Overcoming Challenges in Online Counseling Course Practica

Masters and doctoral students enrolled in Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs [CACREP] accredited programs must meet certain standards regardless of the environment in which they learn. In our case, we are doctoral students enrolled in an online counselor education and supervision (CES) program delivered through the Blackboard.comSM e-learning system. Members of our cohort live in various parts of the United States and beyond its borders. The standards by which our program seeks to offer quality education are the standards established by CACREP (2001). CACREP (2001) standards address group counseling and practicums. Doctoral-level students must engage in expanded learning experiences in group work (DS II.C.1) and participate in a characteristically unique, supervised advanced practicum which helps to further refine students’ counseling skills (DS III.A). The doctoral program in which we participate chose to meet these two standards through a core course entitled Advanced Practicum in Group Counseling. An experiential assessment component of this course requires students to complete a 10-week, qualitatively different, supervised group practicum. Various Ph.D. CES programs may address these CACREP standards in a similar fashion. Due to our own experiences and an increased awareness of the ongoing, rapid expansion of distance education (Lee & Nguyen, 2007), we realized the necessity to begin identifying and addressing challenges faced by online learners. Our purposes in writing this article are to acknowledge some of the erstwhile and contemporary challenges of practica requirements faced by online students and to provide tips and guidance to other online (and perhaps, on-campus) students, faculty, and institutional placement personnel as they approach these challenges

A novel curcumin-based vaginal cream Vacurin selectively eliminates apposed human cervical cancer cells

Objective. Human papillomavirus (HPV) infections remain a leading cause of mortality worldwide. In the U.S. strategies via screening and vaccination prevent HPV-associated cervical neoplasms, but consume im- mense healthcare costs. The spice component curcumin has potent anticancer and antiviral properties, which have been difficult to harness as a treatment, due to its poor systemic bioavailability. This project tests the possibility of developing a curcumin-based therapy for cervical cancer. Methods. Using four HPV(+) cervical cancer cell lines and normal fibroblasts we first tested the selectivity and potency of curcumin in eliminating HPV(+) cells. Subsequently, we developed a curcumin-based cervical cream and tested its efficacy in eliminating apposed HPV(+) cells and also its possible side effects on the vaginal epithelium of healthy mice. Results. Curcumin selectively eliminates a variety of HPV(+) cervical cancer cells (HeLa, ME-180, SiHa, and SW756), suppresses the transforming antigen E6, dramatically inhibits the expression of the pro-cancer protein epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), and concomitantly induces p53. Additionally, Vacurin, a uniform colloidal solution of curcumin in a clinically used amphipathic vaginal cream, eliminates apposed HeLa cells while suppressing the expression of EGFR. In mice, daily intravaginal application of Vacurin for three weeks produced no change in body weight and when the mice were sacrificed, the vaginal tract epithelium showed no Vacurin-evoked adverse effects. Conclusion. We have developed a curcumin-based vaginal cream, which effectively eradicates HPV(+) cancer cells and does not affect non-cancerous tissue. Our preclinical data support a novel approach for the treatment of cervical HPV infection

Diagnostic imaging of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia based on hematoxylin and eosin fluorescence

Background Pathological classification of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) is problematic as it relies on subjective criteria. We developed an imaging method that uses spectroscopy to assess the fluorescent intensity of cervical biopsies derived directly from hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stained tissues. Methods Archived H&E slides were identified containing normal cervical tissue, CIN I, and CIN III cases, from a Community Hospital and an Academic Medical Center. Cases were obtained by consensus review of at least 2 senior pathologists. Images from H&E slides were captured first with bright field illumination and then with fluorescent illumination. We used a Zeiss Axio Observer Z1 microscope and an AxioVision 4.6.3-AP1 camera at excitation wavelength of 450–490 nm with emission captured at 515–565 nm. The 32-bit grayscale fluorescence images were used for image analysis. Results We reviewed 108 slides: 46 normal, 33 CIN I and 29 CIN III. Fluorescent intensity increased progressively in normal epithelial tissue as cells matured and advanced from the basal to superficial regions of the epithelium. In CIN I cases this change was less prominent as compared to normal. In high grade CIN lesions, there was a slight or no increase in fluorescent intensity. All groups examined were statistically different. Conclusion Presently, there are no markers to help in classification of CIN I-III lesions. Our imaging method may complement standard H&E pathological review and provide objective criteria to support the CIN diagnosis

Cep152 interacts with Plk4 and is required for centriole duplication

Cep152, the orthologue of Drosophila Asterless, is a Plk4 target that functions with Plk4 in centriole assembly

Unique synergistic formulation of curcumin, epicatechin gallate and resveratrol, tricurin, suppresses HPV E6, eliminates HPV+ cancer cells, and inhibits tumor progression

Curcumin (from curry) (C) is highly potent against cervical cancer cells (CCC), but poor bioavailability has limited its clinical use. Similar natural polyphenols resveratrol (from grapes) (R), and epicatechin gallate (from green tea) (E) also display activity against CCC. By treating CCC (HeLa) with C, E, or R, or combinations of these compounds, we computed combination indices and observed a strong synergism among C, E, and R at the unique molar ratio 4:1:12.5. This combination, named as TriCurin, rapidly down regulated HPV18 E6 and NF-kB expression while concomitantly inducing the tumor suppressor protein p53 in HeLa cells. In the mouse c-Ha-ras and HPV16 E6, E7-expressing TC-1 CCC, both C and TriCurin elicited suppression of E6, induction of both p53 and acetyl-p53 (activated p53), and activation of caspase-3, but the TriCurinevoked changes were several-fold greater than that produced by curcumin (4.7-fold for E6 inhibition, and 2-fold, 6-fold, and 1.7-fold for the induction of p53, acetyl-p53, and active caspase-3, respectively). Consequently, TriCurin was more potent in killing TC-1 and HeLa cells. Intralesional TriCurin treatment of tumors generated in mice by subcutaneously implanting the TC-1 CCC caused an 80–90% decrease in tumor growth. The ability of C to eliminate HeLa cells was significantly stabilized when delivered as TriCurin than when delivered alone. Topical application of TriCurin dispersed in a cream base afforded efficient transfer of C across the skin. Subcutaneous TriCurin injection yielded no adverse effect in tumor-naïve healthy mice. Thus, TriCurin is a safe and promising therapeutic agent against HPV-associated disease

Enhancing studies of the connectome in autism using the autism brain imaging data exchange II

The second iteration of the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange (ABIDE II) aims to enhance the scope of brain connectomics research in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Consistent with the initial ABIDE effort (ABIDE I), that released 1112 datasets in 2012, this new multisite open-data resource is an aggregate of resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and corresponding structural MRI and phenotypic datasets. ABIDE II includes datasets from an additional 487 individuals with ASD and 557 controls previously collected across 16 international institutions. The combination of ABIDE I and ABIDE II provides investigators with 2156 unique cross-sectional datasets allowing selection of samples for discovery and/or replication. This sample size can also facilitate the identification of neurobiological subgroups, as well as preliminary examinations of sex differences in ASD. Additionally, ABIDE II includes a range of psychiatric variables to inform our understanding of the neural correlates of co-occurring psychopathology; 284 diffusion imaging datasets are also included. It is anticipated that these enhancements will contribute to unraveling key sources of ASD heterogeneity

The Human Phenotype Ontology in 2024: phenotypes around the world.

The Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO) is a widely used resource that comprehensively organizes and defines the phenotypic features of human disease, enabling computational inference and supporting genomic and phenotypic analyses through semantic similarity and machine learning algorithms. The HPO has widespread applications in clinical diagnostics and translational research, including genomic diagnostics, gene-disease discovery, and cohort analytics. In recent years, groups around the world have developed translations of the HPO from English to other languages, and the HPO browser has been internationalized, allowing users to view HPO term labels and in many cases synonyms and definitions in ten languages in addition to English. Since our last report, a total of 2239 new HPO terms and 49235 new HPO annotations were developed, many in collaboration with external groups in the fields of psychiatry, arthrogryposis, immunology and cardiology. The Medical Action Ontology (MAxO) is a new effort to model treatments and other measures taken for clinical management. Finally, the HPO consortium is contributing to efforts to integrate the HPO and the GA4GH Phenopacket Schema into electronic health records (EHRs) with the goal of more standardized and computable integration of rare disease data in EHRs

Canagliflozin and renal outcomes in type 2 diabetes and nephropathy

BACKGROUND Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the leading cause of kidney failure worldwide, but few effective long-term treatments are available. In cardiovascular trials of inhibitors of sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2), exploratory results have suggested that such drugs may improve renal outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS In this double-blind, randomized trial, we assigned patients with type 2 diabetes and albuminuric chronic kidney disease to receive canagliflozin, an oral SGLT2 inhibitor, at a dose of 100 mg daily or placebo. All the patients had an estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of 30 to <90 ml per minute per 1.73 m2 of body-surface area and albuminuria (ratio of albumin [mg] to creatinine [g], >300 to 5000) and were treated with renin–angiotensin system blockade. The primary outcome was a composite of end-stage kidney disease (dialysis, transplantation, or a sustained estimated GFR of <15 ml per minute per 1.73 m2), a doubling of the serum creatinine level, or death from renal or cardiovascular causes. Prespecified secondary outcomes were tested hierarchically. RESULTS The trial was stopped early after a planned interim analysis on the recommendation of the data and safety monitoring committee. At that time, 4401 patients had undergone randomization, with a median follow-up of 2.62 years. The relative risk of the primary outcome was 30% lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group, with event rates of 43.2 and 61.2 per 1000 patient-years, respectively (hazard ratio, 0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.59 to 0.82; P=0.00001). The relative risk of the renal-specific composite of end-stage kidney disease, a doubling of the creatinine level, or death from renal causes was lower by 34% (hazard ratio, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.81; P<0.001), and the relative risk of end-stage kidney disease was lower by 32% (hazard ratio, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.54 to 0.86; P=0.002). The canagliflozin group also had a lower risk of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke (hazard ratio, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.67 to 0.95; P=0.01) and hospitalization for heart failure (hazard ratio, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.47 to 0.80; P<0.001). There were no significant differences in rates of amputation or fracture. CONCLUSIONS In patients with type 2 diabetes and kidney disease, the risk of kidney failure and cardiovascular events was lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group at a median follow-up of 2.62 years

Data Descriptor: An open resource for transdiagnostic research in pediatric mental health and learning disorders

Technological and methodological innovations are equipping researchers with unprecedented capabilities for detecting and characterizing pathologic processes in the developing human brain. As a result, ambitions to achieve clinically useful tools to assist in the diagnosis and management of mental health and learning disorders are gaining momentum. To this end, it is critical to accrue large-scale multimodal datasets that capture a broad range of commonly encountered clinical psychopathology. The Child Mind Institute has launched the Healthy Brain Network (HBN), an ongoing initiative focused on creating and sharing a biobank of data from 10,000 New York area participants (ages 5–21). The HBN Biobank houses data about psychiatric, behavioral, cognitive, and lifestyle phenotypes, as well as multimodal brain imaging (resting and naturalistic viewing fMRI, diffusion MRI, morphometric MRI), electroencephalography, eyetracking, voice and video recordings, genetics and actigraphy. Here, we present the rationale, design and implementation of HBN protocols. We describe the first data release (n =664) and the potential of the biobank to advance related areas (e.g., biophysical modeling, voice analysis