The Identification of Resident Bacteria and the Comparison of the Gut and Skin Microbiome in Bat Rays (Myliobatis californica)

Undergraduate Theoretical Proposa

Systematics of Desmognathus monticola

Undergraduate Basi

Systematics of Desmognathus monticola

Undergraduate Basi

GAINING GRADS: TARGETING SCHOOL-BASED SOCIAL SUPPORTS & ADAPTATIONS TO THE SCHOOL BREAKFAST PROGRAM TO INCREASE HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION RATES IN CLEVELAND COUNTY HIGH SCHOOLS

Education Access and Quality focuses on components of language, literacy, early development, and higher education attainment. Cleveland County (CC) has a high school (HS) graduation rate lower than the NC average. There are several factors influencing the number of students successfully graduating within four-years, including income disparities, the ease of transition into HS, and student mental health. Given the strong influence of mental health on student academic achievement, the High School Mental Health Program (HSMHP) proposes a requirement for all CC public HSs to have a ratio of 250 students to 1 counselor. The proposed nutrition program focuses on increasing participation in school breakfast to improve educational attainment by expanding the School Breakfast Program in CC HSs. The goals of the following policy and program aim to provide public CC HSs with the proper social and nutritional supports through targeted programs to increase HS graduation rates.Master of Public Healt

Behavioral Couples Treatment for Substance Use Disorder: Secondary Effects on the Reduction of Risk for Child Abuse

Risk for child abuse was examined prior to and after behavioral couples treatment (BCT) among 61 couples in which one or both parents were diagnosed with substance use disorder (SUD). All couples were residing with one or more school-age children. Mothers and fathers completed pretreatment, post-intervention, and 6 month post-intervention follow-up assessments. Results of piecewise latent growth models tested whether the number of BCT sessions attended and number of days abstinent from drugs and alcohol influenced relationship satisfaction and its growth over time, and in turn if relationship satisfaction and change in relationship satisfaction influenced risk for child abuse. For both mothers and fathers, attending more BCT sessions lead to a direct increase in relationship satisfaction, which in turn led to stronger reductions in risk for child abuse. This effect was maintained from the post-intervention through the 6-month post-intervention follow-up. For fathers, number of days abstinent significantly influenced reduction in child abuse potential at post-intervention via relationship satisfaction. This indirect effect was not present for mothers. The overall benefits of BCT on mothers\u27 and fathers\u27 risk for child abuse suggest that BCT may have promise in reducing risk for child abuse among couples in which one or both parents have SUD

Modeling Risk for Child Abuse and Harsh Parenting in Families with Depressed and Substance-Abusing Parents

Children with substance abusing parents are at considerable risk for child maltreatment. The current study applied an actor–partner interdependence model to examine how father only (n=52) and dual couple (n=33) substance use disorder, as well as their depressive symptomology influenced parents’ own (actor effects) and the partner\u27s (partner effects) overreactivity in disciplinary interactions with their children, as well as their risk for child maltreatment. Parents completed the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D; Radloff, 1977), the overreactivity subscale from the Parenting Scale (Arnold, O’Leary, Wolff, & Acker, 1993), and the Brief Child Abuse Potential Inventory (Ondersma, Chaffin, Mullins, & LeBreton, 2005). Results of multigroup structural equation models revealed that a parent\u27s own report of depressive symptoms predicted their risk for child maltreatment in both father SUD and dual SUD couples. Similarly, a parent\u27s report of their own depressive symptoms predicted their overreactivity in disciplinary encounters both in father SUD and dual SUD couples. In all models, partners’ depressive symptoms did not predict their partner\u27s risk for child maltreatment or overreactivity. Findings underscore the importance of a parent\u27s own level of depressive symptoms in their risk for child maltreatment and for engaging in overreactivity during disciplinary episodes

Impaired hepatic drug and steroid metabolism in congenital adrenal hyperplasia due to P450 oxidoreductase deficiency

Objective: Patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia due to P450 oxidoreductase (POR) deficiency(ORD) present with disordered sex development and glucocorticoid deficiency. This is due to disruption of electron transfer from mutant POR to microsomal cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes that play a key role in glucocorticoid and sex steroid synthesis. POR also transfers electrons to all major drugmetabolizing CYP enzymes, including CYP3A4 that inactivates glucocorticoid and oestrogens. However, whether ORD results in impairment of in vivo drug metabolism has never been studied. Design:We studied an adult patient with ORD due to homozygous POR A287P, the most frequent POR mutation in Caucasians, and her clinically unaffected, heterozygous mother. The patient had received standard dose oestrogen replacement from 17 until 37 years of age when it was stopped after she developed breast cancer. Methods: Both subjects underwent in vivo cocktail phenotyping comprising the oral administration of caffeine, tolbutamide, omeprazole, dextromethorphan hydrobromide and midazolam to assess the five major drug-metabolizing CYP enzymes. We also performed genotyping for variant CYP alleles known to affect drug metabolism. Results: Though CYP enzyme genotyping predicted normal or high enzymatic activities in both subjects, in vivo assessment showed subnormal activities of CYP1A2, CYP2C9, CYP2D6 and CYP3A4 in the patient and of CYP1A2 and CYP2C9 in her mother. Conclusions: Our results provide in vivo evidence for an important role of POR in regulating drug metabolism and detoxification. In patients with ORD, in vivo assessment of drug-metabolizing activities with subsequent tailoring of drug therapy and steroid replacement should be considered

Survival of motor neurone protein is required for normal postnatal development of the spleen

Funding S.H.P. received an Anatomical Society PhD Studentship award for A.K.T. T.H.G. received an Anatomical Society PhD Studentship award for R.A.P. and funding from the SMA Trust (UK SMA Research Consortium), Euan MacDonald Centre for Motor Neurone Disease Research, and Muscular Dystrophy UK. K.J.S received funding for pathologic studies in human subjects from NICHD grant R01-HD054599.Peer reviewedPostprin