Maternal mental health and integrated programs for mothers with substance abuse issues.

To examine the impact of integrated treatment programs (those with substance use treatment and pregnancy-, parenting-, or child-related services) on maternal mental health, we compiled a database of studies of integrated programs published between 1990 and 2007 with outcome data on maternal mental health. There were 18 cohort studies, 3 randomized trials, and 2 quasi-experimental studies. Of the five studies comparing integrated to nonintegrated programs, three studies provided enough information to allow for them to be combined in a meta-analysis. The average effect size was 0.23 (95% CI = 0.15 to 0.31, SE = 0.04), p Q = 5.66, p = .059. This meta-analysis is the first systematic quantitative review of studies evaluating the impact of integrated programs on maternal mental health. Findings suggest that integrated programs may be associated with a small advantage over nonintegrated programs in improving maternal mental health. This review highlights the need for further research with improved methodology, study quality, and reporting to improve our understanding of how best to meet the mental health needs of mothers with substance abuse issues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Analytical shielding calculations for a proton therapy facility

The University of Pennsylvania is building a proton therapy facility in collaboration with Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The proposed facility has four gantry rooms, a fixed beam room and a research room, and will use a cyclotron as the source of protons. In this study, neutron shielding considerations for the proposed proton therapy facility were investigated using analytical techniques and Monte Carlo simulated neutron spectra. Neutron spectra calculations were done using the GEANT4 (v6.2) simulation code for various materials: water, carbon, iron, nickel and tantalum to estimate the neutron production at proton beam energies of 100, 175 and 250 MeV. Dose equivalent calculations were performed using analytical methods at various critical points within the facility, by folding the GEANT4 produced neutron spectra with dose equivalent rate data from the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) Report #144.     

E3 Ubiquitin Ligase APC/CCdh1 Regulation of Phenylalanine Hydroxylase Stability and Function

Phenylketonuria (PKU) is an autosomal recessive metabolic disorder caused by the dysfunction of the enzyme phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH). Alterations in the level of PAH leads to the toxic accumulation of phenylalanine in the blood and brain. Protein degradation mediated by ubiquitination is a principal cellular process for maintaining protein homeostasis. Therefore, it is important to identify the E3 ligases responsible for PAH turnover and proteostasis. Here, we report that anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome-Cdh1 (APC/C)^Cdh1 is an E3 ubiquitin ligase complex that interacts and promotes the polyubiquitination of PAH through the 26S proteasomal pathway. Cdh1 destabilizes and declines the half-life of PAH. In contrast, the CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knockout of Cdh1 stabilizes PAH expression and enhances phenylalanine metabolism. Additionally, our current study demonstrates the clinical relevance of PAH and Cdh1 correlation in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Overall, we show that PAH is a prognostic marker for HCC and Cdh1 could be a potential therapeutic target to regulate PAH-mediated physiological and metabolic disorders.     

Solve the problem first: Constructive solution strategies can influence the accuracy of retrospective confidence judgments.

Two experiments tested whether differences in problem-solving strategies influence the ability of people to monitor their problem-solving effectiveness as measured by confidence judgments. On multiple choice problems, people tend to use either a constructive matching strategy, whereby they attempt to solve a problem before looking at the response options, or a response elimination strategy, whereby they work backward from response options trying to find one that fits as a solution. Constructive matching gives rise to different cues that may enhance confidence monitoring. Experiment 1 showed that spontaneous constructive matching in nonverbal spatial reasoning problems was associated with better confidence calibration and resolution than response elimination. We manipulated strategy in Experiment 2 by requiring constructive matching and found improved monitoring. Implications for research on monitoring, overconfidence, and the association between skill and monitoring are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Experimental Investigation into the Performance of Large-scale Earthing Electrodes

Analytical and numerical simulation techniques have been developed for the calculation of earth resistance/ impedance and to estimate the potential distribution in the vicinity of earth electrodes. How...     

The solid solubility of silver,gold and zinc in metallic tin

In other studies [1], it has been found that dilute tin alloys containing one of the fast-diffusing solutes Ag, Au and Zn display marked but transitory increases in hardness when quenched from near eutectic temperatures. In this paper, it is shown that an examination of such hardness increases as a function of solute concentration and the equilibrium temperature prior to quenching provides a means of determining the solvus boundaries for the system concerned. Solvus data is derived for Ag, Au and Zn in Sn.     

Immune-associated traits measured in milk of Holstein-Friesian cows as proxies for blood serum measurements

Previous work has highlighted that immune-associated (IA) traits measurable in blood are associated with health, productivity, and reproduction in dairy cows. The aim of the present study was to determine relationships between IA traits measured in blood serum and those simultaneously measured in milk as well as their association with disease phenotypes. All animals were Holstein-Friesian cows from the Langhill research herd (n = 546) housed at the SRUC Dairy Research Centre in Scotland. Milk and serum samples were collected on 20 separate occasions between July 2010 and March 2015 and analyzed by ELISA for haptoglobin (Hp), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and natural antibodies binding keyhole limpet hemocyanin (NAb_KLH) and lipopolysaccharide (NAb_LPS). Data were analyzed using mixed linear models that included pedigree information. Analyses revealed positive phenotypic correlations between milk and serum NAb (0.59 ≤ r ≤ 0.77), Hp (r = 0.37), and TNF-α (r = 0.12). Milk and serum NAb were also found to have a strong genetic correlation (0.81 ≤ r ≤ 0.94) and were genetically correlated with cow lameness (0.66 and 0.79 for milk NAb_KLH and serum NAb_LPS, respectively). Clinical mastitis was found to be phenotypically correlated with both milk and serum Hp (0.09 ≤ r ≤ 0.23). Serum Hp was also strongly genetically correlated with other cellular IA traits such as percent NKp46⁺ (a natural killer cell marker; 0.35) and percent peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC; ?0.90). Similarly, genetic correlations were found to exist between serum TNF-α and percent NKp46⁺ (0.22), percent PBMC (0.41), and percent lymphocytes (0.47). Excluding serum Hp, all milk and serum IA traits were repeatable, ranging from 0.11 (milk Hp) to 0.43 (serum NAb_LPS). Between-animal variation was highest in milk and serum NAb (0.34–0.43) and significant estimates of heritability were also observed in milk and serum NAb (0.17–0.37). Our findings show that certain IA traits, such as NAb_KLH and NAb_LPS, found in milk and serum are strongly correlated and highlight the potential of using routinely collected milk samples as a less invasive and cost-effective source of informative data for predictive modeling of animal IA traits.     

USP48 Governs Cell Cycle Progression by Regulating the Protein Level of Aurora B

Deubiquitinating enzymes play key roles in the precise modulation of Aurora B—an essential cell cycle regulator. The expression of Aurora B increases before the onset of mitosis and decreases during mitotic exit; an imbalance in these levels has a severe impact on the fate of the cell cycle. Dysregulation of Aurora B can lead to aberrant chromosomal segregation and accumulation of errors during mitosis, eventually resulting in cytokinesis failure. Thus, it is essential to identify the precise regulatory mechanisms that modulate Aurora B levels during the cell division cycle. Using a deubiquitinase knockout strategy, we identified USP48 as an important candidate that can regulate Aurora B protein levels during the normal cell cycle. Here, we report that USP48 interacts with and stabilizes the Aurora B protein. Furthermore, we showed that the deubiquitinating activity of USP48 helps to maintain the steady-state levels of Aurora B protein by regulating its half-life. Finally, USP48 knockout resulted in delayed progression of cell cycle due to accumulation of mitotic defects and ultimately cytokinesis failure, suggesting the role of USP48 in cell cycle regulation.     

A Stochastic Non-linear Programming Model for a Multi-period Water Resource Allocation with Multiple Objectives

A rapid increase in demand and severe droughts in recent years has increased the pressure on water supplies throughout most parts of Australia. This has resulted in the need for tools to allocate limited water across users in different regions, and explore scenarios so as to achieve economic, social and environmental benefits. A major challenge in water resource allocation is dealing with the uncertainty in the system, particularly with respect to reservoir inflow. Stochastic non-linear programming is applied to water resource allocation to accommodate this uncertainty across the time periods of the planning horizon. A large range of solutions is produced representing the distributions of uncertainty in reservoir inflow. These solutions are used in a Monte Carlo simulation to estimate the trade-off in amounts of water allocated versus risk of not achieving minimal reservoir levels. The methodology is applied to a case study in South East Queensland in Australia, a region which is currently facing a severe water shortage over the next 3 years. A new water supply initiative that the Queensland State Government is considering to overcome the water crisis is assessed using the methodology.     

Estimating genetic and phenotypic parameters of cellular immune-associated traits in dairy cows

Data collected from an experimental Holstein-Friesian research herd were used to determine genetic and phenotypic parameters of innate and adaptive cellular immune-associated traits. Relationships between immune-associated traits and production, health, and fertility traits were also investigated. Repeated blood leukocyte records were analyzed in 546 cows for 9 cellular immune-associated traits, including percent T cell subsets, B cells, NK cells, and granulocytes. Variance components were estimated by univariate analysis. Heritability estimates were obtained for all 9 traits, the highest of which were observed in the T cell subsets percent CD4⁺, percent CD8⁺, CD4⁺:CD8⁺ ratio, and percent NKp46⁺ cells (0.46, 0.41, 0.43 and 0.42, respectively), with between-individual variation accounting for 59 to 81% of total phenotypic variance. Associations between immune-associated traits and production, health, and fertility traits were investigated with bivariate analyses. Strong genetic correlations were observed between percent NKp46⁺ and stillbirth rate (0.61), and lameness episodes and percent CD8⁺ (?0.51). Regarding production traits, the strongest relationships were between CD4⁺:CD8⁺ ratio and weight phenotypes (?0.52 for live weight; ?0.51 for empty body weight). Associations between feed conversion traits and immune-associated traits were also observed. Our results provide evidence that cellular immune-associated traits are heritable and repeatable, and the noticeable variation between animals would permit selection for altered trait values, particularly in the case of the T cell subsets. The associations we observed between immune-associated, health, fertility, and production traits suggest that genetic selection for cellular immune-associated traits could provide a useful tool in improving animal health, fitness, and fertility.