NASA Light Emitting Diode Medical Applications from Deep Space to Deep Sea

This work is supported and managed through the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center-SBIR Program. LED-technology developed for NASA plant growth experiments in space shows promise for delivering light deep into tissues of the body to promote wound healing and human tissue growth. We present the results of LED-treatment of cells grown in culture and the effects of LEDs on patients’ chronic and acute wounds. LED-technology is also biologically optimal for photodynamic therapy of cancer and we discuss our successes using LEDs in conjunction with light-activated chemotherapeutic drugs

Stratus 13 thirteenth setting of the Stratus Ocean Reference Station cruise on board RV Ron Brown February 25 - March 15, 2014 Valparaiso, Chile - Arica, Chile

The Ocean Reference Station at 20°S, 85°W under the stratus clouds west of northern Chile is being maintained to provide ongoing climate-quality records of surface meteorology, air-sea fluxes of heat, freshwater, and momentum, and of upper ocean temperature, salinity, and velocity variability. The Stratus Ocean Reference Station (ORS Stratus) is supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Climate Observation Program. It is recovered and redeployed annually, with past cruises that have come between October and January. This cruise was conducted on the NOAA vessel Ron Brown. During the 2014 cruise on the Ron Brown to the ORS Stratus site, the primary activities were the recovery of the previous (Stratus 12) WHOI surface mooring, which was adrift since January 25 2014 and drifting northwest, deployment of the new Stratus 13 WHOI surface mooring, in-situ calibration of the buoy meteorological sensors by comparison with instrumentation installed on the ship, CTD casts near the moorings. Surface drifters and subsurface floats were also launched along the track.Funding was provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under Grant No. NA09OAR4320129 and the Cooperative Institute for the North Atlantic Region (CINAR)

Stratus 11 : Eleventh Setting of the Stratus Ocean Reference Station Cruise on board RV Moana Wave, March 31 - April 16, 2011, Arica - Arica, Chile

The Ocean Reference Station at 20°S, 85°W under the stratus clouds west of northern Chile is being maintained to provide ongoing climate-quality records of surface meteorology, air-sea fluxes of heat, freshwater, and momentum, and of upper ocean temperature, salinity, and velocity variability. The Stratus Ocean Reference Station (ORS Stratus) is supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Climate Observation Program. It is recovered and redeployed annually, with past cruises that have come between October and January. A NOAA vessel was not available, so this cruise was conducted on the chartered ship, Moana Wave, belonging to Stabbert Maritime. During the 2011 cruise on the Moana Wave to the ORS Stratus site, the primary activities were the recovery of the subsurface part of the Stratus 10 WHOI surface mooring, deployment of a new (Stratus 11) WHOI surface mooring, in-situ calibration of the buoy meteorological sensors by comparison with instrumentation installed on the ship by staff of the NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL), and collection of underway and on station oceanographic data to continue to characterize the upper ocean in the stratus region. The Stratus 10 mooring had parted, and the surface buoy and upper part had been recovered earlier. Underway CTD (UCTD) profiles were collected along the track and during surveys dedicated to investigating eddy variability in the region. Surface drifters and subsurface floats were also launched along the track. The intent was also to visit a buoy for the Pacific tsunami warning system maintained by the Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service of the Chilean Navy (SHOA). This DART (Deep- Ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami) buoy had been deployed in December 2010.Funding was provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under Grant No. NA0900AR432012

Does Gambling-Focused Treatment Affect Mental Health and Quality of Life? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract: Cognitive-behavioral (CB) techniques have received substantial empirical support for reducing gambling disorder symptoms and behavior. What has not been established is whether gambling-focused treatment reduces psychological problems and improves quality of life. Individuals experiencing gambling-related harms report that sustained recovery involves changing both gambling behaviors and psychological problems and building a meaningful life. The current systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to examine the effect of CB techniques targeting gambling harms on nontargeted outcomes such as psychological problems and quality of life. Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic article search was conducted to locate published studies of randomized controlled trials of CB techniques targeting gambling harms and reporting nontargeted outcomes. Random effects meta-analysis was used to quantify the effect of CB techniques on nontargeted outcomes. Ten studies representing 797 participants were included. Eight studies reported the effect of CB techniques on anxiety, 8 on depression, 3 on substance use, and 7 on quality of life. CB techniques significantly reduced anxiety (g = -0.44), depression (g = -0.35), gambling frequency (g = -0.30), and gambling intensity (g = -0.36) at posttreatment, but not substance use. CB techniques also significantly improved quality of life (g = 0.39) at posttreatment. Implications: The targeted reduction of gambling harms may serve as a mechanism of change for reducing psychological problems and improving quality of life. Future studies should employ longitudinal designs to understand the associations between gambling reductions and changes in nontargeted recovery outcomes over time

HIV-2/SIV Vpx antagonises NF-κB activation by targeting p65

BACKGROUND: The NF-κB family of transcription factors and associated signalling pathways are abundant and ubiquitous in human immune responses. Activation of NF-κB transcription factors by viral pathogen-associated molecular patterns, such as viral RNA and DNA, is fundamental to anti-viral innate immune defences and pro-inflammatory cytokine production that steers adaptive immune responses. Diverse non-viral stimuli, such as lipopolysaccharide and cytokines, also activate NF-κB and the same anti-pathogen gene networks. Viruses adapted to human cells often encode multiple proteins targeting the NF-κB pathway to mitigate the anti-viral effects of NF-κB-dependent host immunity. RESULTS: In this study we have demonstrated using a variety of assays, in a number of different cell types including primary cells, that plasmid-encoded or virus-delivered simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) accessory protein Vpx is a broad antagonist of NF-κB signalling active against diverse innate NF-κB agonists. Using targeted Vpx mutagenesis, we showed that this novel Vpx phenotype is independent of known Vpx cofactor DCAF1 and other cellular binding partners, including SAMHD1, STING and the HUSH complex. We found that Vpx co-immunoprecipitated with canonical NF-κB transcription factor p65, but not NF-κB family members p50 or p100, preventing nuclear translocation of p65. We found that broad antagonism of NF-κB activation by Vpx was conserved across distantly related lentiviruses as well as for Vpr from SIV Mona monkey (SIVmon), which has Vpx-like SAMHD1-degradation activity. CONCLUSIONS: We have discovered a novel mechanism by which lentiviruses antagonise NF-κB activation by targeting p65. These findings extend our knowledge of how lentiviruses manipulate universal regulators of immunity to avoid the anti-viral sequelae of pro-inflammatory gene expression stimulated by both viral and extra-viral agonists. Importantly our findings are also relevant to the gene therapy field where virus-like particle associated Vpx is routinely used to enhance vector transduction through antagonism of SAMHD1, and perhaps also through manipulation of NF-κB

Measurement Models Matter: How Retrospective Calendar Versus Global Reports Yield Different Estimates of Treatment Outcome

Abstract: Retrospective reports are less accurate than objective measures of behavior and must be interpreted with consideration of the amount of distortion and error introduced by this methodology. The Gambling-Timeline Followback (G-TLFB) method is the gold standard retrospective assessment tool that is designed to minimize such error by asking for a specific recall of precise gambling behavior day-by-day using recall aids as compared to a global summation over time (e.g., how many gambling days in last month, how much money gambled in the last month). It remains an empirical question whether this difference in measurement format, G-TLFB versus global reports, alters the estimates of gambling treatment efficacy. Eighteen studies were identified for inclusion in a meta-analysis to explore this question. A mixed-effects subgroup analysis indicated that the effect of treatment relative to nonactive control on gambling frequency at posttreatment was significantly lower for studies using the G-TLFB (g = -0.20) than studies using other assessments (g = -0.71). There was no significant difference in the effect of treatment relative to nonactive control on gambling intensity at posttreatment between studies using the G-TLFB (g = -0.22) and studies using other assessments (g = -0.38). Implications: The G-TLFB yields more conservative and likely more precise estimates of the effect of gambling treatment on gambling frequency but not intensity than other retrospective assessments. The use of global retrospective assessments to assess gambling frequency and intensity may overestimate effects of gambling treatment on gambling frequency

Stratus 12 : twelfth setting of the Stratus Ocean Reference Station

The Ocean Reference Station at 20°S, 85°W under the stratus clouds west of northern Chile is being maintained to provide ongoing climate-quality records of surface meteorology, air-sea fluxes of heat, freshwater, and momentum, and of upper ocean temperature, salinity, and velocity variability. The Stratus Ocean Reference Station (ORS Stratus) is supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Climate Observation Program. It is recovered and redeployed annually. A NOAA vessel was not available, so this cruise was conducted on the Melville, operated by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. During the 2012 cruise on the Melville to the ORS Stratus site, the primary activities were the deployment of the Stratus 12 WHOI surface mooring, recovery of the previous (Stratus 11) WHOI surface mooring, in-situ calibration of the buoy meteorological sensors by comparison with instrumentation installed on the ship, and collection of underway and on station oceanographic data to continue to characterize the upper ocean in the stratus region. Underway CTD (UCTD) profiles were collected along the track. Surface drifters and subsurface floats were also launched along the track.Funding was provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under Grant No. NA09OAR4320129