3,977 research outputs found
The Influence of Geology and Season on Macroinvertebrates in Belizean Streams: Implications for Tropical Bioassessment
Considerable attention has been paid to the potentially confounding effects of geological and seasonal variation on outputs from bioassessments in temperate streams, but our understanding about these influences is limited for many tropical systems. We explored variation in macroinvertebrate assemblage composition and the environmental characteristics of 3rd- to 5th-order streams in a geologically heterogeneous tropical landscape in the wet and dry seasons. Study streams drained catchments with land cover ranging from predominantly forested to agricultural land, but data indicated that distinct water-chemistry and substratum conditions associated with predominantly calcareous and silicate geologies were key determinants of macroinvertebrate assemblage composition. Most notably, calcareous streams were characterized by a relatively abundant noninsect fauna, particularly a pachychilid gastropod snail. The association between geological variation and assemblage composition was apparent during both seasons, but significant temporal variation in compositional characteristics was detected only in calcareous streams, possibly because of limited statistical power to detect change at silicate sites, or the limited extent of our temporal data. We discuss the implications of our findings for tropical bioassessment programs. Our key findings suggest that geology can be an important determinant of macroinvertebrate assemblages in tropical streams and that geological heterogeneity may influence the scale of temporal response in characteristic macroinvertebrate assemblages
Interview with Scott and Carrie Logan by Mike Hastings
Biographical NoteScott Logan was born on February 17, 1977, in Exeter, New Hampshire. His father, Terence Logan, held a Ph.D. from Harvard University and taught English at the University of New Hampshire. Scott’s mother was from rural southern Maryland, and they met at Newton College of the Sacred Heart, in Newton, Massachusetts, where Terence was a professor and Scott’s mother was a student. Scott grew up in Kennebunk, Maine, and was interested in collecting and selling antiques, and in local history. For this business, he received a scholarship from the National Association of the Self-Employed. He was also one of the first Mitchell Scholars, in 1995, attending Bowdoin College and graduating in 1999. He first met his future wife, Carrie, at Bowdoin through their mutual membership in Alpha Delta Phi fraternity. He worked at Christie’s Auction Company and then the auctioneering firm Skinner, Inc. He then attended law school at Boston College, and at the time of this interview, he was an attorney specializing in consumer bankruptcy.
Carrie Logan was born on December 24, 1977, in Portland, Maine, to Donald McGilvery and Cheryl Poulin McGilvery. Her parents, both from Maine, met at Cony High School, and both were graduated from the University of Maine, Orono. Her father worked in architecture and construction management for the Maine State Housing Authority, and her mother worked in education and at the time of this interview was the secretary at William H. Rowe School in Yarmouth. Carrie grew up in Yarmouth, Maine, attended Yarmouth public schools, and was selected as a Mitchell Scholar. She attended Bowdoin College, where she met Scott, and was graduated with the class of 2000. Through the Teach For America program, she taught in Opelousas, Louisiana, for two years and then became an English-as-a-Second-Language teacher in Houston, Texas, before returning to Maine to study at the University of Maine School of Law. She took her law degree in 2007 and was practicing business and real estate law at Preti Flaherty in Portland, Maine, at the time of this interview.
SummaryInterview includes discussion of: Scott’s family and educational background in Kennebunk; Scott’s antique bottle interest; Scott’s education; Carrie’s family and educational background in Yarmouth; the decision to go to Bowdoin College; paying for college; the Mitchell Institute and Mitchell Scholarship; life at Bowdoin and Alpha Delta Phi; Carrie’s work teaching in the South with Teach for America; coming back to Maine; Scott dealing antiques; and more recent involvement with the Mitchell Institute
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Prevalence of the E321G MYH1 variant for immune-mediated myositis and nonexertional rhabdomyolysis in performance subgroups of American Quarter Horses.
BackgroundImmune-mediated myositis (IMM) in American Quarter Horses (QHs) causes acute muscle atrophy and lymphocytic infiltration of myofibers. Recently, an E321G mutation in a highly conserved region of the myosin heavy chain 1 (MYH1) gene was associated with susceptibility to IMM and nonexertional rhabdomyolysis.ObjectivesTo estimate prevalence of the E321G MYH1 variant in the QH breed and performance subgroups.AnimalsThree-hundred seven elite performance QHs and 146 random registered QH controls.MethodsProspective genetic survey. Elite QHs from barrel racing, cutting, halter, racing, reining, Western Pleasure, and working cow disciplines and randomly selected registered QHs were genotyped for the E321G MYH1 variant and allele frequencies were calculated.ResultsThe E321G MYH1 variant allele frequency was 0.034 ± 0.011 in the general QH population (6.8% of individuals in the breed) and the highest among the reining (0.135 ± 0.040; 24.3% of reiners), working cow (0.085 ± 0.031), and halter (0.080 ± 0.027) performance subgroups. The E321G MYH1 variant was present in cutting (0.044 ± 0.022) and Western Pleasure (0.021 ± 0.015) QHs at lower frequency and was not observed in barrel racing or racing QHs.Conclusions and clinical importanceKnowing that reining and working cow QHs have the highest prevalence of the E321G MYH1 variant and that the variant is more prevalent than the alleles for hereditary equine regional dermal asthenia and hyperkalemic periodic paralysis in the general QH population will guide the use of genetic testing for diagnostic and breeding purposes
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Genome-Wide Association Study and Subsequent Exclusion of ATCAY as a Candidate Gene Involved in Equine Neuroaxonal Dystrophy Using Two Animal Models.
Equine neuroaxonal dystrophy/equine degenerative myeloencephalopathy (eNAD/EDM) is an inherited neurodegenerative disorder of unknown etiology. Clinical signs of neurological deficits develop within the first year of life in vitamin E (vitE) deficient horses. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) was carried out using 670,000 SNP markers in 27 case and 42 control Quarter Horses. Two markers, encompassing a 2.5 Mb region on ECA7, were associated with the phenotype (p = 2.05 × 10-7 and 4.72 × 10-6). Within this region, caytaxin (ATCAY) was identified as a candidate gene due to its known role in Cayman Ataxia and ataxic/dystonic phenotypes in mouse models. Whole-genome sequence data in four eNAD/EDM and five unaffected horses identified 199 associated variants within the ECA7 region. MassARRAY® genotyping was performed on these variants within the GWAS population. The three variants within ATCAY were not concordant with the disease phenotype. No difference in expression or alternative splicing was identified using qRT-PCR in brainstem across the ATCAY transcript. Atcayji-hes mice were then used to conduct functional analysis in a second animal model. Histologic lesions were not identified in the central nervous system of Atcayji-hes mice. Additionally, supplementation of homozygous Atcayji-hes mice with 600 IU/day of dl-α-tocopheryl acetate (vitE) during gestation, lactation, and adulthood did not improve the phenotype. ATCAY has therefore been excluded as a candidate gene for eNAD/EDM
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Utilizing the Boston Syncope Observation Management Pathway to Reduce Hospital Admission and Decrease Adverse Outcomes
Introduction: In an age of increasing scrutiny of each hospital admission, emergency department (ED) observation has been identified as a low-cost alternative. Prior studies have shown admission rates for syncope in the United States to be as high as 70%. However, the safety and utility of substituting ED observation unit (EDOU) syncope management has not been well studied. The objective of this study was to evaluate the safety of EDOU for the management of patients presenting to the ED with syncope and its efficacy in reducing hospital admissions.
Methods: This was a prospective before-and-after cohort study of consecutive patients presenting with syncope who were seen in an urban ED and were either admitted to the hospital, discharged, or placed in the EDOU. We first performed an observation study of syncope management and then implemented an ED observation-based management pathway. We identified critical interventions and 30-day outcomes. We compared proportions of admissions and adverse events rates with a chisquared or Fisher’s exact test.
Results: In the “before” phase, 570 patients were enrolled, with 334 (59%) admitted and 27 (5%) placed in the EDOU; 3% of patients discharged from the ED had critical interventions within 30 days and 10% returned. After the management pathway was introduced, 489 patients were enrolled; 34% (p\u3c0.001) of pathway patients were admitted while 20% were placed in the EDOU; 3% (p=0.99) of discharged patients had critical interventions at 30 days and 3% returned (p=0.001).
Conclusion: A focused syncope management pathway effectively reduces hospital admissions and adverse events following discharge and returns to the ED. [West J Emerg Med. 2019;20(2)250–255.
Osteopontin ablation ameliorates muscular dystrophy by shifting macrophages to a pro-regenerative phenotype.
In the degenerative disease Duchenne muscular dystrophy, inflammatory cells enter muscles in response to repetitive muscle damage. Immune factors are required for muscle regeneration, but chronic inflammation creates a profibrotic milieu that exacerbates disease progression. Osteopontin (OPN) is an immunomodulator highly expressed in dystrophic muscles. Ablation of OPN correlates with reduced fibrosis and improved muscle strength as well as reduced natural killer T (NKT) cell counts. Here, we demonstrate that the improved dystrophic phenotype observed with OPN ablation does not result from reductions in NKT cells. OPN ablation skews macrophage polarization toward a pro-regenerative phenotype by reducing M1 and M2a and increasing M2c subsets. These changes are associated with increased expression of pro-regenerative factors insulin-like growth factor 1, leukemia inhibitory factor, and urokinase-type plasminogen activator. Furthermore, altered macrophage polarization correlated with increases in muscle weight and muscle fiber diameter, resulting in long-term improvements in muscle strength and function in mdx mice. These findings suggest that OPN ablation promotes muscle repair via macrophage secretion of pro-myogenic growth factors
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