Drivers of Choice: Parents, Transportation, and School Choice

Based on surveys of two districts, explores the extent to which distance, transportation time, and mode prevent low- and moderate-income families from choosing private, charter, or non-neighborhood schools. Calls for decentralized transportation policies

Pando\u27s Lessons: Restoration of a Giant Aspen Clone

A 106 acre (43 ha) aspen clone lives in the Fishlake National Forest in south-central Utah. Clones are comprised of multiple aspen stems, called ramets, which are genetically identical. This particular colony of ramets was named “Pando” (Latin for “I spread”) by researchers believing it to be the largest living organism by mass on earth. Recently, forest managers have noted a rapid dying of mature stems without recruitment of younger trees. This unsustainable situation has galvanized restoration efforts at Pando. Human interventions caused this imbalance; restoration will rely on protection, monitoring, and innovation. As a laboratory, this forest icon may provide insights for much broader human-nature interactions

Hot-melt co-extrusion for the production of fixed-dose combination products with a controlled release ethylcellulose matrix core

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Local treatment of bacterial vaginosis with a bioadhesive metronidazole tablet

Objectives: Oral metronidazole is still the drug of choice in the treatment of bacterial vaginosis. Yet, side effects have been reported, and dosage as well as duration of therapy are still controversial. This study presents a possible alternative treatment using a single dose of metronidazole administered in a vaginal bioadhesive tablet. Study design: Double blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial. Subjects: The 116 patients were allocated to placebo; metronidazole 100; 250; 500 mg in a 1:1:1:1 ratio. Results: A cure rate of 64% was obtained with a single 100 mg dose of metronidazole formulated in a bioadhesive vaginal tablet compared to a cure rate of 29% in the placebo group. The cure rates with the higher doses were similar 61.5% for 250 mg dose and 68% for the 500 mg dose. No side effects were reported. Conclusions: Treatment of bacterial vaginosis with a single application of 100 mg metronidazole in a bioadhesive vaginal tablet was found to be a valid alternative. Further research in relation to tablet shaping and optimal dose finding might increase the cure rate

Blunted Spontaneous Sympathetic Baroreflex Sensitivity in Young Healthy Black Men

The prevalence and severity of hypertension in black individuals are greater than in any other racial/ethnic group in the United States. The arterial baroreflex dynamically regulates blood pressure (BP) on a beat-to-beat basis via alterations in cardiac output and peripheral vascular resistance, and impairments in arterial baroreflex function are well-documented in patients with hypertension. Previous reports suggest that black individuals have a reduced cardiac baroreflex sensitivity compared to their white counterparts. However, the peripheral sympathetic component of the arterial baroreflex has never been examined in young healthy black individuals. PURPOSE: We sought to compare spontaneous sympathetic baroreflex sensitivity between young healthy black and white men. METHODS: Seven healthy black (age: 20 ± 1 years, BMI: 24.3 ± 1.3 kg/m2) and seven healthy white (age: 22 ± 1 years, BMI: 27.0 ± 1.2 kg/m2) men participated in the study. Heart rate (ECG), beat-to-beat BP (finger photoplethysmography) and muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA; peroneal microneurography) were continuously measured during a 20-minute resting period. MSNA was quantified as burst incidence (bursts/100 heartbeats) and averaged over 3-mmHg diastolic BP bins for each individual. The linear relationship between the spontaneous changes in MSNA and diastolic BP was assessed using a weighted linear regression analysis. Sympathetic baroreflex sensitivity was quantified as the slope of MSNA burst incidence to diastolic BP. RESULTS: Heart rate, systolic BP, diastolic BP and mean arterial pressure was not different between the 2 groups (p \u3e 0.05 for all). MSNA burst incidence was also similar between the two groups (black men, 16 ± 2.2 burst/100 heartbeats vs. white men, 21.4 ± 2.0 bursts/100 heartbeats, p = 0.10). The slope of MSNA burst incidence to diastolic BP was significantly lower in black compared to white men (black men, -2.20 ± 0.4 bursts/100 heartbeats/mmHg vs. white men, -3.36 ± 0.3 bursts/100 heartbeats/mmHg, p = 0.03). CONCLUSION: These preliminary data suggest that young healthy black men have a blunted sympathetic baroreflex sensitivity compared to white men

Exploring the Potential Role of Family History of Hypertension on Racial Differences in Sympathetic Vascular Transduction

The prevalence of hypertension in Non-Hispanic Black (BL) men surpasses all other racial groups. Our laboratory has previously demonstrated exaggerated vasoconstrictor and blood pressure (BP) responses to spontaneous bursts of muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA; sympathetic vascular transduction) in young, healthy BL men compared to their Non-Hispanic White (WH) counterparts. Because a family history of hypertension (FHH) further compounds cardiovascular risk, we wanted to begin to explore the potential impact of a positive (+) FHH on sympathetic vascular transduction. Whether a +FHH influences sympathetic vascular transduction in WH and/or BL men remains unknown. PURPOSE: To begin to explore if +FHH influences sympathetic vascular transduction within and between racial groups. METHODS: 22 men, nine with a +FHH (4 BL men) and 13 without a FHH (-FHH; 6 BL men) were recruited. Beat-to-beat BP (Finometer), femoral artery blood flow (Doppler ultrasound), and MSNA were measured during a 20-minute quiet rest. The mean BP and leg vascular conductance (LVC; blood flow/mean BP) responses to spontaneous bursts of MSNA were quantified via a signal averaging technique. RESULTS: Resting heart rate, BP, and MSNA were not significantly different between groups (all p\u3e0.05). As previously demonstrated by our laboratory, the BL men exhibited an augmented sympathetic vascular transduction compared to the WH men (e.g., peak BP response, WH men: Δ4.1±0.3, BL men: Δ5.6±0.7 mmHg, p=0.04). When accounting for FHH within the groups, the peak BP (WH +FHH: Δ4.4±0.6 vs. WH -FHH: Δ3.8±0.4 mmHg, p=0.4) and nadir LVC responses (WH +FHH: Δ-0.5±0.07 vs. WH -FHH: Δ-0.5±0.09 ml·min-¹·mmHg-¹, p=0.7) were not significantly different between WH men +FHH and WH men –FHH. Likewise, the BL men +FHH exhibited similar peak BP (BL +FHH: Δ6.2±0.7 vs. BL -FHH: Δ5.3±1.1 mmHg, p=0.5) and nadir LVC (BL +FHH: Δ-1.1±0.44 vs. BL -FHH: Δ-0.6±0.10 ml·min-¹·mmHg-¹, p=0.2) responses to bursts of MSNA compared to the BL men –FHH. CONCLUSION: These preliminary findings do not support a role for +FHH in augmented sympathetic vascular transduction, therefore suggesting that racial differences in sympathetic vascular transduction are independent of FHH