Functional and Psychiatric Correlates of Comorbid Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Alcohol Use Disorder.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) are common comorbid conditions that affect large segments of the population. Individuals with comorbid PTSD/AUD face greater clinical and functional stressors than those with diagnoses of either PTSD or AUD alone. The purpose of this article is to review the phenomenology and functional associations of PTSD/AUD and address the common social, occupational, and psychological concerns associated with both disorders. Given the increased problems associated with comorbid PTSD/AUD, clinical and research efforts should focus on targeting functional and psychosocial problems in conjunction with psychiatric symptoms

Woody Plants for Wildlife: Brush Sculpting in South Texas and the Edwards Plateau

6 pp.Rangeland brush can be managed to accommodate wildlife. This publication discusses wildlife habitat requirements and lists 70 species of woody plants and the types of wildlife each attracts, including butterflies, bees and other insects, deer, small mammals, songbirds and game birds

Commentary: Essential Programs and Services Model

To further discussion about the Essential Programs and Services (EPS) model for funding public education in Maine, Maine Policy Review asked eight superintendents—representing districts across the state— to provide their views. We also asked each to discuss the needs of his district and whether additional state policy options were necessary to tackle the most pressing issues. The districts represented by these superintendents are a cross section of urban and rural high-receivers and low-receivers. Still, several commonalities emerge: the need for a state commitment that does not wax and wane with the business cycle; the urgency of professional development for new and experienced teachers; and, the importance of linking student outcomes with student assessment measures and student funding. In short, EPS is not seen as a solution to the state’s ongoing debate over public-education funding, but is recognized as a necessary first step

The Race to Leadership Effectiveness: A Study on School Organization for High and Low Performing Georgia Schools

With the adoption of such initiatives as No Child Left Behind (NCLB), Common Core State Standards (CCSS), and the College and Career Readiness Performance Index (CCRPI), there is increasing pressure for students to meet and exceed performance expectations. This is easier said than done, especially given that not all organizational structures are helpful to student performance. A quantitative, correlational study was done to determine the relationship between school organization and school performance within Georgia schools. Subgroup comparisons between high and low performing schools were included in analyses. Results showed that high organizational effectiveness was associated with high student performance outcomes. High performing schools had significantly higher organizational effectiveness than low performing schools. The findings of this study help teachers, administrators, and policy makers determine essential organizational themes that help students succeed. The use of positive organizational characteristics is encouraged in order for students to have much better success moving forward

Material condition assessment with eddy current sensors

Eddy current sensors and sensor arrays are used for process quality and material condition assessment of conducting materials. In an embodiment, changes in spatially registered high resolution images taken before and after cold work processing reflect the quality of the process, such as intensity and coverage. These images also permit the suppression or removal of local outlier variations. Anisotropy in a material property, such as magnetic permeability or electrical conductivity, can be intentionally introduced and used to assess material condition resulting from an operation, such as a cold work or heat treatment. The anisotropy is determined by sensors that provide directional property measurements. The sensor directionality arises from constructs that use a linear conducting drive segment to impose the magnetic field in a test material. Maintaining the orientation of this drive segment, and associated sense elements, relative to a material edge provides enhanced sensitivity for crack detection at edges

Geometric reconstruction methods for electron tomography

Electron tomography is becoming an increasingly important tool in materials science for studying the three-dimensional morphologies and chemical compositions of nanostructures. The image quality obtained by many current algorithms is seriously affected by the problems of missing wedge artefacts and nonlinear projection intensities due to diffraction effects. The former refers to the fact that data cannot be acquired over the full $180^\circ$ tilt range; the latter implies that for some orientations, crystalline structures can show strong contrast changes. To overcome these problems we introduce and discuss several algorithms from the mathematical fields of geometric and discrete tomography. The algorithms incorporate geometric prior knowledge (mainly convexity and homogeneity), which also in principle considerably reduces the number of tilt angles required. Results are discussed for the reconstruction of an InAs nanowire

A randomised study of rituximab and belimumab sequential therapy in PR3 ANCA-associated vasculitis (COMBIVAS): design of the study protocol

Background: Sequential B cell-targeted immunotherapy with BAFF antagonism (belimumab) and B cell depletion (rituximab) may enhance B cell targeting in ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) through several mechanisms. Methods: Study design: COMBIVAS is a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial designed to assess the mechanistic effects of sequential therapy of belimumab and rituximab in patients with active PR3 AAV. The recruitment target is 30 patients who meet the criteria for inclusion in the per-protocol analysis. Thirty-six participants have been randomised to one of the two treatment groups in a 1:1 ratio: either rituximab plus belimumab or rituximab plus placebo (both groups with the same tapering corticosteroid regimen), and recruitment is now closed (final patient enrolled April 2021). For each patient, the trial will last for 2 years comprising a 12-month treatment period followed by a 12-month follow-up period. Participants: Participants have been recruited from five of seven UK trial sites. Eligibility criteria were age ≥ 18 years and a diagnosis of AAV with active disease (newly diagnosed or relapsing disease), along with a concurrent positive test for PR3 ANCA by ELISA. Interventions: Rituximab 1000 mg was administered by intravenous infusions on day 8 and day 22. Weekly subcutaneous injections of 200 mg belimumab or placebo were initiated a week before rituximab on day 1 and then weekly through to week 51. All participants received a relatively low prednisolone (20 mg/day) starting dose from day 1 followed by a protocol-specified corticosteroid taper aiming for complete cessation by 3 months. Outcomes: The primary endpoint of this study is time to PR3 ANCA negativity. Key secondary outcomes include change from baseline in naïve, transitional, memory, plasmablast B cell subsets (by flow cytometry) in the blood at months 3, 12, 18 and 24; time to clinical remission; time to relapse; and incidence of serious adverse events. Exploratory biomarker assessments include assessment of B cell receptor clonality, B cell and T cell functional assays, whole blood transcriptomic analysis and urinary lymphocyte and proteomic analysis. Inguinal lymph node and nasal mucosal biopsies have been performed on a subgroup of patients at baseline and month 3. Discussion: This experimental medicine study provides a unique opportunity to gain detailed insights into the immunological mechanisms of belimumab-rituximab sequential therapy across multiple body compartments in the setting of AAV. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03967925. Registered on May 30, 2019