Evaluation of a Web-Based Peer Discussion Group for Counselor Trainees

The present study examined the development, content, and outcome of a two-semester Web-Based Peer Discussion Group (WBPDG) for 20 counselor trainees. Outcome measures determined that participants felt significantly more open and comfortable using the WBPDG at posttest in comparison to pretest. In addition, counselor trainees significantly reported a preference for using aliases online versus their real names in order to foster more sharing. Grounded theory[1] was used to analyze the 824 WBPDG messages revealing the following themes: Therapeutic Technique, Case Conceptualization, Professional Identity and Development, Supervision, Interpersonal Issues, and Ethics. Participation in the WBPDG also correlated with outcomes measured in face-to-face supervision. Implications for online peer supervision, practice, research, training and education in professional psychology are addressed

HD 101088, An Accreting 14 AU Binary in Lower Centaurus Crux With Very Little Circumstellar Dust

We present high resolution (R=55,000) optical spectra obtained with MIKE on the 6.5 m Magellan Clay Telescope as well as Spitzer MIPS photometry and IRS low resolution (R~60) spectroscopy of the close (14 AU separation) binary, HD 101088, a member of the ~12 Myr old southern region of the Lower Centaurus Crux (LCC) subgroup of the Scorpius-Centaurus OB association. We find that the primary and/or secondary is accreting from a tenuous circumprimary and/or circumsecondary disk despite the apparent lack of a massive circumbinary disk. We estimate a lower limit to the accretion rate of > 1x10^-9 solar masses per year, which our multiple observation epochs show varies over a timescale of months. The upper limit on the 70 micron flux allows us to place an upper limit on the mass of dust grains smaller than several microns present in a circumbinary disk of 0.16 moon masses. We conclude that the classification of disks into either protoplanetary or debris disks based on fractional infrared luminosity alone may be misleading.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, ApJ accepte

Relationship Between Foveal Cone Specialization and Pit Morphology in Albinism

Purpose.Albinism is associated with disrupted foveal development, though intersubject variability is becoming appreciated. We sought to quantify this variability, and examine the relationship between foveal cone specialization and pit morphology in patients with a clinical diagnosis of albinism. Methods. We recruited 32 subjects with a clinical diagnosis of albinism. DNA was obtained from 25 subjects, and known albinism genes were analyzed for mutations. Relative inner and outer segment (IS and OS) lengthening (fovea-to-perifovea ratio) was determined from manually segmented spectral domain-optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) B-scans. Foveal pit morphology was quantified for eight subjects from macular SD-OCT volumes. Ten subjects underwent imaging with adaptive optics scanning light ophthalmoscopy (AOSLO), and cone density was measured. Results. We found mutations in 22 of 25 subjects, including five novel mutations. All subjects lacked complete excavation of inner retinal layers at the fovea, though four subjects had foveal pits with normal diameter and/or volume. Peak cone density and OS lengthening were variable and overlapped with that observed in normal controls. A fifth hyper-reflective band was observed in the outer retina on SD-OCT in the majority of the subjects with albinism. Conclusions. Foveal cone specialization and pit morphology vary greatly in albinism. Normal cone packing was observed in the absence of a foveal pit, suggesting a pit is not required for packing to occur. The degree to which retinal anatomy correlates with genotype or visual function remains unclear, and future examination of larger patient groups will provide important insight on this issue

Structure of CD20 in complex with the therapeutic monoclonal antibody rituximab.

Cluster of differentiation 20 (CD20) is a B cell membrane protein that is targeted by monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of malignancies and autoimmune disorders but whose structure and function are unknown. Rituximab (RTX) has been in clinical use for two decades, but how it activates complement to kill B cells remains poorly understood. We obtained a structure of CD20 in complex with RTX, revealing CD20 as a compact double-barrel dimer bound by two RTX antigen-binding fragments (Fabs), each of which engages a composite epitope and an extensive homotypic Fab:Fab interface. Our data suggest that RTX cross-links CD20 into circular assemblies and lead to a structural model for complement recruitment. Our results further highlight the potential relevance of homotypic Fab:Fab interactions in targeting oligomeric cell-surface markers

HST and Spitzer Observations of the HD 207129 Debris Ring

A debris ring around the star HD 207129 (G0V; d = 16.0 pc) has been imaged in scattered visible light with the ACS coronagraph on the Hubble Space Telescope and in thermal emission using MIPS on the Spitzer Space Telescope at 70 microns (resolved) and 160 microns (unresolved). Spitzer IRS (7-35 microns) and MIPS (55-90 microns) spectrographs measured disk emission at >28 microns. In the HST image the disk appears as a ~30 AU wide ring with a mean radius of ~163 AU and is inclined by 60 degrees from pole-on. At 70 microns it appears partially resolved and is elongated in the same direction and with nearly the same size as seen with HST in scattered light. At 0.6 microns the ring shows no significant brightness asymmetry, implying little or no forward scattering by its constituent dust. With a mean surface brightness of V=23.7 mag per square arcsec, it is the faintest disk imaged to date in scattered light.Comment: 28 pages, 8 figure

Pediatric home mechanical ventilation: A Canadian Thoracic Society clinical practice guideline executive summary

Over the last 30 to 40 years, improvements in technology, as well as changing clinical practice regarding the appropriateness of long-term ventilation in patients with “non-curable” disorders, have resulted in increasing numbers of children surviving what were previously considered fatal conditions. This has come but at the expense of requiring ongoing, long-term prolonged mechanical ventilation (both invasive and noninvasive). Although there are many publications pertaining to specific aspects of home mechanical ventilation (HMV) in children, there are few comprehensive guidelines that bring together all of the current literature. In 2011 the Canadian Thoracic Society HMV Guideline Committee published a review of the available English literature on topics related to HMV in adults, and completed a detailed guideline that will help standardize and improve the assessment and management of individuals requiring noninvasive or invasive HMV. This current document is intended to be a companion to the 2011 guidelines, concentrating on the issues that are either unique to children on HMV (individuals under 18 years of age), or where common pediatric practice diverges significantly from that employed in adults on long-term home ventilation. As with the adult guidelines,1 this document provides a disease-specific review of illnesses associated with the necessity for long-term ventilation in children, including children with chronic lung disease, spinal muscle atrophy, muscular dystrophies, kyphoscoliosis, obesity hypoventilation syndrome, and central hypoventilation syndromes. It also covers important common themes such as airway clearance, the ethics of initiation of long-term ventilation in individuals unable to give consent, the process of transition to home and to adult centers, and the impact, both financial, as well as social, that this may have on the child\u27s families and caregivers. The guidelines have been extensively reviewed by international experts, allied health professionals and target audiences. They will be updated on a regular basis to incorporate any new information

Solar System Analogs Around IRAS-Discovered Debris Disks

We have rereduced Spitzer IRS spectra and reanalyzed the SED's of three nearby debris disks: lambda Boo, HD 139664, and HR 8799. We find that that the thermal emission from these objects is well modeled using two single temperature black body components. For HR 8799 -- with no silicate emission features despite a relatively hot inner dust component (Tgr = 150 K) -- we infer the presence of an asteroid belt interior to and a Kuiper Belt exterior to the recently discovered orbiting planets. For HD 139664, which has been imaged in scattered light, we infer the presence of strongly forward scattering grains, consistent with porous grains, if the cold, outer disk component generates both the observed scattered light and thermal emission. Finally, careful analysis of the lambda Boo SED suggests that this system possesses a central clearing, indicating that selective accretion of solids onto the central star does not occur from a dusty disk.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures (including 2 color figures), ApJ, in pres

Rare mutations in SQSTM1 modify susceptibility to frontotemporal lobar degeneration

Mutations in the gene coding for Sequestosome 1 (SQSTM1) have been genetically associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Paget disease of bone. In the present study, we analyzed the SQSTM1 coding sequence for mutations in an extended cohort of 1,808 patients with frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), ascertained within the European Early-Onset Dementia consortium. As control dataset, we sequenced 1,625 European control individuals and analyzed whole-exome sequence data of 2,274 German individuals (total n = 3,899). Association of rare SQSTM1 mutations was calculated in a meta-analysis of 4,332 FTLD and 10,240 control alleles. We identified 25 coding variants in FTLD patients of which 10 have not been described. Fifteen mutations were absent in the control individuals (carrier frequency < 0.00026) whilst the others were rare in both patients and control individuals. When pooling all variants with a minor allele frequency < 0.01, an overall frequency of 3.2 % was calculated in patients. Rare variant association analysis between patients and controls showed no difference over the whole protein, but suggested that rare mutations clustering in the UBA domain of SQSTM1 may influence disease susceptibility by doubling the risk for FTLD (RR = 2.18 [95 % CI 1.24-3.85]; corrected p value = 0.042). Detailed histopathology demonstrated that mutations in SQSTM1 associate with widespread neuronal and glial phospho-TDP-43 pathology. With this study, we provide further evidence for a putative role of rare mutations in SQSTM1 in the genetic etiology of FTLD and showed that, comparable to other FTLD/ALS genes, SQSTM1 mutations are associated with TDP-43 pathology

Debris Disks: Probing Planet Formation

Debris disks are the dust disks found around ~20% of nearby main sequence stars in far-IR surveys. They can be considered as descendants of protoplanetary disks or components of planetary systems, providing valuable information on circumstellar disk evolution and the outcome of planet formation. The debris disk population can be explained by the steady collisional erosion of planetesimal belts; population models constrain where (10-100au) and in what quantity (>1Mearth) planetesimals (>10km in size) typically form in protoplanetary disks. Gas is now seen long into the debris disk phase. Some of this is secondary implying planetesimals have a Solar System comet-like composition, but some systems may retain primordial gas. Ongoing planet formation processes are invoked for some debris disks, such as the continued growth of dwarf planets in an unstirred disk, or the growth of terrestrial planets through giant impacts. Planets imprint structure on debris disks in many ways; images of gaps, clumps, warps, eccentricities and other disk asymmetries, are readily explained by planets at >>5au. Hot dust in the region planets are commonly found (<5au) is seen for a growing number of stars. This dust usually originates in an outer belt (e.g., from exocomets), although an asteroid belt or recent collision is sometimes inferred.Comment: Invited review, accepted for publication in the 'Handbook of Exoplanets', eds. H.J. Deeg and J.A. Belmonte, Springer (2018