45 research outputs found
Knowledge Brokers in the Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Ecosystem:A rapid mapping exercise produced to inform the creation of the Sexual Viollence in Childhood Solutions Hub
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Transfer RNA genes experience exceptionally elevated mutation rates.
Get PDFTransfer RNAs (tRNAs) are a central component for the biological synthesis of proteins, and they are among the most highly conserved and frequently transcribed genes in all living things. Despite their clear significance for fundamental cellular processes, the forces governing tRNA evolution are poorly understood. We present evidence that transcription-associated mutagenesis and strong purifying selection are key determinants of patterns of sequence variation within and surrounding tRNA genes in humans and diverse model organisms. Remarkably, the mutation rate at broadly expressed cytosolic tRNA loci is likely between 7 and 10 times greater than the nuclear genome average. Furthermore, evolutionary analyses provide strong evidence that tRNA genes, but not their flanking sequences, experience strong purifying selection acting against this elevated mutation rate. We also find a strong correlation between tRNA expression levels and the mutation rates in their immediate flanking regions, suggesting a simple method for estimating individual tRNA gene activity. Collectively, this study illuminates the extreme competing forces in tRNA gene evolution and indicates that mutations at tRNA loci contribute disproportionately to mutational load and have unexplored fitness consequences in human populations
Bear Smart UM: Creating a University Campus Safe for Bears and Students
Get PDFBear Smart UM: Creating a University Campus Safe for Bears and Students
Biological Sciences
Universities nestled in the mountains across the globe like the University of Montana may find themselves dealing with human-bear conflict while lacking the proper resources to approach management. At UM, there has been an increase in bear activity over the past five years and it is expected to continue to increase. Developing a plan to prevent bear activity on campus is often costly, time-consuming, and tedious. Our student group’s solution includes two intertwining parts: A bear management plan and educational outreach surrounding bear safety. The recommendations in the bear management plan were created by consulting bear-conflict specialists from Missoula County, craftspeople who construct bear-proof enclosures, and hotspots for bear activity gathered by the UM Chapter of the Wildlife Society. The bear management plan includes recommendations related to waste management for different locations on campus, fruit trees and native plants that are bear attractants, and a corresponding budget. The educational outreach
has involved creating informational PowerPoints and flyers and presenting them to classes at UM to educate students about bear-safe behavior and to encourage students to attend our bear spray safety demonstration by the Bear Aware Campaign on April 4, 2023. Both parts of our project are essential in providing solutions for the intriguing relationship UM has with bears and preventing any further conflict that can harm the UM community and the bear population
Intra-Rater and Inter-Rater Reliability of Pressure Pain Algometry of the Sural and Tibial Nerves in Asymptomatic Elite Youth Footballers
Get PDFAnkle injuries are highly prevalent in elite youth footballers and increase the mechanosensitivity of the local neural tissue, which may predispose athletes to re-injury and prolong rehabilitation periods. Increased neural mechanosensitivity presents clinically as altered pain pressure thresholds (PPTs) which are measured with pressure algometry. The purpose of this study was to determine the intra-rater and inter-rater reliability of PPTs of the ankle neural tissue in asymptomatic elite youth football players. Three raters utilised a digital algometer to evaluate the PPTs of the Sural and Tibial nervous tissue at the ankle of elite youth male footballers. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated to assess intra-rater and inter-rater reliability and Bland–Altman figures were plotted to enable visual evaluation of measurement error with a significance level of p < 0.05. Thirty-four players (16–18 years old) were assessed. Excellent intra-rater (Tibial ICC 0.88 (0.76–0.94); Sural ICC 0.89 (0.79–0.95)) and good inter-rater reliability (Tibial ICC 0.66 (0.40–0.82); Sural 0.71 (0.50–0.85)) was demonstrated. Bland–Altman plots demonstrated low levels of measurement error. Pressure algometry can be utilised clinically to accurately evaluate the PPTs of the Tibial and Sural nervous tissue at the ankle in asymptomatic elite male youth footballers
Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial
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Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy
