Table of Contents and Prologue

Editorial board, Table of contents, and Prologue, an introduction to volume

Violence Affecting School Employees

A review of the literature shows significant violence (both physical and verbal threats) in schools in the United States (U.S.). Almost all of the studies focus on violence by students and against students. There is very limited information about violence involving employees in the schools even though teachers are three times more likely to be attacked than are students on a per capita basis. The purpose of this study was to understand the extent, causation, and reduction of violence against school employees in a metropolitan area. Administrators of all schools (K-12, vocational schools, and colleges) in a 4-county, 2-state metropolitan area were surveyed. The results of the survey found that violence in the Portland metropolitan area was not as prevalent as nationwide trends indicate. However, most respondents believed violence would continue at the present level into the future. More research needs to be conducted about violence against school employees, but it should carefully consider the geographical area and the type of respondents

Coral Gardens Reef, Belize: A Refugium in the Face of Caribbean-Wide \u3ci\u3eAcropora\u3c/i\u3e Spp. Coral Decline

Caribbean Acropora spp. corals have undergone a decline in cover since the second half of the twentieth century. Loss of these architecturally complex and fast-growing corals has resulted in significant, cascading changes to the character, diversity, and available eco spaces of Caribbean reefs. Few thriving Acropora spp. populations exist today in the Caribbean and western North Atlantic seas, and our limited ability to access data from reefs assessed via long-term monitoring efforts means that reef scientists are challenged to determine resilience and longevity of existing Acropora spp. reefs. Here we used multiple dating methods to measure reef longevity and determine whether Coral Gardens Reef, Belize, is a refuge for Acropora cervicornis against the backdrop of wider Caribbean decline. We used a new genetic-aging technique to identify sample sites, and radiocarbon and high-precision uranium-thorium (U-Th) dating techniques to test whether one of the largest populations of extant A. cervicornis in the western Caribbean is newly established after the 1980s, or represents a longer-lived, stable population. We did so with respect for ethical sampling of a threatened species. Our data show corals ranging in age from 1910 (14C) or 1915 (230Th) to at least November 2019. While we cannot exclude the possibility of short gaps in the residence of A. cervicornis earlier in the record, the data show consistent and sustained living coral throughout the 1980s and up to at least 2019. We suggest that Coral Gardens has served as a refuge for A. cervicornis and that identifying other, similar sites may be critical to efforts to grow, preserve, conserve, and seed besieged Caribbean reefs

Spectroscopic results from the Life in the Atacama (LITA) project 2004 field season

Analysis of spectroscopy datasets from rover field tests in the Atacama Desert (Chile), focusing on the composition of the surface and identification of potential habitats for life

TCT-545 Angiographic Features, Lesion, and Procedural Characteristics in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease Undergoing Protected High-Risk Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Background: Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are at risk for accelerated atherosclerosis. There is a paucity of data regarding coronary lesion characteristics and procedural details of CKD patients, especially those on dialysis, undergoing high-risk percutaneous coronary intervention (HRPCI) with left ventricular support. Methods: We analyzed patients from the PROTECT III study who underwent Impella-supported HRPCI, stratified into 3 groups according to kidney function status based on history: 1) normal kidney function; 2) CKD not on dialysis; and 3) CKD on dialysis. Baseline characteristics, angiographic features, and procedural details were assessed. Results: The study population included 3,702 treated lesions in 1,223 patients with a mean age of 71 ± 11 years; 73% (893) were male, 68% (834) had normal kidney function (serum creatinine = 1 mg/dL [IQR: 0.9-1.2]), 23% (278) had CKD not on dialysis (serum creatinine = 1.6 mg/dL [IQR: 1.3-1.9]), and 9% (111) were on dialysis. Patients on dialysis were significantly younger and had more comorbidities, as well as a greater incidence of acute myocardial infarction as an indication for HRPCI compared with the other 2 groups (45.0 [dialysis] vs 30.1 [CKD not on dialysis] vs 36.0 [normal kidney function]; P = 0.03). There was no difference between groups in prevalence of 3-vessel disease (P = 0.63). Patients on dialysis had greater prevalence of severely calcified lesions and higher use of rotational and orbital atherectomy with greater number of passes (Table 1). Despite this, no significant differences were observed in post-PCI Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction flow, incidence of no-reflow, or dissection/perforation. Conclusion: In contrast to patients with normal kidney function, patients with CKD with or without dialysis treated with Impella had more comorbidities, higher prevalence of severely calcified lesions, and greater use of atherectomy with more passes. Despite the complexity of PCI, no significant differences in complications were observed. Categories: CORONARY: Complex and Higher Risk Procedures for Indicated Patients (CHIP

TCT-99 Short- and Long-Term Outcomes of Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease Undergoing Protected High-Risk Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Background: Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and concomitant multivessel coronary artery disease (CAD) with or without left ventricular dysfunction often have high surgical risk and are declined for coronary artery bypass grafting. There is little data regarding clinical outcomes in these patients undergoing high-risk PCI (HRPCI) using Impella. Methods: We analyzed patients from the PROTECT III Study who underwent Impella-supported HRPCI and stratified them into 3 groups by kidney function status based on history: 1) normal kidney function, 2) CKD without dialysis, and 3) CKD with dialysis. We compared the composite incidence of major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) rate, defined as all-cause death, myocardial infarction (MI), stroke/transient ischemic attack (TIA), and repeat revascularization at 30 and 90 days. Results: We included 1,223 patients, aged 71 ± 11 years; 73% (893) were men, 68% (834) had normal kidney function (serum creatinine [Cr] 1.1 mg/dL, IQR 0.9-1.2), 23% (278) had CKD without dialysis (Cr 1.7 mg/dL, IQR 1.3-1.9), and 9% (111) were on dialysis. Patients on dialysis were younger with more comorbidities such as diabetes, heart failure, anemia, PVD and prior stroke. HRPCI status (urgent or elective), proportion of acute MI, and mean SYNTAX scores were similar. No significant differences in MACCE were shown between groups at 30 days or 90 days (Table). Patients with normal kidney function had comparable risks of 30-day and 90-day MACCE compared with CKD patients without dialysis with Cox proportional hazards analysis, and lower risk of 90-day MACCE compared to CKD patients with dialysis. Notably, CKD patients with or without dialysis also had similar 90-day MACCE risk (Table). Conclusion: Patients with CKD and dialysis undergoing HRPCI exhibit higher risk for 90-day MACCE compared to patients with normal kidney function. CKD patients without dialysis also had higher risk of MI at 90 days. Further research is needed. Categories: CORONARY: Complex and Higher Risk Procedures for Indicated Patients (CHIP

A Solution for the Shortage of Detection Dogs: A Detector Dog Center of Excellence and a Cooperative Breeding Program

Currently, demand for US-bred and born detector dogs exceeds available supply, while reliance on foreign-bred sources introduces many unnecessary and unwanted risks. With proper management of a domestic supply line, U.S. breeders can improve both health and behavior by applying scientific principles to breeding and raising of detector dogs. A cooperative national detector dog breeding and development program will mitigate the current shortage of domestic-bred dogs that meet the health and behavior standards required by government, military, and law enforcement agencies. To coordinate such a cooperative, we propose a Detector Dog Center of Excellence (DDCoE) led by representatives of academic canine science programs guided by an advisory board of stakeholders. As a non-governmental organization, the DDCoE will oversee selective breeding of dogs owned by breeders, purchase the resulting puppies, and its members will supervise puppy raising until dogs are of a suitable age to be purchased by government agencies or other working dog organizations. The DDCoE will serve as an approved vendor to facilitate the procurement process. Breeding decisions will be based on proven quantitative genetic methods implemented by a specialized database. A national working dog semen bank will ensure conservation of diverse genetic material and enhance selection response by providing numerous potential sires. As a data collection and genetic evaluation center, the DDCoE will lead research to define quantitative traits involved in odor detection, to understand how these traits develop, and methods to optimize training of dogs endowed with enhanced odor detection ability

Reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD): a climate change mitigation strategy on a critical track

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Following recent discussions, there is hope that a mechanism for reduction of emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) will be agreed by the Parties of the UNFCCC at their 15th meeting in Copenhagen in 2009 as an eligible action to prevent climate changes and global warming in post-2012 commitment periods. Countries introducing a REDD-regime in order to generate benefits need to implement sound monitoring and reporting systems and specify the associated uncertainties. The principle of conservativeness addresses the problem of estimation errors and requests the reporting of reliable minimum estimates (RME). Here the potential to generate benefits from applying a REDD-regime is proposed with reference to sampling and non-sampling errors that influence the reliability of estimated activity data and emission factors.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A framework for calculating carbon benefits by including assessment errors is developed. Theoretical, sample based considerations as well as a simulation study for five selected countries with low to high deforestation and degradation rates show that even small assessment errors (5% and less) may outweigh successful efforts to reduce deforestation and degradation.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The generation of benefits from REDD is possible only in situations where assessment errors are carefully controlled.</p

Genome-wide analysis of ivermectin response by Onchocerca volvulus reveals that genetic drift and soft selective sweeps contribute to loss of drug sensitivity

Treatment of onchocerciasis using mass ivermectin administration has reduced morbidity and transmission throughout Africa and Central/South America. Mass drug administration is likely to exert selection pressure on parasites, and phenotypic and genetic changes in several Onchocerca volvulus populations from Cameroon and Ghana-exposed to more than a decade of regular ivermectin treatment-have raised concern that sub-optimal responses to ivermectin's anti-fecundity effect are becoming more frequent and may spread.Pooled next generation sequencing (Pool-seq) was used to characterise genetic diversity within and between 108 adult female worms differing in ivermectin treatment history and response. Genome-wide analyses revealed genetic variation that significantly differentiated good responder (GR) and sub-optimal responder (SOR) parasites. These variants were not randomly distributed but clustered in ~31 quantitative trait loci (QTLs), with little overlap in putative QTL position and gene content between the two countries. Published candidate ivermectin SOR genes were largely absent in these regions; QTLs differentiating GR and SOR worms were enriched for genes in molecular pathways associated with neurotransmission, development, and stress responses. Finally, single worm genotyping demonstrated that geographic isolation and genetic change over time (in the presence of drug exposure) had a significantly greater role in shaping genetic diversity than the evolution of SOR.This study is one of the first genome-wide association analyses in a parasitic nematode, and provides insight into the genomics of ivermectin response and population structure of O. volvulus. We argue that ivermectin response is a polygenically-determined quantitative trait (QT) whereby identical or related molecular pathways but not necessarily individual genes are likely to determine the extent of ivermectin response in different parasite populations. Furthermore, we propose that genetic drift rather than genetic selection of SOR is the underlying driver of population differentiation, which has significant implications for the emergence and potential spread of SOR within and between these parasite populations

Interaction of a dengue virus NS1-derived peptide with the inhibitory receptor KIR3DL1 on natural killer cells

Killer immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) interact with human leucocyte antigen (HLA) class I ligands and play a key role in the regulation and activation of NK cells. The functional importance of KIR–HLA interactions has been demonstrated for a number of chronic viral infections, but to date only a few studies have been performed in the context of acute self-limited viral infections. During our investigation of CD81 T cell responses to a conserved HLA-B57-restricted epitope derived from dengue virus (DENV) non-structural protein-1 (NS1), we observed substantial binding of the tetrameric complex to non-T/non-B lymphocytes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from a long-standing clinical cohort in Thailand. We confirmed binding of the NS1 tetramer to CD56dim NK cells, which are known to express KIRs. Using depletion studies and KIRtransfected cell lines, we demonstrated further that the NS1 tetramer bound the inhibitory receptor KIR3DL1. Phenotypical analysis of PBMC from HLA-B571 subjects with acute DENV infection revealed marked activation of NS1 tetramer-binding natural killer (NK) cells around the time of defervescence in subjects with severe dengue disease. Collectively, our findings indicate that subsets of NK cells are activated relatively late in the course of acute DENV illness and reveal a possible role for specific KIR– HLA interactions in the modulation of disease outcomes