Background: Although the prevalence of obesity is increasing during adulthood, there have been few assessments of obesity, cardiovascular risk factors, and levels of physical activity among adult elementary school staff. Methods: Data were collected from 745 African-American and White female school personnel in a suburban school district in…

For many years, it has been suggested that drugs that interfere with dopamine (DA) transmission alter the "rewarding" impact of primary reinforcers such as food. Research and theory related to the functions of mesolimbic DA are undergoing a substantial conceptual restructuring, with the traditional emphasis on hedonia and primary reward yielding…

Education Commission of the States (ECS) reviewed legislation in the 50 states to see how state leaders are responding to concerns about concussions in youth sports. This report reviews state responses to concussion concerns, and provides examples of provisions put in place by California, Connecticut, and Texas. Three emerging innovations are…

There are a number of different approaches and therapies available for children, young people and adults on the autistic spectrum, and the amount of information available on each one can be daunting for professionals and parents alike. "Autism, Educational and Theoretical Approaches" offers concise and clear explanations of a variety of…

Background: Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a genetic, neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by intellectual disabilities, growth hormone dysregulation, hyperphagia, increased risks of morbid obesity, compulsive behaviors, and irritability. As aberrant serotonergic functioning is strongly implicated in PWS, we examined associations between the…

Objective: Because of significant individual variability in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medication response, there is increasing interest in identifying genetic predictors of treatment effects. This study examined the role of four catecholamine-related candidate genes in moderating methylphenidate (MPH) dose-response. Method:…

This open-ended practical series titled "Molecular Identification of Unknown Food Bacteria" which extended over a 6-week period was designed with the aims of giving students an opportunity to gain an understanding of naturally occurring food bacteria and skills in contemporary molecular methods using real food samples. The students first isolated…

We developed a modular pair of experiments for use in the undergraduate physical chemistry and biochemistry laboratories. Both experiments examine the thermodynamics of the binding of a small molecule, eosin Y, to the protein lysozyme. The assay for binding is the quenching of lysozyme fluorescence by eosin through resonant energy transfer. In…

Bringing post-Operaismo into network culture, this text tries to introduce the notion of surplus in a contemporary media debate dominated by a simple symmetry between immaterial and material domain, between digital economy and bioeconomy. Therefore a new asymmetry is first shaped through Serres' conceptual figure of the parasite and Bataille's…

An experiment using [superscript 1]H NMR spectroscopy to observe the kinetics of the acylase 1-catalyzed hydrolysis of "N"-acetyl-DL-methionine has been developed for the organic laboratory. The L-enantiomer of the reactant is hydrolyzed completely in less than 2 h, and [superscript 1]H NMR spectroscopic data from a single sample can be worked up…

An approach is presented that utilizes a spreadsheet to allow students to explore different means of calculating and visualizing how the charge on peptides and proteins varies as a function of pH. In particular, the concept of isoelectric point is developed to allow students to compare the results of their spreadsheet calculations with those of…

The consequences of prenatal maternal stress for development were examined in 125 full-term infants at 3, 6, and 12 months of age. Maternal cortisol and psychological state were evaluated 5 times during pregnancy. Exposure to elevated concentrations of cortisol early in gestation was associated with a slower rate of development over the 1st year…

This study examined relations among family environment, cortisol response, and behavior in the context of a randomized controlled trial with 92 children (M = 48 months) at risk for antisocial behavior. Previously, researchers reported an intervention effect on cortisol response in anticipation of a social challenge. The current study examined…

Communicating an understanding of the forces and factors that determine a protein's structure is an important goal of many biology and biochemistry courses at a variety of levels. Many educators use computer software that allows visualization of these complex molecules for this purpose. Although visualization is in wide use and has been associated…

The basal ganglia play a central role in cognition and are involved in such general functions as action selection and reinforcement learning. Here, we present a model exploring the hypothesis that the basal ganglia implement a conditional information-routing system. The system directs the transmission of cortical signals between pairs of regions…