Anxiety-like Behavior in C57BL/6J and DBA/2J Mice: Pharmacological Characterization of the Elevated Zero Maze and the Influence of Age-related Differences on Behavior

Anxiety disorders affect a significant proportion of the population and can be debilitating in some circumstances. The exact etiology of these disorders remains to be determined and animal models are an important part of that effort. The elevated zero maze, a behavioral measure of anxiety, was introduced as an alternative to the popular elevated plus maze. While the elevated zero maze has been pharmacologically validated in rats, the available data in mice is more limited. Similarly, the data available on anxiety-like behavior in adolescent mice lacks breadth despite considerable evidence suggesting that developmental processes during this period play a role in the etiology of anxiety disorders. In order to extend the available pharmacological data on the elevated zero maze and clarify age-related differences in anxiety-like behavior, three experiments using C57BL/6J and DBA/2J mice were performed. Experiments 1 and 2 examined the effects of chlordiazepoxide and a serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor on anxiety-like behavior in these strains. Experiment 3 examined age-related differences between these strains in anxiety-like behavior during periadolescence, adolescence, and late adolescence. Anxiety-like behavior was found to vary with strain, task, drug, and age. These data extend our knowledge of basline behavior in these strains and extend the foundation upon which to understand the etiology and treatment of anxiety disorders

Investing in the Middle

Middle Neighborhoods (MNs) are generally recognized for their safety, stability and affordability for residents. They also provide an important opportunity to give lower-income populations access to affordable housing and an overall higher quality of life, but the number of MNs is declining throughout the U.S. Recognizing these opportunities and challenges regarding MNs, the research team set out to fill in the existing knowledge gaps about which public policies and programmatic activities are effective at 1) stabilizing MNs and 2) providing equitable access for lower-income and marginalized populations to join and stay in MNs

An Assessment of Primary Care Physician Opinions about Supporting the Independent Autonomous Practice by Advanced Practice Nurses

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) changed the national discussion about who is the decision-maker in healthcare delivery – physicians or others that pay the bill. The federal government is the largest payer of healthcare services while states are responsible for implementing the ACA’s features. Through the ACA, the federal government endorsed non-physician primary care by advanced practice registered nurses (APRN). The research question of this study is: Why do some primary care physicians support independent autonomous practice for advanced practice registered nurses while others do not? The research question should be important to policy-makers because physicians are the predominate purchasers of healthcare services. However, dilemmas facing policy-makers as they adopt and implement the ACA are rapidly increasing public costs and demands for healthcare services that cannot be met by physicians alone. This study investigates ideology and PCP support for the ACA as influences on PCP opinions about APRNs. A web survey was offered to 2995 physicians practicing adult primary care in five states. Dichotomous groups were established from responses to the study’s independent variables. Group mean responses computed from questions relating to physicians’ opinions about APRNs were compared using the independent means t test. Results of bivariate testing find that ideology, support of the ACA, and whether physicians work with APRNs may influence physician opinions. Demographic characteristics including age, gender, and race are not related to physicians’ opinions about APRNs

A Preliminary Abundance Estimate Of An Atlantic Sturgeon (Acipenser Oxyrinchus Oxyrinchus) Contingent Within An Open Riverine System

Abundance estimates are essential for fisheries management, but estimating the abundance of open populations with low recapture rates has historically been unreliable. However, by using mark-recapture data modulated with survivability parameters obtained from analysis of acoustic telemetry data, more accurate abundance estimates can be made for species that exhibit these characteristics. One such species is the Atlantic sturgeon, for which abundance estimates were designated a research priority following precipitous population declines throughout the 20th century. We addressed this research need in the Saco River Estuary (SRE), a system where the Atlantic sturgeon has been extensively studied using mark-recapture and acoustic telemetry methods since 2009. These data were analyzed using Bayesian analysis of a Lincoln-Peterson estimator, constrained with parameters from a Cormack-Jolly-Seber model, to provide an initial abundance estimate for the system. The resulting estimate indicated that approximately 3 299 (95% Credible Interval: 1 462–6 828) Atlantic sturgeon utilize the SRE yearly, suggesting that the SRE provides critical foraging habitat to a large contingent of the species within the Gulf of Maine. The present study demonstrated the method utilized herein was effective in generating a reasonable estimate of abundance in an open system where recapture events are rare, and therefore may provide a valuable technique for supplying initial estimates of fish abundance in additional systems that display similar characteristics

Immigration Enforcement and Fairness to Would-Be Immigrants

This chapter argues that governments have a duty to take reasonably effective and humane steps to minimize the occurrence of unauthorized migration and stay. While the effects of unauthorized migration on a country’s citizens and institutions have been vigorously debated, the literature has largely ignored duties of fairness to would-be immigrants. It is argued here that failing to take reasonable steps to prevent unauthorized migration and stay is deeply unfair to would-be immigrants who are not in a position to bypass visa regulations. Importantly, the argument here is orthogonal to the debate as to how much and what kinds of immigration ought to be allowed

WSPEC: A waveguide filter-bank focal plane array spectrometer for millimeter wave astronomy and cosmology

Imaging and spectroscopy at (sub-)millimeter wavelengths are key frontiers in astronomy and cosmology. Large area spectral surveys with moderate spectral resolution (R=50-200) will be used to characterize large scale structure and star formation through intensity mapping surveys in emission lines such as the CO rotational transitions. Such surveys will also be used to study the SZ effect, and will detect the emission lines and continuum spectrum of individual objects. WSPEC is an instrument proposed to target these science goals. It is a channelizing spectrometer realized in rectangular waveguide, fabricated using conventional high-precision metal machining. Each spectrometer is coupled to free space with a machined feed horn, and the devices are tiled into a 2D array to fill the focal plane of the telescope. The detectors will be aluminum Lumped-Element Kinetic Inductance Detectors (LEKIDs). To target the CO lines and SZ effect, we will have bands at 135-175 GHz and 190-250 GHz, each Nyquist-sampled at R~200 resolution. Here we discuss the instrument concept and design, and successful initial testing of a WR10 (i.e. 90 GHz) prototype spectrometer. We recently tested a WR5 (180 GHz) prototype to verify that the concept works at higher frequencies, and also designed a resonant backshort structure that may further increase the optical efficiency. We are making progress towards integrating a spectrometer with a LEKID array and deploying a prototype device to a telescope for first light.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Journal of Low Temperature Physic

Activated Carbon Produced from Agricultural Residues

A process for producing activated carbon from agricultural residues by heating the residues to a temperature in the range of about 250° C. to about 550° C. to volatilize organic compounds in the residues and to carbonize the residues and further heating to activate the carbonized residues. Activated carbon produced from agricultural residues

Comparisons of anemia, thrombocytopenia, and neutropenia at initiation of HIV antiretroviral therapy in Africa, Asia, and the Americas

SummaryBackgroundHematological abnormalities are common manifestations of advanced HIV-1 infection that could affect the outcomes of highly-active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Although most HIV-1-infected individuals live in resource-constrained countries, there is little information about the frequency of hematological abnormalities such as anemia, neutropenia, and thrombocytopenia among individuals with advanced HIV-1 disease.MethodsThis study compared the prevalence of pre-antiretroviral therapy hematological abnormalities among 1571 participants in a randomized trial of antiretroviral efficacy in Africa, Asia, South America, the Caribbean, and the USA. Potential covariates for anemia, neutropenia, and thrombocytopenia were identified in univariate analyses and evaluated in separate multivariable models for each hematological condition.ResultsThe frequencies of neutropenia (absolute neutrophil count ≤1.3×109/l), anemia (hemoglobin ≤10g/dl), and thrombocytopenia (platelets ≤125×109/l) at initiation of antiretroviral therapy were 14%, 12%, and 7%, respectively, and varied by country (p<0.0001 for each). In multivariable models, anemia was associated with gender, platelet count, and country; neutropenia was associated with CD4+ lymphocyte and platelet counts; and thrombocytopenia was associated with country, gender, and chronic hepatitis B infection.ConclusionsDifferences in the frequency of pretreatment hematological abnormalities could have important implications for the choice of antiretroviral regimen in resource-constrained settings

Outcomes among HIV-1 Infected Individuals First Starting Antiretroviral Therapy with Concurrent Active TB or Other AIDS-Defining Disease

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is common among HIV-infected individuals in many resource-limited countries and has been associated with poor survival. We evaluated morbidity and mortality among individuals first starting antiretroviral therapy (ART) with concurrent active TB or other AIDS-defining disease using data from the “Prospective Evaluation of Antiretrovirals in Resource-Limited Settings” (PEARLS) study. Methods: Participants were categorized retrospectively into three groups according to presence of active confirmed or presumptive disease at ART initiation: those with pulmonary and/or extrapulmonary TB (“TB” group), those with other non-TB AIDS-defining disease (“other disease”), or those without concurrent TB or other AIDS-defining disease (“no disease”). Primary outcome was time to the first of virologic failure, HIV disease progression or death. Since the groups differed in characteristics, proportional hazard models were used to compare the hazard of the primary outcome among study groups, adjusting for age, sex, country, screening CD4 count, baseline viral load and ART regimen. Results: 31 of 102 participants (30%) in the “TB” group, 11 of 56 (20%) in the “other disease” group, and 287 of 1413 (20%) in the “no disease” group experienced a primary outcome event (p = 0.042). This difference reflected higher mortality in the TB group: 15 (15%), 0 (0%) and 41 (3%) participants died, respectively (p<0.001). The adjusted hazard ratio comparing the “TB” and “no disease” groups was 1.39 (95% confidence interval: 0.93–2.10; p = 0.11) for the primary outcome and 3.41 (1.72–6.75; p<0.001) for death. Conclusions: Active TB at ART initiation was associated with increased risk of mortality in HIV-1 infected patients