53 research outputs found
Characterization of Podosphaera macularis on the Most Prevalent Hop Genotype in the Pacific Northwest
No full textAs of 2020, the hop cultivar ‘HBC 394’, trademarked name Citra brand, was the most widely planted hop cultivar in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, with the acreage harvested in all three states nearly doubling from 2018 to 2020. This research characterized the pathogenic diversity of isolates of Podosphaera macularis on Citra brand and determined whether isolates with local or general adaption have emerged coincident with Citra brand becoming the most widely planted cultivar in the region. Among 27 isolates obtained from Citra brand, all could infect differential cultivars possessing the R-genes Rb, R3, and R5; nine isolates were also virulent on the differentials for R4 and R6. In a broader collection of 92 other isolates from Citra brand, 91 (98.9%) lacked R6 virulence. Inoculations of seven P. macularis isolates with complex virulence onto detached leaves of Citra brand all produced disease, indicating that a known major R-gene does not predict the powdery mildew phenotype in Citra brand. Citra brand-derived isolates and isolates representing the three predominant pathogenic races of P. macularis in the Pacific Northwest had no major difference in aggressiveness when inoculated on Citra brand leaves. Citra brand-derived isolates also caused disease levels on a range of hop cultivars similar to levels caused by isolates derived from other hop cultivars. These findings adduce that P. macularis isolates found on Citra brand may have varied phenotypes associated with known Pacific Northwest pathogen races. However, currently, isolates derived from Citra brand display neither local adaptation for increased virulence on Citra brand nor general adaptation for enhanced virulence on other cultivars. [Figure: see text] The author(s) have dedicated the work to the public domain under the Creative Commons CC0 “No Rights Reserved” license by waiving all of his or her rights to the work worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law, 2023
Retelling tales: The (missed?) representation of working class women’s stories of leisure
No full textReflecting on an undergraduate dissertation, Rhiannon Lord became increasingly dissatisfied with the limitations on understanding and communication imposed by the conventional form of presentation usually expected of undergraduate students. Here we seek to transgress the boundaries of the author-evacuated realist tale form and offer a re-presentation of original data in the form of creative fiction, drawing extensively upon the work of Sparkes (2002). Renewed insights are generated into the lives of young women via two short stories, presented in an effort to further communicate their leisure experiences. Consideration is given to new ways of constructing and presenting understanding at the undergraduate dissertation level and the research process in general
Current Psychological and Pharmacological Therapies and Emergent Treatment Modalities in Anorexia Nervosa
No full textABSTRACT
The purpose of this clinical review article is to evaluate the efficacy of established psychological and pharmacological treatments for anorexia nervosa (AN) compared with emergent interventions. AN is a severe, psychological and medically complex eating disorder (ED) with high morbidity and mortality. Current treatment guidelines emphasize psychological therapy as the primary intervention—family-focused interventions in children and adolescents and cognitive behavioral therapy for adults. Currently there are no FDA approved medications for AN treatment. Despite current evidenced-based interventions, recovery rates remain low and treatment-resistant is common, which highlights the need for novel treatment approaches.
This author conducted a comprehensive search of the literature using the databases PubMed, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, and Cochrane Library, which identified eight articles to substantiate their purpose. Promising novel interventions include neuromodulation, virtual reality therapy, psilocybin, and metreleptin. While initial evidence suggests potential efficacy, research is limited given their novelty. Future research should focus on understanding their underlying mechanisms to better appreciate and guide clinical application as well as establishing standardized treatment outcome measures, which are currently lacking and hindering progress in the field.
Keywords: Anorexia nervosa, treatment, psychological therapy, pharmacologic therapy, metreleptin, psilocybin, virtual reality, neuromodulatio
The Impact of strategic implementation on the employees and contractors of the Hewlett-Packard Company.
No full textConducted within the global corporation of the Hewlett-Packard Company, (HP),this research examines employee and contractor responses to strategic implementation. The research environment is a relatively small UK group withinthe corporation that has continuously experienced significant change as new strategies were implemented. Employee and contractor responses to three separate cycles of change are analysed together with data drawn from the wider corporation by using a psychological contract framework, semi-structured interviewing, a research diary and secondary data from the literature and electronic sources. The research is essentially qualitative but draws on quantitative data where appropriate. A case study approach within an action research paradigm is the chosen methodology to allow consideration and triangulation of multiple sources of data relevant to the natural workplace setting. The research has confirmed a change from old or original psychological contracts to new contracts where employees and contractors are more insecure in, and more cynical of, their employment. This change is perceived as a
violation of their psychological contract and is causing employees and contractors to adopt a more mercenary approach to their employment with HP. The special bond between HP and its employees generated by the values and
egalitarian working environment created by its founders has been broken by new leadership. Acquisition of the Compaq Computer Company has further impacted employees and contractors resulting in declining morale and increasing scepticism about its proposed benefits. Indeed the very legitimacy of the acquisition and the leadership of HP are being questioned as HP changes to a new form. According to the founders, the values established that made HP successful in its first fifty years were expected to continue for at least another fifty years. This research shows how changing these values has collectively impacted
employees and contractors resulting in a major threat to the continuing existence of HP in its present form
Impacts of Nitrogen and Phosphorus: From Genomes to Natural Ecosystems and Agriculture
No full textNitrogen (N) and/or phosphorus (P) availability can limit growth of primary producers across most of the world's aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. These constraints are commonly overcome in agriculture by applying fertilizers to improve yields. However, excessive anthropogenic N and P inputs impact natural environments and have far-reaching ecological and evolutionary consequences, from individual species up to entire ecosystems. The extent to which global N and P cycles have been perturbed over the past century can be seen as a global fertilization experiment with significant redistribution of nutrients across different ecosystems. Here we explore the effects of N and P availability on stoichiometry and genomic traits of organisms, which, in turn, can influence: (i) plant and animal abundances; (ii) trophic interactions and population dynamics; and (iii) ecosystem dynamics and productivity of agricultural crops. We articulate research priorities for a deeper understanding of how bioavailable N and P move through the environment and exert their ultimate impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services
The relationship between cannabis and anorexia nervosa: a scoping review
No full textThis article was originally published in Journal of Eating Disorders. The version of record is available at: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40337-023-00887-9. © The Author(s) 2023.Background
Relapse rates in Anorexia Nervosa (AN) remain high, warranting exploration of further treatments. Cannabinoid agonists are of interest as they have shown successful outcomes in the treatment of associated conditions, such as post-traumatic stress disorder. This scoping review explores the endocannabinoid system (ECS), benefits/harms/null effects of cannabinoid treatment, and harms of cannabis use in AN.
Methods
PubMed, PsycINFO, Cochrane, and Web of Science were searched for studies published between 2010 and August 2023, with human participants that explored the ECS, cannabinoid treatment, or cannabis use, and included 1 or more keywords for both cannabis and AN in the title and or abstract. Reports describing secondary anorexia, reports not available in English, grey literature, reports combining data from AN with other conditions, and reports only reporting the prevalence of cannabis abuse/dependence were excluded. Data were extracted from 17 reports (n = 15 studies). For the ECS, outcomes included genetics such as allele expression related to the ECS, cannabinoid receptor availability, and circulating levels of endocannabinoids. For benefits/harms/null effects of cannabinoid treatment, outcomes included changes in weight, eating disorder (ED) symptoms, physical activity (PA), and hormones. For harms of cannabis use, outcomes included genetics related to cannabis use disorder and associations between cannabis use and ED symptoms.
Results
Eight studies (n = 8 reports) found abnormalities in the ECS in AN including expression of related alleles, genotypes, and haplotypes, availability of cannabinoid receptors, and levels of endocannabinoids. Three studies (n = 5 reports) found benefits/harms/null effects of cannabinoid treatment. Benefits included weight gain, improved ED symptoms and reduced PA, while null effects included no changes in weight or ED symptoms, and harms included increased PA and lowered adipose hormones. Four studies (n = 4 reports) expanded upon harms of cannabis use, including genetic predispositions to cannabis use disorder, and compensatory behaviors related to cannabis use.
Conclusion
Limited evidence suggests that abnormalities in the ECS in AN may render cannabis a potential treatment for weight restoration and associated symptoms. Future research may wish to investigate individualized dosing approaches to maximize beneficial effects while minimizing harms.
Level II Evidence: Scoping Review.The first author received a fellowship from The University of Delaware’s 2022 Summer Fellows Undergraduate Research Program for her time conducting a portion of the work
Reservoir compensation releases and the ecology of the River Derwent, Northumberland.
No full textRiver regulation is commonplace in England and much of the UK. Regulation for the purposes of public water supply causes flows downstream of a reservoir to be attenuated and the flow regime of the channel to be altered. The impact of channel impoundment on a small, upland UK river, has been assessed and methods for mitigation of ecological impacts explored. The method utilised a unique macroinvertebrate data set for pre- and post-impoundment periods to quantify the impact of Derwent Reservoir and the steady, continuous compensation release into the River Derwent, Northumberland. Impacts on the hydrological regime were also investigated and links drawn between changes in flow regime and changes in macroinvertebrate richness and diversity as a result of impoundment. In response to the claim that the impoundment has caused a change in flow regime and had deleterious effects on fish and macroinvertebrates, a compensation redesign tool (CRAB: Compensation Release Assessment at the Broad scale) was employed to design new compensation release regimes from the reservoir which account for the seasonal flow requirements of a number of key fish species. The impact of impoundment on the current flow regime was modelled and the impacts of predicted new regimes were predicted, using a 1D hydrodynamic model (HEC-RAS), as part of a modelling process known as CRAM (Compensation Release Assessment at the Meso-scale). Depth and velocity were the foci of the analysis as they are the two habitat requirements most well documented for the fish species in question, they could be modelled using HEC-RAS and they can act as surrogates for other habitat parameters such as temperature and substrate. The suitability of the depth and velocity combinations predicted using the HEC-RAS model were assessed using fuzzy rule-based modelling, which allowed the habitat quality of a given parameter combination to be quantified.
Based on the results of the investigation it was concluded that there has been a change in flow regime and in ecological community structure since impoundment. The flow regime of the River Derwent has become less flashy with fewer extreme events, while macroinvertebrate richness and diversity have increased. The new flow regimes that were designed by CRAB, based on the depth and velocity requirements of brown trout, grayling and Atlantic salmon were predicted through CRAM to have minimal benefits for the fish populations of the River Derwent and it was concluded that no changes to flow regime should be made based solely on the assessment of habitat for fish. Impacts for the macroinvertebrate communities must also be considered as well as the impacts on other aspects of fish habitat including temperature, substrate and cover. A more detailed, micro-scale investigation into the effects of changing flow regime would be required to warrant a change in compensation release regime from Derwent Reservoir
Morphology of mitochondria and cell respiration,pt.1.
No full textTo reveal the mechanism of liver damage by taking CCl4 the author observed the liver tissues from rats at 1.5, 5, 6, 10, 17, 20, and 22 hours after the CCl4 administration, both by light microscope and electron-microscope. 1. Light microscope observation revealed the swelling of liver cells in the carly stage, the appearance of centrolobular fatty degeneration, focal degeneration area and the appearance of balloon cells, with the circulatory disturbances in accompanying stages and hemorrhage in the later stage. 2. Electron-microscope observation revealed the swelling of mitochondria, appearance of the files of thin ER's in the early stage and the regeneration and degeneration of mitochondria with an increase of microbodies in number. Fat droplets are developed from small ones probably from some microbodies without correlation with mitochondria. 3. From these observations the author is of the opinion that CCl4 arrests the cells at first inducing the swelling of cells and their mitochondria, but later the degenerative changes will become severe being complicated by the anoxia which is induced by the circulatory disturbances caused by the compression of vessels with the swollen cells.</p
QUADRUPLY BONDED M COMPLEXES INCORPORATING THIENYLETHYNYL AND THIENYLVINYL CARBOXYLATES
No full textAuthor Institution: Ohio State University, Department of Chemistry, Columbus, Ohio 43210Quadruply bonded metal complexes, where M = Mo, W, that incorporate thienylethynyl and thienylvinyl carboxylates are being synthesized. Varying the bond order of the C unit between the thienyl group and the carboxylate tether provides a series of complexes in which a comparative study on the electronic delocalization in the ground and excited states can be conducted. The properties of these complexes will be predicted by DFT calculations and probed by steady-state absorbance, emission, electrochemistry, and ns- and fs-transient absorption
THE PHOTOPHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF QUADRUPLY BONDED M ARYLETHYNYLCARBOXYLATE COMPLEXES
No full textAuthor Institution: Ohio State University, Department of Chemistry, Columbus, Ohio 43210The incorporation of tolylethynylcarboxylate and anthrylethynylcarboxylate ligands into quadruply bonded dimetal complexes has been achieved. Their photophysical properties have been investigated by fs-transient absorbance, ns-transient absorbance, visible and near-IR emission. These dimetal complexes, where M = molybdenum, exhibit two excited states: one short-lived (fs) and one long-lived (s). The higher energy emission associated with the short lived excited state has been assigned as the MLCT based on the small stokes shift and DFT-calculations. DFT-calculations of the lowest energy triplet state along with the vibronic features of the lowest energy emission have allowed the long lived excited state to be assigned as metal based in character
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