The Analgesia-Enhancing Component of\ud Ingested Amniotic Fluid Does Not Affect\ud Nicotine-Induced Antinociception in\ud Naltrexone-Treated Rats

Ingestion of amniotic fluid and placenta by rats has been shown to enhance opioid-mediated antinociception but not affect the nonopioid-mediated antinociception produced by aspirin, suggesting spccificity for opioid-mediated processes. However, enhancement by the active substance(s) in amniotic fluid and placenta1 (POEF, for placental opioid-enhancing factor) of antinociception produced by other nonopioid mechanisms has yet to be examined. The present experiments tested whether ingestion of amniotic fluid enhances the antinociception produced by nicotine injection. In Experiment IA, Enhancement of morphine-mediated antinociception by ingestion of amniotic fluid was demonstrated in a hot-plate assay. In Experiment IB, rats pretreated with naltrexone were given an orogastric infusion of amniotic fluid or control (0.25 ml), then injected with nicotine (0, 0.075, 0.125, or 0.225 mg/kg subcutaneously), then tested for antinociception in a hot-plate assay. Amniotic fluid ingestion did not enhance the antinociception produced by various doses of nicotine. In Experiment 2, rats pretreated with naltrexone were given an orogastric infusion of amniotic fluid (0, 0.125,\ud 0.25, or 0.50 ml) and then injectcd with 0.125 mg/kg nicotine. None of the doses of amniotic fluid enhanced the nicotine-induced antinociception. The findings of these experiments lend support to our contention that the enhancement by POEF of antinociception is specific to opioid-mediated processes

Blockade of Digestion by Famotidine\ud Pretreatment Does Not Interfere With the Opioid-Enhancing\ud Effect of Ingested Amniotic Fluid

Ingestion of placenta or amniotic fluid by rats has been shown to enhance ongoing opioid-mediated antinociception, but does not, by itself, produce antinociception. This enhancement is produced by an active substance(s) in placenta and amniotic fluid that we have termed POEF for placental opioid-enhancing factor. Previous research has shown that enhancement requires mediation by the gastrointestinal system: gastric vagotomy blocks enhancement produced by ingested placenta; amniotic fluid injected SC or IP does not produce enhancement. The present study was designed to distinguish between two possible explanations for the blockade of the POEF effect produced by gastric vagotomy: that afferent information arising in vagal gastric receptors conveys the critical information to the CNS, or that disruption of vagal efferent action on digestion blocks the manufacture or activation of the POEF molecule in the gut. Famotidine is an H2-histamine receptor antagonist that reduces gastric acid and pepsin secretion to an extent at least as great as gastric vagotomy. Rats treated with either famotidine or a vehicle were fed placenta or a control substance, then stimulated with vaginal/cervical probing to produce antinociception that is partly opioid mediated. Famotidine did not block POEF enhancement of vaginal/cervical stimulation-induced analgesia in a tail flick latency test. These results suggest that enhancement by POEF does not require normal digestive processes or other processes inhibited by famotidine

Medical Marijuana in Public Schools: A Narrative Study of Parents’ Experiences with Policy Implementation

Parents of children with conditions such as epilepsy, cancer, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can choose medical marijuana (MM) as a treatment plan for their children. The purpose of this narrative study is to describe parents’ experiences when implementing medical marijuana treatment plans in K-12 schools in New Jersey, Maryland, and Colorado. This study addressed the success and challenges parents faced with the chosen treatment plan. Many schools grapple with allowing the administration of MM to students because of the conflict between federal and state laws. This study identifies the experiences of parents of children prescribed MM as they navigate their chosen treatment plan. This study highlights the positive experiences they have encountered and identifies the barriers parents faced in the implementation of their plans. This study describes the reasons for the selection of a MM treatment plan, the legislation required to implement a school board policy, and the importance of a network of parents who served as a resource to assist with the implementation policy of MM in their child’s schools. The data derived from personal interviews with five parents who chose medical marijuana for their children’s treatment plans. The data identified themes of unsuccessful outcomes with pharmaceutical medicines, parents learning from other parents, school performance, in addition to benefits and challenges of MM policy

Application of Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine to Ameliorate Sepsis Induced Ileus

Graduate Basi

High-Throughput Nanoliter Dispensing Device for Biological Applications

Pathogen identification is a field that can contribute largely to the prevention of the spreading of illness and disease. In the past, pathogen identification has been a long and arduous process due to the time-consuming processes and steps that requires technician’s time and effort. With new technologies emerging however, screening of bacteria colonies can be done in a quick and high-throughput way. The problem is that using the current methods, bacteria cannot be transferred to petri dishes fast enough to keep up with the new screening methods. The current study focuses on exploring different methods to create an ergonomic device that can dispense and inoculate bacteria cells onto petri dishes in a fast, repeatable, and high-throughput manner. The testing of bacteria in liquid allows for the most versatility because bacteria already suspended in liquid could be tested or bacteria could be suspended in liquid from a solid if needed. Different methods of dispensing liquid were tested such as solenoid valves, and different methods of dispenser movements in the X-Y plane around the surface of the petri dishes were tested such as a five-bar mechanism controlled by two rotary motors. It was found that a small solenoid valve in combination with either a five-bar mechanism with two motors or a simple XY stage were both ergonomic and able to provide high-throughput dispensing of bacteria colonies. Based on the devices performance, it can dispense 86 microliter droplets with 8 millimeters of spacing in 69 seconds (1.25 drops per second)

The Lights are Out and Nobody\u27s Home - Renewing Positive Energy and Becoming Fully Present

In an age of high demand and limited resources, exponential information flow through constant connection with technology, sensory overload and high stress, staff and caregiver burnout is increasing. More educators are leaving the field, and teacher retention is a significant challenge. In order to be positive in our intervention, it is critical for educators, therapists, administrators, parents and caregivers to recognize symptoms of fatigue and burnout, renew our own source of positive energy and be fully present in our work. This presentation will provide information on recognizing symptoms of burnout in self and others. Participants will engage in active learning stations involving creativity, sensory and mindfulness practices, including the creation of mandalas, the use of massage, and the practice of gratitude

A Person\u27s a person no matter how small - Understanding the Role of Temperament in Working With Toddlers and Young Children

Abstract Early childhood and educational research have indicated that a young child’s temperament is predictive of success in school and adulthood. A child’s temperament has the potential to impact not only their interpretation of life events, but can also influence the activities that they choose and how adults respond to and interact with them. Child temperament research has identified three widely known profiles based on nine dimensions of behavior: “difficult”, “easy”, and “slow to warm up”. The purpose of this presentation is to provide information about child temperament and the ways in which adults can use positive relational interventions to teach and reinforce strategies to help improve behavioral, academic, and social development. Goodness of fit research suggests that when children and teachers are able to form more harmonious relationships children exhibit fewer behavior problems and experience more opportunities for encouraging learning experiences. Participants will be provided with strategies for working with children who have “difficult” and slow to warm up temperaments

A Person\u27s a person no matter how small - Understanding the Role of Temperament in Working With Toddlers and Young Children

Early childhood and educational research have indicated that a young child’s temperament is predictive of success in school and adulthood. A child’s temperament has the potential to impact not only their interpretation of life events, but can also influence the activities that they choose and how adults respond to and interact with them. Child temperament research has identified three widely known profiles based on nine dimensions of behavior: “difficult”, “easy”, and “slow to warm up”. The purpose of this presentation is to provide information about child temperament and the ways in which adults can use positive relational interventions to teach and reinforce strategies to help improve behavioral, academic, and social development. Goodness of fit research suggests that when children and teachers are able to form more harmonious relationships children exhibit fewer behavior problems and experience more opportunities for encouraging learning experiences. Participants will be provided with strategies for working with children who have “difficult” and slow to warm up temperaments

Accounting for differences in the bioactivity and bioavailability of vitamers

Essentially all vitamins exist with multiple nutritionally active chemical species often called vitamers. Our quantitative understanding of the bioactivity and bioavailability of the various members of each vitamin family has increased markedly, but many issues remain to be resolved concerning the reporting and use of analytical data. Modern methods of vitamin analysis rely heavily on chromatographic techniques that generally allow the measurement of the individual chemical forms of vitamins. Typical applications of food analysis include the evaluation of shelf life and storage stability, monitoring of nutrient retention during food processing, developing food composition databases and data needed for food labeling, assessing dietary adequacy and evaluating epidemiological relationships between diet and disease. Although the usage of analytical data varies depending on the situation, important issues regarding how best to present and interpret the data in light of the presence of multiple vitamers are common to all aspects of food analysis. In this review, we will evaluate the existence of vitamers that exhibit differences in bioactivity or bioavailability, consider when there is a need to address differences in bioactivity or bioavailability of vitamers, and then consider alternative approaches and possible ways to improve the reporting of data. Major examples are taken from literature and experience with vitamin B6 and folate

Relationship Satisfaction & Diet: Exploring the Mechanisms through which Intimate Relationships Influence Physical Health

Understanding how intimate relationships influence physical health has been an important topic of focus; however, research remains unclear on the mechanisms through which this influence occurs. The purpose of this study was to examine how relationship satisfaction relates to diet quality, through mental health (depression and anxiety) and diet self-efficacy. Using a dyadic mediation model with a sample of 234 heterosexual couples, researchers found that women\u27s higher relationship satisfaction was associated with better diet through lower depression and higher diet self-efficacy. Results revealed the same association between women\u27s relationship satisfaction and diet through lower anxiety. Interestingly, rather than mediation through mental health, the association between men\u27s relationship satisfaction and diet was mediated through their partners\u27 diet self-efficacy. This presentation will review the gendered pathways by which relationship satisfaction influences diet in heterosexual couples and discuss the important implications of these findings for tracing how intimate relationships affect overall well-being