Neural Effects on Cardiac Rate and Rhythm

The importance of autonomic discharge emanating from high neural regions rostral to the medulla oblongata on heart rhythm was first recognized in the classical studies by Schiff and Danilewsky during the late nineteenth century. Only in the last two decades, however, has a precise description of these neural effects on heart rhythm become possible. Crucial to these more recent advances have been improvements in technology which have permitted application of discrete electrical stimuli to various regions of the brain as well as continuous monitoring of heart rate and arterial pressure. These studies, reported here, represent a portion of a broader research project carried out in the neurophysiological laboratory of the Medical College of Virginia for a number of years and aimed at clarification of the role of autonomic discharge from higher neural centers on organ function

The Navy's Analog Scheme for Forecasting Tropical Cyclone Motion over the Northeastern Pacific Ocean

The Navy's EPANALOG (Northeastern Pacific Analog Tropical Cyclone Tracker) forecast program is introduced. EPANALOG selects analog tropical cyclones from a 25-year Northeastern Pacific Ocean history. The selected analog tracks, statistically adjusted for position, vector motion, and date differences between them and the recent history of the tropical cyclone being forecasted, and composited into a single forecast track. Verification of EPANALOG forecasts to 96 hours are shown for randomly selected historical tropical cyclones as initiated from best-track positions statistically adjusted to simulate position inaccuracies, as well as for forecasts general from 1973 operational tropical cyclone positions. The latter are intercompared with a homogeneous set of objective persistence an MOHATT forecasts as well as subjective official forecasts for the 24-, 48- and 72-hour intervals. The accuracy of the 1973 EPANALOG is shown to generally exceed that of the existent techniques for all forecast intervals tested.Naval Air Systems Command, Navy Departmenthttp://archive.org/details/navysanalogschem62jar

Consistent use of a combination product versus a single product in a safety trial of the diaphragm and microbicide in Harare, Zimbabwe.

BACKGROUND: We examined the use and acceptability of a combination product (diaphragm and gel) compared to a single product (gel) during a 6-month safety trial in Zimbabwe. STUDY DESIGN: Women were randomized to the use of a diaphragm with gel or the use of gel alone, in addition to male condoms. Ever use and use of study product on the last act of sexual intercourse were assessed monthly by Audio Computer-Assisted Self-Interviewing. Acceptability, correct use and consistent use (use at every sexual act during the previous 3 months) were measured on the last visit by face-to-face interview. Predictors of consistent use were examined using multivariate logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: In this sample of 117 sexually active, monogamous, contracepting women, rates of consistent use were similar in both groups (59.7% for combination method vs. 56.4% for gel alone). Product acceptability was high, but was not independently associated with consistent use. Independent predictors of consistent use included age [adjusted odds ratio (AOR)=1.08; 95% confidence interval (95% CI)=1.01-1.16], consistent condom use (AOR=3.85; 95% CI=1.54-9.63) and having a partner who approves of product use (AOR=2.66; 95% CI=1.10-6.39). CONCLUSIONS: Despite high reported acceptability and few problems with the products, the participants reported only moderate product adherence levels. Consistent use of condoms and consistent use of products were strongly associated. If observed in other studies, this may bias the estimation of product effectiveness in future trials of female-controlled methods

Biophysical Regulation of Chromatin Architecture Instills a Mechanical Memory in Mesenchymal Stem Cells

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material.This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (R01 AR056624, R01 EB02425, T32 AR007132, and P30 AR050950) and a Marie Curie Intra European Fellowship (GENOMICDIFF, grant No. 301509). Additional support was provided by a Montague Research Award from the Perelman School of Medicine and a University of Pennsylvania University Research Foundation Award

Evidence of Local Adaptation in Plant Virus Effects on Host-Vector Interactions

Recent research suggests that plant viruses, and other pathogens, frequently alter host-plant phenotypes in ways that facilitate transmission by arthropod vectors. However, many viruses infect multiple hosts, raising questions about whether these pathogens are capable of inducing transmission-facilitating phenotypes in phylogenetically divergent host plants and the extent to which evolutionary history with a given host or plant community influences such effects. To explore these issues, we worked with two newly acquired field isolates of cucumber mosaic virus (CMV)—a widespread multi-host plant pathogen transmitted in a non-persistent manner by aphids—and explored effects on the phenotypes of different host plants and on their subsequent interactions with aphid vectors. An isolate collected from cultivated squash fields (KVPG2-CMV) induced in the native squash host (Cucurbita pepo) a suite of effects on host-vector interactions suggested by previous work to be conducive to transmission (including reduced host-plant quality for aphids, rapid aphid dispersal from infected to healthy plants, and enhanced aphid attraction to the elevated emission of a volatile blend similar to that of healthy plants). A second isolate (P1-CMV) collected from cultivated pepper (Capsicum annuum) induced more neutral effects in its native host (largely exhibiting non-significant trends in the direction of effects seen for KVPG2-CMV in squash). When we attempted cross-host inoculations of these two CMV isolates (KVPG2-CMV in pepper and P1-CMV in squash), P1-CMV was only sporadically able to infect the novel host; KVPG2-CMV infected the novel pepper host with somewhat reduced success compared with its native host and reached virus titers significantly lower than those observed for either strain in its native host. Furthermore, KVPG2-CMV induced changes in the phenotype of the novel host, and consequently in host-vector interactions, dramatically different than those observed in the native host and apparently maladaptive with respect to virus transmission (e.g., host plant quality for aphids was significantly improved in this instance, and aphid dispersal was reduced). Taken together, these findings provide evidence of adaption by CMV to local hosts (including reduced infectivity and replication in novel versus native hosts) and further suggest that such adaptation may extend to effects on host-plant traits mediating interactions with aphid vectors. Thus, these results are consistent with the hypothesis that virus effects on host-vector interactions can be adaptive, and they suggest that multi-host pathogens may exhibit adaptation with respect to these and other effects on host phenotypes, perhaps especially in homogeneous monoculture

A multi-compartment single and multiple dose pharmacokinetic comparison of rectally applied tenofovir 1% gel and oral tenofovir disoproxil fumarate

This Phase 1, randomized, two-site (United States), double-blind, placebo-controlled study enrolled 18 sexually abstinent men and women. All received a single 300-mg dose of oral tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) and were then randomized 2:1 to receive single and then seven daily rectal exposures of vaginally-formulated tenofovir (TFV) 1% gel or a hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) placebo gel. Blood, colonic biopsies and rectal and vaginal mucosal fluids were collected after the single oral TDF, the single topical TFV gel dose, and after 7 days of topical TFV gel dosing for extracellular analysis of TFV and intracellular analysis of the active metabolite tenofovir diphosphate (TFVdp) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and isolated mucosal mononuclear cells (MMC), including CD4+ and CD4- cell subsets. With a single rectal dose, TFV plasma concentrations were 24-33 fold lower and half-life was 5 h shorter compared to a single oral dose (p = 0.02). TFVdp concentrations were also undetectable in PBMCs with rectal dosing. Rectal tissue exposure to both TFV and TFVdp was 2 to 4-log10 higher after a single rectal dose compared to a single oral dose, and after 7 daily doses, TFVdp accumulated 4.5 fold in tissue. TFVdp in rectal tissue homogenate was predictive (residual standard error, RSE = 0.47) of tissue MMC intracellular TFVdp concentration, with the CD4+ cells having a 2-fold higher TFVdp concentration than CD4- cells. TFV concentrations from rectal sponges was a modest surrogate indicator for both rectal tissue TFV and TFVdp (RSE = 0.67, 0.66, respectively) and plasma TFV (RSE = 0.38). TFV penetrates into the vaginal cavity after oral and rectal dosing, with rectal dosing leading to higher vaginal TFV concentrations (p<0.01)

JOUR 6301: Event Management/HPRM & PR (Syllabus)

Course Description: Development, execution and evaluation of events that support strategic communication practices; emphasis on advertising and public relations tactics for non-profit, for profit and community based initiatives and organizations