The impact of dance/movement classes on adolescent behavior in an urban high school setting

The inclusion of the arts in education has been undervalued and overlooked by many public school districts throughout the country. As a result of cutbacks, dance programs in educational settings have become an afterthought. In this study the relationship between dance/movement classes and disruptive behavior was analyzed in a sample of 45 at risk students in an urban high school setting. The findings supported the hypothesis that a) dance classes can be utilized as an intervention to reduce stress and b) students who participate in dance programs in public school settings will develop self-control, self-regulation and exhibit less disruptive behavior. Implications for further research and arts programming are discussed

Towards sustainable production of value-added chemicals and materials from lignocellulosic biomass: carboxylic acids and cellulose nanocrystals

Industrial production of many chemicals and chemical products depends primarily on fossil resources. Lignocellulosic biomass, which is the most abundant and sustainable biomass on earth, is a potential renewable resource for the production of a wide range of products (e.g. chemicals, fuels, materials) that could be used to replace products currently produced by the petrochemical industry. Large amounts of lignocellulosic materials are generated as waste byproducts of various industrial and agro-based processes. Efficient valorization of such materials would lead to lower greenhouse gas emissions and waste volumes and would bring considerable economic benefits. Various approaches are available for the conversion of lignocellulosic materials into highvalue products. In this work, partial wet oxidation by molecular oxygen is proposed as a potential industrial process for the production of chemicals, particularly low-molecular carboxylic acids, from lignocellulosic biomass waste. The study investigated the catalytic potential of two homogenous heteropolyacid catalysts for the partial wet oxidation of lignin based on their effectiveness as regards carboxylic acid yield and lignin conversion. Recovery of the carboxylic acids produced was studied using solvent extraction. Additionally, an enzyme-mediated approach for coproduction of cellulose nanocrystals and fermentable sugars is proposed. In this work, alkaline lignin and cellulose (wood pulp and filter paper) were used as a model of lignocellulosic feed materials for the partial wet oxidation and enzymatic hydrolysis experiments, respectively. Formic acid, acetic acid and succinic acids are among the major products produced by the partial wet oxidation of lignin in alkaline and neutral aqueous solutions. In this work, optimum reaction conditions to obtain the maximum yield of products were investigated. An important finding is that in an alkaline medium, the overall yield of products from partial wet oxidation decreased at higher lignin concentration. It was found that this reduction could be attributed to repolymerization/condensation side reactions of lignin fragments that compete with oxidative lignin depolymerization reactions. Of the two catalysts studied, the phosphomolybdate catalyst (H3PMo12O4) provided the best results in terms of both the lignin conversion rate and the total yield of carboxylic acids. Although both heteropolyacids showed different catalytic behaviors, the reaction pathway of the lignin oxidation seems to be determined by the type of addenda atom in the HPA catalyst, with Mo favoring a selective oxidation reaction. In addition, it was found that recovery of the two catalysts could be easily achieved, which would make partial lignin wet oxidation an environmentally friendly and potentially economically viable process. In the solvent extraction studies, various types of extractants were evaluated. Different factors were considered in the solvent selection process. Of the tested solvents, Alamine 336 and 2-methyltetrahydrofuran (2-MTHF) solvents showed the most promising results and both solvents can be used to recover the studied components from aqueous solutions. It was found that the use of toluene as a diluent for Alamine 336 prevented the formation of a third intermediate liquid phase. The impacts of introducing a cellulase-cocktail treatment system before an acid hydrolysis process for isolating cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) from a cellulose-based model feedstock was investigated. It was found that for a given weight of feedstock, the enzyme-mediated approach improved CNC yield (8-86 wt%) from acid hydrolysis. Another important finding was that significant recovery of fermentable sugars (20-60 wt%), which would otherwise have entered the acid waste stream, is achievable with this method. These findings indicate the potential of enzymatically mediated acid hydrolysis processes for the co-production of fermentable sugars, thus providing additional revenue, and for improvement of the acid hydrolysis efficiency, thus offsetting CNC production costs

Separation of Gas Bubbles from Circulation Waters and Pulp Suspensions in Open Channel Flow

The objective of this thesis was to study the removal of gases from paper mill circulation waters experimentally and to provide data for CFD modeling. Flow and bubble size measurements were carried out in a laboratory scale open gas separation channel. Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) technique was used to measure the gas and liquid flow fields, while bubble size measurements were conducted using digital imaging technique with back light illumination. Samples of paper machine waters as well as a model solution were used for the experiments. The PIV results show that the gas bubbles near the feed position have the tendency to escape from the circulation channel at a faster rate than those bubbles which are further away from the feed position. This was due to an increased rate of bubble coalescence as a result of the relatively larger bubbles near the feed position. Moreover, a close similarity between the measured slip velocities of the paper mill waters and that of literature values was obtained. It was found that due to dilution of paper mill waters, the observed average bubble size was considerably large as compared to the average bubble sizes in real industrial pulp suspension and circulation waters. Among the studied solutions, the model solution has the highest average drag coefficient value due to its relatively high viscosity. The results were compared to a 2D steady sate CFD simulation model. A standard Euler-Euler k-ε turbulence model was used in the simulations. The channel free surface was modeled as a degassing boundary. From the drag models used in the simulations, the Grace drag model gave velocity fields closest to the experimental values. In general, the results obtained from experiments and CFD simulations are in good qualitative agreement

Cannabidiol and Other Cannabinoids in Demyelinating Diseases

A growing body of preclinical evidence indicates that certain cannabinoids, including cannabidiol (CBD) and synthetic derivatives, may play a role in the myelinating processes and are promising small molecules to be developed as drug candidates for management of demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS), stroke and traumatic brain injury (TBI), which are three of the most prevalent demyelinating disorders. Thanks to the properties described for CBD and its interesting profile in humans, both the phytocannabinoid and derivatives could be considered as potential candidates for clinical use. In this review we will summarize current advances in the use of CBD and other cannabinoids as future potential treatments. While new research is accelerating the process for the generation of novel drug candidates and identification of druggable targets, the collaboration of key players such as basic researchers, clinicians and pharmaceutical companies is required to bring novel therapies to the patients

A Rare Case of Mediastinitis Following a Routine Dental Procedure in a Patient with History of Cardiac Surgery

Mediastinitis is a rare, severe condition associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Mediastinitis, a life-threatening infection, may occur during the postoperative period following cardiovascular surgery. We present a unique case of mediastinitis following a dental procedure in a 47 year old healthy male with a past surgical history of acute type 1 aortic dissection repaired with Dacron tube graft and re-suspension of his aortic valve, 16 months earlier. He was noted to have induration on his right pectoralis muscle and underwent chest Computerized Tomography (CT) scan revealing infectious mediastinitis. His condition improved after CT-guided abscess aspiration and a six-week course of intravenous antibiotics.  Mediastinitis may result from an infection extending from the oropharynx inferiorly through deep spaces of the neck as a descending necrotizing mediastinitis.  This case suggests that disruption of fascial planes following cardiac surgery may predispose individuals to acquire anterior mediastinitis via a descending pathway long after completion of surgery.

LA CULTURA DE LA BASURA EN LA CUENCA ALTA DEL RÍO APATLACO Y SUS CONFIGURACIONES TERRITORIALES

La presente ponencia presentará los avances de la investigación de maestría realizados durante agosto de 2018 y julio de 2019. El trabajo problematiza la contaminación desde una perspectiva cultural, desde la cual las personas otorgan un valor simbólico a la información que reciben de medios de comunicación, expertos en la materia, etcétera; que no implica un cambio en la producción de basura. La disociación entre el conocimiento del deterioro ambiental y las prácticas enmarcadas en la cotidianidad puede explicarse analizando el consumo (obsolescencia programada y obsolescencia permitida), ya que la inmensa mayoría de los productos y alimentos, aun los más simples, vienen empacados en plásticos o papeles plastificados, a lo cual se agrega el fetichismo de la mercancía. La investigación se lleva a cabo en tres zonas de la ciudad de Cuernavaca que comprenden la cuenca alta del Río Apatlaco: Avenida Universidad, Santa María Ahuacatitlán y Rancho Cortés. Todas estas desembocan en barrancas y son contiguas, sin embargo, sin muy diferentes en su configuración territorial, por lo tanto, cada una hace diferente disposición de basura

Efecto del anabólico acetato de trembolona sobre el crecimiento de Carassius auratus (Pisces: Cyprinidae)

The anabolic efficiency of steroid trenbolone acetate was evaluated in 60 days old juveniles of Carassius auratus. Fish were exposed during 120 days to steroid at a dose of 300 mg/kg food. Total length, standard length, height and weight were registered every two weeks. The benefit of the steroid was characterized with a model that relates the weight as a function of time, coupled to other two models: one where size is related with time and an alometric one which correlates weight with size. The models showed that growth of steroid treated fish was superior to that of untreated (control) fish, differing significantly (p <0.001), while the alometric model for each treatment, indicated a similar growth (p>0.05). Analysis of the variability of the three models demonstrated that the estimates adequately described the growth. This was further confirmed by the determination coefficient (r2 ) that fluctuated between 72.9 and 93.5% and by the distribution analysis of size and weight by means of box plots. It was concluded that application of the steroid trenbolone acetate to Carassius auratus was successful. A survival rate of 100% was registered coupled to an efficient anabolic effect, since a 48.0% gain of biomass and 41.3% increase in size were obtained as compared to the control group.Se evaluó la eficiencia anabólica del esteroide acetato de trembolona en juveniles de Carassius auratus de 60 días de edad, expuestos durante 120 días a dosis de 300 mg/kg de alimento. Cada dos semanas se registraron las siguientes biometrías: longitud total, longitud patrón, altura y peso. El beneficio del esteroide se caracterizó con un modelo que relacionó el peso en función del tiempo, acoplado a otros dos modelos: uno en donde se relaciona la talla con el tiempo y otro alométrico, que relacionó el peso con la talla. Los modelos estimados mostraron que el crecimiento de los peces tratados con el anabólico fue superior al de los peces del testigo y difieren significativamente (p<0.001), mientras que los modelos alométricos para cada tratamiento indicaron un crecimiento similar (p>0.05). El análisis de la variabilidad de los tres modelos demostró que las estimaciones describieron en forma adecuada el crecimiento, así lo confirma el coeficiente de determinación (r2 ) que fluctúa entre el 72.9 y 93.5% y el análisis de la distribución de la talla y el peso con diagramas de caja. Se concluye que la aplicación del acetato de trembolona en Carassius auratus fue exitosa, al registrarse una sobrevivencia del 100% y funcionar como un eficiente agente anabólico, ya que se obtuvo una ganancia de biomasa del 48.0% y de talla del 41.3%, con respecto al testigo

Taking on a Community Solutions Process (Co-Solve) to the Pain and Opioid Epidemic: A Multi-disciplinary and Multi-institute Pain Panel and Community Response in Sacramento, California

America’s healthcare providers and patients are challenged by an overwhelming high prevalence of chronic pain and opioid misuse. Approximately 23.4 million adults suffer from daily pain and in 2014, nearly 61% of Americans who died from drug overdoses used an opioid analgesic. Unrecognized addiction, untreated psychiatric comorbidity, and lack of training/education for providers and patients are factors associated with chronic pain and opioid misuse. Communication strategies and structures are required to enhance collaboration between multidisciplinary providers and institutions. On September 28, 2017, an open panel discussion with pain specialists from three major academic and medical institutes in Sacramento, California initiated an integrative community solutions process to optimize pain education best practices and to protect public health. The attendees represented a wide range of healthcare disciplines. This commentary describes ideas derived from dialogue between community attendees and panelists, which considers both healthcare provider characteristics and patients’ cultural backgrounds. Providers of most disciplines underscored the need to share information and institute cross-disciplinary training on pain and behavioral health treatments. In conclusion, we outline an integrative community-based framework, namely the Community Solutions Process (Co-Solve), to help other communities to implement and derive their own action-oriented solutions unique to their population

Signaling from maize organ primordia via FASCIATED EAR3 regulates stem cell proliferation and yield traits.

Shoot apical meristems are stem cell niches that balance proliferation with the incorporation of daughter cells into organ primordia. This balance is maintained by CLAVATA-WUSCHEL feedback signaling between the stem cells at the tip of the meristem and the underlying organizing center. Signals that provide feedback from organ primordia to control the stem cell niche in plants have also been hypothesized, but their identities are unknown. Here we report FASCIATED EAR3 (FEA3), a leucine-rich-repeat receptor that functions in stem cell control and responds to a CLAVATA3/ESR-related (CLE) peptide expressed in organ primordia. We modeled our results to propose a regulatory system that transmits signals from differentiating cells in organ primordia back to the stem cell niche and that appears to function broadly in the plant kingdom. Furthermore, we demonstrate an application of this new signaling feedback, by showing that weak alleles of fea3 enhance hybrid maize yield traits.The fea3-0 allele was kindly provided by Victor Shcherbak, Krasnodar Res. Inst. Agric., Russia. We acknowledge funding from a collaborative agreement with Dupont Pioneer, and from NSF Plant Genome Research Program grant # IOS-1238202 and MCB-1027445, and with the support of the Gatsby Charitable Foundation (GAT3395/PR4) and Swedish Research Council (VR2013-4632) to HJ, and "Next-Generation BioGreen 21 Program (SSAC, Project No. PJ01137901)" Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea. We also thank Ulises Hernandez for assistance with cloning, Amandine Masson for assistance with peptide assays, and members of the Jackson lab for comments on the manuscript.This is the author accepted manuscript. It is currently under an indefinite embargo pending publication by Nature Publishing Group

Towards sustainable production of formic acid

peer-reviewedFormic acid is a widely used commodity chemical. It can be applied as a safe, easily handled and transported source of hydrogen or CO for different reactions including those producing fuels. The review includes historical aspects of formic acid production. It shortly analyzes the production based on traditional sources such as toxic CO, methanol and methane. However, the main emphasis is done to the sustainable production of formic acid from biomass and biomass-derived products via hydrolysis, wet and catalytic oxidation processes. New strategies of low temperature synthesis from biomass may lead to utilization of formic acid for production of fuel additives such as methanol, upgraded bio-oil, γ-valerolactone and its derivatives, as well as synthesis gas used for Fischer-Tropsch synthesis of hydrocarbons. Some technological aspects are considered