Public Health Outcomes as a Measure of Efficacy of Syringe Exchange Programs

Introduction. A syringe exchange is a public health intervention that offers nonjudgmental services to intravenous drug users (IVDU), providing clean syringes in exchange for used syringes. While prior studies demonstrated that syringe exchanges can reduce transmission of HIV, hepatitis C, and other blood-borne pathogens, other measures of health improvements have been less studied. Methods. 91 members of Vermont CARES syringe exchange program were surveyed on their healthcare practices. New members were defined asprogram. Results. Long-term members tended to have a primary care provider (PCP). Lack of insurance and fear of judgment were commonly cited reasons for not having a PCP. Long-term members were significantly less likely (p=0.04) to use costly emergency department (ED) services and less likely to reuse their own or another person\u27s needles. Long-term members were more likely to be in addiction treatment and reported a greater desire to abstain from drug use. New members were more likely to obtain hepatitis C and HIV testing in the past year. Discussion. Subjects responded positively to the possibility of accessing PCP services through VT CARES, offering a continuation of the nonjudgmental healthcare environment. Decreased ED visits significantly correlated with longer membership, reflecting the positive impact of the syringe exchange education services on reducing healthcare costs. Decreased testing among long-term members may reflect prior knowledge of their status. Long-term members were less likely to reuse their own needles or ones used by another person, suggesting the distribution of clean syringes encourages safer injection practices.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/1247/thumbnail.jp

Kaluza-Klein bundles and manifolds of exceptional holonomy

We show how in the presence of RR two-form field strength the conditions for preserving supersymmetry on six- and seven-dimensional manifolds lead to certain generalizations of monopole equations. For six dimensions the string frame metric is Kaehler with the complex structure that descends from the octonions if in addition we assume F^{(1,1)}=0. The susy generator is a gauge covariantly constant spinor. For seven dimensions the string frame metric is conformal to a G_2 metric if in addition we assume the field strength to obey a selfduality constraint. Solutions to these equations lift to geometries of G_2 and Spin(7) holonomy respectively.Comment: LaTeX, 13 page

Breaking Barriers in Ultrafast Spectroscopy and Imaging Using 100 kHz Amplified Yb-Laser Systems

Ultrafast spectroscopy and imaging have become tools utilized by a broad range of scientists involved in materials, energy, biological, and chemical sciences. Commercialization of ultrafast spectrometers including transient absorption spectrometers, vibrational sum frequency generation spectrometers, and even multidimensional spectrometers have put these advanced spectroscopy measurements into the hands of practitioners originally outside the field of ultrafast spectroscopy. There is a technology shift occurring in ultrafast spectroscopy, made possible by new Yb-based lasers, that is opening exciting new experiments in the chemical and physical sciences. Amplified Yb-based lasers operate at many times the repetition rate of the previous generation of Ti:Sapphire amplifier technology, enabling improvements to long-standing techniques, new experiments, and the transformation of spectroscopies to microscopies. The impact of this technology will be felt across a great swath of the scientific communities. This review focuses on amplified Yb-based laser systems used in conjunction with 100 kHz spectrometers operating with shot-to-shot pulse shaping and detection. The shift to 100 kHz lasers is a transformative step in nonlinear spectroscopy and imaging, much like the dramatic expansion that occurred with the commercialization of Ti:Sapphire laser systems in the 1990s

Rank two quadratic pairs and surface group representations

Let $X$ be a compact Riemann surface. A quadratic pair on $X$ consists of a holomorphic vector bundle with a quadratic form which takes values in fixed line bundle. We show that the moduli spaces of quadratic pairs of rank 2 are connected under some constraints on their topological invariants. As an application of our results we determine the connected components of the $\mathrm{SO}_0(2,3)$-character variety of $X$.Comment: 37 pages, 1 figur

Maximal surface group representations in isometry groups of classical Hermitian symmetric spaces

Higgs bundles and non-abelian Hodge theory provide holomorphic methods with which to study the moduli spaces of surface group representations in a reductive Lie group G. In this paper we survey the case in which G is the isometry group of a classical Hermitian symmetric space of non-compact type. Using Morse theory on the moduli spaces of Higgs bundles, we compute the number of connected components of the moduli space of representations with maximal Toledo invariant.Comment: v2: added due credits to the work of Burger, Iozzi and Wienhard. v3: corrected count of connected components for G=SU(p,q) (p \neq q); added due credits to the work of Xia and Markman-Xia; minor corrections and clarifications. 31 page

Arf family GTP loading is activated by, and generates, positive membrane curvature

Small G-proteins belonging to the Arf (ADP-ribosylation factor) family serve as regulatory proteins for numerous cellular processes through GTP-dependent recruitment of effector molecules. In the present study we demonstrate that proteins in this family regulate, and are regulated by, membrane curvature. Arf1 and Arf6 were shown to load GTP in a membrane-curvature-dependent manner and stabilize, or further facilitate, changes in membrane curvature through the insertion of an amphipathic helix

Lens intracellular hydrostatic pressure is generated by the circulation of sodium and modulated by gap junction coupling

We recently modeled fluid flow through gap junction channels coupling the pigmented and nonpigmented layers of the ciliary body. The model suggested the channels could transport the secretion of aqueous humor, but flow would be driven by hydrostatic pressure rather than osmosis. The pressure required to drive fluid through a single layer of gap junctions might be just a few mmHg and difficult to measure. In the lens, however, there is a circulation of Na+ that may be coupled to intracellular fluid flow. Based on this hypothesis, the fluid would cross hundreds of layers of gap junctions, and this might require a large hydrostatic gradient. Therefore, we measured hydrostatic pressure as a function of distance from the center of the lens using an intracellular microelectrode-based pressure-sensing system. In wild-type mouse lenses, intracellular pressure varied from ∼330 mmHg at the center to zero at the surface. We have several knockout/knock-in mouse models with differing levels of expression of gap junction channels coupling lens fiber cells. Intracellular hydrostatic pressure in lenses from these mouse models varied inversely with the number of channels. When the lens’ circulation of Na+ was either blocked or reduced, intracellular hydrostatic pressure in central fiber cells was either eliminated or reduced proportionally. These data are consistent with our hypotheses: fluid circulates through the lens; the intracellular leg of fluid circulation is through gap junction channels and is driven by hydrostatic pressure; and the fluid flow is generated by membrane transport of sodium

Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT) and Fractionated Stereotactic Radiotherapy (FSRT) for children with head-and-neck-rhabdomyosarcoma

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The present study evaluates the outcome of 19 children with rhabdomyosarcoma of the head-and-neck region treated with Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT) or Fractionated Stereotactic Radiotherapy (FSRT) between August 1995 and November 2005.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We treated 19 children with head-and-neck rhabdomyosarcoma with FSRT (n = 14) or IMRT (n = 5) as a part of multimodal therapy. Median age at the time of radiation therapy was 5 years (range 2–15 years). All children received systemic chemotherapy according to the German Soft Tissue Sarcoma Study protocols.</p> <p>Median size of treatment volume for RT was 93,4 ml. We applied a median total dose of 45 Gy (range 32 Gy – 54 Gy) using a median fractionation of 5 × 1,8 Gy/week (range 1,6 Gy – 1,8 Gy).</p> <p>The median time interval between primary diagnosis and radiation therapy was 5 months (range 3–9 months).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>After RT, the 3- and 5-year survival rate was 94%. The 3- and 5-year actuarial local control rate after RT was 89%.</p> <p>The actuarial freedom of distant metastases rate at 3- and 5-years was 89% for all patients.</p> <p>Radiotherapy was well tolerated in all children and could be completed without interruptions > 4 days. No toxicities >CTC grade 2 were observed. The median follow-up time after RT was 17 months.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>IMRT and FSRT lead to excellent outcome in children with head-and-neck RMS with a low incidence of treatment-related side effects.</p

Drug-induced caspase 8 upregulation sensitises cisplatin-resistant ovarian carcinoma cells to rhTRAIL-induced apoptosis

BACKGROUND: Drug resistance is a major problem in ovarian cancer. Triggering apoptosis using death ligands such as tumour necrosis factor-related apoptosis inducing ligand (TRAIL) might overcome chemoresistance. METHODS: We investigated whether acquired cisplatin resistance affects sensitivity to recombinant human (rh) TRAIL alone or in combination with cisplatin in an ovarian cancer cell line model consisting of A2780 and its cisplatin-resistant subline CP70. RESULTS: Combining cisplatin and rhTRAIL strongly enhanced apoptosis in both cell lines. CP70 expressed less caspase 8 protein, whereas mRNA levels were similar compared with A2780. Pre-exposure of particularly CP70 to cisplatin resulted in strongly elevated caspase 8 protein and mRNA levels. Caspase 8 mRNA turnover and protein stability in the presence or absence of cisplatin did not differ between both cell lines. Cisplatin-induced caspase 8 protein levels were essential for the rhTRAIL-sensitising effect as demonstrated using caspase 8 small-interfering RNA (siRNA) and caspase-8 overexpressing constructs. Cellular FLICE-inhibitory protein (c-FLIP) and p53 siRNA experiments showed that neither an altered caspase 8/c-FLIP ratio nor a p53-dependent increase in DR5 membrane expression following cisplatin were involved in rhTRAIL sensitisation. CONCLUSION: Cisplatin enhances rhTRAIL-induced apoptosis in cisplatin-resistant ovarian cancer cells, and induction of caspase 8 protein expression is the key factor of rhTRAIL sensitisation. British Journal of Cancer (2011) 104, 1278-1287. doi:10.1038/bjc.2011.84 www.bjcancer.com (C) 2011 Cancer Research U

Spring 1959

Seed testing - A Service for You by Miss Jessie L. Anderson (page 1) Increased Interest in Two-Year Turf Course by Fred P. Jeffrey - Director of Stockbridge (4) From the Editor (4) Message From Winter School President of 1959 (5) Turf club News (6) Number One Graduate (8) Liquid Fertilization by A.B. Longo (9) Public School Grounds by James Woodhouse (12) Comments on the 1959 Winter School (14) Picture - Stockbridge Turf Majors (16) Picture - Honorary Members of Turf Management Club (17) Letter on Chemical Compatibility (18) The Most Outstanding Turf Senior for 1958 (19) What it Means to be a Turf Manager by R. Russell (20) 10 Steps to a Better Lawn by P. Pedrazzi (24) A Scene to Remember (25) I switched from Hots to Cools by J. Spodnik (26) Why Attend Turfgrass Conferences (27) Picture - Winter School for Turf Managers - 1959 (29) Picture - University of Masssachusetts Annual Turfgrass Conference (30) Organic Fertilizers by O.J. Noer (A-1) Inorganic Fertilizers by Charles Winchell (A-1) Urea Formaldehyde by G.F. Stewart (A-2) Phosphorus and Potash Fertilization by Raph Donaldson (A-3) Questions on Fertilization to the Panel (A-4) Cemetery Maintenance by S.E. Robbins (A-6) Lime by Anson Brewer (A-6) Limited Budgets by R.W. Sharkey (A-7) Fertilization of Park Turf by E.J. Pyle (A-7) Disease and Insect Control by Orlando Capizzi (A-8) Cost of Establishing Turf by Victor Taricano (A-9) Question and Answers (A-10) Control of Pests of Ornamentals and Turf Occuring on Golf Courses by John C. Schread (A-12) Behind the Scenes in Soil Testing and What it Means to You Bertram Gersten and Wm. G. Colby (A-19) Lessons Learned from the 1958 Season as Applied to Golf Course Maintenance by A.M. Radko (A-21) The Outlook in Chemical Weed Control on Fine Turf by John Gallagher (A-24) New Developments in Turfgrass Disease Diagnosis and Control by Frank Howard (A-26