Effects of Tropical Storm Agnes on Nutrient Flux and Distribution in Lower Chesapeake Bay

Nutrient concentrations measured in lower Chesapeake Bay in the summer of 1972 immediately following the flooding associated with Tropical Storm Agnes are compared with those in the summer of 1973, a season of more normal rainfall. The large amount of land runoff produced unseasonably high concentrations of dissolved inorganic nitrogen in the Bay near the mouth of the Potomac River. Phosphate concentrations were essentially unaffected by the flooding. Fluxes of total nitrogen and total phosphorus nutrients through the mouth of Chesapeake Bay were calculated for both summers. The calculated net export of nutrients from the Bay in both August 1972, and June 1973 was found to be small in comparison to nutrient inputs.https://scholarworks.wm.edu/vimsbooks/1068/thumbnail.jp

Theoretical analysis of neutron scattering results for quasi-two dimensional ferromagnets

A theoretical study has been carried out to analyse the available results from the inelastic neutron scattering experiment performed on a quasi-two dimensional spin-1/2 ferromagnetic material $K_2CuF_4$. Our formalism is based on a conventional semi-classical like treatment involving a model of an ideal gas of vortices/anti-vortices corresponding to an anisotropic XY Heisenberg ferromagnet on a square lattice. The results for dynamical structure functions for our model corresponding to spin-1/2, show occurrence of negative values in a large range of energy transfer even encompassing the experimental range, when convoluted with a realistic spectral window function. This result indicates failure of the conventional theoretical framework to be applicable to the experimental situation corresponding to low spin systems. A full quantum formalism seems essential for treating such systems.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figures, 1 Table Submitted for publicatio

Driver self-regulation and depressive symptoms in cataract patients awaiting surgery: a cross-sectional study

Background: Cataract is an extremely common visual condition of ageing. Evidence suggests that visual impairment influences driving patterns and self-regulatory behavior among older drivers. However, little is known about the psychological effects of driver self-regulation among older drivers. Therefore, this study aimed to describe driver self-regulation practices among older bilateral cataract patients and to determine the association between self-regulation and depressive symptoms. Methods: Ninety-nine older drivers with bilateral cataract were assessed the week before first eye cataract surgery. Driver self-regulation was measured via the Driving Habits Questionnaire. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the 20-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. Visual, demographic and cognitive data were also collected. Differences between self-regulators and non self-regulators were described and linear regression modeling used to determine the association between driver self-regulation and depressive symptoms score. Results: Among cataract patients, 48% reported self-regulating their driving to avoid at least one challenging situation. The situations most commonly avoided were driving at night (40%), on the freeway (12%), in the rain (9%) and parallel parking (8%). Self-regulators had significantly poorer contrast sensitivity in their worse eye than non self-regulators (p = 0.027). Driver self-regulation was significantly associated with increased depressive symptoms after controlling for potential confounding factors (p = 0.002).Conclusions: Driver self-regulation was associated with increased depressive symptoms among cataract patients. Further research should investigate this association among the general older population. Self-regulation programs aimed at older drivers may need to incorporate mental health elements to counteract unintended psychological effects

Lifestyle behaviors, obesity, and perceived health among men with and without a diagnosis of prostate cancer: A population-based, cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A better understanding of how prostate cancer survivors differ from men without prostate cancer and whether these potential differences vary across demographic subgroups will help to focus and prioritize future public health interventions for improving the health and well-being of prostate cancer survivors. Therefore, our study aims were to compare lifestyle behaviors, body mass index (BMI), and perceived health in men with and without a diagnosis of prostate cancer in a national, population-based sample and to explore whether these comparisons differ for demographic subgroups.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In a cross-sectional study, men aged ≥ 40 were identified from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) 2002 data (n = 63,662). Respondents reporting history of prostate cancer (n = 2,524) were compared with non prostate cancer controls (n = 61,138) with regard to daily fruit and vegetable servings (FVPD), smoking, alcohol, sedentary behavior, BMI, and perceived health. Multivariable logistic regression calculated adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the entire sample and for age, race, education, and urbanicity subgroups.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Men with prostate cancer did not differ from men without prostate cancer with regard to smoking, alcohol, sedentary behavior, and obesity but were more likely to consume ≥ 5 FVPD (OR, 95% CI: 1.30, 1.09–1.56) and report poor or fair health (OR, 95% CI: 1.62, 1.33–1.97). Subgroup analyses demonstrated attenuation of the higher likelihood of ≥ 5 FVPD among prostate cancer survivors in rural respondents (OR, 95% CI: 0.98, 0.72–1.33). Poorer perceived health was greatest if ≤ 65 years of age (OR, 95% CI: 2.54, 1.79–3.60) and nonsignificant if black (OR, 95% CI: 1.41, 0.70–2.82). Smoking and alcohol which were not significant for the sample as a whole, demonstrated significant associations in certain subgroups.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Although efforts to enhance perceived health and healthy lifestyle behaviors among prostate cancer survivors are warranted, demographic subgroups such as prostate cancer survivors ≤ 65 and rural populations may require more aggressive interventions.</p

The culture variable vis-à-vis anti-bribery law: a grey area in transnational corporate criminal liability

Cross-border transactions are generating corresponding globalisation of law enforcement efforts. Culture has significantly influenced the legal analysis of anti-bribery law. With the increase of transnational bribery, benefits from globalisation will be undermined unless an effective legal regime can mitigate the harm of bribery. It is perceived that corruption in China is more prevalent than in the West given its embedded place in Chinese culture. It is further alleged that Chinese multinational companies (MNCs) are taking advantage of an unlevel playing field, as they are not subject to stringently-enforced anti-bribery laws. This hypothesis creates a myriad of anti-bribery problems in terms of legislation and enforcement, which particularly manifest in China’s perceived cultural toleration of bribery. Cultural assumptions undermine the global anti-bribery regime and compromise potential collaborative anti-bribery efforts across jurisdictions in a rapidly globalizing world. The Chinese culture does not necessarily impede China’s criminalisation of paying bribes to foreign officials. It is argued that the cultural role should not be overestimated, otherwise the hazard of the ethnocentric engagement with the Chinese culture would affect the ability of foreign MNCs to integrate their global compliance programmes. Multinationals can only mitigate their exposure to criminal liability globally, provided that they comply robustly with anti-bribery laws of both home and host jurisdictions

Living with prostate cancer: randomised controlled trial of a multimodal supportive care intervention for men with prostate cancer

Background: Prostate cancer is the most common male cancer in developed countries and diagnosis and treatment carries with it substantial morbidity and related unmet supportive care needs. These difficulties may be amplified by physical inactivity and obesity. We propose to apply a multimodal intervention approach that targets both unmet supportive care needs and physical activity.Methods/design: A two arm randomised controlled trial will compare usual care to a multimodal supportive care intervention &ldquo;Living with Prostate Cancer&rdquo; that will combine self-management with tele-based group peer support. A series of previously validated and reliable self-report measures will be administered to men at four time points: baseline/recruitment (when men are approximately 3-6 months post-diagnosis) and at 3, 6, and 12 months after recruitment and intervention commencement. Social constraints, social support, self-efficacy, group cohesion and therapeutic alliance will be included as potential moderators/mediators of intervention effect. Primary outcomes are unmet supportive care needs and physical activity levels. Secondary outcomes are domain-specific and healthrelated quality of life (QoL); psychological distress; benefit finding; body mass index and waist circumference. Disease variables (e.g. cancer grade, stage) will be assessed through medical and cancer registry records. An economic evaluation will be conducted alongside the randomised trial.Discussion: This study will address a critical but as yet unanswered research question: to identify a populationbased way to reduce unmet supportive care needs; promote regular physical activity; and improve disease-specific and health-related QoL for prostate cancer survivors. The study will also determine the cost-effectiveness of the intervention.<br /

Design and Analysis of Rhesus Cytomegalovirus IL-10 Mutants as a Model for Novel Vaccines against Human Cytomegalovirus

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) expresses a viral ortholog (CMVIL-10) of human cellular interleukin-10 (cIL-10). Despite only ∼26% amino acid sequence identity, CMVIL-10 exhibits comparable immunosuppressive activity with cIL-10, attenuates HCMV antiviral immune responses, and contributes to lifelong persistence within infected hosts. The low sequence identity between CMVIL-10 and cIL-10 suggests vaccination with CMVIL-10 may generate antibodies that specifically neutralize CMVIL-10 biological activity, but not the cellular cytokine, cIL-10. However, immunization with functional CMVIL-10 might be detrimental to the host because of its immunosuppressive properties.Structural biology was used to engineer biologically inactive mutants of CMVIL-10 that would, upon vaccination, elicit a potent immune response to the wild-type viral cytokine. To test the designed proteins, the mutations were incorporated into the rhesus cytomegalovirus (RhCMV) ortholog of CMVIL-10 (RhCMVIL-10) and used to vaccinate RhCMV-infected rhesus macaques. Immunization with the inactive RhCMVIL-10 mutants stimulated antibodies against wild-type RhCMVIL-10 that neutralized its biological activity, but did not cross-react with rhesus cellular IL-10.This study demonstrates an immunization strategy to neutralize RhCMVIL-10 biological activity using non-functional RhCMVIL-10 antigens. The results provide the methodology for targeting CMVIL-10 in vaccine, and therapeutic strategies, to nullify HCMV's ability to (1) skew innate and adaptive immunity, (2) disseminate from the site of primary mucosal infection, and (3) establish a lifelong persistent infection

Tm1: A Mutator/Foldback Transposable Element Family in Root-Knot Nematodes

Three closely related parthenogenetic species of root-knot nematodes, collectively termed the Meloidogyne incognita-group, are economically significant pathogens of diverse crop species. Remarkably, these asexual root-knot nematodes are capable of acquiring heritable changes in virulence even though they lack sexual reproduction and meiotic recombination. Characterization of a near isogenic pair of M. javanica strains differing in response to tomato with the nematode resistance gene Mi-1 showed that the virulent strain carried a deletion spanning a gene called Cg-1. Herein, we present evidence that the Cg-1 gene lies within a member of a novel transposable element family (Tm1; Transposon in Meloidogyne-1). This element family is defined by composite terminal inverted repeats of variable lengths similar to those of Foldback (FB) transposable elements and by 9 bp target site duplications. In M. incognita, Tm1 elements can be classified into three general groups: 1) histone-hairpin motif elements; 2) MITE-like elements; 3) elements encoding a putative transposase. The predicted transposase shows highest similarity to gene products encoded by aphids and mosquitoes and resembles those of the Phantom subclass of the Mutator transposon superfamily. Interestingly, the meiotic, sexually-reproducing root-knot nematode species M. hapla has Tm1 elements with similar inverted repeat termini, but lacks elements with histone hairpin motifs and contains no elements encoding an intact transposase. These Tm1 elements may have impacts on root-knot nematode genomes and contribute to genetic diversity of the asexual species