Induction of Colonic Aberrant Crypts in Mice by Feeding Apparent N-Nitroso Compounds Derived From Hot Dogs

Nitrite-preserved meats (e.g., hot dogs) may help cause colon cancer because they contain N-nitroso compounds. We tested whether purified hot-dog-derived total apparent N-nitroso compounds (ANC) could induce colonic aberrant crypts, which are putative precursors of colon cancer. We purified ANC precursors in hot dogs and nitrosated them to produce ANC. In preliminary tests, CF1 mice received 1 or 3 i.p. injections of 5mg azoxymethane (AOM)/kg. In Experiments 1 and 2, female A/J mice received ANC in diet. In Experiment 1, ANC dose initially dropped sharply because the ANC precursors had mostly decomposed but, later in Experiment 1 and throughout Experiment 2, ANC remained at 85 nmol/g diet. Mice were killed after 8 (AOM tests) or 17–34 (ANC tests) wk.Median numbers of aberrant crypts in the distal 2 cm of the colon for 1 and 3 AOMinjections, CF1 controls, ANC (Experiment 1), ANC (Experiment 2),and untreated A/J mice were 31, 74, 12, 20, 12, and 5–6, with P < 0.01 for both ANC tests. Experiment 2 showed somewhat increased numbers of colonic mucin-depleted foci in the ANC-treated group. We conclude that hot-dog-derived ANC induced significant numbers of aberrant crypts in the mouse colon

Importance of Steric Influences in the Construction of Multicomponent Hybrid Polymetallic Clusters

The straightforward room temperature synthesis of hybrid polymetallic manganese clusters is investigated, exploiting complementary ligand combinations of <i>p</i>-<i>tert</i>-butylcalix­[4]­arene and salicylaldoximes. Eight new [Mn^III₇Mn^II] clusters have been prepared wherein the simple substitution of alkyl or aryl groups at well-defined positions of the salicylaldoxime scaffold leads to two distinct structure types that, while exhibiting the same general topology, contain the unique Mn^II ion in different positions. Incorporation of a methyl, ethyl, or isopropyl group at the 3-position of the aromatic skeleton or a phenyl group at the oximic carbon gives structure type A that displays competing weak ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic interactions. Substitution of a methyl or ethyl group at the oximic carbon atom invokes structure type B, incorporating an additional bulky chloride or nitrate into the metallic core due to the smaller steric imposition and position of the methyl or ethyl group. The distortion of the cluster core is consequently enhanced, switching the magnetic properties and resulting in single-molecule magnet behavior. The presence of <i>tert</i>-butyl groups at the 3- and 5-positions of the salicylaldoxime skeleton leads to a new [Mn^IV₂Mn^III₂] cluster that is found to be a single-molecule magnet. The bulky <i>tert</i>-butyl group in the 3-position is too large to facilitate Mn₈ cluster formation, and thus assembly occurs by an alternative pathway. Characteristic bonding modes of the constituent ligands are retained in every case, and the results presented here give insight into the potential of ligand combinations in future studies, highlighting the importance of steric factors in evaluating their relevant compatibilities

Fecal glucocorticoids and anthropogenic injury and mortality in North Atlantic right whales Eubalaena glacialis

© The Author(s), 2017. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Endangered Species Research 34 (2017): 417-429, doi:10.3354/esr00866.As human impacts on marine ecosystems escalate, there is increasing interest in quantifying sub-lethal physiological and pathological responses of marine mammals. Glucocorticoid hormones are commonly used to assess stress responses to anthropogenic factors in wildlife. While obtaining blood samples to measure circulating hormones is not currently feasible for free-swimming large whales, immunoassay of fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (fGCs) has been validated for North Atlantic right whales Eubalaena glacialis (NARW). Using a general linear model, we compared fGC concentrations in right whales chronically entangled in fishing gear (n = 6) or live-stranded (n = 1), with right whales quickly killed by vessels (n = 5) and healthy right whales (n = 113) to characterize fGC responses to acute vs. chronic stressors. fGCs in entangled whales (mean ± SE: 1856.4 ± 1644.9 ng g-1) and the stranded whale (5740.7 ng g-1) were significantly higher than in whales killed by vessels (46.2 ± 19.2 ng g-1) and healthy whales (51.7 ± 8.7 ng g-1). Paired feces and serum collected from the live-stranded right whale provided comparison of fGCs in 2 matrices in a chronically stressed whale. Serum cortisol and corticosterone in this whale (50.0 and 29.0 ng ml-1, respectively) were much higher than values reported in other cetaceans, in concordance with extremely elevated fGCs. Meaningful patterns in fGC concentration related to acute vs. chronic impacts persisted despite potential for bacterial degradation of hormone metabolites in dead whales. These results provide biological validation for using fGCs as a biomarker of chronic stress in NARWs.This research was funded by the NOAA/NMFS, Office of Naval Research Marine Mammals and Biology Program, Northeast Consortium, Island Foundation, Irving Oil, NEAq Internal Research Fund, Prescott Grant NA08NMF4390590, and NOAA CINAR Cooperative Agreement NA09OAR4320129

A Study to Validate a Self-Reported Version of the ONS Drug Dependence Questionnaire

Aim: A prospective study to establish the reliability of a self-completion version of the Office for National Statistics (ONS) questionnaire for assessing drug dependence of substance misuse clients. Method: A total of 47 treatment seeking opioid-dependent clients completed the self-complete version of the ONS questionnaire (ONS-sc) followed by the interviewer-administered ONS questionnaire (ONS-ia) at a single clinic appointment. Scores for four Class A drugs (heroin, methadone, speed and crack/cocaine) from both formats were compared. Results: The observed agreement was 87% or more and Cohen's kappa was 0.7 (p < 0.001) or more for all four Class A drugs. Sensitivity for each Class A drugs was 56% or higher and specificity was 87% or higher. Sensitivity for severe heroin dependency was 98% (CI 89–100%). There was a 100% correlation between the ONS-sc and positive urine analysis for heroin use. However, methadone and crack/cocaine drug use appeared under reported. Conclusion: ONS-sc is a feasible, practical and time-saving alternative to a detailed interview on drug dependence. Further research with a larger sample size and non-opiate-dependent clients are needed, as this could prove a useful tool for monitoring clients in everyday practice, or for survey purposes where interviews are impractical

Little groups of irreps of O(3), SO(3), and the infinite axial subgroups

Little groups are enumerated for the irreps and their components in any basis of O(3) and SO(3) up to rank 9, and for all irreps of C$_{\infty}$, C$_{\infty h}$, C$_{\infty v}$, D$_{\infty}$ and D$_{\infty h}$. The results are obtained by a new chain criterion, which distinguishes massive (rotationally inequivalent) irrep basis functions and allows for multiple branching paths, and are verified by inspection. These results are relevant to the determination of the symmetry of a material from its linear and nonlinear optical properties and to the choices of order parameters for symmetry breaking in liquid crystals.Comment: 28 pages and 3 figure

Comparison of bacterial communities in sands and water at beaches with bacterial water quality violations

© The Author(s), 2014. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in PLoS One 9 (2014): e90815, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0090815.Recreational water quality, as measured by culturable fecal indicator bacteria (FIB), may be influenced by persistent populations of these bacteria in local sands or wrack, in addition to varied fecal inputs from human and/or animal sources. In this study, pyrosequencing was used to generate short sequence tags of the 16S hypervariable region ribosomal DNA from shallow water samples and from sand samples collected at the high tide line and at the intertidal water line at sites with and without FIB exceedance events. These data were used to examine the sand and water bacterial communities to assess the similarity between samples, and to determine the impact of water quality exceedance events on the community composition. Sequences belonging to a group of bacteria previously identified as alternative fecal indicators were also analyzed in relationship to water quality violation events. We found that sand and water samples hosted distinctly different overall bacterial communities, and there was greater similarity in the community composition between coastal water samples from two distant sites. The dissimilarity between high tide and intertidal sand bacterial communities, although more similar to each other than to water, corresponded to greater tidal range between the samples. Within the group of alternative fecal indicators greater similarity was observed within sand and water from the same site, likely reflecting the anthropogenic contribution at each beach. This study supports the growing evidence that community-based molecular tools can be leveraged to identify the sources and potential impact of fecal pollution in the environment, and furthermore suggests that a more diverse bacterial community in beach sand and water may reflect a less contaminated site and better water quality.This work was supported by the National Science Foundation grant OCE-0430724, and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences grant P0ES012742 to the Woods Hole Center for Ocean and Human Health. E. Halliday was partially supported by WHOI Academic Programs and grants from the WHOI Ocean Ventures Fund and the WHOI Coastal Ocean Institute

A study to define meteorological uses and performance requirements for the Synchronous Earth Observatory Satellite

The potential meteorological uses of the Synchronous Earth Observatory Satellite (SEOS) were studied for detecting and predicting hazards to life, property, or the quality of the environment. Mesoscale meteorological phenonmena, and the observations requirements for SEOS are discussed along with the sensor parameters

Performance of point-of-care HbA1c test devices: implications for use in clinical practice – a systematic review and meta-analysis

Regular monitoring of glycated hemoglobin subfraction A1c (HbA1c) in people with diabetes and treatment with glucose-lowering medications to improve glycaemic control can reduce the risk of developing complications [1]. In 2011, a World Health Organization consultation concluded that HbA1cat a threshold of 6.5% (48 mmol/mol) can be used as a diagnostic test for diabetes [2]. HbA1c monitoring often requires the patient to attend the health center twice: once to have blood taken and then returning to get test results and receive adjustments to medication. Point-of-care (POC) analysers are bench-top instruments that use a finger-prick blood sample and are designed for use in a treatment room or at the bed-side. They provide a test result within a few minutes allowing clinical decisions and medication changes to take place immediately. The suitability of many of these devices for the accurate measurement of HbA1c has been questioned, with some POC HbA1c test devices reported not to meet accepted accuracy and precision criteria [3]. Ideal imprecision goals for HbA1c should be coefficient of variation (CV) of <2% for HbA1c reported in % units (or <3% in SI units, mmol/mol) [4], [5], [6]. Most evaluations of POC HbA1c devices have taken place in laboratory settings [7], [8]; fewer studies have assessed device performance in a POC setting or with clinicians performing the tests [9], [10]. The only published review that has attempted to combine data from accuracy studies identified five studies covering three devices and compared correlation coefficients [11]. Systematically reporting and pooling data estimates of bias and precision between POC HbA1c devices and laboratory measurements would enable end users to assess which analysers best meet their analytical performance needs. This may be of particular importance for clinicians in primary care settings where much of the management of diabetes patients takes place. The comparison of accuracy between devices over the entire therapeutic range would need to be carried out by combining data on measurement error (bias) between POC and laboratory tests [12]. The aim of this study was to compare accuracy and precision of POC HbA1c devices with the local laboratory method based on data from published studies and discuss the clinical implications of the findings

A comparative analysis of marine mammal tracheas

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2013. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Company of Biologists for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Experimental Biology 217 (2014): 1154-1166, doi:10.1242/​jeb.093146.In 1940, Scholander suggested that stiffened upper airways remained open and received air from highly compressible alveoli during marine mammal diving. There are little data available on the structural and functional adaptations of the marine mammal respiratory system. The aim of this research was to investigate the anatomical (gross) and structural (compliance) characteristics of excised marine mammal tracheas. Here we defined different types of tracheal structures, categorizing pinniped tracheas by varying degrees of continuity of cartilage (categories 1-4) and cetacean tracheas by varying compliance values (categories 5A and 5B). Some tracheas fell into more than one category, along their length, for example, the harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) demonstrated complete rings cranially, and as the trachea progressed caudally tracheal rings changed morphology. Dolphins and porpoises had less stiff, more compliant spiraling rings while beaked whales had very stiff, less compliant spiraling rings. The pressure-volume (P-V) relationships of isolated tracheas from different species were measured to assess structural differences between species. These findings lend evidence for pressure-induced collapse and re-inflation of lungs, perhaps influencing variability in dive depth or ventilation rates of the species investigated.This project was supported by a grant from the Office of Naval Research (award number N00014-10-1-0059).2014-12-0