Academic literature on the topic 'Woodstock (n.y.)'

Alterations of gut microbiota, intestinal barrier and the gut-brain axis may be involved in pathophysiology of functional gastrointestinal disorders. Our aim was to assess the prevalence of digestive tract symptoms and identify common variables potentially disrupting the gut-brain axis among participants of the Woodstock Festival Poland, 2017. In total 428 people filled in a questionnaire assessing health of their digestive tract. The investigator collected answers on an electronic device, while the study participant responded using a paper version of the same questionnaire. Liver and gallbladder related symptoms were the most prevalent among our study group (n = 266, 62%), however symptoms related to altered intestinal permeability were found to be the most intensive complaints. In females the intensity of gastrointestinal complaints was higher compared to men (p < 0.05), as well as the incidence of factors with the potential to alter gut-brain axis (p < 0.0001). Chronic psychological distress, intake of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and antibiotics, were the most common associations with gastrointestinal symptoms, which were the most prevalent in females. Further attention should be focused on stress as one of the main factors negatively influencing public health.

Background & Aims: Functional gastrointestinal disorders are prevalent worldwide and alterations of gutbrain axis and intestinal barrier integrity may play a pivotal role in both the pathophysiology and clinical course of these bowel malfunctions. We aimed to assess the prevalence of abdominal pain in a selected adult population of Poland to determine potential environmental factors associated with gastrointestinal complaints.Methods: There were 1479 individuals – 657 women (44.42%) and 822 men (55.58%), aged 24.20±6.08 years. The responders fulfilled an authors’ questionnaire based on Rome II and III criteria focused on the abdominal pain prevalence and environmental factors involved in its occurrence.Results: The frequency of abdominal pain was found to be as high as 19.2%. Male gender (n=822) and basic education level (n=151) lowered the risk of abdominal pain occurrence (OR=0.7, p<0.012 and OR=0.5, p<0.021, respectively). Psychological distress, proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and antibiotics usage were found as risk factors of abdominal pain (OR=2.503, p<0.01; OR=3.308, p<0.01; OR=3.105, p<0.01, respectively).Conclusions: Abdominal pain is prevalent in young adult inhabitants of Poland, especially in women. Intense psychological stress, as well as PPIs and antibiotics usage elevate the risk.

Abstract The Middleton Place Summerville Seismic Zone (MPSSZ), located about 20 km northwest of Charleston is the most active seismic zone in South Carolina. Between 1980 and 1991, 58 events with Md 0.8 to 3.3 were recorded in MPSSZ. They lie in a diffuse area of 11 km by 14 km of which over two-thirds are located in a narrow 5 km by 6-km zone. The hypocentral depths range from 2 to 11 km with over 90% deeper than 4 km. Single fault plane solutions were obtained for 35 events. Based on the focal mechanisms the earthquakes were grouped into five subsets. The mean P-axis of all fault plane solutions is oriented N63°E, in general agreement with the direction of SHmax obtained from in situ stress measurements. Of the 35 events, 18 are associated with reverse faulting on NW - SE striking and SW dipping fault planes. These events were inferred to be associated with the Ashley River fault zone, which is not a planar feature, but is composed of short segments of varying strikes (N20°W to N70°W) and dips (40° to 70°SW). Eleven events were associated with strike-slip motion on NNE - SSW striking vertical faults and with thrust faulting on N - S oriented faults dipping to the west, respectively. These two sets are identified as being parts of the Woodstock fault zone. The concentrated zone of seismicity included events associated with both the ARF and WF zones suggesting that it is at the intersection of these two fault zones.

Hemophilia is an X-linked bleeding disorder caused by a deficiency in clotting factor VIII (FVIII)(hemophilia A, HA) or factor IX (FIX)(hemophilia B, HB). While early clinical trials of AAV delivery of FIX for HB have demonstrated stable FIX expression for &gt;8 years, an ongoing clinical trial of AAV-FVIII delivery for HA achieved high levels of transgene expression that unexpectedly declined after 1 year. Here we describe preclinical studies of AAV-canine FVIII (cFVIII) delivery in nine HA dogs with sustained FVIII expression for the duration of the study, as long as 10 years. FVIII was delivered using two delivery approaches: (1) co-administration of two AAV vectors encoding separate cFVIII heavy and light chains driven by the thyroxine binding globulin (TBG) promoter (Two chain approach)(TC) (n=5) at two AAV doses (2.5 x 1013vg/kg; F24, Woodstock, J60) and (1.2 x 1013vg/kg; Linus, H19) or (2) delivery of cFVIII as a single chain driven by the human alpha-1 anti-trypsin (hAAT) promoter (Single chain approach)(SC)(n=4) at two AAV doses (4 x 1013 vg/kg; M50, M06) and (2 x 1013vg/kg; M66, L51) (Sabatino 2011). We demonstrated that both strategies were efficacious; preventing &gt;95% of spontaneous bleeding episodes without toxicity. We now report the long-term follow-up of between 2.2 and 10.1 years for these treated dogs. Dose-dependent cFVIII:C (Coatest SP4 FVIII) was observed. At the final time point, the cFVIII:C was 2.7% (F24), 7.1% (Woodstock), 4.5% (J60), 11.3% (Linus) and 2.5% (H19) for TC dogs. For the SC dogs, the cFVIII:C was 9.4% (M06), 10.3% (M50), 1.9% (L51) and 3.7% (M66). Stable FVIII expression was maintained for seven of the dogs over the course of the study. Two dogs (Linus, M50) had a gradual increase in FVIII:C that began about three years after vector administration and continued for an additional seven years (Linus) and four years (M50), until the termination of the study. Liver function tests, serum alpha-fetoprotein concentrations, fibrinogen levels as well as liver pathology did not suggest altered liver function or tumor development in Linus and M50 compared to the other dogs. Clinically, there was no evidence of malignancy and no tumors were detected at the time of necropsy in any dog. One of the safety concerns for AAV-mediated gene therapy approaches is the potential for AAV integration events to be genotoxic and lead to tumorigenesis. While recombinant AAV primarily remains as an episome, integration events have been observed in mouse models and hepatocellular carcinoma has been observed after neonatal delivery of AAV vectors. In addition, the increase in FVIII expression in Linus and M50 prompted us to investigate integration and clonal expansion as a potential mechanism for these observations. Vector copy number (VCN) analysis was performed on liver samples (5-29 per dog, n=8 dogs) by Q-PCR and detected DNA copy numbers between 0.0 and 7.8 per diploid genome (Fig 1A). We performed integration target site analysis on liver samples (n=3/dog) from six of the AAV-treated HA dogs and naïve HA dogs (n=2) by ligation-mediated PCR, Ilumina paired-end sequencing and analysis using the custom software pipeline, AAVenger. Analysis of the 20 samples identified &gt;2,000 unique AAV integration events (IE). There was a correlation between the DNA copy number and the number of integration events detected. Clonal abundances were estimated by counting the unique genome breaks associated with integration positions, which showed that the maximum clonal abundance ranged from 1 to 138. The integration events were distributed across the canine genome. Clonal expansions were observed with integration near genes previously associated with growth control and transformation in humans (Fig 1B) with the most abundant clones located in DLEU2L (Linus), PEBP4 (J60) and EGR3 (M50). Integration events in EGR3, EGR2, CCND1, LTO1 and ZNF365 were detected in multiple dogs. Validation of integration sites in the most abundant clones was performed using targeted PCR to isolate junction fragments followed by Sanger sequencing. While AAV integration and clonal expansion was observed, the dogs had no evidence for tumorigenesis and it is not clear if the increase in FVIII expression is associated with the clonal expansions detected. Overall, these studies demonstrate long-term sustained FVIII expression for up to 10 years with clonal expansion, but without clinical adverse events after AAV-mediated gene therapy for hemophilia. Disclosures Sabatino: Spark Therapeutics: Patents & Royalties.

In eastern Canada, soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr., is the most important cultivated legume species. In 2011, the provinces of Ontario and Quebec had 987,400 and 300,000 ha of soybean production, respectively. Root-lesion nematodes, Pratylenchus spp., are the most prevalent plant-parasitic nematodes in Canadian agroecosystems and can affect many crops (3). In 2011, irregular patches of stunted soybean plants were observed for the first time in a 10-ha soybean field grown on a light texture soil in St. Anicet, Quebec (45°4′50.51″N, 74°21′18.56″W). Yield reduction in damaged plots ranged from 38 to 54% when compared with asymptomatic adjacent plots. The field was sown with soybean cv. PRO 2715R (PRO Seeds of Canada, Woodstock, ON), a Roundup Ready cultivar of 2,750 CHU, at 100 kg/ha. Soil analysis revealed a uniform pH of 6.0 ± 0.2 on a gravelly sandy soil (81% sand, 10% loam, 9% clay, and 4% organic matter). On 7 October 2011, root samples were collected from 10 randomly selected damaged patches, washed under running water, and deposited in a mist chamber for a 14-day extraction period. Specimens were stored in tap water at 4°C before identification. Based on morphological characteristics, 26 individual specimens were examined (14 females, 11 males, one juvenile) and were all identified as Pratylenchus alleni Ferris, 1961 (2). Genomic DNA was extracted from individual larvae and the internal transcribed spacers (ITS) region was amplified. RFLP analysis with five restriction enzymes (CfoI, DdeI, HindIII, HpaII, and PstI) showed that the banding pattern for this species was different from those of 18 other major Pratylenchus species (4). Sequence of ITS regions of this population (GenBank Accession No. JX081545) confirmed genus identification but showed only limited homology (<85%) with the 20 Pratylenchus species available in the database at this time. Based on the morphological identification and the ITS sequence divergence with other important species, the sequence was deposited as the first P. alleni accession in GenBank. In the United States, the pathogenicity of P. alleni to soybean is well established (1). To our knowledge, this is the first report of P. alleni occurrence and damage to soybean in Canada. The outbreak of this root-lesion nematode will pose a new challenge for crop management since no registered compounds are currently available against this pest in soybean in Canada. References: (1) N. Acosta and R. B. Malek. J. Nematol. 13:6, 1981. (2) V. Ferris. Proc. Helminthological Soc. Washington 28:109, 1961. (3) J. W. Potter and A. W. McKeown. Can. J. Soil Sci. 83:289, 2003. (4) L. Waeyenberge et al. Nematol. 2:135, 2000.

Brown root rot (BRR), caused by the fungal pathogen Phoma sclerotioides G. Preuss ex Sacc. (synonym Plenodomus meliloti Dearn. & G.B. Sanford), is associated with yield loss of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) in regions with severe winters (1). In the spring of 2007, 9 to 69 alfalfa plants were collected from each of five production fields in Maine, 10 fields in Ontario, and nine fields in Pennsylvania. All alfalfa stands existed at least two winters. P. sclerotioides was isolated from alfalfa root and crown lesions from five fields in Maine (Penobscot, Somerset and Waldo counties), seven fields from southwestern (Woodstock and Niagara), south-central (Lindsay and Belleville), and southeastern Ontario (near Ottawa), and four fields in Pennsylvania (Columbia, Crawford, and Jefferson counties; 41.1 to 41.6°N). BRR incidence was 9 to 29% in Maine, 5 to 29% in Ontario, and 8 to 22% in Pennsylvania. In Ontario, some lesions girdled the crown; in three fields in Maine, large pycnidia characteristic of P. sclerotioides were present on alfalfa crowns and overwintered stems. On potato dextrose agar, conidia (5 to 8 × 2 to 3 μm, unicellular, hyaline, and ovoid) and pycnidia (0.33 to 1.15 mm in diameter with multiple beaks) of single-conidium isolates were characteristic of P. sclerotioides (2). Diagnostic PCR (3) of isolates resulted in a single amplicon of expected size (500 bp). The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) 1, 5.8S, and ITS2 of the rDNA were sequenced for 12 representative isolates, and sequences (GenBank Accession Nos. FJ179151 to FJ179162) were 95.5 to 100% identical to P. sclerotioides ATCC isolate 56515 over a 488-bp alignment. Eight months after seeding, potted ‘Vernal’ alfalfa was inoculated (4), kept at 4°C for 8 weeks, 0 to –2°C for 12 weeks, 4°C for 8 weeks, and 10 to 15°C for 7 weeks. Of 108 plants inoculated with the Maine isolates, 35 developed severe cortical lesions and 16 died. Of 18 plants inoculated with the Ontario isolates, 16 developed severe cortical lesions and eight died. Of 18 plants inoculated with a Pennsylvania isolate, 11 developed severe cortical lesions and five died. Lesions were typical of BRR: light to very dark brown, sometimes with a darker border, and often containing abundant pycnidia. Plant mortality was associated with lesions that girdled the root and crown. Of 18 plants in the control treatment, three developed severe cortical lesions and none died. BRR is common in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, but in eastern Canada it has been reported only in Nova Scotia. To our knowledge, this is the first report of BRR in Maine, Ontario, and Pennsylvania and the southernmost report of BRR in eastern North America. References: (1) B. Berkenkamp et al. Can. J. Plant Sci. 71:211, 1991. (2) G. H. Boerema et al. Persoonia 15:431, 1994. (3) R. C. Larsen et al. Plant Dis. 86:928, 2002. (4) M. J. Wunsch et al. Plant Dis. 91:1293, 2007.