Can Collegiate Hockey Players Accurately Predict Regional and Total Body Physiologic Changes throughout the Competitive Season?

A collegiate athlete’s body composition can fluctuate due to factors such as nutrition, sleep, and training load. As changes in body composition can affect an athlete’s level of performance, it may be beneficial if athlete’s can accurately predict these changes throughout a season. The purpose of this study was to determine how well a group of 23 male collegiate hockey players (age = 22.44 ± 1.16 years, height = 181.30 ± 6.99 cm, weight = 86.41 ± 8.32 kg) could predict their regional and total body lean and fat tissue mass throughout a hockey season (September to March). Total body, trunk, lower body, and upper body compositional changes were measured at the beginning and at the end of the competitive season using dual energy X-Ray absorptiometry (DXA). At the end of the season, a questionnaire was completed by each participant to explore how they perceived their body composition changes (losses or gains in lean tissue and fat mass) throughout the season. Overall, players had a difficult time identifying actual changes in lean tissue and fat mass throughout the season. Upper body fat and lean tissue changes were perceived most accurately, while perceptions of body fat were related to android adiposity but not visceral adiposity. These findings suggest that some regional areas of body composition changes may happen without being noticed. For strength and conditioning coaches, if athletes are made aware of these changes before they become exaggerated, proper dietary, and training adaptations can be made to enhance performance

Native Wetland Plant Seed Collection and Cleaning Guide for the Intermountain West

Collecting and cleaning seeds from wildlands is an essential part of ecosystem restoration, management, and conservation. Here, we summarize best practices for native wetland plant seed collection and cleaning in the Intermountain West. A companion guide on seed testing, Seed Viability Testing Guide for Common Wetland Plant Species, is also available (https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/extension_curall/2389/)

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Products liability.

The purpose of this Interactive Qualifying Project is to gain the fundamental knowledge of products liability law and to understand the relationship between the law and members of the engineering profession. We analyzed and interpreted several liability cases and an automotive accident case along with videos and books which described the role of an engineer in the courtroom. This experience has provided us with an in-depth look at the importance and value of engineering applications in today's legal system

High levels of endotoxins in commercial cannabis flower

Abstract We report the presence of high levels of endotoxin in high and low colony forming unit (CFU/g) cannabis flower samples. In some jurisdictions, cannabis samples over 100,000 CFU/g of total aerobic count (TAC), are prioritized for decontamination or remediation using ozone, E-beam, X-ray or gamma ray exposure. While these methods are well known for reducing viable colony forming units, they are less effective at removing the bacterial DNA or endotoxin. Less is known about the residual bioactive endotoxin levels that might exist on such decontaminated products. To estimate this, we evaluated endotoxin levels of high CFU/g hemp samples in Massachusetts that are not subject to microbial testing and compared those to store-bought cannabis flower that must test below 100,000 CFU/g limits in TAC testing. We find significant levels (over 2,000-400,000 EU/g) of endotoxin on all samples tested, non-correlative to CFU/g microbial testing measurements. Endotoxins on inhaled products can trigger asthmatic reactions. Considering a recent asthmatic fatality in a Massachusetts pre-roll facility, further scrutiny of decontamination and remediation procedures and their resulting endotoxin levels is required

Pathogenic Enterobacteriaceae require multiple culture temperatures for detection in Cannabis sativa L.

Cannabis safety testing requires adequate detection of a broad class of bacteria known as Enterobacteria from the family of Enterobacteriaceae. These organisms are responsible for many food-borne illnesses including gastroenteritis and are common targets in the food testing industry. While all of these organisms contain 16S DNA, not all of them will culture on commercial culture-based platforms at a single culturing temperature. Here we assess four such organisms (Aeromonas hydrophila, Pantoea agglomerans, Yersinia enterocolitica, Rahnella aquatilis) that vary in their preferred culture temperature, vary in their human pathogenicity and vary in their prevalence in cannabis

Complex migration and the development of genetic structure in subdivided populations: an example from Caribbean coral reef ecosystems

A matrix-based projection model is used in conjunction with the results of a coupled bio-physical dispersal model to examine the spread of alleles through subdivided populations over time, and the associated development of genetic structural patterns. Applying this approach, it becomes possible to quantitatively evaluate the contribution of spatially explicit migration towards patterns of genetic structure observed in the field. To provide a concrete example, the model was used to examine genetic dispersal between coral reef patches of the Caribbean. Using generic life-history parameters, the model shows the formation of a strong genetic break between eastern and western patches, as well as the development of a gradient along the length of the Bahamian archipelago, corresponding with evidence previously collected for coral and fish species. The data also suggest that Jamaica and the Cayman Islands are important stepping stones between the reefs of the northern Caribbean (Hispaniola and the Bahamas) and the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. The model provides an effective means of evaluating regional-scale genetic connectivity through time and identifying natural clusters of genetic exchange

Chemically modified tetracyclines: Novel therapeutic agents in the management of chronic periodontitis

Chronic periodontitis is a complex infection initiated by gram-negative bacteria which destroy the supporting structures of the tooth. Recently, it has been recognized that it is the host response to bacterial infection which causes greater destruction of the connective tissue elements, periodontal ligament and alveolar bone in periodontitis. This has led to the development of various host modulating approaches to target cells and their destructive mediators involved in tissue degradation. Chemically modified tetracyclines (CMTs) are derivatives of tetracycline group of drugs which lack antimicrobial action but have potent host modulating affects. They inhibit pathologically elevated matrix metal loproteinases, pro-inflammtory cytokines and other destructive mediators. Bone resorption is also suppressed due to their combined anti-proteinase and apoptotic affects on osteoblasts and osteoclasts, respectively. Development of resistant bacteria and gastrointestinal toxicity seen with parent tetracyclines is not produced by CMTs. Hence, CMTs are viewed as potential therapeutic agents in the management of chronic diseases like periodontitis that involve destruction of connective tissue and bone