Poems

Poems include: In Spite of Words , by Frederick Winter and Conversation Piece , Personality , and Concentration , by Grace Ferguson

Promoting Early Skin-to-Skin Contact and Its Effect on Breastfeeding

This study explores the implementation of skin-to-skin contact between mother and baby immediately following birth and its effects on: successful breastfeeding initiation, duration of breastfeeding, and breastfeeding exclusivity

Energy Gradients Structure Microbial Communities Across Sediment Horizons in Deep Marine Sediments of the South China Sea

The deep marine subsurface is a heterogeneous environment in which the assembly of microbial communities is thought to be controlled by a combination of organic matter deposition, electron acceptor availability, and sedimentology. However, the relative importance of these factors in structuring microbial communities in marine sediments remains unclear. The South China Sea (SCS) experiences significant variability in sedimentation across the basin and features discrete changes in sedimentology as a result of episodic deposition of turbidites and volcanic ashes within lithogenic clays and siliceous or calcareous ooze deposits throughout the basin\u27s history. Deep subsurface microbial communities were recently sampled by the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) at three locations in the SCS with sedimentation rates of 5, 12, and 20 cm per thousand years. Here, we used Illumina sequencing of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene to characterize deep subsurface microbial communities from distinct sediment types at these sites. Communities across all sites were dominated by several poorly characterized taxa implicated in organic matter degradation, including Atribacteria, Dehalococcoidia, and Aerophobetes. Sulfate-reducing bacteria comprised only 4% of the community across sulfate-bearing sediments from multiple cores and did not change in abundance in sediments from the methanogenic zone at the site with the lowest sedimentation rate. Microbial communities were significantly structured by sediment age and the availability of sulfate as an electron acceptor in pore waters. However, microbial communities demonstrated no partitioning based on the sediment type they inhabited. These results indicate that microbial communities in the SCS are structured by the availability of electron donors and acceptors rather than sedimentological characteristics

Motivation for Physical Training in Army ROTC Cadets

The present study used Self-Determination Theory to study motivation for physical training (PT) in ARMY ROTC cadets (n=139). Results found that length of participation in ROTC lowered cadets’ intrinsic motivation, which then resulted in lower levels of enjoyment for PT. Application of results for future training is discussed

Effect of oxytocin use during colostrum harvest and association of cow characteristics with colostrum yield and IgG concentration in Holstein dairy cows.

Our objectives were to determine the effect of oxytocin use during colostrum harvest on colostrum yield (CY) and IgG concentration in Holstein dairy cows on a commercial dairy in New York and to describe associations of cow characteristics with these outcomes. Animals were enrolled between July and October 2023 using a randomized block design, with day of enrollment as the unit of randomization. A median (range) of 10 (3 to 19) cows were enrolled/d. Treatments were 1) 40 IU Oxytocin (OXY40), 2) 20 IU Oxytocin (OXY20), and 3) an untreated control group (CNTR). Oxytocin was administered intramuscularly (IM) approximately 45 s before unit attachment in a rotary parlor. Colostrum weight was measured using the colostrum bucket-embedded scale or a platform scale when the yield was less than the smallest bucket scale. The concentration of IgG ([IgG]) in colostrum was determined using radial immunodiffusion (RID) and used to calculate total IgG, and dry matter (%) was determined by oven drying. Individual cow characteristics such as parity, calf sex, weight, dystocia score, stillbirth, milk production in wk 4 of lactation, and for multiparous cows, dry period length, previous lactation dry off linear score (LS) were collected. Data were analyzed separately for primiparous and multiparous cows using backward stepwise elimination to produce final mixed effects ANOVA models Primiparous cows (n = 201) were randomized to 35.8% (n = 72) OXY40, 32.8% (n = 66) OXY20, and 31.3% (n = 63) CNTR. Multiparous groups (n = 435) were randomized to 34.7% (n = 151) OXY40, 29.7% (n = 129) OXY20, and 35.6% (n = 155) CNTR. The median (range) CY was 6.0 (0 to 20.6) kg and [IgG] was 98.5 (0.1 to 293.6) g/L in the study population. In primiparous cows, OXY40 had a higher colostrum yield (LSM [95% CI]) of 5.4 (4.9 to 5.9) kg compared with both OXY20 (4.1 [3.5 to 4.7] kg) and CNTR (3.8 [3.3 to 4.3] kg) (P 65 d. Oxytocin use did not affect [IgG] in either primiparous or multiparous cows (P > 0.56), but [IgG] was highest in cows in parity ≥4 and lowest in cows dry >65 d. In summary, oxytocin use at 40 IU IM in primiparous was associated with a higher CY but not [IgG]. Oxytocin use likely addressed disturbed milk ejection and therefore increased CY in heifers milked for the first time in a rotary parlor. This study confirms cow characteristics associated with colostrum production within a single herd

Outcomes in heart failure patients with preserved ejection fraction Mortality, readmission, and functional decline

AbstractObjectivesWe evaluated the six-month clinical trajectory of patients hospitalized for heart failure (HF) with preserved ejection fraction (EF), as the natural history of this condition has not been well established. We compared mortality, hospital readmission, and changes in functional status in patients with preserved versus depressed EF.BackgroundAlthough the poor prognosis of HF with depressed EF has been extensively documented, there are only limited and conflicting data concerning clinical outcomes for patients with preserved EF.MethodsWe prospectively evaluated 413 patients hospitalized for HF to determine whether EF ≥40% was an independent predictor of mortality, readmission, and the combined outcome of functional decline or death.ResultsAfter six months, 13% of patients with preserved EF died, compared with 21% of patients with depressed EF (p = 0.02). However, the rates of functional decline were similar among those with preserved and depressed EF (30% vs. 23%, respectively; p = 0.14). After adjusting for demographic and clinical covariates, preserved EF was associated with a lower risk of death (hazard ratio [HR] 0.49, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.26 to 0.90; p = 0.02), but there was no difference in the risk of readmission (HR 1.01, 95% CI 0.72 to 1.43; p = 0.96) or the odds of functional decline or death (OR 1.01, 95% CI 0.59 to 1.72; p = 0.97).ConclusionsHeart failure with preserved EF confers a considerable burden on patients, with the risk of readmission, disability, and symptoms subsequent to hospital discharge, comparable to that of HF patients with depressed EF

Identification of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Phenazines that Kill Caenorhabditis elegans

Pathogenic microbes employ a variety of methods to overcome host defenses, including the production and dispersal of molecules that are toxic to their hosts. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a Gram-negative bacterium, is a pathogen of a diverse variety of hosts including mammals and the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. In this study, we identify three small molecules in the phenazine class that are produced by P. aeruginosa strain PA14 that are toxic to C. elegans. We demonstrate that 1-hydroxyphenazine, phenazine-1-carboxylic acid, and pyocyanin are capable of killing nematodes in a matter of hours. 1-hydroxyphenazine is toxic over a wide pH range, whereas the toxicities of phenazine-1-carboxylic acid and pyocyanin are pH-dependent at non-overlapping pH ranges. We found that acidification of the growth medium by PA14 activates the toxicity of phenazine-1-carboxylic acid, which is the primary toxic agent towards C. elegans in our assay. Pyocyanin is not toxic under acidic conditions and 1-hydroxyphenazine is produced at concentrations too low to kill C. elegans. These results suggest a role for phenazine-1-carboxylic acid in mammalian pathogenesis because PA14 mutants deficient in phenazine production have been shown to be defective in pathogenesis in mice. More generally, these data demonstrate how diversity within a class of metabolites could affect bacterial toxicity in different environmental niches.Chemistry and Chemical Biolog