Moose, Alces alces, Winter Browse Use in Central Labrador

To determine the effect of forestry practices on the availability of winter Moose forage, we recorded Moose browse along four 250 m transects in each of five forest regeneration ages. Browse use was greater on 20- and 30-year-old regenerating stands as compared with recently clearcut stands (5 and 10 years old) or mature forest (> 150 years old). Willow (Salix sp.) followed by White Birch (Betula papyrifera) had the highest proportion of browsing by Moose

School-Based Telemedicine Interventions for Asthma: A Systematic Review.

BackgroundSchool health systems are increasingly investing in telemedicine platforms to address acute and chronic illnesses. Asthma, the most common chronic illness in childhood, is of particular interest given its high burden on school absenteeism.ObjectiveConduct a systematic review evaluating impact of school-based telemedicine programs on improving asthma-related outcomes.Data sourcesPubMed, Cochrane CENTRAL, CINAHL, ERIC, PsycINFO, Embase, and Google Scholar.Study eligibility criteriaOriginal research, including quasi-experimental studies, without restriction on the type of telemedicine.ParticipantsSchool-aged pediatric patients with asthma and their families.InterventionsSchool-based telemedicine.Study appraisal and synthesis methodsTwo authors independently screened each abstract, conducted full-text review, assessed study quality, and extracted information. A third author resolved disagreements.ResultsOf 371 articles identified, 7 were included for the review. Outcomes of interest were asthma symptom-free days, asthma symptom frequency, quality of life, health care utilization, school absences, and spirometry. Four of 7 studies reported significant increases in symptom-free days and/or decrease in symptom frequency. Five of 6 reported increases in at least one quality-of-life metric, 2 of 7 reported a decrease in at least 1 health care utilization metric, 1 of 3 showed reductions in school absences, and 1 of 2 reported improvements in spirometry measures.LimitationsVariability in intervention designs and outcome measures make comparisons and quantitative analyses across studies difficult. Only 2 of 7 studies were randomized controlled trials.Conclusions and implications of key findingsHigh-quality evidence supporting the use of school-based telemedicine programs to improve patient outcomes is limited. While available evidence suggests benefit, only 2 comparative trials were identified, and the contribution of telemedicine to these studies' results is unclear

Folding-competent and folding-defective forms of Ricin A chain have different fates following retrotranslocation from the endoplasmic reticulum

We report that a toxic polypeptide retaining the potential to refold upon dislocation from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to the cytosol (ricin A chain; RTA) and a misfolded version that cannot (termed RTAΔ), follow ER-associated degradation (ERAD) pathways in Saccharomyces cerevisiae that substantially diverge in the cytosol. Both polypeptides are dislocated in a step mediated by the transmembrane Hrd1p ubiquitin ligase complex and subsequently degraded. Canonical polyubiquitylation is not a prerequisite for this interaction because a catalytically inactive Hrd1p E3 ubiquitin ligase retains the ability to retrotranslocate RTA, and variants lacking one or both endogenous lysyl residues also require the Hrd1p complex. In the case of native RTA, we established that dislocation also depends on other components of the classical ERAD-L pathway as well as an ongoing ER–Golgi transport. However, the dislocation pathways deviate strikingly upon entry into the cytosol. Here, the CDC48 complex is required only for RTAΔ, although the involvement of individual ATPases (Rpt proteins) in the 19S regulatory particle (RP) of the proteasome, and the 20S catalytic chamber itself, is very different for the two RTA variants. We conclude that cytosolic ERAD components, particularly the proteasome RP, can discriminate between structural features of the same substrate

Chamber material effects on actinometric measurements in rf glow discharges

The relative concentration of atomic fluroine was measured in a CF4 rf glow discharge using the actinometric technique. The dependence of fluorine concentration on power, pressure and flow are presented and shown to be dependent upon reactor wall material and electrode material.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/70093/2/JAPIAU-69-5-2885-1.pd

Self-Esteem and Feelings of Community Connectedness of At-Risk Adolescents Attending Community-Based Afterschool Programs

This research investigated the relationship between adolescent afterschool program attendance, self-esteem and feelings of community connectedness. Thirty-nine of the 61 at-risk adolescents enrolled in two federally funded, community based afterschool programs participated in the study. Participants completed a 10-item self-esteem questionnaire and a 5-item section of the Youth Involved in Community Issues Survey (YICI) to measure perceptions of community connectedness. Attendance records were also collected from the sites. Data were analyzed using Pearson Correlations. Results indicated that there was not a significant relationship between the total variables. The individual item analysis, however, did find a significant relationship between adolescent community connectedness and self esteem items. Findings suggest that there is a relationship to be explored and strengthened through means of community outreach for adolescents. Conclusions from this study have important implications for youth practice. Specifically, program leaders need to help adolescents get involved in the community as contributing members

Glass is a viable substrate for precision force microscopy of membrane proteins

Scientific Reports ; 5:12550 ; DOI: 10.1038/srep12550.Chada, N. et al. Glass is a Viable Substrate for Precision Force Microscopy of Membrane Proteins. Sci. Rep. 5, 12550; doi: 10.1038/srep12550 (2015).8 pages.Received: 01 April 2015 ; Accepted: 02 July 2015 ; Published: 31 July 2015.Though ubiquitous in optical microscopy, glass has long been overlooked as a specimen supporting surface for high resolution atomic force microscopy (AFM) investigations due to its roughness. Using bacteriorhodopsin from Halobacterium salinarum and the translocon SecYEG from Escherichia coli, we demonstrate that faithful images of 2D crystalline and non-crystalline membrane proteins in lipid bilayers can be obtained on microscope cover glass following a straight-forward cleaning procedure. Direct comparison between AFM data obtained on glass and on mica substrates show no major differences in image fidelity. Repeated association of the ATPase SecA with the cytoplasmic protrusion of SecYEG demonstrates that the translocon remains competent for binding after tens of minutes of continuous AFM imaging. This opens the door for precision long-timescale investigations of the active translocase in near-native conditions and, more generally, for integration of high resolution biological AFM with many powerful optical techniques that require non-birefringent substrates.Includes bibliographical references

“It just makes me feel a little less alone” a qualitative exploration of the podcast “menopause unmuted” on women's perceptions of menopause

Objective: Menopause can negatively impact women's quality of life, with many women reporting inadequate information and support. Podcasts have grown in popularity in recent years and have been found to be accessible methods for increasing knowledge and challenging perceptions of stigmatized topics. The current research aimed to understand the impact of the podcast “menopause: unmuted” on women's menopause-related knowledge, understanding, and communication practices. Methods: A diverse sample of 30 women aged 40 to 60 years listened to the podcast series, which focused on menopause stories, before taking part in semistructured interviews to discuss the impact of the podcast on how they understood and communicated about menopause. The interviews were analyzed thematically. Results: Two overarching themes were identified in the data. A “journey of knowledge gain” explores participants’ understanding of menopause before listening to the podcast and describes how this is deepened by hearing and connecting with women's stories. “Reframing menopause” describes the impact of the podcast, where women reflect on the value of communication amongst women, challenge and re-evaluate the stigmatization of menopause, and discuss ways to make positive behavioral changes in their lives. Conclusions: The podcast “menopause: unmuted” helped women to learn about the menopause experience, have a greater sense of belonging to a community of women, and feel empowered to make changes in their own lives. Sharing stories via podcasts has potential as an accessible and impactful medium to educate women and reduce the widespread stigma associated with menopause

The purpose of mess in action research: building rigour though a messy turn

Mess and rigour might appear to be strange bedfellows. This paper argues that the purpose of mess is to facilitate a turn towards new constructions of knowing that lead to transformation in practice (an action turn). Engaging in action research - research that can disturb both individual and communally held notions of knowledge for practice - will be messy. Investigations into the 'messy area', the interface between the known and the nearly known, between knowledge in use and tacit knowledge as yet to be useful, reveal the 'messy area' as a vital element for seeing, disrupting, analysing, learning, knowing and changing. It is the place where long-held views shaped by professional knowledge, practical judgement, experience and intuition are seen through other lenses. It is here that reframing takes place and new knowing, which has both theoretical and practical significance, arises: a 'messy turn' takes place

An 11.5 W Yb:YAG planar waveguide laser fabricated via pulsed laser deposition

We present details of the homo-epitaxial growth of Yb:YAG onto a <100> oriented YAG substrate by pulsed laser deposition. Material characterization and initial laser experiments are also reported, including the demonstration of laser action from the 15 µm-thick planar waveguide generating 11.5 W of output power with a slope efficiency of 48%. This work indicates that under appropriate conditions, high-quality single-crystal Yb:YAG growth via pulsed laser deposition is achievable with characteristics comparable to those obtained via conventional crystal growth techniques

Glass is a viable substrate for atomic force microscopy of membrane proteins : [abstract]

Abstract only."2314-Pos Board B6.""Page 458a, Tuesday, February 18, 2014."--At top of page.Abstract in program book: Since its invention in the mid-1980s, the atomic force microscope (AFM) has become an invaluable complementary tool for studying membrane proteins in near-native environments. Historically, mica is the most common substrate utilized for biological AFM. Glass being amorphous, transparent, and optically homogeneous has its own set of advantages over mica and has the potential to broaden the use the AFM into fields that require high quality non-birefringent optical access. The use of silanized glass as AFM substrates has been reported as a means to fine tune surface chemistry. However, such coatings usually require hours of additional preparation time and can lead to increased surface roughness. In this work, we present a simple technique for preparing borosilicate glass as a substrate for two membrane systems: non-crystalline translocons (SecYEG) of the general secretary system from E. coli, and bacteriorhodopsin (BR) from H. salinarum. For both these membrane proteins, quantitative comparisons of the measured protein structures on glass versus mica substrates show agreement. An additional advantage of glass is that lipid coverage is rapid (< 10 minutes) and complete (occupying the entire surface). A goal is to study the bacterial export system using recently developed precision measurement techniques such as ultra-stable AFM