Loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) are opportunistic carnivores that feed primarily on benthic invertebrates and fish. Sea turtle rehabilitation requires provision of a species‐specific, ...balanced diet that supplies nutrition similar to that of a wild diet; this can be challenging because free‐ranging loggerheads’ diets vary depending on their life stage and geographic location, with predominant prey species dictated by local availability. The goal of this study was to better understand the nutritional needs of subadult and adult loggerheads in rehabilitation. This was accomplished by conducting a retrospective survey of stomach contents identified during gross necropsy of 153 deceased loggerheads that stranded in coastal Georgia, USA. A total of 288 different forage items were identified; the most frequently observed prey items belong to the subphylum Crustacea (N = 131), followed by bony fish (Osteichthyes; N = 45), gastropod mollusks (N = 40), bivalve mollusks (N = 23), and Atlantic horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus; N = 15). The proportions of certain prey items differed significantly with turtle size; adult turtles ate proportionately more gastropods (p = 0.001), and subadults ate proportionately more fish (p = 0.01). Stomach contents information was used to determine common local prey items (blue crab, cannonball jellyfish, horseshoe crab, whelk), which were evaluated for nutritional content. Additionally, we compared hematology and plasma biochemistry profiles (including proteins, trace minerals, and vitamins) between four cohorts of loggerhead turtles, including free‐ranging subadults and adults, nesting females, and loggerheads undergoing rehabilitation. This information was applied to inform a regionally specific, formulated diet for tube feeding, and a supplement containing vitamins and minerals for captive loggerheads, to more closely approximate the nutritional content of their natural diet. Assessing the regional and temporal variability in loggerhead diets is an important component in their effective conservation because resultant data can be used to help understand the impacts of environmental perturbations on benthic food webs.
Dogs, with their breed-determined limited genetic background, are great models of human disease including cancer. Canine B-cell lymphoma and hemangiosarcoma are both malignancies of the hematologic ...system that are clinically and histologically similar to human B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma and angiosarcoma, respectively. Golden retrievers in the US show significantly elevated lifetime risk for both B-cell lymphoma (6%) and hemangiosarcoma (20%). We conducted genome-wide association studies for hemangiosarcoma and B-cell lymphoma, identifying two shared predisposing loci. The two associated loci are located on chromosome 5, and together contribute ~20% of the risk of developing these cancers. Genome-wide p-values for the top SNP of each locus are 4.6×10-7 and 2.7×10-6, respectively. Whole genome resequencing of nine cases and controls followed by genotyping and detailed analysis identified three shared and one B-cell lymphoma specific risk haplotypes within the two loci, but no coding changes were associated with the risk haplotypes. Gene expression analysis of B-cell lymphoma tumors revealed that carrying the risk haplotypes at the first locus is associated with down-regulation of several nearby genes including the proximal gene TRPC6, a transient receptor Ca2+-channel involved in T-cell activation, among other functions. The shared risk haplotype in the second locus overlaps the vesicle transport and release gene STX8. Carrying the shared risk haplotype is associated with gene expression changes of 100 genes enriched for pathways involved in immune cell activation. Thus, the predisposing germ-line mutations in B-cell lymphoma and hemangiosarcoma appear to be regulatory, and affect pathways involved in T-cell mediated immune response in the tumor. This suggests that the interaction between the immune system and malignant cells plays a common role in the tumorigenesis of these relatively different cancers.
Defining fiber orientation at each voxel within a 3D biomedical image stack is potentially useful for a variety of applications, including cancer, wound healing and tissue regeneration. Current ...methods are typically computationally intensive or inaccurate. Herein, we present a 3D weighted orientation vector summation algorithm, which is a generalization of a previously reported 2D vector summation technique aimed at quantifying collagen fiber orientations simultaneously at each voxel of an image stack. As a result, voxel-wise fiber orientation information with 4° to 5° accuracy can be determined, and the computational time required to analyze a typical stack with the size of 512x512x100 voxels is less than 5 min. Thus, this technique enables the practical extraction of voxel-specific orientation data for characterizing structural anisotropy in 3D specimens. As examples, we use this approach to characterize the fiber organization in an excised mouse mammary gland and a 3D breast tissue model.
To decide clinical and research priorities on pain features and psychological factors in persons with patellofemoral pain.
Consensus development process.
We undertook a 3-stage process consisting of ...(1) updating 2 systematic reviews on quantitative sensory testing of pain features and psychological factors in patellofemoral pain, (2) an online survey of health care professionals and persons with patellofemoral pain, and (3) a consensus meeting with expert health care professionals. Participants responded that they agreed, disagreed, or were unsure that a pain feature or psychological factor was important in clinical practice or as a research priority. Greater than 70% participant agreement was required for an item to be considered important in clinical practice or a research priority.
Thirty-five health care professionals completed the survey, 20 of whom attended the consensus meeting. Thirty persons with patellofemoral pain also completed the survey. The review identified 5 pain features and 9 psychological factors-none reached 70% agreement in the patient survey, so all were considered at the meeting. After the meeting, pain catastrophizing, fear-avoidance beliefs, and pain self-efficacy were the only factors considered clinically important. All but the thermal pain tests and 3 psychological factors were considered research priorities.
Pain catastrophizing, pain self-efficacy, and fear-avoidance beliefs were factors considered important in treatment planning, clinical examination, and prognostication. Quantitative sensory tests for pain were not regarded as clinically important but were deemed to be research priorities, as were most psychological factors.
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Data are equivocal regarding the long-term consequences of prenatal exposure to cocaine on school-aged children. We compared 101 children exposed prenatally to cocaine with 130 unexposed children on ...measures of intelligence, visual motor, and motor abilities at age 7 years. Bivariate analyses revealed that cocaine-exposed children scored significantly lower than comparison children on the abbreviated Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition Verbal and Full Scale IQ scores, the Visual Motor Integration and Motor Coordination standardized scores, and the Bruininks-Oseretsky Fine Motor Composite score. Regression analyses indicated that the biological mother's vocabulary and home environment assessed at the same 7-year visit were stronger predictors of developmental outcome than prenatal drug exposure. Level of cocaine exposure, however, predicted visual motor and motor skills. The results indicate that although prenatal cocaine exposure may confer some degree of developmental disadvantage in the visual motor domain, it frequently occurs in the context of an inadequate rearing environment, which may be a stronger determinant than prenatal cocaine exposure of children's outcome.
Dogs, with their breed-determined limited genetic background, are great models of human disease including cancer. Canine B-cell lymphoma and hemangiosarcoma are both malignancies of the hematologic ...system that are clinically and histologically similar to human B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma and angiosarcoma, respectively. Golden retrievers in the US show significantly elevated lifetime risk for both B-cell lymphoma (6%) and hemangiosarcoma (20%). We conducted genome-wide association studies for hemangiosarcoma and B-cell lymphoma, identifying two shared predisposing loci. The two associated loci are located on chromosome 5, and together contribute ~20% of the risk of developing these cancers. Genome-wide p-values for the top SNP of each locus are 4.6×10-7 and 2.7×10-6, respectively. Whole genome resequencing of nine cases and controls followed by genotyping and detailed analysis identified three shared and one B-cell lymphoma specific risk haplotypes within the two loci, but no coding changes were associated with the risk haplotypes. Gene expression analysis of B-cell lymphoma tumors revealed that carrying the risk haplotypes at the first locus is associated with down-regulation of several nearby genes including the proximal gene TRPC6, a transient receptor Ca2+-channel involved in T-cell activation, among other functions. The shared risk haplotype in the second locus overlaps the vesicle transport and release gene STX8. Carrying the shared risk haplotype is associated with gene expression changes of 100 genes enriched for pathways involved in immune cell activation. Thus, the predisposing germ-line mutations in B-cell lymphoma and hemangiosarcoma appear to be regulatory, and affect pathways involved in T-cell mediated immune response in the tumor. This suggests that the interaction between the immune system and malignant cells plays a common role in the tumorigenesis of these relatively different cancers.
The brewery mashing process is an enzymatic-, time-, and temperature-dependent degradation process of viscosity creating macromolecules such as proteins, arabinoxylans, β-glucan, starch, and ...dextrins. This paper reports on the development of a new laboratory-based rheological method using a sensitive rotational rheometer that can determine viscosity changes in complex systems such as the brewery mashing process that contain dissolved and suspended materials. A Bohlin CS-50 rheometer, together with a specially designed star-shaped paddle rotor that enables mash particles to stay in suspension throughout measurement, was used. Studies were conducted to simulate an industrial mashing process, taking into account temperature, time, grist loads, adjunct amounts, and enzyme levels. The developed method was used to characterize the effects of different levels of malt modification. Clear correlations were made between the level of grain modification and the output rheological data points of peak viscosity at 50°C (R
2
= 0.9769), breakdown rate at 50°C (R
2
= 0.9784), peak viscosity at gel (R
2
= 0.9935), peak gel area (R
2
= 0.9943), the gelatinized starch breakdown rate at gel peak to 44 min (R
2
= 0.9736), and the rate of breakdown at 63°C at start and 63°C at end (R
2
= 0.9933). The developed rheological method is a useful tool for characterizing grain quality with regard to macromolecular viscosity compounds and the grains endogenous enzymatic capabilities.
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