University of North Carolina at Wilmington

About: University of North Carolina at Wilmington is a education organization based out in Wilmington, North Carolina, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 3329 authors who have published 6797 publications receiving 186308 citations.

The Effect of Tobacco Smoking on Musculoskeletal Health: A Systematic Review.

Abstract: This systematic review explored associations between smoking and health outcomes involving the musculoskeletal system. AMSTAR criteria were followed. A comprehensive search of PubMed, Web of Science, and Science Direct returned 243 articles meeting inclusion criteria. A majority of studies found smoking has negative effects on the musculoskeletal system. In research on bones, smoking was associated with lower BMD, increased fracture risk, periodontitis, alveolar bone loss, and dental implant failure. In research on joints, smoking was associated with increased joint disease activity, poor functional outcomes, and poor therapeutic response. There was also evidence of adverse effects on muscles, tendons, cartilage, and ligaments. There were few studies on the musculoskeletal health outcomes of secondhand smoke, smoking cessation, or other modes of smoking, such as waterpipes or electronic cigarettes. This review found evidence that suggests tobacco smoking has negative effects on the health outcomes of the musculoskeletal system. There is a need for further research to understand mechanisms of action for the effects of smoking on the musculoskeletal system and to increase awareness of healthcare providers and community members of the adverse effects of smoking on the musculoskeletal system.

Characterization of diatom (bacillariophyceae) nitrate reductase genes and their detection in marine phytoplankton communities

Abstract: The complete assimilatory nitrate reductase (NR) gene from the pennate diatom Phaeodactylum triconutum Bohlin was sequenced from cDNA and compared with NR sequences from fungi, green algae, vascular plants, and the recently sequenced genome of the centric diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana Hasle and Heimdal CCMP1335. In all the major eukaryotic nitrate reductase (Euk-NR) functional domains, diatom NR gene sequences are generally 50%-60% identical to plant and alga sequences at the amino acid level. In the less conserved N-terminal, hinge 1, and hinge 2 regions, homology to other NR sequences is weak, generally < 30%. Two PCR primer sets capable of amplifying Euk-NR from plants, algae, and diatoms were designed. One primer set was used to amplify a 750-base pair (bp) NR fragment from the cDNA of five additional diatom strains. The PCR amplicon spans part of the well-conserved dimer interface region, the more variable hinge 1 region, and part of the conserved cytochrome b heme binding region. The second primer set, targeted to the dimer region, was used to amplify an approximately 400-bp fragment of the NR gene from DNA samples collected in Monterey Bay, California and in central New Jersey inner continental shelf (LEO-15 site) waters. Only diatom-like NR sequences were recovered from Monterey Bay samples, whereas LEO-15 samples yielded NR sequences from a range of photosynthetic eukaryotes. The prospect of using DNA- and RNA-based methods to target the NR genes of diatoms specifically is a promising approach for future physiological and ecological experiments.

Acquisition of arbitrary conditional discriminations by young normally developing children.

Abstract: Three experiments investigated conditions designed to facilitate acquisition of arbitrary conditional discriminations in 3- to 6-year-old normally developing children In Experiment 1, 6 subjects failed to master the arbitrary match-to-sample task under conditions of differential reinforcement alone, but 7 subjects did so when instructions or instructions and sample naming were added In Experiment 2, sample naming introduced in a blocked-trial arrangement resulted in acquisition, but only when the sample name was a nonsense syllable provided by the experimenter (5 of 7 subjects) and not when the sample name was generated by the subject (0 of 5 subjects) Experiment 3 demonstrated the effectiveness of a training sequence involving thematically related stimuli as an intermediate step facilitating the transition from identity to novel arbitrary relations The difficulties in mastering arbitrary conditional discriminations shown here imply that further analyses with young children will be particularly important in efforts to investigate the development of theoretically important stimulus relations