DNA Evidence of a Croatian and Sephardic Jewish Settlement on the North Carolina Coast Dating from the Mid to Late 1500s

While the British origins of North American colonization currently are widely accepted, there is new evidence that other countries and non-Christians may have been earlier in establishing permanent settlements on the North Atlantic coast. Using the new research tool of human genomics, this paper provides DNA evidence that Croatians and Sephardic Jews were absorbed into the ancestral population of the Lumbee Native American tribe of North Carolina during the mid- to late-1500s. We further propose that these Sephardic Jews originated, in part, from a subgroup of the Roanoke colonists of 1586. Given this, a new historical narrative of early European colonization in North America during the 1500s is proposed

Role of Mediators in Reducing Antepartum Depressive Symptoms in Rural Low-Income Women Receiving a Culturally Tailored Cognitive Behavioral Intervention

Although cognitive behavioral interventions (CBIs) have demonstrated effectiveness for reducing depressive symptoms in the general population, the mechanism for reducing antepartum depressive symptoms (APDS) in rural low-income and minority women is unknown. This study tested the hypothesis that reducing stress and negative thinking, enhancing self-esteem, and increasing social-support will mediate the effect of a CBI on reducing APDS in rural low-income and minority women. Our findings show that CBI may work through reducing stress and negative thinking and enhancing self-esteem, but not social support. The findings also suggest that mental health care providers should emphasize these activities to reduce antepartum depressive symptoms

Mary Breckinridge Meets Healthy People 2010: A Teaching Strategy for Visioning and Building Healthy Communities

Abstract: In both midwifery and nursing education, it is essential to include innovative teaching strategies that address the health of communities. This article presents a creative learning activity for midwifery and/or nursing education that integrates Mary Breckinridge's historical example with today's national goals for building communities. The establishment of the Frontier Nursing Service in 1925 is an excellent example of the Mobilize, Assess, Plan, Implement, and Track (MAP-IT) framework for building health communities. Advanced practice nursing and midwifery students can use this historical template to implement their ideas for building healthy communities today

Performance of a Culturally Tailored Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention Integrated in a Public Health Setting to Reduce Risk of Antepartum Depression: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Cognitive behavioral group interventions have been shown to improve depressive symptoms in adult populations. This article details the feasibility and efficacy of a 6-week culturally tailored cognitive behavioral intervention offered to rural, minority, low-income women at risk for antepartum depression

Evaluation of a hybrid antimicrobial restriction process at a large academic medical center

We conducted a retrospective review of a hybrid antimicrobial restriction process demonstrating adherence to appropriate use criteria in 72% of provisional-only orders, in 100% of provisional orders followed by ID orders, and in 97% of ID-initiated orders. Therapy interruptions occurred in 24% of provisional orders followed by ID orders

A BAC-based physical map of the Nile tilapia genome

BACKGROUND: Cichlid fishes, particularly tilapias, are an important source of animal protein in tropical countries around the world. To support selective breeding of these species we are constructing genetic and physical maps of the tilapia genome. Physical maps linking collections of BAC clones are a critical resource for both positional cloning and assembly of whole genome sequences. RESULTS: We constructed a genome-wide physical map of the tilapia genome by restriction fingerprinting 35,245 bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) clones using high-resolution capillary polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The map consists of 3,621 contigs and is estimated to span 1.752 Gb in physical length. An independent analysis of the marker content of four contigs demonstrates the reliability of the assembly. CONCLUSION: This physical map is a powerful tool for accelerating genomic studies in cichlid fishes, including comparative mapping among fish species, long-range assembly of genomic shotgun sequences, and the positional cloning of genes underlying important phenotypic traits. The tilapia BAC fingerprint database is freely available at

Served Through Service: Undergraduate Students’ Experiences in Community Engaged Learning at a Catholic and Marianist University

Students participating in sustained community service at an urban Catholic and Marianist university were volunteer informants in this qualitative exploration of the meaning they make of their service experiences. A PhD student research team (nine members) interviewed fourteen undergraduate students (eleven of whom were seniors). Findings were organized as themes constructed within three domains: background, experience, and meaning. Within “background,” students who had prior work in faith-based service before college deepened their meaning of service. Within “experience,” there were social and cultural dynamics of navigating on and off campus life, including the roles students played as well as the challenge of time management. Within “meaning,” building relationships was central to community service. Students built strong personal relationships with and deep commitments to city residents; the meaning of their own identities grew and developed. Experiencing the roots of social injustice led students both to confirm and to reconsider their life vocations

Malaria during pregnancy and foetal haematological status in Blantyre, Malawi

BACKGROUND: Although maternal anaemia often stems from malaria infection during pregnancy, its effects on foetal haemoglobin levels are not straightforward. Lower-than-expected cord haemoglobin values in malarious versus non-malarious regions were noted by one review, which hypothesized they resulted from foetal immune activation to maternal malaria. This study addressed this idea by examining cord haemoglobin levels in relation to maternal malaria, anaemia, and markers of foetal immune activation. METHODS: Cord haemoglobin levels were examined in 32 malaria-infected and 58 uninfected women in Blantyre, Malawi, in relation to maternal haemoglobin levels, malaria status, and markers of foetal haematological status, hypoxia, and inflammation, including TNF-α, TGF-β, and ferritin. All women were HIV-negative. RESULTS: Although malaria was associated with a reduction in maternal haemoglobin (10.8 g/dL vs. 12.1 g/dL, p < 0.001), no reduction in cord haemoglobin and no significant relationship between maternal and cord haemoglobin levels were found. Cord blood markers of haematological and hypoxic statuses did not differ between malaria-infected and uninfected women. Maternal malaria was associated with decreased TGF-β and increased cord ferritin, the latter of which was positively correlated with parasitaemia (r = 0.474, p = 0.009). Increased cord ferritin was associated with significantly decreased birth weight and gestational length, although maternal and cord haemoglobin levels and malaria status had no effect on birth outcome. CONCLUSION: In this population, cord haemoglobin levels were protected from the effect of maternal malaria. However, decreased TGF-β and elevated ferritin levels in cord blood suggest foetal immune activation to maternal malaria, which may help explain poor birth outcomes

Served Through Service: Undergraduate Students’ Experiences in Community Engaged Learning at a Catholic and Marianist University

Students participating in sustained community service at an urban Catholic and Marianist university were volunteer informants in this qualitative exploration of the meaning they make of their service experiences. A PhD student research team (nine members) interviewed fourteen undergraduate students (eleven of whom were seniors). Findings were organized as themes constructed within three domains: background, experience, and meaning. Within “background,” students who had prior work in faith-based service before college deepened their meaning of service. Within “experience,” there were social and cultural dynamics of navigating on and off campus life, including the roles students played as well as the challenge of time management. Within “meaning,” building relationships was central to community service. Students built strong personal relationships with and deep commitments to city residents; the meaning of their own identities grew and developed. Experiencing the roots of social injustice led students both to confirm and to reconsider their life vocations. Estudiantes que participaban en servicios continuados a la comunidad en una universidad católica marianista urbana participaron como encuestados voluntarios de esta exploración cualitativa del significado que le dan a sus experiencias de servicio. Un equipo de investigación de estudiantes (nueve) de doctorado entrevistaron a catorce estudiantes de licenciatura (de los cuales 10 eran de último curso). Los resultados se organizaron en temas englobados en tres dominios: antecedentes, experiencia y significado. En “antecedentes”, los estudiantes que habían realizado trabajo previo en servicios religiosos antes de la universidad profundizaron su significado de servicio. Dentro de “experiencia”, hubo dinámicas sociales y culturales que navegaban dentro y fuera de la vida en el campus, desde el papel de los estudiantes hasta el reto de la gestión del tiempo. En “significado”, la construcción de relaciones resultó central para los servicios a la comunidad. Los estudiantes cultivaron fuertes relaciones personales y compromisos profundos con los residentes de la ciudad. El significado de su propia identidad creció y se desarrolló. Experimentar las raíces de la injusticia social orientó a los estudiantes a confirmar y reconsiderar su vocación y elección de vida. Palabras clave: servicio, aprendizaje a través del servicio, aprendizaje-servicio, aprendizaje comprometido con la comunidad, liderazgo estudiantil, estudiante de licenciatur

Rapid Earthquake Characterization Using MEMS Accelerometers and Volunteer Hosts Following the M 7.2 Darfield, New Zealand, Earthquake

We test the feasibility of rapidly detecting and characterizing earthquakes with the Quake‐Catcher Network (QCN) that connects low‐cost microelectromechanical systems accelerometers to a network of volunteer‐owned, Internet‐connected computers. Following the 3 September 2010 M 7.2 Darfield, New Zealand, earthquake we installed over 180 QCN sensors in the Christchurch region to record the aftershock sequence. The sensors are monitored continuously by the host computer and send trigger reports to the central server. The central server correlates incoming triggers to detect when an earthquake has occurred. The location and magnitude are then rapidly estimated from a minimal set of received ground‐motion parameters. Full seismic time series are typically not retrieved for tens of minutes or even hours after an event. We benchmark the QCN real‐time detection performance against the GNS Science GeoNet earthquake catalog. Under normal network operations, QCN detects and characterizes earthquakes within 9.1 s of the earthquake rupture and determines the magnitude within 1 magnitude unit of that reported in the GNS catalog for 90% of the detections