Uncharted Waters: Treating Trauma Symptoms in the Context of Early Psychosis.

Psychosis is conceptualized in a neurodevelopmental vulnerability-stress framework, and childhood trauma is one environmental factor that can lead to psychotic symptoms and the development of psychotic disorders. Higher rates of trauma are associated with higher psychosis risk and greater symptom frequency and severity, resulting in increased hospitalization rates and demand on outpatient primary care and mental health services. Despite an estimated 70% of individuals in the early stages of psychosis reporting a history of experiencing traumatic events, trauma effects (post-traumatic anxiety or depressive symptoms) are often overlooked in psychosis treatment and current interventions typically do not target commonly comorbid post-traumatic stress symptoms. We presented a protocol for Trauma-Integrated Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Psychosis (TI-CBTp), an approach to treating post-traumatic stress symptoms in the context of early psychosis care. We provided a brief summary of TI-CBTp as implemented in the context of Coordinated Specialty Care and presented preliminary data supporting the use of TI-CBTp in early psychosis care. The preliminary results suggest that individuals with comorbid psychosis and post-traumatic stress symptoms can be appropriately and safely treated using TI-CBTp within Coordinated Specialty Care

Comparing the Effects of Conventional and Pastured Poultry Production Systems on the Stress Levels of Broilers

Abstract The objective of this study was to measure stress levels in broilers raised on a pasture production system (PPS) and a conventional production system (CPS) by evaluating lymphoid organ weights, white blood cell profiles (WBCP), total white blood cell counts (TWBC), and heterophil to lymphocyte ratios (HLR). Broilers were brooded indoors for 3 weeks then divided into 2 groups; one placed on pasture while the other remained indoors. Blood was collected at weeks 3, 5, and 7 via brachial venipuncture. After 49 days, birds were slaughtered and lymphoid organs harvested. Results showed no differences between treatments for lymphoid organs, TWBC, or WBCP. Eosinophils were higher (P \u3c 0.05) in CPS (333.33) compared to PPS birds (148.00) at week 5. The HLR was lower (P \u3c 0.05) in PPS broilers at week 5 (0.40) than weeks 3 (0.44) and 7 (0.43). The PPS broilers experienced less stress overall than CPS birds. Keywords: Conventional Production System, Broilers, Pasture Production System, Stres

Wyatt Cephas Hedrick: Builder of Cities

Wyatt Cephas Hedrick, builder and architect, was born in Virginia in 1888 and came to Texas in 1913. At his death in 1964, Hedrick's companies had managed construction projects worth more than $1.3 billion. Hedrick's architectural business designed and built edifices of all kinds, including educational facilities, hotels, military bases, railroad terminals, courthouses, and road systems. His companies built all over the United States, and in some foreign countries, but primarily in Texas. The purpose of Hedrick's structures and their architectural styles changed to accommodate historical events. This can be seen by examining many of the commissions he received during the 1920s and 1930s. Hedrick had a unique opportunity to participate in years of great change and development in Texas, and he played a vital role in the history of those times. This thesis examines the career of Wyatt C. Hedrick from his beginnings in Virginia through his years in Texas, closing in 1940. As a builder, he played a major role in changing the skylines of Texas cities, especially Fort Worth

Selection of Thermal Worst-Case Orbits via Modified Efficient Global Optimization

Efficient Global Optimization (EGO) was used to select orbits with worst-case hot and cold thermal environments for the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) III. The SAGE III system thermal model changed substantially since the previous selection of worst-case orbits (which did not use the EGO method), so the selections were revised to ensure the worst cases are being captured. The EGO method consists of first conducting an initial set of parametric runs, generated with a space-filling Design of Experiments (DoE) method, then fitting a surrogate model to the data and searching for points of maximum Expected Improvement (EI) to conduct additional runs. The general EGO method was modified by using a multi-start optimizer to identify multiple new test points at each iteration. This modification facilitates parallel computing and decreases the burden of user interaction when the optimizer code is not integrated with the model. Thermal worst-case orbits for SAGE III were successfully identified and shown by direct comparison to be more severe than those identified in the previous selection. The EGO method is a useful tool for this application and can result in computational savings if the initial Design of Experiments (DoE) is selected appropriately

Evaluating the Economic Feasibility of Producing Broilers on Pasture and in a Conventional Production System

The demand for pasture raised poultry is increasing because of the perception that it is healthier and tastier than conventionally raised poultry. In order to meet this demand, some producers are considering switching from the conventional to the pasture system to take advantage of this niche market. Therefore, the objective of the study was to determine the economic viability of rearing broilers in a pastured poultry system (PPS) versus a conventional poultry system (CPS). Each of these systems was replicated three times with 60 birds per treatment in a study lasting seven weeks. Data were collected on costs of inputs, and others estimated. The mean net returns for PPS and CPS were, respectively, $56.44 and -$92.02. The break-even prices were, respectively, $10.89 for PPS and$11.87 for CPS. Also, the benefit/cost ratio was 1.103 for PPS and 0.845 for CPS. The paired t-test for the benefit/cost ratios indicated a significant difference (p< 0.05) between PPS and CPS. PPS was deemed more feasible than CPS. Hence, it was recommended that the former system is more appropriate for small and limited resource producers, and that technical assistance should be provided to them regarding PPS. Keywords: Pastured poultry, Conventional poultry, Economic feasibility, Broiler

Structures of tribenzylmethanol and 1,2,3-triphenyl-2-propanol

The tribenzylmethanol molecule, (PhCH2)3COH, has approximate threefold symmetry in the solid state. The hydroxyl H atom is disordered unequally over three orientations and is not involved in hydrogen bonding. The 1,2,3-triphenyl-2-propanol molecule, Ph(PhCH2)2COH, crystallizes with two molecules per asymmetric unit which differ slightly in conformation. In one of the molecules the hydroxyl H atom is disordered equally over two sites, whereas in the other molecule there is no disorder. As in the tribenzylmethanol molecule, there is no intermolecular O--H...O hydrogen bonding, presumably because of the steric bulk of the molecules and their packing which prevents the close approach of the O atoms of adjacent molecules

The Impact of Locoregional Therapy in Nonmetastatic Inflammatory Breast Cancer: A Population-Based Study

Background. Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is a rare but most aggressive breast cancer subtype. The impact of locoregional therapy on survival in IBC is controversial. Methods. Patients with nonmetastatic IBC between 1988 and 2013 were identified in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) registry. Results. We identified 7,304 female patients with nonmetastatic inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) who underwent primary tumor surgery. Most patients underwent total mastectomy with only 409 (5.6%) undergoing a partial mastectomy. In addition, 4,559 (62.4%) were also treated with radiation therapy. The patients who underwent mastectomy had better survival compared to partial mastectomy (49% versus 43%, p = 0.003). The addition of radiation therapy was also associated with improved 5-year survival (55% versus 40%, p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that black race HR (1.22, 95% CI 1.18-1.35), ER negative status (HR 1.22, 95% CI 1.16-1.28), and higher grade (HR 1.14, 95% CI 1.07-1.20) were associated with poor outcome. Cox proportional hazards model showed that total mastectomy (HR 0.75, 95% CI 0.65-0.85) and radiation (HR 0.64, 95% CI 0.61-0.69) were associated with improved survival. Conclusions. Optimal locoregional therapy for women with nonmetastatic IBC continues to be mastectomy and radiation therapy. These data reinforce the prevailing treatment algorithm for nonmetastatic IBC

Characterization, Comparative Genomics and Genome Mining for Antibiotics and Secondary Metabolite of two Actinomycetales isolates

Actinomycetes are ubiquitous Gram (+) bacteria commonly found to have high G+C content and best known for their metabolic by-products and novel enzymes [1]. Isolates CCMMD2014 & MRMD2014 were co-cultured from soil impacted by a rusty fire hydrant in Woods Hole, MA. The Streptomyces sp. and Curtobacterium sp. isolates were identified by marker genes for 16S rRNA, rpoB, xylose isomerase, tryptophan synthase beta chain and Cytochrome P450 monooxygenase. Both isolates showed lactic acid fermentation and urease activity. The co-isolates were separated by selective culturing with antibiotics. In addition, whole genome sequencing revealed distinct inherent metabolic pathways in each culture that allowed for mutually exclusive selective culture conditions. Assembly was done using HGAP3 with Celera8 assembler using SMRT portal [2,3]. Annotation was done using the RAST server [4], with 7540 and 3969 CDS for Streptomyces sp. and Curtobacterium sp. respectively being revealed by AMIGene and BASys [5,6]. Subsequently, antiSMASH [7], was used to predict 52 and 26 secondary metabolite biosynthetic clusters that included genes for lantipeptides, terpenes, siderophores, polyketide synthases type I and II, bacteriocin and nonribosomal peptide synthase genes for Streptomyces sp. and Curtobacterium sp. respectively. The isolates have genes of potentially beneficial traits that could help study, among others, the role of fimbrial adhesins and iron in biofilm formation and investigation on natural products

Correleation of the SAGE III on ISS Thermal Models in Thermal Desktop

The Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment III (SAGE III) instrument is the fifth in a series of instruments developed for monitoring aerosols and gaseous constituents in the stratosphere and troposphere. SAGE III was launched on February 19, 2017 and mounted to the International Space Station (ISS) to begin its three-year mission. A detailed thermal model of the SAGE III payload, which consists of multiple subsystems, has been developed in Thermal Desktop (TD). Correlation of the thermal model is important since the payload will be expected to survive a three-year mission on ISS under varying thermal environments. Three major thermal vacuum (TVAC) tests were completed during the development of the SAGE III Instrument Payload (IP); two subsystem-level tests and a payload-level test. Additionally, a characterization TVAC test was performed in order to verify performance of a system of heater plates that was designed to allow the IP to achieve the required temperatures during payload-level testing; model correlation was performed for this test configuration as well as those including the SAGE III flight hardware. This document presents the methods that were used to correlate the SAGE III models to TVAC at the subsystem and IP level, including the approach for modeling the parts of the payload in the thermal chamber, generating pre-test predictions, and making adjustments to the model to align predictions with temperatures observed during testing. Model correlation quality will be presented and discussed, and lessons learned during the correlation process will be shared