Environmental adversity increases child susceptibility to disrupted developmental outcomes, but the mechanisms by which adversity can shape development remain unclear. A translational cross-species approach was used to examine stress-mediated pathways by which poverty-related adversity can influence infant social development. Findings from a longitudinal sample of low-income mother–infant dyads indicated that infant cortisol (CORT) on its own did not mediate relations between early-life scarcity-adversity exposure and later infant behavior in a mother-child interaction task. However, maternal CORT through infant CORT served as a mediating pathway, even when controlling for parenting behavior. Findings using a rodent “scarcity-adversity” model indicated that pharmacologically blocking pup corticosterone (CORT, rodent equivalent to cortisol) in the presence of a stressed mother causally prevented social transmission of scarcity-adversity effects on pup social behavior. Furthermore, pharmacologically increasing pup CORT without the mother present was not sufficient to disrupt pup social behavior. Integration of our cross-species results suggests that elevated infant CORT may be necessary, but without elevated caregiver CORT, may not be sufficient in mediating the effects of environmental adversity on development. These findings underscore the importance of considering infant stress physiology in relation to the broader social context, including caregiver stress physiology, in research and interventional efforts.

The southern pine beetle, Dendroctonus frontalis Zimmermann (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae), is among the most destructive bark beetle pests of pines (Pinaceae) of the southeast and mid-Atlantic United States of America, Mexico, and Central America. Numerous volatile compounds can stimulate or reduce attraction of the beetle, but efforts to incorporate these into effective, practical technologies for pest management have yielded mixed results. Attractants have been incorporated into lures used in monitoring traps that are employed operationally to forecast outbreaks and detect emerging populations. The attraction inhibitor, verbenone, shows efficacy for suppressing southern pine beetle infestations but has not yet been adopted operationally. No effective semiochemical tree protectant has been developed for the beetle. We discuss complexities in the chemical ecology of the beetle that likely have impeded research and development of semiochemical management tools, and we describe basic science gaps that may hinder further progress if not addressed. We also report some supporting, original experimental data indicating (1) that a verbenone device can inhibit the beetle’s response to sources of attractant in a radius of at least several metres, (2) similar olfactory responses by the beetle to both enantiomers of verbenone, and (3) that pheromone background can cause conflicting results in semiochemical field tests.

Children reared in impoverished environments are at risk for enduring psychological and physical health problems. Mechanisms by which poverty affects development, however, remain unclear. To explore one potential mechanism of poverty's impact on social–emotional and cognitive development, an experimental examination of a rodent model of scarcity-adversity was conducted and compared to results from a longitudinal study of human infants and families followed from birth (N = 1,292) who faced high levels of poverty-related scarcity-adversity. Cross-species results supported the hypothesis that altered caregiving is one pathway by which poverty adversely impacts development. Rodent mothers assigned to the scarcity-adversity condition exhibited decreased sensitive parenting and increased negative parenting relative to mothers assigned to the control condition. Furthermore, scarcity-adversity reared pups exhibited decreased developmental competence as indicated by disrupted nipple attachment, distress vocalization when in physical contact with an anesthetized mother, and reduced preference for maternal odor with corresponding changes in brain activation. Human results indicated that scarcity-adversity was inversely correlated with sensitive parenting and positively correlated with negative parenting, and that parenting fully mediated the association of poverty-related risk with infant indicators of developmental competence. Findings are discussed from the perspective of the usefulness of bidirectional–translational research to inform interventions for at-risk families.

Clinician optimism is an important factor in achieving treatment outcomes in counselling contexts. Currently, there are no measures of mental health clinician optimism which report substantial psychometric validation. This study sought to assesses the validity and reliability of the Therapeutic Optimism Scale (TOS). 223 mental health clinicians working in a range of clinical settings were administered the TOS and convergent and discriminate validity were established. Test–retest reliability was established over a period of 1 month. The TOS was found to achieve acceptable reliability (Cronbach's α = .68) and yielded consistent scores over a one month period (r = .68, p < .01). Factor analyses revealed a 3-factor solution reflecting (1) General Treatment Outcome Expectancy, (2) Personal Treatment Outcome Expectancy, and (3) Pessimism. These findings support the utility of the TOS for research purposes, but further revision is recommended to enhance the reliability of the scale.

Recent findings emphasize the complexity, both genetic and functional, of the manifold genes and mutations causing inherited retinal degeneration in humans. Knowledge of the genetic bases of these diseases can contribute to design of rational therapy, as well as elucidating the function of each gene product in normal visual processes.

Diseases causing inherited retinal degeneration in humans, such as retinitis pigmentosa and macular dystrophy, are genetically heterogeneous and clinically diverse. More than 40 genes causing retinal degeneration have been mapped to specific chromosomal sites; of these, at least 10 have been cloned and characterized. Mutations in two proteins, rhodopsin and peripherin/RDS, account for approximately 35% of all cases of autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa and a lesser fraction of other retinal conditions. This target article reviews the genes and mutations causing retinal degeneration and proposes mechanisms whereby specific mutations lead to particular clinical consequences, that is, the relationship between genotype and phenotype. Retinitis pigmentosa and macular dystrophy are genetically heterogeneous diseases that cause retinal degeneration in humans and often result in severe visual impairment or blindness. Although many of the genes causing these diseases have not been identified, three photoreceptor-specific proteins have been implicated: rhodopsin, peripherin/RDS, and the P-subunit of rod phosphodiesterase. Mutations in the genes for these three proteins can cause either dominant retinitis pigmentosa, recessive retinitis pigmentosa, dominant congenital stationary night blindness, or dominant macular degeneration. Why this multiplicity of clinical phenotypes? Our target article summarizes the genetic and biochemical background to this question and proposes a number of possible explanations. Discussion focuses mainly on 73 distinct disease-causing mutations of rhodopsin. We feel that rhodopsin and other photoreceptor proteins can serve as model systems for unraveling the connection between genotype and phenotype, not only for inherited retinal diseases but for other degenerative disorders as well.

The World Health Organization estimates that the burden of surgical disease due to war, self-inflicted injuries, and road traffic incidents will rise dramatically by 2020. During the 2009 Harvard Humanitarian Initiative's Humanitarian Action Summit (HHI/HAS), members of the Burden of Surgical Disease Working Group met to review the state of surgical epidemiology, the unmet global surgical need, and the role international organizations play in filling the surgical gap during humanitarian crises, conflict, and war. An outline of the group's findings and recommendations is provided.

An air–water coupled model is developed to investigate wind-wave generation processes at low wind speed where the surface wind stress is about 0.089 dyn cm−2 and the associated surface friction velocities of the air and the water are u*a~8.6 cms−1 and u*w~0.3 cms−1, respectively. The air–water coupled model satisfies continuity of velocity and stress at the interface simultaneously, and hence can capture the interaction between air and water motions. Our simulations show that the wavelength of the fastest growing waves agrees with laboratory measurements (λ~8–12 cm) and the wave growth consists of linear and exponential growth stages as suggested by theoretical and experimental studies. Constrained by the linearization of the interfacial boundary conditions, we perform simulations only for a short time period, about 70s; the maximum wave slope of our simulated waves is ak~0.01 and the associated wave age is c/u*a~5, which is a slow-moving wave. The effects of waves on turbulence statistics above and below the interface are examined. Sensitivity tests are carried out to investigate the effects of turbulence in the water, surface tension, and the numerical depth of the air domain. The growth rates of the simulated waves are compared to a previous theory for linear growth and to experimental data and previous simulations that used a prescribed wavy surface for exponential growth. In the exponential growth stage, some of the simulated wave growth rates are comparable to previous studies, but some are about 2–3 times larger than previous studies. In the linear growth stage, the simulated wave growth rates for these four simulation runs are about 1–2 times larger than previously predicted. In qualitative agreement with previous theories for slow-moving waves, the mechanisms for the energy transfer from wind to waves in our simulations are mainly from turbulence-induced pressure fluctuations in the linear growth stage and due to the in-phase relationship between wave slope and wave-induced pressure fluctuations in the exponential growth stage.

In this paper, we report a novel method to improve aluminum interconnect electromigration performance, reduce metal line sheet resistance (Rs) and reduce via contact resistance (Rc) in a minimum pitch design. We report the effects of bottom redundancy layers on electrical line and via resistance and upstream electromigration performance. We studied 4 metallization stacks: (I) Ti/TiN/AlCu/Ti/TiN, (II) Ti/TiN/Ti/AlCu/Ti/TiN (annealed at 400°C for 20 minutes), (III) a flash process/stack I, (IV) stack III with aluminum deposition temperature of 250°C. Aluminum deposition temperature in stacks I, II, and III are 200°C. Bottom Ti/TiN, AlCu, and Top Ti/TiN layers have the same thickness for all these stacks. Metal line Rs and via contact resistances (Rc) of stack IV are 5% and 10% lower, respectively, than stack I. Stack II metal line sheet resistance is 15% higher than stack I, which is attributed to Al consumption in the TiAl3 formation during 400°C/20minutes annealing. Electromigration performance is best with stack IV followed by III, II, then I.

Background: We aimed to assess why carers seek participation for their relatives in clinical trials of Alzheimer's disease (AD) medications, and to assess carer impressions of the value of trial participation. Method: A retrospective questionnaire was sent to 31 carers of participants in clinical trials for AD conducted at the Mental Health Research Institute and the National Aging Research Institute between January 1997 and December 1999. Results: Twenty-five questionnaires (81%) were returned, completed to an extent to permit analysis. Helping a relative feel better, contributing to medical science, and hoping for a cure were the main reasons for trial participation. In general, carers found the regular consultation with research staff supportive and would recommend trial participation to others. Conclusion: A greater understanding of the motivations of carers may aid the recruitment and retention of participants in clinical trials.

Background: We explored carer motivation for seeking participation for a relative in an Alzheimer's disease (AD) clinical drug trial, to assess impressions of the value of trial participation. We also surveyed the carers of patients who did not meet study entry screening criteria to see if our conduct of the screening visit was acceptable and ethical. Method: A retrospective questionnaire was sent to the carers of 36 randomized participants and 22 carers of patients who did not meet study entry screening criteria for an AD clinical treatment trial. Results: Twenty-nine (81%) of the trial participant carers and 15 (68%) of carers of the group who did not meet study entry criteria returned their questionnaires with sufficient information for analysis. The prime motivators in seeking trial participation were to help their relative feel better and live longer, to contribute to medical science, to improve the health of others, and the hope of a cure. Carers of both groups found research staff supportive and would recommend trial participatiion to others. Conclusions: Even though trial participation is onerous and patients were generally perceived by carers as not having improved, both the screening visit and participation in the trial itself were seen as positive experiences and the expectations of carers were met.

Gene therapy is being studied for the treatment of a variety of acquired and inherited disorders. Retroviruses, adeno-viruses, poxviruses, adeno-associated viruses, herpesviruses, and others are being engineered to transfer genes into humans. Treatment protocols using recombinant viruses are being introduced into clinical settings. Infection control professionals will be involved in reviewing the safety of these agents in their clinics and hospitals. To date, only a limited number of articles have been written on infection control in gene therapy, and no widely available recommendations exist from federal or private organizations to guide infection control professionals. The goals of the conference were to provide a forum where gene therapy experts could share their perspectives and experience with infection control in gene therapy and to provide an opportunity for newcomers to the field to learn about issues specific to infection control in gene therapy. Recommendations for infection control in gene therapy were proposed.

This report is a summary of the methods and findings of a research project that evaluated the social and economic benefits of meteorological services in Australia. The meteorological services evaluated were the basic public weather services and several specialist user-pay and commercial services used by business firms in several sectors of the national economy. Overall, the results indicated that the quality of the selected services was high. In addition, the benefits of these services were extensive, resulting in high benefit-cost ratios.

Terrestrial radio leakage as reflected off the moon has been observed with the Arecibo antenna. We find that military radars and television transmitters are main contributors in the 150–500 MHz range, as predicted in the model of Sullivan et al. (1978). The earth indeed is revealing itself (eventually) to any interstellar eavesdropper with an Arecibo-like antenna at distances up to 30 light years, and with a Cyclops-like system up to fifteen times farther.