A Social Work Assessment of Interventions with the Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Population with Regards to Intimacy

Social work by nature has always been a hands on type of profession. With the explosion of new technology, social workers are being called upon to utilize technology to intervene with clients. Telecommunication is technology which can bring programs and images of people from one place to another with the use of television screens and phone lines. This study explored the effectiveness of the utilization of interactive video within a classroom setting for the purpose of social work intervention. The study examined the impact social work intervention has upon a sample of individuals diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease participating in an educational program through the use of interactive video. Data suggests most participants appreciated an on-site presenter, however; it was not a determinant in if they would participate in the program. All participants found some level of satisfaction with interactive video. This study was the first of its kind in terms of social work intervention. Utilization of interactive video by social work is young and in need of further exploratory research

Exhumation of the southern Pyrenean fold-thrust belt from orogenic growth to decay

We quantify the spatiotemporal patterns of exhumation across the southern fold-thrust belt (FTB) margin with apatite fission track (AFT) thermochronology and compare the results with existing deformation, exhumation, and sedimentation chronologies. Eighteen bedrock samples record exhumation ~90 to 10 Ma. Rocks from the range core (Axial Zone) record rapid exhumation that progresses east to west and north to south consistent with patterns of tectonically-driven uplift. Sediments shed into piggyback basins retain a detrital exhumation signal. Samples from other FTB structures record in situ exhumation, suggesting sedimentary burial of sufficient magnitudes to reset the AFT system. A major exhumation phase occurs at the boundary between the thick- and thin-skinned portions of the FTB wedge at 25-20 Ma. We suggest that this exhumation records uplift from sediment overloading the outboard FTB structures and/or wetter climate conditions. A final exhumation phase between ~20-10 Ma may be a response to base level lowering.Master of Scienc

Effects of Adolescent THC Exposure on the Prefrontal GABAergic System: Implications for Schizophrenia-Related Psychopathology.

Marijuana is the most commonly used drug of abuse among adolescents. Considerable clinical evidence supports the hypothesis that adolescent neurodevelopmental exposure to high levels of the principal psychoactive component in marijuana, -delta-9-tetrahydrocanabinol (THC), is associated with a high risk of developing psychiatric diseases, such as schizophrenia later in life. This marijuana-associated risk is believed to be related to increasing levels of THC found within commonly used marijuana strains. Adolescence is a highly vulnerable period for the development of the brain, where the inhibitory GABAergic system plays a pivotal role in the maturation of regulatory control mechanisms in the central nervous system (CNS). Specifically, adolescent neurodevelopment represents a critical period wherein regulatory connectivity between higher-order cortical regions and sub-cortical emotional processing circuits such as the mesolimbic dopamine (DA) system is established. Emerging preclinical evidence demonstrates that adolescent exposure to THC selectively targets schizophrenia-related molecular and neuropharmacological signaling pathways in both cortical and sub-cortical regions, including the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and mesolimbic DA pathway, comprising the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and nucleus accumbens (NAc). Prefrontal cortical GABAergic hypofunction is a key feature of schizophrenia-like neuropsychopathology. This GABAergic hypofunction may lead to the loss of control of the PFC to regulate proper sub-cortical DA neurotransmission, thereby leading to schizophrenia-like symptoms. This review summarizes preclinical evidence demonstrating that reduced prefrontal cortical GABAergic neurotransmission has a critical role in the sub-cortical DAergic dysregulation and schizophrenia-like behaviors observed following adolescent THC exposure

Caffeine enhancement of digestion of DNA by nuclease S1

The activity of Aspergillus orzae nuclease S1 on DNA has been investigated under varying pH and metal ion conditions. Nuclease S1 was found to preferentially digest denatured DNA. With native DNA as substrate the enzyme could only digest the DNa when caffeine was added to the reaction mixture. The enzyme was more active in sodium acetate buffer (pH 4.5), than in either standard saline citrate (pH 7.0) or sodium phosphate buffer (pH 6.8).Caffeine was also found to affect the thermal stability of DNA, resulting in a melting profile characterized by two transitions. The first transition (poorly defined) was below the normal melting temperature of the DNA, while the next transition was at the normal melting temperature of the DNA. The susceptibity of caffeine-treated DNA to nuclease digestion seems to be a result of the local unwinding that caffeine causes in the regions of DNA that melt in the first transition. This selective destabilization presumably sensitizes the unwound regions to nuclease hydrolysis.The hydrolysates of the DNA digested by nuclease S1 were subjected first to ion exchange chromatography followed by paper chromatography. The results from this partial characterization of the digestion products showed that they contain mononucleotides as well as oligonucleotides of varying lengths. The base composition of the mononucleotide digests suggests that caffeine has greater preference for interacting with A---T base-pairs in DNA.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/21852/1/0000256.pd

L. rubellus preference for Quercus spp. demonstrated by isotopic and density analysis in a northern temperate forest.

General EcologyDetritivores by nature, earthworms feed on multiple sources of organic matter. We hypothesized that they exhibit selective foraging habits, which would be reflected in their isotopic composition. We sampled at FASET and Ameriflux at the University of Michigan Biological Station, where we obtained earthworm specimens by using an electro shocking technique. We measured organic soil depth, soil moisture, and mass of leaf litter, and collected leaf and soil samples. We compared the density of worms to the organic soil depths, moisture of soil, and mass of leaf litter and found no significance, although there were definite trends. The composition of the tree species relative to worm densities showed a correlation between oak LAI (leaf area index) and density of L. rubellus worms. Our isotopic analysis of the L. rubellus worm, leaf litter, and soil samples showed that L. rubellus worms have a preference of oak litter.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/64581/1/Ager_Rourk_Rushlow_Bredell_2009.pd

Adolescent Cannabinoid Exposure Induces a Persistent Sub-Cortical Hyper-Dopaminergic State and Associated Molecular Adaptations in the Prefrontal Cortex.

Considerable evidence suggests that adolescent exposure to delta-9-tetrahydrocanabinol (THC), the psychoactive component in marijuana, increases the risk of developing schizophrenia-related symptoms in early adulthood. In the present study, we used a combination of behavioral and molecular analyses with in vivo neuronal electrophysiology to compare the long-term effects of adolescent versus adulthood THC exposure in rats. We report that adolescent, but not adult, THC exposure induces long-term neuropsychiatric-like phenotypes similar to those observed in clinical populations. Thus, adolescent THC exposure induced behavioral abnormalities resembling positive and negative schizophrenia-related endophenotypes and a state of neuronal hyperactivity in the mesocorticolimbic dopamine (DA) pathway. Furthermore, we observed profound alterations in several prefrontal cortical molecular pathways consistent with sub-cortical DAergic dysregulation. Our findings demonstrate a profound dissociation in relative risk profiles for adolescent versus adulthood exposure to THC in terms of neuronal, behavioral, and molecular markers resembling neuropsychiatric pathology

Cannabidiol counteracts amphetamine-induced neuronal and behavioral sensitization of the mesolimbic dopamine pathway through a novel mTOR/p70S6 kinase signaling pathway

Schizophrenia-related psychosis is associated with disturbances in mesolimbic dopamine (DA) transmission, characterized by hyperdopaminergic activity in the mesolimbic pathway. Currently, the only clinically effective treatment for schizophrenia involves the use of antipsychotic medications that blockDAreceptor transmission. However, these medications produce serious side effects leading to poor compliance and treatment outcomes. Emerging evidence points to the involvement of a specific phytochemical component of marijuana called cannabidiol (CBD), which possesses promising therapeutic properties for the treatment of schizophrenia-related psychoses. However, the neuronal and molecular mechanisms through which CBD may exert these effects are entirely unknown. We used amphetamine (AMPH)-induced sensitization and sensorimotor gating in rats, two preclinical procedures relevant to schizophrenia-related psychopathology, combined with in vivo single-unit neuronal electrophysiology recordings in the ventral tegmental area, and molecular analyses to characterize the actions ofCBDdirectly in the nucleus accumbens shell (NASh), a brain region that is the current target of most effective antipsychotics. We demonstrate that Intra-NASh CBD attenuates AMPH-induced sensitization, both in terms of DAergic neuronal activity measured in the ventral tegmental area and psychotomimetic behavioral analyses. We further report that CBD controls downstream phosphorylation of the mTOR/p70S6 kinase signaling pathways directly within the NASh. Our findings demonstrate a novel mechanism for the putative antipsychotic-like properties of CBD in the mesolimbic circuitry. We identify the molecular signaling pathways through which CBD may functionally reduce schizophrenia-like neuropsychopathology