University of Rhode Island

Background Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales are a CDC urgent threat and need effective free drug concentrations at sites of infection such as epithelial lining fluid (ELF) for pneumonia. Therefore, it’s the goal of this study to compare efficacy of meropenem serum and ELF concentrations while measuring for susceptibility changes in a five day in-vitro pharmacodynamic model. Methods An AmpC β-lactamase producing E. cloacae with porin mutations and a meropenem minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 2μg/mL was used to make a starting model inoculum of 6 log10 CFU/mL. One compartment in vitro pharmacodynamic models were run in triplicate, with inflow media set to the antibiotic half-life of 1.5 hours. Samples were taken from models for CFU/mL counts at 0, 6, 8, 24, 32, 48, 72, 96, and 120 hours with a limit of detection 2 log10 CFU/mL. Antibiotic target peak concentrations for serum was 26.6 μg/mL (71% T >MIC) to emulate free drug concentrations in patients at steady state receiving 2g every 8 hours. For ELF simulation, we targeted concentrations of 17.3μg/mL (58% T >MIC) to reflect ELF to unbound drug in plasma ratio of 0.65. MICs for susceptibility changes were determined via E-test, with samples from models at 24, 48, 72, 96, 120 hours being compared to 0-hour MICs. Bactericidal activity was defined as ≥3 log10 CFU/mL reduction in colony counts from the initial inoculum. CFU/mL counts were compared via t-test and p-values of ≤0.05 were considered significant. Meropenem Target Concentrations Targeted concentrations to simulate percent time of unbound meropenem in serum and ELF above the MIC Results Serum targeted models reached the limit of detection by 24 hours with bactericidal activity through 96 hours (p< 0.05). At 120 hours, bacterial regrowth occurred in 2/3 models but was not accompanied by increased MICs (MIC=0.5μg/mL). ELF targeted models reached the limit of detection by 48 hours for 2/3 models and had significant bactericidal activity through 72 hours (p< 0.05). Regrowth occurred at 96 hours through 120 hours and was accompanied by heterogenous resistant sub-populations (MIC shifts from 2 to 4 and to >32μg/mL). The heterogenous colony formation was first seen at 24 hours in ELF models. Meropenem Antibacterial Activity against E. cloacae Meropenem dosing simulating serum concentrations in sick patients at steady state and in ELF Conclusion With both meropenem targeted concentrations above recommended 40% T >MIC, there was bacterial regrowth. Target site concentrations should be considered as a contributing factor to treatment failure and resistance development. Disclosures jason M. Pogue, PharmD, AbbVie: Advisor/Consultant|Entasis: Advisor/Consultant|Ferring: Advisor/Consultant|GSK: Advisor/Consultant|Merck: Advisor/Consultant|Merck: Grant/Research Support|Qpex: Advisor/Consultant|Shionogi: Advisor/Consultant Kerry L. LaPlante, Pharm.D., FCCP, FIDSA, FIDP, Abbive: Advisor/Consultant|Abbive: Grant/Research Support|Ferring: Advisor/Consultant|Gilead: Grant/Research Support|Melinta: Advisor/Consultant|Merck: Grant/Research Support|NIH: Grant/Research Support|Pfizer: Grant/Research Support|Seres: Advisor/Consultant|Shionogi inc.: Grant/Research Support|VA-HR&D: Grant/Research Support

Background Automated text message service reminders have been shown to increase show-up rates in outpatient practices. Furthermore, automated telephone call service reminders also decrease the no-show rates; however, no-show rates have decreased even further when telephone call reminders were done by health-care personnel. We sought to demonstrate the benefit of telephone call reminders done by clinic staff when added to the automated call reminders on improving show-up rates. Methods This was a quality improvement project, which was conducted by performing prospective data collection from our outpatient Infectious Diseases (ID) practice between May 2021 and May 2022. The outpatient ID practice served a 359-bed community hospital. There were two providers in the ID practice. The automated call reminder system was utilized for all patients’ visits. Starting November 2021, our medical assistant performed a telephone call reminder one day prior to the visit. We compared the rates of no-shows between May 2021 to November 2021 to those between November 2021 and May 2022 Results In a period of 6 months, there were 277 patients scheduled for outpatient visits. The automated call reminders were being utilized routinely. There were 18 patients (7.93%) who did not present to the scheduled appointments. In the following 7 months, after incorporating staff reminder calls, 21 of 321 scheduled patients (6.54%) did not show up to the visits. There was a decrease of 1.39 % in the no-show rate after the staff call implementation (P-value of 1). The No-show rate was different between the two providers. No-show rate decreased from 6.76% to 5.68% for provider A (P-value: 0.8), compared to a decrease from 10.13% to 7.59% for provider B (P-value: 0.6). Conclusion When done one day prior to the appointment, staff-performed call reminders did not improve show-up rates when added to the automated call reminders in the Infectious Diseases outpatient practice. Further studies are needed to evaluate the impact of adding staff-performed call reminders at a different interval from the scheduled appointments. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures

Family partnerships should be a central component of teacher preparation. Although research provides family engagement strategies, little research offers teacher educators guidance from the perspectives of families themselves. The purpose of this convergent mixed-method study was to begin to fill the void in the literature by investigating family perspectives of theirs and their children’s experience in 10 reading clinic/literacy lab literacy specialist preparation programs across the United States and Canada. Through analysis of survey ratings ( N = 132) and responses to structured interviews to ( N = 84), this study found that families valued clinic/lab tutors building relationships with them, responding to their children’s strengths and needs, promoting self-efficacy, and working together as partners. Methods used in this study can provide a useful model for how teacher educators can intentionally seek input from families. Findings have implications for teacher educators advocating for and centering family engagement in teacher preparation.

A light breeze rising over calm water initiates an intricate chain of events that culminates in a centimetres-deep turbulent shear layer capped by gravity–capillary ripples. At first, viscous stress accelerates a laminar wind-drift layer until small surface ripples appear. The surface ripples then catalyse the growth of a second instability in the wind-drift layer, which eventually sharpens into along-wind jets and downwelling plumes, before devolving into three-dimensional turbulence. In this paper, we compare laboratory experiments with simplified, wave-averaged numerical simulations of wind-drift layer evolution beneath monochromatic, constant-amplitude surface ripples seeded with random initial perturbations. Despite their simplicity, our simulations reproduce many aspects of the laboratory-based observations – including the growth, nonlinear development and turbulent breakdown the wave-catalysed instability – generally validating our wave-averaged model. But we also find that the simulated development of the wind-drift layer is disturbingly sensitive to the amplitude of the prescribed surface wave field, such that agreement is achieved through suspiciously careful tuning of the ripple amplitude. As a result of this sensitivity, we conclude that wave-averaged models should really describe the coupled evolution of the surface waves together with the flow beneath to be regarded as truly ‘predictive’.

Environmental pollution is a serious global issue that threatens public health and the well-being of living beings. Unmatched pollution in aquatic ecosystems necessitates environmentally acceptable, long-term remedial technologies. One of the most effective strategies among the numerous ones implemented so far for environmental remediation is phytoremediation. It is a low-cost, eco-friendly, and long-term method which uses hyperaccumulator plants to convert and/or stabilize the pollutants in soil/water matrices. In recent years, aquatic macrophytes have gained significant attention in the field of environmental cleanup. Aquatic macrophytes are the key component of wetlands that have a substantial impression on ecosystem functions and services. This chapter gives an overview of the aquatic macrophytes and outlines the recent progress made in the use of macrophytes for the remediation of various organic contaminants. In addition, artificial wetlands, their types, and their role in wastewater treatment have been discussed.

While prior studies investigate the consequences of globalization, there remains a notable gap in understanding the market efficiency implications associated with globalization-induced import competition. Through the lens of asset pricing, we explore the financial market consequences of import competition exposure (ICE) and find a dark side of globalization. Consistent with the managerial objectives theory, we show that ICE is associated with high cash flow volatility, information asymmetry, and firm uncertainty. Moreover, ICE is positively related to limits-to-arbitrage (LTA), market inefficiencies such as holding and transactions costs. We find that domestic firms with higher ICE earn larger stock return premiums than those with lower exposure and, consistent with the limits-to-arbitrage theory, we demonstrate that LTA play a positive moderating role in the ICE premium. The use of a natural experiment in our analyses provides additional robust support of our hypotheses. Our findings impact both portfolio management decisions and how firms should incorporate the ICE premium into their cost of capital. A key implication is that firms exposed to import competition should prioritize transparency (such as disseminate highly readable disclosures) in order to diminish information asymmetry and limits-to-arbitrage, which would consequently reduce their associated ICE premium.

Introduction Executive function deficits and adverse psychological outcomes are common in youth with congenital heart disease (CHD) or born preterm. Association white matter bundles play a critical role in higher order cognitive and emotional functions and alterations to their microstructural organization may result in adverse neuropsychological functioning. This study aimed to examine the relationship of myelination and axon density and orientation alterations within association bundles with executive functioning, psychosocial well‐being, and resilience in youth with CHD or born preterm. Methods Youth aged 16 to 26 years born with complex CHD or preterm at ≤33 weeks of gestational age and healthy controls completed a brain MRI and self‐report assessments of executive functioning, psychosocial well‐being, and resilience. Multicomponent driven equilibrium single‐pulse observation of T1 and T2 and neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging were used to calculate average myelin water fraction (MWF), neurite density index (NDI), and orientation dispersion index values for eight bilateral association bundles. The relationships of bundle‐average metrics with neuropsychological outcomes were explored with linear regression and mediation analyses. Results In the CHD group, lower MWF in several bundles was associated with poorer working memory and behavioral self‐monitoring and mediated self‐monitoring deficits relative to controls. In the preterm group, lower NDI in several bundles was associated with poorer emotional control and lower MWF in the left superior longitudinal fasciculus III mediated planning/organizing deficits relative to controls. No significant relationships were observed for psychosocial well‐being or resilience. Conclusion The findings of this study suggest that microstructural alterations to association bundles, including lower myelination and axon density, have different relationships with executive functioning in youth with CHD and youth born preterm. Future studies should aim to characterize other neurobiological, social, and environmental influences that may interact with white matter microstructure and neuropsychological functioning in these at‐risk individuals.

Autonomous sensors for gravitational carbon flux in the ocean are critically needed, because of uncertainties in the projected response of the biological carbon pump (BCP) to climate change, and the proposed, engineered acceleration of the BCP to sequester carbon dioxide in the ocean. Optical sediment trap (OST) sensors directly sense fluxes of sinking particles in a manner that is independent of, and complementary to, other autonomous, sensor‐derived estimates of BCP fluxes. However, limited intercalibrations of OSTs with traditional sediment traps and uncharacterized, potential biases have limited their broad adoption. A global field data set spanning three orders of magnitude in carbon flux was compiled and used to develop empirical models predicting particulate organic carbon flux from OST observations, and intercalibrating different sensor designs. These data provided valuable constraints on the uncertainty in the predicted carbon flux and showed a quantitative, theoretically consistent relationship between observations from OSTs with collimated and diffuse optical geometries. While not designed for this purpose, commercial beam transmissometers have been used as OSTs, so two models were developed quantifying the biases arising from the transmissometer's housing geometry and optical beam diameter. Finally, an algorithm for the quality control of beam transmissometer‐derived OST data was optimized using sensitivity tests. The results of this study support the expansion of OST‐based gravitational carbon flux measurements and provide a framework for interpretation of OST measurements alongside other gravitational particle flux observations. These findings also suggest key features that should be included in designs of future, purpose‐built OST sensors.

Environmental DNA (eDNA) has risen in popularity as a genetically-based method to enumerate species in natural ecosystems, and it is well positioned to be integrated into biodiversity monitoring and conservation initiatives. While the field has made great strides in methodological development, it has largely avoided discussion of its potential inequitable social outcomes. In this paper, we argue that the social asymmetries of eDNA are under-addressed precisely because of how it is framed and valued by powerful actors who may benefit from the technology’s proliferation. We use a framework of representational rhetorics to articulate the discursive process by which the biodiversity crisis is distilled into problems of data-deficiency and inefficiency in scientific articles such that eDNA offers the exact corresponding technological solution. This framing helps justify eDNA’s implementation in local, global, and corporate spheres, despite the methodology’s uncertainties and limitations. It may also enable future inequitable outcomes through sidelining other forms of biodiversity knowledge and enclosing biodiversity information through processes of genetic commodification and privatization. We engage with critiques of neoliberal conservation, big data, and (biodiversity) genomics made by political ecologists and feminist science and technology studies scholars to help reorient the eDNA field towards more equity-oriented discursive practices and implementations.

In the Iron Age IIA Philistine cemetery at Ashkelon (modern Israel), roughly 11% of individuals exhibit severe and highly variable dental wear, which we explore here at two timescales: wear that accumulates over days and weeks (microwear) and wear that accumulates over months and years (macrowear). Using teeth from both adult and nonadult individuals, we first established categories of dental macrowear patterns and sorted individuals within them. We then made replicas of the teeth from 27 individuals having both typical and atypical dental wear and performed metrology by noncontact profilometry on a reflected light microscope. We then calculated each tooth's surface roughness (Sa) and collected qualitative observations of teeth within each macrowear category. Our findings show no macrowear or microwear pattern exclusive to sex or age group. Likewise, there are no statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) in Sa between adult males and females, and sampled nonadults fall within two standard deviations of the pooled adult means. The microscopic surfaces of all teeth show a wide variety of textures on the occlusal surfaces, including wavy striations, deep parallel striations, globular pitting, and newly described rectangular pits. These results indicate that individuals used their teeth as a third hand while manipulating objects and that children also participated in these activities. Due to the similarities in dental wear between Ashkelon and other coastal populations, we conclude that the observed wear patterns arose from the performance of specialized tasks for a marine-based economy. K E Y W O R D S ancient near east, coastal communities, dental microwear analysis, macrowear

This qualitative phenomenological study used Harro’s (1997) Cycle of Socialization framework to explore how Latino men made meaning of their undergraduate experiences in relation to their sense of masculine gender identity. The findings center on the socialization of Latino masculine gender identity through familial norms and expectations, navigating student success challenges in relation to a learned aversion to asking for help, and developing a sense of liberation through an unlearning of masculine gender norms. This study provides implications for practice and research to advance support for undergraduate Latino men students through the study of the socializing role of the Latino family, a deeper integration of the Latino family into the undergraduate experiences of Latino men, and the support of Latino men through tailored peer-mentoring based programming.

Northern high-latitude lakes are critical sites for carbon processing and serve as potential conduits for the emission of permafrost-derived carbon and greenhouse gases. However, the fate and emission pathways of permafrost carbon in these systems remain highly uncertain. Here, we used the natural abundance of radiocarbon to identify and trace the predominant sources of methane, carbon dioxide, dissolved inorganic and organic carbon in nine lakes within the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge in interior Alaska, a discontinuous permafrost region with high landscape heterogeneity and susceptibility to climate, permafrost, and hydrological changes. We find that while Yukon Flats lakes primarily process young carbon (modern to 1,290 ± 60 years before present), permafrost-derived carbon is present in some of the sampled lakes and contributes, at most, 30 ± 10% of the dissolved carbon in lake surface waters. Apportionment of young carbon and legacy carbon (carbon with radiocarbon age ≥ 5,000 yrs before present) is decoupled among the dissolved inorganic and organic carbon species, with methane showing a stronger legacy signature. Our observations suggest that permafrost-thaw-related transport of carbon through Yukon Flats lacustrine ecosystems and into the atmosphere is small, and likely regulated by surficial sediments, permafrost distribution, wildfire occurrence, or masked by contemporary carbon processes. The heterogeneity of lakes across our study area and northern landscapes more broadly cautions against using any one region (e.g., Yedoma permafrost lakes) to upscale their contribution across the pan-Arctic.

Several software packages are available for the analysis of proteomic LC-MS/MS data, including commercial (e.g. Mascot/Progenesis LC-MS) and open access software (e.g. MaxQuant). In this study, Progenesis and MaxQuant were...

Palmer amaranth ( Amaranthus palmeri S. Watson) is the most problematic weed of cotton cropping systems in the Southeast US. Heavy reliance on herbicides has selected for resistance to multiple herbicide mechanisms of action. Effective management of this weed may require the integration of cultural practices that limit germination, establishment, and growth. Cover crops have been promoted as a cultural practice that targets these processes. We conducted a two-year study in Georgia, USA, to measure the effects of two annual cover crops (cereal rye [ Secale cereale L.] and crimson clover ( Trifolium incarnatum L.), a perennial living mulch (Durana ® white clover, ( Trifolium repens L.), and a bare ground control on A. palmeri population dynamics. The study was conducted in the absence of herbicides. Growth stages were integrated into a basic demographic model to evaluate differences in population trajectories. Cereal rye treatments suppressed weed seedling recruitment (seedlings seed ⁻¹ ) by 19.2 and 13 times, and living mulch 12 and 25 times more than the bare ground control. Low recruitment was correlated positively with low light transmission (above canopy PAR/below cover crop PAR) at the soil surface. Low recruitment rates were also negatively correlated with high survival rates. Greater survival rates and reduced adult plant densities resulted in greater biomass (g plant ⁻¹ ) and fecundity (seeds plant ⁻¹ ) in cereal rye and living mulch treatments in both years. The annual rate of population change (seeds seed ⁻¹ ) was equivalent across all treatments in the first year but was greater in the living mulch treatment in the second year. Our results highlight the potential of annual cover crops and living mulches for suppressing A. palmeri seedling recruitment and would be valuable tools as part of an integrated weed management strategy.

Purpose A majority of individuals living in the United States do not meet recommended physical activity guidelines, despite the numerous physical and mental health benefits. Previous research suggests there are numerous barriers to performing physical activity, but there is less research on how these barriers cluster together; particularly in non-clinical samples. Methods Data for this study were collected from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk) and undergraduate students (n = 500 and 720, respectively). Participants completed questionnaires on barriers to physical activity and physical activity performance. Results Latent class analysis suggested three classes of barriers (low, medium, high) in both samples. Work commitments, a lack of time, disability or injury, and other priorities cited as the main barriers in the medium and high barriers classes. Conclusion A lack of time is frequently cited as a common barrier in this study and the extant literature. Future research may want to focus on time-efficient physical activity programs to reduce this barrier.

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), the top genetic cause of infant mortality, is characterized by motor neuron degeneration. Mechanisms underlying SMA pathogenesis remain largely unknown. Here, we report that the activity of cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) and the conversion of its activating subunit p35 to the more potent activator p25 are significantly up-regulated in mouse models and human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) models of SMA. The increase of Cdk5 activity occurs before the onset of SMA phenotypes, suggesting that it may be an initiator of the disease. Importantly, aberrant Cdk5 activation causes mitochondrial defects and motor neuron degeneration, as the genetic knockout of p35 in an SMA mouse model rescues mitochondrial transport and fragmentation defects, and alleviates SMA phenotypes including motor neuron hyperexcitability, loss of excitatory synapses, neuromuscular junction denervation, and motor neuron degeneration. Inhibition of the Cdk5 signaling pathway reduces the degeneration of motor neurons derived from SMA mice and human SMA iPSCs. Altogether, our studies reveal a critical role for the aberrant activation of Cdk5 in SMA pathogenesis and suggest a potential target for therapeutic intervention.

Foraging decisions shape the structure of food webs. Therefore, a behavioural shift in a single species can potentially modify resource‐flow dynamics of entire ecosystems. To examine this, we conducted a field experiment to assess foraging niche dynamics of semi‐arboreal brown anole lizards in the presence/absence of predatory ground‐dwelling curly‐tailed lizards in a replicated set of island ecosystems. One year after experimental translocation, brown anoles exposed to these predators had drastically increased perch height and reduced consumption of marine‐derived food resources. This foraging niche shift altered marine‐to‐terrestrial resource‐flow dynamics and persisted in the diets of the first‐generation offspring. Furthermore, female lizards that displayed more risk‐taking behaviours consumed more marine prey on islands with predators present. Our results show how predator‐driven rapid behavioural shifts can alter food‐web connectivity between oceanic and terrestrial ecosystems and underscore the importance of studying behaviour‐mediated niche shifts to understand ecosystem functioning in rapidly changing environments.

The extent and ecological significance of intraspecific functional diversity within marine microbial populations is still poorly understood, and it remains unclear if such strain-level microdiversity will affect fitness and persistence in a rapidly changing ocean environment. In this study, we cultured 11 sympatric strains of the ubiquitous marine picocyanobacterium Synechococcus isolated from a Narragansett Bay (RI) phytoplankton community thermal selection experiment. Thermal performance curves revealed selection at cool and warm temperatures had subdivided the initial population into thermotypes with pronounced differences in maximum growth temperatures. Curiously, the genomes of all 11 isolates were almost identical (average nucleotide identities of >99.99%, with >99% of the genome aligning) and no differences in gene content or single nucleotide variants were associated with either cool or warm temperature phenotypes. Despite a very high level of genomic similarity, sequenced epigenomes for two strains showed differences in methylation on genes associated with photosynthesis. These corresponded to measured differences in photophysiology, suggesting a potential pathway for future mechanistic research into thermal microdiversity. Our study demonstrates that present-day marine microbial populations can harbor cryptic but environmentally relevant thermotypes which may increase their resilience to future rising temperatures.