African Americans have a high prevalence rate of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). High-maize 260 (National Starch and Chemical Co., Bridgewater, NJ, USA) resistant starch (RS) is a promising food ...ingredient to reduce risk factors for type 2 DM. A 14-week, double-blind, crossover design study was conducted with African American male (n = 8) and female (n = 7) subjects at risk for type 2 DM. All subjects consumed bread containing 12 g of added RS or control bread (no added RS) for 6 weeks, separated by a 2-week washout period. There were no significant differences in the subjects' fasting plasma glucose levels due to the consumption of the RS bread versus the control bread. Fructosamine levels were significantly lower after consumption of both RS and control bread than at baseline. However, we found no significant difference in fructosamine levels due to treatment effects, i.e., RS bread intake versus the control bread. There were no significant differences in insulin or C-reactive protein levels due to treatment, gender, or sequence effects. Mean homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance decreased to normal values (>2.5) at the end of the 14-week study, although there were no significant treatment effects. The results of this study suggest that African Americans may need to consume more than 12 g/day of RS to lower their risk for type 2 DM.
We examine the direct effects of multiple disturbance agents on individual tree development and stand productivity in 15–40-year-old managed forests in British Columbia, Canada. Our primary interest ...was to establish a baseline assessment of damage in these forests and, especially, to focus on the degree to which biotic and abiotic stressors cause physical damage and diffuse mortality. Based on extensive climate data for the study area and the ecology of the disturbance agents we explore possible interactions between individual stressors and climate. Mean annual temperature increased by over 1 °C in the last century and annual precipitation increased by 8%, with that in the summer increasing by 18%. Disturbance agents were a central driver of mortality, growth and physical damage and their combined impact in lodgepole pine stands was as much as four times greater than expected particularly in the dominant trees most counted upon for stand productivity and timber supply. Climate-mediated disturbances accounted for five of the top six damage agent categories in terms of percent of basal area impacted but the lack of long-term disturbance monitoring data, a global information gap, limits our ability to conclusively link high damage rates to climatic changes.
Adeno Associated virus serotype 8 (AAV8) is of particular interest as a vector for pre-clinical and clinical trial for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). In several cell lines, this vector has been ...shown to enter cells through clathrin-mediated endocytosis followed by a trafficking through the microtubule network in various endosomal compartments toward the nucleus. To efficiently transduce cells, AAV must undergo multiple levels of regulation in these cellular compartments. In DMD, dystrophin deficiency results in disturbed balance of cellular events i.e., fiber centronucleation, disorganized cytoskeleton, presence of fibrosis. We have recently described a loss of virion genomes from both dogs and mice models of DMD treated with therapeutic molecules vectorized in AAV. Indeed, the pathophysiological state of DMD muscle should impact on virions fate and subsequently affect crucial steps for AAV effectiveness as viral uncoating, viral genome maintenance and consequently, the transduction efficiency of AAV. Our project aims to characterize cellular uptake and intracellular transport of AAV8 in DMD muscular cells, with the goal of optimizing AAV vector use to get the best transduction efficiency with the lowest AAV dose. Our first data showed that AAV8-GFP was less efficient to transduce DMD and control primary muscular cells compared to HeLa cells. Moreover, AAV8 traffics through same endosomal compartment in DMD and control myoblasts, but at different rates during early time points of the transduction. These results suggest that in muscle cells, AAV8 uses different entry and trafficking pathways from those previously described in HeLa cells and that dystrophic cellular status could affect subcellular processing of the vector particles. We will specify the relationship between AAV8 vector entry, trafficking, uncoating, and transduction efficiency in vitro in primary myoblasts/myotubes of DMD patients and controls.
With the increasing interest in apolipoprotein E (APOE) genetic testing to estimate the risk of developing late-onset Alzheimer disease, new educational tools are needed to help people make the best ...decision for themselves about whether to undergo this test. This study evaluated an online tool to assist in this decision process.
A prototype decision aid was studied in a two-part survey that collected data from participants before and after they examined the decision aid. Both surveys had multiple-choice options and opportunities for open-ended responses, yielding quantitative and qualitative information. The responses before and after use of the aid were compared for each participant.
A total of 1,262 individuals completed both surveys. The overall effectiveness of the decision aid was shown by three measures: 94% found the decision aid very helpful or somewhat helpful; general knowledge was increased; and some people changed their minds about APOE genetic testing, with 35% shifting to a higher likelihood of undergoing the test and 20% to a lower likelihood. Suggestions for improvements were noted and incorporated into the online tool.
This decision aid can provide useful educational assistance to many individuals as they consider APOE genetic testing as well as facilitate further discussions with their health-care providers.Genet Med advance online publication 03 November 2016.
The Appalachian region in the eastern United Sates is home to the Earth's most extensive temperate deciduous forests, but coal mining has caused forest loss and fragmentation. More than 6000 km2 in ...Appalachia have been mined for coal since 1980 under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA). We assessed Appalachian areas mined under SMCRA for forest restoration potentials. Our objectives were to characterize soils and vegetation, to compare soil properties with those of pre‐SMCRA mined lands that were reforested successfully, and to determine the effects of site age on measured properties. Soils were sampled and dominant vegetation characterized at up to 10 points on each of 25 post‐SMCRA mines. Herbaceous species were dominant on 56%, native trees on 24%, and invasive exotics on 16% of assessed areas. Mean values for soil pH (5.8), electrical conductivity (0.07 dS m−1), base saturation (89%), and coarse fragment content (50% by mass) were not significantly different from measured levels on the pre‐SMCRA forested sites, but silt+clay soil fraction (61%) was higher, bicarbonate‐extractable P (4 mg kg−1) was lower, and bulk density (1.20 g cm−1) was more variable and often unfavorable. Pedogenic N and bicarbonate‐extractable P in surface soils increased with site age and with the presence of weathered rocks among coarse fragments. Our results indicate a potential for many of these soils to support productive forest vegetation if replanted and if cultural practices, including temporary control of existing vegetation, soil density mitigation, and fertilization, are applied to mitigate limitations and aid forest tree reestablishment and growth.
BACKGROUND: Osteomyelitis in the diabetic foot is a difficult problem with multiple etiologies. The effects of peripheral vascular disease, neuropathy, and repetitive trauma all interact to produce ...complex lesions with exposed bone, surrounding cellulitis, and gangrenous changes.
METHODS:
We performed a retrospective study over a 14-year period at a community hospital looking at osteomyelitis in the diabetic foot. We looked at the contributing factors, organisms involved, most common locations, physical findings, and surgical procedures necessary to treat this condition. The purpose of the study was to determine the incidence and effect of peripheral vascular disease in diabetic patients with foot ulcers.
RESULTS:
There were a total of 150 patients requiring 278 hospitalizations over the 14-year period who represented 14% of all diabetic admissions. A total of 438 surgical procedures were necessary in these patients, with the most common being debridement (39%) and toe amputation (19%). There were 6 deaths (4%) in this series, and leg amputation was necessary in 21 patients (14%). A vascular bypass was necessary for healing and limb salvage in 36 patients (24%). Most of the bypasses (85%) were with autogenous tissue to the distal leg in order to limit the extent of amputation and to preserve a functional limb.
CONCLUSION: Ischemia is often a contributing factor in the diabetic foot ulcer that must be recognized and treated to avoid prolonged hospitalization, spreading infection, and unnecessary amputation.
Serial correlation in water quality time series invalidates tests of significance, such as seasonal Kendall analysis, that assume independence. One approach to analyzing such data is to estimate the ...magnitude of the serial correlation and then use the degree of serial correlation to adjust the variance and make valid inferences. Four methods for estimating serial correlation lag parameters are evaluated. R‐estimation outperformed the alternative methods considered. In case studies of water quality time series, the nonparametric rank von Neumann's ratio test of randomness is used to test for the presence of serial correlation, and R‐estimation is used to estimate the severity of the serial correlation. Case study results demonstrate that serial correlation is common in monthly water quality data and does not disappear when bimonthly intervals are used. Adjustment for flow and seasonal effects generally reduced estimates of serial correlation. However, even after flow adjustment and deseasonalization, the assumption of independence was often unreasonable.
It has been taught that most deep venous thromboses (DVT) begin in the deep veins of the calf and propagate proximally. The duplex ultrasound scan, with its noninvasive characteristics and accuracy, ...has brought this premise into question. The purpose of this study was to determine the pattern and distribution of acute DVT as well as the different types of thrombi.
We performed a retrospective review of all duplex scans ordered for a diagnosis of acute lower extremite DVT at a 200-bed hospital over a 5-year period.
There were 3,585 examinations performed on 2,654 patients. There were 461 patients (17.4%) with a venous thrombosis. Four types of venous thrombosis were identified: an isolated thrombosis in one venous segment (34%), a thrombosis extending over two or more contiguous segments (52%), multiple thromboses in noncontiguous segments (8%), and bilateral thrombi in different locations (6%).
Calf vein thrombi represented 24% of all DVT. Thrombi in the major veins of the thigh and popliteal space
without calf involvement were present in 49% of all DVT. The data in this paper indicate that most significant deep venous thromboses do not begin in the calf but instead arise in the proximal thigh or groin.
Nine water-quality variables were analyzed at 180 monitoring locations in Virginia over the period 1978 95 to identify statewide and regional patterns of water quality and water-quality changes. The ...variables included: BOD, DO, fecal coliform, nonfilterable residue, nitrate nitrite nitrogen, pH, total Kjeldahl N, total phosphorus, and total residual. Land-use characteristics of the study watersheds were also defined. At the state level, mean BOD, fecal coliform, nonfilterable residue, and total P concentrations declined over the study period, although regional differences were discerned, while mean DO and pH did not change with any significance. Nitrate nitrite N and total Kjeldahl N concentrations increased on a statewide level, but the increases were most problematic in the coastal, Piedmont, and mountain valley regions. On a regional level, BOD, total Kjeldahl N, nonfilterable residue, and total residue levels tended to be higher in coastal areas, and fecal coliform levels tended to be higher in the Appalachian areas.
Control of common lambsquarters with POST applications of glyphosate in glyphosate-resistant crops generally has been effective. In 2002, common lambsquarters plants from Westmoreland County, VA, ...were identified after not being controlled with a POST glyphosate application in glyphosate-resistant soybean. Plants from this site that survived glyphosate were collected in both 2002 and 2004. The objective of this research was to evaluate the susceptibility of F1 and F2 progeny from these common lambsquarters plants, relative to the susceptibility of common lambsquarters collected in Montgomery County, VA. F1 progeny of the Westmoreland plants from both the 2002 and 2004 collections showed reduced response to glyphosate relative to the Montgomery collection. Vigor reduction of F1 progeny from three 2004 Westmoreland source plants with 0.84 kg ae ha−1 of glyphosate ranged from 66 to 85% at 28 d after treatment (DAT), compared with 89% for the Montgomery collection. Evaluation of four Westmoreland F2 common lambsquarters lines derived from 2002 collections indicated significant differences in glyphosate sensitivity. Fifteen F2 lines were generated from 2004 collections from each of three Westmoreland source plants and from the Montgomery source. For the least sensitive Westmoreland source, vigor reduction ranged from only 24 to 36% across F2 lines in response to 1.68 kg ha−1 of glyphosate at 28 DAT relative to 55 to 100% for the Montgomery source. I50 estimates for fresh weight reduction were 0.91 and 0.32 kg ha−1, for these sources, respectively. Sequential treatments of 0.42, 1.26, and 1.68 kg ha−1 applied at 3-wk intervals to the least susceptible 2004 Westmoreland F2 line resulted in only 37% vigor reduction and no mortality among 360 treated plants. Nomenclature: Glyphosate; common lambsquarters, Chenopodium album L. CHEAL; soybean, Glycine max L. Merr
PDF
