The History of the Flora Stone Mather Center for Women at Case Western Reserve University

In this article, we present the history of the Flora Stone Mather Center for Women at Case Western Reserve University, written around the time of its founding. We put this in conversation with the proposal which was submitted to university administration as justification for the creation of the Center for Women. In pairing the snippets of the proposal with details of the Mather Center’s present programming and resources, we are able to show how we are living up to the mission of our founders and the benefit to our campus community of having a women’s center on our campus

Time outdoors and the prevention of myopia

Recent epidemiological evidence suggests that children who spend more time outdoors are less likely to be, or to become myopic, irrespective of how much near work they do, or whether their parents are myopic. It is currently uncertain if time outdoors also blocks progression of myopia. It has been suggested that the mechanism of the protective effect of time outdoors involves light-stimulated release of dopamine from the retina, since increased dopamine release appears to inhibit increased axial elongation, which is the structural basis of myopia. This hypothesis has been supported by animal experiments which have replicated the protective effects of bright light against the development of myopia under laboratory conditions, and have shown that the effect is, at least in part, mediated by dopamine, since the D2-dopamine antagonist spiperone reduces the protective effect. There are some inconsistencies in the evidence, most notably the limited inhibition by bright light under laboratory conditions of lens-induced myopia in monkeys, but other proposed mechanisms possibly associated with time outdoors such as relaxed accommodation, more uniform dioptric space, increased pupil constriction, exposure to UV light, changes in the spectral composition of visible light, or increased physical activity have little epidemiological or experimental support. Irrespective of the mechanisms involved, clinical trials are now underway to reduce the development of myopia in children by increasing the amount of time they spend outdoors. These trials would benefit from more precise definition of thresholds for protection in terms of intensity and duration of light exposures. These can be investigated in animal experiments in appropriate models, and can also be determined in epidemiological studies, although more precise measurement of exposures than those currently provided by questionnaires is desirable

Похибка розрахунку характеристик гармонійного сигналу

Встановлено основні джерела похибок програм визначення коефіцієнта гармонік для звичайної та подвійної точності розрахунку. Аналізуються похибки заокруглення, пов’язані із знаходженням тригонометричних функцій стандартними програмами, похибки розрахунку коефіцієнта гармонік гармонійного сигналу, на який накладено постійний складник, похибки розрахунку коефіцієнта гармонік від кількості дискретних відліків на періоді сигналу, похибки квантування по рівню, величина яких залежить від розрядності аналогово-цифрового перетворювача (АЦП). Шляхом моделювання визначено величину порогу чутливості по коефіцієнту гармонік.The basic sources of the errors of software for calculation of the harmonic factor for an ordinary and double accuracy of calculation are established. Errors in rounding, related to the calculation of trigonometric functions by standard programs, errors of calculation of the harmonic factor of a harmonic signal with an imposed permanent constituent, errors of calculation of the harmonic factor from the number of discrete counts on the signal period, errors of quantum by level the value which depends from the value ADC bits are analyzed. The threshold value of sensitivity by a harmonic factor was evaluated by modelling.Рассмотрены основные источники погрешностей программ расчета коэффициента гармоник с обычной и двойной точностью вычислений. Анализируются погрешности округления, связанные с вычислением тригонометрических функций стандартными программами, погрешности расчета коэффициента гармоник гармонического сигнала с постоянной составляющей, погрешности расчета коэффициента гармоник от количества дискретных отсчетов на периоде гармонического сигнала, погрешности квантования по уровню, величина которых зависит от разрядности аналого-цифрового преобразователя (АЦП). Путем моделирования определена величина порога чувствительности по коэффициенту гармоник

Exosomal Composition, Biogenesis and Profiling using Point-of-Care Diagnostics - Implications for Cardiovascular Disease

Arteriosclerosis is an important age-dependent disease that encompasses atherosclerosis, in-stent restenosis (ISR), pulmonary hypertension, autologous bypass grafting and transplant arteriosclerosis. Endothelial dysfunction and the proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cell (vSMC)-like cells is a critical event in the pathology of arteriosclerotic disease leading to intimal-medial thickening (IMT), lipid retention and vessel remodelling. An important aspect in guiding clinical decision-making is the detection of biomarkers of subclinical arteriosclerosis and early cardiovascular risk. Crucially, relevant biomarkers need to be good indicators of injury which change in their circulating concentrations or structure, signalling functional disturbances. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are nanosized membraneous vesicles secreted by cells that contain numerous bioactive molecules and act as a means of intercellular communication between different cell populations to maintain tissue homeostasis, gene regulation in recipient cells and the adaptive response to stress. This review will focus on the emerging field of EV research in cardiovascular disease (CVD) and discuss how key EV signatures in liquid biopsies may act as early pathological indicators of adaptive lesion formation and arteriosclerotic disease progression. EV profiling has the potential to provide important clinical information to complement current cardiovascular diagnostic platforms that indicate or predict myocardial injury. Finally, the development of fitting devices to enable rapid and/or high-throughput exosomal analysis that require adapted processing procedures will be evaluate

Fortification and health: challenges and opportunities.

Fortification is the process of adding nutrients or non-nutrient bioactive components to edible products (e.g., food, food constituents, or supplements). Fortification can be used to correct or prevent widespread nutrient intake shortfalls and associated deficiencies, to balance the total nutrient profile of a diet, to restore nutrients lost in processing, or to appeal to consumers looking to supplement their diet. Food fortification could be considered as a public health strategy to enhance nutrient intakes of a population. Over the past century, fortification has been effective at reducing the risk of nutrient deficiency diseases such as beriberi, goiter, pellagra, and rickets. However, the world today is very different from when fortification emerged in the 1920s. Although early fortification programs were designed to eliminate deficiency diseases, current fortification programs are based on low dietary intakes rather than a diagnosable condition. Moving forward, we must be diligent in our approach to achieving effective and responsible fortification practices and policies, including responsible marketing of fortified products. Fortification must be applied prudently, its effects monitored diligently, and the public informed effectively about its benefits through consumer education efforts. Clear lines of authority for establishing fortification guidelines should be developed and should take into account changing population demographics, changes in the food supply, and advances in technology. This article is a summary of a symposium presented at the ASN Scientific Sessions and Annual Meeting at Experimental Biology 2014 on current issues involving fortification focusing primarily on the United States and Canada and recommendations for the development of responsible fortification practices to ensure their safety and effectiveness

The epidemics of myopia: Aetiology and prevention

There is an epidemic of myopia in East and Southeast Asia, with the prevalence of myopia in young adults around 80-90%, and an accompanying high prevalence of high myopia in young adults (10-20%). This may foreshadow an increase in low vision and blindness due to pathological myopia. These two epidemics are linked, since the increasingly early onset of myopia, combined with high progression rates, naturally generates an epidemic of high myopia, with high prevalences of "acquired" high myopia appearing around the age of 11-13. The major risk factors identified are intensive education, and limited time outdoors. The localization of the epidemic appears to be due to the high educational pressures and limited time outdoors in the region, rather than to genetically elevated sensitivity to these factors. Causality has been demonstrated in the case of time outdoors through randomized clinical trials in which increased time outdoors in schools has prevented the onset of myopia. In the case of educational pressures, evidence of causality comes from the high prevalence of myopia and high myopia in Jewish boys attending Orthodox schools in Israel compared to their sisters attending religious schools, and boys and girls attending secular schools. Combining increased time outdoors in schools, to slow the onset of myopia, with clinical methods for slowing myopic progression, should lead to the control of this epidemic, which would otherwise pose a major health challenge. Reforms to the organization of school systems to reduce intense early competition for accelerated learning pathways may also be important

Independent Validation of EarlyR Gene Signature in BIG 1-98: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Phase III Trial Comparing Letrozole and Tamoxifen as Adjuvant Endocrine Therapy for Postmenopausal Women with Hormone Receptor-Positive, Early Breast Cancer

Background EarlyR gene signature in estrogen receptor–positive (ER+) breast cancer is computed from the expression values of ESPL1, SPAG5, MKI67, PLK1, and PGR. EarlyR has been validated in multiple cohorts profiled using microarrays. This study sought to verify the prognostic features of EarlyR in a case-cohort sample from BIG 1–98, a randomized clinical trial of ER+ postmenopausal breast cancer patients treated with adjuvant endocrine therapy (letrozole or tamoxifen). Methods Expression of EarlyR gene signature was estimated by Illumina cDNA-mediated Annealing, Selection, and Ligation assay of RNA from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded primary breast cancer tissues in a case-cohort subset of ER+ women (N = 1174; 216 cases of recurrence within 8 years) from BIG 1–98. EarlyR score and prespecified risk strata (≤25 = low, 26–75 = intermediate, >75 = high) were “blindly” computed. Analysis endpoints included distant recurrence–free interval and breast cancer–free interval at 8 years after randomization. Hazard ratios (HRs) and test statistics were estimated with weighted analysis methods. Results The distribution of the EarlyR risk groups was 67% low, 19% intermediate, and 14% high risk in this ER+ cohort. EarlyR was prognostic for distant recurrence–free interval; EarlyR high-risk patients had statistically increased risk of distant recurrence within 8 years (HR = 1.73, 95% confidence interval = 1.14 to 2.64) compared with EarlyR low-risk patients. EarlyR was also prognostic of breast cancer–free interval (HR = 1.74, 95% confidence interval = 1.21 to 2.62). Conclusions This study confirmed the prognostic significance of EarlyR using RNA from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues from a case-cohort sample of BIG 1–98. EarlyR identifies a set of high-risk patients with relatively poor prognosis who may be considered for additional treatment. Further studies will focus on analyzing the predictive value of EarlyR signature