Managing purchased feeder pigs (1993)

Missouri is a major feeder pig producing state and annually markets large numbers of pigs that other farmers feed out to market weight. During these marketing and transportation processes, stress can affect the performance of feeder pigs. Buyers often complain of recently purchased pigs that cough, scour or die. Pigs that are slow to start growing and that have poor feed efficiency also may be a problem. This publication recommends procedures for buying, feeding and managing purchased feeder pigs

A Concept Fully Realized: The Beauty of Developing an Internally-Housed Wiki Server

Librarians at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Shreveport recently disposed of their old wiki in favor of a customizable, internally-housed wiki server. The initial catalyst for change was simply a need for more space. Gradually, the wiki’s scope and purpose transformed, making it into a resource that is relevant to the work of all departments within the library. The new wiki serves as a fully collaborative workspace and simultaneously supports the mission of institutional knowledge management, features that were largely ignored or neglected in the previous incarnation. This poster session will document the process leading to the wiki server’s creation and implementation. It will also highlight the improved functionality granted by the new wiki

Delayed phlegmon with gallstone fragments masquerading as soft tissue sarcoma.

Complications from lost gallstones after cholecystectomy are rare but varied from simple perihepatic abscess to empyema and expectoration of gallstones. Gallstone complications have been reported in nearly every organ system, although reports of malignant masquerade of retained gallstones are few. We present the case of an 87-year-old woman with a flank soft tissue tumor 4 years after laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The initial clinical, radiographic and biopsy findings were consistent with soft tissue sarcoma (STS), but careful review of her case in multidisciplinary conference raised the suspicion for retained gallstones rather than STS. The patient was treated with incisional biopsy/drainage of the mass, and gallstones were retrieved. The patient recovered completely without an extensive resectional procedure, emphasizing the importance of multidisciplinary sarcoma care to optimize outcomes for potential sarcoma patients

Collaborating to Improve Collaboration: Informationist Team Support for an Interdisciplinary Research Group

Objectives Three subject librarians and a data librarian, representing three departments and two libraries at a university, were awarded an NLM Informationist Supplement to support an interdisciplinary research group with an NIH grant. The Informationist Team developed a model to utilize the skills of multiple librarians to support the increasing number of interdisciplinary and interprofessional research groups at the university. Methods A pre-survey was administered to the Research Group to provide a baseline assessment of their use of librarian expertise and library services. The Informationist Team met to identify areas of expertise to support the objectives of the grant. Literature searching, bibliographic citation management and sharing, and data management were the first areas to be considered. Librarians routinely attended lab meetings and shared notes with each other to keep up with researcher needs. When possible, research questions were answered in the lab meetings by librarians. Interviews with Research Group members were used to develop a data management plan. Collaborative tools to facilitate team communication and support research being conducted in multiple buildings on two campuses were investigated. Future work will include publication support, assessing research impact, and appraising the usefulness of the Informationist Team to the Research Group

Disparities in the completion of steps to kidney transplantation: protocol for a systematic review

Introduction Disparities in access to transplantation have been well documented. The extant literature, however, focuses largely on disparities and related barriers for African-American patients and none has used the steps to transplantation as a guiding framework. This review will catalogue disparities in the steps to transplantation as well as the barriers and facilitators to completion of each step identified in the extant literature. The results of the review will be used to generate recommendations for future research to improve equity in access to kidney transplantation. Methods and analysis Standard procedures will be used in the conduct of the review. Searches will be performed using the following electronic databases: PubMed/Medline, PsycINFO, CINHAL, EMBASE, Cochrane library and Web of Science. Reports of original research will be eligible for inclusion if they are published from 2005 to present, written or available in English language, performed in the USA, enrol adult participants (18 years of age or more), and employ descriptive or observational designs. Two authors will independently screen retrieved articles for inclusion. MaxQDA will be used for data analysis and management. All included reports will be coded for article characteristics; disparities identified; barriers and motivators of completion of steps to transplantation; and proposed solutions to disparities and barriers. Each report will be coded independently by two authors and discrepancies resolved by discussion among the full team. A qualitative approach to data analysis is planned. Risk of bias will be assessed using standard procedures. Ethics and dissemination The findings will provide crucial information on the current status of disparities in access to transplantation. PRISMA guidelines will be followed in reporting the results of the review. It is anticipated that these results will inform research which seeks to increase parity in access to transplantation. Systematic review registration PROSPERO CRD42014015027

Assessing multi-hazard vulnerability and dynamic coastal flood risk in the Mississippi Delta: The Global Delta Risk Index as a social-ecological systems approach

The tight coupling of the social-ecological system (SES) of the Mississippi Delta calls for balanced natural hazard vulnerability and risk assessments. Most existing assessments have approached these components in isolation. To address this, we apply the Global Delta Risk Index (GDRI) in the Mississippi Delta at high-resolution census tract level. We assess SES spatial patterns of drought, hurricane-force wind, and coastal flood vulnerability and integrate hazard and exposure data for the assessment of coastal flood risk. Moreover, we compare current coastal flood risk to future risk in 2025 based on the modelled effects of flood depth, exposure, and changes in ecosystem area in the context of ongoing efforts under the 2017 Louisiana Coastal Master Plan. Results show that the Master Plan will lead to decreases in risk scores by 2025, but the tracts that are currently the most vulnerable benefit less from risk reduction efforts. Along with our index output, we discuss the need for further advancements in SES methodology and the potential for catastrophic hazard events beyond the model parameters, such as extreme rainfall events and very strong hurricanes. Assessing SES risk components can lead to more targeted policy recommendations, demonstrated by the need for Master Plan projects to consider their unequal spatial effects on vulnerability and risk reduction

Prenatal development is linked to bronchial reactivity: epidemiological and animal model evidence

Chronic cardiorespiratory disease is associated with low birthweight suggesting the importance of the developmental environment. Prenatal factors affecting fetal growth are believed important, but the underlying mechanisms are unknown. The influence of developmental programming on bronchial hyperreactivity is investigated in an animal model and evidence for comparable associations is sought in humans. Pregnant Wistar rats were fed either control or protein-restricted diets throughout pregnancy. Bronchoconstrictor responses were recorded from offspring bronchial segments. Morphometric analysis of paraffin-embedded lung sections was conducted. In a human mother-child cohort ultrasound measurements of fetal growth were related to bronchial hyperreactivity, measured at age six years using methacholine. Protein-restricted rats' offspring demonstrated greater bronchoconstriction than controls. Airway structure was not altered. Children with lesser abdominal circumference growth during 11-19 weeks' gestation had greater bronchial hyperreactivity than those with more rapid abdominal growth. Imbalanced maternal nutrition during pregnancy results in offspring bronchial hyperreactivity. Prenatal environmental influences might play a comparable role in humans

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65729/1/j.1752-7325.1980.tb01869.x.pd

Genoviz Software Development Kit: Java tool kit for building genomics visualization applications

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Visualization software can expose previously undiscovered patterns in genomic data and advance biological science.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The Genoviz Software Development Kit (SDK) is an open source, Java-based framework designed for rapid assembly of visualization software applications for genomics. The Genoviz SDK framework provides a mechanism for incorporating adaptive, dynamic zooming into applications, a desirable feature of genome viewers. Visualization capabilities of the Genoviz SDK include automated layout of features along genetic or genomic axes; support for user interactions with graphical elements (Glyphs) in a map; a variety of Glyph sub-classes that promote experimentation with new ways of representing data in graphical formats; and support for adaptive, semantic zooming, whereby objects change their appearance depending on zoom level and zooming rate adapts to the current scale. Freely available demonstration and production quality applications, including the Integrated Genome Browser, illustrate Genoviz SDK capabilities.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Separation between graphics components and genomic data models makes it easy for developers to add visualization capability to pre-existing applications or build new applications using third-party data models. Source code, documentation, sample applications, and tutorials are available at <url>http://genoviz.sourceforge.net/</url>.</p

Environmental Toxicology RISK ASSESSMENT OF GREAT HORNED OWLS (BUBO VIRGINIANUS) EXPOSED TO POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYLS AND DDT ALONG THE KALAMAZOO RIVER, MICHIGAN, USA

Abstract-The great horned owl (GHO; Bubo virginianus) was used in a multiple lines of evidence study of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and p,pЈ-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) exposures at the Kalamazoo River Superfund Site (KRSS), Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA. The study examined risks from total PCBs, including 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin equivalents (TEQ World Health Organization [WHO]-Avian Toxicity Equivalency Factor [TEF] ), and total DDTs (sum of DDT, dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene [DDE], and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane [DDD]; ⌺DDT) by measuring concentrations in eggs and nestling blood plasma in two regions of the KRSS (upper, lower) and an upstream reference area (RA). An ecological risk assessment compared concentrations of the contaminants of concern (COCs) in eggs or plasma to toxicity reference values. Productivity and relative abundance measures for KRSS GHOs were compared with other GHO populations. Egg shell thickness was measured to assess effects of p,pЈ-DDE. The concentrations of PCBs in eggs were as great as 4.7 ϫ 10 2 and 4.0 ϫ 10 4 ng PCB/g, wet weight at the RA and combined KRSS sites, respectively. Egg TEQ WHO-Avian calculated from aryl hydrocarbon receptor-active PCB congeners and WHO TEFs ranged to 8.0 and 1.9 ϫ 10 2 pg TEQ WHO-Avian /g, (wet wt) at the RA and combined KRSS, respectively. Egg ⌺DDT concentrations were as great as 4.2 ϫ 10 2 and 5.0 ϫ 10 3 ng ⌺DDT/g (wet wt) at the RA and combined KRSS, respectively. Hazard quotients (HQs) for the upper 95% confidence interval (UCI) (geometric mean) and least observable adverse effect concentration (LOAEC) for COCs in eggs were Յ1.0 for all sites. Hazard quotient values based on the no observable adverse effect concentration (NOAEC) 95% UCI in eggs were Յ1.0, except at the LKRSS (PCB HQ ϭ 3.1; TEQ WHO-Avian HQ ϭ 1.3). Productivity and relative abundance measures indicated no population level effects in the UKRSS