Counseling Pregnant Women on Marijuana Use

Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit substance for pregnant women nationwide, with rates of use trending upward. Marijuana use in Penobscot County is elevated well above the national average, and is likely to continue to rise with the legalization of recreational marijuana in the state of Maine. Though the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) discourages marijuana use during pregnancy and breastfeeding, studies have shown that providers do not emphasize counseling pregnant patients on marijuana use. This project looked at provider practices and perceptions regarding marijuana use during pregnancy at the Center for Family Medicine at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, ME. Addtionally, an information sheet for providers regarding marijuana use during pregnancy was created based on current research and survey results.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/fmclerk/1263/thumbnail.jp

Identification of genes responsible for maintenance of differentiation capability in dental pulp stem cells

Stem cells exist in various tissues, including dental follicles and dental pulps. Adult stem cells (ASC) can be isolated from patients for autologous transplantation, which eliminates the risk of immune rejection with low or no tumorigenesis. However, one of the challenges is that ASC progressively lose their differentiation ability when cultured in vitro. This prevents expansion of large quantities of high-potential stem cells for therapeutics, especially for stem cells with limited tissue source, such as dental pulp stem cells (DPSC). The goal of this study is to define possible molecular regulation causing loss of differentiation. To achieve this goal, we determined that DPSC at passages 3 and 5 (early passage) possessed strong differentiation capability, and such differentiation capability is completely lost at passage 11 (late passage). Using whole-genome microarray to compare the transcriptomes, we found that the expression of 34 genes were decreased for more than 10-fold in p11 DPSC when compared to p3. After confirming gene expression with RT-PCR, heat shock protein B8 (HspB8) and the GIPC PDZ domain-containing family (Gipc2) were selected for siRNA knockdown study. Knockdown of HspB8 in early-passage DPSC resulted in the cells losing differentiation, but knockdown of Gipc2 had no effect, suggesting that HspB8 plays an important role in maintaining DPSC differentiation. To further study HspB8, we constructed 2 vectors, one containing the coding sequence (CDS) and 3’ untranslated region (3’UTR) and another containing only the CDS. Transfection of the vectors into early passage DPSC dramatically increased both HspB8 mRNA and protein. However, transfection of the vectors into the late passage DPSC resulted in overexpression of HspB8 mRNA, but increase of HspB8 protein was seen only in CDS transfection. Given that 3’UTR of mRNA is the major target region for microRNAs (miRNAs), the results indicate that miRNAs are responsible for down-regulation of HspB8 in long-term culture of DPSCs. We conclude that high-level HspB8 expression is essential for differentiation of DPSC, and down-regulation of HspB8 in cultured DPSC is likely due to increased expression of miRNAs. These are novel findings regarding HspB8 and miRNAs on the regulation of stem cell fate

Deep space network support of the manned space flight network for Apollo, volume 2 Technical memorandum, 1969 - 1970

Deep Space Network support activities for Apollo 9 through 13 flights and associated equipmen

Data analysis strategies for the detection of gravitational waves in non-Gaussian noise

In order to analyze data produced by the kilometer-scale gravitational wave detectors that will begin operation early next century, one needs to develop robust statistical tools capable of extracting weak signals from the detector noise. This noise will likely have non-stationary and non-Gaussian components. To facilitate the construction of robust detection techniques, I present a simple two-component noise model that consists of a background of Gaussian noise as well as stochastic noise bursts. The optimal detection statistic obtained for such a noise model incorporates a natural veto which suppresses spurious events that would be caused by the noise bursts. When two detectors are present, I show that the optimal statistic for the non-Gaussian noise model can be approximated by a simple coincidence detection strategy. For simulated detector noise containing noise bursts, I compare the operating characteristics of (i) a locally optimal detection statistic (which has nearly-optimal behavior for small signal amplitudes) for the non-Gaussian noise model, (ii) a standard coincidence-style detection strategy, and (iii) the optimal statistic for Gaussian noise.Comment: 5 pages RevTeX, 4 figure

Bridging the gap : intergenerational programs (1994)

"Information from Human Environmental Sciences Extension."New 12/94/5M

Bridging the gap : intergenerational programs (2009)

Reviewed June 2009

Talking it through: using specialist coaching to enhance teachers’ knowledge from speech and language sciences

Teachers’ knowledge for effective pedagogies can be enhanced by drawing on a range of specific expertise held by those working in other disciplines or professions. In this article, we explore this potential through a focus on enhancing research-informed communication rich pedagogies in primary and early years’ settings. The specific example is that of speech and language therapists using video-based coaching with teachers. Our research provides case study evidence and demonstrates that this professional development approach brings speech and language therapy research and expertise into the practice domain of teachers. This is a dynamic, reciprocal and co-constructive relationship between the participants. The focus on this paper is on how it can enable teachers to extend their understanding and develop a more nuanced understanding of specialist evidence of speech, language and communication for, and in, practice

Astrometric Effects of a Stochastic Gravitational Wave Background

A stochastic gravitational wave background causes the apparent positions of distant sources to fluctuate, with angular deflections of order the characteristic strain amplitude of the gravitational waves. These fluctuations may be detectable with high precision astrometry, as first suggested by Braginsky et al. in 1990. Several researchers have made order of magnitude estimates of the upper limits obtainable on the gravitational wave spectrum \Omega_gw(f), at frequencies of order f ~ 1 yr^-1, both for the future space-based optical interferometry missions GAIA and SIM, and for VLBI interferometry in radio wavelengths with the SKA. For GAIA, tracking N ~ 10^6 quasars over a time of T ~ 1 yr with an angular accuracy of \Delta \theta ~ 10 \mu as would yield a sensitivity level of \Omega_gw ~ (\Delta \theta)^2/(N T^2 H_0^2) ~ 10^-6, which would be comparable with pulsar timing. In this paper we take a first step toward firming up these estimates by computing in detail the statistical properties of the angular deflections caused by a stochastic background. We compute analytically the two point correlation function of the deflections on the sphere, and the spectrum as a function of frequency and angular scale. The fluctuations are concentrated at low frequencies (for a scale invariant stochastic background), and at large angular scales, starting with the quadrupole. The magnetic-type and electric-type pieces of the fluctuations have equal amounts of power.Comment: 23 pages, 2 figures, references added and minor text correction