The role of bone marrow in SIV pathogenesis using the Rhesus macaque model

CD4+ memory T cells are depleted in mucosal tissues post human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection without restoration to pre-infection levels during progressive course of disease. Bone marrow (BM) as a hematopoietic organ has been investigated for hematologic and morphologic changes during HIV infection. However, BM as a primary lymphoid tissue during HIV infection has been poorly characterized. We proposed BM was also a site of CD4+ T cell depletion driven by increased apoptosis during progressive HIV disease. We chose to investigate bone marrow changes using the premier non-human primate Rhesus macaque SIV model for the study HIV infection. We observed hematologic abnormalities of anemia, thrombocytopenia, neutropenia and eosinophilia during SIV infection mimicked HIV infection as did morphologic increased BM cellularity, loss of iron marrow storage, and increased marrow fibrosis as infection advanced to AIDS. The increased BM cellularity was characterized by increased erythroid, myeloid including dendritic cells, and lymphoid lineages in the later stages of infection. In fact, numbers of BM CD3+ T lymphocytes increased in absolute numbers and proliferation percentage during progressive SIV infection mainly composed of CD8+ T cells and fewer CD4+ T cells. Naïve and memory CD8+ T cells and CD4+ T cells were maintained in BM during SIV infection. Low numbers of SIV infected BM cells were observed including CD3+ T cells, macrophages, and other hematopoietic cells with detection of both viral RNA and DNA by polymerase chain reaction. However, less than 0.2% of CD3+ BM T cells were apoptotic determined by activated caspase 3 though overall BM cells tended to have increased rates of apoptosis in later stages of SIV. Our data revealed BM T cells were not depleted but maintained to increased during SIV disease without an increase in apoptosis. Future studies into mechanisms of bone marrow lymphocyte maintenance may reveal homeostatic mechanisms potentially disrupted in mucosal tissues during HIV and SIV infection

Integrating the Framework into General Education Revision

Do you perceive an opportunity to incorporate the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy across a new or updated General Education curriculum? Whether your institution is in the process of revisiting or overhauling its General Education program and regardless of where you are in the process, join our presenters for a discussion of Framework integration during General Education revision. Our presenters will describe the steps that they took with campus stakeholders to: 1. Map the Framework\u27s threshold concepts to the learning outcomes of two first year experience courses; 2. Pilot with faculty; 3. Pass a formal proposal through the Committee on General Education; 4. Participate in faculty professional development; 5. Co-develop a student self-assessment tool for use in all first year seminar courses; and 6. Teach selected threshold concepts from the Framework in first year seminar courses during the Fall 2022 semester. As key takeaways, attendees will be presented with a relatable plan for integrating the Framework during curricular revision and will be asked to consider actionable steps that might be taken at their own institutions. Our presenters care deeply about students and are committed to institutional change, including curricular revision, that supports an inclusive, diverse, and equitable College community. They work together at a public regional college serving approximately 5,700 undergraduate and graduate students as of Fall 2022. Over 85% of undergraduate students reside in state and nearly half are first generation and Pell eligible. Students identifying as BIPOC comprise about 45% of the student body. Hispanic and LatinX students are the largest and fastest growing demographic representing more than 25% of total students. The College recently received federal recognition as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI)

The Impact of Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports on Attendance Rates and Office Discipline Referrals at the Middle School Level

When the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, and more recently the College and Career Ready Performance Index, was put into effect, schools felt pressure to increase student achievement and bring up attendance rates in order to make adequate yearly progress or now high index scores. Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a proactive approach that many schools have implemented in an attempt to decrease disruptive student behavior and possibly increase student attendance. The purpose of this quasi-experimental causal comparative study was to examine the impact of the treatment of PBIS, with its basis in behavioral theory, on office discipline referrals and student attendance rates. Data was collected and analyzed for over 2,000 students in rural southeast Georgia through Infinite Campus and PowerSchool. Using data from the 2011-2014 school years, the study attempted to answer if there is an impact on both office discipline referrals and student attendance rates for middle school students participating in PBIS as compared to middle school students not participating in PBIS. Each null hypothesis was analyzed separately using chi-square testing and an independent samples t-test. The results of the study show that there was an impact on attendance rates for the treatment group, but that same impact was not evidenced on office discipline referrals or attendance rates, when controlling for gender. Recommendations for future research include an examination of the factors that contribute to the decline in the impact of PBIS at the middle school level, and the impact of PBIS on different levels of office discipline referrals, office discipline referrals at tier 1, tier 2, and tier 3 separately, and the impact on different levels of absences

What are the roles of the Internet in terrorism? Measuring online behaviours of convicted UK terrorists

Using a unique dataset of 227 convicted UK-based terrorists, this report fills a large gap in the existing literature. Using descriptive statistics, we first outline the degree to which various online activities related to radicalisation were present within the sample. The results illustrate the variance in behaviours often attributed to ‘online radicalisation’. Second, we conducted a smallest-space analysis to illustrate two clusters of commonly co-occurring behaviours that delineate behaviours from those directly associated with attack planning. Third, we conduct a series of bivariate and multivariate analyses to question whether those who interact virtually with like-minded individuals or learn online, exhibit markedly different experiences (e.g. radicalisation, event preparation, attack outcomes) than those who do not

Stormwater Basins and Aesthetics – Not a Contradiction!

https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/cbep-presentations/1061/thumbnail.jp

Comparing music‐ and food‐evoked autobiographical memories in young and older adults: A diary study

Previous research has found that music brings back more vivid and emotional autobiographical memories than various other retrieval cues. However, such studies have often been low in ecological validity and constrained by relatively limited cue selection and predominantly young adult samples. Here, we compared music to food as cues for autobiographical memories in everyday life in young and older adults. In two separate four-day periods, 39 younger (ages 18–34) and 39 older (ages 60–77) adults recorded their music- and food-evoked autobiographical memories in paper diaries. Across both age groups, music triggered more frequent autobiographical memories, a greater proportion of involuntary memories, and memories rated as more personally important in comparison to food cues. Age differences impacted music- and food-evoked memories similarly, with older adults consistently recalling older and less specific memories, which they rated as more positive, vivid, and rehearsed. However, young and older adults did not differ in the number or involuntary nature of their recorded memories. This work represents an important step in understanding the phenomenology of naturally occurring music-evoked autobiographical memories across adulthood and provides new insights into how and why music may be a more effective trigger for personally valued memories than certain other everyday cues

Sighting and stranding reports of Irrawaddy dolphins (Orcaella brevirostris) and Dugongs (Dugong dugon) in Kep and Kampot, Cambodia

In Cambodia, information on the distribution of Irrawaddy dolphins Orcaella brevirostris and dugongs Dugong dugon is limited (Beasley & Davidson, 2007; Hines et al., 2015a). Irrawaddy dolphin presence is confirmed in the coastal waters of Thailand’s Trat Province, Cambodia's Koh Kong and Sihanoukville provinces and Vietnam’s Kien Giang Province (Figure 1) (Beasley & Davidson, 2007; Ponnampalam, 2013; Smith et al., 2014; Vu et al., 2015; Hines et al., 2015b; Smith et al., 2016). Unconfirmed fisher reports identify the presence of small and sporadic dugong populations at both the Thai-Cambodian and Vietnamese-Cambodian border regions (Perrin et al., 1995, 1996; Nelson, 1999; Beasley & Davison, 2007; Hines et al., 2008). The coastal distribution of both species exposes them to anthropogenic threats, specifically habitat degradation, and fisheries bycatch (Reeves et al. 2003; Hines et al., 2008; Smith et al. 2008; Jaaman et al. 2009; Marsh et al. 2011; Peter et al., 2016a; Peter et al. 2016b; Pilcher et al. 2017)

Estimating the Population Benefits of Blood Pressure Lowering: A Wide-Angled Mendelian Randomization Study in UK Biobank.

Background The causal relevance of elevated blood pressure for several cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) is uncertain, as is the population impact of blood pressure lowering. This study systematically assesses evidence of causality for various CVDs in a 2-sample Mendelian randomization framework, and estimates the potential reduction in the prevalence of these diseases attributable to long-term population shifts in the distribution of systolic blood pressure (SBP). Methods and Results We investigated associations of genetically predicted SBP as predicted by 256 genetic variants with 21 CVDs in UK Biobank, a population-based cohort of UK residents. The sample consisted of 376 703 participants of European ancestry, aged 40 to 69 years at recruitment. Genetically predicted SBP was positively associated with 14 of the outcomes (P<0.002), including dilated cardiomyopathy, endocarditis, peripheral vascular disease, and rheumatic heart disease. Using genetic variation to estimate the long-term impact of blood pressure lowering on disease in a middle-aged to early late-aged UK-based population, population reductions in SBP were predicted to result in an overall 16.9% (95% CI, 12.2%-21.3%) decrease in morbidity for a 5-mm Hg decrease from a population mean of 137.7 mm Hg, 30.8% (95% CI, 22.8%-38.0%) decrease for a 10-mm Hg decrease, and 56.2% (95% CI, 43.7%-65.9%) decrease for a 22.7-mm Hg decrease in SBP (22.7 mm Hg represents a shift from the current mean SBP to 115 mm Hg). Conclusions Risk of many CVDs is influenced by long-term differences in SBP. The burden of a broad range of CVDs could be substantially reduced by long-term population-wide reductions in the distribution of blood pressure

Use of Case Study Videos and Peer Mentoring to Promote Health Habits in First-Semester College Students

Poster from the 2019 Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo. Poster Session: Food/Nutrition Science; Education; Management; Food Services/Culinary; Research