Are Small Urban Centers Magnets for Economic Growth?

This report estimates a model of county-level job growth and finds an effect of small urban centers on their regional economies

Touch and Massage for Medically Fragile Infants

Research investigating the efficacy of infant massage has largely focused on premature and low birth weight infants. The majority of investigations have neglected highly acute patients in academic neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). The current study was developed with two aims: (Phase 1) to develop, implement and demonstrate the feasibility and safety of a parent-trained compassionate touch/massage program for infants with complex medical conditions and (Phase 2) to conduct a longitudinal randomized control trial (RCT) of hand containment/massage versus standard of care in a level III academic Center for Newborn and Infant Critical Care (CNICC). Certified infant massage instructors (CIMIs) taught parents to massage their hospitalized infants. Massage therapy and instruction were performed for seven consecutive days and health outcomes were collected for up to 1 month following treatment. Caregivers, nurses and certified infant massage therapists indicated moderate to high levels of satisfaction and feasibility with the implementation of hand containment/massage in a level III academic center CNICC. In addition, infant behavioral and physiological measures were within safe limits during the massage sessions. All caregivers participating in the massage group reported high levels of satisfaction 7 days into the intervention and at the 1-month follow-up with regards to their relationship with their infant, the massage program's impact on that relationship and the massage program. Due to unequal and small sample sizes, between group analyses (control versus massage) were not conducted. Descriptive infant characteristics of health outcomes are described. Preliminary data from this study indicates feasibility and safety of infant massage and satisfaction among the caregivers, CIMIs and the nurses in the CNICC. An important contribution from this study was the demonstration of the infants’ safety based on physiological stability and no change in agitation/pain scores of the infants receiving massage. Massage in a tertiary urban academic NICU continues to be an area of needed study. Future studies examining infant health outcomes, such as weight gain, decreased length of hospitalization and caregiver–infant bonding, would provide greater insight into the impact of massage for medically fragile infants

Brain energy metabolism: A roadmap for future research

Although we have learned much about how the brain fuels its functions over the last decades, there remains much still to discover in an organ that is so complex. This article lays out major gaps in our knowledge of interrelationships between brain metabolism and brain function, including biochemical, cellular, and subcellular aspects of functional metabolism and its imaging in adult brain, as well as during development, aging, and disease. The focus is on unknowns in metabolism of major brain substrates and associated transporters, the roles of insulin and of lipid droplets, the emerging role of metabolism in microglia, mysteries about the major brain cofactor and signaling molecule NAD+, as well as unsolved problems underlying brain metabolism in pathologies such as traumatic brain injury, epilepsy, and metabolic downregulation during hibernation. It describes our current level of understanding of these facets of brain energy metabolism as well as a roadmap for future research

The emerging role of NG2 in pediatric diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma.

Diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas (DIPGs) have a dismal prognosis and are poorly understood brain cancers. Receptor tyrosine kinases stabilized by neuron-glial antigen 2 (NG2) protein are known to induce gliomagenesis. Here, we investigated NG2 expression in a cohort of DIPG specimens (n= 50). We demonstrate NG2 expression in the majority of DIPG specimens tested and determine that tumors harboring histone 3.3 mutation express the highest NG2 levels. We further demonstrate that microRNA 129-2 (miR129-2) is downregulated and hypermethylated in human DIPGs, resulting in the increased expression of NG2. Treatment with 5-Azacytidine, a methyltransferase inhibitor, results in NG2 downregulation in DIPG primary tumor cells in vitro. NG2 expression is altered (symmetric segregation) in mitotic human DIPG and mouse tumor cells. These mitotic cells co-express oligodendrocyte (Olig2) and astrocyte (glial fibrillary acidic protein, GFAP) markers, indicating lack of terminal differentiation. NG2 knockdown retards cellular migration in vitro, while NG2 expressing neurospheres are highly tumorigenic in vivo, resulting in rapid growth of pontine tumors. NG2 expression is targetable in vivo using miR129-2 indicating a potential avenue for therapeutic interventions. This data implicates NG2 as a molecule of interest in DIPGs especially those with H3.3 mutation

Mediterranean plant germination reports – 5

This is the fifth issue of the series of germination reports from Mediterranean areas (sensu Med-Checklist). It comprises germination protocols for 18 taxa: Hieracium and Pilosella from South Italy by Di Gristina & al. (Nos. 103-106); Genista from Sardinia by Deplano & al. (No. 107); Antirrhinum, Anthyllis, Digitalis, Echium, Jasione, Nothoscordum, Silene and Verbascum by Martínez-Oliver & al. (Nos. 108-116); Dianthus, Helichrysum and Silene from Sicily by Scafidi & Salmeri (Nos. 117-120)

A dense micro-electromechanical system (MEMS)-based seismic network in populated areas: rapid estimation of exposure maps in Trentino (NE Italy)

The micro-electromechanical system (MEMS)-based seismic network of Trentino (NE Italy) consists of 73 low-cost accelerometers installed close to inhabited areas. These sensors have a suitable sensitivity to detect moderate-to-strong earthquakes but are able to record even weaker seismicity. The densely distributed peak ground acceleration values recorded by MEMS and other types of stations are integrated within the existing seismic monitoring procedure in order to automatically obtain a complete set of strong motion parameters a few minutes after the origin time. The exposure of the resident population and critical buildings is estimated by quantifying the different levels of shaking, which is expressed according to the Mercalli–Cancani–Sieberg intensity scale. These types of results, summarized in synthetic portable document format (PDF), can be useful for civil protection purposes to evaluate the state of emergency after a strong earthquake in a timely manner and to choose how and where to activate first aid measures and targeted structural monitoring.</p

The Grosmarin experiment

The GROSMARIN (which stands for GrandROSMARIN) cruise is proposed by UMR Géosciences Azur (with fellow french and italian research groups). Its goals are to better characterize active structures along this zone and to assess the resulting seismic hazard in a sort of continuation with respect to the MALISAR experiment, which has already surveyed some active structures through shallow observations. The GROSMARIN cruise is in fact the necessary counterpart to characterize them at depth

Will Democracy Endure Private School Choice? The Effect of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program on Adult Voting Behavior

We employ probit regression analysis to compare the adult voting activity of students who participated in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) to their matched public school counterparts. We use a sophisticated matching algorithm to create a traditional public school student comparison group using data from the state-mandated evaluation of the MPCP. By the time the students are 19-26 years old, we do not find evidence that private school voucher students are more or less likely to vote in 2012 or 2016 than students educated in public schools. These results are robust to all models and are consistent for all subgroups