Henderson News 3.2

In This Issue: Celebrating El Dia de los Muertos at Henderson Library Open Access Week International Journeys at the Library Instant Study Rooms

The effectiveness of three types of practice in word recognition in grades II and III

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis for women and infants prevents vaginal and oral HIV transmission in a preclinical model of HIV infection

Approximately 1.5 million HIV-positive women become pregnant annually. Without treatment, up to 45% will transmit HIV to their infants, primarily through breastfeeding. These numbers highlight that HIV acquisition is a major health concern for women and children globally. They also emphasize the urgent need for novel approaches to prevent HIV acquisition that are safe, effective and convenient to use by women and children in places where they are most needed

Psychobiological, Clinical, and Sociocultural Factors That Influence Black Women Seeking Treatment for Infertility: A Mixed-methods Study

OBJECTIVE: To provide a comprehensive and multidimensional description and conceptualization of the experiences of Black women seeking treatment for infertility. DESIGN: Convergent parallel mixed-methods study combining retrospective chart review data and semistructured interview data. SETTING: Private infertility clinic. PATIENT(S): African American/Black women between 18 and 44 years of age who presented for an initial infertility evaluation with a male partner between January 2015 and September 2019 at an infertility clinic in the metropolitan Washington D.C. area. INTERVENTION(S): None MAIN OUTCOME(S): Treatment seeking. MEASURE(S): Psychobiological, clinical, and sociocultural factors. RESULT(S): Along with the psychobiological, clinical, and sociocultural domains, we understood that Black women who sought treatment for infertility were older and overweight, had complex gynecological diagnoses, and experienced infertility for long periods of time. The delay in seeking treatment was possibly because of a low perceived risk of infertility, poor understanding of treatment options, inadequate referral patterns of primary care providers, and limited social support. Further, Black women experienced delays in seeking treatment because they attempted lifestyle-based self-interventions before considering medical interventions. Facilitators to care included psychological distress, complex gynecological medical history, and finding culturally competent providers. CONCLUSION(S): The study findings show that Black women in the United States are vulnerable to disparities in healthcare delivery, especially within reproductive endocrinology. Our findings highlight areas where Black women are experiencing missed opportunities for teaching, early identification, and early referrals for infertility-related concerns. Future studies should seek to reduce barriers to infertility treatment at the clinical and policy levels

Nitroarylurea-terminated supramolecular polymers that exhibit facile thermal repair and aqueous swelling-induced sealing of defects

Bi- and tri-armed polyethylene glycol units endcapped with nitroaryl urea units have been synthesised. These endcapped polymers are able to self-assemble via complementary supramolecular interactions, specifically urea-urea and nitro-urea hydrogen bonding, to afford materials with dramatically increased mechanical and thermal properties when compared to those of the uncapped polyethylene glycol precursors. Thin films of the capped polymeric systems are able to self-repair following defect creation. Control over the mechanical and thermal characteristics (in terms of bulk viscosity) of the self-assembled networks was achieved by varying the proportion of tri-armed to bi-armed self-assembly units included in the polymer. These systems demonstrate water absorption and swelling capabilities that are also controllable by varying the ratio of the two types of unit. These physical properties have been optimised to realise a secondary pathway to puncture-repair as a result of swelling on water contact

Comparing the Mental Health of Healthcare Students: Mental Health Shame and Self-compassion in Counselling, Occupational Therapy, Nursing and Social Work Students

Poor mental health of healthcare students is a cause for concern in many universities. Though previous research has identified mental health shame and self-compassion as critical in this student group, how these variables differ across different healthcare disciplines remains to be evaluated. Healthcare students (n = 344; counselling, occupational therapy, social work and nursing) completed measures regarding these variables. MANOVA and regression analyses were performed. (1) Counselling and nursing students were more depressed than occupational therapy students; (2) nursing students were more anxious than occupational therapy and social work students; (3) occupational therapy students had more positive attitudes towards mental health than the others; and (4) nursing students worried about their own reputation associated with their family more than counselling students. Self-compassion was the strongest predictor of mental health in all groups; however, the effect sizes varied: largest in nursing and smallest in social work students. Findings will help inform effective interventions for students in each healthcare discipline

Metabolic Roles of Uncultivated Bacterioplankton Lineages in the Northern Gulf of Mexico "Dead Zone".

This is the final version of the article. Available from American Society for Microbiology via the DOI in this record.Marine regions that have seasonal to long-term low dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations, sometimes called "dead zones," are increasing in number and severity around the globe with deleterious effects on ecology and economics. One of the largest of these coastal dead zones occurs on the continental shelf of the northern Gulf of Mexico (nGOM), which results from eutrophication-enhanced bacterioplankton respiration and strong seasonal stratification. Previous research in this dead zone revealed the presence of multiple cosmopolitan bacterioplankton lineages that have eluded cultivation, and thus their metabolic roles in this ecosystem remain unknown. We used a coupled shotgun metagenomic and metatranscriptomic approach to determine the metabolic potential of Marine Group II Euryarchaeota, SAR406, and SAR202. We recovered multiple high-quality, nearly complete genomes from all three groups as well as candidate phyla usually associated with anoxic environments-Parcubacteria (OD1) and Peregrinibacteria Two additional groups with putative assignments to ACD39 and PAUC34f supplement the metabolic contributions by uncultivated taxa. Our results indicate active metabolism in all groups, including prevalent aerobic respiration, with concurrent expression of genes for nitrate reduction in SAR406 and SAR202, and dissimilatory nitrite reduction to ammonia and sulfur reduction by SAR406. We also report a variety of active heterotrophic carbon processing mechanisms, including degradation of complex carbohydrate compounds by SAR406, SAR202, ACD39, and PAUC34f. Together, these data help constrain the metabolic contributions from uncultivated groups in the nGOM during periods of low DO and suggest roles for these organisms in the breakdown of complex organic matter.IMPORTANCE Dead zones receive their name primarily from the reduction of eukaryotic macrobiota (demersal fish, shrimp, etc.) that are also key coastal fisheries. Excess nutrients contributed from anthropogenic activity such as fertilizer runoff result in algal blooms and therefore ample new carbon for aerobic microbial metabolism. Combined with strong stratification, microbial respiration reduces oxygen in shelf bottom waters to levels unfit for many animals (termed hypoxia). The nGOM shelf remains one of the largest eutrophication-driven hypoxic zones in the world, yet despite its potential as a model study system, the microbial metabolisms underlying and resulting from this phenomenon-many of which occur in bacterioplankton from poorly understood lineages-have received only preliminary study. Our work details the metabolic potential and gene expression activity for uncultivated lineages across several low DO sites in the nGOM, improving our understanding of the active biogeochemical cycling mediated by these "microbial dark matter" taxa during hypoxia

A long-acting formulation of the integrase inhibitor raltegravir protects humanized BLT mice from repeated high-dose vaginal HIV challenges

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) using antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) has been shown to reduce HIV transmission in people at high risk of HIV infection. Adherence to PrEP strongly correlates with the level of HIV protection. Long-acting injectable ARVs provide sustained systemic drug exposures over many weeks and can improve adherence due to infrequent parenteral administration. Here, we evaluated a new long-acting formulation of raltegravir for prevention of vaginal HIV transmission

Mapk-activated protein kinase 2 contributes to Clostridium difficile-associated inflammation

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) results in toxin-induced epithelial injury and marked intestinal inflammation. Fecal markers of intestinal inflammation correlate with CDI disease severity, but regulation of the inflammatory response is poorly understood. Previous studies demonstrated that C. difficile toxin TcdA activates p38 kinase in tissue culture cells and mouse ilium, resulting in interleukin-8 (IL-8) release. Here, we investigated the role of phosphorylated mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)-activated protein kinase (MK2 kinase, pMK2), a key mediator of p38-dependent inflammation, in CDI. Exposure of cultured intestinal epithelial cells to the C. difficile toxins TcdA and TcdB resulted in p38-dependent MK2 activation. Toxin-induced IL-8 and GROα release required MK2 activity. We found that p38 and MK2 are activated in response to other actin-disrupting agents, suggesting that toxin-induced cytoskeleton disruption is the trigger for kinase-dependent cytokine response. Phosphorylated MK2 was detected in the intestines of C. difficile-infected hamsters and mice, demonstrating for the first time that the pathway is activated in infected animals. Furthermore, we found that elevated pMK2 correlated with the presence of toxigenic C. difficile among 100 patient stool samples submitted for C. difficile testing. In conclusion, we find that MK2 kinase is activated by TcdA and TcdB and regulates the expression of proinflammatory cytokines. Activation of p38-MK2 in infected animals and humans suggests that this pathway is a key driver of intestinal inflammation in patients with CDI

Cyclic dermal BMP signalling regulates stem cell activation during hair regeneration

In the age of stem cell engineering it is critical to understand how stem cell activity is regulated during regeneration. Hairs are mini-organs that undergo cyclic regeneration throughout adult life1, and are an important model for organ regeneration. Hair stem cells located in the follicle bulge2 are regulated by the surrounding microenvironment, or niche3. The activation of such stem cells is cyclic, involving periodic -catenin activity4, 5, 6, 7. In the adult mouse, regeneration occurs in waves in a follicle population, implying coordination among adjacent follicles and the extrafollicular environment. Here we show that unexpected periodic expression of bone morphogenetic protein 2 (Bmp2) and Bmp4 in the dermis regulates this process. This BMP cycle is out of phase with the WNT/-catenin cycle, thus dividing the conventional telogen into new functional phases: one refractory and the other competent for hair regeneration, characterized by high and low BMP signalling, respectively. Overexpression of noggin, a BMP antagonist, in mouse skin resulted in a markedly shortened refractory phase and faster propagation of the regenerative wave. Transplantation of skin from this mutant onto a wild-type host showed that follicles in donor and host can affect their cycling behaviours mutually, with the outcome depending on the equilibrium of BMP activity in the dermis. Administration of BMP4 protein caused the competent region to become refractory. These results show that BMPs may be the long-sought 'chalone' inhibitors of hair growth postulated by classical experiments. Taken together, results presented in this study provide an example of hierarchical regulation of local organ stem cell homeostasis by the inter-organ macroenvironment. The expression of Bmp2 in subcutaneous adipocytes indicates physiological integration between these two thermo-regulatory organs. Our findings have practical importance for studies using mouse skin as a model for carcinogenesis, intra-cutaneous drug delivery and stem cell engineering studies, because they highlight the acute need to differentiate supportive versus inhibitory regions in the host skin