Development Of A Numerical Multi-Layered Groundwater Model To Simulate Inter-Aquifer Water Exchange In Shelby County, Tennessee

Inter-aquifer water exchange between the shallow and Memphis aquifers in Shelby County, Tennessee, poses a contamination threat due to the downward migration of younger, lesser quality groundwater, into deeper, more pristine aquifers. Discontinuities in the protective upper Claiborne confining unit (UCCU) allow for leakage into the Memphis aquifer, a sand-dominated aquifer that provides about 95% of the water used in the Memphis area. A multi-layered 3D groundwater model for Shelby County was created using the United States Geological Survey\u27s MODFLOW-NWT program, to evaluate water exchange for a simulation period from January 2005 to December 2016. Results indicate an overall leakage from the UCCU of 61 m3/min into the Memphis aquifer in Shelby County, accounting for 10% of its water budget inflow, with localize areas experiencing as much as 20% water exchange. As young water tends to stay in the upper part of the Memphis aquifer, a higher mixing percentage is expected in that zone. Water budget assessment for the upper 60 m of the Memphis aquifer resulted in leakage representing 29% of the zone inflow, and as much as 53% in certain areas. Inflow from the Fort Pillow aquifer into the Memphis was found to be negligible. More Localized studies must be conducted to understand the location, characteristics, and orientation of the confining unit breaches, as well as the inter-aquifer water interaction

Genetic transformation of novel isolates of chicken Lactobacillus bearing probiotic features for expression of heterologous proteins: a tool to develop live oral vaccines

BACKGROUND: The use of lactic acid bacteria as vehicles to delivery antigens to immunize animals is a promising issue. When genetically modified, these bacteria can induce a specific local and systemic immune response against selected pathogens. Gastric acid and bile salts tolerance, production of antagonistic substances against pathogenic microorganisms, and adhesive ability to gut epithelium are other important characteristics that make these bacteria useful for oral immunization. RESULTS: Bacteria isolated on de Man, Rogosa and Sharpe medium (MRS) from different gastrointestinal portions of broiler chicks were evaluated for their resistance to artificial gastric acid and bile salts, production of hydrogen peroxide, and cell surface hydrophobicity. Thirty-eight isolates were first typed at species level by PCR amplification of 16S-23S rRNA intergenic spacers using universal primers that anneal within 16S and 23S genes, followed by restriction digestion analyses of PCR amplicons (PCR-ARDRA). An expression cassette was assembled onto the pCR2.1-Topo vector by cloning the promoter, leader peptide, cell wall anchor and terminator sequences derived from the laminin binding S-layer protein gene of L. crispatus strain F5.7 (lbs gene). A sequence encoding the green fluorescent protein (GFP) was inserted as reporter gene, and an erythromycin resistance gene was added as selective marker. All constructs were able to express GFP in the cloning host E. coli XL1-Blue and different Lactobacillus strains as verified by FACS and laser scanning confocal microscopy. CONCLUSION: Lactobacillus isolated from gastrointestinal tract of broiler chickens and selected for probiotic characteristics can be genetically modified by introducing an expression cassette into the lbs locus. The transformed bacteria expressed on its cell wall surface different fluorescent proteins used as reporters of promoter function. It is possible then that similar bacterial model expressing pathogen antigens can be used as live oral vaccines to immunize broilers against infectious diseases

Asmparts: assembly of biological model parts

We propose a new computational tool to produce models of biological systems by assembling models from biological parts. Our software not only takes advantage of modularity, but it also enforces standardisation in part characterisation by considering a model of each part. We have used model parts in SBML to design transcriptional networks. Our software is open source, it works in linux and windows platforms, and it could be used to automatically produce models in a server. Our tool not only facilitates model design, but it will also help to promote the establishment of a registry of model parts

A Vast Thin Plane of Co-rotating Dwarf Galaxies Orbiting the Andromeda Galaxy

Dwarf satellite galaxies are thought to be the remnants of the population of primordial structures that coalesced to form giant galaxies like the Milky Way. An early analysis noted that dwarf galaxies may not be isotropically distributed around our Galaxy, as several are correlated with streams of HI emission, and possibly form co-planar groups. These suspicions are supported by recent analyses, and it has been claimed that the apparently planar distribution of satellites is not predicted within standard cosmology, and cannot simply represent a memory of past coherent accretion. However, other studies dispute this conclusion. Here we report the existence (99.998% significance) of a planar sub-group of satellites in the Andromeda galaxy, comprising approximately 50% of the population. The structure is vast: at least 400 kpc in diameter, but also extremely thin, with a perpendicular scatter <14.1 kpc (99% confidence). Radial velocity measurements reveal that the satellites in this structure have the same sense of rotation about their host. This finding shows conclusively that substantial numbers of dwarf satellite galaxies share the same dynamical orbital properties and direction of angular momentum, a new insight for our understanding of the origin of these most dark matter dominated of galaxies. Intriguingly, the plane we identify is approximately aligned with the pole of the Milky Way's disk and is co-planar with the Milky Way to Andromeda position vector. The existence of such extensive coherent kinematic structures within the halos of massive galaxies is a fact that must be explained within the framework of galaxy formation and cosmology.Comment: Published in the 3rd Jan 2013 issue of Nature. 19 pages, 4 figures, 1 three-dimensional interactive figure. To view and manipulate the 3-D figure, an Adobe Reader browser plug-in is required; alternatively save to disk and view with Adobe Reade

Hypertension and Histopathology Severity of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Among Adults with Obesity: A Cross-Sectional Study

Diego Chambergo-Michilot,1,&ast; Paola K Rodrigo-Gallardo,2 Mariella R Huaman,3,&ast; Angie Z Vasquez-Chavesta,4 Gustavo Salinas-Sedo,5 Carlos J Toro-Huamanchumo6,7,&ast; 1Universidad Científica del Sur, Lima, Peru; 2Hospital Docente Las Mercedes, Chiclayo, Peru; 3Facultad de Medicina Humana, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Peru; 4Facultad de Medicina Humana, Universidad Católica Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo, Chiclayo, Peru; 5Unidad de Investigación Multidisciplinaria, Clínica Avendaño, Lima, Peru; 6Unidad de Investigación para la Generación y Síntesis de Evidencias en Salud, Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola, Lima, Peru; 7OBEMET Centro de Obesidad y Salud Metabólica, Lima, Peru&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Carlos J Toro-Huamanchumo, Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola, Av. la Fontana 550, La Molina, Lima, 15024, Peru, Tel + 51944942888, Email [email protected]: Cardiovascular diseases are responsible for the majority of deaths resulting from non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). NAFLD is associated with hypertension and this is a key predictor of severe liver outcomes and an indicator of nonspecific portal fibrosis.Aim: To assess the association between hypertension and NAFLD severity.Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis of data from Peruvian adults with obesity and NAFLD who attended a Peruvian bariatric center. The severity of NAFLD was assessed using the Fatty Liver Inhibition of Progression algorithm / Steatosis, Activity and Fibrosis score. Hypertension was determined by either being recorded in the medical records or if the patient had a systolic pressure ≥ 140 mmHg or diastolic pressure ≥ 90 mmHg. To evaluate the association of interest, we calculated crude and adjusted prevalence ratios (aPR) using Poisson generalized linear models with logarithmic link function and robust variances. For the multivariable models, we adjusted for age, sex, physical activity and smoking.Results: Our study included 234 participants. The prevalence of hypertension was 19.2%, while the prevalence of severe NAFLD was 46.2%. After adjusting for confounders, the prevalence of hypertension was found to be significantly higher in the severe NAFLD group compared to the non-severe group (aPR = 1.33; 95% CI: 1.03– 1.74). When stratified by the presence of metabolic syndrome (MetS), the association remained significant only in the group without MetS (aPR = 1.80; 95% CI: 1.05– 3.11).Conclusion: We found an association between hypertension and severe NAFLD in adults with obesity, particularly in those without MetS.Keywords: non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, hypertension, obesit

Prospective monitoring improves outcomes of primary total hip replacement: a cohort study

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licens

New insights about host response to smallpox using microarray data

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Smallpox is a lethal disease that was endemic in many parts of the world until eradicated by massive immunization. Due to its lethality, there are serious concerns about its use as a bioweapon. Here we analyze publicly available microarray data to further understand survival of smallpox infected macaques, using systems biology approaches. Our goal is to improve the knowledge about the progression of this disease.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We used KEGG pathways annotations to define groups of genes (or modules), and subsequently compared them to macaque survival times. This technique provided additional insights about the host response to this disease, such as increased expression of the cytokines and ECM receptors in the individuals with higher survival times. These results could indicate that these gene groups could influence an effective response from the host to smallpox.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Macaques with higher survival times clearly express some specific pathways previously unidentified using regular gene-by-gene approaches. Our work also shows how third party analysis of public datasets can be important to support new hypotheses to relevant biological problems.</p