Microbial Succession from a Controlled Death Event following Simulated Mass Mortality

An increasing trend in mass mortality events (MMEs) has been observed in recent years, leading to an increased study of these events and their causes. Still to be investigated are the immediate and long-term effects of these environmental disturbances. Microbial communities found on and within the carcass are a major contributor to decomposition. With an increased biomass from several carcasses, transfer of these microbes to secondary death events may be affected. For this project, several simulated MMEs were used in conjunction with a secondary death event to observe the effects of transfer between the microbial communities and changes in the communities over time. It was found that microbial diversity decreases over time as decomposition progresses, and that an initial difference which can be observed between skin and internal microbial communities homogenizes over time. This result will contribute to an understanding of microbial succession and the impact of increasing MMEs

Drivers of food consumption among overweight mother-child dyads in Malawi

To address the increase in overweight and obesity among mothers and children in sub-Saharan Africa, an understanding of the factors that drive their food consumption is needed. We hypothesized food consumption in Malawi is driven by a combination of factors, including season, food accessibility (area of residence, convenience of purchasing food, female autonomy), food affordability (household resources, food expenditures, household food insecurity), food desirability (taste preferences, body size preferences), demographics, and morbidity. Participants in Lilongwe and Kasungu Districts were enrolled across three types of mother-child dyads: either the mother (n = 120), child (n = 80), or both (n = 74) were overweight. Seven-day dietary intake was assessed using a quantitative food frequency questionnaire during the dry and rainy seasons. Drivers associated with intake of calories, macronutrients, and 11 food groups at p<0.1 in univariate models were entered into separate multivariate linear regression models for each dietary intake outcome. Mother-child dyads with an overweight child had a higher percent of calories from carbohydrates and lower percent of calories from fat compared to dyads with a normal weight child (both p<0.01). These mothers also had the highest intake of grains (p<0.01) and their children had the lowest intake of oil/fat (p = 0.01). Household food insecurity, maternal taste preferences, and maternal body size preferences were the most consistent predictors of food group consumption. Household food insecurity was associated with lower intake of grains, fruits, meat and eggs, oil/fat, and snacks. Maternal taste preferences predicted increased consumption of grains, legumes/nuts, vegetables, fish, and oil/fat. Maternal body size preferences for herself and her child were associated with consumption of grains, legumes/nuts, dairy, and sweets. Predictors of food consumption varied by season, across food groups, and for mothers and children. In conclusion, indicators of food affordability and desirability were the most common predictors of food consumption among overweight mother-child dyads in Malawi

Important, misunderstood, and challenging: a qualitative study of nurses' and allied health professionals' perceptions of implementing self-management for patients with COPD.

Hannah ML Young,1 Lindsay D Apps,1 Samantha L Harrison,1 Vicki L Johnson-Warrington,1 Nicky Hudson,2 Sally J Singh1,3 1National Institute of Health Research CLAHRC-LNR Pulmonary Rehabilitation Research Group, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, 2School of Applied Social Sciences, De Montfort University, Leicester, 3Applied Research Centre in Health and Lifestyle Interventions, Coventry University, Coventry, UK Background: In light of the growing burden of COPD, there is increasing focus on the role of self-management for this population. Currently, self-management varies widely. Little is known either about nurses&rsquo; and allied health professionals&rsquo; (AHPs&rsquo;) understanding and provision of self-management in clinical practice. This study explores nurses&rsquo; and AHPs&rsquo; understanding and implementation of supported COPD self-management within routine clinical practice. Materials and methods: Nurses and AHPs participated in face-to-face semistructured interviews to explore their understanding and provision of COPD self-management, as well as their perceptions of the challenges to providing such care. Purposive sampling was used to select participants from a range of professions working within primary, community, and secondary care settings. Three researchers independently analyzed each transcript using a thematic approach. Results: A total of 14 participants were interviewed. Nurses and AHPs viewed self-management as an important aspect of COPD care, but often misunderstood what it involved, leading to variation in practice. A number of challenges to supporting self-management were identified, which related to lack of time, lack of insight regarding training needs, and assumptions regarding patients&rsquo; perceived self-management abilities. Conclusion: Nurses and AHPs delivering self-management require clear guidance, training in the use of effective self-management skills, and education that challenges their preconceptions regarding patients. The design of health care services also needs to consider the practical barriers to COPD self-management support for the implementation of such interventions to be successful. Keywords: self-management, COPD, qualitative, interviews, nurses, allied health professional

How do informal self-care strategies evolve among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease managed in primary care? A qualitative study

Background: There is much description in the literature of how patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) manage their breathlessness and engage in self-care activities; however, little of this is from the perspective of those with less severe disease, who are primarily managed in primary care. This study aimed to understand the self-care experiences of patients with COPD who are primarily managed in primary care, and to examine the challenges of engaging in such behaviors. Methods: Semistructured interviews were carried out with 15 patients with COPD as part of a larger project evaluating a self-management intervention. Thematic analysis was supported by NVivo software (version 8, QSR International, Melbourne, Australia). Results: Three main themes are described, ie, experiencing and understanding symptoms of COPD, current self-care activities, and the importance of family perceptions in managing COPD. Conclusion: Self-care activities evolved spontaneously as participants experienced symptoms of COPD. However, there was a lack of awareness about whether these strategies would impact upon symptoms. Perceptions of COPD by family members posed a challenge to self-care for some participants. Health care professionals should elicit patients' prior disease experiences and utilize spontaneous attempts at disease management in future self-management. These findings have implications for promoting self-management and enhancing quality of life

Potential Predictability of Net Primary Production in the Ocean

Interannual variations in marine net primary production (NPP) contribute to the variability of available living marine resources, as well as influence critical carbon cycle processes. Here we provide a global overview of near-term (1 to 10 years) potential predictability of marine NPP using a novel set of initialized retrospective decadal forecasts from an Earth System Model. Interannual variations in marine NPP are potentially predictable in many areas of the ocean 1 to 3 years in advance, from temperate waters to the tropics, showing a substantial improvement over a simple persistence forecast. However, some regions, such as the subpolar Southern Ocean, show low potential predictability.We analyze how bottom-up drivers of marine NPP (nutrients, light, and temperature) contribute to its predictability. Regions where NPP is primarily driven by the physical supply of nutrients (e.g., subtropics) retain higher potential predictability than high-latitude regions where NPP is controlled by light and/or temperature (e.g., the Southern Ocean).We further examine NPP predictability in the world\u27s Large Marine Ecosystems. With a few exceptions, we show that initialized forecasts improve potential predictability of NPP in Large Marine Ecosystems over a persistence forecast and may aid to manage living marine resources

Immunohistochemical evidence for an endocrine/paracrine role for ghrelin in the reproductive tissues of sheep

BACKGROUND: The gut hormone, ghrelin, is involved in the neuroendocrine and metabolic responses to hunger. In monogastric species, circulating ghrelin levels show clear meal-related and body weight-related changes. The pattern of secretion and its role in ruminant species is less clear. Ghrelin acts via growth hormone secretagogue receptors (GHSR-1a) to alter food intake, fat utilization, and cellular proliferation. There is also evidence that ghrelin is involved in reproductive function. In the present study we used immunohistochemistry to investigate the presence of ghrelin and GHSR-1a in sheep reproductive tissues. In addition, we examined whether ghrelin and GHSR-1a protein expression is developmentally regulated in the adult and fetal ovine testis, and whether there is an association with markers of cellular proliferation, i.e. stem cell factor (SCF) and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). METHODS: Antibodies raised against ghrelin and its functional receptor, GHSR-type 1a, were used in standard immunohistochemical protocols on various reproductive tissues collected from adult and fetal sheep. GHSR-1a mRNA presence was also confirmed by in situ hybridisation. SCF and PCNA immunoexpression was investigated in fetal testicular samples. Adult and fetal testicular immunostaining for ghrelin, GHSR-1a, SCF and PCNA was analysed using computer-aided image analysis. Image analysis data were subjected to one-way ANOVA, with differences in immunostaining between time-points determined by Fisher's least significant difference. RESULTS: In adult sheep tissue, ghrelin and GHSR-1a immunostaining was detected in the stomach (abomasum), anterior pituitary gland, testis, ovary, and hypothalamic and hindbrain regions of the brain. In the adult testis, there was a significant effect of season (photoperiod) on the level of immunostaining for ghrelin (p < 0.01) and GHSR-1a (p < 0.05). In the fetal sheep testis, there was a significant effect of gestational age on the level of immunostaining for ghrelin (p < 0.001), GHSR-1a (p < 0.05), SCF (p < 0.05) and PCNA (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Evidence is presented for the presence of ghrelin and its receptor in various reproductive tissues of the adult and fetal sheep. In addition, the data indicate that testicular expression of ghrelin and its receptor is physiologically regulated in the adult and developmentally regulated in the fetus. Therefore, the ghrelin ligand/receptor system may have a role (endocrine and/or paracrine) in the development (cellular proliferation) and function of the reproductive axis of the sheep

Geomagnetic storm dependence on the solar flare class

Content. Solar flares are often used as precursors of geomagnetic storms. In particular, Howard and Tappin (2005) recently published in A&A a dependence between X-ray class of solar flares and Ap and Dst indexes of geomagnetic storms which contradicts to early published results. Aims. We compare published results on flare-storm dependences and discuss possible sources of the discrepancy. Methods. We analyze following sources of difference: (1) different intervals of observations, (2) different statistics and (3) different methods of event identification and comparison. Results. Our analysis shows that magnitude of geomagnetic storms is likely to be independent on X-ray class of solar flares.Comment: 3 pages, 1 tabl

Sturm, Ruger & Co and the U.S. Firearms Industry

Ruger is one of the largest domestic gun and ammunition manufacturers in the United States, and also one of the most successful. Ruger makes very high quality guns at reasonable prices. The company also emphasizes research and development. With no debt and high gross profit margins, one would expect Ruger to be an outstanding investment. However, the U.S. gun industry is extremely volatile and also very competitive. Due to mass shootings, terrorism, and other highly visible events, there is ever increasing pressure for new regulation and restrictions on gun ownership and use. However, the industry has a very powerful friend in the National Rifle Association