Ex vivo human placental transfer of trovafloxacin.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the ex vivo human placental transfer of trovafloxacin from the maternal circulation to the fetal circulation. METHODS: Six placentas from uncomplicated, term, vaginal or cesarean deliveries were studied using the ex vivo isolated cotyledon perfusion chamber; 14C-antipyrine was used as a reference compound to determine the clearance index (CI) of trovafloxacin. RESULTS: The CI of trovafloxacin was 0.19 +/- 0.13 at a mean trough concentration of 1.38 +/- 0.22 microg/ml and 0.16 +/- 0.10 at a mean peak concentration of 7.48 +/- 2.3 microg/ml as determined by our newly developed high-pressure liquid chromatographic assay. Tissue concentration did not exceed maternal concentration, and there was little or no accumulation when the perfusion system was closed for 1 hr. CONCLUSIONS: Trovafloxacin crosses the placenta by simple diffusion and does not accumulate in the media to any extent, nor does it bind to tissue or accumulate in the placenta

Impact of Cleaning Frequency on Nitrogen Balance in Open Feedlot Pens

Pen cleaning frequency of feedlot pens was evaluated during the summer of 2001 and 2002. Dry matter, organic matter and nitrogen recoveries were evaluated on a per head basis. Cleaning pens monthly compared to cleaning at the end of the feeding period resulted in significantly more DM, OM and N recovered. Cleaning pens every month increased N removal by 7.0 lb per steer (49.9% increase) above manure N removed at the end of the feeding period

The effectiveness of interventions targeting physical activity and/or sedentary behaviour in people with Multiple Sclerosis: a systematic review

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Using Data-Informed Instruction to Drive Education: Keeping Catholic Education a Viable and Educationally Sound Option in Challenging Times

This study was conducted to obtain an understanding of the perceptions that Catholic schoolteachers possessed regarding data informed instructional (DII) practices, specifically curriculum based measurement (CBM). The researchers investigated changes in teacher’s perceptions from pretest to posttest to determine the impact of the 90-minute professional development on teacher’s perceptions of DII. Results showed that Catholic schoolteachers did perceive that they lacked sufficient knowledge to effectively implement curriculum-based measures prior to the training. Significant growth was noted with regard to their perceptions of their knowledge in some areas. According to the results of the paired samples t-test, a meaningful change in educators’ perceptions of DII was observed for three of the nine pairs of questionnaire items from pre to post-test. The findings support previous research and pave the way for future research on the impact of short, one-day professional development sessions

A massive, distant proto-cluster at z=2.47 caught in a phase of rapid formation?

Numerical simulations of cosmological structure formation show that the Universe's most massive clusters, and the galaxies living in those clusters, assemble rapidly at early times (2.5 < z < 4). While more than twenty proto-clusters have been observed at z > 2 based on associations of 5-40 galaxies around rare sources, the observational evidence for rapid cluster formation is weak. Here we report observations of an asymmetric, filamentary structure at z = 2.47 containing seven starbursting, submillimeter-luminous galaxies and five additional AGN within a comoving volume of 15000 Mpc$^{3}$. As the expected lifetime of both the luminous AGN and starburst phase of a galaxy is ~100 Myr, we conclude that these sources were likely triggered in rapid succession by environmental factors, or, alternatively, the duration of these cosmologically rare phenomena is much longer than prior direct measurements suggest. The stellar mass already built up in the structure is $\sim10^{12}M_{\odot}$ and we estimate that the cluster mass will exceed that of the Coma supercluster at $z \sim 0$. The filamentary structure is in line with hierarchical growth simulations which predict that the peak of cluster activity occurs rapidly at z > 2.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables, accepted in ApJL (small revisions from previous version

Transcriptional networks specifying homeostatic and inflammatory programs of gene expression in human aortic endothelial cells.

Endothelial cells (ECs) are critical determinants of vascular homeostasis and inflammation, but transcriptional mechanisms specifying their identities and functional states remain poorly understood. Here, we report a genome-wide assessment of regulatory landscapes of primary human aortic endothelial cells (HAECs) under basal and activated conditions, enabling inference of transcription factor networks that direct homeostatic and pro-inflammatory programs. We demonstrate that 43% of detected enhancers are EC-specific and contain SNPs associated to cardiovascular disease and hypertension. We provide evidence that AP1, ETS, and GATA transcription factors play key roles in HAEC transcription by co-binding enhancers associated with EC-specific genes. We further demonstrate that exposure of HAECs to oxidized phospholipids or pro-inflammatory cytokines results in signal-specific alterations in enhancer landscapes and associate with coordinated binding of CEBPD, IRF1, and NFκB. Collectively, these findings identify cis-regulatory elements and corresponding trans-acting factors that contribute to EC identity and their specific responses to pro-inflammatory stimuli

The Therapy Box in the Classroom: A Function-based Multi-Component Directive Play Therapy Treatment Package Intervention

The Therapy Box is a behavioral intervention being researched to determine its effectiveness as a Response to Intervention (RtI) Tier 2 and Tier 3 behavioral intervention for identified students. The Therapy Box assists students with developing self-regulatory skills and increasing their social-emotional literacy while providing a supportive, caring, and safe classroom environment. The Therapy Box is a treatment package that encompasses the theories of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), the use of functional behavior assessments, B.F. Skinner\u27s theory of manding, Differential Reinforcement of Alternative Behavior (DRA), and Directive Play Therapy. The hypothesis is that the student will be able to mand for calm down time with the box in lieu of an anger outburst/ episode within the classroom. The Therapy Box must be explained, and the student is part of the box creation during directive play therapy sessions. The intervention includes both student and teacher support to ensure skill generalization and successful outcomes. This research indicates that The Therapy Box proves to be an effective behavioral intervention for at- risk students