Land-use survey and impact study of Plymouth Beach residential canal.

LimnologyA full examination of the environmental impacts of a man-made canal such as Plymouth Beach would not be complete without considering the land-use of the surrounding area. The general morphology of the canal in itself causes unnatural changes in the wetland ecosystem. By studying the land-use and human impacts on Plymouth Beach canal, I hope to determine possible sources of contamination and high nutrient levels within the canal and the factors which are affecting their concentrations.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/89443/1/Weston_Rachel_2011.pd

The Relationship Between Economic Deprivation and Emerging Inhibitory Control in Young Children

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ECONOMIC DEPRIVATION AND EMERGING INHIBITORY CONTROL IN YOUNG CHILDREN. Rachel S. Weston, David J. Bridgett, Linda C. Mayes. Yale Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT. An extensive body of research has documented detrimental effects of growing up in poverty on children\u27s global cognitive development, particularly when economic deprivation occurs in early childhood. However, little is known about the impact of poverty on children\u27s component neurocognitive capacities. The prefrontal cortex is one brain region, responsible for the executive control functions, that has a prolonged period of postnatal development and therefore may be especially susceptible to environmental influences like poverty. Inhibitory control is an important executive function to investigate because it appears to be a significant predictor of language and math skills in preschool and later school years. In the current study, we hypothesized that children living in more economically disadvantaged families would have delayed development of their inhibitory control abilities and would have altered developmental trajectories with increasing developmental lag compared to children living in more economically advantaged families. The current study employed latent growth curve modeling to model the developmental trajectories of inhibitory control for a cohort of 125 children followed longitudinally between ages 5 and 8. Commission errors from a picture AX Continuous Performance Task were used to measure inhibitory control. Consistent with developmental expectations, we found that as children get older, they make progressively fewer inhibitory control errors (age 5 mean = 19.86 vs. age 8 mean = 4.76). Significant interindividual differences were also present in both slope and intercept factors. Adding child gender and income-to-need ratio at age 5 to the model as predictors, we found that both factors accounted for significant interindividual differences, together explaining 12 percent of the variance in the intercept (i.e., 5-year-old inhibitory control ability). This predictor model provided an excellent fit for the data. At age 5, male children made more inhibitory control errors than female children. Also, children from more economically disadvantaged families made more inhibitory control errors than their peers from more advantaged families. An unexpected finding was that child gender and income-to-need at age 5 did not account for significant interindividual differences in trajectory slope (i.e., no developmental lag was observed). These results suggest that the impact of economic deprivation on prefrontal cortex development and subsequent development of inhibitory control occurs early (before age 5), putting children on a particular trajectory based on this early exposure to poverty. Tailoring interventions (e.g., early education programs) to reinforce executive functions like inhibitory control below the age of 5 years could potentially maximally improve cognitive outcomes among low-income children

Final Report: Outcomes from Efforts to Swab Individuals Who Lawfully “Owe” DNA in Cuyahoga County

In this research brief, we present final outcomes for individuals in Cuyahoga County who lawfully “owe” DNA – meaning DNA that should have been collected because of a qualifying criminal offense(s) but was not. The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office and researchers from the Begun Center for Violence Prevention Research and Education at Case Western Reserve University collaborated on a project funded by the U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Sexual Assault Kit Initiative to: (a) identify individuals who owe DNA, (b) collect swabs from eligible suspects who owe, and (c) follow up on what happens after their DNA is entered into CODIS (the federal DNA database). The findings presented in this brief detail the outcomes of our efforts, including how many people who owed DNA have now been confirmed to have their DNA in the CODIS, and the number and types of crimes to which these individuals have now been connected. The findings highlight the strong probative value of DNA in criminal investigations and the importance of ensuring DNA is collected from those who lawfully owe. Recommendations and lessons learned are provided for other jurisdictions that are addressing their own owed DNA issues.https://commons.case.edu/beguncenter-reports/1009/thumbnail.jp

Regional Supply Chains: Strengthening Urban-Rural Connections Around the Benefits from Natural Areas

Report of the 2017 Berkley Workshop Held at the Inn at Shelburne Farms, Shelburne, VT - June 201

Release of cholesterol-rich particles from the macrophage plasma membrane during movement of filopodia and lamellipodia.

Cultured mouse peritoneal macrophages release large numbers of ~30-nm cholesterol-rich particles. Here, we show that those particles represent fragments of the plasma membrane that are pulled away and left behind during the projection and retraction of filopodia and lamellipodia. Consistent with this finding, the particles are enriched in proteins found in focal adhesions, which attach macrophages to the substrate. The release of particles is abolished by blocking cell movement (either by depolymerizing actin with latrunculin A or by inhibiting myosin II with blebbistatin). Confocal microscopy and NanoSIMS imaging studies revealed that the plasma membrane-derived particles are enriched in 'accessible cholesterol' (a mobile pool of cholesterol detectable with the modified cytolysin ALO-D4) but not in sphingolipid-sequestered cholesterol [a pool detectable with ostreolysin A (OlyA)]. The discovery that macrophages release cholesterol-rich particles during cellular locomotion is likely relevant to cholesterol efflux and could contribute to extracellular cholesterol deposition in atherosclerotic plaques

Comparative genome mapping of the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) reveals greater similarity to rat (Rattus norvegicus) than to the lab mouse (Mus musculus)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Deer mice (<it>Peromyscus maniculatus</it>) and congeneric species are the most common North American mammals. They represent an emerging system for the genetic analyses of the physiological and behavioral bases of habitat adaptation. Phylogenetic evidence suggests a much more ancient divergence of <it>Peromyscus </it>from laboratory mice (<it>Mus</it>) and rats (<it>Rattus</it>) than that separating latter two. Nevertheless, early karyotypic analyses of the three groups suggest <it>Peromyscus </it>to be exhibit greater similarities with <it>Rattus </it>than with <it>Mus</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Comparative linkage mapping of an estimated 35% of the deer mouse genome was done with respect to the Rattus and Mus genomes. We particularly focused on regions that span synteny breakpoint regions between the rat and mouse genomes. The linkage analysis revealed the Peromyscus genome to have a higher degree of synteny and gene order conservation with the Rattus genome.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These data suggest that: 1. the <it>Rattus </it>and <it>Peromyscus </it>genomes more closely represent ancestral Muroid and rodent genomes than that of <it>Mus</it>. 2. the high level of genome rearrangement observed in Muroid rodents is especially pronounced in <it>Mus</it>. 3. evolution of genome organization can operate independently of more commonly assayed measures of genetic change (e.g. SNP frequency).</p

Proof of Life: Mark-Making Practices on the Island of Alderney

Currently, mark-making practices as a form of identification and proof of life are an unrealized resource. Over a three-year period, systematic walkover surveys were conducted on and within fortifications and other structures on the island of Alderney to locate historic and modern marks. The investigations presented in this article demonstrate the importance of non-invasive recording and examination of marks to identify evidence connected to forced and slave labourers, and soldiers present on the island of Alderney during the German occupation in World War II. Names, hand and footwear impressions, slogans, artworks, dates, and counting mechanisms were recorded electronically and investigated by using international databases, archives, and translation services. We discuss the value and challenges of interpreting traces of human life in the contexts of conflict archaeology and missing person investigations and underline the need for greater recognition of marks as evidence of past lives

The effect of baseline cognition and delirium on long-term cognitive impairment and mortality: a prospective population-based study

BACKGROUND: There is an unmet public health need to understand better the relationship between baseline cognitive function, the occurrence and severity of delirium, and subsequent cognitive decline. Our aim was to quantify the relationship between baseline cognition and delirium and follow-up cognitive impairment. METHODS: We did a prospective longitudinal study in a stable representative community sample of adults aged 70 years or older who were registered with a Camden-based general practitioner in the London Borough of Camden (London, UK). Participants were recruited by invitation letters from general practice lists or by direct recruitment of patients from memory clinics or patients recently discharged from secondary care. We quantified baseline cognitive function with the modified Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status. In patients who were admitted to hospital, we undertook daily assessments of delirium using the Memorial Delirium Assessment Scale (MDAS). We estimated the association of pre-admission baseline cognitive function with delirium prevalence, severity, and duration. We assessed subsequent cognitive function 2 years after baseline recruitment using the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status. Regression models were adjusted by age, sex, education, illness severity, and frailty. FINDINGS: We recruited 1510 participants (median age 77 [IQR 73–82], 57% women) between March, 2017, and October, 2018. 209 participants were admitted to hospital across 371 episodes (1999 person-days of assessment). Better baseline cognition was associated with a lower risk of delirium (odds ratio 0·63, 95% CI 0·45 to 0·89) and with less severe delirium (–1·6 MDAS point, 95% CI –2·6 to –0·7). Individuals with high baseline cognition (baseline Z score +2·0 SD) had demonstrable decline even without delirium (follow-up Z score +1·2 SD). However, those with a high delirium burden had an even larger absolute decline of 2·2 SD in Z score (follow-up Z score –0·2). Once individuals had more than 2 days of moderate delirium, the rates of death over 2 years were similar regardless of baseline cognition; a better baseline cognition no longer conferred any mortality benefit. INTERPRETATION: A higher baseline cognitive function is associated with a good prognosis with regard to likelihood and severity of delirium. However, those with a high baseline cognition and with delirium had the highest degree of cognitive decline, a change similar to the decline observed in individuals with a high amyloid burden in other cohorts. Older people with a healthy baseline cognitive function who develop delirium stand to lose the most after delirium. This group could benefit from targeted cognitive rehabilitation interventions after delirium