Planetary Biology and Microbial Ecology: Molecular Ecology and the Global Nitrogen cycle

This report summarizes the results of the Planetary Biology and Molecular Ecology's summer 1991 program, which was held at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. The purpose of the interdisciplinary PBME program is to integrate, via lectures and laboratory work, the contributions of university and NASA scientists and student interns. The goals of the 1991 program were to examine several aspects of the biogeochemistry of the nitrogen cycle and to teach the application of modern methods of molecular genetics to field studies of organisms. Descriptions of the laboratory projects and protocols and abstracts and references of the lectures are presented

Genetic Structure of Chimpanzee Populations

Little is known about the history and population structure of our closest living relatives, the chimpanzees, in part because of an extremely poor fossil record. To address this, we report the largest genetic study of the chimpanzees to date, examining 310 microsatellites in 84 common chimpanzees and bonobos. We infer three common chimpanzee populations, which correspond to the previously defined labels of “western,” “central,” and “eastern,” and find little evidence of gene flow between them. There is tentative evidence for structure within western chimpanzees, but we do not detect distinct additional populations. The data also provide historical insights, demonstrating that the western chimpanzee population diverged first, and that the eastern and central populations are more closely related in time.</p

Genetic Structure of Chimpanzee Populations

Little is known about the history and population structure of our closest living relatives, the chimpanzees, in part because of an extremely poor fossil record. To address this, we report the largest genetic study of the chimpanzees to date, examining 310 microsatellites in 84 common chimpanzees and bonobos. We infer three common chimpanzee populations, which correspond to the previously defined labels of “western,” “central,” and “eastern,” and find little evidence of gene flow between them. There is tentative evidence for structure within western chimpanzees, but we do not detect distinct additional populations. The data also provide historical insights, demonstrating that the western chimpanzee population diverged first, and that the eastern and central populations are more closely related in time

Free versus purchased mosquito net ownership and use in Budondo sub-county, Uganda.

BACKGROUND: While the distribution of mosquito bed nets is a widely adopted approach for malaria prevention, studies exploring how the usage of a net may be influenced by its source and other factors remain sparse. METHODS: A standardized questionnaire and home-visit observations were used to collect data from 9 villages in Budondo sub-county, Uganda in 2016. Household- and individual-level data were collected, such as bed net ownership (at least one net versus none), acquirement source (free versus purchased), demographics, as well as knowledge of malaria and preventative measures. Net-level data, including alternative uses, and bed net quantity and integrity, were also collected. Mixed effects logistic regression models were performed to identify the key determinants of bed net use. RESULTS: Overall, the proportion of households with at least one bed net was 40%, while bed net availability was only reported among 27% of all household members. Awareness of the benefits of bed net use was statistically significantly associated with ownership of at least one net (OR = 1.72, 95% CI 1.11-2.68, p = 0.02). Among those who own net(s), the odds of a bed net being correctly used (i.e., to sleep under) after adjusting for potential confounders were significantly lower for nets that were obtained free compared to nets that were purchased by the owners themselves (OR = 0.33, 95% CI 0.21-0.51, p < 0.01), resulting in an alternative use of the net. Other factors such as female gender, children ≤ 5 years old, and pregnancy status were also significantly associated with having a net to sleep under (all p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Understanding inter- and intra-household net-use factors will help malaria control programmes more effectively direct their efforts to increase public health impact. Future studies may additionally consider socioeconomic status and track the lifetime of the net

The association of dietary quality with colorectal cancer among normal weight, overweight and obese men and women: a prospective longitudinal study in the USA

OBJECTIVE: Lower body mass index (BMI) and higher dietary quality reduce the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). A full understanding of how these associations vary by sex and weight is lacking. METHODS: We used data from the National Institutes of Health - American Association of Retired Persons (NIH)-AARP) Diet and Health Study for 398 458 persons who were 50-71 years old in 1995-1996 and followed through 2006. Exposures were dietary quality as reflected by the Mediterranean Diet, the Healthy Eating Index-2010 and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension score, stratified by BMI category. The outcome was CRC diagnosis from cancer registry data. Cox regression models were adjusted for disease risk factors. RESULTS: Over a mean duration of 123 months of follow-up, there were 6515 new diagnoses of CRC (1953 among the normal weight, 2924 among the overweight and 1638 among the obese; 4483 among men and 2032 among women). For normal weight and overweight men, we found a strong dose-response pattern for the association of increasing quintile of dietary quality with decreasing risk of CRC; this pattern was observed for obese men as well, but less consistently across the three measures of dietary quality. The findings were of smaller magnitude and less consistent for women but still suggesting associations of similar direction. CONCLUSION: We observed that increased dietary quality was associated with lower risk of incident CRC up to 10 years later for men regardless of baseline weight category

Choreographic Process and Performance

“Nerves” (choreographed by Kendra Fox) is an original dance composition created for five dancers that explores musicality, partnering and the artistry of each dancer. Created for an open space, the work can be performed on a stage or in a site-specific location. The piece formed as an investigation of space, shape and time, and was propelled forward to performance with the support of the Baroni Family Dance Entrepreneurship Grant. “Nerves” was first showcased at the American College Dance Association’s regional festival at Boston University in February 2018 as a culmination and synthesis of movement principles and concepts in choreographic form. Through continued investigation and exploration of physicality and relationships between the dancers, the piece has taken on its’ current form. The newest version of the work will be performed under a new title at the Spring 2018 Contemporary Dance Ensemble with PSU Choirs Collaborative Showcase

Prenatal Exposure to Environmental Phenols: Concentrations in Amniotic Fluid and Variability in Urinary Concentrations during Pregnancy

Background: Maternal urinary biomarkers are often used to assess fetal exposure to phenols and their precursors. Their effectiveness as a measure of exposure in epidemiological studies depends on their variability during pregnancy and their ability to accurately predict fetal exposure

Effective Leadership of Surgical Teams: A Mixed Methods Study of Surgeon Behaviors and Functions.

BACKGROUND: The importance of effective team leadership for achieving surgical excellence is widely accepted, but we understand less about the behaviors that achieve this goal. We studied cardiac surgical teams to identify leadership behaviors that best support surgical teamwork. METHODS: We observed, surveyed, and interviewed cardiac surgical teams, including 7 surgeons and 116 team members, from September 2013 to April 2015. We documented 1,926 surgeon/team member interactions during 22 cases, coded them by behavior type and valence (ie, positive/negative/neutral), and characterized them by leadership function (conductor, elucidator, delegator, engagement facilitator, tone setter, being human, and safe space maker) to create a novel framework of surgical leadership derived from direct observation. We surveyed nonsurgeon team members about their perceptions of individual surgeon's leadership effectiveness on a 7-point Likert scale and correlated survey measures with individual surgeon profiles created by calculating percentage of behavior types, leader functions, and valence. RESULTS: Surgeon leadership was rated by nonsurgeons from 4.2 to 6.2 (mean, 5.4). Among the 33 types of behaviors observed, most interactions constituted elucidating (24%) and tone setting (20%). Overall, 66% of interactions (range, 43%-84%) were positive and 11% (range, 1%-45%) were negative. The percentage of positive and negative behaviors correlated strongly (r = 0.85 for positive and r = 0.75 for negative, p < 0.05) with nonsurgeon evaluations of leadership. Facilitating engagement related most positively (r = 0.80; p = 0.03), and negative forms of elucidating, ie, criticism, related most negatively (r = -0.81; p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: We identified 7 surgeon leadership functions and related behaviors that impact perceptions of leadership. These observations suggest actionable opportunities to improve team leadership behavior.Authors acknowledge funding from CRICO/Risk Management Foundation (#225243), MGH’s Division of Cardiac Surgery, and Wellcome Trust (WT097899M)

Molecular taxonomic analysis of the plant associations of adult pollen beetles (Nitidulidae: Meligethinae), and the population structure of Brassicogethes aeneus

Pollen beetles (Nitidulidae: Meligethinae) are among the most abundant flower-visiting insects in Europe. While some species damage millions of hectares of crops annually, the biology of many species is little known. We assessed the utility of a 797 base pair fragment of the cytochrome oxidase 1 gene to resolve molecular operational taxonomic units (MOTUs) in 750 adult pollen beetles sampled from flowers of 63 plant species sampled across the UK and continental Europe. We used the same locus to analyse region-scale patterns in population structure and demography in an economically important pest, Brassicogethes aeneus. We identified 44 Meligethinae at ∼2% divergence, 35 of which contained published sequences. A few specimens could not be identified because the MOTUs containing them included published sequences for multiple Linnaean species, suggesting either retention of ancestral haplotype polymorphism or identification errors in published sequences. Over 90% of UK specimens were identifiable as B. aeneus. Plant associations of adult B. aeneus were found to be far wider taxonomically than for their larvae. UK B. aeneus populations showed contrasting affiliations between the north (most similar to Scandinavia and the Baltic) and south (most similar to western continental Europe), with strong signatures of population growth in the south

Determination of Parent and Hydroxy PAHs in Personal PM₂.₅ and Urine Samples Collected During Native American Fish Smoking Activities

A method was developed for the measurement of 19 parent PAHs (PAHs) and 34 hydroxylated PAHs (OH-PAHs) in urine and personal air samples of particulate matter less than 2.5 um in diameter (PM[subscript 2.5]) using GC-MS and validated using NIST SRM 3672 (Organic Contaminants in Smoker’s Urine) and SRM 3673 (Organic Contaminants in Nonsmoker’s Urine). The method was used to measure PAHs and OH-PAHs in urine and personal PM[subscript 2.5] samples collected from the operators of two different fish smoking facilities (tipi and smoke shed) burning two different wood types (alder and apple) on the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) while they smoked salmon. Urine samples were spiked with β-glucuronidase/arylsulfatase to hydrolyze the conjugates of OH-PAHs and the PAHs and OHPAHs were extracted using Plexa and C18 solid phases, in series. The 34 OH-PAHs were derivatized using MTBSTFA, and the mixture was measured by GC-MS. The personal PM[subscript 2.5] samples were extracted using pressurized liquid extraction, derivatized with MTBSTFA and analyzed by GC-MS for PAHs and OH-PAHs. Fourteen isotopically labeled surrogates were added to accurately quantify PAHs and OH-PAHs in the urine and PM[subscript 2.5] samples and three isotopically labeled internal standards were used to calculate the recovery of the surrogates. Estimated detection limits in urine ranged from 6.0 to 181 pg/ml for OH-PAHs and from 3.0 to 90 pg/ml for PAHs, and, in PM[subscript 2.5], they ranged from 5.2 to 155 pg/m³ for OH-PAHs and from 2.5 to 77 pg/m³ for PAHs. The results showed an increase in OH-PAH concentrations in urine after 6 hours of fish smoking and an increase in PAH concentrations in air within each smoking facility. In general, the PAH exposure in the smoke shed was higher than in the tipi and the PAH exposure from burning apple wood was higher than burning alder.This is an author's peer-reviewed final manuscript, as accepted by the publisher. The published article is copyrighted by Elsevier and can be found at: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/science-of-the-total-environment/Keywords: Fish smoking, Native Americans, Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), OH-PAHsKeywords: Fish smoking, Native Americans, Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), OH-PAH