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Although antiretroviral therapy (ART) sustains potent suppression of plasma viremia in people with HIV-1 infection (PWH), reservoirs of viral persistence rekindle viral replication and viremia if ART is halted. Understanding the nature of viral reservoirs and their persistence mechanisms remains fundamental to further research aiming to eliminate them and achieve ART-free viral remission or virological cure. CD41 T-cell models have helped to define the mechanisms that regulate HIV-1 latency as well as to identify potential latency manipulators, and we similarly hoped to extend this understanding to macrophages given the increasing evidence of a role for myeloid cells in HIV-1 persistence under ART (T. Igarashi, C. R. Brown, Y. Endo, A. Buckler-White, et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 98:658-663, 2001, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.98.2.658; J. M. Orenstein, C. Fox, and S. M. Wahl, Science 276:1857-1861, 1997, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.276.5320.1857). In the pursuit of a primary cell model of macrophage latency using monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs), we observed that NF-k B inhibition, originally intended to promote synchronous entry into a latent state, led to an irreversible loss of proviral competence. Proviruses were refractory to latency reversal agents (LRAs), yet host cell functions such as phagocytic capacity and cytokine production remained intact. Even after NF-k B inhibition was relieved and NF-kB action was restored, proviruses remained refractory to reactivation. Agents that interfere with the NF-k B-HIV-1 axis in myeloid cells may provide an approach with which to render myeloid cell reservoirs inert. IMPORTANCE Although HIV-1 infection can be suppressed using antiretroviral therapy, it cannot yet be cured. This is because HIV-1 integrates itself into host cells and may become dormant but also remains ready to emerge from such reservoirs when antiretroviral therapy stops. The CD41 T cell has been the most actively investigated cell type in reservoir research due to its prominent role in hosting HIV-1; however, HIV-1 can infect and fall latent in myeloid cells, and therefore, their role must also be assessed in pursuit of a cure. Here, we show that caffeic acid and resveratrol, two nontoxic chemicals, both of which interfere with the same set of host mechanisms, can each prevent HIV-1 reactivation from latency in myeloid cells even after either chemical is removed and previous cell functionality is restored. Strategies to interfere with latency underlie the future of HIV-1 cure research, and our findings help to focus such strategies on an important but often neglected cell type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Often used as a tool for raising public awareness about issues that are deemed morally dubious, protests have a long and storied tradition in the history of social change in the United States. The recent ubiquity of protesting and counter-protesting in American public life has raised to the problem of false equivalency, leaving bystanders sometimes confused about how to evaluate the respective "protest" movements. In this piece, I briefly root the history and moral meaning of protest work in the Protestant Reformation and outline a set of questions that can serve as criteria for evaluating whether the moral work of contemporary protest movements is morally efficacious or morally destructive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Falkner and Buzan provide a persuasive conceptual basis to understand the core challenges countries must overcome if equity and responsibility in international environmental policy are to be accepted and advanced by those with significant environmental great power. Buzan and Falkner argue that, while environmental power is a neutral concept, the balance of positive or negative power influences how a country is viewed by others. Crucially, contributors explore the relationship between great power status, the management of global international society and the nature of great power responsibility. [Extracted from the article]

Mit ihrem sorgfältig recherchierten, kreativen und provokanten Werk The Bible as Political Artifact: On the Feminist Study of the Hebrew Bible (Fortress Press, 2017) ist es Susanne Scholz gelungen, die Grenzen traditioneller Bibelwissenschaft zu überschreiten und Menschen in exegetischer Forschung und Lehre des 21. Jahrhunderts herauszufordern. Beim Annual Meeting der SBL 2019 in San Diego war das Buch Gegenstand eines Panels der Sektionen Feminist Hermeneutics of the Bible and Gender, Sexuality, and the Bible und wurde angeregt diskutiert. Die Beiträge des Panels und die Response von Susanne Scholz werden hier präsentiert. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changing predator communities have been implicated in reduced survival of white‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) fawns. Few studies, however, have used field‐based age‐specific estimates for survival and fecundity to assess the relative importance of low fawn survival on population growth and harvest potential. We studied white‐tailed deer population dynamics on Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge (TRNWR) in Louisiana, USA, where the predator community included bobcats (Lynx rufus), coyotes (Canis latrans), and a restored population of Louisiana black bear (Ursus americanus luteolus). During 2013–2015, we radio‐collared and monitored 70 adult (≥2.5 yrs) and 21 yearling (1.5‐yr‐old) female deer. Annual survival averaged 0.815 (95% CI = 0.734–0.904) for adults and 0.857 (95% CI = 0.720–1.00) for yearlings. We combined these estimates with concurrently collected fawn survival estimates (0.27; 95% CI = 0.185–0.398) to model population trajectories and elasticities. We used estimates of nonhunting survival (annual survival estimated excluding harvest mortality) to project population growth (λ) relative to 4 levels of harvest (0, 10%, 20%, 30%). Finally, we investigated effects of reduced fawn survival on population growth under current management and with elimination of female harvest. Despite substantial fawn predation, the deer population on TRNWR was increasing (λ = 1.06) and could sustain additional female harvest; however, the population was expected to decline at 20% (λ = 0.98) and 30% (λ = 0.94) female harvest. With no female harvest, the population was projected to increase with observed (λ = 1.15) and reduced fawn survival (λ = 1.02), but the population could not sustain current female harvest (10%) if fawn survival declined (λ = 0.90). For all scenarios, adult female survival was the most elastic parameter. Given the importance of adult female survival, the relative predictability in response of adult survival to harvest management, and the difficulty in altering fawn survival, reducing female harvest is likely the most efficient approach to compensate for low fawn survival. On highly productive sites such as ours, reduction, but not necessarily elimination, of harvest can mitigate effects of low fawn survival on population growth. © 2020 The Wildlife Society. : White‐tailed deer population dynamics on Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana, USA, where the predator community included bobcats, coyotes, and a restored population of Louisiana black bear are characterized by high fecundity rates, low non‐harvest mortality for adults and yearlings, and low probability of survival for fawns. Given the importance of adult female survival to population growth, the relative predictability in response of adult survival to harvest management, and the difficulty in altering fawn survival, reducing female harvest is likely the most efficient approach to compensate for low fawn survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental enrichment (EE) is widely used in the life sciences to study effects of environment on the brain. In pigs, despite lack of EE being a key welfare issue there is little understanding of brain effects of EE in pigs. This project aimed to study the effects of exposure to an EE arena on piglet behaviours and on brain gene expression levels with a focus on IGF-1 and related genes. Eight litters of large white × landrace × Hampshire piglets were farrowed and raised in a free farrowing system (PigSAFE). At 42 days of age, 6 piglets per litter were given access to an enriched arena with plentiful peat, straw and space, (in groups of 4 made up of stable pairs) for 15 min per day on 5 consecutive days to allow them to habituate to the apparatus. Piglet behaviours were recorded in the arena for 15 min periods on 3 consecutive days. On the final day only one pair of test piglets per litter was given access to the arena. Brain tissue was collected within 45 min of the test from piglets exposed to the arena on the day and their non-exposed littermate controls. RNA was extracted from the frontal cortex and QRT-PCR for selected genes run on a Stratgene MX3005P. In both the home pen and the EE arena litters spent the largest proportion of time engaging in foraging behaviour which was significantly increased in the enriched arena ( t 7 = 5.35, df = 6, p = 0.001). There were decreases in non-running play ( t 7 = 4.82, p = 0.002) and inactivity ( t 7 = 4.6, p = 0.002) in the arena. A significant fold change increase (FC = 1.07, t = 4.42, p = 0.002) was observed in IGF-1 gene expression in the frontal cortex of piglets exposed to the enriched arena compared to those not exposed on the day of culling. No change in expression was observed in CSF1 , the IGF-1 receptor gene nor in any of the binding proteins tested ( IGFBP1-6 ). There was a weak tendency for increased expression of the neurotrophic factor BDNF1 (fold change: 1.03; t 7 = 1.54, p = 0.1). We believe this work is the first to explore effects of EE on pig brain physiology and development, and also points to a potential role for IGF-1 in brain effects of EE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a common cause of lower respiratory tract infection in young infants and a major cause of nosocomial infection in pediatric care. Currently available RSV point-of-care tests are of limited sensitivity and relatively expensive. We developed and evaluated a novel RSV rapid test for use at point-of-care, based on reverse-transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) for direct testing of nasopharyngeal swab specimens. RT-LAMP can detect RSV within 30 min, without the need for RNA extraction. The sensitivity of our RT-LAMP assay was 70–80% in comparison to RT-PCR. The RT-LAMP test sensitivity is at least equivalent to currently available rapid antigen detection tests (RADT), and the cost of RT-LAMP test reagents is only approximately 10% of that of commercially available RADT tests. RT-LAMP appears to be an attractive alternative to RADT, particularly in settings with limited financial resources. Future improvements could include lyophilization of test reagents and automated read-out of RT-LAMP results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Development workers employed by international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are commonly classified as national (local) or international (expatriate) staff members. The distinction is presumed to reflect the varieties of expertise required for the work and the workers' different biographies. I examine the experiences of Angolans working in an international democratization program to demonstrate how some professionals at the lowest tiers of international development NGOs engage in social practices that strategically emphasize or conceal certain skills, kinds of knowledge, or family circumstances to fulfill industry expectations of 'local staff.' Doing so allows them access to employment with international organizations and pursuit of a variety of personal and professional goals. These practices reinforce hierarchical inequalities within the development industry, however, limiting these workers' influence over programmatic action. I argue that professional distinctions among development workers are social achievements and instruments of strategic manipulation by individuals and NGOs rather than accurate reflections of work or workers. The case study provides insight into the institutional reproduction of hierarchical inequalities and the complexly social reasons why those who suffer their limitations may act in ways that reinforce, rather than resist, unequal social structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the importance of a theology of solidarity as the foundation for economic and social relationships compared to the principles of individualism, profit, and wealth accumulation that drive the economic structures of human society. Topics include the role of the ethic of solidarity that flows from a theology of solidarity as a mode for first-world Christians for how to live faithfully, and sustainability and social justice as the bases of an ethic of solidarity.

The article discusses the social policy on abortion and reproductive rights, and the author's belief that women should be respected and trusted as moral agents capable of controlling their reproductive decisions. Topics include Christian and feminist ethicist Beverly Wildung Harrison's book "Our Right to Choose: Toward a New Ethic of Abortion," how there are few women legislators drafting abortion policy, and the patriarchal attitude that women are too ignorant to be moral agents.

This ethnographic essay considers how international non-governmental organisations are able to make claims to authoritative knowledge about development work by offering the transnational mobilities of their staff members as evidence. I examine how one professional's biography—his trajectory from Angola to Britain and back again—was differentially presented to external donors and internal staff members as befitting the institutional needs of an international good governance intervention in Angola. These presentations reflect a commoditisation of the cosmopolitanism of professionals' histories in the service of development as a regime of mobility. I argue that, in this development regime, a global hierarchy prevents some individual professionals, particularly those from developing nations, from realising the same benefits of their cosmopolitan mobility as professionals from industrialised nations. While one of mobility studies' many strengths is that it highlights global interconnectedness, social scientists should not read equality in these interconnections but examine how patterns of transnational mobility may produce and reproduce global structures of inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

An essay offering a feminist critique of the moral problems that characterize the dominant, neoliberal discourse on globalization and the ideology of neoclassical economics that support it is presented. It focuses attention on a moral assessment of the problems of poverty, wealth and ecology in the contemporary world. The author also comments that the values of social justice and sustainability are central to a healthy society.

The article focuses on ways that the problem of predatory lending or usury allow to examine the most basic Christian values and principles. It examines the factors that contributed to the financial crisis which include debt and lending. It notes that the crisis calls to think about the fundamental values that shape and guide our economic behaviour and the society's economic structure.

Abstract: Fertilized mummichog eggs retrieved from 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2) exposed adult fish were raised in concentrations of EE2 ranging from 0 to 100ng/L (100ng/L EE2 estimated to have actual average exposure concentrations of 30% of nominal; 0.1–10ng/L were below detect throughout 24-h exposure period) for 61weeks post-hatch. Eggs exposed at 100ng/L hatched sooner, the larvae were longer, and survival of juvenile fish from hatch to study termination was greater than all other treatments, though fewer hatched at this treatment. Sex ratios were skewed (>80% female phenotype) at 100ng/L EE2, and some gonadal male fish displayed female secondary sex characteristics. Condition factor, gonadosomatic index (GSI), and liver somatic index (LSI) were found to decrease in both sexes between 52 and 61weeks post-hatch. Female fish had increased hepatic vitellogenin (VTG) at 52weeks post-hatch. When exposed to 1, 10 and 100ng/L EE2, female fish had a higher proportion of vitellogenic follicles in the ovarian tissue. Males exposed at 100ng/L may have had disruption at some endpoints (GSI, VTG) that is masked due to reduced sample size compared to other treatments. Fish exposed to concentrations of EE2 at or below 10ng/L showed inconsistent effects on development and reproductive potential. This study indicates the potential for population-level effects at the high range of environmental EE2 at concentrations equivalent to those at which consistent effects in fecundity in the adult mummichog reproductive test have been measured. This work demonstrates that chronic EE2 exposure causes developmental effects at concentrations similar to those which cause effects in the shorter-term adult mummichog reproductive test. Effects are at higher concentrations than have been noted for freshwater model species. Whether this is because of species sensitivity or due to differences between freshwater and saltwater availability of EE2 or its uptake requires further study. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Implementation integrity is a potentially critical issue for problem-solving teams (PST) and most response-to-intervention models. The current study hypothesized that providing performance feedback, which has consistently been shown to increase implementation integrity, to PSTs would enhance the procedural integrity of the process. The PSTs for three elementary schools were provided performance feedback with a 20-item checklist created from the literature. A multiple-baseline design across schools revealed an immediate change in level after providing performance feedback. The resulting percentages of non-overlapping data were 90.9%, 90.0%, and 100%. However, PSTs still did not monitor student progress, assess the effectiveness of the intervention, or measure the integrity with which the intervention was implemented even after receiving feedback. Thus, providing performance feedback could be a method to increase the fidelity with which critical components of data-based problem-solving are implemented, but these data suggest the need for additional research. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A short-term reproductive bioassay with the mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus) was developed to link changes in endocrine status to reproductive potential subsequent to endocrine disrupting substance (EDS) exposure. Sexually mature mummichog were separated by sex and exposed to the synthetic estrogen 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2) at nominal concentrations of 0–100ng/L for 21 days using a static daily renewal protocol. Half of the fish were sampled on Day 21. At 100ng/L, male fish had induction of vitellogenin (VTG), increased gonadosomatic index (GSI), decreased testosterone production and decreased circulating 11-ketotestosterone (11-KT). Female fish had decreased circulating estradiol (E2) and testosterone (T) at 100ng/L. There were some impacts at lower concentrations of EE2 in both sexes, though the results were not consistent. On Day 21, the remaining male and female fish were combined at each treatment and exposed for an additional 7 days during which spawning and fertilization success were also assessed. Males exposed to 100ng/L EE2 exhibited VTG induction, increased GSI, and decreased T production on Day 28. Female fish had increased E2 and T production at 1 and/or 10ng/L and circulating E2 levels remained depressed above 10ng/L. Female fish exposed to 100ng/L spawned fewer eggs; fertilization was also impaired. In a parallel exposure, measured EE2 water concentrations were approximately 10–20% of nominal for the 100ng/L EE2 treatment over a 24-h static exposure; levels in the other treatments were below detectable levels. Fish exposed to nominal concentrations of EE2 below environmentally relevant levels (i.e., <10ng/L) showed minimal effects while both the endocrine system and reproductive potential were affected at 100ng/L EE2 (nominal). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The purpose of this review was to identify instruments designed to predict future child maltreatment and to evaluate their predictive accuracy. A number of electronic databases were searched to identify published studies. Only studies that had utilized a prospective methodology and tested at least one standardized instrument designed to identify families during the antenatal or postnatal periods who are at increased risk of maltreatment were included in the review. Eight studies were included that had prospectively tested a standardized instrument to predict child maltreatment during the antenatal or postnatal periods. Only six of the included studies followed up the entire sample, and of these only two did not provide an intervention for some or all of the high-risk group. While many of the included instruments obtained sensitivity and specificity above 80%, only two of the included instruments combined specificity over 80% with a positive predictive value above 25%. Currently available instruments have limited accuracy, suggesting that they should only be used to focus non-punitive interventions. These findings, in conjunction with other issues such as the stigma attached to the use of such instruments and difficulties in their application within a clinical and research context, suggest the need for a new approach to the identification of parents in need of higher levels of intervention. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the transition to adult care program instituted for liver transplant recipients (LTRs) at a large tertiary pediatric hospital in Melbourne, Australia. Evaluation included the change in a Global Assessment Measure (GAM) before and after the transition program, satisfaction with the program, and measures of transition success including rejection rates and attendance at appointments post‐transfer. We hypothesized that the introduction of our structured transition program would improve disease understanding, health system understanding, and self‐care. We also hypothesized that those who had undergone the transition program would have lower failure to attend rates and lower rates of rejection than historical controls. Methods: A LTR transition program was instituted at our service from 2013 to 2015. The program involved initial assessment of competencies with a Global Assessment Measure (GAM), followed by the introduction of a personalized goal setting program addressing issues identified in dedicated transition clinics. Assessment of competencies was compared between the commencement of the program and immediately prior to transfer. Patient satisfaction with the transition process was assessed at an interview 6–12 months after transfer to the adult service. Rejection rates and failure to attend rates were compared between the intervention group and a group of LTRs who did not receive the intervention. Results: Twenty‐eight LTRs participated in the study; 20 received the transition intervention and 8 served as controls. Within the intervention group, all domains of transition competency and reported anxiety regarding transferring had significantly improved at the conclusion of the intervention and all reported satisfaction with the transition program with most (81%) reporting readiness to transfer. There were no significant differences in rejection rates or failure to attend rates between those who did and did not receive the transition intervention. Conclusion: A longitudinal holistic transition program has the potential to positively impact the competencies and readiness of LTRs to successful transition and transfer to adult care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the book "Our Right to Choose: Toward a New Ethic of Abortion" by the late Christian social ethics professor at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, Beverly Wildung Harrison. Topics include how she influenced both Christian and feminist ethics, her moral argument for legally protecting a woman's right to have an abortion, and the political debate surrounding abortion.

Background: Through the Multi-Payer Advanced Primary Care Practice (MAPCP) Demonstration, Medicare, Medicaid, and private payers offered supplemental payments to 849 primary care practices that became patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs) in eight states; practices also received technical assistance and data reports. Average Medicare payments were capped at $10 per beneficiary per month in each state.Objective: Since there was variation in the eight participating states' demonstration designs, experiences, and outcomes, we conducted a qualitative multi-case analysis to identify the key factors that differentiated states that were estimated to have generated net savings for Medicare from states that did not.Participants: States' MAPCP Demonstration initiatives were comprehensively profiled in case studies based on secondary document review, three rounds of annual interviews with state staff, payers, practices, and other stakeholders, and other data sources.Approach: Case study findings were summarized in a case-ordered predictor-outcome matrix, which identified the presence or absence of key demonstration design features and experiences and arrayed states based on the amount of net savings or losses they generated for Medicare. We then used this matrix to identify initiative features that were present in at least three of the four states that generated net savings and absent from at least three of the four states that did not generate savings.Results: A majority of the states that generated net savings: required practices to be recognized PCMHs to enter the demonstration, did not allow late entrants into the demonstration, used a consistent demonstration payment model across participating payers, and offered practices opportunities to earn performance bonuses. Practices in states that generated net savings also tended to report receiving the demonstration payments and bonuses they expected to receive, without any issues.Conclusions: Designers of future PCMH initiatives may increase their likelihood of generating net savings by incorporating the demonstration features we identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the presence of Burkholderia pseudomallei, the causative agent of melioidosis, in Nigeria. Topics include the environmental sampling study conducted to identify the presence of B. pseudomallei, the isolation of B. pseudomallei and B. thailandensis from soil samples across multiple states in Nigeria, and the phylogenetic analysis of B. pseudomallei isolates.

Simple Summary: Epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus is transmitted by Culicoides midges and causes serious disease in wild and privately ranched white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in the United States. The U.S. deer ranching industry is fast growing and generates an estimated ~USD 8 billion annually. In Florida, there are over 400 registered deer farms, and virus rates are high among these populations. While vaccines for the virus are becoming available, many farms have large hunting preserves, where safely capturing deer is difficult. At the same time, these farms are situated in proximity to wild deer populations, and both populations are at risk. We studied habitat selection in ranched deer within a ~180 ha high-fenced preserve. We GPS-collared deer in the hunting preserve and nearby state-managed lands to compare habitat selection. During 2016, we collected GPS data from 15 ranched and eight wild deer and built resource selection function models. These models suggest ranched deer select habitats more likely to support several midge species that transmit the virus compared to wild deer. These differences in habitat use may partially explain previously confirmed higher rates of disease exposure in the ranched deer. Our results may inform ranch land management strategies that reduce midge–deer contact. Epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) causes serious disease in wild and privately ranched white-tailed deer (Odocoileusvirginianus) in the United States. In Florida, there is high EHDV prevalence, yet no treatments. There are few management strategies for the disease due to limited knowledge of virus–vector–host interactions. We conducted a telemetry study on white-tailed deer to examine resource use by wild and ranched animals in the Florida panhandle during the 2016 transmission risk period. We built generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) to estimate resource selection and map habitat preferences for wild and ranched deer in the study area to reveal how second-order selection may relate to higher disease prevalence in ranched deer. Wild deer preferred areas closer to tertiary roads and supplementary food sources but farther from permanent water. Ranched deer selected bottomland mixed forest and areas closer to tertiary roads, supplementary food sources, and permanent water. Ranched deer behaviors may increase the likelihood of EHDV vector encounters, as these deer selected preferred habitats of several putative vector species, which may increase vector blood meal success and viral transmission risk. Disparate resource selection behaviors may be a factor in observed differential EHDV exposure risk between ranched and wild white-tailed deer in Florida. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article centers on a particular category of foreign aid workers: the national or local desk officers employed by public foreign donors to run the daily administration of development cooperation in aid recipient countries. These professionals transcend the socio-professional binary between donor and foreign and recipient and local that is often constructed in anthropological research on foreign aid and its individual actors. While officially representing foreign donor agencies, national aid workers enjoy multiple ties to the domestic development industry—personal, civic, cultural, and professional. Given the high turnover of staff sent out from donor headquarters, national employees are often important for donor agencies' ability to build and stabilize relations in the host country and gain the trust (and truth) of their partner organizations. Meanwhile, their ties to the host country also expose national employees to suspicions of "local bias" and the risk of personally losing the trust of their foreign employers. On the basis of the testimonies of donor agency employees in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, the article explores the relational work of national staff and how they bring to the fore questions of trust, power, and individual relationships in foreign aid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

River water quality in rapidly urbanising Asian cities threatens to damage the resource base on which human health, economic growth and poverty reduction all depend. Dhaka reflects the challenges and opportunities for balancing these dynamic and complex trade-offs which goals can be achieved through effective policy interventions. There is a serious problem of water pollution in central Dhaka, in the Turag-Tongi-Balu River system in Bangladesh with the river system being one of the most polluted in the world at the moment. A baseline survey of water chemistry and total coliforms has been undertaken and shows dissolved oxygen close to zero in the dry season, high organic loading together with extreme levels of Ammonium-N and total coliform in the water. Models have been applied to assess hydrochemical processes in the river and evaluate alternative strategies for policy and the management of the pollution issues. In particular models of flow, Nitrate-N, Ammonium-N and indicator bacteria (total coliforms) are applied to simulate water quality in the river system. Various scenarios are explored to clean up the river system, including flow augmentation and improved effluent treatment. The model results indicate that improved effluent treatment is likely to have a more significant impact on reducing Ammonium-N and total coliforms than flow augmentation, but a combined strategy would greatly reduce the pollution problems in the Turag-Tongi-Balu River System. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mitochondria play an important role in numerous diseases as well as normative aging. Severe reduction in mitochondrial function contributes to childhood disorders such as Leigh Syndrome, whereas mild disruption can extend the lifespan of model organisms. The Caenorhabditis elegans isp-1 gene encodes the Rieske iron-sulfur protein subunit of cytochrome c oxidoreductase (complex III of the electron transport chain). The partial loss of function allele, isp-1(qm150), leads to several pleiotropic phenotypes. To better understand the molecular mechanisms of ISP-1 function, we sought to identify genetic suppressors of the delayed development of isp-1(qm150) animals. Here we report a series of intragenic suppressors, all located within a highly conserved six amino acid tether region of ISP-1. These intragenic mutations suppress all of the evaluated isp-1(qm150) phenotypes, including developmental rate, pharyngeal pumping rate, brood size, body movement, activation of the mitochondrial unfolded protein response reporter, CO2 production, mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, and lifespan extension. Furthermore, analogous mutations show a similar effect when engineered into the budding yeast Rieske iron-sulfur protein Rip1, revealing remarkable conservation of the structure-function relationship of these residues across highly divergent species. The focus on a single subunit as causal both in generation and in suppression of diverse pleiotropic phenotypes points to a common underlying molecular mechanism, for which we propose a "spring-loaded" model. These observations provide insights into how gating and control processes influence the function of ISP-1 in mediating pleiotropic phenotypes including developmental rate, movement, sensitivity to stress, and longevity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background aims. The Quantum® Cell Expansion System (Quantum; Terumo BCT, mc, Lakewood, CO. USA) is a novel hollow fiber-based device that automates and closes the cell culture process, reducing labor intensive tasks such as manual cell culture feeding and harvesting. The manual cell selection and expansion processes for the production of clinical-scale quantities of bone marrow-derived human mesenchymal stromal cells (BM-hMSCs) have been successfully translated onto the Quantum platform previously. The formerly static, manual, in vitro process performed primarily on tissue culture polystyrene substrates may raise the question of whether BM-hMSCs cultured on a hollow fiber platform yields comparable cell quality. Methods. A rigorous battery of assays was used to determine the genetic stability of BM-hMSCs selected and produced with the Quantum. In this study, genetic stability was determined by assessing spectral karyotype, micronucleus formation and tumorigenicity to resolve chromosomal aberrations in the stem cell population. Cell phenotype, adherent growth kinetics and tri-lineage differentiation were also evaluated. HMSC bone marrow aspirates, obtained from three approved donors, were expanded in parallel using T225 culture flasks and the Quantum. Results. BM-hMSCs harvested from the Quantum demonstrated immunophenotype, morphology and tn-lineage differentiation capacity characteristics consis- tent with the International Society of Cell Therapy standard for hMSCs. Cell populations showed no malignant neoplastic formation in athymic mice 60 days post-transplant, no clonal chromosomal aberrations were observed and no DNA damage was found as measured by micronucleus formation. Conclusions. Quantum-produced BM-hMSCs are of comparable quality and demonstrate analogous genetic stability to BM-hMSCs cultured on tissue culture polystyrene substrates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coastal ecosystems provide important ecosystem services for millions of people. Climate change is modifying coastal ecosystem food web structure and function and threatens these essential ecosystem services. We used a combination of two new and one existing ecosystem food web models and altered scenarios that are possible with climate change to quantify the impacts of climate change on ecosystem stability in three coastal bays in Maine, United States. We also examined the impact of climate change on bivalve fisheries and aquaculture. Our modeled scenarios explicitly considered the predicted effects of future climatic change and human intervention and included: 1) the influence of increased terrestrial dissolved organic carbon loading on phytoplankton biomass; 2) benthic community change driven by synergisms between climate change, historical overfishing, and increased species invasion; and 3) altered trophic level energy transfer driven by ocean warming and acidification. The effects of climate change strongly negatively influenced ecosystem energy flow and ecosystem stability and negatively affected modeled bivalve carrying capacity in each of our models along the Maine coast of the eastern United States. Our results suggest that the interconnected nature of ecosystem food webs make them extremely vulnerable to synergistic effects of climate change. To better inform fisheries and aquaculture management, the effects of climate change must be explicitly incorporated. • Food web models and scenarios were used to forecast effects of climate change. • Modeled bays were vulnerable to the effects of climate change. • In two of three study bays the ability to support bivalve aquaculture disappeared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]