The effect of sub-lethal methylmercury exposure on corticosterone hormone and the glucocorticoid receptor in the Australian zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata)

Mercury can disrupt the endocrine systems of mammals and fish, but little is known about its effects on the avian stress response. An experimental manipulation was used to show that methylmercury suppresses the stress-induced corticosterone response in birds, an effect previously unreported in the literature. Corticosterone regulates many normal metabolic processes, such as the maintenance of proper blood glucose levels during stressful daily fasting; an inability to increase corticosterone levels in response to stressors renders a bird less able to face a wide array of environmental challenges. Reproductively mature zebra finches that had been exposed to 0.0, 0.3, 0.6, 1.2, or 2.4 μg/g Hg (wet weight, ww) dietary methylmercury throughout their life (i.e. from the egg onwards) were the subjects of this study. In contrast to some field studies, no significant change in baseline plasma corticosterone concentrations was attributable to chronic methylmercury exposure. However, a comparison between the baseline corticosterone levels and levels after 30-minutes of handling stress revealed that the ability of birds to mount a stress response was reduced with increasing blood total mercury concentration. These results are consistent with adrenal corticoid disruption due to chronic mercury exposure, and mirror a similar study on free-living nestling songbirds exposed to environmental mercury. In addition, the glucocorticoid receptor in 50-day old juvenile zebra finches was studied to determine if this facet of the stress response pathway was also disrupted. No change was detected by quantitative PCR analysis in the expression of the glucocorticoid receptor in the brains of juvenile zebra finches. This result is consistent with the conclusion that mercury exposure does in fact have a significant effect on the stress response pathway, as the system is not compensating by altering receptor expression in response to abnormal hormone concentrations. More research will need to be done to determine whether the system is truly affected by mercury exposure, and whether or not it is compensating in some way for the disturbance of hormone concentrations. This project also studied the expression of the glucocorticoid receptor in zebra finch embryos of various stages, both through qPCR analysis and in situ hybridization. The purpose of studying embryos was not to compare expression among mercury treatment groups at this time, but rather to begin to characterize expression of the glucocorticoid receptor during the developmental stages of the Australian zebra finch, as there is currently no literature on this subject. The glucocorticoid receptor appears to be fairly ubiquitously expressed in zebra finch embryos from stage 17-30: more work will need to be done to continue the characterization of the expression of this receptor during the embryonic development of this species

Multiple, Independent T Cell Lymphomas Arising in an Experimentally FIV-Infected Cat during the Terminal Stage of Infection.

Our laboratory has serially reported on the virologic and immunopathologic features of a cohort of experimental feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV)-infected cats for more than eight years. At 8.09 years post infection (PI), one of these animals entered the terminal stage of infection, characterized by undulating hyperthermia, progressive anorexia, weight loss, and pancytopenia; the animal was not responsive to therapeutic interventions, necessitating euthanasia six weeks later (8.20 years PI). Subsequent analyses indicated that neoplastic lymphocytes infiltrated multiple cervical lymph nodes and a band-like region of the mucosal lamina propria within a segment of the intestine. Immunohistochemistry and T cell clonality testing determined that the nodal and intestinal lesions were independently arising from CD3 T cell lymphomas. In-situ RNA hybridization studies indicated that diffuse neoplastic lymphocytes from the cervical lymph node contained abundant viral nucleic acid, while viral nucleic acid was not detectable in lymphocytes from the intestinal lymphoma lesion. The proviral long terminal repeat (LTR) was amplified and sequenced from multiple anatomic sites, and a common clone containing a single nucleotide polymorphism was determined to be defective in response to phorbol myristate acetate (PMA)-mediated promoter activation in a reporter gene assay. This assay revealed a previously unidentified PMA response element within the FIV U3 region 3' to the TATA box. The possible implications of these results on FIV-lymphoma pathogenesis are discussed

Evaluating Success in Public Health Advocacy Strategies

Advocacy is conducted by public health organisations with the aim to bring about policy improvement for better health outcomes. Implementation of a new policy usually requires a change in government practice, often to be managed by relatively conservative, and resistant, government agencies. To better understand the change process, relevant frameworks for managing transition can be used, such as Kotter's The 8-step Process for Leading Change, as suggested by David Butt. This paper assesses the extent to which this framework can assist health advocates to determine the best approach and to evaluate the effectiveness of what they are doing as advocates. We evaluate the Public Health Association of Australia's (PHAA) advocacy campaign to incorporate environmental and equity considerations into the Australian Dietary Guidelines and the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating using Kotter's framework. The PHAA's advocacy actions clearly aligned with Kotter's 8 Steps management change process. Two additional steps were also identified - the need to build long-term relationships and the importance of opportunistic actions. Management frameworks can assist health advocates to determine the key elements of effective advocacy, to plan structured advocacy campaigns and to evaluate their effectiveness. Although the policy case example is an Australian one, the principles of effective advocacy are applicable internationally

Lessons Learned from a Nontraditional Sports Program: CrossFit Kids for Youth at Risk

Offering youth, especially youth at risk, access to something different has the opportunity to allow participants to discover new passions and interests. A nontraditional sports program was offered to middle school students who were members of the local Boys and Girls Club during the 2015–2016 academic year. Identifying a program focusing on CrossFit was valuable because CrossFit Kids programming is geared to develop the whole child addressing health and lifestyle choices and social responsibility. The purpose of this paper is to describe the program, examine what worked and did not work, and note what changes were made based on the outcomes. Overall, the program proved to be valuable for the participants. Success was found when the participants’ voices were used to inform adjustments to the program based on their needs instead of following pre-defined, fixed outcomes

Building Community Through Asset Mapping in an Alternate Route to Licensure Program

Teacher preparation programs in the U.S. have adopted social justice approaches in their work. However, it is necessary to investigate how teacher preparation programs foster an asset orientation in teacher candidates—particularly as Alternative Routes to Licensure have increased in popularity. The current investigation was an interview study of teacher candidates’ experiences after completing an asset mapping activity as part of their field experiences. Participants consistently described how the activity helped them to foster relationships with their students through (a) making connections, (b) humanizing students, and (c) community scaffolding. We explore the implications of these findings for teacher preparation research and practice

Creative Portfolio: Original Crime Drama Pilot, Series Bible, Pitch Deck and Reflection.

This portfolio encompasses the journey from initial conception to the final draft of writing an original TV Crime Drama. Included is the script (pilot episode only), followed by a Series Bible detailing the plot points in future episodes, and key characters and locations. Additionally, there is a Pitch Deck, designed to attract attention to the series from prospective investors and replicate industry standard pitches, and a personal Reflection on all the lessons learnt during the development process of the series: ‘One of the Good Ones.’ The series contributes to the genre as it features a new kind of detective archetype, intended to appeal to younger audiences. The romantic subplot is also a departure from convention, and an entertaining twist

Why some health and social care workers resisted compulsory COVID vaccination

The UK planned to make COVID vaccination compulsory for frontline NHS and social care staff, but ultimately did not. Sian Moore (University of Greenwich), Christina Clamp (Southern New Hampshire University), and Eklou R Amendah (University of Southern Maine) and colleagues look at vaccine hesitancy among this group in the UK and US, many of whom are BME, and how employers and trade unions tackled it