Environmental Influence on Hypertension in San Francisco, California

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, occurs when there is long-term force of force of blood against one’s artery walls. When uncontrolled, hypertension may increase the risk of heart attack and stroke. More than 1 in 3 adults live with 1 or more types of cardiovascular disease in the United States alone- with stroke being the fifth leading cause of death. The purpose of my study is to evaluate the environmental influence on hypertension by comparing various factors in cities with high prevalence rates of heart disease to those with lower rates of heart disease. Conducting an environmental scan will serve as the basis of my research, as it will help me assess various neighborhoods based on a set criteria (e.g., accessibility to healthy food places, park access, and neighborhood walkability) that identify potential risk factors for hypertension within each neighborhood. The parks and neighborhoods to be assessed will be determined through a hot spot analysis, which will provide a visual on significant clusters of high and low values of hypertension.https://scholar.dominican.edu/ug-student-posters/1047/thumbnail.jp

LAPORAN INDIVIDU PRAKTIK PENGALAMAN LAPANGAN (PPL) UNIVERSITAS NEGERI YOGYAKARTA DI SMK NEGERI 2 KLATEN SENDEN, NGAWEN, KLATEN

Praktik Pengalaman Lapangan (PPL) merupakan salah satu mata kuliah yang wajib ditempuh oleh setiap mahasiswa S1 kependidikan. Pelaksanaan program Praktik Pengalaman Lapangan (PPL) ini memiliki misi untuk menyiapkan dan menghasilkan tenaga kependidikan (calon guru) yang memiliki nilai, sikap, pengetahuan dan ketrampilan pedagogik yang profesional. Tempat yang menjadi lokasi pelaksanaan PPL UNY 2016 adalah SMK Negeri 2 Klaten yang beralamat di Senden, Ngawen, Klaten. Kegiatan PPL yang dilakukan meliputi tahap persiapan dan pelaksanaan. Kegiatan persiapan dimulai dengan observasi pembelajaran, konsultasi guru pembimbing dan mempersiapkan perangkat pembelajaran berupa RPP, silabus, modul, buku kerja guru dan media pembelajaran. Dalam pelaksanaan PPL, penulis diberikan tugas oleh guru pembimbing lapangan memberikan materi kompetensi kejuruan “Konstruksi Beton Bertulang”. Praktik mengajar dimulai pada tanggal 15 Juli s/d 15 September 2016, dengan menerapkan Kurikulum 2013 dan jumlah total 4 - 6 jam mengajar tiap minggu. Selama kegiatan PPL, praktikan melakukan praktik mengajar mandiri dan terbimbing di dua kelas, yaitu kelas XI TKBB B dengan mata pelajaran Konstruksi beton Bertulang Dari kegiatan PPL ini mahasiswa mendapat pengalaman nyata dengan bertindak sebagai seorang guru dimulai dari persiapan sampai dengan pengelolaan kelas. Penulis menghimbau SMK Negeri 2 Klaten untuk menambah sarana dan prasarana yang menunjang kegiatan proses belajar mengajar. Selain itu, penulis juga menyarankan pada guru pembimbing untuk meningkatkan kualitas bimbingannya terhadap mahasiswa PPL sehingga setelah melaksanakan Praktik Pengalaman Lapangan mahasiswa benar-benar siap menjadi tenaga pendidik

Relationship between an inflammatory mucosal T cell response and susceptibility of sheep to Teladorsagia circumcincta infection

Control strategies against the parasitic nematode Teladorsagia circumcincta are problematic under current sheep management systems. Infection with the parasite, particularly in young lambs, results in significant production losses therefore sustainable worm control is being sought. It has been established that variation in resistance to T. circumcincta is under genetic control and the development of resistance is an acquired characteristic and has an immunological basis. This project investigated the immunological response to infection, of lambs with predicted resistance or susceptibility to T. circumcincta. Specifically, the study aimed to identify immune response-associated genes that were differentially-expressed in resistant and susceptible lambs and attempted to identify mutations in these genes. This study was part of a long term project that aims to identify genetic marker/s to aid in marker-assisted selection (MAS) for resistance to T. circumcincta. Real time reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (real time RTqPCR) was performed on abomasal mucosa and lymph nodes from 55 lambs used in a previous experiment. The lambs had been either trickle-infected with 2,300 infective larvae every two days over three months (infected resistant/susceptible, n=45) or sham-dosed (non-infected control, n=10). Lambs were ranked in relation to faecal egg count (FEC) and adult worm count (AWC) at post mortem; zero or low FEC (resistant) to high FEC (susceptible). Histopathology showed only mild pathological changes in the abomasal mucosa of resistant lambs but heavy lymphocytic inflammatory infiltration in the mucosa and submucosa of infected susceptible animals. Measurements of a range of cytokine transcripts and cell markers associated with the four major CD4+ T cell subsets identified IL6, IL21, and IL23A as significantly increased by at least two-fold in abomasal lymph nodes and abomasal mucosa of susceptible lambs in comparison to resistant animals. Highly significant (P<0.02) positive correlations were found between IL6 (ρ=0.35), IL21 (ρ=0.54) and IL23A (ρ=0.38) transcript levels and AWC. Similarly, there were highly significant (P<0.01) positive correlations between FEC and IL6 (ρ=0.41), IL21 (ρ=0.65) and IL23A (ρ=0.31). In contrast, significant negative correlation (P<0.04) between IL23A with IgA antibody levels (ρ=-0.31) was found. There was also a significant positive correlation (P<0.03) of TGFB1 levels with AWC (ρ=0.42) and FEC (ρ=0.32) in the abomasal mucosa. These data suggests that susceptibility to T. circumcincta is linked to the activation of the inflammatory TH17 T cell subset and that this chronic inflammatory response was inappropriate to clear worm infection. High resolution melt analysis failed to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms in the coding regions of IL21 and IL21R. This is the first report of the involvement of TH17 response in GI worm infection in sheep. Similar gene expression studies involving the known upstream and downstream players of the TH17 response could be done

COVID-19 Vaccination Woes in Singapore

This study discusses the COVID-19 vaccination program in Singapore including the policies implemented by the government and how its residents react to these actions. We aim to determine the impact of the perception of government policies, personal beliefs, and awareness of vaccine efficacy rates on the willingness to take vaccination, the source of COVID-19 information, holding demographic variables such as age and gender constant. Surveys will be conducted for Singapore residents eligible for the vaccine, consisting of two groups of strata: vaccinated and unvaccinated. The use of statistics and regression analysis for the data collected would help the research to conclude on the relationships between the factors and vaccination willingness. Our preliminary survey, consisting of 19 responses, suggests that information from informal channels such as messaging applications, notably Whatsapp and Telegram, negatively affects their vaccination willingness, but no relationship was identified between the respondents\u27 perception of the government policies and their willingness to take vaccination. The statistically insignificant results may be due to the small number of respondents suggesting the need for further studies. This study will help identify key factors that encourage or deter peoples’ decision to take vaccination. As a result, we hope to provide insights for future studies and policymakers on how to promote protection policies in times of outbreaks and pandemics

The BOBO Project: Hexa-Eagles

The consumer business has undergone a substantial shift in how customers to shop since the introduction of online shopping. When the world was affected by Covid-19 in 2020, one of the most major repercussions was in the Food & Beverage (F&B) and grocery industries. As a result of the pandemic, many cities were put under lockdown, and everyone remained indoors. Consumer purchasing patterns changed dramatically, with malls closing or operating with limited access, and customers avoiding common spaces for fear of getting the virus. As the global epidemic progressed, several firms were forced to close their physical locations due to huge losses arising from a lack of consumer purchases. However, many firms relocated their products and services online, giving courier and delivery services a major boost. This gave the last-mile or last-quarter-mile delivery industry a chance to demonstrate its efficiency, convenience, and safety. These are the parts of the delivery process when goods or services are delivered directly to customers from local stores or a satellite consolidation and re-delivery center. Riders and drivers for delivery services rose to the occasion and assisted in keeping life as normal as possible

TRYPANOSOMA EVANSI AND NEOSPORA CANINUM AMONG WATER BUFFALOES (BUBALUS BUBALIS) IN THE PHILIPPINES

The study determined the positivity rate of Trypanosoma evansi and Neospora caninum antibodies in water buffaloes in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) for T. evansi and competitive Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (cELISA) for N. caninum antibodies . A total of 100 whole blood and 100 serum samples were collected to test for T. evansi and N. caninum , respectively. Rotat 1.2 VSG gene was target using PCR for T. evansi detection. Neospora caninum antibody detection was done from the serum samples using cELISA test kit.Results revealed that the positivity rate of T. evansi in Nueva Ecija was 11% (11/100). The positive animals identified were from the municipalities of Muñoz (4/16; 25%), Sta. Rosa (3/13; 23.08%) and Talugtug (4/16; 25%). The seropositive rate of Nueva Ecija for N. caninum. was 46% (46/100), seropositive animals were identified in Cabanatuan City, 57.14% (4/7); Science City of Muñoz, 43.14% (22/51); Sta. Rosa, 40% (4/10); Sto. Sunday, 50% (6/12); and Talugtug 50% (10/20). The seropositivity rate of N. caninum and the presence of T. evansi in Nueva Ecija may contribute to the cases of abortions in the province and further studies should be employed to confirm the association of these organisms to abortion cases on water buffaloes

DNA Damage Regulates the Functions of the RNA Binding Protein Sam68 through ATM-Dependent Phosphorylation

Simple Summary Alterations of the complex network of interactions between the DNA damage response pathway and RNA metabolism have been described in several tumors, and increasing efforts are devoted to the elucidation of the molecular mechanisms involved in this network. Previous large-scale proteomic studies identified the RNA binding protein Sam68 as a putative target of the ATM kinase. Herein, we demonstrate that ATM phosphorylates Sam68 upon DNA damage induction, and this post-translational modification regulates both the signaling function of Sam68 in the initial phase of the DNA damage response and its RNA processing activity. Thus, our study uncovers anew crosstalk between ATM and Sam68, which may represent a paradigm for the functional interaction between the DDR pathway and RNA binding proteins, and a possible actionabletarget in human cancers. Cancer cells frequently exhibit dysregulation of the DNA damage response (DDR), genomic instability, and altered RNA metabolism. Recent genome-wide studies have strongly suggested an interaction between the pathways involved in the cellular response to DDR and in the regulation of RNA metabolism, but the molecular mechanism(s) involved in this crosstalk are largely unknown. Herein, we found that activation of the DDR kinase ATM promotes its interaction with Sam68, leading to phosphorylation of this multifunctional RNA binding protein (RBP) on three residues: threonine 61, serine 388 and serine 390. Moreover, we demonstrate that ATM-dependent phosphorylation of threonine 61 promotes the function of Sam68 in the DDR pathway and enhances its RNA processing activity. Importantly, ATM-mediated phosphorylation of Sam68 in prostate cancer cells modulates alternative polyadenylation of transcripts that are targets of Sam68, supporting the notion that the ATM-Sam68 axis exerts a multifaceted role in the response to DNA damage. Thus, our work validates Sam68 as an ATM kinase substrate and uncovers an unexpected bidirectional interplay between ATM and Sam68, which couples the DDR pathway to modulation of RNA metabolism in response to genotoxic stress