296 research outputs found
ILO : A Voice From Mummyland
https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-vp/3195/thumbnail.jp
Using Statistical Models and Machine Learning Techniques to Process Big Data from the Forth Road Bridge
Pathological and ecological host consequences of infection by an introduced fish parasite
The infection consequences of the introduced cestode fish parasite Bothriocephalus acheilognathi were studied in a cohort of wild, young-of-the-year common carp Cyprinus carpio that lacked co-evolution with the parasite. Within the cohort, parasite prevalence was 42% and parasite burdens were up to 12% body weight. Pathological changes within the intestinal tract of parasitized carp included distension of the gut wall, epithelial compression and degeneration, pressure necrosis and varied inflammatory changes. These were most pronounced in regions containing the largest proportion of mature proglottids. Although the body lengths of parasitized and non-parasitized fish were not significantly different, parasitized fish were of lower body condition and reduced weight compared to non-parasitized conspecifics. Stable isotope analysis (δ15N and δ13C) revealed trophic impacts associated with infection, particularly for δ15N where values for parasitized fish were significantly reduced as their parasite burden increased. In a controlled aquarium environment where the fish were fed ad libitum on an identical food source, there was no significant difference in values of δ15N and δ13C between parasitized and non-parasitized fish. The growth consequences remained, however, with parasitized fish growing significantly slower than non-parasitized fish, with their feeding rate (items s−1) also significantly lower. Thus, infection by an introduced parasite had multiple pathological, ecological and trophic impacts on a host with no experience of the parasite
Pennsylvania Folklife Vol. 17, No. 4
• Floral Motifs in Dutchland\u27s Art • What the Pennsylvania Dutch Dialect Has Meant in My Life • How I Make Soap • Pennsylvania German Snakelore • Amish Nicknames • Amish Nicknames from Holmes County, Ohio • Folk Festival Program • Festival Highlights • Pennsylvania Dutch Cooking Today and Yesterday • Folk Medicine in Butler County, Pennsylvania • Finger Games and Rhymes • Huckleberry Picking on Shade Mountain • Mealtimes and Table Settings: Folk-Cultural Questionnaire #8https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/pafolklifemag/1032/thumbnail.jp
Smoking during pregnancy and risk of abnormal glucose tolerance: a prospective cohort study
Background: Disturbances in glucose metabolism during pregnancy are associated with negative sequalae for both mother and infant. The association between smoking and abnormal glucose tolerance (AGT) remains controversial. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the relationship between smoking prior to and during pregnancy and risk of AGT. Methods: We utilized data from a prospective cohort of 1,006 Hispanic (predominantly Puerto Rican) prenatal care patients in Western Massachusetts. Women reported pre- and early pregnancy smoking at recruitment (mean = 15 weeks) and mid pregnancy smoking at a second interview (mean = 28 weeks). AGT was defined as \u3e 135 mg/dL on the routine 1-hour glucose tolerance test (1-hr OGTT). We used multivariable regression to assess the effect of pre, early, and mid-pregnancy smoking on risk of AGT and screening plasma glucose value from the 1-hr OGTT. Results: In age-adjusted models, women who smoked \u3e 0-9 cigarettes/day in pre-pregnancy had an increased risk of AGT (OR = 1.90; 95% CI 1.02-3.55) compared to non-smokers; this was attenuated in multivariable models. Smoking in early (OR = 0.48; 95% CI 0.21-1.10) and mid pregnancy (OR = 0.38; 95% CI 0.13-1.11) were not associated with AGT in multivariable models. Smoking during early and mid pregnancy were independently associated with lower glucose screening values, while smoking in pre-pregnancy was not. Conclusions: In this prospective cohort of Hispanic women, we did not observe an association between smoking prior to or during pregnancy and risk of AGT. Findings from this study, although based on small numbers of cases, extend prior research to the Hispanic population
Visualizing Graphene Based Sheets by Fluorescence Quenching Microscopy
Graphene based sheets have stimulated great interest due to their superior
mechanical, electrical and thermal properties. A general visualization method
that allows quick observation of these single atomic layers would be highly
desirable as it can greatly facilitate sample evaluation and manipulation, and
provide immediate feedback to improve synthesis and processing strategies. Here
we report that graphene based sheets can be made highly visible under a
fluorescence microscope by quenching the emission from a dye coating, which can
be conveniently removed afterwards by rinsing without disrupting the sheets.
Current imaging techniques for graphene based sheets rely on the use of special
substrates. In contrast, the fluorescence quenching mechanism is no longer
limited by the types of substrates. Graphene, reduced graphene oxide, or even
graphene oxide sheets deposited on arbitrary substrates can now be readily
visualized by eye with good contrast for layer counting. Direct observation of
suspended sheets in solution was also demonstrated. The fluorescence quenching
microscopy offers unprecedented imaging flexibility and could become a general
tool for characterizing graphene based materials.Comment: J. Am. Chem. Soc., Article ASA
Legionnaires’ disease case-finding algorithm, attack rates, and risk factors during a residential outbreak among older adults: an environmental and cohort study
Computational Bacterial Genome-Wide Analysis of Phylogenetic Profiles Reveals Potential Virulence Genes of Streptococcus agalactiae
The phylogenetic profile of a gene is a reflection of its evolutionary history
and can be defined as the differential presence or absence of a gene in a set of
reference genomes. It has been employed to facilitate the prediction of gene
functions. However, the hypothesis that the application of this concept can also
facilitate the discovery of bacterial virulence factors has not been fully
examined. In this paper, we test this hypothesis and report a computational
pipeline designed to identify previously unknown bacterial virulence genes using
group B streptococcus (GBS) as an example. Phylogenetic profiles of all GBS
genes across 467 bacterial reference genomes were determined by
candidate-against-all BLAST searches,which were then used to identify candidate
virulence genes by machine learning models. Evaluation experiments with known
GBS virulence genes suggested good functional and model consistency in
cross-validation analyses (areas under ROC curve, 0.80 and 0.98 respectively).
Inspection of the top-10 genes in each of the 15 virulence functional groups
revealed at least 15 (of 119) homologous genes implicated in virulence in other
human pathogens but previously unrecognized as potential virulence genes in GBS.
Among these highly-ranked genes, many encode hypothetical proteins with possible
roles in GBS virulence. Thus, our approach has led to the identification of a
set of genes potentially affecting the virulence potential of GBS, which are
potential candidates for further in vitro and in
vivo investigations. This computational pipeline can also be
extended to in silico analysis of virulence determinants of
other bacterial pathogens
The Role of Pre- and Postnatal Timing of Family Risk Factors on Child Behavior at 36 months
Children growing up in disharmonious families with anxious/depressed mothers are at risk for emotional and behavioral difficulties, however whether these associations reflect postnatal environment, prenatal exposure, or an overall liability is still unclear. This study used prospectively collected data from 24,259 participants of the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). Mothers reported on anxiety/depression and family disharmony twice in pregnancy and twice post pregnancy, as well as on their child’s physical aggression and crying behavior at age 36 months. First, results from an autoregressive cross-lagged model showed a substantial stability in both maternal anxiety/depression and family disharmony from pregnancy to 18 months postnatal, but there was no indication that family disharmony led to maternal anxiety/depression, or the other way around. Second, structural equation models further suggests that the main risk derived from an overall liability, that is, a lasting effect of family risks that spanned the two time periods
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