1,258 research outputs found
Providence College Faculty Author Series 2014-2015: Dr. Jessica Mulligan
No full textIn this installment of the Faculty Authors Series, Dr. Jessica Mulligan of the Health Policy & Management department discusses her book Unmanageable Care: An Ethnography of Health Care Privatization in Puerto Rico - elucidating the history and contemporary state of the Puerto Rican healthcare system
Providence College Faculty Author Series 2014-2015: Dr. Jessica Mulligan
No full textIn this installment of the Faculty Authors Series, Dr. Jessica Mulligan of the Health Policy & Management department discusses her book Unmanageable Care: An Ethnography of Health Care Privatization in Puerto Rico - elucidating the history and contemporary state of the Puerto Rican healthcare system
Study on the Prevalence of Antibiotic Resistant Gene Following Hurricane Harvey
No full textOn August 25, 2017, Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Port Aransas, Texas and introduced 130 cm of rainfall to the Houston area. Hurricane Harvey���s record rainfall caused city-wide flooding and large quantities of stormwater runoff, bringing an incredible amount of contaminated waters into Galveston Bay. The contaminated flood waters contained high levels of soil and sediment bacteria, as well as fecal contamination, which are usually associated with a higher prevalence of antibiotic resistance genes. Antibiotic resistance genes such as vanA (resistance to vancomycin), sul1 (resistance to sulfonamides) and tetA (resistance to tetracycline) are commonly found throughout the environment due to the heavy usage of vancomycin, sulfonamide chemical groups, and tetracyclines antibiotics. Here, metagenomic data sampled every week for five weeks after Hurricane Harvey from a transect performed in Galveston Bay were mined for the presence of antibiotic resistance genes. The hypothesis was that there would be an increase in antibiotic resistance genes in the Bay right after Hurricane Harvey due to the input of terrestrial and wastewater-related microbes introduced into the ecosystem. Antibiotic resistance genes sul1, vanA, and tetA were detected at each sample station from the San Jacinto River to the Gulf of Mexico, with sul1 being the most abundant antibiotic resistance genes observed throughout the samples. Unexpectedly, there was no increase in the prevalence of antibiotic resistance genes after Hurricane Harvey. However, the genes found in the environment had a great diversity and differed from the ones found in clinical isolates, suggesting that there is a high potential for bacteria to acquire novel resistance genes. The data from this experiment will contribute to the understanding of the dispersal of antibiotic resistant genes in the environment after heavy rain events
Impact of the Pandemic on Women in the Workplace
No full textChair: Christina M. Low Kapalu PhD, Children’s Mercy Kansas City Participant/1st Author Christina M. Low Kapalu PhD, Children’s Mercy Kansas City Challenges Faced and Strengths of Mothers in the Workforce Participant/1st Author Idia B. Thurston PhD, Texas A&M University Black Women in the Workplace Participant/1st Author Jessica M. Valenzuela PhD, Nova Southeastern University Impact of the Pandemic on Women in the Workplace Participant/1st Author Lori E. Crosby PsyD, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center Creating Safe and Respectful Workplaces Discussant Melissa Santos PhD, Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, Hartford, C
A Randomized Depression Prevention Trial Comparing Interpersonal Psychotherapy--Adolescent Skills Training to Group Counseling in Schools
No full textGiven the rise in depression disorders in adolescence, it is important to develop and study depression prevention programs for this age group. The current study examined the efficacy of Interpersonal Psychotherapy-Adolescent Skills Training (IPT-AST), a group prevention program for adolescent depression, in comparison to group programs that are typically delivered in school settings. In this indicated prevention trial, 186 adolescents with elevated depression symptoms were randomized to receive IPT-AST delivered by research staff or group counseling (GC) delivered by school counselors. Hierarchical linear modeling examined differences in rates of change in depressive symptoms and overall functioning from baseline to the 6-month follow-up assessment. Cox regression compared rates of depression diagnoses. Adolescents in IPT-AST showed significantly greater improvements in self-reported depressive symptoms and evaluator-rated overall functioning than GC adolescents from baseline to the 6-month follow-up. However, there were no significant differences between the two conditions in onset of depression diagnoses. Although both intervention conditions demonstrated significant improvements in depressive symptoms and overall functioning, results indicate that IPT-AST has modest benefits over groups run by school counselors which were matched on frequency and duration of sessions. In particular, IPT-AST outperformed GC in reduction of depressive symptoms and improvements in overall functioning. These findings point to the clinical utility of this depression prevention program, at least in the short-term. Additional follow-up is needed to determine the long-term effects of IPT-AST, relative to GC, particularly in preventing depression onset.The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11121-015-0620-5Peer reviewe
Mutations in the Aeromonas salmonicida subsp. salmonicida type III secretion system affect Atlantic salmon leucocyte activation and downstream immune responses
No full textDeletion mutants of Aeromonas salmonicida subsp. salmonicida were used to determine the effect of the type three secretion system (TTSS) on Atlantic salmon anterior head kidney leucocytes (AHKL). One strain had a deletion in the outer membrane pore gene, ascC; and the other in three effector genes: aopO, aopH and aexT (we call this strain Δaop3). Host cell invasion success and 24h survival were depressed in ΔascC, as was 24h survival of Δaop3, when compared to the wild type strain. Challenge of AHKLs with A449 or TTSS mutants stimulated expression of the inflammatory mediators IL-8, IL-1 and TNFα at two bacterial concentrations (A600 0.1, 0.01). Expression of IL-12 was not stimulated in ΔascC challenged cells, whereas A449 and Δaop3 challenge resulted in an up-regulation of IL-12 in AHKLs, 2- and 4-fold higher than PBS, respectively. Only the wild type strain elicited a significant increase in IL-10 expression (5.5× at A600 0.1). Inducible nitric oxide synthetase (iNOS) and arginase (I+II) genes were also significantly up-regulated upon exposure to all strains. However, iNOS:arginase ratio was elevated in the effector mutant challenge. These results suggest that A. salmonicida subsp. salmonicida may enhance survival within the host cell through polarization of macrophages/leucocytes to an alternative, rather than classical, activation state. Furthermore, the short-term survival and lack of T-cell signalling cytokine stimulation in ΔascC, may help explain its inefficiency at providing protection to subsequent wild type challenge.ID: S1050464809002988; M3: Article; Accession Number: S1050464809002988; Author: Mark D. Fast (a, ∗); Author: Brenda Tse (b); Author: Jessica M. Boyd (c); Author: Stewart C. Johnson (d); Affiliation: School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794-5000, USA; Affiliation: Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; Affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; Affiliation: Pacific Biological Station, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada; Keyword: Aeromonas salmonicida; Keyword: Type three secretion system; Keyword: Atlantic salmon; Keyword: SHK-1; Keyword: Gene expression; Keyword: Inflammation; Keyword: Activation; Keyword: Interleukin-1β; Keyword: (IL-1β); Keyword: Interleukin-10; Keyword: Interleukin-12; Number of Pages: 8; Language: English;Source type: Electronic(1
Behavioral ecology and population genetics of two populations of blue crab, Callinectes sapidus (Rathbun), in New Jersey:
No full textBlue crabs are important estuarine organisms, both ecologically and economically. Due to historical differences of human impact between contaminated Hackensack Meadowlands (HM) and cleaner Tuckerton (TK), adult prey capture, juvenile predator avoidance, adult/juvenile aggression, metal accumulation/depuration and population genetics were investigated.HM adults had reduced prey capture on active prey compared to TK crabs, suggesting HM crabs may have reduced coordination. Stomach analysis revealed HM crabs’ stomachs contained ~60% algae/plant and detritus/sediment, and lower crab and fish weights than TK crabs. TK crabs were caged in HM or fed HM food for 8 weeks; their prey capture declined significantly indicating environmental factors were responsible for the behavioral differences. Crabs were then analyzed for metals in muscle and hepatopancreas. HM crabs were fed clean food or transplanted to TK; TK crabs were fed contaminated food or transplanted to HM. Significant tissue differences were found for Cu, Hg, Pb and Zn. HM crabs did not show a significant decrease in Hg after switching environment or diet, but showed a significant decrease in Cu, Pb and Zn in hepatopancreas after switching. TK crabs showed a significant increase of Hg in muscle and Cr and Zn in hepatopancreas after switching environment or food. In the lab, HM juveniles attacked threatening stimuli significantly more and TK juveniles fled or gave a mixed response significantly more. HM juveniles were significantly better at avoiding a crab predator when substrate was present. Follow-up experiments were conducted without substrate to determine if aggression was important. Aggressive juveniles were no more successful than non-aggressive ones at avoiding a predator. Adults were placed in a large tank with a crab pot; significantly fewer HM adults entered the pot. The first HM crab to enter generally prevented others from entering or attacked those that did, suggesting aggression may be causing low pot counts. Microsatellites were analyzed using four markers. Genotypic differences were not found among the three years which indicates these populations are not genetically distinct. Yearly differences were not found. These results indicate genetics can be ruled out. The ‘switch’ experiments results indicate the environment is causing the behavioral differences.Ph.D.Includes bibliographical references (p. 108-121)by Jessica M. Reichmut
Ecology, Symbiosis, and Community in Scyphozoans with an Emphasis on the Floridian Cassiopea
No full textTrue jellyfishes of the class Scyphozoa exhibit a range of unique biological traits and are intrinsically linked to the ecosystems in which they reside. Despite this, their ecology, systematics and biology have long been understudied. Examining the photosynthetic jellyfish Cassiopea, I connect the biology, systematics and microbial ecology that inform the broader ecology of the genus. In this work, I demonstrate that Cassiopea xamachana ephyrae (the more motile immature stage) can survive for upwards of 6 weeks unfed when provided with light, a trait that may allow for higher dispersion. Examining wild Cassiopea, I identify the endemic species C. xamachana cooccurring with the non-native C. andromeda based on mitochondrial COI and 16S, as well as correct problems with the previously published Cassiopea global phylogenies. Using these same wild medusae, I describe for the first time the wild microbiome of Cassiopea xamachana within the Florida Keys. While the external microbiome of Cassiopea medusae is similar to the benthic community around it but enriched in Endozoicomonas, the internal community is low diversity with multiple possible stable states primarily enriched in Endozoicomonas, Mycoplasma and Vibrio. In addition to my work on Cassiopea, I provide a thorough review of associative interactions previously reported between jellyfish and crustaceans, covering 211 distinct associations, in order to facilitate future work on community ecology in jellyfishes. Altogether, this work provides new information on the ecological value in jellyfishes overall and greatly improves knowledge of the ecology of Cassiopea specifically
A contribution of twenty photographs in the book ‘Recordatio’ by Jessica d’Este
No full textA contribution of twenty photographs in the book ‘Recordatio’ by author Jessica d’Este. The installation "AT HOME WITH ART" embraced an emigré London family's life of art and friendship in Ashley Gardens Victoria, London from 1973 – 2017
A contemporary poet’s Ashley Gardens flat is itself an ‘installation’ of painting, sculpture, tapestry, murals, pottery and poetry – a collection from 1973 to date
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Microbial dynamics of a hypersaline creek: Community response to disturbance and connectivity to wildlife
No full textA dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Marine Biology.Estuarine ecosystems can experience extended periods of salinity and temperature stress. In the South Texas region of the northwest Gulf of Mexico (GoM), climate models and current trends support increased temperatures, prolonged droughts, and increased storm severity. It is therefore imperative to assess how climate stress will impact South Texas estuarine ecosystems. Coastal lagoons are particularly vulnerable to disturbance, and the hypersaline Baffin Bay and Upper Laguna Madre Complex is a ‘hotspot’ of environmental change. In this dissertation, factors contributing to hypersaline microbial community dynamics in a hypersaline creek were assessed in three stand-alone research projects: 1) a short-term 2-month study of microbial community dynamics following a flood event, 2) a long-term 18-month study of microbial community dynamics that included flood and freeze events, and 3) a targeted study of wildlife connectivity (Mexican free-tailed bats) to microbial community dynamics and eutrophication. The short-term study revealed that flood events are disturbance events that cause pronounced shifts in microbial community structure. The long-term study revealed the hypersaline community was resilient to flood and freeze events. Additionally, whole genome sequencing of halophilic bacteria uncovered mechanisms of osmoregulation and heavy metal resistance. The targeted study revealed that bat guano is a source of dissolved organic carbon and potentially pathogenic bacteria. Severe heat coupled with severe flooding is anticipated to alter salinity regimes, increase osmotic stress, adversely impact ecosystem stability, and potentially restructure natural communities between drought and flood events. Climate stress will also affect the quality of riparian buffers and the wildlife inhabiting those buffers. A better understanding of microbial drought and flood resilience is critical to predicting how hypersaline coastal ecosystems will adapt and evolve under future climate scenarios.Physical and Environmental SciencesCollege of Scienc
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