Prevalence of Moniliophthora roreri in Theobroma cacao in relation to clone variety, community composition, environmental factors in an organic cacao farm in Charagre, Bocas del Toro, Panamá: A case study

Moniliophthora roreri, or Frosty Pod Rot (FPR) is a widespread pathogen that affects the fruit of Theobroma cacao, a tree commonly known as the cacao tree. Often, cultivators seek to control spread of M. roreri through fungicidal compounds. However, these fungicides place selective pressure for resistance on M. roreri. Additionally, they can have adverse environmental and human health effects and are difficult to integrate into practice for smallholders. Therefore organic farms in Bocas del Toro in western Panama, have turned to biocontrol agents to reduce the spread of M. roreri. These strategies include increasing hybrid variety, modifying community composition, altering environmental factors, and changing the spatial composition of the cultivars. In this study I analyzed the prevalence of M. roreri in cacao pods in relation to T. cacao clone variety, community composition, and environmental factors. A significant relationship (P=0.00171) and a moderate negative correlation (R2 = -0.40) between M. roreri affectation and overall plot diversity was found. This suggests that the diversity of community composition is a factor which influences overall M. roreri affectation

Alarm Fatigue

Alarm fatigue in hospital nursing settings is characterized and caused by false positive alarms and clinically insignificant alarms, sometimes referred to as the “crying wolf” effect (Gross, Dahl, & Nielsen, 2011; Funk, Clark, Bauld, Ott, & Coss, 2014). The phenomena of repeated false alarms over time causes nursing staff to become desensitized, responding less frequently and less punctually resulting in compromised patient care and safety (Konkani, Oakley, & Bauld, 2012). As estimated by The Joint Commission (2013), hereafter referred to as TJC, 85-99% of sounding alarms are insignificant, reinforced by Graham and Cvach (2010), who estimated less than 1% resulted in nursing intervention. In 2013, TJC issued a Sentinel Event raising awareness about alarm fatigue, requiring hospitals to create guidelines for medical equipment alarms (Funk et al., 2014). The new policies need revision and further study before a definitive answer can be recommended to reduce noise and increase nursing efficiency. As stated by the patron of the nursing profession, Florence Nightingale in Notes on Nursing: What It Is, and What It Is Not: “Unnecessary noise, then, is the most cruel absence of care which can be inflicted either on sick or well” (1859, p. 27). In this review of the literature, the researchers took multiple scholarly articles and studies from medical databases and synthesized them. Recommendations and gaps in the literature are noted

A Model for the Genesis of Arterial Pressure Mayer Waves from Heart Rate and Sympathetic Activity

Both theoretic models and cross-spectral analyses suggest that an oscillating sympathetic nervous outflow generates the low frequency arterial pressure fluctuations termed Mayer waves. Fluctuations in heart rate also have been suggested to relate closely to Mayer waves, but empiric models have not assessed the joint causative influences of hemt rate and sympathetic activity. Therefore, we constructed a model based simply upon the hemodynamic equation deriving from Ohm's Law. With this model, we determined time relations and relative contributions of heart rate and sympathetic activity to the genesis of arterial pressure Mayer waves. We assessed data from eight healthy young volunteers in the basal state and in a high sympathetic state known to produce concurrent increases in sympathetic nervous outflow and Mayer wave amplitude. We fit the Mayer waves (0.05-0.20 Hz) in mean arterial pressure by the weighted sum ofleading oscillations in heart rate and sympathetic nerve activity. This model of our data showed heart rate oscillations leading by 2-3.75 seconds were responsible for almost half of the variance in arterial pressure (basal R^2=0.435±0.140, high sympathetic R^2=0.438±0.180). Surprisingly, sympathetic activity (lead 0-5 seconds) contributed only modestly to the explained variance in Mayer waves during either sympathetic state (basal: ∆R^2=0.046±0.026; heightened: ∆R^2=0.085±0.036). Thus, it appears that heart rate oscillations contribute to Mayer waves in a simple linear fashion, whereas sympathetic fluctuations contribute little to Mayer waves in this way. Although these results do not exclude an important vascular sympathetic role, they do suggest that additional Ji1ctors, such as sympathetic transduction into vascular resistance, modulate its influence.Binda and Fred Shuman Foundation; National Institute on Aging (AG14376)

A Model for the Genesis of Arterial Pressure Mayer Waves from Heart Rate and Sympathetic Activity

Both theoretic models and cross-spectral analyses suggest that an oscillating sympathetic nervous outflow generates the low frequency arterial pressure fluctuations termed Mayer waves. Fluctuations in heart rate also have been suggested to relate closely to Mayer waves, but empiric models have not assessed the joint causative influences of hemt rate and sympathetic activity. Therefore, we constructed a model based simply upon the hemodynamic equation deriving from Ohm's Law. With this model, we determined time relations and relative contributions of heart rate and sympathetic activity to the genesis of arterial pressure Mayer waves. We assessed data from eight healthy young volunteers in the basal state and in a high sympathetic state known to produce concurrent increases in sympathetic nervous outflow and Mayer wave amplitude. We fit the Mayer waves (0.05-0.20 Hz) in mean arterial pressure by the weighted sum ofleading oscillations in heart rate and sympathetic nerve activity. This model of our data showed heart rate oscillations leading by 2-3.75 seconds were responsible for almost half of the variance in arterial pressure (basal R^2=0.435±0.140, high sympathetic R^2=0.438±0.180). Surprisingly, sympathetic activity (lead 0-5 seconds) contributed only modestly to the explained variance in Mayer waves during either sympathetic state (basal: ∆R^2=0.046±0.026; heightened: ∆R^2=0.085±0.036). Thus, it appears that heart rate oscillations contribute to Mayer waves in a simple linear fashion, whereas sympathetic fluctuations contribute little to Mayer waves in this way. Although these results do not exclude an important vascular sympathetic role, they do suggest that additional Ji1ctors, such as sympathetic transduction into vascular resistance, modulate its influence.Binda and Fred Shuman Foundation; National Institute on Aging (AG14376)

The Implementation of Least-Restrictive Environments in Public Preschool Settings: Challenges for Early Childhood Administrators

Abstract not required for Starred Paper

Forensic Toxicological Screening and Confirmation of 800+ Novel Psychoactive Substances by LC-QTOF-MS and 2D-LC Analysis

Novel psychoactive substances (NPS) represent a great challenge to toxicologists due to the ability of illicit drug manufacturers to alter NPS chemical structures quickly and with ease to circumvent legislation regulating their use. Each time a new structure is introduced, there is a possibility that it has not been previously recorded in law enforcement or scientific databases. Many toxicology laboratories use targeted analytical methods that rely on libraries of known compounds to identify drugs in samples. However, these libraries do not include large numbers of NPS which could result in non-identification or detection. High-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) has been suggested as a method for screening a wide variety of analytes due to its higher sensitivity and mass accuracy as compared to some other forms of mass spectrometry. This technique can generate characteristic MS/MS spectral data for use in compound identification. The main goal of this research was to create a high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) library of NPS and metabolites, as well as validate a method for screening and confirmation of these substances. The study consisted of three main tasks which included; the development of a large high-resolution MS/MS spectral library and database, validation of a method for screening and confirmation of over 800 NPS and metabolites, and screening of blind-spiked and authentic urine specimens to determine real-world applicability of the HRMS library and method. During validation, several isomeric and structurally related NPS were observed which could not be adequately separated using traditional LC methods. A fourth task was therefore added to investigate improved separation using two-dimensional liquid chromatography (2D-LC). Increased resolving power is achieved in 2D-LC through the coupling of multiple orthogonal separation systems. Ultimately, an on-line, comprehensive method was developed using orthogonal reversed-phase columns in each dimension (RP x RP) for improved separation of co-eluting and isomeric synthetic cannabinoids. This work can aid laboratories in the identification of NPS through the use of a validated LC-QTOF-MS method for screening and confirmation and HRMS spectral library. In instances where isomeric and structurally related NPS are not sufficiently separated, RP x RP methods can be explored

MAP and cdc2 Kinase Activities at Germinal Vesicle Breakdown inChaetopterus

AbstractIn frog oocytes, activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK, ERK) leads to activation of cdc2 and germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD). By contrast, in starfish, MAPK is activated after GVBD. Here we have examined the relative involvements of MAPK and cdc2 in GVBD ofChaetopterusoocytes. MAPK was rapidly tyrosine-phosphorylated and activated (within 1–2 min) in response to exposure of the oocytes either to natural seawater (the normal trigger of GVBD in this organism) or to the tumor-promoting phorbol ester 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA), which can also elicit GVBD. This response preceded the tyrosine dephosphorylation and activation of cdc2 by several minutes. MAPK phosphorylation and activation were transient, lasting only until GVBD occurred and the spindle migrated to the cortex. The enzyme was not phosphorylated again as a result of egg activation. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that the activation of MAPK has a role in GVBD. However, PD 98059, a potent and selective inhibitor of MEK, the protein kinase that phosphorylates and activates MAPK, blocked the phosphorylation of MAPK but did not block GVBD, the dephosphorylation and activation of cdc2, or spindle formation and migration. Oocytes that underwent GVBD in PD 98059 could be fertilized and cleaved normally. Ionophore A23187, although it caused germinal vesicles to disappear and caused transient phosphorylation of MAPK, did not cause dephosphorylation of cdc2, and therefore this disappearance is artifactual. These results suggest that MAPK activation is neither obligatory nor sufficient for either GVBD or meiotic metaphase arrest inChaetopterusand that activation of MAPK and cdc2 occur on independent, parallel pathways

Hypervelocity Drag Accelerator

Four types of study were proposed. Most of the proposed research was completed. Most of the research results have been published as peer-reviewed articles, are in revision, or are in preparation

Influence of central venous pressure upon sinus node responses to arterial baroreflex stimulation in man

Measurements were made of sinus node responses to arterial baroreceptor stimulation with phenylephrine injection or neck suction, before and during changes of central venous pressure provoked by lower body negative pressure or leg and lower truck elevation. Variations of central venous pressure between 1.1 and 9.0 mm Hg did not influence arterial baroreflex mediated bradycardia. Baroreflex sinus node responses were augmented by intravenous propranolol, but the level of responses after propranolol was comparable during the control state, lower body negative pressure, and leg and trunk elevation. Sinus node responses to very brief baroreceptor stimuli applied during the transitions of central venous pressure also were comparable in the three states. The authors conclude that physiological variations of central venous pressure do not influence sinus node responses to arterial baroreceptor stimulation in man