Effects of Art Intervention on Pediatric Anxiety and Pain in the Medical Setting

Introduction: Hospitalization and illness can be a painful and stressful time for a child. There may be anxiety over procedures and inpatient stays disrupt normal routines. Previous research found that for pre-school aged children, having parents around, having the help of the hospital staff, and playing an active role in alleviating their fears were the most helpful in reducing anxiety. Another study found that visual creative expressions can be meaningful experiences for young adult cancer survivors. Additionally, there is abundant literature on formal art therapy and its favorable effects on children in the hospital, however, there are fewer studies investigating less standardized “art intervention” in the same population. The purpose of our project was to assess whether art intervention reduces anxiety and pain in inpatient and outpatient pediatric patients.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/1224/thumbnail.jp

Transcription-associated breaks in Xeroderma Pigmentosum group D cells from patients with combined features of Xeroderma Pigmentosum and Cockayne Syndrome

Defects in the XPD gene can result in several clinical phenotypes, including xeroderma pigmentosum (XP), trichothiodystrophy, and, less frequently, the combined phenotype of XP and Cockayne syndrome (XP-D/CS). We previously showed that in cells from two XP-D/CS patients, breaks were introduced into cellular DNA on exposure to UV damage, but these breaks were not at the sites of the damage. In the present work, we show that three further XP-D/CS patients show the same peculiar breakage phenomenon. We show that these breaks can be visualized inside the cells by immunofluorescence using antibodies to either gamma-H2AX or poly-ADP-ribose and that they can be generated by the introduction of plasmids harboring methylation or oxidative damage as well as by UV photoproducts. Inhibition of RNA polymerase II transcription by four different inhibitors dramatically reduced the number of UV-induced breaks. Furthermore, the breaks were dependent on the nucleotide excision repair (NER) machinery. These data are consistent with our hypothesis that the NER machinery introduces the breaks at sites of transcription initiation. During transcription in UV-irradiated XP-D/CS cells, phosphorylation of the carboxy-terminal domain of RNA polymerase II occurred normally, but the elongating form of the polymerase remained blocked at lesions and was eventually degraded

2012-2013 The Antique Club: Pictures at an Exhibition

https://spiral.lynn.edu/conservatory_otherseasonalconcerts/1015/thumbnail.jp

Superior Verbal Learning and Memory in Pediatric Brain Tumor Survivors Treated With Proton Versus Photon Radiotherapy

OBJECTIVE: Radiotherapy for pediatric brain tumor has been associated with late cognitive effects. Compared to conventional photon radiotherapy (XRT), proton radiotherapy (PRT) delivers lower doses of radiation to healthy brain tissue. PRT has been associated with improved long-term cognitive outcomes compared to XRT. However, there is limited research comparing the effects of XRT and PRT on verbal memory. METHOD: Survivors of pediatric brain tumor treated with either XRT ( RESULTS: Overall, patients receiving PRT demonstrated superior verbal learning and recall compared to those treated with XRT. Encoding and retrieval deficits were more common in the XRT group than the PRT group, with encoding problems being most prevalent. The PRT group was more likely to engage in semantic clustering strategies, which predicted better encoding and retrieval. Encoding ability was associated with higher intellectual and adaptive functioning, and fewer parent-reported concerns about day-to-day attention and cognitive regulation. CONCLUSION: Results suggest that PRT is associated with verbal memory sparing, driven by effective encoding and use of learning strategies. Future work may help to clarify underlying neural mechanisms associated with verbal memory decline, which will better inform treatment approaches

Regulation of meiotic prophase arrest in mouse oocytes by GPR3, a constitutive activator of the Gs G protein

The arrest of meiotic prophase in mouse oocytes within antral follicles requires the G protein Gs and an orphan member of the G protein–coupled receptor family, GPR3. To determine whether GPR3 activates Gs, the localization of Gαs in follicle-enclosed oocytes from Gpr3+/+ and Gpr3−/− mice was compared by using immunofluorescence and GαsGFP. GPR3 decreased the ratio of Gαs in the oocyte plasma membrane versus the cytoplasm and also decreased the amount of Gαs in the oocyte. Both of these properties indicate that GPR3 activates Gs. The follicle cells around the oocyte are also necessary to keep the oocyte in prophase, suggesting that they might activate GPR3. However, GPR3-dependent Gs activity was similar in follicle-enclosed and follicle-free oocytes. Thus, the maintenance of prophase arrest depends on the constitutive activity of GPR3 in the oocyte, and the follicle cell signal acts by a means other than increasing GPR3 activity

The Sydney-AAO Multi-object Integral field spectrograph (SAMI)

We demonstrate a novel technology that combines the power of the multi-object spectrograph with the spatial multiplex advantage of an integral field spectrograph (IFS). The Sydney-AAO Multi-object IFS (SAMI) is a prototype wide-field system at the Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT) that allows 13 imaging fibre bundles ("hexabundles") to be deployed over a 1-degree diameter field of view. Each hexabundle comprises 61 lightly-fused multimode fibres with reduced cladding and yields a 75 percent filling factor. Each fibre core diameter subtends 1.6 arcseconds on the sky and each hexabundle has a field of view of 15 arcseconds diameter. The fibres are fed to the flexible AAOmega double-beam spectrograph, which can be used at a range of spectral resolutions (R=lambda/delta(lambda) ~ 1700-13000) over the optical spectrum (3700-9500A). We present the first spectroscopic results obtained with SAMI for a sample of galaxies at z~0.05. We discuss the prospects of implementing hexabundles at a much higher multiplex over wider fields of view in order to carry out spatially--resolved spectroscopic surveys of 10^4 to 10^5 galaxies.Comment: 24 pages, 16 figures. Accepted by MNRA

Cognitive Sparing in Proton versus Photon Radiotherapy for Pediatric Brain Tumor Is Associated with White Matter Integrity: An Exploratory Study

Radiotherapy for pediatric brain tumors is associated with reduced white matter structural integrity and neurocognitive decline. Superior cognitive outcomes have been reported following proton radiotherapy (PRT) compared to photon radiotherapy (XRT), presumably due to improved sparing of normal brain tissue. This exploratory study examined the relationship between white matter change and late cognitive effects in pediatric brain tumor survivors treated with XRT versus PRT. Pediatric brain tumor survivors treated with XRT

Effective Rheology of Bubbles Moving in a Capillary Tube

We calculate the average volumetric flux versus pressure drop of bubbles moving in a single capillary tube with varying diameter, finding a square-root relation from mapping the flow equations onto that of a driven overdamped pendulum. The calculation is based on a derivation of the equation of motion of a bubble train from considering the capillary forces and the entropy production associated with the viscous flow. We also calculate the configurational probability of the positions of the bubbles.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur