Characterization of Vitamin B12 Supplementation and Correlation with Clinical Outcomes in a Large Longitudinal Study of Early Parkinson's Disease.

ObjectiveIn Parkinson's disease (PD), vitamin B12 levels are lower, and comorbid B12 deficiency has been associated with the development of neuropathy and early gait instability. Because little is known about B12 supplement use in PD, we sought to evaluate its use in a large PD cohort and, as an exploratory analysis, to determine whether baseline characteristics or disease progression differed according to B12 supplementation.MethodsWe utilized data collected as part of the National Institutes of Health Exploratory Trials in PD (NET-PD) Long-term Study (LS-1), a longitudinal study of 1,741 participants. We stratified subjects into 4 groups according to daily supplement use: no B12, multivitamin (MVI) containing < 100 μg B12, B12 ≥ 100 μg, and MVI + B12 ≥ 100 μg. Clinical outcomes were assessed at 3 years for each group using the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), its subscores, and selected individual questions.ResultsOf the 1,147 participants who completed the 3-year visit, 41% took an MVI, 2% took B12, 3% took MVI + B12, and 54% reported taking no supplements. At 3 years, no significant differences in clinical outcomes were observed. However, there was a trend toward lower hazard ratios for developing sensory symptoms (UPDRS Item 17) in the MVI (p = 0.08) and B12 + MVI (p = 0.08) groups compared to that in the no supplement group.ConclusionThese results show that supplementation with vitamin B12 ≥ 100 μg is uncommon in early PD. The finding of a trend toward a lower hazard ratio for the development of sensory symptoms in those taking an MVI or B12 + MVI warrants further study

Individual, social, and environmental factors associated with physical activity and walking

Background: Participation in physical activity (PA) is influenced by a multitude of factors. Traditionally, research has focused on several theoretical frameworks focusing on the individual ; however, they do not necessarily take into consideration other influencing factors such as the social environment or the physical or built environment. As such, a comprehensive socio-ecological model considering a multiplicity of factors is useful in explaining behaviour. Aims: To 1) assess the prevalence of the individual level correlates and their association with PA and walking; 2) assess the prevalence of environmental determinants and neighbourhood characteristics and the association between these and PA and walking behaviours; 3) explore within a comprehensive and socio-ecological approach, the contribution of the individual, social, and environmental factors in predicting PA and walking. Methods: The studies used in this thesis are national, random-digit dialling telephone-based surveys of a representative population sample within Canada. All research questions and procedures underwent ethics review at York University. The studies incorporated a two-stage probability selection process to select a survey respondent, and included a number of standard self-report measures across the data collection cycles. PA and all-domain walking were measured using the telephone-administered, short International Physical Activity Questionnaire, the neighbourhood environment was measured using an abbreviated version of the Neighbourhood Environment Walkability Scale (NEWS), and individual factors such as knowledge about amount of PA required for guidelines, beliefs about the benefits of PA, self-efficacy, intention, and initial behaviour changes. Walking for transport was measured through the Physical Activity Monitor and walking for recreation were measured through an adapted version of the Minnesota Leisure-Time PA questionnaire (for the 2007 collection only). Complex sampling methods were required to take into account stratification by province or territory within Canada. Complex samples cross-tabulation procedures were used to calculate the prevalence estimates of Canadians meeting the PA and walking guidelines and 95% confidence intervals. The relationship between factors predicting sufficient activity and sufficient walking were examined using complex samples logistic regression procedures that were reflect the sample design. This thesis explored associations and the relative strength of the factors as the independent measures predicting sufficient PA and sufficient walking as the dependent measures, using age, sex, and education as covariates for each of these models. Chapter Six expands this model by including walking for recreation and transportation, and examining sub-population groups. Results: Individual factors (e.g., self-efficacy, intention, and some trial behaviours) and social factors were associated with sufficient PA and certain types of walking. Relatively few environmental factors were associated with sufficient walking (all domain and domain-specific) or sufficient PA. The relationship between high density neighbourhoods and higher rates of walking (generally and specific), and the availability of supportive walking facilities with various modes of walking were evident. Proximity of many shops and the presence of sidewalks were associated with the highest quartile of walking for transport. A greater number of the individual factors predicted walking and PA compared to the environmental/neighbourhood factors, within the context of a full socio-ecological model. Findings differed when stratified by age and sex of respondents. Conclusions: The results suggest that individual factors may be more relevant for predicting activity and walking than environmental factors, or at least should be considered in their inter-relationship with environmental factors when developing environment-based interventions. Although the inter-relationship between individual factors, social factors and the built environment are important, understanding individual factors are critical for determining strategies and interventions to promote PA among certain populations with traditionally lower levels of activity. Findings suggest that within countries like Canada, with a relative abundance of supportive environments, more specific and detailed measures of the perceived and objective physical environment may be required in order to achieve sufficient variation

Worship in Modern-Day Society: Evaluating Music of Corporate Worship

Background Church services today incorporate a wide variety of worship music, stylistically and lyrically, depending on the congregation. Some churches place great importance on the gospel being included in the songs, while others focus more on the emotions felt during the songs. While there are churches that maintain an eclectic mix of the two, other churches have a significant imbalance in the worship songs they choose to sing each week. Matt Boswell says, “Every worship experience, in its order and content, is an expression of the congregation’s liturgy. It communicates something about your church, your doctrine, and the order of your priorities.”1 As the local church gathers, there must be a clearer knowledge of why mankind has been created to worship as well as God’s design for worship both corporately and individually. The church gathers to worship vertically, personally, and horizontally. Statement of the Purpose There has been much deliberation on what songs are best for worship within the church. Over the last few decades, personal preference, and not the Word of God, seems to motivate song selection. Scott Connell warns that song choice should not be based upon “popularity, preference or pressure.”2 The purpose of this research paper is to explore God’s design for worship songs within the local church and provide detailed biblical guidance on worship with God. Scholarly wisdom, the Word of God, and church service evaluations are the primary sources for this paper. Response to God through song is evident throughout Scripture. Psalm 57 declares, “I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to You among the nations” (Psalm 57:9, English Standard Version). God’s Word gives believers guidance on praising God in ways that are pleasing and acceptable to Him. To equip the church family with worship God’s way, worship leaders and pastors must be diligent in telling and retelling the story of Jesus Christ in creative ways. Research Questions Various ways to apply these discoveries will be discussed in detail to assist the church in worshiping God on His terms. Specific research questions include: 1) What does the Bible say about worshiping God’s way? 2) How can the church equip their people better with more biblical worship? What is working? What needs to change? As these questions are explored, the specific focus will be lyrics of hymns and praise songs in general within the church setting. A focused study on Keith and Kristyn Getty’s lives, music writing, and ministry is included in the biblical worship research, as their music is primarily used for the recital portion of this project. Research and Recital Plans The recital will include selections from the Gettys library of music and a few additional songs that fit the model of a five-component worship song assessment. These components include 1) A high view of God, 2) Jesus, the gospel story, 3) My story and personal reflection, 4) Call to Respond, and lastly, 5) The commission. The recital will follow these guidelines

Control of bacterial spot in stone fruit orchards

This project has successfully identified new ways of managing one of the most devastating diseases of stonefruit crops, bacterial spot. Bacterial spot (caused by Xanthomonas arboricola pv. pruni, or Xap) is the most devastating bacterial disease currently affecting Australian stonefruit crops. It has been estimated that bacterial spot affects more than one third of all stonefruit growers in Australia in wet spring/summer seasons, with fruit losses of up to 70% in highly susceptible varieties. This disease significantly reduces the numbers of saleable fruit, and if left untreated can cause long term effects such as reduced tree vigour (leading to poor fruit set and quality), branch loss and tree death in plums. The extent of the problem is so severe that some varieties are unviable for commercial production without a method of bacterial spot control

Cat's claw creeper vine, Macfadyena unguis-cati (Bignoniaceae), invasion impacts: comparative leaf nutrient content and effects on soil physicochemical properties

Macfadyena unguis-cati (L.) Gentry (Bignoniaceae) is a major environmental weed in coastal Queensland, Australia. There is a lack of quantitative data on its leaf chemistry and its impact on soil properties. Soils from infested vs uninfested areas, and leaves of M. unguis-cati and three co-occurring vine species (one exotic, two native) were collected at six sites (riparian and non-riparian) in south-eastern Queensland. Effects of invasion status, species, site and habitat type were examined using univariate and multivariate analyses. Habitat type had a greater effect on soil nutrients than on leaf chemistry. Invasion effect of M. unguis-cati on soil chemistry was more pronounced in non-riparian than in riparian habitat. Significantly higher values were obtained in M. unguis-cati infested (vs. uninfested) soils for ~50% of traits. Leaf ion concentrations differed significantly between exotic and native vines. Observed higher leaf-nutrient load (especially nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) in exotic plants aligns with the preference of invasive plant species for disturbed habitats with higher nutrient input. Higher load of trace elements (aluminium, boron, cadmium and iron) in its leaves suggests that cycling of heavy-metal ions, many of which are potentially toxic at excess level, could be accelerated in soils of M. unguis-cati-invaded landscape. Although inferences from the present study are based on correlative data, the consistency of the patterns across many sites suggests that M. unguis-cati may improve soil fertility and influence nutrient cycling, perhaps through legacy effects of its own litter input

Carsey Perspectives: New Hampshire's Electricity Future

Over the past decade a number of factors have transformed global and national energy markets. Access to low-cost natural gas has been a significant part of this trend. Nationally, natural gas-fired power generation was expected to have exceeded coal-fired power generation for the first time in 2016,  and in New England about 50 percent of electricity is now generated from natural gas. With natural gas now such a large part of New England's energy mix, there is a concern that the demand for heating and electricity during cold periods will cause spikes in wholesale electricity prices and that demand may be greater than the available pipeline capacity to deliver natural gas. The region's utility industry has proposed the expansion of pipeline capacity to meet this seasonal increase in the demand for natural gas

Phospho.ELM:a database of experimentally verified phosphorylation sites in eukaryotic proteins

BACKGROUND: Post-translational phosphorylation is one of the most common protein modifications. Phosphoserine, threonine and tyrosine residues play critical roles in the regulation of many cellular processes. The fast growing number of research reports on protein phosphorylation points to a general need for an accurate database dedicated to phosphorylation to provide easily retrievable information on phosphoproteins.DESCRIPTION: Phospho.ELM http://phospho.elm.eu.org is a new resource containing experimentally verified phosphorylation sites manually curated from the literature and is developed as part of the ELM (Eukaryotic Linear Motif) resource. Phospho.ELM constitutes the largest searchable collection of phosphorylation sites available to the research community. The Phospho.ELM entries store information about substrate proteins with the exact positions of residues known to be phosphorylated by cellular kinases. Additional annotation includes literature references, subcellular compartment, tissue distribution, and information about the signaling pathways involved as well as links to the molecular interaction database MINT. Phospho.ELM version 2.0 contains 1703 phosphorylation site instances for 556 phosphorylated proteins.CONCLUSION: Phospho.ELM will be a valuable tool both for molecular biologists working on protein phosphorylation sites and for bioinformaticians developing computational predictions on the specificity of phosphorylation reactions.</p

Carsey Perspectives: New Hampshire\u27s Electricity Future; Cost, Reliability, and Risk

May 2017 update PointLogic Energy, a source for natural gas pipeline flow and capacity in the original report, has recently updated its models for calculating natural gas flow in the Tennessee Gas Pipeline in New England. This model update has resulted in significant changes to their previous estimates. Most importantly, data obtained from PointLogic Energy in December 2016 supported the finding that overall net gas flow in the “Tennessee Gas Pipeline: NY to MA” was from Massachusetts to New York from 2013–2016; their revised models indicate a net flow during the same period from New York to Massachusetts. To be conservative, we have removed analysis of natural gas pipeline flow and capacity from this report that relied on the original data obtained from PointLogic Energy. Instead, we use estimates of natural gas pipeline flow and capacity published in a 2014 ICF International report that was commissioned by ISO New England (Exhibit 2-3, pp. 12)a and information provided by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.b Please click here to read the previous version of this publication. In this perspectives brief, authors Cameron Wake, Matt Magnusson, Christine Foreman, and Fiona Wilson examine the cost of electrical power in New Hampshire and New England, the reliability of the electrical power system in terms of its ability to meet demand, and the risk New Hampshire ratepayers might face from various proposals to secure or increase the supply of electricity. They find evidence that near-term levels of demand and supply pose no threat to grid reliability, that current pipeline capacity is adequate, and that better contracting practices and other “soft-infrastructure” changes combined with the promotion of energy efficiency and renewable energy will have at least as large a return on investment as expanded pipeline capacity, without exposing ratepayers to higher electricity rates stemming from expensive infrastructure investments

Optimality and uniqueness of the (4,10,1/6) spherical code

Linear programming bounds provide an elegant method to prove optimality and uniqueness of an (n,N,t) spherical code. However, this method does not apply to the parameters (4,10,1/6). We use semidefinite programming bounds instead to show that the Petersen code, which consists of the midpoints of the edges of the regular simplex in dimension 4, is the unique (4,10,1/6) spherical code.Comment: 12 pages, (v2) several small changes and corrections suggested by referees, accepted in Journal of Combinatorial Theory, Series