A stringent preemptive protocol reduces cytomegalovirus disease in the first 6 months after kidney transplantation

Background: The optimal strategy to prevent cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease after kidney transplantation continues to be open to debate. The preemptive approach requires regular determination of CMV viremia and prompt initiation of therapy. Methods: We retrospectively compared the incidence of CMV disease during two periods at our center: A first phase (P1, n=84 kidney recipients), during which time the intensity of surveillance was determined by the responsible physician, was compared to a second phase (P2, n=74), when a stringent protocol of CMV surveillance was required for all patients. The preemptive approach was applied for all CMV risk groups; prophylaxis was optional in the case of treatment for rejection or delayed graft function in the intermediate- and high-risk group. Follow-up was truncated at 6months after transplant surgery. CMV syndrome was differentiated from asymptomatic replication by the presence of at least one systemic symptom, while diagnosis of CMV end-organ disease required histological confirmation. Results: Immunosuppression was similar in the two periods. CMV prophylaxis was used equally (26%) in both periods. The probability for asymptomatic viremia episodes was not different for patients in P1 and P2 regardless of the prevention strategy. For patients following the preemptive strategy, the probability for CMV disease was increased during P1 (p=0.016), despite fewer PCR assays being performed in phase 2. Protocol violations were only observed during P1. Conclusions: The probability of CMV disease episodes (CMV syndrome and CMV end-organ disease) was substantially reduced using a very stringent protocol. This study highlights the crucial importance of a stringent protocol with optimal adherence by all caregivers if the preemptive strategy is to be successfu

Evaluating the Utah Agriculture in the Classroom Preservice Teacher Seminar

Utah Agriculture in the Classroom hosts preservice teacher seminars in partnership with five universities across the state. From 2017-2021, approximately 600 college students participated in these seminars. The preservice seminars provided agriculture-themed lessons aligned to state educational standards for future teachers to use as they build resources for their classrooms

Embedding of Cortical Representations by the Superficial Patch System

Pyramidal cells in layers 2 and 3 of the neocortex of many species collectively form a clustered system of lateral axonal projections (the superficial patch system—Lund JS, Angelucci A, Bressloff PC. 2003. Anatomical substrates for functional columns in macaque monkey primary visual cortex. Cereb Cortex. 13:15-24. or daisy architecture—Douglas RJ, Martin KAC. 2004. Neuronal circuits of the neocortex. Annu Rev Neurosci. 27:419-451.), but the function performed by this general feature of the cortical architecture remains obscure. By comparing the spatial configuration of labeled patches with the configuration of responses to drifting grating stimuli, we found the spatial organizations both of the patch system and of the cortical response to be highly conserved between cat and monkey primary visual cortex. More importantly, the configuration of the superficial patch system is directly reflected in the arrangement of function across monkey primary visual cortex. Our results indicate a close relationship between the structure of the superficial patch system and cortical responses encoding a single value across the surface of visual cortex (self-consistent states). This relationship is consistent with the spontaneous emergence of orientation response-like activity patterns during ongoing cortical activity (Kenet T, Bibitchkov D, Tsodyks M, Grinvald A, Arieli A. 2003. Spontaneously emerging cortical representations of visual attributes. Nature. 425:954-956.). We conclude that the superficial patch system is the physical encoding of self-consistent cortical states, and that a set of concurrently labeled patches participate in a network of mutually consistent representations of cortical inpu

Sustainable Management of Water Resources

The Dawn spacecraft arrived at dwarf planet Ceres in spring 2015 and imaged its surface from four successively lower polar orbits at ground sampling dimensions between ∼1.3 km/px and ∼35 m/px. To understand the geological history of Ceres a mapping campaign was initiated to produce a set of 15 quadrangle-based geological maps using the highest-resolution Framing Camera imagery. Here we present the geological map of the Ac-10 Rongo Quadrangle, which is located at the equator encompassing the region from 22°N to 22°S and 288° to 360°E. The total relief within the quadrangle is 11.1 km with altitudes ranging from about −7.3 km to +3.8 km. We identified nine geological units based on surface morphology and surface textural characteristics. The dominant and most widespread unit is the cratered terrain (crt) representing ancient reworked crustal material. Its consistent formation age across the quadrangle is 1.8 Ga. Two edifices (unit th), Ahuna Mons and an unnamed tholus within Begbalel Crater, are interpreted to be of (cryo)volcanic origin. The southwest portion of the quadrangle is dominated by ejecta material (Ye) emplaced during the formation of the 260-km diameter Yalode impact basin at about 580 Ma. Rayed crater ejecta material (cr) is dominant in the eastern part of the quadrangle but also occurs in isolated patches up to a distance of 455 km from the 34 km diameter source crater Haulani. The remaining five geological units also represent impact crater materials: degraded rim (crdeg), bright crater (cb), hummocky floor (cfh), talus (ta), and crater (c) materials. Widespread Yalode and Haulani ejecta materials can potentially be utilised as stratigraphic markers. Therefore, it is essential to consistently map their full areal extent and to date their formations using impact crater statistics

Wearable near-infrared spectroscopy as a physiological monitoring tool for seals under anaesthesia

Chemical immobilisation of pinnipeds is a routine procedure in research and veterinary practice. Yet, there are inevitable risks associated with chemical immobilisation, and the physiological response to anaesthetic agents in pinnipeds remains poorly understood. The current study used wearable continuous-wave near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) data from 10 trials of prolonged anaesthesia (0.5 to 1.4 h) induced through ketamine and midazolam in five grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) involved in other procedures. The aim of this study was to (1) analyse the effect of each compound on heart rate, arterial oxygen saturation (SpO2), and relative concentration changes in oxygenated [ΔO2Hb] and deoxygenated haemoglobin [ΔHHb] in cerebral tissue and (2) to investigate the use of NIRS as a real-time physiological monitoring tool during chemical immobilisation. Average group responses of ketamine (n = 27) and midazolam (n = 11) administrations were modelled using generalised additive mixed models (GAMM) for each dependent variable. Following ketamine and midazolam administration, [ΔHHb] increased and [ΔO2Hb] remained relatively stable, which was indicative of apnoea. Periods of apnoea were confirmed from respiratory band data, which were simultaneously collected during drugging trials. Given that SpO2 remained at 97% during apnoea, we hypothesized that increasing cerebral [ΔHHb] was a result of venous congestion as opposed to decreased oxygen delivery. Changes in heart rate were limited and appeared to be driven by the individual pharmacological actions of each drug. Future research could include simultaneous measures of metabolic rate, such as the relative change in concentration of cytochrome-c-oxidase, to guide operators in determining when apnoea should be considered prolonged if changes in [ΔHHb] and [ΔO2Hb] occur beyond the limits recorded in this study. Our findings support the use of NIRS as real-time physiological monitoring tool during pinniped chemical immobilisation, which could assist veterinarians and researchers in performing safe anaesthetic procedures

A stringent preemptive protocol reduces cytomegalovirus disease in the first 6 months after kidney transplantation

BACKGROUND: The optimal strategy to prevent cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease after kidney transplantation continues to be open to debate. The preemptive approach requires regular determination of CMV viremia and prompt initiation of therapy. METHODS: We retrospectively compared the incidence of CMV disease during two periods at our center: A first phase (P1, n = 84 kidney recipients), during which time the intensity of surveillance was determined by the responsible physician, was compared to a second phase (P2, n = 74), when a stringent protocol of CMV surveillance was required for all patients. The preemptive approach was applied for all CMV risk groups; prophylaxis was optional in the case of treatment for rejection or delayed graft function in the intermediate- and high-risk group. Follow-up was truncated at 6 months after transplant surgery. CMV syndrome was differentiated from asymptomatic replication by the presence of at least one systemic symptom, while diagnosis of CMV end-organ disease required histological confirmation. RESULTS: Immunosuppression was similar in the two periods. CMV prophylaxis was used equally (26 %) in both periods. The probability for asymptomatic viremia episodes was not different for patients in P1 and P2 regardless of the prevention strategy. For patients following the preemptive strategy, the probability for CMV disease was increased during P1 (p = 0.016), despite fewer PCR assays being performed in phase 2. Protocol violations were only observed during P1. CONCLUSIONS: The probability of CMV disease episodes (CMV syndrome and CMV end-organ disease) was substantially reduced using a very stringent protocol. This study highlights the crucial importance of a stringent protocol with optimal adherence by all caregivers if the preemptive strategy is to be successful

A cyclin-binding motif in human papillomavirus type 18 (HPV18) E1^E4 is necessary for association with CDK–cyclin complexes and G2/M cell cycle arrest of keratinocytes, but is not required for differentiation-dependent viral genome amplification or L1 capsid protein expression

Investigation into the effects the HPV E4 protein has in viral life cycleThe G2/M arrest function of human papillomavirus (HPV) E4 proteins is hypothesized to be necessary for viral genome amplification. Full-length HPV18 E1^E4 protein is essential for efficient viral genome amplification. Here we identify key determinants within a CDK-bipartite consensus recognition motif in HPV18 E1^E4 that are critical for association with active CDK–cyclin complexes and in vitro phosphorylation at the predicted CDK phosphorylation site (threonine 23). The optimal cyclin-binding sequence (43RRLL46) within this E4 motif is required for G2/M arrest of primary keratinocytes and correlates with cytoplasmic retention of cyclin B1, but not cyclin A. Disruption of this motif in the E4 ORF of HPV18 genomes, and the subsequent generation of stable cell lines in primary keratinocytes revealed that this motif was not essential for viral genome amplification or L1 capsid protein induction. We conclude that the HPV18 E4 G2/M arrest function does not play a role in early vegetative events

Enhanced Australian carbon sink despite increased wildfire during the 21st century

Climate projections show Australia becoming significantly warmer during the 21st century, and precipitation decreasing over much of the continent. Such changes are conventionally considered to increase wildfire risk. Nevertheless, we show that burnt area increases in southern Australia, but decreases in northern Australia. Overall the projected increase in fire is small (0.72–1.31% of land area, depending on the climate scenario used), and does not cause a decrease in carbon storage. In fact, carbon storage increases by 3.7–5.6 Pg C (depending on the climate scenario used). Using a process-based model of vegetation dynamics, vegetation–fire interactions and carbon cycling, we show increased fire promotes a shift to more fire-adapted trees in wooded areas and their encroachment into grasslands, with an overall increase in forested area of 3.9–11.9%. Both changes increase carbon uptake and storage. The increase in woody vegetation increases the amount of coarse litter, which decays more slowly than fine litter hence leading to a relative reduction in overall heterotrophic respiration, further reducing carbon losses. Direct CO2 effects increase woody cover, water-use efficiency and productivity, such that carbon storage is increased by 8.5–14.8 Pg C compared to simulations in which CO2 is held constant at modern values. CO2 effects tend to increase burnt area, fire fluxes and therefore carbon losses in arid areas, but increase vegetation density and reduce burnt area in wooded areas

Occator Crater in Color at Highest Spatial Resolution

The geology of the outstanding crater Occator on Ceres has been studied by combining highest resolution color images and other information from the DAWN mission. Thus, surface and sub-surface layers and geologic processes can be understood and interpreted in a consistent manner. In order to achieve this, morphometry, absolute surface unit ages, color, and the distribution of foci of activity were the key data. These data show that the ascent of brine from reservoir(s) at depth and deposition of its salts on the surface persisted much longer than initially thought possible as an immediate result of the primary impact. The youngest depositional processes of bright material occurred less than 2 Ma ago. Also, the bright Cerealia and Vinalia Faculae are not the only traces of this activity; updoming is present on the southwestern crater floor. Faculae coincide with fractures and vents and indicate complex mechanisms of the deposition of bright carbonate-rich material. Due to the large age difference between the Occator impact itself, modeled cooling times of heated crater material, and the recent activity at the faculae we conclude that endogenic forces were lately acting. The distribution and thickness of surface and sub-surface brine layers are far from homogeneous in the upper crust beneath Occator. Further evidence regarding the distribution of materials has been derived from the distribution of the ejecta and the transition of ejecta to background material outside the crater