Labor Unions and Coalitions in Buffalo

Labor unions have evolved tremendously since their inception in 1866 in the United States. Today, some unions in the Buffalo region are responding to free market fundamentalism with the development of multiple coalition partners. Coalitions are composed of unions and like-minded activist organizations. This creative response to a long-term economic crisis has created a high road social infrastructure. Unions have moved beyond their traditional roles of collective bargaining and representation to a more community-oriented mission of improving the quality of local jobs

Targeted Mutagenesis of FOX0 Transcripts Using the Model Organism \u3cem\u3eCiona intestinalis\u3c/em\u3e Utilizing the CRISPR/Cas9 System

The chordate, Ciona intestinalis, has become an excellent model organism for the study of cardiac development. C. intestinalis is a member of the phylum Tunicata, which is the sister phylum to vertebrates. Since both phyla share a common ancestor, an orthologous gene has been identified in C. intestinalis and vertebrates, the FOX0 transcript. Multiple reasons makes Ciona intestinalis an interesting model organism. For instance, ease of access to the animal, close relation to vertebrates, and mapping of the genetic code of Ciona intestinalis makes this an excellent model organism. The FOX0 family of transcripts plays an important role in cardiac, muscular, and neural development in humans. Humans have four copies of the transcript while Ciona intestinalis only has one. However, the function of FOX01 in Ciona intestinalis is unknown. This study aims to investigate the function of FOX0 transcripts in C. intestinalis by incorporating transgenic DNA into embryos using fertilization, dechorionation, electroporation and the CRISPR/Cas9 system

Experimental investigation of wing installation effects on a two-dimensional mixer/ejector nozzle for supersonic transport aircraft

Experimental results from a wind tunnel test conducted to investigate propulsion/airframe integration (PAI) effects are presented. The objectives of the test were to examine rough order-of-magnitude changes in the acoustic characteristics of a mixer/ejector nozzle due to the presence of a wing and to obtain limited wing and nozzle flow-field measurements. A simple representative supersonic transport wing planform, with deflecting flaps, was installed above a two-dimensional mixer/ejector nozzle that was supplied with high-pressure heated air. Various configurations and wing positions with respect to the nozzle were studied. Because of hardware problems, no acoustics and only a limited set of flow-field data were obtained. For most hardware configurations tested, no significant propulsion/airframe integration effects were identified. Significant effects were seen for extreme flap deflections. The combination of the exploratory nature of the test and the limited flow-field instrumentation made it impossible to identify definitive propulsion/airframe integration effects

Academic Self-Efficacy and Undergraduate Research Opportunities Predict Intentions to Pursue Graduate School

Students who have undergraduate research opportunities tend to have higher identification as a scientist, also known as science identity. Furthermore, students with higher science identity are better prepared for advanced science education, compared to students with lower science identity. The current studies seek to examine predictors of undergraduate students’ intentions to pursue graduate school. In the first study, underrepresented students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields who attended the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) filled out a survey that assessed their research confidence and intentions to pursue graduate school. Students who attended ABRCMS more often and had higher research confidence from attending were more likely to intend to pursue a research degree in graduate school. In study two, undergraduate students completed a survey with items measuring research confidence, science identity, and academic self-efficacy. All variables significantly predicted students’ intentions of pursuing graduate education, with science identity being the strongest predictor. Results suggest that students’ undergraduate research experiences and ability to view themselves as scientists prepares them for further education and increases their intentions of pursuing graduate education. Exposure to undergraduate research opportunities, like ABRCMS, is especially important in providing underrepresented groups a sense of belonging in STEM fields. Greater sense of belonging and stronger identification with science can increase the number of underrepresented students who pursue STEM fields, which can lead to more advances in science

Reliability of Peak Treadmill Exercise Tests in Mild Alzheimer Disease

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in International Journal of Neuroscience on August 2011, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.3109/00207454.2011.574762.The prevalence of Alzheimer disease (AD) doubles every 5 years after the age of 65, reaching nearly 50% after age 85 (Evans et al., 1989). This, along with an unprecedented growth in the elderly population, is leading to dramatic increases in the incidence of AD. Thus, effective strategies for promoting healthy brain aging and preventing AD are increasingly important. One strategy that appears promising in promoting healthy brain aging is exercise and physical activity. Evidence is accumulating that endurance exercise is beneficial to brain health (Laurin, Verreault, Lindsay, MacPherson, & Rockwood, 2001), and increased cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with increased brain volume in subjects with very mild to mild AD (Burns et al., 2008). While enhancing cardiorespiratory fitness may be a strategy for preventing cognitive decline in AD, there is limited information available on the validity and reliability of cardiorespiratory fitness measures in this population. The gold standard measure of cardiorespiratory fitness is maximum oxygen consumption (VO2max) (Frankin, 2001), the highest rate of oxygen uptake attainable during maximal or exhaustive exercise (American College of Sports Medicine, 2005). If the subject becomes exhausted and ends the test prior to reaching the physiologic VO2max, the end of the test is called peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak). It is unknown if advanced age and cognitive difficulties in people with AD would limit their ability to fully participate in a standard graded exercise test to reliably assess VO2max or VO2peak. Treadmill exercise testing has been found to be reliable in subjects with traumatic brain injury and mental retardation, although these subjects were very young (Fernhall, Millar, Tymeson, & Burkett, 1990; Mossberg & Greene, 2005). Traumatic brain injury and mental retardation are different disease processes than AD and would be expected to result in static rather than progressive cognitive symptoms. With AD, memory is impaired as is the ability to follow commands, however patients in the earliest stages of AD would be expected to respond to prompting and reminders to follow testing procedures. To our knowledge, no studies have assessed the reliability of peak treadmill exercise testing in subjects with AD. In our previous research on patients with very mild to mild AD (Burns, et al., 2008), we have found them to be capable of ambulating on a treadmill and completing peak treadmill exercise testing with 3 participants out of 74 (126 total peak exercise tests) identified as having EKG changes during testing. All 3 participants had negative follow-up testing in cardiology. The purpose of this study was to investigate the reliability of a graded peak treadmill exercise test in elderly people with early AD

Effect of Limb Lengthening on Internodal Length and Conduction Velocity of Peripheral Nerve

The influences of axon diameter, myelin thickness, and internodal length on the velocity of conduction of peripheral nerve action potentials are unclear. Previous studies have demonstrated a strong dependence of conduction velocity on internodal length. However, a theoretical analysis has suggested that this relationship may be lost above a nodal separation of ∼0.6 mm. Here we measured nerve conduction velocities in a rabbit model of limb lengthening that produced compensatory increases in peripheral nerve growth. Divided tibial bones in one hindlimb were gradually lengthened at 0.7 mm per day using an external frame attached to the bone. This was associated with a significant increase (33%) of internodal length (0.95–1.3 mm) in axons of the tibial nerve that varied in proportion to the mechanical strain in the nerve of the lengthened limb. Axonal diameter, myelin thickness, and g-ratios were not significantly altered by limb lengthening. Despite the substantial increase in internodal length, no significant change was detected in conduction velocity (∼43 m/s) measured either in vivo or in isolated tibial nerves. The results demonstrate that the internode remains plastic in the adult but that increases in internodal length of myelinated adult nerve axons do not result in either deficiency or proportionate increases in their conduction velocity and support the view that the internodal lengths of nerves reach a plateau beyond which their conduction velocities are no longer sensitive to increases in internodal length

Can screening and brief intervention lead to population-level reductions in alcohol-related harm?

A distinction is made between the clinical and public health justifications for screening and brief intervention (SBI) against hazardous and harmful alcohol consumption. Early claims for a public health benefit of SBI derived from research on general medical practitioners' (GPs') advice on smoking cessation, but these claims have not been realized, mainly because GPs have not incorporated SBI into their routine practice. A recent modeling exercise estimated that, if all GPs in England screened every patient at their next consultation, 96% of the general population would be screened over 10 years, with 70-79% of excessive drinkers receiving brief interventions (BI); assuming a 10% success rate, this would probably amount to a population-level effect of SBI. Thus, a public health benefit for SBI presupposes widespread screening; but recent government policy in England favors targeted versus universal screening, and in Scotland screening is based on new registrations and clinical presentation. A recent proposal for a national screening program was rejected by the UK National Health Service's National Screening Committee because 1) there was no good evidence that SBI led to reductions in mortality or morbidity, and 2) a safe, simple, precise, and validated screening test was not available. Even in countries like Sweden and Finland, where expensive national programs to disseminate SBI have been implemented, only a minority of the population has been asked about drinking during health-care visits, and a minority of excessive drinkers has been advised to cut down. Although there has been research on the relationship between treatment for alcohol problems and population-level effects, there has been no such research for SBI, nor have there been experimental investigations of its relationship with population-level measures of alcohol-related harm. These are strongly recommended. In this article, conditions that would allow a population-level effect of SBI to occur are reviewed, including their political acceptability. It is tentatively concluded that widespread dissemination of SBI, without the implementation of alcohol control measures, might have indirect influences on levels of consumption and harm but would be unlikely on its own to result in public health benefits. However, if and when alcohol control measures were introduced, SBI would still have an important role in the battle against alcohol-related harm

Glial and neuronal isoforms of Neurofascin have distinct roles in the assembly of nodes of Ranvier in the central nervous system

Rapid nerve impulse conduction in myelinated axons requires the concentration of voltage-gated sodium channels at nodes of Ranvier. Myelin-forming oligodendrocytes in the central nervous system (CNS) induce the clustering of sodium channels into nodal complexes flanked by paranodal axoglial junctions. However, the molecular mechanisms for nodal complex assembly in the CNS are unknown. Two isoforms of Neurofascin, neuronal Nfasc186 and glial Nfasc155, are components of the nodal and paranodal complexes, respectively. Neurofascin-null mice have disrupted nodal and paranodal complexes. We show that transgenic Nfasc186 can rescue the nodal complex when expressed in Nfasc−/− mice in the absence of the Nfasc155–Caspr–Contactin adhesion complex. Reconstitution of the axoglial adhesion complex by expressing transgenic Nfasc155 in oligodendrocytes also rescues the nodal complex independently of Nfasc186. Furthermore, the Nfasc155 adhesion complex has an additional function in promoting the migration of myelinating processes along CNS axons. We propose that glial and neuronal Neurofascins have distinct functions in the assembly of the CNS node of Ranvier

Landscape context outweighs local habitat quality in its effects on herbivore dispersal and distribution

Past studies with spatially structured herbivore populations have emphasized the primacy of intrinsic factors (e.g., patch quality), patch geometry (e.g., patch size and isolation), and more recently landscape context (e.g., matrix composition) in affecting local population abundance and dispersal rate. However, few studies have examined the relative importance of each factor, or how they might interact to affect herbivore abundance or dispersal. Here, we performed a factorial field experiment to examine the independent and interactive effects of patch quality (plant biomass, leaf protein, leaf phenolics) and matrix composition [mudflat or non-host grass (Bromus inermis)] on planthopper (Prokelisia crocea) emigration from host-plant patches (prairie cordgrass, Spartina pectinata). In addition, a field survey was conducted to examine the relative importance of patch quality, geography, and matrix composition on planthopper occupancy and density. In the experiment, we found that rates of emigration from low and intermediate quality patches were, on average, 21% percent higher for patches embedded in brome than mudflat. In contrast, the emigration rate was unaffected by matrix composition in nutrient-rich patches. Within matrix types, plant quality had little effect on emigration. In the survey, planthopper density and the patch occupancy rate of planthoppers increased nonadditively with increasing patch size and the percentage of the surrounding matrix composed of mudflat. This study suggests that landscape-level factors, such as the matrix, may be more important than factors intrinsic to the patches. © 2006 Springer-Verlag

Cluster randomized controlled trial protocol: addressing reproductive coercion in health settings (ARCHES)

Background\ud Women ages 16–29 utilizing family planning clinics for medical services experience higher rates of intimate partner violence (IPV) and reproductive coercion (RC) than their same-age peers, increasing risk for unintended pregnancy and related poor reproductive health outcomes. Brief interventions integrated into routine family planning care have shown promise in reducing risk for RC, but longer-term intervention effects on partner violence victimization, RC, and unintended pregnancy have not been examined.\ud \ud Methods/Design\ud The ‘Addressing Reproductive Coercion in Health Settings (ARCHES)’ Intervention Study is a cluster randomized controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of a brief, clinician-delivered universal education and counseling intervention to reduce IPV, RC and unintended pregnancy compared to standard-of-care in family planning clinic settings. The ARCHES intervention was refined based on formative research. Twenty five family planning clinics were randomized (in 17 clusters) to either a three hour training for all family planning clinic staff on how to deliver the ARCHES intervention or to a standard-of-care control condition. All women ages 16–29 seeking care in these family planning clinics were eligible to participate. Consenting clients use laptop computers to answer survey questions immediately prior to their clinic visit, a brief exit survey immediately after the clinic visit, a first follow up survey 12–20 weeks after the baseline visit (T2), and a final survey 12 months after the baseline (T3). Medical record chart review provides additional data about IPV and RC assessment and disclosure, sexual and reproductive health diagnoses, and health care utilization. Of 4009 women approached and determined to be eligible based on age (16–29 years old), 3687 (92 % participation) completed the baseline survey and were included in the sample.\ud \ud Discussion\ud The ARCHES Intervention Study is a community-partnered study designed to provide arigorous assessment of the short (3-4 months) and long-term (12 months) effects of a brief, clinician-delivered universal education and counseling intervention to reduce IPC, RC and unintended pregnancy in family planning clinic settings. The trial features a cluster randomized controlled trial design, a comprehensive data collection schedule and a large sample size with excellent retention.\ud \ud Trial Registration\ud ClinicialTrials.gov NCT01459458. Registered 10 October 2011