LUTEOTROPIC PROPERTIES OF LUTEINIZING HORMONE AND NATURE OF OXYTOCIN INDUCED LUTEAL INHIBITION IN CATTLE

Fifty-three Holstein heifers were used to study the effects of oxytocin administered alone and in combination with various gonadotropins on the weights and progesterone contents of corpora lutea. Pituitary gonadotropin levels were compared in untreated and oxytocin-treated heifers at three stages of the estrous cycle. Oxytoein injections on Days 2 through 6 significantly reduced the weights and total progesterone contents but not the progesterone concentrations of glands removed on Day 7. The concurrent administration of either purified bovine luteinizing hormone (LH) or human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) significantly increased these parameters from the oxytocin treatment levels to normal or supra-normal values. Neither purified bovine prolactin nor urea-incubated HCG overcame the inhibitory effects of oxytocin. Neither oxytocin treatment on Days 2 and 3 nor oxytocin together with HCG significantly altered luteal function when the glands were taken on Day 4. It was concluded that LH is the luteotropic hormone and that the cow requires at least two periods of luteotropic stimulation for normal corpus luteum development: one at ovulation and another after Day 4 of the cycle. Oxytocin depleted total pituitary gonadotropin levels by about half during estrus or on Day 7, but did not alter levels at Day 4. Heifers\u27 pituitary gonadotropin levels and the total progesterone in their corpora lutea were negatively correlated in control (-0.75 on Days 4 and 7 pooled) and positively correlated in oxytocin- (0.78 on Days 4 and 7 pooled) treated groups (P \u3c 0.0001). On Day 7 the correlation coefficient in the oxytocin-treated group was 0.96. The positive correlations in the treated animals are interpreted to mean that pituitary gonadotropin levels reflect plasma levels, and that these levels are directly controlling (and limiting) progesterone synthesis in the corpus luteum. The negative correlations reflect pituitary storage of gonadotropin

Profiling microbial communities in manganese remediation systems treating coal mine drainage

Author Posting. © American Society for Microbiology, 2015. This article is posted here by permission of American Society for Microbiology for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology 81 (2015): 2189-2198, doi:10.1128/AEM.03643-14.Water discharging from abandoned coal mines can contain extremely high manganese levels. Removing this metal is an ongoing challenge. Passive Mn(II) removal beds (MRBs) contain microorganisms that oxidize soluble Mn(II) to insoluble Mn(III/IV) minerals, but system performance is unpredictable. Using amplicon pyrosequencing, we profiled the bacterial, fungal, algal and archaeal communities in four variably-performing MRBs in Pennsylvania to determine whether they differed among MRBs and from surrounding soil, and to establish the relative abundance of known Mn(II)-oxidizers. Archaea were not detected; PCRs with archaeal primers returned only non-target bacterial sequences. Fungal taxonomic profiles differed starkly between sites that remove the majority of influent Mn and those that do not, with the former dominated by Ascomycota (mostly Dothideomycetes) and the latter by Basidiomycota (almost entirely Agaricomycetes). Taxonomic profiles for the other groups did not differ significantly between MRBs, but OTU-based analyses showed significant clustering by MRB with all four groups (p<0.05). Soil samples clustered separately from MRBs in all groups except fungi, whose soil samples clustered loosely with their respective MRB. Known Mn(II) oxidizers accounted for a minor proportion of bacterial sequences (up to 0.20%) but a greater proportion of fungal sequences (up to 14.78%). MRB communities are more diverse than previously thought, and more organisms may be capable of Mn(II) oxidation than are currently known.This project was funded by Smithsonian Scholarly Studies and Next-Generation Sequencing grants to C.M.S., by a Smithsonian Postdoctoral Fellowship to D.L.C., and by the National Science Foundation, grant numbers EAR-1249489 (awarded to C.M.H.) and CBET-1336496 (awarded to C.M.H. and C.M.S.)

PANDANGAN MASYARAKAT TERHADAP HIDROPONIK DI DAERAH PERKOTAAN

Semakin hari jumlah penduduk di dunia semakin bertambah. Diperkirakan pada tahun 2050 jumlah penduduk di seluruh dunia mencapai 9,8 miliar jiwa. Hal ini disertai dengan meningkatnya kebutuhan akan lahan, jumlah lahan yang tersedia di dunia tidak akan bertambah sehingga lahan pertanian semakin sempit. Oleh karena itu, untuk mengatasi lahan pertanian yang mulai berkurang di daerah perkotaan ini diciptakanlah sistem pertanian baru yang tidak hanya dapat dikembangkan di lahan sempit, tetapi juga ramah lingkungan disebut hidroponik. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui dan menganalisis bagaimana pendapat masyarakat terhadap sistem pertanian hidroponik di daerah perkotaan Surabaya. Metode yang digunakan di laporan ini dalam menentukan pandangan masyarakat yaitu dimulai dengan survei kawasan sekitar di Surabaya, lalu mewawancarai masyarakat dan beberapa mahasiswa. Setelah itu, ditarik kesimpulan berdasarkan hasil wawancara. Berdasarkan opini-opini warga didapat hasil dari kuesioner sebesar rata-rata 67,5% setuju bahwa sistem hidroponik ini dapat membawa dampak positif bagi lingkungan maupun masyarakat. Kegiatan hidroponik ini dinilai sangat membantu masyarakat dalam belajar bagaimana melakukan sistem budidaya pertanian di lahan yang relatif sempit

Design optimization of a submersible chemiluminescent sensor (DISCO) for improved quantification of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in surface waters

© The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Grabb, K., Pardis, W., Kapit, J., Wankel, S., Hayden, E., & Hansel, C. Design optimization of a submersible chemiluminescent sensor (DISCO) for improved quantification of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in surface waters. Sensors, 22(17), (2022): 6683, https://doi.org/10.3390/s22176683.Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are key drivers of biogeochemical cycling while also exhibiting both positive and negative effects on marine ecosystem health. However, quantification of the ROS superoxide (O2−) within environmental systems is hindered by its short half-life. Recently, the development of the diver-operated submersible chemiluminescent sensor (DISCO), a submersible, handheld instrument, enabled in situ superoxide measurements in real time within shallow coral reef ecosystems. Here, we present a redesigned and improved instrument, DISCO II. Similar to the previous DISCO, DISCO II is a self-contained, submersible sensor, deployable to 30 m depth and capable of measuring reactive intermediate species in real time. DISCO II is smaller, lighter, lower cost, and more robust than its predecessor. Laboratory validation of DISCO II demonstrated an average limit of detection in natural seawater of 133.1 pM and a percent variance of 0.7%, with stable photo multiplier tube (PMT) counts, internal temperature, and flow rates. DISCO II can also be optimized for diverse environmental conditions by adjustment of the PMT supply voltage and integration time. Field tests showed no drift in the data with a percent variance of 3.0%. Wand tip adaptations allow for in situ calibrations and decay rates of superoxide using a chemical source of superoxide (SOTS-1). Overall, DISCO II is a versatile, user-friendly sensor that enables measurements in diverse environments, thereby improving our understanding of the cycling of reactive intermediates, such as ROS, across various marine ecosystems.The development and verification of DISCO was funded by Schmidt Marine Technology Partners (G-2010-59878 to C.M.H., S.D.W. and J.K.). This research was further supported, in part, by grants from NSF GRFP (2016230168 to K.C.G.), WHOI Ocean Ventures Fund (2020 and 2021 to K.C.G.), and the MIT Wellington and Irene Loh Fund Fellowship (4000111995 to K.C.G.)

Wildlife Trade and Human Health in Lao PDR: An Assessment of the Zoonotic Disease Risk in Markets.

Although the majority of emerging infectious diseases can be linked to wildlife sources, most pathogen spillover events to people could likely be avoided if transmission was better understood and practices adjusted to mitigate risk. Wildlife trade can facilitate zoonotic disease transmission and represents a threat to human health and economies in Asia, highlighted by the 2003 SARS coronavirus outbreak, where a Chinese wildlife market facilitated pathogen transmission. Additionally, wildlife trade poses a serious threat to biodiversity. Therefore, the combined impacts of Asian wildlife trade, sometimes termed bush meat trade, on public health and biodiversity need assessing. From 2010 to 2013, observational data were collected in Lao PDR from markets selling wildlife, including information on volume, form, species and price of wildlife; market biosafety and visitor origin. The potential for traded wildlife to host zoonotic diseases that pose a serious threat to human health was then evaluated at seven markets identified as having high volumes of trade. At the seven markets, during 21 observational surveys, 1,937 alive or fresh dead mammals (approximately 1,009 kg) were observed for sale, including mammals from 12 taxonomic families previously documented to be capable of hosting 36 zoonotic pathogens. In these seven markets, the combination of high wildlife volumes, high risk taxa for zoonoses and poor biosafety increases the potential for pathogen presence and transmission. To examine the potential conservation impact of trade in markets, we assessed the status of 33,752 animals observed during 375 visits to 93 markets, under the Lao PDR Wildlife and Aquatic Law. We observed 6,452 animals listed by Lao PDR as near extinct or threatened with extinction. The combined risks of wildlife trade in Lao PDR to human health and biodiversity highlight the need for a multi-sector approach to effectively protect public health, economic interests and biodiversity

Treatment outcomes of new tuberculosis patients hospitalized in Kampala, Uganda: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: In most resource limited settings, new tuberculosis (TB) patients are usually treated as outpatients. We sought to investigate the reasons for hospitalisation and the predictors of poor treatment outcomes and mortality in a cohort of hospitalized new TB patients in Kampala, Uganda. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Ninety-six new TB patients hospitalised between 2003 and 2006 were enrolled and followed for two years. Thirty two were HIV-uninfected and 64 were HIV-infected. Among the HIV-uninfected, the commonest reasons for hospitalization were low Karnofsky score (47%) and need for diagnostic evaluation (25%). HIV-infected patients were commonly hospitalized due to low Karnofsky score (72%), concurrent illness (16%) and diagnostic evaluation (14%). Eleven HIV uninfected patients died (mortality rate 19.7 per 100 person-years) while 41 deaths occurred among the HIV-infected patients (mortality rate 46.9 per 100 person years). In all patients an unsuccessful treatment outcome (treatment failure, death during the treatment period or an unknown outcome) was associated with duration of TB symptoms, with the odds of an unsuccessful outcome decreasing with increasing duration. Among HIV-infected patients, an unsuccessful treatment outcome was also associated with male sex (P = 0.004) and age (P = 0.034). Low Karnofsky score (aHR = 8.93, 95% CI 1.88 - 42.40, P = 0.001) was the only factor significantly associated with mortality among the HIV-uninfected. Mortality among the HIV-infected was associated with the composite variable of CD4 and ART use, with patients with baseline CD4 below 200 cells/µL who were not on ART at a greater risk of death than those who were on ART, and low Karnofsky score (aHR = 2.02, 95% CI 1.02 - 4.01, P = 0.045). CONCLUSION: Poor health status is a common cause of hospitalisation for new TB patients. Mortality in this study was very high and associated with advanced HIV Disease and no use of ART

Role of exhaled nitric oxide as a predictor of atopy.

PMC3654880BACKGROUND: The fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) is a quantitative, noninvasive and safe measure of airways inflammation that may complement the assessment of asthma. Elevations of FeNO have recently been found to correlate with allergic sensitization. Therefore, FeNO may be a useful predictor of atopy in the general population. We sought to determine the diagnostic accuracy of FeNO in predicting atopy in a population-based study. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study in an age- and sex- stratified random sample of 13 to 15 year-olds in two communities in Peru. We asked participants about asthma symptoms, environmental exposures and sociodemographics, and underwent spirometry, assessment of FeNO and an allergy skin test. We used multivariable logistic regression to model the odds of atopy as a function of FeNO, and calculated area-under-the-curves (AUC) to determine the diagnostic accuracy of FeNO as a predictor of atopy. RESULTS: Of 1441 recruited participants, 1119 (83%) completed all evaluations. Mean FeNO was 17.6 ppb (SD=0.6) in atopics and 11.6 ppb (SD=0.8) in non-atopics (p20 ppb was associated with an increase in the odds of atopy in non-asthmatics (OR=5.3, 95% CI 3.3 to 8.5) and asthmatics (OR=16.2, 95% CI 3.4 to 77.5). A FeNO>20 ppb was the best predictor for atopy with an AUC of 68% (95% CI 64% to 69%). Stratified by asthma, the AUC was 65% (95% CI 61% to 69%) in non-asthmatics and 82% (95% CI 71% to 91%) in asthmatics. CONCLUSIONS: FeNO had limited accuracy to identify atopy among the general population; however, it may be a useful indicator of atopic phenotype among asthmatics.JH Libraries Open Access Fun

Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies of asthma in ethnically diverse North American populations.

Asthma is a common disease with a complex risk architecture including both genetic and environmental factors. We performed a meta-analysis of North American genome-wide association studies of asthma in 5,416 individuals with asthma (cases) including individuals of European American, African American or African Caribbean, and Latino ancestry, with replication in an additional 12,649 individuals from the same ethnic groups. We identified five susceptibility loci. Four were at previously reported loci on 17q21, near IL1RL1, TSLP and IL33, but we report for the first time, to our knowledge, that these loci are associated with asthma risk in three ethnic groups. In addition, we identified a new asthma susceptibility locus at PYHIN1, with the association being specific to individuals of African descent (P = 3.9 × 10(-9)). These results suggest that some asthma susceptibility loci are robust to differences in ancestry when sufficiently large samples sizes are investigated, and that ancestry-specific associations also contribute to the complex genetic architecture of asthma