Causes of rarity in glade-endemic plants: Implications for responses to climate change

This dissertation documents the relationship between stress-adaptation and reproductive specialization in three endemic plant species: Delphinium treleasei, Echinacea paradoxa, and Scutellaria bushii) that are locally abundant but restricted to stressful habitats and their closely-related congeners: D. carolinianum, E. pallida, S. ovata, and S. parvula) that have broader habitat use, including hot, xeric habitats. In Chapter Two, I test two hypotheses concerning reproductive specialization in endemic plants and their common congeners: CC). I quantify morphological traits that are associated with stress-adaptation and reproductive specialization, pollinator behavior, and reproductive specialization. The locally abundant, habitat specialist: LAHS) species were significantly different from their CCs in vegetative traits but the direction of the differences was not consistent among genera. On the other hand, two of the three LAHS taxa had larger flowers and fewer dominant pollinators than their CCs. In Chapter 3, I examine the responses of the LAHS and CC plants to drought and high heat conditions in order to explicitly test the prediction that the LAHS species are more resistant to high-stress environments. The LAHS species were more resistant to stress, and the CC species were not. Moreover, the LAHS species had fewer, higher-quality offspring, whereas the CC species have more seeds of lower quality. In Chapter 4, I test the hypothesis that two LAHS species are poorer competitors for pollinators, as predicted by traditional theory of reproduction in rare species. The congeneric pairs did not compete for pollinators but varied in their morphological traits and reproductive success across sites. Finally, the research in Chapter 5 explores the response of two LAHS species and their CCs to regional climate change. Using herbarium specimens, I test the prediction that LAHS species that specialize on stressful habitats are less responsive to climate change in comparison to their CC. The LAHS species are responding to climate change by flowering earlier, but none of the widespread species exhibited a change in phenology with climate change. This dissertation supports a more nuanced theory of the relationship between reproductive specialization and rarity that addresses additional factors influencing rare taxa, such as stress-adaptation, and that has important implications for species\u27 responses to climate change

Lead in Kentucky Soils

This study reviewed the literature on the occurrence of lead in soils and its relationship to waste oil tank leaks. Many studies have been conducted on the natural occurrence of lead in rocks, soils and water. Very low levels (0.001 mg/l to 0.01 mg/l) are found in surface and groundwater, variable levels are found in soils (from less that 10 ppm to as high as 700 ppm but more normally a high of 70 ppm), and the lead levels found in rocks range from 7 to 80 mg/kg. Risk assessment calculations have been made by several individuals, also with variable results. One value was computed at 20 mg/kg lead in soil and another was calculated as high as 200 mg/kg. A standard of 25 mg/kg is proposed for Kentucky based on the natural background level found in soils studied in the state. For sample values taken in tank pits that do not meet this standard a background value must be determined by taking 5 soil samples at one-meter depth upgradient from the tank pit and averaging them. Even though recommended cleanup level is not based on risk analysis methods, when referring to various risk documents, the value selected here is slightly lower than mean value (36 mg/kg) derived from an analysis of background samples at various remediation sites across the state. Standards in place in other states range from less than 0.1 mg/kg to as high as 2000 mg/kg. Texas uses 20 times the MCL, and Pennsylvania uses 200 ppm for the non-indiustrial sites and 600 ppm for industrial sites

Farm-Tractor-Related Fatalities -- Kentucky, 1994

Fatalities associated with farm tractors are the most common cause of work-related death in the U.S. agricultural industry (1). To characterize farm-tractor-related fatalities in Kentucky, the Kentucky Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (KY FACE) Project studied all fatal farm injuries occurring among persons in that state during 1994, the initial year of operation for FACE in Kentucky. This report summarizes the results of that study

Life Lost Due to Premature Deaths in New South Wales, Australia

This study attempts to measure premature mortality, in addition to overall death rates, in order to provide more information that can be used to develop and monitor health programmes that are aimed at reducing premature (often preventable) mortality in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Premature years of potential life lost (PYPLL) and valued years of potential life lost methods are applied for mortality data in NSW from 1990 to 2002. Variations in these measures for 2001 are studied further in terms of age, sex, urban/rural residence, and socio-economic status. PYPLL rates for all leading causes of death have declined. It is shown that the average male to female ratio of PYPLLs is highest for accidents, injury and poisoning (3.4:1) followed by mental disorders (2.7:1) and cardiovascular diseases (2.6:1). Although fewer women than men die of cardiovascular diseases, there is a greater proportionate importance of cerebrovascular mortality among women. In order to further reduce premature deaths, programs are required to improve the health of people living in lower socio-economic status areas, especially in rural NSW. Targeted regional or community level programs are required to reduce avoidable deaths due to accidents, injury and poisoning occasioned by motor vehicle accidents, poisoning and suicide among young adults

Research Reports From Status Report: Identification of Appropriate Standards for Corrective Action for a Release from Petroleum Underground Storage Tanks

This document is a collection of research reports: Cost of Closure and Remediation for Petroleum Underground Storage Tanks Assessment of Number and Distribution of USTs Analysis of Potable Water Sources in Kentucky Analysis of Well Data and Soil Parameters as Related to the STATSGO Kentucky General Soil Map Petroleum Products: Chemical Composition, Tocxicological and Environmental Data Health Risk Analysis for Selected Petroleum Compounds Summary of Analytical Methods Soil Volume Calculations for UST Installations Generic Organic Containment Pathway Analysis for Components of Petroleum in Soil and Groundwate

Randomized controlled trial of oral vancomycin treatment in Clostridioides difficile-colonized patients

A gold standard diagnostic for Clostridioides difficil

Status Report: Identification of Appropriate Standards for Corrective Action for a Release from Petroleum Underground Storage Tanks, Volume 1

This study was undertaken to address the removal and closure of defective petroleum underground storage tanks in Kentucky: To address standards for levels of contamination requiring corrective action consistent with accepted scientific and technical principles. To recommend a matrix or scoring system to be used for (a) ranking sites as to actual or potential harm to human health and the environment caused by a release of petroleum from a petroleum storage tank, and (b) establishing standards and procedures for corrective action that shall adequately protect human health and the environment. To address all compounds individually and collectively known as petroleum. To produce a report that shall be scientifically defensible

Kentucky UST Field Manual

This study was undertaken to address the removal and closure of defective petroleum underground storage tanks in Kentucky. Goals for the study included: To address standards for levels of contamination requiring corrective action consistent with accepted scientific and technical principles. To recommend a matrix or scoring system to be used for (a) ranking sites as to actual or potential harm to human health and the environment caused by release of petroleum from a petroleum storage tank, and (2) establishing standards and procedures for corrective action that shall adequately protect human health and the environment. To address all compounds individually and collectively known as petroleum. To produce a report that shall be scientifically defensible

Antibodies in healthcare personnel following severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection

In a prospective cohort of healthcare personnel (HCP), we measured severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) nucleocapsid IgG antibodies after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Among 79 HCP, 68 (86%) were seropositive 14-28 days after their positive PCR test, and 54 (77%) of 70 were seropositive at the 70-180-day follow-up. Many seropositive HCP (95%) experienced an antibody decline by the second visit

Gut microbiome correlates of recurrent urinary tract infection: A longitudinal, multi-center study

BACKGROUND: Urinary tract infections (UTI) affect approximately 250 million people annually worldwide. Patients often experience a cycle of antimicrobial treatment and recurrent UTI (rUTI) that is thought to be facilitated by a gut reservoir of uropathogenic METHODS: 125 patients with UTI caused by an antibiotic-resistant organism (ARO) were enrolled from July 2016 to May 2019 in a longitudinal, multi-center cohort study. Multivariate statistical models were used to assess the relationship between uropathogen colonization and recurrent UTI (rUTI), controlling for clinical characteristics. 644 stool samples and 895 UPEC isolates were interrogated for taxonomic composition, antimicrobial resistance genes, and phenotypic resistance. Cohort UTI gut microbiome profiles were compared against published healthy and UTI reference microbiomes, as well as assessed within-cohort for timepoint- and recurrence-specific differences. FINDINGS: Risk of rUTI was not independently associated with clinical characteristics. The UTI gut microbiome was distinct from healthy reference microbiomes in both taxonomic composition and antimicrobial resistance gene (ARG) burden, with 11 differentially abundant taxa at the genus level. rUTI and non-rUTI gut microbiomes in the cohort did not generally differ, but gut microbiomes from urinary tract colonized patients were elevated in INTERPRETATION: The gut microbiome is implicated in UPEC urinary tract colonization during rUTI, serving as an ARG-enriched reservoir for UPEC. UPEC can asymptomatically colonize the gut and urinary tract, and post-antimicrobial blooms of gut FUNDING: This work was supported in part by awards from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Epicenter Prevention Program (grant U54CK000482; principal investigator, V.J.F.); to J.H.K. from the Longer Life Foundation (an RGA/Washington University partnership), the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (grants KL2TR002346 and UL1TR002345), and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) (grant K23A1137321) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH); and to G.D. from NIAID (grant R01AI123394) and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (grant R01HD092414) of NIH. R.T.\u27s research was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG; German Research Foundation; grant 402733540). REDCap is Supported by Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Grant UL1 TR002345 and Siteman Comprehensive Cancer Center and NCI Cancer Center Support Grant P30 CA091842. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funding agencies