Early-phase transmission (EPT) is a recently described model of plague transmission that explains the rapid spread of disease from flea to mammal host during an epizootic. Unlike the traditional blockage-dependent model of plague transmission, EPT can occur when a flea takes its first blood meal after initially becoming infected by feeding on a bacteraemic host. Blockage of the flea gut results...

We synthesize the current literatures and use the power of meta-analysis to examine trends on association between hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and the risk of breast cancer (BC). We performed a comprehensive literature search using PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science from their inception until Jan 2017. Prospective studies that provided adjusted risk estimates of HRT and BC risk were eligib...

Research suggests that performance on cognitive tasks resembling daily challenges (i.e., everyday problem-solving tasks) may be a better indicator of functional ability in old age compared to traditional measures of cognitive ability. Findings demonstrating this link, however, have yielded mixed results. The current study examined performance on the Everyday Problems Test (EPT) and self-reporte...

This paper presents research on the voltage and current distortion in the input stage, isolation stage and output stage of Distribution Electronic Power transformer (D-EPT) after the open-circuit and short-circuit faults of its power switches. In this paper, the operational principles and the control methods for input stage, isolation stage and output stage of D-EPT, which work as a cascaded H-...

BACKGROUND Young adults born preterm have higher levels of cardiometabolic risk factors than their term-born peers. Muscular and cardiorespiratory fitness have important cardiometabolic and other health benefits. We assessed muscular, cardiorespiratory, and self-rated fitness in preterm-born young adults. METHODS We studied unimpaired participants of the ESTER (Ennenaikainen syntymä ja aikuis...

BACKGROUND Results from the Women's Health Initiative trial raise new questions regarding the effects of estrogen therapy (ET) and estrogen plus progestin therapy (EPT) on breast cancer risk. METHODS We analyzed data from 126,638 females, ages 50 to 71 years at baseline, who completed two questionnaires (1995--1996 and 1996--1997) as part of the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Cohort Study and in wh...

The effects of physiological (0, 0.1, 2.5, and 10 nM) and pharmacological (200 nM) epinephrine concentrations on resting skeletal muscle lipid metabolism were investigated with the use of incubated rat epitrochlearis (EPT), flexor digitorum brevis (FDB), and soleus (SOL) muscles. Muscles were chosen to reflect a range of oxidative capacities: SOL > EPT > FDB. The muscles were pulsed with [1-14C...

Learning and memory disorders arise from distinct age-associated processes, and aging animals are often used as a model of memory impairment. The root of Polygala tenuifolia has been commonly used in some Asian countries as memory enhancer and its memory improvement has been reported in various animal models. However, there is less research to verify its effect on memory functions in aged anima...

BACKGROUND Providing comprehensive emergency preparedness training (EPT) for patient care providers is important to the future success of emergency preparedness operations in the United States. Disasters are rare, complex events involving many patients and environmental factors that are difficult to reproduce in a training environment. Few EPT programs possess both competency-driven goals and m...

United States National Parks have protected natural communities for one hundred years. Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore (INDU) is a park unit along the southern boundary of Lake Michigan in Indiana, USA. An inventory of 19 sites, consisting of a seep, 12 streams, four marshes, a bog, and a fen were examined for mayflies (Ephemeroptera), stoneflies (Plecoptera), and caddisflies (Trichoptera) (EP...