Contexture

As I work with mixed media and computer technology, I am reminded at how evolved our lives and society have become in spite of how incredibly primal our individual needs remain. I began addressing those needs with drawing and painting; now, I find myself flung into a digital world of hard drives and pixels. Working with electronic imagery satisfies my immediate need to explore many options simultaneously but at the same time there is a detachment, a distance if you will, between me and my work. Developing a tactile-rich surface for a digital image by applying paint, wax, and surface marks creates a physical, immediate relationship with the work. The mix of a digital click with the mark of a physical stroke is a unifying experience for me. Working through these pieces, I explore my origins. In the calm, I listen. Applying, removing, mixing, and editing the present and past, the complex and simple, I experiment until I hear agreement on some level. Each aspect utilizes the other

Implementation of the Exercise is Medicine (EIM)™ Referral System at Slippery Rock University

Please view abstract in the attached PDF file

Determining Satisfaction with Access and Financial Aspects of Care for Persons Exposed to Libby Amphibole Asbestos: Rural and National Environmental Policy Implications

Libby, Montana is a Superfund site and epicenter of one of the worst environmental disasters in the USA history in terms of asbestos-related mortality and morbidity. Perceptions of access and financial aspects of care were explored among a national cohort of persons postasbestos exposure and prior to a 2009 Public Health Emergency Declaration. Our findings indicated the Libby cohort was significantly less satisfied with access and financial aspects of care as measured by two PSQ-III scales when compared to an adult, chronically ill patient sample. Participants with higher levels of respiratory morbidity and depression had significantly lower satisfaction scores

Brief Intervention for Truant Youth Sexual Risk Behavior and Alcohol Use: A Parallel Process Growth Model Analysis

Truant youths frequently experience family problems, emotional/psychological issues, substance misuse, and delinquency. They are likely engaging in alcohol use and sexual risk behavior at a higher rate than the general youth population. Early intervention services would benefit them, their families, and society. We present interim findings from an ongoing, National Institute on Drug Abuse-funded, experimental, brief intervention (BI) study involving truant youths and their parent/guardians. Baseline, 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up data were analyzed to determine whether alcohol use and sexual risk behaviors were longitudinally related, to examine the effects of the BI on alcohol use and sexual risk behaviors, to identify subgroups of youths involved in alcohol use and sexual risk behaviors, and to assess the impact of the BI on these subgroups. Results indicated alcohol use and sexual risk were longitudinally related. Limited treatment effects were observed for alcohol use. Implications for future research and service delivery are considered. © 2014 Copyright Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Brief Intervention for Truant Youth Sexual Risk Behavior and Marijuana Use

Substance use and sexual risk behaviors are common among adolescents, but research has focused attention on alcohol use. Much less is known about the relationship of marijuana use and sexual risk behavior among high-risk, especially truant, youths. We report interim findings from a NIDA-funded experimental, brief intervention (BI) study involving truant youths and their parents/guardians. Longitudinal data were analyzed to study (1) the relationships between the youths\u27 marijuana use and sexual risk behavior and (2) the effects of a substance use BI on their marijuana use and sexual risk behavior. A growth model analysis for parallel processes was conducted to study relationships between marijuana use and sexual risk behavior, and to assess the overall BI effect on linear and quadratic trends in subgroups of youth differing in their sexual risk behavior and marijuana use. Implications of the results for future research and service delivery are considered. © 2014 Copyright Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Performance of the multiband imaging photometer for SIRTF

We describe the test approaches and results for the Multiband Imaging Photometer for SIRTF. To verify the performance within a `faster, better, cheaper' budget required innovations in the test plan, such as heavy reliance on measurements with optical photons to determine instrument alignment, and use of an integrating sphere rather than a telescope to feed the completed instrument at its operating temperature. The tests of the completed instrument were conducted in a cryostat of unique design that allowed us to achieve the ultra-low background levels the instrument will encounter in space. We controlled the instrument through simulators of the mission operations control system and the SIRTF spacecraft electronics, and used cabling virtually identical to that which will be used in SIRTF. This realistic environment led to confidence in the ultimate operability of the instrument. The test philosophy allowed complete verification of the instrument performance and showed it to be similar to pre-integration predictions and to meet the instrument requirements

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival