Distinction of Deforestation Drivers in the Amazon Using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) C-Band Data

No abstract availabl

Exploring or Avoiding Novel Food Resources? The Novelty Conflict in an Invasive Bird

For an animal invading a novel region, the ability to develop new behaviors should facilitate the use of novel food resources and hence increase its survival in the new environment. However, the need to explore new resources may entail costs such as exposing the animal to unfamiliar predators. These two opposing forces result in an exploration-avoidance conflict, which can be expected to interfere with the acquisition of new resources. However, its consequences should be less dramatic in highly urbanized environments where new food opportunities are common and predation risk is low. We tested this hypothesis experimentally by presenting three foraging tasks to introduced common mynas (Acridotheres tristis) from environments with low and high urbanization levels from Australia. Individuals from the highly urbanized environments, where mynas are both more opportunistic when foraging and less fearful to predators, resolved a technical task faster than those from less urbanized environments. These differences did not reflect innovative ‘personalities’ and were not confounded by sex, morphology or motivational state. Rather, the principal factors underlying differences in mynas' problem-solving ability were neophobic-neophilic responses, which varied across habitats. Thus, mynas seem to modulate their problem-solving ability according to the benefits and costs of innovating in their particular habitat, which may help us understand the great success of the species in highly urbanized environments

One hundred mosaic embryos transferred prospectively in a single clinic: exploring when and why they result in healthy pregnancies

Objective To investigate the parameters of mosaicism and the biological mechanisms leading to healthy pregnancies from mosaic embryo transfers. Design Prospective study. Setting IVF center and associated research laboratory. Patient(s) Fifty-nine patients. Intervention(s) Embryos underwent blastocyst-stage preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy by next-generation sequencing. Trophectoderm biopsies containing 20%–80% abnormal cells were deemed mosaic, and corresponding blastocysts were transferred. Mosaic embryos donated to research were examined for karyotype concordance in multiple biopsies and assessed for cell proliferation and death by immunofluorescence and computational quantitation. Main Outcome Measure(s) Chemical start of pregnancy, implantation, fetal heartbeat, and birth. Result(s) Globally, mosaic embryos showed inferior clinical outcomes compared with euploid embryos. Aneuploid cell percentage in trophectoderm biopsies did not correlate with outcomes, but type of mosaicism did, as embryos with single mosaic segmental aneuploidies fared better than all other types. Mosaic blastocysts generated from oocytes retrieved at young maternal ages (?34 years) showed better outcomes than those retrieved at older maternal ages. Mosaic embryos displayed low rates of karyotype concordance between multiple biopsies and showed significant elevation of cell proliferation and death compared with euploid embryos. Conclusion(s) After euploid embryos, mosaic embryos can be considered for transfer, prioritizing those of the single segmental mosaic type. If a patient has mosaic embryos available that were generated at different ages, preference should be given to those made at younger ages. Intrablastocyst karyotype discordance and differential cell proliferation and death might be reasons that embryos classified as mosaic can result in healthy pregnancies and babies

A Methodological Review of the Articles Publishes in Georgia Educational Researcher from 2003-2010

Methodological reviews, reviews that concentrate on research methods rather than research outcomes, have been used in a variety of fields to improve research practice, inform debate, and identify islands of practice. In this article, we report on the results of a methodological review of all of the articles published in Georgia Educational Researcher from 2003-2010. We examined the methodological characteristics, authorial characteristics, and methodological quality of those articles using quantitative content analysis. The major findings were that (a) the proportions of the type and traditions of articles published in Georgia Educational Researcher were similar to the proportions in education research articles in general, (b) case study research and correlational research were most prominent, (c) a few universities accounted for most of the articles published, (d) male and female authors’ articles were published in equitable proportions, and (e) there were no statistically significant differences in methodological quality between genders, university affiliations, types of research, or years of publication. We end with a few suggestions for improving the quality of qualitative research articles in the Georgia Educational Researcher

Forgiveness-Reconciliation and Communication-Conflict-Resolution Interventions Versus Retested Controls in Early Married Couples

The first 6 months of marriage are optimal for marriage enrichment interventions. The Hope-Focused Approach to couple enrichment was presented as two 9-hr interventions--(a) Handling Our Problems Effectively (HOPE), which emphasized communication and conflict resolution, and (b) Forgiveness and Reconciliation through Experiencing Empathy (FREE). HOPE and FREE were compared with repeated assessment controls. Couples were randomly assigned and were assessed at pretreatment (t1); 1 month posttreatment (t2) and at 3- (t3), 6- (t4), and 12-month (t5) follow-ups using self-reports. In addition to self-report measures, couples were assessed at t1, t2, and t5 using salivary cortisol, and behavioral coding of decision making. Of 179 couples who began the study, 145 cases were analyzed. Both FREE and HOPE produced lasting positive changes on self-reports. For cortisol reactivity, HOPE and FREE reduced reactivity at t2, but only HOPE at t5. For coded behaviors, control couples deteriorated; FREE and HOPE did not change. Enrichment training was effective regardless of the focus of the training

Prevention of venous thrombosis and thrombophlebitis in long-haul flights with pycnogenol.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and superficial vein thrombosis (SVT) and its prophylaxis with an oral anti-edema and antithrombotic agent (Pycnogenol®, Horphag, Research Management SA, Geneva, Switzerland) in long-haul flights, in subjects at moderate to high-risk of DVT and SVT. The study pre-included 244 pre-selected subjects; 211 were included (33 were excluded for several reasons due to logistic problems) and 198 completed the study; 13 subjects were lost for follow-up at the end of the flight, all for non-medical problems (i.e., for difficult connections). All subjects were scanned within 90 minutes before the flight and within 2 hours after disembarking. Subjects were supplemented with 100 mg Pycnogenol® per capsule. Treatment subjects received two capsules between 2 and 3 hours before flights with 250 mL of water; two capsules were taken 6 hours later with 250 mL of water and one capsule the next day. The control group received comparable placebo at the same intervals. The flight duration was on average 8 hours and 15 minutes (SD 55 min) (range, 7.45-12.33). In the control group there were five thrombotic events (one DVT and four superficial thromboses) while only nonthrombotic, localized phlebitis was observed in the Pycnogenol®group (5.15% vs. no events; p<0.025). The ITT (intention to treat) analysis detects 13 failures in the control group (eight lost to follow up + five thrombotic events) of 105 subjects (12.4%) vs. five failures (4.7%; all lost, no thrombotic events) in the treatment group (p<0.025). No unwanted effects were observed. In conclusion, this study indicates that Pycnogenol® treatment was effective in decreasing the number of thrombotic events (DVT and SVT) in moderate-to-high risk subjects, during long-haul flights

Detection of antibacterial activity of essential oil components by TLC-bioautography using luminescent bacteria

The aim of the present study was the chemical characterization of some medically relevant essential oils (tea tree, clove, cinnamon bark, thyme and eucalyptus) and the investigation of antibacterial effect of the components of these oils by use of a direct bioautographic method. Thin layer chromatography (TLC) was combined with biological detection in this process. The chemical composition of the oils was determined by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Eucalyptol (84.2%) was the main component of the essential oil of eucalyptus, eugenol (83.7%) of clove oil, and trans-cinnamic aldehyde (73.2%), thymol (49.9%) and terpinen-4-ol (45.8%) of cinnamon bark, thyme and tea tree oils, respectively. Antibacterial activity of the separated components of these oils, as well as their pure main components (eucalyptol, eugenol, trans-cinnamic aldehyde and thymol) was observed against the Gram-negative luminescence tagged plant pathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas syringae pv. maculicola (Psmlux) and the Gram-negative, naturally luminescent marine bacterium Vibrio fischeri. On the whole, the antibacterial activity of the essential oils could be related to their main components, but the minor constituents may be involved in this process. Trans-cinnamic aldehyde and eugenol were the most active compounds in TLC-bioautography. The sensitivity of TLC-bioautographic method can be improved with using luminescent test bacteria. This method is more cost-effective and provides more reliable results in comparison with conventional microbiological methods, e.g. disc-diffusion technique

Development of potent and selective tissue transglutaminase inhibitors:their effect on TG2 function and application in pathological conditions

Potent-selective peptidomimetic inhibitors of tissue transglutaminase (TG2) were developed through a combination of protein-ligand docking and molecular dynamic techniques. Derivatives of these inhibitors were made with the aim of specific TG2 targeting to the intra- and extracellular space. A cell-permeable fluorescently labeled derivative enabled detection of in situ cellular TG2 activity in human umbilical cord endothelial cells and TG2-transduced NIH3T3 cells, which could be enhanced by treatment of cells with ionomycin. Reaction of TG2 with this fluorescent inhibitor in NIH3T3 cells resulted in loss of binding of TG2 to cell surface syndecan-4 and inhibition of translocation of the enzyme into the extracellular matrix, with a parallel reduction in fibronectin deposition. In human umbilical cord endothelial cells, this same fluorescent inhibitor also demonstrated a reduction in fibronectin deposition, cell motility, and cord formation in Matrigel. Use of the same inhibitor in a mouse model of hypertensive nephrosclerosis showed over a 40% reduction in collagen deposition

Screening for Type 1 Diabetes in the General Population:A Status Report and Perspective

Most screening programs to identify individuals at risk for type 1 diabetes have targeted relatives of people living with the disease to improve yield and feasibility. However, ∼90% of those who develop type 1 diabetes do not have a family history. Recent successes in disease-modifying therapies to impact the course of early-stage disease have ignited the consideration of the need for and feasibility of population screening to identify those at increased risk. Existing population screening programs rely on genetic or autoantibody screening, and these have yielded significant information about disease progression and approaches for timing for screening in clinical practice. At the March 2021 Type 1 Diabetes TrialNet Steering Committee meeting, a session was held in which ongoing efforts for screening in the general population were discussed. This report reviews the background of these efforts and the details of those programs. Additionally, we present hurdles that need to be addressed for successful implementation of population screening and provide initial recommendations for individuals with positive screens so that standardized guidelines for monitoring and follow-up can be established