Correlative Light-Ion Microscopy for biological applications

Here we report a new technique, Correlative Light-Ion Microscopy (CLIM), to correlate SEM-like micrographs with fluorescence images. This technique presents significant advantages over conventional methods in enabling topographical and biochemical information to be correlated with nanoscale resolution without destroying the fluorescence signal. We demonstrate the utility of CLIM for a variety of investigations of cell substrate interactions validating its potential to become a routine procedure in biomedical research.     

Anorexia nervosa and autism spectrum disorders: Guided investigation of social cognitive endophenotypes.

Death by suicide occurs in a disproportionate percentage of individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN), with a standardized mortality ratio indicating a 57-fold greater risk of death from suicide relative to an age-matched cohort. Longitudinal studies indicate impaired social functioning increases risk for fatal outcomes, while social impairment persists following recovery. Study of social cognition in AN may elucidate impaired processes that may influence therapeutic efficacy. Symptoms of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are overrepresented in those who evidence a chronic course. Relative to that in AN, social information processing in ASD is well characterized and may inform systematic study in AN. This article (a) reviews impaired interpersonal processes in AN, (b) compares the phenotype of AN with that of ASD, (c) highlights deficits of social cognitive disturbance in ASD relative to AN, and (d) proposes a new framework to understand the interaction of individuals with AN with their social context. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of a method for evaluating accessibility of medical equipment for patients with disabilities

Objective

The purpose of this study was to develop a method for evaluating accessibility of medical equipment for patients with disabilities.

Methods

The researchers reviewed videotapes of patient-participants with various physical and sensory disabilities using different types of medical equipment. For each of 11 videotapes, four observers independently identified and documented access and safety barriers, such as physical, sensory, cognitive, and environmental barriers. Inter-observer variability for identifying barrier presence was assessed with kappa statistics for pairs of observers.

Results

A list of 10 access and safety barriers was developed through an iterative consensus process, which identified design features of medical equipment that presented difficulties for participants with disabilities. The list is useful for identifying and categorizing accessibility problems found in equipment. While reliability of barrier identification was substantial or moderate for some barriers, reconciliation of barrier events identified by multiple video observers is recommended for optimal results.     

Constraint hierarchies

Constraints allow programmers and users to state declaratively a relation that should be maintained, rather than requiring them to write procedures to maintain the relation themselves. They are thus useful in such applications as programming languages, user interface toolkits, and simulation packages. In many situations, it is desirable to be able to state bothrequired andpreferential constraints. The required constraints must hold. Since the other constraints are merely preferences, the system should try to satisfy them if possible, but no error condition arises if it cannot. Aconstraint hierarchy consists of a set of constraints, each labeled as either required or preferred at some strength. An arbitrary number of different strengths is allowed. In the discussion of a theory of constraint hierarchies, we present alternate ways of selecting among competing possible solutions, and prove a number of propositions about the relations among these alternatives. We then outline algorithms for satisfying constraint hierarchies, and ways in which we have used constraint hierarchies in a number of programming languages and systems.     

Comparison of multisystemic therapy and parent training in the brief treatment of child abuse and neglect.

This study evaluated the relative efficacy of two promising treatments of child abuse and child neglect: parent training and multisystemic therapy. Subjects included 18 abusive families and 15 neglectful families who were randomly assigned to the treatment conditions. Self-report and observational measures were used to evaluate the effects of treatment at three levels that have been associated with child maltreatment: individual functioning, family relations, and stress/social support. Statistical analyses revealed that families who received either treatment showed decreased parental psychiatric symptomology, reduced overall stress, and a reduction in the severity of identified problems. Analyses of sequential observational measures revealed that multisystemic therapy was more effective than parent training at restructuring parent–child relations. Parent training was more effective than multisystemic therapy at reducing identified social problems. The differential influences of the two treatments were probably associated with differences in their respective treatment contexts and epistemologies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Causal attributions of hyperactive children: Implications for teaching strategies and self-control.

The combined influence of attribution and self-control training on the short- and long-term maintenance of strategic behavior, impulsivity, and beliefs about self-efficacy was assessed in 77 underachieving, hyperactive children. During 4 sessions, children in a self-control condition received self-management training and instructions in the use of interrogative and clustering rehearsal strategies. Children in a self-control plus attribution condition received the same instructions plus training designed to enhance general and program-specific beliefs about the importance of effort in improving performance. Children in a control condition were given strategy training but received no self-control or attribution instructions. Analysis of short-term treatment effects showed that children who received attribution training used more complex strategies, demonstrated higher personal causality scores endorsing effort, and displayed reduced impulsivity. Ten months following training, children in the self-control plus attribution condition persisted in their use of acquired strategies, maintained beliefs about the importance of effort, and displayed more mature memory knowledge. Severely hyperactive children, who had received the attributional boost, showed decreased hyperactivity in the classroom and improved self-control. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pilot-scale in situ bioremedation of uranium in a highly contaminated aquifer. 2. Reduction of u(VI) and geochemical control of u(VI) bioavailability

In situ microbial reduction of soluble U(VI) to sparingly soluble U(IV) was evaluated at the site of the former S-3 Ponds in Area 3 of the U.S. Department of Energy Natural and Accelerated Bioremediation Research Field Research Center, Oak Ridge, TN. After establishing conditions favorable for bioremediation (Wu, et al. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2006, 40, 3988-3995), intermittent additions of ethanol were initiated within the conditioned inner loop of a nested well recirculation system. These additions initially stimulated denitrification of matrix-entrapped nitrate, but after 2 months, aqueous U levels fell from 5 to approximately 1 microM and sulfate reduction ensued. Continued additions sustained U(VI) reduction over 13 months. X-ray near-edge absorption spectroscopy (XANES) confirmed U(VI) reduction to U(IV) within the inner loop wells, with up to 51%, 35%, and 28% solid-phase U(IV) in sediment samples from the injection well, a monitoring well, and the extraction well, respectively. Microbial analyses confirmed the presence of denitrifying, sulfate-reducing, and iron-reducing bacteria in groundwater and sediments. System pH was generally maintained at less than 6.2 with low bicarbonate level (0.75-1.5 mM) and residual sulfate to suppress methanogenesis and minimize uranium mobilization. The bioavailability of sorbed U(VI) was manipulated by addition of low-level carbonate (< 5 mM) followed by ethanol (1-1.5 mM). Addition of low levels of carbonate increased the concentration of aqueous U, indicating an increased rate of U desorption due to formation of uranyl carbonate complexes. Upon ethanol addition, aqueous U(VI) levels fell, indicating that the rate of microbial reduction exceeded the rate of desorption. Sulfate levels simultaneously decreased, with a corresponding increase in sulfide. When ethanol addition ended but carbonate addition continued, soluble U levels increased, indicating faster desorption than reduction. When bicarbonate addition stopped, aqueous U levels decreased, indicating adsorption to sediments. Changes in the sequence of carbonate and ethanol addition confirmed that carbonate-controlled desorption increased bioavailability of U(VI) for reduction.     

Declining global per capita agricultural production and warming oceans threaten food security

Despite accelerating globalization, most people still eat food that is grown locally. Developing countries with weak purchasing power tend to import as little food as possible from global markets, suffering consumption deficits during times of high prices or production declines. Local agricultural production, therefore, is critical to both food security and economic development among the rural poor. The level of local agricultural production, in turn, will be determined by the amount and quality of arable land, the amount and quality of agricultural inputs (fertilizer, seeds, pesticides, etc.), as well as farm-related technology, practices and policies. This paper discusses several emerging threats to global and regional food security, including declining yield gains that are failing to keep up with population increases, and warming in the tropical Indian Ocean and its impact on rainfall. If yields continue to grow more slowly than per capita harvested area, parts of Africa, Asia and Central and Southern America will experience substantial declines in per capita cereal production. Global per capita cereal production will potentially decline by 14% between 2008 and 2030. Climate change is likely to further affect food production, particularly in regions that have very low yields due to lack of technology. Drought, caused by anthropogenic warming in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, may also reduce 21st century food availability in some countries by disrupting moisture transports and bringing down dry air over crop growing areas. The impacts of these circulation changes over Asia remain uncertain. For Africa, however, Indian Ocean warming appears to have already reduced rainfall during the main growing season along the eastern edge of tropical Africa, from southern Somalia to northern parts of the Republic of South Africa. Through a combination of quantitative modeling of food balances and an examination of climate change, this study presents an analysis of emerging threats to global food security.