4,001 results match your criteria: "University of Maine.[Affiliation]"

Models to predict perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) concentrations in livestock based on soil concentrations are essential to guide decisions surrounding food testing and farm management. A key parameter in modeling soil-to-livestock exposure pathways is the plant transfer factor (TF) from soil into forages. Uptake of PFOS and other individual per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) were examined in perennial mixed grasses and legumes on PFAS-contaminated farm fields.

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  • Farmers are changing the crops they grow to adapt to new environmental and market conditions, which is called crop switching.
  • This study looks at how often and where crop switching happens in the United States using detailed data from 2008 to 2022.
  • They found that crop switching is more common in diverse and less farmed areas but less common in highly uniform farming regions, showing that farmers’ choices depend on different factors across the country.
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  • Caffeic acid, a phenolic compound found in coffee and various fruits and vegetables, is recognized for its antioxidant benefits and is commonly used as a dietary supplement in multiple forms.
  • The review paper discusses how caffeic acid displays hormetic effects, which means it can stimulate or inhibit biological responses depending on the concentration used, impacting processes related to aging.
  • The authors analyze existing biomedical literature on caffeic acid's hormetic responses, discuss their potential implications for health, and suggest areas for future research.
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Analysis of soft rot population diversity in US potato growing regions between 2015 and 2022.

Front Microbiol

September 2024

Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology Section, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States.

Introduction: Soft rot (SRP) bacteria are globally dispersed pathogens that cause significant economic loss in potato and other crops. Our understanding of the SRP species diversity has expanded in recent years due to advances and adoption of whole-genome sequence technologies. There are currently 34 recognized SRP species that belong to the and genera.

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Muscle cells become stronger by expanding myofibrils, the chains of sarcomeres that produce contraction. Here we investigate how Mylpf (Myosin Light Chain Phosphorylatable Fast) abundance impacts myofibril assembly in fast-twitch muscle. The two zebrafish Mylpf genes ( and ) are exclusively expressed in fast-twitch muscle.

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Diversity increases toward the tropics, but the strength of this pattern diverges with thermoregulatory strategy. Synthesizing over 30,000 species distributions, we quantified patterns of richness in terrestrial vertebrates, and present evidence for a latitudinal gradient of community composition. We observe a two orders of magnitude shift in comparative diversity with temperature, from endothermic mammal and avian dominance near the poles, toward ectothermic reptile and amphibian majority in the tropics.

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Exploiting the Properties of Non-Wood Feedstocks to Produce Tailorable Lignin-Containing Cellulose Nanofibers.

Polymers (Basel)

September 2024

Manufacturing Science Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1 Bethel Valley Rd., Oak Ridge, TN 37830, USA.

Lignin-containing cellulose nanofibrils (LCNFs) are mainly produced commercially from treated wood pulp, which can decrease some of the carbon-negative benefits of utilizing biomass feedstock. In this work, LCNFs are prepared from non-wood feedstocks, including agricultural residues such as hemp, wheat straw, and flax. These feedstocks allowed for the preparation of LCNFs with a variety of properties, including tailored hydrophobicity.

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Canopy foliar traits serve as crucial indicators of plant health and productivity, forming a vital link between plant conditions and ecosystem dynamics. In this study, the use of hyperspectral data and foliar traits for white pine needle damage (WPND) detection was investigated for the first time. Eastern White Pine ( L.

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The healthcare industry continues to experience high rates of burnout, turnover, and staffing shortages that erode quality care. Interventions that are feasible, engaging, and impactful are needed to improve cultures of support and mitigate harm from exposure to morally injurious events. This quality improvement project encompassed the methodical building, implementation, and testing of RECONN (Reflection and Connection), an organizational intervention designed by an interdisciplinary team to mitigate the impact of moral injury and to increase social support among nurses.

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Little impact of new mutations on mammalian trait variation.

PLoS Biol

September 2024

The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine, United States of America.

Article Synopsis
  • New mutations are the main source of genetic variation, but their role in influencing traits isn't fully clear.
  • A recent study in PLOS Biology explores this issue, specifically in mice.
  • The findings indicate that new mutations tend to have only a minimal impact on certain traits.
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Structural genomic variation and behavioral interactions underpin a balanced sexual mimicry polymorphism.

Curr Biol

October 2024

Department of Biology, Stanford University, 327 Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Centro de Investigaciones Científicas de las Huastecas "Aguazarca" A.C., 16 de Septiembre, 392 Barrio Aguazarca, Calnali, Hidalgo 43240, México; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 327 Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. Electronic address:

How phenotypic diversity originates and persists within populations are classic puzzles in evolutionary biology. While balanced polymorphisms segregate within many species, it remains rare for both the genetic basis and the selective forces to be known, leading to an incomplete understanding of many classes of traits under balancing selection. Here, we uncover the genetic architecture of a balanced sexual mimicry polymorphism and identify behavioral mechanisms that may be involved in its maintenance in the swordtail fish Xiphophorus birchmanni.

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Despite the growing body of research suggesting certain pedagogical approaches that can support student well-being, higher education has not fully embraced these approaches and typically still does not view well-being as a high priority in comparison with other metrics such as retention or GPA. Here, we contend that universities must play an active role in supporting lifelong well-being in their student populations by expanding their definitions of student success and providing opportunities and programs that support elements related to well-being. We propose a student well-being nexus, which comprises a sense of belonging, agency, purpose, identity, civic engagement, and financial well-being.

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Understanding the relationship between intraspecific trait variability (ITV) and its biotic and abiotic drivers is crucial for advancing population and community ecology. Despite its importance, there is a lack of guidance on how to effectively sample ITV and reduce bias in the resulting inferences. In this study, we explored how sample size affects the estimation of population-level ITV, and how the distribution of sample sizes along an environmental gradient (i.

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Immature oocytes enclosed in primordial follicles stored in female ovaries are under constant threat of DNA damage induced by endogenous and exogenous factors. Checkpoint kinase 2 (CHEK2) is a key mediator of the DNA damage response (DDR) in all cells. Genetic studies have shown that CHEK2 and its downstream targets, p53, and TAp63, regulate primordial follicle elimination in response to DNA damage.

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Feature-based molecular networking (FBMN) is a popular analysis approach for liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry-based non-targeted metabolomics data. While processing liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry data through FBMN is fairly streamlined, downstream data handling and statistical interrogation are often a key bottleneck. Especially users new to statistical analysis struggle to effectively handle and analyze complex data matrices.

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Objective: Cognitive function may contribute to variability in older adults' ability to cope with chronic stress; however, limited research has evaluated this relationship. This study investigated the relationship between theoretically derived coping domains and cognitive function in 165 middle-to-older adults during the Omicron stage of COVID-19.

Method: Participants completed a clinical interview and self-report measures of health.

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  • Successful computer simulations of vocal fold oscillation are being refined to better account for asymmetric vibrations and complex contact patterns.
  • Two methods were used in the study: a high-fidelity computational model and physical model pressure measurements, focusing on normal vibration modes of the vocal folds.
  • The results revealed diverse pressure distributions on vocal folds, revealing that simplified models may not accurately represent the complexity of airflow in cases with multiple contact points.
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Calpains Orchestrate Secretion of Annexin-containing Microvesicles during Membrane Repair.

bioRxiv

September 2024

Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, United States.

Microvesicles (MVs) are membrane-enclosed, plasma membrane-derived particles released by cells from all branches of life. MVs have utility as disease biomarkers and may participate in intercellular communication; however, physiological processes that induce their secretion are not known. Here, we isolate and characterize annexin-containing MVs and show that these vesicles are secreted in response to the calcium influx caused by membrane damage.

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Cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) have theoretically ideal properties for bio-based composite applications; however, the incorporation of these materials into polymers is made challenging by the strong binding of water to CNFs and the irreversible agglomeration of CNFs during drying. Previous methods used "contact dewatering", wherein the addition of wood flour (WF) to CNFs facilitated the mechanical removal of water from the system via cold pressing, which showed potential in producing dried CNF fibrils attached to wood fibers for biocomposite applications. In this work, the viability of contact dewatering with poly(lactic) acid (PLA) powder for PLA/CNF composites was evaluated.

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Nurse Practitioner Education: Recommending Theories and Frameworks for Simulation-Based Experiences and Research.

J Prof Nurs

September 2024

University of Maine School of Nursing, 168 College Avenue, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, United States of America. Electronic address:

Simulation-based education is an evidence-based strategy to address learning and evaluation of outcomes in the updated American Association of Colleges of Nursing Essentials. Currently, there is a dearth of rigorous research on nurse practitioner education simulation. Studies on the topic often neglect a sound theoretical or conceptual framework beyond the National League of Nursing Jeffries Simulation Theory.

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A cochlear progenitor pool influences patterning of the mammalian sensory epithelium via MYBL2.

Development

September 2024

Graduate School of Biomedical Science and Engineering, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA.

During embryonic development, Wnt signaling influences both proliferation and sensory formation in the cochlea. How this dual nature of Wnt signaling is coordinated is unknown. In this study, we define a novel role for a Wnt-regulated gene, Mybl2, which was already known to be important for proliferation, in determining the size and patterning of the sensory epithelium in the murine cochlea.

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Magnitude of obesity alone does not alter the alveolar lipidome.

Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol

November 2024

Department of Medicine, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, United States.

Obesity may lead to pulmonary dysfunction through complex and incompletely understood cellular and biochemical effects. Altered lung lipid metabolism has been identified as a potential mechanism of lung dysfunction in obesity. Although murine models of obesity demonstrate changes in pulmonary surfactant phospholipid composition and function, data in humans are lacking.

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Understanding speeding behavior on interstate horizontal curves and ramps using networkwide probe data.

J Safety Res

September 2024

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, United States. Electronic address:

Introduction: Lane departure collisions account for many roadway fatalities across the United States. Many of these crashes occur on horizontal curves or ramps and are due to speeding. This research investigates factors that impact the odds of speeding on Interstate horizontal curves and ramps.

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Purpose: To use neural network machine learning (ML) models to identify the most relevant ocular biomarkers for the diagnosis of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG).

Methods: Neural network models, also known as multi-layer perceptrons (MLPs), were trained on a prospectively collected observational dataset comprised of 93 glaucoma patients confirmed by a glaucoma specialist and 113 control subjects. The base model used only intraocular pressure, blood pressure, heart rate, and visual field (VF) parameters to diagnose glaucoma.

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