Translational Brain Mapping at the University of Rochester Medical Center: Preserving the Mind Through Personalized Brain Mapping.

The Translational Brain Mapping Program at the University of Rochester is an interdisciplinary effort that integrates cognitive science, neurophysiology, neuroanesthesia, and neurosurgery. Patients who have tumors or epileptogenic tissue in eloquent brain areas are studied preoperatively with functional and structural MRI, and intraoperatively with direct electrical stimulation mapping. Post-operative neural and cognitive outcome measures fuel basic science studies about the factors that mediate good versus poor outcome after surgery, and how brain mapping can be further optimized to ensure the best outcome for future patients.

Protein Kinase A Signaling Inhibits Iridophore Differentiation in Zebrafish.

In zebrafish (), iridophores are specified from neural crest cells and represent a tractable system for examining mechanisms of cell fate and differentiation. Using this system, we have investigated the role of cAMP protein kinase A (PKA) signaling in pigment cell differentiation. Activation of PKA with the adenylyl cyclase activator forskolin reduces the number of differentiated iridophores in wildtype larvae, with insignificant changes to melanophore number.

Direct Electrical Stimulation in the Human Brain Disrupts Melody Processing.

Prior research using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) [1-4] and behavioral studies of patients with acquired or congenital amusia [5-8] suggest that the right posterior superior temporal gyrus (STG) in the human brain is specialized for aspects of music processing (for review, see [9-12]). Intracranial electrical brain stimulation in awake neurosurgery patients is a powerful means to determine the computations supported by specific brain regions and networks [13-21] because it provides reversible causal evidence with high spatial resolution (for review, see [22, 23]). Prior intracranial stimulation or cortical cooling studies have investigated musical abilities related to reading music scores [13, 14] and singing familiar songs [24, 25].

Leveraged resources and systems changes in community collaboration.

Most models of community collaboration emphasize the ability of diverse partners to come together to enact systematic changes that improve the health of individuals and communities. The ability of these groups to leverage resources is thought to be an important marker of successful collaboration and eventual improvements in community health. However, there is a paucity of research addressing linkages between systems change activities and leveraged resources.

Everyone deserves a second chance: a decade of supports for teenage mothers.

Georgia had the third highest 2010 repeat teenage birth rate in the United States and has had one of the worst rates for years. Since 2001, Georgia's Second Chance Home Network, administered by the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Power and Potential, has provided housing and support to parenting teenagers--almost two-thirds of whom were in custody of and referred by Georgia's Department of Children and Family Services--to help them become nurturing and self-sufficient parents, to avoid repeat teenage pregnancies, and to promote healthy development of their children. Data were collected from each resident at intake, discharge, and three follow-up points at three, 12, and 24 months after discharge.

Multilevel measurement of dimensions of collaborative functioning in a network of collaboratives that promote child and family well-being.

Evaluating collaboration between community partners presents a series of methodological challenges (Roussos and Fawcett in Annu Rev Public Health 21:369-402, 2000; Yin and Kaftarian 1997), one of which is selection of the appropriate level of analysis. When data are collected from multiple members of multiple settings, multilevel analysis techniques should be used. Multilevel confirmatory factor analysis (MCFA) is an analytic approach that incorporates the advantages of latent variable measurement modeling and multilevel modeling for nested data.

Systems change as an outcome and a process in the work of community collaboratives for health.

The widespread development of comprehensive community initiatives that aim to improve community health is driven by the need to change the systems charged with delivering the services and creating the policies related to a variety of health outcomes. Georgia's Family Connection initiative is the nation's largest statewide network of community collaboratives for health, with collaboratives operating in 159 counties. Data on community context, collaborative processes, engagement in systems change, and changes in programs and activities implemented, gathered consistently at the collaborative level over 3 years, will be used to answer the following questions.

Adherence to evidence-based therapies after discharge for acute coronary syndromes: an ongoing prospective, observational study.

Purpose: To determine the rates of patient adherence to key evidence-based therapies at 6 months after hospital discharge for an acute coronary syndrome.

Methods: In this nonrandomized, prospective, multinational, multicenter study, adherence to aspirin, beta-blockers, statins, or angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors 6 months after discharge for myocardial infarction or unstable angina was assessed in 21,408 patients aged 18 years or older. Patients were enrolled at 104 tertiary and community hospitals representing a broad range of care facilities and practice settings (e.

Assessing performance reports to individual providers in the care of acute coronary syndromes.

Background: As part of a quality improvement initiative in the management of acute coronary syndromes, performance reports on care of patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI) or unstable angina (UA) who were admitted to two cardiology services at the University of Michigan Medical Center in 1999 were disseminated to a range of providers.

Methods: In 1999, data were routinely collected by chart review on presentation, comorbidities, treatments, outcomes, and key process of care indicators for nearly 300 patients with AMI and a similar number of patients with acute UA. Key process of care indicators and outcomes were the focus of the report cards for AMI and UA.