Experimental Observations and Modeling of the Southern Kāne‘ohe Watershed and Bay: Implications of Climate Change on Nutrient Export

M.S. University of Hawaii at Manoa 2016.Includes bibliographical references.Climate change driven impacts on nutrient export of inorganic nitrogen and phosphorous were evaluated in the Southern Kāneʻohe Watershed and Bay, Oahu, Hawaii. Statistical analysis of precipitation, discharge, and suspended sediment and experimental results analyzing nutrient release associated with runoff were synthesized in the formation of a predictive biogeochemical model that analyzed the impacts of climate change on nutrient export. Anticipated changes for the study region were applied as perturbations to the model that analyzed export through the year 2100. These changes include decreasing precipitation, increasing temperature, and rising sea level. Model results suggest that phosphate and nitrate + nitrite export to Southern Kāneʻohe Bay will decrease by 3-13% from year 2015 to 2100, while ammonia export is projected to increase 3-11%. Nutrient limitation or reduction may decrease primary production in the Bay, ultimately limiting its potential for carbon sequestration

An Exploratory, Randomized, Crossover MRI Study of Microbicide Delivery with the SILCS Diaphragm Compared to a Vaginal Applicator

Background—Microbicide gels studied for HIV prevention often are delivered via a single-use vaginal applicator. Using a contraceptive diaphragm such as the SILCS diaphragm for gel delivery could have advantages, including lower cost and additional pregnancy prevention. Study Design—We performed an exploratory, nonblinded, randomized, crossover study among healthy, sexually active, nonpregnant women. Using BufferGel®, we evaluated three microbicide delivery methods for gel distribution and retention: SILCS single-sided gel delivery, SILCS double-sided gel delivery and a vaginal applicator (without SILCS). Magnetic resonance images were taken at baseline, after gel insertion, and immediately and 6 h after simulated intercourse. Three women completed all gel delivery methods described in this article. Results—Magnetic resonance imaging analysis indicated similar gel spread in the vagina among all three methods. SILCS single-sided gel application resulted in the most consistent longitudinal coverage; SILCS double-sided gel application was the most consistent in the transverse dimension. Conclusions—Gel coverage was similar with all three methods. These results suggest that the SILCS microbicide delivery system is comparable to vaginal applicators for delivery of gel products intravaginally

An open exploratory spirit? Ethnography at Cardiff 1974 - 2001

The strong tradition of ethnography at Cardiff, with its distinctive blend of symbolic interactionism and structuralism, and its empirical foci on occupational socialisation, education, health and sexualities, is chronicled

Comparison of Staphylococcus Phage K with Close Phage Relatives Commonly Employed in Phage Therapeutics

peer-reviewedThe increase in antibiotic resistance in pathogenic bacteria is a public health danger requiring alternative treatment options, and this has led to renewed interest in phage therapy. In this respect, we describe the distinct host ranges of Staphylococcus phage K, and two other K-like phages against 23 isolates, including 21 methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) representative sequence types representing the Irish National MRSA Reference Laboratory collection. The two K-like phages were isolated from the Fersisi therapeutic phage mix from the Tbilisi Eliava Institute, and were designated B1 (vB_SauM_B1) and JA1 (vB_SauM_JA1). The sequence relatedness of B1 and JA1 to phage K was observed to be 95% and 94% respectively. In terms of host range on the 23 Staphylococcus isolates, B1 and JA1 infected 73.9% and 78.2% respectively, whereas K infected only 43.5%. Eleven open reading frames (ORFs) present in both phages B1 and JA1 but absent in phage K were identified by comparative genomic analysis. These ORFs were also found to be present in the genomes of phages (Team 1, vB_SauM-fRuSau02, Sb_1 and ISP) that are components of several commercial phage mixtures with reported wide host ranges. This is the first comparative study of therapeutic staphylococcal phages within the recently described genus Kayvirus

Identity and naming practices in British marriage and civil partnerships

This article demonstrates the continued prevalence of traditional, heteronormative practices regarding marriage and naming practices in Britain, and also considers the complex choices made by same-sex couples who marry in relation to whether there are any benefits in changing their surname. The study draws on data from an online survey of 1,000 UK respondents, and reveals that it continues to be viewed as more ‘normal’ for a woman to take her husband’s surname in a heterosexual union than for her to make any other choice. Whilst other options (such as the woman retaining the surname given to her by her parents, for instance) are often considered in relation to heterosexual marriage, these continue to be seen as a deviation from the norm. We find that the role of tradition is critical to heterosexual women’s decisions over what to do with their surname, whether they follow the culturally expected route or consciously deviate from it. Same-sex couples are broadly perceived to have comparably more freedom than heterosexuals regarding their names, and here we analyse whether this is the case. Through qualitative critical analysis of the discursive responses of those completing our survey, and some quantitative discussion of the data, we demonstrate that heteronormative assumptions about a woman’s role in a heterosexual relationship have continued salience and that this leads to a conscious and often difficult negotiation of her own identity as both an individual and a wife

Association and disparities of food insecurity and child abuse: Analysis of the National Survey of Children’s Health

Background: Child abuse is a major public health issue and is a significant risk factor for compromised development, health morbidities, and the development of mental and behavioral disorders in children. Many factors contribute to child abuse, especially family stressors. Food insecurity, a significant family stressor, likely increases the rate of child abuse while also contributing directly and indirectly to the consequences on child development and lifespan. Given the adverse effects of child abuse and food insecurity, investigating their relationship is crucial to developing mitigation strategies.Purpose: Our primary objective was to assess the relationship between child abuse and food insecurity using data from the National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH). Given that these disproportionately affect children of different demographic groups, our study aims to identify associations amongst varying demographic factors.Methods: We conducted an observational study assessing the National Survey of Children’s Health (2016-2021) to investigate the relationship between food security and child abuse. Using survey weights provided by the NSCH, we determined population estimates and rates of children experiencing food insecurity and child abuse. We then constructed logistic regression models to assess associations, via odds ratio, between food security groups and whether the child experienced child abuse. Finally, we constructed logistic regression models, via odds ratios, to assess food security and child abuse by demographic factors.Results: While rates of food security were similar across age groups, households with lower income had higher rates of marginal or low food security, as well as homes with Black, Indigenous, multi-racial, and Hispanic children. Compared to those with high food security, the odds of children with marginal or low food security were significantly more likely to experience child abuse (AORs: 2.36, 95% CI: 2.17-2.57 and 5.24, 95% CI: 4.59-6.00, respectively). Compared to White children with high food security, Indigenous, Black, and White children were significantly more likely to experience child abuse as household food security decreased.Conclusion: Child abuse and food insecurity have a significant association, including overlapping contributory factors and disparities. Efforts to improve food insecurity through policy, community food banks, and school-based programs may secondarily reduce child abuse. To address racial/ethnic disparities, the expansion of culturally-competent, evidence-based programs to reduce food insecurity should be established, which may also reduce risk factors for child abuse

Habilitation provision for children and young people with vision impairment in the United Kingdom: A lack of clarity leading to inconsistencies

The key to empowering and supporting children and young people (CYP) with vision impairment (VI) to achieve their potential lies in the delivery of habilitation training. Evidence has revealed that provision of habilitation services across the United Kingdom was inconsistent, with CYP with VI not receiving services in some areas. This research explored the accessibility and quality of habilitation provision for CYP with VI via two studies: (1) 12 qualitative case studies of habilitation practice and (2) surveys of habilitation training experiences, with CYP with VI (n = 43) and with parents of CYP with VI (n = 68). Five themes were identified highlighting inconsistencies and variability in the delivery of habilitation training in recent years, a lack of focus on independent living skills training, on social inclusion and emotional well-being, a lack of support for parents and a lack of clarity with regard to the definition of habilitation, and who is responsible for providing training

Opposition as victimhood in newspaper debates about same-sex marriage

In this paper, we take a queer linguistics approach to the analysis of data from British newspaper articles which discuss the introduction of same-sex marriage. Drawing on methods from CDA and corpus linguistics, we focus on the construction of agency in relation to the government extending marriage to same-sex couples, and those resisting this. We show that opponents to same-sex marriage are represented and represent themselves as victims whose moral values, traditions, and civil liberties are being threatened by the state. Specifically, we argue that victimhood is invoked in a way that both enables and permits discourses of implicit homophobia

Exercise is associated with younger methylome and transcriptome profiles in human skeletal muscle

Exercise training prevents age-related decline in muscle function. Targeting epigenetic aging is a promising actionable mechanism and late-life exercise mitigates epigenetic aging in rodent muscle. Whether exercise training can decelerate, or reverse epigenetic aging in humans is unknown. Here, we performed a powerful meta-analysis of the methylome and transcriptome of an unprecedented number of human skeletal muscle samples (n = 3176). We show that: (1) individuals with higher baseline aerobic fitness have younger epigenetic and transcriptomic profiles, (2) exercise training leads to significant shifts of epigenetic and transcriptomic patterns toward a younger profile, and (3) muscle disuse "ages" the transcriptome. Higher fitness levels were associated with attenuated differential methylation and transcription during aging. Furthermore, both epigenetic and transcriptomic profiles shifted toward a younger state after exercise training interventions, while the transcriptome shifted toward an older state after forced muscle disuse. We demonstrate that exercise training targets many of the age-related transcripts and DNA methylation loci to maintain younger methylome and transcriptome profiles, specifically in genes related to muscle structure, metabolism, and mitochondrial function. Our comprehensive analysis will inform future studies aiming to identify the best combination of therapeutics and exercise regimes to optimize longevity

Meta-analysis of genome-wide DNA methylation and integrative omics of age in human skeletal muscle

International audienceBackground: Knowledge of age-related DNA methylation changes in skeletal muscle is limited, yet this tissue is severely affected by ageing in humans.Methods: We conducted a large-scale epigenome-wide association study meta-analysis of age in human skeletal muscle from 10 studies (total n = 908 muscle methylomes from men and women aged 18-89 years old). We explored the genomic context of age-related DNA methylation changes in chromatin states, CpG islands, and transcription factor binding sites and performed gene set enrichment analysis. We then integrated the DNA methylation data with known transcriptomic and proteomic age-related changes in skeletal muscle. Finally, we updated our recently developed muscle epigenetic clock (https://bioconductor.org/packages/release/bioc/html/MEAT.html).Results: We identified 6710 differentially methylated regions at a stringent false discovery rate <0.005, spanning 6367 unique genes, many of which related to skeletal muscle structure and development. We found a strong increase in DNA methylation at Polycomb target genes and bivalent chromatin domains and a concomitant decrease in DNA methylation at enhancers. Most differentially methylated genes were not altered at the mRNA or protein level, but they were nonetheless strongly enriched for genes showing age-related differential mRNA and protein expression. After adding a substantial number of samples from five datasets (+371), the updated version of the muscle clock (MEAT 2.0, total n = 1053 samples) performed similarly to the original version of the muscle clock (median of 4.4 vs. 4.6 years in age prediction error), suggesting that the original version of the muscle clock was very accurate.Conclusions: We provide here the most comprehensive picture of DNA methylation ageing in human skeletal muscle and reveal widespread alterations of genes involved in skeletal muscle structure, development, and differentiation. We have made our results available as an open-access, user-friendly, web-based tool called MetaMeth (https://sarah-voisin.shinyapps.io/MetaMeth/)