Health Insurance Coverage among Youth and Young Adults with Work Limitations

This paper explores health insurance coverage trends for youth (age 15-18) and young adults (age 19-29) with work limitations using data from the Current Population Survey. In 2000 those in the young work-limited population were substantially more likely to have insurance coverage than their counterparts in the not work-limited population. They were much more likely to have public coverage and much less likely to have only private coverage. Insurance coverage for this population increased substantially between 1989 and 2000, in contrast to a decline for the not work-limited population. We discuss the probable contributions of policy reforms and the decline in employment of people with work limitations to these trends

Education and Training for Clients and Caregivers Related to Assistive Technology

Education and training are extremely important element when prescribing assistive technology of any kind. Often, clients and caregivers return home with unanswered questions related to said devices. For the client to return home and be successful appropriate and adequate education and training is required for both the client and caregiver. The goal of this project was to ensure that clients returning home experienced increased independence and decreased assistive technology abandonment. This poster presentation outlines the benefits of increased education and training prior to discharge throughout an occupational therapy capstone program.https://soar.usa.edu/otdcapstonessummer2023/1014/thumbnail.jp

Southern leaf blight disease severity is correlated with decreased maize leaf epiphytic bacterial species richness and the phyllosphere bacterial diversity decline is enhanced by nitrogen fertilization

Plant leaves are inhabited by a diverse group of microorganisms that are important contributors to optimal growth. Biotic and abiotic effects on plant growth are usually studied in controlled settings examining response to variation in single factors and in field settings with large numbers of variables. Multi-factor experiments with combinations of stresses bridge this gap, increasing our understanding of the genotype-environment-phenotype functional map for the host plant and the affiliated epiphytic community. The maize inbred B73 was exposed to single and combination abiotic and the biotic stress treatments: low nitrogen fertilizer and high levels of infection with southern leaf blight (causal agent Cochliobolus heterostrophus). Microbial epiphyte samples were collected at the vegetative early-season phase and species composition was determined using 16S ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis. Plant traits and level of southern leaf blight disease were measured late-season. Bacterial diversity was different among stress treatment groups (P < 0.001). Lower species richness—alpha diversity—was correlated with increased severity of southern leaf blight disease when disease pressure was high. Nitrogen fertilization intensified the decline in bacterial alpha diversity. While no single bacterial ribotype was consistently associated with disease severity, small sets of ribotypes were good predictors of disease levels. Difference in leaf bacterial-epiphyte diversity early in the season were correlated with plant disease severity, supporting further tests of microbial epiphyte-disease correlations for use in predicting disease progression

Phase I Trial of a Lactobacillus crispatus Vaginal Suppository for Prevention of Recurrent Urinary Tract Infection in Women

Objectives: We performed a phase I trial to assess the safety and tolerance of a Lactobacillus vaginal suppository for prevention of recurrent UTI. Methods: Premenopausal women with a history of recurrent UTI were randomized to use L. crispatus CTV-05 or placebo vaginal suppositories daily for five days. Results: 30 women were randomized (15 to L. crispatus CTV-05). No severe adverse events occurred. Mild to moderate vaginal discharge and genital irritation were reported by women in both study arms. Seven women randomized to L. crispatus CTV-05 developed pyuria without associated symptoms. Most women had high concentrations of vaginal H202-producing lactobacilli before randomization. L. crispatus, L. jensenii, and L. gasseri were the most common Lactobacillus species identified, with stable prevalence over time. Conclusions: L. crispatus CTV-05 can be given as a vaginal suppository with minimal sideeffects to healthy women with a history of recurrent UTI. Mild inflammation of the urinary tract was noted in some women

Oligosaccharide recognition and binding to the carbohydrate binding module of AMP-activated protein kinase

AbstractThe AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) contains a carbohydrate-binding module (β1-CBM) that is conserved from yeast to mammals. β1-CBM has been shown to localize AMPK to glycogen in intact cells and in vitro. Here we use Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy to investigate oligosaccharide binding to 15N labelled β1-CBM. We find that β1-CBM shows greatest affinity to carbohydrates of greater than five glucose units joined via α,1→4 glycosidic linkages with a single, but not multiple, glucose units in an α,1→6 branch. The near identical chemical shift profile for all oligosaccharides whether cyclic or linear suggest a similar binding conformation and confirms the presence of a single carbohydrate-binding site

Chromosomal loci important for cotyledon opening under UV-B in Arabidopsis thaliana

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Understanding of the genetic architecture of plant UV-B responses allows extensive targeted testing of candidate genes or regions, along with combinations of those genes, for placement in metabolic or signal transduction pathways.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Composite interval mapping and single-marker analysis methods were used to identify significant loci for cotyledon opening under UV-B in four sets of recombinant inbred lines. In addition, loci important for canalization (stability) of cotyledon opening were detected in two mapping populations. One candidate locus contained the gene <it>HY5</it>. Mutant analysis demonstrated that HY5 was required for UV-B-specific cotyledon opening.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Structured mapping populations provide key information on the degree of complexity in the genetic control of UV-B-induced cotyledon opening in Arabidopsis. The loci identified using quantitative trait analysis methods are useful for follow-up testing of candidate genes.</p

A Novel TLR4-Mediated Signaling Pathway Leading to IL-6 Responses in Human Bladder Epithelial Cells

The vigorous cytokine response of immune cells to Gram-negative bacteria is primarily mediated by a recognition molecule, Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), which recognizes lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and initiates a series of intracellular NF-κB–associated signaling events. Recently, bladder epithelial cells (BECs) were reported to express TLR4 and to evoke a vigorous cytokine response upon exposure to LPS. We examined intracellular signaling events in human BECs leading to the production of IL-6, a major urinary cytokine, following activation by Escherichia coli and isolated LPS. We observed that in addition to the classical NF-κB–associated pathway, TLR4 triggers a distinct and more rapid signaling response involving, sequentially, Ca(2+), adenylyl cyclase 3–generated cAMP, and a transcriptional factor, cAMP response element–binding protein. This capacity of BECs to mobilize secondary messengers and evoke a more rapid IL-6 response might be critical in their role as first responders to microbial challenge in the urinary tract

Escherichia coli Isolates That Carry vat, fyuA, chuA, and yfcV Efficiently Colonize the Urinary Tract

Extraintestinal Escherichia coli (ExPEC), a heterogeneous group of pathogens, encompasses avian, neonatal meningitis, and uropathogenic E. coli strains. While several virulence factors are associated with ExPEC, there is no core set of virulence factors that can be used to definitively differentiate these pathotypes. Here we describe a multiplex of four virulence factor-encoding genes, yfcV, vat,fyuA, and chuA, highly associated with uropathogenic E. coli strains that can distinguish three groups of E. coli: diarrheagenic and animal-associated E. colistrains, human commensal and avian pathogenic E. coli strains, and uropathogenic and neonatal meningitis E. coli strains. Furthermore, human intestinal isolates that encode all four predictor genes express them during exponential growth in human urine and colonize the bladder in the mouse model of ascending urinary tract infection in higher numbers than human commensal strains that do not encode the four predictor genes (P = 0.02), suggesting that the presence of the predictors correlates with uropathogenic potential

Presence of Putative Repeat-in-Toxin Gene tosA in Escherichia coli Predicts Successful Colonization of the Urinary Tract

Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) strains, which cause the majority of uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTIs), carry a unique assortment of virulence or fitness genes. However, no single defining set of virulence or fitness genes has been found in all strains of UPEC, making the differentiation between UPEC and fecal commensal strains of E. coli difficult without the use of animal models of infection or phylogenetic grouping. In the present study, we consider three broad categories of virulence factors simultaneously to better define a combination of virulence factors that predicts success in the urinary tract. A total of 314 strains of E. coli, representing isolates from fecal samples, asymptomatic bacteriuria, complicated UTIs, and uncomplicated bladder and kidney infections, were assessed by multiplex PCR for the presence of 15 virulence or fitness genes encoding adhesins, toxins, and iron acquisition systems. The results confirm previous reports of gene prevalence among isolates from different clinical settings and identify several new patterns of gene associations. One gene, tosA, a putative repeat-in-toxin (RTX) homolog, is present in 11% of fecal strains but 25% of urinary isolates. Whereas tosA-positive strains carry an unusually high number (11.2) of the 15 virulence or fitness genes, tosA-negative strains have an average of only 5.4 virulence or fitness genes. The presence of tosA was predictive of successful colonization of a murine model of infection, even among fecal isolates, and can be used as a marker of pathogenic strains of UPEC within a distinct subset of the B2 lineage