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Impacts of simulated livestock grazing on Utah prairie dogs (Cynomys parvidens) in a low productivity ecosystem.

Allometric foraging theory suggests that herbivores of greatly differing size should co-exist through niche segregation, but a few studies of large-small herbivore foraging relationships have reported competitive interactions. This study addresses the potential roles of habitat productivity and large herbivore grazing intensities on large-small herbivore foraging interactions. We examined effects of different intensity simulated grazing treatments on forage abundance and quality for Utah prairie dogs (Cynomys parvidens) in a low productivity ecosystem, and consequent effects on prairie dog individual growth rates, foraging preferences, and activity budgets. We hypothesized that simulated grazing would have predominantly facilitative impacts on Utah prairie dogs, as was found for black-tailed prairie dogs in higher productivity ecosystems. To test this hypothesis, we measured the effects of simulated grazing on forage nitrogen, digestibility, and biomass. Simulated grazing increased average forage nitrogen and digestibility while decreasing forage biomass. These effects were associated with reduced individual growth rates, increased juvenile foraging time, and reduced juvenile vigilance. Results suggest that the negative effects of reduced vegetation biomass greatly outweighed positive treatment effects in this study. However, prairie dogs in the moderate intensity defoliation treatment showed some preference for "grazed" plots over "ungrazed" plots, and this preference increased with time. Our study lends support to the idea that habitat productivity and herbivore densities may mediate shifts between facilitative and competitive interactions between different-sized herbivores.

Animals↗

Optimizing recording capabilities of the Utah Intracortical Electrode Array.

The Utah Intracortical Electrode Array is a unique silicon-based monolithic structure designed for use as a multichannel interface to the central nervous system. In this paper, we describe a series of acute experiments designed to determine the neural recording capabilities of this electrode array and the dependence of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the recordings on the electrode surface area (length of metallized tip). We found that both separable unit and multiunit cluster responses could be recorded. Additionally, high SNR recordings could be achieved for some electrodes (with electrode tip lengths of 30-220 microns), while recordings with signals substantially greater than the noise could be made from most of the electrodes provided that the proper electrode surface area was used. The demonstrated recording capabilities of the Utah Intracortical Electrode Array and its unique three-dimensional structure should form the basis for innovative physiological investigations into the functional organization of the cortex as well as for long term neuroprosthesis development.

Algorithms↗

Population-based prevalence of CDKN2A mutations in Utah melanoma families.

Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2A (CDKN2A or p16) is the major melanoma predisposition gene. In order to evaluate the candidacy for genetic testing of CDKN2A mutations among melanoma prone families, it is important to identify characteristics that predict a high likelihood of carrying a CDKN2A mutation. We primarily used a unique Utah genealogical resource to identify independent melanoma prone families whom we tested for mutations in CDKN2A, cyclin-dependent kinase 4, and alternate reading frame. We sampled 60 families which met the inclusion criteria of two or more affected first-degree relatives. We found four different pathogenic CDKN2A mutations in five families, mutations of uncertain significance in two families, and known polymorphisms in three families. One of the mutations of uncertain significance, 5' untranslated region -25C>T, has not been previously described. Among our population-based set of Utah families, the prevalence of CDKN2A mutations was 8.2% (4/49); the overall prevalence when physician-referred pedigrees were also considered was between 8.3% (5/60) and 10% (6/60). Having four or more first- or second-degree relatives with melanoma, or a family member with > or =3 primary melanomas, correlated strongly with carrying a CDKN2A mutation. We observed a significantly elevated rate of pancreatic cancer in one of four families with a deleterious CDKN2A mutation.

Base Sequence↗

Evolution after the flood: phylogeography of the desert fish Utah Chub.

The Bonneville Basin and upper Snake River drainage of western North America underwent extensive hydrological changes during the late Pleistocene, potentially influencing the geographic distribution and evolutionary trajectories of aquatic species that occupied this region. To test this hypothesis, I reconstructed the phylogeographic history of the desert fish Utah chub (Gila atraria) by examining 16 populations that span the natural distribution of this species across the Bonneville Basin and upper Snake River. I compared mitochondrial control region sequences (934 bp) among 77 individuals revealing 24 unique haplotypes. Geographic and phylogenetic relationships among haplotypes were explored using parsimony, maximum likelihood, nested clade analysis, and analysis of molecular variance. I found that G. atraria is composed of two distinct clades that represent an early Pleistocene split between the upper Snake River and Bonneville Basin. Within each of these clades, geographic structuring was highly concordant with the hydrological history of late Pleistocene Lake Bonneville and the upper Snake River, suggesting that glacial-induced shifts in climate and unpredictable geological events have played a major role in shaping genetic subdivision among populations. To examine the effects of vicariant events on phenotypic divergence among Utah chub populations, I mapped chub life histories to the control region haplotype network. I found a nonrandom association between haplotypes and life-history phenotypes. These results suggest that historical events responsible for population fragmentation may have also contributed to phenotypic shifts in life histories, both indirectly by limiting gene flow among populations and directly by altering the selective environments where populations persisted.

Animals↗

Localization of a prostate cancer predisposition gene to an 880-kb region on chromosome 22q12.3 in Utah high-risk pedigrees.

Chromosome 22q has become recently a region of interest for prostate cancer. We identified previously a logarithm of odds (LOD) of 2.42 at chromosome 22q12.3. Additionally, this region has been noted by eight other studies, with linkage evidence ranging from LOD of 1.50 to 3.57. Here, we do fine mapping and localization of the region using a pedigree-specific recombinant mapping approach in 14 informative, high-risk Utah pedigrees. These 14 pedigrees were chosen because they were either "linked" or "haplotype-sharing" pedigrees or both. "Linked" pedigrees were those with significant pedigree-specific linkage evidence (LOD, >0.588; P < 0.05) to the 22q12.3 region, regardless of the number of prostate cancer cases sharing the segregating haplotype. "Haplotype-sharing" pedigrees were those with at least five prostate cancer cases sharing a segregating haplotype in the 22q12.3 region, regardless of the linkage evidence. In each pedigree, the most likely haplotype configuration (in addition to the multipoint LOD graph for linked pedigrees) was used to infer the position of recombinant events and delimit the segregating chromosomal segment in each pedigree. These pedigree-specific chromosomal segments were then overlaid to form a consensus recombinant map across all 14 pedigrees. Using this method, we identified a 881,538-bp interval at 22q12.3, between D22S1265 and D22S277, which is the most likely region that contains the 22q prostate cancer predisposition gene. The unique Utah extended high-risk pedigree resource allows this powerful localization approach in pedigrees with evidence for segregating predisposition to prostate cancer. We are mutation screening candidate genes in this region to identify specific genetic variants segregating in these pedigrees.

Aged↗

Multichannel cochlear implantation: Utah-design.

The Utah-design multichannel cochlear implant consists of six intracochlear monopolar electrodes, one promontory electrode, and an indifferent electrode. Connection of the intracochlear system to the external sound processor is via a percutaneous pedestal system. Four of the intracochlear electrodes receive simultaneous stimulation. Twenty patients implanted at the University of Utah with more than 1 year of sound processor use were evaluated for the study. All patients wear their sound processors on a daily basis. Seven of the 20 are able to use the telephone without special devices. Nineteen patients were tested with open set CID sentences with an average 42.2% response. A comparison was made between live voice and taped voice open-set spondee word list performance, showing slightly better overall performance with live voice.

Adult↗

Acute pulmonary toxicity of particulate matter filter extracts in rats: coherence with epidemiologic studies in Utah Valley residents.

Epidemiologic reports by C.A. Pope III et. al. demonstrated that in the Utah Valley, closure of an open-hearth steel mill over the winter of 1987 was associated with reductions in respiratory disease and related hospital admissions in valley residents. To better examine the relationship between plant-associated changes in ambient particulate matter (PM) and respiratory health effects, we obtained total suspended particulate filters originally collected near the steel mill during the winter of 1986 (before closure), 1987 (during closure), and 1988 (after plant reopening). PM subcomponents were water-extracted from these filters and Sprague-Dawley rats were intratracheally instilled with equivalent masses of extract. Data indicated that 24 hr later, rats exposed to 1986 or 1988 extracts developed significant pulmonary injury and neutrophilic inflammation. Additionally, 50% of rats exposed to 1986 or 1988 extracts had increased airway responsiveness to acetylcholine, compared to 17 and 25% of rats exposed to saline or the 1987 extract, respectively. By 96 hr, these effects were largely resolved except for increases in lung lavage fluid neutrophils and lymphocytes in 1986 extract-exposed rats. Analogous effects were observed with lung histologic assessment. Extract analysis using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy demonstrated in all three extracts nearly 70% of the mass appeared to be sodium-based salts derived from the glass filter matrix. Interestingly, relative to the 1987 extract, the 1986/1988 extracts contained more sulfate, cationic salts (i.e., calcium, potassium, magnesium), and certain metals (i.e., copper, zinc, iron, lead, strontium, arsenic, manganese, nickel). Although total metal content was (3/4) 1% of the extracts by mass, the greater quantity detected in the 1986 and 1988 extracts suggests metals may be important determinants of the pulmonary toxicity observed. In conclusion, the pulmonary effects induced by exposure of rats to water-based extracts of local ambient PM filters were in good accord with the cross-sectional epidemiologic reports of adverse respiratory health effects in Utah Valley residents.

Air Pollution↗

Phase I evaluation of hyperthermia equipment--University of Utah institutional report.

At the University of Utah Medical Center the thrusts of the effort with respect to the NCl Hyperthermia Equipment Evaluation Contract have been threefold. The first objective was the development of a reliable thermometry system for collecting temperature information as a function of space as well as time. The second objective was the evaluation and comparison of a number of hyperthermia devices, particularly with respect to deep-heating devices, and specifically as pertains to the BSD annular phased array system (AA) and its various configurations. The third objective was to develop methodology for analysing hyperthermia data which could be easily adapted toward device comparison. In the period from 10/81-1/86, a total of 137 patients were treated with one or more of 10 devices, totalling 199 device evaluations at the University of Utah Medical Center or the subcontracting institution, LDS Hospital. Of these, 132 device evaluations involved deep-seated tumours. The AA was found to be feasible for deep pelvic regional hyperthermia, although the frequency of reversible acute toxicity was high, and achievement of desired temperatures was frequently limited by one of several factors. The radiative electromagnetic wave applicators which were evaluated for treatment of superficial tumours were found to be mostly feasible for tumours of the thoracic and extremities regions, although the heating patterns were frequently too shallow or too small in area, when compared with the size of the lesion.

Equipment Design↗

Familial dyslipidemic hypertension. Evidence from 58 Utah families for a syndrome present in approximately 12% of patients with essential hypertension.

Population-based sibships with essential hypertension diagnosed before the age of 60 years are being screened in Utah to find two or more hypertensive siblings with the same biochemical abnormality as a clue to an inherited cause for their specific type of hypertension. Among 131 hypertensive subjects in 58 sibships, concordant abnormalities in fasting serum lipid concentrations were observed in two or more siblings in 48% of the sibships. After adjusting for effects of antihypertensive medications, abnormal values reported in only 10% of the Lipid Research Clinics data were observed in 30% of patients for serum triglycerides, 19% for serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and 39% for high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. More than one lipid level was abnormal in almost all concordant sibships, suggesting an association between hypertension and a syndrome of mixed lipid abnormalities, probably familial combined hyperlipidemia (renamed "familial combined dyslipidemia" because of common low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels). We conclude that familial dyslipidemic hypertension may be a specific syndrome with lipid abnormalities more severe than blood pressure elevations.

Adult↗

Integrated Academic Information Management Systems (IAIMS). Part III. Implementation of integrated information services. Clinical linkages: IAIMS at the University of Utah.

The IAIMS project at the University of Utah has focused on clinical linkages to facilitate the research, teaching, and service mission of the Medical Center. The planning phase focused on the relationship among ther users and providers of the system and developed a scenario describing the professor and clinical clerk making rounds in the bedside setting. The prototype Health Evaluation through Logical Processes (HELP) system brings together three sources necessary to solve a medical problem: the patient database, the medical literature, and an expert in the subject. Microcomputers provide access to the HELP system and a complementary literature knowledge database.

Academic Medical Centers↗

Laboratory monitoring of warfarin therapy in Utah.

Accurate laboratory monitoring of oral anticoagulation has been emphasized as an important factor in providing safe and effective therapy for patients with thromboembolism. However, recent reports indicate that coagulation laboratories may not be providing optimal clinical information to clinicians who treat these patients. We surveyed all hospital coagulation laboratories in Utah to determine their format for reporting prothrombin time results in patients receiving oral anticoagulants. We found that less than 50% of laboratories used the reliable reporting format, i.e., the International Normalized Ratio (INR), and that many of the laboratories using the INR format may be reporting incorrect values. Our survey also found a significant lack of interest by physicians in requesting that their laboratories adopt reliable reporting methods. These results indicate a substantial lack of understanding by laboratories and clinicians of the importance of using reliable methods to monitor oral anticoagulation. Significant educational efforts will be required to correct this problem.

Drug Monitoring↗

Comparison of occupational interview data to death certificate data in Utah.

Lifelong occupational histories obtained by interview prior to death were compared to death certificate data for 87 male bladder cancer patients in Utah. Agreement was defined as identical Bureau of Census codes, after predetermined groupings were made. Usual occupation, defined as that with the longest duration, agreed with the death certificate occupation for 54% of the individuals; usual industry agreed for 72%. Most recent occupation and industry agreed for 47% and 53%, respectively. For 69%, at least one interview occupation agreed with the death certificate occupation, and at least one industry agreed for 84%. Variables affecting agreement were duration of the job and education. Also examined were interview data about employment either during the last 15 years or prior to age 65 years, obtained from 112 male colon cancer patients. The Bureau of Census codes were in agreement for occupation in 63% and for industry in 65%. Duration of the job and education were related to percent agreement. We conclude that occupations and industries listed on death certificates reflect at least part of the work history of the majority of individuals.

Adult↗

Occupation and bladder cancer in Utah.

The relationships between bladder cancer and occupation, industries, and occupational exposures in Utah were examined in a population-based, case-control study conducted between 1977 and 1983. Life-long occupational histories were obtained for 417 cases (332 men and 85 women) and 877 controls (685 men and 192 women). Although few positive findings emerged in this study, increased risks were detected among men for employment in the leather and textile industries which increased with duration of employment. The effects were most marked for employment beginning 45 or more years prior to interview (odds ratio [OR] for textiles = 1.92, confidence interval [CI] = 0.89-4.46; for leather OR = 2.95, CI = 0.63-13.76). Among men and women, increased risk was detected among clerical workers employed for less than 10 years (OR = 1.59, CI = 1.16-2.17) although the risk decreased with increased duration of employment (OR = 0.88, CI = 0.55-1.40 for greater than or equal to 10 years). A protective effect was seen among men and women for 10 or more years employment in professional, managerial, and technical occupations (OR = 0.68, CI = 0.50-0.92). Employment as a carpenter resulted in increased risk which increased with duration. Increased risk for bladder cancer was detected among carpenters who smoked but not among carpenters who never smoked. We used an occupation-exposure linkage system to identify workers exposed to aromatic amino compounds; such workers did not have increased risk of bladder cancer, although interaction between long-term exposure to aromatic amino compounds and smoking was detected. Interactions between smoking and other industrial or occupational exposures were not demonstrated, and for the most part, smoking did not confound the estimates of the bladder cancer-occupation relationships.

Environmental Exposure↗

A re-examination of major locus hypotheses for high density lipoprotein cholesterol level using 2,170 persons screened in 55 Utah pedigrees.

A dominant major locus (allele frequency of .0025 +/- .0014), resulting in low levels of high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), was revealed by likelihood analysis on 2,170 persons in 55 Utah pedigrees. This allele was expressed through HDL-C levels ranging from 20 to 30 mg/dl in seven persons in two pedigrees. Early coronary heart disease was associated with the allele in one pedigree, but not in the other. In the pedigree without associated heart disease, HDL subfractions HDL2 and HDL3 were both low in individuals with the low HDL-C allele. No other major locus determining either high or low levels of HDL-C was identified in our sample. Polygenic heritability as part of the mixed model was estimated as .561 +/- .035.

Adolescent↗

Preliminary evidence for genetic determination of intraerythrocytic sodium concentration in Utah pedigrees.

Intraerythrocytic sodium concentration has been reported to be increased in hypertensive individuals and some of their normotensive relatives. We investigated the "familiality" of this trait in 572 nonhypertensive subjects from 34 Utah kindreds. Most of these kindreds were selected because of a high incidence of hypertension, heart attack, or stroke. Intraerythrocytic sodium concentration was correlated with the sex of the subject and suprailiac skinfold thickness. Intraerythrocytic sodium concentration was adjusted by linear regression for these 2 factors. The residual values were positively correlated in parent-offspring pairs and among sibs, both those presumed to be living together and those presumed to be living apart. The spouse-spouse correlation was not significant. Pedigree analysis suggested a mixed major-gene/polygenic model of inheritance, but these data did not allow us to distinguish between dominant and recessive inheritance for the major gene component. Total heritability due to both major-gene and polygenic components was estimated to be 90-95%; the proportion of the total variance due to polygenes was estimated to be 60-75%. These results suggest that further study of the relationship between the inheritance of intraerythrocytic sodium and the pathophysiology of hypertension is warranted.

Epidemiologic Methods↗

The UCLA-University of Utah epidemiologic survey of autism: genealogical analysis of familial aggregation.

To assess familial aggregation of autism, 86 autistic subjects were linked to the Utah Genealogical Database. Kinship coefficients were estimated for all possible pairs of autistic subjects and then averaged. Fifty replicate sets of matched control subjects (86 members in each set) were drawn randomly from the database, and the average kinship coefficient was computed for all possible pairs of individuals in each set. The average kinship coefficient for the autistic subjects was approximately 1/1,000, while the average kinship coefficients for the 50 control groups ranged from 4/100,000 to 1.6./10,000. These results indicate a strong tendency for autism to cluster in families. When kinship was analyzed by specific degrees of relationship, it was shown that the familial aggregation of autism is confined exclusively to sib pairs and does not extend to more remote degrees of relationship. This finding indicates that a single-gene model is unlikely to account for most cases of autism.

Autistic Disorder↗

Genome-wide linkage analyses of extended Utah pedigrees identifies loci that influence recurrent, early-onset major depression and anxiety disorders.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a common, clinically heterogeneous disorder often found comorbid with other disorders. We studied recurrent, early-onset MDD (MDD-RE) and anxiety disorders in combination to define powerful phenotypes for genetic study. We used 87 large, extended Utah pedigrees to investigate linkage to 3 phenotypes: "MDD-RE;" "MDD-RE or anxiety;" and "MDD-RE and anxiety;" where in the latter definition the disorders must appear comorbid within an individual. Pedigrees ranged in size from 2 to 6 generations and contained 3 to 42 individuals affected with MDD or anxiety (718 total). In primary analyses, we identified three regions with at least suggestive genome-wide evidence for linkage on chromosomes 3centr, 7p, and 18q. Both 7p and 18q are replication findings for related phenotypes. The best linkage evidence was for a novel locus at 3p12.3-q12.3 (LOD = 3.88, "MDD-RE or anxiety") and 18q21.33-q22.2 (LOD = 3.75, "MDD-RE and anxiety"), a well-established susceptibility locus for bipolar disorder. In our secondary sex-specific analyses, we identified two further regions of interest on chromosomes 4q and 15q. Using linked pedigrees, we localized 3centr and 18q to 9.8 and 12.2 cM, respectively, with potential for further localization with the addition of markers in specific pedigrees. Our success in replication and novel locus identification illustrates the utility of large extended pedigrees for common disorders, such as MDD. Further, it supports the hypothesis that MDD and anxiety disorders have over-lapping genetic etiologies and suggests that comorbid diagnoses may be useful in defining more genetically homogeneous forms of MDD for linkage mapping.

Anxiety Disorders↗

The epidemiologic transition in a frontier town--Manti, Utah: 1849-1977.

Census reports and information in burial records of Manti, Utah from 1849 to July 1977 are examined in order to (1) document mortality trends and differentials by age, sex, cause-of-death, and seasonality as Manti passed from a frontier settlement to a rural agricultural community; and (2) ascertain whether the shifts in the cause-of-death structure follow those patterns outlined by Omran (1971, 1974, 1977) in his theory of the epidemiologic transition. Findings parallel patterns suggested by Omran. Major factors accounting for mortality reductions are (1) elimination of the population's dependence upon a contaminated water supply, and (2) adoption of medical advances as they became available.

Disease Outbreaks↗