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Blacklegged ticks (Ixodes scapularisSay) pose an enormous public health risk in eastern North America as the vector responsible for transmitting 7 human pathogens, including those causing the most common vector-borne disease in the United States, Lyme disease. Species distribution modeling is an increasingly popular method for predicting the potential distribution and subsequent risk of blacklegged ticks, however, the development of such models thus far is highly variable and would benefit from the use of standardized protocols. To identify where standardized protocols would most benefit current distribution models, we completed the “Overview, Data, Model, Assessment, and Prediction” (ODMAP) distribution modeling protocol for 21 publications reporting 22 blacklegged tick distribution models. We calculated an average adherence of 73.4% (SD ± 29%). Most prominently, we found that authors could better justify and connect their selection of variables and associated spatial scales to blacklegged tick ecology. In addition, the authors could provide clearer descriptions of model development, including checks for multicollinearity, spatial autocorrelation, and plausibility. Finally, authors could improve their reporting of variable effects to avoid undermining the models’ utility in informing species–environment relationships. To enhance future model rigor and reproducibility, we recommend utilizing several resources including the ODMAP protocol, and suggest that journals make protocol compliance a publication prerequisite.

Objectives: The aims of the study are to identify trends in the socio-demographic, health, and work profiles of Canadian carer-employees (CEs) over time, as well as the gender difference in the intensity of caring. Methods: Cross-sectional data from cycles 26 and 32, collected in 2012 and 2018 respectively, of the Canadian General Social Survey (GSS) were used. Logistic, multinomial logistic, and linear regressions were used to estimate how caregiving is associated with caregivers’ health, well-being, and work in both cycles. Regressions from both cycles were then compared with chi-square tests for significant differences over time. Results: The proportion of male CEs grew between 2012 and 2018, and women were no longer more likely to be a CE. The intensity of care for female CEs was significantly increased from 2012 to 2018 as compared with their male counterparts. General health (2018: OR = 0.25[0.11, 0.61] vs. 2012: OR = 0.33[0.15, 0.72]) and life satisfaction ($\beta$\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\beta$$\end{document}= -0.42[0.54, -0.30] vs. $\beta$\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\beta$$\end{document}= -0.22[-0.30, -0.14]) were significantly worsened with respect to the role of CEs from 2012 to 2018. Conclusion: Our study provides the evidence that CEs’ health and well-being have worsened over time, especially for female CEs, indicating that the needs of CEs are growing at a faster rate than the supports available. The results are meaningful in informing and justifying the provision of CE supports at work in order to sustain CEs in the workplace, such as the carer-friendly workplace policies.

When Matthew Cashion graduated with a doctorate in chemistry from Virginia Tech amid the recession of 2009, he created his own job opportunity: Cashion Custom Lures & Rods LLC, based [...]

Not even a fall from the eaves of his Sanford warehouse that left him in a coma for 18 hours in the summer of 2010 could dissuade Jerry Pedley from [...]

Stephen Hill walks a downtown Kinston neighborhood on a muggy summer afternoon, much to the bemusement of neighbors sitting as still as possible in the shade of their front porches. [...]

The town of Mount Olive has been in a pickle for 91 years. Its eponymous pickle plant is privately owned, but out of 464 shareholders, more than half are employees [...]

Think your hometown has what it takes to be one of the fittest cities in the country? Pleasant weather and plenty of parks and other open public spaces help, but [...]

It's prime time for Amazon's turbines near the coast. But the state's first big wind farm may be its last. Turbine blades the length of four shipping containers smoothly slice [...]

In a 40,000-square-foot warehouse near downtown Charlotte, it's Christmas 365 days a year. No, strike that. Take away the 10 days when the warehouse is emptied, its contents trucked to [...]

Choppers and planes--even the new $104 million F-35B jets--need tuneups. Havelock's Fleet Readiness Center East is a preferred choice for the military. The supersonic stealth F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is [...]

It's hard to keep High Point down. The world's largest furniture market has stayed on top for 114 years by mixing innovation, fun and a dollop of the unusual It's [...]

ELF--the Skittles-colored mashup of bike meets tricycle meets car--is on a roll. The Science Channel featured it earlier this summer on Haw It's Made. The ELF is appearing in a [...]

It's wrong to say not much has changed at the century-old Valdese Weavers, but walk the same narrow aisles between roaring machines manned by craftsmen who nimbly pluck state-of-the-art controls [...]

Older Americans are embracing the tiny house. The trend that became a movement, with North Carolina at the center, might just save retirement. Susan Overman grew up making cross-country train [...]

The states best employers shower their staffs with various perks to show appreciation and encourage loyalty. Want to learn paddleboarding? Chair massages, college scholarships for your kids, yoga, even working [...]

Year after year, many students board buses and planes bound for Bennett College sight unseen, the stories of a liberal arts school for black women handed down from grandmothers, aunts, [...]

For generations, textile mills dotted the Carolinas, including Charles D. Owen's, once the world's largest blanket factory and by far the biggest employer in North Carolina's picturesque Swannanoa Valley. When [...]

Allison Williams on finding her style WHEN IT COMES to my style icons, I've always had a thing for the K's: Keaton. Kelly. Kruger. Kate. Katharine. They all represent sophisticated [...]

Watch out beer, hard cider is coming for you. A craft-brewing craze has swept the South as North Carolina and other states lifted Prohibition-era laws that limited alcohol content, opening [...]

When Childress Klein Properties Inc. gave $2.5 million to UNC Charlotte's Center for Real Estate in September, guests attending the check-passing ceremony received a brochure listing the development company's accomplishments. [...]

A wave of acquisitions, a more robust economy and the ability to keep a massive supply chain rolling have more than doubled sales at American Tire Distributors Inc. over the [...]

Sweat pours off mechanic Rick Crawford at Jackson Paper Manufacturing Co. in downtown Sylva, within walking distance of three breweries, ice cream at Jack the Dipper, quinoa salad at City [...]

In an area best known for Christmas trees and 23-foot-long steel cows standing sentry outside an 85-year-old cheese factory, rural Ashe County is reclaiming a piece of its manufacturing history. [...]

Structure probing combined with next-generation sequencing (NGS) has provided novel insights into RNA structure–function relationships. To date, such studies have focused largely on bacteria and eukaryotes, with little attention given to the third domain of life, archaea. Furthermore, functional RNAs have not been extensively studied in archaea, leaving open questions about RNA structure and function within this domain of life. With archaeal species being diverse and having many similarities to both bacteria and eukaryotes, the archaea domain has the potential to be an evolutionary bridge. In this study, we introduce a method for probing RNA structure in vivo in the archaea domain of life. We investigated the structure of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) from Methanosarcina acetivorans, a well-studied anaerobic archaeal species, grown with either methanol or acetate. After probing the RNA in vivo with dimethyl sulfate (DMS), Structure-seq2 libraries were generated, sequenced, and analyzed. We mapped the reactivity of DMS onto the secondary structure of the ribosome, which we determined independently with comparative analysis, and confirmed the accuracy of DMS probing in M. acetivorans. Accessibility of the rRNA to DMS in the two carbon sources was found to be quite similar, although some differences were found. Overall, this study establishes the Structure-seq2 pipeline in the archaea domain of life and informs about ribosomal structure within M. acetivorans.

Chris Champlin ran a hand down a freezer that once consumed as much energy as an average house. But this is no chest freezer in a garage. What begins life [...]

Résumé:Le système de soins à domicile directement financés (SDDF) accorde des allocations aux bénéficiaires de soins à domicile pour leur permettre de coordonner leurs propres soins et mesures de soutien, et il est offert dans toutes les provinces canadiennes. Les connaissances actuelles portent principalement sur les expériences des adultes avec incapacités qui autogèrent leurs soins, mais peu d'études ont abordé les expériences des membres de la famille qui gèrent les services pour les personnes âgées. Cet article présente les résultats d'une analyse qualitative de 24 entretiens semi-structurés avec des adultes âgés et des aidants faisant appel au programme SDDF au Manitoba (Canada), et cible les expériences de gestion des aidants familiaux. Trois thèmes ont été identifiés dans les données issues des entretiens : 1) le programme SDDF permet d'accroîtreles choix et la flexibilité en matière de soins pour les personnes âgées et leurs aidants, 2) ces choix et cette flexibilité réduisent le fardeau des aidants, et 3) les services des agences allègent le fardeau administratif. L'importance des relations de soins et le rôle de gestion des aidants familiaux sont discutés. Nous recommandons que les systèmes traditionnels de soins à domicile s'inspirent des SDDF, et qu'un soutien administratif accru réduise la pression sur les aidants.Abstract:Directly funded (DF) home care provides funding to home care recipients to coordinate their own care and supports, and is available across all Canadian provinces. Current research on DF home care focuses on the experiences of adults with disabilities self-directing their own care, but less is known about the experiences of family members managing services for adults 55 years of age and older. This article presents findings from a qualitative analysis of 24 semi-structured interviews with older adults and caregivers using the DF program in Manitoba, Canada, focusing on family manager experiences. We identify three themes in the interview data: (1) DF home care enhances choice and flexibility for older people and their caregivers, (2) choice and flexibility reduce caregiver strain, and (3) agency services reduce administrative burden. We discuss the importance of care relationships and the role of family managers. We recommend that traditional home care systems learn from DF, and that increased administrative support would reduce caregiver strain.

Great memoirs engage readers in the narrator's problem, give them hope that we will survive and fear that we may not, and finish with power and emotional resonance. Expansion arc Right now, the easiest memoirs to sell to traditional publishers are those that unearth larger cultural meaning through the memoirist's eyes. In acceptance arcs, the memoirist comes to terms with great loss or great challenge and ends with the narrator's new state of mind confronting challenges they weren't strong enough to face before. [Extracted from the article]

Duplin County's first family of pork built a golfing showplace 20 years ago. Now, the Murphys hope Wallace can attract homebuyers looking to the coast. When hog titan Wendell Murphy [...]

Hypertension is a major cause of cardiac disease in patients on hemodialysis (HD) and is most commonly due to hypervolemia. Removal of excess water during HD can successfully normalize blood pressure, but its success depends on an accurate assessment of dry weight. This article reviews the literature concerning hypertension in patients on HD and proposes that increased attention by dialysis staff to assessing dry weight may reduce the incidence of hypertension and cardiac disease in these patients., Goal: Discuss the impact of chronic volume overload and inaccurate dry weight assessment on the incidence of hypertension and cardiac disease in patients on hemodialysis. Objective: 1. Cite the morbidity [...]

Directly-Funded (DF) home care allows users to organize and purchase their own care services and is expanding globally. Little is known about the career pathways of home care workers. Our study asks, what experiences and factors do home care workers consider when choosing a work setting? And, specifically, what influences their decisions to work directly for their clients? Framed with Cranford’s (2020) flexibility-security matrix for analyzing home care dynamics, we remotely interviewed 20 home care workers in two Canadian provinces. Three team members conducted axial coding and thematic analysis using Dedoose software. We identified personal and material factors at the intimate and labor market level that workers weigh when choosing whether to work for an agency or directly for a client. At the intimate level, workers value the flexibility, autonomy, and respect facilitated in care relations when working directly for a client. At the labor market level, agencies provide better job security and the benefit of supervisory support but lower wages. Additionally, as care work often serves as a stepping stone for immigration and citizenship agency positions are considered a more “legitimate” option than working directly for a client. Our study shows that workers directly employed by their clients enjoy more flexibility but lack security, whereas agency employed workers risk immediate reductions in working conditions in exchange for limited improvements in safety and supervision and, like other frontline care work, DF home care represents a key career pathway for immigrants with previous experience in health and social care settings.

RNA interactions are exceptionally strong and highly redundant. As such, nearly any two RNAs have the potential to interact with one another over relatively short stretches, especially at high RNA concentrations. This is especially true for pairs of RNAs that do not form strong self-structure. Such phenomena can drive liquid–liquid phase separation, either solely from RNA–RNA interactions in the presence of divalent or organic cations, or in concert with proteins. RNA interactions can drive multimerization of RNA strands via both base-pairing and tertiary interactions. In this article, we explore the tendency of RNA to form stable monomers, dimers, and higher order structures as a function of RNA length and sequence through a focus on the intrinsic thermodynamic, kinetic, and structural properties of RNA. The principles we discuss are independent of any specific type of biomolecular condensate, and thus widely applicable. We also speculate how external conditions experienced by living organisms can influence the formation of nonmembranous compartments, again focusing on the physical and structural properties of RNA. Plants, in particular, are subject to diverse abiotic stresses including extreme temperatures, drought, and salinity. These stresses and the cellular responses to them, including changes in the concentrations of small molecules such as polyamines, salts, and compatible solutes, have the potential to regulate condensate formation by melting or strengthening base-pairing. Reversible condensate formation, perhaps including regulation by circadian rhythms, could impact biological processes in plants, and other organisms.

Guanine-rich regions of DNA or RNA can form structures with two or more consecutive G-quartets called G-quadruplexes (GQ). Recent studies reveal the potential for these structures to aggregate in vitro. Here, we report effects of in vivo concentrations of additives—amino acids, nucleotides, and crowding agents—on the structure and solution behavior of RNAs containing GQ-forming sequences. We found that cytosine nucleotides destabilize a model GQ structure at biological salt concentrations, while free amino acids and other nucleotides do not do so to a substantial degree. We also report that the tendency of folded GQs to form droplets or to aggregate depends on the nature of flanking sequence and the presence of additives. Notably, in the presence of biological amounts of polyamines, flanking regions on the 5′-end of the RNA drive more droplet-like phase separation, while flanking regions on the 3′-end, as well as both the 5′- and 3′-ends, induce more condensed, granular structures. Finally, we provide an example of a biological sequence in the presence of polyamines and show that crowders such as PEG and dextran can selectively cause its phase separation. These findings have implications for the participation of GQS in LLPS in vivo.

This article investigates the relationship between oxygen consumption and exertion in children. An analysis of heart rate. tiredness, exercise intensity, and aerobic metabolism is presented.

When Americans dig into their sweet potato casserole this Thanksgiving, there's a good chance that a North Carolina farm supplied the orange mash underneath that marshmallow topping--more than half of [...]

Rapid population aging in developed countries has resulted in the working-age population increasingly being tasked with the provision of informal care.

An ageing population has resulted in an increase in informal care. Many carers balance employment with care, called ‘working carers’. Research is lacking on minority ethnic working carers. This article explores the experiences of Filipino-Canadian working carers and the health impacts of their roles through qualitative photovoice methods. Participants took photographs recording their experiences. Data were collected from eight participants in Ontario from May to November 2017. Photographs and interviews revealed themes of: (1) transplanted values dictating attitudes to care; (2) challenges to personal health; and (3) coping mechanisms and sources of help. These findings address knowledge gaps as regards the experiences of Filipino-Canadian working carers.

Oral and cutaneous warts are the most frequent manifestation of papillomavirus disease in dogs. These warts typically have a cauliflower-like structure forming around the mouth, eyes, or other mucosal membranes. Treatments are limited, but when left untreated, these warts will commonly resolve within 3–12months.

Dogs in the hotel lobby are so last year; what's next is to take one home. Hotel guests once preferred predictability --same deep-red Marriott carpet, same standard lobby restaurant--but now [...]

The first time, in 1999, he took a Small Business Administration loan and rebuilt his auto-repair shop off Main Street in Princeville. Next door, his wife did the same at [...]

Long before software company owner Brian Robertson coined the term 'holacracy,' before startup GitHub implemented the management philosophy and then abandoned it, before hundreds of employees at online shoe store [...]

Objective: Decrease the incidence of inadequate diuresis (ID, loss of <6% of birth weight) in extremely preterm neonates (EPT, <28 weeks of gestation at birth) during the first week of life by 50% in 1 year. Study design: Quality improvement project in a level IV neonatal intensive care unit. A fluid management protocol was implemented, including the use of a fluid guide sheet and closer monitoring of hydration parameters. Seventy-nine baseline EPT neonates were compared to 83 post intervention. The incidence of ID was tracked monthly, along with prespecified morbidities and complications. Statistical data analyses also compared the pre- and post-intervention periods. Results: Fluid volumes in the first week were decreased (p?<?0.001). ID decreased from 43 to 29% (p?=?0.061). Tracked morbidities and complications were not statistically different. Conclusion: Intentional and individualized adjustment of fluids led to decreased ID without increased hypernatremia and dehydration, or a change in tracked morbidities.

Objectives: This study used two waves of data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) to investigate the association between social participation and depressive symptoms in carer-employees (CEs) and non-carer-employees (NCEs). Methods: Adopting Pearlin et al.’s stress model, multivariate linear regression was used to examine the relationships among carer role, social participation, and depressive symptoms in Canadian employees using the first two waves of CLSA data, while controlling for possible confounders. Results: Higher levels of social participation were found to be associated with lower depressive symptoms in both waves. Social participation was found to moderate depressive symptoms for CEs when compared with NCEs in Wave 2 but not in Wave 1. Conclusion: The present study highlights the importance of social participation in reducing CEs’ depressive symptoms. The findings provide support for innovative policy and intervention efforts to encourage and enhance social participation at work via carer-friendly workplace policies for CEs across Canada.