An Analysis of Environmental and Anthropogenic Controls on Indoor Radon Distribution in Grand Forks, North Dakota

Indoor radon may be a potential health threat in a significant number of homes in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Ninety-three percent of the homes tested in 1988 to 1993 contained indoor radon levels greater than the Environmental Protection Agency’s recommended action level of 4 picoCuries per liter. In addition, the average reading of indoor radon concentrations was 18.9 picoCuries per liter, well above the action level guidelines. Several variables were examined through the use of regression analysis and a Geographic Information System in an attempt to characterize the controls on indoor radon levels in Grand Forks. The results of the analysis indicated no significant relationship with any of the variables tested: soil permeability, distance to surface water bodies, and house age. Bedrock and surficial geology are mainly homogeneous in nature and contain primarily shale, limestone, and sandstone which have been found to have high uranium concentrations. Therefore the bedrock and surficial geology play an important role in influencing high indoor radon levels. The outcome of the study led to the formulation of several alternative hypotheses for future studies. Studies investigating meteorological factors as well as building materials may prove to have a positive relationship with indoor radon levels in viii Grand Forks

Evaluation of Two Commercially Available Cannabidiol Formulations for Use in Electronic Cigarettes

Since 24 states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana in some form, suppliers of legal marijuana have developed Cannabis sativa products for use in electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes). Personal battery powered vaporizers, or e-cigarettes, were developed to deliver a nicotine vapor such that smokers could simulate smoking tobacco without the inherent pathology of inhaled tobacco smoke. The liquid formulations used in these devices are comprised of an active ingredient such as nicotine mixed with vegetable glycerin (VG) and/or propylene glycol (PG) and flavorings. A significant active ingredient of C. sativa, cannabidiol (CBD), has been purported to have anti-convulsant, anti-nociceptive, and anti-psychotic properties. These properties have potential medical therapies such as intervention of addictive behaviors, treatments for epilepsy, management of pain for cancer patients, and treatments for schizophrenia. However, CBD extracted from C. sativa remains a DEA Schedule I drug since it has not been approved by the FDA for medical purposes. Two commercially available e-cigarette liquid formulations reported to contain 3.3 mg/mL of CBD as the active ingredient were evaluated. These products are not regulated by the FDA in manufacturing or in labeling of the products and were found to contain 6.5 and 7.6 mg/mL of CBD in VG and PG with a variety of flavoring agents. Presently, while labeled as to content, the quality control of manufacturers and the relative safety of these products is uncertain

Localization of glutamatergic, GABAergic, and cholinergic neurons in the brain of the African cichlid fish, Astatotilapia burtoni

© 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Neural communication depends on release and reception of different neurotransmitters within complex circuits that ultimately mediate basic biological functions. We mapped the distribution of glutamatergic, GABAergic, and cholinergic neurons in the brain of the African cichlid fish Astatotilapia burtoni using in situ hybridization to label vesicular glutamate transporters (vglut1, vglut2.1, vglut3), glutamate decarboxylases (gad1, gad2), and choline acetyltransferase (chat). Cells expressing the glutamatergic markers vgluts 1–3 show primarily nonoverlapping distribution patterns, with the most widespread expression observed for vglut2.1, and more restricted expression of vglut1 and vglut3. vglut1 is prominent in granular layers of the cerebellum, habenula, preglomerular nuclei, and several other diencephalic, mesencephalic, and rhombencephalic regions. vglut2.1 is widely expressed in many nuclei from the olfactory bulbs to the hindbrain, while vglut3 is restricted to the hypothalamus and hindbrain. GABAergic cells show largely overlapping gad1 and gad2 expression in most brain regions. GABAergic expression dominates nuclei of the subpallial ventral telencephalon, while glutamatergic expression dominates nuclei of the pallial dorsal telencephalon. chat-expressing cells are prominent in motor cranial nerve nuclei, and some scattered cells lie in the preoptic area and ventral part of the ventral telencephalon. A localization summary of these markers within regions of the conserved social decision-making network reveals a predominance of either GABAergic or glutamatergic cells within individual nuclei. The neurotransmitter distributions described here in the brain of a single fish species provide an important resource for identification of brain nuclei in other fishes, as well as future comparative studies on circuit organization and function. J. Comp. Neurol. 525:610–638, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Reproductive and metabolic state differences in olfactory responses to amino acids in a mouth brooding African cichlid fish

© 2017. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd | Journal of Experimental Biology. Olfaction mediates many crucial life-history behaviors such as prey detection, predator avoidance, migration and reproduction. Olfactory function can also be modulated by an animal\u27s internal physiological and metabolic states. While this is relatively well studied in mammals, little is known about how internal state impacts olfaction in fishes, the largest and most diverse group of vertebrates. Here we apply electroolfactograms (EOGs) in the African cichlid fish Astatotilapia burtoni to test the hypothesis that olfactory responses to food-related cues (i.e. L-amino acids; alanine and arginine) vary with metabolic, social and reproductive state. Dominant males (reproductively active, reduced feeding) had greater EOG magnitudes in response to amino acids at the same tested concentration than subordinate males (reproductively suppressed, greater feeding and growth rates). Mouth brooding females, which are in a period of starvation while they brood fry in theirmouths, had greater EOGmagnitudes in response to amino acids at the same tested concentration than both recovering and gravid females that are feeding. Discriminant function analysis on EOG magnitudes also grouped the male (subordinate) and female (recovering, gravid) phenotypes with higher food intake together and distinguished them from brooding females and dominant males. The slope of the initial negative phase of the EOG also showed intra-sexual differences in both sexes.Our results demonstrate that the relationship between olfaction and metabolic state observed in other taxa is conserved to fishes. For the first time, we provide evidence for intrasexual plasticity in the olfactory response to amino acids that is influenced by fish reproductive, social and metabolic state

Pleural Effusions in Patients Diagnosed with Pneumonia in Urgent Care Clinics

Introduction: Pleural effusions in patients with community-acquired pneumonia have been associated with worse outcomes in emergency department and hospital inpatient populations, but the incidence of effusions and their outcomes in outpatient urgent care clinics is unknown. This observational cohort study describes patients diagnosed with pneumonia and pleural effusions on upright 2-view chest X-rays performed in urgent care clinics. Methods: We extracted electronic health record data from January 2019 through December 2020 on all patients over 12 years old with an International Statistical Classification of Diseases 10th revision diagnosis of pneumonia entered by the treating clinician, plus “possible” or “likely” radiographic pneumonia identified in the clinical radiologist report. We excluded patients without recorded vital signs and those with a prior episode of pneumonia in the prior 30 days. Results: Of 5211 patients with documented vital signs, 93 (1.8%) had clinically significant effusions: 64 unilateral and 29 bilateral. Multiple logistic regression showed that older age and higher Charlson comorbidity index scores were associated with pleural effusions (AUC 0.78). Patients with effusions had higher Pneumonia Severity Index scores, lower SpO2, and higher Shock Index scores than patients without effusions. A greater percentage of pneumonia patients with clinically significant pleural effusion 33 (35%) were admitted to the ED or hospital within 7 days compared to those who had pneumonia but no effusion 575 (11%, P Conclusions: Fewer urgent care clinic patients diagnosed with community-acquired pneumonia have pleural effusions compared with emergency department and hospital cohorts, but the association with higher illness severity and downstream medical care remain

Overall vertical transmission of HCV, transmission net of clearance, and timing of transmission

Background: It is widely accepted that the risk of HCV vertical transmission (VT) is 5-6% in mono-infected women, and that 25-40% of HCV infection clears spontaneously within 5 years. However, there is no consensus on how VT rates should be estimated, and there is a lack of information on VT rates “net” of clearance. // Methods: We re-analysed data on 1749 children in 3 prospective cohorts to obtain coherent estimates of overall VT rate and VT rates “net” of clearance at different ages. Clearance rates were used to impute the proportion of uninfected children who had been infected and then cleared before testing negative. The proportion of transmission early in utero, late in utero and at delivery was estimated from data on the proportion of HCV RNA positive within three days of birth, and differences between elective caesarean and non-elective caesarean deliveries. // Findings: Overall VT rates were 7.2% (95% credible interval 5.6-8.9) in mothers who were HIV negative and 12.1% (8.6-16.8) in HIV-co-infected women. The corresponding rates net of clearance at 5 years were 2.4% (1.1-4.1) and 4.1% (1.7-7.3). We estimated that 24.8% (12.1-40.8) of infections occur early in utero, 66.0% (42.5-83.3) later in utero, and 9.3% (0.5-30.6) during delivery. // Conclusion: Overall VT rates are about 24% higher than previously assumed, but the risk of infection persisting beyond age 5 years is about 38% lower. The results can inform design of trials of to prevent or treat pediatric HCV infection, and strategies to manage children exposed in utero

Sheep Updates 2003 - Posters

This session covers eleven papers from different authors:1 Sheep production on annual stubbles/pastures vs lucerne Maxine Brown Gaye Krebs Muresk Institute, Curtin University Diana Fedorenko Kathryn Egerton-Warburton Centre for Cropping Systems, Department of Agriculture Western Australia 2. The value chain of the Lake Grace livestock industry Evan Burt Nazrul Islam Department of Agriculture Western Australia 3. Native pastures, Dorper sheep and the 2002 drought Roy Butler Department of Agriculture Western Australia 4. Commercial sheep breeders can improve their sheep breeding program using wether trials L.G. Butler, S.R. Brown, M.F. D’Antuono, J.C. Greeff Department of Agriculture 5. Western Australia Linked ewe trials to benchmark wool traits and reproductive performance of Western Australian sheep flocks Ken Hart Department of Agriculture Western Australia 6. Damara sheep - what is their potential? A case study from the North-eastern wheatbelt Tanya Kilminster Evan Burt Department of Agriculture Western Australia 7, Australian Sheep Industry CRC - nutrition sub-program Rachel Kirby Sheep CRC Research Fellow 8. Dust penetration is not genetically and phenotypically the same trait as dust content M.E. Ladyman J.C. Greeff Department of Agriculture Western Australia A.C. Schlink CSIRO Livestock Industries, Private Bag 5, Wembley WA I.H. Williams P.E. Vercoe University of Western Australia, Crawley WA 9.Developing sustainable fodder crop systems with new annual pasture legumes Anyou Lui Department of Agriculture Western Australia 10. Seasonal pricing and seasonality of supply of prime lambs in the western wheatbelt Karen Smith Martin Bent Muresk Institute, Curtin University 11. The role of alternative and exotic sheep breeds in the Western Australian sheep industry Matthew Young Department of Agriculture Western Australi

The experiences of patients ill with COVID-19-like symptoms and the role of testing for SARS-CoV-2 in supporting them: a qualitative study in eight European countries during the first wave of the pandemic

Background Access to testing during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic was limited, impacting patients with COVID-19-like symptoms. Current qualitative studies have been limited to one country or were conducted outside Europe. Objectives To explore - in eight European countries - the experiences of patients consulting in primary care with COVID-19-like symptoms during the first wave of the pandemic. Methods Sixty-six semi-structured interviews, informed by a topic guide, were conducted by telephone or in person between April and July 2020. Patients with COVID-19-like symptoms were purposively recruited in primary care sites in eight countries and sampled based on age, gender, and symptom presentation. Deductive and inductive thematic analysis techniques were used to develop a framework representing data across settings. Data adequacy was attained by collecting rich data. Results Seven themes were identified, which described the experiences of patients consulting. Two themes are reported in this manuscript describing the role of COVID-19 testing in this experience. Patients described significant distress due to their symptoms, especially those at higher risk of complications from COVID-19, and those with severe symptoms. Patients wanted access to testing to identify the cause of their illness and minimise the burden of managing uncertainty. Some patients testing positive for COVID-19 assumed they would be immune from future infection. Conclusion Patients experiencing novel and severe symptoms, particularly those with comorbidities, experienced a significant emotional and psychological burden due to concerns about COVID-19. Testing provided reassurance over health status and helped patients identify which guidance to follow. Testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 led to some patients thinking they were immune from future infection, thus influencing subsequent behaviour

‘Remembering as Forgetting’: Organizational commemoration as a politics of recognition

This paper considers the politics of how organizations remember their past through commemorative settings and artefacts. Although these may be seen as ‘merely’ a backdrop to organizational activity, they form part of the lived experience of organizational spaces that its members enact on a daily basis as part of their routes and routines. The main concern of the paper is with how commemoration is bound up in the reflection and reproduction of hierarchies of organizational recognition. Illustrated with reference to two commemorative settings, the paper explores how organizations perpetuate a narrow set of symbolic ideals attributing value to particular forms of organizational membership while appearing to devalue others. In doing so, they communicate values that undermine attempts to achieve equality and inclusion. Developing a recognition-based critique of this process, the discussion emphasizes how commemorative settings and practices work to reproduce established patterns of exclusion and marginalization. To this end, traditional forms of commemorative portraiture that tend to close off difference are contrasted with a memorial garden, in order to explore the potential for an alternative, recognition-based ethics of organizational commemoration that is more open to the Other