Life Sciences Commons^™

Carbapenem-Resistant Klebsiella Pneumoniae In Barbados: Driving Change In Practice At The National Level., Corey Forde, Bryan Stierman, Pilar Ramon-Pardo, Thais Dos Santos, Nalini Singh

Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Faculty Publications

Introduction

Carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) is of growing concern globally. The risk for transmission of antimicrobial resistant organisms across several continents to the Caribbean is a real one given its tourism industry. After a cluster of cases of CRKP were detected, several studies detailed in this report were initiated to better characterize the problem.

Methods

A hospital-wide point prevalence study and active surveillance were performed at Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) in Barbados in 2013 to assess the prevalence of CRKP infection/colonization. Following this, a 1-year longitudinal study measured the prevalence of CRKP isolates in the hospital and across all healthcare …

Wpa News 104 (2017), World Pheasant Association

Galliformes Specialist Group and Affiliated Societies: Newsletters

WPA News (Winter 2017), number 104

Published by the World Pheasant Association

Self, Death, And Suicide: Does An Animal Know Of These?, Carolyn A. Ristau

Animal Sentience

Peña-Guzmán makes a strong case, using examples from the media and scientific literature, that many captive animals suffer severely. In examining the possibility of animal suicide, he dismisses the need for “reflective self-subjectivity” and “intent” in suicidal behavior. He claims that at least some animals understand “death,” citing examples of behavior he deems to be death “rituals.” But these can be more simply interpreted. The possibility of animal suicide remains more dubious than Peña-Guzmán suggests.

Immune Evasion By Division Of Labor: The Trophic Life Cycle Stage Of Pneumocystis Murina Suppresses Innate Immunity To This Opportunistic, Fungal Pathogen, Heather M. Evans

Theses and Dissertations--Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics

Pneumocystis species are opportunistic fungal pathogens that cause severe pneumonia in immunocompromised hosts, including AIDS patients. Pneumocystis species have a biphasic life cycle consisting of single-nucleated trophic forms and ascus-like cysts. Both stages live within the host, and, thus, must contend with threats from the host immune system. The cyst cell wall β-glucans have been shown to stimulate immune responses in lung epithelial cells, dendritic cells and alveolar macrophages. Little is known about how the trophic life forms, which do not have a fungal cell wall, interact with immune cells. In this study, the immune response to the life cycle …

Changes In Behavior And Emotion Under Chicken Domestication, Martin Johnsson

Animal Sentience

Marino’s target article provides an overview of chickens’ cognition, emotion, and personality, with the aim of changing how people view chickens. In this commentary, I will agree that chickens deserve better than their reputation, but contend with a statement about the lack of behavioral change under chicken domestication.

Transfer Of Antibiotics From Wastewater Or Animal Manure To Soil Andedible Crops., Livia Min Pan, L.M. Chu

Faculty of Design & Environment (THEi)

Antibiotics are added to agricultural fields worldwide through wastewater irrigation or manure application, resulting in antibiotic contamination and elevated environmental risks to terrestrial environments and humans. Most studies focused on antibiotic detection in different matrices or were conducted in a hydroponic environment. Little is known about the transfer of antibiotics from antibiotic-contaminated irrigation wastewater and animal manure to agricultural soil and edible crops. In this study, we evaluated the transfer of five different antibiotics (tetracycline, sulfamethazine, norfloxacin, erythromycin, and chloramphenicol) to different crops under two levels of antibiotic-contaminated wastewater irrigation and animal manure fertilization. The final distribution of tetracycline (TC), …

Dogwood Anthracnose, Fulya Baysal-Gurel, Niamul Kabir, Angelo Randaci

Extension Publications

No abstract provided.

Acute And Sub-Acute Toxicity Of The Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon 1-Methylnaphthalene To The Shallow-Water Coral Porites Divaricata: Application Of A Novel Exposure Protocol, Dorothy-Ellen A. Renegar, Nick Turner, Bernhard Riegl, Richard E. Dodge, Anthony H. Knap, Paul Schuler

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Previous research evaluating hydrocarbon toxicity to corals and coral reefs has generally focused on community-level effects, and results often are not comparable between studies because of variability in hydrocarbon exposure characterization and evaluation of coral health and mortality during exposure. Toxicity of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon 1-methylnaphthalene to the coral Porites divaricata was assessed in a constant exposure toxicity test utilizing a novel toxicity testing protocol uniquely applicable to shallow-water corals, which considered multiple assessment metrics and evaluated the potential for post-exposure mortality and/or recovery. Acute and subacute effects (gross morphological changes, photosynthetic efficiency, mortality, and histologic cellular changes) were …

Distribution And Habitat Use Of The Golden Crab Chaceon Fenneri Off Eastern Florida Based On In Situ Submersible And Rov Observations And Potential For Impacts To Deep Water Coral/Sponge Habitat, John Reed, Stephanie Farrington, Charles Messing, Andre David

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

This study documents the distribution and habitat preferences of the golden crab, a commercially fished species, in relation to deep-sea coral/sponge ecosystems (DSCEs) at 200-900 m depths off eastern Florida. A total of 386 h of videotapes from 94 submersible and remotely operated vehicle (ROV) dives from 1999 to 2009, covering a total distance of 376 km, were reviewed and characterized for habitat type and presence of crabs. The DSCEs surveyed included Lophelia coral mounds, Miami Terrace, Pourtalès Terrace, and Tortugas Valleys. Video transect data also included environmental surveys of proposed deep-water routes for Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) pipelines, LNG …

Dna Analysis Of Surfactant-Associated Bacteria In A Natural Sea Slick Observed By Terrasar-X And Radarsat-2 Over The Gulf Of Mexico, Kathryn Howe, Cayla Whitney Dean, John Alexander Kluge, Alexander Soloviev, Aurelien Tartar, Mahmood S. Shivji, Susanne Lehner, Hui Shen, William Perrie

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The damping of short gravity-capillary waves (Bragg waves) due to surfactant accumulation under low wind speed conditions results in the formation of natural sea slicks. These slicks are detectable visually and in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery. Surfactants are produced by natural life processes of many organisms, such as bacteria, phytoplankton, seaweed, and zooplankton. By using DNA analysis, we are able to determine the relative abundance of surfactant-associated bacteria in the sea surface microlayer and the subsurface water column. A method to reduce contamination of samples during collection, storage, and analysis (Kurata et al., 2016; Hamilton et al., 2015) has …

A Principal Component Analysis Of Vertical Temperature Profiles For Tracking Movements Of Large Pelagic Fishes, Kathryn G. Carmody, Arthur Mariano, David Kerstetter

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Pop-up satellite archival tag (PSAT) technology that records depth, temperature, and light-level data has expanded the understanding of free-swimming behavior for numerous pelagic animals. Astronomical algorithms using these light-level data have allowed geolocation estimates of daily longitude and latitude. However, many pelagic animals have a crepuscular behavior pattern in which individuals are at depths below the photic layer during the day, thus precluding the use of traditional light-based movement algorithms for geolocation in such species as swordfish. A principal component analysis (PCA) of temperature profiles is described herein that utilizes depth and temperature data rather than light to estimate the …

Supplemental Data, Russell J. Ingram, Foster Levy, Cindy L. Barrett, James T. Donaldson

ETSU Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Boxwood Blight, Fulya Baysal-Gurel, Prabha Liyanapathiranage

Extension Publications

No abstract provided.

Wild Stimulant Production Methods For American Ginseng Farms In Tennessee, Shannon Smith, John Dubois, Nate Phillips, Arvazena Clardy

Extension Publications

No abstract provided.

Detecting Discordance Enrichment Among A Series Of Two-Sample Genome-Wide Expression Data Sets, Yinglei Lai, Fanni Zhang, Tapan Nayak, Reza Modarres, Norman H. Lee, Timothy A. Mccaffrey

Epidemiology Faculty Publications

Background

With the current microarray and RNA-seq technologies, two-sample genome-wide expression data have been widely collected in biological and medical studies. The related differential expression analysis and gene set enrichment analysis have been frequently conducted. Integrative analysis can be conducted when multiple data sets are available. In practice, discordant molecular behaviors among a series of data sets can be of biological and clinical interest.

Methods

In this study, a statistical method is proposed for detecting discordance gene set enrichment. Our method is based on a two-level multivariate normal mixture model. It is statistically efficient with linearly increased parameter space when …

Clinical And Mucosal Immune Correlates Of Hiv-1 Semen Levels In Antiretroviral-Naive Men., Brendan J W Osborne, Angie K Marsh, Sanja Huibner, Kamnoosh Shahabi, Cindy Liu, Tania Contente, Nico J D Nagelkerke, Colin Kovacs, Erika Benko, Lance Price, Kelly S Macdonald, Rupert Kaul

Environmental and Occupational Health Faculty Publications

Background.

This study was done to characterize parameters associated with semen human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 ribonucleic acid (RNA) viral load (VL) variability in HIV-infected, therapy-naive men. Methods.

Paired blood and semen samples were collected from 30 HIV-infected, therapy-naive men who have sex with men, and 13 participants were observed longitudinally for up to 1 year. Human immunodeficiency virus RNA, bacterial load by 16S RNA, herpesvirus (Epstein-Barr virus and cytomegalovirus [CMV]) shedding, and semen cytokines/chemokines were quantified, and semen T-cell subsets were assessed by multiparameter flow cytometry. Results.

Semen HIV RNA was detected at 93% of visits, with >50% of men …

Uncorrelated Neural Firing In Mouse Visual Cortex During Spontaneous Retinal Waves, Matthew Colonnese, Jing Shen, Yasunobu Murata

Pharmacology and Physiology Faculty Publications

Synchronous firing among the elements of forming circuits is critical for stabilization of synapses. Understanding the nature of these local network interactions during development can inform models of circuit formation. Within cortex, spontaneous activity changes throughout development. Unlike the adult, early spontaneous activity occurs in discontinuous population bursts separated by long silent periods, suggesting a high degree of local synchrony. However, whether the micro-patterning of activity within early bursts is unique to this early age and specifically tuned for early development is poorly understood, particularly within the column. To study this we used single-shank multi-electrode array recordings of spontaneous activity …

Transcriptomes Of Bovine Ovarian Follicular And Luteal Cells, Sarah Romereim, Adam F. Huang, William E. Pohlmeier, Pan Zhang, Xiaoying Huo, Heather A. Talbott, Robert A. Cushman, Jennifer R. Wood, John S. Davis, Andrea S. Cupp

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Affymetrix Bovine GeneChip^R 1.0 ST Array RNA expression analysis was performed on four somatic ovarian cell types: the granulosa cell (GCs) and theca cells (TCs) of the dominant follicle and the large luteal cells (LLCs) and small luteal cells (SLCs) of the corpus luteum. The normalized linear microarray data was deposited to the NCBI GEO repository (GSE83524). Subsequent ANOVA determined genes that were enriched genes that were enriched (>/= 2 fold more) or decreased (

Seaweed Carotenoid Fucoxanthin As Functional Food., Nissreen Abu-Ghannam, Emer Shannon

Books/Book Chapters/ Proceedings

Fucoxanthin is a bioactive compound found in one of the most prolific and sustainable organisms on the planet, alga. Its efficacy and potential in terms of health applications have been widely reported in clinical studies. Technical modifications, such as encapsulation, and sensory trials must be undertaken before fucoxanthin can be successfully utilised as a functional food ingredient. Factors to consider include solubility in the food matrix, organoleptic effects, stability, preservation against oxidation, consumer acceptability, bioavailability, and toxicity risk. Possible solutions may include the development of more efficient and greener extraction technologies, which require shorter extraction times and less solvent, and …

Permafrost Organic Carbon Mobilization From The Watershed To The Colville River Delta: Evidence From 14C Ramped Pyrolysis And Lignin Biomarkers, Xiaowen Zhang, Thomas S. Bianchi, Xingqian Cui, Brad E. Rosenheim, Chien-Lu Ping, Andrea J. M. Hanna, Mikhail Kanevskiy, Kathryn M. Schreiner, Mead A. Allison

Marine Science Faculty Publications

The deposition of terrestrial-derived permafrost particulate organic carbon (POC) has been recorded in major Arctic river deltas. However, associated transport pathways of permafrost POC from the watershed to the coast have not been well constrained. Here we utilized a combination of ramped pyrolysis-oxidation radiocarbon analysis (RPO ¹⁴C) along with lignin biomarkers, to track the linkages between soils and river and delta sediments. Surface and deep soils showed distinct RPO thermographs which may be related to degradation and organo-mineral interaction. Soil material in the bed load of the river channel was mostly derived from deep old permafrost. Both surface and …

Recommendations On The Use Of Ecosystem Modeling For Informing Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management And Restoration Outcomes In The Gulf Of Mexico, Arnaud Grüss, Kenneth A. Rose, James Simons, Cameron H. Ainsworth, Elizabeth A. Babcock, David D. Chagaris, Kim De Mutsert, John Froeschke, Peter Himchak, Isaac C. Kaplan, Halie O’Farrell, Manuel J. Zetina Rejon

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM) and ecosystem restoration are gaining momentum worldwide, including in U.S. waters of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM). Ecosystem models are valuable tools for informing EBFM and restoration activities. In this paper, we provide guidance and a roadmap for ecosystem modeling in the GOM region, with an emphasis on model development and use of model products to inform EBFM and the increasing investments in restoration. We propose eight “best practices” for ecosystem modeling efforts, including (1) identification of priority management questions, (2) scenarios as simulation experiments, (3) calibration and validation needs, (4) sensitivity and uncertainty analyses, (5) …

Floating Algae Blooms In The East China Sea, Lin Qi, Chuanmin Hu, Mengqiu Wang, Shaoling Shang, Cara Wilson

Marine Science Faculty Publications

A floating algae bloom in the East China Sea was observed in Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) imagery in May 2017. Using satellite imagery from MODIS, Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite, Geostationary Ocean Color Imager, and Ocean Land Imager, and combined with numerical particle tracing experiments and laboratory experiments, we examined the history of this bloom as well as similar blooms in previous years and attempted to trace the bloom source and identify the algae type. Results suggest that one bloom origin is offshore Zhejiang coast where algae slicks have appeared in satellite imagery almost every February–March since 2012. Following …

Yoga And The Ability To Counteract Negative Effects Of Stress And Trauma, Allison R. Steinwand, Staci L. Born

Counseling and Human Development Faculty Publications

Many individuals today struggle with the effects of chronic stress, whether due to social and environmental factors or as a result of trauma embedded in their psychophysiology. Research has demonstrated that once an individual endures a traumatic event, there are undesirable changes that occur in the brain and body It is of the utmost importance that mental health counselors consider the relationship between the body and mind. The purpose of this paper is to describe the negative impact traumatic experiences and chronic stress has on the brain and body. Furthermore, the ways in which yoga practice can mitigate trauma symptoms …

Mechanical Properties Of Sediment Determine Burrowing Success And Influence Distribution Of Two Lugworm Species, R. L. Crane, Rachel Merz

Biology Faculty Works

We apply new perspectives on how organisms burrow by examining the association of in situ variation in sediment mechanical properties with burrowing ability and species distribution of two sympatric lugworms, Abarenicola pacifica and Abarenicola claparedi. We quantified the sediment's resistance to penetration and its grain size distribution at sites inhabited by each species. Abarenicola pacifica individuals were found in significantly harder to penetrate, more heterogeneous sediments. We compared worm burrowing ability using reciprocal transplant experiments. Worms from firmer sediments, A. pacifica, were able to make successful steep burrows in sediments characteristic of either species. In contrast, A. claparedi individuals often …

Calculating Surface Ocean Pco2 From Biogeochemical Argo Floats Equipped With Ph: An Uncertainty Analysis, N. L. Williams, L. W. Juranek, R. A. Feely, K. S. Johnson, J. L. Sarmiento, L. D. Talley, A. G. Dickson, A. R. Gray, R. Wanninkhof, J. L. Russell, S. C. Riser, Y. Takeshita

Marine Science Faculty Publications

More than 74 biogeochemical profiling floats that measure water column pH, oxygen, nitrate, fluorescence, and backscattering at 10 day intervals have been deployed throughout the Southern Ocean. Calculating the surface ocean partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO_2sw) from float pH has uncertainty contributions from the pH sensor, the alkalinity estimate, and carbonate system equilibrium constants, resulting in a relative standard uncertainty in pCO_2sw of 2.7% (or 11 µatm at pCO_2sw of 400 µatm). The calculated pCO2sw from several floats spanning a range of oceanographic regimes are compared to existing climatologies. In some locations, such as the …

Biogeochemical Sensor Performance In The Soccom Profiling Float Array, Kenneth S. Johnson, Joshua N. Plant, Luke J. Coletti, Hans W. Jannasch, Carole M. Sakamoto, Stephen C. Riser, Dana D. Swift, Nancy L. Williams, Emmanuel Boss, Nils Haëntjens, Lynne D. Talley, Jorge L. Sarmiento

Marine Science Faculty Publications

The Southern Ocean Carbon and Climate Observations and Modeling (SOCCOM) program has begun deploying a large array of biogeochemical sensors on profiling floats in the Southern Ocean. As of February 2016, 86 floats have been deployed. Here the focus is on 56 floats with quality-controlled and adjusted data that have been in the water at least 6 months. The floats carry oxygen, nitrate, pH, chlorophyll fluorescence, and optical backscatter sensors. The raw data generated by these sensors can suffer from inaccurate initial calibrations and from sensor drift over time. Procedures to correct the data are defined. The initial accuracy of …

An Ice Sheet Model Validation Framework For The Greenland Ice Sheet, Stephen F. Price, Matthew J. Hoffman, Jennifer A. Bonin, Ian M. Howat, Thomas Neumann, Jack Saba, Irina Tezaur, Jeffrey Guerber, Don P. Chambers, Katherine J. Evans, Joseph H. Kennedy, Jan Lenaerts, William H. Lipscomb, Mauro Perego, Andrew G. Salinger, Raymond S. Tuminaro, Michiel R. Van Den Broeke, Sophie M. Nowicki

Marine Science Faculty Publications

We propose a new ice sheet model validation framework – the Cryospheric Model Comparison Tool (CmCt) – that takes advantage of ice sheet altimetry and gravimetry observations collected over the past several decades and is applied here to modeling of the Greenland ice sheet. We use realistic simulations performed with the Community Ice Sheet Model (CISM) along with two idealized, non-dynamic models to demonstrate the framework and its use. Dynamic simulations with CISM are forced from 1991 to 2013, using combinations of reanalysis-based surface mass balance and observations of outlet glacier flux change. We propose and demonstrate qualitative and quantitative …

Importance Of Lateral Flux And Its Percolation Depth On Organic Carbon Export In Arctic Tundra Soil: Implications From A Soil Leaching Experiment, Xiaowen Zhang, Jack A. Hutchings, Thomas S. Bianchi, Yina Liu, Ana Arellano, Edward A. Schuur

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Temperature rise in the Arctic is causing deepening of active layers and resulting in the mobilization of deep permafrost dissolved organic matter (DOM). However, the mechanisms of DOM mobilization from Arctic soils, especially upper soil horizons which are drained most frequently through a year, are poorly understood. Here we conducted a short-term leaching experiment on surface and deep organic active layer soils, from the Yukon River basin, to examine the effects of DOM transport on bulk and molecular characteristics. Our data showed a net release of DOM from surface soils equal to an average of 5% of soil carbon. Conversely, …

The Periodic Topography Of Ice Stream Beds: Insights From The Fourier Spectra Of Mega-Scale Glacial Lineations, Matteo Spagnolo, Timothy C. Bartholomaus, Chris D. Clark, Chris R. Stokes, Nigel Atkinson, Julian A. Dowdeswell, Jeremy C. Ely, Alastair G. C. Graham, Kelly A. Hogan, Edward C. King, Robert D. Larter, Stephen J. Livingstone, Hamish D. Pritchard

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Ice stream bed topography contains key evidence for the ways ice streams interact with, and are potentially controlled by, their beds. Here we present the first application of two-dimensional Fourier analysis to 22 marine and terrestrial topographies from 5 regions in Antarctica and Canada, with and without mega-scale glacial lineations (MSGLs). We find that the topography of MSGL-rich ice stream sedimentary beds is characterized by multiple, periodic wavelengths between 300 and 1200 m and amplitudes from decimeters to a few meters. This periodic topography is consistent with the idea that instability is a key element to the formation of MSGL …

Resemblance Profiles As Clustering Decision Criteria: Estimating Statistical Power, Error, And Correspondence For A Hypothesis Test For Multivariate Structure, Joshua P. Kilborn, David L. Jones, Ernst B. Peebles, David F. Naar

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Clustering data continues to be a highly active area of data analysis, and resemblance profiles are being incorporated into ecological methodologies as a hypothesis testing-based approach to clustering multivariate data. However, these new clustering techniques have not been rigorously tested to determine the performance variability based on the algorithm's assumptions or any underlying data structures. Here, we use simulation studies to estimate the statistical error rates for the hypothesis test for multivariate structure based on dissimilarity profiles (DISPROF). We concurrently tested a widely used algorithm that employs the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) to estimate the proficiency …