Perception of Grazing to Promote Ecological Services in Recreational and Government Contracted Grasslands

Managed grazing in grasslands not currently grazed such as those enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program or used for recreational activities has the potential to improve plant community diversity and soil quality thus enhancing many grassland ecological services including wildlife habitat, carbon sequestration, and preserving water quality. Grazing in grasslands not currently grazed increases the available forage for grazing cattle to reduce the pressure on current pasturelands. However, introducing managed grazing into grasslands not currently grazed poses unique challenges including repairing or installing infrastructure, movement of cattle to new grazing areas, and developing agreements to ensure grazing management meets the goals of both the land owner and cattle producer. To determine the potential for integration of managed grazing into perennial grassland landscapes, a survey was made available to cattle producers and grassland owners throughout the Midwest. Results from 65 respondents throughout the Midwest indicate grassland owners and cattle producers recognize that grazing has potential to enhance the ecological value of grasslands; however, a majority of cattle producers (53%) feel grassland owners don’t want to allow grazing on their land. Of the grassland owners surveyed, 63% wanted to attract wildlife for hunting and 87% would allow short duration grazing to enhance wildlife habitat. If grazing was allowed on government contracted grasslands, 79% of cattle producers were willing to move cattle up to 10 miles for less than 45 days of grazing. Both grassland owners and cattle producers in the survey were most likely to install infrastructure when grazing contracts lasted at least 5 years. The results of this survey indicate both cattle producers and grassland owners are willing to graze grasslands not currently grazed; however, payments would be required by more than 70% of grassland owners to compensate for lost government payments or at a rate equal to current pasture rent

Enhancing Botanical Composition and Wildlife Habitat of Pastures in South Central Iowa through Soil Disturbance by Mob-grazing of Beef Cattle

South central Iowa grasslands are dominated by cool season grass species with low productivity and little plant diversity which limits the forage yield and quality for grazing animals and habitat for native grassland wildlife. Strategic spring mob-grazing may reduce competition from cool-season grass species allowing early successional species, legumes, and native plants to establish while improving soil characteristics. Two blocks of three replicated pastures were divided into 5 equal-sized paddocks to determine the effects of early spring mob-grazing on pasture forage and soil characteristics. In each pasture, one paddock was not grazed (NG) and 4 were strip- (S; moved once per day with a back fence) or mob- (M; moved 4 times per day with a back fence) grazed beginning in May of 2011 (BL1) and 2012 (BL2) by 10 cows at a live forage DM allowance of 2% BW/d. Subsequently, one mob (MR) and strip (SR) paddock in each pasture was rotationally stocked to remove 50% of the live forage with 35-d rest periods beginning 60 d after spring grazing in yr 1 of each block. Measurements included pasture botanical composition determined by the line transect method, soil penetration resistance determined with a penetrometer, water infiltration determined with double ring infiltrometers, soil bulk density, and ground nesting bird habitat measured as visual obstruction to a 3.3x 3.3 ft board by image analysis of digital photos. In BL1 and BL2 after mob- or strip- grazing, the proportion of bare ground was greater (P\u3c 0.05) in rotationally grazed paddocks than NG paddocks in most months. The proportion of annual grasses was greater (P\u3c 0.05) in grazed than NG paddocks in July 2011 in BL1. In 2012, the proportion of legumes was greater (P\u3c 0.05) than NG paddocks in M, MR, and SR paddocks in May, M and SR paddocks in July, and all grazed paddocks in BL 1 in October. But in 2013, the proportion of legumes was greater in MR and S paddocks in May and MR paddocks in October than NG paddocks. The proportion of warm season grasses in BL2 was less (P\u3c 0.05) in MR and SR paddocks than NG and M paddocks in August 2013. In BL1, penetration resistance was greater (P\u3c 0.05) in rotationally stocked paddocks compared to NG paddocks in May and October of 2012 and 2013, however reductions (P\u3c 0.05) in water infiltration rates occurred in rotationally stocked paddocks only in October 2012 and 2013. In BL1, visual obstruction was less (P\u3c 0.05) in M paddocks than S and NG paddocks to 15.7 inches high in October 2011. However in BL2, no differences in visual obstruction occurred in October 2012. A single mob- or strip-grazing event of a grassland in the spring may improve the nutritional value of the forage for grazing livestock and habitat for wildlife. However, the extent and longevity of these responses are related to soil moisture at the time of grazing and subsequent management and climatic conditions

Getting its feet on the ground : elucidating Paralouatta's semi-terrestriality using the virtual morpho-functional toolbox

Altres ajuts: CERCA Programme/Generalitat de CatalunyaCurrently, there are no living platyrrhine primates inhabiting the main Caribbean islands. Nevertheless, the fossil record of this area has provided outstanding findings of different New World monkeys that were part of a diverse radiation exhibiting remarkably unusual morphologies. Among these, the Cuban genus Paralouatta corresponds to one of the most enigmatic primates ever found in the Greater Antilles. Some researchers have argued that Paralouatta's post-cranium shows evidence of semi-terrestriality, a locomotor adaptation that is unusual, if not unique, in platyrrhine evolutionary history. Whether or not Paralouatta was truly semi-terrestrial remains uncertain, however, due to a lack of more sophisticated functional analyses on its morphology. Using novel virtual morpho-functional techniques on a comparative sample of 3D talar models belonging to diverse primate species representing three substrate preferences, this study aims to further evaluate whether Paralouatta was a semi-terrestrial genus or not. Geometric morphometrics and finite element analysis were used to empirically assess shape and biomechanical performance, respectively, and then several machine-learning (ML) classification algorithms were trained using both morphometric and biomechanical data to elucidate the substrate preference of the fossils. The ML algorithms categorized the Paralouatta specimens as either arboreal or as species commonly active on both ground and in trees. These mixed results are suggestive of some level of semi-terrestriality, thus representing the only known example of this locomotor behavior in platyrrhine evolutionary history

GluN2A NMDA Receptor Enhancement Improves Brain Oscillations, Synchrony, and Cognitive Functions in Dravet Syndrome and Alzheimer's Disease Models.

NMDA receptors (NMDARs) play subunit-specific roles in synaptic function and are implicated in neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. However, the in vivo consequences and therapeutic potential of pharmacologically enhancing NMDAR function via allosteric modulation are largely unknown. We examine the in vivo effects of GNE-0723, a positive allosteric modulator of GluN2A-subunit-containing NMDARs, on brain network and cognitive functions in mouse models of Dravet syndrome (DS) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). GNE-0723 use dependently potentiates synaptic NMDA receptor currents and reduces brain oscillation power with a predominant effect on low-frequency (12-20 Hz) oscillations. Interestingly, DS and AD mouse models display aberrant low-frequency oscillatory power that is tightly correlated with network hypersynchrony. GNE-0723 treatment reduces aberrant low-frequency oscillations and epileptiform discharges and improves cognitive functions in DS and AD mouse models. GluN2A-subunit-containing NMDAR enhancers may have therapeutic benefits in brain disorders with network hypersynchrony and cognitive impairments

Monomeric PcrA helicase processively unwinds plasmid lengths of DNA in the presence of the initiator protein RepD

The helicase PcrA unwinds DNA during asymmetric replication of plasmids, acting with an initiator protein, in our case RepD. Detailed kinetics of PcrA activity were measured using bulk solution and a single-molecule imaging technique to investigate the oligomeric state of the active helicase complex, its processivity and the mechanism of unwinding. By tethering either DNA or PcrA to a microscope coverslip surface, unwinding of both linear and natural circular plasmid DNA by PcrA/RepD was followed in real-time using total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy. Visualization was achieved using a fluorescent single-stranded DNA-binding protein. The single-molecule data show that PcrA, in combination with RepD, can unwind plasmid lengths of DNA in a single run, and that PcrA is active as a monomer. Although the average rate of unwinding was similar in single-molecule and bulk solution assays, the single-molecule experiments revealed a wide distribution of unwinding speeds by different molecules. The average rate of unwinding was several-fold slower than the PcrA translocation rate on single-stranded DNA, suggesting that DNA unwinding may proceed via a partially passive mechanism. However, the fastest dsDNA unwinding rates measured in the single-molecule unwinding assays approached the PcrA translocation speed measured on ssDNA

Runaway Kaposi Sarcoma-associated herpesvirus replication correlates with systemic IL-10 levels

KSHV-associated inflammatory cytokine syndrome (KICS) is caused by Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV). KICS is associated with high-level, systemic replication of KSHV. This study characterized the clinical and virologic features of a KICS patient over time. Additionally, it compared the cytokine profiles of the KICS case to Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) (n = 11) and non-KS (n = 6) cases. This KICS case presented with elevated levels of KSHV and IL-10, as expected. Surprisingly, this case did not have elevated levels of IL-6 or human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1). Nevertheless, treatment with anti-IL6 receptor antibody (tocilizumab) reduced KSHV viral load and IL-10. The KSHV genome sequence showed no significant changes over time, except in ORF24. Phylogenetic analysis established this isolate as belonging to KSHV clade A and closely related to other US isolates. These findings suggest IL-10 as potential biomarker and therapy target for KICS

DU Undergraduate Showcase: Research, Scholarship, and Creative Works

DU Undergraduate Showcase: Research, Scholarship, and Creative Work

Immunopathological signatures in multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children and pediatric COVID-19

: Pediatric Coronavirus Disease 2019 (pCOVID-19) is rarely severe; however, a minority of children infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) might develop multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), with substantial morbidity. In this longitudinal multi-institutional study, we applied multi-omics (analysis of soluble biomarkers, proteomics, single-cell gene expression and immune repertoire analysis) to profile children with COVID-19 (n = 110) and MIS-C (n = 76), along with pediatric healthy controls (pHCs; n = 76). pCOVID-19 was characterized by robust type I interferon (IFN) responses, whereas prominent type II IFN-dependent and NF-κB-dependent signatures, matrisome activation and increased levels of circulating spike protein were detected in MIS-C, with no correlation with SARS-CoV-2 PCR status around the time of admission. Transient expansion of TRBV11-2 T cell clonotypes in MIS-C was associated with signatures of inflammation and T cell activation. The association of MIS-C with the combination of HLA A*02, B*35 and C*04 alleles suggests genetic susceptibility. MIS-C B cells showed higher mutation load than pCOVID-19 and pHC. These results identify distinct immunopathological signatures in pCOVID-19 and MIS-C that might help better define the pathophysiology of these disorders and guide therapy

Multiple novel prostate cancer susceptibility signals identified by fine-mapping of known risk loci among Europeans

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified numerous common prostate cancer (PrCa) susceptibility loci. We have fine-mapped 64 GWAS regions known at the conclusion of the iCOGS study using large-scale genotyping and imputation in 25 723 PrCa cases and 26 274 controls of European ancestry. We detected evidence for multiple independent signals at 16 regions, 12 of which contained additional newly identified significant associations. A single signal comprising a spectrum of correlated variation was observed at 39 regions; 35 of which are now described by a novel more significantly associated lead SNP, while the originally reported variant remained as the lead SNP only in 4 regions. We also confirmed two association signals in Europeans that had been previously reported only in East-Asian GWAS. Based on statistical evidence and linkage disequilibrium (LD) structure, we have curated and narrowed down the list of the most likely candidate causal variants for each region. Functional annotation using data from ENCODE filtered for PrCa cell lines and eQTL analysis demonstrated significant enrichment for overlap with bio-features within this set. By incorporating the novel risk variants identified here alongside the refined data for existing association signals, we estimate that these loci now explain ∼38.9% of the familial relative risk of PrCa, an 8.9% improvement over the previously reported GWAS tag SNPs. This suggests that a significant fraction of the heritability of PrCa may have been hidden during the discovery phase of GWAS, in particular due to the presence of multiple independent signals within the same regio