CBD

A comprehensive review of the scientific literature on the possible benefits of CBD, describing findings from both preclinical and human clinical studies. CBD (cannabidiol), a nonintoxicating compound derived from the cannabis plant, can be found in products ranging from lotion and smoothies to chewable gummies and pet treats. It's been promoted—but not always scientifically validated—as a treatment for medical conditions including psychosis, anxiety, pain, and even cancer. In this book, three leading cannabis researchers look at the science of CBD, offering a comprehensive review of the scientific literature on the possible benefits of CBD and describing their findings from both preclinical and human clinical studies. As it turns out, the current CBD fad has some basis in preclinical animal research that indicates potential beneficial effects. Clinical studies, hampered by regulations governing research with cannabis, have lagged behind the basic animal research. The authors examine what research shows about chemical and pharmacological aspects of CBD and CBD's interaction with THC, the main psychotropic compound found in cannabis. They go on to review the current state of knowledge about CBD's effectiveness in treating epilepsy, cancer, nausea, pain, anxiety, PTSD, depression, sleep disorders, psychosis, and addiction

Linking prenatal experience to the emerging musical mind

The musical brain is built over time through experience with a multitude of sounds in the auditory environment. However, learning the melodies, timbres, and rhythms unique to the music and language of one’s culture begins already within the mother’s womb during the third trimester of human development. We review evidence that the intrauterine auditory environment plays a key role in shaping later auditory development and musical preferences. We describe evidence that externally and internally generated sounds influence the developing fetus, and argue that such prenatal auditory experience may set the trajectory for the development of the musical mind

Posttranscriptional Upregulation of IDH1 by HuR Establishes a Powerful Survival Phenotype in Pancreatic Cancer Cells.

Cancer aggressiveness may result from the selective pressure of a harsh nutrient-deprived microenvironment. Here we illustrate how such conditions promote chemotherapy resistance in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Glucose or glutamine withdrawal resulted in a 5- to 10-fold protective effect with chemotherapy treatment. PDAC xenografts were less sensitive to gemcitabine in hypoglycemic mice compared with hyperglycemic mice. Consistent with this observation, patients receiving adjuvant gemcitabine (n = 107) with elevated serum glucose levels (HgbA1C \u3e 6.5%) exhibited improved survival. We identified enhanced antioxidant defense as a driver of chemoresistance in this setting. ROS levels were doubled in vitro by either nutrient withdrawal or gemcitabine treatment, but depriving PDAC cells of nutrients before gemcitabine treatment attenuated this effect. Mechanistic investigations based on RNAi or CRISPR approaches implicated the RNA binding protein HuR in preserving survival under nutrient withdrawal, with or without gemcitabine. Notably, RNA deep sequencing and functional analyses in HuR-deficient PDAC cell lines identified isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) as the sole antioxidant enzyme under HuR regulation. HuR-deficient PDAC cells lacked the ability to engraft successfully in immunocompromised mice, but IDH1 overexpression in these cells was sufficient to fully restore chemoresistance under low nutrient conditions. Overall, our findings highlight the HuR–IDH1 regulatory axis as a critical, actionable therapeutic target in pancreatic cancer

The Origin of X-ray Emission in the Gamma-ray emitting Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 1H 0323+342

We present the results of X-ray spectral and timing analyses of the closest gamma-ray emitting narrow-line Seyfert 1 ($\gamma$-NLS1) galaxy, 1H 0323+342. We use observations from a recent, simultaneous XMM-Newton/NuSTAR campaign. As in radio-quiet NLS1s, the spectrum reveals a soft excess at low energies ($\lesssim2$ keV) and reflection features such as a broad iron K emission line. We also find evidence of a hard excess at energies above $\sim35$ keV that is likely a consequence of jet emission. Our analysis shows that relativistic reflection is statistically required, and using a combination of models that includes the reflection model relxill for the broadband spectrum, we find an inclination of $i=63^{+7}_{-5}$ degrees, which is in tension with much lower values inferred by superluminal motion in radio observations. We also find a flat ($q=2.2\pm0.3$) emissivity profile, implying that there is more reflected flux than usual being emitted from the outer regions of the disk, which in turn suggests a deviation from the thin disk model assumption. We discuss possible reasons for this, such as reflection off of a thick accretion disk geometry.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. 11 pages, 9 figures; references adde

Intervention and Outcomes of Children in Different Types of Listening and Spoken Language Programs

This study explores the impact of the type and dosage of listening and spoken language (LSL) services on speech and language outcomes in children with cochlear implants or hearing aids in two LSL programs. Identical demographic variables were collected across the two programs for use in the statistical analyses. Speech and language outcomes were examined at ages 3 and 5 using standardized test measures. At age 3, significant differences in LSL outcomes existed between programs for children using cochlear implants but not for children using binaural hearing aids. However, at age five, outcomes were similar between the different LSL programs for children with hearing aids and cochlear implants. Total hours of LSL services do not serve as a predictor of LSL outcomes at five years of age. However, early identification of hearing loss, early amplification, and early enrollment in a LSL program were highly influential factors affecting LSL outcomes at three and five years of age. Non-verbal IQ and maternal education levels also influence LSL outcomes. Children with earlier access to hearing technology and LSL intervention may need fewer hours of LSL services to achieve age-appropriate LSL outcomes. Overall, both of these LSL programs supported age-appropriate speech and language outcomes by age 5

Do synthesis centers synthesize? A semantic analysis of topical diversity in research

Synthesis centers are a form of scientific organization that catalyzes and supports research that integrates diverse theories, methods and data across spatial or temporal scales to increase the generality, parsimony, applicability, or empirical soundness of scientific explanations. Synthesis working groups are a distinctive form of scientific collaboration that produce consequential, high-impact publications. But no one has asked if synthesis working groups synthesize: are their publications substantially more diverse than others, and if so, in what ways and with what effect? We investigate these questions by using Latent Dirichlet Analysis to compare the topical diversity of papers published by synthesis center collaborations with that of papers in a reference corpus. Topical diversity was operationalized and measured in several ways, both to reflect aggregate diversity and to emphasize particular aspects of diversity (such as variety, evenness, and balance). Synthesis center publications have greater topical variety and evenness, but less disparity, than do papers in the reference corpus. The influence of synthesis center origins on aspects of diversity is only partly mediated by the size and heterogeneity of collaborations: when taking into account the numbers of authors, distinct institutions, and references, synthesis center origins retain a significant direct effect on diversity measures. Controlling for the size and heterogeneity of collaborative groups, synthesis center origins and diversity measures significantly influence the visibility of publications, as indicated by citation measures. We conclude by suggesting social processes within collaborations that might account for the observed effects, by inviting further exploration of what this novel textual analysis approach might reveal about interdisciplinary research, and by offering some practical implications of our results.publishedVersio

Development of a Certificate in Healthcare Improvement for Inter-Professional Teams

Introduction To address gaps in care team improvement-science education and connect geographically dispersed learners, we created a healthcare improvement certificate program, now completing the third program year, for inter-professional (IP) healthcare teams, including third year medical students. Methods This hybrid learning program consists of five modules: Learning Healthcare Systems, Improvement Science, Patient Safety and Diagnostic Error, Population Health and Health Equity and Leading Change. The curricular materials are comprised of focused readings, concise videos, faculty-moderated discussion boards, weekly synchronous calls of participants with faculty, and a longitudinal improvement project. The faculty are content experts, and worked with a curricular designer to define learning objectives and develop content. Results We have completed three years of this six-month program, training 61 participants (17 of whom were medical students) at 14 sites. In the third year, several medical students participated without an IP team. Development of the materials has been iterative, with feedback from learners and faculty used to shape the materials. Discussion We demonstrate the development and rollout of a hybrid-learning program for diverse and geographically dispersed IP teams, including medical students. Time restrictions limited the depth of topics, and scheduling overlap caused some participants to miss the interactive calls. We plan to evaluate the utility of the program for participants over time, using qualitative methods. Conclusion This educational model is feasible for IP teams studying improvement science and implementing change projects, and can be adopted to dispersed geographic settings