with the family’s primary care medical visits may improve retention. A limited scale co-localization of WIC and the medical home in Vermont showed some promise.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/1213/thumbnail.jp

Educational attainment as a modifier for the effect of polygenic scores for cardiovascular risk factors:cross-sectional and prospective analysis of UK Biobank

BACKGROUND: Understanding the interplay between educational attainment and genetic predictors of cardiovascular risk may improve our understanding of the aetiology of educational inequalities in cardiovascular disease. METHODS: In up to 320 120 UK Biobank participants of White British ancestry (mean age = 57 years, female 54%), we created polygenic scores for nine cardiovascular risk factors or diseases: alcohol consumption, body mass index, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, lifetime smoking behaviour, systolic blood pressure, atrial fibrillation, coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes and stroke. We estimated whether educational attainment modified genetic susceptibility to these risk factors and diseases. RESULTS: On the additive scale, higher educational attainment reduced genetic susceptibility to higher body mass index, smoking, atrial fibrillation and type 2 diabetes, but increased genetic susceptibility to higher LDL-C and higher systolic blood pressure. On the multiplicative scale, there was evidence that higher educational attainment increased genetic susceptibility to atrial fibrillation and coronary heart disease, but little evidence of effect modification was found for all other traits considered. CONCLUSIONS: Educational attainment modifies the genetic susceptibility to some cardiovascular risk factors and diseases. The direction of this effect was mixed across traits considered and differences in associations between the effect of the polygenic score across strata of educational attainment was uniformly small. Therefore, any effect modification by education of genetic susceptibility to cardiovascular risk factors or diseases is unlikely to substantially explain the development of inequalities in cardiovascular risk

Effect of membrane character and solution chemistry on microfiltration performance

To help understand and predict the role of natural organic matter (NOM) in the fouling of low-pressure membranes, experiments were carried out with an apparatus that incorporates automatic backwashing and long filtration runs. Three hollow fibre membranes of varying character were included in the study, and the filtration of two different surface waters was compared. The hydrophilic membrane had greater flux recovery after backwashing than the hydrophobic membranes, but the efficiency of backwashing decreased at extended filtration times. NOM concentration of these waters (7.9 and 9.1 mg/L) had little effect on the flux of the membranes at extended filtration times, as backwashing of the membrane restored the flux to similar values regardless of the NOM concentration. The solution pH also had little effect at extended filtration times. The backwashing efficiency of the hydrophilic membrane was dramatically different for the two waters, and the presence of colloid NOM alone could not explain these differences. It is proposed that colloidal NOM forms a filter cake on the surface of the membranes and that small molecular weight organics that have an adsorption peak at 220 nm but not 254 nm were responsible for “gluing” the colloids to the membrane surface. Alum coagulation improved membrane performance in all instances, and this was suggested to be because coagulation reduced the concentration of “glue” that holds the organic colloids to the membrane surface

Molecular Detection Method Developed to Track the Koinobiont Larval Parasitoid Apanteles opuntiarum (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) Imported from Argentina to Control Cactoblastis cactorum (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

Apanteles opuntiarum Martínez & Berta (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) is a native natural enemy of the cactus moth, Cactoblastis cactorum Berg (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) in Argentina, where the 2 species are believed to have co-evolved. Cactoblastis cactorum is an established invasive pest in the US that is rapidly spreading throughout the southeast. Apanteles opuntiarum was imported from Argentina, and reared at the Division of Plant Industry containment facility in Gainesville, Florida, for study as a possible biocontrol agent for release in the US to control C. cactorum. A DNA barcode was developed to enable the identification of the reared parasitoid population. The mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene of the A. opuntiarum reared in Florida containment was found to be identical to its Argentine founders, but distinctly different from the COI sequences of all other reported Apanteles species in the NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information) GenBank. Additionally, the AoF1 and AoR1 primer pair developed in this study specifically amplified the COI gene of A. opuntiarum, but did not amplify the COI gene of the host C. cactorum. Therefore, the COI gene fragment identified in this study has the potential to be used as a DNA barcode specific to A. opuntiarum that can aid in tracking and identifying this parasitoid inside hosts.Apanteles opuntiarum Martínez & Berta (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) es un enemigo natural de la polilla de la tuna Cactoblastis cactorum Berg (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) en Argentina, su rango nativo, donde han co-evolucionado. Cactoblastis cactorum es una especie invasora establecida en Estados Unidos, que se está dispersando rápidamente hacia el sudeste de este país. Apanteles opuntiarum fue importado desde Argentina y es criado en la cuarentena de Gainesville, Florida (Division of Plant Industry), donde está siendo evaluado como posible agente de control de C. cactorum, para ser liberado en Estados Unidos. Se desarrolló un código de barras de ADN para permitir la identificación de la población de parasitoides criada. Se encontró que el gen de la citocromo oxidasa mitocondrial I (COI) de los A. opuntiarum criados en Florida fue idéntico al de sus fundadores argentinos, y claramente diferente de las secuencias de COI de todas las demás especies de Apanteles reportados en el GenBank del NCBI (Centro Nacional de información sobre biotecnología). Además, el par “primer” AoF1 y AoR1 desarrollado en este estudio amplificó específicamente el gen COI de A. opuntiarum, y no amplificó el gen de la COI del hospedador C. cactorum. Por lo tanto, el fragmento del gen COI identificado en este estudio tiene el potencial para ser utilizados como un código de barras de ADN específico para A. opuntiarum que puede ayudar en el seguimiento y la identificación de este parasitoide dentro de los hospedadoresFil: Srivastava, Mrittunjai. Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; Estados UnidosFil: Srivastava, Pratibha. Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; Estados UnidosFil: Karan, Ratna. Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; Estados UnidosFil: Jeyaprakash, Ayyamperumal. Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; Estados UnidosFil: Whilby, Leroy. Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; Estados UnidosFil: Rohrig, Eric. Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; Estados UnidosFil: Howe, Amy C.. Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; Estados UnidosFil: Hight, Stephen D.. United States Department of Agriculture. Agriculture Research Service; Estados UnidosFil: Varone, Laura. Fundación para el Estudio de Especies Invasivas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

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