The Way Will Open: A Study of the Presidency of Jack Niemeyer at Bank Street College of Education

A biography of John H. Niemeyer who served as president of Bank Street College of Education from 1955 through 1973.https://educate.bankstreet.edu/faculty-staff/1012/thumbnail.jp

Evaluation of two repellent semiochemicals for disruption of attack by the mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins (Coleoptera: Scolytidae)

When released from attractant-baited multiple-funnel traps, 3-methyl-2-cyclohexen-1- one (MCH) reduced catches of male and female mountain pine beetles, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins, by 67.4% and 71.8%, respectively. 2-Phenyl ethanol reduced the respective catches by 96.6% and 95.1%, but only verbenone and all three compounds together reduced catches to levels no different from those in unbaited control traps. In another experiment, all three binary combinations of the above compounds, plus the ternary combination, reduced catches of both sexes by >96%. In comparable tree protection experiments near Princeton BC, MCH and 2-phenyl ethanol alone and together significantly reduced the percentages of pheromone-baited lodgepole pines that were attacked by 16.0%, 33.3% and 40.0%, respectively, but verbenone alone totally protected baited trees, and many trees within 5 m of them, from attack. In identical experiments near Prince George BC, where mountain pine beetle populations were much higher, adding MCH, 2-phenyl ethanol or both together to verbenone did not cause attack to be reduced significantly beyond that achieved by verbenone alone. Our results confirm that 2-phenyl ethanol is an antiaggregation pheromone for the mountain pine beetle, and that MCH is an interspecific synomone. However, because neither was as effective as verbenone in protecting pheromone-baited trees from attack, and adding either or both to verbenone did not improve protection, neither compound warrants further consideration as a potential tool for operational disruption of attack

Team Collaboration Software

The Ground Resource Allocation and Planning Environment (GRAPE 1.0) is a Web-based, collaborative team environment based on the Microsoft SharePoint platform, which provides Deep Space Network (DSN) resource planners tools and services for sharing information and performing analysis

Treatment differences by health insurance among outpatients with coronary artery disease

OBJECTIVES: To compare treatment rates by insurance status for 5 quality-of-care indicators for coronary artery disease (CAD) care related to medication treatment. METHOD: Within the NCDR's PINNACLE Registry, we identified 60,814 outpatients with CAD from 30 U.S. practices. Hierarchical modified Poisson regression models with practice site as a random effect were used to study the association between health insurance (no insurance, public or private health insurance) and 5 CAD quality measures. RESULTS: Of 60,814 patients, 5716 (9.4%) patients were uninsured and 11,962 (19.7%) had public insurance, whereas 43,136 (70.9%) were privately insured. After accounting for exclusions, uninsured patients with CAD were 9%, 12%, and 6% less likely to receive treatment with beta-blocker, ACE-I/ARB, and lipid lowering therapy, respectively, than privately insured patients, whereas patients with public insurance were 9% less likely to be prescribed ACE-I/ARB therapy. Most differences by insurance status were attenuated after adjusting for the site providing care. For example, whereas uninsured patients with left ventricular dysfunction and CAD were less likely to receive ACE-I/ARB therapy (unadjusted RR=0.88; 95% CI 0.84-0.93), this difference was eliminated after adjustment for site (adjusted RR=0.95; 95% CI 0.88-1.03; P=0.18). CONCLUSIONS: Within this national outpatient cardiac registry, uninsured patients were less likely to receive evidence-based medications for CAD. These disparities were explained by the site providing care. Efforts to reduce treatment differences by insurance status among cardiac outpatients may additionally need to focus on improving rates of evidence-based treatment at sites with high proportions of uninsured patients

Detecting and Studying Higgs Bosons at a Photon-Photon Collider

We examine the potential for detecting and studying Higgs bosons at a photon-photon collider facility associated with a future linear collider. Our study incorporates realistic \gam\gam luminosity spectra based on the most probable available laser technology. Results include detector simulations. We study the cases of: a) a SM-like Higgs boson; b) the heavy MSSM Higgs bosons; c) a Higgs boson with no $WW/ZZ$ couplings from a general two Higgs doublet model.Comment: 52 pages, 26 figures, revised version with new appendi

The Effects of a Korean Ginseng, GINST15, on Perceptual Effort, Psychomotor Performance, and Physical Performance in Men and Women

The purpose of this double-blind, placebo-controlled investigation was to examine the effects of a Korean Ginseng (GINST15) on measures of perception and physical performance following an acute bout of resistance exercise. Ten women (age: 38.7 ± 7.8 years; height: 1.64 ± 0.05 m; body mass: 76.0 ± 11.6 kg) and nine men (age: 41.2. ± 9.7 years; height: 1.77 ± 0.05 m; body mass: 88.5 ± 5.0 kg) completed the investigation. Participants were randomized to a three-cycle testing scheme consisting of high dose ginseng (HIGH: 960 mg/day), low dose ginseng (LOW: 160 mg/day) and placebo (PBO: 0 mg/day). After 14 days of supplementation participants returned to the laboratory for an acute resistance exercise trial (5 sets of 12 repetitions of the leg press at 70% of one-repetition-maximum [1RM]). Ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) were assessed after each set. Muscle pain/soreness was assessed before exercise and 24 hours post exercise. Psychomotor performance and peak power were measured before exercise, immediately post exercise and 24 hours after exercise. Each treatment cycle was separated by a minimum one-week washout period. HIGH significantly reduced perceived exertion during exercise. HIGH and LOW significantly reduced change in muscle soreness at 24 hours post exercise. Analysis of peak power demonstrated the presence of responders (n = 13) and non-responders (n = 6). Responders showed a significant effect of HIGH GINST15 on maintenance of neuromuscular function. The appearance of responders and non-responders, could explain the mixed literature base on the ergogenic properties of ginseng

Changes of Hydration Measures in Elite National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Wrestlers

Purpose: To evaluate the changes in the state of hydration in elite National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college wrestlers during and after a season. Methods: Ohio State University wrestling team members (N = 6; mean [SD] age = 19.6 [1.1] y; height = 171.6 [2.9] cm; body mass = 69.5 [8.1] kg) gave informed consent to participate in the investigation with measurements (ie, body mass, urine-specific gravity [USG; 2 methods], Visual Analog Scale thirst scale, plasma osmolality) obtained during and after the season. Results: Measurements for USG, regardless of methods, were not significantly different between visits, but plasma osmolality was significantly (P = .001) higher at the beginning of the season—295.5 (4.9) mOsm·kg−1 compared with 279.6 (6.1) mOsm·kg−1 after the season. No changes in thirst ratings were observed, and the 2 measures of USG were highly correlated (r \u3e .9, P = .000) at each time point, but USG and plasma osmolality were not related. Conclusions: A paradox in the clinical interpretation of euhydration in the beginning of the season was observed with the USG, indicating that the wrestlers were properly hydrated, while the plasma osmolality showed they were not. Thus, the tracking of hydration status during the season is a concern when using only NCAA policies and procedures. The wrestlers did return to normal euhydration levels after the season on both biomarkers, which is remarkable, as previous studies have indicated that this may not happen because of the reregulation of the osmol-regulatory center in the brain

Anthrax Toxin Receptor 2 Determinants that Dictate the pH Threshold of Toxin Pore Formation

The anthrax toxin receptors, ANTXR1 and ANTXR2, act as molecular clamps to prevent the protective antigen (PA) toxin subunit from forming pores until exposure to low pH. PA forms pores at pH ∼6.0 or below when it is bound to ANTXR1, but only at pH ∼5.0 or below when it is bound to ANTXR2. Here, structure-based mutagenesis was used to identify non-conserved ANTXR2 residues responsible for this striking 1.0 pH unit difference in pH threshold. Residues conserved between ANTXR2 and ANTXR1 that influence the ANTXR2-associated pH threshold of pore formation were also identified. All of these residues contact either PA domain 2 or the neighboring edge of PA domain 4. These results provide genetic evidence for receptor release of these regions of PA as being necessary for the protein rearrangements that accompany anthrax toxin pore formation

Cross-syndrome comparison of real-world executive functioning and problem solving using a new problem-solving questionnaire

Background. Individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders like Williams syndrome and Down syndrome exhibit executive function impairments on experimental tasks (Lanfranchi, Jerman, Dal Pont, Alberti, & Vianello, 2010; Menghini, Addona, Costanzo, & Vicari, 2010), but the way that they use executive functioning for problem solving in everyday life has not hitherto been explored. The study aim is to understand cross-syndrome characteristics of everyday executive functioning and problem solving. Methods. Parents/carers of individuals with Williams syndrome (n=47) or Down syndrome (n=31) of a similar chronological age (m =17 years 4 months and 18 years respectively) as well as those of a group of younger typically developing children (n=34; m=8 years 3 months) completed two questionnaires: the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF; Gioia, Isquith, Guy, & Kenworthy, 2000) and a novel Problem-Solving Questionnaire. Results. The rated likelihood of reaching a solution in a problem solving situation was lower for both syndromic groups than the typical group, and lower still for the Williams syndrome group than the Down syndrome group. The proportion of group members meeting the criterion for clinical significance on the BRIEF was also highest for the Williams syndrome group. While changing response, avoiding losing focus and maintaining perseverance were important for problem-solving success in all groups, asking for help and avoiding becoming emotional were also important for the Down syndrome and Williams syndrome groups respectively. Keeping possessions in order was a relative strength amongst BRIEF scales for the Down syndrome group. Conclusion. Results suggest that individuals with Down syndrome tend to use compensatory strategies for problem solving (asking for help and potentially, keeping items well ordered), while for individuals with Williams syndrome, emotional reactions disrupt their problem- solving skills. This paper highlights the importance of identifying syndrome-specific problem-solving strengths and difficulties to improve effective functioning in everyday life

Reducing Tumour Hypoxia via Oral Administration of Oxygen Nanobubbles

Hypoxia has been shown to be a key factor inhibiting the successful treatment of solid tumours. Existing strategies for reducing hypoxia, however, have shown limited efficacy and/or adverse side effects. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential for reducing tumour hypoxia using an orally delivered suspension of surfactant-stabilised oxygen nanobubbles. Experiments were carried out in a mouse xenograft tumour model for human pancreatic cancer (BxPc-3 cells in male SCID mice). A single dose of 100 μL of oxygen saturated water, oxygen nanobubbles or argon nanobubbles was administered via gavage. Animals were sacrificed 30 minutes post-treatment (3 per group) and expression of hypoxia-inducible-factor-1α (HIF1α) protein measured by real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analysis of the excised tumour tissue. Neither the oxygen saturated water nor argon nanobubbles produced a statistically significant change in HIF1α expression at the transcriptional level. In contrast, a reduction of 75% and 25% in the transcriptional and translational expression of HIF1α respectively (p<0.001) was found for the animals receiving the oxygen nanobubbles. This magnitude of reduction has been shown in previous studies to be commensurate with an improvement in outcome with both radiation and drug-based treatments. In addition, there was a significant reduction in the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in this group and corresponding increase in the expression of arrest-defective protein 1 homolog A (ARD1A)