131 research outputs found

    Substance Dependent Women and Family Support

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    This hermeneutic study was undertaken to discover the lived experience of two substance dependent women with family support. This study attempted to capture the experience of two women and show how this experience affected their recoveries. The use of the hermeneutic research method allowed the researcher to engage in a process with the participants, both shaping and being shaped by the experience. The women\u27s experiences were interpreted around the theme of connection. This involved a fluid process by which the women disconnected from original family, connected with other supports and then reconnected with original family in their new role as recovering women. Implications for social work practice and policy are discussed

    Differentiation of meat species of raw and processed meat based on polar metabolites using 1H NMR spectroscopy combined with multivariate data analysis

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    Meat species of raw meat and processed meat products were investigated by 1^1H NMR spectroscopy with subsequent multivariate data analysis. Sample preparation was based on aqueous extraction combined with ultrafiltration in order to reduce macromolecular components in the extracts. 1^1H NMR data was analyzed by using a non—targeted approach followed by principal component analysis (PCA), linear discrimination analysis (LDA), and cross-validation (CV) embedded in a Monte Carlo (MC) resampling approach. A total of 379 raw meat samples (pork, beef, poultry, and lamb) and 81 processed meat samples (pork, beef, poultry) were collected between the years 2018 and 2021. A 99% correct prediction rate was achieved if the raw meat samples were classified according to meat species. Predicting processed meat products was slightly less successful (93 %) with this approach. Furthermore, identification of spectral regions that are relevant for the classification via polar chemical markers was performed. Finally, data on polar metabolites were fused with previously published 1^1H NMR data on non-polar metabolites in order to build a broader classification model and to improve prediction accuracy

    ¹H NMR spectroscopy combined with multivariate data analysis for authentication of “Swabian–Hall Quality Pork” with protected geographical indication

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    1H NMR spectroscopy was applied to analyse samples of “Swabian–Hall Quality Pork” with protected geographical indication (PGI). To obtain maximum chemical information sample preparation was based on both polar extraction and non-polar extraction. A non-targeted approach was used to analyse the 1H NMR data followed by principal component analysis (PCA), linear discriminant analysis (LDA), and cross-validation (CV) embedded in a Monte Carlo (MC) resampling approach. A total of 275 raw pork samples were collected in the years 2018 to 2021. The correct prediction rate of “Swabian–Hall Quality Pork” was about 92% on average for both models based on either the polar or non-polar metabolites. In addition, 1H NMR data describing the polar and non-polar metabolites were combined in a classification model to improve the prediction accuracy. By performing a mid-level data fusion, a correct prediction rate of 98% was achieved. Furthermore, spectral regions in the NMR spectra of the polar and non-polar metabolites that are relevant for the classification of the pork samples were identified to describe potential chemical marker compounds

    An Investigation of Rotorcraft Stability-Phase Margin Requirements in Hover

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    A cooperative study was performed to investigate the handling quality effects from reduced flight control system stability margins, and the trade-offs with higher disturbance rejection bandwidth (DRB). The piloted simulation study, perform on the NASA-Ames Vertical Motion Simulator, included three classes of rotorcraft in four configurations: a utility-class helicopter; a medium-lift helicopter evaluated with and without an external slung load; and a large (heavy-lift) civil tiltrotor aircraft. This large aircraft also allowed an initial assessment of ADS-33 handling quality requirements for an aircraft of this size. Ten experimental test pilots representing the U.S. Army, Marine Corps, NASA, rotorcraft industry, and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), evaluated the four aircraft configurations, for a range of flight control stability-margins and turbulence levels, while primarily performing the ADS-33 Hover and Lateral Reposition MTEs. Pilot comments and aircraft-task performance data were analyzed. The preliminary stability margin results suggest higher DRB and less phase margin cases are preferred as the aircraft increases in size. Extra care will need to be taken to assess the influence of variability when nominal flight control gains start with reduced margins. Phase margins as low as 20-23 degrees resulted in low disturbance-response damping ratios, objectionable oscillations, PIO tendencies, and a perception of an incipient handling qualities cliff. Pilot comments on the disturbance response of the aircraft correlated well to the DRB guidelines provided in the ADS-33 Test Guide. The A D-3S3 mid-term response-to-control damping ratio metrics can be measured and applied to the disturbance-response damping ratio. An initial assessment of LCTR yaw bandwidth shows the current Level 1 boundary needs to be relaxed to help account for a large pilot off-set from the c.g. Future efforts should continue to investigate the applicability/refinement of the current ADS-33 requirements to large vehicles, like an LCTR

    A missense mutation in Ehd1 associated with defective spermatogenesis and male infertility

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    Normal function of the C-terminal Eps15 homology domain-containing protein 1 (EHD1) has previously been associated with endocytic vesicle trafficking, shaping of intracellular membranes, and ciliogenesis. We recently identified an autosomal recessive missense mutation c.1192C>T (p.R398W) of EHD1 in patients who had low molecular weight proteinuria (0.7–2.1 g/d) and high-frequency hearing loss. It was already known from Ehd1 knockout mice that inactivation of Ehd1 can lead to male infertility. However, the exact role of the EHD1 protein and its p.R398W mutant during spermatogenesis remained still unclear. Here, we report the testicular phenotype of a knockin mouse model carrying the p.R398W mutation in the EHD1 protein. Male homozygous knockin mice were infertile, whereas the mutation had no effect on female fertility. Testes and epididymes were significantly reduced in size and weight. The testicular epithelium appeared profoundly damaged and had a disorganized architecture. The composition of developing cell types was altered. Malformed acrosomes covered underdeveloped and misshaped sperm heads. In the sperm tail, midpieces were largely missing indicating disturbed assembly of the sperm tail. Defective structures, i.e., nuclei, acrosomes, and sperm tail midpieces, were observed in large vacuoles scattered throughout the epithelium. Interestingly, cilia formation itself did not appear to be affected, as the axoneme and other parts of the sperm tails except the midpieces appeared to be intact. In wildtype mice, EHD1 co-localized with acrosomal granules on round spermatids, suggesting a role of the EHD1 protein during acrosomal development. Wildtype EHD1 also co-localized with the VPS35 component of the retromer complex, whereas the p.R398W mutant did not. The testicular pathologies appeared very early during the first spermatogenic wave in young mice (starting at 14 dpp) and tubular destruction worsened with age. Taken together, EHD1 plays an important and probably multifaceted role in spermatogenesis in mice. Therefore, EHD1 may also be a hitherto underestimated infertility gene in humans

    Transmitted/Founder and Chronic Subtype C HIV-1 Use CD4 and CCR5 Receptors with Equal Efficiency and Are Not Inhibited by Blocking the Integrin α4β7

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    Sexual transmission of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) most often results from productive infection by a single transmitted/founder (T/F) virus, indicating a stringent mucosal bottleneck. Understanding the viral traits that overcome this bottleneck could have important implications for HIV-1 vaccine design and other prevention strategies. Most T/F viruses use CCR5 to infect target cells and some encode envelope glycoproteins (Envs) that contain fewer potential N-linked glycosylation sites and shorter V1/V2 variable loops than Envs from chronic viruses. Moreover, it has been reported that the gp120 subunits of certain transmitted Envs bind to the gut-homing integrin α4β7, possibly enhancing virus entry and cell-to-cell spread. Here we sought to determine whether subtype C T/F viruses, which are responsible for the majority of new HIV-1 infections worldwide, share biological properties that increase their transmission fitness, including preferential α4β7 engagement. Using single genome amplification, we generated panels of both T/F (n = 20) and chronic (n = 20) Env constructs as well as full-length T/F (n = 6) and chronic (n = 4) infectious molecular clones (IMCs). We found that T/F and chronic control Envs were indistinguishable in the efficiency with which they used CD4 and CCR5. Both groups of Envs also exhibited the same CD4+ T cell subset tropism and showed similar sensitivity to neutralization by CD4 binding site (CD4bs) antibodies. Finally, saturating concentrations of anti-α4β7 antibodies failed to inhibit infection and replication of T/F as well as chronic control viruses, although the growth of the tissue culture-adapted strain SF162 was modestly impaired. These results indicate that the population bottleneck associated with mucosal HIV-1 acquisition is not due to the selection of T/F viruses that use α4β7, CD4 or CCR5 more efficiently
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