Restoration of a weathered crude oil contaminated site undergoing phytoremediation was evaluated using nematodes as bioindicators. Samples were collected twice per year equating to spring and ...fall/winter. Mean annual total abundances ranged from 18–130 in the non-fertilized non-vegetated control (CTR) to 69–728 in tall fescue-ryegrass (FES) to 147–749 (100 g ⁻¹) in the fertilized bermudagrass-fescue (BER) treatment. Proportions of plant-parasitic (PP) and free-living (FL) nematodes were significantly impacted by treatment, but not year, with PP nematodes accounting for 27, 59, and 68% of CTR, FES, and BER communities, respectively. There was no significant year by season by treatment or treatment by year effect for total, PP, or FL nematode abundances. Diversity did not increase over time. The BER and FES treatments had more mature communities as indicated by higher plant-parasitic index (PPI) values. Phytoremediation accelerates petroleum degradation and alters the soil habitat which is reflected in the nematode community. However, low numbers and inconsistent presence of persister strategist omnivores and predators, and the lack in improvement over time in treatment effects for total and PP nematode abundances, PP and FL proportions, or PPI indicate the system is being rehabilitated but has not been restored after 69 months of phytoremediation.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
BFBNIB, DOBA, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Structures of in vivo secondary metabolites of a norbornane-containing drug candidate with multiple prochiral centers were triangulated, in a regio- and stereospecific fashion, using in vitro ...metabolism data from synthetic primary metabolites and in vivo metabolism data from the separate administration of a radiolabeled primary metabolite, (14)C-(S)-2-((1R,2S,4R,5S)-5-hydroxybicyclo2.2.1heptan-2-ylamino)-5-isopropyl-5-methylthiazol-4(5H)-one (M1). A mass balance study on the 11β hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 enzyme inhibitor (14)C-(S)-2-((1S,2S,4R)-bicyclo2.2.1heptan-2-ylamino)-5-isopropyl-5-methylthiazol-4(5H)-one (AMG 221) in rats was dosed at 2 mg/kg. Radioactivity was excreted mainly in urine. Metabolites of AMG 221 were quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography with radiometric detection and characterized by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). LC-MS/MS revealed at least 38 metabolites. Seven monohydroxylated metabolites mediated formation of the other 31 metabolites. Twenty-eight metabolites were identified regio- and stereo-specifically. Little parent drug was observed in urine or feces. Monohydroxy metabolite M1 was the major metabolite comprising 17 to 24% of excreted dose, and seven monohydroxy metabolites comprised 29 (male) and 37% (female) of dose. Of 11 quantifiable isobaric dihydroxy metabolites that comprised 8.3 (male) and 24% (female) of dose, 10 were identified regio- and stereospecifically by triangulation. A single trihydroxy metabolite comprised approximately 10% of dose. Complex secondary metabolism of drugs with multiple prochiral centers can be elucidated in a regio- and stereospecific fashion without NMR through synthesis and in vitro and in vivo studies on the metabolism of chiral primary oxidation products.
Effective early childhood intervention and child care policies should be based on an understanding of the effects of child care quality and type on child well-being. This article describes methods ...for securing unbiased estimates of these effects from nonexperimental data. It focuses on longitudinal studies like the one developed by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development's Early Child Care Research Network. This article first describes bias problems that arise in analyses of nonexperimental data and then explains strategies for controlling for biases arising from parental selection of child care. Next, it comments on attrition in longitudinal studies and outlines some strategies for addressing possible attrition bias. Finally, it discusses the need to translate “effect sizes” derived from these studies into the kinds of cost and benefit information needed by policy makers.
Liver transplantation is the optimal treatment for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and cirrhosis. This study was conducted to determine the impact of pre‐transplant locoregional therapy ...(LRT) on HCC and our institution's experience with expansion to United Network of Organ Sharing Region 4 T3 (R4T3) criteria. Two hundred and twenty‐five patients with HCC (176 meeting Milan and 49 meeting R4T3 criteria) underwent liver transplantation from 2002 to 2008. Compared with the Milan criteria, HCCs in R4T3 criteria displayed less favorable biological features such as higher median alpha‐fetoprotein level (21.9 vs. 8.5 ng/mL, p = 0.01), larger tumor size, larger tumor number, and higher incidence of microvascular invasion (22% vs. 5%, p = 0.002). As a result, patients meeting Milan criteria had better five‐yr survival (79% vs. 69%, p = 0.03) and a trend toward lower HCC recurrence rates (5% vs. 13%, p = 0.05). Pre‐transplant LRT did not affect post‐transplant outcomes in patients meeting Milan criteria but did result in lower three‐yr HCC recurrence (7% vs. 75%, p < 0.001) and better three‐yr survival (p = 0.02) in patients meeting R4T3 criteria. Tumor biology and pre‐transplant LRT are important factors that determine the post‐transplant outcomes in patients with HCC who meet R4T3 criteria.
Stroke is the sudden onset of focal neurologic symptoms due to ischemia or hemorrhage in the brain. Current FDA-approved clinical treatment of acute ischemic stroke involves the use of the ...intravenous thrombolytic agent recombinant tissue plasminogen activator given <3 hours after symptom onset, following the exclusion of intracerebral hemorrhage by a noncontrast CT scan. Advanced MRI, CT, and other techniques may confirm the stroke diagnosis and subtype, demonstrate lesion location, identify vascular occlusion, and guide other management decisions but, within the first 3 hours after ictus, should not delay or be used to withhold recombinant tissue plasminogen activator therapy after the exclusion of acute hemorrhage on noncontrast CT scans. MR diffusion-weighted imaging is highly sensitive and specific for acute cerebral ischemia and, when combined with perfusion-weighted imaging, may be used to identify potentially salvageable ischemic tissue, especially in the period >3 hours after symptom onset. Advanced CT perfusion methods improve sensitivity to acute ischemia and are increasingly used with CT angiography to evaluate acute stroke as a supplement to noncontrast CT. The ACR Appropriateness Criteria(®) are evidence-based guidelines for specific clinical conditions that are reviewed every 2 years by a multidisciplinary expert panel. The guideline development and review include an extensive analysis of current medical literature from peer-reviewed journals and the application of a well-established consensus methodology (modified Delphi) to rate the appropriateness of imaging and treatment procedures by the panel. In those instances in which evidence is lacking or not definitive, expert opinion may be used to recommend imaging or treatment.
This paper uses data from 2 randomized evaluations of welfare-to-work programs--the Minnesota Family Investment Program and the National Evaluation of Welfare-to-Work Strategies--to estimate the ...effect of employment on domestic abuse among low-income single mothers. Unique to our analysis is the application of a 2-stage least squares method, in which random assignment enables us to control for omitted characteristics that might otherwise confound the association between employment and domestic abuse. We find that increased maternal employment decreases subsequent reports of domestic abuse in both studies. In the Minnesota Family Investment Program--a program with an enhanced income disregard that allowed welfare mothers to keep a portion of their welfare income as earnings rose--an increase in household incomes appears to have contributed to reductions in reports of domestic abuse.
Abstract Activation of the sensory nerve endings of non-myelinated C-fiber afferents evokes release of autocrine/paracrine factors that cause localized vasodilation, neurogenic inflammation, and ...modulation of sensory nerve activity. The aims of this study were to determine the effect of antidromic electrical stimulation on afferent baroreceptor activity in vivo, and investigate the role of endogenous prostanoids and hydrogen peroxide (H2 O2 ) in mediating changes in nerve activity. Baroreceptor activity was recorded from the left aortic depressor nerve (ADN) in anesthetized rats before and after stimulating the ADN for brief (5–20 s) periods. The rostral end of the ADN was crushed or sectioned beforehand to prevent reflex changes in blood pressure. Antidromic stimulation of ADN using parameters that activate both myelinated A-fibers and non-myelinated C-fibers caused pronounced and long-lasting (> 1 min) inhibition of baroreceptor activity (n = 9, P < 0.05), with the magnitude and duration of inhibition dependent on the duration of the stimulation period (n = 5). Baroreceptor activity was only transiently inhibited after selective stimulation of A-fibers. The inhibition of activity after antidromic stimulation of A and C fibers was prolonged after administration of the cyclooxygenase inhibitor indomethacin (5 mg/kg, IV, n = 7) and abolished after administration of PEG-catalase (104 units/kg, IV, n = 7), an enzyme that catalyzes the decomposition of H2 O2 to water and oxygen. The results demonstrate a long-lasting inhibition of baroreceptor activity after antidromic stimulation of ADN and suggest that endogenous prostanoids and H2 O2 oppose and mediate the inhibition, respectively. These mechanisms may contribute to rapid baroreceptor resetting during acute hypertension and be engaged during chronic baroreceptor activation therapy in patients with hypertension.
This study quantifies the effects of inbreeding on growth, survival (and associated yield), of domesticated
Penaeus (
marsupenaeus)
japonicus for inclusion in selective breeding programs of the ...future. To make this assessment, we systematically bred two generations of inbred (
F=28–31%) and outbred families with known parentage and inbreeding coefficients. During the 2 production years, we assessed growth, survival and yield. The estimated inbreeding depression coefficient (standard error) was −3.34±2.55% for growth and −3.43±3.59% for overall survival. The consistency in both size and direction of the inbreeding depression coefficients for two fully independent traits lends support to the hypothesis that inbreeding reduces growth and survival, even though the coefficients were not statistically significant due to high variability among animals and a relatively small effect. When growth and survival were combined, yield was depressed by an estimated −6.53±4.08%. Mortality was highest in the first growth stage (PL
30–PL
80), with 75.1% survival for inbred crosses compared with 82.5% survival for outbred crosses. In the second (PL
80–PL
124) and third (PL
124–PL
156) growth stages, survival ranged from 92.5% to 95.1% with little difference between inbred and outbred crosses. This study demonstrates that a level of inbreeding can be tolerated by penaeids but can cause a degree of inbreeding depression and reduced production. However, there was variation in inbreeding depression between families. The knowledge that inbreeding in penaeids can cause reduced production through inbreeding depression highlights the need to maximize the genetic diversity in founder stocks, and consider rate of inbreeding in selective improvement programs.
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