Identification of Carriers of Babesia microti From Local Populations of Borrelia-infested Ticks

Babesia microti is the causative agent for babesiosis, a blood-based parasitic disease that causes malaria-like symptoms in humans. It is passed through Ixodes scapularis (deer ticks) and is rising in incidence in the upper Midwest. Ticks that carry Borrelia, the causative agent for Lyme disease, may also carry Babesia microti. There are two major goals in this project: determine the prevalence of Babesia microti in ticks in the Winona area and determine whether those ticks that carry Borrelia are more likely to carry Babesia microti. The first part of the project requires development of a PCR assay that works well in detecting B. microti DNA. The second part involves development of a quantitative PCR (QPCR) assay that is more sensitive than regular PCR in order to detect B. microti DNA. DNA isolated from ticks by Dr. Kim Bates and others in her laboratory will be tested for the presence of B. microti. An update will be presented on progress in the project

Reindeer faeces and burning alleviates allelopathic effects of Empetrum humus on local plants

Empetrum hermaphroditum is one of the dominant species in many reindeer summer grazing areas in Northern Norway, forming unproductive, late successional stable vegetation covers. As studies of amount, and effect of, plant secondary metabolites emerging from E. hermaphroditum indicates strong inhibitory effect on other organisms, it is considered an invasive and allelopathic species. To investigate the effect of two potential ecological disturbances that can cause switch in vegetation cover from unproductive Empetrum domination to a more productive herbaceous plant dominated ecosystem, we compared soil pH and growth of Avenella flexuosa and Solidago virgaurea in heat treated, reindeer faeces fertilized and untreated humus obtained from E. hermaphroditum dominated areas. Measures of total plant biomass differed significantly both between treatments and between species, with all treatments having significantly different effects. Largest level of plant dry weight and pH was measured in fertilized humus, medium level in burned humus and the lowest level where obtained in untreated humus. Results indicate that heat treatment and addition of fertilizer to Empetrum humus improved growing conditions, by elevating pH or nutrient levels and likely omitting allelopathic effects of E. hermaphroditum

A comparison of feeding and mealtime problems in intellectually disabled adults with and without autism

Due to the dearth of information categorically describing feeding behaviors in those with autism spectrum disorders, the goal of this research is to examine the nature of feeding difficulties in adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) and Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Feeding and mealtime behavior problems are an area of concern due to their impact on an individual’s daily functioning, as well as the potential for causing severe medical conditions (e.g., poor nutrition, choking, aspiration) that may ultimately lead to death. Due to the importance of this topic for proper diagnosis and treatment planning, a better understanding of these behaviors in persons with autism is imperative. Participants comprised one of two groups: ASD and ID (autism or Pervasive Developmental Disorders – Not Otherwise Specified) or ID and no additional Axis I diagnosis other than Pica or Rumination. The aim of the proposed study is to assess whether there are differences in aberrant eating habits between groups through the administration of the Screening Tool for fEeding Problems (STEP). Taking into account any medical conditions that may be underlying feeding problems, descriptive analyses and a MANOVA were used to analyze data. Results indicated that individuals with ASD and ID evinced more refusal related feeding problems whereas those with ID only had more feeding skill difficulties. Implications of these data are discussed

The emergence of challenging behaviors in at-risk toddlers with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder: a cross-sectional and risk factor study

Challenging behaviors including aggression, property destruction, stereotypy, and self injury occur at a high prevalence in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). These behaviors are pervasive and chronic. Despite an increased probability and negative consequences, one area which has received little attention is the presence of challenging behaviors in infants and toddlers with ASD. Furthermore, there is a dearth of information identifying early age trends in the emergence of challenging behaviors and associated risk factors. The purpose of this investigation was to utilize a validated measure, the Baby and Infant Screen for Children with aUtIsm Traits - Part 3, to investigate the relationship of challenging behaviors to ASD in the very young child. In Study 1, it was demonstrated that infants and toddlers with ASD do evince more severe behavior symptoms than atypically developing non-ASD toddlers. A general increasing trend of severity of challenging behavior in infants and toddlers with ASD was noted to occur across age cohorts. Study 2 further investigated this relation in detail for the ASD group, where it was determined that there was a cluster of personal characteristics which appear to increase the risk of the young child with ASD engaging in higher rates of problem behavior. Risk factors which were found to be the most salient predictors of severe challenging behaviors included symptoms of comorbid mental illness (e.g., tantrums, conduct problems, anxiety, avoidance, inattention, and impulsivity), more severe autistic symptoms, and areas of developmental functioning. Implications of the results and directions for future research are discussed

Assessment of Fitts' Law for Quantifying Combined Rotational and Translational Movements

Objective: To develop a model for human performance in combined translational and rotational movements based on Fitts' law. Background: Fitts' law has been successfully applied to translational movements in the past, providing generalization beyond a specific task as well as performance predictions. For movements involving both translations and rotations, no equivalent theory exists, making comparisons of input devices for these movements more ambiguous. Method: The study consisted of three experiments. In the first two, participants performed either pure translational or pure rotational movements of 1 degree of freedom. The third experiment involved the same movements combined. Results: On average, the performance times for combined movements were equal to the sum of the times for equivalent separate rotational and translational movements. A simple Fitts' law equivalent for combined movements with a similar slope as the separate components was proposed. In addition, a significant degree of coordination of the combined movements was found. This had a strong bias toward a parallel execution in 12 out of 13 participants. Conclusion: Combined movements with rotations and translations of 1 degree of freedom can be approximated using a simple Fitts' law equivalent. The rotational and translational components appear to be coordinated by the central nervous system to generate a parallel execution. Application: The results may help drive human interface designs and provide insights into the coordination of combined movements. Future extensions may be possible for the movements of higher degrees of freedom used in robot teleoperation and virtual reality applications.This work was supported by the Institute for Dexterous Space Robotics (Grant No. NNX06AD23G).Publicad

The Relationship between the EU ETS and Energy Commodities under Extreme Market Conditions

Climate change is becoming a more and more severe problem. Over many years, governments and organizations have introduced and proposed several measures to limit global warming. One of which is the Kyoto Protocol which was introduced by the UN as a measure to limit greenhouse gas emissions by introducing carbon trading. Carbon trading is a concept where those responsible for the emissions pay the price of their negative impact on climate. Fossil fuels, i.e., oil, gas, and coal are commodities that heavily influence the climate negatively. Therefore, this thesis aims to research the relationship between the returns of European Union Allowances and the returns of energy commodities under extreme market conditions. Employing quantile regression method, we study these relationships at different quantile levels. Through our research we found that there is a significant relationship between the variables, but that the relationship varies across different quantile levels. In addition, results differ when conducting the analyses with each commodity separately against carbon returns, then when all energy commodities are included. Overall, our thesis findings contribute to the existing literature regarding the relationship between carbon and energy markets under extreme market conditions

Toxicity, distribution and elimination of the cancerostatic lectins abrin and ricin after parenteral injection into mice.

The survival time of mice after i.v. injection of the cancerostatic lectins, abrin and ricin was recorded. The LD50 dose was found to be 10-13 ng and 55-65 ng per mouse for abrin and ricin, respectively. Increasing amounts of toxin reduced the survival time, reaching a minimum of about 10 h. Lactose injected with ricin, provided partial protection against ricin, as measured by the survival time. Abrin and ricin labelled with 125I, and shown to retain their full toxic activity, were injected into mice. Most of the radioactivity found in the organs was present in the form of intact toxins, at least up to 5 h after injection. After i.v. injection the highest concentration/g tissue was found in spleen, followed by kidneys, heart, liver and thymus. The relative concentration in liver was considerably higher for ricin than for abrin. Similar results were found after i.p. injection. When lactose was administered together with ricin, almost 80% of the ricin injected was found in the liver after 30 min, compared to 48% without lactose, and the amount in other organs was concurrently reduced. The elimination of total radioactivity was much faster for ricin than abrin. The radioactivity found in the urine was largely present in non-trichloroacetic acid precipitable form, indicating that the toxins were extensively degraded before excretion

The Relationship between the EU ETS and Energy Commodities under Extreme Market Conditions

Climate change is becoming a more and more severe problem. Over many years, governments and organizations have introduced and proposed several measures to limit global warming. One of which is the Kyoto Protocol which was introduced by the UN as a measure to limit greenhouse gas emissions by introducing carbon trading. Carbon trading is a concept where those responsible for the emissions pay the price of their negative impact on climate. Fossil fuels, i.e., oil, gas, and coal are commodities that heavily influence the climate negatively. Therefore, this thesis aims to research the relationship between the returns of European Union Allowances and the returns of energy commodities under extreme market conditions. Employing quantile regression method, we study these relationships at different quantile levels. Through our research we found that there is a significant relationship between the variables, but that the relationship varies across different quantile levels. In addition, results differ when conducting the analyses with each commodity separately against carbon returns, then when all energy commodities are included. Overall, our thesis findings contribute to the existing literature regarding the relationship between carbon and energy markets under extreme market conditions

Expression of ring finger-deleted TRAF2 sensitizes metastatic melanoma cells to apoptosis via up-regulation of p38, TNFα and suppression of NF-κB activities

Mechanisms underlying radiation and chemotherapy resistance, the hallmark of human melanoma, are not well understood. Here we demonstrate that expression levels of signal adaptor protein TRAF2 coincide with melanoma resistance to UV-irradiation. Altered TRAF2 signaling by a form of TRAF2, which lacks the ring finger domain (TRAF2ΔN), increases activities of p38 MAPK, ATF2, and the level of TNFα expression. Forced expression of TRAF2ΔN in HHMSX highly metastatic melanoma cells that lack Fas expression and thus utilize the TNFα-TNFR1 as the major apoptotic pathway sensitized cells to UV-induced apoptosis. An over twofold increase in degree of apoptosis was observed in TRAF2ΔN expressing cells that were treated with actinomycin D, anisomycin or with the radiomimetic drug neocarzinostatin. Sensitization by TRAF2ΔN is selective since it was not observed in response to either Taxol or cis-platinum treatment. TRAF2ΔN effects are primarily mediated via p38 since inhibition of p38 reduces, whereas activation of p38 promotes the level of UV-induced apoptosis. Conversely, activation of IKK attenuates the sensitization of melanoma by TRAF2ΔN, indicating that p38-mediated suppression of NF-κB activity is among TRAF2ΔN effects. Our finding identifies p38, TNFα and NF-κB among key players that efficiently sensitizes melanoma cells to UV-, ribotoxic (anisomycin) and radiomimetic chemicals-induced programmed cell death in response to aberrant TRAF2 signaling