Harm Reduction Programs: West Virginia vs. United States

Introduction: Harm reduction has been a movement for social justice built on a belief in, and respect for, the rights of people who use drugs. It has been defined as a set of practical strategies and ideas aimed at reducing negative consequences associated with drug use. The U.S. has been experiencing an opioid/heroin epidemic, with significant increases in overdose death among drug users with more than 72,000 Americans having died from drug overdoses in 2017. Methodology: The methodology for this study was a literature review with a semi structured interview with Tina Rameriz of the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department in Charleston, West Virginia. The electronic databases used included EBSCOhost, PubMed, Academic Search Premier, ProQuest, and Google Scholar. Government and medical websites were also used. A total of 47 sources were referenced. Results: The results of the literature review showed that West Virginia had the highest age-adjusted rate of drug related overdose deaths in the nation in 2014. Overdoses claimed more than three out of every 100 fatalities and ranked #1 in drug overdose deaths with a rate of 41.5 deaths per 100,000 people in 2015. West Virginia had a statewide Harm Reduction Coalition that provided support and guidance for any agency interested. States such as Minnesota, North Carolina and Ohio have had better results in implementing harm reduction programs. An opportunity of harm reduction programs was the creation of the drug Naloxone. Discussion/Conclusion: This research was not without its limitations. The review suggested that West Virginia has been in fact, behind other states in the U.S. By utilizing several harm reduction programs in the state of West Virginia, this would also create a substantial decrease in the number of HIV and Hepatitis virus spread through needle sharing among injection drug users

The influence of seminal plasma on offspring development and health

The concept that a father’s wellbeing at the time of conception influences the development and long-term health of his offspring is now well established. However, the mechanisms underlying the paternal programming of offspring health are not fully defined. While sperm-mediated effects on offspring development have been investigated in detail, the significance of seminal plasma has been over-looked. Typically, the seminal plasma is viewed as a simple medium, with a main role to transport sperm into the female reproductive tract at the time of conception. However, a more sophisticated role for seminal plasma in the modulation of the maternal periconception cell-signalling, inflammatory and immunological physiology is emerging. Seminal plasma comprises a complex mix of nutrients, proteins, signalling molecules and cell-free genetic material which all interact with the endometrium to regulate gene expression, vascular remodelling, leukocyte recruitment and the priming of regulatory T cells (Tregs). These seminal plasma effects on the maternal periconception environment all act to facilitate uterine remodelling, embryo implantation and fetal development. Evidence is now emerging that poor paternal lifestyle factors such as diet, can modify these essential uterine responses, altering fetal development and ultimately long-term offspring health. The use of animal models has enhanced our understanding of the effects of seminal plasma on maternal uterine physiology, embryo development and offspring health. However, further studies are needed to define the interaction between seminal plasma components and female reproductive tissues in humans. Such studies will be central in providing better information and infertility treatments to intending parents

Ecosystem Food Web Lift-the-Flap Pages

In the lesson on which this practical article is based, third grade students constructed a “lift-the-flap” page to explore food webs on the prairie. The moveable papercraft focused student attention on prairie animals’ external structures and how the inferred functions of those structures could support further inferences about the animals’ diets. In general, most students made simple causal connections between an animal’s observable characteristics and the food it would probably eat. Some students were also able to make multi-agent connections to develop a more complex mental model of a food web. Ultimately, the lift-the flap project was engaging to students and motivated them to focus their attention on the characteristics of animals of different ecosystems to infer their probable diets

Modeling superimposed preeclampsia using Ang II (Angiotensin II) infusion in pregnant stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats

Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy are the second leading cause of maternal deaths worldwide. Superimposed preeclampsia is an increasingly common problem and often associated with impaired placental perfusion. Understanding the underlying mechanisms and developing treatment options are crucial. The pregnant stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rat has impaired uteroplacental blood flow and abnormal uterine artery remodeling. We used Ang II (angiotensin II) infusion in pregnant stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats to mimic the increased cardiovascular stress associated with superimposed preeclampsia and examine the impact on the maternal cardiovascular system and fetal development. Continuous infusion of Ang II at 500 or 1000 ng/kg per minute was administered from gestational day 10.5 until term. Radiotelemetry and echocardiography were used to monitor hemodynamic and cardiovascular changes, and urine was collected prepregnancy and throughout gestation. Uterine artery myography assessed uteroplacental vascular function and structure. Fetal measurements were made at gestational day 18.5, and placentas were collected for histological and gene expression analyses. The 1000 ng/kg per minute Ang II treatment significantly increased blood pressure (P<0.01), reduced cardiac output (P<0.05), and reduced diameter and increased stiffness of the uterine arteries (P<0.01) during pregnancy. The albumin:creatinine ratio was increased in both Ang II treatment groups (P<0.05; P<0.0001). The 1000 ng/kg per minute–treated fetuses were significantly smaller than vehicle treatment (P<0.001). Placental expression of Ang II receptors was increased in the junctional zone in 1000 ng/kg per minute Ang II–treated groups (P<0.05), with this zone showing depletion of glycogen content and structural abnormalities. Ang II infusion in pregnant stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats mirrors hemodynamic, cardiac, and urinary profiles observed in preeclamptic women, with evidence of impaired fetal growth

Development of the Brief Ageing Perceptions Questionnaire (B-APQ): a confirmatory factor analysis approach to item reduction.

BACKGROUND: This paper aimed to develop a short version of the 32-item Ageing Perceptions Questionnaire (APQ), a multi-dimensional measure based on Leventhal\u27s self-regulation model. Ageing perceptions are a key area of interest for large-scale surveys of ageing populations. As these studies capture a broad range of health and social variables, included instruments need to be as concise as possible. METHODS: Data from the Irish Longitudinal Study of Ageing (TILDA), a representative sample of community-dwelling individuals aged 50+ (n = 6,718), was used to revise the scale. Items for exclusion were identified by examining conceptual content, descriptive statistics, and by detecting sources of poor model fit using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Potential combinations of dimensions were also tested using CFA. Finally, we identified any dimensions that could be excluded without limiting the conceptual coverage and coherence of the scale. Model modifications were done sequentially and with regard to theoretical considerations. Internal consistency and construct validity of the concise scale were compared with the longer version. RESULTS: Initially, 11 items were excluded on the basis of conceptual and empirical overlap with other items. CFA indicated that the negative-control and negative-consequences dimensions could be combined, allowing us to exclude a further item from this dimension. The 5-item timeline-cyclical dimension was also excluded, as it was less well-established conceptually and empirically than the other dimensions. The final 17-item, 5-dimension model was consistent with the original conceptual model and fit the data well (chi-sq = 1433.54, df(109), p CONCLUSIONS: The Brief-APQ (B-APQ) is a concise, multi-dimensional measure of ageing perceptions, which is psychometrically valid for use with the Irish population aged 50+. The concise version preserved the internal consistency and construct validity of the original. Its brevity makes it particularly suitable for use with large-scale adult population surveys. The psychometric analysis supports the application of the self-regulation model to ageing perceptions, but also the existence of distinct \u22physical decline\u22 and \u22ongoing development\u22 dimensions of perceptions

Paternal low protein diet and the supplementation of methyl-donors impact fetal growth and placental development in mice

IntroductionPaternal low-protein diet can alter sperm methylation status, fetal growth and program offspring ill-health, however its impact on the placenta remains poorly defined. Here we examine the influence paternal low-protein diet has on fetal and placental development and the additional impact of supplementary methyl-donors on fetoplacental physiology.MethodsMale C57BL/6J mice were fed a control normal protein diet (NPD; 18% protein), a low-protein diet (LPD; 9% protein) or LPD with methyl-donor supplementation (MD-LPD; choline chloride, betaine, methionine, folic acid, vitamin B12) for a minimum of 8 weeks. Males were mated with 8–11 week old female C57BL/6J mice and fetal and placental tissue collected on embryonic day 17.5.ResultsPaternal LPD was associated with increased fetal weights compared to NPD and MD-LPD with 22% fetuses being above the 90th centile for fetal weight. However, LPD and MD-LPD placental weights were reduced when compared to NPD. Placentas from LPD fathers demonstrated a reduced junctional zone area and reduced free-fatty acid content. MD-LPD placentas did not mirror these finding, demonstrating an increased chorion area, a reduction in junctional-specific glycogen staining and reduced placental Dnmt3b expression, none of which were apparent in either NPD or LPD placentas.DiscussionA sub-optimal paternal diet can influence fetal growth and placental development, and dietary methyl-donor supplementation alters placental morphology and gene expression differentially to that observed with LPD alone. Understanding how paternal diet and micro-nutrient supplementation influence placental development is crucial for determining connections between paternal well-being and future offspring health

Annotation of Bacteriophage BigPaolini

Bacteriophages were discovered nearly 100 years ago. With new interest in phages many phages are being analyzed and annotated to understand the diversity within the phage world.https://digitalcommons.mtech.edu/urp_aug_2018/1010/thumbnail.jp

Relationship between nitrate and nitrite stress responses of Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough and Desulfovibrio alaskensis G20

Many heavy metal-contaminated sites where nuclear weapons have been produced contain high concentrations of nitrate. Nitrate inhibits dissimilatory sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB), bacteria known to precipitate heavy metals. An understanding of nitrate stress responses in SRB is necessary to predict responses in environmental settings. Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough and Desulfovibrio alaskensis G20, model SRB, offer the opportunity to identify the physiological and genetic changes that confer nitrate resistance. It is currently thought that nitrite production mediates nitrate inhibition of SRB (He et al., 2010). However, microarray studies have revealed few gene expression changes in common between nitrate- and nitrite-inhibited D. vulgaris cells (He et al., 2010). Since it has been shown that nitrite interacts with the dissimilatory sulfite reductase (Wolfe et al., 1994), it has been assumed that sulfite reduction is the sole target of nitrite inhibition (Haveman et al., 2004). Our results point to inhibition and resistance mechanisms for both nitrate and nitrite that are independent of sulfite reduction

Parental Programming of Offspring Health: The Intricate Interplay between Diet, Environment, Reproduction and Development

As adults, our health can be influenced by a range of lifestyle and environmental factors, increasing the risk for developing a series of non-communicable diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and obesity. Over the past few decades, our understanding of how our adult health can be shaped by events occurring before birth has developed into a well-supported concept, the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD). Supported by epidemiological data and experimental studies, specific mechanisms have been defined linking environmental perturbations, disrupted fetal and neonatal development and adult ill-health. Originally, such studies focused on the significance of poor maternal health during pregnancy. However, the role of the father in directing the development and well-being of his offspring has come into recent focus. Whereas these studies identify the individual role of each parent in shaping the long-term health of their offspring, few studies have explored the combined influences of both parents on offspring well-being. Such understanding is necessary as parental influences on offspring development extend beyond the direct genetic contributions from the sperm and oocyte. This article reviews our current understanding of the parental contribution to offspring health, exploring some of the mechanisms linking parental well-being with gamete quality, embryo development and offspring health