IMPROVED METHODS FOR THE QUANTIFICATION OF VIABLE ASCARIS SUUM AND APPLICATION TO BIOSOLIDS

The current method for detection of Ascaris ova in biosolids and wastewater has several drawbacks including being labor and time intensive as well as being difficult to quantify viable ova that have larvated during treatment. The goal of this thesis was to improve several methods for the detection and quantification of Ascaris ova during long term-storage of biosolids including improvement of quantifying viable ova using a heat and bleach treatment to promote movement of larvae inside of ova, and comparison of the traditional microscopic method with qPCR and PMA-qPCR to prevent the false-positive results. Improved methods to promote movement of larvated ova using bleach and heat treatment were tested and shown to increase ova movement when compared with no treatment or only heat or bleach treatment, thus decreasing overall count time. qPCR and the traditional microscopic method were tested using long-term stored biosolids, which when compared showed a correlation between microscopically counted and qPCR calculated ova. PMA-qPCR was tested as a way to prevent false positives from inactivated but not yet degraded larval ova, however no decrease in amplification was observed for PMA treated samples when compared to non-treated samples. qPCR may be a valid method for quantifying Ascaris ova during different long-term treatment options and evaluating the safety of biosolids

Nearly Antiferromagnetic Fermi Liquids: A Progress Report

I describe recent theoretical and experimental progress in understanding the physical properties of the two dimensional nearly antiferromagnetic Fermi liquids (NAFL's) found in the normal state of the cuprate superconductors. In such NAFL's, the magnetic interaction between planar quasiparticles is strong and peaked at or near the commensurate wave vector, $Q \equiv (\pi,\pi)$. For the optimally doped and underdoped systems, the resulting strong antiferromagnetic correlations produce three distinct magnetic phases in the normal state: mean field above $T_{cr}$, pseudoscaling between $T_{cr}$ and $T_*$, and pseudogap below $T_*$. I present arguments which suggest that the physical origin of the pseudogap found in the quasiparticle spectrum below $T_{cr}$ is the formation of a precursor to a spin-density-wave-state, describe the calculations based on this scenario of the dynamical spin susceptibility, Fermi surface evolution, transport, and Hall effect, and summarize the experimental evidence in its support.Comment: LATEX + PS figures. To appear in the proceedings of the Euroconference on "Correlations in Unconventional Quantum Liquids," Evora, Portugal, October 199

The Isolation of Biologically Active Secondary Metabolites from New Zealand Marine Organisms

An improved protocol for the screening of marine sponges using cyclic loading, PSDVB, and both 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy is described. Using this new methodology, 51 sponges were screened. Further investigations were carried out on seven of the 51 organisms, resulting in the isolation of several known and eight novel compounds. Clathriols A (32) and B (33) are novel sterols isolated from the sponge Clathria lissosclera. Both 32 and 33 possess the rare 14 Beta stereochemistry, a feature only naturally occurring in marine sponges. Both are also moderate anti-inflammatory compounds. Ten spongian diterpenes were isolated from the New Zealand, sponge Chelonaplysilla violacea, six of which are novel. Cadlinolides C (138) and D (139) are similar to several previously reported compounds while pourewic acid A (140), 15-methoxypourewic acid B (141), methylpourewate B (142) and pourewanone (143) have unique structural features and are of biogenetic significance. Pourewanone (143) is the first example of a formate isolated from the marine environment. Several of the novel diterpenes exhibit moderate anti-inflammatory activity. A potent dinoflagellate toxin was partially purified from cultures of the producing organism, Karenia brevisulcata. K. brevisulcata is a new dinoflagellate species implicated in a large toxic algal bloom in Wellington Harbour, New Zealand, which formed during the summer of 1997/1998. Although the toxin could not be identified, some of the functionality present, and several possible substructures, is proposed. The biological activity of the toxin is also described

Assessing need and acceptability of a youth mentoring intervention for adolescents with autism by adults with autism

Background: Adult mentors can positively influence development, yet youth with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have too little access to adult mentors who can provide role modeling, guidance, and support. Furthermore, neurotypical adult mentors (i.e., adult mentors without ASD) may not understand the day-to-day realities that youth with ASD face and the social world they navigate. Therefore, it is possible that adults with ASD may be particularly well-suited as mentors for youth with ASD. Method: Six semi-structured focus groups of four to seven people each explored the need for a mentoring program to bridge the gap between the supports youth with ASD need and what they currently receive. These focus groups included key stakeholders: youth with ASD, adults with ASD, and parents of youth and adults with ASD. Results: Focus groups with key stakeholders demonstrate a significant need for the development of a one-to-one youth mentoring program delivered by adults with ASD. Conclusion: There are significant gaps between the supports (particularly social supports) that adolescents with ASD need and those that are available to them. All of the focus groups concluded that a mentoring program in which adults with ASD are mentors for youth with ASD seems to be an acceptable and much-needed support for adolescents with ASD. Such a program is not currently known to exist

Recent and projected seasonal changes to river flows combine with human pressures to restructure the base of the marine food web in Puget Sound

Quantifying large-scale climate impacts, ecosystem responses, and human pressures requires sustained ecosystem monitoring and data integration. The Salish Sea is influenced by oceanic processes and hydrological cycles on land. The interplay of processes across the land-ocean continuum benefits the Puget Sound ecosystem by extending the productive cold-water food web of the upwelling system off Washington’s coast into Puget Sound during summer while buffering water temperatures in winter. Circulation patterns that drive water exchange between Puget Sound and the ocean are responding to climate and the timing of river flows. Historically the freshet and coastal upwelling coincide in summer and allow the productive foodweb to thrive in Puget Sound. Recent years have seen warmer winters causing both earlier snowmelt and therefore reduced summer flows. This temporal separation of upwelling and the freshet results in reduced ocean water renewal, increased water residence time, warmer water, and amplified human impacts during summer. In winter, however, water exchange is increased and keeps Puget Sound water warmer by importing heat from the ocean. These effects combine and have potential ecosystem-wide implications. Coastal eutrophication indicators (large algae blooms, red tides, macro-algae, and jellyfish) are already common place in Puget Sound. These changes in the timing of circulation patterns and nutrient characteristics alter the base of the marine food web while expanding the winter range of cold sensitive species into Puget Sound. In this presentation we conceptually lay out mechanisms, spatial connectivity, observations and hypotheses connecting the dots of climate impacts across the land-ocean continuum and the combined effects on ecosystem processes

Recent conditions highlight regional differences in temperature, salinity and dissolved oxygen between Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound sites under anomalous 2014-2017 climate patterns

Understanding impacts of climate change on Salish Sea water quality is critical yet challenging due to the complexity, strength and diversity of influences on circulation and mixing. Different extreme climate conditions in recent years (2014-2017) include record warm temperatures with reduced snow pack in 2014-2015 followed by a few years of alternating summer droughts with record rainy seasons. These conditions influenced marine water temperature, salinity and dissolved oxygen (DO) throughout the Salish Sea. Analyses reveal distinct differences in these key physical and chemical characteristics between Strait of Juan de Fuca sites and sites within Puget Sound basins. Extremely low DO water in the Strait not observed at neighboring sites in Puget Sound. This indicates that Puget Sound water exchange and circulation are responding to climate change impacts on the regional hydrological cycle. Lower stream flows are effecting seasonal exchange of ocean water masses under drought conditions, while extremely wet and stormy springs are changing the average salinity of Puget Sound basins and impacting the density structure. Following these physical fluctuations, DO conditions vary from season to season, with new anomalous lows occurring in the Strait and the extreme reaches of South Puget Sound. These conditions could reveal how biophysical drivers of Puget Sound water quality impact food web dynamics during adverse climate and ocean regimes. Local water quality issues that are exacerbated due to reduced circulation may be influencing distinct populations in different basins. We can use these basic biophysical properties to inform us about key drivers of regional differences in the Puget Sound food web

Anti-oesophageal cancer activity in extracts of deep-water Marion Island sponges

OESOPHAGEAL CANCER IS ONE OF THE most common causes of cancer-related deaths in South African black males. The limited efficacy of chemotherapeutic agents to treat this disease has prompted a search for potential new chemical entities with anticancer properties. We report here on the evidence for anti-oesophageal cancer activity in the methanolic extracts of five species of sponges dredged from a depth of approximately 100 m in the vicinity of Marion Island in the Southern Ocean during the autumn of 2004

How did large scale climate anomalies impact 2015 phytoplankton blooms in Puget Sound?

The Washington State Department of Ecology has been routinely monitoring marine water quality throughout the Puget Sound since 1973. An established historic baseline from 1999 to 2008 allows us to examine how water quality varies year to year as a result of both natural and human influences. The recent large scale climate anomaly, the Blob, impacted this region when a mass of warm water entered Puget Sound in fall 2014. In conjunction with higher than normal air temperatures, patterns of estuarine circulation and stratification were regionally altered in Puget Sound. Changes to these physical patterns affect ecosystem functions starting at the base of the food web with phytoplankton. The water quality data collected monthly in 2015 allows us to gain a better understanding of how large-scale climate anomalies affect the timing and amplitude of phytoplankton biomass (chlorophyll a) in different regions of Puget Sound. Exploring the regional changes in phytoplankton biomass in response to the Blob provides us with insight into how future climate impacts could effect ecosystem functioning in different regions of Puget Sound

Anti-oesophageal cancer activity in extracts of deep-water Marion Island sponges

Oesophageal cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer-related deaths in South African black males. The limited efficacy of chemotherapeutic agents to treat this disease has prompted a search for potential new chemical entities with anticancer properties. We report here on the evidence for anti-oesophageal cancer activity in the methanolic extracts of five species of sponges dredged from a depth of approximately 100 m in the vicinity of Marion Island in the Southern Ocean during the autumn of 2004

Recent climate patterns are affecting seasonal water residence times and water temperatures in Puget Sound

At the end of 2014 water temperatures in Puget Sound rapidly increased in response to The Blob and persisted into 2017. Climate anomalies on land caused premature snow melt and freshening of Puget Sound. The seasonal shift in freshwater delivery increased winter estuarine circulation allowing greater import of heat from the ocean but decreased summer circulation, retaining more heat in Puget Sound in summer. In both seasons, Puget Sound temperatures increased affecting water quality and ecosystem performance. We contrast salinity, temperature, and density records from 2014-2017 to infer residence time and changes in water masses during the extreme climate years. Increased winter temperatures \u3e8C might have promoted overwintering for temperature sensitive species such as anchovy