Surveillance of Ranavirus and Bacterial Microbiome Characterization of False Map Turtles (Graptemys pseudogeographica) Along the Lower Missouri River, USA

Graptemys pseudographica, or the False Map Turtle, is a state-threatened species in South Dakota. The False Map Turtle, a river-dwelling species, is susceptible to the viral pathogen Ranavirus, leading to the deadly ranavirosis, which is a systemic infection transmitted through the water that can cause severe epizootics in turtles (Johnson et al. 2008). We trapped for False Map Turtles in July of 2017 at three different spots along the Missouri River between Yankton, SD and Vermillion, SD and describe the Ranavirus infection status of all 79 False Map Turtles trapped in this area. Additionally, being a river-dwelling species, the bacterial microbiome within the cloaca of False Map Turtles is presumed to vary along different geographic locations within the river and is largely understudied. The bacterial microbiome within the cloaca of an animal has been shown to have significant effects on the overall health of the animal (Ringo et al. 2010). From the 79 individuals sampled this summer, 21 were analyzed for the bacterial genera present within the bacterial community of their gut microbiome by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and the major bacterial genera were identified. Community structure based on taxonomic relationships between bacterial genera based on similarity of 16S rRNA gene sequence is also presented. We conclude that there is no Ranavirus present in any individuals sampled this summer and that bacterial microbiome composition among the cloaca of False Map Turtles differs by geographic location, and that urination during cloacal swabbing does not significantly impact the efficacy of the bacterial community sample

Biological, Psychological, And Social Profiles That Predict Depression And/or Anxiety In Adolescents Aged 12-17 Years Identified Via Secondary Analysis Of The 2011-2012 National Survey Of Children\u27s Health

Depression and/or anxiety among adolescents aged 12-17 year are on the rise and increase the risk of negative outcomes that persist into adulthood. Current prevalence reports of depression in adolescents are based on dated analyses and do not include the often comorbid anxiety. The purpose of the study was to identify biological, psychological, and social factors that predict depression and/or anxiety in adolescents aged 12-17 years through a secondary analysis of data from the 2011-2012 National Survey of Children’s Health. The sample size for this study was 34,601 adolescents aged 12 – 17 of which, 2,405 had current depression and/or anxiety. One hundred four (104) of the total six hundred sixty-five (665) variables were identified for inclusion in the analysis through review of the literature and known clinical relevance. Variables were analyzed first through bivariate logistic regression to obtain c-statistics, followed by multiple logistic regression and classification and regression tree (CART) analysis. One subsample consisting of 60% of the original observations was used for modeling and generating the classification and regression tree; the other sample consisting of the other 40% of the original sample was used for validation purposes. Odds ratios were calculated based on the profile risk groups identified by the decision tree to quantify the odds of depression and/or anxiety in adolescents that met those specific profiles. The prevalence of depression and/or anxiety among adolescents with two or more chronic conditions, a behavioral problem, and whose mother’s mental health was rated as “poor” was 94% as compared to 7% in the general population. Additionally, the odds of depression and/or anxiety were 234.34 (95% CI: 225.78, 243.23, p \u3c .0001) times the odds of depression and/or anxiety than those that did not have this profile. Implications for future work are discussed

Low NOx Burner Development Program - Final Report - 09/15/1996 - 09/30/2000

This report describes the work performed to develop and demonstrate the VISTA combustor. The development effort was planned for three phases. Laboratory testing at a 1.5 and 6 MMBtu/hr scale was performed at thermo Power Corporation during the first phase. Also during the first phase, analytic modeling was performed to guide the design modifications evaluated in the experimental testing. Toward the end of the first phase, John Zink Company entered the program to participate in the design, evaluation, testing, and demonstration of a 30 MMBtu/hr combustor. The results of the second phase testing were to be used in the demonstration of the 30 MMBtu/hr combustor in a Koch Industries boiler. The program proceeded into the second phase. Two models of the VISTA combustor were tested. Measurements of the first stage NOx production were in the range anticipated to achieve the program goals, based on analytical modeling results. While testing the VISTA combustor at the John Zink facility, John Zink elected to discontinue the development of the VISTA combustor in favor of an alternative in-house concept. As a result, this program was terminated

City of Columbus Green Memo III: Municipal Building Energy Management

Course Code: ENR/AEDE 4567Green Memo III proposed sustainability objectives for the City of Columbus, Ohio to reach by 2020. This project evaluates goals to reduce energy consumption in municipal facilities through ENERGY STAR energy monitoring software and the implementation of Energy Conservation Measures.Academic Major: Environment, Economy, Development, and Sustainabilit

Reel Them In: A Framework for Bridging Underrepresented Students to STEM Majors

The eight-week math-intensive Running Start Summer Bridge program (RSSB) supports and challenges incoming STEM students in their coursework while immersing them on campus life. The current study explores the effectiveness of RSSB in easing students’ transition to college life and the rigorous nature of STEM disciplines. Throughout the program, holistic mentoring and participatory tutoring techniques provided students with academic enrichment opportunities. Central to this initiative is encouraging equity-mindedness and foster community-building practices. Data presented demonstrate how this innovative initiative increased retention and persistence among underrepresented students in STEM disciplines while fostering a sense of community. Best practices and assessment for holistic STEM summer bridge programs are included as a model to better retention and student success on different institutions taking in consideration the various factors and circumstances influencing program admission and demographics

Archives Magazine, 2021

Issue #2, Spring 202

Impaired coordination of nutrient intake and substrate oxidation in melanocortin-4 receptor knockout mice

Mutations in the melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) are associated with obesity. The obesity syndrome observed in humans with MC4R haploinsufficiency is similar to that observed in MC4R knockout mice: increased longitudinal growth, hyperphagia, and fasting hyperinsulinemia. For comparison with other commonly investigated models of obesity and insulin resistance, we have backcrossed Mc4r-/- mice into the C57BL/6J (B6) background. Female obese Mc4r-/- mice exhibit reduced energy expenditure and an attenuated increase in fatty acid oxidation following exposure to high fat diets compared to obese Lep ob/Lepob mice. The reduced energy expenditure and fatty acid oxidation correlates with changes in hepatic gene expression. The expression of genes involved in fatty acid oxidation increased in obese Lep ob/Lepob mice compared to wild type and obese Mc4r-/- mice. In contrast, a key lipogenic enzyme (fatty acid synthase) is increased in obese Mc4r-/- mice compared to obese Lepob/Lepob mice. Hyperinsulinemia, increased FAS mRNA expression and hepatic steatosis appear to be secondary to obesity in B6 Mc4r-/- mice. However, Mc4r-/- mice in a mixed genetic background develop severe hepatic steatosis at an early age. This might suggest an important role of the MC4R in regulating liver fatty acid metabolism this is masked on the B6 background. Interestingly, the 10- to 20-fold increase in liver triglyceride in this strain of Mc4r-/- mice is not always associated with fasting hyperinsulinemia or increased FAS mRNA expression. This observation suggests changes in liver secondary to triglyceride accumulation lead to hyperinsulinemia and increased hepatic FAS expression in Mc4r-/- mice

Application of IgG-Derived Natural Treg Epitopes (IgG Tregitopes) to Antigen-Specific Tolerance Induction in a Murine Model of Type 1 Diabetes

HLA class II-restricted regulatory T cell (Treg) epitopes in IgG (also called “Tregitopes”) have been reported to suppress immune responses to coadministered antigens by stimulating the expansion of natural Tregs (nTregs). Here we evaluate their impact on human immune responses to islet cell antigens ex vivo and on the modulation of type 1 diabetes (T1D) in a murine model in vivo. Co-administration of Tregitopes and T1D antigens delayed development of hyperglycemia and reduced the incidence of diabetes in NOD mice. Suppression of diabetes could be observed even following onset of disease. To measure the impact of Tregitope treatment on T cell responses, we evaluated the effect of Tregitope treatment in DO11.10 mice. Upregulation of FoxP3 in KJ1-26-stained OVA-specific CD4+ T cells was observed following treatment of DO11.10 mice with Tregitopes, along with reductions in anti-OVA Ig and T effector responses. In ex vivo studies of human T cells, peripheral blood mononuclear cells’ (PBMC) responses to GAD65 epitopes in the presence and absence of Tregitope were variable. Suppression of immune responses to GAD65 epitopes ex vivo by Tregitope appeared to be more effective in assays using PBMC from a newly diagnosed diabetic subject than for other more established diabetic subjects, and correlation of the degree of suppression with predicted HLA restriction of the Tregitopes was confirmed. Implementation of these defined regulatory T cell epitopes for therapy of T1D and other autoimmune diseases may lead to a paradigm shift in disease management

Coupling sensitive \u3cem\u3ein vitro\u3c/em\u3e and in silico techniques to assess cross-reactive CD4\u3csup\u3e+\u3c/sup\u3e T cells against the swine-origin H1N1 influenza virus

The outbreak of the novel swine-origin H1N1 influenza in the spring of 2009 took epidemiologists, immunologists, and vaccinologists by surprise and galvanized a massive worldwide effort to produce millions of vaccine doses to protect against this single virus strain. Of particular concern was the apparent lack of pre-existing antibody capable of eliciting cross-protective immunity against this novel virus, which fueled fears this strain would trigger a particularly far-reaching and lethal pandemic. Given that disease caused by the swine-origin virus was far less severe than expected, we hypothesized cellular immunity to cross-conserved T cell epitopes might have played a significant role in protecting against the pandemic H1N1 in the absence of cross-reactive humoral immunity. In a published study, we used an immunoinformatics approach to predict a number of CD4+ T cell epitopes are conserved between the 2008–2009 seasonal H1N1 vaccine strain and pandemic H1N1 (A/California/04/2009) hemagglutinin proteins. Here, we provide results from biological studies using PBMCs from human donors not exposed to the pandemic virus to demonstrate that pre-existing CD4+ T cells can elicit cross-reactive effector responses against the pandemic H1N1 virus. As well, we show our computational tools were 80–90% accurate in predicting CD4+ T cell epitopes and their HLA-DRB1-dependent response profiles in donors that were chosen at random for HLA haplotype. Combined, these results confirm the power of coupling immunoinformatics to define broadly reactive CD4+ T cell epitopes with highly sensitive in vitro biological assays to verify these in silico predictions as a means to understand human cellular immunity, including cross-protective responses, and to define CD4+ T cell epitopes for potential vaccination efforts against future influenza viruses and other pathogens