Project Tech Top study of lunar, planetary and solar topography Final report

Data acquisition techniques for information on lunar, planetary, and solar topograph

Education Policy: Addressing Racial Health Disparities in Educational Contexts

Race, ethnicity, and Socioeconomic Status (SES) influence physical and mental health throughout the life course. Institutional and interpersonal discrimination is particularly detrimental, especially for children, and is associated with poor health outcomes. One of the most important determinants of long-term health is lifelong educational attainment. Center-based Early Childhood Education (ECE) and School-Based Health Centers (SBHCs) can help overcome educational obstacles and increase medical services in disadvantaged populations while fostering health equity. Educators involved in ECE programs and SBHCs for poor and minority youth must be involved in the policy making process in order to ensure that educational quality is considered essential to the long-term effects of health equity

Association between computed tomography obstruction index and mortality in elderly patients with acute pulmonary embolism: A prospective validation study.

Computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) has not only become the method of choice for diagnosing acute pulmonary embolism (PE), it also allows for risk stratification of patients with PE. To date, no study has specifically examined the predictive value of CTPA findings to assess short-term prognosis in elderly patients with acute PE who are particularly vulnerable to adverse outcomes. We studied 291 patients aged ≥65 years with acute symptomatic PE in a prospective multicenter cohort. Outcomes were 90-day overall and PE-related mortality, recurrent venous thromboembolism (VTE), and length of hospital stay (LOS). We examined associations of the computed tomography obstruction index (CTOI) and the right ventricular (RV) to left ventricular (LV) diameter ratio with mortality and VTE recurrence using survival analysis, adjusting for provoked VTE, Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index (PESI), and anticoagulation as a time-varying covariate. Overall, 15 patients died within 90 days. There was no association between the CTOI and 90-day overall mortality (adjusted hazard ratio per 10% CTOI increase 0.92; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.70-1.21; P = 0.54), but between the CTOI and PE-related 90-day mortality (adjusted sub-hazard ratio per 10% CTOI increase 1.36; 95% CI 1.03-1.81; P = 0.03). The RV/LV diameter ratio was neither associated with overall nor PE-related 90-day mortality. The CTOI and the RV/LV diameter ratio were significantly associated with VTE recurrence and LOS. In elderly patients with acute PE, the CTOI was associated with PE-related 90-day mortality but not with overall 90-day mortality. The RV/LV diameter ratio did not predict mortality. Both measures predicted VTE recurrence and LOS. The evaluated CTPA findings do not appear to offer any advantage over the PESI in terms of mortality prediction

Electric utility acid fuel cell stack technology advancement

The principal effort under this program was directed at the fuel cell stack technology required to accomplish the initial feasibility demonstrations of increased cell stack operating pressures and temperatures, increased cell active area, incorporation of the ribbed substrate cell configuration at the bove conditions, and the introduction of higher performance electrocatalysts. The program results were successful with the primary accomplishments being: (1) fabrication of 10 sq ft ribbed substrate, cell components including higher performing electrocatalysts; (2) assembly of a 10 sq ft, 30-cell short stack; and (3) initial test of this stack at 120 psia and 405 F. These accomplishments demonstrate the feasibility of fabricating and handling large area cells using materials and processes that are oriented to low cost manufacture. An additional accomplishment under the program was the testing of two 3.7 sq ft short stacks at 12 psia/405 F to 5400 and 4500 hours respectively. These tests demonstrate the durability of the components and the cell stack configuration to a nominal 5000 hours at the higher pressure and temperature condition planned for the next electric utility power plant

Feasibility of a Supporting‐Salt‐Free Nonaqueous Redox Flow Battery Utilizing Ionic Active Materials

Nonaqueous redox flow batteries (NAqRFBs) are promising devices for grid‐scale energy storage, but high projected prices could limit commercial prospects. One route to reduced prices is to minimize or eliminate the expensive supporting salts typically employed in NAqRFBs. Herein, the feasibility of a flow cell operating in the absence of supporting salt by utilizing ionic active species is demonstrated. These ionic species have high conductivities in acetonitrile (12–19 mS cm−1) and cycle at 20 mA cm−2 with energy efficiencies (>75 %) comparable to those of state‐of‐the‐art NAqRFBs employing high concentrations of supporting salt. A chemistry‐agnostic techno‐economic analysis highlights the possible cost savings of minimizing salt content in a NAqRFB. This work offers the first demonstration of a NAqRFB operating without supporting salt. The associated design principles can guide the development of future active species and could make NAqRFBs competitive with their aqueous counterparts.Salt‐free cell: Decreasing the contribution of salt costs to the total electrolyte cost for nonaqueous redox flow batteries is essential for economic viability. A nonaqueous flow battery utilizing ionic active materials completely removes the need for a supporting salt. The cell cycling performance and area‐specific specific resistance are comparable to those of state‐of‐the‐art nonaqueous flow cells with high salt concentrations.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137469/1/cssc201700028-sup-0001-misc_information.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137469/2/cssc201700028.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137469/3/cssc201700028_am.pd

Telomerase mediates lymphocyte proliferation but not the atherosclerosis-suppressive potential of regulatory T-cells

Objective: Atherosclerosis is an age-related disease characterised by systemic oxidative stress and low-grade inflammation. The role of telomerase and telomere length in atherogenesis remains contentious. Short telomeres of peripheral leukocytes are predictive for coronary artery disease. Conversely, attenuated telomerase has been demonstrated to be protective for atherosclerosis. Hence a potential causative role of telomerase in atherogenesis is critically debated. Approach and Results: In this study we used multiple mouse models to investigate the regulation of telomerase under oxidative stress as well as its impact on atherogenesis in vitro and in vivo. Using primary lymphocytes and myeloid cell cultures we demonstrate that cultivation under hyperoxic conditions induced oxidative stress resulting in chronic activation of CD4+ cells and significantly reduced CD4+ T-cell proliferation. The latter was telomerase dependent, as oxidative stress had no effect on the proliferation of primary lymphocytes isolated from telomerase-knock-out mice. In contrast, myeloid cell proliferation was unaffected by oxidative stress nor reliant on telomerase. Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) deficiency had no effect on Treg numbers in vivo or suppressive function ex vivo. Adoptive transfer of TERT-/- Tregs into Rag2-/- ApoE-/- double knock out mice demonstrated that telomerase function was not required for the ability of Tregs to protect against atherosclerosis. However, telomere length was critical for Treg function. Conclusions: Telomerase contributes to lymphocyte proliferation but plays no major role in Treg function, provided that telomere length is not critically short. We suggest that oxidative stress may contribute to atherosclerosis via suppression of telomerase and acceleration of telomere attrition in Tregs.This study was supported, in part, by British Heart Foundation Project Grants PG/15/85/31744 and PG/12/47/29681 (www.BHF.org.uk) as well as the Newcastle Healthcare Charity (www.newcastle-hospitals. org.uk/patient-guides/charity-matters-at-newcastle-hospitals_charitable- funds.aspx). N.M. Al Zhrany was funded by a stipend from the Government of Saudi Arabia

Positioning pharmacists’ roles in primary health care: a discourse analysis of the compensation plan in Alberta, Canada

Abstract Background A comprehensive Compensation Plan for pharmacy services delivered by community pharmacists was implemented in Alberta, Canada in July 2012. Services covered by the Compensation Plan include care planning services, prescribing services such as adapting prescriptions, and administering a drug or publicly-funded vaccine by injection. Understanding how the Compensation Plan was framed and communicated provides insight into the roles of pharmacists and the potential influence of language on the implementation of services covered by the Compensation Plan by Albertan pharmacists. The objective of this study is to examine the positioning of pharmacists’ roles in documents used to communicate the Compensation Plan to Albertan pharmacists and other audiences. Methods Publicly available documents related to the Compensation Plan, such as news releases or reports, published between January 2012 and December 2015 were obtained from websites such as the Government of Alberta, Alberta Blue Cross, the Alberta College of Pharmacists, the Alberta Pharmacists’ Association, and the Blueprint for Pharmacy. Searches of the Canadian Newsstand database and Google identified additional documents. Discourse analysis was performed using social positioning theory to explore how pharmacists’ roles were constructed in communications about the Compensation Plan. Results In total, 65 publicly available documents were included in the analysis. The Compensation Plan was put forward as a framework for payment for professional services and formal legitimization of pharmacists’ changing professional roles. The discourse associated with the Compensation Plan positioned pharmacists’ roles as: (1) expanding to include services such as medication management for chronic diseases, (2) contributing to primary health care by providing access to services such as prescription renewals and immunizations, and (3) collaborating with other health care team members. Pharmacists’ changing roles were positioned in alignment with the aims of primary health care. Conclusions Social positioning theory provides a useful lens to examine the dynamic and evolving roles of pharmacists. This study provides insight into how communications regarding the Compensation Plan in Alberta, Canada positioned pharmacists’ changing roles in the broader context of changes to primary health care delivery. Our findings may be useful for other jurisdictions considering implementation of remunerated clinical services provided by pharmacists

Identification of candidate tumour suppressor genes frequently methylated in renal cell carcinoma

Promoter region hyermethylation and transcriptional silencing is a frequent cause of tumour suppressor gene (TSG) inactivation in many types of human cancers. Functional epigenetic studies, in which gene expression is induced by treatment with demethylating agents, may identify novel genes with tumour-specific methylation. We used high-density gene expression microarrays in a functional epigenetic study of 11 renal cell carcinoma (RCC) cell lines. Twenty-eight genes were then selected for analysis of promoter methylation status in cell lines and primary RCC. Eight genes (BNC1, PDLIM4, RPRM, CST6, SFRP1, GREM1, COL14A1 and COL15A1) showed frequent (30% of RCC tested) tumour-specific promoter region methylation. Hypermethylation was associated with transcriptional silencing. Re-expression of BNC1, CST6, RPRM and SFRP1 suppressed the growth of RCC cell lines and RNA interference knock-down of BNC1, SFRP1 and COL14A1 increased the growth of RCC cell lines. Methylation of BNC1 or COL14A1 was associated with a poorer prognosis independent of tumour size, stage or grade. The identification of these epigenetically inactivated candidate RCC TSGs can provide insights into renal tumourigenesis and a basis for developing novel therapies and biomarkers for prognosis and detection. © 2010 Macmillan Publishers Limited.Published versio

mTORC1 in the Paneth cell niche couples intestinal stem cell function to calorie intake

How adult tissue stem and niche cells respond to the nutritional state of an organism is not well understood. Here we find that Paneth cells, a key constituent of the mammalian intestinal stem-cell (ISC) niche, augment stem-cell function in response to calorie restriction. Calorie restriction acts by reducing mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) signalling in Paneth cells, and the ISC-enhancing effects of calorie restriction can be mimicked by rapamycin. Calorie intake regulates mTORC1 in Paneth cells, but not ISCs, and forced activation of mTORC1 in Paneth cells during calorie restriction abolishes the ISC-augmenting effects of the niche. Finally, increased expression of bone stromal antigen 1 (Bst1) in Paneth cells—an ectoenzyme that produces the paracrine factor cyclic ADP ribose—mediates the effects of calorie restriction and rapamycin on ISC function. Our findings establish that mTORC1 non-cell-autonomously regulates stem-cell self-renewal, and highlight a significant role of the mammalian intestinal niche in coupling stem-cell function to organismal physiology.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (CA103866)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (CA129105)David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT (Initiator Award)Ellison Medical FoundationNational Cancer Institute (U.S.) (NCI (T32CA09216) fellowship support)Academy of FinlandFoundations’ Postdoc PoolNational Institutes of Health (U.S.) (NIH (1F32AG032833-01A1))Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund for Medical Researc