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Objective: Intervention in the earliest period of parenthood can make a strong, positive impact on parenting, yet engaging parents of newborns in parenting interventions can be difficult. Technological adaptation of important interventions can improve early engagement. This study reports the initial feasibility of the Creating Connections intervention, a technology-based intervention developed to support mothers of newborns, and feasibility of evaluating the intervention through a randomized clinical trial in pediatric primary care. The intervention includes: (a) a brief tablet-based intervention delivered during a newborn well-child pediatric check-up, and (b) tailored text messages delivered thereafter to boost intervention content. Intervention content includes empirically-supported aspects of parenting behaviors known to positively influence children’s social-emotional development.Method: Project recruitment took place in an ambulatory care pediatric clinic in a large Midwestern city. Mothers received information about infant soothing, book sharing, or both.Results: One-hundred and three parents learned about the program and 72 participated. Mothers were primarily Black/African American with incomes at or below $30,000. Only 50% of mothers that received text messages through the program completed follow-up, but these mothers gave overall positive ratings of text messages.Conclusions: Program engagement and ratings of parents support feasibility, but retention rates need improvement. Based on barriers and successes of this investigation, lessons learned about feasibility and acceptability are discussed.Implications for Impact Statement This brief report describes a unique approach to using technology as part of a pediatric visit to deliver information to mothers of newborns aimed at promoting bonding.

•PROMIS measures administered via computer adaptive testing (CAT) are responsive to change.•Highlight a methodology of assessing clinically significant change for youth with chronic pain.•Methodology to evaluate longitudinal treatment response utilizing Patient Reported Outcomes (PROs).•Assessment of clinically significant change in functional outcomes among youth with chronic pain.•Framework to interpret change for Patient Reported Outcomes (PROs) to enhance clinical utility.

•Latent profile analysis revealed 4 subgroups of treatment-modifiable factors.•Profile membership conferred differential associations with pain and function.•Profile membership differed by child age.•Profile membership did not differ based on pain duration.

Agricultural runoff recycling systems are manmade aquatic ecosystems of growing significance to global water sustainability, crop health, and production. This study investigated the seasonal dynamics of microbial community in a three-reservoir recycling irrigation system with a stepwise water flow and compared with that of an adjacent runoff-free stream. Runoff water from all production areas was captured in a sedimentation reservoir which overflowed to a transition reservoir then retention reservoir through a culvert. Stream water was pumped to replenish the reservoirs as needed during growing seasons. 16S rDNA PCR clone libraries of quarterly water samples from three reservoirs and one stream were sequenced, and 575 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were identified and assigned to cyanobacteria, eukaryotic phytoplankton, and other bacteria. When compared to the stream, three reservoirs consistently had low microbial diversity. A distinct seasonal pattern of microbial community structure was observed for each reservoir and the stream. Stream was consistently dominated by other bacteria. Retention reservoir was dominated by cyanobacteria during the summer and fall and eukaryotic phytoplankton during the winter and spring. Sedimentation reservoir was dominated by cyanobacteria beginning in the spring but that dominance was altered when water was pumped from the stream from early spring to fall seasons. Transition reservoir had the greatest shift of microbial community structure, being dominated by other bacteria in the summer, cyanobacteria in the fall, and eukaryotic phytoplankton in the winter and spring. Water temperature and ammonium level were the two most important contributing factors to the seasonality of microbial community in these reservoirs. The three recycling irrigation reservoirs consistently had lower microbial diversity and distinct community structure when compared to the stream. These reservoirs were typically dominated by cyanobacteria during warm seasons and eukaryotic phytoplankton during cool seasons. This seasonal pattern was altered when water was pumped from the stream. The cyanobacteria dominance was associated with rising water temperature and ammonium level. These results highlight the importance of preventing agricultural runoff from entering natural waterways and water resources and provide a useful framework for further investigations into the ecological processes of this emerging ecosystem.

Pain is common during childhood cancer treatment, can persist into survivorship, and is under-managed in young survivors of childhood cancer (SCCs). Pain may influence health-related quality of life in SCCs simply via its frequency, and/or by triggering worries about cancer recurrence. The purpose of this study was to explore proximal associations between pain frequency, pain-related worry, and health-related quality of life in SCCs. In this study, 111 SCCs (52% female, Mage: 17.67 years, range 8-25 years) were recruited from a Canadian Children's Hospital and completed self-report measures of pain frequency, pain-related worry, and health-related quality of life. Descriptive statistics, bivariate correlations, chi-square analyses and a hierarchical linear regression were performed. Pain was frequently experienced in SCCs (70% reported pain in previous month) and was commonly worried about as a sign of cancer recurrence (39% of sample endorsed some degree of worry). Those who endorsed worrying about pain were 95% more likely to endorse experiencing that symptom over the previous month, X2(1, N = 110) = 21.13, p < .001. Frequency of pain (r = -.494, p < .001) demonstrated a larger inverse correlation with health-related quality of life than pain-related worry (r = -.362, p < .001). After controlling for demographic (age, sex) and medical factors (age at diagnosis, time off treatment), pain-related worry (b = -.19, t(89) = -1.97, p = .052) marginally contributed to the variance in health-related quality of life. Meanwhile, pain frequency (b = -.31, t(89) = -3.13), p = .002) emerged as a significant predictor, with the final model explaining 37% of the variance in health-related quality of life. Pain is frequently experienced and commonly worried about as a sign of cancer recurrence in SCCs. Addressing both pain-related frequency and worry could be important for improving health-related quality of life in SCCs.

Two distinct subgroups (L2 and A−2) were recovered from irrigation reservoirs and a stream in Virginia, USA. After molecular, morphological and physiological examinations, the L2 subgroup was named Phytophthora aquimorbidaand the A−2designated as Phytophthorataxon ‘aquatilis’. Both taxa are homothallic. P. aquimorbidais characterized by its noncaducous and nonpapillate sporangia, catenulate and radiating hyphal swellings and thick-walled plerotic oospores formed in globose oogonia mostly in the absence of an antheridium. P. taxon ‘aquatilis’ produces plerotic oospores in globose oogonia mostly with a paragynous antheridium. It has semi-papillate, caducous sporangia with variable pedicels, but it does not have hyphal swelling. Analyses of ITS, CO1, β-tubulin and NADH1 sequences revealed that P. aquimorbidais closely related to P. hydropathica, P. irrigataand P. parsiana, and P. taxon ‘aquatilis’ is related to P. multivesiculata. The optimum temperature for culture growth is 30 and 20 C for P. aquimorbidaand P. taxon ‘aquatilis’ respectively. Both taxa were pathogenic to rhododendron plants and caused root discoloration, pale leaves, wilting, tip necrosis and dieback. Their plant biosecurity risk also is discussed.

Redox homeostasis and signaling are critically important in the regulation of cell function. There are significant challenges in quantitatively measuring intracellular redox potentials, and in this paper, we introduce a new approach. Our approach is based on the use of nanosensors which comprise molecules that sense the local redox potential, assembled on a gold nanoshell. Since the Raman spectrum of the sensor molecule changes depending on its oxidation state and since the nanoshell allows a huge enhancement of the Raman spectrum, intracellular potential can be calculated by a simple optical measurement. The nanosensors can be controllably delivered to the cytoplasm, without any toxic effects, allowing redox potential to be monitored in a reversible, non-invasive manner over a previously unattainable potential range encompassing both superphysiological and physiological oxidative stress.

We have obtained detailed structural information for the energetic salt ammonium perchlorate (AP) at pressures up to ∼8 GPa through a combination of X-ray and neutron diffraction. Under hydrostatic conditions, AP undergoes a first-order phase transition at 3.98(5) GPa, broadly consistent with results from previous studies. We have successfully solved and refined the structure of the new orthorhombic phase (phase II, space group Pnma), which features a more close-packed structure with more extensive hydrogen bonding than the polymorph obtained at ambient pressure (phase I). Equations of state have been obtained for phase I from 0 to 3.5 GPa and for the new phase 4 to 8.1 GPa. To complement these experimental studies, we have also performed density functional theory (DFT) calculations of the hydrostatic compression of AP in the region of 0.0–3.5 GPa. A comparison of the performance of different pseudopotentials and DFT dispersion correction schemes in calculating crystal geometries at high pressure has been performed. The results highlight the fact that care must be taken when choosing pseudopotentials for high-pressure studies and that no significant improvements in the calculation of crystal geometries of AP are obtained by employing DFT-D corrections.

Phytophthora piniwas named by Leonian in 1925, but this species was largely ignored until 1956 and then merged with P. citricolaby Waterhouse in 1963. This study compared the ex-type and ex-authentic cultures of these two species with isolates of P. plurivoraand the P. citricolasubgroups Cil I and III reported previously. Examination of these isolates revealed that the ex-type culture of P. piniis identical to P. citricolaI. Phytophthora piniLeonian therefore is resurrected to distinct species status and redescribed here with a Latin description, replacing P. citricolaI. Molecular, physiological and morphological descriptions of this species are presented. The molecular description includes DNA sequences of five nuclear and mitochondrial regions as well as PCR-SSCP fingerprints. The relationship among the above species and other species recently segregated from the P. citricolacomplex also is discussed.

Pruritus is a distressing symptom in burns rehabilitation and its treatment represents a challenge for the multidisciplinary burns team. We conducted a comparative study of two different therapeutic approaches in hospitalized burns patients using a combination of pharmacological agents. The observed symptomatic response to gabapentin as monotherapy as well as in combination therapy with two antihistamines was higher than chlorpheniramine alone and in combination with another two antihistamines (t= 3.70, df= 89, P< .001 for monotherapy and ?2= 12.2, df= 1, P= .001 for polytherapy). Patients with higher initial itch scores needed a combination of pharmacologic agents for effective symptomatic relief. A linear regression model showed that the likelihood of failure of monotherapy was marginally associated with decreasing patient age (P= .013) and increasing TBSA (P= .021, sum of square = 1.986, df= 2, P= .04). A combined approach using centrally and peripherally acting agents is most effective in the treatment of acute burns pruritus.

Pruritus represents a common and distressing feature of burn wounds. Over the last decades, significant advances in neuroanatomical and neurophysiological knowledge have resulted in the elucidation of the mediators and pathways involved in the transmission of pruritic impulses. A plethora of therapeutic approaches have been evaluated mostly in small-scale studies involving burns patients targeting both the peripheral and the central components of the neurologic pathway. Antihistamines, doxepin, massage therapy, and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation are effective strategies to combat pruritus in burns patients. Recent studies have provided preliminary evidence regarding the effectiveness of gabapentin and ondansetron. The area of burns pruritus is under-researched and large-scale studies are required to reinforce the armamentarium of specialists with evidence-based regimens for the treatment of this highly distressing symptom.

This article presents a case study highlighting a pediatric health care system's use of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality staff patient safety survey as a tool to both identify areas in need of improvement and measure the impact of projects initiated to improve patient safety in particular areas.

The energy barriers to hydroxyl rotation and alkyl rotation in p-cresol, p-isopropylphenol, p-tert-butylphenol, isopropylbenzene and tert-butylbenzene have been calculated using the MP2/6-31g(d,p) model chemistry. The number of stable conformers predicted for isopropylbenzene, tert-butylbenzene, p-isopropylphenol and p-tert-butylphenol is consistent with experimental observations. The doubling of stable alkyl conformation, and hence spectral features, in the p-alkyl phenols is due to syn and anti orientations of the hydroxyl and alkyl substituents and can be related to an asymmetry in the electron density in the HOMO of phenol. Hyperconjugation is found to have an important influence on the torsional potential of the alkyl substituent.

The large detector size of conventional focal plane arrays (FPAs) often acts as a limiting source of noise currents and requires these devices to run at undesirably low temperatures. To reduce the detector size without reducing the detector’s quantum efficiency (QE), we have developed efficient on-focal-plane collection optics consisting of arrays of thin-film binary-optics microlenses and photoresist-based refractive microlenses on the back surface of hybrid detector array structures. Photodiodes of p/npolarity, of an unusual planar-mesa geometry, were fabricated in epitaxial HgCdTe deposited by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on the front side of a CdZnTe substrate. Diffractive (8- to 16-phase-level) Ge microlenses were deposited on 48-m centers in a registered fashion (using an IR mask aligner and appropriate marks on the front surface of the CdZnTe) on the back side of the substrate using a lifting process. The lifting circumvents some of the process limitations of the more conventional chemical etching methods on diffractive-microlens processing, allowing the microlenses to approach more closely their theoretical efficiency limit of >95. Photoresist microlenses were fabricated by reflow of photolithographically defined photoresist islands. Prior to microlens deposition, but after diode fabrication, the test structures were flip-chip bonded or “hybridized” using indium interconnections to metallic striplines that had been photolithographically deposited on sapphire dice (a process equally compatible with a silicon-integrated-circuit readout). After hybridization, the CdZnTe was thinned to equal the focal length of the lenses in the CdZnTe material. Optical characterization has demonstrated that the microlenses combined with the detector mesas concentrate light sufficiently to increase the effective collection area. The optical size of the mesa detectors being larger than the theoretical diffraction limit of the microlenses precludes determining whether the lenses themselves produce the theoretical diffraction-limited gain, but they clearly decrease the required detector area by at least 3 to 6 times. To our knowledge, this is the first successful demonstration of IR detectors and binary optics and of photoresist refractive-microlens integration. © 1997 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.

The Australian approach to regulation of tissue-engineered medical products is described. Common issues of potential transmission of pathogens apply to all therapeutic goods of biological origin, and a common approach has been developed to regulation of both drugs and medical devices. Regulation is based on assessment of risk, with particular attention to minimizing risk of transmission of pathogens in addition to the more conventional premarket evaluation of biological safety. Australia is free of many domestic animal diseases, and there are import restrictions on animal materials to prevent the introduction of exotic diseases. The transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) present particular challenges to infection control, and minimizing infectivity is addressed through donor selection and screening criteria in addition to validated processing procedures known to inactivate pathogens. The codes of good manufacturing practice which apply to different types of tissue-engineered medical products are outlined. This approach to regulation of tissue-engineered medical products is set within the broader context of the Australian regulatory system and plans to harmonize Australian legislation with that current in the European Union.

A word search game about farm-related words is presented.

City of Pilsen, Illinois now a pillar of the Mexican-American community, is undergoing a revival. But gentrification has its downsides. Eleazar Delgado says most locals thought he was destined to fail when he opened his Jumping Bean Cafe on 18th Street in Pilsen. While business was steady at first, it has stepped up in recent years as new development edges into the neighborhood and Pilsen's popularity as both an artists enclave and tourist destination grows. Along with cosmetic touches like new streetlights and banners along 18th Street proudly proclaiming the neighborhood's identity, city services have improved in Pilsen, and the area is safer.

Focuses on the plan of Gina and John Mina on building a house n Bridgeport. View of the place; Features of the place; Types of neighborhood.

Nearly 150 years old, family-owned Baird & Warner Inc. is a dominant force in the residential real estate industry, of Chicago, Illinois and shows no signs of slowing down or selling out. Lyman Baird is the partner of the company along with England-based Lucius Olmsted. In 1871, the firm's presence proved vital to Chicago. When public property records were destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire, the Baird family's ledgers, which were kept in a fireproof safe helped city officials verify property ownership. In addition to preserving the books, the company encouraged out-of-state investors to put up money to help pay for the city's reconstruction. Today, as of June 2003 with nearly 1,500 sales associates in 35 Chicago-area offices and a reported $5 billion in transactions in 2002, Baird & Warner is the largest independent real estate firm in Illinois.

Reports the plan of Chicago Housing Authority to transform a three and a half mile corridor of housing projects in Illinois. Benefits of the neighborhood on the plan; Budget allocated for the project; Cost of the houses.

Reports the need of landlords to scrutinize the companies' financial statement before a lease for office space in Chicago, Illinois. Establishment of good credit companies; Consideration on the financial background of the office; Credit worthiness of firms.

Reports the renovation of apartment buildings in Chicago, Illinois. Competition of developers for land and price; Fear of residents on the effects of gentrification; Provision of economic stimulus for existing businesses.

Reports the decline in the sales of suburban housing market in Chicago, Illinois. Number of housing development; Disadvantage of land scarcity and municipal restrictions in development; Length of time on the approval of affordable projects.

Reports on the vacancy of office space on the north suburban office market in Chicago, Illinois. Impact of company consolidation and downsizing on the vacancy; Rate of vacancy in sublease space; Benefits of tenants shopping for space.

Reports the increasing luxury homebuyers despite economic recession in Chicago, Illinois. Plans of socialite Sugar Rautbord; Purchase of a 7,000 square foot luxury condominium; Incidence of a stable rate of absorption.

Reports the vulnerability of companies to computer crimes in Chicago, Illinois. Reluctance of companies to report computer crimes; Factors affecting the reluctance of companies to report computer crimes; Actions undertaken by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in tracking computer criminals.

Focuses on the influx of immigrants to the suburbs in Chicago, Illinois. Reasons why immigrants choose the city as a port of entry into the United States; Problems caused by the number of immigrants residing in suburbia; Launch of social service agencies to assist the immigrant population.

Reports on the Illinois Gaming Board's examination of allegations that Alton-based Argosy Gaming Co. defrauded shareholders and violated state regulations. Argosy's business dealings which resulted in the state probe; Reasons for the board's increased scrutiny of the casino industry; Lawsuit against the company by Nebraska businessman John Foley.

Discloses the difficulties met by religious congregations planning to expand their facilities or move into new locations in Chicago, Illinois, suburbs. Reasons behind community resistance to the expansion efforts of the religious groups; Experience of Al Salam Mosque Foundation when it planned to acquire an area church in Palos Heights.

Reports that Rosemont, Illinois-based Lindberg Corp. is the target of an acquisition bid by Ira Sochet, its largest shareholder. Strategy of Sochet on how to boost Lindberg's undervalued stock; Campaign of Sochet to galvanize shareholders and promote his hostile takeover bid for the firm.

Presents a word puzzle in which all the terms involved are farm-related.

Housing availability isn't a problem for several city neighborhoods that rode to popularity on a wave of condo and townhouse construction. Variety is the sticking point, as residents ready to move up from" starter" homes find larger quarters in short supply. In the South Loop and the West Loop, an overabundance of condos and townhomes and a shortage of single-family homes cause headaches for families looking for space. Tiny workers' cottages in Bucktown and older frame homes in Lincoln Square disappoint buyers seeking large kitchens and master bedroom suites. South Loop Single-family shortage.

The U.S.-based Interstate 55 corridor, home to massive warehouses, is now entering its crucial second phase of development: filling in undeveloped parcels with smaller distribution facilities drawn by the same factors as their larger neighbors. Industry observers say the shift is a natural progression in a maturing market. With fewer tracts available for large warehouses, developers are building on smaller sites. Some small-to-mid-sized firms are moving to the I-55 corridor to be closer to companies there with which they have ties. Others, spurred by a renewed confidence in the economy and low interest rates, are buying new buildings, enabling them to conduct business more efficiently. In the last three years, he says, the price for land suitable for new warehouse construction has climbed to the $4.50-to-$5-per-square-foot range from $3.50.