University of Maryland Eastern Shore

Awareness of the human health benefits of blueberries is underpinned by a growing body of positive scientific evidence from human observational and clinical research, plus mechanistic research using animal and in vitro models. Blueberries contain a large number of phytochemicals, including abundant anthocyanin pigments. Of their various phytochemicals, anthocyanins probably make the greatest impact on blueberry health functionality. Epidemiological studies associate regular, moderate intake of blueberries and/or anthocyanins with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, death, and type 2 diabetes, and with improved weight maintenance and neuroprotection. These findings are supported by biomarker-based evidence from human clinical studies. Among the more important healthful aspects of blueberries are their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant actions and their beneficial effects on vascular and glucoregulatory function. Blueberry phytochemicals may affect gastrointestinal microflora and contribute to host health. These aspects have implications in degenerative diseases and conditions as well as the aging process. More evidence, and particularly human clinical evidence, is needed to better understand the potential for anthocyanin-rich blueberries to benefit public health. However, it is widely agreed that the regular consumption of tasty, ripe blueberries can be unconditionally recommended.

The development of the cerebral hemispheres was assessed by using measures of electroencephalographic coherence and phase in 577 children ranging in age from 2 months to early adulthood. Two categories of age-dependent change in electroencephalographic coherence and phase were noted: continuous growth processes that were described best by an exponential growth function, and discrete growth spurts that appeared in specific anatomical locations at specific postnatal periods. The left and right hemispheres developed at different rates and with different postnatal onset times with the timing of growth spurts overlapping the timing of the major developmental stages described by Piaget.

A systematic analysis of all naturally-occurring glycosylated bacterial secondary metabolites reported in the scientific literature up through early 2013 is presented. This comprehensive analysis of 15 940 bacterial natural products revealed 3426 glycosides containing 344 distinct appended carbohydrates and highlights a range of unique opportunities for future biosynthetic study and glycodiversification efforts.

A repeated cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the patterns of antimicrobial resistance in 1,286 Escherichia coli strains isolated from human septage, wildlife, domestic animals, farm environments, and surface water in the Red Cedar watershed in Michigan. Isolation and identification of E. coli were done by using enrichment media, selective media, and biochemical tests. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing by the disk diffusion method was conducted for neomycin, gentamicin, streptomycin, chloramphenicol, ofloxacin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, tetracycline, ampicillin, nalidixic acid, nitrofurantoin, cephalothin, and sulfisoxazole. Resistance to at least one antimicrobial agent was demonstrated in isolates from livestock, companion animals, human septage, wildlife, and surface water. In general, E. coli isolates from domestic species showed resistance to the largest number of antimicrobial agents compared to isolates from human septage, wildlife, and surface water. The agents to which resistance was demonstrated most frequently were tetracycline, cephalothin, sulfisoxazole, and streptomycin. There were similarities in the patterns of resistance in fecal samples and farm environment samples by animal, and the levels of cephalothin-resistant isolates were higher in farm environment samples than in fecal samples. Multidrug resistance was seen in a variety of sources, and the highest levels of multidrug-resistant E. coli were observed for swine fecal samples. The fact that water sample isolates were resistant only to cephalothin may suggest that the resistance patterns for farm environment samples may be more representative of the risk of contamination of surface waters with antimicrobial agent-resistant bacteria.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of age and gender on the strength response to strength training (ST) and detraining. METHODS: Eighteen young (20-30 yr) and 23 older (65-75 yr) men and women had their one-repetition maximum (1 RM) and isokinetic strength measured before and after 9 wk of unilateral knee extension ST (3 d x wk(-1)) and 31 wk of detraining. RESULTS: The young subjects demonstrated a significantly greater (P < 0.05) increase in 1 RM strength (34+/-3%; 73+/-5 vs 97+/-6 kg; P < 0.01) than the older subjects (28+/-3%; 60+/-4 vs 76+/-5 kg, P < 0.01). There were no significant differences in strength gains between men and women in either age group with 9 wk of ST or in strength losses with 31 wk of detraining. Young men and women experienced an 8+/-2% decline in 1 RM strength after 31 wk of detraining (97+/-6 vs 89+/-6 kg, P < 0.05). This decline was significantly less than the 14+/-2% decline in the older men and women (76+/-5 vs 65+/-4 kg, P < 0.05). This strength loss occurred primarily between 12 and 31 wk of detraining with a 6+/-2% and 13+/-2% decrease in the young and older subjects, respectively, during this period. DISCUSSION: These results demonstrate that changes in 1 RM strength in response to both ST and detraining are affected by age. However, ST-induced increases in muscular strength appear to be maintained equally well in young and older men and women during 12 wk of detraining and are maintained above baseline levels even after 31 wk of detraining in young men, young women, and older men.

Rice bran, a byproduct of the rice milling process, contains most of the phytochemicals. This study aimed at determining the concentrations of lipophilic, solvent-extractable (free), and cell wall-bound (bound) phytochemicals and their antioxidant capacities from brans of white, light brown, brown, purple, and red colors, and broccoli and blueberry for comparison. The concentrations of lipophilic antioxidants of vitamin E (tocopherol and tocotrienols) and γ-oryzanols were 319.67 to 443.73 and 3861.93 to 5911.12 μg/g bran dry weight (DW), respectively, and were not associated with bran color. The total phenolic, total flavonoid, and antioxidant capacities of ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity), DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging, and iron-chelating in the free fraction were correlated with the intensity of bran color, while variations of these in the bound fraction were less than those in the free fraction among brans. Compounds in the bound fraction had higher antioxidant capacity of ORAC than DPPH, relative to those in the free fraction. The bound fraction of light-color brans contributed as much to its total ORAC as the free fraction. Total proanthocyanidin concentration was the highest in red rice bran, while total anthocyanin was highest in purple brans. The predominant anthocyanin was cyanidin-3-glucoside. Red and purple brans had several fold higher total phenolics and flavonoids as well as ORAC and DPPH, from both free and bound fractions, than freeze-dried blueberry and broccoli. These results indicate that rice brans are natural sources of hydrophilic and lipophilic phytochemicals for use in quality control of various food systems as well as for nutraceutical and functional food application.

This paper provides further insight into IS adoption by investigating how 12 factors within the technology-organization-environment (T-O-E) framework explain SMEs' adoption of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. Survey data were collected from executives of SMEs drawn from six fast service enterprises with strong operations in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Purposive and snow ball sampling was adopted and the proposed framework was tested using the logistic regression; specifically, the likelihood ratios, Hosmer and Lemeshow's goodness of fit, and Nagelkerke R 2 were used. The hypothesized relationships were supported at either p < 0.01 or 0.05 with each factor differing in its statistical coefficient and some bearing negative values; suggesting that some factors do not pose much threat to adopters but to non-adopters. Thus, adoption of ERP by SMEs is well-explained by T-O-E framework though it is more driven by technological factors than by organizational and environmental factors. Implicit is that the proposed model will be useful to IS vendors in making investment decisions and crafting marketing programs that appeal to non-adopters since they have more adoption challenges than adopters and to cause adopters to progress in the loyalty ladder.

Kleinman, P. J. A., Sharpley, A. N., Budda, A. R., McDowell, R. W. and Allen, A. L. 2011. Soil controls of phosphorus in runoff: Management barriers and opportunities. Can. J. Soil Sci. 91: 329–338. The persistent problem of eutrophication, the biological enrichment of surface waters, has produced a vast literature on soil phosphorus (P) effects on runoff water quality. This paper considers the mechanisms controlling soil P transfers from agricultural soils to runoff waters, and the management of these transfers. Historical emphases on soil conservation and control of sediment delivery to surface waters have demonstrated that comprehensive strategies to mitigate sediment-bound P transfer can produce long-term water quality improvements at a watershed scale. Less responsive are dissolved P releases from soils that have historically received P applications in excess of crop requirements. While halting further P applications to such soils may prevent dissolved P losses from growing, the desorption of P from soils that is derived from historical inputs, termed here as “legacy P”, can persist for long periods of time. Articulating the role of legacy P in delaying the response of watersheds to remedial programs requires more work, delivering the difficult message that yesterday's sinks of P may be today's sources. Even legacy sources of P that occur in low concentration relative to agronomic requirement can support significant loads of P in runoff under the right hydrologic conditions. Strategies that take advantage of the capacity of soils to buffer dissolved P losses, such as periodic tillage to diminish severe vertical stratification of P in no-till soils, offer short-term solutions to mitigating P losses. In some cases, more aggressive strategies are required to mitigate both short-term and legacy P losses.

The BIOCAT database of introductions of insect biological control agents for the control of insect pests was updated to the end of 2010 to include 6158 introductions, using 2384 different insect biological control agents against 588 pest species in 148 countries. Of the introductions, 2007 (32.6 %) led to establishment, and 620 (10.1 %) resulted in satisfactory control being reported against 172 (29.3 %) different pest species. The number of introductions has decreased each decade since the 1970s, but in the same period a higher proportion of introductions became established and contributed to successful control of target pests, and the number of countries implementing classical biological control increased. These positive trends reflect the greater research effort now made to optimize the chances of successful outcomes and increased confidence in classical biological control as a viable pest management strategy against a backdrop of a risk-averse culture that has developed in some key countries in recent years.

Students' mental health problems are a growing concern in higher education. In recent times, these concerns have doubled due to the significant socioeconomic, political, and technological changes in the world. With the emergence of the ongoing novel COVID-19 pandemic, students in higher education are faced with increased mental health challenges. Specifically, the ongoing 2019–2020 novel coronavirus, has magnified college students' mental health challenges, and as a result, there are additional considerations, as college students are now required to adapt to a virtual learning environment, make behavioral changes such as social distancing, and deal with socioeconomic uncertainties. The objective of this paper is to provide insight into the additional concerns in which COVID-19 may affect college students' mental health and how mental health practitioners can address these concerns in practice. Implications of these concerns as well as possible strategies for addressing these concerns are discussed.

More than 95% of the 20,000 to 25,000 transcribed human genes undergo alternative RNA splicing, which increases the diversity of the proteome. Isoforms derived from the same gene can have distinct and, in some cases, opposing functions. Accumulating evidence suggests that aberrant RNA splicing is a common and driving event in cancer development and progression. Moreover, aberrant splicing events conferring drug/therapy resistance in cancer is far more common than previously envisioned. In this review, aberrant splicing events in cancer-associated genes, namely BCL2L1, FAS, HRAS, CD44, Cyclin D1, CASP2, TMPRSS2-ERG, FGFR2, VEGF, AR and KLF6, will be discussed. Also highlighted are the functional consequences of aberrant splice variants (BCR-Abl35INS, BIM-γ, IK6, p61 BRAF V600E, CD19-∆2, AR-V7 and PIK3CD-S) in promoting resistance to cancer targeted therapy or immunotherapy. To overcome drug resistance, we discuss opportunities for developing novel strategies to specifically target the aberrant splice variants or splicing machinery that generates the splice variants. Therapeutic approaches include the development of splice variant-specific siRNAs, splice switching antisense oligonucleotides, and small molecule inhibitors targeting splicing factors, splicing factor kinases or the aberrant oncogenic protein isoforms.

The effects of electroosmotic flow (EOF) on the ionic current rectification (ICR) phenomenon in conical nanopores are studied comprehensively with use of a continuum model, composed of Nernst−Planck equations for the ionic concentrations, the Poisson equation for the electric potential, and Navier−Stokes equations for the flow field. It is found that the preferential current direction of a negatively charged nanopore is toward the base (tip) under a relatively high (low) κRt, the ratio of the tip radius size to the Debye length. The direction also changes with the charge polarity of the nanopore. The EOF effect on the ionic current rectification ratio in a conical nanopore becomes noticeable at an intermediate κRt and surface charge density of the nanopore, meanwhile increasing significantly with the applied voltage.

Obesity has been a major concern in the horse industry for many years, and the recent discovery of leptin and leptin receptors in numerous nonequine species has provided a basis for new approaches to study this problem in equine. The objectives were to: 1) clone a partial sequence of the equine leptin and leptin receptor genes so as to enable the design of primers for RT-PCR determination of leptin and leptin receptor gene presence and distribution in tissues, 2) develop a radioimmunoassay to quantify peripheral concentrations of leptin in equine, 3) determine if peripheral concentrations of leptin correlate with body condition scores in equine, and 4) determine if changing body condition scores would influence peripheral concentrations of leptin in equine. In Experiment 1, equine leptin (GenBank accession number AF179275) and the long-form of the equine leptin receptor (GenBank accession number AF139663) genes were partially sequenced. Equine leptin receptor mRNA was detected in liver, lung, testis, ovary, choroid plexus, hypothalamus, and subcutaneous adipose tissues using RT-PCR. In Experiment 2, 71 horses were categorized by gender, age, and body condition score and blood samples were collected. Sera were assayed for leptin using a heterologous leptin radioimmunoassay developed for equine sera. Serum concentrations of leptin increased in horses with body condition score (1 = thin to 9 = fat; r = 0.64; P = 0.0001). Furthermore, serum concentrations of leptin were greater in geldings and stallions than in mares (P = 0.0002), and tended to increase with age of the animal (P = 0.08). In Experiment 3, blood samples, body weights, and body condition scores were collected every 14 d from 18 pony mares assigned to gain or lose weight over a 14-wk interval based on initial body condition score. Although statistical changes (P = 0.001) in body condition scores were achieved, congruent statistical changes in peripheral concentrations of leptin were not observed, likely due to the small range of change that occurred. Nonetheless, serum concentrations of leptin tended to be greater in fat-restricted mares than in thin-supplemented mares (P = 0.09). We conclude that leptin and leptin receptors are present in equine tissues and that peripheral concentrations of leptin reflect a significant influence of fat mass in equine.

This study examined changes in myostatin gene expression in response to strength training (ST). Fifteen young and older men (n = 7) and women (n = 8) completed a 9-week heavy-resistance unilateral knee extension ST program. Muscle biopsies were obtained from the dominant vastus lateralis before and after ST. In addition to myostatin mRNA levels, muscle volume and strength were measured. Total RNA was reverse transcribed into cDNA, and myostatin mRNA was quantified using quantitative PCR by standard fluorescent chemistries and was normalized to 18S rRNA levels. A 37% decrease in myostatin expression was observed in response to ST in all subjects combined (2.70 +/- 0.36 vs 1.69 +/- 0.18 U, arbitrary units; P < 0.05). Though the decline in myostatin expression was similar regardless of age or gender, the small number of subjects in these subgroups suggests that this observation needs to be confirmed. No significant correlations were observed between myostatin expression and any muscle strength or volume measure. Although further work is necessary to clarify the findings, these data demonstrate that myostatin mRNA levels are reduced in response to heavy-resistance ST in humans.

Hair cadmium and lead content were related to intelligence tests, motor impairment assessments, and school achievement scores from 149 children aged 5 to 16 yr enrolled in rural Maryland public school systems. Hair cadmium and lead were significantly correlated with both intelligence scores and school achievement scores, but not motor impairment scores. Significant relations with I.Q. were obtained after regressing out demographic factors and were observed, even in children within a normal I.Q. range. Evidence of different effects of cadmium and lead on cognitive development was obtained. Hierarchical regression analyses suggest that cadmium has a significantly stronger effect on verbal I.Q. than does lead and that lead has a stronger effect on performance I.Q. than does cadmium.

BACKGROUND: African Americans (AA) suffer from an increased incidence and mortality of colorectal cancer (CRC). Environmental exposures including dietary habits likely contribute to a high burden of CRC, however, data on the dietary habits of AA is sparse. Diet might change the composition and the activities of the intestinal microbiota, in turn affecting fecal genotoxicity/mutagenicity that is thought to be associated with carcinogenesis. METHODS: We assessed dietary habits by food frequency questionnaire and by food records in 52 AA and 46 CA residents of the Eastern Shore of MD. Fecal microbiota composition was determined using 16S rRNA based methods and fecal genotoxicity measured using the Comet assay. RESULTS: AA reported an increased intake of heterocyclic amines and a decreased dietary intake of vitamins including vitamin D (p<0.05) that correlated with differences in fecal microbiota composition but not fecal genotoxicity. Intake of dietary fiber, calcium, total fat and heterocyclic amines correlated with differences in microbiota composition. Total bacterial counts/g of stool and raw counts of Bacteroides were increased in AA. In contrast to a previous study, BMI was not associated with proportions of Bacteroides. CONCLUSION: Dietary habits of African Americans, including increased HCA intake and decreased vitamin D intake might at least partially contribute to CRC through modifications of gut microbiota composition that result in changes of the intestinal milieu.

To determine possible age differences in muscle damage response to strength training, ultrastructural muscle damage was assessed in seven 20- to 30-yr-old and six 65- to 75-yr-old previously sedentary women after heavy-resistance strength training (HRST). Subjects performed unilateral knee-extension exercise 3 days/wk for 9 wk. Bilateral muscle biopsies from the vastus lateralis were assessed for muscle damage via electron microscopy. HRST resulted in a 38 and 25% increase in strength in the young and older women, respectively (P < 0.05), but there were no between-group differences. In the young women, 2-4% of muscle fibers exhibited damage before and after training in both the trained and untrained legs (P = not significant). In contrast, muscle damage increased significantly after HRST, from 5 to 17% of fibers damaged (P < 0.01), in the older women in the trained leg compared with only 2 and 5% of fibers damaged in the untrained leg before and after training, respectively. The present results indicate that older women exhibit higher levels of muscle damage after chronic HRST than do young women.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the possible influences of age and gender on muscle volume responses to strength training (ST). DESIGN: Prospective intervention study. SETTING: University of Maryland Exercise Science and Wellness Research Laboratories. PARTICIPANTS: Eight young men (age 20-30 years), six young women (age 20-30 years), nine older men (age 65-75 years), and ten older women (age 65-75 years). INTERVENTION: A 6-month whole-body ST program that exercised all major muscle groups of the upper and lower body 3 days/week. MEASUREMENTS: Thigh and quadriceps muscle volumes and mid-thigh muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) were assessed by magnetic resonance imaging before and after the ST program. RESULTS: Thigh and quadriceps muscle volume increased significantly in all age and gender groups as a result of ST (P < .001), with no significant differences between the groups. Modest correlations were observed between both the change in quadriceps versus the change in total thigh muscle volume (r = 0.65; P < .001) and the change in thigh muscle volume versus the change in mid-thigh CSA (r = 0.76, P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that neither age nor gender affects muscle volume response to whole-body ST. Muscle volume, rather than muscle CSA, is recommended for studying muscle mass responses to ST.

An international association advancing the multidisciplinary study of informing systems. Founded in 1998, the Informing Science Institute (ISI) is a global community of academics shaping the future of informing science.

This study assesses the effect of spouse and marital relationship characteristics on labor force withdrawal. The authors further explore differences between husbands’ and wives’ retirement. The analyses are based on two waves of the National Survey of Families and Households. Marital characteristics influence retirement decisions in several ways and contribute significantly to model fit. Husbands adjust their retirement in terms of wives’ benefit eligibility, whereas wives’ retirement is contingent on the couple’s income. Husbands also tend to leave the labor force when their wives are ill. In addition, retirement decisions seem to reflect considerations about postretirement marital quality and husband’s status in the marriage. Gender differences prevail with regard to the impact of work and marital history on retirement decisions.