LABEL USE AND IMPORTANCE RANKINGS FOR SELECTED MILK LABELING ATTRIBUTES

Results from a random telephone survey of households in 13 southern states suggest that 80 percent of respondents use labels when making food purchasing decisions. Label users are more likely to be college-educated, female, living in the East South Central Region, and to be childless or to have children between the ages of five and twelve. Age is invariant to label use; however, older respondents are more likely to assign higher importance ratings to caloric, fat, sodium, and cholesterol content than to price, expiration date, and brand when buying fresh-fluid milk.Agribusiness,

Aprender con aventuras (Learning Through Adventures)

This project focuses on developing learning modules that combine grammar and culture for beginning and intermediate level high school Spanish classes. The objective of this project is to make grammar more interactive for students, while at the same time highlighting the cultural richness and diversity of the Spanish-speaking world. This approach reflects the current ACTFL standards for foreign language learning (preparing for the 21st century) and the South Carolina Academic Standards for Modern Languages. Ms. Haney wanted to make learning grammar more enjoyable and accessible to her students. She was also interested in exploring ways of using technology more effectively in the classroom. She is currently able to use YouTube clips and other sites for basic grammar exercises. Our project combines the study of grammar and culture by providing a common and relatable context – two high school students, Sam and María, traveling throughout the Spanish-speaking world – with the basic idea that as Ms. Haney’s students follow their adventures, they are exposed to both grammar and cultural activities that supplement the topics introduced in the textbook in Mrs. Haney’s Spanish class

Physical Violence During Pregnancy: Maternal Complications and Birth Outcomes

Objective: To assess the association between physical violence during the 12 months before delivery and maternal complications and birth outcomes. Methods: We used population-based data from 6143 women who delivered live-born infants between 1993 and 1995 in South Carolina. Data on women\u27s physical violence during pregnancy were based on self-reports of partner-inflicted physical hurt and being involved in a physical fight. Outcome data included maternal antenatal hospitalizations, labor and delivery complications, low birth weights, and preterm births. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated to measure the associations between physical violence, maternal morbidity, and birth outcomes. Results: The prevalence of physical violence was 11.1%. Among women who experienced physical violence, 54% reported having been involved in physical fights only and 46% had been hurt by husbands or partners. In the latter group, 70% also reported having been involved in fighting. Compared with those not reporting physical violence, women who did were more likely to deliver by cesarean and be hospitalized before delivery for maternal complications such as kidney infection, premature labor, and trauma due to falls or blows to the abdomen. Conclusion: Physical violence during the 12 months before delivery is common and is associated with adverse maternal conditions. The findings support the need for research on how to screen for physical violence early in pregnancy and to prevent its consequences

Inflammation and oxidative stress in multiple sclerosis:Consequences for therapy development

CNS inflammation is a major driver of MS pathology. Differential immune responses, including the adaptive and the innate immune system, are observed at various stages of MS and drive disease development and progression. Next to these immune-mediated mechanisms, other mediators contribute to MS pathology. These include immune-independent cell death of oligodendrocytes and neurons as well as oxidative stress-induced tissue damage. In particular, the complex influence of oxidative stress on inflammation and vice versa makes therapeutic interference complex. All approved MS therapeutics work by modulating the autoimmune response. However, despite substantial developments in the treatment of the relapsing-remitting form of MS, approved therapies for the progressive forms of MS as well as for MS-associated concomitants are limited and much needed. Here, we summarize the contribution of inflammation and oxidative stress to MS pathology and discuss consequences for MS therapy development

Social Support Protects against the Negative Effects of Partner Violence on Mental Health

Objectives: Social support for abused women may reduce the impact of abuse on mental health, yet few studies have addressed this issue. We wish to determine associations between intimate partner violence (IPV) and mental health outcomes and to assess the protective role of abuse disclosure and support on mental health among abused women. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted of 1152 women, ages 18–65, recruited from family practice clinics from 1997 through 1999. They were screened for IPV during a brief in-clinic interview, and physical and mental health status was assessed in a follow-up interview. Results: IPV, defined as sexual, physical, or psychological abuse, was associated with poor perceived mental and physical health, substance abuse, symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), current depression, anxiety, and suicide ideation/actions. Among women experiencing IPV and controlling for IPV frequency, higher social support scores were associated with a significantly reduced risk of poor perceived mental health (adjusted relative risk [aRR] 0.5, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.3, 0.6) and physical health (aRR 0.6, 95% CI 0.5, 0.8), anxiety (aRR 0.3, 95% CI 0.2, 0.4), current depression (aRR 0.6, 95% CI 0.5, 0.8), PTSD symptoms (aRR 0.5, 95% CI 0.4, 0.8), and suicide attempts (aRR 0.6, 95% CI 0.4, 0.9). Conclusions: Healthcare providers can be instrumental in identifying IPV and helping women develop skills, resources, and support networks to address IPV. Physicians, family, or friends may provide needed social support

Redirecting the substrate specificity of heparan sulfate 2-O-sulfotransferase by structurally guided mutagenesis

Heparan sulfate (HS) is a polysaccharide involved in essential physiological functions from regulating cell growth to blood coagulation. HS biosynthesis involves multiple specialized sulfotransferases such as 2-O-sulfotransferase (2OST) that transfers the sulfo group to the 2-OH position of iduronic acid (IdoA) or glucuronic acid (GlcA) within HS. Here, we report the homotrimeric crystal structure of 2OST from chicken, in complex with 3′-phosphoadenosine 5′-phosphate. Structural based mutational analysis has identified amino acid residues that are responsible for substrate specificity. The mutant R189A only transferred sulfates to GlcA moieties within the polysaccharide whereas mutants Y94A and H106A preferentially transferred sulfates to IdoA units. Our results demonstrate the feasibility for manipulating the substrate specificity of 2OST to synthesize HS with unique sulfation patterns. This work will aid the development of an enzymatic approach to synthesize heparin-based therapeutics

Explaining Earths Energy Budget: CERES-Based NASA Resources for K-12 Education and Public Outreach

Among atmospheric scientists, the importance of the Earth radiation budget concept is well understood. Papers have addressed the topic for over 100 years, and the large Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) science team (among others), with its multiple on-orbit instruments, is working hard to quantify the details of its various parts. In education, Earth's energy budget is a concept that generally appears in middle school and Earth science curricula, but its treatment in textbooks leaves much to be desired. Students and the public hold many misconceptions, and very few people have an appreciation for the importance of this energy balance to the conditions on Earth. More importantly, few have a correct mental model that allows them to make predictions and understand the effect of changes such as increasing greenhouse gas concentrations. As an outreach element of the core CERES team at NASA Langley, a multi-disciplinary group of scientists, educators, graphic artists, writers, and web developers has been developing and refining graphics and resources to explain the Earth's Energy budget over the last few decades. Resources have developed through an iterative process involving ongoing use in front of a variety of audiences, including students and teachers from 3rd to 12th grade as well as public audiences

Hybrid Equation/Agent-Based Model of Ischemia-Induced Hyperemia and Pressure Ulcer Formation Predicts Greater Propensity to Ulcerate in Subjects with Spinal Cord Injury

Pressure ulcers are costly and life-threatening complications for people with spinal cord injury (SCI). People with SCI also exhibit differential blood flow properties in non-ulcerated skin. We hypothesized that a computer simulation of the pressure ulcer formation process, informed by data regarding skin blood flow and reactive hyperemia in response to pressure, could provide insights into the pathogenesis and effective treatment of post-SCI pressure ulcers. Agent-Based Models (ABM) are useful in settings such as pressure ulcers, in which spatial realism is important. Ordinary Differential Equation-based (ODE) models are useful when modeling physiological phenomena such as reactive hyperemia. Accordingly, we constructed a hybrid model that combines ODEs related to blood flow along with an ABM of skin injury, inflammation, and ulcer formation. The relationship between pressure and the course of ulcer formation, as well as several other important characteristic patterns of pressure ulcer formation, was demonstrated in this model. The ODE portion of this model was calibrated to data related to blood flow following experimental pressure responses in non-injured human subjects or to data from people with SCI. This model predicted a higher propensity to form ulcers in response to pressure in people with SCI vs. non-injured control subjects, and thus may serve as novel diagnostic platform for post-SCI ulcer formation. © 2013 Solovyev et al