Disclosure of Information to Potential Subjects on Research Recruitment Web Sites

We examined systematically how a sample of Web sites that recruit participants for research on particular diseases present studies to potential subjects, exploring the presence of information about research benefits, risks, procedures, and incentives, including monetary incentives. Such data can elucidate the degree to which federal guidance is being followed and may have potential implications for policy, suggesting areas that IRBs, policy-makers, and regulators may want to consider further regarding online recruiting of research participant

Case Report of Puffinosis in a Manx Shearwater (Puffinus puffinus) Suggesting Environmental Aetiology

Publication history: Accepted - 1 December 2022; Published online - 7 December 2022Puffinosis is a disease of a range of seabirds characterised by dorsal and ventral blistering of their webbed feet, conjunctivitis, dry necrosis, leg spasticity, head shaking, loss of balance, tremors, and death. It is associated with Manx shearwaters (Puffinus puffinus), frequently affecting chicks within their underground nesting burrows. The aetiology of the disease is unclear but has been attributed to a type-2 coronavirus associated with Neotombicula mites as a potential vector. However, there is some uncertainty given potential laboratory contamination with mouse hepatitis virus and failure to fulfil Koch’s postulates, with birds injected with isolates remaining healthy. We describe a detailed case report of puffinosis in a Manx Shearwater covering necropsy, histology, bacteriology, and metagenomics including viral sequencing. We found no evidence of viral infection or parasites. Our results are consistent with an entirely environmental aetiology, with caustic faecal ammonia in damp nesting burrows causing conjunctivitis and foot dermatitis breaking the skin, allowing common soil bacteria (i.e., Flavobacterium, Staphylococcus and Serratia spp., Clostridia perfringens and Enterococcus faecalis) to cause opportunistic infection, debilitating the bird and leading to death. A similar condition (foot pad dermatitis or FPD) has been reported in broiler chickens, attributed to caustic faeces, high humidity, and poor environmental conditions during indoor rearing, preventable by adequate ventilation and husbandry. This is consistent with puffinosis being observed in Shearwater nesting burrows situated in tall, dense, vegetation (e.g., bracken Pteridium aquilinum) but rarely reported in burrows situated in well-ventilated, short coastal grasslands. This proposed environmental aetiology accounts for the disease’s non-epizootic prevalence, spatial variation within colonies, and higher frequency in chicks that are restricted to nesting burrows.Niamh Esmonde was supported by a UKRI QUADRAT Doctoral Training Programme (DTP) studentship, grant number NE/S007377/1 funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). The Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) funded the costs of necropsy, histology, bacteriology, parasitology, and metagenomics as part of the Queen’s–AFBI Alliance. Jignasha Patel, who conducted the metagenomics, was funded by the Research Leaders 2025 Programme cofounded by Teagasc and the European Union Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under a Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant (grant 754380). Paris Jaggers was supported by a UKRI NERC scholarship (grant NE/S007474/1)

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure

The State of Telemarketing as a Communications Tool in the Hotel Industry the Case of Nairobi's 4 and 5 Star Hotels

A Research Project Report by Patel Jignasha, Submitted to the Chandaria School of Business in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Master in Management and Organizational Development

Biodegradation of kerosene: Study of growth optimization and metabolic fate of P. janthinellum SDX7

Penicillum janthinellum SDX7 was isolated from aged petroleum hydrocarbon-affected soil at the site of Anand, Gujarat, India, and was tested for different pH, temperature, agitation and concentrations for optimal growth of the isolate that was capable of degrading upto 95%, 63% and 58% of 1%, 3% and 5% kerosene, respectively, after a period of 16 days, at optimal growth conditions of pH 6.0, 30 °C and 180 rpm agitation. The GC/MS chromatograms revealed that then-alkane fractions are easily degraded; however, the rate might be lower for branched alkanes, n-alkylaromatics, cyclic alkanes and polynuclear aromatics. The test doses caused a concentration-dependent depletion of carbohydrates of P. janthinellum SDX7 by 3% to 80%, proteins by 4% to 81% and amino acids by 8% to 95% upto 16 days of treatment. The optimal concentration of 3% kerosene resulted in the least reduction of the metabolites of P. janthinellum such as carbohydrates, proteins and amino acids with optimal growth compared to 5% and 1% (v/v) kerosene doses on the 12th and 16th day of exposure. Phenols were found to be mounted by 43% to 66% at lower and higher concentrations during the experimental period. Fungal isolate P. janthinellum SDX7 was also tested for growth on various xenobiotic compounds

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Not AvailableStem rot (Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc.) resistance in groundnut genotypes was due to activities of defense enzymes such as, catalase, peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase. Bio-agent, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens isolated from groundnut rhizosphere enhances the activities of defense enzymes through salicylic acid induced systemic resistance. In resistant genotypes (NRCGCS-19 and NRCGCS-319) higher activities of defense enzymes were recorded constitutively while in susceptible genotypes it was increased after bio-agent treatment. The activities of pathogenesis related-proteins viz., polygalacturonase and chitinase were registered in plants inoculated with S. rolfsii. Enzymes, catalase, peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase and chitinase showed strong negative correlation with disease severity index. However, the activity of polygalacturonase was directly related to disease severity index and inversely related to activity of chitinase. Hence, to obtain required levels of crop protection against S. rolfsii one has to grow either resistant genotypes or bio-agent treated susceptible genotypes.Not Availabl

Assessment of spatial and temporal variations in coastal water quality of Gulf of Kachchh, Gujarat using GIS application

2313-2320The monitoring of coastal water quality was done on seasonal basis in pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon for three years duration (November 2011 to December 2014). Data obtained were applied to Arc-GIS software 10.3 for the preparation of thematic maps to evaluate the spatial and temporal variation in water quality parameters. Cluster analysis showed formation of two clusters which grouped 17 sites in two dominant ecosystems namely mangrove and coral

The FRIABLE1 Gene Product Affects Cell Adhesion in Arabidopsis

Cell adhesion in plants is mediated predominantly by pectins, a group of complex cell wall associated polysaccharides. An Arabidopsis mutant, friable1 (frb1), was identified through a screen of T-DNA insertion lines that exhibited defective cell adhesion. Interestingly, the frb1 plants displayed both cell and organ dissociations and also ectopic defects in organ separation. The FRB1 gene encodes a Golgi-localized, plant specific protein with only weak sequence similarities to known proteins (DUF246). Unlike other cell adhesion deficient mutants, frb1 mutants do not have reduced levels of adhesion related cell wall polymers, such as pectins. Instead, FRB1 affects the abundance of galactose- and arabinose-containing oligosaccharides in the Golgi. Furthermore, frb1 mutants displayed alteration in pectin methylesterification, cell wall associated extensins and xyloglucan microstructure. We propose that abnormal FRB1 action has pleiotropic consequences on wall architecture, affecting both the extensin and pectin matrices, with consequent changes to the biomechanical properties of the wall and middle lamella, thereby influencing cell-cell adhesion