Integrating Viral Hepatitis Screening and Prevention Services into an Urban Chemical Dependency Treatment Facility for American Indians and Alaska Natives

American Indian/Alaska Natives (AI/AN) patients at an urban residential chemical dependency treatment center participated in a viral hepatitis prevention project. Project activities integrated into patients’ treatment programs included viral hepatitis and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) risk factor screening, education and counseling, laboratory testing, and hepatitis A and B vaccination. Of 928 AI/AN admissions, 585 (63%) completed risk factor screening assessment. Of these, 436 (75%) received at least one vaccination, viral hepatitis testing, or both. Of 322 patients tested, 91 (28%) were hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibody positive. Lack of pre-existing immunity to vaccine-preventable viral hepatitis infection was common: 132 (45%) were susceptible to hepatitis A and 224 (70%) were susceptible to hepatitis B infection. Chemical dependency treatment centers serving urban AI/AN provide important opportunities for implementing viral hepatitis prevention programs for high-risk populations and for improving ongoing efforts to reduce the disparate impact of chronic liver disease in AI/ AN people

Community Conflicts over Intensive Livestock Operations: How and Why Do Such Conflicts Escalate?

Why do community groups and individuals oppose establishment of intensive scale livestock operations in communities? Why have established forms of economic activity become the pariah of rural communities across the nation? In December 1997, the Pennsylvania Senate passed Resolution 91. This article addresses the results of a research project funded by the state Department of Agriculture in response to Senate Resolution 91, directing the Secretary of Agriculture to develop a model of community dispute resolution to address community conflicts involving intensive livestock operations ( ILOs ). Specifically this article addresses project findings detailing why conflicts over ILOs arise and how they escalate

Salen Mn Complexes Mitigate Radiation Injury in Normal Tissues

Salen Mn complexes, including EUK-134, EUK-189 and a newer cyclized analog EUK-207, are synthetic SOD/catalase mimetics that have beneficial effects in many models of oxidative stress. As oxidative stress is implicated in some forms of delayed radiation injury, we are investigating whether these compounds can mitigate injury to normal tissues caused by ionizing radiation. This review describes some of this research, focusing on several tissues of therapeutic interest, namely kidney, lung, skin, and oral mucosa. These studies have demonstrated suppression of delayed radiation injury in animals treated with EUK-189 and/or EUK-207. While an antioxidant mechanism of action is postulated, it is likely that the mechanisms of radiation mitigation by these compounds in vivo are complex and may differ in the various target tissues. Indicators of oxidative stress are increased in lung and skin radiation injury models, and suppressed by salen Mn complexes. The role of oxidative stress in the renal injury model is unclear, though EUK-207 does mitigate. In certain experimental models, salen Mn complexes have shown “mito-protective” properties, that is, attenuating mitochondrial injury. Consistent with this, EUK-134 suppresses effects of ionizing radiation on mitochondrial function in rat astrocyte cultures. In summary, salen Mn complexes could be useful to mitigate delayed radiation injury to normal tissues following radiation therapy, accidental exposure, or radiological terrorism. Optimization of their mode of delivery and other key pharmaceutical properties, and increasing understanding of their mechanism(s) of action as radiation mitigators, are key issues for future study

A Detailed Examination of the GPM Core Satellite Gridded Text Product

The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission quarter-degree gridded-text product has a similar file format and a similar purpose as the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) 3G68 quarter-degree product. The GPM text-grid format is an hourly summary of surface precipitation retrievals from various GPM instruments and combinations of GPM instruments. The GMI Goddard Profiling (GPROF) retrieval provides the widest swath (800 km) and does the retrieval using the GPM Microwave Imager (GMI). The Ku radar provides the widest radar swath (250 km swath) and also provides continuity with the TRMM Ku Precipitation Radar. GPM's Ku+Ka band matched swath (125 km swath) provides a dual-frequency precipitation retrieval. The "combined" retrieval (125 km swath) provides a multi-instrument precipitation retrieval based on the GMI, the DPR Ku radar, and the DPR Ka radar. While the data are reported in hourly grids, all hours for a day are packaged into a single text file that is g-zipped to reduce file size and to speed up downloading. The data are reported on a 0.25deg x 0.25 deg grid

Development of a positive psychology intervention for patients with acute cardiovascular disease

The management of depression and other negative psychological states in cardiac patients has been a focus of multiple treatment trials, though such trials have not led to substantial improvements in cardiac outcomes. In contrast, there has been minimal focus on interventions to increase positive psychological states in cardiac patients, despite the fact that optimism and other positive states have been associated with superior cardiovascular outcomes. Our objective was to develop an 8-week, phone-based positive psychology intervention for patients hospitalized with acute cardiac disease (acute coronary syndrome or decompensated heart failure). Such an intervention would consist of positive psychology exercises adapted for this specific population, and it would need to be feasible for practitioners and patients in real-world settings. By adapting exercises that were previously validated in healthy individuals, we were able to generate a positive psychology telemedicine intervention for cardiac patients that focused on optimism, kindness, and gratitude. In addition, we successfully created a companion treatment manual for subjects to enhance the educational aspects of the intervention and facilitate completion of exercises. Finally, we successfully performed a small pilot trial of this intervention, and found that the positive psychology intervention appeared to be feasible and well-accepted in a cohort of patients with acute cardiac illness. Future studies should further develop this promising intervention and examine its impact on psychological and medical outcomes in this vulnerable population of cardiac patients

Multiscale Exploration of Mouse Brain Microstructures Using the Knife-Edge Scanning Microscope Brain Atlas

Connectomics is the study of the full connection matrix of the brain. Recent advances in high-throughput, high-resolution 3D microscopy methods have enabled the imaging of whole small animal brains at a sub-micrometer resolution, potentially opening the road to full-blown connectomics research. One of the first such instruments to achieve whole-brain-scale imaging at sub-micrometer resolution is the Knife-Edge Scanning Microscope (KESM). KESM whole-brain data sets now include Golgi (neuronal circuits), Nissl (soma distribution), and India ink (vascular networks). KESM data can contribute greatly to connectomics research, since they fill the gap between lower resolution, large volume imaging methods (such as diffusion MRI) and higher resolution, small volume methods (e.g., serial sectioning electron microscopy). Furthermore, KESM data are by their nature multiscale, ranging from the subcellular to the whole organ scale. Due to this, visualization alone is a huge challenge, before we even start worrying about quantitative connectivity analysis. To solve this issue, we developed a web-based neuroinformatics framework for efficient visualization and analysis of the multiscale KESM data sets. In this paper, we will first provide an overview of KESM, then discuss in detail the KESM data sets and the web-based neuroinformatics framework, which is called the KESM brain atlas (KESMBA). Finally, we will discuss the relevance of the KESMBA to connectomics research, and identify challenges and future directions

Earth Observations and Integrative Models in Support of Food and Water Security

Global food production depends upon many factors that Earth observing satellites routinely measure about water, energy, weather, and ecosystems. Increasingly sophisticated, publicly-available satellite data products can improve efficiencies in resource management and provide earlier indication of environmental disruption. Satellite remote sensing provides a consistent, long-term record that can be used effectively to detect large-scale features over time, such as a developing drought. Accuracy and capabilities have increased along with the range of Earth observations and derived products that can support food security decisions with actionable information. This paper highlights major capabilities facilitated by satellite observations and physical models that have been developed and validated using remotely-sensed observations. Although we primarily focus on variables relevant to agriculture, we also include a brief description of the growing use of Earth observations in support of aquaculture and fisheries