2,010 research outputs found
Enhancing multi-scale Mekong water governance
The CPWF Project PN50 “Enhancing multi-scale water governance” was a flagship activity
of the Mekong Program on Water, Environment Resilience (M-POWER). The goal of
helping improve livelihood security, human and ecosystem health in the Mekong Region
through democratizing water governance was pursued through critical research and
direct engagement with stakeholders involved in managing floods, irrigation,
hydropower, watersheds, fisheries and urban water works at various scales. We
identified commons governance problems and suggested ways that some can be
addressed. Often, for example, there are needs to: strengthen local representation,
improve the quality of deliberative processes, enhance the interplay between institutions
at different levels, and build capacities to handle uncertainties and adapt to changes in
flow regimes
Patient Outcomes Significantly Improve When Receiving Treatment by Athletic Therapy Students
Student-run clinics are beneficial and provide interactions between education and community. Treatment outcomes by students are rarely measured. To our knowledge, no studies evaluate student athletic therapist’s rehabilitation outcomes. The purpose of our study was to measure the improvement in function in injured patients seeking treatment at the student-run Athletic Therapy PERFORM Clinic. Main Outcomes and Measures: At baseline and at follow-up, student-treated patients completed one of three questionnaires to assess their injured level of function: Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) for low back injuries, Lower Extremity Functional Scale (LEFS) for lower extremity injuries and Disabilities of the Arm Shoulder and Hand (DASH) for upper extremity injuries. Results: On average, patients received 4.7 ± 1.8 treatments across 48.8 ± 16.1 days. Overall, patients experienced a statistically significant increase in function between assessment and follow-up (18.8% ± 20.3, p < 0.001). Patients with an acute injury improved more compared to patients with a chronic pain injury (p < 0.001). While there was no significant difference in function at baseline between patients with acute injuries and chronic pain/injuries, there was a trend towards patients with an acute injury being less functional (p = 0.051). Discussion: Improvements in function in injured patients at this student-run clinic are similar to the minimal clinically important difference respective to each questionnaire. The clinic offers an additional benefit to patients with a robust cost-effectiveness ratio. Our results suggest that Athletic Therapy education should investigate the different needs of chronic injury patients in order to maximize improvements in function
Development of white matter microstructure and executive functions during childhood and adolescence: a review of diffusion MRI studies
Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) provides indirect measures of white matter microstructure that can be used to make inferences about structural connectivity within the brain. Over the last decade, a growing literature of cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have documented relationships between dMRI indices and cognitive development. In this review, we provide a brief overview of dMRI methods and how they can be used to study white matter and connectivity and review the extant literature examining the links between dMRI indices and executive functions during development. We explore the links between white matter microstructure and specific executive functions: inhibition, working memory and cognitive shifting, as well as performance on complex executive function tasks. Concordance in findings across studies are highlighted, and potential explanations for discrepancies between results, together with challenges with using dMRI in child and adolescent populations, are discussed. Finally, we explore future directions that are necessary to better understand the links between child and adolescent development of structural connectivity of the brain and executive functions
Félix: a Late Pleistocene White Whale (Delphinapterus Leucas) Skeleton From Champlain Sea Deposits at Saint-Félix-de-Valois, Québec
A nearly complete, articulated skeleton of an old white whale (Delphinapterus leucas) from Champlain Sea deposits at Saint-Félix-de-Valois is the best preserved specimen of its kind recorded from North America. It is one of 21 white whale specimens known from Champlain Sea deposits. Collagen from a vertebra yielded an accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon date of 10 700 ± 90 BP, which, with stratigraphic and paleoenvironmental data, is in accord with our knowledge of the past distribution of this species, its known habitat and habits. This study quantitatively traces regional sea-surface temperature, salinity and ice-cover. Dinocysts indicate a change from cold to cool conditions in surface water during that period corresponding to the withdrawal of ice and the beginning of the Holocene.Un squelette presque complet et articulé d’une vieille baleine blanche (Delphinapterus leucas) provenant des dépôts de la mer de Champlain à Saint-Félix-de-Valois représente le spécimen le mieux conservé du genre en Amérique du Nord. Il s’agit de l’un des 21 spécimens de baleine blanche découvert à ce jour dans les dépôts de la Mer de Champlain. Du collagène extrait d’une vertèbre a donné une date radiocarbone par spectrométrie de masse par accélérateur de 10 700 ± 90 BP, laquelle, avec les données stratigraphiques et paléoenvironnementales, est en accord avec nos connaissances actuelles sur la dispersion ancienne de l’espèce, son habitat et son mode de vie. Cette étude livre une esquisse quantitative régionale de la température des eaux de surface, de la salinité et du couvert de glace. Les dinokystes indiquent un changement des conditions de froides à fraîches des eaux de surface durant la période correspondant au retrait glaciaire et au début de l’Holocène
Metabolism, Genomics, and DNA Repair in the Mouse Aging Liver
The liver plays a pivotal role in the metabolism of nutrients, drugs, hormones, and metabolic waste products, thereby maintaining body homeostasis. The liver undergoes substantial changes in structure and function within old age. Such changes are associated with significant impairment of many hepatic metabolic and detoxification activities, with implications for systemic aging and age-related disease. It has become clear, using rodent models as biological tools, that genetic instability in the form of gross DNA rearrangements or point mutations accumulate in the liver with age. DNA lesions, such as oxidized bases or persistent breaks, increase with age and correlate well with the presence of senescent hepatocytes. The level of DNA damage and/or mutation can be affected by changes in carcinogen activation, decreased ability to repair DNA, or a combination of these factors. This paper covers some of the DNA repair pathways affecting liver homeostasis with age using rodents as model systems
Impact of mash feeding versus pellets on propionic/butyric acid levels and on total Escherichia coli load in the gastrointestinal tract of growing pigs
Feed characteristics may influence
the bacterial community composition and metabolic
activities in the pig gastrointestinal tract, known to be
associated with positive effects on the gut. Use of mash
feed is associated with reduced Salmonella excretion,
but little is known of its effect on the Escherichia coli
population or of the mechanism of action. Our objectives
were to assess the effect of feed texture combined
with feed particle size on VFA profiles and levels,
total E. coli count, and the presence of genes encoding
virulence factors of pathogenic E. coli strains in the
digestive tract along with their impact on pig performance
of fattening pigs. Pigs (n = 840) on a commercial
farm received mash or pellet diets of different particle
sizes during the fattening period. Caecal and colon contents
from 164 pigs were sampled at the slaughterhouse
for enumeration of E. coli by quantitative PCR (qPCR)
and for VFA quantification by capillary gas chromatography.
The yccT gene was used to enumerate total E.
coli. Improved pig performances associated with pellet
texture and a 500-μm size were observed. Caecal (P =
0.02) and colon (P < 0.01) propionic acid concentrations
were lower for pigs receiving pellet rather than
mash feed. Similarly, caecal (P = 0.01) and colon (P <
0.001) butyric acid concentrations were also lower for
pigs receiving pellet rather than mash feed, as determined
by capillary gas chromatography. Moreover,
caecal (P = 0.03) and colon (P < 0.001) butyric acid
concentrations were higher for pigs receiving a feed
with a 1,250-μm particle size rather than a 500-μm
particle size. On the other hand, total caecal and colon
E. coli levels were higher for pigs receiving pellet feed
than for those receiving mash feed. For total E. coli
enumeration, caecal (P < 0.01) and colon (P < 0.01)
yccT gene copies were higher for pigs receiving pellet
rather than mash feed. No effect of particle size on
fatty acid concentrations or on E. coli numbers was
observed. Virulence gene quantification revealed no
trend. Taken together, results showed that mash feed
is associated with lower growth performance but with
favorable intestinal changes linked to VFA levels and E.
coli reduction in the intestine
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