An Interview with: Ellen Wilson

An alumna from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts describes her student experience as a member of one of the early coeducational classes. This interview was contributed as part of Lighting the Way: Fifty Years of Women at Holy Cross, a commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of Coeducation at Holy Cross

Does XR injectable naltrexone prevent relapse as effectively as daily sublingual buprenorphine-naloxone?

Q: Does XR injectable naltrexone prevent relapse as effectively as daily sublingual buprenorphine-naloxone? Evidence-based answer: Yes. Monthly extended-release injectable naltrexone (XR-NTX) treats opioid use disorder as effectively as daily sublingual buprenorphine-naloxone (BUP-NX) without causing any increase in serious adverse events or fatal overdoses. (strength of recommendation: A, 2 good-quality RCTs).Matthew Roe, MD (Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC), Asheville, NC); Courtenay Gilmore Wilson, PharmD, BCPS, BCACP, CDE, CPP (Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina Health Sciences at MAHEC, Asheville) Carriedelle Wilson Fusco, FNP-BC; Stephen Hulkower, MD (University of North Carolina Health Sciences at MAHEC, Asheville); Sue Stigleman, MLS (University of North Carolina Health Sciences at MAHEC, Asheville)Includes bibliographical reference

Handel\u27s Messiah and A Christmas Celebration

Program listing performers and works performe

Association between congenital toxoplasmosis and preterm birth, low birthweight and small for gestational age birth.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the association between congenital toxoplasmosis and preterm birth, low birthweight and small for gestational age birth. DESIGN: Multicentre prospective cohort study. SETTING: Ten European centres offering prenatal screening for toxoplasmosis. POPULATION: Deliveries after 23 weeks of gestation in 386 women with singleton pregnancies who seroconverted to toxoplasma infection before 20 weeks of gestation. Deliveries after 36 weeks in 234 women who seroconverted at 20 weeks or later, and tested positive before 37 weeks. METHODS: Comparison of infected and uninfected births, adjusted for parity and country of birth. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Differences in gestational age at birth, birthweight and birthweight centile. RESULTS: Infected babies were born or delivered earlier than uninfected babies: the mean difference for seroconverters before 20 weeks was -5.4 days (95% CI: -1.4, -9.4), and at 20 weeks or more, -2.6 days (95% CI: -0.5, -4.7). Congenital infection was associated with an increased risk of preterm delivery when seroconversion occurred before 20 weeks (OR 4.71; 95% CI: 2.03, 10.9). No significant differences were detected for birthweight or birthweight centile. CONCLUSION: Babies with congenital toxoplasmosis were born earlier than uninfected babies but the mechanism leading to shorter length of gestation is unknown. Congenital infection could precipitate early delivery or prompt caesarean section or induction of delivery. We found no evidence for a significant association between congenital toxoplasmosis and reduced birthweight or small for gestational age birth

Handel\u27s Messiah and Gloria in Excelsis Deo

Program listing performers and works performe

Which oral nonopioid agents are most effective for OA pain?

Q Which oral nonopioid agents are most effective for OA pain? Evidence-based answer: nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (nsaids), when used at the maximum clinically effective dose, reduce osteoarthritis (OA) pain in large joints more effectively than either placebo or acetaminophen (strength of recommendation [SOR]: A, network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials [RCTs]). When ranked for efficacy, diclofenac 150 mg/d was the most effective (SOR: A, network meta-analysis of RCTs). The selective COX-2 inhibitors, such as celecoxib, are not more effective at reducing pain than the nonselective NSAIDs (SOR: A, metaanalysis of RCTs). Meloxicam is superior to placebo but marginally inferior to other NSAIDs (SOR: A, systematic review of RCTs). Acetaminophen is no more effective than placebo (SOR: A, meta-analysis of RCTs).Benjamin Gilmer, MD, MS; Stephen Hulkower, MD, UNC Health Sciences at MAHEC, Asheville, NC ; Courtenay Gilmore Wilson, PharmD, BCPS, BCACP, CDE, CPP, UNC Health Sciences at MAHEC, Asheville, NC; Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill ; Brittney Macdonald, MD, MAHEC Family Medicine Residency Program, Asheville, NC ; Jonathan Pozner, MS4, University of North Carolina School of Medicine-Asheville ; Sue Stigleman, MLS, Mountain Area Health Education Center, Asheville, NC.Includes bibliographical reference

A spectroscopic survey of thick disc stars outside the solar neighbourhood

We performed a spectroscopic survey of nearly 700 stars probing the galactic thick disc far from the solar neighbourhood towards the galactic coordinates (l~277, b~47). The derived effective temperatures, surface gravities and overall metallicities were then combined with stellar evolution isochrones, radial velocities and proper motions to derive the distances, kinematics and orbital parameters of the sample stars. The targets belonging to each galactic component (thin disc, thick disc, halo) were selected either on their kinematics or according to their position above the galactic plane, and the vertical gradients were also estimated. We present here atmospheric parameters, distances and kinematics for this sample, and a comparison of our kinematic and metallicity distributions with the Besancon model of the Milky Way. The thick disc far from the solar neighbourhood is found to differ only slightly from the thick disc properties as derived in the solar vicinity. For regions where the thick disc dominates, we measured vertical velocity and metallicity trends of d(V_phi)/dZ = 19 +/- 8 km/s/kpc and d[M/H]/dZ = -0.14 +/- 0.05 dex/kpc, respectively. These trends can be explained as a smooth transition between the different galactic components, although intrinsic gradients could not be excluded. In addition, a correlation d(V_phi)/d[M/H] = -45 +/- 12 km/s/dex between the orbital velocity and the metallicity of the thick disc is detected. This gradient is inconsistent with the SDSS photometric survey analysis, which did not detect any such trend, and challenges radial migration models of thick disc formation. Estimations of the scale heights and scale lengths for different metallicity bins of the thick disc result in consistent values, with hR~3.4 \pm 0.7 kpc, and hZ~694 \pm 45 pc, showing no evidence of relics of destroyed massive satellites.Comment: 19 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication in A&

A Serpin shapes the extracellular environment to prevent influenza A virus maturation

Interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) act in concert to provide a tight barrier against viruses. Recent studies have shed light on the contribution of individual ISG effectors to the antiviral state, but most have examined those acting on early, intracellular stages of the viral life cycle. Here, we applied an image-based screen to identify ISGs inhibiting late stages of influenza A virus (IAV) infection. We unraveled a directly antiviral function for the gene SERPINE1, encoding plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1). By targeting extracellular airway proteases, PAI-1 inhibits IAV glycoprotein cleavage, thereby reducing infectivity of progeny viruses. This was biologically relevant for IAV restriction in vivo. Further, partial PAI-1 deficiency, attributable to a polymorphism in human SERPINE1, conferred increased susceptibility to IAV in vitro. Together, our findings reveal that manipulating the extracellular environment to inhibit the last step in a virus life cycle is an important mechanism of the antiviral response

Changes in Alcohol-Related Brain Networks Across the First Year of College: A Prospective Pilot Study Using fMRI Effective Connectivity Mapping

The upsurge in alcohol use that often occurs during the first year of college has been convincingly linked to a number of negative psychosocial consequences and may negatively affect brain development. In this longitudinal functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) pilot study, we examined changes in neural responses to alcohol cues across the first year of college in a normative sample of late adolescents. Participants (N=11) were scanned three times across their first year of college (summer, first semester, second semester), while completing a go/no-go task in which images of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages were the response cues. A state-of-the-art effective connectivity mapping technique was used to capture spatiotemporal relations among brain regions of interest (ROIs) at the level of the group and the individual. Effective connections among ROIs implicated in cognitive control were greatest at the second assessment (when negative consequences of alcohol use increased), and effective connections among ROIs implicated in emotion processing were lower (and response times were slower) when participants were instructed to respond to alcohol cues compared to non-alcohol cues. These preliminary findings demonstrate the value of a prospective effective connectivity approach for understanding adolescent changes in alcohol-related neural processes.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/123049/1/Changes in Alcohol-Related Brain Networks Across the First Year of College_A Prospective Pilot Study Using fMRI Effective Connectivity Mapping.pd

Exploring the Local Milky Way: M Dwarfs as Tracers of Galactic Populations

We have assembled a spectroscopic sample of low-mass dwarfs observed as part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey along one Galactic sightline, designed to investigate the observable properties of the thin and thick disks. This sample of ~7400 K and M stars also has measured ugriz photometry, proper motions, and radial velocities. We have computed UVW space motion distributions, and investigate their structure with respect to vertical distance from the Galactic Plane. We place constraints on the velocity dispersions of the thin and thick disks, using two-component Gaussian fits. We also compare these kinematic distributions to a leading Galactic model. Finally, we investigate other possible observable differences between the thin and thick disks, such as color, active fraction and metallicity.Comment: 11 pages, 12 figures, Accepted by A