Bioactive Materials

Bioactive substantially silica-free glass material with a hydroxyapatite layer thereon is described, as well as methods for producing hydroxyapatite on a borate glass

Rare Tumors Adjacent to the Achilles Tendon: Report of Two Cases

Benign masses are not uncommon near the Achilles tendon of the ankle. However, the occurrence of angiomyomas or glomus tumors in the region has rarely been reported. We describe two patients, a 44-year-old woman and 44-yearold man, who presented with a tender mass posterior to the Achilles tendon. Excision led to successful removal of the lesion in both cases. Results of histological examinations revealed an angiomyoma and glomus tumor in the woman and man, respectively. Although rare, the presence of these tumors should be considered in the differential diagnosis of masses near the Achilles tendon

Message in a Bottleneck? Attitudes and Perceptions of Climate Change in the Cooperative Extension Service in the Southeastern United States

This paper addresses factors affecting climate change perceptions and attitudes among Cooperative Extension professionals in the Southeastern United States. Extension serves as a critical link between climate researchers and stakeholders who have the capacity to directly affect climate change impacts through on-the-ground action. We used the Six Americas scale, developed by the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication and George Mason Center for Climate Change Communication, as the basis for a webbased survey of 2,758 Extension professionals in eight Southeastern states between August 2011 and March 2012. Given their role as science communicators, one might expect Extension professionals to be as concerned as climate scientists about potential climate changes. We found, however, that Extension professionals are similar to the general public and represent the full range of Six Americas categories. Factors correlated with Six Americas results included: gender, political leaning, education, state Extension program, Extension program area, role within Extension, and coastal/inland location. Our results suggest the importance of engaging Extension staff in a long-term professional development strategy that involves improved training and climate education, preparing Extension professionals to effectively communicate climate change information to farmers and forest landowners whose actions impact climate outcomes

Aging and the Social Cognitive Determinants of Physical Activity Behavior and Behavior Change: Evidence from the Guide to Health Trial

Part one of this study investigated the effect of aging on social-cognitive characteristics related to physical activity (PA) among adults in the baseline phase of a health promotion intervention. Participants' questionnaire responses and activity logs indicated PA levels and self-efficacy declined with age, while social support and the use of self-regulatory behaviors (e.g., goal setting, planning, and keeping track) increased. With age participants were also less likely to expect PA to interfere with their daily routines and social obligations. Part two of the study was among overweight/obese, inactive participants completing the intervention; it examined whether improvements in psychosocial variables might counteract declining PA associated with age. After treatment, participants were more active and decreased body weight regardless of age, and improved self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and self-regulatory behaviors. In a causal model, increases in self-efficacy at 7-months lead to increased PA levels and, albeit marginally, weight loss at 16 months; increased PA was associated with greater weight loss. Aging adults who were more confident exercised more and as a result lost more weight. This longitudinal study suggests interventions that offset the effect of aging on self-efficacy may be more successful in helping older participants become more active and avoid weight gain

Enhanced health event detection and influenza surveillance using a joint Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense biosurveillance application

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The establishment of robust biosurveillance capabilities is an important component of the U.S. strategy for identifying disease outbreaks, environmental exposures and bioterrorism events. Currently, U.S. Departments of Defense (DoD) and Veterans Affairs (VA) perform biosurveillance independently. This article describes a joint VA/DoD biosurveillance project at North Chicago-VA Medical Center (NC-VAMC). The Naval Health Clinics-Great Lakes facility physically merged with NC-VAMC beginning in 2006 with the full merger completed in October 2010 at which time all DoD care and medical personnel had relocated to the expanded and remodeled NC-VAMC campus and the combined facility was renamed the Lovell Federal Health Care Center (FHCC). The goal of this study was to evaluate disease surveillance using a biosurveillance application which combined data from both populations.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A retrospective analysis of NC-VAMC/Lovell FHCC and other Chicago-area VAMC data was performed using the ESSENCE biosurveillance system, including one infectious disease outbreak (Salmonella/Taste of Chicago-July 2007) and one weather event (Heat Wave-July 2006). Influenza-like-illness (ILI) data from these same facilities was compared with CDC/Illinois Sentinel Provider and Cook County ESSENCE data for 2007-2008.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Following consolidation of VA and DoD facilities in North Chicago, median number of visits more than doubled, median patient age dropped and proportion of females rose significantly in comparison with the pre-merger NC-VAMC facility. A high-level gastrointestinal alert was detected in July 2007, but only low-level alerts at other Chicago-area VAMCs. Heat-injury alerts were triggered for the merged facility in June 2006, but not at the other facilities. There was also limited evidence in these events that surveillance of the combined population provided utility above and beyond the VA-only and DoD-only components. Recorded ILI activity for NC-VAMC/Lovell FHCC was more pronounced in the DoD component, likely due to pediatric data in this population. NC-VAMC/Lovell FHCC had two weeks of ILI activity exceeding both the Illinois State and East North Central Regional baselines, whereas Hines VAMC had one and Jesse Brown VAMC had zero.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Biosurveillance in a joint VA/DoD facility showed potential utility as a tool to improve surveillance and situational awareness in an area with Veteran, active duty and beneficiary populations. Based in part on the results of this pilot demonstration, both agencies have agreed to support the creation of a combined VA/DoD ESSENCE biosurveillance system which is now under development.</p

Red Imported Fire Ants: Impact on Biodiversity

The red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren (hereafter referred to as imported fire ant), long considered a regional problem, is receiving renewed attention nationwide, with infestations found in Arizona, Maryland, Nevada, New Mexico, and Virginia (Mitchell 1996). Recently, infestations discovered in several regions of California caused great public concern (Brennan 1999, Schrader 1999). Initially, infestations appeared to be isolated in almond groves in Kern County; presumably these infestations originated from bee hives transported interstate for the purpose of pollinating crops. Separately, ornamental plants arriving in Las Vegas, NV, were infested with fire ants, and records showed that the point of origin was a nursery in Orange County, CA. Further inspections revealed infestations in over 16,000 acres of Orange County. Finally, infestations were identified in some desert irrigated agricultural regions of the Coachella Valley in Riverside County, CA. Subsequently, a toll-free telephone number was established for reporting fire ant mounds in the state of California (800-491-1899)

Aglite: A 3-Wavelength Lidar System for Quantitative Assessment of Agricultural Air Quality and Whole Facility Emissions

Ground based remote sensing technologies such as scanning lidar systems (light detection and ranging) are increasingly being used to characterize ambient aerosols due to key advantages (i.e., wide area of regard (10 km2), fast response time (s-1), high spatial resolution (\u3c10 \u3em) and high sensitivity). Scanning lidar allows for 3D imaging of atmospheric motion and aerosol variability, which can be used to quantitatively evaluate particulate matter (PM) concentrations and emissions. Space Dynamics Laboratory, in conjunction with USDA ARS, has developed and successfully deployed a lidar system called Aglite to characterize PM in diverse settings. Aglite is a portable scanning elastic lidar system with three wavelengths (355, 532, and 1064 nm), 6 m long range bins, and an effective range from 0.5 to 15 km. Filter-based PM samplers, optical particle counters, and various meteorological instruments were deployed to provide environmental and PM conditions for use in the lidar retrieval method. The developed retrieval algorithm extracts aerosol optical parameters, which were constrained by the point measurements, and converts return signals to PM concentrations. Once calibrated, the Aglite system can map the spatial distribution and temporal variation of the PM concentrations. Whole facility or operation-based emission rates were calculated from the lidar PM data with a mass balance approach. Concentration comparisons with upwind and downwind point sensors were made to verify data quality; lidar-derived PM levels were usually in good agreement with point sensor measurements. Comparisons of lidar-based emissions with emissions estimated through other methods using point sensor data generally show good agreement

The fundamental need for unifying phenotypes in sudden unexpected pediatric deaths

A definitive, authoritative approach to evaluate the causes of unexpected, and ultimately unexplained, pediatric deaths remains elusive, relegating final conclusions to diagnoses of exclusion in the vast majority of cases. Research into unexplained pediatric deaths has focused primarily on sudden infant deaths (under 1 year of age) and led to the identification of several potential, albeit incompletely understood, contributory factors: nonspecific pathology findings, associations with sleep position and environment that may not be uniformly relevant, and the elucidation of a role for serotonin that is practically difficult to estimate in any individual case. Any assessment of progress in this field must also acknowledge the failure of current approaches to substantially decrease mortality rates in decades. Furthermore, potential commonalities with pediatric deaths across a broader age spectrum have not been widely considered. Recent epilepsy-related observations and genetic findings, identified post-mortem in both infants and children who died suddenly and unexpectedly, suggest a role for more intense and specific phenotyping efforts as well as an expanded role for genetic and genomic evaluation. We therefore present a new approach to reframe the phenotype in sudden unexplained deaths in the pediatric age range, collapsing many distinctions based on arbitrary factors (such as age) that have previously guided research in this area, and discuss its implications for the future of postmortem investigation