Evaluating an integrated promotion and prevention bystander approach: Early evidence of intervention benefits and moderators

Bullying victimization remains a pressing concern to the health and development of U.S. adolescents. Victims of bullying face threats to their safety and education. Hence, interventions are needed to prevent bullying and equip others to intervene in bullying situations. Prior research has examined preventive interventions with little consideration of promotion-tailored, peace-encouraging, interventions. Further, there is a need to test whether people's motives toward preventive and promotive actions may fit with certain intervention tracks. Here, we tested an upstander approach consisting of a universal assembly presentation with promotion-oriented education (Promote Caring) and prevention-oriented education (Say Something), as well as a tailored 150-minute workshop (Upstanding for Promotion-Prevention). High school students (n = 388; 53.9% girls) participated in the study with a control group (n = 335) and intervention group who self-selected to experience upstanding for peace promotion (n = 15) or upstanding for bullying prevention (n = 35). Students in the prevention-tailored track reported stronger safety beliefs (violence prevention beliefs and care promotion beliefs) than students in the control group and endorsed using more defending actions than control-group students. Students' gain, non-gain, and loss motivations moderated ties between upstanding track involvement and post-test safety beliefs, barriers to upstanding, and defending behaviors.

College, Interrupted: Profiles in First-Year College Students Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic Across One Year

First-year college students in the 2019-2020 academic year are at risk of having their mental health, identity work, and college careers derailed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. To assess emerging and evolving impacts of the pandemic on mental health/well-being, identity development, and academic resilience, we collected data from a racially, ethnically, geographically, and economically diverse group of 629 students at four universities across the US within weeks of lockdown, and then followed up on these students' self-reported mental health, identity, and academic resilience three times over the following year. Our findings suggest that: 1) students' mental health, identity development, and academic resilience were largely negatively impacted compared to pre-pandemic samples; 2) these alterations persisted and, in some cases, worsened as the pandemic wore on; and 3) patterns of change were often worse for students indicating more baseline COVID-related stressors.

Robust and stable transcriptional repression in Giardia using CRISPRi

Giardia lamblia is a binucleate protistan parasite causing significant diarrheal disease worldwide. An inability to target Cas9 to both nuclei, combined with the lack of nonhomologous end joining and markers for positive selection, has stalled the adaptation of CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genetic tools for this widespread parasite. CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) is a modification of the CRISPR/Cas9 system that directs catalytically inactive Cas9 (dCas9) to target loci for stable transcriptional repression. Using a Giardia nuclear localization signal to target dCas9 to both nuclei, we developed efficient and stable CRISPRi-mediated transcriptional repression of exogenous and endogenous genes in Giardia. Specifically, CRISPRi knockdown of kinesin-2a and kinesin-13 causes severe flagellar length defects that mirror defects with morpholino knockdown. Knockdown of the ventral disk MBP protein also causes severe structural defects that are highly prevalent and persist in the population more than 5 d longer than defects associated with transient morpholino-based knockdown. By expressing two guide RNAs in tandem to simultaneously knock down kinesin-13 and MBP, we created a stable dual knockdown strain with both flagellar length and disk defects. The efficiency and simplicity of CRISPRi in polyploid Giardia allows rapid evaluation of knockdown phenotypes and highlights the utility of CRISPRi for emerging model systems.

Complementary role of adjunctive breast magnetic resonance imaging and scintimammography in patients of all ages undergoing breast cancer surgery

The aims of this study were to assess breast MRI and scintimammography (SMM) for the detection of breast cancer, and to determine any complementary role of these tests to each other and conventional imaging. Seventy-two patients (age 35-81 years) with a suspicious breast mass were investigated by mammography, breast ultrasound, breast MRI and SMM before undergoing surgical excision of the breast mass. Sensitivity, specificity and area under receiver operator characteristic curves were calculated for each test. Of the 72 patients, there were 66 proven malignant tumours, including two patients with bilateral breast cancer. When comparing the diagnostic sensitivity of breast MRI and SMM for lesion size, both tests showed higher sensitivities for lesions >25 mm in size, particularly for SMM. When these tests were compared for patient age, patients less than 51 years showed higher sensitivities for both tests. This was statistically significant for breast MRI. The overall respective diagnostic sensitivities for mammography, mammography with breast ultrasound, breast MRI and SMM were 56, 67, 86 and 85%. The differences were significant between mammography, mammography/ultrasound and both breast MRI and SMM. Breast MRI and SMM offer incremental diagnostic advantage in the diagnosis of breast cancer. Although improved diagnostic accuracy is seen in patients of all ages, those patients less than 51 years of age receive the greatest diagnostic benefit.

Determination of the optimal minimum radioiodine dose in patients with Graves' disease: a clinical outcome study

The study was performed under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Commission, Vienna, Austria, with the aim of determining the optimal minimum therapeutic dose of iodine-131 for Graves' disease. The study was designed as a single-blinded randomised prospective outcome trial. Fifty-eight patients were enrolled, consisting of 50 females and 8 males aged from 17 to 75 years. Each patient was investigated by clinical assessment, biochemical and immunological assessment, thyroid ultrasound, technetium-99m thyroid scintigraphy and 24-h thyroid 131I uptake. Patients were then randomised into two treatment groups, one receiving 60 Gy and the other receiving 90 Gy thyroid tissue absorbed dose of radioiodine. The end-point markers were clinical and biochemical response to treatment. The median follow-up period was 37.5 months (range, 24-48 months). Among the 57 patients who completed final follow-up, a euthyroid state was achieved in 26 patients (46%), 27 patients (47%) were rendered hypothyroid and four patients (7%) remained hyperthyroid. Thirty-four patients (60%) remained hyperthyroid at 6 months after the initial radioiodine dose (median dose 126 MBq), and a total of 21 patients required additional radioiodine therapy (median total dose 640 MBq; range 370-1,485 MBq). At 6-month follow-up, of the 29 patients who received a thyroid tissue dose of 90 Gy, 17 (59%) remained hyperthyroid. By comparison, of the 28 patients who received a thyroid tissue dose of 60 Gy, 17 (61%) remained hyperthyroid. No significant difference in treatment response was found (P=0.881). At 6 months, five patients in the 90-Gy group were hypothyroid, compared to two patients in the 60-Gy group (P=0.246). Overall at 6 months, non-responders to low-dose therapy had a significantly larger thyroid gland mass (respective means: 35.9 ml vs 21.9 ml) and significantly higher levels of serum thyroglobulin (respective means: 597.6 microg/l vs 96.9 microg/l). Where low-dose radioiodine treatment of Graves' disease is considered, a dose of 60 Gy will yield a 39% response rate at 6 months while minimising early hypothyroidism. No significant advantage in response rate is gained by using a dose of 90 Gy. For more rapid therapeutic effect at the expense of an increased rate of hypothyroidism, doses in excess of 120 Gy may be required. Ultrasound determination of thyroid mass and measurement of serum thyroglobulin levels may be predictive of those patients who will be less responsive to low-dose therapy.

Detection of widespread fluids in the Tibetan crust by magnetotelluric studies

Magnetotelluric exploration has shown that the middle and lower crust is anomalously conductive across most of the north-to-south width of the Tibetan plateau. The integrated conductivity (conductance) of the Tibetan crust ranges from 3000 to greater than 20,000 siemens. In contrast, stable continental regions typically exhibit conductances from 20 to 1000 siemens, averaging 100 siemens. Such pervasively high conductance suggests that partial melt and/or aqueous fluids are widespread within the Tibetan crust. In southern Tibet, the high-conductivity layer is at a depth of 15 to 20 kilometers and is probably due to partial melt and aqueous fluids in the crust. In northern Tibet, the conductive layer is at 30 to 40 kilometers and is due to partial melting. Zones of fluid may represent weaker areas that could accommodate deformation and lower crustal flow.

The InterCon network: a program for education partnerships at the University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center

The University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center (UT-Houston) has created programs and activities to address the state's pressing needs in minority education. Through InterCon, a network of universities and K-12 schools, UT-Houston works with its partners to identify competitive candidates in the current pool of minority graduates with bachelor's degrees and to help them--along with their non-minority counterparts--progress in their education. Another objective is to expand the pool of minorities underrepresented in medicine who complete high school and go to college. In 1994 UT-Houston and Prairie View A&M University created a collaborative venture to provide new educational opportunities at UT-Houston for Prairie View's predominantly African American students. A three-track summer internship program--a result of that collaboration--has since been expanded to partnerships with other minority and majority universities throughout Texas. In 1998, for example, 108 undergraduate students from these universities (and 40 other universities nationwide) participated in research, professional, and administrative summer internships at UT-Houston. The InterCon network also has partnerships with K-12 schools. UT-Houston works with inner-city, suburban, and rural school districts to develop education models that can be transferred throughout the state. The partnerships deal with helping to teach basic academic skills and computer literacy, improve science-related instruction, meet demands for health promotion materials and information for school-initiated health and wellness programs, and develop distance-learning paradigms. UT-Houston views InterCon as a program helping Texas institutions to engage and adapt to the socioeconomic factors, demographic changes, and technology explosion that currently challenge public education.

Methodological issues in evaluating a culture-based substance abuse treatment program in the Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska

This paper presents a rationale for using videotape records in evaluation research. Although videotaping is commonly used in ethnographic and sociometric analysis, the evaluation literature does not show the application of these recording techniques to program evaluations. The authors outline a model for exploring the effectiveness of video in qualitative program evaluation.

Radiation and stress-induced apoptosis: a role for Fas/Fas ligand interactions

The lpr gene encodes a defective form of Fas, a cell surface protein that mediates apoptosis. This defect blocks apoptotic deletion of autoreactive T and B cells, leading to lymphoproliferation and lupus-like autoantibody production. The effects of the lpr Fas mutation on other kinds of physiologically relevant apoptosis are largely undocumented. To assess whether some of the apoptosis known to occur after ionizing radiation might be mediated by Fas/Fas ligand (FasL) interactions, we quantitated in vitro apoptosis by flow cytometry measurement of DNA content in splenic T and B cells from irradiated 5- to 8-month-old B6/lpr mice. Total apoptosis of both lpr and control cells was substantial after treatment; however there was a significant difference between B6 (73%) and lpr (25%) lymphocyte apoptosis. Thy1, CD4, CD8, and IgM cells from lpr showed much lower levels of apoptosis than control cells after irradiation. Apoptosis induced by heat shock was also impaired in lpr. The finding that gamma-irradiation increased Fas expression on B6 cells and that irradiation-induced apoptosis could be blocked with a Fas-Fc fusion protein further supported the possible involvement of Fas in this form of apoptosis. Fas/FasL interactions may thus play an important role in identifying and eliminating damaged cells after gamma-irradiation and other forms of injury.

Partially Molten Middle Crust Beneath Southern Tibet: Synthesis of Project INDEPTH Results

INDEPTH geophysical and geological observations imply that a partially molten midcrustal layer exists beneath southern Tibet. This partially molten layer has been produced by crustal thickening and behaves as a fluid on the time scale of Himalayan deformation. It is confined on the south by the structurally imbricated Indian crust underlying the Tethyan and High Himalaya and is underlain, apparently, by a stiff Indian mantle lid. The results suggest that during Neogene time the underthrusting Indian crust has acted as a plunger, displacing the molten middle crust to the north while at the same time contributing to this layer by melting and ductile flow. Viewed broadly, the Neogene evolution of the Himalaya is essentially a record of the southward extrusion of the partially molten middle crust underlying southern Tibet.

A medication discharge planning program: measuring the effect on readmissions

Repeated hospitalizations result in high costs and may occur as a result of patient errors in their medication regimen. To reduce rehospitalizations (hospitalizations within 31 days of the previous discharge), health care professionals have turned to the discharge planning process. Using Orem's theory of self-care, a medication discharge planning program was developed to provide instruction on the requisites necessary for medication self-care. The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the effects of this program on readmissions within 31 days. Five nurses implemented the program for 54 patients with an admitting diagnosis of congestive heart failure. These patients were alternately assigned to a control or an experimental group. The experimental group received the medication discharge planning program. The control group received the usual informal discharge planning provided on the nursing unit. Eight (28.6%) of the 28 patients in the control group were readmitted within 31 days of the previous discharge. Two (7.7%) of the 26 patients in the experimental group were readmitted within 31 days. These results showed a statistically significant difference using Fisher's Exact Test (p = .05). Those receiving the medication discharge planning program were less likely to be readmitted, suggesting the importance of a medication discharge planning program.

Amyloid P component binds to keratin bodies in human skin and to isolated keratin filament aggregates in vitro

Dermal keratin bodies, consisting mainly of keratin intermediate filament aggregates (KIFA) coated with IgM anti-KIF autoantibodies, are present in normal human skin and occur in increased quantities in certain skin diseases. Keratin bodies are normally rapidly removed, but in primary localized cutaneous amyloidosis (PLCA) they are converted by an unknown mechanism to amyloid. Amyloid P component (AP), a glycoprotein identical to, and derived from, the normal plasma protein serum amyloid P component (SAP), is present in all forms of amyloid including PLCA. We investigated the interaction between SAP, keratin bodies, and KIFA. Immunofluorescence staining of normal skin using fluoresceinated anti-SAP and rhodamine-conjugated anti-IgM, or AE-1/AE-3 anti-keratin antibodies followed by Texas Red-conjugated anti-mouse immunoglobulin, showed that 52% +/- 4 (mean +/- sem, n = 6) of keratin bodies bound anti-SAP. Similar findings were present in a biopsy from a patient with lichen planus. Isolated KIFA, prepared by 8M urea extraction of normal human epidermis or cultured keratinocytes, were preincubated with normal human serum as a source of SAP and then stained with fluoresceinated anti-SAP. Bright fluorescence seen when the incubation medium contained Ca++ was absent in the presence of ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid. Specific Ca++-dependent binding of SAP to KIFA was confirmed using immunoblotting. Binding of SAP to KIFA did not prevent their degradation following exposure to trypsin or alpha-chymotrypsin. Similarly, partial enzymatic digestion of KIFA did not abrogate their ability to bind SAP. Our findings, that SAP is associated with keratin bodies in skin and exhibits Ca++-dependent binding to KIFA in vitro, identify keratin filaments as a newly recognized ligand for SAP.

Effects of topical corticosteroid therapy on Langerhans cell antigen presenting function in human skin

We have investigated the mechanisms by which topical corticosteroids modulate cutaneous immune reactions in man. Volunteers applied clobetasone butyrate 0.05% (Eumovate; EV), betamethasone valerate 0.1% (Betnovate; BV), clobetasol propionate 0.05% (Dermovate; DV), and control vehicles twice daily to forearm skin for 7 days. Steroid therapy significantly decreased the number of HLA-DR/T6 (CD1a) positive Langerhans cells (LCs) per mm2 in suction blister-derived epidermal sheets, expressed as a mean percentage of controls, as follows: EV 69.2%; BV 67.3%; DV 37.8%. LC antigen presenting capacity was determined in the allogeneic and autologous epidermal cell-lymphocyte reactions. The LC-dependent allostimulatory capacity of epidermal cells, expressed as a mean percentage of controls, was also significantly reduced by steroid therapy: EV 45.1%; BV 41.9%; DV 23.4%. Following therapy with clobetasol propionate 0.05%, the capacity of epidermal cells to present tetanus toxoid to, and to augment concanavalin A mediated lymphocyte stimulation of, autologous lymphocytes was reduced to 33.6% and 19.7% respectively of controls. Depression of epidermal cell allostimulatory capacity was not the result of a steroid-induced decrease in the production of epidermal cell-derived thymocyte activating factor (ETAF)/interleukin 1 by keratinocytes, since it could not be reversed by addition of exogenous interleukin 1. Indomethacin, added to block any potential prostaglandin synthesis during the culture period, did not restore the allostimulatory capacity of epidermal cells from steroid-treated sites. Addition of epidermal cells from DV-treated sites depressed the capacity of control epidermal cells to stimulate lymphocytes in the allogeneic epidermal-lymphocyte reaction. Our results demonstrate that the anti-inflammatory action of topical corticosteroids in man is associated not only with a reduction in the number of HLA-DR/T6 positive LCs, but also with a marked decrease in Langerhans cell-dependent T lymphocyte activation. The effects of the different steroids on both of these parameters correlated with their potency as determined in the standard occlusive vasoconstrictor assay. Topical corticosteroids are widely used for the treatment of inflammatory skin disorders, and inhibit not only the elicitation phase, but also the induction phase, of allergic contact dermatitis reactions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Degradation products of irradiated haloperidol: implications for the development of an implantible delivery system

Haloperidol was chosen as a model compound to determine whether the degradation products created by sterilizing dose of gamma radiation would contaminate an implantible delivery device and be hazardous to the health of the person using it. Acrolein, chlorobenzene, and several other products were identified among the degradation products. They were quantitated and evaluated as being potentially dangerous. It is recommended that the development protocol for a radiation-sterilized, implantible drug include the identification and evaluation of the degradation products.

Serum ionized calcium and pH: effects of blood storage, some physiological influences and a comparison between normotensive and hypertensive subjects

The effects on serum ionized calcium (ICa) and pH of different storage conditions of blood or serum, and of physiological influences such as over-ventilation, food intake and dietary sodium intake have been investigated. Temperature and time-related changes in ICa occurred with storage and were minimized by immediate separation of serum and storage at 4 degrees C, (6 h or less). Elevation of serum ICa and a fall in pH accompanied increased salt intake; over-ventilation induced an elevation of serum pH and a reduction in ICa. Day-to-day intra-individual variation of ICa was 0.93%. We proceeded to examine a group of age-, sex- and race-matched hypertensive and normotensive subjects under standardized conditions designed to minimize such technical and physiological artefacts. ICa was not significantly different in the two groups; however, serum pH was significantly elevated in the hypertensive group. In the combined group of normotensive and hypertensive subjects, serum pH was significantly correlated with blood pressure. Exclusion of the black subjects from the analysis did not alter the findings.

Cerebral radionuclide scintigraphy in the stroke syndrome

The cerebral scans of 365 patients with the stroke syndrome were reviewed retrospectively over a 30-month period. Positive static studies occurred in 140 patients )38%), of which 73 (52%) had an associated reduction of flow to the affected hemisphere on the dynamic study. Positive dynamic studies alone accurred in 69 patients (19%), increasing the positive yield by 50%. Dynamic studies also differentiate extracranial (carotid) occlusion from intracranial vascular occlusion, and may contribute to prognosis and management. Infarction in the middle cerebral artery territory is five times as common as infarction in any other arterial territory. An unexpected finding was the high incidence (5%) of watershed infarctions. These are more common than posterior cerebral artery strokes (4%), and anterior cerebral artery strokes (1%). When patients with vertebrobasilar and lacunar strokes, and those scanned within one week or after six weeks from the onset of symptoms are excluded, the positive yield was 54% for static studies, and 67% over all.