Seizing the Moment: Realizing the Promise of Student-Centered Learning

This brief outlines policy recommendations for supporting student-centered learning at the local, state, and federal level

Polymeric IgA and immune complex concentrations in IgA-related renal disease

Polymeric IgA and immune complex concentrations in IgA-related renal disease. Polymeric IgA (PIgA) and immune complex concentrations in IgA-related renal disease were measured in cross sectional and longitudinal studies to establish the relationship between these parameters and both mucosal infection and renal dysfunction. These studies were performed in 50 patients with IgA nephropathy (IgAN), 17 patients with Henoch Schönlein purpura nephritis (HSPN), 11 control patients with IgA negative, diffuse mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis (DMPGN) and 50 healthy controls. Total PIgA (PIgAT) and PIgA subclass concentrations were measured using a secretory component binding enzyme immunoassay and isotype specific immune complex concentrations were measured using conglutinin (K) binding immunoassays. In cross sectional studies patients with IgAN were found to have increased concentrations of PIgAT, PIgA1, K-IgA1 and K-IgA2 compared to controls. In the longitudinal studies controls and patients had significant increases in PIgAT and PIgA1 concentrations during infection. However, in patients with IgAN, the increases were greater, persisted for longer, and PIgA2 concentrations were also increased. K-IgA1 and K-IgA2 concentrations increased significantly during episodes of infection in IgAN patients in contrast to controls. Patients with HSPN had results similar to those of IgAN patients. No significant correlation was found between PIgA or K-IgA concentrations, and either serum creatinine concentrations or the degree of hematuria. The results indicate that patients with IgA-related renal disease have abnormal regulation of PIgA and immune complexed IgA, and that these abnormalities are exaggerated during mucosal infection

Near-Term Interstellar Sailing

A number of techniques are investigated that allow the possibility of near- ecliptic exploration beyond the Sun's heliopause (200 AU) using contemporary solar-sail spacecraft (with areal mass thickness about 0.0082 kilograms per square meters). Maximum mission duration to the heliopause was defined as one human working lifetime; missions to the Sun's gravity focus at 550 AU from the sun must take less time than one human lifetime. Options include unfurling the sail at the 0.2-AU perihelion of a parabolic solar orbit, unfurling the sail at the 0.2-AU perihelion of a 2.5-AU aphelion solar orbit, and performing a grazing gravity-assist flyby of Jupiter. Although these techniques are capable of performing the defined mission, higher-technology sails are faster

The effects of a multiple treatment program and maintenance procedures on smoking cessation

This study evaluated the efficacy of a multiple treatment smoking cessation program and three maintenance strategies. Phase I of the study involved 51 subjects who participated in a 5-day smoking cessation project. The program consisted of lectures, demonstrations, practice exercises, aversive smoking, and the teaching of self-control procedures. In Phase II, all subjects were randomly assigned to one of three maintenance conditions: a 4-week support group which offered an opportunity to discuss feelings and thoughts, a 4-week telephone contact system which enabled group members to call one another, and a no-contact control group. To evaluate efficacy, extensive follow-up data were collected at the end of treatment and at 2, 4, 6, and 12 months post-treatment. The treatment program was extremely effective; 100% of the subjects were abstinent at the end of treatment, and at 1 year post-treatment, 63% of the subjects reported total abstinence. As to sex differences, at the 1-year period 66% of the women and 59% of the men were ex-smokers. Recidivists reported a smoking rate that was 52% of baseline at the 6-month follow-up. At 2 months post-treatment, 40% of the abstainers reported that the quitting experience was easy, and subjects reported an average weight gain of only 4.69 lb. The authors offer suggestions for future smoking cessation research based upon the promising findings of this study.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/24506/1/0000783.pd

Using a stepped-care approach to help severely obese children and young people

Weight management is a game of chance for most children and young people, and is dependent on service availability and the expertise of the provider. Many localities are without established weight-management services, and the effectiveness of those provided is often not well-known. SHINE (Self Help, Independence, Nutrition and Exercise) is the only documented tier 3 community-based service provider in the UK. It offers a plethora of interventions tailored to each child or young person using a stepped-care approach (SCA) to treat severe obesity: as the severity of obesity increases, so does the intensity of intervention. This article describes an SCA and uses this model to demonstrate a range of appropriate, available interventions. A SCA can provide a holistic and integrative care pathway for children and young people with severe obesity when implemented at tier 3

Commissioning the MMT ground-layer and laser tomography adaptive optics systems

A multi-laser adaptive optics system, at the 6.5 m MMT telescope, has been undergoing commissioning in preparation for wide-field, partially corrected as well as narrow-field, diffraction limited science observations in the thermal and near infrared. After several delays due to bad weather, we have successfully closed the full high order ground-layer adaptive optics (GLAO) control loop for the first time in February 2008 using five Rayleigh laser guide stars and a single tilt star. Characterization and automated correction of static aberrations such as non-common path errors were addressed in May 2008. Calibration measurements in preparation for laser tomography adaptive optics (LTAO) operation are planned for the fall of 2008 along with the start of shared-risk GLAO science observations. We present the results of GLAO observations with the PISCES imager, a 1 - 2.5 µm camera with a field of view of 110 arc seconds. The status of the remaining GLAO commissioning work is also reviewed. Finally, we present plans for commissioning work to implement the LTAO operating mode of the system

Pro-inflammatory adjuvant properties of pigment-grade titanium dioxide particles are augmented by a genotype that potentiates interleukin 1β processing.

Background. Pigment-grade titanium dioxide (TiO2) particles are an additive to some foods (E171 on ingredients lists), toothpastes, and pharma-/nutraceuticals and are absorbed, to some extent, in the human intestinal tract. TiO2 can act as a modest adjuvant in the secretion of the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin 1β (IL-1β) when triggered by common intestinal bacterial fragments, such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and/or peptidoglycan. Given the variance in human genotypes, which includes variance in genes related to IL-1β secretion, we investigated whether TiO2 particles might, in fact, be more potent pro-inflammatory adjuvants in cells that are genetically susceptible to IL-1β-related inflammation. Methods. We studied bone marrow-derived macrophages from mice with a mutation in the nucleotide-binding oligomerisation domain-containing 2 gene (Nod2m/m), which exhibit heightened secretion of IL-1β in response to the peptidoglycan fragment muramyl dipeptide (MDP). To ensure relevance to human exposure, TiO2 was food-grade anatase (119 ± 45 nm mean diameter ± standard deviation). We used a short ‘pulse and chase’ format: pulsing with LPS and chasing with TiO2 +/− MDP or peptidoglycan. Results. IL-1β secretion was not stimulated in LPS-pulsed bone marrow-derived macrophages, or by chasing with MDP, and only very modestly so by chasing with peptidoglycan. In all cases, however, IL-1β secretion was augmented by chasing with TiO2 in a dose-dependent fashion (5–100 µg/mL). When co-administered with MDP or peptidoglycan, IL-1β secretion was further enhanced for the Nod2m/m genotype. Tumour necrosis factor α was triggered by LPS priming, and more so for the Nod2m/m genotype. This was enhanced by chasing with TiO2, MDP, or peptidoglycan, but there was no additive effect between the bacterial fragments and TiO2

Concert recording 2019-04-05

[Track 1]. Concerto for bass trombone and band. I. Allegro con energico [Track 2]. II. Adagio molto [Track 3]. III. Allegro molto vivace / Derek Bourgeois -- [Track 4]. Piano prelude no. 2 Blue lullaby / George Gershwin -- [Track 5]. New Orleans / Eugene Bozza -- [Tracks 6-9]. 1+5 / Frigyes Hidas -- [Track 10]. There will never be another you / Harry Warren -- [Track 11]. Devil\u27s waltz / Steven Verhelst

Concert recording 2019-03-30b

[Track 1]. Histoire du Tango. I. Bordel II. Café / Astor Piazzolla -- [Track 2]. Three blues / Charles Ruggiero -- [Track 3]. Tight sweater. 3. Mara\u27s lullaby 2. Trans fatty acid\u27s rein / Marc Mellits -- [Track 4]. I never saw another butterfly. 1. The butterfly 2. Yes, that\u27s the way things are 3. Birdsong 7. The old house / Lori Laitman -- [Track 5]. Donna Lee / Charlie Parker -- [Track 6]. Lonnie\u27s lament / John Coltrane