Virginia\u27s Money Follows the Person Demonstration

Educational Objectives 1. Describe Virginia\u27s Money Follows the Person Demonstration project, including the new services available to individuals through Virginia\u27s Medicaid-funded home and community-based waiver program. 2. Explain how Virginia\u27s Money Follows the Person Demonstration project, being administered by the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS), would assist an individual in transitioning from a long-term care facility to the community. 3. Illustrate how someone might experience the MFP processes from pre-transition through post-transition

Confirming the existence of π-allyl-palladium intermediates during the reaction of meta photocycloadducts with palladium(ii) compounds

The transient existence of π-allyl-palladium intermediates formed by the reaction of Pd(OAc)2 and anisole-derived meta photocycloadducts has been demonstrated using NMR techniques. The intermediates tended to be short-lived and underwent rapid reductive elimination of palladium metal to form allylic acetates, however this degradation process could be delayed by changing the reaction solvent from acetonitrile to chloroform

Evolution of Ecological Niche Breadth

How ecological niche breadth evolves is central to adaptation and speciation and has been a topic of perennial interest. Niche breadth evolution research has occurred within environmental, ecological, evolutionary, and biogeographical contexts, and although some generalities have emerged, critical knowledge gaps exist. Performance breadth trade-offs, although long invoked, may not be common determinants of niche breadth evolution or limits. Niche breadth can expand or contract from specialist or generalist lineages, and so specialization need not be an evolutionary dead end. Whether niche breadth determines diversification and distribution breadth and how niche breadth is partitioned among individuals and populations within a species are important but particularly understudied topics. Molecular genetic and phylogenetic techniques have greatly expanded understanding of niche breadth evolution, but field studies of how niche breadth evolves are essential for providing mechanistic details and allowing the development of comprehensive theory and improved prediction of biological responses under global change. </jats:p

The elemental mechanism of transcriptional pausing.

Transcriptional pausing underlies regulation of cellular RNA biogenesis. A consensus pause sequence that acts on RNA polymerases (RNAPs) from bacteria to mammals halts RNAP in an elemental paused state from which longer-lived pauses can arise. Although the structural foundations of pauses prolonged by backtracking or nascent RNA hairpins are recognized, the fundamental mechanism of the elemental pause is less well-defined. Here we report a mechanistic dissection that establishes the elemental pause signal (i) is multipartite; (ii) causes a modest conformational shift that puts γ-proteobacterial RNAP in an off-pathway state in which template base loading but not RNA translocation is inhibited; and (iii) allows RNAP to enter pretranslocated and one-base-pair backtracked states easily even though the half-translocated state observed in paused cryo-EM structures rate-limits pause escape. Our findings provide a mechanistic basis for the elemental pause and a framework to understand how pausing is modulated by sequence, cellular conditions, and regulators

Visual subcircuit-specific dysfunction and input-specific mispatterning in the superior colliculus of fragile X mice

Abstract Background Sensory processing deficits are frequently co-morbid with neurodevelopmental disorders. For example, patients with fragile X syndrome (FXS), caused by a silencing of the FMR1 gene, exhibit impairments in visual function specific to the dorsal system, which processes motion information. However, the developmental and circuit mechanisms underlying this deficit remain unclear. Recently, the superior colliculus (SC), a midbrain structure regulating head and eye movements, has emerged as a model for dissecting visual circuit development and function. Previous studies have demonstrated a critical role for activity-dependent processes in the development of visual circuitry in the SC. Based on the known role of the FMR1 gene product in activity-dependent synaptic plasticity, we explored the function and organization of visual circuits in the SC of a mouse model of FXS (Fmr1−/y). Methods We utilized in vivo extracellular electrophysiology in combination with computer-controlled visual stimuli to determine the receptive field properties of visual neurons in the SC of control and Fmr1−/y mice. In addition, we utilized anatomical tracing methods to assess the organization of visual inputs to the SC and along the retinogeniculocortical pathway. Results Receptive fields of visual neurons in the SC of Fmr1−/y mice were significantly larger than those found in control animals, though their shape and structure were unaffected. Further, selectivity for direction of movement was decreased, while selectivity to axis of movement was unchanged. Interestingly, axis-selective (AS) neurons exhibited a specific hyperexcitability in comparison to AS neurons in control SC and to direction-selective (DS) neurons in both control and Fmr1−/y SC. Anatomical tracings revealed that retinocollicular, retinogeniculate, and geniculocortical projections were normally organized in the absence of Fmr1. However, projections from primary visual cortex (V1) to the SC were poorly refined. Conclusions Fmr1 is required for the proper development of visual circuit organization and function in the SC. We find that visual dysfunction is heterogeneously manifested in a subcircuit-specific manner in Fmr1−/y mice, consistent with previous studies in human FXS patients. Further, we show a specific alteration of inputs to the SC from V1, but not the retina. Together, these data suggest that Fmr1 may function in distinct ways during the development of different visual subcircuits.https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/144523/1/11689_2018_Article_9241.pd

Enhanced Care Assistant Training to Address the Workforce Crisis in Home Care: Changes Related to Job Satisfaction and Career Commitment

Changes in job satisfaction and career commitment were observed as a consequence of a geriatric case management training program focusing on skills development among personal care attendants in home care. A comparison of pretraining and posttraining scores uncovered a statistically signifi cant increase in Intrinsic Job Satisfaction scores for participants 18–39 years of age, whereas levels declined among the group of middle aged participants and no change was observed among participants age 52 and older. On the other hand, a statistically signifi cant decline in Extrinsic Job Satisfaction was documented over all participants, but this was found to be primarily due to declines among participants 40–51 years of age. When contacted 6–12 months after the training series had concluded, participants indicated that the training substantially increased the likelihood that they would stay in their current jobs and improved their job satisfaction to some extent. A comparison of pretraining and posttraining scores among participants providing follow-up data revealed a statistically signifi cant improvement in levels of Career Resilience. These results are discussed as they relate to similar training models and national data sets, and recommendations are offered for targeting future educational programs designed to address the long-term care workforce shortage

Autophagy and radiosensitization in cancer

Autophagy is a natural self-degradative process by which cells eliminate misfolded proteins and damaged organelles. Autophagy has been shown to have multiple functions in tumor cells that may be dependent on the tumor type and the treatment conditions. Autophagy can have a cytoprotective role and be thought of as a survival mechanism or be cytotoxic in nature and mediate cell death. Radiation, one of the primary treatments for many different types of cancer, almost uniformly promotes autophagy in tumor cells. While autophagy produced in response to radiation is often considered to be cytoprotective, radiation-induced autophagy has also been shown to mediate susceptibility to radiation. This review addresses the complexity of autophagy in response to radiation treatment in three different cancer models, specifically lung cancer, breast cancer and glioblastoma. A deeper understanding of the different roles played by autophagy in response to radiation should facilitate the development of approaches for enhancing the therapeutic utility of radiation by providing strategies for combination treatment with unique radiosensitizers as well as preventing the initiation of strategies which are likely to attenuate the effectiveness of radiation therapy

Redox-dependent gating of VDAC by mitoNEET.

MitoNEET is an outer mitochondrial membrane protein essential for sensing and regulation of iron and reactive oxygen species (ROS) homeostasis. It is a key player in multiple human maladies including diabetes, cancer, neurodegeneration, and Parkinson's diseases. In healthy cells, mitoNEET receives its clusters from the mitochondrion and transfers them to acceptor proteins in a process that could be altered by drugs or during illness. Here, we report that mitoNEET regulates the outer-mitochondrial membrane (OMM) protein voltage-dependent anion channel 1 (VDAC1). VDAC1 is a crucial player in the cross talk between the mitochondria and the cytosol. VDAC proteins function to regulate metabolites, ions, ROS, and fatty acid transport, as well as function as a "governator" sentry for the transport of metabolites and ions between the cytosol and the mitochondria. We find that the redox-sensitive [2Fe-2S] cluster protein mitoNEET gates VDAC1 when mitoNEET is oxidized. Addition of the VDAC inhibitor 4,4'-diisothiocyanatostilbene-2,2'-disulfonate (DIDS) prevents both mitoNEET binding in vitro and mitoNEET-dependent mitochondrial iron accumulation in situ. We find that the DIDS inhibitor does not alter the redox state of MitoNEET. Taken together, our data indicate that mitoNEET regulates VDAC in a redox-dependent manner in cells, closing the pore and likely disrupting VDAC's flow of metabolites

Enacting agency: exploring how older adults shape their neighbourhoods

Within research on ageing in neighbourhoods, older adults are often positioned as impacted by neighbourhood features; their impact on neighbourhoods is less often considered. Drawing on a study exploring how person and place transact to shape older adults’ social connectedness, inclusion and engagement in neighbourhoods, this paper explores how older adults take action in efforts to create neighbourhoods that meet individual and collective needs and wants. We drew on ethnographic and community-based participatory approaches and employed qualitative and geospatial methods with 14 older adults in two neighbourhoods. Analysis identified three themes that described the ways that older adults enact agency at the neighbourhood level: being present and inviting casual social interaction, helping others and taking community action. The participants appeared to contribute to a collective sense of connectedness and creation of social spaces doing everyday neighbourhood activities and interacting with others. Shared territories in which others were present seemed to support such interactions. Participants also helped others in a variety of ways, often relating to gaps in services and support, becoming neighbourhood-based supports for other seniors. Finally, participants contributed to change at the community level, such as engaging politically, patronising local businesses and making improvements in public places. Study findings suggest the potential benefits of collaborating with older adults to create and maintain liveable neighbourhoods

The Passive Optical Sample Assembly (POSA): I Experiment: First Flight Results and Conclusions

The Passive Optical Sample Assembly-I (POSA-I), part of the Mir Environmental Effects Payload (MEEP), was designed to study the combined effects of contamination, atomic oxygen, ultraviolet radiation, vacuum, thermal cycling, and other constituents of the space environment on spacecraft materials. The MEEP program is a Phase 1 International Space Station Risk Mitigation Experiment. SSP 30258 "Thermal Control Architectural Control Document", section 3.1.2 requires that International Space Station (ISS) external materials meet performance requirements when exposed to the external environment as defined in SSP 30426, "Space Station External Contamination Control Requirements." Contamination control documents call for less than 3 x 10(exp -7) gm/sq cm/yr of molecular contamination on a surface at 300 K at the Prime Measurement Points during quiescent periods and less than 1 x 10(exp-6) gm/sq cm/yr during non-quiescent periods. Assuming a density of 1.0 g/cu cm for the contaminant, this is roughly equivalent to 30-100 A per year. A previous Mir flight experiment (Guillaumon et al. 1991) measured 321-716 A per year. Were this to happen on ISS, the radiators would reach end-of-life properties much sooner than the planned 10 years. Therefore, POSA was proposed to expose ISS-baselined materials (such as Z93 white thermal control paint and chromic acid anodized aluminum) to the Mir environment and determine not only the level of contamination from an orbiting, active space station but also the effect of contamination on thermal optical properties. POSA-I consisted of nearly 400 samples of various candidate materials for ISS. Paint samples flown included Z-93 and YB-71 white thermal control paints and a new inorganic bright yellow paint htat can be utilized for astronaut visual aids