The Use of Thermal Capacity in Measuring the Effectiveness of Meals on Wheels Transport Containers

The Meals on Wheels (MOW) program is designed to help combat hunger in persons needing assistance. MOW has a duty not only to provide food but also to ensure that it reaches eligible clients safely. Given the population that MOW serves, transporting food safely takes on increased importance. This experiment focused on the major food safety issue of maintaining temperature integrity through the use of transport containers. For containers that did not contain electric heating elements, several factors influenced how fast the food temperature fell. Those factors included the U-value and size of the container as well as how many meals were in the container. As predicted, the smaller the U-value, the longer it took the temperature to fall. Larger containers did better at maintaining food temperatures, provided they were fully loaded. In general, fully loaded small and medium containers were better at maintaining food temperatures than larger containers loaded with the same number of meals

Draft Genome Sequence of Pseudoalteromonas sp. Strain JC3

We report the draft genome sequence for Pseudoalteromonas sp. strain JC3, an isolate obtained from an aquaculture facility for whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei). The JC3 genome suggests multiple mechanisms for microbial interactions, including a type VI secretion system and potential for antibiotic production

Variation in neural development as a result of exposure to institutionalization early in childhood

We used structural MRI and EEG to examine brain structure and function in typically developing children in Romania (n = 20), children exposed to institutional rearing (n = 29), and children previously exposed to institutional rearing but then randomized to a high-quality foster care intervention (n = 25). In so doing, we provide a unique evaluation of whether placement in an improved environment mitigates the effects of institutional rearing on neural structure, using data from the only existing randomized controlled trial of foster care for institutionalized children. Children enrolled in the Bucharest Early Intervention Project underwent a T1-weighted MRI protocol. Children with histories of institutional rearing had significantly smaller cortical gray matter volume than never-institutionalized children. Cortical white matter was no different for children placed in foster care than never-institutionalized children but was significantly smaller for children not randomized to foster care. We were also able to explain previously reported reductions in EEG α-power among institutionally reared children compared with children raised in families using these MRI data. As hypothesized, the association between institutionalization and EEG α-power was partially mediated by cortical white matter volume for children not randomized to foster care. The increase in white matter among children randomized to an improved rearing environment relative to children who remained in institutional care suggests the potential for developmental “catch up” in white matter growth, even following extreme environmental deprivation

Aging and Environmental Exposures Alter Tissue-Specific DNA Methylation Dependent upon CpG Island Context

Epigenetic control of gene transcription is critical for normal human development and cellular differentiation. While alterations of epigenetic marks such as DNA methylation have been linked to cancers and many other human diseases, interindividual epigenetic variations in normal tissues due to aging, environmental factors, or innate susceptibility are poorly characterized. The plasticity, tissue-specific nature, and variability of gene expression are related to epigenomic states that vary across individuals. Thus, population-based investigations are needed to further our understanding of the fundamental dynamics of normal individual epigenomes. We analyzed 217 non-pathologic human tissues from 10 anatomic sites at 1,413 autosomal CpG loci associated with 773 genes to investigate tissue-specific differences in DNA methylation and to discern how aging and exposures contribute to normal variation in methylation. Methylation profile classes derived from unsupervised modeling were significantly associated with age (P,0.0001) and were significant predictors of tissue origin (P,0.0001). In solid tissues (n = 119) we found striking, highly significant CpG island–dependent correlations between age and methylation; loci in CpG islands gained methylation with age, loci not in CpG islands lost methylation with age (P,0.001), and this pattern was consistent across tissues and in an analysis of blood-derived DNA. Our data clearly demonstrate age- and exposure-related differences in tissue-specific methylation and significant age-associated methylation patterns which are CpG island context-dependent. This work provides novel insight into the role of aging and the environment in susceptibility to diseases such as cancer and critically informs the field of epigenomics by providing evidence of epigenetic dysregulation by age-related methylation alterations. Collectively we reveal key issues to consider both in the construction of reference and disease-related epigenomes and in the interpretation of potentially pathologically important alterations

Breast Cancer DNA Methylation Profiles Are Associated with Tumor Size and Alcohol and Folate Intake

Although tumor size and lymph node involvement are the current cornerstones of breast cancer prognosis, they have not been extensively explored in relation to tumor methylation attributes in conjunction with other tumor and patient dietary and hormonal characteristics. Using primary breast tumors from 162 (AJCC stage I-IV) women from the Kaiser Division of Research Pathways Study and the Illumina GoldenGate methylation bead-array platform, we measured 1,413 autosomal CpG loci associated with 773 cancer-related genes and validated select CpG loci with Sequenom EpiTYPER. Tumor grade, size, estrogen and progesterone receptor status, and triple negative status were significantly (Q-values \u3c0.05) associated with altered methylation of 209, 74, 183, 69, and 130 loci, respectively. Unsupervised clustering, using a recursively partitioned mixture model (RPMM), of all autosomal CpG loci revealed eight distinct methylation classes. Methylation class membership was significantly associated with patient race (P\u3c0.02) and tumor size (P\u3c0.001) in univariate tests. Using multinomial logistic regression to adjust for potential confounders, patient age and tumor size, as well as known disease risk factors of alcohol intake and total dietary folate, were all significantly (P\u3c0.0001) associated with methylation class membership. Breast cancer prognostic characteristics and risk-related exposures appear to be associated with gene-specific tumor methylation, as well as overall methylation patterns

NASA ESDIS Employs the Latest Generation Web Analytics Tool

Under the auspices of NASA's Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS), The Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS) Project distributes science data to a wide community of users through its Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs). Much of this data is made available via interactive websites - which involve links, downloads, on page interaction, and referrals to additional online pages. To meet the earth science data and information needs of many data users representing numerous different science domains, over 80 specialized websites are supported by multiple distributed organizations under the ESDIS umbrella

Improving the mental health of farmers: what types of remote support are acceptable, feasible, and improve outcomes? A feasibility RCT

Background: The farming community have high rates of poor mental health, and are relatively ‘hard to reach’ with mental health services. The aim of this study was therefore to undertake a feasibility RCT, based on two mental health interventions. These were (1) CBT based ‘Living Life to the Full for Farming Communities’ (LLTTF-F; www.llttf.com), and (2) a holistic social and emotional support service delivered by the Royal Scottish Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RSABI). The feasibility was supplemented by process evaluation. Methods: This feasibility study aimed to recruit 40 individuals from the farming community who were experiencing a common health problem defined as a score of > = 8 on PHQ-9. A snowball approach was used to recruit interested individuals who had an association with farming. An initial telephone call screened for eligibility and obtained consent to randomisation to the two specified interventions, or to a thirdly group receiving a combination of both LLTTF-F and ‘Social and emotional support’. Participants were permitted to override the randomised option if they expressed a strong preference before the interventions began. Results: Thirty-two participants provided baseline and three-month data. All three interventions showed positive improvements on PHQ-9 scores as follows: the ‘combined intervention’ mean baseline score was 18.1 compared to 12.0 at 3-month follow-up (mean change 6.1). ‘Social and emotional support’ mean baseline score was 11.3 compared to 6.7 at 3-month follow-up (mean change 4.6). ‘LLTTF-F CBT-based intervention only’ mean baseline score was 11.8 compared to 4.5 at 3-month follow-up (mean change 7.3). The retention rate was 81% at three months. In a sub-group of the LLTTF-F CBT-based intervention online materials were supplemented by telephone guided support. This approach received very positive feedback. Conclusions: Recruitment from the farming community required intense effort, and good engagement can then be retained for at least three months. There is evidence that the interventions used were feasible, and tentative evidence that they had a demonstrable effect on mental wellbeing, with the LLTTFF providing the largest effect on PHQ-9 scores. Trial Registration Number ISRCTN27173711, submitted 25/08/2023, confirmed 22/092023

Microvascular Endothelial Dysfunction in Sedentary, Obese Humans Is Mediated by NADPH Oxidase Influence of Exercise Training

Objective—The objectives of this study were to determine the impact of in vivo reactive oxygen species (ROS) on microvascular endothelial function in obese human subjects and the efficacy of an aerobic exercise intervention on alleviating obesity-associated dysfunctionality. Approach and Results—Young, sedentary men and women were divided into lean (body mass index 18–25; n=14), intermediate (body mass index 28–32.5; n=13), and obese (body mass index 33–40; n=15) groups. A novel microdialysis technique was utilized to detect elevated interstitial hydrogen peroxide (H2 O2 ) and superoxide levels in the vastus lateralis of obese compared with both lean and intermediate subjects. Nutritive blood flow was monitored in the vastus lateralis via the microdialysis-ethanol technique. A decrement in acetylcholine-stimulated blood flow revealed impaired microvascular endothelial function in the obese subjects. Perfusion of apocynin, an NADPH oxidase inhibitor, lowered (normalized) H2 O2 and superoxide levels, and reversed microvascular endothelial dysfunction in obese subjects. After 8 weeks of exercise, H2 O2 levels were decreased in the obese subjects and microvascular endothelial function in these subjects was restored to levels similar to lean subjects. Skeletal muscle protein expression of the NADPH oxidase subunits p22phox, p47phox, and p67phox was increased in obese relative to lean subjects, where p22phox and p67phox expression was attenuated by exercise training in obese subjects. Conclusions—This study implicates NADPH oxidase as a source of excessive ROS production in skeletal muscle of obese individuals and links excessive NADPH oxidase–derived ROS to microvascular endothelial dysfunction in obesity. Furthermore, aerobic exercise training proved to be an effective strategy for alleviating these malad