The Physiological Response on Immersion in Cold Water and the Cooling Rates on Swimming in a Group of children Aged 10 – 11 years

Swimming is a popular sport in the United Kingdom (UK); however, cold water immersion often found in open waters in the UK is not without increased risk. Drowning is among the leading cause of accidental death in 1-14 year-olds in most countries. We examined whether children and adults exhibit similar cold shock responses; their rate of cooling while swimming; and subjective recognition of cooling. Nineteen children aged 10-11 years voluntarily undertook a 5 min static immersion in 15 °C (59 °F) water. Ten of them then completed a swim of up to 40 min. Resting heart rate, respiratory frequency and inspiratory volume increased in all participants on initial immersion. The mean (+SD) cooling rate while swimming was 2.5 °C hr1 (+3.1)). No significant correlation was found between cooling rate and thermal sensation or comfort, implying a lack of subjective awareness in children. On comparing data from unacclimatized adults in 12°C (53.6 °F) water, children showed a smaller ‘cold shock’ response (p \u3c .05), and no difference was found in cooling rates during swimming

Adaptation of the Cold Shock Response and Cooling Rates on Swimming Following Repeated Cold Water Immersions in a Group of Children Aged 10 – 12 years

Habituation of the cold shock response, and adaptation in deep body cooling with prolonged cold water immersion is well documented in adults. This study aimed to determine whether children exhibit similar responses. Eight children aged 10-11 years underwent a 5 min static immersion in 15°C (59°F) water, five then swam for up to 40 minutes, before and after a year of regular cold water swim training. Following acclimatization, no differences were found in heart rates or respiratory frequencies on initial immersion, despite a smaller relative VO2. Children reported feeling warmer (p \u3c .01) and more comfortable (p \u3c .05), implying acclimatization of subjective perception of cold. No difference was found in cooling rates while swimming. On comparison with data of adults swimming in 12°C (36°F) water, no difference was found in cooling rates, but the trend in both acclimatized groups to a slower rate of cooling was significant (p \u3c .026) when the data were pooled. These data may support a theory of insulative adaptation

Testing the FMR1 Promoter for Mosaicism in DNA Methylation among CpG Sites, Strands, and Cells in FMR1-Expressing Males with Fragile X Syndrome

Variability among individuals in the severity of fragile X syndrome (FXS) is influenced by epigenetic methylation mosaicism, which may also be common in other complex disorders. The epigenetic signal of dense promoter DNA methylation is usually associated with gene silencing, as was initially reported for FMR1 alleles in individuals with FXS. A paradox arose when significant levels of FMR1 mRNA were reported for some males with FXS who had been reported to have predominately methylated alleles. We have used hairpin-bisufite PCR, validated with molecular batch-stamps and barcodes, to collect and assess double-stranded DNA methylation patterns from these previously studied males. These patterns enable us to distinguish among three possible forms of methylation mosaicism, any one of which could explain FMR1 expression in these males. Our data indicate that cryptic inter-cell mosaicism in DNA methylation can account for the presence of FMR1 mRNA in some individuals with FXS

Socializing One Health: an innovative strategy to investigate social and behavioral risks of emerging viral threats

In an effort to strengthen global capacity to prevent, detect, and control infectious diseases in animals and people, the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Emerging Pandemic Threats (EPT) PREDICT project funded development of regional, national, and local One Health capacities for early disease detection, rapid response, disease control, and risk reduction. From the outset, the EPT approach was inclusive of social science research methods designed to understand the contexts and behaviors of communities living and working at human-animal-environment interfaces considered high-risk for virus emergence. Using qualitative and quantitative approaches, PREDICT behavioral research aimed to identify and assess a range of socio-cultural behaviors that could be influential in zoonotic disease emergence, amplification, and transmission. This broad approach to behavioral risk characterization enabled us to identify and characterize human activities that could be linked to the transmission dynamics of new and emerging viruses. This paper provides a discussion of implementation of a social science approach within a zoonotic surveillance framework. We conducted in-depth ethnographic interviews and focus groups to better understand the individual- and community-level knowledge, attitudes, and practices that potentially put participants at risk for zoonotic disease transmission from the animals they live and work with, across 6 interface domains. When we asked highly-exposed individuals (ie. bushmeat hunters, wildlife or guano farmers) about the risk they perceived in their occupational activities, most did not perceive it to be risky, whether because it was normalized by years (or generations) of doing such an activity, or due to lack of information about potential risks. Integrating the social sciences allows investigations of the specific human activities that are hypothesized to drive disease emergence, amplification, and transmission, in order to better substantiate behavioral disease drivers, along with the social dimensions of infection and transmission dynamics. Understanding these dynamics is critical to achieving health security--the protection from threats to health-- which requires investments in both collective and individual health security. Involving behavioral sciences into zoonotic disease surveillance allowed us to push toward fuller community integration and engagement and toward dialogue and implementation of recommendations for disease prevention and improved health security

A study of the physiological and subjective responses to repeated cold water immersion in a group of 10-12 year olds

Swimming is the most popular participation sport in the UK with open water swimming seeing a rise in popularity over the last decade. However, cold water immersion is not without significant risks. Drowning represents the third leading cause of accidental death worldwide and in those aged 1 to 14 years it represents the leading cause of accidental death in some countries. Given the physical, physiological and psychological differences between adults and children, the latter are considered particularly at risk of cold-related illness and hypothermia. The 'cold shock' response on initial immersion, and the insidious onset of hypothermia and swim failure that accompanies prolonged exposure and swimming, are recognised to be potentially fatal. This has been well documented in adults, and whilst it is assumed that similar responses occur in children there is little quantitative evidence of this to date. Furthermore, adults show an habituation of their 'cold shock' response and change in their cooling rates following repeated exposure to cold water, however there are no data that show similar changes in children. This study examined the physiological and subjective responses of children to cold water on initial immersion and on prolonged immersion whilst swimming, and assessed for any adaptation in these responses following a year of repeated swim training in cold water. It was hypothesised that: children would demonstrate a 'cold shock' response on initial immersion that would habituate following a period of acclimatisation; children would demonstrate faster cooling rates than those seen in adults whilst swimming in cold water, and their rate of cooling would adapt over a year of cold water swim training. METHOD 17 children aged 10 and 11 years old were recruited from applicants to the Bristol English Channel Swim Team (an attempt by a group of children to be the youngest relay team to swim the Channel). They underwent a five-minute static immersion in 15 QC water, during which their cardiovascular, respiratory and metabolic responses were recorded. Ten of these participants went on to swim for up to 40 minutes in 15 QC water, during which their heart rates, gastrointestinal temperatures and oxygen consumption were measured. The gastrointestinal temperatures of participants during the re- warming phase (post immersion) was also monitored and recorded. Subjective thermal sensation and comfort were recorded prior to immersion, after five minutes static immersion, and at the end of the swims. Following a year of regular cold water swim training, eight participants returned to complete the five-minute static immersion and five of the original ten swimmers completed a swim of up to 40 minutes in 15 QC water. This allowed us to identify any evidence of adaptation in their 1 initial responses to immersion in cold water and cooling rates whilst swimming. The data gathered were compared to adult data collected in the same laboratory during a different experiment. RESULTS An increase in heart rate, respiratory frequency and inspiratory volume was seen in all participants in the first few minutes of immersion. However, responses were found to be smaller in children compared to adul~s (P < 0.05), and no significant attenuation was seen in these after a year of regular exposure to cold water. Children did however feel warmer (P < 0.01) and more comfortable (P < 0.05) following five minutes of static immersion after a year of cold water swim training. There was great variability in the rate of cooling between children, likely due to differences in their anthropometric profiles. Sum of skinfolds was found to hold the greatest correlation with rate of deep body cooling (R2 = 0.4157). The mean (SD) cooling rate of the children whilst swimming was 2.5 (3.06) °C.h-1. No statistical difference was found in the cooling rates of five children following a year of cold water swim training. No difference was found between children and adults in their cooling rates whilst swimming, however the trend in both groups of a slower rate of cooling following acclimatisation became significant (P = 0.026) once the child and adult data were pooled. DISCUSSION This study provides evidence that the 'cold shock' response exists III children, but is possibly smaller than that seen in adults. The lack of attenuation in this response following acclimatisation is a surprising finding that warrants further investigation, although it may be that the children were pre-acclimatised prior to their initial immersion, or due to a small sample size. This study provides quantitative data on cooling rates of children swimming in cold water. It finds that children maintain their deep body temperature as effectively as adults, which is likely partly explained by a greater percentage body fat (P < 0.05) and higher relative heat production, as measured by oxygen consumption (P < 0.05), seen in the children. The data support an habituation of children's subjective thermal awareness and goes some way to suggest that children aged 11 - 12 years old exhibit an insulative adaptation following regular swimming in cold water. It is hoped that this study provides a better understanding of children's physiological responses to accidental and non- accidental immersion, and will aid risk assessments in any projects involving paediatric immersion in cold water.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Analysis of the product streams obtained on butanosolv pretreatment of draff

The efficient use of biomass-derived waste streams from the food and drink industry is very important for achieving a circular economy. In this work, a pretreatment based on 1-butanol (butanosolv) was used to fractionate draff, a by-product from the brewing and distilling industries, leading to a solid pulp, a hemicellulose derived-fraction and a pseudo lignin. The pulp was enriched in glucans and showed a 4-fold improvement in enzymatic hydrolysis experiments relative to the starting biomass. The pulp could be fermented in an ABE process producing 32g/100g of solvents. The hemicellulose-derived fraction was analysed by 2D HSQC NMR and found to contain a mixture of predominantly butoxylated monosaccharides. The hydrolase enzymes present in Cellic® CTec3 were used to hydrolyse selectively the glucose and xylose derived butyl β-pyranose monomers. Alternatively, non-selective hydrolysis of both anomers was achieved using TFA/H2O giving native sugars for fermentation and recovered 1-butanol. A detailed characterization of the pseudo lignin was also achieved