A Housing First Model for Youth and its Relation to Social Integration

The present study explored how a Housing First for Youth intervention, working from an empowerment theory approach, influences the social integration of youth experiencing homelessness. This was done by contrasting between groups of individuals who either did or did not receive the intervention. The sample consisted of 86 youth in the city of Ottawa between the ages of 17-24 who were randomized into the intervention (n=44) or treatment as usual group (n=42). Quantitative data from baseline and 6-month follow-up were analyzed using the Community Integration Scale (CIS) and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). Repeated measures ANOVA revealed an effect for time but not by study group in the MSPSS subscales and the CIS psychological subscale, but this effect disappeared when controlling for the country of birth variable. Baseline narrative interviews (n=20), which occurred during the first 13.5 months of the program, were analyzed for emergent themes related to social integration. Findings from narrative interviews demonstrated the complex ways youth exiting homelessness experience social integration including the importance of social support and feelings of membership, and a lack of knowledge of resources in the community to support physical integration. By using a mixed-methods approach, study findings revealed that a greater emphasis on social support and addressing knowledge gaps on how to integrate physically into the community may be beneficial for the first year after youth exit homelessness due to the tendency for feelings of isolation and loneliness to occur during this time period. Future implications for the study include following the effects of the intervention on social integration over the 2-year mark due to the nature of social integration, which is not a rapid or linear process

A cryogenic rotation stage with a large clear aperture for the half-wave plates in the Spider instrument

We describe the cryogenic half-wave plate rotation mechanisms built for and used in Spider, a polarization-sensitive balloon-borne telescope array that observed the Cosmic Microwave Background at 95 GHz and 150 GHz during a stratospheric balloon flight from Antarctica in January 2015. The mechanisms operate at liquid helium temperature in flight. A three-point contact design keeps the mechanical bearings relatively small but allows for a large (305 mm) diameter clear aperture. A worm gear driven by a cryogenic stepper motor allows for precise positioning and prevents undesired rotation when the motors are depowered. A custom-built optical encoder system monitors the bearing angle to an absolute accuracy of +/- 0.1 degrees. The system performed well in Spider during its successful 16 day flight.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, Published in Review of Scientific Instruments. v2 includes reviewer changes and longer literature revie

Modeling and characterization of the SPIDER half-wave plate

Spider is a balloon-borne array of six telescopes that will observe the Cosmic Microwave Background. The 2624 antenna-coupled bolometers in the instrument will make a polarization map of the CMB with approximately one-half degree resolution at 145 GHz. Polarization modulation is achieved via a cryogenic sapphire half-wave plate (HWP) skyward of the primary optic. We have measured millimeter-wave transmission spectra of the sapphire at room and cryogenic temperatures. The spectra are consistent with our physical optics model, and the data gives excellent measurements of the indices of A-cut sapphire. We have also taken preliminary spectra of the integrated HWP, optical system, and detectors in the prototype Spider receiver. We calculate the variation in response of the HWP between observing the CMB and foreground spectra, and estimate that it should not limit the Spider constraints on inflation

Pointing control for the SPIDER balloon-borne telescope

We present the technology and control methods developed for the pointing system of the SPIDER experiment. SPIDER is a balloon-borne polarimeter designed to detect the imprint of primordial gravitational waves in the polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation. We describe the two main components of the telescope's azimuth drive: the reaction wheel and the motorized pivot. A 13 kHz PI control loop runs on a digital signal processor, with feedback from fibre optic rate gyroscopes. This system can control azimuthal speed with < 0.02 deg/s RMS error. To control elevation, SPIDER uses stepper-motor-driven linear actuators to rotate the cryostat, which houses the optical instruments, relative to the outer frame. With the velocity in each axis controlled in this way, higher-level control loops on the onboard flight computers can implement the pointing and scanning observation modes required for the experiment. We have accomplished the non-trivial task of scanning a 5000 lb payload sinusoidally in azimuth at a peak acceleration of 0.8 deg/s$^2$, and a peak speed of 6 deg/s. We can do so while reliably achieving sub-arcminute pointing control accuracy.Comment: 20 pages, 12 figures, Presented at SPIE Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes V, June 23, 2014. To be published in Proceedings of SPIE Volume 914

A novel 4E-interacting protein in Leishmania is involved in stage-specific translation pathways

In eukaryotes, exposure to stress conditions causes a shift from cap-dependent to cap-independent translation. In trypanosomatids, environmental switches are the driving force of a developmental program of gene expression, but it is yet unclear how their translation machinery copes with their constantly changing environment. Trypanosomatids have a unique cap structure (cap-4) and encode four highly diverged paralogs of the cap-binding protein, eIF4E; none were found to genetically complement a yeast mutant failing to express eIF4E. Here we show that in promastigotes, a typical cap-binding complex is anchored through LeishIF4E-4, which associates with components of the cap-binding pre-initiation complex. In axenic amastigotes, expression of LeishIF4E-4 decreases and the protein does not bind the cap, whereas LeishIF4E-1 maintains its expression level and associates with the cap structure and with translation initiation factors. However, LeishIF4E-1 does not interact with eIF4G-like proteins in both life stages, excluding its involvement in cap-dependent translation. Using pull-down assays and mass-spectrometry, we identified a novel, non-conserved 4E-Interacting Protein (Leish4E-IP), which binds to LeishIF4E-1 in promastigotes, but not in amastigotes. Yeast two-hybrid and NMR spectroscopy confirmed the specificity of this interaction. We propose that Leish4E-IP is a translation regulator that is involved in switching between cap-dependent and alternative translation pathways

nab-Paclitaxel–Based Therapy in Underserved Patient Populations: The ABOUND.PS2 Study in Patients With NSCLC and a Performance Status of 2

IntroductionThe phase II ABOUND.PS2 study (NCT02289456) assessed safety/tolerability of a first-line modified nab-paclitaxel/carboplatin regimen for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status (PS) 2.MethodsChemotherapy-naive patients with stage IIIB/IV NSCLC and ECOG PS 2 received four cycles of nab-paclitaxel 100 mg/m2 days 1 and 8 plus carboplatin area under the curve 5 day 1 q3w (induction). Patients without progression received nab-paclitaxel monotherapy (100 mg/m2 days 1 and 8 q3w) until progression/unacceptable toxicity. Primary endpoint: percentage of patients discontinuing induction due to treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs).Results11/40 treated patients (27.5%; 95% CI, 14.60–43.89) discontinued chemotherapy induction due to TEAEs; 16/40 (40.0%) continued nab-paclitaxel monotherapy. Median progression-free and overall survival were 4.4 (95% CI, 2.99–7.00) and 7.7 (95% CI, 4.93–13.17) months. Grade 3/4 TEAEs during induction included neutropenia (22.5%), anemia (17.5%), thrombocytopenia (5.0%), and peripheral neuropathy (2.5%).ConclusionThis nab-paclitaxel–based regimen was tolerable in patients with advanced NSCLC and ECOG PS 2, with efficacy comparable to historical chemotherapy data

Urgent challenges in quantification and interpretation of brain grey matter atrophy in individual MS patients using MRI

Atrophy of the brain grey matter (GM) is an accepted and important feature of multiple sclerosis (MS). However, its accurate measurement is hampered by various technical, pathological and physiological factors. As a consequence, it is challenging to investigate the role of GM atrophy in the disease process as well as the effect of treatments that aim to reduce neurodegeneration. In this paper we discuss the most important challenges currently hampering the measurement and interpretation of GM atrophy in MS. The focus is on measurements that are obtained in individual patients rather than on group analysis methods, because of their importance in clinical trials and ultimately in clinical care. We discuss the sources and possible solutions of the current challenges, and provide recommendations to achieve reliable measurement and interpretation of brain GM atrophy in MS

A community resource for paired genomic and metabolomic data mining

Genomics and metabolomics are widely used to explore specialized metabolite diversity. The Paired Omics Data Platform is a community initiative to systematically document links between metabolome and (meta)genome data, aiding identification of natural product biosynthetic origins and metabolite structures.Peer reviewe