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Social-emotional learning (SEL) programs can be considered upstream, or primary prevention, because they focus on providing students with the life skills necessary to navigate situations and relationships from which problem behaviors may arise to prevent a crisis situation. Strategies & Tools to Embrace Prevention with Upstream Programs (SEL@MS, formerly known as STEP UP) is a comprehensive SEL curriculum for middle school students aimed at promoting universal prevention strategies for healthy populations. SEL@MS enhances protective factors against negative behaviors by reinforcing multilevel approaches to strengthening community, interpersonal, and individual attributes with lesson plans that can be integrated into school curricula. This quasi-experimental pilot study was conducted over the course of two years with 59 middle school students assigned to either the intervention (n = 27) or control (n = 32) group. Analyses demonstrated significant improvements among students in the intervention group in self-regulation, responsibility, social competence, and empathy. Results of this study suggest that SEL@MS is a promising approach to enhance social and emotional protective factors that, when fostered over time, have the potential to improve overall mental health.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is a complex, chronic inflammatory condition affecting the gastrointestinal tract. IBD has been associated with a variety of neurologic manifestations including peripheral nerve involvement, increased risk of thrombotic, demyelinating and events. Furthermore, an evolving association between IBD and neurodegenerative disorders has been recognized, and early data suggests an increased risk of these disorders in patients diagnosed with IBD. The relationship between intestinal inflammatory disease and neuroinflammation is complex, but the bidirectional interaction between the brain-gut-microbiome axis is likely to play an important role in the pathogenesis of these disorders. Identification of common mechanisms and pathways will be key to developing potential therapies. In this review, we discuss the evolving interface between IBD and neurological conditions, with a focus on clinical, mechanistic, and potentially therapeutic implications., Competing Interests: None declared., (Thieme. All rights reserved.)

Background: Vagal reflex initiated by esophageal stimulation and microaspiration can cause chronic cough in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). By raising intraabdominal pressure,cough can, in turn, predispose to GERD. The role of the upper esophageal sphincter (UES)in preventing esophagopharyngeal reflux during coughing is not well known. The aim of this study was to evaluate the UES response during coughing., Methods: We studied 20 healthy young (10 women; age, 27 ± 5 years) and 15 healthy elderly(nine women; age, 73 ± 4 years) subjects. Hard and soft cough-induced pressure changes in the UES, distal esophagus, lower esophageal sphincter, and stomach were determined simultaneously using high-resolution manometry and concurrent acoustic cough recordings., Results: Resting UES pressure was significantly higher in the young compared with the elderly subjects (42 ± 14 mm Hg vs 24 ± 9 mm Hg; P < .001). Cough induced a UES contractile response in all subjects. Despite lower UES resting pressures in the elderly subjects, the maximum UES pressure during cough was similar between the young and the elderly subjects (hard cough, 230 ± 107 mm Hg vs 278 ± 125 mm Hg, respectively; soft cough, 156 ± 85 mm Hg vs 164 ± 119 mm Hg, respectively; P not significant for both). The UES pressure increase over baseline during cough was significantly higher than that in the esophagus, lower esophageal sphincter, and stomach for both groups ( P < .001)., Conclusions: Cough induces a rise in UES pressure, and this response is preserved in elderly people. A cough-induced rise in UES pressure is significantly higher than that in the esophagus and stomach,thereby providing a barrier against retrograde entry of gastric contents into the pharynx.

The study aimed at completing a model of functional colonic electric stimulation and testing it for artificial recreation of peristalsis in dogs. Dynamic measurements of invoked single contractions obtained from two unconscious dogs as well as previously reported static contraction properties were utilized to suggest the optimal stimulation parameters of: (1) length of the stimulating electrodes, (2) separation between the successive electrode sets, (3) duration, and (4) phase lag between the stimuli sequentially applied to the electrode sets. The derived electrode configuration and stimulation pattern were adjusted for different anatomical dimensions and tested in distended colon full of viscous content. Forward and backward propagating peristaltic waves were invoked in two other unconscious dogs, indicating that the recreation of colonic peristalsis under microprocessor control is feasible.

Background & Aims: Gastric electrical stimulation has been attempted for years without much success. The aim of this study was to determine if movement of solid gastric content could be achieved using microprocessor-controlled sequential electrical stimulation., Methods: The study was performed on 9 anesthetized dogs. The dogs underwent laparotomy, pyloroplasty, and implantation of 4-6 sets of bipolar stainless-steel wire electrodes. Each set consisted of 2-6 electrodes (10 x 0.25 mm, 3 cm apart) implanted circumferentially. The stomach was filled with solid food mixed with plastic pellets, and the process of gastric emptying was monitored. Artificial contractions were produced using microprocessor-controlled phase-locked bipolar trains of 50-Hz rectangular voltage with flexible amplitudes., Results: Using the above stimulating parameters, we were able to produce circumferential gastric contractions that were artificially propagated distally by embedding and phase-locking the stimulating voltage. The number of expelled pellets after the stimulation sessions was significantly higher than the number of pellets emptied during the nonstimulation sessions (P < 0.01)., Conclusions: Microprocessor-controlled electrical stimulation produced artificial peristalsis and markedly accelerated the movement of solid gastric content.