An automated system using spatial oversampling for optical mapping in murine atria. Development and validation with monophasic and transmembrane action potentials.

PubMed

Yu, Ting Yue; Syeda, Fahima; Holmes, Andrew P; Osborne, Benjamin; Dehghani, Hamid; Brain, Keith L; Kirchhof, Paulus; Fabritz, Larissa

2014-08-01

We developed and validated a new optical mapping system for quantification of electrical activation and repolarisation in murine atria. The system makes use of a novel 2nd generation complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) camera with deliberate oversampling to allow both assessment of electrical activation with high spatial and temporal resolution (128 × 2048 pixels) and reliable assessment of atrial murine repolarisation using post-processing of signals. Optical recordings were taken from isolated, superfused and electrically stimulated murine left atria. The system reliably describes activation sequences, identifies areas of functional block, and allows quantification of conduction velocities and vectors. Furthermore, the system records murine atrial action potentials with comparable duration to both monophasic and transmembrane action potentials in murine atria. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Learning, remembering, and predicting how to use tools: Distributed neurocognitive mechanisms

PubMed Central

Buxbaum, Laurel J.

2016-01-01

The reasoning-based approach championed by Francois Osiurak and Arnaud Badets (Osiurak & Badets, 2016) denies the existence of sensory-motor memories of tool use except in limited circumstances, and suggests instead that most tool use is subserved solely by online technical reasoning about tool properties. In this commentary, I highlight the strengths and limitations of the reasoning-based approach and review a number of lines of evidence that manipulation knowledge is in fact used in tool action tasks. In addition, I present a “two route” neurocognitive model of tool use called the “Two Action Systems Plus (2AS+)” framework that posits a complementary role for online and stored information and specifies the neurocognitive substrates of task-relevant action selection. This framework, unlike the reasoning based approach, has the potential to integrate the existing psychological and functional neuroanatomic data in the tool use domain. PMID:28358565

Complementary and alternative medicine - representations in popular magazines.

PubMed

Dunne, Alexandra; Phillips, Christine

2010-09-01

More than half the patients who use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in Australia do not discuss it with their doctors. Many consumers use popular media, especially women's magazines, to learn about CAM. To explore representations of CAM in popular Australian women's magazines. Content analysis of three Australian magazines: Australian Women's Weekly, Dolly and New Idea published from January to June 2008. Of 220 references to CAM (4-17 references per issue), most were to biologically based practices, particularly 'functional foods', which enhance health. Most representations of CAM were positive (81.3% positive, 16.4% neutral, 2.3% negative). Explanations of modes of action of CAM tended to be biological but relatively superficial. Australian magazines cast CAM as safe therapy which enhances patient engagement in healthcare, and works in ways analogous to orthodox medical treatments. General practitioners can use discussions with their patients about CAM to encourage health promoting practices.

Inhibition of BRCA2 and Thymidylate Synthase Creates Multidrug Sensitive Tumor Cells via the Induction of Combined "Complementary Lethality".

PubMed

Rytelewski, Mateusz; Ferguson, Peter J; Maleki Vareki, Saman; Figueredo, Rene; Vincent, Mark; Koropatnick, James

2013-03-12

A high mutation rate leading to tumor cell heterogeneity is a driver of malignancy in human cancers. Paradoxically, however, genomic instability can also render tumors vulnerable to therapeutic attack. Thus, targeting DNA repair may induce an intolerable level of DNA damage in tumor cells. BRCA2 mediates homologous recombination repair, and BRCA2 polymorphisms increase cancer risk. However, tumors with BRCA2 mutations respond better to chemotherapy and are associated with improved patient prognosis. Thymidylate synthase (TS) is also involved in DNA maintenance and generates cellular thymidylate. We determined that antisense downregulation of BRCA2 synergistically potentiated drugs with mechanisms of action related to BRCA2 function (cisplatin, melphalan), a phenomenon we named "complementary lethality." TS knockdown induced complementary lethality to TS-targeting drugs (5-FUdR and pemetrexed) but not DNA cross-linking agents. Combined targeting of BRCA2 and TS induced complementary lethality to both DNA-damaging and TS-targeting agents, thus creating multidrug sensitive tumors. In addition, we demonstrated for the first time that simultaneous downregulation of both targets induced combined complementary lethality to multiple mechanistically different drugs in the same cell population. In this study, we propose and define the concept of "complementary lethality" and show that actively targeting BRCA2 and TS is of potential therapeutic benefit in multidrug treatment of human tumors. This work has contributed to the development of a BRCA2-targeting antisense oligdeoxynucleotide (ASO) "BR-1" which we will test in vivo in combination with our TS-targeting ASO "SARI 83" and attempt early clinical trials in the future.Molecular Therapy - Nucleic Acids (2013) 2, e78; doi:10.1038/mtna.2013.7 published online 12 March 2013.

Genetic analysis of the response to eleven Colletotrichum lindemuthianum races in a RIL population of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Bean anthracnose is caused by the fungus Colletotrichum lindemuthianum (Sacc. & Magnus) Lams.- Scrib. Resistance to C. lindemuthianum in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) generally follows a qualitative mode of inheritance. The pathogen shows extensive pathogenic variation and up to 20 anthracnose resistance loci (named Co-), conferring resistance to specific races, have been described. Anthracnose resistance has generally been investigated by analyzing a limited number of isolates or races in segregating populations. In this work, we analyzed the response against eleven C. lindemuthianum races in a recombinant inbred line (RIL) common bean population derived from the cross Xana × Cornell 49242 in which a saturated linkage map was previously developed. Results A systematic genetic analysis was carried out to dissect the complex resistance segregations observed, which included contingency analyses, subpopulations and genetic mapping. Twenty two resistance genes were identified, some with a complementary mode of action. The Cornell 49242 genotype carries a complex cluster of resistance genes at the end of linkage group (LG) Pv11 corresponding to the previously described anthracnose resistance cluster Co-2. In this position, specific resistance genes to races 3, 6, 7, 19, 38, 39, 65, 357, 449 and 453 were identified, with one of them showing a complementary mode of action. In addition, Cornell 49242 had an independent gene on LG Pv09 showing a complementary mode of action for resistance to race 453. Resistance genes in genotype Xana were located on three regions involving LGs Pv01, Pv02 and Pv04. All resistance genes identified in Xana showed a complementary mode of action, except for two controlling resistance to races 65 and 73 located on LG Pv01, in the position of the previously described anthracnose resistance cluster Co-1. Conclusions Results shown herein reveal a complex and specific interaction between bean and fungus genotypes leading to anthracnose resistance. Organization of specific resistance genes in clusters including resistance genes with different modes of action (dominant and complementary genes) was also confirmed. Finally, new locations for anthracnose resistance genes were identified in LG Pv09. PMID:24779442

Combining functional genomics and chemical biology to identify targets of bioactive compounds.

PubMed

Ho, Cheuk Hei; Piotrowski, Jeff; Dixon, Scott J; Baryshnikova, Anastasia; Costanzo, Michael; Boone, Charles

2011-02-01

Genome sequencing projects have revealed thousands of suspected genes, challenging researchers to develop efficient large-scale functional analysis methodologies. Determining the function of a gene product generally requires a means to alter its function. Genetically tractable model organisms have been widely exploited for the isolation and characterization of activating and inactivating mutations in genes encoding proteins of interest. Chemical genetics represents a complementary approach involving the use of small molecules capable of either inactivating or activating their targets. Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been an important test bed for the development and application of chemical genomic assays aimed at identifying targets and modes of action of known and uncharacterized compounds. Here we review yeast chemical genomic assays strategies for drug target identification. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Disappointment expression evokes collective guilt and collective action in intergroup conflict: the moderating role of legitimacy perceptions.

PubMed

Solak, Nevin; Reifen Tagar, Michal; Cohen-Chen, Smadar; Saguy, Tamar; Halperin, Eran

2017-09-01

Research on intergroup emotions has largely focused on the experience of emotions and surprisingly little attention has been given to the expression of emotions. Drawing on the social-functional approach to emotions, we argue that in the context of intergroup conflicts, outgroup members' expression of disappointment with one's ingroup induces the complementary emotion of collective guilt and correspondingly a collective action protesting ingroup actions against the outgroup. In Study 1 conducted immediately after the 2014 Gaza war, Jewish-Israeli participants received information about outgroup's (Palestinians) expression of emotions (disappointment, fear, or none). As predicted, outgroup's expression of disappointment increased collective guilt and willingness to participate in collective action, but only among those who saw the intergroup situation as illegitimate. Moreover, collective guilt mediated the relationship between disappointment expression and collective action, moderated, again, by legitimacy perception. In Study 2, we replicated these results in the context of racial tension between Black and White Americans in the US. We discuss the theoretical and applied implications of the findings.

miRNAtools: Advanced Training Using the miRNA Web of Knowledge.

PubMed

Stępień, Ewa Ł; Costa, Marina C; Enguita, Francisco J

2018-02-16

Micro-RNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that act as negative regulators of the genomic output. Their intrinsic importance within cell biology and human disease is well known. Their mechanism of action based on the base pairing binding to their cognate targets have helped the development not only of many computer applications for the prediction of miRNA target recognition but also of specific applications for functional assessment and analysis. Learning about miRNA function requires practical training in the use of specific computer and web-based applications that are complementary to wet-lab studies. In order to guide the learning process about miRNAs, we have created miRNAtools (http://mirnatools.eu), a web repository of miRNA tools and tutorials. This article compiles tools with which miRNAs and their regulatory action can be analyzed and that function to collect and organize information dispersed on the web. The miRNAtools website contains a collection of tutorials that can be used by students and tutors engaged in advanced training courses. The tutorials engage in analyses of the functions of selected miRNAs, starting with their nomenclature and genomic localization and finishing with their involvement in specific cellular functions.

University Efficiency: Complementariness versus Trade-Off between Teaching, Research and Administrative Activities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sellers-Rubio, Ricardo; Mas-Ruiz, Francisco J.; Casado-Diaz, Ana B.

2010-01-01

University managers should be aware of the importance that efficiency has for their own universities, orientating their actions towards research and teaching excellence. This study estimates teaching and research efficiency of the different departments of a university and tests the complementariness versus trade-off between them. The results…

Complementary Schools in Action: Networking for Language Development in East London

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sneddon, Raymonde

2014-01-01

In a challenging economic and political context, complementary schools in East London are mentoring each other and forming networks across communities to gain recognition and status for community languages in education and the wider community. As issues of power and status impact in different ways on differently situated communities, complementary…

Use of complementary and alternative medicine by pediatric patients with functional and organic gastrointestinal diseases: results from a multicenter survey.

PubMed

Vlieger, Arine M; Blink, Marjolein; Tromp, Ellen; Benninga, Marc A

2008-08-01

Many pediatric patients use complementary and alternative medicine, especially when facing a chronic illness for which treatment options are limited. So far, research on the use of complementary and alternative medicine in patients with functional gastrointestinal disease has been scarce. This study was designed to assess complementary and alternative medicine use in children with different gastrointestinal diseases, including functional disorders, to determine which factors predicted complementary and alternative medicine use and to assess the willingness of parents to participate in future studies on complementary and alternative medicine efficacy and safety. The prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine use was assessed by using a questionnaire for 749 children visiting pediatric gastroenterology clinics of 9 hospitals in the Netherlands. The questionnaire consisted of 35 questions on the child's gastrointestinal disease, medication use, health status, past and future complementary and alternative medicine use, reasons for its use, and the necessity of complementary and alternative medicine research. In this study population, the frequency of complementary and alternative medicine use was 37.6%. A total of 60.3% of this group had used complementary and alternative medicine specifically for their gastrointestinal disease. This specific complementary and alternative medicine use was higher in patients with functional disorders than organic disorders (25.3% vs 17.2%). Adverse effects of allopathic medication, school absenteeism, age

Complementary and alternative medicine used by persons with functional gastrointestinal disorders to alleviate symptom distress.

PubMed

Stake-Nilsson, Kerstin; Hultcrantz, Rolf; Unge, Peter; Wengström, Yvonne

2012-03-01

The aim of this study was to describe the complementary and alternative medicine methods most commonly used to alleviate symptom distress in persons with functional gastrointestinal disorders. People with functional gastrointestinal disorders face many challenges in their everyday lives, and each individual has his/her own way of dealing with this illness. The experience of illness often leads persons with functional gastrointestinal disorders to complementary and alternative medicine as a viable healthcare choice. Quantitative and describing design. A study-specific complementary and alternative medicine questionnaire was used, including questions about complementary and alternative medicine methods used and the perceived effects of each method. Efficacy assessments for each method were preventive effect, partial symptom relief, total symptom relief or no effect. A total of 137 persons with functional gastrointestinal disorders answered the questionnaire, 62% (n = 85) women and 38% (n = 52) men. A total of 28 different complementary and alternative medicine methods were identified and grouped into four categories: nutritional, drug/biological, psychological activity and physical activity. All persons had tried at least one method, and most methods provided partial symptom relief. Persons with functional gastrointestinal disorders commonly use complementary and alternative medicine methods to alleviate symptoms. Nurses have a unique opportunity to expand their roles in this group of patients. Increased knowledge of complementary and alternative medicine practices would enable a more comprehensive patient assessment and a better plan for meaningful interventions that meet the needs of individual patients. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

An ultra low-power CMOS automatic action potential detector.

PubMed

Gosselin, Benoit; Sawan, Mohamad

2009-08-01

We present a low-power complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) analog integrated biopotential detector intended for neural recording in wireless multichannel implants. The proposed detector can achieve accurate automatic discrimination of action potential (APs) from the background activity by means of an energy-based preprocessor and a linear delay element. This strategy improves detected waveforms integrity and prompts for better performance in neural prostheses. The delay element is implemented with a low-power continuous-time filter using a ninth-order equiripple allpass transfer function. All circuit building blocks use subthreshold OTAs employing dedicated circuit techniques for achieving ultra low-power and high dynamic range. The proposed circuit function in the submicrowatt range as the implemented CMOS 0.18- microm chip dissipates 780 nW, and it features a size of 0.07 mm(2). So it is suitable for massive integration in a multichannel device with modest overhead. The fabricated detector succeeds to automatically detect APs from underlying background activity. Testbench validation results obtained with synthetic neural waveforms are presented.

Dietary Fiber Supplements: Effects in Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome and Relationship to Gastrointestinal Functions

PubMed Central

Papathanasopoulos, Athanasios; Camilleri, Michael

2010-01-01

Dietary fiber (DF) is a term that reflects to a heterogenous group of natural food sources, processed grains and commercial supplements. Several forms of DF have been used as complementary or alternative agents in the management of manifestations of the metabolic syndrome, including obesity. Not surprisingly, there is a great variation in the biological efficacy of DF in metabolic syndrome and body weight control. Diverse factors and mechanisms have been reported as mediators of the effects of DF on the metabolic syndrome and obesity. Among this array of mechanisms, the modulation of gastric sensorimotor influences appears to be crucial for the effects of DF, but also quite variable. This article focuses on the role, mechanism of action and benefits of different forms of fiber and supplements on obesity and metabolic syndrome, glycemia, dyslipidemia, cardiovascular risk, and explores the effects of DF on gastric sensorimotor function and satiety in mediating these actions of DF. PMID:19931537

Passive motion paradigm: an alternative to optimal control.

PubMed

Mohan, Vishwanathan; Morasso, Pietro

2011-01-01

IN THE LAST YEARS, OPTIMAL CONTROL THEORY (OCT) HAS EMERGED AS THE LEADING APPROACH FOR INVESTIGATING NEURAL CONTROL OF MOVEMENT AND MOTOR COGNITION FOR TWO COMPLEMENTARY RESEARCH LINES: behavioral neuroscience and humanoid robotics. In both cases, there are general problems that need to be addressed, such as the "degrees of freedom (DoFs) problem," the common core of production, observation, reasoning, and learning of "actions." OCT, directly derived from engineering design techniques of control systems quantifies task goals as "cost functions" and uses the sophisticated formal tools of optimal control to obtain desired behavior (and predictions). We propose an alternative "softer" approach passive motion paradigm (PMP) that we believe is closer to the biomechanics and cybernetics of action. The basic idea is that actions (overt as well as covert) are the consequences of an internal simulation process that "animates" the body schema with the attractor dynamics of force fields induced by the goal and task-specific constraints. This internal simulation offers the brain a way to dynamically link motor redundancy with task-oriented constraints "at runtime," hence solving the "DoFs problem" without explicit kinematic inversion and cost function computation. We argue that the function of such computational machinery is not only restricted to shaping motor output during action execution but also to provide the self with information on the feasibility, consequence, understanding and meaning of "potential actions." In this sense, taking into account recent developments in neuroscience (motor imagery, simulation theory of covert actions, mirror neuron system) and in embodied robotics, PMP offers a novel framework for understanding motor cognition that goes beyond the engineering control paradigm provided by OCT. Therefore, the paper is at the same time a review of the PMP rationale, as a computational theory, and a perspective presentation of how to develop it for designing better cognitive architectures.

Who cares about the history of science?

PubMed Central

Chang, Hasok

2017-01-01

The history of science has many functions. Historians should consider how their work contributes to various functions, going beyond a simple desire to understand the past correctly. There are both internal and external functions of the history of science in relation to science itself; I focus here on the internal, as they tend to be neglected these days. The internal functions can be divided into orthodox and complementary. The orthodox function is to assist with the understanding of the content and methods of science as it is now practised. The complementary function is to generate and improve scientific knowledge where current science itself fails to do so. Complementary functions of the history of science include the raising of critical awareness, and the recovery and extension of past scientific knowledge that has become forgotten or neglected. These complementary functions are illustrated with some concrete examples.

Neural mechanisms and models underlying joint action.

PubMed

Chersi, Fabian

2011-06-01

Humans, in particular, and to a lesser extent also other species of animals, possess the impressive capability of smoothly coordinating their actions with those of others. The great amount of work done in recent years in neuroscience has provided new insights into the processes involved in joint action, intention understanding, and task sharing. In particular, the discovery of mirror neurons, which fire both when animals execute actions and when they observe the same actions done by other individuals, has shed light on the intimate relationship between perception and action elucidating the direct contribution of motor knowledge to action understanding. Up to date, however, a detailed description of the neural processes involved in these phenomena is still mostly lacking. Building upon data from single neuron recordings in monkeys observing the actions of a demonstrator and then executing the same or a complementary action, this paper describes the functioning of a biologically constraint neural network model of the motor and mirror systems during joint action. In this model, motor sequences are encoded as independent neuronal chains that represent concatenations of elementary motor acts leading to a specific goal. Action execution and recognition are achieved through the propagation of activity within specific chains. Due to the dual property of mirror neurons, the same architecture is capable of smoothly integrating and switching between observed and self-generated action sequences, thus allowing to evaluate multiple hypotheses simultaneously, understand actions done by others, and to respond in an appropriate way.

Potential role of monkey inferior parietal neurons coding action semantic equivalences as precursors of parts of speech.

PubMed

Yamazaki, Yumiko; Yokochi, Hiroko; Tanaka, Michio; Okanoya, Kazuo; Iriki, Atsushi

2010-01-01

The anterior portion of the inferior parietal cortex possesses comprehensive representations of actions embedded in behavioural contexts. Mirror neurons, which respond to both self-executed and observed actions, exist in this brain region in addition to those originally found in the premotor cortex. We found that parietal mirror neurons responded differentially to identical actions embedded in different contexts. Another type of parietal mirror neuron represents an inverse and complementary property of responding equally to dissimilar actions made by itself and others for an identical purpose. Here, we propose a hypothesis that these sets of inferior parietal neurons constitute a neural basis for encoding the semantic equivalence of various actions across different agents and contexts. The neurons have mirror neuron properties, and they encoded generalization of agents, differentiation of outcomes, and categorization of actions that led to common functions. By integrating the activities of these mirror neurons with various codings, we further suggest that in the ancestral primates' brains, these various representations of meaningful action led to the gradual establishment of equivalence relations among the different types of actions, by sharing common action semantics. Such differential codings of the components of actions might represent precursors to the parts of protolanguage, such as gestural communication, which are shared among various members of a society. Finally, we suggest that the inferior parietal cortex serves as an interface between this action semantics system and other higher semantic systems, through common structures of action representation that mimic language syntax.

Potential role of monkey inferior parietal neurons coding action semantic equivalences as precursors of parts of speech

PubMed Central

Yamazaki, Yumiko; Yokochi, Hiroko; Tanaka, Michio; Okanoya, Kazuo; Iriki, Atsushi

2010-01-01

The anterior portion of the inferior parietal cortex possesses comprehensive representations of actions embedded in behavioural contexts. Mirror neurons, which respond to both self-executed and observed actions, exist in this brain region in addition to those originally found in the premotor cortex. We found that parietal mirror neurons responded differentially to identical actions embedded in different contexts. Another type of parietal mirror neuron represents an inverse and complementary property of responding equally to dissimilar actions made by itself and others for an identical purpose. Here, we propose a hypothesis that these sets of inferior parietal neurons constitute a neural basis for encoding the semantic equivalence of various actions across different agents and contexts. The neurons have mirror neuron properties, and they encoded generalization of agents, differentiation of outcomes, and categorization of actions that led to common functions. By integrating the activities of these mirror neurons with various codings, we further suggest that in the ancestral primates' brains, these various representations of meaningful action led to the gradual establishment of equivalence relations among the different types of actions, by sharing common action semantics. Such differential codings of the components of actions might represent precursors to the parts of protolanguage, such as gestural communication, which are shared among various members of a society. Finally, we suggest that the inferior parietal cortex serves as an interface between this action semantics system and other higher semantic systems, through common structures of action representation that mimic language syntax. PMID:20119879

Prevalence of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use among U.S. College Students: A Systematic Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nowak, Amy L. Versnik; Hale, Heidi M.

2012-01-01

Research shows that Americans are using increasing amounts of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and that education is a significant predictor of CAM use. The purpose of this systematic review is to summarize key research findings on CAM use rates among U.S. college students and recommend future actions for researchers and health…

Circular RNAs: Unexpected outputs of many protein-coding genes

PubMed Central

Wilusz, Jeremy E.

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT Pre-mRNAs from thousands of eukaryotic genes can be non-canonically spliced to generate circular RNAs, some of which accumulate to higher levels than their associated linear mRNA. Recent work has revealed widespread mechanisms that dictate whether the spliceosome generates a linear or circular RNA. For most genes, circular RNA biogenesis via backsplicing is far less efficient than canonical splicing, but circular RNAs can accumulate due to their long half-lives. Backsplicing is often initiated when complementary sequences from different introns base pair and bring the intervening splice sites close together. This process is further regulated by the combinatorial action of RNA binding proteins, which allow circular RNAs to be expressed in unique patterns. Some genes do not require complementary sequences to generate RNA circles and instead take advantage of exon skipping events. It is still unclear what most mature circular RNAs do, but future investigations into their functions will be facilitated by recently described methods to modulate circular RNA levels. PMID:27571848

Prejudiced interactions: implicit racial bias reduces predictive simulation during joint action with an out-group avatar.

PubMed

Sacheli, Lucia Maria; Christensen, Andrea; Giese, Martin A; Taubert, Nick; Pavone, Enea Francesco; Aglioti, Salvatore Maria; Candidi, Matteo

2015-02-17

During social interactions people automatically apply stereotypes in order to rapidly categorize others. Racial differences are among the most powerful cues that drive these categorizations and modulate our emotional and cognitive reactivity to others. We investigated whether implicit racial bias may also shape hand kinematics during the execution of realistic joint actions with virtual in- and out-group partners. Caucasian participants were required to perform synchronous imitative or complementary reach-to-grasp movements with avatars that had different skin color (white and black) but showed identical action kinematics. Results demonstrate that stronger visuo-motor interference (indexed here as hand kinematics differences between complementary and imitative actions) emerged: i) when participants were required to predict the partner's action goal in order to on-line adapt their own movements accordingly; ii) during interactions with the in-group partner, indicating the partner's racial membership modulates interactive behaviors. Importantly, the in-group/out-group effect positively correlated with the implicit racial bias of each participant. Thus visuo-motor interference during joint action, likely reflecting predictive embodied simulation of the partner's movements, is affected by cultural inter-individual differences.

Translating clinical science into effective therapies.

PubMed

Thase, Michael E

2014-05-01

Identifying a patient with treatment-resistant depression involves ensuring that at least 2 evidence-based antidepressant trials from two different pharmacologic classes have been undertaken and determining their impact on patients' symptoms, functioning, quality-of-life and social relationships as outcomes. When assessing depressive symptoms throughout the course of treatment, clinical judgment should be supplemented by using standardized tools such as the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (QIDS). Adjunctive treatment strategies preserve the benefits of first-line antidepressants in partial responders and potentially enhance the initial antidepressant's effect through complementary mechanisms of action. Novel "multimodal" pharmacotherapies with diverse potentially beneficial mechanisms of action are in development, which have varying degrees of activity across multiple monoamine systems including those regulated by serotonin, dopamine, and glutamate. © Copyright 2014 Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc.

[A method for the implementation and promotion of access to comprehensive and complementary primary healthcare practices].

PubMed

Santos, Melissa Costa; Tesser, Charles Dalcanale

2012-11-01

The rendering of integrated and complementary practices in the Brazilian Unified Health System is fostered to increase the comprehensiveness of care and access to same, though it is a challenge to incorporate them into the services. Our objective is to provide a simple method of implementation of such practices in Primary Healthcare, derived from analysis of experiences in municipalities, using partial results of a master's thesis that employed research-action methodology. The method involves four stages: 1 - defininition of a nucleus responsible for implementation and consolidation thereof; 2 - situational analysis, with definition of the existing competent professionals; 3 - regulation, organization of access and legitimation; and 4 - implementation cycle: local plans, mentoring and ongoing education in health. The phases are described, justified and briefly discussed. The method encourages the development of rational and sustainable actions, sponsors participatory management, the creation of comprehensivenessand the broadening of care provided in Primary Healthcare by offering progressive and sustainable comprehensive and complementary practices.

A Smart DNA Tweezer for Detection of Human Telomerase Activity.

PubMed

Xu, Xiaowen; Wang, Lei; Li, Kan; Huang, Qihong; Jiang, Wei

2018-03-06

Reliable and accurate detection of telomerase activity is crucial to better understand its role in cancer cells and to further explore its function in cancer diagnosis and treatment. Here, we construct a smart DNA tweezer (DT) for detection of telomerase activity. The DT is assembled by three specially designed single-stranded oligonucleotides: a central strand dually labeled with donor/acceptor fluorophores and two arm strands containing overhangs complementary to telomerase reaction products (TRPs). It can get closed through hybridization with TRPs and get reopen through strand displacement reaction by TRPs' complementary sequences. First, under the action of telomerase, telomerase binding substrates (TS) are elongated to generate TRPs ended with telomeric repeats (TTAGGG) n . TRPs hybridize with the two arm overhangs cooperatively and strain DT to closed state, inducing an increased fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) efficiency, which is utilized for telomerase activity detection. Second, upon introduction of a removal strand (RS) complementary to TRPs, the closed DT is relaxed to open state via the toehold-mediated strand displacement, inducing a decreased FRET efficiency, which is utilized for determination of TRP length distribution. The detection limit of telomerase activity is equivalent to 141 cells/μL for HeLa cells, and telomerase-active cellular extracts can be differentiated from telomerase-inactive cellular extracts. Furthermore, TRPs owning 1, 2, 3, 4, and ≥5 telomeric repeats are identified to account for 25.6%, 20.5%, 15.7%, 12.5%, and 25.7%, respectively. The proposed strategy will offer a new approach for reliable, accurate detection of telomerase activity and product length distribution for deeper studying its role and function in cancer.

Promotion and advocacy for improved complementary feeding: can we apply the lessons learned from breastfeeding?

PubMed

Piwoz, Ellen G; Huffman, Sandra L; Quinn, Victoria J

2003-03-01

Although many successes have been achieved in promoting breastfeeding, this has not been the case for complementary feeding. Some successes in promoting complementary feeding at the community level have been documented, but few of these efforts have expanded to a larger scale and become sustained. To discover the reasons for this difference, the key factors for the successful promotion of breastfeeding on a large scale were examined and compared with the efforts made in complementary feeding. These factors include definition and rationale, policy support, funding, advocacy, private-sector involvement, availability and use of monitoring data, integration of research into action, and the existence of a well-articulated series of steps for successful implementation. The lessons learned from the promotion of breastfeeding should be applied to complementary feeding, and the new Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding provides an excellent first step in this process.

Orthogonal Polynomials Associated with Complementary Chain Sequences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Behera, Kiran Kumar; Sri Ranga, A.; Swaminathan, A.

2016-07-01

Using the minimal parameter sequence of a given chain sequence, we introduce the concept of complementary chain sequences, which we view as perturbations of chain sequences. Using the relation between these complementary chain sequences and the corresponding Verblunsky coefficients, the para-orthogonal polynomials and the associated Szegő polynomials are analyzed. Two illustrations, one involving Gaussian hypergeometric functions and the other involving Carathéodory functions are also provided. A connection between these two illustrations by means of complementary chain sequences is also observed.

Fundamental Movement Skills and Fundamental Games Skills Are Complementary Pairs and Should Be Taught in Complementary Ways at All Stages of Skill Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Wayne

2016-01-01

When observing skill and determining the competency of children and youth physical education teachers often focus on the coordination dynamics within the individual in the early years and then the individual's ability to play the game as they develop. But in these game contexts the focus is often still on the individuals' actions and not the…

Complementary and alternative medicine for allergic rhinitis.

PubMed

Man, Li-Xing

2009-06-01

Otolaryngologists and other physicians who diagnose and treat allergic rhinitis encounter patients who use complementary medicine and alternative remedies. This article reviews the recent literature regarding complementary and alternative therapies for the treatment of allergic rhinitis. There are a myriad of modalities for treating allergic rhinitis. Few are studied with rigorous randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials for clinical efficacy. Often, the biological mechanisms and adverse effects are even less well understood. A few therapies, including spirulina, butterbur, and phototherapy hold some promise. Thus far, complementary and alternative therapies have not been integrated into the general treatment armamentarium of allergic rhinitis. Several studies report beneficial effects of certain alternative treatments for allergic rhinitis. Additional insight into the mechanisms of action, short-term and long-term effects, and adverse events is needed.

Dietary fiber supplements: effects in obesity and metabolic syndrome and relationship to gastrointestinal functions.

PubMed

Papathanasopoulos, Athanasios; Camilleri, Michael

2010-01-01

Dietary fiber is a term that reflects a heterogeneous group of natural food sources, processed grains, and commercial supplements. Several forms of dietary fiber have been used as complementary or alternative agents in the management of manifestations of the metabolic syndrome, including obesity. Not surprisingly, there is a great variation in the biological efficacy of dietary fiber in the metabolic syndrome and body weight control. Diverse factors and mechanisms have been reported as mediators of the effects of dietary fiber on the metabolic syndrome and obesity. Among this array of mechanisms, the modulation of gastric sensorimotor influences appears to be crucial for the effects of dietary fiber but also quite variable. This report focuses on the role, mechanism of action, and benefits of different forms of fiber and supplements on obesity and the metabolic syndrome, glycemia, dyslipidemia, and cardiovascular risk and explores the effects of dietary fiber on gastric sensorimotor function and satiety in mediating these actions of dietary fiber. Copyright 2010 AGA Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of programs to improve complementary feeding in infants and young children.

PubMed

Frongillo, Edward A

2017-10-01

Evaluation of complementary feeding programs is needed to enhance knowledge on what works, to document responsible use of resources, and for advocacy. Evaluation is done during program conceptualization and design, implementation, and determination of effectiveness. This paper explains the role of evaluation in the advancement of complementary feeding programs, presenting concepts and methods and illustrating them through examples. Planning and investments for evaluations should occur from the beginning of the project life cycle. Essential to evaluation is articulation of a program theory on how change would occur and what program actions are required for change. Analysis of program impact pathways makes explicit the dynamic connections in the program theory and accounts for contextual factors that could influence program effectiveness. Evaluating implementation functioning is done through addressing questions about needs, coverage, provision, and utilization using information obtained from process evaluation, operations research, and monitoring. Evaluating effectiveness is done through assessing impact, efficiency, coverage, process, and causality. Plausibility designs ask whether the program seemed to have an effect above and beyond external influences, often using a nonrandomized control group and baseline and end line measures. Probability designs ask whether there was an effect using a randomized control group. Evaluations may not be able to use randomization, particularly for programs implemented at a large scale. Plausibility designs, innovative designs, or innovative combinations of designs sometimes are best able to provide useful information. Further work is needed to develop practical designs for evaluation of large-scale country programs on complementary feeding. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

OPTIMIZING DIAGNOSIS AND MANANGEMENT IN MILD-TO-MODERATE ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE

PubMed Central

Galvin, James E.

2012-01-01

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is characterized by progressive declines in cognitive function and ability to carry out activities of daily living; and the emergence and worsening of behavioral/neuropsychiatric symptoms. While there is no cure for AD, non-pharmacologic interventions and medications that modulate neurotransmission can slow symptomatic progression. Medical foods may also be useful as adjuncts to pharmacologic agents in AD. Medium chain triglycerides aimed at improving cerebral metabolism significantly improve Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive scores when added to ongoing pharmacotherapy in patients with mild-to-moderate AD. Combination of interventions, such as non-pharmacologic treatments, pharmacotherapy, and medical foods, with complementary mechanisms of action may provide a rational approach that may result in maximum preservation of cognitive function in patients with AD. PMID:22973426

Mixed or Complementary Messages: Making the Most of Unexpected Assessment Results

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Phil; Bauder, Julia; Engel, Kevin

2016-01-01

Grinnell College participated in ACRL's [Association of College and Research Libraries] first cohort of Assessment in Action (AiA), undertaking a mixed-methods action research project to assess the effectiveness of librarian-led research literacy sessions in improving students' research skills. The quantitative data showed that the quality of…

Pennsylvania Youth in Action: 4-H Community Development. Adult Leader's Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park. Dept. of Agricultural and Extension Education.

Designed to assist leaders in their roles as catalysts, advisors, and resource persons for the Pennsylvania Youth in Action 4-H Community Development program, the guide provides complementary educational, craft, and recreation suggestions to enhance student workbooks for three community development activity units. The first section focuses on the…

Clinical and molecular diagnosis of a cartilage-hair hypoplasia with IGF-1 deficiency.

PubMed

Castilla-Cortázar, Inma; Rodríguez De Ita, Julieta; Martín-Estal, Irene; Castorena, Fabiola; Aguirre, Gabriel A; García de la Garza, Rocío; Elizondo, Martha I

2017-02-01

Cartilage-hair hypoplasia syndrome (CHH) is a rare autosomal recessive condition characterized by metaphyseal chondrodysplasia and characteristic hair, together with a myriad of other symptoms, being most common immunodeficiency and gastrointestinal complications. A 15-year-old Mexican male initially diagnosed with Hirschsprung disease and posterior immunodeficiency, presents to our department for genetic and complementary evaluation for suspected CHH. Physical, biochemical, and genetic studies confirmed CHH together with IGF-1 deficiency. For this reason, we propose IGF-1 replacement therapy for its well-known actions on hematopoiesis, immune function and maturation, and metabolism. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Is Beauty in the Eyes of the Beholder? Aesthetic Quality versus Technical Skill in Movement Evaluation of Tai Chi.

PubMed

Zamparo, Paola; Zorzi, Elena; Marcantoni, Sara; Cesari, Paola

2015-01-01

The aim of this study was to compare experts to naïve practitioners in rating the beauty and the technical quality of a Tai Chi sequence observed in video-clips (of high and middle level performances). Our hypothesis are: i) movement evaluation will correlate with the level of skill expressed in the kinematics of the observed action but ii) only experts will be able to unravel the technical component from the aesthetic component of the observed action. The judgments delivered indicate that both expert and non-expert observers are able to discern a good from a mediocre performance; however, as expected, only experts discriminate the technical from the aesthetic component of the action evaluated and do this independently of the level of skill shown by the model (high or middle level performances). Furthermore, the judgments delivered were strongly related to the kinematic variables measured in the observed model, indicating that observers rely on specific movement kinematics (e.g. movement amplitude, jerk and duration) for action evaluation. These results provide evidence of the complementary functional role of visual and motor action representation in movement evaluation and underline the role of expertise in judging the aesthetic quality of movements.

Is Beauty in the Eyes of the Beholder? Aesthetic Quality versus Technical Skill in Movement Evaluation of Tai Chi

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

The aim of this study was to compare experts to naïve practitioners in rating the beauty and the technical quality of a Tai Chi sequence observed in video-clips (of high and middle level performances). Our hypothesis are: i) movement evaluation will correlate with the level of skill expressed in the kinematics of the observed action but ii) only experts will be able to unravel the technical component from the aesthetic component of the observed action. The judgments delivered indicate that both expert and non-expert observers are able to discern a good from a mediocre performance; however, as expected, only experts discriminate the technical from the aesthetic component of the action evaluated and do this independently of the level of skill shown by the model (high or middle level performances). Furthermore, the judgments delivered were strongly related to the kinematic variables measured in the observed model, indicating that observers rely on specific movement kinematics (e.g. movement amplitude, jerk and duration) for action evaluation. These results provide evidence of the complementary functional role of visual and motor action representation in movement evaluation and underline the role of expertise in judging the aesthetic quality of movements. PMID:26047473

Mirror Neuron System and Mentalizing System connect during online social interaction.

PubMed

Sperduti, Marco; Guionnet, Sophie; Fossati, Philippe; Nadel, Jacqueline

2014-08-01

Two sets of brain areas are repeatedly reported in neuroimaging studies on social cognition: the Mirror Neuron System and the Mentalizing System. The Mirror System is involved in goal understanding and has been associated with several emotional and cognitive functions central to social interaction, ranging from empathy to gestural communication and imitation. The Mentalizing System is recruited in tasks requiring cognitive processes such as self-reference and understanding of other's intentions. Although theoretical accounts for an interaction between the two systems have been proposed, little is known about their synergy during social exchanges. In order to explore this question, we have recorded brain activity by means of functional MRI during live social exchanges based on reciprocal imitation of hand gestures. Here, we investigate, using the method of psychophysiological interaction, the changes in functional connectivity of the Mirror System due to the conditions of interest (being imitated, imitating) compared with passive observation of hand gestures. We report a strong coupling between the Mirror System and the Mentalizing System during the imitative exchanges. Our findings suggest a complementary role of the two networks during social encounters. The Mirror System would engage in the preparation of own actions and the simulation of other's actions, while the Mentalizing System would engage in the anticipation of the other's intention and thus would participate to the co-regulation of reciprocal actions. Beyond a specific effect of imitation, the design used offers the opportunity to tackle the role of role-switching in an interpersonal account of social cognition.

Evidence based practice in traditional & complementary medicine: An agenda for policy, practice, education and research.

PubMed

Leach, Matthew J; Canaway, Rachel; Hunter, Jennifer

2018-05-01

To develop a policy, practice, education and research agenda for evidence-based practice (EBP) in traditional and complementary medicine (T&CM). The study was a secondary analysis of qualitative data, using the method of roundtable discussion. The sample comprised seventeen experts in EBP and T&CM. The discussion was audio-recorded, and the transcript analysed using thematic analysis. Four central themes emerged from the data; understanding evidence and EBP, drivers of change, interpersonal interaction, and moving forward. Captured within these themes were fifteen sub-themes. These themes/sub-themes translated into three broad calls to action: (1) defining terminology, (2) defining the EBP approach, and (3) fostering social movement. These calls to action formed the framework of the agenda. This analysis presents a potential framework for an agenda to improve EBP implementation in T&CM. The fundamental elements of this action plan seek clarification, leadership and unification on the issue of EBP in T&CM. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Neuropeptide Y and agouti-related peptide mediate complementary functions of hyperphagia and reduced energy expenditure in leptin receptor deficiency.

PubMed

Luo, Na; Marcelin, Genevieve; Liu, Shun Mei; Schwartz, Gary; Chua, Streamson

2011-03-01

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) and agouti-related peptide (AGRP) can produce hyperphagia, reduce energy expenditure, and promote triglyceride deposition in adipose depots. As these two neuropeptides are coexpressed within the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus and mediate a major portion of the obesity caused by leptin signaling deficiency, we sought to determine whether the two neuropeptides mediated identical or complementary actions. Because of separate neuropeptide receptors and signal transduction mechanisms, there is a possibility of distinct encoding systems for the feeding and energy expenditure aspects of leptin-regulated metabolism. We have genetically added NPY deficiency and/or AGRP deficiency to LEPR deficiency isolated to AGRP cells. Our results indicate that the obesity of LEPR deficiency in AGRP/NPY neurons can produce obesity with either AGRP or NPY alone with AGRP producing hyperphagia while NPY promotes reduced energy expenditure. The absence of both NPY and AGRP prevents the development of obesity attributable to isolated LEPR deficiency in AGRP/NPY neurons. Operant behavioral testing indicated that there were no alterations in the reward for a food pellet from the AGRP-specific LEPR deficiency.

Neuropeptide Y and Agouti-Related Peptide Mediate Complementary Functions of Hyperphagia and Reduced Energy Expenditure in Leptin Receptor Deficiency

PubMed Central

Luo, Na; Marcelin, Genevieve; Liu, Shun Mei; Schwartz, Gary

2011-01-01

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) and agouti-related peptide (AGRP) can produce hyperphagia, reduce energy expenditure, and promote triglyceride deposition in adipose depots. As these two neuropeptides are coexpressed within the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus and mediate a major portion of the obesity caused by leptin signaling deficiency, we sought to determine whether the two neuropeptides mediated identical or complementary actions. Because of separate neuropeptide receptors and signal transduction mechanisms, there is a possibility of distinct encoding systems for the feeding and energy expenditure aspects of leptin-regulated metabolism. We have genetically added NPY deficiency and/or AGRP deficiency to LEPR deficiency isolated to AGRP cells. Our results indicate that the obesity of LEPR deficiency in AGRP/NPY neurons can produce obesity with either AGRP or NPY alone with AGRP producing hyperphagia while NPY promotes reduced energy expenditure. The absence of both NPY and AGRP prevents the development of obesity attributable to isolated LEPR deficiency in AGRP/NPY neurons. Operant behavioral testing indicated that there were no alterations in the reward for a food pellet from the AGRP-specific LEPR deficiency. PMID:21285324

Avoiding escalation from play to aggression in adult male rats: The role of ultrasonic calls.

PubMed

Burke, Candace J; Kisko, Theresa M; Pellis, Sergio M; Euston, David R

2017-11-01

Play fighting is most commonly associated with juvenile animals, but in some species, including rats, it can continue into adulthood. Post-pubertal engagement in play fighting is often rougher and has an increased chance of escalation to aggression, making the use of play signals to regulate the encounter more critical. During play, both juvenile and adult rats emit many 50-kHz calls and some of these may function as play facilitating signals. In the present study, unfamiliar adult male rats were introduced in a neutral enclosure and their social interactions were recorded. While all pairs escalated their playful encounters to become rougher, only the pairs in which one member was devocalized escalated to serious biting. A Monte Carlo shuffling technique was used for the analysis of the correlations between the overt playful and aggressive actions performed and the types and frequencies of various 50-kHz calls that were emitted. The analysis revealed that lower frequency (20-30kHz) calls with a flat component maybe particularly critical for de-escalating encounters and so allowing play to continue. Moreover, coordinating calls reciprocally, with either the same call mimicked in close, temporal association or with complementary calls emitted by participants as they engage in complementary actions (e.g., attacking the nape, being attacked on the nape), appeared to be ways with which calls could be potentially used to avoid escalation to aggression and so sustain playful interactions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Temperament and arousal systems: A new synthesis of differential psychology and functional neurochemistry.

PubMed

Trofimova, Irina; Robbins, Trevor W

2016-05-01

This paper critically reviews the unidimensional construct of General Arousal as utilised by models of temperament in differential psychology for example, to underlie 'Extraversion'. Evidence suggests that specialization within monoamine neurotransmitter systems contrasts with the attribution of a "general arousal" of the Ascending Reticular Activating System. Experimental findings show specialized roles of noradrenaline, dopamine, and serotonin systems in hypothetically mediating three complementary forms of arousal that are similar to three functional blocks described in classical models of behaviour within kinesiology, clinical neuropsychology, psychophysiology and temperament research. In spite of functional diversity of monoamine receptors, we suggest that their functionality can be classified using three universal aspects of actions related to expansion, to selection-integration and to maintenance of chosen behavioural alternatives. Monoamine systems also differentially regulate analytic vs. routine aspects of activities at cortical and striatal neural levels. A convergence between main temperament models in terms of traits related to described functional aspects of behavioural arousal also supports the idea of differentiation between these aspects analysed here in a functional perspective. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Abscisic Acid Regulation of Root Hydraulic Conductivity and Aquaporin Gene Expression Is Crucial to the Plant Shoot Growth Enhancement Caused by Rhizosphere Humic Acids.

PubMed

Olaetxea, Maite; Mora, Verónica; Bacaicoa, Eva; Garnica, María; Fuentes, Marta; Casanova, Esther; Zamarreño, Angel M; Iriarte, Juan C; Etayo, David; Ederra, Iñigo; Gonzalo, Ramón; Baigorri, Roberto; García-Mina, Jose M

2015-12-01

The physiological and metabolic mechanisms behind the humic acid-mediated plant growth enhancement are discussed in detail. Experiments using cucumber (Cucumis sativus) plants show that the shoot growth enhancement caused by a structurally well-characterized humic acid with sedimentary origin is functionally associated with significant increases in abscisic acid (ABA) root concentration and root hydraulic conductivity. Complementary experiments involving a blocking agent of cell wall pores and water root transport (polyethylenglycol) show that increases in root hydraulic conductivity are essential in the shoot growth-promoting action of the model humic acid. Further experiments involving an inhibitor of ABA biosynthesis in root and shoot (fluridone) show that the humic acid-mediated enhancement of both root hydraulic conductivity and shoot growth depended on ABA signaling pathways. These experiments also show that a significant increase in the gene expression of the main root plasma membrane aquaporins is associated with the increase of root hydraulic conductivity caused by the model humic acid. Finally, experimental data suggest that all of these actions of model humic acid on root functionality, which are linked to its beneficial action on plant shoot growth, are likely related to the conformational structure of humic acid in solution and its interaction with the cell wall at the root surface. © 2015 American Society of Plant Biologists. All Rights Reserved.

Abscisic Acid Regulation of Root Hydraulic Conductivity and Aquaporin Gene Expression Is Crucial to the Plant Shoot Growth Enhancement Caused by Rhizosphere Humic Acids1

PubMed Central

Bacaicoa, Eva; Garnica, María; Fuentes, Marta; Casanova, Esther; Etayo, David; Ederra, Iñigo; Gonzalo, Ramón

2015-01-01

The physiological and metabolic mechanisms behind the humic acid-mediated plant growth enhancement are discussed in detail. Experiments using cucumber (Cucumis sativus) plants show that the shoot growth enhancement caused by a structurally well-characterized humic acid with sedimentary origin is functionally associated with significant increases in abscisic acid (ABA) root concentration and root hydraulic conductivity. Complementary experiments involving a blocking agent of cell wall pores and water root transport (polyethylenglycol) show that increases in root hydraulic conductivity are essential in the shoot growth-promoting action of the model humic acid. Further experiments involving an inhibitor of ABA biosynthesis in root and shoot (fluridone) show that the humic acid-mediated enhancement of both root hydraulic conductivity and shoot growth depended on ABA signaling pathways. These experiments also show that a significant increase in the gene expression of the main root plasma membrane aquaporins is associated with the increase of root hydraulic conductivity caused by the model humic acid. Finally, experimental data suggest that all of these actions of model humic acid on root functionality, which are linked to its beneficial action on plant shoot growth, are likely related to the conformational structure of humic acid in solution and its interaction with the cell wall at the root surface. PMID:26450705

Thio-phene-2-carbonyl azide.

PubMed

Hsu, Gene C; Singer, Laci M; Cordes, David B; Findlater, Michael

2013-01-01

The title compound, C5H3N3OS, is almost planar (r.m.s. deviation for the ten non-H atoms = 0.018 Å) and forms an extended layer structure in the (100) plane, held together via hydrogen-bonding inter-actions between adjacent mol-ecules. Of particular note is the occurrence of RC-H⋯N(-)=N(+)=NR inter-actions between an aromatic C-H group and an azide moiety which, in conjunction with a complementary C-H⋯O=C inter-action, forms a nine-membered ring.

Complementary functions of the two brain hemispheres: comparisons with earlier conceptions and implications for individual and society.

PubMed

Zeier, H

1989-07-01

The concept of different functions for the left and right cerebral hemispheres coincides in an astonishing way with earlier philosophical and psychological work which divided the human mind into two complementary functions without having a neurophysiological explanation. Representative are the ideas of Fichte, Hegel and Jung. The latter postulated the two subsystems Ego and Self and associated the conscious functions of the Ego with the intellect, the capacity for rational thought, and the Self with the mind, which also includes the emotional feelings. For the harmonic development and self-realization of man the functions of both systems in complementary interaction are required. Therefore, the current overaccentuation of the intellect and of progress directed technical-scientific thinking should be corrected by making better use of the much neglected functions of the right hemisphere.

B-glucans from Grifola frondosa and Ganoderma lucidum in breast cancer: an example of complementary and integrative medicine

PubMed Central

Rossi, Paola; Difrancia, Raffaele; Quagliariello, Vincenzo; Savino, Elena; Tralongo, Paolo; Randazzo, Cinzia Lucia; Berretta, Massimiliano

2018-01-01

Culinary and medicinal mushrooms are widely used in Asian countries, both as dietary supplements and as nutraceutical foods. They have recently become popular in Europe, as well, for their nutritional and health benefits. In particular, epidemiological studies conducted in Asia suggest that mushroom intake, together with other phytotherapy substances, protects against cancer, specifically gastrointestinal (GI) and breast cancers. Most of the data come from in vitro studies and in vivo experimental animal models. Therefore, in order to translate the updated knowledge to clinical research (i.e., from bench to bedside) a systematic translational research program should be initiated. Future randomized controlled trials comparing the effects of G. frondosa and G. lucidum on conventional treatment outcomes are warranted. The purpose of this review was to describe the emerging mechanisms of action of the mushrooms’ anticancer functions which makes their use in clinical practice so promising. Clinical effects of mycotherapy (specifically, the use of Ganoderma lucidum and Grifola frondosa) on long-term survival, tumor response, host immune functions, inflammation, and QoL in cancer patients were also addressed. Adverse events associated with mycotherapy were also investigated. Emerging data point to a potential role of G. lucidum for modulating the carcinogenic potential of GI microbiota, which suggests a new complementary and integrated approach to breast cancer treatment. PMID:29872510

Proposal of indicators to evaluate complementary feeding based on World Health Organization indicators.

PubMed

Saldan, Paula Chuproski; Venancio, Sonia Isoyama; Saldiva, Silvia Regina Dias Medici; de Mello, Débora Falleiros

2016-09-01

This study compares complementary feeding World Health Organization (WHO) indicators with those built in accordance with Brazilian recommendations (Ten Steps to Healthy Feeding). A cross-sectional study was carried out during the National Immunization Campaign against Poliomyelitis in Guarapuava-Paraná, Brazil, in 2012. Feeding data from 1,355 children aged 6-23 months were obtained through the 24 h diet recall. Based on five indicators, the proportion of adequacy was evaluated: introduction of solid, semi-solid, or soft foods; minimum dietary diversity; meal frequency; acceptable diet; and consumption of iron-rich foods. Complementary feeding showed adequacy higher than 85% in most WHO indicators, while review by the Ten Steps assessment method showed a less favorable circumstance and a high intake of unhealthy foods. WHO indicators may not reflect the complementary feeding conditions of children in countries with low malnutrition rates and an increased prevalence of overweight/obesity. The use of indicators according to the Ten Steps can be useful to identify problems and redirect actions aimed at promoting complementary feeding. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Structual Effects of Cytidine 2^' Ribose Modifications as Determined by Irmpd Action Spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamlow, Lucas; He, Chenchen; Fan, Lin; Wu, Ranran; Yang, Bo; Rodgers, M. T.; Berden, Giel; Oomens, J.

2015-06-01

Modified nucleosides, both naturally occurring and synthetic play an important role in understanding and manipulating RNA and DNA. Naturally occurring modified nucleosides are commonly found in functionally important regions of RNA and also affect antibiotic resistance or sensitivity. Synthetic modifications of nucleosides such as fluorinated and arabinosyl nucleosides have found uses as anti-virals and chemotherapy agents. Understanding the effect that modifications have on structure and glycosidic bond stability may lend insight into the functions of these modified nucleosides. Modifications such as the naturally occurring 2^'-O-methylation and the synthetic 2^'-fluorination are believed to help stabilize the nucleoside through the glycosidic bond stability and intramolecular hydrogen bonding. Changing the sugar from ribose to arabinose alters the stereochemistry at the 2^' position and thus shifts the 3D orientation of the 2^'-hydroxyl group, which also affects intramolecular hydrogen bonding and glycosidic bond stability. The structures of 2^'-deoxy-2^'-fluorocytidine, 2^'-O-methylcytidine and cytosine arabinoside are examined in the current work by measuring the infrared spectra in the IR fingerprint region using infrared multiple photon dissociation (IRMPD) action spectroscopy. The structures accessed in the experiments were determined via comparison of the measured IRMPD action spectra to the theoretical linear IR spectra determined by density functional theory and molecular modeling for the stable low-energy structures. Although glycosidic bond stability cannot be quantitatively determined from this data, complementary TCID studies will establish the effect of these modifications. Comparison of these modified nucleosides with their RNA and DNA analogues will help elucidate differences in their intrinsic chemistry.

Genome-wide mutant profiling predicts the mechanism of a Lipid II binding antibiotic.

PubMed

Santiago, Marina; Lee, Wonsik; Fayad, Antoine Abou; Coe, Kathryn A; Rajagopal, Mithila; Do, Truc; Hennessen, Fabienne; Srisuknimit, Veerasak; Müller, Rolf; Meredith, Timothy C; Walker, Suzanne

2018-06-01

Identifying targets of antibacterial compounds remains a challenging step in the development of antibiotics. We have developed a two-pronged functional genomics approach to predict mechanism of action that uses mutant fitness data from antibiotic-treated transposon libraries containing both upregulation and inactivation mutants. We treated a Staphylococcus aureus transposon library containing 690,000 unique insertions with 32 antibiotics. Upregulation signatures identified from directional biases in insertions revealed known molecular targets and resistance mechanisms for the majority of these. Because single-gene upregulation does not always confer resistance, we used a complementary machine-learning approach to predict the mechanism from inactivation mutant fitness profiles. This approach suggested the cell wall precursor Lipid II as the molecular target of the lysocins, a mechanism we have confirmed. We conclude that docking to membrane-anchored Lipid II precedes the selective bacteriolysis that distinguishes these lytic natural products, showing the utility of our approach for nominating the antibiotic mechanism of action.

Complementary aspects of diffusion imaging and fMRI; I: structure and function.

PubMed

Mulkern, Robert V; Davis, Peter E; Haker, Steven J; Estepar, Raul San Jose; Panych, Lawrence P; Maier, Stephan E; Rivkin, Michael J

2006-05-01

Studying the intersection of brain structure and function is an important aspect of modern neuroscience. The development of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) over the last 25 years has provided new and powerful tools for the study of brain structure and function. Two tools in particular, diffusion imaging and functional MRI (fMRI), are playing increasingly important roles in elucidating the complementary aspects of brain structure and function. In this work, we review basic technical features of diffusion imaging and fMRI for studying the integrity of white matter structural components and for determining the location and extent of cortical activation in gray matter, respectively. We then review a growing body of literature in which the complementary aspects of diffusion imaging and fMRI, applied as separate examinations but analyzed in tandem, have been exploited to enhance our knowledge of brain structure and function.

In vivo imaging of cardiac development and function in zebrafish using light sheet microscopy.

PubMed

Weber, Michael; Huisken, Jan

2015-01-01

Detailed studies of heart development and function are crucial for our understanding of cardiac failures and pave the way for better diagnostics and treatment. However, the constant motion and close incorporation into the cardiovascular system prevent in vivo studies of the living, unperturbed heart. The complementary strengths of the zebrafish model and light sheet microscopy provide a useful platform to fill this gap. High-resolution images of the embryonic vertebrate heart are now recorded from within the living animal: deep inside the unperturbed heart we can follow cardiac contractions and measure action potentials and calcium transients. Three-dimensional reconstructions of the entire beating heart with cellular resolution give new insights into its ever-changing morphology and facilitate studies into how individual cells form the complex cardiac network. In addition, cardiac dynamics and robustness are now examined with targeted optical manipulation. Overall, the combination of zebrafish and light sheet microscopy represents a promising addition for cardiac research and opens the door to a better understanding of heart function and development.

Dose-response relationships in multifunctional food design: assembling the evidence.

PubMed

Aggett, Peter J

2012-03-01

Demonstrating single and multiple functions attributable to foods or specific food components is a challenge. The International Life Sciences Institute Europe co-ordinated EU concerted actions, Functional Food Science in Europe (FUFOSE) and the Process for the Assessment of Scientific Support for Claims on Food (PASSCLAIM), respectively, addressed the soundness of the evidence and its coherence with a mechanistic schema comprising valid markers of exposure, intermediate and final outcomes and the quality and integrity of the evidence overall. Demonstrating causality often relies on randomized controlled trials (RCTs). However, in public health and biomedical science there is concern about the suitability of RCTs as sole standards of evidence-based approaches. Alternative and complementary approaches using updated Hill's viewpoints for appraising the evidence can be used in conjunction with evidence-based mechanistic reasoning and the quality criteria proposed in FUFOSE and PASSCLAIM to design studies and to assemble evidence exploring single or multiple benefits from food components and foods.

Passive Motion Paradigm: An Alternative to Optimal Control

PubMed Central

Mohan, Vishwanathan; Morasso, Pietro

2011-01-01

In the last years, optimal control theory (OCT) has emerged as the leading approach for investigating neural control of movement and motor cognition for two complementary research lines: behavioral neuroscience and humanoid robotics. In both cases, there are general problems that need to be addressed, such as the “degrees of freedom (DoFs) problem,” the common core of production, observation, reasoning, and learning of “actions.” OCT, directly derived from engineering design techniques of control systems quantifies task goals as “cost functions” and uses the sophisticated formal tools of optimal control to obtain desired behavior (and predictions). We propose an alternative “softer” approach passive motion paradigm (PMP) that we believe is closer to the biomechanics and cybernetics of action. The basic idea is that actions (overt as well as covert) are the consequences of an internal simulation process that “animates” the body schema with the attractor dynamics of force fields induced by the goal and task-specific constraints. This internal simulation offers the brain a way to dynamically link motor redundancy with task-oriented constraints “at runtime,” hence solving the “DoFs problem” without explicit kinematic inversion and cost function computation. We argue that the function of such computational machinery is not only restricted to shaping motor output during action execution but also to provide the self with information on the feasibility, consequence, understanding and meaning of “potential actions.” In this sense, taking into account recent developments in neuroscience (motor imagery, simulation theory of covert actions, mirror neuron system) and in embodied robotics, PMP offers a novel framework for understanding motor cognition that goes beyond the engineering control paradigm provided by OCT. Therefore, the paper is at the same time a review of the PMP rationale, as a computational theory, and a perspective presentation of how to develop it for designing better cognitive architectures. PMID:22207846

Harnessing Preclinical Molecular Imaging to Inform Advances in Personalized Cancer Medicine.

PubMed

Clark, Peter M; Ebiana, Victoria A; Gosa, Laura; Cloughesy, Timothy F; Nathanson, David A

2017-05-01

Comprehensive molecular analysis of individual tumors provides great potential for personalized cancer therapy. However, the presence of a particular genetic alteration is often insufficient to predict therapeutic efficacy. Drugs with distinct mechanisms of action can affect the biology of tumors in specific and unique ways. Therefore, assays that can measure drug-induced perturbations of defined functional tumor properties can be highly complementary to genomic analysis. PET provides the capacity to noninvasively measure the dynamics of various tumor biologic processes in vivo. Here, we review the underlying biochemical and biologic basis for a variety of PET tracers and how they may be used to better optimize cancer therapy. © 2017 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging.

The underlying mechanism of action for various medicinal properties of Piper betle (betel).

PubMed

Haslan, H; Suhaimi, F H; Thent, Zar Chi; Das, S

2015-01-01

Piper betle (betel) plant belongs to the Piperaceae family. Piper. betle is widely known for its potent medicinal properties. Various active compounds are present in Piper. betle such as allylpyrocatechol, hydroxychavicol, piperbetol, ethylpiperbetol, piperol A, piperol B, chavibetol, and alkaloids which account for these beneficial medicinal properties. In the present narrative review, we looked into the various active compounds present in the Piper betle and attempted to understand their underlying mechanism of action. Proper understanding of the molecular biology involving the mechanism of action may help in better drug formulation and provide better therapeutic actions in the field of alternative and complementary medicine.

Core and Complementary Chiropractic: Lowering Barriers to Patient Utilization of Services.

PubMed

Triano, John J; McGregor, Marion

2016-12-01

The use of chiropractic services has stalled while interest in accessing manipulation services is rising. The purpose of this paper is to consider this dilemma in the context of the dynamics of professional socialization, surveys of public attitudes, and a potential strategic action. This is a reflection work grounded in the literature on professional socialization and the attitudes held regarding chiropractic in modern society, to include its members, and in original data on training programs. Data were interpreted on the background of the authors' cross-cultural experiences spanning patient care, research, education, and interprofessional collaboration. Recommendation on a strategic action to counter barriers in patient referrals was synthesized. Professional socialization is the process by which society enables professional privilege. Illustration of typical and divergent professional socialization models emerged that explain cognitive dissonance toward the profession. Questions of trust are commensurate with the experiences during patient encounters rather than with a common identity for the profession. Diversity among encounters perpetuates the uncertainty that affects referral sources. Commonality as an anchor for consistent professional identity and socialization through the content of core chiropractic, defined by training and practice, offers a means to offset uncertainty. Complementary chiropractic, analogous to complementary medicine, provides an outlet under professional socialization for the interests to explore additional methods of care. The practice workplace is an effective lever for altering barriers to the use of services. Clarifying rhetoric through conceptualization of core and complementary practices simplifies the socialization dynamic. Further, it takes advantage of accepted cultural semantics in meaningful analogy while continuing to empower practical diversity in care delivery in response to evolving scientific evidence.

What could infant and young child nutrition learn from sweatshops?

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Adequate infant and young child nutrition demands high rates of breastfeeding and good access to nutrient rich complementary foods, requiring public sector action to promote breastfeeding and home based complementary feeding, and private sector action to refrain from undermining breastfeeding and to provide affordable, nutrient rich complementary foods. Unfortunately, due to a lack of trust, the public and private sectors, from both the North and the South, do not work well together in achieving optimal infant and young child nutrition. Discussion As the current debate in infant and young child nutrition is reminiscent of the "sweatshop" debate fifteen years ago, we argue that lessons from the sweatshops debate regarding cooperation between public and private sectors - and specific organizational experiences such as the Ethical Trading Initiative in which companies, trade unions, and civil society organizations work together to enhance implementation of labour standards and address alleged allegations - could serve as a model for improving cooperation and trust between public, civil society and private groups, and ultimately health, in infant and young child nutrition. Summary Lessons from the sweatshops debate could serve as a model to promote cooperation and trust between public and private groups, such that they learn to work together towards their common goal of improving infant and young child nutrition. PMID:21545745

What could infant and young child nutrition learn from sweatshops?

PubMed

Singer, Peter A; Ansett, Sean; Sagoe-Moses, Isabella

2011-05-05

Adequate infant and young child nutrition demands high rates of breastfeeding and good access to nutrient rich complementary foods, requiring public sector action to promote breastfeeding and home based complementary feeding, and private sector action to refrain from undermining breastfeeding and to provide affordable, nutrient rich complementary foods. Unfortunately, due to a lack of trust, the public and private sectors, from both the North and the South, do not work well together in achieving optimal infant and young child nutrition. As the current debate in infant and young child nutrition is reminiscent of the "sweatshop" debate fifteen years ago, we argue that lessons from the sweatshops debate regarding cooperation between public and private sectors - and specific organizational experiences such as the Ethical Trading Initiative in which companies, trade unions, and civil society organizations work together to enhance implementation of labour standards and address alleged allegations - could serve as a model for improving cooperation and trust between public, civil society and private groups, and ultimately health, in infant and young child nutrition. Lessons from the sweatshops debate could serve as a model to promote cooperation and trust between public and private groups, such that they learn to work together towards their common goal of improving infant and young child nutrition.

Undefined freeform surfaces having deterministic structure: issues of their characterization for functionality and manufacture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whitehouse, David J.

2016-09-01

There is an increasing use of surfaces which have structure, an increase in the use of freeform surfaces, and most importantly an increase in the number of surfaces having both characteristics. These can be called multi-function surfaces, where more than one function is helped by the geometrical features: the structure can help one, the freeform another. Alternatively, they can be complementary to optimize a single function, but in all cases both geometries are involved. This paper examines some of the problems posed by having such disparate geometries on one surface; in particular, the methods of characterization needed to help understand the functionality and also to some extent their manufacture. This involves investigating ways of expressing how local and global geometric features of undefined freeform surfaces might influence function and how surface structure on top of or in series with the freeform affects the nature of the characterization. Some methods have been found of identifying possible strategies for tackling the characterization problem, based in part on the principles of least action and on the way that nature has solved the marriage of flexible freeform geometry and structure on surfaces.

Brain systems for visual perspective taking and action perception.

PubMed

Mazzarella, Elisabetta; Ramsey, Richard; Conson, Massimiliano; Hamilton, Antonia

2013-01-01

Taking another person's viewpoint and making sense of their actions are key processes that guide social behavior. Previous neuroimaging investigations have largely studied these processes separately. The current study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine how the brain incorporates another person's viewpoint and actions into visual perspective judgments. Participants made a left-right judgment about the location of a target object from their own (egocentric) or an actor's visual perspective (altercentric). Actor location varied around a table and the actor was either reaching or not reaching for the target object. Analyses examined brain regions engaged in the egocentric and altercentric tasks, brain regions where response magnitude tracked the orientation of the actor in the scene and brain regions sensitive to the action performed by the actor. The blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) response in dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) was sensitive to actor orientation in the altercentric task, whereas the response in right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) was sensitive to actor orientation in the egocentric task. Thus, dmPFC and right IFG may play distinct but complementary roles in visual perspective taking (VPT). Observation of a reaching actor compared to a non-reaching actor yielded activation in lateral occipitotemporal cortex, regardless of task, showing that these regions are sensitive to body posture independent of social context. By considering how an observed actor's location and action influence the neural bases of visual perspective judgments, the current study supports the view that multiple neurocognitive "routes" operate during VPT.

Briefing Book for Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Governors' Association, Washington, DC.

This document presents briefing papers for the seven gubernatorial task forces proposed in the National Governors' Association Action Plan for Attaining Educational Excellence. An introductory section discusses the complementary responsibilities of Federal, State, and local governments for assuring access to educational opportunities for all…

Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site : transportation study

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-02-01

This study provide concepts and ideas for a complementary transportation plan in support of the revised General Management Plan (GMP) for the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site. The GMP sets forth a preferred plan of action for how Olmsted ...

A Note on Complementary Medicines

MedlinePlus

... Photo: iStock Herbal supplements, meditation, chiropractic manipulation, and acupuncture are types of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) ... effective. For example, NCCAM studies have shown that: Acupuncture can provide pain relief and improve function for ...

Complementary interactions between command-like interneurons that function to activate and specify motor programs.

PubMed

Wu, Jin-Sheng; Wang, Nan; Siniscalchi, Michael J; Perkins, Matthew H; Zheng, Yu-Tong; Yu, Wei; Chen, Song-an; Jia, Ruo-nan; Gu, Jia-Wei; Qian, Yi-Qing; Ye, Yang; Vilim, Ferdinand S; Cropper, Elizabeth C; Weiss, Klaudiusz R; Jing, Jian

2014-05-07

Motor activity is often initiated by a population of command-like interneurons. Command-like interneurons that reliably drive programs have received the most attention, so little is known about how less reliable command-like interneurons may contribute to program generation. We study two electrically coupled interneurons, cerebral-buccal interneuron-2 (CBI-2) and CBI-11, which activate feeding motor programs in the mollusk Aplysia californica. Earlier work indicated that, in rested preparations, CBI-2, a powerful activator of programs, can trigger ingestive and egestive programs. CBI-2 reliably generated ingestive patterns only when it was repeatedly stimulated. The ability of CBI-2 to trigger motor activity has been attributed to the two program-promoting peptides it contains, FCAP and CP2. Here, we show that CBI-11 differs from CBI-2 in that it contains FCAP but not CP2. Furthermore, it is weak in its ability to drive programs. On its own, CBI-11 is therefore less effective as a program activator. When it is successful, however, CBI-11 is an effective specifier of motor activity; that is, it drives mostly ingestive programs. Importantly, we found that CBI-2 and CBI-11 complement each other's actions. First, prestimulation of CBI-2 enhanced the ability of CBI-11 to drive programs. This effect appears to be partly mediated by CP2. Second, coactivation of CBI-11 with CBI-2 makes CBI-2 programs immediately ingestive. This effect may be mediated by specific actions that CBI-11 exerts on pattern-generating interneurons. Therefore, different classes of command-like neurons in a motor network may make distinct, but potentially complementary, contributions as either activators or specifiers of motor activity.

Complementary Interactions between Command-Like Interneurons that Function to Activate and Specify Motor Programs

PubMed Central

Wu, Jin-Sheng; Wang, Nan; Siniscalchi, Michael J.; Perkins, Matthew H.; Zheng, Yu-Tong; Yu, Wei; Chen, Song-an; Jia, Ruo-nan; Gu, Jia-Wei; Qian, Yi-Qing; Ye, Yang; Vilim, Ferdinand S.; Cropper, Elizabeth C.; Weiss, Klaudiusz R.

2014-01-01

Motor activity is often initiated by a population of command-like interneurons. Command-like interneurons that reliably drive programs have received the most attention, so little is known about how less reliable command-like interneurons may contribute to program generation. We study two electrically coupled interneurons, cerebral-buccal interneuron-2 (CBI-2) and CBI-11, which activate feeding motor programs in the mollusk Aplysia californica. Earlier work indicated that, in rested preparations, CBI-2, a powerful activator of programs, can trigger ingestive and egestive programs. CBI-2 reliably generated ingestive patterns only when it was repeatedly stimulated. The ability of CBI-2 to trigger motor activity has been attributed to the two program-promoting peptides it contains, FCAP and CP2. Here, we show that CBI-11 differs from CBI-2 in that it contains FCAP but not CP2. Furthermore, it is weak in its ability to drive programs. On its own, CBI-11 is therefore less effective as a program activator. When it is successful, however, CBI-11 is an effective specifier of motor activity; that is, it drives mostly ingestive programs. Importantly, we found that CBI-2 and CBI-11 complement each other's actions. First, prestimulation of CBI-2 enhanced the ability of CBI-11 to drive programs. This effect appears to be partly mediated by CP2. Second, coactivation of CBI-11 with CBI-2 makes CBI-2 programs immediately ingestive. This effect may be mediated by specific actions that CBI-11 exerts on pattern-generating interneurons. Therefore, different classes of command-like neurons in a motor network may make distinct, but potentially complementary, contributions as either activators or specifiers of motor activity. PMID:24806677

Cinnamon and immune actions: potential role in Tristetraprolin-Mediated inflamatory diseases

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Inflammatory diseases have placed a heavy burden on the American health care system. Drug treatment for reducing inflammation and associated diseases has not been satisfactory. Complementary and alternative approaches are urgently needed. Bioactive plant extracts have been used for preventing and...

SGLT2 inhibitor/DPP-4 inhibitor combination therapy - complementary mechanisms of action for management of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

PubMed

Dey, Jayant

2017-05-01

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a progressive disease with multiple underlying pathophysiologic defects. Monotherapy alone cannot maintain glycemic control and leads to treatment failure. Ideally, a combination of glucose-lowering agents should have complementary mechanisms of action that address multiple pathophysiologic pathways, can be used at all stages of the disease, and be generally well tolerated with no increased risk of hypoglycemia, cardiovascular events, or weight gain. The combination should also provide conveniences for patients, such as oral dosing, single-pill formulations, and once-daily administration, potentially translating to improved adherence. Two classes of glucose-lowering agents that meet these criteria are the sodium glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors. This article reviews the rationale for combination therapy with these agents, and evidence from clinical trials with empagliflozin and linagliptin or dapagliflozin and saxagliptin in the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Both combinations have been approved as single-pill formulations.

The functional interplay of Rab11, FIP3 and Rho proteins on the endosomal recycling pathway controls cell shape and symmetry.

PubMed

Bouchet, Jérôme; McCaffrey, Mary W; Graziani, Andrea; Alcover, Andrés

2018-07-04

Several families of small GTPases regulate a variety of fundamental cellular processes, encompassing growth factor signal transduction, vesicular trafficking and control of the cytoskeleton. Frequently, their action is hierarchical and complementary, but much of the detail of their functional interactions remains to be clarified. It is well established that Rab family members regulate a variety of intracellular vesicle trafficking pathways. Moreover, Rho family GTPases are pivotal for the control of the actin and microtubule cytoskeleton. However, the interplay between these 2 types of GTPases has been rarely reported. We discuss here our recent findings showing that Rab11, a key regulator of endosomal recycling, and Rac1, a central actin cytoskeleton regulator involved in lamellipodium formation and cell migration, interplay on endosomes through the Rab11 effector FIP3. In the context of the rapidly reactive T lymphocytes, Rab11-Rac1 endosomal functional interplay is important to control cell shape changes and cell symmetry during lymphocyte spreading and immunological synapse formation and ultimately modulate T cell activation.

Mesolimbic Dopamine Signals the Value of Work

PubMed Central

Hamid, Arif A.; Pettibone, Jeffrey R.; Mabrouk, Omar S.; Hetrick, Vaughn L.; Schmidt, Robert; Vander Weele, Caitlin M.; Kennedy, Robert T.; Aragona, Brandon J.; Berke, Joshua D.

2015-01-01

Dopamine cell firing can encode errors in reward prediction, providing a learning signal to guide future behavior. Yet dopamine is also a key modulator of motivation, invigorating current behavior. Existing theories propose that fast (“phasic”) dopamine fluctuations support learning, while much slower (“tonic”) dopamine changes are involved in motivation. We examined dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens across multiple time scales, using complementary microdialysis and voltammetric methods during adaptive decision-making. We first show that minute-by-minute dopamine levels covary with reward rate and motivational vigor. We then show that second-by-second dopamine release encodes an estimate of temporally-discounted future reward (a value function). We demonstrate that changing dopamine immediately alters willingness to work, and reinforces preceding action choices by encoding temporal-difference reward prediction errors. Our results indicate that dopamine conveys a single, rapidly-evolving decision variable, the available reward for investment of effort, that is employed for both learning and motivational functions. PMID:26595651

Cognitive Adaptability: The Role of Metacognition and Feedback in Entrepreneural Decision Policies

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-01-01

their environments in such a way as to facilitate effective and dynamic cognitive functioning. In this dissertation, I present three complementary studies ...the study of metacognition (Jost, Kruglanski, and Nelson, 1998; Mischel, 1998; Schwarz, 1998b). This research has three goals, specifically to...environments in such a way as to facilitate effective and dynamic cognitive functioning. In this dissertation, I present three complementary studies that

Accounting for complementarity to maximize monitoring power for species management.

PubMed

Tulloch, Ayesha I T; Chadès, Iadine; Possingham, Hugh P

2013-10-01

To choose among conservation actions that may benefit many species, managers need to monitor the consequences of those actions. Decisions about which species to monitor from a suite of different species being managed are hindered by natural variability in populations and uncertainty in several factors: the ability of the monitoring to detect a change, the likelihood of the management action being successful for a species, and how representative species are of one another. However, the literature provides little guidance about how to account for these uncertainties when deciding which species to monitor to determine whether the management actions are delivering outcomes. We devised an approach that applies decision science and selects the best complementary suite of species to monitor to meet specific conservation objectives. We created an index for indicator selection that accounts for the likelihood of successfully detecting a real trend due to a management action and whether that signal provides information about other species. We illustrated the benefit of our approach by analyzing a monitoring program for invasive predator management aimed at recovering 14 native Australian mammals of conservation concern. Our method selected the species that provided more monitoring power at lower cost relative to the current strategy and traditional approaches that consider only a subset of the important considerations. Our benefit function accounted for natural variability in species growth rates, uncertainty in the responses of species to the prescribed action, and how well species represent others. Monitoring programs that ignore uncertainty, likelihood of detecting change, and complementarity between species will be more costly and less efficient and may waste funding that could otherwise be used for management. © 2013 Society for Conservation Biology.

[Analysis of Conformational Features of Watson-Crick Duplex Fragments by Molecular Mechanics and Quantum Mechanics Methods].

PubMed

Poltev, V I; Anisimov, V M; Sanchez, C; Deriabina, A; Gonzalez, E; Garcia, D; Rivas, F; Polteva, N A

2016-01-01

It is generally accepted that the important characteristic features of the Watson-Crick duplex originate from the molecular structure of its subunits. However, it still remains to elucidate what properties of each subunit are responsible for the significant characteristic features of the DNA structure. The computations of desoxydinucleoside monophosphates complexes with Na-ions using density functional theory revealed a pivotal role of DNA conformational properties of single-chain minimal fragments in the development of unique features of the Watson-Crick duplex. We found that directionality of the sugar-phosphate backbone and the preferable ranges of its torsion angles, combined with the difference between purines and pyrimidines. in ring bases, define the dependence of three-dimensional structure of the Watson-Crick duplex on nucleotide base sequence. In this work, we extended these density functional theory computations to the minimal' fragments of DNA duplex, complementary desoxydinucleoside monophosphates complexes with Na-ions. Using several computational methods and various functionals, we performed a search for energy minima of BI-conformation for complementary desoxydinucleoside monophosphates complexes with different nucleoside sequences. Two sequences are optimized using ab initio method at the MP2/6-31++G** level of theory. The analysis of torsion angles, sugar ring puckering and mutual base positions of optimized structures demonstrates that the conformational characteristic features of complementary desoxydinucleoside monophosphates complexes with Na-ions remain within BI ranges and become closer to the corresponding characteristic features of the Watson-Crick duplex crystals. Qualitatively, the main characteristic features of each studied complementary desoxydinucleoside monophosphates complex remain invariant when different computational methods are used, although the quantitative values of some conformational parameters could vary lying within the limits typical for the corresponding family. We observe that popular functionals in density functional theory calculations lead to the overestimated distances between base pairs, while MP2 computations and the newer complex functionals produce the structures that have too close atom-atom contacts. A detailed study of some complementary desoxydinucleoside monophosphate complexes with Na-ions highlights the existence of several energy minima corresponding to BI-conformations, in other words, the complexity of the relief pattern of the potential energy surface of complementary desoxydinucleoside monophosphate complexes. This accounts for variability of conformational parameters of duplex fragments with the same base sequence. Popular molecular mechanics force fields AMBER and CHARMM reproduce most of the conformational characteristics of desoxydinucleoside monophosphates and their complementary complexes with Na-ions but fail to reproduce some details of the dependence of the Watson-Crick duplex conformation on the nucleotide sequence.

Neuropeptides shaping the central nervous system development: Spatiotemporal actions of VIP and PACAP through complementary signaling pathways.

PubMed

Maduna, Tando; Lelievre, Vincent

2016-12-01

Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) are neuropeptides with wide, complementary, and overlapping distributions in the central and peripheral nervous systems, where they exert important regulatory roles in many physiological processes. VIP and PACAP display a large range of biological cellular targets and functions in the adult nervous system including regulation of neurotransmission and neuroendocrine secretion and neuroprotective and neuroimmune responses. As the main focus of the present review, VIP and PACAP also have been long implicated in nervous system development and maturation through their interaction with the seven transmembrane domain G protein-coupled receptors, PAC1, VPAC1, and VPAC2, initiating multiple signaling pathways. Compared with PAC1, which solely binds PACAP with very high affinity, VPACs exhibit high affinities for both VIP and PACAP but differ from each other because of their pharmacological profile for both natural accessory peptides and synthetic or chimeric molecules, with agonistic and antagonistic properties. Complementary to initial pharmacological studies, transgenic animals lacking these neuropeptides or their receptors have been used to further characterize the neuroanatomical, electrophysiological, and behavioral roles of PACAP and VIP in the developing central nervous system. In this review, we recapitulate the critical steps and processes guiding/driving neurodevelopment in vertebrates and superimposing the potential contribution of PACAP and VIP receptors on the given timeline. We also describe how alterations in VIP/PACAP signaling may contribute to both (neuro)developmental and adult pathologies and suggest that tuning of VIP/PACAP signaling in a spatiotemporal manner may represent a novel avenue for preventive therapies of neurological and psychiatric disorders. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Subthalamic stimulation, oscillatory activity and connectivity reveal functional role of STN and network mechanisms during decision making under conflict.

PubMed

Hell, Franz; Taylor, Paul C J; Mehrkens, Jan H; Bötzel, Kai

2018-05-01

Inhibitory control is an important executive function that is necessary to suppress premature actions and to block interference from irrelevant stimuli. Current experimental studies and models highlight proactive and reactive mechanisms and claim several cortical and subcortical structures to be involved in response inhibition. However, the involved structures, network mechanisms and the behavioral relevance of the underlying neural activity remain debated. We report cortical EEG and invasive subthalamic local field potential recordings from a fully implanted sensing neurostimulator in Parkinson's patients during a stimulus- and response conflict task with and without deep brain stimulation (DBS). DBS made reaction times faster overall while leaving the effects of conflict intact: this lack of any effect on conflict may have been inherent to our task encouraging a high level of proactive inhibition. Drift diffusion modelling hints that DBS influences decision thresholds and drift rates are modulated by stimulus conflict. Both cortical EEG and subthalamic (STN) LFP oscillations reflected reaction times (RT). With these results, we provide a different interpretation of previously conflict-related oscillations in the STN and suggest that the STN implements a general task-specific decision threshold. The timecourse and topography of subthalamic-cortical oscillatory connectivity suggest the involvement of motor, frontal midline and posterior regions in a larger network with complementary functionality, oscillatory mechanisms and structures. While beta oscillations are functionally associated with motor cortical-subthalamic connectivity, low frequency oscillations reveal a subthalamic-frontal-posterior network. With our results, we suggest that proactive as well as reactive mechanisms and structures are involved in implementing a task-related dynamic inhibitory signal. We propose that motor and executive control networks with complementary oscillatory mechanisms are tonically active, react to stimuli and release inhibition at the response when uncertainty is resolved and return to their default state afterwards. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

COMBUSTION ADDITIVES FOR POLLUTION CONTROL - A STATE-OF-THE-ART REVIEW

EPA Science Inventory

The report is a state-of-the-art review of the potential of combustion-type fuel additives in reducing air pollutant emissions from oil and coal firing. It contains two complementary parts: a review of the relation of combustion mechanisms to additive action in controlling emissi...

Impacts of more rigorous ADA paratransit eligibility assessments on riders with disabilities : revised final draft report, May 2009.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-05-01

Due to the ever-increasing demand for complementary ADA paratransit trips, transit agencies have instituted a number of actions related to reducing the costs of this type of service, including steps to limit the demand through stricter and more compl...

It's What You Say and What You Do! Nonverbal Immediacy Behaviors: A Key to Effective Communication.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Skow, Lisa; Whitaker, Todd

1996-01-01

Nonverbal immediacy behaviors are nonlinguistic actions that send four simultaneous and complementary messages conveying a person's approachability, availability, closeness and warmth, and "multi-channeling" qualities. For principals, such behaviors help even potentially hostile interactions proceed more smoothly. Principals should consciously…

Democratizing Higher Education and Access to Science: The Portuguese Reform 2006-2010

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heitor, Manuel; Horta, Hugo

2014-01-01

The democratization of higher education through strategically driven science policies and higher education reforms is documented in this paper. These represent complementary policy actions oriented towards strengthening social, cultural and economic dimensions that allow higher education institutions (HEIs) to grow and to train graduates able to…

Complementary π-π interactions induce multicomponent coassembly into functional fibrils.

PubMed

Ryan, Derek M; Doran, Todd M; Nilsson, Bradley L

2011-09-06

Noncovalent self-assembled materials inspired by amyloid architectures are useful for biomedical applications ranging from regenerative medicine to drug delivery. The selective coassembly of complementary monomeric units to provide ordered multicomponent fibrils is a possible strategy for enhancing the sophistication of these noncovalent materials. Herein we report that complementary π-π interactions can be exploited to promote the coassembly of phenylalanine (Phe) derivatives that possess complementary aromatic side-chain functionality. Specifically, equimolar mixtures of Fmoc-Phe and Fmoc-F(5)-Phe, which possess side-chain groups with complementary quadrupole electronics, readily coassemble to form two-component fibrils and hydrogels under conditions where Fmoc-Phe alone fails to self-assemble. In addition, it was found that equimolar mixtures of Fmoc-Phe with monohalogenated (F, Cl, and Br) Fmoc-Phe derivatives also coassembled into two-component fibrils. These results collectively indicate that face-to-face quadrupole stacking between benzyl side-chain groups does not account for the molecular recognition between Phe and halogenated Phe derivatives that promote cofibrillization but that coassembly is mediated by more subtle π-π effects arising from the halogenation of the benzyl side chain. The use of complementary π-π interactions to promote the coassembly of two distinct monomeric units into ordered two-component fibrils dramatically expands the repertoire of noncovalent interactions that can be used in the development of sophisticated noncovalent materials. © 2011 American Chemical Society

What does the electroencephalogram tell us about the mechanisms of action of ECT in major depressive disorders?

PubMed

Farzan, Faranak; Boutros, Nash N; Blumberger, Daniel M; Daskalakis, Zafiris J

2014-06-01

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) remains to be one of the most effective treatment options in treatment-resistant major depressive disorder (MDD). From the early days, researchers have embarked on extracting information from electroencephalography (EEG) recordings before, during, and after ECT to identify neurophysiological targets of ECT and discover EEG predictors of response to ECT in patients with MDD. In this article, we provide an overview of visually detected and quantitative EEG features that could help in furthering our understanding of the mechanisms of action of ECT in MDD. We further discuss the EEG findings in the context of postulated hypotheses of ECT therapeutic pathways. We introduce an alternative and unifying hypothesis suggesting that ECT may exert its therapeutic efficacy through resetting the aberrant functional connectivity and promoting the generation of new and healthy connections in brain regions implicated in MDD pathophysiology, a mechanism that may be in part mediated by the ECT-induced activation of inhibitory and neuroplasticity mechanisms. We further discuss the added value of EEG markers in the larger context of ECT research and as complementary to neuroimaging and genetic markers. We conclude by drawing attention to the need for longitudinal studies in large cohort of patients and the need for standardization and validation of EEG algorithms of functional connectivity across studies to facilitate the translation of EEG correlates of ECT response in routine clinical practice.

Investigation into the use of complementary and alternative medicine and affecting factors in Turkish asthmatic patients.

PubMed

Tokem, Yasemin; Aytemur, Zeynep Ayfer; Yildirim, Yasemin; Fadiloglu, Cicek

2012-03-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the frequency of complementary and alternative medicine usage in asthmatic patients living in the west of Turkey, the most frequently used complementary and alternative medicine methods and socio-demographic factors affecting this and factors related to the disease. While the rate of complementary and alternative medicine usage in asthmatic patients and the reasons for using it vary, practices specific to different countries and regions are of interest. Differing cultural and social factors even in geographically similar regions can affect the type of complementary and alternative medicine used. Two hundred asthmatic patients registered in the asthma outpatient clinic of a large hospital in Turkey and who had undergone pulmonary function tests within the previous six months were included in this study, which was planned according to a descriptive design. The patients filled out a questionnaire on their demographic characteristics and complementary and alternative medicine usage. The proportion of patients who reported using one or more of the complementary and alternative medicine methods was 63·0%. Of these patients, 61·9% were using plants and herbal treatments, 53·2% were doing exercises and 36·5% said that they prayed. The objectives of their use of complementary and alternative medicine were to reduce asthma-related complaints (58%) and to feel better (37·8%). The proportion of people experiencing adverse effects was 3·3% (n = 4). Factors motivating asthmatic patients to use complementary and alternative medicine were the existence of comorbid diseases and a long period since diagnosis (p < 0·05). No statistically significant difference was found between the use of complementary and alternative medicine and the severity of the disease, pulmonary function test parameters, the number of asthma attacks or hospitalisations because of asthma within the last year (p > 0·05). Understanding by nurses of the causes and patterns of the use of complementary and alternative medicine in asthmatic patients helps them in directing patient care and patient safety. Nurses should conduct comprehensive diagnostics in the light of complementary and alternative medicine use, and they should be aware of the potential risks. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Balancing struggles with desired results in everyday activities: strategies for elderly persons with physical disabilities.

PubMed

Bontje, Peter; Asaba, Eric; Josephsson, Staffan

2016-03-01

The number of elderly persons with disabilities needing support with everyday activities increasing in Japan and around the world. Yet, engagement in everyday activities can support the quality of their daily life. Despite research focusing on reported meanings of people's actions, there is still limited knowledge on how engagement in everyday activity is enacted along with the meanings of persons' actions. The aim of the present study was to identify meanings of persons' actions within everyday activities of elderly Japanese with physical disabilities. Five elderly persons with physical disabilities living in the community participated in this study. Data were gathered by 10 participant observations of everyday activities supplemented with 13 unstructured interviews. Narrative analysis was used to identify meanings of persons' actions. The analysis identified an overall plot termed 'balancing struggles with desired results'. This plot illustrated that participants' and other involved individuals balanced problematic situations with finding situations that accommodated their needs. Meanings of these actions were further identified as three complementary strategies. Two of three strategies aimed to mitigate given problems, one by 'acting on a plan to achieve one's goals', the other by 'taking a step in a preferred direction by capitalising on emerging opportunities'. The third strategy focused on avoiding undesirable experiences by 'modifying problematic situations'. In conclusion, these findings call for care and rehabilitation providers' sensitivity to shifting foci of what matters in daily life's situations as well as aligning with persons' skills, resources and perspectives. Accordingly, the judicious and flexible use of these complementary strategies can enhance elderly persons' quality of daily living through everyday activities. © 2015 Nordic College of Caring Science.

Is evaluating complementary and alternative medicine equivalent to evaluating the absurd?

PubMed

Greasley, Pete

2010-06-01

Complementary and alternative therapies such as reflexology and acupuncture have been the subject of numerous evaluations, clinical trials, and systematic reviews, yet the empirical evidence in support of their efficacy remains equivocal. The empirical evaluation of a therapy would normally assume a plausible rationale regarding the mechanism of action. However, examination of the historical background and underlying principles for reflexology, iridology, acupuncture, auricular acupuncture, and some herbal medicines, reveals a rationale founded on the principle of analogical correspondences, which is a common basis for magical thinking and pseudoscientific beliefs such as astrology and chiromancy. Where this is the case, it is suggested that subjecting these therapies to empirical evaluation may be tantamount to evaluating the absurd.

An architecture for heuristic control of real-time processes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Raulefs, P.; Thorndyke, P. W.

1987-01-01

Abstract Process management combines complementary approaches of heuristic reasoning and analytical process control. Management of a continuous process requires monitoring the environment and the controlled system, assessing the ongoing situation, developing and revising planned actions, and controlling the execution of the actions. For knowledge-intensive domains, process management entails the potentially time-stressed cooperation among a variety of expert systems. By redesigning a blackboard control architecture in an object-oriented framework, researchers obtain an approach to process management that considerably extends blackboard control mechanisms and overcomes limitations of blackboard systems.

Presynaptic membrane receptors in acetylcholine release modulation in the neuromuscular synapse.

PubMed

Tomàs, Josep; Santafé, Manel M; Garcia, Neus; Lanuza, Maria A; Tomàs, Marta; Besalduch, Núria; Obis, Teresa; Priego, Mercedes; Hurtado, Erica

2014-05-01

Over the past few years, we have studied, in the mammalian neuromuscular junction (NMJ), the local involvement in transmitter release of the presynaptic muscarinic ACh autoreceptors (mAChRs), purinergic adenosine autoreceptors (P1Rs), and trophic factor receptors (TFRs; for neurotrophins and trophic cytokines) during development and in the adult. At any given moment, the way in which a synapse works is largely the logical outcome of the confluence of these (and other) metabotropic signalling pathways on intracellular kinases, which phosphorylate protein targets and materialize adaptive changes. We propose an integrated interpretation of the complementary function of these receptors in the adult NMJ. The activity of a given receptor group can modulate a given combination of spontaneous, evoked, and activity-dependent release characteristics. For instance, P1Rs can conserve resources by limiting spontaneous quantal leak of ACh (an A1 R action) and protect synapse function, because stimulation with adenosine reduces the magnitude of depression during repetitive activity. The overall outcome of the mAChRs seems to contribute to upkeep of spontaneous quantal output of ACh, save synapse function by decreasing the extent of evoked release (mainly an M2 action), and reduce depression. We have also identified several links among P1Rs, mAChRs, and TFRs. We found a close dependence between mAChR and some TFRs and observed that the muscarinic group has to operate correctly if the tropomyosin-related kinase B receptor (trkB) is also to operate correctly, and vice versa. Likewise, the functional integrity of mAChRs depends on P1Rs operating normally. Copyright © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

76 FR 6487 - National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine; Announcement of Workshop on...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-02-04

... Mechanistic and Translational Research on Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Their Metabolites ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY... Research on Omega-3 Fatty Acids and their Metabolites. The purpose of this workshop is to bring together... the underlying mechanisms of Omega-3 fatty acids and their metabolites. The goal is to identify...

Integration of Professional Certification Examinations with the Financial Planning Curriculum: Increasing Efficiency, Motivation, and Professional Success

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goetz, Joseph W.; Zhu, Dandan; Hampton, Vickie L.; Chatterjee, Swarn; Salter, John

2011-01-01

This article provides a theoretical-based rationale and plan of action for educational programs to encourage and create opportunities for the integration of course study with professional exam preparation, while highlighting the complementary benefits for students, academic programs, and the financial services profession. Serving primarily as a…

Old and New Controversies in the Alternative Treatment of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rojas, Neal L.; Chan, Eugenia

2005-01-01

Use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for treatment of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has become widespread in both referral and primary care populations. We review the purported mechanism of action and available evidence for selected CAM therapies for ADHD. Enduring controversies, such as elimination of artificial…

A Pause-then-Cancel model of stopping: evidence from basal ganglia neurophysiology

PubMed Central

Berke, Joshua D.

2017-01-01

Many studies have implicated the basal ganglia in the suppression of action impulses (‘stopping’). Here, we discuss recent neurophysiological evidence that distinct hypothesized processes involved in action preparation and cancellation can be mapped onto distinct basal ganglia cell types and pathways. We examine how movement-related activity in the striatum is related to a ‘Go’ process and how going may be modulated by brief epochs of beta oscillations. We then describe how, rather than a unitary ‘Stop’ process, there appear to be separate, complementary ‘Pause’ and ‘Cancel’ mechanisms. We discuss the implications of these stopping subprocesses for the interpretation of the stop-signal reaction time—in particular, some activity that seems too slow to causally contribute to stopping when assuming a single Stop processes may actually be fast enough under a Pause-then-Cancel model. Finally, we suggest that combining complementary neural mechanisms that emphasize speed or accuracy respectively may serve more generally to optimize speed–accuracy trade-offs. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Movement suppression: brain mechanisms for stopping and stillness’. PMID:28242736

A Pause-then-Cancel model of stopping: evidence from basal ganglia neurophysiology.

PubMed

Schmidt, Robert; Berke, Joshua D

2017-04-19

Many studies have implicated the basal ganglia in the suppression of action impulses ('stopping'). Here, we discuss recent neurophysiological evidence that distinct hypothesized processes involved in action preparation and cancellation can be mapped onto distinct basal ganglia cell types and pathways. We examine how movement-related activity in the striatum is related to a 'Go' process and how going may be modulated by brief epochs of beta oscillations. We then describe how, rather than a unitary 'Stop' process, there appear to be separate, complementary 'Pause' and 'Cancel' mechanisms. We discuss the implications of these stopping subprocesses for the interpretation of the stop-signal reaction time-in particular, some activity that seems too slow to causally contribute to stopping when assuming a single Stop processes may actually be fast enough under a Pause-then-Cancel model. Finally, we suggest that combining complementary neural mechanisms that emphasize speed or accuracy respectively may serve more generally to optimize speed-accuracy trade-offs.This article is part of the themed issue 'Movement suppression: brain mechanisms for stopping and stillness'. © 2017 The Author(s).

Law's Dilemma: Validating Complementary and Alternative Medicine and the Clash of Evidential Paradigms

PubMed Central

Iyioha, Ireh

2011-01-01

This paper examines the (in)compatibility between the diagnostic and therapeutic theories of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and a science-based regulatory framework. Specifically, the paper investigates the nexus between statutory legitimacy and scientific validation of health systems, with an examination of its impact on the development of complementary and alternative therapies. The paper evaluates competing theories for validating CAM ranging from the RCT methodology to anthropological perspectives and contends that while the RCT method might be beneficial in the regulation of many CAM therapies, yet dogmatic adherence to this paradigm as the exclusive method for legitimizing CAM will be adverse to the independent development of many CAM therapies whose philosophies and mechanisms of action are not scientifically interpretable. Drawing on history and research evidence to support this argument, the paper sues for a regulatory model that is accommodative of different evidential paradigms in support of a pluralistic healthcare system that balances the imperative of quality assurance with the need to ensure access. PMID:20953428

Neuro-cognitive mechanisms of decision making in joint action: a human-robot interaction study.

PubMed

Bicho, Estela; Erlhagen, Wolfram; Louro, Luis; e Silva, Eliana Costa

2011-10-01

In this paper we present a model for action preparation and decision making in cooperative tasks that is inspired by recent experimental findings about the neuro-cognitive mechanisms supporting joint action in humans. It implements the coordination of actions and goals among the partners as a dynamic process that integrates contextual cues, shared task knowledge and predicted outcome of others' motor behavior. The control architecture is formalized by a system of coupled dynamic neural fields representing a distributed network of local but connected neural populations. Different pools of neurons encode task-relevant information about action means, task goals and context in the form of self-sustained activation patterns. These patterns are triggered by input from connected populations and evolve continuously in time under the influence of recurrent interactions. The dynamic model of joint action is evaluated in a task in which a robot and a human jointly construct a toy object. We show that the highly context sensitive mapping from action observation onto appropriate complementary actions allows coping with dynamically changing joint action situations. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Complementary and Alternative Therapies for Down Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roizen, Nancy J.

2005-01-01

In their role as committed advocates, parents of children with Down syndrome have always sought alternative therapies, mainly to enhance cognitive function but also to improve their appearance. Nutritional supplements have been the most frequent type of complementary and alternative therapy used. Cell therapy, plastic surgery, hormonal therapy,…

Cognitive barriers to readiness to change in alcohol-dependent patients.

PubMed

Le Berre, Anne-Pascale; Vabret, François; Cauvin, Céline; Pinon, Karine; Allain, Philippe; Pitel, Anne-Lise; Eustache, Francis; Beaunieux, Hélène

2012-09-01

Patients' personal investment and readiness to change have proved to be a prerequisite for the successful treatment of alcohol addiction. The aim of this study was to determine the contribution of cognitive functions to the motivation process to abandon maladjusted behavior in favor of a healthier lifestyle. An adapted version of the "readiness to change" questionnaire was completed by 31 alcohol-dependent patients after detoxification and at alcohol treatment entry. This tool is designed to assess the 3 main stages of motivation to change regarding alcohol consumption: precontemplation (substance abuse and no intention to stop drinking), contemplation (strong intention to change habits but ambivalent behavior), and action (cessation of excessive alcohol consumption and behavioral changes for healthier habits) stages. Patients and 37 healthy controls also underwent an extensive neuropsychological battery including episodic memory, metamemory, executive functions, and decision-making assessment. When alcohol-dependent patients were considered as a group, the mean score on the action subscale was significantly higher than the precontemplation and contemplation ones. Nevertheless, when the stage of change reached by each patient was considered individually, we found that some alcohol-dependent patients were still in the earlier precontemplation and contemplation stages. Stepwise regression analysis revealed links between impaired memory and executive functions and low motivation, and between good decision-making skills and high motivation. Our results suggest that a set of complementary cognitive abilities is needed to achieve awareness and resolve ambivalence toward alcohol addiction, which is essential for activating the desire to change problematic behavior. Copyright © 2012 by the Research Society on Alcoholism.

Phenol-enriched olive oils improve HDL antioxidant content in hypercholesterolemic subjects. A randomized, double-blind, cross-over, controlled trial.

PubMed

Farràs, Marta; Fernández-Castillejo, Sara; Rubió, Laura; Arranz, Sara; Catalán, Úrsula; Subirana, Isaac; Romero, Mari-Paz; Castañer, Olga; Pedret, Anna; Blanchart, Gemma; Muñoz-Aguayo, Daniel; Schröder, Helmut; Covas, Maria-Isabel; de la Torre, Rafael; Motilva, Maria-José; Solà, Rosa; Fitó, Montserrat

2018-01-01

At present, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) function is thought to be more relevant than HDL cholesterol quantity. Consumption of olive oil phenolic compounds (PCs) has beneficial effects on HDL-related markers. Enriched food with complementary antioxidants could be a suitable option to obtain additional protective effects. Our aim was to ascertain whether virgin olive oils (VOOs) enriched with (a) their own PC (FVOO) and (b) their own PC plus complementary ones from thyme (FVOOT) could improve HDL status and function. Thirty-three hypercholesterolemic individuals ingested (25 ml/day, 3 weeks) (a) VOO (80 ppm), (b) FVOO (500 ppm) and (c) FVOOT (500 ppm) in a randomized, double-blind, controlled, crossover trial. A rise in HDL antioxidant compounds was observed after both functional olive oil interventions. Nevertheless, α-tocopherol, the main HDL antioxidant, was only augmented after FVOOT versus its baseline. In conclusion, long-term consumption of phenol-enriched olive oils induced a better HDL antioxidant content, the complementary phenol-enriched olive oil being the one which increased the main HDL antioxidant, α-tocopherol. Complementary phenol-enriched olive oil could be a useful dietary tool for improving HDL richness in antioxidants. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Intelligent complementary sliding-mode control for LUSMS-based X-Y-theta motion control stage.

PubMed

Lin, Faa-Jeng; Chen, Syuan-Yi; Shyu, Kuo-Kai; Liu, Yen-Hung

2010-07-01

An intelligent complementary sliding-mode control (ICSMC) system using a recurrent wavelet-based Elman neural network (RWENN) estimator is proposed in this study to control the mover position of a linear ultrasonic motors (LUSMs)-based X-Y-theta motion control stage for the tracking of various contours. By the addition of a complementary generalized error transformation, the complementary sliding-mode control (CSMC) can efficiently reduce the guaranteed ultimate bound of the tracking error by half compared with the slidingmode control (SMC) while using the saturation function. To estimate a lumped uncertainty on-line and replace the hitting control of the CSMC directly, the RWENN estimator is adopted in the proposed ICSMC system. In the RWENN, each hidden neuron employs a different wavelet function as an activation function to improve both the convergent precision and the convergent time compared with the conventional Elman neural network (ENN). The estimation laws of the RWENN are derived using the Lyapunov stability theorem to train the network parameters on-line. A robust compensator is also proposed to confront the uncertainties including approximation error, optimal parameter vectors, and higher-order terms in Taylor series. Finally, some experimental results of various contours tracking show that the tracking performance of the ICSMC system is significantly improved compared with the SMC and CSMC systems.

INFANT FEEDING IN THE FIRST TWO YEARS OF LIFE.

PubMed

Lopes, Wanessa Casteluber; Marques, Fúlvia Karine Santos; Oliveira, Camila Ferreira de; Rodrigues, Jéssica Alkmim; Silveira, Marise Fagundes; Caldeira, Antônio Prates; Pinho, Lucinéia de

2018-01-01

To analyze the prevalence of breastfeeding and the introduction of complementary food for zero to 24-month-old infants. This is a population-based cross-sectional study of children aged less than 24 months in Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Data were collected in 2015, by interviews with people in charge of infant care in the house. The questionnaire administered assessed the sociodemographic status of the family, maternal and infant characteristics and food consumption habits. Survival analysis was used to calculate median prevalence and duration of breastfeeding and the introduction of complementary feeding. With 180 days of life, 4.0% of the children were exclusively breastfed, 22.4% were mostly breastfed and 43.4% were fed breast milk as complementary food. In the third month of life, children were consuming water (56.8%), fruit juice or formula (15.5%) and cow's milk (10.6%). At the age of 12 months, 31.1% were consuming artificial juice and 50.0% were eating candies. Before the age of 1 year, 25.0% of them had already eaten instant noodles. The introduction of drinks, honey, sugar and candies as complementary food was found to be premature; and solid and semi-solid foods were almost appropriate. The habits described can directly affect the success of breastfeeding. Given that the inadequate eating practices identified can compromise the infant's health, actions that promote breastfeeding and provide guidance on the introduction of complementary foods are important.

Functions of Turkish Complementary Schools in the UK: Official vs. Insider Discourses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Çavusoglu, Çise

2014-01-01

Complementary schools in the United Kingdom (UK) are community organised schools with the general aim of teaching younger generations their "native" languages and cultures. However, the aims and practices of these schools are predominantly dependent on changes in the social and political contexts both in the host country (in this case…

Learning and Living While Black: Black Students, White Universities, and the Age of Post-Affirmative Action and Post-Racialism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reaves, Rosalind

2013-01-01

With Critical Race Theory (CRT) and social justice serving as complementary conceptual frames, this ethnographic study investigates the learning and living experiences of ten African American students of a predominantly White university in the Midwest. While several studies have investigated Black students' experiences at PWIs, most notably…

12 CFR 225.89 - How to request approval to engage in an activity that is complementary to a financial activity?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... CHANGE IN BANK CONTROL (REGULATION Y) Regulations Financial Holding Companies § 225.89 How to request... holding company and to the financial system generally; (5) Describe the potential adverse effects... effects. (c) Board action. The Board will inform the financial holding company in writing of the Board's...

Computer Attitude and eLearning Self-Efficacy of Undergraduate Students: Validating Potential Acceptance and Use of Online Learning Systems in Ghana

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Larbi-Apau, Josephine; Oti-Boadi, Mabel; Tetteh, Albert

2018-01-01

Both computer attitude and eLearning self-efficacy are critical complementary factors in determining confidence levels and behavioral belief systems, and can directly affect students' actions, performances and achievements. This study applied a multidimensional construct in validating computer attitude and eLearning self-efficacy of Psychology…

Receiving money for medicine: some tensions and resolutions for community-based private complementary therapists.

PubMed

Andrews, Gavin J; Peter, Elizabeth; Hammond, Robin

2003-03-01

During recent years, private complementary medicine has grown as a significant provider of healthcare in the UK and much of this provision is through small private businesses financed by out-of-pocket payments made by privately paying clients. Using a combined questionnaire (n = 426) and interview survey (n = 49), the present paper considers the potential tensions and dilemmas which therapists face and the resolutions which they come to in being carers, but in market terms, also profit makers. Therapists generally identified with being carers first and business people second, and this was reflected in their caring decisions. Indeed, under circumstances where the roles potentially conflicted (e.g. when clients could no longer afford to pay for their treatments), most therapists claimed that they continued to provide care, either by providing their services free-of-charge, at a reduced rate, by deferring payment or by accepting alternative forms of compensation. There is a relative lack of dedicated research literature on complementary therapists, their attitudes and actions, and this paper provides some important data on their specific management and caring decisions. At the same time, the evidence also provides some initial food-for-thought and indicates some potential research directions for exploring ethical issues in the private practice of complementary medicine.

Investigating the Function of Play Bows in Dog and Wolf Puppies (Canis lupus familiaris, Canis lupus occidentalis).

PubMed

Byosiere, Sarah-Elizabeth; Espinosa, Julia; Marshall-Pescini, Sarah; Smuts, Barbara; Range, Friederike

2016-01-01

Animals utilize behavioral signals across a range of different contexts in order to communicate with others and produce probable behavioral outcomes. During play animals frequently adopt action patterns used in other contexts. Researchers have therefore hypothesized that play signals have evolved to clarify communicative intent. One highly stereotyped play signal is the canid play bow, but its function remains contested. In order to clarify how canid puppies use play bows, we used data on play bows in immature wolves (ages 2.7-7.8 months) and dogs (ages 2 to 5 months) to test hypotheses evaluated in a previous study of adult dogs. We found that young dogs used play bows similarly to adult dogs; play bows most often occurred after a brief pause in play followed by complementary highly active play states. However, while the relative number of play bows and total observation time was similar between dog and wolf puppies, wolves did not follow this behavioral pattern, as play bows were unsuccessful in eliciting further play activity by the partner. While some similarities for the function of play bows in dog and wolf puppies were documented, it appears that play bows may function differently in wolf puppies in regards to re-initiating play.

A Public Health Agenda for Traditional, Complementary, and Alternative Medicine

PubMed Central

Bodeker, Gerard; Kronenberg, Fredi

2002-01-01

Traditional medicine (a term used here to denote the indigenous health traditions of the world) and complementary and alternative medicine (T/CAM) have, in the past 10 years, claimed an increasing share of the public’s awareness and the agenda of medical researchers. Studies have documented that about half the population of many industrialized countries now use T/CAM, and the proportion is as high as 80% in many developing countries. Most research has focused on clinical and experimental medicine (safety, efficacy, and mechanism of action) and regulatory issues, to the general neglect of public health dimensions. Public health research must consider social, cultural, political, and economic contexts to maximize the contribution of T/CAM to health care systems globally. PMID:12356597

Pharmacological analyses of learning and memory in zebrafish (Danio rerio).

PubMed

Bailey, Jordan M; Oliveri, Anthony N; Levin, Edward D

2015-12-01

Over the last decade, zebrafish (Danio rerio) have become valuable as a complementary model in behavioral pharmacology, opening a new avenue for understanding the relationships between drug action and behavior. This species offers a useful intermediate approach bridging the gap between in vitro studies and traditional mammalian models. Zebrafish offer great advantages of economy compared to their rodent counterparts, their complex brains and behavioral repertoire offer great translational potential relative to in vitro models. The development and validation of a variety of tests to measure behavior, including cognition, in zebrafish have set the stage for the use of this animal for behavioral pharmacology studies. This has led to research into the basic mechanisms of cognitive function as well as screening for potential cognition-improving drug therapies, among other lines of research. As with all models, zebrafish have limitations, which span pharmacokinetic challenges to difficulties quantifying behavior. The use, efficacy and limitations associated with a zebrafish model of cognitive function are discussed in this review, within the context of behavioral pharmacology. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Software for Probabilistic Risk Reduction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hensley, Scott; Michel, Thierry; Madsen, Soren; Chapin, Elaine; Rodriguez, Ernesto

2004-01-01

A computer program implements a methodology, denoted probabilistic risk reduction, that is intended to aid in planning the development of complex software and/or hardware systems. This methodology integrates two complementary prior methodologies: (1) that of probabilistic risk assessment and (2) a risk-based planning methodology, implemented in a prior computer program known as Defect Detection and Prevention (DDP), in which multiple requirements and the beneficial effects of risk-mitigation actions are taken into account. The present methodology and the software are able to accommodate both process knowledge (notably of the efficacy of development practices) and product knowledge (notably of the logical structure of a system, the development of which one seeks to plan). Estimates of the costs and benefits of a planned development can be derived. Functional and non-functional aspects of software can be taken into account, and trades made among them. It becomes possible to optimize the planning process in the sense that it becomes possible to select the best suite of process steps and design choices to maximize the expectation of success while remaining within budget.

Self-organizing actin patterns shape membrane architecture but not cell mechanics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fritzsche, M.; Li, D.; Colin-York, H.; Chang, V. T.; Moeendarbary, E.; Felce, J. H.; Sezgin, E.; Charras, G.; Betzig, E.; Eggeling, C.

2017-02-01

Cell-free studies have demonstrated how collective action of actin-associated proteins can organize actin filaments into dynamic patterns, such as vortices, asters and stars. Using complementary microscopic techniques, we here show evidence of such self-organization of the actin cortex in living HeLa cells. During cell adhesion, an active multistage process naturally leads to pattern transitions from actin vortices over stars into asters. This process is primarily driven by Arp2/3 complex nucleation, but not by myosin motors, which is in contrast to what has been theoretically predicted and observed in vitro. Concomitant measurements of mechanics and plasma membrane fluidity demonstrate that changes in actin patterning alter membrane architecture but occur functionally independent of macroscopic cortex elasticity. Consequently, tuning the activity of the Arp2/3 complex to alter filament assembly may thus be a mechanism allowing cells to adjust their membrane architecture without affecting their macroscopic mechanical properties.

Self-organizing actin patterns shape membrane architecture but not cell mechanics

PubMed Central

Fritzsche, M.; Li, D.; Colin-York, H.; Chang, V. T.; Moeendarbary, E.; Felce, J. H.; Sezgin, E.; Charras, G.; Betzig, E.; Eggeling, C.

2017-01-01

Cell-free studies have demonstrated how collective action of actin-associated proteins can organize actin filaments into dynamic patterns, such as vortices, asters and stars. Using complementary microscopic techniques, we here show evidence of such self-organization of the actin cortex in living HeLa cells. During cell adhesion, an active multistage process naturally leads to pattern transitions from actin vortices over stars into asters. This process is primarily driven by Arp2/3 complex nucleation, but not by myosin motors, which is in contrast to what has been theoretically predicted and observed in vitro. Concomitant measurements of mechanics and plasma membrane fluidity demonstrate that changes in actin patterning alter membrane architecture but occur functionally independent of macroscopic cortex elasticity. Consequently, tuning the activity of the Arp2/3 complex to alter filament assembly may thus be a mechanism allowing cells to adjust their membrane architecture without affecting their macroscopic mechanical properties. PMID:28194011

Beneficial Role of Bitter Melon Supplementation in Obesity and Related Complications in Metabolic Syndrome

PubMed Central

Subhan, Nusrat; Rahman, Md Mahbubur; Jain, Preeti; Reza, Hasan Mahmud

2015-01-01

Diabetes, obesity, and metabolic syndrome are becoming epidemic both in developed and developing countries in recent years. Complementary and alternative medicines have been used since ancient era for the treatment of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Bitter melon is widely used as vegetables in daily food in Bangladesh and several other countries in Asia. The fruits extract of bitter melon showed strong antioxidant and hypoglycemic activities in experimental condition both in vivo and in vitro. Recent scientific evaluation of this plant extracts also showed potential therapeutic benefit in diabetes and obesity related metabolic dysfunction in experimental animals and clinical studies. These beneficial effects are mediated probably by inducing lipid and fat metabolizing gene expression and increasing the function of AMPK and PPARs, and so forth. This review will thus focus on the recent findings on beneficial effect of Momordica charantia extracts on metabolic syndrome and discuss its potential mechanism of actions. PMID:25650336

A common-path optical coherence tomography based electrode for structural imaging of nerves and recording of action potentials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Islam, M. Shahidul; Haque, Md. Rezuanul; Oh, Christian M.; Wang, Yan; Park, B. Hyle

2013-03-01

Current technologies for monitoring neural activity either use different variety of electrodes (electrical recording) or require contrast agents introduced exogenously or through genetic modification (optical imaging). Here we demonstrate an optical method for non-contact and contrast agent free detection of nerve activity using phase-resolved optical coherence tomography (pr-OCT). A common-path variation of the pr-OCT is recently implemented and the developed system demonstrated the capability to detect rapid transient structural changes that accompany neural spike propagation. No averaging over multiple trials was required, indicating its capability of single-shot detection of individual impulses from functionally stimulated Limulus optic nerve. The strength of this OCT-based optical electrode is that it is a contactless method and does not require any exogenous contrast agent. With further improvements in accuracy and sensitivity, this optical electrode will play a complementary role to the existing recording technologies in future.

Characterizing genomic alterations in cancer by complementary functional associations.

PubMed

Kim, Jong Wook; Botvinnik, Olga B; Abudayyeh, Omar; Birger, Chet; Rosenbluh, Joseph; Shrestha, Yashaswi; Abazeed, Mohamed E; Hammerman, Peter S; DiCara, Daniel; Konieczkowski, David J; Johannessen, Cory M; Liberzon, Arthur; Alizad-Rahvar, Amir Reza; Alexe, Gabriela; Aguirre, Andrew; Ghandi, Mahmoud; Greulich, Heidi; Vazquez, Francisca; Weir, Barbara A; Van Allen, Eliezer M; Tsherniak, Aviad; Shao, Diane D; Zack, Travis I; Noble, Michael; Getz, Gad; Beroukhim, Rameen; Garraway, Levi A; Ardakani, Masoud; Romualdi, Chiara; Sales, Gabriele; Barbie, David A; Boehm, Jesse S; Hahn, William C; Mesirov, Jill P; Tamayo, Pablo

2016-05-01

Systematic efforts to sequence the cancer genome have identified large numbers of mutations and copy number alterations in human cancers. However, elucidating the functional consequences of these variants, and their interactions to drive or maintain oncogenic states, remains a challenge in cancer research. We developed REVEALER, a computational method that identifies combinations of mutually exclusive genomic alterations correlated with functional phenotypes, such as the activation or gene dependency of oncogenic pathways or sensitivity to a drug treatment. We used REVEALER to uncover complementary genomic alterations associated with the transcriptional activation of β-catenin and NRF2, MEK-inhibitor sensitivity, and KRAS dependency. REVEALER successfully identified both known and new associations, demonstrating the power of combining functional profiles with extensive characterization of genomic alterations in cancer genomes.

Phytotherapy in Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders.

PubMed

Kelber, Olaf; Bauer, Rudolf; Kubelka, Wolfgang

2017-01-01

Phytotherapy is an important therapeutic option in functional gastrointestinal diseases (FGID). It has a large tradition, with different approaches in different regions of the world, some of which have made their way into modern evidence-based medicine (EBM). Taking into account the number of herbs in use, and also the cumulated scientific evidence on them, FGID are possibly the most important indication in phytotherapy. This does not only apply for European phytotherapy, but also for other regions, such as Asia. Within European phytotherapy, herbs active in FGID are usually classified according to their main active constituents and their activities. Typically, the herbs used in FGID are grouped into amara, aromatica, amara aromatica combining both properties, herbs stimulating gastric secretion, herbs containing spasmolytic and carminative essential oils or spasmolytic alkaloids, mucilaginosa soothing the mucosa, and flavonoid containing drugs with anti-inflammatory properties. In phytotherapy, different plants are frequently combined to maximize effectiveness and specificity of action. Very potent combination products can be developed when the mechanisms of action of the combination partners are complementary. This approach can be demonstrated by the example of STW 5. For this herbal combination product, therapeutic efficacy in FGID has been clinically proven according to the highest standards of EBM. This example also underlines that modern rational phytotherapy is definitely part of modern EBM. Key Messages: FGID is one of the most important indications in phytotherapy and rationally combined herbal preparations are established evidence-based therapeutic options. © 2018 The Author(s) Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.

Primary status, complementary status, and organizational survival in the U.S. venture capital industry.

PubMed

Bothner, Matthew S; Kim, Young-Kyu; Lee, Wonjae

2015-07-01

We introduce a distinction between two kinds of status and examine their effects on the exit rates of organizations investing in the U.S. venture capital industry. Extending past work on status-based competition, we start with a simple baseline: we describe primary status as a network-related signal of an organization's quality in a leadership role, that is, as a function of the degree to which an organization leads others that are themselves well regarded as lead organizations in the context of investment syndicates. Combining Harary's (1959) image of the elite consultant with Goffman's (1956) concept of "capacity-esteem," we then discuss complementary status as an affiliation-based signal of an organization's quality in a supporting role. We measure complementary status as a function of the extent to which an organization is invited into syndicates by well-regarded lead organizations-that is, by those possessing high levels of primary status. Findings show that, conditioning on primary status, complementary status reduces the rate at which venture capital organizations exit the industry. Consistent with the premise that these kinds of status correspond to different roles and market identities, we also find that complementary status attenuates (and ultimately reverses) the otherwise favorable effect of primary status on an organization's life chances. Theoretically and methodologically oriented scope conditions, as well as implications for future research, are discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

DNA Photo Lithography with Cinnamate-based Photo-Bio-Nano-Glue

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Lang; Li, Minfeng; Romulus, Joy; Sha, Ruojie; Royer, John; Wu, Kun-Ta; Xu, Qin; Seeman, Nadrian; Weck, Marcus; Chaikin, Paul

2013-03-01

We present a technique to make patterned functional surfaces, using a cinnamate photo cross-linker and photolithography. We have designed and modified a complementary set of single DNA strands to incorporate a pair of opposing cinnamate molecules. On exposure to 360nm UV, the cinnamate makes a highly specific covalent bond permanently linking only the complementary strands containing the cinnamates. We have studied this specific and efficient crosslinking with cinnamate-containing DNA in solution and on particles. UV addressability allows us to pattern surfaces functionally. The entire surface is coated with a DNA sequence A incorporating cinnamate. DNA strands A'B with one end containing a complementary cinnamated sequence A' attached to another sequence B, are then hybridized to the surface. UV photolithography is used to bind the A'B strand in a specific pattern. The system is heated and the unbound DNA is washed away. The pattern is then observed by thermo-reversibly hybridizing either fluorescently dyed B' strands complementary to B, or colloids coated with B' strands. Our techniques can be used to reversibly and/or permanently bind, via DNA linkers, an assortment of molecules, proteins and nanostructures. Potential applications range from advanced self-assembly, such as templated self-replication schemes recently reported, to designed physical and chemical patterns, to high-resolution multi-functional DNA surfaces for genetic detection or DNA computing.

Complementary and alternative medicine for multiple sclerosis.

PubMed

Schwarz, S; Knorr, C; Geiger, H; Flachenecker, P

2008-09-01

We analyzed characteristics, motivation, and effectiveness of complementary and alternative medicine in a large sample of people with multiple sclerosis. A 53-item survey was mailed to the members of the German Multiple Sclerosis Society, chapter of Baden-Wuerttemberg. Surveys of 1573 patients (48.5 +/- 11.7 years, 74% women, duration of illness 18.1 +/- 10.5 years) were analyzed. In comparison with conventional medicine, more patients displayed a positive attitude toward complementary and alternative medicine (44% vs 38%, P < 0.05), with 70% reporting lifetime use of at least one method. Among a wide variety of complementary and alternative medicine, diet modification (41%), Omega-3 fatty acids (37%), removal of amalgam fillings (28%), vitamins E (28%), B (36%), and C (28%), homeopathy (26%), and selenium (24%) were cited most frequently. Most respondents (69%) were satisfied with the effects of complementary and alternative medicine. Use of complementary and alternative medicine was associated with religiosity, functional independence, female sex, white-collar job, and higher education (P < 0.05). Compared with conventional therapies, complementary and alternative medicine rarely showed unwanted side effects (9% vs 59%, P < 0.00001). A total of 52% stated that the initial consultation with their physician lasted less than 15 min. To conclude, main reasons for the use of complementary and alternative medicine include the high rate of side effects and low levels of satisfaction with conventional treatments and brief patients/physicians contacts.

Host-Targeting Agents to Prevent and Cure Hepatitis C Virus Infection.

PubMed

Zeisel, Mirjam B; Crouchet, Emilie; Baumert, Thomas F; Schuster, Catherine

2015-11-02

Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major cause of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) which are leading indications of liver transplantation (LT). To date, there is no vaccine to prevent HCV infection and LT is invariably followed by infection of the liver graft. Within the past years, direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) have had a major impact on the management of chronic hepatitis C, which has become a curable disease in the majority of DAA-treated patients. In contrast to DAAs that target viral proteins, host-targeting agents (HTAs) interfere with cellular factors involved in the viral life cycle. By acting through a complementary mechanism of action and by exhibiting a generally higher barrier to resistance, HTAs offer a prospective option to prevent and treat viral resistance. Indeed, given their complementary mechanism of action, HTAs and DAAs can act in a synergistic manner to reduce viral loads. This review summarizes the different classes of HTAs against HCV infection that are in preclinical or clinical development and highlights their potential to prevent HCV infection, e.g., following LT, and to tailor combination treatments to cure chronic HCV infection.

Dual embedded agency: physicians implement integrative medicine in health-care organizations.

PubMed

Keshet, Yael

2013-11-01

The paradox of embedded agency addresses the question of how embedded agents are able to conceive of new ideas and practices and then implement them in institutionalized organizations if social structures exert so powerful an influence on behavior, and agents operate within a framework of institutional constraints. This article proposes that dual embedded agency may provide an explanation of the paradox. The article draws from an ethnographic study that examined the ways in which dual-trained physicians, namely medical doctors trained also in some modality of complementary and alternative medicine, integrate complementary and alternative medicine into the biomedical fortress of mainstream health-care organizations. Participant observations were conducted during the years 2006-2011. The observed physicians were found to be embedded in two diverse medical cultures and to have a hybrid professional identity that comprised two sets of health-care values. Seeking to introduce new ideas and practices associated with complementary and alternative medicine to medical institutions, they maneuvered among the constraints of institutional structures while using these very structures, in an isomorphic mode of action, as a platform for launching complementary and alternative medicine practices and values. They drew on the complementary and alternative medicine philosophical principle of interconnectedness and interdependency of seemingly polar opposites or contrary forces and acted to achieve change by means of nonadversarial strategies. By addressing the structure-agency dichotomy, this study contributes to the literature on change in institutionalized health-care organizations. It likewise contributes both theoretically and empirically to the study of integrative medicine and to the further development of this relatively new area of inquiry within the sociology of medicine.

Neurocognitive systems related to real-world prospective memory.

PubMed

Kalpouzos, Grégoria; Eriksson, Johan; Sjölie, Daniel; Molin, Jonas; Nyberg, Lars

2010-10-08

Prospective memory (PM) denotes the ability to remember to perform actions in the future. It has been argued that standard laboratory paradigms fail to capture core aspects of PM. We combined functional MRI, virtual reality, eye-tracking and verbal reports to explore the dynamic allocation of neurocognitive processes during a naturalistic PM task where individuals performed errands in a realistic model of their residential town. Based on eye movement data and verbal reports, we modeled PM as an iterative loop of five sustained and transient phases: intention maintenance before target detection (TD), TD, intention maintenance after TD, action, and switching, the latter representing the activation of a new intention in mind. The fMRI analyses revealed continuous engagement of a top-down fronto-parietal network throughout the entire task, likely subserving goal maintenance in mind. In addition, a shift was observed from a perceptual (occipital) system while searching for places to go, to a mnemonic (temporo-parietal, fronto-hippocampal) system for remembering what actions to perform after TD. Updating of the top-down fronto-parietal network occurred at both TD and switching, the latter likely also being characterized by frontopolar activity. Taken together, these findings show how brain systems complementary interact during real-world PM, and support a more complete model of PM that can be applied to naturalistic PM tasks and that we named PROspective MEmory DYnamic (PROMEDY) model because of its dynamics on both multi-phase iteration and the interactions of distinct neurocognitive networks.

Searching for roots of entrainment and joint action in early musical interactions.

PubMed

Phillips-Silver, Jessica; Keller, Peter E

2012-01-01

When people play music and dance together, they engage in forms of musical joint action that are often characterized by a shared sense of rhythmic timing and affective state (i.e., temporal and affective entrainment). In order to understand the origins of musical joint action, we propose a model in which entrainment is linked to dual mechanisms (motor resonance and action simulation), which in turn support musical behavior (imitation and complementary joint action). To illustrate this model, we consider two generic forms of joint musical behavior: chorusing and turn-taking. We explore how these common behaviors can be founded on entrainment capacities established early in human development, specifically during musical interactions between infants and their caregivers. If the roots of entrainment are found in early musical interactions which are practiced from childhood into adulthood, then we propose that the rehearsal of advanced musical ensemble skills can be considered to be a refined, mimetic form of temporal and affective entrainment whose evolution begins in infancy.

Robust Indoor Human Activity Recognition Using Wireless Signals.

PubMed

Wang, Yi; Jiang, Xinli; Cao, Rongyu; Wang, Xiyang

2015-07-15

Wireless signals-based activity detection and recognition technology may be complementary to the existing vision-based methods, especially under the circumstance of occlusions, viewpoint change, complex background, lighting condition change, and so on. This paper explores the properties of the channel state information (CSI) of Wi-Fi signals, and presents a robust indoor daily human activity recognition framework with only one pair of transmission points (TP) and access points (AP). First of all, some indoor human actions are selected as primitive actions forming a training set. Then, an online filtering method is designed to make actions' CSI curves smooth and allow them to contain enough pattern information. Each primitive action pattern can be segmented from the outliers of its multi-input multi-output (MIMO) signals by a proposed segmentation method. Lastly, in online activities recognition, by selecting proper features and Support Vector Machine (SVM) based multi-classification, activities constituted by primitive actions can be recognized insensitive to the locations, orientations, and speeds.

Searching for Roots of Entrainment and Joint Action in Early Musical Interactions

PubMed Central

Phillips-Silver, Jessica; Keller, Peter E.

2012-01-01

When people play music and dance together, they engage in forms of musical joint action that are often characterized by a shared sense of rhythmic timing and affective state (i.e., temporal and affective entrainment). In order to understand the origins of musical joint action, we propose a model in which entrainment is linked to dual mechanisms (motor resonance and action simulation), which in turn support musical behavior (imitation and complementary joint action). To illustrate this model, we consider two generic forms of joint musical behavior: chorusing and turn-taking. We explore how these common behaviors can be founded on entrainment capacities established early in human development, specifically during musical interactions between infants and their caregivers. If the roots of entrainment are found in early musical interactions which are practiced from childhood into adulthood, then we propose that the rehearsal of advanced musical ensemble skills can be considered to be a refined, mimetic form of temporal and affective entrainment whose evolution begins in infancy. PMID:22375113

Hippocampal Damage Increases Deontological Responses during Moral Decision Making

PubMed Central

Rosenthal, Clive R.; Miller, Thomas D.

2016-01-01

Complex moral decision making is associated with the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) in humans, and damage to this region significantly increases the frequency of utilitarian judgments. Since the vmPFC has strong anatomical and functional links with the hippocampus, here we asked how patients with selective bilateral hippocampal damage would derive moral decisions on a classic moral dilemmas paradigm. We found that the patients approved of the utilitarian options significantly less often than control participants, favoring instead deontological responses—rejecting actions that harm even one person. Thus, patients with hippocampal damage have a strikingly opposite approach to moral decision making than vmPFC-lesioned patients. Skin-conductance data collected during the task showed increased emotional arousal in the hippocampal-damaged patients and they stated that their moral decisions were based on emotional instinct. By contrast, control participants made moral decisions based on the integration of an adverse emotional response to harming others, visualization of the consequences of one's action, and the rational re-evaluation of future benefits. This integration may be disturbed in patients with either hippocampal or vmPFC damage. Hippocampal lesions decreased the ability to visualize a scenario and its future consequences, which seemed to render the adverse emotional response overwhelmingly dominant. In patients with vmPFC damage, visualization might also be reduced alongside an inability to detect the adverse emotional response, leaving only the utilitarian option open. Overall, these results provide insights into the processes involved in moral decision making and highlight the complementary roles played by two closely connected brain regions. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) is closely associated with the ability to make complex moral judgements. When this area is damaged, patients become more utilitarian (the ends justify the means) and have decreased emotional arousal during moral decision making. The vmPFC is closely connected with another brain region—the hippocampus. In this study we found that patients with selective bilateral hippocampal damage show a strikingly opposite response pattern to those with vmPFC damage when making moral judgements. They rejected harmful actions of any kind (thus their responses were deontological) and showed increased emotional arousal. These results provide new insights into the processes involved in moral decision making and highlight the complementary roles played by two closely connected brain regions. PMID:27903725

Hippocampal Damage Increases Deontological Responses during Moral Decision Making.

PubMed

McCormick, Cornelia; Rosenthal, Clive R; Miller, Thomas D; Maguire, Eleanor A

2016-11-30

Complex moral decision making is associated with the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) in humans, and damage to this region significantly increases the frequency of utilitarian judgments. Since the vmPFC has strong anatomical and functional links with the hippocampus, here we asked how patients with selective bilateral hippocampal damage would derive moral decisions on a classic moral dilemmas paradigm. We found that the patients approved of the utilitarian options significantly less often than control participants, favoring instead deontological responses-rejecting actions that harm even one person. Thus, patients with hippocampal damage have a strikingly opposite approach to moral decision making than vmPFC-lesioned patients. Skin-conductance data collected during the task showed increased emotional arousal in the hippocampal-damaged patients and they stated that their moral decisions were based on emotional instinct. By contrast, control participants made moral decisions based on the integration of an adverse emotional response to harming others, visualization of the consequences of one's action, and the rational re-evaluation of future benefits. This integration may be disturbed in patients with either hippocampal or vmPFC damage. Hippocampal lesions decreased the ability to visualize a scenario and its future consequences, which seemed to render the adverse emotional response overwhelmingly dominant. In patients with vmPFC damage, visualization might also be reduced alongside an inability to detect the adverse emotional response, leaving only the utilitarian option open. Overall, these results provide insights into the processes involved in moral decision making and highlight the complementary roles played by two closely connected brain regions. The ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) is closely associated with the ability to make complex moral judgements. When this area is damaged, patients become more utilitarian (the ends justify the means) and have decreased emotional arousal during moral decision making. The vmPFC is closely connected with another brain region-the hippocampus. In this study we found that patients with selective bilateral hippocampal damage show a strikingly opposite response pattern to those with vmPFC damage when making moral judgements. They rejected harmful actions of any kind (thus their responses were deontological) and showed increased emotional arousal. These results provide new insights into the processes involved in moral decision making and highlight the complementary roles played by two closely connected brain regions. Copyright © 2015 McCormick et al.

Biomimetic enzyme nanocomplexes and their use as antidotes and preventive measures for alcohol intoxication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yang; Du, Juanjuan; Yan, Ming; Lau, Mo Yin; Hu, Jay; Han, Hui; Yang, Otto O.; Liang, Sheng; Wei, Wei; Wang, Hui; Li, Jianmin; Zhu, Xinyuan; Shi, Linqi; Chen, Wei; Ji, Cheng; Lu, Yunfeng

2013-03-01

Organisms have sophisticated subcellular compartments containing enzymes that function in tandem. These confined compartments ensure effective chemical transformation and transport of molecules, and the elimination of toxic metabolic wastes. Creating functional enzyme complexes that are confined in a similar way remains challenging. Here we show that two or more enzymes with complementary functions can be assembled and encapsulated within a thin polymer shell to form enzyme nanocomplexes. These nanocomplexes exhibit improved catalytic efficiency and enhanced stability when compared with free enzymes. Furthermore, the co-localized enzymes display complementary functions, whereby toxic intermediates generated by one enzyme can be promptly eliminated by another enzyme. We show that nanocomplexes containing alcohol oxidase and catalase could reduce blood alcohol levels in intoxicated mice, offering an alternative antidote and prophylactic for alcohol intoxication.

Directional, seamless, and restriction enzyme-free construction of random-primed complementary DNA libraries using phosphorothioate-modified primers.

PubMed

Howland, Shanshan W; Poh, Chek-Meng; Rénia, Laurent

2011-09-01

Directional cloning of complementary DNA (cDNA) primed by oligo(dT) is commonly achieved by appending a restriction site to the primer, whereas the second strand is synthesized through the combined action of RNase H and Escherichia coli DNA polymerase I (PolI). Although random primers provide more uniform and complete coverage, directional cloning with the same strategy is highly inefficient. We report that phosphorothioate linkages protect the tail sequence appended to random primers from the 5'→3' exonuclease activity of PolI. We present a simple strategy for constructing a random-primed cDNA library using the efficient, size-independent, and seamless In-Fusion cloning method instead of restriction enzymes. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Alternative, complementary and traditional medicine in Malaysia.

PubMed

Talib, N

2006-09-01

This paper sets out the practice of traditional, alternative and/or complementary medicine in Malaysia. It gives an overview of the types of alternative medicine available, and the legal regulation, or lack of it within the current setting. The relevant policies and governmental action in this area are highlighted. Relevant case law decisions in this area are also included. The practice of spiritual healing as one form of traditional medicine, and its role within the spectrum of alternative medicine is dealt with briefly. The significant question of integration of alternative medicine within the existing allopathic system is addressed. The paper concludes that as interest in, and usage of alternative medicine is not likely to decrease, certain measures must be taken by the relevant authorities to ensure among others, the safety and efficacy of these medicines.

Network-based Approaches in Pharmacology.

PubMed

Boezio, Baptiste; Audouze, Karine; Ducrot, Pierre; Taboureau, Olivier

2017-10-01

In drug discovery, network-based approaches are expected to spotlight our understanding of drug action across multiple layers of information. On one hand, network pharmacology considers the drug response in the context of a cellular or phenotypic network. On the other hand, a chemical-based network is a promising alternative for characterizing the chemical space. Both can provide complementary support for the development of rational drug design and better knowledge of the mechanisms underlying the multiple actions of drugs. Recent progress in both concepts is discussed here. In addition, a network-based approach using drug-target-therapy data is introduced as an example. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Cytotoxicity Testing: Cell Experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grünert, Renate; Westendorf, Aron; Buczkowska, Magdalena; Hänsch, Mareike; Grüunert, Sybil; Bednarski, Patrick J.

Screening for new anticancer agents has traditionally been done with in vitro cell culture methods. Even in the genomic era of target-driven drug design, screening for cytotoxic activity is still a standard tool in the search for new anticancer agents, especially if the mode of action of a substance is not yet known. A wide variety of cell culture methods with unique end-points are available for testing the anticancer potential of a substance. Each has its advantages and disadvantages, which must be weighed in the decision to use a particular method. Often several complementary methods are used to gain information on the mode of action of a substance.

Advances in the Preclinical Study of Some Flavonoids as Potential Antidepressant Agents

PubMed Central

German-Ponciano, León Jesús; Rosas-Sánchez, Gilberto Uriel; Rivadeneyra-Domínguez, Eduardo

2018-01-01

Flavonoids are phenolic compounds found commonly in plants that protect them against the negative effects of environmental insults. These secondary metabolites have been widely studied in preclinical research because of their biological effects, particularly as antioxidant agents. Diverse flavonoids have been studied to explore their potential therapeutic effects in the treatment of disorders of the central nervous system, including anxiety and depression. The present review discusses advances in the study of some flavonoids as potential antidepressant agents. We describe their behavioral, physiological, and neurochemical effects and the apparent mechanism of action of their preclinical antidepressant-like effects. Natural flavonoids produce antidepressant-like effects in validated behavioral models of depression. The mechanism of action of these effects includes the activation of serotonergic, dopaminergic, noradrenergic, and γ-aminobutyric acid-ergic neurotransmitter systems and an increase in the production of neural factors, including brain-derived neurotrophic factor and nerve growth factor. Additionally, alterations in the function of tropomyosin receptor kinase B and activity of the enzyme monoamine oxidase A have been reported. In conclusion, preclinical research supports the potential antidepressant effects of some natural flavonoids, which opens new possibilities of evaluating these substances to develop complementary therapeutic alternatives that could ameliorate symptoms of depressive disorders in humans. PMID:29623232

A systems-pharmacology analysis of herbal medicines used in health improvement treatment: predicting potential new drugs and targets.

PubMed

Liu, Jianling; Pei, Mengjie; Zheng, Chunli; Li, Yan; Wang, Yonghua; Lu, Aiping; Yang, Ling

2013-01-01

For thousands of years, tonic herbs have been successfully used all around the world to improve health, energy, and vitality. However, their underlying mechanisms of action in molecular/systems levels are still a mystery. In this work, two sets of tonic herbs, so called Qi-enriching herbs (QEH) and Blood-tonifying herbs (BTH) in TCM, were selected to elucidate why they can restore proper balance and harmony inside body, organ and energy system. Firstly, a pattern recognition model based on artificial neural network and discriminant analysis for assessing the molecular difference between QEH and BTH was developed. It is indicated that QEH compounds have high lipophilicity while BTH compounds possess high chemical reactivity. Secondly, a systematic investigation integrating ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion) prediction, target fishing and network analysis was performed and validated on these herbs to obtain the compound-target associations for reconstructing the biologically-meaningful networks. The results suggest QEH enhance physical strength, immune system and normal well-being, acting as adjuvant therapy for chronic disorders while BTH stimulate hematopoiesis function in body. As an emerging approach, the systems pharmacology model might facilitate to understand the mechanisms of action of the tonic herbs, which brings about new development for complementary and alternative medicine.

Application of chemical reaction mechanistic domains to an ecotoxicity QSAR model, the KAshinhou Tool for Ecotoxicity (KATE).

PubMed

Furuhama, A; Hasunuma, K; Aoki, Y; Yoshioka, Y; Shiraishi, H

2011-01-01

The validity of chemical reaction mechanistic domains defined by skin sensitisation in the Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship (QSAR) ecotoxicity system, KAshinhou Tools for Ecotoxicity (KATE), March 2009 version, has been assessed and an external validation of the current KATE system carried out. In the case of the fish end-point, the group of chemicals with substructures reactive to skin sensitisation always exhibited higher root mean square errors (RMSEs) than chemicals without reactive substructures under identical C- or log P-judgements in KATE. However, in the case of the Daphnia end-point this was not so, and the group of chemicals with reactive substructures did not always have higher RMSEs: the Schiff base mechanism did not function as a high error detector. In addition to the RMSE findings, the presence of outliers suggested that the KATE classification rules needs to be reconsidered, particularly for the amine group. Examination of the dependency of the organism on the toxic action of chemicals in fish and Daphnia revealed that some of the reactive substructures could be applied to the improvement of the KATE system. It was concluded that the reaction mechanistic domains of toxic action for skin sensitisation could provide useful complementary information in predicting acute aquatic ecotoxicity, especially at the fish end-point.

PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES OF TAT-HKII PEPTIDE ADMINISTRATION ARE INDEPENDENT OF IMPAIRED VASCULAR FUNCTION AND ENSUING ISCHEMIA

PubMed Central

Nederlof, Rianne; Xie, Chaoqin; Eerbeek, Otto; Koeman, Anneke; Milstein, Dan MJ; Hollmann, Markus W; Mik, Egbert G; Warley, Alice; Southworth, Richard; Akar, Fadi G.; Zuurbier, Coert J

2013-01-01

Rationale We have shown that partial dissociation of HKII from mitochondria in the intact heart using low dose (200 nM) TAT-HKII prevents the cardioprotective effects of ischemic preconditioning (IPC) whereas high-dose (10 μM) TAT-HKII administration results in rapid myocardial dysfunction, mitochondrial depolarization and disintegration. In this issue of Circulation Research, Pasdois et al argue that the deleterious effects of TAT-HKII administration on cardiac function are likely due to vasoconstriction and ensuing ischemia. Objective To investigate whether altered vascular function and ensuing ischemia recapitulate the deleterious effects of TAT-HKII in intact myocardium. Methods and Results Using a variety of complementary techniques, including mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) imaging, high-resolution optical action potential (AP) mapping, analysis of lactate production, NADH epifluorescence, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, and electron microscopy, we provide direct evidence that refutes the notion that acute myocardial dysfunction by high-dose TAT-HKII peptide administration is a consequence of impaired vascular function. Moreover, we demonstrate that low-dose TAT-HKII treatment, which abrogates the protective effects of IPC, is not associated with ischemia or ischemic-injury. Conclusions Our findings challenge the notion that the effects of TAT-HKII are attributable to impaired vascular function and ensuing ischemia; thereby, lending further credence to the role of mitochondria bound HKII as a critical regulator of cardiac function, ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury, and cardioprotection by IPC. PMID:23329797

Rail-to-rail differential input amplification stage with main and surrogate differential pairs

DOEpatents

Britton, Jr., Charles Lanier; Smith, Stephen Fulton

2007-03-06

An operational amplifier input stage provides a symmetrical rail-to-rail input common-mode voltage without turning off either pair of complementary differential input transistors. Secondary, or surrogate, transistor pairs assume the function of the complementary differential transistors. The circuit also maintains essentially constant transconductance, constant slew rate, and constant signal-path supply current as it provides rail-to-rail operation.

Bilingual Education: A Statement of Policy and Proposed Action of the Regents of the University of the State of New York. Position Paper Series, Number 16.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

New York State Education Dept., Albany.

The primary goal of the Regents in their bilingual education program is to provide equal educational opportunity for non-English-speaking children through activities capitalizing on their proficiency in their native language and developing competency in English. Two complementary goals are inherent: (1) a vitally needed national resource, the…

Prescreening slash pine and Cronartium pedigrees for evaluation of complementary gene action in fusiform rust disease.

Treesearch

H.E. Stelzer; Robert L. Doudrick; Thomas L. Kubisiak; C. Dana Nelson

1999-01-01

Single-urediniospore cultures of the fusiform rust fungus were used to inoculate seedlings from 10 full-sib families of a five-parent slash pine diallel at two different times in 1994. The presence or absence of fusiform rust galls was recorded for each inoculated seedling at 9 months postinoculation, and percent infection levels for each family-inoculum-time...

Advancing biodiversity-ecosystem functioning science using high-density tree-based experiments over functional diversity gradients.

PubMed

Tobner, Cornelia M; Paquette, Alain; Reich, Peter B; Gravel, Dominique; Messier, Christian

2014-03-01

Increasing concern about loss of biodiversity and its effects on ecosystem functioning has triggered a series of manipulative experiments worldwide, which have demonstrated a general trend for ecosystem functioning to increase with diversity. General mechanisms proposed to explain diversity effects include complementary resource use and invoke a key role for species' functional traits. The actual mechanisms by which complementary resource use occurs remain, however, poorly understood, as well as whether they apply to tree-dominated ecosystems. Here we present an experimental approach offering multiple innovative aspects to the field of biodiversity-ecosystem functioning (BEF) research. The International Diversity Experiment Network with Trees (IDENT) allows research to be conducted at several hierarchical levels within individuals, neighborhoods, and communities. The network investigates questions related to intraspecific trait variation, complementarity, and environmental stress. The goal of IDENT is to identify some of the mechanisms through which individuals and species interact to promote coexistence and the complementary use of resources. IDENT includes several implemented and planned sites in North America and Europe, and uses a replicated design of high-density tree plots of fixed species-richness levels varying in functional diversity (FD). The design reduces the space and time needed for trees to interact allowing a thorough set of mixtures varying over different diversity gradients (specific, functional, phylogenetic) and environmental conditions (e.g., water stress) to be tested in the field. The intention of this paper is to share the experience in designing FD-focused BEF experiments with trees, to favor collaborations and expand the network to different conditions.

Evaluating the complementary roles of an SJT and academic assessment for entry into clinical practice.

PubMed

Cousans, Fran; Patterson, Fiona; Edwards, Helena; Walker, Kim; McLachlan, John C; Good, David

2017-05-01

Although there is extensive evidence confirming the predictive validity of situational judgement tests (SJTs) in medical education, there remains a shortage of evidence for their predictive validity for performance of postgraduate trainees in their first role in clinical practice. Moreover, to date few researchers have empirically examined the complementary roles of academic and non-academic selection methods in predicting in-role performance. This is an important area of enquiry as despite it being common practice to use both types of methods within a selection system, there is currently no evidence that this approach translates into increased predictive validity of the selection system as a whole, over that achieved by the use of a single selection method. In this preliminary study, the majority of the range of scores achieved by successful applicants to the UK Foundation Programme provided a unique opportunity to address both of these areas of enquiry. Sampling targeted high (>80th percentile) and low (<20th percentile) scorers on the SJT. Supervisors rated 391 trainees' in-role performance, and incidence of remedial action was collected. SJT and academic performance scores correlated with supervisor ratings (r = .31 and .28, respectively). The relationship was stronger between the SJT and in-role performance for the low scoring group (r = .33, high scoring group r = .11), and between academic performance and in-role performance for the high scoring group (r = .29, low scoring group r = .11). Trainees with low SJT scores were almost five times more likely to receive remedial action. Results indicate that an SJT for entry into trainee physicians' first role in clinical practice has good predictive validity of supervisor-rated performance and incidence of remedial action. In addition, an SJT and a measure of academic performance appeared to be complementary to each other. These initial findings suggest that SJTs may be more predictive at the lower end of a scoring distribution, and academic attainment more predictive at the higher end.

The system-stabilizing role of identity management strategies: social creativity can undermine collective action for social change.

PubMed

Becker, Julia C

2012-10-01

Three studies were conducted to examine whether, in an event of negative distinctiveness, engaging in 1 of the 3 identity management strategies of social creativity can undermine group member's intentions to engage in collective action. Study 1a (N = 55) and Study 1b (N = 58) illustrated that selecting a new (complementary) comparison dimension undermined middle-class people's and women's intention to participate in collective action. Study 1c (N = 74) and Study 1d (N = 126) revealed that a downward comparison undermined collective action intentions among unemployed people and women. Study 1e (N = 69) and Study 1f (N = 110) showed that a positive redefinition of an externally imposed negative group attribute did not diminish collective action intentions among immigrants and women. Study 2 (N = 99) illustrated that an alternative operationalization of revaluation of the attribute, namely, downplaying the status-defining attribute, undermined collective action among students. Study 2 and Study 3 (N = 95) consistently illustrated that reduced levels of group-relative deprivation mediated the negative relation between the social creativity strategies and collective action intentions. Implications for social change are discussed.

Trigeminal, Visceral and Vestibular Inputs May Improve Cognitive Functions by Acting through the Locus Coeruleus and the Ascending Reticular Activating System: A New Hypothesis

PubMed Central

De Cicco, Vincenzo; Tramonti Fantozzi, Maria P.; Cataldo, Enrico; Barresi, Massimo; Bruschini, Luca; Faraguna, Ugo; Manzoni, Diego

2018-01-01

It is known that sensory signals sustain the background discharge of the ascending reticular activating system (ARAS) which includes the noradrenergic locus coeruleus (LC) neurons and controls the level of attention and alertness. Moreover, LC neurons influence brain metabolic activity, gene expression and brain inflammatory processes. As a consequence of the sensory control of ARAS/LC, stimulation of a sensory channel may potential influence neuronal activity and trophic state all over the brain, supporting cognitive functions and exerting a neuroprotective action. On the other hand, an imbalance of the same input on the two sides may lead to an asymmetric hemispheric excitability, leading to an impairment in cognitive functions. Among the inputs that may drive LC neurons and ARAS, those arising from the trigeminal region, from visceral organs and, possibly, from the vestibular system seem to be particularly relevant in regulating their activity. The trigeminal, visceral and vestibular control of ARAS/LC activity may explain why these input signals: (1) affect sensorimotor and cognitive functions which are not directly related to their specific informational content; and (2) are effective in relieving the symptoms of some brain pathologies, thus prompting peripheral activation of these input systems as a complementary approach for the treatment of cognitive impairments and neurodegenerative disorders. PMID:29358907

Cnidarian microRNAs frequently regulate targets by cleavage.

PubMed

Moran, Yehu; Fredman, David; Praher, Daniela; Li, Xin Z; Wee, Liang Meng; Rentzsch, Fabian; Zamore, Phillip D; Technau, Ulrich; Seitz, Hervé

2014-04-01

In bilaterians, which comprise most of extant animals, microRNAs (miRNAs) regulate the majority of messenger RNAs (mRNAs) via base-pairing of a short sequence (the miRNA "seed") to the target, subsequently promoting translational inhibition and transcript instability. In plants, many miRNAs guide endonucleolytic cleavage of highly complementary targets. Because little is known about miRNA function in nonbilaterian animals, we investigated the repertoire and biological activity of miRNAs in the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis, a representative of Cnidaria, the sister phylum of Bilateria. Our work uncovers scores of novel miRNAs in Nematostella, increasing the total miRNA gene count to 87. Yet only a handful are conserved in corals and hydras, suggesting that microRNA gene turnover in Cnidaria greatly exceeds that of other metazoan groups. We further show that Nematostella miRNAs frequently direct the cleavage of their mRNA targets via nearly perfect complementarity. This mode of action resembles that of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and plant miRNAs. It appears to be common in Cnidaria, as several of the miRNA target sites are conserved among distantly related anemone species, and we also detected miRNA-directed cleavage in Hydra. Unlike in bilaterians, Nematostella miRNAs are commonly coexpressed with their target transcripts. In light of these findings, we propose that post-transcriptional regulation by miRNAs functions differently in Cnidaria and Bilateria. The similar, siRNA-like mode of action of miRNAs in Cnidaria and plants suggests that this may be an ancestral state.

Direct Nanoscale Conversion of Biomolecular Signals into Electronic Information

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-09-22

the electrode surface. In this experiment, the single free cysteine group featured in the GOx structure was exploited to demonstrate that orientation...first with GOx-ssDNA conjugates featuring a sequence complementary to the address strand, then with a non-complementary conjugate and finally with...fully-functional for an enzyme that features a free thiol group, or that can be engineered to incorporate a thiol onto its outer shell

Terahertz transmission resonances in complementary multilayered metamaterial with deep subwavelength interlayer spacing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choi, Muhan; Kang, Byungsoo; Yi, Yoonsik; Lee, Seung Hoon; Kim, Inbo; Han, Jae-Hyung; Yi, Minwoo; Ahn, Jaewook; Choi, Choon-Gi

2016-05-01

We introduce a flexible multilayered THz metamaterial designed by using the Babinet's principle with the functionality of narrow band-pass filter. The metamaterial gives us systematic way to design frequency selective surfaces working on intended frequencies and bandwidths. It shows highly enhanced transmission of 80% for the normal incident THz waves due to the strong coupling of the two layers of metamaterial complementary to each other.

Comparison of PSF maxima and minima of multiple annuli coded aperture (MACA) and complementary multiple annuli coded aperture (CMACA) systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ratnam, Challa; Lakshmana Rao, Vadlamudi; Lachaa Goud, Sivagouni

2006-10-01

In the present paper, and a series of papers to follow, the Fourier analytical properties of multiple annuli coded aperture (MACA) and complementary multiple annuli coded aperture (CMACA) systems are investigated. First, the transmission function for MACA and CMACA is derived using Fourier methods and, based on the Fresnel-Kirchoff diffraction theory, the formulae for the point spread function are formulated. The PSF maxima and minima are calculated for both the MACA and CMACA systems. The dependence of these properties on the number of zones is studied and reported in this paper.

Complementary and partially complementary DNA duplexes tethered to a functionalized substrate: a molecular dynamics approach to biosensing.

PubMed

Monti, Susanna; Cacelli, Ivo; Ferretti, Alessandro; Prampolini, Giacomo; Barone, Vincenzo

2011-07-21

Molecular dynamics simulations (90 ns) of different DNA complexes attached to a functionalized substrate in solution were performed in order to clarify the behavior of mismatched DNA sequences captured by a tethered DNA probe (biochip). Examination of the trajectories revealed that the substrate influence and a series of cooperative events, including recognition, reorientation and reorganization of the bases, could induce the formation of stable duplexes having non-canonical arrangements. Major adjustment of the structures was observed when the mutated base was located in the end region of the chain close to the surface. This journal is © the Owner Societies 2011

Balancing Hole and Electron Conduction in Ambipolar Split-Gate Thin-Film Transistors.

PubMed

Yoo, Hocheon; Ghittorelli, Matteo; Lee, Dong-Kyu; Smits, Edsger C P; Gelinck, Gerwin H; Ahn, Hyungju; Lee, Han-Koo; Torricelli, Fabrizio; Kim, Jae-Joon

2017-07-10

Complementary organic electronics is a key enabling technology for the development of new applications including smart ubiquitous sensors, wearable electronics, and healthcare devices. High-performance, high-functionality and reliable complementary circuits require n- and p-type thin-film transistors with balanced characteristics. Recent advancements in ambipolar organic transistors in terms of semiconductor and device engineering demonstrate the great potential of this route but, unfortunately, the actual development of ambipolar organic complementary electronics is currently hampered by the uneven electron (n-type) and hole (p-type) conduction in ambipolar organic transistors. Here we show ambipolar organic thin-film transistors with balanced n-type and p-type operation. By manipulating air exposure and vacuum annealing conditions, we show that well-balanced electron and hole transport properties can be easily obtained. The method is used to control hole and electron conductions in split-gate transistors based on a solution-processed donor-acceptor semiconducting polymer. Complementary logic inverters with balanced charging and discharging characteristics are demonstrated. These findings may open up new opportunities for the rational design of complementary electronics based on ambipolar organic transistors.

Vildagliptin , a DPP-4 inhibitor for the twice-daily treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus with or without metformin.

PubMed

Forst, Thomas; Bramlage, Peter

2014-06-01

Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors increase circulating levels of glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) and glucose dependent insulinotropic polypeptide regulating glucose-dependent insulin secretion. In addition, GLP-1 suppresses glucagon secretion, delays gastric emptying and increases satiety. The combination of vildagliptin with the biguanide metformin is of particular interest because of its complementary mode of action, addressing insulin resistance, alpha- and beta cell function in the islet of the pancreas. Because of the abundance of data supporting the use of vildagliptin alone and in combination with metformin, the present paper aims at giving an overview on the current evidence for its use in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The data suggest that vildagliptin offers similar glycemic control compared to sulfonylureas and thiazolidinediones, while having the benefit of being associated with fewer cases of hypoglycemia and less body weight gain. There is increasing evidence that compared with sulfonylureas, vildagliptin has favorable effects on pancreatic alpha- and beta-cell function. Vildagliptin in combination with metformin, improve glycemic control with a favorable safety and tolerability profile, making it an attractive therapeutic option in patients where metformin monotherapy alone is not sufficient.

THE THERAPEUTIC USE OF SYMBIOTICS

PubMed Central

FLESCH, Aline Gamarra Taborda; POZIOMYCK, Aline Kirjner; DAMIN, Daniel De Carvalho

2014-01-01

Introduction Functional foods are health promoters and their use is associated with reduced risk of chronic degenerative and non-transmissible diseases. Examples are symbiotic. The association of one (or more) probiotic with a one (or more) prebiotic is called symbiotic, being the prebiotics complementary and probiotics synergistic, thus presenting a multiplicative factor on their individual actions. Objective To assess the evidences on the benefits of the use of symbiotics in the treatment of clinical and surgical situations. Methods The headings symbiotic, probiotic and prebiotic were searched in Pubmed/Medline in the last 15 years, and were selected 25 articles, used for database. Results The use of symbiotic may promote an increase in the number of bifidobacteria, glycemic control, reduction of blood cholesterol, balancing the intestinal flora which aids in reducing constipation and/or diarrhea, improves intestinal permeability and stimulation of the immune system. Clinical indications for these products has been expanded, in order to maximize the individual's physiological functions to provide greater. So, with the high interest in the clinical and nutritional control of disease, many studies have been conducted demonstrating the effectiveness of using symbiotic in improving and/or preventing various and/or symptoms of gastrointestinal diseases. Conclusion Symbiotic behave differently and positively in various pathological situations. PMID:25184774

Experimental aspects concerning the laser action on the living tissue

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ciuchita, Tavi; Antipa, Ciprian; Stanescu, Constantin S.; Anghel, Sorin; Calugareanu, Mircea

2001-06-01

The paper presents some experimental methods of the treatment and investigation aspects and results concerning the interaction of the low energy laser (LEL) with living tissue in the treatment of some skin diseases: lichen ruber planus (LP) and infectious finger pulpits (IFP), scalp alopecia (SA) and crural ulcers (CU). We concluded that LEL therapy is a useful complementary method in the treatments of these skin diseases .

Effectiveness of the Civil Aviation Security Program.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-11-09

which have been prevented or deterred by airline and airport security procedures cannot be determined with certainty. The Federal Aviation Administration...finalized and issued. The new FAR Part 108, Air Carrier Security and complementary changes to FAR Part 107, Airport Security , and FAR Part 129, Operations...initiated audit of the claims and, if verified, action will be taken to seek funding for payment. Airport Security . Airport security measures continue to be

How To Form a Team: Five Keys to High Performance. For the Practicing Manager. An Ideas into Action Guidebook.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kanaga, Kim; Kossler, Michael E.

This practical guidebook is designed for managers and leaders who have responsibility for the creation and success of teams. First, a team is described as a workgroup whose members are dependent upon one another for the completion of a given task, and whose members possess different but complementary skill sets. A team manages its own work within…

Lactococcin G is a potassium ion-conducting, two-component bacteriocin.

PubMed

Moll, G; Ubbink-Kok, T; Hildeng-Hauge, H; Nissen-Meyer, J; Nes, I F; Konings, W N; Driessen, A J

1996-02-01

Lactococcin G is a novel lactococcal bacteriocin whose activity depends on the complementary action of two peptides, termed alpha and beta. Peptide synthesis of the alpha and beta peptides yielded biologically active lactococcin G, which was used in mode-of-action studies on sensitive cells of Lactococcus lactis. Approximately equivalent amounts of both peptides were required for optimal bactericidal effect. No effect was observed with either the alpha or beta peptide in the absence of the complementary peptide. The combination of alpha and beta peptides (lactococcin G) dissipates the membrane potential (delta omega), and as a consequence cells release alpha-aminoisobutyrate, a non-metabolizable alanine analog that is accumulated through a proton motive-force dependent mechanism. In addition, the cellular ATP level is dramatically reduced, which results in a drastic decrease of the ATP-driven glutamate uptake. Lactococcin G does not form a proton-conducting pore, as it has no effect on the transmembrane pH gradient. Dissipation of the membrane potential by uncouplers causes a slow release of potassium (rubidium) ions. However, rapid release of potassium was observed in the presence of lactococcin G. These data suggest that the bactericidal effect of lactococcin G is due to the formation of potassium-selective channels by the alpha and beta peptides in the target bacterial membrane.

Complementary action of jasmonic acid on salicylic acid in mediating fungal elicitor-induced flavonol glycoside accumulation of Ginkgo biloba cells.

PubMed

Xu, Maojun; Dong, Jufang; Wang, Huizhong; Huang, Luqi

2009-08-01

The antagonistic action between jasmonic acid (JA) and salicylic acid (SA) in plant defence responses has been well documented. However, their relationship in secondary metabolite production is largely unknown. Here, we report that PB90, a protein elicitor from Phytophthora boehmeriae, triggers JA generation, SA accumulation and flavonol glycoside production of Ginkgo biloba cells. JA inhibitors suppress not only PB90-triggered JA generation, but also the elicitor-induced flavonol glycoside production. However, the elicitor can still enhance flavonol glycoside production even though the JA generation is totally inhibited. Over-expression of SA hydrolase gene NahG not only abolishes SA accumulation, but also suppresses the elicitor-induced flavonol glycoside production when JA signalling is inhibited. Interestingly, expression of NahG does not inhibit the elicitor-induced flavonol glycoside accumulation in the absence of JA inhibitors. Moreover, JA levels are significantly enhanced when SA accumulation is impaired in the transgenic cells. Together, the data suggest that both JA and SA are involved in PB90-induced flavonol glycoside production. Furthermore, we demonstrate that JA signalling might be enhanced to substitute for SA to mediate the elicitor-induced flavonol glycoside accumulation when SA signalling is impaired, which reveals an unusual complementary relationship between JA and SA in mediating plant secondary metabolite production.

Patient Safety in Complementary Medicine through the Application of Clinical Risk Management in the Public Health System

PubMed Central

Rossi, Elio G.; Picchi, Marco; Baccetti, Sonia; Monechi, Maria Valeria; Vuono, Catia; Sabatini, Federica; Traversi, Antonella; Di Stefano, Mariella; Firenzuoli, Fabio; Albolino, Sara; Tartaglia, Riccardo

2017-01-01

Aim: To develop a systematic approach to detect and prevent clinical risks in complementary medicine (CM) and increase patient safety through the analysis of activities in homeopathy and acupuncture centres in the Tuscan region using a significant event audit (SEA) and failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA). Methods: SEA is the selected tool for studying adverse events (AE) and detecting the best solutions to prevent future incidents in our Regional Healthcare Service (RHS). This requires the active participation of all the actors and external experts to validate the analysis. FMEA is a proactive risk assessment tool involving the selection of the clinical process, the input of a multidisciplinary group of experts, description of the process, identification of the failure modes (FMs) for each step, estimates of the frequency, severity, and detectability of FMs, calculation of the risk priority number (RPN), and prioritized improvement actions to prevent FMs. Results: In homeopathy, the greatest risk depends on the decision to switch from allopathic to homeopathic therapy. In acupuncture, major problems can arise, mainly from delayed treatment and from the modalities of needle insertion. Conclusions: The combination of SEA and FMEA can reveal potential risks for patients and suggest actions for safer and more reliable services in CM. PMID:29258191

Patient Safety in Complementary Medicine through the Application of Clinical Risk Management in the Public Health System.

PubMed

Rossi, Elio G; Bellandi, Tommaso; Picchi, Marco; Baccetti, Sonia; Monechi, Maria Valeria; Vuono, Catia; Sabatini, Federica; Traversi, Antonella; Di Stefano, Mariella; Firenzuoli, Fabio; Albolino, Sara; Tartaglia, Riccardo

2017-12-16

Aim: To develop a systematic approach to detect and prevent clinical risks in complementary medicine (CM) and increase patient safety through the analysis of activities in homeopathy and acupuncture centres in the Tuscan region using a significant event audit (SEA) and failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA). Methods: SEA is the selected tool for studying adverse events (AE) and detecting the best solutions to prevent future incidents in our Regional Healthcare Service (RHS). This requires the active participation of all the actors and external experts to validate the analysis. FMEA is a proactive risk assessment tool involving the selection of the clinical process, the input of a multidisciplinary group of experts, description of the process, identification of the failure modes (FMs) for each step, estimates of the frequency, severity, and detectability of FMs, calculation of the risk priority number (RPN), and prioritized improvement actions to prevent FMs. Results: In homeopathy, the greatest risk depends on the decision to switch from allopathic to homeopathic therapy. In acupuncture, major problems can arise, mainly from delayed treatment and from the modalities of needle insertion. Conclusions: The combination of SEA and FMEA can reveal potential risks for patients and suggest actions for safer and more reliable services in CM.

Qualitative evaluation: A critical and interpretative complementary approach to improve health programs and services

PubMed Central

Tayabas, Luz María Tejada; León, Teresita Castillo; ESPINO, JOEL MONARREZ

2014-01-01

This short essay aims at commenting on the origin, development, rationale, and main characteristics of qualitative evaluation (QE), emphasizing the value of this methodological tool to evaluate health programs and services. During the past decades, different approaches have come to light proposing complementary alternatives to appraise the performance of public health programs, mainly focusing on the implementation process involved rather than on measuring the impact of such actions. QE is an alternative tool that can be used to illustrate and understand the process faced when executing health programs. It can also lead to useful suggestions to modify its implementation from the stakeholders’ perspectives, as it uses a qualitative approach that considers participants as reflective subjects, generators of meanings. This implies that beneficiaries become involved in an active manner in the evaluated phenomena with the aim of improving the health programs or services that they receive. With this work we want to encourage evaluators in the field of public health to consider the use of QE as a complementary tool for program evaluation to be able to identify areas of opportunity to improve programs’ implementation processes from the perspective of intended beneficiaries. PMID:25152220

What should I do next? Using shared representations to solve interaction problems.

PubMed

Pezzulo, Giovanni; Dindo, Haris

2011-06-01

Studies on how "the social mind" works reveal that cognitive agents engaged in joint actions actively estimate and influence another's cognitive variables and form shared representations with them. (How) do shared representations enhance coordination? In this paper, we provide a probabilistic model of joint action that emphasizes how shared representations help solving interaction problems. We focus on two aspects of the model. First, we discuss how shared representations permit to coordinate at the level of cognitive variables (beliefs, intentions, and actions) and determine a coherent unfolding of action execution and predictive processes in the brains of two agents. Second, we discuss the importance of signaling actions as part of a strategy for sharing representations and the active guidance of another's actions toward the achievement of a joint goal. Furthermore, we present data from a human-computer experiment (the Tower Game) in which two agents (human and computer) have to build together a tower made of colored blocks, but only the human knows the constellation of the tower to be built (e.g., red-blue-red-blue-…). We report evidence that humans use signaling strategies that take another's uncertainty into consideration, and that in turn our model is able to use humans' actions as cues to "align" its representations and to select complementary actions.

Inkjet printed circuits based on ambipolar and p-type carbon nanotube thin-film transistors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Bongjun; Geier, Michael L.; Hersam, Mark C.; Dodabalapur, Ananth

2017-02-01

Ambipolar and p-type single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) thin-film transistors (TFTs) are reliably integrated into various complementary-like circuits on the same substrate by inkjet printing. We describe the fabrication and characteristics of inverters, ring oscillators, and NAND gates based on complementary-like circuits fabricated with such TFTs as building blocks. We also show that complementary-like circuits have potential use as chemical sensors in ambient conditions since changes to the TFT characteristics of the p-channel TFTs in the circuit alter the overall operating characteristics of the circuit. The use of circuits rather than individual devices as sensors integrates sensing and signal processing functions, thereby simplifying overall system design.

Influence of combined visual and vestibular cues on human perception and control of horizontal rotation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zacharias, G. L.; Young, L. R.

1981-01-01

Measurements are made of manual control performance in the closed-loop task of nulling perceived self-rotation velocity about an earth-vertical axis. Self-velocity estimation is modeled as a function of the simultaneous presentation of vestibular and peripheral visual field motion cues. Based on measured low-frequency operator behavior in three visual field environments, a parallel channel linear model is proposed which has separate visual and vestibular pathways summing in a complementary manner. A dual-input describing function analysis supports the complementary model; vestibular cues dominate sensation at higher frequencies. The describing function model is extended by the proposal of a nonlinear cue conflict model, in which cue weighting depends on the level of agreement between visual and vestibular cues.

Miscellaneous Lasing Actions in Organo-Lead Halide Perovskite Films.

PubMed

Duan, Zonghui; Wang, Shuai; Yi, Ningbo; Gu, Zhiyuan; Gao, Yisheng; Song, Qinghai; Xiao, Shumin

2017-06-21

Lasing actions in organo-lead halide perovskite films have been heavily studied in the past few years. However, due to the disordered nature of synthesized perovskite films, the lasing actions are usually understood as random lasers that are formed by multiple scattering. Herein, we demonstrate the miscellaneous lasing actions in organo-lead halide perovskite films. In addition to the random lasers, we show that a single or a few perovskite microparticles can generate laser emissions with their internal resonances instead of multiple scattering among them. We experimentally observed and numerically confirmed whispering gallery (WG)-like microlasers in polygon shaped and other deformed microparticles. Meanwhile, owing to the nature of total internal reflection and the novel shape of the nanoparticle, the size of the perovskite WG laser can be significantly decreased to a few hundred nanometers. Thus, wavelength-scale lead halide perovskite lasers were realized for the first time. All of these laser behaviors are complementary to typical random lasers in perovskite film and will help the understanding of lasing actions in complex lead halide perovskite systems.

Continually emerging mechanistic complexity of the multi-enzyme cellulosome complex.

PubMed

Smith, Steven P; Bayer, Edward A; Czjzek, Mirjam

2017-06-01

The robust plant cell wall polysaccharide-degrading properties of anaerobic bacteria are harnessed within elegant, marcomolecular assemblages called cellulosomes, in which proteins of complementary activities amass on scaffold protein networks. Research efforts have focused and continue to focus on providing detailed mechanistic insights into cellulosomal complex assembly, topology, and function. The accumulated information is expanding our fundamental understanding of the lignocellulosic biomass decomposition process and enhancing the potential of engineered cellulosomal systems for biotechnological purposes. Ongoing biochemical studies continue to reveal unexpected functional diversity within traditional cellulase families. Genomic, proteomic, and functional analyses have uncovered unanticipated cellulosomal proteins that augment the function of the native and designer cellulosomes. In addition, complementary structural and computational methods are continuing to provide much needed insights on the influence of cellulosomal interdomain linker regions on cellulosomal assembly and activity. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

THE M-RNA, EXPRESSION OF SERCA2 AND NCX1 IN THE PROCESS OF PHARMACOLOGICAL CELL PROTECTION IN EXPERIMENTAL ACUTE PANCREATITIS INDUCED BY TAUROCHOLATE.

PubMed

Vasques, Enio Rodrigues; Cunha, José Eduardo Monteiro; Kubrusly, Marcia Saldanha; Coelho, Ana Maria; Sanpietri, Sandra N; Nader, Helena B; Tersariol, Ivarne L S; Lima, Marcelo A; Chaib, Eleazar; D'Albuquerque, Luiz Augusto Carneiro

2018-06-21

Intracellular calcium overload is known to be a precipitating factor of pancreatic cell injury in acute pancreatitis (AP). Intracellular calcium homeostasis depends of Plasmatic Membrane Calcium ATPase (PMCA), Sarcoplasmic Endothelial Reticulum Calcium ATPase 2 (SERCA 2) and the Sodium Calcium Exchanger (NCX1). The antioxidant melatonin (Mel) and Trisulfate Disaccharide (TD) that accelerates NCX1 action could reduce the cell damage determined by the AP. To evaluate m-RNA expressions of SERCA2 and NCX1 in acute pancreatitis induced by sodium taurocholate in Wistar rats pre-treated with melatonin and/or TD. Wistar rats were divided in groups: 1) without AP; 2) AP without pre-treatment; 3) AP and Melatonin; 4) AP and TD; 5) AP and Melatonin associated to TD. Pancreatic tissue samples were collected for detection of SERCA2 and NCX1 m-R NA levels by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Increased m-RNA expression of SERCA2 in the melatonin treated group, without increase of m-RNA expression of the NCX1. The TD did not affect levels of SERCA2 and NCX1 m-RNA expressions. The combined melatonin and TD treatment reduced the m-RNA expression of SERCA2. The effect of melatonin is restricted to increased m-RNA expression of SERCA2. Although TD does not affect gene expression, its action in accelerating calcium exchanger function can explain the slightest expression of SERCA2 m-RNA when associated with Melatonin, perhaps by a joint action of drugs with different and but possibly complementary mechanisms.

Neuropharmacology of the essential oil of bergamot.

PubMed

Bagetta, Giacinto; Morrone, Luigi Antonio; Rombolà, Laura; Amantea, Diana; Russo, Rossella; Berliocchi, Laura; Sakurada, Shinobu; Sakurada, Tsukasa; Rotiroti, Domenicantonio; Corasaniti, Maria Tiziana

2010-09-01

Bergamot (Citrus bergamia, Risso) is a fruit most knowledgeable for its essential oil (BEO) used in aromatherapy to minimize symptoms of stress-induced anxiety and mild mood disorders and cancer pain though the rational basis for such applications awaits to be discovered. The behavioural and EEG spectrum power effects of BEO correlate well with its exocytotic and carrier-mediated release of discrete amino acids endowed with neurotransmitter function in the mammalian hippocampus supporting the deduction that BEO is able to interfere with normal and pathological synaptic plasticity. The observed neuroprotection in the course of experimental brain ischemia and pain does support this view. In conclusion, the data yielded so far contribute to our understanding of the mode of action of this phytocomplex on nerve tissue under normal and pathological experimental conditions and provide a rational basis for the practical use of BEO in complementary medicine. The opening of a wide venue for future research and translation into clinical settings is also envisaged. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Baryon bags in strong coupling QCD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gattringer, Christof

2018-04-01

We discuss lattice QCD with one flavor of staggered fermions and show that in the path integral the baryon contributions can be fully separated from quark and diquark contributions. The baryonic degrees of freedom (d.o.f.) are independent of the gauge field, and the corresponding free fermion action describes the baryons through the joint propagation of three quarks. The nonbaryonic dynamics is described by quark and diquark terms that couple to the gauge field. When evaluating the quark and diquark contributions in the strong coupling limit, the partition function completely factorizes into baryon bags and a complementary domain. Baryon bags are regions in space-time where the dynamics is described by a single free fermion made out of three quarks propagating coherently as a baryon. Outside the baryon bags, the relevant d.o.f. are monomers and dimers for quarks and diquarks. The partition sum is a sum over all baryon bag configurations, and for each bag, a free fermion determinant appears as a weight factor.

Rethinking language in autism.

PubMed

Sterponi, Laura; de Kirby, Kenton; Shankey, Jennifer

2015-07-01

In this article, we invite a rethinking of traditional perspectives of language in autism. We advocate a theoretical reappraisal that offers a corrective to the dominant and largely tacitly held view that language, in its essence, is a referential system and a reflection of the individual's cognition. Drawing on scholarship in Conversation Analysis and linguistic anthropology, we present a multidimensional view of language, showing how it also functions as interactional accomplishment, social action, and mode of experience. From such a multidimensional perspective, we revisit data presented by other researchers that include instances of prototypical features of autistic speech, giving them a somewhat different-at times complementary, at times alternative-interpretation. In doing so, we demonstrate that there is much at stake in the view of language that we as researchers bring to our analysis of autistic speech. Ultimately, we argue that adopting a multidimensional view of language has wide ranging implications, deepening our understanding of autism's core features and developmental trajectory. © The Author(s) 2014.

The quantitative architecture of centromeric chromatin

PubMed Central

Bodor, Dani L; Mata, João F; Sergeev, Mikhail; David, Ana Filipa; Salimian, Kevan J; Panchenko, Tanya; Cleveland, Don W; Black, Ben E; Shah, Jagesh V; Jansen, Lars ET

2014-01-01

The centromere, responsible for chromosome segregation during mitosis, is epigenetically defined by CENP-A containing chromatin. The amount of centromeric CENP-A has direct implications for both the architecture and epigenetic inheritance of centromeres. Using complementary strategies, we determined that typical human centromeres contain ∼400 molecules of CENP-A, which is controlled by a mass-action mechanism. This number, despite representing only ∼4% of all centromeric nucleosomes, forms a ∼50-fold enrichment to the overall genome. In addition, although pre-assembled CENP-A is randomly segregated during cell division, this amount of CENP-A is sufficient to prevent stochastic loss of centromere function and identity. Finally, we produced a statistical map of CENP-A occupancy at a human neocentromere and identified nucleosome positions that feature CENP-A in a majority of cells. In summary, we present a quantitative view of the centromere that provides a mechanistic framework for both robust epigenetic inheritance of centromeres and the paucity of neocentromere formation. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.02137.001 PMID:25027692

A smart room for hospitalised elderly people: essay of modelling and first steps of an experiment.

PubMed

Rialle, V; Lauvernay, N; Franco, A; Piquard, J F; Couturier, P

1999-01-01

We present a study of modelling and the first steps of an experiment of a smart room for hospitalised elderly people. The system aims at detecting falls and sicknesses, and implements four main functions: perception of patient and environment through sensors, reasoning from perceived events and patient clinical findings, action by way of alarm triggering and message passing to medical staff, and adaptation to various patient profiles, sensor layouts, house fixtures and architecture. It includes a physical multisensory device located in the patient's room, and a multi-agent system for fall detection and alarm triggering. This system encompasses a perception agent, and a reasoning agent. The latter has two complementary capacities implemented by sub-agents: deduction of type of alarm from incoming events, and knowledge induction from recorded events. The system has been tested with a few patients in real clinical situation, and the first experiment provides encouraging results which are described in a precise manner.

The MSFC complementary metal oxide semiconductor (including multilevel interconnect metallization) process handbook

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bouldin, D. L.; Eastes, R. W.; Feltner, W. R.; Hollis, B. R.; Routh, D. E.

1979-01-01

The fabrication techniques for creation of complementary metal oxide semiconductor integrated circuits at George C. Marshall Space Flight Center are described. Examples of C-MOS integrated circuits manufactured at MSFC are presented with functional descriptions of each. Typical electrical characteristics of both p-channel metal oxide semiconductor and n-channel metal oxide semiconductor discrete devices under given conditions are provided. Procedures design, mask making, packaging, and testing are included.

Waking and Dreaming Need Profiles: An Exploratory Study of Adaptive Functioning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hutchinson, Robert Linton, II

Research has defined the various adaptive, compensatory and complementary functions of dreams. To investigate the evidence of adaptive functioning in the dream state, 30 medical students (21 males, 9 females) from St. George's University, Grenada, completed personal surveys, a waking psychological profile, and a dreaming psychological profile…

Use of complementary and alternative medicine for physical performance, energy, immune function, and general health among older women and men in the United States.

PubMed

Tait, Elizabeth M; Laditka, Sarah B; Laditka, James N; Nies, Mary A; Racine, Elizabeth F

2012-01-01

We examined use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for health and well-being by older women and men. Data were from the 2007 National Health Interview Survey, representing 89.5 million Americans ages 50+. Multivariate logistic regression accounted for the survey design. For general health, 52 million people used CAM. The numbers for immune function, physical performance, and energy were 21.6, 15.9, and 10.1 million respectively. In adjusted results, women were much more likely than men to use CAM for all four reasons, especially energy. Older adults, particularly women, could benefit from research on CAM benefits and risks.

Rational design of micro-RNA-like bifunctional siRNAs targeting HIV and the HIV coreceptor CCR5.

PubMed

Ehsani, Ali; Saetrom, Pål; Zhang, Jane; Alluin, Jessica; Li, Haitang; Snøve, Ola; Aagaard, Lars; Rossi, John J

2010-04-01

Small-interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and micro-RNAs (miRNAs) are distinguished by their modes of action. SiRNAs serve as guides for sequence-specific cleavage of complementary mRNAs and the targets can be in coding or noncoding regions of the target transcripts. MiRNAs inhibit translation via partially complementary base-pairing to 3' untranslated regions (UTRs) and are generally ineffective when targeting coding regions of a transcript. In this study, we deliberately designed siRNAs that simultaneously direct cleavage and translational suppression of HIV RNAs, or cleavage of the mRNA encoding the HIV coreceptor CCR5 and suppression of translation of HIV. These bifunctional siRNAs trigger inhibition of HIV infection and replication in cell culture. The design principles have wide applications throughout the genome, as about 90% of genes harbor sites that make the design of bifunctional siRNAs possible.

Collective behavior of light in vacuum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Briscese, Fabio

2018-03-01

Under the action of light-by-light scattering, light beams show collective behaviors in vacuum. For instance, in the case of two counterpropagating laser beams with specific initial helicity, the polarization of each beam oscillates periodically between the left and right helicity. Furthermore, the amplitudes and the corresponding intensities of each polarization propagate like waves. Such polarization waves might be observationally accessible in future laser experiments, in a physical regime complementary to those explored by particle accelerators.

Science for Managing Riverine Ecosystems: Actions for the USGS Identified in the Workshop "Analysis of Flow and Habitat for Instream Aquatic Communities"

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bencala, Kenneth E.; Hamilton, David B.; Petersen, James H.

2006-01-01

Federal and state agencies need improved scientific analysis to support riverine ecosystem management. The ability of the USGS to integrate geologic, hydrologic, chemical, geographic, and biological data into new tools and models provides unparalleled opportunities to translate the best riverine science into useful approaches and usable information to address issues faced by river managers. In addition to this capability to provide integrated science, the USGS has a long history of providing long-term and nationwide information about natural resources. The USGS is now in a position to advance its ability to provide the scientific support for the management of riverine ecosystems. To address this need, the USGS held a listening session in Fort Collins, Colorado in April 2006. Goals of the workshop were to: 1) learn about the key resource issues facing DOI, other Federal, and state resource management agencies; 2) discuss new approaches and information needs for addressing these issues; and 3) outline a strategy for the USGS role in supporting riverine ecosystem management. Workshop discussions focused on key components of a USGS strategy: Communications, Synthesis, and Research. The workshop identified 3 priority actions the USGS can initiate now to advance its capabilities to support integrated science for resource managers in partner government agencies and non-governmental organizations: 1) Synthesize the existing science of riverine ecosystem processes to produce broadly applicable conceptual models, 2) Enhance selected ongoing instream flow projects with complementary interdisciplinary studies, and 3) Design a long-term, watershed-scale research program that will substantively reinvent riverine ecosystem science. In addition, topical discussion groups on hydrology, geomorphology, aquatic habitat and populations, and socio-economic analysis and negotiation identified eleven important complementary actions required to advance the state of the science and to develop the tools for supporting decisions on riverine ecosystem management. These eleven actions lie within the continuum of Communications, Synthesis, and Research.

Interfacial Shear Strength and Adhesive Behavior of Silk Ionomer Surfaces.

PubMed

Kim, Sunghan; Geryak, Ren D; Zhang, Shuaidi; Ma, Ruilong; Calabrese, Rossella; Kaplan, David L; Tsukruk, Vladimir V

2017-09-11

The interfacial shear strength between different layers in multilayered structures of layer-by-layer (LbL) microcapsules is a crucial mechanical property to ensure their robustness. In this work, we investigated the interfacial shear strength of modified silk fibroin ionomers utilized in LbL shells, an ionic-cationic pair with complementary ionic pairing, (SF)-poly-l-glutamic acid (Glu) and SF-poly-l-lysine (Lys), and a complementary pair with partially screened Coulombic interactions due to the presence of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) segments and SF-Glu/SF-Lys[PEG] pair. Shearing and adhesive behavior between these silk ionomer surfaces in the swollen state were probed at different spatial scales and pressure ranges by using functionalized atomic force microscopy (AFM) tips as well as functionalized colloidal probes. The results show that both approaches were consistent in analyzing the interfacial shear strength of LbL silk ionomers at different spatial scales from a nanoscale to a fraction of a micron. Surprisingly, the interfacial shear strength between SF-Glu and SF-Lys[PEG] pair with partially screened ionic pairing was greater than the interfacial shear strength of the SF-Glu and SF-Lys pair with a high density of complementary ionic groups. The difference in interfacial shear strength and adhesive strength is suggested to be predominantly facilitated by the interlayer hydrogen bonding of complementary amino acids and overlap of highly swollen PEG segments.

Case study of Bell's palsy applying complementary treatment within an occupational therapy model.

PubMed

Haltiwanger, Emily; Huber, Theresa; Chang, Joe C; Gonzalez-Stuart, Armando; Gonzales-Stuart, Armando

2009-01-01

For 7% of people with Bell's palsy, facial impairment is permanent. The case study patient was a 48-year-old female who had no recovery from paralysis 12 weeks after onset. Goals were to restore facial sensory-motor functions, functional abilities and reduce depression. Facial paralysis was assessed by clinical observations, the Facial Disability Index and Beck Depression Index. Complementary interventions of aromatherapy, reflexology and electro-acupuncture were used with common physical agent modalities in an intensive home activity and exercise programme. The patient had 100% return of function and resolution of depression after 10 days of intervention. The limitation of this study is that it was a retrospective case study and the investigators reconstructed the case from clinical notes. Further research using a prospective approach is recommended to replicate this study. 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Inkjet printed circuits based on ambipolar and p-type carbon nanotube thin-film transistors

PubMed Central

Kim, Bongjun; Geier, Michael L.; Hersam, Mark C.; Dodabalapur, Ananth

2017-01-01

Ambipolar and p-type single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) thin-film transistors (TFTs) are reliably integrated into various complementary-like circuits on the same substrate by inkjet printing. We describe the fabrication and characteristics of inverters, ring oscillators, and NAND gates based on complementary-like circuits fabricated with such TFTs as building blocks. We also show that complementary-like circuits have potential use as chemical sensors in ambient conditions since changes to the TFT characteristics of the p-channel TFTs in the circuit alter the overall operating characteristics of the circuit. The use of circuits rather than individual devices as sensors integrates sensing and signal processing functions, thereby simplifying overall system design. PMID:28145438

Probability and Statistics in Sensor Performance Modeling

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-12-01

language software program is called Environmental Awareness for Sensor and Emitter Employment. Some important numerical issues in the implementation...3 Statistical analysis for measuring sensor performance...complementary cumulative distribution function cdf cumulative distribution function DST decision-support tool EASEE Environmental Awareness of

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of General Practitioners toward Complementary and Alternative Medicine: a Cross-Sectional Study.

PubMed

Barikani, Ameneh; Beheshti, Akram; Javadi, Maryam; Yasi, Marzieh

2015-08-01

Orientation of public and physicians to the complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is one of the most prominent symbols of structural changes in the health service system. The aim of his study was a determination of knowledge, attitude, and practice of general practitioners in complementary and alternative medicine. This cross- sectional study was conducted in Qazvin, Iran in 2013. A self-administered questionnaire was used for collecting data including four information parts: population information, physicians' attitude and knowledge, methods of getting information and their function. A total of 228 physicians in Qazvin comprised the population of study according to the deputy of treatment's report of Qazvin University of Medical Sciences. A total of 150 physicians were selected randomly, and SPSS Statistical program was used to enter questionnaires' data. Results were analyzed as descriptive statistics and statistical analysis. Sixty percent of all responders were male. About sixty (59.4) percent of participating practitioners had worked less than 10 years.96.4 percent had a positive attitude towards complementary and alternative medicine. Knowledge of practitioners about traditional medicine in 11 percent was good, 36.3% and 52.7% had average and little information, respectively. 17.9% of practitioners offered their patients complementary and alternative medicine for treatment. Although there was little knowledge among practitioners about traditional medicine and complementary approaches, a significant percentage of them had attitude higher than the lower limit.

Sex hormones in the cardiovascular system.

PubMed

dos Santos, Roger Lyrio; da Silva, Fabrício Bragança; Ribeiro, Rogério Faustino; Stefanon, Ivanita

2014-05-01

Gender-associated differences in the development of cardiovascular diseases have been described in humans and animals. These differences could explain the low incidence of cardiovascular disease in women in the reproductive period, such as stroke, hypertension, and atherosclerosis. The cardiovascular protection observed in females has been attributed to the beneficial effects of estrogen on endothelial function. Besides estrogen, sex hormones are able to modulate blood pressure by acting on important systems as cardiovascular, renal, and neural. They can have complementary or antagonistic actions. For example, testosterone can raise blood pressure by stimulating the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, whereas estrogen alone or combined with progesterone has been associated with decreased blood pressure. The effects of testosterone in the development of cardiovascular disease are contradictory. Although some researchers suggest a positive effect, others indicate negative actions of testosterone. Estrogens physiologically stimulate the release of endothelium-derived vasodilator factors and inhibit the renin-angiotensin system. Although the cardioprotective effects of estrogen are widely appreciated, little is known about the effects of progesterone, which is commonly used in hormone replacement therapy. Progesterone has both vasodilatory and vasoconstrictive effects in the vasculature, depending on the location of the vessel and the level of exposure. Nevertheless, the mechanisms through which sex hormones modulate blood pressure have not been fully elucidated. Therefore, the characterization of those could lead to a better understanding of hypertension in women and men and perhaps to improved forms of therapy.

A cis-antisense RNA acts in trans in Staphylococcus aureus to control translation of a human cytolytic peptide.

PubMed

Sayed, Nour; Jousselin, Ambre; Felden, Brice

2011-12-25

Antisense RNAs (asRNAs) pair to RNAs expressed from the complementary strand, and their functions are thought to depend on nucleotide overlap with genes on the opposite strand. There is little information on the roles and mechanisms of asRNAs. We show that a cis asRNA acts in trans, using a domain outside its target complementary sequence. SprA1 small regulatory RNA (sRNA) and SprA1(AS) asRNA are concomitantly expressed in S. aureus. SprA1(AS) forms a complex with SprA1, preventing translation of the SprA1-encoded open reading frame by occluding translation initiation signals through pairing interactions. The SprA1 peptide sequence is within two RNA pseudoknots. SprA1(AS) represses production of the SprA1-encoded cytolytic peptide in trans, as its overlapping region is dispensable for regulation. These findings demonstrate that sometimes asRNA functional domains are not their gene-target complementary sequences, suggesting there is a need for mechanistic re-evaluation of asRNAs expressed in prokaryotes and eukaryotes.

Stiff upper lip: Labrum deformity and functionality in bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In hyper-diverse groups such as Hymenoptera, a variety of structures with different, complementary functions are used for feeding. Although the function of the parts such as the mandibles is obvious, the use of others, like the labrum, is more difficult to discern. Here, we discuss the labrum’s func...

[Ecologic evaluation in the cognitive assessment of brain injury patients: generation and execution of script].

PubMed

Baguena, N; Thomas-Antérion, C; Sciessere, K; Truche, A; Extier, C; Guyot, E; Paris, N

2006-06-01

Assessment of executive functions in an everyday life activity, evaluating brain injury subjects with script generation and execution tasks. We compared a script generation task to a script execution task, whereby subjects had to make a cooked dish. Two grids were used for the quotation, qualitative and quantitative, as well as the calculation of an anosognosis score. We checked whether the execution task was more sensitive to a dysexecutive disorder than the script generation task and compared the scores obtained in this evaluation with those from classical frontal tests. Twelve subjects with brain injury 6 years+/-4.79 ago and 12 healthy control subjects were tested. The subjects carried out a script generation task whereby they had to explain the necessary stages to make a chocolate cake. They also had to do a script execution task corresponding to the cake making. The 2 quotation grids were operational and complementary. The quantitative grid is more sensitive to a dysexecutive disorder. The brain injury subjects made more errors in the execution task. It is important to evaluate the executive functions of subjects with brain injury in everyday life tasks, not just in psychometric or script-generation tests. Indeed the ecological realization of a very simple task can reveal executive function difficulties such as the planning or the sequencing of actions, which are under-evaluated in laboratory tests.

Natural Compounds as Regulators of NLRP3 Inflammasome-Mediated IL-1β Production

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

IL-1β is one of the main proinflammatory cytokines that regulates a broad range of immune responses and also participates in several physiological processes. The canonical production of IL-1β requires multiprotein complexes called inflammasomes. One of the most intensively studied inflammasome complexes is the NLRP3 inflammasome. Its activation requires two signals: one signal “primes” the cells and induces the expression of NLRP3 and pro-IL-1β, while the other signal leads to the assembly and activation of the complex. Several stimuli were reported to function as the second signal including reactive oxygen species, lysosomal rupture, or cytosolic ion perturbation. Despite very intensive studies, the precise function and regulation of the NLRP3 inflammasome are still not clear. However, many chronic inflammatory diseases are related to the overproduction of IL-1β that is mediated via the NLRP3 inflammasome. In this review, we aimed to provide an overview of studies that demonstrated the effect of plant-derived natural compounds on NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated IL-1β production. Although many of these studies lack the mechanistic explanation of their action, these compounds may be considered as complementary supplements in the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases, consumed as preventive agents, and may also be considered as molecular tools to study NLRP3 function. PMID:27672241

Structural analysis of the antimalarial drug halofantrine by means of Raman spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frosch, Torsten; Popp, Jürgen

2010-07-01

The structure of the antimalarial drug halofantrine is analyzed by means of density functional theory (DFT) calculations, IR, and Raman spectroscopy. Strong, selective enhancements of the Raman bands of halofantrine at 1621 and 1590 cm-1 are discovered by means of UV resonance Raman spectroscopy with excitation wavelength λexc=244 nm. These signal enhancements can be exploited for a localization of small concentrations of halofantrine in a biological environment. The Raman spectrum of halofantrine is calculated by means of DFT calculations [B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p)]. The calculation is very useful for a thorough mode assignment of the Raman bands of halofantrine. The strong bands at 1621 and 1590 cm-1 in the UV Raman spectrum are assigned to combined C=C stretching vibrations in the phenanthrene ring of halofantrine. These bands are considered as putative marker bands for ππ interactions with the biological target molecules. The calculation of the electron density demonstrates a strong distribution across the phenanthrene ring of halofantrine, besides the electron withdrawing effect of the Cl and CF3 substituents. This strong and even electron density distribution supports the hypothesis of ππ stacking as a possible mode of action of halofantrine. Complementary IR spectroscopy is performed for an investigation of vibrations of polar functional groups of the halofantrine molecule.

Quinolinic acid injection in mouse medial prefrontal cortex affects reversal learning abilities, cortical connectivity and hippocampal synaptic plasticity

PubMed Central

Latif-Hernandez, Amira; Shah, Disha; Ahmed, Tariq; Lo, Adrian C.; Callaerts-Vegh, Zsuzsanna; Van der Linden, Annemie; Balschun, Detlef; D’Hooge, Rudi

2016-01-01

Intracerebral injection of the excitotoxic, endogenous tryptophan metabolite, quinolinic acid (QA), constitutes a chemical model of neurodegenerative brain disease. Complementary techniques were combined to examine the consequences of QA injection into medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of C57BL6 mice. In accordance with the NMDAR-mediated synapto- and neurotoxic action of QA, we found an initial increase in excitability and an augmentation of hippocampal long-term potentiation, converting within two weeks into a reduction and impairment, respectively, of these processes. QA-induced mPFC excitotoxicity impaired behavioral flexibility in a reversal variant of the hidden-platform Morris water maze (MWM), whereas regular, extended MWM training was unaffected. QA-induced mPFC damage specifically affected the spatial-cognitive strategies that mice use to locate the platform during reversal learning. These behavioral and cognitive defects coincided with changes in cortical functional connectivity (FC) and hippocampal neuroplasticity. FC between various cortical regions was assessed by resting-state fMRI (rsfMRI) methodology, and mice that had received QA injection into mPFC showed increased FC between various cortical regions. mPFC and hippocampus (HC) are anatomically as well as functionally linked as part of a cortical network that controls higher-order cognitive functions. Together, these observations demonstrate the central functional importance of rodent mPFC as well as the validity of QA-induced mPFC damage as a preclinical rodent model of the early stages of neurodegeneration. PMID:27819338

The Design of New HIV-IN Tethered Bifunctional Inhibitors using Multiple Microdomain Targeted Docking.

PubMed

Ciubotaru, Mihai; Musat, Mihaela Georgiana; Surleac, Marius; Ionita, Elena; Petrescu, Andrei Jose; Abele, Edgars; Abele, Ramona

2018-04-05

Currently used antiretroviral HIV therapy drugs exclusively target critical groups in the enzymes essential for the viral life cycle. Increased mutagenesis of their genes, changes these viral enzymes which once mutated can evade therapeutic targeting, effects which confer drug resistance. To circumvent this, our review addresses a strategy to design and derive HIV-Integrase (HIV-IN) inhibitors which simultaneously target two IN functional domains, rendering it inactive even if the enzyme accumulates many mutations. First we review the enzymatic role of IN to insert the copied viral DNA into a chromosome of the host T lymphocyte, highlighting its main functional and structural features to be subjected to inhibitory action. From a functional and structural perspective we present all classes of HIV-IN inhibitors with their most representative candidates. For each chosen compound we also explain its mechanism of IN inhibition. We use the recently resolved cryo EM IN tetramer intasome DNA complex [1] onto which we dock various reference IN inhibitory chemical scaffolds such as to target adjacent functional IN domains. Pairing compounds with complementary activity, which dock in the vicinity of a IN structural microdomain, we design bifunctional new drugs which may not only be more resilient to IN mutations but also may be more potent inhibitors than their original counterparts. In the end of our review we propose synthesis pathways to link such paired compounds with enhanced synergistic IN inhibitory effects. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

Robotic therapy provides a stimulus for upper limb motor recovery after stroke that is complementary to and distinct from conventional therapy.

PubMed

Brokaw, Elizabeth B; Nichols, Diane; Holley, Rahsaan J; Lum, Peter S

2014-05-01

Individuals with chronic stroke often have long-lasting upper extremity impairments that impede function during activities of daily living. Rehabilitation robotics have shown promise in improving arm function, but current systems do not allow realistic training of activities of daily living. We have incorporated the ARMin III and HandSOME device into a novel robotic therapy modality that provides functional training of reach and grasp tasks. To compare the effects of equal doses of robotic and conventional therapy in individuals with chronic stroke. Subjects were randomized to 12 hours of robotic or conventional therapy and then crossed over to the other therapy type after a 1-month washout period. Twelve moderate to severely impaired individuals with chronic stroke were enrolled, and 10 completed the study. Across the 3-month study period, subjects showed significant improvements in the Fugl-Meyer (P = .013) and Box and Blocks tests (P = .028). The robotic intervention produced significantly greater improvements in the Action Research Arm Test than conventional therapy (P = .033). Gains in the Box and Blocks test from conventional therapy were larger than from robotic therapy in subjects who received conventional therapy after robotic therapy (P = .044). Data suggest that robotic therapy can elicit improvements in arm function that are distinct from conventional therapy and supplements conventional methods to improve outcomes. Results from this pilot study should be confirmed in a larger study.

Multiple emotions: a person-centered approach to the relationship between intergroup emotion and action orientation.

PubMed

Fernando, Julian W; Kashima, Yoshihisa; Laham, Simon M

2014-08-01

Although a great deal of research has investigated the relationship between emotions and action orientations, most studies to date have used variable-centered techniques to identify the best emotion predictor(s) of a particular action. Given that people frequently report multiple or blended emotions, a profitable area of research may be to adopt person-centered approaches to examine the action orientations elicited by a particular combination of emotions or "emotion profile." In two studies, across instances of intergroup inequality in Australia and Canada, we examined participants' experiences of six intergroup emotions: sympathy, anger directed at three targets, shame, and pride. In both studies, five groups of participants with similar emotion profiles were identified by cluster analysis and their action orientations were compared; clusters indicated that the majority of participants experienced multiple emotions. Each action orientation was also regressed on the six emotions. There were a number of differences in the results obtained from the person-centered and variable-centered approaches. This was most apparent for sympathy: the group of participants experiencing only sympathy showed little inclination to perform prosocial actions, yet sympathy was a significant predictor of numerous action orientations in regression analyses. These results imply that sympathy may only prompt a desire for action when experienced in combination with other emotions. We suggest that the use of person-centered and variable-centered approaches as complementary analytic strategies may enrich research into not only the affective predictors of action, but emotion research in general.

Cognitive training with action-related verbs induces neural plasticity in the action representation system as assessed by gray matter brain morphometry.

PubMed

Ghio, Marta; Locatelli, Matteo; Tettamanti, Andrea; Perani, Daniela; Gatti, Roberto; Tettamanti, Marco

2018-06-01

Embodied cognition theories of semantic memory still face the need for multiple sources of converging evidence in support of the involvement of sensory-motor systems in action-related knowledge. Previous studies showed that training manual actions improves semantic processing of verbs referring to the trained actions. The present work aimed to provide complementary evidence by measuring the brain plasticity effects of a cognitive training requiring sustained lexical-semantic processing of action-related verbs. We included two groups of participants, namely the Proximal Group (PG) and the Distal Group (DG), which underwent a 3-week training with verbs referring to actions involving the proximal and the distal upper limb musculature, respectively. Before and after training, we measured gray matter voxel brain morphometry based on T1 structural magnetic resonance imaging. By means of this 2 (Group: PG, DG) × 2 (Time: pre-, post-training) factorial design, we tested whether sustained cognitive experience with specific action-related verbs induces congruent brain plasticity modifications in target regions of interest pertaining to the action representation system. We found significant post- versus pre-training gray matter volume increases, specifically for PG in the left dorsal precentral gyrus, and for DG in the right cerebellar lobule VIIa. These preliminary results suggest that a cognitive training can induce structural plasticity modifications in brain regions specifically coding for the distal and proximal motor actions the trained verbs refer to. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Does mechanism of drug action matter to inform rational polytherapy in epilepsy?

PubMed

Giussani, Giorgia; Beghi, Ettore

2013-05-01

When monotherapy for epilepsy fails, add-on therapy is an alternative option. There are several possible antiepileptic drug combinations based on their different and multiple mechanisms of action and pharmacokinetic interactions. However, only when benefits of drug combinations outweigh the harms, polytherapy can be defined as "rational". In the past 20 years, second generation AEDs have been marketed, some of which have better defined mechanisms of action and better pharmacokinetic profile. The mechanisms of action of AEDs involve, among others, blockade of voltage-gated sodium channels, blockade of voltage-gated calcium channel, activation of the ionotropic GABAA receptor and increase of GABA levels at the synaptic cleft, blockade of glutamate receptors, binding to synaptic vesicle protein 2A, and opening of KCNQ (Kv7) potassium channels. Aim of this review was to examine published reports on AEDs combinations in animal models and humans focusing on mechanisms of action and pharmacokinetic interactions. Studies in animals have shown that AED combinations are more effective when using drugs with different mechanisms of action. The most effective combination was found using a drug with a single mechanism of action and another with multiple mechanisms of action. In humans some combinations between a blocker of voltage-gated sodium channels and a drug with multiple mechanisms of action may be synergistic. Future studies are necessary to better define rational combinations and complementary mechanisms of action, considering also pharmacokinetic interactions and measures of toxicity and not only drug efficacy.

Mechanisms of action of Coxiella burnetii effectors inferred from host-pathogen protein interactions.

PubMed

Wallqvist, Anders; Wang, Hao; Zavaljevski, Nela; Memišević, Vesna; Kwon, Keehwan; Pieper, Rembert; Rajagopala, Seesandra V; Reifman, Jaques

2017-01-01

Coxiella burnetii is an obligate Gram-negative intracellular pathogen and the etiological agent of Q fever. Successful infection requires a functional Type IV secretion system, which translocates more than 100 effector proteins into the host cytosol to establish the infection, restructure the intracellular host environment, and create a parasitophorous vacuole where the replicating bacteria reside. We used yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) screening of 33 selected C. burnetii effectors against whole genome human and murine proteome libraries to generate a map of potential host-pathogen protein-protein interactions (PPIs). We detected 273 unique interactions between 20 pathogen and 247 human proteins, and 157 between 17 pathogen and 137 murine proteins. We used orthology to combine the data and create a single host-pathogen interaction network containing 415 unique interactions between 25 C. burnetii and 363 human proteins. We further performed complementary pairwise Y2H testing of 43 out of 91 C. burnetii-human interactions involving five pathogen proteins. We used the combined data to 1) perform enrichment analyses of target host cellular processes and pathways, 2) examine effectors with known infection phenotypes, and 3) infer potential mechanisms of action for four effectors with uncharacterized functions. The host-pathogen interaction profiles supported known Coxiella phenotypes, such as adapting cell morphology through cytoskeletal re-arrangements, protein processing and trafficking, organelle generation, cholesterol processing, innate immune modulation, and interactions with the ubiquitin and proteasome pathways. The generated dataset of PPIs-the largest collection of unbiased Coxiella host-pathogen interactions to date-represents a rich source of information with respect to secreted pathogen effector proteins and their interactions with human host proteins.

The α7 nicotinic receptor dual allosteric agonist and positive allosteric modulator GAT107 reverses nociception in mouse models of inflammatory and neuropathic pain

PubMed Central

Wilkerson, Jenny L; Kulkarni, Abhijit; Toma, Wisam; AlSharari, Shakir; Gul, Zulfiye; Lichtman, Aron H; Papke, Roger L; Damaj, M Imad

2016-01-01

Background and Purpose Orthosteric agonists and positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) of the α7 nicotinic ACh receptor (nAChR) represent novel therapeutic approaches for pain modulation. Moreover, compounds with dual function as allosteric agonists and PAMs, known as ago‐PAMs, add further regulation of receptor function. Experimental Approach Initial studies examined the α7 ago‐PAM, GAT107, in the formalin, complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA), LPS inflammatory pain models, the chronic constriction injury neuropathic pain model and the tail flick and hot plate acute thermal nociceptive assays. Additional studies examined the locus of action of GAT107 and immunohistochemical markers in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord in the CFA model. Key Results Complementary pharmacological and genetic approaches confirmed that the dose‐dependent antinociceptive effects of GAT107 were mediated through α7 nAChR. However, GAT107 was inactive in the tail flick and hot plate assays. In addition, GAT107 blocked conditioned place aversion elicited by acetic acid injection. Furthermore, intrathecal, but not intraplantar, injections of GAT107 reversed nociception in the CFA model, suggesting a spinal component of action. Immunohistochemical evaluation revealed an increase in the expression of astrocyte‐specific glial fibrillary acidic protein and phosphorylated p38MAPK within the spinal cords of mice treated with CFA, which was attenuated by intrathecal GAT107 treatment. Importantly, GAT107 did not elicit motor impairment and continued to produce antinociceptive effects after subchronic administration in both phases of the formalin test. Conclusions and Implications Collectively, these results provide the first proof of principle that α7 ago‐PAMs represent an effective pharmacological strategy for treating inflammatory and neuropathic pain. PMID:27243753

Honey as a Complementary Medicine

PubMed Central

Miguel, MG; Antunes, MD; Faleiro, ML

2017-01-01

The beneficial effects of honey on human health have long been recognized. Today, many of those positive effects have been studied to elucidate its mode of action. This review briefly summarizes the best studied features of honey, highlighting it as an appealing alternative medicine. In these reports, the health benefits of honey range from antioxidant, immunomodulatory, and anti-inflammatory activity to anticancer action, metabolic and cardiovascular benefits, prebiotic properties, human pathogen control, and antiviral activity. These studies also support that the honey’s biological activity is mainly dependent on its floral or geographic origin. In addition, some promising synergies between honey and antibiotics have been found, as well as some antiviral properties that require further investigation. Altogether, these studies show that honey is effectively a nutraceutical foodstuff. PMID:28469409

Ecological requirements for pallid sturgeon reproduction and recruitment in the Missouri River—A synthesis of science, 2005 to 2012

USGS Publications Warehouse

Delonay, Aaron J.; Chojnacki, Kimberly A.; Jacobson, Robert B.; Albers, Janice L.; Braaten, Patrick J.; Bulliner, Edward A.; Elliott, Caroline M.; Erwin, Susannah O.; Fuller, David B; Haas, Justin D.; Ladd, Hallie L.A.; Mestl, Gerald E.; Papoulias, Diana M.; Wildhaber, Mark L.

2016-01-20

Scientific understanding of the ecological requirements of pallid sturgeon has increased almost exponentially in the last two decades, and efforts are now turning from understanding fundamental biology of the species to quantifying how population dynamics relate to potential management actions. Progress in developing the science needed to inform management actions on the Missouri River may benefit from continuation of monitoring of reproductive cycles, reproductive movements, growth, and survival of telemetry tagged adults, increased emphasis on focused, complementary field and laboratory studies of factors influencing early life history, implementation of studies to resolve the role of food limitations in growth, survival, and reproductive condition, and implementation of studies designed specifically to parameterize models linking management to populations.

The politics of socioeconomic status: how socioeconomic status may influence political attitudes and engagement.

PubMed

Brown-Iannuzzi, Jazmin L; Lundberg, Kristjen B; McKee, Stephanie

2017-12-01

Socioeconomic status is hypothesized to be one factor informing political attitudes and actions. Presumably, this relationship is rooted in economic self-interest, with individuals preferring policies that would benefit them financially. In addition, these economic policy preferences are assumed to translate into political action. However, the relationships between socioeconomic status and political attitudes and behavior, as well as the psychological mechanisms associated with those relationships, are not straightforward. Here, we briefly review the current state of knowledge on the relationships between socioeconomic status and political attitudes and behavior. Overall, the research suggests that while socioeconomic status informs political attitudes toward economic policies, these attitudes may not correlate with complementary political behavior. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Improving Nutritional Health of the Public through Social Change: Finding Our Roles in Collective Action.

PubMed

Raine, Kim D

2014-09-01

Improving the nutritional health of the public continues to be a major challenge. Our mission of advancing health through food and nutrition has become increasingly complex, particularly as food environments shape the availability, affordability, and social acceptability of food and nutrition "choices". Promoting nutritional health requires that dietitians expand our knowledge in understanding the determinants of healthy eating and of social change strategies that advocates for and acts on improving food environments. While no single strategy can solve the challenges of public health nutrition, we can each identify unique strengths and opportunities. If we practice in complementary ways, using those strengths for collective action will make us stronger together toward social change supporting improved nutritional health of the public.

Fine-Granularity Functional Interaction Signatures for Characterization of Brain Conditions

PubMed Central

Hu, Xintao; Zhu, Dajiang; Lv, Peili; Li, Kaiming; Han, Junwei; Wang, Lihong; Shen, Dinggang; Guo, Lei; Liu, Tianming

2014-01-01

In the human brain, functional activity occurs at multiple spatial scales. Current studies on functional brain networks and their alterations in brain diseases via resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) are generally either at local scale (regionally confined analysis and inter-regional functional connectivity analysis) or at global scale (graph theoretic analysis). In contrast, inferring functional interaction at fine-granularity sub-network scale has not been adequately explored yet. Here our hypothesis is that functional interaction measured at fine-granularity subnetwork scale can provide new insight into the neural mechanisms of neurological and psychological conditions, thus offering complementary information for healthy and diseased population classification. In this paper, we derived fine-granularity functional interaction (FGFI) signatures in subjects with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and Schizophrenia by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and rsfMRI, and used patient-control classification experiments to evaluate the distinctiveness of the derived FGFI features. Our experimental results have shown that the FGFI features alone can achieve comparable classification performance compared with the commonly used inter-regional connectivity features. However, the classification performance can be substantially improved when FGFI features and inter-regional connectivity features are integrated, suggesting the complementary information achieved from the FGFI signatures. PMID:23319242

Dramatic action: A theater-based paradigm for analyzing human interactions

PubMed Central

Raindel, Noa; Alon, Uri

2018-01-01

Existing approaches to describe social interactions consider emotional states or use ad-hoc descriptors for microanalysis of interactions. Such descriptors are different in each context thereby limiting comparisons, and can also mix facets of meaning such as emotional states, short term tactics and long-term goals. To develop a systematic set of concepts for second-by-second social interactions, we suggest a complementary approach based on practices employed in theater. Theater uses the concept of dramatic action, the effort that one makes to change the psychological state of another. Unlike states (e.g. emotions), dramatic actions aim to change states; unlike long-term goals or motivations, dramatic actions can last seconds. We defined a set of 22 basic dramatic action verbs using a lexical approach, such as ‘to threaten’–the effort to incite fear, and ‘to encourage’–the effort to inspire hope or confidence. We developed a set of visual cartoon stimuli for these basic dramatic actions, and find that people can reliably and reproducibly assign dramatic action verbs to these stimuli. We show that each dramatic action can be carried out with different emotions, indicating that the two constructs are distinct. We characterized a principal valence axis of dramatic actions. Finally, we re-analyzed three widely-used interaction coding systems in terms of dramatic actions, to suggest that dramatic actions might serve as a common vocabulary across research contexts. This study thus operationalizes and tests dramatic action as a potentially useful concept for research on social interaction, and in particular on influence tactics. PMID:29518101

High-speed logic integrated circuits with solution-processed self-assembled carbon nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Shu-Jen; Tang, Jianshi; Kumar, Bharat; Falk, Abram; Farmer, Damon; Tulevski, George; Jenkins, Keith; Afzali, Ali; Oida, Satoshi; Ott, John; Hannon, James; Haensch, Wilfried

2017-09-01

As conventional monolithic silicon technology struggles to meet the requirements for the 7-nm technology node, there has been tremendous progress in demonstrating the scalability of carbon nanotube field-effect transistors down to the size that satisfies the 3-nm node and beyond. However, to date, circuits built with carbon nanotubes have overlooked key aspects of a practical logic technology and have stalled at simple functionality demonstrations. Here, we report high-performance complementary carbon nanotube ring oscillators using fully manufacturable processes, with a stage switching frequency of 2.82 GHz. The circuit was built on solution-processed, self-assembled carbon nanotube arrays with over 99.9% semiconducting purity, and the complementary feature was achieved by employing two different work function electrodes.

High-speed logic integrated circuits with solution-processed self-assembled carbon nanotubes.

PubMed

Han, Shu-Jen; Tang, Jianshi; Kumar, Bharat; Falk, Abram; Farmer, Damon; Tulevski, George; Jenkins, Keith; Afzali, Ali; Oida, Satoshi; Ott, John; Hannon, James; Haensch, Wilfried

2017-09-01

As conventional monolithic silicon technology struggles to meet the requirements for the 7-nm technology node, there has been tremendous progress in demonstrating the scalability of carbon nanotube field-effect transistors down to the size that satisfies the 3-nm node and beyond. However, to date, circuits built with carbon nanotubes have overlooked key aspects of a practical logic technology and have stalled at simple functionality demonstrations. Here, we report high-performance complementary carbon nanotube ring oscillators using fully manufacturable processes, with a stage switching frequency of 2.82 GHz. The circuit was built on solution-processed, self-assembled carbon nanotube arrays with over 99.9% semiconducting purity, and the complementary feature was achieved by employing two different work function electrodes.

5 Things You Should Know: The Science of Chronic Pain and Complementary Health Practices

MedlinePlus

... some evidence that mindfulness-based stress reduction and cognitive-behavioral therapy improves pain and functional limitation compared to usual ... pain found that mindfulness-based stress reduction and cognitive-behavioral therapy resulted in greater improvement in pain and functional ...

A randomized controlled trial of qigong exercise on fatigue symptoms, functioning, and telomerase activity in persons with chronic fatigue or chronic fatigue syndrome.

PubMed

Ho, Rainbow T H; Chan, Jessie S M; Wang, Chong-Wen; Lau, Benson W M; So, Kwok Fai; Yuen, Li Ping; Sham, Jonathan S T; Chan, Cecilia L W

2012-10-01

Chronic fatigue is common in the general population. Complementary therapies are often used by patients with chronic fatigue or chronic fatigue syndrome to manage their symptoms. This study aimed to assess the effect of a 4-month qigong intervention program among patients with chronic fatigue or chronic fatigue syndrome. Sixty-four participants were randomly assigned to either an intervention group or a wait list control group. Outcome measures included fatigue symptoms, physical functioning, mental functioning, and telomerase activity. Fatigue symptoms and mental functioning were significantly improved in the qigong group compared to controls. Telomerase activity increased in the qigong group from 0.102 to 0.178 arbitrary units (p < 0.05). The change was statistically significant when compared to the control group (p < 0.05). Qigong exercise may be used as an alternative and complementary therapy or rehabilitative program for chronic fatigue and chronic fatigue syndrome.

Regulation of T-cell receptor signalling by membrane microdomains

PubMed Central

Razzaq, Tahir M; Ozegbe, Patricia; Jury, Elizabeth C; Sembi, Phupinder; Blackwell, Nathan M; Kabouridis, Panagiotis S

2004-01-01

There is now considerable evidence suggesting that the plasma membrane of mammalian cells is compartmentalized by functional lipid raft microdomains. These structures are assemblies of specialized lipids and proteins and have been implicated in diverse biological functions. Analysis of their protein content using proteomics and other methods revealed enrichment of signalling proteins, suggesting a role for these domains in intracellular signalling. In T lymphocytes, structure/function experiments and complementary pharmacological studies have shown that raft microdomains control the localization and function of proteins which are components of signalling pathways regulated by the T-cell antigen receptor (TCR). Based on these studies, a model for TCR phosphorylation in lipid rafts is presented. However, despite substantial progress in the field, critical questions remain. For example, it is unclear if membrane rafts represent a homogeneous population and if their structure is modified upon TCR stimulation. In the future, proteomics and the parallel development of complementary analytical methods will undoubtedly contribute in further delineating the role of lipid rafts in signal transduction mechanisms. PMID:15554919

Numerical simulation of terahertz transmission of bilayer metallic meshes with different thickness of substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Gaohui; Zhao, Guozhong; Zhang, Shengbo

2012-12-01

The terahertz transmission characteristics of bilayer metallic meshes are studied based on the finite difference time domain method. The bilayer well-shaped grid, the array of complementary square metallic pill and the cross wire-hole array were investigated. The results show that the bilayer well-shaped grid achieves a high-pass of filter function, while the bilayer array of complementary square metallic pill achieves a low-pass of filter function, the bilayer cross wire-hole array achieves a band-pass of filter function. Between two metallic microstructures, the medium need to be deposited. Obviously, medium thicknesses have an influence on the terahertz transmission characteristics of metallic microstructures. Simulation results show that with increasing the thicknesses of the medium the cut-off frequency of high-pass filter and low-pass filter move to low frequency. But the bilayer cross wire-hole array possesses two transmission peaks which display competition effect.

Mass coral bleaching causes biotic homogenization of reef fish assemblages.

PubMed

Richardson, Laura E; Graham, Nicholas A J; Pratchett, Morgan S; Eurich, Jacob G; Hoey, Andrew S

2018-04-06

Global climate change is altering community composition across many ecosystems due to nonrandom species turnover, typically characterized by the loss of specialist species and increasing similarity of biological communities across spatial scales. As anthropogenic disturbances continue to alter species composition globally, there is a growing need to identify how species responses influence the establishment of distinct assemblages, such that management actions may be appropriately assigned. Here, we use trait-based analyses to compare temporal changes in five complementary indices of reef fish assemblage structure among six taxonomically distinct coral reef habitats exposed to a system-wide thermal stress event. Our results revealed increased taxonomic and functional similarity of previously distinct reef fish assemblages following mass coral bleaching, with changes characterized by subtle, but significant, shifts toward predominance of small-bodied, algal-farming habitat generalists. Furthermore, while the taxonomic or functional richness of fish assemblages did not change across all habitats, an increase in functional originality indicated an overall loss of functional redundancy. We also found that prebleaching coral composition better predicted changes in fish assemblage structure than the magnitude of coral loss. These results emphasize how measures of alpha diversity can mask important changes in the structure and functioning of ecosystems as assemblages reorganize. Our findings also highlight the role of coral species composition in structuring communities and influencing the diversity of responses of reef fishes to disturbance. As new coral species configurations emerge, their desirability will hinge upon the composition of associated species and their capacity to maintain key ecological processes in spite of ongoing disturbances. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Promoting Student Autonomy through the Use of the European Language Portfolio

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gonzalez, Jesus Angel

2009-01-01

The European Language Portfolio (ELP) is a document launched by the Council of Europe in 2001 which consists of three sections: the Passport, the Language Biography, and the Dossier. It has two complementary functions: a pedagogic function (helping students to reflect on their learning and objectives) and a reporting function (providing a record…

Spirituality and humanization according to nursing undergraduates: an action research.

PubMed

Coscrato, Gisele; Villela Bueno, Sonia Maria

2015-01-01

To know the conceptions of undergraduates from the Teaching Diploma Program with Bachelor degree in Nursing at a public state-owned higher education institution in an interior city in the State of São Paulo about spirituality and humanization, as well as to propose educative action in that sense. Methodoly. A qualitative study was undertaken, using the action research method. The data were collected in the second semester of 2012 through participant observation, registered in a field diary, and interviews with the help of questionnaires. For the interpretative data analysis, categorization was used. The implicit predominance of the technical-procedure care discourse was observed, to the detriment of the educational care discourse, as complementary constructs, according to the participant' statements. Nevertheless, the educational action permitted constructivism and the problematization of knowledge. Although the results may not reflect the reality at the investigated institution, it is concluded that the academic education of nurse educators is a moment of possibilities to include spirituality and humanization, regarding the development of competences that grant individual support to patients and families, in health promotion and coping with disease situations.

Use of sensory and motor action potentials to identify the position of trigeminal nerve divisions for radiofrequency thermocoagulation.

PubMed

Lin, Bo; Lu, Xuguang; Zhai, Xinli; Cai, Zhigang

2014-12-01

The objective of this study was to develop an electrophysiological method for intraoperative localization of the trigeminal nerve branches during radiofrequency thermocoagulation (RFTC). Twenty-three patients who were scheduled to undergo RFTC were included. The trigeminal nerve root was stimulated through the foramen ovale using the radiofrequency cannula. Antidromic responses were recorded from the target division through supraorbital, infraorbital, and mental foramina electrodes, and an additional electrode at the masseter muscle. Sensory and motor action responses, as well as verbal and masseter contraction responses, were recorded and correlated. The antidromic responses were easily recorded in the target division in all 23 patients, and they were invariably correlated with the patient's verbal responses. The potentials were recorded successively from V1 to V3. The amplitude in each division before and after RFTC showed little difference in response to electrical stimulation with the same current. The motor trigeminal nerve action potentials were recorded in 10 patients; 7 of these patients had postoperative masseter muscle weakness, while the remaining 3 had normal masseter muscle function. Potentials with low amplitudes were usually obtained from neighboring divisions, but no unexpected denervation of any branches was observed. All the patients experienced immediate pain relief after the procedure. This technique is sensitive and easy to apply. The sensory and motor potentials matched the verbal responses and the complications. Although it cannot completely substitute for the patient's verbal response, this approach is helpful in uncooperative patients, and it predicts and reduces the incidence of masseter muscle weakness. The use of these complementary techniques could increase the chances of treatment success.

The role of replay and theta sequences in mediating hippocampal-prefrontal interactions for memory and cognition.

PubMed

Zielinski, Mark C; Tang, Wenbo; Jadhav, Shantanu P

2017-12-18

Sequential activity is seen in the hippocampus during multiple network patterns, prominently as replay activity during both awake and sleep sharp-wave ripples (SWRs), and as theta sequences during active exploration. Although various mnemonic and cognitive functions have been ascribed to these hippocampal sequences, evidence for these proposed functions remains primarily phenomenological. Here, we briefly review current knowledge about replay events and theta sequences in spatial memory tasks. We reason that in order to gain a mechanistic and causal understanding of how these patterns influence memory and cognitive processing, it is important to consider how these sequences influence activity in other regions, and in particular, the prefrontal cortex, which is crucial for memory-guided behavior. For spatial memory tasks, we posit that hippocampal-prefrontal interactions mediated by replay and theta sequences play complementary and overlapping roles at different stages in learning, supporting memory encoding and retrieval, deliberative decision making, planning, and guiding future actions. This framework offers testable predictions for future physiology and closed-loop feedback inactivation experiments for specifically targeting hippocampal sequences as well as coordinated prefrontal activity in different network states, with the potential to reveal their causal roles in memory-guided behavior. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Functionalized C-Glycoside Ketohydrazones: Carbohydrate Derivatization that Retains the Ring Integrity of the Terminal Reducing Sugar

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Glycosylation often mediates important biological processes through the interaction of carbohydrates with complementary proteins. Most chemical tools for the functional analysis of glycans are highly dependent upon various linkage chemistries that involve the reducing-terminus of carbohydrates. Ho...

Programmable display of DNA-protein chimeras for controlling cell-hydrogel interactions via reversible intermolecular hybridization.

PubMed

Zhang, Zhaoyang; Li, Shihui; Chen, Niancao; Yang, Cheng; Wang, Yong

2013-04-08

Extensive studies have been recently carried out to achieve dynamic control of cell-material interactions primarily through physicochemical stimulation. The purpose of this study was to apply reversible intermolecular hybridization to program cell-hydrogel interactions in physiological conditions based on DNA-antibody chimeras and complementary oligonucleotides. The results showed that DNA oligonucleotides could be captured to and released from the immobilizing DNA-functionalized hydrogels with high specificity via DNA hybridization. Accordingly, DNA-antibody chimeras were captured to the hydrogels, successfully inducing specific cell attachment. The cell attachment to the hydrogels reached the plateau at approximately half an hour after the functionalized hydrogels and the cells were incubated together. The attached cells were rapidly released from the bound hydrogels when triggering complementary oligonucleotides were introduced to the system. However, the capability of the triggering complementary oligonucleotides in releasing cells was affected by the length of intermolecular hybridization. The length needed to be at least more than 20 base pairs in the current experimental setting. Notably, because the procedure of intermolecular hybridization did not involve any harsh condition, the released cells maintained the same viability as that of the cultured cells. The functionalized hydrogels also exhibited the potential to catch and release cells repeatedly. Therefore, this study demonstrates that it is promising to regulate cell-material interactions dynamically through the DNA-programmed display of DNA-protein chimeras.

Educacion Bilingue: Una Declaracion del Plan y Accion que Proponen los Regentes de la Universidad del Estado de Nueva York (Bilingual Education: A Statement of Policy and Proposed Action by the Regents of the University of the State of New York.)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

New York State Education Dept., Albany.

The primary goal of the Regents in their bilingual education program is to provide equal educational opportunity for non-English-speaking children through activities capitalizing on their proficiency in their native language and developing competency in English. Two complementary goals are inherent: (1) a vitally needed national resource, the…

Cortical and subcortical predictive dynamics and learning during perception, cognition, emotion and action

PubMed Central

Grossberg, Stephen

2009-01-01

An intimate link exists between the predictive and learning processes in the brain. Perceptual/cognitive and spatial/motor processes use complementary predictive mechanisms to learn, recognize, attend and plan about objects in the world, determine their current value, and act upon them. Recent neural models clarify these mechanisms and how they interact in cortical and subcortical brain regions. The present paper reviews and synthesizes data and models of these processes, and outlines a unified theory of predictive brain processing. PMID:19528003

A new view for nanoparticle assemblies: from crystalline to binary cooperative complementarity.

PubMed

Yan, Cong; Wang, Tie

2017-03-06

Studies on nanoparticle assemblies and their applications have been research frontiers in nanoscience in the past few decades and remarkable progress has been made in the synthetic strategies and techniques. Recently, the design and fabrication of the nanoparticle-based nanomaterials or nanodevices with integrated and enhanced properties compared to those of the individual components have gradually become the mainstream. However, a systematic solution to provide a big picture for future development and guide the investigation of different aspects of the study of nanoparticle assemblies remains a challenge. The binary cooperative complementary principle could be an answer. The binary cooperative complementary principle is a universal discipline and can describe the fundamental properties of matter from the subatomic particles to the universe. According to its definition, a variety of nanoparticle assemblies, which represent the cutting-edge work in the nanoparticle studies, are naturally binary cooperative complementary materials. Therefore, the introduction of the binary cooperative complementary principle in the studies of nanoparticle assemblies could provide a unique perspective for reviewing this field and help in the design and fabrication of novel functional nanoparticle assemblies.

Sub-millisecond closed-loop feedback stimulation between arbitrary sets of individual neurons

PubMed Central

Müller, Jan; Bakkum, Douglas J.; Hierlemann, Andreas

2012-01-01

We present a system to artificially correlate the spike timing between sets of arbitrary neurons that were interfaced to a complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) high-density microelectrode array (MEA). The system features a novel reprogrammable and flexible event engine unit to detect arbitrary spatio-temporal patterns of recorded action potentials and is capable of delivering sub-millisecond closed-loop feedback of electrical stimulation upon trigger events in real-time. The relative timing between action potentials of individual neurons as well as the temporal pattern among multiple neurons, or neuronal assemblies, is considered an important factor governing memory and learning in the brain. Artificially changing timings between arbitrary sets of spiking neurons with our system could provide a “knob” to tune information processing in the network. PMID:23335887

Endocrinology of human parturition.

PubMed

Vannuccini, Silvia; Bocchi, Caterina; Severi, Filiberto M; Challis, John R; Petraglia, Felice

2016-06-01

The mechanisms involved in human pregnancy maintenance and parturition are highly complex and involve mother, fetus and placenta. The "final common pathway" to delivery is composed by inflammatory and endocrine interactive paths that tip the balance in favor of coordinated uterine contractility and cervical dilation. These mechanisms involve a shift from progesterone to estrogen dominance, CRH action, increased sensitivity to oxytocin, gap junction formation, and increased prostaglandins activity. Complementary changes in the cervix involve a decrease in progesterone dominance and the actions of prostaglandins and relaxin, via connective tissue alterations, leading to cervical softening and dilation. Neuronal, hormonal, inflammatory and immune pathways participate in initiation of labor and the utero-placental unit plays a major role in the synthesis and release of parturition mediators. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Use of complementary and alternative medicine among US adults with and without functional limitations.

PubMed

Okoro, Catherine A; Zhao, Guixiang; Li, Chaoyang; Balluz, Lina S

2012-01-01

This study characterizes the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) among adults with and without functional limitations. We also examine the reasons for using CAM and for disclosing its use to conventional medical professionals. Data were obtained from the 2007 adult CAM supplement and components of the National Health Interview Survey (n = 20,710). Adults with functional limitations used CAM more frequently than those without (48.7% vs. 35.4%; p < 0.001). Adults with functional limitations used mind-body therapies the most (27.4%) and alternative medical systems the least (4.8%). Relaxation techniques were the most common therapy used by adults with functional limitations, and they used it more often than those without limitations (24.6% vs. 13.7%; P < 0.001). More than half of the adults with functional limitations (51.3%) discussed CAM use with conventional medical professionals, compared with 37.9% of adults without limitations (p < 0.001). The main reason for CAM use was general wellness/disease prevention among adults with and without functional limitations (59.8% vs. 63.1%; P = 0.051). CAM use among adults with functional limitations is high. Health practitioners should screen for and discuss the safety and efficacy of CAM when providing health care.

Role of point defects and HfO2/TiN interface stoichiometry on effective work function modulation in ultra-scaled complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pandey, R. K.; Sathiyanarayanan, Rajesh; Kwon, Unoh; Narayanan, Vijay; Murali, K. V. R. M.

2013-07-01

We investigate the physical properties of a portion of the gate stack of an ultra-scaled complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) device. The effects of point defects, such as oxygen vacancy, oxygen, and aluminum interstitials at the HfO2/TiN interface, on the effective work function of TiN are explored using density functional theory. We compute the diffusion barriers of such point defects in the bulk TiN and across the HfO2/TiN interface. Diffusion of these point defects across the HfO2/TiN interface occurs during the device integration process. This results in variation of the effective work function and hence in the threshold voltage variation in the devices. Further, we simulate the effects of varying the HfO2/TiN interface stoichiometry on the effective work function modulation in these extremely-scaled CMOS devices. Our results show that the interface rich in nitrogen gives higher effective work function, whereas the interface rich in titanium gives lower effective work function, compared to a stoichiometric HfO2/TiN interface. This theoretical prediction is confirmed by the experiment, demonstrating over 700 meV modulation in the effective work function.

Effect of government actions on technological innovation for SO2 control.

PubMed

Taylor, Margaret R; Rubin, Edward S; Hounshell, David A

2003-10-15

The relationship between government actions and innovation in environmental control technology is important for the design of cost-effective policies to achieve environmental goals. This paper examines such relationships for the case of sulfur dioxide control technology for U.S. coal-fired power plants. The study employs several complementary research methods, including analyses of key government actions, technology patenting activity, technology performance and cost trends, knowledge transfer activities, and expert elicitations. Our results indicate that government regulation appears to be a greater stimulus to inventive activity than government-sponsored research support alone, and that the anticipation of regulation also spurs inventive activity. Regulatory stringency focuses this activity along particular technical pathways and is a key factor in creating markets for environmental technologies. We also find that with greater technology adoption, both new and existing systems experience notable efficiency improvements and capital cost reductions. The important role of government in fostering knowledge transfer via technical conferences and other measures is also seen as an important factor in promoting environmental technology innovation.

The Effect of Complementary and Alternative Medicine on Subfertile Women with In Vitro Fertilization

PubMed Central

Zhang, Yuehui; Fu, Yiman; Han, Fengjuan; Kuang, Hongying; Hu, Min; Wu, Xiaoke

2014-01-01

About 10–15% of couples have difficulty conceiving at some point in their reproductive lives and thus have to seek specialist fertility care. One of the most commonly used treatment options is in vitro fertilization (IVF) and its related expansions. Despite many recent technological advances, the average IVF live birth rate per single initiated cycle is still only 30%. Consequently, there is a need to find new therapies to promote the efficiency of the procedure. Many patients have turned to complementary and alternative medical (CAM) treatments as an adjuvant therapy to improve their chances of success when they undergo IVF treatment. At present, several CAM methods have been used in infertile couples with IVF, which has achieved obvious effects. However, biologically plausible mechanisms of the action of CAM for IVF have not been systematically reviewed. This review briefly summarizes the current progress of the impact of CAM on the outcomes of IVF and introduces the mechanisms. PMID:24527047

Oxidative peptide /and amide/ formation from Schiff base complexes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Strehler, B. L.; Li, M. P.; Martin, K.; Fliss, H.; Schmid, P.

1982-01-01

One hypothesis of the origin of pre-modern forms of life is that the original replicating molecules were specific polypeptides which acted as templates for the assembly of poly-Schiff bases complementary to the template, and that these polymers were then oxidized to peptide linkages, probably by photo-produced oxidants. A double cycle of such anti-parallel complementary replication would yield the original peptide polymer. If this model were valid, the Schiff base between an N-acyl alpha mino aldehyde and an amino acid should yield a dipeptide in aqueous solution in the presence of an appropriate oxidant. In the present study it is shown that the substituted dipeptide, N-acetyl-tyrosyl-tyrosine, is produced in high yield in aqueous solution at pH 9 through the action of H2O2 on the Schiff-base complex between N-acetyl-tyrosinal and tyrosine and that a great variety of N-acyl amino acids are formed from amino acids and aliphatic aldehydes under similar conditions.

Plants under Stress: Involvement of Auxin and Cytokinin

PubMed Central

Bielach, Agnieszka; Hrtyan, Monika; Tognetti, Vanesa B.

2017-01-01

Plant growth and development are critically influenced by unpredictable abiotic factors. To survive fluctuating changes in their environments, plants have had to develop robust adaptive mechanisms. The dynamic and complementary actions of the auxin and cytokinin pathways regulate a plethora of developmental processes, and their ability to crosstalk makes them ideal candidates for mediating stress-adaptation responses. Other crucial signaling molecules responsible for the tremendous plasticity observed in plant morphology and in response to abiotic stress are reactive oxygen species (ROS). Proper temporal and spatial distribution of ROS and hormone gradients is crucial for plant survival in response to unfavorable environments. In this regard, the convergence of ROS with phytohormone pathways acts as an integrator of external and developmental signals into systemic responses organized to adapt plants to their environments. Auxin and cytokinin signaling pathways have been studied extensively. Nevertheless, we do not yet understand the impact on plant stress tolerance of the sophisticated crosstalk between the two hormones. Here, we review current knowledge on the function of auxin and cytokinin in redirecting growth induced by abiotic stress in order to deduce their potential points of crosstalk. PMID:28677656

Plants under Stress: Involvement of Auxin and Cytokinin.

PubMed

Bielach, Agnieszka; Hrtyan, Monika; Tognetti, Vanesa B

2017-07-04

Plant growth and development are critically influenced by unpredictable abiotic factors. To survive fluctuating changes in their environments, plants have had to develop robust adaptive mechanisms. The dynamic and complementary actions of the auxin and cytokinin pathways regulate a plethora of developmental processes, and their ability to crosstalk makes them ideal candidates for mediating stress-adaptation responses. Other crucial signaling molecules responsible for the tremendous plasticity observed in plant morphology and in response to abiotic stress are reactive oxygen species (ROS). Proper temporal and spatial distribution of ROS and hormone gradients is crucial for plant survival in response to unfavorable environments. In this regard, the convergence of ROS with phytohormone pathways acts as an integrator of external and developmental signals into systemic responses organized to adapt plants to their environments. Auxin and cytokinin signaling pathways have been studied extensively. Nevertheless, we do not yet understand the impact on plant stress tolerance of the sophisticated crosstalk between the two hormones. Here, we review current knowledge on the function of auxin and cytokinin in redirecting growth induced by abiotic stress in order to deduce their potential points of crosstalk.

Directed Interaction Between Monkey Premotor and Posterior Parietal Cortex During Motor-Goal Retrieval from Working Memory

PubMed Central

Martínez-Vázquez, Pablo; Gail, Alexander

2018-01-01

Abstract Goal-directed behavior requires cognitive control of action, putatively by means of frontal-lobe impact on posterior brain areas. We investigated frontoparietal directed interaction (DI) in monkeys during memory-guided rule-based reaches, to test if DI supports motor-goal selection or working memory (WM) processes. We computed DI between the parietal reach region (PRR) and dorsal premotor cortex (PMd) with a Granger-causality measure of intracortical local field potentials (LFP). LFP mostly in the beta (12–32 Hz) and low-frequency (f≤10Hz) ranges contributed to DI. During movement withholding, beta-band activity in PRR had a Granger-causal effect on PMd independent of WM content. Complementary, low-frequency PMd activity had a transient Granger-causing effect on PRR specifically during WM retrieval of spatial motor goals, while no DI was associated with preliminary motor-goal selection. Our results support the idea that premotor and posterior parietal cortices interact functionally to achieve cognitive control during goal-directed behavior, in particular, that frontal-to-parietal interaction occurs during retrieval of motor-goal information from spatial WM. PMID:29481586

Directed Interaction Between Monkey Premotor and Posterior Parietal Cortex During Motor-Goal Retrieval from Working Memory.

PubMed

Martínez-Vázquez, Pablo; Gail, Alexander

2018-05-01

Goal-directed behavior requires cognitive control of action, putatively by means of frontal-lobe impact on posterior brain areas. We investigated frontoparietal directed interaction (DI) in monkeys during memory-guided rule-based reaches, to test if DI supports motor-goal selection or working memory (WM) processes. We computed DI between the parietal reach region (PRR) and dorsal premotor cortex (PMd) with a Granger-causality measure of intracortical local field potentials (LFP). LFP mostly in the beta (12-32 Hz) and low-frequency (f≤10Hz) ranges contributed to DI. During movement withholding, beta-band activity in PRR had a Granger-causal effect on PMd independent of WM content. Complementary, low-frequency PMd activity had a transient Granger-causing effect on PRR specifically during WM retrieval of spatial motor goals, while no DI was associated with preliminary motor-goal selection. Our results support the idea that premotor and posterior parietal cortices interact functionally to achieve cognitive control during goal-directed behavior, in particular, that frontal-to-parietal interaction occurs during retrieval of motor-goal information from spatial WM.

The puzzle of homeopathy.

PubMed

Reilly, D

2001-01-01

Homeopathy is a branch of Western medicine that has mostly been rejected by Western orthodoxy for the last 200 years because of conceptual and scientific clashes. Homeopathy uses microdoses of potential toxins to provoke defense and self-regulatory responses, rather than the more orthodox approach of blocking body reactions. This approach hints at its clinical scope: it can help, at times resolve, conditions that are intrinsically reversible rather than mechanical problems, deficiencies, or irreversible breakdowns in body functions where it is only palliative. In recent years, there has been a renaissance of interest. Public demand has soared, and with it professional interest. Approximately 20% of Scotland's general practitioners have completed basic training. This is partly occasioned by public interest in complementary medicine and a sympathy with the more mind-body approach of homeopathy, and partly by recent scientific evidence. Some homeopathic dilutions are so extreme they are dismissed by critics as only placebo. Yet trials and meta-analyses of controlled trials are pointing toward real effects, mechanism of action unknown. Clinical outcome studies suggest useful clinical impact and excellent safety. There seems to be a potential to enhance patient care by integrating the two systems.

The structure of human DNase I bound to magnesium and phosphate ions points to a catalytic mechanism common to members of the DNase I-like superfamily.

PubMed

Parsiegla, Goetz; Noguere, Christophe; Santell, Lydia; Lazarus, Robert A; Bourne, Yves

2012-12-21

Recombinant human DNase I (Pulmozyme, dornase alfa) is used for the treatment of cystic fibrosis where it improves lung function and reduces the number of exacerbations. The physiological mechanism of action is thought to involve the reduction of the viscoelasticity of cystic fibrosis sputum by hydrolyzing high concentrations of DNA into low-molecular mass fragments. Here we describe the 1.95 Å resolution crystal structure of recombinant human DNase I (rhDNase I) in complex with magnesium and phosphate ions, both bound in the active site. Complementary mutagenesis data of rhDNase I coupled to a comprehensive structural analysis of the DNase I-like superfamily argue for the key catalytic role of Asn7, which is invariant among mammalian DNase I enzymes and members of this superfamily, through stabilization of the magnesium ion coordination sphere. Overall, our combined structural and mutagenesis data suggest the occurrence of a magnesium-assisted pentavalent phosphate transition state in human DNase I during catalysis, where Asp168 may play a key role as a general catalytic base.

Small RNA-mediated repair of UV-induced DNA lesions by the DNA DAMAGE-BINDING PROTEIN 2 and ARGONAUTE 1

PubMed Central

Schalk, Catherine; Cognat, Valérie; Graindorge, Stéfanie; Vincent, Timothée; Voinnet, Olivier; Molinier, Jean

2017-01-01

As photosynthetic organisms, plants need to prevent irreversible UV-induced DNA lesions. Through an unbiased, genome-wide approach, we have uncovered a previously unrecognized interplay between Global Genome Repair and small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) in the recognition of DNA photoproducts, prevalently in intergenic regions. Genetic and biochemical approaches indicate that, upon UV irradiation, the DNA DAMAGE-BINDING PROTEIN 2 (DDB2) and ARGONAUTE 1 (AGO1) of Arabidopsis thaliana form a chromatin-bound complex together with 21-nt siRNAs, which likely facilitates recognition of DNA damages in an RNA/DNA complementary strand-specific manner. The biogenesis of photoproduct-associated siRNAs involves the noncanonical, concerted action of RNA POLYMERASE IV, RNA-DEPENDENT RNA POLYMERASE-2, and DICER-LIKE-4. Furthermore, the chromatin association/dissociation of the DDB2-AGO1 complex is under the control of siRNA abundance and DNA damage signaling. These findings reveal unexpected nuclear functions for DCL4 and AGO1, and shed light on the interplay between small RNAs and DNA repair recognition factors at damaged sites. PMID:28325872

Pilates Method for Lung Function and Functional Capacity in Obese Adults.

PubMed

Niehues, Janaina Rocha; Gonzáles, Inês; Lemos, Robson Rodrigues; Haas, Patrícia

2015-01-01

Obesity is defined as the condition in which the body mass index (BMI) is ≥ 30 kg/m2 and is responsible for decreased quality of life and functional limitations. The harmful effects on ventilatory function include reduced lung capacity and volume; diaphragmatic muscle weakness; decreased lung compliance and stiffness; and weakness of the abdominal muscles, among others. Pilates is a method of resistance training that works with low-impact muscle exercises and is based on isometric exercises. The current article is a review of the literature that aims to investigate the hypothesis that the Pilates method, as a complementary method of training, might be beneficial to pulmonary function and functional capacity in obese adults. The intent of the review was to evaluate the use of Pilates as an innovative intervention in the respiratory dysfunctions of obese adults. In studies with other populations, it has been observed that Pilates can be effective in improving chest capacity and expansion and lung volume. That finding is due to the fact that Pilates works through the center of force, made ​​up of the abdominal muscles and gluteus muscles lumbar, which are responsible for the stabilization of the static and dynamic body that is associated with breath control. It has been observed that different Pilates exercises increase the activation and recruitment of the abdominal muscles. Those muscles are important in respiration, both in expiration and inspiration, through the facilitation of diaphragmatic action. In that way, strengthening the abdominal muscles can help improve respiratory function, leading to improvements in lung volume and capacity. The results found in the current literature review support the authors' observations that Pilates promotes the strengthening of the abdominal muscles and that improvements in diaphragmatic function may result in positive outcomes in respiratory function, thereby improving functional capacity. However, the authors did not find specific studies with obese people, justifying the need for future studies.

Studying the effects of genistein on gene expression of fish embryos as an alternative testing approach for endocrine disruption.

PubMed

Schiller, Viktoria; Wichmann, Arne; Kriehuber, Ralf; Muth-Köhne, Elke; Giesy, John P; Hecker, Markus; Fenske, Martina

2013-01-01

Assessment of endocrine disruption currently relies on testing strategies involving adult vertebrates. In order to minimize the use of animal tests according to the 3Rs principle of replacement, reduction and refinement, we propose a transcriptomics and fish embryo based approach as an alternative to identify and analyze an estrogenic activity of environmental chemicals. For this purpose, the suitability of 48 h and 7 days post-fertilization zebrafish and medaka embryos to test for estrogenic disruption was evaluated. The embryos were exposed to the phytoestrogen genistein and subsequently analyzed by microarrays and quantitative real-time PCR. The functional analysis showed that the genes affected related to multiple metabolic and signaling pathways in the early fish embryo, which reflect the known components of genistein's mode of actions, like apoptosis, estrogenic response, hox gene expression and steroid hormone synthesis. Moreover, the transcriptomic data also suggested a thyroidal mode of action and disruption of the nervous system development. The parallel testing of two fish species provided complementary data on the effects of genistein at gene expression level and facilitated the separation of common from species-dependent effects. Overall, the study demonstrated that combining fish embryo testing with transcriptomics can deliver abundant information about the mechanistic effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals, rendering this strategy a promising alternative approach to test for endocrine disruption in a whole organism in-vitro scale system. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 and Its Class B G Protein–Coupled Receptors: A Long March to Therapeutic Successes

PubMed Central

de Graaf, Chris; Donnelly, Dan; Wootten, Denise; Lau, Jesper; Sexton, Patrick M.; Miller, Laurence J.; Ahn, Jung-Mo; Liao, Jiayu; Fletcher, Madeleine M.; Brown, Alastair J. H.; Zhou, Caihong; Deng, Jiejie; Wang, Ming-Wei

2016-01-01

The glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1 receptor (GLP-1R) is a class B G protein–coupled receptor (GPCR) that mediates the action of GLP-1, a peptide hormone secreted from three major tissues in humans, enteroendocrine L cells in the distal intestine, α cells in the pancreas, and the central nervous system, which exerts important actions useful in the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus and obesity, including glucose homeostasis and regulation of gastric motility and food intake. Peptidic analogs of GLP-1 have been successfully developed with enhanced bioavailability and pharmacological activity. Physiologic and biochemical studies with truncated, chimeric, and mutated peptides and GLP-1R variants, together with ligand-bound crystal structures of the extracellular domain and the first three-dimensional structures of the 7-helical transmembrane domain of class B GPCRs, have provided the basis for a two-domain–binding mechanism of GLP-1 with its cognate receptor. Although efforts in discovering therapeutically viable nonpeptidic GLP-1R agonists have been hampered, small-molecule modulators offer complementary chemical tools to peptide analogs to investigate ligand-directed biased cellular signaling of GLP-1R. The integrated pharmacological and structural information of different GLP-1 analogs and homologous receptors give new insights into the molecular determinants of GLP-1R ligand selectivity and functional activity, thereby providing novel opportunities in the design and development of more efficacious agents to treat metabolic disorders. PMID:27630114

Enterocin C, a class IIb bacteriocin produced by E. faecalis C901, a strain isolated from human colostrum.

PubMed

Maldonado-Barragán, Antonio; Caballero-Guerrero, Belén; Jiménez, Esther; Jiménez-Díaz, Rufino; Ruiz-Barba, José L; Rodríguez, Juan M

2009-07-31

Enterocin C (EntC), a class IIb bacteriocin was purified from culture supernatants of Enterococcus faecalis C901, a strain isolated from human colostrum. Enterocin C consists of two distinct peptides, named EntC1 and EntC2, whose complementary action is required for full antimicrobial activity. The structural genes entC1 and entC2 encoding enterocins EntC1 and EntC2, respectively, and that encoding the putative immunity protein (EntCI) are located in the 9-kb plasmid pEntC, harboured by E. faecalis C901. The N-terminal sequence of both antimicrobial peptides revealed that EntC1 (4284 Da) is identical to Ent1071A, one of the two peptides that form enterocin 1071 (Ent1071), a bacteriocin produced by E. faecalis BFE 1071. In contrast, EntC2 (3867 Da) presents the non-polar alanine residue at position 17 (Ala(17)) instead of the polar threonine residue (Thr(17)) in Ent1071B, the second peptide constituting Ent1071. In spite of peptide similarities, EntC differs from Ent1071 in major aspects, including the complementary activity among its constitutive peptides and its wider inhibitory spectrum of activity. Different amphiphilic alpha-helical conformations between EntC2 and Ent1071B could explain both, acquired complementary activity and increased antimicrobial spectrum.

Seamless Tracing of Human Behavior Using Complementary Wearable and House-Embedded Sensors

PubMed Central

Augustyniak, Piotr; Smoleń, Magdalena; Mikrut, Zbigniew; Kańtoch, Eliasz

2014-01-01

This paper presents a multimodal system for seamless surveillance of elderly people in their living environment. The system uses simultaneously a wearable sensor network for each individual and premise-embedded sensors specific for each environment. The paper demonstrates the benefits of using complementary information from two types of mobility sensors: visual flow-based image analysis and an accelerometer-based wearable network. The paper provides results for indoor recognition of several elementary poses and outdoor recognition of complex movements. Instead of complete system description, particular attention was drawn to a polar histogram-based method of visual pose recognition, complementary use and synchronization of the data from wearable and premise-embedded networks and an automatic danger detection algorithm driven by two premise- and subject-related databases. The novelty of our approach also consists in feeding the databases with real-life recordings from the subject, and in using the dynamic time-warping algorithm for measurements of distance between actions represented as elementary poses in behavioral records. The main results of testing our method include: 95.5% accuracy of elementary pose recognition by the video system, 96.7% accuracy of elementary pose recognition by the accelerometer-based system, 98.9% accuracy of elementary pose recognition by the combined accelerometer and video-based system, and 80% accuracy of complex outdoor activity recognition by the accelerometer-based wearable system. PMID:24787640

Toward a Scalable and Sustainable Intervention for Complementary Food Safety.

PubMed

Rahman, Musarrat J; Nizame, Fosiul A; Nuruzzaman, Mohammad; Akand, Farhana; Islam, Mohammad Aminul; Parvez, Sarker Masud; Stewart, Christine P; Unicomb, Leanne; Luby, Stephen P; Winch, Peter J

2016-06-01

Contaminated complementary foods are associated with diarrhea and malnutrition among children aged 6 to 24 months. However, existing complementary food safety intervention models are likely not scalable and sustainable. To understand current behaviors, motivations for these behaviors, and the potential barriers to behavior change and to identify one or two simple actions that can address one or few food contamination pathways and have potential to be sustainably delivered to a larger population. Data were collected from 2 rural sites in Bangladesh through semistructured observations (12), video observations (12), in-depth interviews (18), and focus group discussions (3). Although mothers report preparing dedicated foods for children, observations show that these are not separate from family foods. Children are regularly fed store-bought foods that are perceived to be bad for children. Mothers explained that long storage durations, summer temperatures, flies, animals, uncovered food, and unclean utensils are threats to food safety. Covering foods, storing foods on elevated surfaces, and reheating foods before consumption are methods believed to keep food safe. Locally made cabinet-like hardware is perceived to be acceptable solution to address reported food safety threats. Conventional approaches that include teaching food safety and highlighting benefits such as reduced contamination may be a disincentive for rural mothers who need solutions for their physical environment. We propose extending existing beneficial behaviors by addressing local preferences of taste and convenience. © The Author(s) 2016.

Potential of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Preventive Management of Novel H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu) Pandemic: Thwarting Potential Disasters in the Bud

PubMed Central

Arora, Rajesh; Chawla, R.; Marwah, Rohit; Arora, P.; Sharma, R. K.; Kaushik, Vinod; Goel, R.; Kaur, A.; Silambarasan, M.; Tripathi, R. P.; Bhardwaj, J. R.

2011-01-01

The emergence of novel H1N1 has posed a situation that warrants urgent global attention. Though antiviral drugs are available in mainstream medicine for treating symptoms of swine flu, currently there is no preventive medicine available. Even when available, they would be in short supply and ineffective in a pandemic situation, for treating the masses worldwide. Besides the development of drug resistance, emergence of mutant strains of the virus, emergence of a more virulent strain, prohibitive costs of available drugs, time lag between vaccine developments, and mass casualties would pose difficult problems. In view of this, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) offers a plethora of interesting preventive possibilities in patients. Herbs exhibit a diverse array of biological activities and can be effectively harnessed for managing pandemic flu. Potentially active herbs can serve as effective anti influenza agents. The role of CAM for managing novel H1N1 flu and the mode of action of these botanicals is presented here in an evidence-based approach that can be followed to establish their potential use in the management of influenza pandemics. The complementary and alternative medicine approach deliberated in the paper should also be useful in treating the patients with serious influenza in non pandemic situations. PMID:20976081

Mathematical and field analysis of longitudinal reservoir infill

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ke, W. T.; Capart, H.

2016-12-01

In reservoirs, severe problems are caused by infilled sediment deposits. In long term, the sediment accumulation reduces the capacity of reservoir storage and flood control benefits. In the short term, the sediment deposits influence the intakes of water-supply and hydroelectricity generation. For the management of reservoir, it is important to understand the deposition process and then to predict the sedimentation in reservoir. To investigate the behaviors of sediment deposits, we propose a one-dimensional simplified theory derived by the Exner equation to predict the longitudinal sedimentation distribution in idealized reservoirs. The theory models the reservoir infill geomorphic actions for three scenarios: delta progradation, near-dam bottom deposition, and final infill. These yield three kinds of self-similar analytical solutions for the reservoir bed profiles, under different boundary conditions. Three analytical solutions are composed by error function, complementary error function, and imaginary error function, respectively. The theory is also computed by finite volume method to test the analytical solutions. The theoretical and numerical predictions are in good agreement with one-dimensional small-scale laboratory experiment. As the theory is simple to apply with analytical solutions and numerical computation, we propose some applications to simulate the long-profile evolution of field reservoirs and focus on the infill sediment deposit volume resulting the uplift of near-dam bottom elevation. These field reservoirs introduced here are Wushe Reservoir, Tsengwen Reservoir, Mudan Reservoir in Taiwan, Lago Dos Bocas in Puerto Rico, and Sakuma Dam in Japan.

Sensitivity analysis of hybrid thermoelastic techniques

Treesearch

W.A. Samad; J.M. Considine

2017-01-01

Stress functions have been used as a complementary tool to support experimental techniques, such as thermoelastic stress analysis (TSA) and digital image correlation (DIC), in an effort to evaluate the complete and separate full-field stresses of loaded structures. The need for such coupling between experimental data and stress functions is due to the fact that...

Analysing Symbolic Expressions in Secondary School Chemistry: Their Functions and Implications for Pedagogy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Yu; Taber, Keith S.

2016-01-01

Symbolic expressions are essential resources for producing knowledge, yet they are a source of learning difficulties in chemistry education. This study aims to employ social semiotics to analyse the symbolic representation of chemistry from two complementary perspectives, referred to here as contextual (i.e., historical) and functional. First, the…

Clinical application of optical coherence tomography in combination with functional diagnostics: advantages and limitations for diagnosis and assessment of therapy outcome in central serous chorioretinopathy.

PubMed

Schliesser, Joshua A; Gallimore, Gary; Kunjukunju, Nancy; Sabates, Nelson R; Koulen, Peter; Sabates, Felix N

2014-01-01

While identifying functional and structural parameters of the retina in central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR) patients, this study investigated how an optical coherence tomography (OCT)-based diagnosis can be significantly supplemented with functional diagnostic tools and to what degree the determination of disease severity and therapy outcome can benefit from diagnostics complementary to OCT. CSCR patients were evaluated prospectively with microperimetry (MP) and spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) to determine retinal sensitivity function and retinal thickness as outcome measures along with measures of visual acuity (VA). Patients received clinical care that involved focal laser photocoagulation or pharmacotherapy targeting inflammation and neovascularization. Correlation of clinical parameters with a focus on functional parameters, VA, and mean retinal sensitivity, as well as on the structural parameter mean retinal thickness, showed that functional measures were similar in diagnostic power. A moderate correlation was found between OCT data and the standard functional assessment of VA; however, a strong correlation between OCT and MP data showed that diagnostic measures cannot always be used interchangeably, but that complementary use is of higher clinical value. The study indicates that integrating SD-OCT with MP provides a more complete diagnosis with high clinical relevance for complex, difficult to quantify diseases such as CSCR.

Functional Assays for Neurotoxicity Testing

EPA Science Inventory

Neurobehavioral and pathological evaluations of the nervous system are complementary components of basic research and toxicity testing of pharmaceutical and environmental chemicals. While neuropathological assessments provide insight as to cellular changes in neurons, behavioral ...

Functional Assays for Neurotoxicity Testing*

EPA Science Inventory

Neurobehavioral and pathological evaluations of the nervous system are complementary components of basic research and toxicity testing of pharmaceutical and environmental chemicals. While neuropathological assessments provide insight as to cellular changes in neurons, behavioral ...

From feedback- to response-based performance monitoring in active and observational learning.

PubMed

Bellebaum, Christian; Colosio, Marco

2014-09-01

Humans can adapt their behavior by learning from the consequences of their own actions or by observing others. Gradual active learning of action-outcome contingencies is accompanied by a shift from feedback- to response-based performance monitoring. This shift is reflected by complementary learning-related changes of two ACC-driven ERP components, the feedback-related negativity (FRN) and the error-related negativity (ERN), which have both been suggested to signal events "worse than expected," that is, a negative prediction error. Although recent research has identified comparable components for observed behavior and outcomes (observational ERN and FRN), it is as yet unknown, whether these components are similarly modulated by prediction errors and thus also reflect behavioral adaptation. In this study, two groups of 15 participants learned action-outcome contingencies either actively or by observation. In active learners, FRN amplitude for negative feedback decreased and ERN amplitude in response to erroneous actions increased with learning, whereas observational ERN and FRN in observational learners did not exhibit learning-related changes. Learning performance, assessed in test trials without feedback, was comparable between groups, as was the ERN following actively performed errors during test trials. In summary, the results show that action-outcome associations can be learned similarly well actively and by observation. The mechanisms involved appear to differ, with the FRN in active learning reflecting the integration of information about own actions and the accompanying outcomes.

Carbon nanotube-based three-dimensional monolithic optoelectronic integrated system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yang; Wang, Sheng; Liu, Huaping; Peng, Lian-Mao

2017-06-01

Single material-based monolithic optoelectronic integration with complementary metal oxide semiconductor-compatible signal processing circuits is one of the most pursued approaches in the post-Moore era to realize rapid data communication and functional diversification in a limited three-dimensional space. Here, we report an electrically driven carbon nanotube-based on-chip three-dimensional optoelectronic integrated circuit. We demonstrate that photovoltaic receivers, electrically driven transmitters and on-chip electronic circuits can all be fabricated using carbon nanotubes via a complementary metal oxide semiconductor-compatible low-temperature process, providing a seamless integration platform for realizing monolithic three-dimensional optoelectronic integrated circuits with diversified functionality such as the heterogeneous AND gates. These circuits can be vertically scaled down to sub-30 nm and operates in photovoltaic mode at room temperature. Parallel optical communication between functional layers, for example, bottom-layer digital circuits and top-layer memory, has been demonstrated by mapping data using a 2 × 2 transmitter/receiver array, which could be extended as the next generation energy-efficient signal processing paradigm.

Dynamic covalent chemistry enables formation of antimicrobial peptide quaternary assemblies in a completely abiotic manner

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reuther, James F.; Dees, Justine L.; Kolesnichenko, Igor V.; Hernandez, Erik T.; Ukraintsev, Dmitri V.; Guduru, Rusheel; Whiteley, Marvin; Anslyn, Eric V.

2018-01-01

Naturally occurring peptides and proteins often use dynamic disulfide bonds to impart defined tertiary/quaternary structures for the formation of binding pockets with uniform size and function. Although peptide synthesis and modification are well established, controlling quaternary structure formation remains a significant challenge. Here, we report the facile incorporation of aryl aldehyde and acyl hydrazide functionalities into peptide oligomers via solid-phase copper-catalysed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (SP-CuAAC) click reactions. When mixed, these complementary functional groups rapidly react in aqueous media at neutral pH to form peptide-peptide intermolecular macrocycles with highly tunable ring sizes. Moreover, sequence-specific figure-of-eight, dumbbell-shaped, zipper-like and multi-loop quaternary structures were formed selectively. Controlling the proportions of reacting peptides with mismatched numbers of complementary reactive groups results in the formation of higher-molecular-weight sequence-defined ladder polymers. This also amplified antimicrobial effectiveness in select cases. This strategy represents a general approach to the creation of complex abiotic peptide quaternary structures.

Pediatric irritable bowel syndrome and other functional abdominal pain disorders: an update of non-pharmacological treatments.

PubMed

Gupta, Shivani; Schaffer, Gilda; Saps, Miguel

2018-05-01

Functional abdominal pain disorders, including irritable bowel syndrome, are common in children and treatment can often be difficult. Pharmacological therapies and complementary treatments are widely used, despite the limited data in pediatrics. Areas covered: This review provides an overview of the available data for the use of diet, probiotics, percutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, and psychosocial interventions, including hypnotherapy, yoga, cognitive and behavioral therapy, and mind-body interventions for the treatment of functional abdominal pain disorders in children. The literature review included a PubMed search by each therapy, children, abdominal pain, and irritable bowel syndrome. Relevant articles to this review are discussed. Expert commentary: The decision on the use of pharmacological and complementary therapies should be based on clinical findings, evidence, availability, and in-depth discussion with the patient and family. The physician should provide education on the different interventions and their role on the treatment in an empathetic and warm manner providing ample time for the family to ask questions.

Manual control of yaw motion with combined visual and vestibular cues

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zacharias, G. L.; Young, L. R.

1977-01-01

Measurements are made of manual control performance in the closed-loop task of nulling perceived self-rotation velocity about an earth-vertical axis. Self-velocity estimation was modelled as a function of the simultaneous presentation of vestibular and peripheral visual field motion cues. Based on measured low-frequency operator behavior in three visual field environments, a parallel channel linear model is proposed which has separate visual and vestibular pathways summing in a complementary manner. A correction to the frequency responses is provided by a separate measurement of manual control performance in an analogous visual pursuit nulling task. The resulting dual-input describing function for motion perception dependence on combined cue presentation supports the complementary model, in which vestibular cues dominate sensation at frequencies above 0.05 Hz. The describing function model is extended by the proposal of a non-linear cue conflict model, in which cue weighting depends on the level of agreement between visual and vestibular cues.

Selling Complementary Patents: Experimental Investigation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bjornstad, David J; Santore, Rudy; McKee, Michael

2010-02-01

Production requiring licensing groups of complementary patents implements a coordination game among patent holders, who can price patents by choosing among combinations of fixed and royalty fees. Summed across patents, these fees become the total producer cost of the package of patents. Royalties, because they function as excise taxes, add to marginal costs, resulting in higher prices and reduced quantities of the downstream product and lower payoffs to the patent holders. Using fixed fees eliminates this inefficiency but yields a more complex coordination game in which there are multiple equilibria, which are very fragile in that small mistakes can leadmore » the downstream firm to not license the technology, resulting in inefficient outcomes. We report on a laboratory market investigation of the efficiency effects of coordinated pricing of patents in a patent pool. We find that pool-like pricing agreements can yield fewer coordination failures in the pricing of complementary patents.« less

Optimal model of PDIG based microgrid and design of complementary stabilizer using ICA.

PubMed

Amini, R Mohammad; Safari, A; Ravadanegh, S Najafi

2016-09-01

The generalized Heffron-Phillips model (GHPM) for a microgrid containing a photovoltaic (PV)-diesel machine (DM)-induction motor (IM)-governor (GV) (PDIG) has been developed at the low voltage level. A GHPM is calculated by linearization method about a loading condition. An effective Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) approach for PV network has been done using sliding mode control (SMC) to maximize output power. Additionally, to improve stability of microgrid for more penetration of renewable energy resources with nonlinear load, a complementary stabilizer has been presented. Imperialist competitive algorithm (ICA) is utilized to design of gains for the complementary stabilizer with the multiobjective function. The stability analysis of the PDIG system has been completed with eigenvalues analysis and nonlinear simulations. Robustness and validity of the proposed controllers on damping of electromechanical modes examine through time domain simulation under input mechanical torque disturbances. Copyright © 2016 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Learning from nature: binary cooperative complementary nanomaterials.

PubMed

Su, Bin; Guo, Wei; Jiang, Lei

2015-03-01

In this Review, nature-inspired binary cooperative complementary nanomaterials (BCCNMs), consisting of two components with entirely opposite physiochemical properties at the nanoscale, are presented as a novel concept for the building of promising materials. Once the distance between the two nanoscopic components is comparable to the characteristic length of some physical interactions, the cooperation between these complementary building blocks becomes dominant and endows the macroscopic materials with novel and superior properties. The first implementation of the BCCNMs is the design of bio-inspired smart materials with superwettability and their reversible switching between different wetting states in response to various kinds of external stimuli. Coincidentally, recent studies on other types of functional nanomaterials contribute more examples to support the idea of BCCNMs, which suggests a potential yet comprehensive range of future applications in both materials science and engineering. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Complementary effect of patient volume and quality of care on hospital cost efficiency.

PubMed

Choi, Jeong Hoon; Park, Imsu; Jung, Ilyoung; Dey, Asoke

2017-06-01

This study explores the direct effect of an increase in patient volume in a hospital and the complementary effect of quality of care on the cost efficiency of U.S. hospitals in terms of patient volume. The simultaneous equation model with three-stage least squares is used to measure the direct effect of patient volume and the complementary effect of quality of care and volume. Cost efficiency is measured with a data envelopment analysis method. Patient volume has a U-shaped relationship with hospital cost efficiency and an inverted U-shaped relationship with quality of care. Quality of care functions as a moderator for the relationship between patient volume and efficiency. This paper addresses the economically important question of the relationship of volume with quality of care and hospital cost efficiency. The three-stage least square simultaneous equation model captures the simultaneous effects of patient volume on hospital quality of care and cost efficiency.

[Biological characteristics of an enteroinvasive Escherichia coli strain with tatABC deletion].

PubMed

Gong, Zhaolong; Ye, Changyun; Liu, Xiaobing; Zhang, Min; Zhuo, Qin

2013-05-04

To study the relationship between twin-arginine translocation system (Tat) system with the biological characteristics of enteroinvasive Escherichia coli (EIEC). Through homologous recombination, we constructed EIEC's tatABC gene deletion strain and complementary strain, and explored their impact on bacterial form, substrate transport function as well as on HeLa cells and guinea pig's corneal invasion force. The tatABC gene deletion strain had apparent changes in bacterial form, loss of substrate transporter function, and significant weakened bacterial invasion force (the number of the deletion strain invading into HeLa cells was decreased significantly, and the ability of its corneal lesion capacity of the guinea pig was significantly weakened), while the complementary strain was similar to the wild strain in the above respects. EIEC's Tat protein transport system is closely related with the biological characteristics of EIEC.

Closed-form integrator for the quaternion (euler angle) kinematics equations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Whitmore, Stephen A. (Inventor)

2000-01-01

The invention is embodied in a method of integrating kinematics equations for updating a set of vehicle attitude angles of a vehicle using 3-dimensional angular velocities of the vehicle, which includes computing an integrating factor matrix from quantities corresponding to the 3-dimensional angular velocities, computing a total integrated angular rate from the quantities corresponding to a 3-dimensional angular velocities, computing a state transition matrix as a sum of (a) a first complementary function of the total integrated angular rate and (b) the integrating factor matrix multiplied by a second complementary function of the total integrated angular rate, and updating the set of vehicle attitude angles using the state transition matrix. Preferably, the method further includes computing a quanternion vector from the quantities corresponding to the 3-dimensional angular velocities, in which case the updating of the set of vehicle attitude angles using the state transition matrix is carried out by (a) updating the quanternion vector by multiplying the quanternion vector by the state transition matrix to produce an updated quanternion vector and (b) computing an updated set of vehicle attitude angles from the updated quanternion vector. The first and second trigonometric functions are complementary, such as a sine and a cosine. The quantities corresponding to the 3-dimensional angular velocities include respective averages of the 3-dimensional angular velocities over plural time frames. The updating of the quanternion vector preserves the norm of the vector, whereby the updated set of vehicle attitude angles are virtually error-free.

Methods for Probabilistic Radiological Dose Assessment at a High-Level Radioactive Waste Repository.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maheras, Steven James

Methods were developed to assess and evaluate the uncertainty in offsite and onsite radiological dose at a high-level radioactive waste repository to show reasonable assurance that compliance with applicable regulatory requirements will be achieved. Uncertainty in offsite dose was assessed by employing a stochastic precode in conjunction with Monte Carlo simulation using an offsite radiological dose assessment code. Uncertainty in onsite dose was assessed by employing a discrete-event simulation model of repository operations in conjunction with an occupational radiological dose assessment model. Complementary cumulative distribution functions of offsite and onsite dose were used to illustrate reasonable assurance. Offsite dose analyses were performed for iodine -129, cesium-137, strontium-90, and plutonium-239. Complementary cumulative distribution functions of offsite dose were constructed; offsite dose was lognormally distributed with a two order of magnitude range. However, plutonium-239 results were not lognormally distributed and exhibited less than one order of magnitude range. Onsite dose analyses were performed for the preliminary inspection, receiving and handling, and the underground areas of the repository. Complementary cumulative distribution functions of onsite dose were constructed and exhibited less than one order of magnitude range. A preliminary sensitivity analysis of the receiving and handling areas was conducted using a regression metamodel. Sensitivity coefficients and partial correlation coefficients were used as measures of sensitivity. Model output was most sensitive to parameters related to cask handling operations. Model output showed little sensitivity to parameters related to cask inspections.

Applicability of action planning and coping planning to dental flossing among Norwegian adults: a confirmatory factor analysis approach.

PubMed

Astrøm, Anne Nordrehaug

2008-06-01

Using a prospective design and a representative sample of 25-yr-old Norwegians, this study hypothesized that action planning and coping planning will add to the prediction of flossing at 4 wk of follow-up over and above the effect of intention and previous flossing. This study tested the validity of a proposed 3-factor structure of the measurement model of intention, action planning, and coping planning and for its invariance across gender. A survey was conducted in three Norwegian counties, and 1,509 out of 8,000 randomly selected individuals completed questionnaires assessing the constructs of action planning and coping planning related to daily flossing. A random subsample of 500 participants was followed up at 4 wk with a telephone interview to assess flossing. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) confirmed the proposed 3-factor model after respecification. Although the chi-square test was statistically significant [chi(2) = 58.501, degrees of freedom (d.f.) = 17), complementary fit indices were satisfactory [goodness-of-fit index (GFI) = 0.99, root mean squared error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.04]. Multigroup CFA provided evidence of complete invariance of the measurement model across gender. After controlling for previous flossing, intention (beta = 0.08) and action planning (beta = 0.11) emerged as independent predictors of subsequent flossing, accounting for 2.3% of its variance. Factorial validity of intention, action planning and coping planning, and the validity of action planning in predicting flossing prospectively, was confirmed by the present study.

The dorsal "action" pathway.

PubMed

Gallivan, Jason P; Goodale, Melvyn A

2018-01-01

In 1992, Goodale and Milner proposed a division of labor in the visual pathways of the primate cerebral cortex. According to their account, the ventral pathway, which projects to occipitotemporal cortex, constructs our visual percepts, while the dorsal pathway, which projects to posterior parietal cortex, mediates the visual control of action. Although the framing of the two-visual-system hypothesis has not been without controversy, it is clear that vision for action and vision for perception have distinct computational requirements, and significant support for the proposed neuroanatomic division has continued to emerge over the last two decades from human neuropsychology, neuroimaging, behavioral psychophysics, and monkey neurophysiology. In this chapter, we review much of this evidence, with a particular focus on recent findings from human neuroimaging and monkey neurophysiology, demonstrating a specialized role for parietal cortex in visually guided behavior. But even though the available evidence suggests that dedicated circuits mediate action and perception, in order to produce adaptive goal-directed behavior there must be a close coupling and seamless integration of information processing across these two systems. We discuss such ventral-dorsal-stream interactions and argue that the two pathways play different, yet complementary, roles in the production of skilled behavior. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Experiential knowledge of expert coaches can help identify informational constraints on performance of dynamic interceptive actions.

PubMed

Greenwood, Daniel; Davids, Keith; Renshaw, Ian

2014-01-01

Coordination of dynamic interceptive movements is predicated on cyclical relations between an individual's actions and information sources from the performance environment. To identify dynamic informational constraints, which are interwoven with individual and task constraints, coaches' experiential knowledge provides a complementary source to support empirical understanding of performance in sport. In this study, 15 expert coaches from 3 sports (track and field, gymnastics and cricket) participated in a semi-structured interview process to identify potential informational constraints which they perceived to regulate action during run-up performance. Expert coaches' experiential knowledge revealed multiple information sources which may constrain performance adaptations in such locomotor pointing tasks. In addition to the locomotor pointing target, coaches' knowledge highlighted two other key informational constraints: vertical reference points located near the locomotor pointing target and a check mark located prior to the locomotor pointing target. This study highlights opportunities for broadening the understanding of perception and action coupling processes, and the identified information sources warrant further empirical investigation as potential constraints on athletic performance. Integration of experiential knowledge of expert coaches with theoretically driven empirical knowledge represents a promising avenue to drive future applied science research and pedagogical practice.

[Aedes aegypti control strategies: a review].

PubMed

Zara, Ana Laura de Sene Amâncio; Santos, Sandra Maria Dos; Fernandes-Oliveira, Ellen Synthia; Carvalho, Roberta Gomes; Coelho, Giovanini Evelim

2016-01-01

to describe the main strategies to control Aedes aegypti, with emphasis on promising technological innovations for use in Brazil. this study is a non-systematic review of the literature. several technologies have been developed as alternatives in the control of Ae. aegypti, using different mechanisms of action, such as selective monitoring of the infestation, social interventions, dispersing insecticides, new biological control agents and molecular techniques for population control of mosquitoes, also considering the combination between them. Evolving technologies require evaluation of the effectiveness, feasibility and costs of implementation strategies as complementary to the actions already recommended by the National Program for Dengue Control. the integration of different compatible and effective vector control strategies, considering the available technologies and regional characteristics, appears to be a viable method to try to reduce the infestation of mosquitoes and the incidence of arbovirus transmitted by them.

Micro-electro-mechanically switchable near infrared complementary metamaterial absorber

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pitchappa, Prakash; Pei Ho, Chong; Institute of Microelectronics

2014-05-19

We experimentally demonstrate a micro-electro-mechanically switchable near infrared complementary metamaterial absorber by integrating the metamaterial layer to be the out of plane movable microactuator. The metamaterial layer is electrostatically actuated by applying voltage across the suspended complementary metamaterial layer and the stationary bottom metallic reflector. Thus, the effective spacing between the metamaterial layer and bottom metal reflector is varied as a function of applied voltage. With the reduction of effective spacing between the metamaterial and reflector layers, a strong spectral blue shift in the peak absorption wavelength can be achieved. With spacing change of 300 nm, the spectral shift of 0.7 μmmore » in peak absorption wavelength was obtained for near infrared spectral region. The electro-optic switching performance of the device was characterized, and a striking switching contrast of 1500% was achieved at 2.1 μm. The reported micro-electro-mechanically tunable complementary metamaterial absorber device can potentially enable a wide range of high performance electro-optical devices, such as continuously tunable filters, modulators, and electro-optic switches that form the key components to facilitate future photonic circuit applications.« less

Nonlinear analysis of saccade speed fluctuations during combined action and perception tasks

PubMed Central

Stan, C.; Astefanoaei, C.; Pretegiani, E.; Optican, L.; Creanga, D.; Rufa, A.; Cristescu, C.P.

2014-01-01

Background: Saccades are rapid eye movements used to gather information about a scene which requires both action and perception. These are usually studied separately, so that how perception influences action is not well understood. In a dual task, where the subject looks at a target and reports a decision, subtle changes in the saccades might be caused by action-perception interactions. Studying saccades might provide insight into how brain pathways for action and for perception interact. New method: We applied two complementary methods, multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis and Lempel-Ziv complexity index to eye peak speed recorded in two experiments, a pure action task and a combined action-perception task. Results: Multifractality strength is significantly different in the two experiments, showing smaller values for dual decision task saccades compared to simple-task saccades. The normalized Lempel-Ziv complexity index behaves similarly i.e. is significantly smaller in the decision saccade task than in the simple task. Comparison with existing methods: Compared to the usual statistical and linear approaches, these analyses emphasize the character of the dynamics involved in the fluctuations and offer a sensitive tool for quantitative evaluation of the multifractal features and of the complexity measure in the saccades peak speeds when different brain circuits are involved. Conclusion: Our results prove that the peak speed fluctuations have multifractal characteristics with lower magnitude for the multifractality strength and for the complexity index when two neural pathways are simultaneously activated, demonstrating the nonlinear interaction in the brain pathways for action and perception. PMID:24854830

Selective Individual Primary Cell Capture Using Locally Bio-Functionalized Micropores

PubMed Central

Liu, Jie; Bombera, Radoslaw; Leroy, Loïc; Roupioz, Yoann; Baganizi, Dieudonné R.; Marche, Patrice N.; Haguet, Vincent; Mailley, Pascal; Livache, Thierry

2013-01-01

Background Solid-state micropores have been widely employed for 6 decades to recognize and size flowing unlabeled cells. However, the resistive-pulse technique presents limitations when the cells to be differentiated have overlapping dimension ranges such as B and T lymphocytes. An alternative approach would be to specifically capture cells by solid-state micropores. Here, the inner wall of 15-µm pores made in 10 µm-thick silicon membranes was covered with antibodies specific to cell surface proteins of B or T lymphocytes. The selective trapping of individual unlabeled cells in a bio-functionalized micropore makes them recognizable just using optical microscopy. Methodology/Principal Findings We locally deposited oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) and ODN-conjugated antibody probes on the inner wall of the micropores by forming thin films of polypyrrole-ODN copolymers using contactless electro-functionalization. The trapping capabilities of the bio-functionalized micropores were validated using optical microscopy and the resistive-pulse technique by selectively capturing polystyrene microbeads coated with complementary ODN. B or T lymphocytes from a mouse splenocyte suspension were specifically immobilized on micropore walls functionalized with complementary ODN-conjugated antibodies targeting cell surface proteins. Conclusions/Significance The results showed that locally bio-functionalized micropores can isolate target cells from a suspension during their translocation throughout the pore, including among cells of similar dimensions in complex mixtures. PMID:23469221

[Surgical approaches in rhinoplasty].

PubMed

Nguyen, P S; Duron, J-B; Bardot, J; Levet, Y; Aiach, G

2014-12-01

In the first step of rhinoplasty, the surgical approach will expose through different types of incisions and dissection planes the osteocartilaginous framework of the nasal pyramid prior to performing actions to reduce or increase the latter. This exposure can be performed by a closed approach or by an external approach--the choice depends on the type of nose and the habits of the surgeon. Far from being opposites, closed and external approaches are complementary and should be known and mastered by surgeons performing rhinoplasty. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

ON THE LEUKOCYTIC REACTION AND IMMUNOLOGICAL INDICES IN RABBITS SUBJECTED TO THE ACTION OF X-RAYS (in Russian)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Starkova, T.G.; Shuvalova, E.P.; Soldatova, V.M.

1961-12-01

The influence of x radiation (500 r) on various immunobiological reactions in rabbits (leukocyte reactions, plasma stability, serum fraction, and aglutaric, complementary, and preventive properties) was studied. The resuits show a reduced number of leukocytes accompanied by a reduced number of phagocytes in relation to dysentery and typhoid bacteria. Plasma stability is disturbed by a reduction in albumin and an increase in alpha globin. However, the blood serum in irradiated animals retained its preventtve properties with reduced titer. (R.V.J.)

An alternative medicine, Agaricus blazei, may have induced severe hepatic dysfunction in cancer patients.

PubMed

Mukai, Hirofumi; Watanabe, Toru; Ando, Masashi; Katsumata, Noriyuki

2006-12-01

We report three cases of patients with advanced cancer who showed severe hepatic damage, and two of whom died of fulminant hepatitis. All the patients were taking Agaricus blazei (Himematsutake) extract, one of the most popular complementary and alternative medicines among Japanese cancer patients. In one patient, liver functions recovered gradually after she stopped taking the Agaricus blazei, but she restarted taking it, which resulted in deterioration of the liver function again. The other patients who were admitted for severe liver damage had started taking the Agaricus blazei several days before admission. Although several other factors cannot be completely ruled out as the causes of liver damage, a strong causal relationship between the Agaricus blazei extract and liver damage was suggested and, at least, taking the Agaricus blazei extract made the clinical decision-making process much more complicated. Doctors who are aware of their patients taking the extract may accept it probably because they believe there is no harm in a complementary and alternative medicine. When unexpected liver damage is documented, however, doctors should consider the use of the Agaricus blazei extract as one of its causal factors. It is necessary to evaluate many modes of complementary and alternative medicines, including the Agaricus blazei extract, in rigorous, scientifically designed and peer-reviewed clinical trials.

Anti-complementary activity of enzyme-treated traditional Korean rice wine (Makgeolli) hydrolysates.

PubMed

Bae, Song Hwan; Choi, Jang Won; Ra, Kyung Soo; Yu, Kwang-Won; Shin, Kwang-Soon; Park, Sung Sun; Suh, Hyung Joo

2012-06-01

Makgeolli brewed from rice contains about 150 g kg(-1) alcohol and has a fragrance as well as an acidic and sweet taste. During the brewing process, by-products such as rice bran and brewery cake are produced. At the end of fermentation the matured mash is transferred to a filter cloth and the Makgeolli is squeezed out from the cake, leaving the lees of the mash. These by-products have continued to increase every year, resulting in an ecological problem. It is therefore important to develop new uses for them. The objective of this study was to use the by-products from the brewing of Makgeolli as a valuable functional food or nutraceutical. The anti-complementary activities of crude polysaccharides isolated from Cytolase hydrolysates of Makgeolli lees at concentrations of 1000 and 500 µg mL(-1) were 84.15 and 78.70% respectively. The activity of polysaccharide krestin (PSK) was 60.00% at 1000 µg mL(-1). The active polysaccharide obtained with Cytolase comprised mainly glucose and mannose (molar ratio 1.00:0.62). Glucose- and mannose-rich crude polysaccharides were isolated from the Cytolase hydrolysate of Makgeolli lees. The polysaccharides retain anti-complementary activity to enhance the immune system as a functional food or nutraceutical. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry.

Ligand-Controlled Integration of Zn and Tb by Photoactive Terpyridyl-Functionalized Tricarboxylates as Highly Selective and Sensitive Sensors for Nitrofurans.

PubMed

Zhou, Zhi-Hang; Dong, Wen-Wen; Wu, Ya-Pan; Zhao, Jun; Li, Dong-Sheng; Wu, Tao; Bu, Xian-Hui

2018-04-02

The integration of terpyridyl and tricarboxylate functionality in a novel ligand allows concerted 3:1 stoichiometric assembly of size-and charge-complementary Zn 2+ /Tb 3+ ions into a water-stable 3D luminescent framework (CTGU-8) capable of highly selective, sensitive, and recyclable of nitrofurans.

A Management Information System Design for a General Museum. Museum Data Bank Research Report No. 12.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scholtz, Sandra

A management information system (MIS) is applied to a medium sized general museum to reflect the actual curatorial/registration functions. The recordkeeping functions of loan and conservation activities are examined since they too can be effectively handled by computer and constitute a complementary data base to the accession/catalog information.…

Examining the Relations between Executive Function, Math, and Literacy during the Transition to Kindergarten: A Multi-Analytic Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schmitt, Sara A.; Geldhof, G. John; Purpura, David J.; Duncan, Robert; McClelland, Megan M.

2017-01-01

The present study explored the bidirectional and longitudinal associations between executive function (EF) and early academic skills (math and literacy) across 4 waves of measurement during the transition from preschool to kindergarten using 2 complementary analytical approaches: cross-lagged panel modeling and latent growth curve modeling (LCGM).…

A Systematic Review of Intervention Studies Examining Nutritional and Herbal Therapies for Mild Cognitive Impairment and Dementia Using Neuroimaging Methods: Study Characteristics and Intervention Efficacy

PubMed Central

MacMillan, Freya; Camfield, David A.; Seto, Sai W.

2017-01-01

Neuroimaging facilitates the assessment of complementary medicines (CMs) by providing a noninvasive insight into their mechanisms of action in the human brain. This is important for identifying the potential treatment options for target disease cohorts with complex pathophysiologies. The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate study characteristics, intervention efficacy, and the structural and functional neuroimaging methods used in research assessing nutritional and herbal medicines for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia. Six databases were searched for articles reporting on CMs, dementia, and neuroimaging methods. Data were extracted from 21/2,742 eligible full text articles and risk of bias was assessed. Nine studies examined people with Alzheimer's disease, 7 MCI, 4 vascular dementia, and 1 all-cause dementia. Ten studies tested herbal medicines, 8 vitamins and supplements, and 3 nootropics. Ten studies used electroencephalography (EEG), 5 structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), 2 functional MRI (fMRI), 3 cerebral blood flow (CBF), 1 single photon emission tomography (SPECT), and 1 positron emission tomography (PET). Four studies had a low risk of bias, with the majority consistently demonstrating inadequate reporting on randomisation, allocation concealment, blinding, and power calculations. A narrative synthesis approach was assumed due to heterogeneity in study methods, interventions, target cohorts, and quality. Eleven key recommendations are suggested to advance future work in this area. PMID:28303161

Loss of Functional A-Type Potassium Channels in the Dendrites of CA1 Pyramidal Neurons from a Mouse Model of Fragile X Syndrome

PubMed Central

Routh, Brandy N.; Johnston, Daniel

2013-01-01

Despite the critical importance of voltage-gated ion channels in neurons, very little is known about their functional properties in Fragile X syndrome: the most common form of inherited cognitive impairment. Using three complementary approaches, we investigated the physiological role of A-type K+ currents (IKA) in hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons from fmr1-/y mice. Direct measurement of IKA using cell-attached patch-clamp recordings revealed that there was significantly less IKA in the dendrites of CA1 neurons from fmr1-/y mice. Interestingly, the midpoint of activation for A-type K+ channels was hyperpolarized for fmr1-/y neurons compared with wild-type, which might partially compensate for the lower current density. Because of the rapid time course for recovery from steady-state inactivation, the dendritic A-type K+ current in CA1 neurons from both wild-type and fmr1-/y mice is likely mediated by KV4 containing channels. The net effect of the differences in IKA was that back-propagating action potentials had larger amplitudes producing greater calcium influx in the distal dendrites of fmr1-/y neurons. Furthermore, CA1 pyramidal neurons from fmr1-/y mice had a lower threshold for LTP induction. These data suggest that loss of IKA in hippocampal neurons may contribute to dendritic pathophysiology in Fragile X syndrome. PMID:24336711

Design of a Sensitive and Selective Electrochemical Aptasensor for the Determination of the Complementary cDNA of miRNA-145 Based on the Intercalation and Electrochemical Reduction of Doxorubicin.

PubMed

Mohamadi, Maryam; Mostafavi, Ali; Torkzadeh-Mahani, Masoud

2017-11-01

The aim of this research was the determination of a microRNA (miRNA) using a DNA electrochemical aptasensor. In this biosensor, the complementary complementary DNA (cDNA) of miRNA-145 (a sense RNA transcript) was the target strand and the cDNA of miRNA-145 was the probe strand. Both cDNAs can be the product of the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction of miRNA. The proposed aptasensor's function was based on the hybridization of target strands with probes immobilized on the surface of a working electrode and the subsequent intercalation of doxorubicin (DOX) molecules functioning as the electroactive indicators of any double strands that formed. Electrochemical transduction was performed by measuring the cathodic current resulting from the electrochemical reduction of the intercalated molecules at the electrode surface. In the experiment, because many DOX molecules accumulated on each target strand on the electrode surface, amplification was inherently easy, without a need for enzymatic or complicated amplification strategies. The proposed aptasensor also had the excellent ability to regenerate as a result of the melting of the DNA duplex. Moreover, the use of DNA probe strands obviated the challenges of working with an RNA probe, such as sensitivity to RNase enzyme. In addition to the linear relationship between the electrochemical signal and the concentration of the target strands that ranged from 2.0 to 80.0 nM with an LOD of 0.27 nM, the proposed biosensor was clearly capable of distinguishing between complementary (target strand) and noncomplementary sequences. The presented biosensor was successfully applied for the quantification of DNA strands corresponding to miRNA-145 in human serum samples.

A Content Analysis of Infant and Toddler Food Advertisements in Taiwanese Popular Pregnancy and Early Parenting Magazines.

PubMed

Chen, Yi-Chun; Chang, Jung-Su; Gong, Yu-Tang

2015-08-01

Mothers who are exposed to formula advertisements (ads) are less likely to initiate breastfeeding and more likely to breastfeed for a shorter duration than other mothers. The purpose of this study was to examine infant and toddler food ads in pregnancy and early parenting magazines. A content analysis of infant and toddler food ads printed in 12 issues of 4 magazines published in 2011 was performed. Coding categories of ads included product category, advertisement category, marketing information, and advertising appeal. The target age and health-related message of each product were coded. The researchers identified 756 infant and toddler food ads in the magazines. Compared with complementary food ads, formula product ads used more marketing strategies such as antenatal classes and baby contests to influence consumers and promote products. Nutritional quality and child health benefits were the two most frequently used advertising appeals. In addition, this study identified 794 formula products and 400 complementary food products; 42.8% of the complementary food products were intended for 4-month-old infants. Furthermore, 91.9% of the ads for formula products and 81% of the ads for complementary food products contained claims concerning health function or nutrient content. Taiwanese pregnancy and early parenting magazines contain numerous infant and toddler food ads. These ads generally use health-related claims regarding specific nutrient content and health functions to promote infant and toddler foods. Health professionals should provide more information to parents on the differences between breast milk and formula milk, and they should be aware of the potential effect of infant and toddler food ads on parents' infant feeding decisions. © The Author(s) 2015.

Lipophilic oligonucleotides spontaneously insert into lipid membranes, bind complementary DNA strands, and sequester into lipid-disordered domains.

PubMed

Bunge, Andreas; Kurz, Anke; Windeck, Anne-Kathrin; Korte, Thomas; Flasche, Wolfgang; Liebscher, Jürgen; Herrmann, Andreas; Huster, Daniel

2007-04-10

For the development of surface functionalized bilayers, we have synthesized lipophilic oligonucleotides to combine the molecular recognition mechanism of nucleic acids and the self-assembly characteristics of lipids in planar membranes. A lipophilic oligonucleotide consisting of 21 thymidine units and two lipophilic nucleotides with an alpha-tocopherol moiety as a lipophilic anchor was synthesized using solid-phase methods with a phosphoramadite strategy. The interaction of the water soluble lipophilic oligonucleotide with vesicular lipid membranes and its capability to bind complementary DNA strands was studied using complementary methods such as NMR, EPR, DSC, fluorescence spectroscopy, and fluorescence microscopy. This oligonucleotide inserted stably into preformed membranes from the aqueous phase. Thereby, no significant perturbation of the lipid bilayer and its stability was observed. However, the non-lipidated end of the oligonucleotide is exposed to the aqueous environment, is relatively mobile, and is free to interact with complementary DNA strands. Binding of the complementary single-stranded DNA molecules is fast and accomplished by the formation of Watson-Crick base pairs, which was confirmed by 1H NMR chemical shift analysis and fluorescence resonance energy transfer. The molecular structure of the membrane bound DNA double helix is very similar to the free double-stranded DNA. Further, the membrane bound DNA double strands also undergo regular melting. Finally, in raft-like membrane mixtures, the lipophilic oligonucleotide was shown to preferentially sequester into liquid-disordered membrane domains.

[Balneotherapy and osteoarthritis treatment].

PubMed

Latrille, Christian Roques

2012-09-01

Balneotherapy is a complementary form of medicine which uses natural thermal mineral resources in situ. It provides patients with osteoarthritis with a full treatment to ease pain and improve functions in the long-term without causing any significant therapeutic risks.

Electronic switching circuit uses complementary non-linear components

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zucker, O. S.

1972-01-01

Inherent switching properties of saturable inductors and storage diodes are combined to perform large variety of electronic functions, such as pulse shaping, gating, and multiplexing. Passive elements replace active switching devices in generation of complex waveforms.

Modified complementary ensemble empirical mode decomposition and intrinsic mode functions evaluation index for high-speed train gearbox fault diagnosis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Dongyue; Lin, Jianhui; Li, Yanping

2018-06-01

Complementary ensemble empirical mode decomposition (CEEMD) has been developed for the mode-mixing problem in Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) method. Compared to the ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD), the CEEMD method reduces residue noise in the signal reconstruction. Both CEEMD and EEMD need enough ensemble number to reduce the residue noise, and hence it would be too much computation cost. Moreover, the selection of intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) for further analysis usually depends on experience. A modified CEEMD method and IMFs evaluation index are proposed with the aim of reducing the computational cost and select IMFs automatically. A simulated signal and in-service high-speed train gearbox vibration signals are employed to validate the proposed method in this paper. The results demonstrate that the modified CEEMD can decompose the signal efficiently with less computation cost, and the IMFs evaluation index can select the meaningful IMFs automatically.

Fractional Brownian motion and the critical dynamics of zipping polymers.

PubMed

Walter, J-C; Ferrantini, A; Carlon, E; Vanderzande, C

2012-03-01

We consider two complementary polymer strands of length L attached by a common-end monomer. The two strands bind through complementary monomers and at low temperatures form a double-stranded conformation (zipping), while at high temperature they dissociate (unzipping). This is a simple model of DNA (or RNA) hairpin formation. Here we investigate the dynamics of the strands at the equilibrium critical temperature T=T(c) using Monte Carlo Rouse dynamics. We find that the dynamics is anomalous, with a characteristic time scaling as τ∼L(2.26(2)), exceeding the Rouse time ∼L(2.18). We investigate the probability distribution function, velocity autocorrelation function, survival probability, and boundary behavior of the underlying stochastic process. These quantities scale as expected from a fractional Brownian motion with a Hurst exponent H=0.44(1). We discuss similarities to and differences from unbiased polymer translocation.

Water soluble nano-scale transient material germanium oxide for zero toxic waste based environmentally benign nano-manufacturing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Almuslem, A. S.; Hanna, A. N.; Yapici, T.; Wehbe, N.; Diallo, E. M.; Kutbee, A. T.; Bahabry, R. R.; Hussain, M. M.

2017-02-01

In the recent past, with the advent of transient electronics for mostly implantable and secured electronic applications, the whole field effect transistor structure has been dissolved in a variety of chemicals. Here, we show simple water soluble nano-scale (sub-10 nm) germanium oxide (GeO2) as the dissolvable component to remove the functional structures of metal oxide semiconductor devices and then reuse the expensive germanium substrate again for functional device fabrication. This way, in addition to transiency, we also show an environmentally friendly manufacturing process for a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology. Every year, trillions of complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) electronics are manufactured and billions are disposed, which extend the harmful impact to our environment. Therefore, this is a key study to show a pragmatic approach for water soluble high performance electronics for environmentally friendly manufacturing and bioresorbable electronic applications.

Highly sensitive self-complementary DNA nanoswitches triggered by polyelectrolytes.

PubMed

Wu, Jincai; Yu, Feng; Zhang, Zheng; Chen, Yong; Du, Jie; Maruyama, Atsushi

2016-01-07

Dimerization of two homologous strands of genomic DNA/RNA is an essential feature of retroviral replication. Herein we show that a cationic comb-type copolymer (CCC), poly(L-lysine)-graft-dextran, accelerates the dimerization of self-complementary stem-loop DNA, frequently found in functional DNA/RNA molecules, such as aptamers. Furthermore, an anionic polymer poly(sodium vinylsulfonate) (PVS) dissociates CCC from the duplex shortly within a few seconds. Then single stem-loop DNA spontaneously transforms from its dimer. Thus we can easily control the dimer and stem-loop DNA by switching on/off CCC activity. Both polyelectrolytes and DNA concentrations are in the nanomole per liter range. The polyelectrolyte-assisted transconformation and sequences design strategy ensures the reversible state control with rapid response and effective switching under physiologically relevant conditions. A further application of this sensitive assembly is to construct an aptamer-type drug delivery system, bind or release functional molecules responding to its transconformation.

Insights into DNA-mediated interparticle interactions from a coarse-grained model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ding, Yajun; Mittal, Jeetain

2014-11-01

DNA-functionalized particles have great potential for the design of complex self-assembled materials. The major hurdle in realizing crystal structures from DNA-functionalized particles is expected to be kinetic barriers that trap the system in metastable amorphous states. Therefore, it is vital to explore the molecular details of particle assembly processes in order to understand the underlying mechanisms. Molecular simulations based on coarse-grained models can provide a convenient route to explore these details. Most of the currently available coarse-grained models of DNA-functionalized particles ignore key chemical and structural details of DNA behavior. These models therefore are limited in scope for studying experimental phenomena. In this paper, we present a new coarse-grained model of DNA-functionalized particles which incorporates some of the desired features of DNA behavior. The coarse-grained DNA model used here provides explicit DNA representation (at the nucleotide level) and complementary interactions between Watson-Crick base pairs, which lead to the formation of single-stranded hairpin and double-stranded DNA. Aggregation between multiple complementary strands is also prevented in our model. We study interactions between two DNA-functionalized particles as a function of DNA grafting density, lengths of the hybridizing and non-hybridizing parts of DNA, and temperature. The calculated free energies as a function of pair distance between particles qualitatively resemble experimental measurements of DNA-mediated pair interactions.

Functional analysis of a frame-shift mutant of the dihydropyridine receptor pore subunit (α1S) expressing two complementary protein fragments

PubMed Central

Ahern, Chris A; Vallejo, Paola; Mortenson, Lindsay; Coronado, Roberto

2001-01-01

Background The L-type Ca2+ channel formed by the dihydropyridine receptor (DHPR) of skeletal muscle senses the membrane voltage and opens the ryanodine receptor (RyR1). This channel-to-channel coupling is essential for Ca2+ signaling but poorly understood. We characterized a single-base frame-shift mutant of α1S, the pore subunit of the DHPR, that has the unusual ability to function voltage sensor for excitation-contraction (EC) coupling by virtue of expressing two complementary hemi-Ca2+ channel fragments. Results Functional analysis of cDNA transfected dysgenic myotubes lacking α1S were carried out using voltage-clamp, confocal Ca2+ indicator fluoresence, epitope immunofluorescence and immunoblots of expressed proteins. The frame-shift mutant (fs-α1S) expressed the N-terminal half of α1S (M1 to L670) and the C-terminal half starting at M701 separately. The C-terminal fragment was generated by an unexpected restart of translation of the fs-α1S message at M701 and was eliminated by a M701I mutation. Protein-protein complementation between the two fragments produced recovery of skeletal-type EC coupling but not L-type Ca2+ current. Discussion A premature stop codon in the II-III loop may not necessarily cause a loss of DHPR function due to a restart of translation within the II-III loop, presumably by a mechanism involving leaky ribosomal scanning. In these cases, function is recovered by expression of complementary protein fragments from the same cDNA. DHPR-RyR1 interactions can be achieved via protein-protein complementation between hemi-Ca2+ channel proteins, hence an intact II-III loop is not essential for coupling the DHPR voltage sensor to the opening of RyR1 channel. PMID:11806762

The Generation, Radiation and Prediction of Supersonic Jet Noise. Volume 1

DTIC Science & Technology

1978-10-01

standard, Gaussian correlation function model can yield a good noise spectrum prediction (at 900), but the corresponding axial source distributions do not...forms for the turbulence cross-correlation function. Good agreement was obtained between measured and calculated far- field noise spectra. However, the...complementary error function profile (3.63) was found to provide a good fit to the axial velocity distribution tor a wide range of Mach numbers in the Initial

Genetic analysis of the resistance to eight anthracnose races in the common bean differential cultivar Kaboon.

PubMed

Campa, Ana; Giraldez, Ramón; Ferreira, Juan José

2011-06-01

Resistance to the eight races (3, 7, 19, 31, 81, 449, 453, and 1545) of the pathogenic fungus Colletotrichum lindemuthianum (anthracnose) was evaluated in F(3) families derived from the cross between the anthracnose differential bean cultivars Kaboon and Michelite. Molecular marker analyses were carried out in the F(2) individuals in order to map and characterize the anthracnose resistance genes or gene clusters present in Kaboon. The analysis of the combined segregations indicates that the resistance present in Kaboon against these eight anthracnose races is determined by 13 different race-specific genes grouped in three clusters. One of these clusters, corresponding to locus Co-1 in linkage group (LG) 1, carries two dominant genes conferring specific resistance to races 81 and 1545, respectively, and a gene necessary (dominant complementary gene) for the specific resistance to race 31. A second cluster, corresponding to locus Co-3/9 in LG 4, carries six dominant genes conferring specific resistance to races 3, 7, 19, 449, 453, and 1545, respectively, and the second dominant complementary gene for the specific resistance to race 31. A third cluster of unknown location carries three dominant genes conferring specific resistance to races 449, 453, and 1545, respectively. This is the first time that two anthracnose resistance genes with a complementary mode of action have been mapped in common bean and their relationship with previously known Co- resistance genes established.

Complementary dynamic BH3 profiles predict co-operativity between the multi-kinase inhibitor TG02 and the BH3 mimetic ABT-199 in acute myeloid leukaemia cells.

PubMed

Pallis, Monica; Burrows, Francis; Ryan, Jeremy; Grundy, Martin; Seedhouse, Claire; Abdul-Aziz, Amina; Montero, Joan; Letai, Anthony; Russell, Nigel

2017-03-07

Direct co-operation between sensitiser molecules BAD and NOXA in mediating apoptosis suggests that therapeutic agents which sensitise to BAD may complement agents which sensitise to NOXA. Dynamic BH3 profiling is a novel methodology that we have applied to the measurement of complementarity between sensitiser BH3 peptide mimetics and therapeutic agents. Using dynamic BH3 profiling, we show that the agent TG02, which downregulates MCL-1, sensitises to the BCL-2-inhibitory BAD-BH3 peptide, whereas the BCL-2 antagonist ABT-199 sensitises to MCL-1 inhibitory NOXA-BH3 peptide in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) cells. At the concentrations used, the peptides did not trigger mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilisation in their own right, but primed cells to release Cytochrome C in the presence of an appropriate trigger of a complementary pathway. In KG-1a cells TG02 and ABT-199 synergised to induce apoptosis. In heterogeneous AML patient samples we noted a range of sensitivities to the two agents. Although some individual samples markedly favoured one agent or the other, in the group as a whole the combination of TG02 + ABT-199 was significantly more cytotoxic than either agent individually. We conclude that dynamic NOXA and BAD BH3 profiling is a sensitive methodology for investigating molecular pathways of drug action and complementary mechanisms of chemoresponsiveness.

Development of a strategic model for integrating complementary medicines into professional pharmacy practice.

PubMed

Ung, Carolina Oi Lam; Harnett, Joanna; Hu, Hao

2017-08-03

Traditional medicine (TM) and complementary medicine (CM) products have played an increasingly important role in the business of pharmacy for over two decades in a number of countries. With a focus on the quality use of all medicines including complementary medicines, there have been a number of initiatives to encourage the integration of TM/CM products into professional practice. Recent studies report that many of the barriers that prevent such integration remain. To explore the pharmacists' perspective regarding how barriers to the integration of TM/CM products into the professional practice of pharmacy could be resolved. Purposive sampling and snowballing were used to recruit 11 registered pharmacists who had worked in community pharmacy for a minimum of 6 months to participate in one of 3 focus groups. Focus group questions informed by previous studies, explored participants' perspectives on the actions required to support professional services related to TM/CM products. Pharmacists proposed that five key stakeholders (professional pharmacy organizations, universities, government, pharmacy owners, and pharmacists) enact 4 developments that require a collaborative effort ("education and training", "building the evidence base", "developing reliable and accessible information resources", and "workplace support for best practice"). Manufacturers of TM/CM products were not identified by pharmacists as collaborators in these developments. Collectively, the findings from this study support a strategic model to guide the integration of TM/CM products into the professional practice of pharmacy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Functions of Aggression and Disciplinary Actions among Elementary School-Age Youth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fite, Paula J.; Evans, Spencer C.; Pederson, Casey A.; Tampke, Elizabeth C.

2017-01-01

Background: A link between aggression and disciplinary actions has been established; however, specific associations between reactive and proactive functions of aggression and disciplinary actions in the elementary school setting have not been evaluated. A better understanding of links between functions of aggression and disciplinary actions could…

The French National Nutrition and Health Program: 2001-2006-2010.

PubMed

Hercberg, Serge; Chat-Yung, Stacie; Chaulia, Michel

2008-01-01

Established in 2001-2005 then extended to 2010, the French National Nutrition and Health Program (PNNS) is a nutrition policy whose objective is to improve the health status of the population by acting on one of its major determinants, nutrition. Nine priority objectives focusing on diet, physical activity and nutritional status were determined. Program strategies are based on fundamental principles including food culture, pleasure, and gastronomy. This multidisciplinary program involves stakeholders from ministries, research and educational institutions, food industry, healthcare, and consumers. More than 75% of the public health actions planned were accomplished or in progress by the end of 2005, particularly those concerning nutrition communication, education, research and nutritional surveillance. Dietary guidelines were established and are now considered the official reference in France. Actions focusing on the healthcare system, economic actors and players and specific population groups need further development. The success of a public health program like the PNNS requires a combination of synergistic and complementary actions, measures, regulations and laws. A national study at the end of the PNNS will determine if objectives were achieved.

Is It Really a Matter of Simple Dualism? Corticotropin-Releasing Factor Receptors in Body and Mental Health

PubMed Central

Janssen, Donny; Kozicz, Tamás

2013-01-01

Physiological responses to stress coordinated by the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis are concerned with maintaining homeostasis in the presence of real or perceived challenges. Regulators of this axis are corticotrophin releasing factor (CRF) and CRF related neuropeptides, including urocortins 1, 2, and 3. They mediate their actions by binding to CRF receptors (CRFR) 1 and 2, which are located in several stress-related brain regions. The prevailing theory has been that the initiation of and the recovery from an elicited stress response is coordinated by two elements, viz. the (mainly) opposing, but well balanced actions of CRFR1 and CRFR2. Such a dualistic view suggests that CRF/CRFR1 controls the initiation of, and urocortins/CRFR2 mediate the recovery from stress to maintain body and mental health. Consequently, failed adaptation to stress can lead to neuropathology, including anxiety and depression. Recent literature, however, challenges such dualistic and complementary actions of CRFR1 and CRFR2, and suggests that stress recruits CRF system components in a brain area and neuron specific manner to promote adaptation as conditions dictate. PMID:23487366

Herbal Remedies for Coccidiosis Control: A Review of Plants, Compounds, and Anticoccidial Actions

PubMed Central

Muthamilselvan, Thangarasu; Wu, Yueh-Chen

2016-01-01

Coccidiosis is the bane of the poultry industry causing considerable economic loss. Eimeria species are known as protozoan parasites to cause morbidity and death in poultry. In addition to anticoccidial chemicals and vaccines, natural products are emerging as an alternative and complementary way to control avian coccidiosis. In this review, we update recent advances in the use of anticoccidial phytoextracts and phytocompounds, which cover 32 plants and 40 phytocompounds, following a database search in PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Four plant products commercially available for coccidiosis are included and discussed. We also highlight the chemical and biological properties of the plants and compounds as related to coccidiosis control. Emphasis is placed on the modes of action of the anticoccidial plants and compounds such as interference with the life cycle of Eimeria, regulation of host immunity to Eimeria, growth regulation of gut bacteria, and/or multiple mechanisms. Biological actions, mechanisms, and prophylactic/therapeutic potential of the compounds and extracts of plant origin in coccidiosis are summarized and discussed. PMID:27429634

Quantitative assessment of paretic limb dexterity and interlimb coordination during bilateral arm rehabilitation training.

PubMed

Xu, Chang; Li, Siyi; Wang, Kui; Hou, Zengguang; Yu, Ningbo

2017-07-01

In neuro-rehabilitation after stroke, the conventional constrained induced movement therapy (CIMT) has been well-accepted. Existing bilateral trainings are mostly on mirrored symmetrical motion. However, complementary bilateral movements are dominantly involved in activities of daily living (ADLs), and functional bilateral therapies may bring better skill transfer from trainings to daily life. Neurophysiological evidence is also growing. In this work, we firstly introduce our bilateral arm training system realized with a haptic interface and a motion sensor, as well as the tasks that have been designed to train both the manipulation function of the paretic arm and coordination of bilateral upper limbs. Then, we propose quantitative measures for functional assessment of complementary bilateral training performance, including kinematic behavior indices, smoothness, submovement and bimanual coordination. After that, we describe the experiments with healthy subjects and the results with respect to these quantitative measures. Feasibility and sensitivity of the proposed indices were evaluated through comparison of unilateral and bilateral training outcomes. The proposed bilateral training system and tasks, as well as the quantitative measures, have been demonstrated effective for training and assessment of unilateral and bilateral arm functions.

A combined confocal and magnetic resonance microscope for biological studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Majors, Paul D.; Minard, Kevin R.; Ackerman, Eric J.; Holtom, Gary R.; Hopkins, Derek F.; Parkinson, Christopher I.; Weber, Thomas J.; Wind, Robert A.

2002-12-01

Complementary data acquired with different microscopy techniques provide a basis for establishing a more comprehensive understanding of cell function in health and disease, particularly when results acquired with different methodologies can be correlated in time and space. In this article, a novel microscope is described for studying live cells simultaneously with both confocal scanning laser fluorescence optical microscopy and magnetic resonance microscopy. The various design considerations necessary for integrating these two complementary techniques are discussed, the layout and specifications of the instrument are given, and examples of confocal and magnetic resonance images of large frog cells and model tumor spheroids obtained with the compound microscope are presented.

Complementary frequency shifter based on polarization modulator used for generation of a high-quality frequency-locked multicarrier.

PubMed

Li, Jianping; Yu, Changyuan; Li, Zhaohui

2014-03-15

A novel polarization-modulator-based complementary frequency shifter (PCFS) has been proposed and then used to implement the generation of a frequency-locked multicarrier with single- and dual-recirculating frequency shifting loops, respectively. The transfer functions and output properties of PCFS and PCFS-based multicarrier generator have been studied theoretically. Based on our simulation results through VPItransmissionMaker software, 100 stable carriers have been obtained with acceptable flatness while no DC bias control is required. The results show that the proposed PCFS has the potential to become a commercial product and then used in various scenarios.

The Nebivolol action on vascular tone is dependent on actin cytoskeleton polymerization and Rho-A activity into ECs and SMCs.

PubMed

Kadi, A; de Isla, N; Moby, V; Lacolley, P; Labrude, P; Stoltz, J F; Menu, P

2014-01-01

Nitric oxide is implicated in the target action of Nebivolol, a selective β1 adrenoceptor blocker used in hypertension treatment. As the Nitric Oxide (NO) production and the actin cytoskeleton are linked, the aim of this work was to study the involvement of actin cytoskeleton on mechanism of action of Nebivolol in cultured endothelial cells. We studied the effect of Nebivolol (200 μM) on actin filaments remodeling and its impact on NO production and eNOS activation. Results showed that Nebivolol perturbs actin filaments polymerization, increases NO production and eNOS activity between 30 minutes and 1 h. Stabilization of actin filaments with phalloïdine (50 μM) abolishes Nebivolol effects on eNOS activation and NO production. Furthermore, Rho-kinase activity decreased during the first hour of Nebivolol treatment, then increased after 3 h, while actin filaments repolymerized, eNOS activation and NO production decreased. In SMCs, Nebivolol induced a decrease in the Rho-kinase activity from 1 h until 24 h of incubation. In conclusion, we suggest that Nebivolol induced NO production in Endothelial Cells (ECs) via complementary actions between actin cytoskeleton remodeling inducing eNOS activation and Rho-kinase implication. The effect of Nebivolol on ECs occurs during the first hour, this effect on SMCs seems to be maintained until 24 h, explaining persisted action of Nebivolol observed in vivo.

[Inheritable phenotypic normalization of rodent cells transformed by simian adenovirus SA7 E1 oncogenes by singled-stranded oligonucleotides complementary to a long region of integrated oncogenes].

PubMed

Grineva, N I; Borovkova, T V; Sats, N V; Kurabekova, R M; Rozhitskaia, O S; Solov'ev, G Ia; Pantin, V I

1995-08-01

G11 mouse cells and SH2 rat cells transformed with simian adenovirus SA7 DNA showed inheritable oncogen-specific phenotypic normalization when treated with sense and antisense oligonucleotides complementary to long RNA sequences, plus or minus strands of the integrated adenovirus oncogenes E1A and E1B. Transitory treatment of the cells with the oligonucleotides in the absence of serum was shown to cause the appearance of normalized cell lines with fibroblastlike morphology, slower cell proliferation, and lack of ability to form colonies in soft agar. Proliferative activity and adhesion of the normalized cells that established cell lines were found to depend on the concentration of growth factors in the cultural medium. In some of the cell lines, an inhibition of transcription of the E1 oncogenes was observed. The normalization also produced cells that divided 2 - 5 times and died and cells that reverted to a transformed phenotype in 2 - 10 days. The latter appeared predominantly upon the action of the antisense oligonucleotides.

Herbal Medicines for the Management of Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Systematic Review.

PubMed

Bahrami, Hamid Reza; Hamedi, Shokouhsadat; Salari, Roshanak; Noras, Mohammadreza

2016-08-01

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a chronic digestive disorder, which is characterized by abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea and constipation periods. The etiology is unknown. Based on the different mechanisms in the etiology, treatment focuses on controlling symptoms. Due to the longtime of syndrome, inadequacy of current treatments, financial burden for patients and pharmacologic effects, several patients have turned to the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Complementary and alternative treatments for IBS include hypnosis, acupuncture, cognitive behavior therapy, yoga, and herbal medicine. Herbal medicines can have therapeutic effects and adverse events in IBS. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of herbal medicines in the control of IBS, and their possible mechanisms of action were reviewed. Herbal medicines are an important part of the health care system in many developing countries It is important for physicians to understand some of the more common forms of CAM, because some herbs have side effects and some have interactions with conventional drugs. However herbal medicines may have therapeutic effects in IBS, and further clinical research is needed to assess its effectiveness and safety.

Phase transition of Boolean networks with partially nested canalizing functions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jansen, Kayse; Matache, Mihaela Teodora

2013-07-01

We generate the critical condition for the phase transition of a Boolean network governed by partially nested canalizing functions for which a fraction of the inputs are canalizing, while the remaining non-canalizing inputs obey a complementary threshold Boolean function. Past studies have considered the stability of fully or partially nested canalizing functions paired with random choices of the complementary function. In some of those studies conflicting results were found with regard to the presence of chaotic behavior. Moreover, those studies focus mostly on ergodic networks in which initial states are assumed equally likely. We relax that assumption and find the critical condition for the sensitivity of the network under a non-ergodic scenario. We use the proposed mathematical model to determine parameter values for which phase transitions from order to chaos occur. We generate Derrida plots to show that the mathematical model matches the actual network dynamics. The phase transition diagrams indicate that both order and chaos can occur, and that certain parameters induce a larger range of values leading to order versus chaos. The edge-of-chaos curves are identified analytically and numerically. It is shown that the depth of canalization does not cause major dynamical changes once certain thresholds are reached; these thresholds are fairly small in comparison to the connectivity of the nodes.

A Posteriori Comparison of Natural and Surgical Destabilization Models of Canine Osteoarthritis

PubMed Central

Pelletier, Jean-Pierre; d'Anjou, Marc-André; Blond, Laurent; Pelletier, Johanne-Martel; del Castillo, Jérôme R. E.

2013-01-01

For many years Canis familiaris, the domestic dog, has drawn particular interest as a model of osteoarthritis (OA). Here, we optimized the dog model of experimental OA induced by cranial cruciate ligament sectioning. The usefulness of noninvasive complementary outcome measures, such as gait analysis for the limb function and magnetic resonance imaging for structural changes, was demonstrated in this model. Relationships were established between the functional impairment and the severity of structural changes including the measurement of cartilage thinning. In the dog model of naturally occurring OA, excellent test-retest reliability was denoted for the measurement of the limb function. A criterion to identify clinically meaningful responders to therapy was determined for privately owned dogs undergoing clinical trials. In addition, the recording of accelerometer-based duration of locomotor activity showed strong and complementary agreement with the biomechanical limb function. The translation potential of these models to the human OA condition is underlined. A preclinical testing protocol which combines the dog model of experimental OA induced by cranial cruciate ligament transection and the Dog model of naturally occurring OA offers the opportunity to further investigate the structural and functional benefits of disease-modifying strategies. Ultimately, a better prediction of outcomes for human clinical trials would be brought. PMID:24288664

Thermometric sensing of nitrofurantoin by noncovalently imprinted polymers containing two complementary functional monomers.

PubMed

Athikomrattanakul, Umporn; Gajovic-Eichelmann, Nenad; Scheller, Frieder W

2011-10-15

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for nitrofurantoin (NFT) recognition addressing in parallel of two complementary functional groups were created using a noncovalent imprinting approach. Specific tailor-made functional monomers were synthesized: a diaminopyridine derivative as the receptor for the imide residue and three (thio)urea derivatives for the interaction with the nitro group of NFT. A significantly improved binding of NFT to the new MIPs was revealed from the imprinting factor, efficiency of binding, affinity constants and maximum binding number as compared to previously reported MIPs, which addressed either the imide or the nitro residue. Substances possessing only one functionality (either the imide group or nitro group) showed significantly weaker binding to the new imprinted polymers than NFT. However, the compounds lacking both functionalities binds extremely weak to all imprinted polymers. The new imprinted polymers were applied in a flow-through thermistor in organic solvent for the first time. The MIP-thermistor allows the detection of NFT down to a concentration of 5 μM in acetonitrile + 0.2% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). The imprinting factor of 3.91 at 0.1 mM of NFT as obtained by thermistor measurements is well comparable to the value obtained by batch binding experiments. © 2011 American Chemical Society

[Which relationships between civilian-military actions(CMA), civilian and military cooperation (CIMIC)and non-governmental organizations(NGO)?].

PubMed

Grünewald, F; de Geoffroy, V

2002-01-01

This article questions the existence of "governmental humanitarianism" in opposition to "non-governmental" humanitarianism. The authors report the growing implication of civilian and military actors representing governments in responding to crises and express their concern that this tendency could ultimately lead to use of humanitarian action for diplomatic and economic purposes. They stress that unlike non-governmental organizations, state-run humanitarian agencies are subject to political, economic, and geographic factors. In the context of increasingly frequent application of the CMA doctrine, the authors analyze the role of non-governmental organizations in the field during post-crisis reconstruction. They underline the growing problem of organizing bilateral and multilateral assistance operations. They restate the hope expressed by many humanitarian organizations for a return of the rule of law and conclude on the need to develop complementary activities in the field.

Restoring rape survivors: justice, advocacy, and a call to action.

PubMed

Koss, Mary P

2006-11-01

Rape results in mental and physical health, social, and legal consequences. For the latter, restorative justice-based programs might augment community response, but they generate controversy among advocates and policy makers. This article identifies survivors' needs and existing community responses to them. Survivors feel their legal needs are most poorly met due to justice system problems that can be summarized as attrition, retraumatization, and disparate treatment across gender, class, and ethnic lines. Empirical data support each problem and the conclusion that present justice options are inadequate. The article concludes by identifying common ground in advocacy and restorative justice goals and calls for a holistic approach to the needs of rape survivors that includes advocating for expanded justice alternatives. A call to action is issued to implement restorative alternatives to expand survivor choice and offender accountability. Conventional and restorative justice are often viewed as mutually exclusive whereas the author argues they are complementary.

Anti-idiotypic antibodies that protect cells against the action of diphtheria toxin

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rolf, J.M.; Gaudin, H.M.; Tirrell, S.M.

1989-03-01

An anti-idiotypic serum prepared against the combining site (idiotype) of specific anti-diphtheria toxoid antibodies was characterized with respect to its interaction with highly diphtheria toxin-sensitive Vero cells. Although the anti-idiotypic serum protected Vero cells against the cytotoxic action of diphtheria toxin, it did not prevent the binding of /sup 125/I-labeled diphtheria toxin to the cells but did inhibit the internalization and degradation of /sup 125/I-labeled toxin. This anti-idiotypic serum immunoprecipitated a cell-surface protein from radiolabeled Vero cells with an apparent Mr of approximately 15,000. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that the anti-idiotypic serum contains antibodies that carry anmore » internal image of an internalization site on the toxin and that a cell-surface protein involved in toxin internalization possesses a complementary site recognized by both the toxin and the anti-idiotypic antibodies.« less

THRIVES: Using the best evidence to prevent violence against children.

PubMed

Hillis, Susan; Mercy, James; Saul, Janet; Gleckel, Jessie; Abad, Neetu; Kress, Howard

2016-09-01

More than 1 billion children - half the children in the world - are victims of violence every year. As part of the Post-2015 sustainable development agenda, the UN has issued a global call-to-action: to eliminate violence against children. Essential to preventing violence against children is guidance to countries on using the best available evidence to address this problem. THRIVES provides this evidence. It represents a framework of complementary strategies that, taken together, have potential to achieve and sustain efforts to prevent violence against children. These strategies, which span health, social services, education, and justice sectors, include Training in parenting, Household economic strengthening, Reduced violence through legislative protection, Improved services, Values and norms that protect children, Education and life skills, and Surveillance and evaluation. For each THRIVES area, we review evidence for effectiveness and identify programmatic or policy examples. This framework will facilitate commitments to effective, sustainable, and scalable action.

EVIDENCE FOR BASE EXCISION REPAIR PROCESSING OF DNA INTERSTRAND CROSSLINKS

PubMed Central

Kothandapani, Anbarasi; Patrick, Steve M

2013-01-01

Many bifunctional alkylating agents and anticancer drugs exert their cytotoxicity by producing cross links between the two complementary strands of DNA, termed interstrand crosslinks (ICLs). This blocks the strand separating processes during DNA replication and transcription, which can lead to cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Cells use multiple DNA repair systems to eliminate the ICLs. Concerted action of repair proteins involved in Nucleotide Excision Repair and Homologous Recombination pathways are suggested to play a key role in the ICL repair. However, recent studies indicate a possible role for Base Excision Repair (BER) in mediating the cytotoxicity of ICL inducing agents in mammalian cells. Elucidating the mechanism of BER mediated modulation of ICL repair would help in understanding the recognition and removal of ICLs and aid in the development of potential therapeutic agents. In this review, the influence of BER proteins on ICL DNA repair and the possible mechanisms of action are discussed. PMID:23219605

[Hysteria 100 years later].

PubMed

Widlocher, D

1982-01-01

Is it true that hysteria we see today is no longer that described at the end of the last century? Is it true that Charcot's work on hysteria ended in failure? Contrary to currently accepted opinion, it can be demonstrated not only that Charcot truly laid the foundation for the psychological theory of hysteria but that his explanation of the mechanism of conversion forms the basis for one of the most effective therapies. Furthermore the major streams of thought in psychopathology have come to complete Charcot's point of view and in no way contradict it. A general view of neurosis can thus be distinguished, while not forgetting that these complementary points of view are based on logics of action irreducibles to each other. The interest shown by Charcot in cultural phenomena, such as ecstasy or demoniacal possession, even introduces to an anthropological point of view which situates the hysterical symptom within the more general framework of a universal modality of action.

Doing Duo - a case study of entrainment in William Forsythe's choreography "Duo".

PubMed

Waterhouse, Elizabeth; Watts, Riley; Bläsing, Bettina E

2014-01-01

Entrainment theory focuses on processes in which interacting (i.e., coupled) rhythmic systems stabilize, producing synchronization in the ideal sense, and forms of phase related rhythmic coordination in complex cases. In human action, entrainment involves spatiotemporal and social aspects, characterizing the meaningful activities of music, dance, and communication. How can the phenomenon of human entrainment be meaningfully studied in complex situations such as dance? We present an in-progress case study of entrainment in William Forsythe's choreography Duo, a duet in which coordinated rhythmic activity is achieved without an external musical beat and without touch-based interaction. Using concepts of entrainment from different disciplines as well as insight from Duo performer Riley Watts, we question definitions of entrainment in the context of dance. The functions of chorusing, turn-taking, complementary action, cues, and alignments are discussed and linked to supporting annotated video material. While Duo challenges the definition of entrainment in dance as coordinated response to an external musical or rhythmic signal, it supports the definition of entrainment as coordinated interplay of motion and sound production by active agents (i.e., dancers) in the field. Agreeing that human entrainment should be studied on multiple levels, we suggest that entrainment between the dancers in Duo is elastic in time and propose how to test this hypothesis empirically. We do not claim that our proposed model of elasticity is applicable to all forms of human entrainment nor to all examples of entrainment in dance. Rather, we suggest studying higher order phase correction (the stabilizing tendency of entrainment) as a potential aspect to be incorporated into other models.

The Representation of Object-Directed Action and Function Knowledge in the Human Brain

PubMed Central

Chen, Quanjing; Garcea, Frank E.; Mahon, Bradford Z.

2016-01-01

The appropriate use of everyday objects requires the integration of action and function knowledge. Previous research suggests that action knowledge is represented in frontoparietal areas while function knowledge is represented in temporal lobe regions. Here we used multivoxel pattern analysis to investigate the representation of object-directed action and function knowledge while participants executed pantomimes of familiar tool actions. A novel approach for decoding object knowledge was used in which classifiers were trained on one pair of objects and then tested on a distinct pair; this permitted a measurement of classification accuracy over and above object-specific information. Region of interest (ROI) analyses showed that object-directed actions could be decoded in tool-preferring regions of both parietal and temporal cortex, while no independently defined tool-preferring ROI showed successful decoding of object function. However, a whole-brain searchlight analysis revealed that while frontoparietal motor and peri-motor regions are engaged in the representation of object-directed actions, medial temporal lobe areas in the left hemisphere are involved in the representation of function knowledge. These results indicate that both action and function knowledge are represented in a topographically coherent manner that is amenable to study with multivariate approaches, and that the left medial temporal cortex represents knowledge of object function. PMID:25595179

Structural correlates of affinity in fetal versus adult endplate nicotinic receptors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nayak, Tapan Kumar; Chakraborty, Srirupa; Zheng, Wenjun; Auerbach, Anthony

2016-04-01

Adult-type nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) mediate signalling at mature neuromuscular junctions and fetal-type AChRs are necessary for proper synapse development. Each AChR has two neurotransmitter binding sites located at the interface of a principal and a complementary subunit. Although all agonist binding sites have the same core of five aromatic amino acids, the fetal site has ~30-fold higher affinity for the neurotransmitter ACh. Here we use molecular dynamics simulations of adult versus fetal homology models to identify complementary-subunit residues near the core that influence affinity, and use single-channel electrophysiology to corroborate the results. Four residues in combination determine adult versus fetal affinity. Simulations suggest that at lower-affinity sites, one of these unsettles the core directly and the others (in loop E) increase backbone flexibility to unlock a key, complementary tryptophan from the core. Swapping only four amino acids is necessary and sufficient to exchange function between adult and fetal AChRs.

Immunochemical Proof that a Novel Rearranging Gene Encodes the T Cell Receptor δ Subunit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Band, Hamid; Hochstenbach, Frans; McLean, Joanne; Hata, Shingo; Krangel, Michael S.; Brenner, Michael B.

1987-10-01

The T cell receptor (TCR) δ protein is expressed as part of a heterodimer with TCR γ , in association with the CD3 polypeptides on a subset of functional peripheral blood T lymphocytes, thymocytes, and certain leukemic T cell lines. A monoclonal antibody directed against TCR δ was produced that binds specifically to the surface of several TCR γ δ cell lines and immunoprecipitates the TCR γ δ as a heterodimer from Triton X-100 detergent lysates and also immunoprecipitates the TCR δ subunit alone after chain separation. A candidate human TCR δ complementary DNA clone (IDP2 O-240/38), reported in a companion paper, was isolated by the subtractive library approach from a TCR γ δ cell line. This complementary DNA clone was used to direct the synthesis of a polypeptide that is specifically recognized by the monoclonal antibody to TCR δ . This complementary DNA clone thus corresponds to the gene that encodes the TCR δ subunit.

Metaproteomics of cellulose methanisation under thermophilic conditions reveals a surprisingly high proteolytic activity

PubMed Central

Lü, Fan; Bize, Ariane; Guillot, Alain; Monnet, Véronique; Madigou, Céline; Chapleur, Olivier; Mazéas, Laurent; He, Pinjing; Bouchez, Théodore

2014-01-01

Cellulose is the most abundant biopolymer on Earth. Optimising energy recovery from this renewable but recalcitrant material is a key issue. The metaproteome expressed by thermophilic communities during cellulose anaerobic digestion was investigated in microcosms. By multiplying the analytical replicates (65 protein fractions analysed by MS/MS) and relying solely on public protein databases, more than 500 non-redundant protein functions were identified. The taxonomic community structure as inferred from the metaproteomic data set was in good overall agreement with 16S rRNA gene tag pyrosequencing and fluorescent in situ hybridisation analyses. Numerous functions related to cellulose and hemicellulose hydrolysis and fermentation catalysed by bacteria related to Caldicellulosiruptor spp. and Clostridium thermocellum were retrieved, indicating their key role in the cellulose-degradation process and also suggesting their complementary action. Despite the abundance of acetate as a major fermentation product, key methanogenesis enzymes from the acetoclastic pathway were not detected. In contrast, enzymes from the hydrogenotrophic pathway affiliated to Methanothermobacter were almost exclusively identified for methanogenesis, suggesting a syntrophic acetate oxidation process coupled to hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis. Isotopic analyses confirmed the high dominance of the hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis. Very surprising was the identification of an abundant proteolytic activity from Coprothermobacter proteolyticus strains, probably acting as scavenger and/or predator performing proteolysis and fermentation. Metaproteomics thus appeared as an efficient tool to unravel and characterise metabolic networks as well as ecological interactions during methanisation bioprocesses. More generally, metaproteomics provides direct functional insights at a limited cost, and its attractiveness should increase in the future as sequence databases are growing exponentially. PMID:23949661

Metaproteomics of cellulose methanisation under thermophilic conditions reveals a surprisingly high proteolytic activity.

PubMed

Lü, Fan; Bize, Ariane; Guillot, Alain; Monnet, Véronique; Madigou, Céline; Chapleur, Olivier; Mazéas, Laurent; He, Pinjing; Bouchez, Théodore

2014-01-01

Cellulose is the most abundant biopolymer on Earth. Optimising energy recovery from this renewable but recalcitrant material is a key issue. The metaproteome expressed by thermophilic communities during cellulose anaerobic digestion was investigated in microcosms. By multiplying the analytical replicates (65 protein fractions analysed by MS/MS) and relying solely on public protein databases, more than 500 non-redundant protein functions were identified. The taxonomic community structure as inferred from the metaproteomic data set was in good overall agreement with 16S rRNA gene tag pyrosequencing and fluorescent in situ hybridisation analyses. Numerous functions related to cellulose and hemicellulose hydrolysis and fermentation catalysed by bacteria related to Caldicellulosiruptor spp. and Clostridium thermocellum were retrieved, indicating their key role in the cellulose-degradation process and also suggesting their complementary action. Despite the abundance of acetate as a major fermentation product, key methanogenesis enzymes from the acetoclastic pathway were not detected. In contrast, enzymes from the hydrogenotrophic pathway affiliated to Methanothermobacter were almost exclusively identified for methanogenesis, suggesting a syntrophic acetate oxidation process coupled to hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis. Isotopic analyses confirmed the high dominance of the hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis. Very surprising was the identification of an abundant proteolytic activity from Coprothermobacter proteolyticus strains, probably acting as scavenger and/or predator performing proteolysis and fermentation. Metaproteomics thus appeared as an efficient tool to unravel and characterise metabolic networks as well as ecological interactions during methanisation bioprocesses. More generally, metaproteomics provides direct functional insights at a limited cost, and its attractiveness should increase in the future as sequence databases are growing exponentially.

Dual and mixed nonsymmetric stress-based variational formulations for coupled thermoelastodynamics with second sound effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tóth, Balázs

2018-03-01

Some new dual and mixed variational formulations based on a priori nonsymmetric stresses will be developed for linearly coupled irreversible thermoelastodynamic problems associated with second sound effect according to the Lord-Shulman theory. Having introduced the entropy flux vector instead of the entropy field and defining the dissipation and the relaxation potential as the function of the entropy flux, a seven-field dual and mixed variational formulation will be derived from the complementary Biot-Hamilton-type variational principle, using the Lagrange multiplier method. The momentum-, the displacement- and the infinitesimal rotation vector, and the a priori nonsymmetric stress tensor, the temperature change, the entropy field and its flux vector are considered as the independent field variables of this formulation. In order to handle appropriately the six different groups of temporal prescriptions in the relaxed- and/or the strong form, two variational integrals will be incorporated into the seven-field functional. Then, eliminating the entropy from this formulation through the strong fulfillment of the constitutive relation for the temperature change with the use of the Legendre transformation between the enthalpy and Gibbs potential, a six-field dual and mixed action functional is obtained. As a further development, the elimination of the momentum- and the velocity vector from the six-field principle through the a priori satisfaction of the kinematic equation and the constitutive relation for the momentum vector leads to a five-field variational formulation. These principles are suitable for the transient analyses of the structures exposed to a thermal shock of short temporal domain or a large heat flux.

Complementary effects of cereal and pulse polyphenols and dietary fiber on chronic inflammation and gut health.

PubMed

Awika, Joseph M; Rose, Devin J; Simsek, Senay

2018-03-01

Cereal grains and grain pulses are primary staples often consumed together, and contribute a major portion of daily human calorie and protein intake globally. Protective effects of consuming whole grain cereals and grain pulses against various inflammation-related chronic diseases are well documented. However, potential benefits of combined intake of whole cereals and pulses beyond their complementary amino acid nutrition is rarely considered in literature. There is ample evidence that key bioactive components of whole grain cereals and pulses are structurally different and thus may be optimized to provide synergistic/complementary health benefits. Among the most important whole grain bioactive components are polyphenols and dietary fiber, not only because of their demonstrated biological function, but also their major impact on consumer choice of whole grain/pulse products. This review highlights the distinct structural differences between key cereal grain and pulse polyphenols and non-starch polysaccharides (dietary fiber), and the evidence on specific synergistic/complementary benefits of combining the bioactive components from the two commodities. Interactive effects of the polyphenols and fiber on gut microbiota and associated benefits to colon health, and against systemic inflammation, are discussed. Processing technologies that can be used to further enhance the interactive benefits of combined cereal-pulse bioactive compounds are highlighted.

Dual- and triple-acting agents for treating core and co-morbid symptoms of major depression: novel concepts, new drugs.

PubMed

Millan, Mark J

2009-01-01

The past decade of efforts to find improved treatment for major depression has been dominated by genome-driven programs of rational drug discovery directed toward highly selective ligands for nonmonoaminergic agents. Selective drugs may prove beneficial for specific symptoms, for certain patient subpopulations, or both. However, network analyses of the brain and its dysfunction suggest that agents with multiple and complementary modes of action are more likely to show broad-based efficacy against core and comorbid symptoms of depression. Strategies for improved multitarget exploitation of monoaminergic mechanisms include triple inhibitors of dopamine, serotonin (5-HT) and noradrenaline reuptake, and drugs interfering with feedback actions of monoamines at inhibitory 5-HT(1A), 5-HT(1B) and possibly 5-HT(5A) and 5-HT(7) receptors. Specific subsets of postsynaptic 5-HT receptors mediating antidepressant actions are under study (e.g., 5-HT(4) and 5-HT(6)). Association of a clinically characterized antidepressant mechanism with a nonmonoaminergic component of activity is an attractive strategy. For example, agomelatine (a melatonin agonist/5-HT(2C) antagonist) has clinically proven activity in major depression. Dual neurokinin(1) antagonists/5-HT reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) and melanocortin(4) antagonists/SRIs should display advantages over their selective counterparts, and histamine H(3) antagonists/SRIs, GABA(B) antagonists/SRIs, glutamatergic/SRIs, and cholinergic agents/SRIs may counter the compromised cognitive function of depression. Finally, drugs that suppress 5-HT reuptake and blunt hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenocorticotrophic axis overdrive, or that act at intracellular proteins such as GSK-3beta, may abrogate the negative effects of chronic stress on mood and neuronal integrity. This review discusses the discovery and development of dual- and triple-acting antidepressants, focusing on novel concepts and new drugs disclosed over the last 2 to 3 years.

Taxonomy based analysis of force exchanges during object grasping and manipulation

PubMed Central

Martin-Brevet, Sandra; Jarrassé, Nathanaël; Burdet, Etienne

2017-01-01

The flexibility of the human hand in object manipulation is essential for daily life activities, but remains relatively little explored with quantitative methods. On the one hand, recent taxonomies describe qualitatively the classes of hand postures for object grasping and manipulation. On the other hand, the quantitative analysis of hand function has been generally restricted to precision grip (with thumb and index opposition) during lifting tasks. The aim of the present study is to fill the gap between these two kinds of descriptions, by investigating quantitatively the forces exerted by the hand on an instrumented object in a set of representative manipulation tasks. The object was a parallelepiped object able to measure the force exerted on the six faces and its acceleration. The grasping force was estimated from the lateral force and the unloading force from the bottom force. The protocol included eleven tasks with complementary constraints inspired by recent taxonomies: four tasks corresponding to lifting and holding the object with different grasp configurations, and seven to manipulating the object (rotation around each of its axis and translation). The grasping and unloading forces and object rotations were measured during the five phases of the actions: unloading, lifting, holding or manipulation, preparation to deposit, and deposit. The results confirm the tight regulation between grasping and unloading forces during lifting, and extend this to the deposit phase. In addition, they provide a precise description of the regulation of force exchanges during various manipulation tasks spanning representative actions of daily life. The timing of manipulation showed both sequential and overlapping organization of the different sub-actions, and micro-errors could be detected. This phenomenological study confirms the feasibility of using an instrumented object to investigate complex manipulative behavior in humans. This protocol will be used in the future to investigate upper-limb dexterity in patients with sensory-motor impairments. PMID:28562617

Action selection performance of a reconfigurable basal ganglia inspired model with Hebbian–Bayesian Go-NoGo connectivity

PubMed Central

Berthet, Pierre; Hellgren-Kotaleski, Jeanette; Lansner, Anders

2012-01-01

Several studies have shown a strong involvement of the basal ganglia (BG) in action selection and dopamine dependent learning. The dopaminergic signal to striatum, the input stage of the BG, has been commonly described as coding a reward prediction error (RPE), i.e., the difference between the predicted and actual reward. The RPE has been hypothesized to be critical in the modulation of the synaptic plasticity in cortico-striatal synapses in the direct and indirect pathway. We developed an abstract computational model of the BG, with a dual pathway structure functionally corresponding to the direct and indirect pathways, and compared its behavior to biological data as well as other reinforcement learning models. The computations in our model are inspired by Bayesian inference, and the synaptic plasticity changes depend on a three factor Hebbian–Bayesian learning rule based on co-activation of pre- and post-synaptic units and on the value of the RPE. The model builds on a modified Actor-Critic architecture and implements the direct (Go) and the indirect (NoGo) pathway, as well as the reward prediction (RP) system, acting in a complementary fashion. We investigated the performance of the model system when different configurations of the Go, NoGo, and RP system were utilized, e.g., using only the Go, NoGo, or RP system, or combinations of those. Learning performance was investigated in several types of learning paradigms, such as learning-relearning, successive learning, stochastic learning, reversal learning and a two-choice task. The RPE and the activity of the model during learning were similar to monkey electrophysiological and behavioral data. Our results, however, show that there is not a unique best way to configure this BG model to handle well all the learning paradigms tested. We thus suggest that an agent might dynamically configure its action selection mode, possibly depending on task characteristics and also on how much time is available. PMID:23060764

Uprobe: a genome-wide universal probe resource for comparative physical mapping in vertebrates.

PubMed

Kellner, Wendy A; Sullivan, Robert T; Carlson, Brian H; Thomas, James W

2005-01-01

Interspecies comparisons are important for deciphering the functional content and evolution of genomes. The expansive array of >70 public vertebrate genomic bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) libraries can provide a means of comparative mapping, sequencing, and functional analysis of targeted chromosomal segments that is independent and complementary to whole-genome sequencing. However, at the present time, no complementary resource exists for the efficient targeted physical mapping of the majority of these BAC libraries. Universal overgo-hybridization probes, designed from regions of sequenced genomes that are highly conserved between species, have been demonstrated to be an effective resource for the isolation of orthologous regions from multiple BAC libraries in parallel. Here we report the application of the universal probe design principal across entire genomes, and the subsequent creation of a complementary probe resource, Uprobe, for screening vertebrate BAC libraries. Uprobe currently consists of whole-genome sets of universal overgo-hybridization probes designed for screening mammalian or avian/reptilian libraries. Retrospective analysis, experimental validation of the probe design process on a panel of representative BAC libraries, and estimates of probe coverage across the genome indicate that the majority of all eutherian and avian/reptilian genes or regions of interest can be isolated using Uprobe. Future implementation of the universal probe design strategy will be used to create an expanded number of whole-genome probe sets that will encompass all vertebrate genomes.

Semiclassical theory of the tunneling anomaly in partially spin-polarized compressible quantum Hall states

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chowdhury, Debanjan; Skinner, Brian; Lee, Patrick A.

2018-05-01

Electron tunneling into a system with strong interactions is known to exhibit an anomaly, in which the tunneling conductance vanishes continuously at low energy due to many-body interactions. Recent measurements have probed this anomaly in a quantum Hall bilayer of the half-filled Landau level, and shown that the anomaly apparently gets stronger as the half-filled Landau level is increasingly spin polarized. Motivated by this result, we construct a semiclassical hydrodynamic theory of the tunneling anomaly in terms of the charge-spreading action associated with tunneling between two copies of the Halperin-Lee-Read state with partial spin polarization. This theory is complementary to our recent work (D. Chowdhury, B. Skinner, and P. A. Lee, arXiv:1709.06091) where the electron spectral function was computed directly using an instanton-based approach. Our results show that the experimental observation cannot be understood within conventional theories of the tunneling anomaly, in which the spreading of the injected charge is driven by the mean-field Coulomb energy. However, we identify a qualitatively new regime, in which the mean-field Coulomb energy is effectively quenched and the tunneling anomaly is dominated by the finite compressibility of the composite Fermion liquid.

Emerging structural insights into glycoprotein quality control coupled with N-glycan processing in the endoplasmic reticulum.

PubMed

Satoh, Tadashi; Yamaguchi, Takumi; Kato, Koichi

2015-01-30

In the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), the sugar chain is initially introduced onto newly synthesized proteins as a triantennary tetradecasaccharide (Glc3Man9GlcNAc2). The attached oligosaccharide chain is subjected to stepwise trimming by the actions of specific glucosidases and mannosidases. In these processes, the transiently expressed N-glycans, as processing intermediates, function as signals for the determination of glycoprotein fates, i.e., folding, transport, or degradation through interactions of a series of intracellular lectins. The monoglucosylated glycoforms are hallmarks of incompletely folded states of glycoproteins in this system, whereas the outer mannose trimming leads to ER-associated glycoprotein degradation. This review outlines the recently emerging evidence regarding the molecular and structural basis of this glycoprotein quality control system, which is regulated through dynamic interplay among intracellular lectins, glycosidases, and glycosyltransferase. Structural snapshots of carbohydrate-lectin interactions have been provided at the atomic level using X-ray crystallographic analyses. Conformational ensembles of uncomplexed triantennary high-mannose-type oligosaccharides have been characterized in a quantitative manner using molecular dynamics simulation in conjunction with nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. These complementary views provide new insights into glycoprotein recognition in quality control coupled with N-glycan processing.

Driving reproduction: RFamide peptides behind the wheel.

PubMed

Kriegsfeld, Lance J

2006-12-01

The availability of tools for probing the genome and proteome more efficiently has allowed for the rapid discovery of novel genes and peptides that play important, previously uncharacterized roles in neuroendocrine regulation. In this review, the role of a class of neuropeptides containing the C-terminal Arg-Phe-NH(2) (RFamide) in regulating the reproductive axis will be highlighted. Neuropeptides containing the C-terminal Phe-Met-Arg-Phe-NH(2) (FMRFamide) were first identified as cardioregulatory elements in the bi-valve mollusk Macrocallista nimbosa. During the past two decades, numerous studies have shown the presence of structurally similar peptides sharing the RFamide motif across taxa. In vertebrates, RFamide peptides have pronounced influences on opiatergic regulation and neuroendocrine function. Two key peptides in this family are emerging as important regulators of the reproductive axis, kisspeptin and gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone (GnIH). Kisspeptin acts as the accelerator, directly driving gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons, whereas GnIH acts as the restraint. Recent evidence suggests that both peptides play a role in mediating the negative feedback effects of sex steroids. This review presents the hypothesis that these peptides share complementary roles by responding to internal and external stimuli with opposing actions to precisely regulate the reproductive axis.

Driving Reproduction: RFamide Peptides Behind the Wheel

PubMed Central

Kriegsfeld, Lance J.

2012-01-01

The availability of tools for probing the genome and proteome more efficiently has allowed for the rapid discovery of novel genes and peptides that play important, previously-uncharacterized roles in neuroendocrine regulation. In this review, the role of a class of neuropeptides containing the C-terminal Arg-Phe-NH2 (RFamide) in regulating the reproductive axis will be highlighted. Neuropeptides containing the C-terminal Phe- Met-Arg-Phe-NH2 (FMRFamide) were first identified as cardioregulatory elements in the bi-valve mollusk, Macrocallista nimbosa. During the past two decades, numerous studies have shown the presence of structurally-similar peptides sharing the RFamide motif across taxa. In vertebrates, RFamide peptides have pronounced influences on opiatergic regulation and neuroendocrine function. Two key peptides in this family are emerging as important regulators of the reproductive axis, kisspeptin and gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone (GnIH). Kisspeptin acts as the accelerator, directly driving gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons, whereas GnIH acts as the restraint. Recent evidence suggests that both peptides play a role in mediating the negative feedback effects of sex steroids. This review presents the hypothesis that these peptides share complementary roles by responding to internal and external stimuli with opposing actions to precisely regulate the reproductive axis. PMID:16876801

Cimicifugamide from Cimicifuga rhizomes functions as a nonselective β-AR agonist for cardiac and sudorific effects.

PubMed

Wang, ZengYong; Wang, Qian; Zhang, Man; Hu, XueYan; Ding, GuoYu; Jiang, Min; Bai, Gang

2017-06-01

Cimicifuga rhizomes (CR) are used in the treatment of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases in traditional Chinese medicine, but their key effective components and mechanism of action have not yet been reported. In this study, the cardiac, antipyretic and sudorific effects of CR were evaluated using the toad heart failure in vitro model and mice fever and sweating in vivo models. Moreover, the UPLC/Q-TOF-MS-integrated β2-AR luciferase reporter gene assay system was used to screen the bioactive ingredients from CR extract, and the activity of this ingredient were verified using the above-mentioned in vitro and vivo models. Our results showed that CR had anti-heart failure, antipyretic and sweating effects, which could be antagonized by propranolol. On the other hand, cimicifugamide was screened as β2-AR agonist from CR and cimicifugamide could activate β1, 2-ARs more significantly than β3-AR in β-ARs selectivity assessment. The results not only revealed the key effective components and mechanism of CR in traditional use but also supplied a characteristic complementary ingredient for quality control of CR. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Synthesis of Trypsin-Resistant Variants of the Listeria-Active Bacteriocin Salivaricin P▿

PubMed Central

O'Shea, Eileen F.; O'Connor, Paula M.; Cotter, Paul D.; Ross, R. Paul; Hill, Colin

2010-01-01

Two-component salivaricin P-like bacteriocins have demonstrated potential as antimicrobials capable of controlling infections in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). The anti-Listeria activity of salivaricin P is optimal when the individual peptides Sln1 and Sln2 are added in succession at a 1:1 ratio. However, as degradation by digestive proteases may compromise the functionality of these peptides within the GIT, we investigated the potential to create salivaricin variants with enhanced resistance to the intestinal protease trypsin. A total of 11 variants of the salivaricin P components, in which conservative modifications at the trypsin-specific cleavage sites were explored in order to protect the peptides from trypsin degradation while maintaining their potent antimicrobial activity, were generated. Analysis of these variants revealed that eight were resistant to trypsin digestion while retaining antimicrobial activity. Combining the complementary trypsin-resistant variants Sln1-5 and Sln2-3 resulted in a MIC50 of 300 nM against Listeria monocytogenes, a 3.75-fold reduction in activity compared to the level for wild-type salivaricin P. This study demonstrates the potential of engineering bacteriocin variants which are resistant to specific protease action but which retain significant antimicrobial activity. PMID:20581174

Entrainment and motor emulation approaches to joint action: Alternatives or complementary approaches?

PubMed

Colling, Lincoln J; Williamson, Kellie

2014-01-01

Joint actions, such as music and dance, rely crucially on the ability of two, or more, agents to align their actions with great temporal precision. Within the literature that seeks to explain how this action alignment is possible, two broad approaches have appeared. The first, what we term the entrainment approach, has sought to explain these alignment phenomena in terms of the behavioral dynamics of the system of two agents. The second, what we term the emulator approach, has sought to explain these alignment phenomena in terms of mechanisms, such as forward and inverse models, that are implemented in the brain. They have often been pitched as alternative explanations of the same phenomena; however, we argue that this view is mistaken, because, as we show, these two approaches are engaged in distinct, and not mutually exclusive, explanatory tasks. While the entrainment approach seeks to uncover the general laws that govern behavior the emulator approach seeks to uncover mechanisms. We argue that is possible to do both and that the entrainment approach must pay greater attention to the mechanisms that support the behavioral dynamics of interest. In short, the entrainment approach must be transformed into a neuroentrainment approach by adopting a mechanistic view of explanation and by seeking mechanisms that are implemented in the brain.

Interactional leader–follower sensorimotor communication strategies during repetitive joint actions

PubMed Central

Candidi, Matteo; Curioni, Arianna; Donnarumma, Francesco; Sacheli, Lucia Maria; Pezzulo, Giovanni

2015-01-01

Non-verbal communication is the basis of animal interactions. In dyadic leader–follower interactions, leaders master the ability to carve their motor behaviour in order to ‘signal’ their future actions and internal plans while these signals influence the behaviour of follower partners, who automatically tend to imitate the leader even in complementary interactions. Despite their usefulness, signalling and imitation have a biomechanical cost, and it is unclear how this cost–benefits trade-off is managed during repetitive dyadic interactions that present learnable regularities. We studied signalling and imitation dynamics (indexed by movement kinematics) in pairs of leaders and followers during a repetitive, rule-based, joint action. Trial-by-trial Bayesian model comparison was used to evaluate the relation between signalling, imitation and pair performance. The different models incorporate different hypotheses concerning the factors (past interactions versus online movements) influencing the leader's signalling (or follower's imitation) kinematics. This approach showed that (i) leaders' signalling strategy improves future couple performance, (ii) leaders used the history of past interactions to shape their signalling, (iii) followers' imitative behaviour is more strongly affected by the online movement of the leader. This study elucidates the ways online sensorimotor communication help individuals align their task representations and ultimately improves joint action performance. PMID:26333815

Eliminating mirror responses by instructions.

PubMed

Bardi, Lara; Bundt, Carsten; Notebaert, Wim; Brass, Marcel

2015-09-01

The observation of an action leads to the activation of the corresponding motor plan in the observer. This phenomenon of motor resonance has an important role in social interaction, promoting imitation, learning and action understanding. However, mirror responses not always have a positive impact on our behavior. An automatic tendency to imitate others can introduce interference in action execution and non-imitative or opposite responses have an advantage in some contexts. Previous studies suggest that mirror tendencies can be suppressed after extensive practice or in complementary joint action situations revealing that mirror responses are more flexible than previously thought. The aim of the present study was to gain insight into the mechanisms that allow response flexibility of motor mirroring. Here we show that the mere instruction of a counter-imitative mapping changes mirror responses as indexed by motor evoked potentials (MEPs) enhancement induced by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Importantly, mirror activation was measured while participants were passively watching finger movements, without having the opportunity to execute the task. This result suggests that the implementation of task instructions activates stimulus-response association that can overwrite the mirror representations. Our outcome reveals one of the crucial mechanisms that might allow flexible adjustments of mirror responses in different contexts. The implications of this outcome are discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Interactional leader-follower sensorimotor communication strategies during repetitive joint actions.

PubMed

Candidi, Matteo; Curioni, Arianna; Donnarumma, Francesco; Sacheli, Lucia Maria; Pezzulo, Giovanni

2015-09-06

Non-verbal communication is the basis of animal interactions. In dyadic leader-follower interactions, leaders master the ability to carve their motor behaviour in order to 'signal' their future actions and internal plans while these signals influence the behaviour of follower partners, who automatically tend to imitate the leader even in complementary interactions. Despite their usefulness, signalling and imitation have a biomechanical cost, and it is unclear how this cost-benefits trade-off is managed during repetitive dyadic interactions that present learnable regularities. We studied signalling and imitation dynamics (indexed by movement kinematics) in pairs of leaders and followers during a repetitive, rule-based, joint action. Trial-by-trial Bayesian model comparison was used to evaluate the relation between signalling, imitation and pair performance. The different models incorporate different hypotheses concerning the factors (past interactions versus online movements) influencing the leader's signalling (or follower's imitation) kinematics. This approach showed that (i) leaders' signalling strategy improves future couple performance, (ii) leaders used the history of past interactions to shape their signalling, (iii) followers' imitative behaviour is more strongly affected by the online movement of the leader. This study elucidates the ways online sensorimotor communication help individuals align their task representations and ultimately improves joint action performance. © 2015 The Author(s).

Dual Roles of RNF2 in Melanoma Progression | Office of Cancer Genomics

Cancer.gov

Epigenetic regulators have emerged as critical factors governing the biology of cancer. Here, in the context of melanoma, we show that RNF2 is prognostic, exhibiting progression-correlated expression in human melanocytic neoplasms. Through a series of complementary gain-of-function and loss-of-function studies in mouse and human systems, we establish that RNF2 is oncogenic and prometastatic.

EOS-AM precision pointing verification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Throckmorton, A.; Braknis, E.; Bolek, J.

1993-01-01

The Earth Observing System (EOS) AM mission requires tight pointing knowledge to meet scientific objectives, in a spacecraft with low frequency flexible appendage modes. As the spacecraft controller reacts to various disturbance sources and as the inherent appendage modes are excited by this control action, verification of precision pointing knowledge becomes particularly challenging for the EOS-AM mission. As presently conceived, this verification includes a complementary set of multi-disciplinary analyses, hardware tests and real-time computer in the loop simulations, followed by collection and analysis of hardware test and flight data and supported by a comprehensive data base repository for validated program values.

Phytoestrogens: a viable option?

PubMed

Russell, Lori; Hicks, G Swink; Low, Annette K; Shepherd, Jinna M; Brown, C Andrew

2002-10-01

Estrogen replacement therapy is one of the most commonly prescribed medicines in the United States by traditional medical professionals. Over the past decade, the market for complementary/ alternative therapies for hormone replacement has dramatically increased. Women are seeking more "natural" alternatives to treat menopausal symptoms. Well-designed randomized clinical trials are often lacking, as is the information on efficacy and safety. This article will review several popular herbal therapies for menopausal symptoms including phytoestrogens, black cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa), dong quai (Angelica sinensis), chast tree (Vitex agnus-castus), and wild Mexican yam. Their use, mechanism of action, and adverse effects are outlined.

SNL Five-Year Facilities & Infrastructure Plan FY2015-2019

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cipriani, Ralph J.

2014-12-01

Sandia’s development vision is to provide an agile, flexible, safer, more secure, and efficient enterprise that leverages the scientific and technical capabilities of the workforce and supports national security requirements in multiple areas. Sandia’s Five-Year Facilities & Infrastructure Planning program represents a tool to budget and prioritize immediate and short-term actions from indirect funding sources in light of the bigger picture of proposed investments from direct-funded, Work for Others and other funding sources. As a complementary F&I investment program, Sandia’s indirect investment program supports incremental achievement of the development vision within a constrained resource environment.

[Neuroplasticity as a basis for early rehabilitation of stroke patients].

PubMed

Putilina, M V

2011-01-01

The review is devoted to the current state of the problem of early rehabilitation of stroke patients. The rate of primary disability in patients after stroke is 3.2 per 10000 population but only 20% of previously working patients return to work. Early rehabilitation is treatment actions during a period following stroke. Adequate treatment during this period may decrease the extent of brain damage and improve disease outcome. The complexity of rehabilitation consists in using several complementary pharmacological and non-pharmacological rehabilitation measures. Appearance of new techniques of rehabilitation treatment aimed at neuroplasticity stimulation increases treatment potential of rehabilitative technologies.

The Representation of Object-Directed Action and Function Knowledge in the Human Brain.

PubMed

Chen, Quanjing; Garcea, Frank E; Mahon, Bradford Z

2016-04-01

The appropriate use of everyday objects requires the integration of action and function knowledge. Previous research suggests that action knowledge is represented in frontoparietal areas while function knowledge is represented in temporal lobe regions. Here we used multivoxel pattern analysis to investigate the representation of object-directed action and function knowledge while participants executed pantomimes of familiar tool actions. A novel approach for decoding object knowledge was used in which classifiers were trained on one pair of objects and then tested on a distinct pair; this permitted a measurement of classification accuracy over and above object-specific information. Region of interest (ROI) analyses showed that object-directed actions could be decoded in tool-preferring regions of both parietal and temporal cortex, while no independently defined tool-preferring ROI showed successful decoding of object function. However, a whole-brain searchlight analysis revealed that while frontoparietal motor and peri-motor regions are engaged in the representation of object-directed actions, medial temporal lobe areas in the left hemisphere are involved in the representation of function knowledge. These results indicate that both action and function knowledge are represented in a topographically coherent manner that is amenable to study with multivariate approaches, and that the left medial temporal cortex represents knowledge of object function. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Functional Requirements and the Theory of Action.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hills, R. Jean

1982-01-01

Responding to Willower's earlier questioning of the concept of systems' functional requirements, the author outlines the Parsonian theory of action, discussing action systems' components (values, norms, organizations, and facilities) and their functional imperatives or requirements (pattern maintenance, integration, goal attainment, and…

Co-Transplantation of Olfactory Ensheathing Cells from Mucosa and Bulb Origin Enhances Functional Recovery after Peripheral Nerve Lesion

PubMed Central

Bon-Mardion, Nicolas; Duclos, Célia; Genty, Damien; Jean, Laetitia; Boyer, Olivier; Marie, Jean-Paul

2011-01-01

Olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) represent an interesting candidate for cell therapy and could be obtained from olfactory mucosa (OM-OECs) or olfactory bulbs (OB-OECs). Recent reports suggest that, depending on their origin, OECs display different functional properties. We show here the complementary and additive effects of co-transplanting OM-OECs and OB-OECs after lesion of a peripheral nerve. For this, a selective motor denervation of the laryngeal muscles was performed by a section/anastomosis of the recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN). Two months after surgery, recovery of the laryngeal movements and synkinesis phenonema were analyzed by videolaryngoscopy. To complete these assessments, measure of latency and potential duration were determined by electrophysiological recordings and myelinated nerve fiber profiles were defined based on toluidine blue staining. To explain some of the mechanisms involved, tracking of GFP positive OECs was performed. It appears that transplantation of OM-OECs or OB-OECs displayed opposite abilities to improve functional recovery. Indeed, OM-OECs increased recuperation of laryngeal muscles activities without appropriate functional recovery. In contrast, OB-OECs induced some functional recovery by enhancing axonal regrowth. Importantly, co-transplantation of OM-OECs and OB-OECs supported a major functional recovery, with reduction of synkinesis phenomena. This study is the first which clearly demonstrates the complementary and additive properties of OECs obtained from olfactory mucosa and olfactory bulb to improve functional recovery after transplantation in a nerve lesion model. PMID:21826209

Time to Talk: 5 Things to Know about Complementary Health Practices for Cognitive Function, Dementia, and Alzheimer's ...

MedlinePlus

... as several mind and body practices such as music therapy and mental imagery, which have shown promise ... of some mind and body practices such as music therapy suggest they may be helpful for some ...

The rose of Sharon: what is the ideal timing for palliative care consultation versus ethics consultation?

PubMed

La Via, Jennifer; Schiedermayer, David

2012-01-01

Ethics committees and palliative care consultants can function in a complementary fashion, seamlessly and effectively. Ethics committees can "air" and help resolves issues, and palliative care consultants can use a low-key, longitudinal approach.

Nanomoulding of Functional Materials, a Versatile Complementary Pattern Replication Method to Nanoimprinting

PubMed Central

Battaglia, Corsin; Söderström, Karin; Escarré, Jordi; Haug, Franz-Josef; Despeisse, Matthieu; Ballif, Christophe

2013-01-01

We describe a nanomoulding technique which allows low-cost nanoscale patterning of functional materials, materials stacks and full devices. Nanomoulding combined with layer transfer enables the replication of arbitrary surface patterns from a master structure onto the functional material. Nanomoulding can be performed on any nanoimprinting setup and can be applied to a wide range of materials and deposition processes. In particular we demonstrate the fabrication of patterned transparent zinc oxide electrodes for light trapping applications in solar cells. PMID:23380874

Characterizing genomic alterations in cancer by complementary functional associations | Office of Cancer Genomics

Cancer.gov

Systematic efforts to sequence the cancer genome have identified large numbers of mutations and copy number alterations in human cancers. However, elucidating the functional consequences of these variants, and their interactions to drive or maintain oncogenic states, remains a challenge in cancer research. We developed REVEALER, a computational method that identifies combinations of mutually exclusive genomic alterations correlated with functional phenotypes, such as the activation or gene dependency of oncogenic pathways or sensitivity to a drug treatment.

A nonlinear HP-type complementary resistive switch

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Radtke, Paul K.; Schimansky-Geier, Lutz

2016-05-01

Resistive Switching (RS) is the change in resistance of a dielectric under the influence of an external current or electric field. This change is non-volatile, and the basis of both the memristor and resistive random access memory. In the latter, high integration densities favor the anti-serial combination of two RS-elements to a single cell, termed the complementary resistive switch (CRS). Motivated by the irregular shape of the filament protruding into the device, we suggest a nonlinearity in the resistance-interpolation function, characterized by a single parameter p. Thereby the original HP-memristor is expanded upon. We numerically simulate and analytically solve this model. Further, the nonlinearity allows for its application to the CRS.

General method for labeling siRNA by click chemistry with fluorine-18 for the purpose of PET imaging.

PubMed

Mercier, Frédéric; Paris, Jérôme; Kaisin, Geoffroy; Thonon, David; Flagothier, Jessica; Teller, Nathalie; Lemaire, Christian; Luxen, André

2011-01-19

The alkyne-azide Cu(I)-catalyzed Huisgen cycloaddition, a click-type reaction, was used to label a double-stranded oligonucleotide (siRNA) with fluorine-18. An alkyne solid support CPG for the preparation of monostranded oligonucleotides functionalized with alkyne has been developed. Two complementary azide labeling agents (1-(azidomethyl)-4-[(18)F]fluorobenzene) and 1-azido-4-(3-[(18)F]fluoropropoxy)benzene have been produced with 41% and 35% radiochemical yields (decay-corrected), respectively. After annealing with the complementary strand, the siRNA was directly labeled by click chemistry with [(18)F]fluoroazide to produce the [(18)F]-radiolabeled siRNA with excellent radiochemical yield and purity.

Signal enhancement based on complex curvelet transform and complementary ensemble empirical mode decomposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, Lieqian; Wang, Deying; Zhang, Yimeng; Zhou, Datong

2017-09-01

Signal enhancement is a necessary step in seismic data processing. In this paper we utilize the complementary ensemble empirical mode decomposition (CEEMD) and complex curvelet transform (CCT) methods to separate signal from random noise further to improve the signal to noise (S/N) ratio. Firstly, the original data with noise is decomposed into a series of intrinsic mode function (IMF) profiles with the aid of CEEMD. Then the IMFs with noise are transformed into CCT domain. By choosing different thresholds which are based on the noise level difference of each IMF profile, the noise in original data can be suppressed. Finally, we illustrate the effectiveness of the approach by simulated and field datasets.

State transfer in highly connected networks and a quantum Babinet principle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsomokos, D. I.; Plenio, M. B.; de Vega, I.; Huelga, S. F.

2008-12-01

The transfer of a quantum state between distant nodes in two-dimensional networks is considered. The fidelity of state transfer is calculated as a function of the number of interactions in networks that are described by regular graphs. It is shown that perfect state transfer is achieved in a network of size N , whose structure is that of an (N/2) -cross polytope graph, if N is a multiple of 4 . The result is reminiscent of the Babinet principle of classical optics. A quantum Babinet principle is derived, which allows for the identification of complementary graphs leading to the same fidelity of state transfer, in analogy with complementary screens providing identical diffraction patterns.

Zinc deficiency in children with environmental enteropathy—development of new strategies: report from an expert workshop1234

PubMed Central

Young, Graeme P; Mortimer, Elissa K; Gopalsamy, Geetha L; Alpers, David H; Binder, Henry J; Manary, Mark J; Ramakrishna, Balakrishnan S; Brown, Ian L; Brewer, Thomas G

2014-01-01

Zinc deficiency is a major cause of childhood morbidity and mortality. The WHO/UNICEF strategy for zinc supplementation as adjunctive therapy for diarrhea is poorly implemented. A conference of experts in zinc nutrition and gastrointestinal disorders was convened to consider approaches that might complement the current recommendation and what research was needed to develop these approaches. Several key points were identified. The design of novel zinc interventions would be facilitated by a better understanding of how disturbed gut function, such as environmental (or tropical) enteropathy, affects zinc absorption, losses, and homeostasis. Because only 10% of zinc stores are able to be rapidly turned over, and appear to be rapidly depleted by acute intestinal illness, they are probably best maintained by complementary regular supplementation in a primary prevention strategy rather than secondary prevention triggered by acute diarrhea. The assessment of zinc status is challenging and complex without simple, validated measures to facilitate field testing of novel interventions. Zinc bioavailability may be a crucial factor in the success of primary prevention strategies, and a range of options, all still inadequately explored, might be valuable in improving zinc nutrition. Some therapeutic actions of zinc on diarrhea seem attributable to pharmacologic effects, whereas others are related to the reversal of deficiency (ie, nutritional). The distinction between these 2 mechanisms cannot be clarified given the insensitivity of serum zinc to identify subclinical deficiency states. Why zinc seems to be less effective than expected at all ages, and ineffective for secondary prevention of diarrhea in children <12 mo of age, remains unclear. It was concluded that a reframing of the current recommendation is warranted with consideration of how to better optimize and deliver zinc and whether to provide a complementary public health primary prevention zinc strategy. This requires careful consideration of the zinc product to be used as well as strategies for its delivery. PMID:25240082

Emotional modulation of control dilemmas: the role of positive affect, reward, and dopamine in cognitive stability and flexibility.

PubMed

Goschke, Thomas; Bolte, Annette

2014-09-01

Goal-directed action in changing environments requires a dynamic balance between complementary control modes, which serve antagonistic adaptive functions (e.g., to shield goals from competing responses and distracting information vs. to flexibly switch between goals and behavioral dispositions in response to significant changes). Too rigid goal shielding promotes stability but incurs a cost in terms of perseveration and reduced flexibility, whereas too weak goal shielding promotes flexibility but incurs a cost in terms of increased distractibility. While research on cognitive control has long been conducted relatively independently from the study of emotion and motivation, it is becoming increasingly clear that positive affect and reward play a central role in modulating cognitive control. In particular, evidence from the past decade suggests that positive affect not only influences the contents of cognitive processes, but also modulates the balance between complementary modes of cognitive control. In this article we review studies from the past decade that examined effects of induced positive affect on the balance between cognitive stability and flexibility with a focus on set switching and working memory maintenance and updating. Moreover, we review recent evidence indicating that task-irrelevant positive affect and performance-contingent rewards exert different and sometimes opposite effects on cognitive control modes, suggesting dissociations between emotional and motivational effects of positive affect. Finally, we critically review evidence for the popular hypothesis that effects of positive affect may be mediated by dopaminergic modulations of neural processing in prefrontal and striatal brain circuits, and we refine this "dopamine hypothesis of positive affect" by specifying distinct mechanisms by which dopamine may mediate effects of positive affect and reward on cognitive control. We conclude with a discussion of limitations of current research, point to central unresolved questions and outline perspective for future research on affective and motivational modulations of cognitive control modes. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Tree species diversity promotes aboveground carbon storage through functional diversity and functional dominance.

PubMed

Mensah, Sylvanus; Veldtman, Ruan; Assogbadjo, Achille E; Glèlè Kakaï, Romain; Seifert, Thomas

2016-10-01

The relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem function has increasingly been debated as the cornerstone of the processes behind ecosystem services delivery. Experimental and natural field-based studies have come up with nonconsistent patterns of biodiversity-ecosystem function, supporting either niche complementarity or selection effects hypothesis. Here, we used aboveground carbon (AGC) storage as proxy for ecosystem function in a South African mistbelt forest, and analyzed its relationship with species diversity, through functional diversity and functional dominance. We hypothesized that (1) diversity influences AGC through functional diversity and functional dominance effects; and (2) effects of diversity on AGC would be greater for functional dominance than for functional diversity. Community weight mean (CWM) of functional traits (wood density, specific leaf area, and maximum plant height) were calculated to assess functional dominance (selection effects). As for functional diversity (complementarity effects), multitrait functional diversity indices were computed. The first hypothesis was tested using structural equation modeling. For the second hypothesis, effects of environmental variables such as slope and altitude were tested first, and separate linear mixed-effects models were fitted afterward for functional diversity, functional dominance, and both. Results showed that AGC varied significantly along the slope gradient, with lower values at steeper sites. Species diversity (richness) had positive relationship with AGC, even when slope effects were considered. As predicted, diversity effects on AGC were mediated through functional diversity and functional dominance, suggesting that both the niche complementarity and the selection effects are not exclusively affecting carbon storage. However, the effects were greater for functional diversity than for functional dominance. Furthermore, functional dominance effects were strongly transmitted by CWM of maximum plant height, reflecting the importance of forest vertical stratification for diversity-carbon relationship. We therefore argue for stronger complementary effects that would be induced also by complementary light-use efficiency of tree and species growing in the understory layer.

Pharmacological and rAAV Gene Therapy Rescue of Visual Functions in a Blind Mouse Model of Leber Congenital Amaurosis

PubMed Central

Batten, Matthew L; Imanishi, Yoshikazu; Tu, Daniel C; Doan, Thuy; Zhu, Li; Pang, Jijing; Glushakova, Lyudmila; Moise, Alexander R; Baehr, Wolfgang; Van Gelder, Russell N.; Hauswirth, William W; Rieke, Fred; Palczewski, Krzysztof

2005-01-01

Background Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA), a heterogeneous early-onset retinal dystrophy, accounts for ~15% of inherited congenital blindness. One cause of LCA is loss of the enzyme lecithin:retinol acyl transferase (LRAT), which is required for regeneration of the visual photopigment in the retina. Methods and Findings An animal model of LCA, the Lrat −/− mouse, recapitulates clinical features of the human disease. Here, we report that two interventions—intraocular gene therapy and oral pharmacologic treatment with novel retinoid compounds—each restore retinal function to Lrat −/− mice. Gene therapy using intraocular injection of recombinant adeno-associated virus carrying the Lrat gene successfully restored electroretinographic responses to ~50% of wild-type levels (p < 0.05 versus wild-type and knockout controls), and pupillary light responses (PLRs) of Lrat −/− mice increased ~2.5 log units (p < 0.05). Pharmacological intervention with orally administered pro-drugs 9-cis-retinyl acetate and 9-cis-retinyl succinate (which chemically bypass the LRAT-catalyzed step in chromophore regeneration) also caused long-lasting restoration of retinal function in LRAT-deficient mice and increased ERG response from ~5% of wild-type levels in Lrat −/− mice to ~50% of wild-type levels in treated Lrat −/− mice (p < 0.05 versus wild-type and knockout controls). The interventions produced markedly increased levels of visual pigment from undetectable levels to 600 pmoles per eye in retinoid treated mice, and ~1,000-fold improvements in PLR and electroretinogram sensitivity. The techniques were complementary when combined. Conclusion Intraocular gene therapy and pharmacologic bypass provide highly effective and complementary means for restoring retinal function in this animal model of human hereditary blindness. These complementary methods offer hope of developing treatment to restore vision in humans with certain forms of hereditary congenital blindness. PMID:16250670

Mode of complement activation by acidic heteroglycans from the leaves of Artemisia princeps PAMP.

PubMed

Yamada, H; Nagai, T; Cyong, J C; Otsuka, Y

1991-08-01

The mode of action of the anti-complementary acidic heteroglycans, AAF-IIb-2 and IIb-3 which consisted of rhamnogalacturonan core and arabinogalactan moieties, purified from the leaves of Artemisia princeps PAMP (Japanese name = Gaiyo) were investigated. The anti-complementary activities of AAF-IIb-2 and IIb-3 were reduced partially in the absence of Ca2+ ions. A marked consumption of C4 was observed to have occurred when serum was incubated with both polysaccharides in the presence of Ca2+ ions. AAF-IIb-2 showed more potent C4 consumption than IIb-3. After the incubation of the serum with AAF-IIb-2 in the absence of Ca2+ ions, a cleavage of C3 in the serum was detected by immunoelectrophoresis. AAF-IIb-2 showed more significant consumption of the complement than IIb-3 when rabbit erythrocytes were used in the assay system in the absence of Ca2+ ions. These results indicate that AAF-IIb-2 activates the complement via both the alternative and classical pathways, whereas IIb-3 mainly activates the complement via the classical pathway. The absorption of serum with Protein A-Sepharose results in a decrease of the activity of AAF-IIb-2 and IIb-3. However, the decrease of the activity was restored by the replacement of the immunoglobulin G (IgG) fraction after its recovery from the Protein A-Sepharose. These results suggest that IgG dependent mechanisms are both involved in the anti-complementary activity of AAF-IIb-2 and IIb-3.

A situational review of infant and young child feeding practices and interventions in Viet Nam.

PubMed

Nguyen, Phuong Hong; Menon, Purnima; Ruel, Mariel; Hajeebhoy, Nemat

2011-01-01

Sub-optimal infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices are likely a significant contributor to high undernutrition rates in Viet Nam. To date, however, there has been no comprehensive review of IYCF practices in Viet Nam. The objectives of this paper were to review: 1) patterns/trends in IYCF in Viet Nam; 2) the barriers and facilitators to IYCF practices; and 3) interventions and policies and their effectiveness. Methods used include reviewing and analyzing existing data, summarizing and organizing the evidence into broad themes based on a pre-defined conceptual framework. Findings show that the proportion of children ever breastfed is almost universal and the median duration of breastfeeding is 13-18 months. However, exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months is low (8-17%) and appears to be declining over time. Information on complementary feeding is limited, but two key challenges are: early introduction, and low nutrient quality of complementary foods. Facilitators of optimal IYCF were support from 1) government progressive policies, 2) non-profit organizations and 3) family members. Barriers to optimal IYCF included 1) the lack of enforcement of, and compliance with the code of marketing breast milk substitutes, 2) inadequate knowledge among health care providers; and 3) maternal poor knowledge. These findings indicate that the evidence base on complementary feeding is weak in Viet Nam and needs to be strengthened. The review also reinforces that program and policy actions to improve IYCF in Viet Nam must target multiple stakeholders at different levels: the family, the health system and the private sector.

Mechanically interlocked gold and silver nanoparticles using metallosupramolecular catenane chemistry.

PubMed

Otter, Carl A; Patty, Philipus J; Williams, Martin A K; Waterland, Mark R; Telfer, Shane G

2011-03-01

We have employed the toolbox of metallosupramolecular chemistry to mechanically interlock gold and silver nanoparticles. A specifically designed PEGthiol-functionalized bis(phenanthroline)copper(I) complex acts to 'catenate' the nanoparticles. The interlocked assemblies were characterised by three complementary techniques: DLS, SERS and TEM.

Design and construction of a first-generation high-throughput integrated robotic molecular biology platform for bioenergy applications.

PubMed

Hughes, Stephen R; Butt, Tauseef R; Bartolett, Scott; Riedmuller, Steven B; Farrelly, Philip

2011-08-01

The molecular biological techniques for plasmid-based assembly and cloning of gene open reading frames are essential for elucidating the function of the proteins encoded by the genes. High-throughput integrated robotic molecular biology platforms that have the capacity to rapidly clone and express heterologous gene open reading frames in bacteria and yeast and to screen large numbers of expressed proteins for optimized function are an important technology for improving microbial strains for biofuel production. The process involves the production of full-length complementary DNA libraries as a source of plasmid-based clones to express the desired proteins in active form for determination of their functions. Proteins that were identified by high-throughput screening as having desired characteristics are overexpressed in microbes to enable them to perform functions that will allow more cost-effective and sustainable production of biofuels. Because the plasmid libraries are composed of several thousand unique genes, automation of the process is essential. This review describes the design and implementation of an automated integrated programmable robotic workcell capable of producing complementary DNA libraries, colony picking, isolating plasmid DNA, transforming yeast and bacteria, expressing protein, and performing appropriate functional assays. These operations will allow tailoring microbial strains to use renewable feedstocks for production of biofuels, bioderived chemicals, fertilizers, and other coproducts for profitable and sustainable biorefineries. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Potential of mean force of DNA guided assemblies past Debye-Hückel regime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Girard, Martin; Seo, Soyoung; Li, Yaohua; Mirkin, Chad; Olvera de La Cruz, Monica

Many of the bioinspired systems make use of biopolymers such as polypeptides or DNA. The latter is widely used in self-assembled systems, from colloidal crystals to origami construction. In these systems, salt is commonly required to screen the electrostatic repulsion between the strands. In the classical Debye-Hückel picture, salt ions are point particles and the screening distance is a decreasing monotonic function of salt concentration. This picture breaks down at moderate salt concentrations, where the behavior becomes non-monotonic. In this talk, we will show results for potential of mean force of DNA grafted colloids obtained through multiscale molecular dynamics. In this picture, the highly charged DNA causes non-trivial behavior at moderate salt concentrations (c 0 . 3 - 0 . 7 M), namely increase of repulsion for non-complementary DNA strands while repulsion decreases for complementary strands. We will show spatial cluster distribution as function of size and charge as well as implications for experimental systems.

Quantum dot-based microfluidic biosensor for cancer detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghrera, Aditya Sharma; Pandey, Chandra Mouli; Ali, Md. Azahar; Malhotra, Bansi Dhar

2015-05-01

We report results of the studies relating to fabrication of an impedimetric microfluidic-based nucleic acid sensor for quantification of DNA sequences specific to chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). The sensor chip is prepared by patterning an indium-tin-oxide (ITO) coated glass substrate via wet chemical etching method followed by sealing with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microchannel for fluid control. The fabricated microfluidic chip comprising of a patterned ITO substrate is modified by depositing cadmium selenide quantum dots (QCdSe) via Langmuir-Blodgett technique. Further, the QCdSe surface has been functionalized with specific DNA probe for CML detection. The probe DNA functionalized QCdSe integrated miniaturized system has been used to monitor target complementary DNA concentration by measuring the interfacial charge transfer resistance via hybridization. The presence of complementary DNA in buffer solution significantly results in decreased electro-conductivity of the interface due to presence of a charge barrier for transport of the redox probe ions. The microfluidic DNA biosensor exhibits improved linearity in the concentration range of 10-15 M to 10-11 M.

Long-Term Homeostatic Properties Complementary to Hebbian Rules in CuPc-Based Multifunctional Memristor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Laiyuan; Wang, Zhiyong; Lin, Jinyi; Yang, Jie; Xie, Linghai; Yi, Mingdong; Li, Wen; Ling, Haifeng; Ou, Changjin; Huang, Wei

2016-10-01

Most simulations of neuroplasticity in memristors, which are potentially used to develop artificial synapses, are confined to the basic biological Hebbian rules. However, the simplex rules potentially can induce excessive excitation/inhibition, even collapse of neural activities, because they neglect the properties of long-term homeostasis involved in the frameworks of realistic neural networks. Here, we develop organic CuPc-based memristors of which excitatory and inhibitory conductivities can implement both Hebbian rules and homeostatic plasticity, complementary to Hebbian patterns and conductive to the long-term homeostasis. In another adaptive situation for homeostasis, in thicker samples, the overall excitement under periodic moderate stimuli tends to decrease and be recovered under intense inputs. Interestingly, the prototypes can be equipped with bio-inspired habituation and sensitization functions outperforming the conventional simplified algorithms. They mutually regulate each other to obtain the homeostasis. Therefore, we develop a novel versatile memristor with advanced synaptic homeostasis for comprehensive neural functions.

Measuring Infant and Young Child Complementary Feeding Practices: Indicators, Current Practice, and Research Gaps.

PubMed

Ruel, Marie T

2017-01-01

The publication of the WHO Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) indicators in 2008 equipped the nutrition and broader development community with an invaluable tool for measuring, documenting, and advocating for faster progress in improving these practices in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The indicators, with 5 of them focusing on complementary feeding (CF) practices, were originally designed for population level assessment, targeting, monitoring, and evaluation. This chapter takes stock of where we are with the existing CF indicators: it reviews how the indicators have been used, what we have learned, and what their strengths and limitations are, and it suggests a way forward. We find that the indicators have been used extensively for population level assessments and country comparisons, and to track progress. They have also been adopted by researchers in program impact evaluations and in research seeking to understand the determinants and consequences of poor CF practices for child growth and development outcomes. In addition to generating a wealth of knowledge and unveiling the severity of the global problem of poor CF practices in LMICs, the indicators have been an invaluable tool to raise awareness and call for urgent action on improving CF practices at scale. The indicators have strengths and limitations, which are summarized in this chapter. Although enormous progress has been achieved since the indicators were released in 2008, we feel it is time to reflect and revisit the CF indicators, improve them, develop new ones, and promote their appropriate use. Better indicators are critically important to stimulate action and investments in improving CF practices at scale. © 2017 Nestec Ltd., Vevey/S. Karger AG, Basel.

Dissociating hippocampal and striatal contributions to sequential prediction learning

PubMed Central

Bornstein, Aaron M.; Daw, Nathaniel D.

2011-01-01

Behavior may be generated on the basis of many different kinds of learned contingencies. For instance, responses could be guided by the direct association between a stimulus and response, or by sequential stimulus-stimulus relationships (as in model-based reinforcement learning or goal-directed actions). However, the neural architecture underlying sequential predictive learning is not well-understood, in part because it is difficult to isolate its effect on choice behavior. To track such learning more directly, we examined reaction times (RTs) in a probabilistic sequential picture identification task. We used computational learning models to isolate trial-by-trial effects of two distinct learning processes in behavior, and used these as signatures to analyze the separate neural substrates of each process. RTs were best explained via the combination of two delta rule learning processes with different learning rates. To examine neural manifestations of these learning processes, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to seek correlates of timeseries related to expectancy or surprise. We observed such correlates in two regions, hippocampus and striatum. By estimating the learning rates best explaining each signal, we verified that they were uniquely associated with one of the two distinct processes identified behaviorally. These differential correlates suggest that complementary anticipatory functions drive each region's effect on behavior. Our results provide novel insights as to the quantitative computational distinctions between medial temporal and basal ganglia learning networks and enable experiments that exploit trial-by-trial measurement of the unique contributions of both hippocampus and striatum to response behavior. PMID:22487032

Complementary Network-Based Approaches for Exploring Genetic Structure and Functional Connectivity in Two Vulnerable, Endemic Ground Squirrels

PubMed Central

Zero, Victoria H.; Barocas, Adi; Jochimsen, Denim M.; Pelletier, Agnès; Giroux-Bougard, Xavier; Trumbo, Daryl R.; Castillo, Jessica A.; Evans Mack, Diane; Linnell, Mark A.; Pigg, Rachel M.; Hoisington-Lopez, Jessica; Spear, Stephen F.; Murphy, Melanie A.; Waits, Lisette P.

2017-01-01

The persistence of small populations is influenced by genetic structure and functional connectivity. We used two network-based approaches to understand the persistence of the northern Idaho ground squirrel (Urocitellus brunneus) and the southern Idaho ground squirrel (U. endemicus), two congeners of conservation concern. These graph theoretic approaches are conventionally applied to social or transportation networks, but here are used to study population persistence and connectivity. Population graph analyses revealed that local extinction rapidly reduced connectivity for the southern species, while connectivity for the northern species could be maintained following local extinction. Results from gravity models complemented those of population graph analyses, and indicated that potential vegetation productivity and topography drove connectivity in the northern species. For the southern species, development (roads) and small-scale topography reduced connectivity, while greater potential vegetation productivity increased connectivity. Taken together, the results of the two network-based methods (population graph analyses and gravity models) suggest the need for increased conservation action for the southern species, and that management efforts have been effective at maintaining habitat quality throughout the current range of the northern species. To prevent further declines, we encourage the continuation of management efforts for the northern species, whereas conservation of the southern species requires active management and additional measures to curtail habitat fragmentation. Our combination of population graph analyses and gravity models can inform conservation strategies of other species exhibiting patchy distributions. PMID:28659969

Complementary Network-Based Approaches for Exploring Genetic Structure and Functional Connectivity in Two Vulnerable, Endemic Ground Squirrels.

PubMed

Zero, Victoria H; Barocas, Adi; Jochimsen, Denim M; Pelletier, Agnès; Giroux-Bougard, Xavier; Trumbo, Daryl R; Castillo, Jessica A; Evans Mack, Diane; Linnell, Mark A; Pigg, Rachel M; Hoisington-Lopez, Jessica; Spear, Stephen F; Murphy, Melanie A; Waits, Lisette P

2017-01-01

The persistence of small populations is influenced by genetic structure and functional connectivity. We used two network-based approaches to understand the persistence of the northern Idaho ground squirrel ( Urocitellus brunneus) and the southern Idaho ground squirrel ( U. endemicus ), two congeners of conservation concern. These graph theoretic approaches are conventionally applied to social or transportation networks, but here are used to study population persistence and connectivity. Population graph analyses revealed that local extinction rapidly reduced connectivity for the southern species, while connectivity for the northern species could be maintained following local extinction. Results from gravity models complemented those of population graph analyses, and indicated that potential vegetation productivity and topography drove connectivity in the northern species. For the southern species, development (roads) and small-scale topography reduced connectivity, while greater potential vegetation productivity increased connectivity. Taken together, the results of the two network-based methods (population graph analyses and gravity models) suggest the need for increased conservation action for the southern species, and that management efforts have been effective at maintaining habitat quality throughout the current range of the northern species. To prevent further declines, we encourage the continuation of management efforts for the northern species, whereas conservation of the southern species requires active management and additional measures to curtail habitat fragmentation. Our combination of population graph analyses and gravity models can inform conservation strategies of other species exhibiting patchy distributions.

Adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase-based classification of diabetes pharmacotherapy

PubMed Central

Dutta, D; Kalra, S; Sharma, M

2017-01-01

The current classification of both diabetes and antidiabetes medication is complex, preventing a treating physician from choosing the most appropriate treatment for an individual patient, sometimes resulting in patient-drug mismatch. We propose a novel, simple systematic classification of drugs, based on their effect on adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK). AMPK is the master regular of energy metabolism, an energy sensor, activated when cellular energy levels are low, resulting in activation of catabolic process, and inactivation of anabolic process, having a beneficial effect on glycemia in diabetes. This listing of drugs makes it easier for students and practitioners to analyze drug profiles and match them with patient requirements. It also facilitates choice of rational combinations, with complementary modes of action. Drugs are classified as stimulators, inhibitors, mixed action, possible action, and no action on AMPK activity. Metformin and glitazones are pure stimulators of AMPK. Incretin-based therapies have a mixed action on AMPK. Sulfonylureas either inhibit AMPK or have no effect on AMPK. Glycemic efficacy of alpha-glucosidase inhibitors, sodium glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitor, colesevelam, and bromocriptine may also involve AMPK activation, which warrants further evaluation. Berberine, salicylates, and resveratrol are newer promising agents in the management of diabetes, having well-documented evidence of AMPK stimulation medicated glycemic efficacy. Hence, AMPK-based classification of antidiabetes medications provides a holistic unifying understanding of pharmacotherapy in diabetes. This classification is flexible with a scope for inclusion of promising agents of future. PMID:27652986

Twenty-four-micrometer-pitch microelectrode array with 6912-channel readout at 12 kHz via highly scalable implementation for high-spatial-resolution mapping of action potentials.

PubMed

Ogi, Jun; Kato, Yuri; Matoba, Yoshihisa; Yamane, Chigusa; Nagahata, Kazunori; Nakashima, Yusaku; Kishimoto, Takuya; Hashimoto, Shigeki; Maari, Koichi; Oike, Yusuke; Ezaki, Takayuki

2017-12-19

A 24-μm-pitch microelectrode array (MEA) with 6912 readout channels at 12 kHz and 23.2-μV rms random noise is presented. The aim is to reduce noise in a "highly scalable" MEA with a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor integration circuit (CMOS-MEA), in which a large number of readout channels and a high electrode density can be expected. Despite the small dimension and the simplicity of the in-pixel circuit for the high electrode-density and the relatively large number of readout channels of the prototype CMOS-MEA chip developed in this work, the noise within the chip is successfully reduced to less than half that reported in a previous work, for a device with similar in-pixel circuit simplicity and a large number of readout channels. Further, the action potential was clearly observed on cardiomyocytes using the CMOS-MEA. These results indicate the high-scalability of the CMOS-MEA. The highly scalable CMOS-MEA provides high-spatial-resolution mapping of cell action potentials, and the mapping can aid understanding of complex activities in cells, including neuron network activities.

Dynamic Modulation of Human Motor Activity When Observing Actions

PubMed Central

Press, Clare; Cook, Jennifer; Blakemore, Sarah-Jayne; Kilner, James

2012-01-01

Previous studies have demonstrated that when we observe somebody else executing an action many areas of our own motor systems are active. It has been argued that these motor activations are evidence that we motorically simulate observed actions; this motoric simulation may support various functions such as imitation and action understanding. However, whether motoric simulation is indeed the function of motor activations during action observation is controversial, due to inconsistency in findings. Previous studies have demonstrated dynamic modulations in motor activity when we execute actions. Therefore, if we do motorically simulate observed actions, our motor systems should also be modulated dynamically, and in a corresponding fashion, during action observation. Using magnetoencephalography, we recorded the cortical activity of human participants while they observed actions performed by another person. Here, we show that activity in the human motor system is indeed modulated dynamically during action observation. The finding that activity in the motor system is modulated dynamically when observing actions can explain why studies of action observation using functional magnetic resonance imaging have reported conflicting results, and is consistent with the hypothesis that we motorically simulate observed actions. PMID:21414901

Characterization of soil nematode communities in three cropping systems through morphological and DNA metabarcoding approaches

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Communities of soil nematodes impact ecosystem functions, including plant growth, decomposition, and nutrient cycling, all of which are vital processes in agriculture. We used complementary morphological and DNA metabarcoding analyses to characterize soil nematode communities in three cropping syste...

Attitudes toward and education about complementary and alternative medicine among adult patients with depression in Taiwan.

PubMed

Hsu, Mei-Chi; Moyle, Wendy; Creedy, Debra; Venturato, Lorraine; Ouyang, Wen-Chen; Sun, Gwo-Ching

2010-04-01

To investigate patients' attitudes toward complementary and alternative medicine, the education nurses provided about complementary and alternative medicine for treating depression and to test whether such education mediates the effect of complementary and alternative medicine use and attitudes toward complementary and alternative medicine. Although we know that attitudes influence behaviour, very few studies simultaneously explore the relationship between attitudes, education and complementary and alternative medicine use. Survey. This study was conducted as part of a larger survey, using face-to-face survey interviews with 206 adult patients aged 50 years or over and hospitalised in conventional hospitals in Taiwan for treatment of depression. The attitudes toward complementary and alternative medicine and patient education about complementary and alternative medicine instruments were specially developed for the study. Participants expressed slightly favourable attitudes toward complementary and alternative medicine. Many participants (50%) expressed that they were willing to try any potential treatment for depression. They believed that complementary and alternative medicine helped them to feel better and to live a happier life. However, 66.5% of participants reported that they had inadequate knowledge of complementary and alternative medicine. Participants with a higher monthly income, longer depression duration and religious beliefs hold more positive attitudes toward complementary and alternative medicine. Most participants were not satisfied with the education they received about complementary and alternative medicine. Patient education about complementary and alternative medicine was found to be a mediator for the use of complementary and alternative medicine. Patient education from nurses may predict patients' attitudes toward complementary and alternative medicine. Continuing nursing education is needed to enable nurses to respond knowledgeably to concerns patients may have about complementary and alternative medicine and treatment options. This study highlights the potential role of patient education about complementary and alternative medicine as an effective way of adjusting patients' attitudes toward complementary and alternative medicine and to link both patients' preferences for complementary and alternative medicine and health professionals' concerns about the proper use of complementary and alternative medicine for depression management and adverse drug interactions.

Western Juniper Management: Assessing Strategies for Improving Greater Sage-grouse Habitat and Rangeland Productivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farzan, Shahla; Young, Derek J. N.; Dedrick, Allison G.; Hamilton, Matthew; Porse, Erik C.; Coates, Peter S.; Sampson, Gabriel

2015-09-01

Western juniper ( Juniperus occidentalis subsp. occidentalis) range expansion into sagebrush steppe ecosystems has affected both native wildlife and economic livelihoods across western North America. The potential listing of the greater sage-grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus) under the U.S. Endangered Species Act has spurred a decade of juniper removal efforts, yet limited research has evaluated program effectiveness. We used a multi-objective spatially explicit model to identify optimal juniper removal sites in Northeastern California across weighted goals for ecological (sage-grouse habitat) and economic (cattle forage production) benefits. We also extended the analysis through alternative case scenarios that tested the effects of coordination among federal agencies, budgetary constraints, and the use of fire as a juniper treatment method. We found that sage-grouse conservation and forage production goals are somewhat complementary, but the extent of complementary benefits strongly depends on spatial factors and management approaches. Certain management actions substantially increase achievable benefits, including agency coordination and the use of prescribed burns to remove juniper. Critically, our results indicate that juniper management strategies designed to increase cattle forage do not necessarily achieve measurable sage-grouse benefits, underscoring the need for program evaluation and monitoring.

Western juniper management: assessing strategies for improving greater sage-grouse habitat and rangeland productivity

USGS Publications Warehouse

Farzan, Shahla; Young, Derek J.N.; Dedrick, Allison G.; Hamilton, Mattew; Porse, Erik C.; Coates, Peter S.; Sampson, Gabriel

2015-01-01

Western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis subsp. occidentalis) range expansion into sagebrush steppe ecosystems has affected both native wildlife and economic livelihoods across western North America. The potential listing of the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) under the U.S. Endangered Species Act has spurred a decade of juniper removal efforts, yet limited research has evaluated program effectiveness. We used a multi-objective spatially explicit model to identify optimal juniper removal sites in Northeastern California across weighted goals for ecological (sage-grouse habitat) and economic (cattle forage production) benefits. We also extended the analysis through alternative case scenarios that tested the effects of coordination among federal agencies, budgetary constraints, and the use of fire as a juniper treatment method. We found that sage-grouse conservation and forage production goals are somewhat complementary, but the extent of complementary benefits strongly depends on spatial factors and management approaches. Certain management actions substantially increase achievable benefits, including agency coordination and the use of prescribed burns to remove juniper. Critically, our results indicate that juniper management strategies designed to increase cattle forage do not necessarily achieve measurable sage-grouse benefits, underscoring the need for program evaluation and monitoring.

Psychological and behavioral mechanisms influencing the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in cancer patients.

PubMed

Hirai, K; Komura, K; Tokoro, A; Kuromaru, T; Ohshima, A; Ito, T; Sumiyoshi, Y; Hyodo, I

2008-01-01

This study explored the psychological and behavioral mechanisms of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use in Japanese cancer patients using two applied behavioral models, the transtheoretical model (TTM), and theory of planned behavior (TPB). Questionnaires were distributed to 1100 patients at three cancer treatment facilities in Japan and data on 521 cancer patients were used in the final analysis. The questionnaire included items based on TTM and TPB variables, as well as three psychological batteries. According to the TTM, 88 patients (17%) were in precontemplation, 226 (43%) in contemplation, 33 (6%) in preparation, 71 (14%) in action, and 103 (20%) in maintenance. The model derived from structural equation modeling revealed that the stage of CAM use was significantly affected by the pros, cons, expectation from family, norms of medical staff, use of chemotherapy, period from diagnosis, and place of treatment. The primary factor for the stage of CAM use was the expectation from family. The findings revealed the existence of a number of psychologically induced potential CAM users, and psychological variables including positive attitude for CAM use and perceived family expectation greatly influence CAM use in cancer patients.

Western Juniper Management: Assessing Strategies for Improving Greater Sage-grouse Habitat and Rangeland Productivity.

PubMed

Farzan, Shahla; Young, Derek J N; Dedrick, Allison G; Hamilton, Matthew; Porse, Erik C; Coates, Peter S; Sampson, Gabriel

2015-09-01

Western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis subsp. occidentalis) range expansion into sagebrush steppe ecosystems has affected both native wildlife and economic livelihoods across western North America. The potential listing of the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) under the U.S. Endangered Species Act has spurred a decade of juniper removal efforts, yet limited research has evaluated program effectiveness. We used a multi-objective spatially explicit model to identify optimal juniper removal sites in Northeastern California across weighted goals for ecological (sage-grouse habitat) and economic (cattle forage production) benefits. We also extended the analysis through alternative case scenarios that tested the effects of coordination among federal agencies, budgetary constraints, and the use of fire as a juniper treatment method. We found that sage-grouse conservation and forage production goals are somewhat complementary, but the extent of complementary benefits strongly depends on spatial factors and management approaches. Certain management actions substantially increase achievable benefits, including agency coordination and the use of prescribed burns to remove juniper. Critically, our results indicate that juniper management strategies designed to increase cattle forage do not necessarily achieve measurable sage-grouse benefits, underscoring the need for program evaluation and monitoring.

Applications and Therapeutic Actions of Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Women with Genital Infection

PubMed Central

Liu, Chenfang; Zhang, Yuehui; Yu, Yang; Han, Fengjuan

2014-01-01

Genital infection is a common worldwide disease among females with clinical features such as bilateral lower abdominal tenderness, abnormal vaginal or cervical discharge, fever, abnormal vaginal bleeding, dyspareunia, vaginal itching, and adnexal tenderness, which can significantly impair women's health and quality of life. Genital infection is commonly treated with antibiotics, leading to an imbalance in gut flora due to prolonged use of antibiotics. Therefore, it is necessary to discover safe and efficacious alternative treatment strategies for patients with genital infection. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is becoming increasingly prevalent among women with genital infection. CAM has interested the western mainstream medical community because of its less invasive, safe, effective, economical, and convenient therapies. CAM focuses on the prevention and treatment of disease and has become an important force in treating chronic disease. During the last few decades, the popularity of CAM has gradually increased. To further understand the efficacy of CAM in treating genital infection, our paper will review the current progress of treating genital infection including vulvitis, vaginitis, cervicitis, and pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) with CAM therapies. Several CAM strategies including traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), acupuncture, Psychology interference, and physical therapy are introduced in this review. PMID:24648850

Ginseng phytochemicals as therapeutics in oncology: Recent perspectives.

PubMed

Majeed, Fatima; Malik, Fozia Zahur; Ahmed, Zaheer; Afreen, Asma; Afzal, Muhammad Naveed; Khalid, Nauman

2018-04-01

During the last few decades, cancer has mushroomed as a major health issue; and almost all drugs used for its therapy are very toxic with lethal side effects. Complementary and alternative medicines gain popularity among health professionals in recent era owing to its preventive mechanism against side effect chemotherapeutic drugs. Efforts are focused by scientists to isolate compounds from medicinal plant that have chemotherapeutic attributes; and ability to neutralize the side effects of chemotherapy. Ginseng is an oriental medicinal recipe from Araliceae family and Panax species. The chemotherapeutic effect of ginsenoside is resultant of its appetites, anti-proliferative, anti-angiogenic, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties. The anticancer effect of ginseng is proven in various types of cancer, including; breast, lung, liver, colon and skin cancer. It increases the mitochondrial accumulation of apoptosis protein and downregulate the expression of anti-apoptotic protein. It also aids in the reduction of alopecia, fatigue and nausea, the known side effects of chemotherapeutic drugs. The aim of the present review is to provide the brief review of the recent researches related to mechanism of action of ginseng in different types of cancer as complementary and alternative medicine on different body organs. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Medical honey and its role in paediatric patients.

PubMed

Weissenstein, Anne; Luchter, Elisabeth; Bittmann, Stefan

The use of complementary medical treatment in wound management has continued to grow throughout the world. There is a large body of evidence that supports the use of honey as a wound dressing for a wide range of wound types. The authors present an update of present knowledge about honey as a form of complementary medicine in paediatric wound management. The literature cited was found by searching the PubMed, BIOSIS and ISI Web of Science databases for the phrase 'honey and wound'. Papers where honey was used in a mixture with other therapeutic substances were excluded. Randomised controlled trials as well as case studies were taken into consideration. This paper reviews data on the effectiveness of honey in wound healing; 80 citations or references were found that matched the criteria. Furthermore, the wound-healing properties of honey are described and the mechanism of action discussed. The authors' data show that honey induced enhanced epithelialisation, minimised scar formations and had an anti-microbiotic effect. These results should encourage the use of medical honey in the field of paediatrics. It is a safe and natural substance that induces wound healing at a greater rate than conventional methods.

Complementary and conventional providers in cancer care: experience of communication with patients and steps to improve communication with other providers.

PubMed

Stub, Trine; Quandt, Sara A; Arcury, Thomas A; Sandberg, Joanne C; Kristoffersen, Agnete E

2017-06-08

Effective interdisciplinary communication is important to achieve better quality in health care. The aims of this study were to compare conventional and complementary providers' experience of communication about complementary therapies and conventional medicine with their cancer patients, and to investigate how they experience interdisciplinary communication and cooperation. This study analyzed data from a self-administrated questionnaire. A total of 606 different health care providers, from four counties in Norway, completed the questionnaire. The survey was developed to describe aspects of the communication pattern among oncology doctors, nurses, family physicians and complementary therapists (acupuncturists, massage therapists and reflexologists/zone-therapists). Between-group differences were analyzed using chi-square, ANOVA and Fisher's exact tests. Significance level was defined as p < 0.05 without adjustment for multiple comparisons. Conventional providers and complementary therapists had different patterns of communication with their cancer patients regarding complementary therapies. While complementary therapists advised their patients to apply both complementary and conventional modalities, medical doctors were less supportive of their patients' use of complementary therapies. Of conventional providers, nurses expressed more positive attitudes toward complementary therapies. Opportunities to improve communication between conventional and complementary providers were most strongly supported by complementary providers and nurses; medical doctors were less supportive of such attempts. A number of doctors showed lack of respect for complementary therapists, but asked for more research, guidelines for complementary modalities and training in conventional medicine for complementary therapists. For better quality of care, greater communication about complementary therapy use is needed between cancer patients and their conventional and complementary providers. In addition, more communication between conventional and complementary providers is needed. Nurses may have a crucial role in facilitating communication, as they are positive toward complementary therapies and they have more direct communication with patients about their treatment preferences.

Chromatic aberration and the roles of double-opponent and color-luminance neurons in color vision.

PubMed

Vladusich, Tony

2007-03-01

How does the visual cortex encode color? I summarize a theory in which cortical double-opponent color neurons perform a role in color constancy and a complementary set of color-luminance neurons function to selectively correct for color fringes induced by chromatic aberration in the eye. The theory may help to resolve an ongoing debate concerning the functional properties of cortical receptive fields involved in color coding.

Immune Modules Shared by Innate Lymphoid Cells and T Cells

PubMed Central

Robinette, Michelle L.; Colonna, Marco

2016-01-01

In recent years, innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) have emerged as innate correlates to T cells. The similarities between ILCs and T cells indicate that lymphocytes of fundamentally distinct lineages can share core “immune modules” that encompass transcriptional circuitry and effector functions, while utilizing non-redundant, complementary mechanisms of pattern recognition to enact these functions. We review modules currently recognized to be shared between ILCs and T cells. PMID:27817796

Incidental and context-responsive activation of structure- and function-based action features during object identification

PubMed Central

Lee, Chia-lin; Middleton, Erica; Mirman, Daniel; Kalénine, Solène; Buxbaum, Laurel J.

2012-01-01

Previous studies suggest that action representations are activated during object processing, even when task-irrelevant. In addition, there is evidence that lexical-semantic context may affect such activation during object processing. Finally, prior work from our laboratory and others indicates that function-based (“use”) and structure-based (“move”) action subtypes may differ in their activation characteristics. Most studies assessing such effects, however, have required manual object-relevant motor responses, thereby plausibly influencing the activation of action representations. The present work utilizes eyetracking and a Visual World Paradigm task without object-relevant actions to assess the time course of activation of action representations, as well as their responsiveness to lexical-semantic context. In two experiments, participants heard a target word and selected its referent from an array of four objects. Gaze fixations on non-target objects signal activation of features shared between targets and non-targets. The experiments assessed activation of structure-based (Experiment 1) or function-based (Experiment 2) distractors, using neutral sentences (“S/he saw the …”) or sentences with a relevant action verb (Experiment 1: “S/he picked up the……”; Experiment 2: “S/he used the….”). We observed task-irrelevant activations of action information in both experiments. In neutral contexts, structure-based activation was relatively faster-rising but more transient than function-based activation. Additionally, action verb contexts reliably modified patterns of activation in both Experiments. These data provide fine-grained information about the dynamics of activation of function-based and structure-based actions in neutral and action-relevant contexts, in support of the “Two Action System” model of object and action processing (e.g., Buxbaum & Kalénine, 2010). PMID:22390294

Doing Duo – a case study of entrainment in William Forsythe’s choreography “Duo”

PubMed Central

Waterhouse, Elizabeth; Watts, Riley; Bläsing, Bettina E.

2014-01-01

Entrainment theory focuses on processes in which interacting (i.e., coupled) rhythmic systems stabilize, producing synchronization in the ideal sense, and forms of phase related rhythmic coordination in complex cases. In human action, entrainment involves spatiotemporal and social aspects, characterizing the meaningful activities of music, dance, and communication. How can the phenomenon of human entrainment be meaningfully studied in complex situations such as dance? We present an in-progress case study of entrainment in William Forsythe’s choreography Duo, a duet in which coordinated rhythmic activity is achieved without an external musical beat and without touch-based interaction. Using concepts of entrainment from different disciplines as well as insight from Duo performer Riley Watts, we question definitions of entrainment in the context of dance. The functions of chorusing, turn-taking, complementary action, cues, and alignments are discussed and linked to supporting annotated video material. While Duo challenges the definition of entrainment in dance as coordinated response to an external musical or rhythmic signal, it supports the definition of entrainment as coordinated interplay of motion and sound production by active agents (i.e., dancers) in the field. Agreeing that human entrainment should be studied on multiple levels, we suggest that entrainment between the dancers in Duo is elastic in time and propose how to test this hypothesis empirically. We do not claim that our proposed model of elasticity is applicable to all forms of human entrainment nor to all examples of entrainment in dance. Rather, we suggest studying higher order phase correction (the stabilizing tendency of entrainment) as a potential aspect to be incorporated into other models. PMID:25374522

Mature IGF-I excels in promoting functional muscle recovery from disuse atrophy compared with pro-IGF-IA.

PubMed

Park, Soohyun; Brisson, Becky K; Liu, Min; Spinazzola, Janelle M; Barton, Elisabeth R

2014-04-01

Prolonged disuse of skeletal muscle results in atrophy, and once physical activity is resumed, there is increased susceptibility to injury. Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) is considered a potential therapeutic target to attenuate atrophy during unloading and to enhance rehabilitation upon reloading of skeletal muscles, due to its multipronged actions on satellite cell proliferation, differentiation, and survival, as well as its actions on muscle fibers to boost protein synthesis and inhibit protein degradation. However, the form of IGF-I delivered may alter the success of treatment. Using the hindlimb suspension model of disuse atrophy, we compared the efficacy of two IGF-I forms in protection against atrophy and enhancement of recovery: mature IGF-I (IGF-IS) lacking the COOH-terminal extension, called the E-peptide, and IGF-IA, which is the predominant form retaining the E-peptide. Self-complementary adeno-associated virus harboring the murine Igf1 cDNA constructs were delivered to hindlimbs of adult female C57BL6 mice 3 days prior to hindlimb suspension. Hindlimb muscles were unloaded for 7 days and then reloaded for 3, 7, and 14 days. Loss of muscle mass following suspension was not prevented by either IGF-I construct. However, IGF-IS expression maintained soleus muscle force production. Further, IGF-IS treatment caused rapid recovery of muscle fiber morphology during reloading and maintained muscle strength. Analysis of gene expression revealed that IGF-IS expression accelerated the downregulation of atrophy-related genes compared with untreated or IGF-IA-treated samples. We conclude that mature-IGF-I may be a better option than pro-IGF-IA to promote skeletal muscle recovery following disuse atrophy.

Mature IGF-I excels in promoting functional muscle recovery from disuse atrophy compared with pro-IGF-IA

PubMed Central

Park, SooHyun; Brisson, Becky K.; Liu, Min; Spinazzola, Janelle M.

2013-01-01

Prolonged disuse of skeletal muscle results in atrophy, and once physical activity is resumed, there is increased susceptibility to injury. Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) is considered a potential therapeutic target to attenuate atrophy during unloading and to enhance rehabilitation upon reloading of skeletal muscles, due to its multipronged actions on satellite cell proliferation, differentiation, and survival, as well as its actions on muscle fibers to boost protein synthesis and inhibit protein degradation. However, the form of IGF-I delivered may alter the success of treatment. Using the hindlimb suspension model of disuse atrophy, we compared the efficacy of two IGF-I forms in protection against atrophy and enhancement of recovery: mature IGF-I (IGF-IS) lacking the COOH-terminal extension, called the E-peptide, and IGF-IA, which is the predominant form retaining the E-peptide. Self-complementary adeno-associated virus harboring the murine Igf1 cDNA constructs were delivered to hindlimbs of adult female C57BL6 mice 3 days prior to hindlimb suspension. Hindlimb muscles were unloaded for 7 days and then reloaded for 3, 7, and 14 days. Loss of muscle mass following suspension was not prevented by either IGF-I construct. However, IGF-IS expression maintained soleus muscle force production. Further, IGF-IS treatment caused rapid recovery of muscle fiber morphology during reloading and maintained muscle strength. Analysis of gene expression revealed that IGF-IS expression accelerated the downregulation of atrophy-related genes compared with untreated or IGF-IA-treated samples. We conclude that mature-IGF-I may be a better option than pro-IGF-IA to promote skeletal muscle recovery following disuse atrophy. PMID:24371018

Emergence of gamma motor activity in an artificial neural network model of the corticospinal system.

PubMed

Grandjean, Bernard; Maier, Marc A

2017-02-01

Muscle spindle discharge during active movement is a function of mechanical and neural parameters. Muscle length changes (and their derivatives) represent its primary mechanical, fusimotor drive its neural component. However, neither the action nor the function of fusimotor and in particular of γ-drive, have been clearly established, since γ-motor activity during voluntary, non-locomotor movements remains largely unknown. Here, using a computational approach, we explored whether γ-drive emerges in an artificial neural network model of the corticospinal system linked to a biomechanical antagonist wrist simulator. The wrist simulator included length-sensitive and γ-drive-dependent type Ia and type II muscle spindle activity. Network activity and connectivity were derived by a gradient descent algorithm to generate reciprocal, known target α-motor unit activity during wrist flexion-extension (F/E) movements. Two tasks were simulated: an alternating F/E task and a slow F/E tracking task. Emergence of γ-motor activity in the alternating F/E network was a function of α-motor unit drive: if muscle afferent (together with supraspinal) input was required for driving α-motor units, then γ-drive emerged in the form of α-γ coactivation, as predicted by empirical studies. In the slow F/E tracking network, γ-drive emerged in the form of α-γ dissociation and provided critical, bidirectional muscle afferent activity to the cortical network, containing known bidirectional target units. The model thus demonstrates the complementary aspects of spindle output and hence γ-drive: i) muscle spindle activity as a driving force of α-motor unit activity, and ii) afferent activity providing continuous sensory information, both of which crucially depend on γ-drive.

Modelling wildland fire propagation by tracking random fronts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pagnini, G.; Mentrelli, A.

2013-11-01

Wildland fire propagation is studied in literature by two alternative approaches, namely the reaction-diffusion equation and the level-set method. These two approaches are considered alternative each other because the solution of the reaction-diffusion equation is generally a continuous smooth function that has an exponential decay and an infinite support, while the level-set method, which is a front tracking technique, generates a sharp function with a finite support. However, these two approaches can indeed be considered complementary and reconciled. Turbulent hot-air transport and fire spotting are phenomena with a random character that are extremely important in wildland fire propagation. As a consequence the fire front gets a random character, too. Hence a tracking method for random fronts is needed. In particular, the level-set contourn is here randomized accordingly to the probability density function of the interface particle displacement. Actually, when the level-set method is developed for tracking a front interface with a random motion, the resulting averaged process emerges to be governed by an evolution equation of the reaction-diffusion type. In this reconciled approach, the rate of spread of the fire keeps the same key and characterizing role proper to the level-set approach. The resulting model emerges to be suitable to simulate effects due to turbulent convection as fire flank and backing fire, the faster fire spread because of the actions by hot air pre-heating and by ember landing, and also the fire overcoming a firebreak zone that is a case not resolved by models based on the level-set method. Moreover, from the proposed formulation it follows a correction for the rate of spread formula due to the mean jump-length of firebrands in the downwind direction for the leeward sector of the fireline contour.

From expert-derived user needs to user-perceived ease of use and usefulness: a two-phase mixed-methods evaluation framework.

PubMed

Boland, Mary Regina; Rusanov, Alexander; So, Yat; Lopez-Jimenez, Carlos; Busacca, Linda; Steinman, Richard C; Bakken, Suzanne; Bigger, J Thomas; Weng, Chunhua

2014-12-01

Underspecified user needs and frequent lack of a gold standard reference are typical barriers to technology evaluation. To address this problem, this paper presents a two-phase evaluation framework involving usability experts (phase 1) and end-users (phase 2). In phase 1, a cross-system functionality alignment between expert-derived user needs and system functions was performed to inform the choice of "the best available" comparison system to enable a cognitive walkthrough in phase 1 and a comparative effectiveness evaluation in phase 2. During phase 2, five quantitative and qualitative evaluation methods are mixed to assess usability: time-motion analysis, software log, questionnaires - System Usability Scale and the Unified Theory of Acceptance of Use of Technology, think-aloud protocols, and unstructured interviews. Each method contributes data for a unique measure (e.g., time motion analysis contributes task-completion-time; software log contributes action transition frequency). The measures are triangulated to yield complementary insights regarding user-perceived ease-of-use, functionality integration, anxiety during use, and workflow impact. To illustrate its use, we applied this framework in a formative evaluation of a software called Integrated Model for Patient Care and Clinical Trials (IMPACT). We conclude that this mixed-methods evaluation framework enables an integrated assessment of user needs satisfaction and user-perceived usefulness and usability of a novel design. This evaluation framework effectively bridges the gap between co-evolving user needs and technology designs during iterative prototyping and is particularly useful when it is difficult for users to articulate their needs for technology support due to the lack of a baseline. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Genome-wide detection of selection signatures in Chinese indigenous Laiwu pigs revealed candidate genes regulating fat deposition in muscle.

PubMed

Chen, Minhui; Wang, Jiying; Wang, Yanping; Wu, Ying; Fu, Jinluan; Liu, Jian-Feng

2018-05-18

Currently, genome-wide scans for positive selection signatures in commercial breed have been investigated. However, few studies have focused on selection footprints of indigenous breeds. Laiwu pig is an invaluable Chinese indigenous pig breed with extremely high proportion of intramuscular fat (IMF), and an excellent model to detect footprint as the result of natural and artificial selection for fat deposition in muscle. In this study, based on GeneSeek Genomic profiler Porcine HD data, three complementary methods, F ST , iHS (integrated haplotype homozygosity score) and CLR (composite likelihood ratio), were implemented to detect selection signatures in the whole genome of Laiwu pigs. Totally, 175 candidate selected regions were obtained by at least two of the three methods, which covered 43.75 Mb genomic regions and corresponded to 1.79% of the genome sequence. Gene annotation of the selected regions revealed a list of functionally important genes for feed intake and fat deposition, reproduction, and immune response. Especially, in accordance to the phenotypic features of Laiwu pigs, among the candidate genes, we identified several genes, NPY1R, NPY5R, PIK3R1 and JAKMIP1, involved in the actions of two sets of neurons, which are central regulators in maintaining the balance between food intake and energy expenditure. Our results identified a number of regions showing signatures of selection, as well as a list of functionally candidate genes with potential effect on phenotypic traits, especially fat deposition in muscle. Our findings provide insights into the mechanisms of artificial selection of fat deposition and further facilitate follow-up functional studies.

Molecular machines open cell membranes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

García-López, Víctor; Chen, Fang; Nilewski, Lizanne G.; Duret, Guillaume; Aliyan, Amir; Kolomeisky, Anatoly B.; Robinson, Jacob T.; Wang, Gufeng; Pal, Robert; Tour, James M.

2017-08-01

Beyond the more common chemical delivery strategies, several physical techniques are used to open the lipid bilayers of cellular membranes. These include using electric and magnetic fields, temperature, ultrasound or light to introduce compounds into cells, to release molecular species from cells or to selectively induce programmed cell death (apoptosis) or uncontrolled cell death (necrosis). More recently, molecular motors and switches that can change their conformation in a controlled manner in response to external stimuli have been used to produce mechanical actions on tissue for biomedical applications. Here we show that molecular machines can drill through cellular bilayers using their molecular-scale actuation, specifically nanomechanical action. Upon physical adsorption of the molecular motors onto lipid bilayers and subsequent activation of the motors using ultraviolet light, holes are drilled in the cell membranes. We designed molecular motors and complementary experimental protocols that use nanomechanical action to induce the diffusion of chemical species out of synthetic vesicles, to enhance the diffusion of traceable molecular machines into and within live cells, to induce necrosis and to introduce chemical species into live cells. We also show that, by using molecular machines that bear short peptide addends, nanomechanical action can selectively target specific cell-surface recognition sites. Beyond the in vitro applications demonstrated here, we expect that molecular machines could also be used in vivo, especially as their design progresses to allow two-photon, near-infrared and radio-frequency activation.

Molecular machines open cell membranes.

PubMed

García-López, Víctor; Chen, Fang; Nilewski, Lizanne G; Duret, Guillaume; Aliyan, Amir; Kolomeisky, Anatoly B; Robinson, Jacob T; Wang, Gufeng; Pal, Robert; Tour, James M

2017-08-30

Beyond the more common chemical delivery strategies, several physical techniques are used to open the lipid bilayers of cellular membranes. These include using electric and magnetic fields, temperature, ultrasound or light to introduce compounds into cells, to release molecular species from cells or to selectively induce programmed cell death (apoptosis) or uncontrolled cell death (necrosis). More recently, molecular motors and switches that can change their conformation in a controlled manner in response to external stimuli have been used to produce mechanical actions on tissue for biomedical applications. Here we show that molecular machines can drill through cellular bilayers using their molecular-scale actuation, specifically nanomechanical action. Upon physical adsorption of the molecular motors onto lipid bilayers and subsequent activation of the motors using ultraviolet light, holes are drilled in the cell membranes. We designed molecular motors and complementary experimental protocols that use nanomechanical action to induce the diffusion of chemical species out of synthetic vesicles, to enhance the diffusion of traceable molecular machines into and within live cells, to induce necrosis and to introduce chemical species into live cells. We also show that, by using molecular machines that bear short peptide addends, nanomechanical action can selectively target specific cell-surface recognition sites. Beyond the in vitro applications demonstrated here, we expect that molecular machines could also be used in vivo, especially as their design progresses to allow two-photon, near-infrared and radio-frequency activation.

On the nature of hand-action representations evoked during written sentence comprehension.

PubMed

Bub, Daniel N; Masson, Michael E J

2010-09-01

We examine the nature of motor representations evoked during comprehension of written sentences describing hand actions. We distinguish between two kinds of hand actions: a functional action, applied when using the object for its intended purpose, and a volumetric action, applied when picking up or holding the object. In Experiment 1, initial activation of both action representations was followed by selection of the functional action, regardless of sentence context. Experiment 2 showed that when the sentence was followed by a picture of the object, clear context-specific effects on evoked action representations were obtained. Experiment 3 established that when a picture of an object was presented alone, the time course of both functional and volumetric actions was the same. These results provide evidence that representations of object-related hand actions are evoked as part of sentence processing. In addition, we discuss the conditions that elicit context-specific evocation of motor representations. 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Artificial photosynthetic systems: assemblies of slipped cofacial porphyrins and phthalocyanines showing strong electronic coupling.

PubMed

Satake, Akiharu; Kobuke, Yoshiaki

2007-06-07

This paper reviews selected types of structurally well defined assemblies of porphyrins and phthalocyanines with strong electronic coupling. Face-to-face, head-to-tail, slipped cofacial, and non-parallel dimeric motifs constructed by covalent and non-covalent bonds are compared in the earlier sections. Their molecular orientation, electronic overlap, and absorption and fluorescence properties are discussed with a view towards the development of artificial photosynthetic systems and molecular electronics. Complementary coordination dimers are fully satisfactory in terms of structural stability, orientation factor, pi-electronic overlap, and zero fluorescence quenching. In later sections, several polymeric and macrocyclic porphyrin assemblies constructed by a combination of covalent bonds and complementary coordination bonds are discussed from the viewpoint of light-harvesting antenna functions.

High-speed low-power photonic transistor devices based on optically-controlled gain or absorption to affect optical interference.

PubMed

Huang, Yingyan; Ho, Seng-Tiong

2008-10-13

We show that a photonic transistor device can be realized via the manipulation of optical interference by optically controlled gain or absorption in novel ways, resulting in efficient transistor signal gain and switching action. Exemplary devices illustrate two complementary device types with high operating speed, microm size, microW switching power, and switching gain. They can act in tandem to provide a wide variety of operations including wavelength conversion, pulse regeneration, and logical operations. These devices could have a Transistor Figure-of-Merits >10(5) times higher than current chi((3)) approaches and are highly attractive.

Associative Pattern Recognition In Analog VLSI Circuits

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tawel, Raoul

1995-01-01

Winner-take-all circuit selects best-match stored pattern. Prototype cascadable very-large-scale integrated (VLSI) circuit chips built and tested to demonstrate concept of electronic associative pattern recognition. Based on low-power, sub-threshold analog complementary oxide/semiconductor (CMOS) VLSI circuitry, each chip can store 128 sets (vectors) of 16 analog values (vector components), vectors representing known patterns as diverse as spectra, histograms, graphs, or brightnesses of pixels in images. Chips exploit parallel nature of vector quantization architecture to implement highly parallel processing in relatively simple computational cells. Through collective action, cells classify input pattern in fraction of microsecond while consuming power of few microwatts.

Is U.S. climatic diversity well represented within the existing federal protection network?

Treesearch

Enric Batllori; Carol Miller; Marc-Andre Parisien; Sean A. Parks; Max A. Moritz

2014-01-01

Establishing protection networks to ensure that biodiversity and associated ecosystem services persist under changing environments is a major challenge for conservation planning. The potential consequences of altered climates for the structure and function of ecosystems necessitates new and complementary approaches be incorporated into traditional conservation plans....

Teletext--Prestel's Big Brother.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hughes, Geoffrey

Prestel, Oracle, and Ceefax are telephone based video text systems currently in use in Great Britain. Rather than being considered as competitors, they should be viewed as complementary media with separate functions based on their differences. All use home television sets to receive information in print, and all broadcast on spare TV lines in the…

CMOS Active Pixel Sensors for Low Power, Highly Miniaturized Imaging Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fossum, Eric R.

1996-01-01

The complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) active pixel sensor (APS) technology has been developed over the past three years by NASA at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and has reached a level of performance comparable to CCDs with greatly increased functionality but at a very reduced power level.

HUMAN GLYCERALDEHYDE 3-PHOSPHATE DEHYDROGENASE-2 (GAPD2) GENE IS EXPRESSED SPECIFICALLY IN SPERMATOGENIC CELLS

EPA Science Inventory

Although the process of glycolysis is highly conserved in eukaryotes, several glycolytic enzymes have unique structural or functional features in spermatogenic cells. We previously identified and characterized the mouse complementary DNA (cDNA) and a gene for 1 of these enzymes, ...

Height as a Basis for Interpersonal Attraction.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hensley, Wayne E.

1994-01-01

Findings from 594 college students indicated that, although complementary standard may be used in hypothetical date selection, actual height of chosen person was more likely to be made on step function. Found no dating consequences for female in height-related sense; taller males enjoyed dating advantage, although advantage seemed to diminish when…

40 CFR Appendix C to Part 191 - Guidance for Implementation of Subpart B

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... that the remaining probability distribution of cumulative releases would not be significantly changed... with § 191.13 into a “complementary cumulative distribution function” that indicates the probability of... distribution function for each disposal system considered. The Agency assumes that a disposal system can be...

40 CFR Appendix C to Part 191 - Guidance for Implementation of Subpart B

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... that the remaining probability distribution of cumulative releases would not be significantly changed... with § 191.13 into a “complementary cumulative distribution function” that indicates the probability of... distribution function for each disposal system considered. The Agency assumes that a disposal system can be...

Complementary Huygens Principle for Geometrical and Nongeometrical Optics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Luis, Alfredo

2007-01-01

We develop a fundamental principle depicting the generalized ray formulation of optics provided by the Wigner function. This principle is formally identical to the Huygens-Fresnel principle but in terms of opposite concepts, rays instead of waves, and incoherent superpositions instead of coherent ones. This ray picture naturally includes…

Manpower Theory and Policy and the Residual Occupational Elasticity of Substitution.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rostker, Bernard Daniel

By developing the short-run policy implications of a structurally disaggregated labor market, this study attempts to show that fiscal and manpower policies are complementary means to achieve full employment. Using a constant elasticity of substitution production function, the study demonstrates mathematically that the smaller the residual…

Functional Modification of Thioether Groups in Peptides, Polypeptides, and Proteins.

PubMed

Deming, Timothy J

2017-03-15

Recent developments in the modification of methionine and other thioether-containing residues in peptides, polypeptides, and proteins are reviewed. Properties and potential applications of the resulting functionalized products are also discussed. While much of this work is focused on natural Met residues, modifications at other side-chain residues have also emerged as new thioether-containing amino acids have been incorporated into peptidic materials. Functional modification of thioether-containing amino acids has many advantages and is a complementary methodology to the widely utilized methods for modification at cysteine residues.

The TGF-β Family in Caenorhabditis elegans

PubMed Central

Savage-Dunn, Cathy; Padgett, Richard W.

2017-01-01

Transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) and related ligands have potent effects on an enormous diversity of biological functions in all animals examined. Because of the strong conservation of TGF-β family ligand functions and signaling mechanisms, studies from multiple animal systems have yielded complementary and synergistic insights. In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, early studies were instrumental in the elucidation of TGF-β family signaling mechanisms. Current studies in C. elegans continue to identify new functions for the TGF-β family in this organism as well as new conserved mechanisms of regulation. PMID:28096268

Rise and fall of the two visual systems theory.

PubMed

Rossetti, Yves; Pisella, Laure; McIntosh, Robert D

2017-06-01

Among the many dissociations describing the visual system, the dual theory of two visual systems, respectively dedicated to perception and action, has yielded a lot of support. There are psychophysical, anatomical and neuropsychological arguments in favor of this theory. Several behavioral studies that used sensory and motor psychophysical parameters observed differences between perceptive and motor responses. The anatomical network of the visual system in the non-human primate was very readily organized according to two major pathways, dorsal and ventral. Neuropsychological studies, exploring optic ataxia and visual agnosia as characteristic deficits of these two pathways, led to the proposal of a functional double dissociation between visuomotor and visual perceptual functions. After a major wave of popularity that promoted great advances, particularly in knowledge of visuomotor functions, the guiding theory is now being reconsidered. Firstly, the idea of a double dissociation between optic ataxia and visual form agnosia, as cleanly separating visuomotor from visual perceptual functions, is no longer tenable; optic ataxia does not support a dissociation between perception and action and might be more accurately viewed as a negative image of action blindsight. Secondly, dissociations between perceptive and motor responses highlighted in the framework of this theory concern a very elementary level of action, even automatically guided action routines. Thirdly, the very rich interconnected network of the visual brain yields few arguments in favor of a strict perception/action dissociation. Overall, the dissociation between motor function and perceptive function explored by these behavioral and neuropsychological studies can help define an automatic level of action organization deficient in optic ataxia and preserved in action blindsight, and underlines the renewed need to consider the perception-action circle as a functional ensemble. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Real-space and real-time dynamics of CRISPR-Cas9 visualized by high-speed atomic force microscopy.

PubMed

Shibata, Mikihiro; Nishimasu, Hiroshi; Kodera, Noriyuki; Hirano, Seiichi; Ando, Toshio; Uchihashi, Takayuki; Nureki, Osamu

2017-11-10

The CRISPR-associated endonuclease Cas9 binds to a guide RNA and cleaves double-stranded DNA with a sequence complementary to the RNA guide. The Cas9-RNA system has been harnessed for numerous applications, such as genome editing. Here we use high-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM) to visualize the real-space and real-time dynamics of CRISPR-Cas9 in action. HS-AFM movies indicate that, whereas apo-Cas9 adopts unexpected flexible conformations, Cas9-RNA forms a stable bilobed structure and interrogates target sites on the DNA by three-dimensional diffusion. These movies also provide real-time visualization of the Cas9-mediated DNA cleavage process. Notably, the Cas9 HNH nuclease domain fluctuates upon DNA binding, and subsequently adopts an active conformation, where the HNH active site is docked at the cleavage site in the target DNA. Collectively, our HS-AFM data extend our understanding of the action mechanism of CRISPR-Cas9.

Proteomics in Traditional Chinese Medicine with an Emphasis on Alzheimer's Disease

PubMed Central

Sulistio, Yanuar Alan

2015-01-01

In recent years, there has been an increasing worldwide interest in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). This increasing demand for TCM needs to be accompanied by a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of action of TCM-based therapy. However, TCM is often described as a concept of Chinese philosophy, which is incomprehensible for Western medical society, thereby creating a gap between TCM and Western medicine (WM). In order to meet this challenge, TCM research has applied proteomics technologies for exploring the mechanisms of action of TCM treatment. Proteomics enables TCM researchers to oversee various pathways that are affected by treatment, as well as the dynamics of their interactions with one another. This review discusses the utility of comparative proteomics to better understand how TCM treatment may be used as a complementary therapy for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Additionally, we review the data from comparative AD-related TCM proteomics studies and establish the relevance of the data with available AD hypotheses, most notably regarding the ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS). PMID:26557146

Wastewater disinfection by peracetic acid: assessment of models for tracking residual measurements and inactivation.

PubMed

Santoro, Domenico; Gehr, Ronald; Bartrand, Timothy A; Liberti, Lorenzo; Notarnicola, Michele; Dell'Erba, Adele; Falsanisi, Dario; Haas, Charles N

2007-07-01

With its potential for low (if any) disinfection byproduct formation and easy retrofit for chlorine contactors, peracetic acid (PAA) or use of PAA in combination with other disinfectant technologies may be an attractive alternative to chlorine-based disinfection. Examples of systems that might benefit from use of PAA are water reuse schemes or plants discharging to sensitive receiving water bodies. Though PAA is in use in numerous wastewater treatment plants in Europe, its chemical kinetics, microbial inactivation rates, and mode of action against microorganisms are not thoroughly understood. This paper presents results from experimental studies of PAA demand, PAA decay, and microbial inactivation, with a complementary modeling analysis. Model results are used to evaluate techniques for measurement of PAA concentration and to develop hypotheses regarding the mode of action of PAA in bacterial inactivation. Kinetic and microbial inactivation rate data were collected for typical wastewaters and may be useful for engineers in evaluating whether to convert from chlorine to PAA disinfection.

Seeing in 3-D: examining the reach of diabetes self-management support strategies in a public health care system.

PubMed

Schillinger, Dean; Hammer, Hali; Wang, Frances; Palacios, Jorge; McLean, Ivonne; Tang, Audrey; Youmans, Sharon; Handley, Margaret

2008-10-01

The authors examined whether tailored self-management support (SMS) strategies reach patients in a safety net system and explored variation by language, literacy, and insurance. English-, Spanish-, and Cantonese-speaking diabetes patients were randomized to weekly automated telephone disease management (ATDM) or monthly group medical visits. The SMS programs employ distinct communication methods but share common objectives, including behavioral "action plans." Reach was measured using three complementary dimensions: (a) participation among clinics, clinicians, and patients; (b) patient representativeness; and (c) patient engagement with SMS. Participation rates were high across all levels and preferentially attracted Spanish-language speakers, uninsured, and Medicaid recipients. Although both programs engaged a significant proportion in action planning, ATDM yielded higher engagement, especially among those with limited English proficiency and limited literacy. These results provide important insights for health communication and translational research with respect to realizing the public health benefits of SMS and can inform system-level planning to reduce health disparities.

On trying something new: effort and practice in psychoanalytic change.

PubMed

Power, D G

2000-07-01

This paper describes one of the ingredients of successful psychoanalytic change: the necessity for the analysand to actively attempt altered patterns of thinking, behaving, feeling, and relating outside of the analytic relationship. When successful, such self-initiated attempts at change are founded on insight and experience gained in the transference and constitute a crucial step in the consolidation and transfer of therapeutic gains. The analytic literature related to this aspect of therapeutic action is reviewed, including the work of Freud, Bader, Rangell, Renik, Valenstein, and Wheelis. Recent interest in the complex and complementary relationship between action and increased self-understanding as it unfolds in the analytic setting is extended beyond the consulting room to include the analysand's extra-analytic attempts to initiate change. Contemporary views of the relationship between praxis and self-knowledge are discussed and offered as theoretical support for broadening analytic technique to include greater attention to the analysand's efforts at implementing therapeutic gains. Case vignettes are presented.

Multiplexing using synchrony in the zebrafish olfactory bulb.

PubMed

Friedrich, Rainer W; Habermann, Christopher J; Laurent, Gilles

2004-08-01

In the olfactory bulb (OB) of zebrafish and other species, odors evoke fast oscillatory population activity and specific firing rate patterns across mitral cells (MCs). This activity evolves over a few hundred milliseconds from the onset of the odor stimulus. Action potentials of odor-specific MC subsets phase-lock to the oscillation, defining small and distributed ensembles within the MC population output. We found that oscillatory field potentials in the zebrafish OB propagate across the OB in waves. Phase-locked MC action potentials, however, were synchronized without a time lag. Firing rate patterns across MCs analyzed with low temporal resolution were informative about odor identity. When the sensitivity for phase-locked spiking was increased, activity patterns became progressively more informative about odor category. Hence, information about complementary stimulus features is conveyed simultaneously by the same population of neurons and can be retrieved selectively by biologically plausible mechanisms, indicating that seemingly alternative coding strategies operating on different time scales may coexist.

Anti-inflammatory activity of Bromelia hieronymi: comparison with bromelain.

PubMed

Errasti, María E; Caffini, Néstor O; Pelzer, Lilian E; Rotelli, Alejandra E

2013-03-01

Some plant proteases (e. g., papain, bromelain, ficin) have been used as anti-inflammatory agents for some years, and especially bromelain is still being used as alternative and/or complementary therapy to glucocorticoids, nonsteroidal antirheumatics, and immunomodulators. Bromelain is an extract rich in cysteine endopeptidases obtained from Ananas comosus. In this study the anti-inflammatory action of a partially purified extract of Bromelia hieronymi fruits, whose main components are cysteine endopeptidases, is presented. Different doses of a partially purified extract of B. hieronymi were assayed on carrageenan-induced and serotonine-induced rat paw edema, as well as in cotton pellet granuloma model. Doses with equal proteolytic activity of the partially purified extract and bromelain showed significantly similar anti-inflammatory responses. Treatment of the partially purified extract and bromelain with E-64 provoked loss of anti-inflammatory activity on carrageenan-induced paw edema, a fact which is consistent with the hypothesis that the proteolytic activity would be responsible for the anti-inflammatory action. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Strong-field dynamo action in rapidly rotating convection with no inertia.

PubMed

Hughes, David W; Cattaneo, Fausto

2016-06-01

The earth's magnetic field is generated by dynamo action driven by convection in the outer core. For numerical reasons, inertial and viscous forces play an important role in geodynamo models; however, the primary dynamical balance in the earth's core is believed to be between buoyancy, Coriolis, and magnetic forces. The hope has been that by setting the Ekman number to be as small as computationally feasible, an asymptotic regime would be reached in which the correct force balance is achieved. However, recent analyses of geodynamo models suggest that the desired balance has still not yet been attained. Here we adopt a complementary approach consisting of a model of rapidly rotating convection in which inertial forces are neglected from the outset. Within this framework we are able to construct a branch of solutions in which the dynamo generates a strong magnetic field that satisfies the expected force balance. The resulting strongly magnetized convection is dramatically different from the corresponding solutions in which the field is weak.

Is selective attention the basis for selective imitation in infants? An eye-tracking study of deferred imitation with 12-month-olds.

PubMed

Kolling, Thorsten; Oturai, Gabriella; Knopf, Monika

2014-08-01

Infants and children do not blindly copy every action they observe during imitation tasks. Research demonstrated that infants are efficient selective imitators. The impact of selective perceptual processes (selective attention) for selective deferred imitation, however, is still poorly described. The current study, therefore, analyzed 12-month-old infants' looking behavior during demonstration of two types of target actions: arbitrary versus functional actions. A fully automated remote eye tracker was used to assess infants' looking behavior during action demonstration. After a 30-min delay, infants' deferred imitation performance was assessed. Next to replicating a memory effect, results demonstrate that infants do imitate significantly more functional actions than arbitrary actions (functionality effect). Eye-tracking data show that whereas infants do not fixate significantly longer on functional actions than on arbitrary actions, amount of fixations and amount of saccades differ between functional and arbitrary actions, indicating different encoding mechanisms. In addition, item-level findings differ from overall findings, indicating that perceptual and conceptual item features influence looking behavior. Looking behavior on both the overall and item levels, however, does not relate to deferred imitation performance. Taken together, the findings demonstrate that, on the one hand, selective imitation is not explainable merely by selective attention processes. On the other hand, notwithstanding this reasoning, attention processes on the item level are important for encoding processes during target action demonstration. Limitations and future studies are discussed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Impact of action primes on implicit processing of thematic and functional similarity relations: evidence from eye-tracking.

PubMed

Pluciennicka, Ewa; Wamain, Yannick; Coello, Yann; Kalénine, Solène

2016-07-01

The aim of this study was to specify the role of action representations in thematic and functional similarity relations between manipulable artifact objects. Recent behavioral and neurophysiological evidence indicates that while they are all relevant for manipulable artifact concepts, semantic relations based on thematic (e.g., saw-wood), specific function similarity (e.g., saw-axe), and general function similarity (e.g., saw-knife) are differently processed, and may relate to different levels of action representation. Point-light displays of object-related actions previously encoded at the gesture level (e.g., "sawing") or at the higher level of action representation (e.g., "cutting") were used as primes before participants identified target objects (e.g., saw) among semantically related and unrelated distractors (e.g., wood, feather, piano). Analysis of eye movements on the different objects during target identification informed about the amplitude and the timing of implicit activation of the different semantic relations. Results showed that action prime encoding impacted the processing of thematic relations, but not that of functional similarity relations. Semantic competition with thematic distractors was greater and earlier following action primes encoded at the gesture level compared to action primes encoded at higher level. As a whole, these findings highlight the direct influence of action representations on thematic relation processing, and suggest that thematic relations involve gesture-level representations rather than intention-level representations.

Glycoprotein Ibα receptor instability is associated with loss of quality in platelets produced in culture.

PubMed

Robert, Amélie; Boyer, Lucie; Pineault, Nicolas

2011-03-01

The development of culture processes for hematopoietic progenitors could lead to the development of a complementary source of platelets for therapeutic purposes. However, functional characterization of culture-derived platelets remains limited, which raises some uncertainties about the quality of platelets produced in vitro. The aim of this study was to define the proportion of functional platelets produced in cord blood CD34+ cell cultures. Toward this, the morphological and functional properties of culture-derived platelet-like particles (PLPs) were critically compared to that of blood platelets. Flow cytometry combined with transmission electron microscopy analyses revealed that PLPs formed a more heterogeneous population of platelets at a different stage of maturation than blood platelets. The majority of PLPs harbored the fibrinogen receptor αIIbβ3, but a significant proportion failed to maintain glycoprotein (GP)Ibα surface expression, a component of the vWF receptor essential for platelet functions. Importantly, GPIbα extracellular expression correlated closely with platelet function, as the GPIIb+ GPIbα+ PLP subfraction responded normally to agonist stimulation as evidenced by α-granule release, adhesion, spreading, and aggregation. In contrast, the GPIIb+ GPIbα⁻ subfraction was unresponsive in most functional assays and appeared to be metabolically inactive. The present study confirms that functional platelets can be generated in cord blood CD34+ cell cultures, though these are highly susceptible to ectodomain shedding of receptors associated with loss of function. Optimization of culture conditions to prevent these deleterious effects and to homogenize PLPs is necessary to improve the quality and yields of culture-derived platelets before they can be recognized as a suitable complementary source for therapeutic purposes.

Herbal remedies and functional foods used by cancer patients attending specialty oncology clinics in Trinidad.

PubMed

Clement, Yuri N; Mahase, Varune; Jagroop, Annelise; Kissoon, Kelly; Maharaj, Aarti; Mathura, Prashant; Quan, Chrys Mc; Ramadhin, Divya; Mohammed, Cherrista

2016-10-21

Cancer is a major disease worldwide, and many patients use complementary and alternative treatments. The purpose of this study was to identify the herbal remedies and functional foods used as complementary medicine by prostate, breast and colorectal cancer patients at speciality care facilities in Trinidad. We also sought to determine how patients rated the efficacy of these modalities compared with conventional treatment. A descriptive, cross-sectional survey was conducted using an interviewer-administered pilot-tested de novo questionnaire during the period June to August 2012 at two speciality treatment centres on the island. Data was analysed using χ 2 analyses. Among the 150 patients who reported use of herbal remedies/functional foods, soursop (Annona muricata L.) was the most popular; with 80.7 % using the leaves, bark, fruit and seeds on a regular basis. Other common herbal remedies/functional foods included wheatgrass (Triticum aestivum L.), saffron (Crocus sativus L.) and Aloe vera (L.) Burm. f. The most commonly used functional foods were beetroot (Beta vulgaris L.), carrots (Daucus carata L.) and papaya (Carica papaya L.) used by 43.3 % of patients; and these were mostly blended as a mixture. Herbal remedies and functional foods were used on a daily basis and patients believed that this modality was equally (32.0 %) or more efficacious (14.7 %) than conventional treatment. This survey identified the most common herbal remedies and functional foods used among prostate, breast and colorectal cancer patients in Trinidad. Although functional foods rarely pose a problem, herbs may interact with conventional chemotherapy and physicians need to inform patients regarding probable herb-drug interactions.

Quantum identities for the action

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gozzi, E.

2018-04-01

In this paper we derive various identities involving the action functional which enters the path-integral formulation of quantum mechanics. They provide some kind of generalisations of the Ehrenfest theorem giving correlations between powers of the action and its functional derivatives.

Relations between 18-month-olds' gaze pattern and target action performance: a deferred imitation study with eye tracking.

PubMed

Óturai, Gabriella; Kolling, Thorsten; Knopf, Monika

2013-12-01

Deferred imitation studies are used to assess infants' declarative memory performance. These studies have found that deferred imitation performance improves with age, which is usually attributed to advancing memory capabilities. Imitation studies, however, are also used to assess infants' action understanding. In this second research program it has been observed that infants around the age of one year imitate selectively, i.e., they imitate certain kinds of target actions and omit others. In contrast to this, two-year-olds usually imitate the model's exact actions. 18-month-olds imitate more exactly than one-year-olds, but more selectively than two-year-olds, a fact which makes this age group especially interesting, since the processes underlying selective vs. exact imitation are largely debated. The question, for example, if selective attention to certain kinds of target actions accounts for preferential imitation of these actions in young infants is still open. Additionally, relations between memory capabilities and selective imitation processes, as well as their role in shaping 18-month-olds' neither completely selective, nor completely exact imitation have not been thoroughly investigated yet. The present study, therefore, assessed 18-month-olds' gaze toward two types of actions (functional vs. arbitrary target actions) and the model's face during target action demonstration, as well as infants' deferred imitation performance. Although infants' fixation times to functional target actions were not longer than to arbitrary target actions, they imitated the functional target actions more frequently than the arbitrary ones. This suggests that selective imitation does not rely on selective gaze toward functional target actions during the demonstration phase. In addition, a post hoc analysis of interindividual differences suggested that infants' attention to the model's social-communicative cues might play an important role in exact imitation, meaning the imitation of both functional and arbitrary target actions. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Frequency-Domain Characterization of Optic Flow and Vision-Based Ocellar Sensing for Rotational Motion

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-04-01

complementary fusion: Fourth-order Butterworth filter was used to high -pass ocelli and low-pass optic flow. The normalized cutoff frequency had to be kept...information introduced by luminance change. The high - frequency cutoff was added to reject the flickering noise for indoor usage. The filtered signals from the...function of the low- pass filter is to attenuate high - frequency noise. The final band-pass filter transfer function is in Eq. 2. (()

Multi-scale Functional and Molecular Photoacoustic Tomography

PubMed Central

Yao, Junjie; Xia, Jun; Wang, Lihong V.

2015-01-01

Photoacoustic tomography (PAT) combines rich optical absorption contrast with the high spatial resolution of ultrasound at depths in tissue. The high scalability of PAT has enabled anatomical imaging of biological structures ranging from organelles to organs. The inherent functional and molecular imaging capabilities of PAT have further allowed it to measure important physiological parameters and track critical cellular activities. Integration of PAT with other imaging technologies provides complementary capabilities and can potentially accelerate the clinical translation of PAT. PMID:25933617

Improving information retrieval in functional analysis.

PubMed

Rodriguez, Juan C; González, Germán A; Fresno, Cristóbal; Llera, Andrea S; Fernández, Elmer A

2016-12-01

Transcriptome analysis is essential to understand the mechanisms regulating key biological processes and functions. The first step usually consists of identifying candidate genes; to find out which pathways are affected by those genes, however, functional analysis (FA) is mandatory. The most frequently used strategies for this purpose are Gene Set and Singular Enrichment Analysis (GSEA and SEA) over Gene Ontology. Several statistical methods have been developed and compared in terms of computational efficiency and/or statistical appropriateness. However, whether their results are similar or complementary, the sensitivity to parameter settings, or possible bias in the analyzed terms has not been addressed so far. Here, two GSEA and four SEA methods and their parameter combinations were evaluated in six datasets by comparing two breast cancer subtypes with well-known differences in genetic background and patient outcomes. We show that GSEA and SEA lead to different results depending on the chosen statistic, model and/or parameters. Both approaches provide complementary results from a biological perspective. Hence, an Integrative Functional Analysis (IFA) tool is proposed to improve information retrieval in FA. It provides a common gene expression analytic framework that grants a comprehensive and coherent analysis. Only a minimal user parameter setting is required, since the best SEA/GSEA alternatives are integrated. IFA utility was demonstrated by evaluating four prostate cancer and the TCGA breast cancer microarray datasets, which showed its biological generalization capabilities. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Glutamine 57 at the complementary binding site face is a key determinant of morantel selectivity for {alpha}7 nicotinic receptors.

PubMed

Bartos, Mariana; Price, Kerry L; Lummis, Sarah C R; Bouzat, Cecilia

2009-08-07

Nicotinic receptors (AChRs) play key roles in synaptic transmission. We explored activation of neuronal alpha7 and mammalian muscle AChRs by morantel and oxantel. Our results revealed a novel action of morantel as a high efficacy and more potent agonist than ACh of alpha7 receptors. The EC(50) for activation by morantel of both alpha7 and alpha7-5HT(3A) receptors is 7-fold lower than that determined for ACh. The minimum morantel concentration required to activate alpha7-5HT(3A) channels is 6-fold lower than that of ACh, and activation episodes are more prolonged than in the presence of ACh. By contrast, oxantel is a weak agonist of alpha7 and alpha7-5HT(3A), and both drugs are very low efficacy agonists of muscle AChRs. The replacement of Gln(57) in alpha7 by glycine, which is found in the equivalent position of the muscle AChR, decreases the efficacy for activation and turns morantel into a partial agonist. The reverse mutation in the muscle AChR (epsilonG57Q) increases 7-fold the efficacy of morantel. The mutations do not affect activation by ACh or oxantel, indicating that this position is selective for morantel. In silico studies show that the tetrahydropyrimidinyl group, common to both drugs, is close to Trp(149) of the principal face of the binding site, whereas the other cyclic group is proximal to Gln(57) of the complementary face in morantel but not in oxantel. Thus, position 57 at the complementary face is a key determinant of the high selectivity of morantel for alpha7. These results provide new information for further progress in drug design.

Evaluation of the Effectiveness of a Multimodal Complementary Medicine Program for Improving the Quality of Life of Cancer Patients during Adjuvant Radiotherapy and/or Chemotherapy or Outpatient Aftercare.

PubMed

Domnick, Martin; Domnick, Manju; Wiebelitz, Karl-Rüdiger; Beer, André-Michael

2017-01-01

Evidence for complementary therapies as important strategies to relieve cancer treatment-associated symptoms is increasing. Mostly, these complementary therapies start at the end of adjuvant treatments, resulting in a long delay until the well-being of patients is addressed. Further, long distances between the rehabilitation center and the patients' residence hinder patients' compliance. The multimodal outpatient LOTUS Care Cure Project (LCCP) was tested in a randomized controlled trial including patients of various cancer entities and stages while on adjuvant chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy or outpatient aftercare. The intervention group received the LCCP additionally to the conventional treatment (LCCP group, n = 50). The control group (CG) was split into 2 groups, with (CG1, n = 33) and without (CG2, n = 17) weekly talks. The primary endpoint was quality of life (QoL) after 3 months. In the LCCP group, QoL significantly improved after 3 months compared to CG2 (p = 0.022) but not compared to CG1. Other parameters showing a significant improvement were cognitive (p < 0.05, vs. CG1 and CG2) and social function (p < 0.05, vs. CG2). This pilot study describes a multimodal outpatient complementary therapy program conducted in parallel with conventional therapies and its potential to significantly improve QoL and reduce treatment-associated side effects. To substantiate these data, multicenter trials are needed. © 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel.

The field effect transistor DNA biosensor based on ITO nanowires in label-free hepatitis B virus detecting compatible with CMOS technology.

PubMed

Shariati, Mohsen

2018-05-15

In this paper the field-effect transistor DNA biosensor for detecting hepatitis B virus (HBV) based on indium tin oxide nanowires (ITO NWs) in label free approach has been fabricated. Because of ITO nanowires intensive conductance and functional modified surface, the probe immobilization and target hybridization were increased strongly. The high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) measurement showed that ITO nanowires were crystalline and less than 50nm in diameter. The single-stranded hepatitis B virus DNA (SS-DNA) was immobilized as probe on the Au-modified nanowires. The DNA targets were measured in a linear concentration range from 1fM to 10µM. The detection limit of the DNA biosensor was about 1fM. The time of the hybridization process for defined single strand was 90min. The switching ratio of the biosensor between "on" and "off" state was ~ 1.1 × 10 5 . For sensing the specificity of the biosensor, non-complementary, mismatch and complementary DNA oligonucleotide sequences were clearly discriminated. The HBV biosensor confirmed the highly satisfied specificity for differentiating complementary sequences from non-complementary and the mismatch oligonucleotides. The response time of the DNA sensor was 37s with a high reproducibility. The stability and repeatability of the DNA biosensor showed that the peak current of the biosensor retained 98% and 96% of its initial response for measurements after three and five weeks, respectively. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Influence of pendant chiral C(γ)-(alkylideneamino/guanidino) cationic side-chains of PNA backbone on hybridization with complementary DNA/RNA and cell permeability.

PubMed

Jain, Deepak R; Anandi V, Libi; Lahiri, Mayurika; Ganesh, Krishna N

2014-10-17

Intrinsically cationic and chiral C(γ)-substituted peptide nucleic acid (PNA) analogues have been synthesized in the form of γ(S)-ethyleneamino (eam)- and γ(S)-ethyleneguanidino (egd)-PNA with two carbon spacers from the backbone. The relative stabilization (ΔTm) of duplexes from modified cationic PNAs as compared to 2-aminoethylglycyl (aeg)-PNA is better with complementary DNA (PNA:DNA) than with complementary RNA (PNA:RNA). Inherently, PNA:RNA duplexes have higher stability than PNA:DNA duplexes, and the guanidino PNAs are superior to amino PNAs. The cationic PNAs were found to be specific toward their complementary DNA target as seen from their significantly lower binding with DNA having single base mismatch. The differential binding avidity of cationic PNAs was assessed by the displacement of DNA duplex intercalated ethidium bromide and gel electrophoresis. The live cell imaging of amino/guanidino PNAs demonstrated their ability to penetrate the cell membrane in 3T3 and MCF-7 cells, and cationic PNAs were found to be accumulated in the vicinity of the nuclear membrane in the cytoplasm. Fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS) analysis of cell permeability showed the efficiency to be dependent upon the nature of cationic functional group, with guanidino PNAs being better than the amino PNAs in both cell lines. The results are useful to design new biofunctional cationic PNA analogues that not only bind RNA better but also show improved cell permeability.

Charge injection engineering of ambipolar field-effect transistors for high-performance organic complementary circuits.

PubMed

Baeg, Kang-Jun; Kim, Juhwan; Khim, Dongyoon; Caironi, Mario; Kim, Dong-Yu; You, In-Kyu; Quinn, Jordan R; Facchetti, Antonio; Noh, Yong-Young

2011-08-01

Ambipolar π-conjugated polymers may provide inexpensive large-area manufacturing of complementary integrated circuits (CICs) without requiring micro-patterning of the individual p- and n-channel semiconductors. However, current-generation ambipolar semiconductor-based CICs suffer from higher static power consumption, low operation frequencies, and degraded noise margins compared to complementary logics based on unipolar p- and n-channel organic field-effect transistors (OFETs). Here, we demonstrate a simple methodology to control charge injection and transport in ambipolar OFETs via engineering of the electrical contacts. Solution-processed caesium (Cs) salts, as electron-injection and hole-blocking layers at the interface between semiconductors and charge injection electrodes, significantly decrease the gold (Au) work function (∼4.1 eV) compared to that of a pristine Au electrode (∼4.7 eV). By controlling the electrode surface chemistry, excellent p-channel (hole mobility ∼0.1-0.6 cm(2)/(Vs)) and n-channel (electron mobility ∼0.1-0.3 cm(2)/(Vs)) OFET characteristics with the same semiconductor are demonstrated. Most importantly, in these OFETs the counterpart charge carrier currents are highly suppressed for depletion mode operation (I(off) < 70 nA when I(on) > 0.1-0.2 mA). Thus, high-performance, truly complementary inverters (high gain >50 and high noise margin >75% of ideal value) and ring oscillators (oscillation frequency ∼12 kHz) based on a solution-processed ambipolar polymer are demonstrated.

Mechanisms by which cocoa flavanols improve metabolic syndrome and related disorders.

PubMed

Strat, Karen M; Rowley, Thomas J; Smithson, Andrew T; Tessem, Jeffery S; Hulver, Matthew W; Liu, Dongmin; Davy, Brenda M; Davy, Kevin P; Neilson, Andrew P

2016-09-01

Dietary administration of cocoa flavanols may be an effective complementary strategy for alleviation or prevention of metabolic syndrome, particularly glucose intolerance. The complex flavanol composition of cocoa provides the ability to interact with a variety of molecules, thus allowing numerous opportunities to ameliorate metabolic diseases. These interactions likely occur primarily in the gastrointestinal tract, where native cocoa flavanol concentration is high. Flavanols may antagonize digestive enzymes and glucose transporters, causing a reduction in glucose excursion, which helps patients with metabolic disorders maintain glucose homeostasis. Unabsorbed flavanols, and ones that undergo enterohepatic recycling, will proceed to the colon where they can exert prebiotic effects on the gut microbiota. Interactions with the gut microbiota may improve gut barrier function, resulting in attenuated endotoxin absorption. Cocoa may also positively influence insulin signaling, possibly by relieving insulin-signaling pathways from oxidative stress and inflammation and/or via a heightened incretin response. The purpose of this review is to explore the mechanisms that underlie these outcomes, critically review the current body of literature related to those mechanisms, explore the implications of these mechanisms for therapeutic utility, and identify emerging or needed areas of research that could advance our understanding of the mechanisms of action and therapeutic potential of cocoa flavanols. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Montmorillonite nanodevices for the colon metronidazole delivery.

PubMed

Calabrese, Ilaria; Cavallaro, Gennara; Scialabba, Cinzia; Licciardi, Mariano; Merli, Marcello; Sciascia, Luciana; Turco Liveri, Maria Liria

2013-11-30

The adsorption profiles of the antibiotic metronidazole (MNE) into the K10-montmorillonite (MMT-K10) clay and the subsequent release have been investigated as a function of pH and MNE/MMT-K10 ratio, in order to evaluate the potential of the MNE/MMT-K10 hybrids as controlled drug delivery system. The adsorption mechanism has been first elucidated by performing complementary equilibrium and kinetic studies and through the X-ray diffractometry (XRD) characterization of the obtained composite materials. The gathered results allowed us to propose a mechanism consisting of a multi-step pathway involving the neutral and the cationic form of the drug, which interact with different sites of the clay surfaces, i.e. the interlayer region and the faces of the lamella. In a second step the drug release kinetics has been studied under physiological pH mimicking conditions simulating the oral drug administration and delivery. For the sake of comparison the commercial formulation has also been employed for the release studies. The investigation of the release profiles and the comparison with the commercial formulation of the drug reveal that the new-tailor made formulation could be fruitful exploited for successfully prolonged the action of drug in the desired site. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Molecular characterization and localization of the first tyramine receptor of the American cockroach (Periplaneta americana).

PubMed

Rotte, C; Krach, C; Balfanz, S; Baumann, A; Walz, B; Blenau, W

2009-09-15

The phenolamines octopamine and tyramine control, regulate, and modulate many physiological and behavioral processes in invertebrates. Vertebrates possess only small amounts of both substances, and thus, octopamine and tyramine, together with other biogenic amines, are referred to as "trace amines." Biogenic amines evoke cellular responses by activating G-protein-coupled receptors. We have isolated a complementary DNA (cDNA) that encodes a biogenic amine receptor from the American cockroach Periplaneta americana, viz., Peatyr1, which shares high sequence similarity to members of the invertebrate tyramine-receptor family. The PeaTYR1 receptor was stably expressed in human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells, and its ligand response has been examined. Receptor activation with tyramine reduces adenylyl cyclase activity in a dose-dependent manner (EC(50) approximately 350 nM). The inhibitory effect of tyramine is abolished by co-incubation with either yohimbine or chlorpromazine. Receptor expression has been investigated by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and immunocytochemistry. The mRNA is present in various tissues including brain, salivary glands, midgut, Malpighian tubules, and leg muscles. The effect of tyramine on salivary gland acinar cells has been investigated by intracellular recordings, which have revealed excitatory presynaptic actions of tyramine. This study marks the first comprehensive molecular, pharmacological, and functional characterization of a tyramine receptor in the cockroach.

Ruanjian Sanjie decoction exhibits antitumor activity by inducing cell apoptosis in breast cancer.

PubMed

Zhao, Xiumei; Zhao, Jing; Hu, Renjie; Yao, Qiang; Zhang, Guixian; Shen, Hongsheng; Yagüe, Ernesto; Hu, Yunhui

2017-05-01

Traditional Chinese medicine, based on theories developed and practiced for >2,000 years, is one of the most common complementary and alternative types of medicine currently used in the treatment of patients with breast cancer. Ruanjian Sanjie (RJSJ) decoction, is composed of four herbs, including Ban xia (Pinellia ternata), Xia ku cao (Prunella vulgaris), Shan ci gu (Cremastra appendiculata) and Hai zao (Sargassum pallidum), and has traditionally been used for softening hard lumps and resolving hard tissue masses. However, the active compounds and mechanisms of action of RJSJ remain unknown. The present study demonstrated the antitumor activity of RJSJ against Ehrlich ascites carcinoma in Swiss albino mice and breast cancer xenografts in nude mice. Notably, RJSJ does not induce body weight loss, immune function toxicity or myelosuppression in mice, indicating that it is safe and well tolerated. In addition, RJSJ shows potent cytotoxicity against breast cancer cells in vitro by the suppression of the anti-apoptotic proteins B-cell lymphoma 2 and survivin, leading to the activation of caspase-3/7 and caspase-9, and the apoptotic cascade. These findings provide a clear rationale to explore the therapeutic strategy of using RJSJ alone or in combination with chemotherapeutic agents for breast cancer patients and the characterization of its active principles.

Changing the Future of Obesity: Science, Policy and Action

PubMed Central

Gortmaker, Steven L; Swinburn, Boyd; Levy, David; Carter, Rob; Mabry, Patricia L.; Finegood, Diane; Huang, Terry; Marsh, Tim; Moodie, Marj

2011-01-01

The global obesity epidemic has been on the rise for four decades, yet sustained prevention efforts have barely begun. An emerging science using quantitative models has provided key insights into the dynamics of this epidemic, and made it possible to combine different pieces of evidence and calculate the impact of behaviors, interventions and policies at multiple levels – from person to population. Forecasts indicate large effects of high levels of obesity on future population health and economic outcomes. Energy gap models have quantified the relationships of changes in energy intake and expenditure to weight change, and documented the dominant role of increasing intake on obesity prevalence. The empirical evidence base for effective interventions is limited but growing. Several cost-effective policies are identified that governments should prioritize for implementation. Systems science provides a framework for organizing the complexity of forces driving the obesity epidemic and has important implications for policy-makers. Multiple players (including governments, international organizations, the private sector, and civil society) need to contribute complementary actions in a coordinated approach. Priority actions include policies to improve the food and built environments, cross-cutting actions (such as leadership, health-in-all policies, and monitoring), and much greater funding for prevention programs. Increased investment in population obesity monitoring would improve the accuracy of forecasts and evaluations. Embedding actions within existing systems in both health and non-health sectors (trade, agriculture, transport, urban planning, development) can greatly increase impact and sustainability. We call for a sustained worldwide effort to monitor, prevent and control obesity. PMID:21872752

The Sustainability Cycle and Loop: models for a more unified understanding of sustainability.

PubMed

Hay, Laura; Duffy, Alex; Whitfield, R I

2014-01-15

In spite of the considerable research on sustainability, reports suggest that we are barely any closer to a more sustainable society. As such, there is an urgent need to improve the effectiveness of human efforts towards sustainability. A clearer and more unified understanding of sustainability among different people and sectors could help to facilitate this. This paper presents the results of an inductive literature investigation, aiming to develop models to explain the nature of sustainability in the Earth system, and how humans can effectively strive for it. The major contributions are two general and complementary models, that may be applied in any context to provide a common basis for understanding sustainability: the Sustainability Cycle (S-Cycle), and the Sustainability Loop (S-Loop). Literature spanning multiple sectors is examined from the perspective of three concepts, emerging as significant in relation to our aim. Systems are shown to provide the context for human action towards sustainability, and the nature of the Earth system and its sub-systems is explored. Activities are outlined as a fundamental target that humans need to sustain, since they produce the entities both needed and desired by society. The basic behaviour of activities operating in the Earth system is outlined. Finally, knowledge is positioned as the driver of human action towards sustainability, and the key components of knowledge involved are examined. The S-Cycle and S-Loop models are developed via a process of induction from the reviewed literature. The S-Cycle describes the operation of activities in a system from the perspective of sustainability. The sustainability of activities in a system depends upon the availability of resources, and the availability of resources depends upon the rate that activities consume and produce them. Humans may intervene in these dynamics via an iterative process of interpretation and action, described in the S-Loop model. The models are briefly applied to a system described in the literature. It is shown that the S-Loop may be used to guide efforts towards sustainability in a particular system of interest, by prescribing the basic activities involved. The S-Cycle may be applied complementary to the S-Loop, to support the interpretation of activity behaviour described in the latter. Given their general nature, the models provide the basis for a more unified understanding of sustainability. It is hoped that their use may go some way towards improving the effectiveness of human action towards sustainability. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Functional studies of RYR1 mutations in the skeletal muscle ryanodine receptor using human RYR1 complementary DNA.

PubMed

Sato, Keisaku; Pollock, Neil; Stowell, Kathryn M

2010-06-01

Malignant hyperthermia is associated with mutations within the gene encoding the skeletal muscle ryanodine receptor, the calcium channel that releases Ca from sarcoplasmic reticulum stores triggering muscle contraction, and other metabolic activities. More than 200 variants have been identified in the ryanodine receptor, but only some of these have been shown to functionally affect the calcium channel. To implement genetic testing for malignant hyperthermia, variants must be shown to alter the function of the channel. A number of different ex vivo methods can be used to demonstrate functionality, as long as cells from human patients can be obtained and cultured from at least two unrelated families. Because malignant hyperthermia is an uncommon disorder and many variants seem to be private, including the newly identified H4833Y mutation, these approaches are limited. The authors cloned the human skeletal muscle ryanodine receptor complementary DNA and expressed both normal and mutated forms in HEK-293 cells and carried out functional analysis using ryanodine binding assays in the presence of a specific agonist, 4-chloro-m-cresol, and the antagonist Mg. Transiently expressed human ryanodine receptor proteins colocalized with an endoplasmic reticulum marker in HEK-293 cells. Ryanodine binding assays confirmed that mutations causing malignant hyperthermia resulted in a hypersensitive channel, while those causing central core disease resulted in a hyposensitive channel. The functional assays validate recombinant human skeletal muscle ryanodine receptor for analysis of variants and add an additional mutation (H4833Y) to the repertoire of mutations that can be used for the genetic diagnosis of malignant hyperthermia.

Protecting drinkable water: an analysis of action plans and stakeholders' networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gascuel-Odoux, Chantal; Menard, Marjorie

2015-04-01

Since WFD the policy for protecting drinkable water has been enhanced in France. This policy establish the main components and the different steps for protecting drinkable water, and ask for defining and implementing an action plan for each contributing catchment. Despite ambitious objectives, the local implementation is difficult. Firstly there is a high diversity of stakeholders involved with local authorities, which are mainly: water agencies, agricultural chambers and consultants, authorities at regional and departmental levels. Most of the local authorities do not feel qualified enough for carrying out such a policy, as they are not really used to deal with technical and political issues related to agricultural diffuse pollutions. As a consequence assessed action plans are based on regulation and/or agri-environmental measures. More ambitious and complementary measures can be included, but without any support measure nor accurate objectives for their implementation. In the end, action plans reflect more a formal implementation of protection approaches than a search for efficiency by defining ambitious measures and the setting-up a consistent support scheme. The way stakeholders' networks mobilize knowledge have been analyzed based on ten case studies located in three different regions. Three local authorities profiles are defined: (1) the "passive" ones, not really convinced of the necessity to undertake actions against diffuse pollutions and/or having low level of knowledge to support local reflexion, that delegate project management; (2) the local authorities that support local protection approach but that, for different reasons, do not search for an effective action plan, and that only consider an improvement approach; (3) the local authorities that more rarely, aim at efficient actions, motivated by the urgent need of action for preserving threatened resources. According to these profiles, local authorities and their project coordinators will be looking for, more or less actively, mobilizing stakeholders' networks and knowledge that enable to build a strategic management. Reciprocally, institutional stakeholders push for more formal or demanding approaches, with most of the time low level of knowledge that could objectivize the relevance of action plans. This analysis contributes to help some key stakeholders, particularly local authorities, in building more efficient action plans.

The functional organization of preschool-age children's emotion expressions and actions in challenging situations.

PubMed

Dennis, Tracy A; Cole, Pamela M; Wiggins, Crystal N; Cohen, Laura H; Zalewski, Maureen

2009-08-01

Although functional links between emotion and action are implied in emotion regulation research, there is limited evidence that specific adaptive actions for coping with a challenge are more probable when certain negative emotions are expressed. The current study examined this question among 3- and 4-year-olds (N = 113; M age = 47.84 months, SD = 6.19). Emotion expressions and actions were observed during 2 challenging tasks: children waited for a gift while the mother worked, and children worked alone to retrieve a prize from a locked box with the wrong key. Angry and happy expressions, compared with sad expressions, were associated with more actions. These actions varied with the nature of the task, reflecting appreciation of situational appropriateness. In addition, when waiting with the mother, happiness was associated with the broadest range of actions, whereas when working alone on the locked box, anger was associated with the broadest range of actions. Results are discussed in terms of the adaptive function of negative emotions and in terms of functional and dimensional models of emotion. Findings have implications for the development of emotion regulation and social-emotional competence. 2009 APA, all rights reserved.

The Functional Organization of Preschool-Age Children’s Emotion Expressions and Actions in Challenging Situations

PubMed Central

Dennis, Tracy A.; Cole, Pamela M.; Wiggins, Crystal N.; Cohen, Laura H.; Zalewski, Maureen

2010-01-01

Although functional links between emotion and action are implied in emotion regulation research, there is limited evidence that specific adaptive actions for coping with a challenge are more probable when certain negative emotions are expressed. The current study examined this question among 3- and 4-year-olds (N = 113; M age = 47.84 months, SD = 6.19). Emotion expressions and actions were observed during 2 challenging tasks: children waited for a gift while the mother worked, and children worked alone to retrieve a prize from a locked box with the wrong key. Angry and happy expressions, compared with sad expressions, were associated with more actions. These actions varied with the nature of the task, reflecting appreciation of situational appropriateness. In addition, when waiting with the mother, happiness was associated with the broadest range of actions, whereas when working alone on the locked box, anger was associated with the broadest range of actions. Results are discussed in terms of the adaptive function of negative emotions and in terms of functional and dimensional models of emotion. Findings have implications for the development of emotion regulation and social–emotional competence. PMID:19653775

Curricular Orientations in Elementary School Music: Roles, Pedagogies, and Values.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bresler, Liora

1996-01-01

Explores the day-to-day music curriculum in three elementary schools. Identifies three orientations toward the role of music education: (1) the functional, based on traditional academic goals and content; (2) the complementary, relegating music to a hidden curriculum; and (3) the expansive, focusing on enhancing perceptual and problem-solving…

Emotions in Prospective Secondary Teachers When Teaching Science Content, Distinguishing by Gender

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Borrachero, Ana Belén; Brígido, María; Mellado, Lucía; Costillo, Emilio; Mellado, Vicente

2014-01-01

Background: Until recently, the affective components of education had long been undervalued. Today, one finds ever more studies on cognitive and affective interrelationships that are lending support to the idea that affect and cognition are best understood when viewed as independent and complementary mental functions. Purpose: The present work…

Formulaic Language in Parkinson's Disease and Alzheimer's Disease: Complementary Effects of Subcortical and Cortical Dysfunction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Lancker Sidtis, Diana; Choi, JiHee; Alken, Amy; Sidtis, John J.

2015-01-01

Purpose: The production of formulaic expressions (conversational speech formulas, pause fillers, idioms, and other fixed expressions) is excessive in the left hemisphere and deficient in the right hemisphere and in subcortical stroke. Speakers with Alzheimer's disease (AD), having functional basal ganglia, reveal abnormally high proportions of…

Integrated Interactive Chart as a Tool for Teaching Metabolic Pathways

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kalogiannis, Stavros; Pagkalos, Ioannis; Koufoudakis, Panagiotis; Dashi, Ino; Pontikeri, Kyriaki; Christodoulou, Constantina

2014-01-01

An interactive chart of energy metabolism with didactic function, complementary to the already existing metabolic maps, located at the URL www.metpath.teithe.gr is being presented. The chart illustrates the major catabolic and biosynthetic pathways of glucose, fatty acids, and aminoacids, individually as well as in an integrated view. For every…

Agendas for Writing in Philosophy: Conflicting or Complementary?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Soven, Margot

Recent research on how students perceive the function of writing assignments and the effects of different kinds of writing assignments on learning is inconclusive. Noting that this issue clouds writing across the curriculum programs, a study sought to determine how students perceive their involvement in assignments that require them to present an…

Complementary Genetic and Genomic Approaches Help Characterize the Linkage Group I Seed Protein QTL in Soybean

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The nutritional and economic value of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill] is effectively a function of its seed protein and oil content. Insight into the genetic and molecular control mechanisms involved in the deposition of these constituents in the developing seed is needed to guide future soybean ...

Psychologically Based Therapies to Improve Lung Functioning in Students with Asthma

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maykel, Cheryl; Bray, Melissa; Gelbar, Nicholas; Caterino, Linda; Avitia, Maria; Sassu, Kari; Root, Melissa

2016-01-01

Asthma is a common, chronic respiratory disease that can be costly to both society and the individual. In addition to increased absenteeism, children with asthma may also be at a greater risk for developing comorbid anxiety and depression. Various complementary psychological treatments have been effective at reducing both asthmatic symptoms and…

Oligonucleoside alkyl or arylphosphonate derivatives capable of crosslinking with or cleaving nucleic acids

DOEpatents

Miller, Paul S.; Ts'o, Paul O.P.

1999-06-15

A composition for inactivating a target nucleic acid which comprises an oligonucleoside alkyl or arylphosphonate analogue which is complementary to the sequence of the target nucleic acid and includes a functional group which reacts with the target nucleic acid to render the target nucleic acid inactive or nonfunctional.

Quantum dot-based microfluidic biosensor for cancer detection

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ghrera, Aditya Sharma; School of Engineering and Technology, ITM University, Gurgaon-122017; Pandey, Chandra Mouli

2015-05-11

We report results of the studies relating to fabrication of an impedimetric microfluidic–based nucleic acid sensor for quantification of DNA sequences specific to chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). The sensor chip is prepared by patterning an indium–tin–oxide (ITO) coated glass substrate via wet chemical etching method followed by sealing with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microchannel for fluid control. The fabricated microfluidic chip comprising of a patterned ITO substrate is modified by depositing cadmium selenide quantum dots (QCdSe) via Langmuir–Blodgett technique. Further, the QCdSe surface has been functionalized with specific DNA probe for CML detection. The probe DNA functionalized QCdSe integrated miniaturized system hasmore » been used to monitor target complementary DNA concentration by measuring the interfacial charge transfer resistance via hybridization. The presence of complementary DNA in buffer solution significantly results in decreased electro-conductivity of the interface due to presence of a charge barrier for transport of the redox probe ions. The microfluidic DNA biosensor exhibits improved linearity in the concentration range of 10{sup −15} M to 10{sup −11} M.« less

Inventing and improving ribozyme function: rational design versus iterative selection methods

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Breaker, R. R.; Joyce, G. F.

1994-01-01

Two major strategies for generating novel biological catalysts exist. One relies on our knowledge of biopolymer structure and function to aid in the 'rational design' of new enzymes. The other, often called 'irrational design', aims to generate new catalysts, in the absence of detailed physicochemical knowledge, by using selection methods to search a library of molecules for functional variants. Both strategies have been applied, with considerable success, to the remodeling of existing ribozymes and the development of ribozymes with novel catalytic function. The two strategies are by no means mutually exclusive, and are best applied in a complementary fashion to obtain ribozymes with the desired catalytic properties.

Targeted self-assembly of functionalized carbon nanotubes on tumors

DOEpatents

Scheinberg, David A.; McDevitt, Michael R.; Villa, Carlos H.; Mulvey, J. Justin

2018-05-22

Provided herein are methods for delivering a molecule in situ to a cell and for treating a cancer via the in situ delivery. The methods comprise contacting or administering to the cell, as two separate components, a morpholino oligonucleotide comprising a targeting moiety followed by a single wall nanotube construct comprising second morpholino oligonucleotides complementary to the first morpholino oligonucleotides and one or both of a therapeutic or diagnostic payload molecule linked to the single wall nanotube construct. Upon self-assembly of a single wall nanotube complex via hybridization of the first morpholino and second complementary morpholino oligonucleotides at the cell, the payload molecule is delivered. Also provided is the two component self-assembly single wall nanotube system and the single wall nanotube construct comprising the second component.

Role of New Functional MRI Techniques in the Diagnosis, Staging, and Followup of Gynecological Cancer: Comparison with PET-CT

PubMed Central

Alvarez Moreno, Elena; Jimenez de la Peña, Mar; Cano Alonso, Raquel

2012-01-01

Recent developments in diagnostic imaging techniques have magnified the role and potential of both MRI and PET-CT in female pelvic imaging. This article reviews the techniques and clinical applications of new functional MRI (fMRI) including diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI), dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE)-MRI, comparing with PET-CT. These new emerging provide not only anatomic but also functional imaging, allowing detection of small volumes of active tumor at diagnosis and early disease relapse, which may not result in detectable morphological changes at conventional imaging. This information is useful in distinguishing between recurrent/residual tumor and post-treatment changes and assessing treatment response, with a clear impact on patient management. Both PET-CT and now fMRI have proved to be very valuable tools for evaluation of gynecologic tumors. Most papers try to compare these techniques, but in our experience both are complementary in management of these patients. Meanwhile PET-CT is superior in diagnosis of ganglionar disease; fMRI presents higher accuracy in local preoperative staging. Both techniques can be used as biomarkers of tumor response and present high accuracy in diagnosis of local recurrence and peritoneal dissemination, with complementary roles depending on histological type, anatomic location and tumoral volume. PMID:22315683

Volition and conflict in human medial frontal cortex.

PubMed

Nachev, Parashkev; Rees, Geraint; Parton, Andrew; Kennard, Christopher; Husain, Masud

2005-01-26

Controversy surrounds the role of human medial frontal cortex in controlling actions. Although damage to this area leads to severe difficulties in spontaneously initiating actions, the precise mechanisms underlying such "volitional" deficits remain to be established. Previous studies have implicated the medial frontal cortex in conflict monitoring and the control of voluntary action, suggesting that these key processes are functionally related or share neural substrates. Here, we combine a novel behavioral paradigm with functional imaging of the oculomotor system to reveal, for the first time, a functional subdivision of the pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA) into anatomically distinct areas that respond exclusively to either volition or conflict. We also demonstrate that activity in the supplementary eye field (SEF) distinguishes between success and failure in changing voluntary action plans during conflict, suggesting a role for the SEF in implementing the resolution of conflicting actions. We propose a functional architecture of human medial frontal cortex that incorporates the generation of action plans and the resolution of conflict.

Hyperbrain features of team mental models within a juggling paradigm: a proof of concept

PubMed Central

Filho, Edson; Tamburro, Gabriella; Schinaia, Lorenzo; Chatel-Goldman, Jonas; di Fronso, Selenia; Robazza, Claudio

2016-01-01

Background Research on cooperative behavior and the social brain exists, but little research has focused on real-time motor cooperative behavior and its neural correlates. In this proof of concept study, we explored the conceptual notion of shared and complementary mental models through EEG mapping of two brains performing a real-world interactive motor task of increasing difficulty. We used the recently introduced participative “juggling paradigm,” and collected neuro-physiological and psycho-social data. We were interested in analyzing the between-brains coupling during a dyadic juggling task, and in exploring the relationship between the motor task execution, the jugglers’skill level and the task difficulty. We also investigated how this relationship could be mirrored in the coupled functional organization of the interacting brains. Methods To capture the neural schemas underlying the notion of shared and complementary mental models, we examined the functional connectivity patterns and hyperbrain features of a juggling dyad involved in cooperative motor tasks of increasing difficulty. Jugglers’ cortical activity was measured using two synchronized 32-channel EEG systems during dyadic juggling performed with 3, 4, 5 and 6 balls. Individual and hyperbrain functional connections were quantified through coherence maps calculated across all electrode pairs in the theta and alpha bands (4–8 and 8–12 Hz). Graph metrics were used to typify the global topology and efficiency of the functional networks for the four difficulty levels in the theta and alpha bands. Results Results indicated that, as task difficulty increased, the cortical functional organization of the more skilled juggler became progressively more segregated in both frequency bands, with a small-world organization in the theta band during easier tasks, indicative of a flow-like state in line with the neural efficiency hypothesis. Conversely, more integrated functional patterns were observed for the less skilled juggler in both frequency bands, possibly related to cognitive overload due to the difficulty of the task at hand (reinvestment hypothesis). At the hyperbrain level, a segregated functional organization involving areas of the visuo-attentional networks of both jugglers was observed in both frequency bands and for the easier task only. Discussion These results suggest that cooperative juggling is supported by integrated activity of specialized cortical areas from both brains only during easier tasks, whereas it relies on individual skills, mirrored in uncorrelated individual brain activations, during more difficult tasks. These findings suggest that task difficulty and jugglers’ personal skills may influence the features of the hyperbrain network in its shared/integrative and complementary/segregative tendencies. PMID:27688968

Comparison of two modes of vitamin B12 supplementation on neuroconduction and cognitive function among older people living in Santiago, Chile: a cluster randomized controlled trial. a study protocol [ISRCTN 02694183

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Older people have a high risk of vitamin B12 deficiency; this can lead to varying degrees of cognitive and neurological impairment. CBL deficiency may present as macrocytic anemia, subacute combined degeneration of the spinal cord, or as neuropathy, but is often asymptomatic in older people. Less is known about subclinical vitamin B12 deficiency and concurrent neuroconduction and cognitive impairment. A Programme of Complementary Feeding for the Older Population (PACAM) in Chile delivers 2 complementary fortified foods that provide approximately 1.4 μg/day of vitamin B12 (2.4 μg/day elderly RDA). The aim of the present study is to assess whether supplementation with vitamin B12 will improve neuroconduction and cognitive function in older people who have biochemical evidence of vitamin B12 insufficiency in the absence of clinical deficiency. Methods We designed a cluster double-blind placebo-controlled trial involving community dwelling people aged 70-79 living in Santiago, Chile. We randomized 15 clusters (health centers) involving 300 people (20 per cluster). Each cluster will be randomly assigned to one of three arms: a) a 1 mg vitamin B12 pill taken daily and a routine PACAM food; b) a placebo pill and the milk-PACAM food fortified to provide 1 mg of vitamin B12; c) the routine PACAM food and a placebo pill. The study has been designed as an 18 month follow up period. The primary outcomes assessed at baseline, 4, 9 and 18 months will be: serum levels of vitamin B12, neuroconduction and cognitive function. Conclusions In view of the high prevalence of vitamin B12 deficiency in later life, the present study has potential public health interest because since it will measure the impact of the existing program of complementary feeding as compared to two options that provide higher vitamin B12 intakes that might potentially may contribute in preserving neurophysiologic and cognitive function and thus improve quality of life for older people in Chile. Trial registration ISRCTN: ISRCTN02694183 PMID:21952034

Dimensions of biodiversity loss: Spatial mismatch in land-use impacts on species, functional and phylogenetic diversity of European bees.

PubMed

De Palma, Adriana; Kuhlmann, Michael; Bugter, Rob; Ferrier, Simon; Hoskins, Andrew J; Potts, Simon G; Roberts, Stuart P M; Schweiger, Oliver; Purvis, Andy

2017-12-01

Agricultural intensification and urbanization are important drivers of biodiversity change in Europe. Different aspects of bee community diversity vary in their sensitivity to these pressures, as well as independently influencing ecosystem service provision (pollination). To obtain a more comprehensive understanding of human impacts on bee diversity across Europe, we assess multiple, complementary indices of diversity. One Thousand four hundred and forty six sites across Europe. We collated data on bee occurrence and abundance from the published literature and supplemented them with the PREDICTS database. Using Rao's Quadratic Entropy, we assessed how species, functional and phylogenetic diversity of 1,446 bee communities respond to land-use characteristics including land-use class, cropland intensity, human population density and distance to roads. We combined these models with statistically downscaled estimates of land use in 2005 to estimate and map-at a scale of approximately 1 km 2 -the losses in diversity relative to semi-natural/natural baseline (the predicted diversity of an uninhabited grid square, consisting only of semi-natural/natural vegetation). We show that-relative to the predicted local diversity in uninhabited semi-natural/natural habitat-half of all EU27 countries have lost over 10% of their average local species diversity and two-thirds of countries have lost over 5% of their average local functional and phylogenetic diversity. All diversity measures were generally lower in pasture and higher-intensity cropland than in semi-natural/natural vegetation, but facets of diversity showed less consistent responses to human population density. These differences have led to marked spatial mismatches in losses: losses in phylogenetic diversity were in some areas almost 20 percentage points (pp.) more severe than losses in species diversity, but in other areas losses were almost 40 pp. less severe. These results highlight the importance of exploring multiple measures of diversity when prioritizing and evaluating conservation actions, as species-diverse assemblages may be phylogenetically and functionally impoverished, potentially threatening pollination service provision.

Biomimetic DNA emulsions: specific, thermo-reversible and adjustable binding from a liquid-like DNA layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pontani, Lea-Laetitia; Feng, Lang; Dreyfus, Remi; Seeman, Nadrian; Chaikin, Paul; Brujic, Jasna

2013-03-01

We develop micron-sized emulsions coated with specific DNA sequences and complementary sticky ends. The emulsions are stabilized with phospholipids on which the DNA strands are grafted through biotin-streptavidin interactions, which allows the DNA to diffuse freely on the surface. We produce two complementary emulsions: one is functionalized with S sticky ends and dyed with red streptavidin, the other displays the complementary S' sticky ends and green streptavidin. Mixing those emulsions reveals specific adhesion between them due to the short-range S-S' hybridization. As expected this interaction is thermo-reversible: the red-green adhesive droplets dissociate upon heating and reassemble after cooling. Here the fluid phospholipids layer also leads to diffusive adhesion patches, which allows the bound droplets to rearrange throughout the packing structure. We quantify the adhesion strength between two droplets and build a theoretical framework that captures the observed trends through parameters such as the size of the droplets, the DNA surface density, the various DNA constructs or the temperature. This colloidal-scale, specific, thermo-reversible biomimetic emulsion offers a new versatile and powerful tool for the development of complex self-assembled materials.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine and Osteoarthritis.

PubMed

Wang, Chenchen

2013-01-01

Patients with osteoarthritis experience high levels of pain, psychological distress and have limited therapeutic options. Emerging evidence from clinical trials suggests that both acupuncture and Tai Chi mind-body therapies are safe and effective treatments for osteoarthritis. Acupuncture has effects over and above those of 'sham acupuncture' and the most robust evidence to date demonstrates that acupuncture does have short-term benefits and is a reasonable referral option for patients with symptomatic osteoarthritis. Tai Chi is a mind-body exercise that enhances cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength, balance, and physical function. It also appears to be associated with reduced stress and anxiety and depression, as well as improved quality of life. Thus, Tai Chi may be safely recommended to patients with osteoarthritis as a complementary and alternative medical approach to affect patient well-being. Integrative approaches combine the best of conventional medicine and complementary and alternative medicine to ultimately improve patient care. These modalities may lead to the development of better disease modifying strategies that could improve symptoms and decrease the progression of osteoarthritis. This overview synthesizes the current body of knowledge about Chinese mind-body medicine to better inform clinical decision-making for our rheumatic patients.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the Treatment of Chronic Pelvic Pain in Women: What Is the Evidence?

PubMed

Paiva, Sara; Carneiro, Márcia Mendonça

2013-01-01

Chronic pelvic pain (CPP) is defined as pain of at least 6 months' duration that occurs in the lower abdomen or below the umbilicus and has resulted in functional or psychological disability or required intervention and treatment. Therapeutic interventions center around the treatment of CPP as a diagnosis in and of itself, and treatment of specific disorders that may be related to CPP. A multidisciplinary approach for diagnosis and treatment seems to be most effective for symptomatic relief. This paper reviews the evidence for such interventions as psychological treatments including the use of complementary and alternative medicine techniques for CPP in women. Unfortunately, finding the best evidence in this setting is difficult as only very few randomized controlled trials are available. A combination of treatments is usually required over time for the treatment of refractory CPP. The multifactorial nature of CPP needs to be discussed with the patient and a good rapport as well as a partnership needs to be developed to plan a management program with regular followup. Promotion of a multidisciplinary approach which includes complementary and alternative medicine techniques in managing CPP in women seems to yield the best results.

Dynamic reassembly of peptide RADA16 nanofiber scaffold

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yokoi, Hidenori; Kinoshita, Takatoshi; Zhang, Shuguang

2005-06-01

Nanofiber structures of some peptides and proteins as biological materials have been studied extensively, but their molecular mechanism of self-assembly and reassembly still remains unclear. We report here the reassembly of an ionic self-complementary peptide RADARADARADARADA (RADA16-I) that forms a well defined nanofiber scaffold. The 16-residue peptide forms stable -sheet structure and undergoes molecular self-assembly into nanofibers and eventually a scaffold hydrogel consisting of >99.5% water. In this study, the nanofiber scaffold was sonicated into smaller fragments. Circular dichroism, atomic force microscopy, and rheology were used to follow the kinetics of the reassembly. These sonicated fragments not only quickly reassemble into nanofibers that were indistinguishable from the original material, but their reassembly also correlated with the rheological analyses showing an increase of scaffold rigidity as a function of nanofiber length. The disassembly and reassembly processes were repeated four times and, each time, the reassembly reached the original length. We proposed a plausible sliding diffusion model to interpret the reassembly involving complementary nanofiber cohesive ends. This reassembly process is important for fabrication of new scaffolds for 3D cell culture, tissue repair, and regenerative medicine. atomic force microscopy | circular dichroism | dynamic behaviors | ionic self-complementary peptides | nanofiber hydrogels

Vertically stacked multi-heterostructures of layered materials for logic transistors and complementary inverters

PubMed Central

Yu, Woo Jong; Li, Zheng; Zhou, Hailong; Chen, Yu; Wang, Yang; Huang, Yu; Duan, Xiangfeng

2014-01-01

The layered materials such as graphene have attracted considerable interest for future electronics. Here we report the vertical integration of multi-heterostructures of layered materials to enable high current density vertical field-effect transistors (VFETs). An n-channel VFET is created by sandwiching few-layer molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) as the semiconducting channel between a monolayer graphene and a metal thin film. The VFETs exhibit a room temperature on-off ratio >103, while at same time deliver a high current density up to 5,000 A/cm2, sufficient for high performance logic applications. This study offers a general strategy for the vertical integration of various layered materials to obtain both p- and n-channel transistors for complementary logic functions. A complementary inverter with larger than unit voltage gain is demonstrated by vertically stacking the layered materials of graphene, Bi2Sr2Co2O8 (p-channel), graphene, MoS2 (n-channel), and metal thin film in sequence. The ability to simultaneously achieve high on-off ratio, high current density, and logic integration in the vertically stacked multi-heterostructures can open up a new dimension for future electronics to enable three-dimensional integration. PMID:23241535

[Person-organization fit as a mediator of relationship between work environment and stress among social workers].

PubMed

Waszkowska, Małlgorzata; Andysz, Aleksandra; Merecz, Dorota

2014-01-01

Occupational stress of social workers is associated with various psychosocial hazards in the work environment. Some of them affect person-organization fit (P-O fit). The aim of the study was to verify a hypothesis on the mediating role of P-O fit in the relationship between work environment and stress. The research was based on a sample of 500 social workers directly involved in social work. The data were obtained using the Person-Organization Fit Questionnaire by Czarnota-Bojarska, the Work Environment Questionnaire developed by the Department of Occupational Psychology, Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Łódź, and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) by Cohen et al. As revealed by the regression analysis of the 4 analyzed work environment factors, only organizational politics was significantly related with perceived stress. Complementary and supplementary dimensions of P-O fit and identification with organization were the mediators of the relationship between organizational policies and stress, but only complementary fit proved to be a total mediator. The results of the study suggest that person-organization fit, especially its complementary aspect, is an essential determinant of accomplishing the core functions of social work and good practice among social workers.

You're Only as Old as Your Arteries: Translational Strategies for Preserving Vascular Endothelial Function with Aging

PubMed Central

Kaplon, Rachelle E.; Gioscia-Ryan, Rachel A.; LaRocca, Thomas J.

2014-01-01

Endothelial dysfunction develops with age and increases the risk of age-associated vascular disorders. Nitric oxide insufficiency, oxidative stress, and chronic low-grade inflammation, induced by upregulation of adverse cellular signaling processes and imbalances in stress resistance pathways, mediate endothelial dysfunction with aging. Healthy lifestyle behaviors preserve endothelial function with aging by inhibiting these mechanisms, and novel nutraceutical compounds that favorably modulate these pathways hold promise as a complementary approach for preserving endothelial health. PMID:24985329

Immune modules shared by innate lymphoid cells and T cells.

PubMed

Robinette, Michelle L; Colonna, Marco

2016-11-01

In recent years, innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) have emerged as innate correlates to T cells. The similarities between ILCs and T cells indicate that lymphocytes of fundamentally distinct lineages can share core "immune modules" that encompass transcriptional circuitry and effector functions while using nonredundant complementary mechanisms of pattern recognition to enact these functions. We review modules currently recognized to be shared between ILCs and T cells. Copyright © 2016 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Pyrrolic tripodal receptors for carbohydrates. Role of functional groups and binding geometry on carbohydrate recognition.

PubMed

Cacciarini, Martina; Nativi, Cristina; Norcini, Martina; Staderini, Samuele; Francesconi, Oscar; Roelens, Stefano

2011-02-21

The contribution from several H-bonding groups and the impact of geometric requirements on the binding ability of benzene-based tripodal receptors toward carbohydrates have been investigated by measuring the affinity of a set of structures toward octyl β-D-glucopyranoside, selected as a representative monosaccharide. The results reported in the present study demonstrate that a judicious choice of correct geometry and appropriate functional groups is critical to achieve the complementary hydrogen bonding interactions required for an effective carbohydrate recognition.

An Advanced In Vitro Technology Platform to Study the Mechanism of Action of Prebiotics and Probiotics in the Gastrointestinal Tract.

PubMed

Marzorati, Massimo; Van de Wiele, Tom

The gastrointestinal tract (GIT) hosts the most complex microbial community in the human body. Given the extensive metabolic potential which is present in this community, this additional organ is of key importance to maintain a healthy status and several diseases are frequently correlated with an alteration of the composition/functionality of the gut microbiota. Consequently, there is a great interest in identifying potential approaches that could modulate the microbiota and its metabolism to bring about a positive health effect. A classical approach to reach this goal is the use of prebiotics and/or probiotics. How to study the potential effect of new prebiotics/probiotics and how to localize this effect along the full GIT? Human intervention trials are the golden standard to validate functional properties of food products. Yet, most studies on gut microbiota are based on the analysis of fecal samples because they are easily collected in a non-invasive manner. A complementary option is represented by well-designed in vitro simulation technologies. Among all the available systems, the Simulator of Human Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem has already been shown to be a useful model for nutrition studies in terms of analysis of the intestinal microbial community composition and activity. The Simulator of Human Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem is a scientifically validated platform representing the physiology and microbiology of the adult human GIT. Furthermore, recent advances in in vitro modelling also allow to combine the study of bacteria-host interactions, such as mucosal adhesion and interaction with the immune system, thereby further increasing the value of the scientific output.

Neura, nerves, nerve fibers, neurofibrils, microtubules: multidimensional routes of pain, pleasure, and voluntary action in images across the ages.

PubMed

Frixione, Eugenio

2013-01-01

Available records indicate that the human body has always been conceived, in different periods and cultures, as spanned by multiple channels for internal communication and coherent functioning as a unit-"meridians" in treatises of Chinese medicine, metu in Egyptian papyri, srotas in Ayurvedic Indian texts, and neura in the Western scientific heritage from ancient Greece. Unfortunately, the earliest extant figurative depictions of such pathways of general control, complementary to the blood vessels, are late medieval copies of old crude sketches that attempted to show the main anatomico-physiological systems. The scarcity of adequate illustrations was more than compensated in the Renaissance, when the efforts of both artists and anatomists for the first time produced basically correct renditions of the human nervous system and many other bodily structures. As attention was next focused on microscopic structure as a requisite to understand physiological mechanisms, during the Enlightenment the nerves were revealed to consist of numerous thin tubes or fibers aligned in parallel. Improved microscopy techniques in the nineteenth century led to discovering and delineating still finer fibrils coursing along the cores of the nerve fibers themselves. Electron microscopy, developed throughout the twentieth century, recognized some of these fibrils within nerve fibers as being also tubular. All the progressive stages in understanding nerve construction, at increasingly more detailed scales, have been accompanied by technological advances and by debate about the structure and function relationship. And every step has been a source of amazing imagery. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Integrative mental health care: from theory to practice, Part 2.

PubMed

Lake, James

2008-01-01

Integrative approaches will lead to more accurate and different understandings of mental illness. Beneficial responses to complementary and alternative therapies provide important clues about the phenomenal nature of the human body in space-time and disparate biological, informational, and energetic factors associated with normal and abnormal psychological functioning. The conceptual framework of contemporary Western psychiatry includes multiple theoretical viewpoints, and there is no single best explanatory model of mental illness. Future theories of mental illness causation will not depend exclusively on empirical verification of strictly biological processes but will take into account both classically described biological processes and non-classical models, including complexity theory, resulting in more complete explanations of the characteristics and causes of symptoms and mechanisms of action that result in beneficial responses to treatments. Part 1 of this article examined the limitations of the theory and contemporary clinical methods employed in Western psychiatry and discussed implications of emerging paradigms in physics and the biological sciences for the future of psychiatry. In part 2, a practical methodology, for planning integrative assessment and treatment strategies in mental health care is proposed. Using this methodology the integrative management of moderate and severe psychiatric symptoms is reviewed in detail. As the conceptual framework of Western medicine evolves toward an increasingly integrative perspective, novel understanding of complex relationships between biological, informational, and energetic processes associated with normal psychological functioning and mental illness will lead to more effective integrative assessment and treatment strategies addressing the causes or meanings of symptoms at multiple hierarchic levels of body-brain-mind.

Integrative mental health care: from theory to practice, part 1.

PubMed

Lake, James

2007-01-01

Integrative approaches will lead to more accurate and different understandings of mental illness. Beneficial responses to complementary and alternative therapies provide important clues about the phenomenal nature of the human body in space-time and disparate biological, informational, and energetic factors associated with normal and abnormal psychological functioning. The conceptual framework of contemporary Western psychiatry includes multiple theoretical viewpoints, and there is no single best explanatory model of mental illness. Future theories of mental illness causation will not depend exclusively on empirical verification of strictly biological processes but will take into account both classically described biological processes and non-classical models, including complexity theory, resulting in more complete explanations of the characteristics and causes of symptoms and mechanisms of action that result in beneficial responses to treatments. Part 1 of this article examines the limitations of the theory and contemporary clinical methods employed in Western psychiatry and discusses implications of emerging paradigms in physics and the biological sciences for the future of psychiatry. In part 2, a practical methodology for planning integrative assessment and treatment strategies in mental health care is proposed. Using this methodology the integrative management of moderate and severe psychiatric symptoms is reviewed in detail. As the conceptual framework of Western medicine evolves toward an increasingly integrative perspective, novel understandings of complex relationships between biological, informational, and energetic processes associated with normal psychological functioning and mental illness will lead to more effective integrative assessment and treatment strategies addressing the causes or meanings of symptoms at multiple hierarchic levels of body-brain-mind.

A CMOS current-mode log(x) and log(1/x) functions generator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-Absi, Munir A.; Al-Tamimi, Karama M.

2014-08-01

A novel Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) current-mode low-voltage and low-power controllable logarithmic function circuit is presented. The proposed design utilises one Operational Transconductance Amplifier (OTA) and two PMOS transistors biased in weak inversion region. The proposed design provides high dynamic range, controllable amplitude, high accuracy and is insensitive to temperature variations. The circuit operates on a ±0.6 V power supply and consumes 0.3 μW. The functionality of the proposed circuit was verified using HSPICE with 0.35 μm 2P4M CMOS process technology.

Single Cell Spectroscopy: Noninvasive Measures of Small-Scale Structure and Function

PubMed Central

Mousoulis, Charilaos; Xu, Xin; Reiter, David A.; Neu, Corey P.

2013-01-01

The advancement of spectroscopy methods attained through increases in sensitivity, and often with the coupling of complementary techniques, has enabled real-time structure and function measurements of single cells. The purpose of this review is to illustrate, in light of advances, the strengths and the weaknesses of these methods. Included also is an assessment of the impact of the experimental setup and conditions of each method on cellular function and integrity. A particular emphasis is placed on noninvasive and nondestructive techniques for achieving single cell detection, including nuclear magnetic resonance, in addition to physical, optical, and vibrational methods. PMID:23886910

Attitudes towards and personal use of complementary and alternative medicine amongst clinicians working in audiovestibular disciplines.

PubMed

Crundwell, G; Baguley, D M

2016-08-01

Literature indicates that complementary and alternative medicine is used by patients with auditory and vestibular symptoms. This study sought to determine the prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine uptake, and examine attitudes towards complementary and alternative medicine in clinicians working with audiovestibular disorder patients. The Holistic Complementary and Alternative Medicine Questionnaire and a devised questionnaire about recent and lifetime use of complementary and alternative medicine were used. Fifty-four individuals, including audiologists, ENT surgeons, nurses and rehabilitationists, completed the questionnaires (67 per cent response rate). Lifetime prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine uptake was 44 per cent, and 12-month prevalence was 22 per cent. Uptake was more common in females, but there was no significant difference in use when comparing age, seniority or profession. Attitudes towards complementary and alternative medicine were mildly adverse, but sizeable standard deviation indicates wide-ranging attitudes. Clinicians working with patients with audiovestibular disorders have a range of attitudes towards complementary and alternative medicine. Personal uptake of complementary and alternative medicine was lower than that of the general UK population, but remains sizeable.

Regulators of Androgen Action Resource: a one-stop shop for the comprehensive study of androgen receptor action.

PubMed

DePriest, Adam D; Fiandalo, Michael V; Schlanger, Simon; Heemers, Frederike; Mohler, James L; Liu, Song; Heemers, Hannelore V

2016-01-01

Androgen receptor (AR) is a ligand-activated transcription factor that is the main target for treatment of non-organ-confined prostate cancer (CaP). Failure of life-prolonging AR-targeting androgen deprivation therapy is due to flexibility in steroidogenic pathways that control intracrine androgen levels and variability in the AR transcriptional output. Androgen biosynthesis enzymes, androgen transporters and AR-associated coregulators are attractive novel CaP treatment targets. These proteins, however, are characterized by multiple transcript variants and isoforms, are subject to genomic alterations, and are differentially expressed among CaPs. Determining their therapeutic potential requires evaluation of extensive, diverse datasets that are dispersed over multiple databases, websites and literature reports. Mining and integrating these datasets are cumbersome, time-consuming tasks and provide only snapshots of relevant information. To overcome this impediment to effective, efficient study of AR and potential drug targets, we developed the Regulators of Androgen Action Resource (RAAR), a non-redundant, curated and user-friendly searchable web interface. RAAR centralizes information on gene function, clinical relevance, and resources for 55 genes that encode proteins involved in biosynthesis, metabolism and transport of androgens and for 274 AR-associated coregulator genes. Data in RAAR are organized in two levels: (i) Information pertaining to production of androgens is contained in a 'pre-receptor level' database, and coregulator gene information is provided in a 'post-receptor level' database, and (ii) an 'other resources' database contains links to additional databases that are complementary to and useful to pursue further the information provided in RAAR. For each of its 329 entries, RAAR provides access to more than 20 well-curated publicly available databases, and thus, access to thousands of data points. Hyperlinks provide direct access to gene-specific entries in the respective database(s). RAAR is a novel, freely available resource that provides fast, reliable and easy access to integrated information that is needed to develop alternative CaP therapies. Database URL: http://www.lerner.ccf.org/cancerbio/heemers/RAAR/search/. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press.

Efficacy and mechanisms of action of traditional Chinese medicines for treating asthma and allergy.

PubMed

Li, Xiu-Min; Brown, Laverne

2009-02-01

Although corticosteroids and beta(2)-agonists are effective in managing asthma symptoms, a curative therapy for asthma is lacking. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), used in Asia for centuries, is beginning to play a role in Western health care as a complementary and alternative medicine modality. There is increasing scientific evidence supporting the use of TCM for asthma treatment. This review article discusses promising TCM interventions for asthma and explores their possible mechanisms of action. We first reviewed 5 clinical studies of antiasthma TCM herbal remedies published between 2005 and 2007. We then summarized possible mechanisms underlying their effects on the basis of data in the original articles, published abstracts, and available databases. Possible mechanisms include anti-inflammation, inhibition of airway smooth muscle contraction, and immunomodulation. Research on TCM herbal therapy for food allergy is rare, and we therefore focused on the effect and mechanism of action of food allergy herbal formula-2 on a murine model of peanut allergy and preliminary clinical study results. Evidence from clinical studies supports beneficial effects of TCM herbal therapy on asthma. A number of mechanisms may be responsible for efficacy of these agents. Strong preclinical study data suggest the potential efficacy of food allergy herbal formula-2 for food allergy.

Localization of Action of the Is50-Encoded Transposase Protein

PubMed Central

Phadnis, Suhas H.; Sasakawa, Chihiro; Berg, Douglas E.

1986-01-01

The movement of the bacterial insertion sequence IS50 and of composite elements containing direct terminal repeats of IS50 involves the two ends of IS50, designated O (outside) and I (inside), which are weakly matched in DNA sequence, and an IS50 encoded protein, transposase, which recognizes the O and I ends and acts preferentially in cis. Previous data had suggested that, initially, transposase interacts preferentially with the O end sequence and then, in a second step, with either an O or an I end. To better understand the cis action of transposase and how IS50 ends are selected, we generated a series of composite transposons which contain direct repeats of IS50 elements. In each transposon, one IS50 element encoded transposase (tnp +), and the other contained a null (tnp-) allele. In each of the five sets of composite transposons studied, the transposon for which the tnp+ IS50 element contained its O end was more active than a complementary transposon for which the tnp - IS50 element contained its O end. This pattern of O end use suggests models in which the cis action of transposase and its choice of ends is determined by protein tracking along DNA molecules. PMID:3007274

Efficacy and mechanisms of action of traditional Chinese medicines for treating asthma and allergy

PubMed Central

Li, Xiu-Min; Brown, Laverne

2009-01-01

Background While corticosteroids and β-2 agonists are effective in managing asthma symptoms, a curative therapy for asthma is lacking. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), used in Asia for centuries, is beginning to play a role in Western health care as a complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) modality. There is increasing scientific evidence supporting the use of TCM for asthma treatment. Objective This review article discusses promising TCM interventions for asthma and explores their possible mechanisms of action. Methods We first reviewed five clinical studies of “anti-asthma” TCM herbal remedies published between 2005–2007. We then summarized possible mechanisms underlying their effects based on data in the original articles, published abstracts, and available data bases. Possible mechanisms include anti-inflammation, inhibition of airway smooth muscle contraction, and immunomodulation. Research on TCM herbal therapy for food allergy is rare, and we therefore focused on the effect and mechanism of action of Food Allergy Herbal Formula-2 (FAHF-2) on a murine model of peanut allergy and preliminary clinical study results. Conclusion Evidence from clinical studies supports beneficial effects of TCM herbal therapy on asthma. A number of mechanisms may be responsible for efficacy of these agents. Strong preclinical study data suggest potential efficacy of FAHF-2 for food allergy. PMID:19203653

Non ictal onset zone: A window to ictal dynamics.

PubMed

Afra, Pegah; Hanrahan, Sara J; Kellis, Spencer Sterling; House, Paul

2017-01-01

The focal and network concepts of epilepsy present different aspects of electroclinical phenomenon of seizures. Here, we present a 23-year-old man undergoing surgical evaluation with left fronto-temporal electrocorticography (ECoG) and microelectrode-array (MEA) in the middle temporal gyrus (MTG). We compare action-potential (AP) and local field potentials (LFP) recorded from MEA with ECoG. Seizure onset in the mesial-temporal lobe was characterized by changes in the pattern of AP-firing without clear changes in LFP or ECoG in MTG. This suggests simultaneous analysis of neuronal activity in differing spatial scales and frequency ranges provide complementary insights into how focal and network neurophysiological activity contribute to ictal activity.

Towards a Global MAP Data Base

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hartmann, G. K.

1985-01-01

Scientific and ecological needs call for the generation of a global data base of measured data from the Earth's atmosphere, similar but complementary to the data of the meteorological service. Right now there is a large gap between these needs and the available financial means. If this prevails, it might be prohibitive for the generation of such a data base. There must be a compromise between the needs and the means. Priorities must be set. Thus, discussions should be started on which data can be or should be stored. Newly generated data for storage in such a data base is recommended to be handled by the World Data Centers (WDCs). This brief report should help to stimulate discussions and ubsequent actions.

The unpaved journey of vitamin C in cancer treatment.

PubMed

Chen, Qi; Polireddy, Kishore; Chen, Ping; Dong, Ruochen

2015-12-01

Effectiveness and low-toxicity to normal tissues are ideal properties for a cancer treatment, and one that numerous research programs are aiming for. Vitamin C has long been used in the field of Complementary and Alternative Medicine as a cancer treatment, with profound safety and anecdotal efficacy. Recent studies revealed the scientific basis for this use, and indicated that vitamin C, at supra-nutritional doses, holds considerable promise as an effective and low-toxic therapeutic strategy to treat cancer. Reviewed here are the early controversies surrounding vitamin C and cancer treatment, the breakthrough discoveries that led to the current advancement, and recent clinical studies, as well as research into its mechanisms of action.

Use of complementary and alternative medicine by patients with cancer in northern Turkey: analysis of cost and satisfaction.

PubMed

Aydin Avci, Ilknur; Koç, Zeliha; Sağlam, Zeynep

2012-03-01

The aims of this study were to determine (1) the prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine use among patients with cancer, (2) the method of use of the particular therapy, (3) the reasons for using complementary and alternative medicine therapies, (4) the benefits experienced by the use of complementary and alternative medicine, (5) the source of information about complementary and alternative medicine therapies and, (6) the satisfaction and cost of complementary and alternative medicine. Complementary and alternative medicine consists of diverse medical and healthcare systems, practices and products that are not considered at present to be a part of conventional medicine. The majority of patients who use complementary and alternative medicine use more than one method. Complementary and alternative medicine use is more common in cases of advanced disease or poor prognosis. This is a descriptive study of complementary and alternative medicine. This study was conducted in the Chemotherapy Unit at Ondokuz Mayıs University, Faculty of Medicine, Samsun, Turkey, between 18 March 2008-30 June 2008. Two hundred fifty-three patients with cancer, among 281 patients who applied to the chemotherapy clinic between these dates, agreed to take part in the study with whom contact could be made were included. A questionnaire including descriptive characteristics in collecting data, characteristics about diseases and their treatments, complementary and alternative medicine information and implementation situations and a control list about complementary and alternative medicine implementations were given. The collected data were evaluated by computer using descriptive statistics, the chi-square test and Student's t-test. In this study, 94·1% of the patients were content with medical treatment, 58·9% of them used complementary and alternative medicine treatments, 41·1% did not use any complementary and alternative medicine treatments. The satisfaction level of the patients with complementary and alternative medicine methods was slightly above mediocre (2·33 SD 0·64, on a scale of 1-3). The average cost per capita spent by the patients using complementary and alternative medicine for all the different methods was US$288·26. It was determined that although patients did not have enough knowledge about complementary and alternative medicine methods, the prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine and satisfaction levels are high that complementary and alternative medicine users spend substantial sums of money for these methods. To sustain medical treatment and prognosis of cancer, it is important for nurses to consult with their patients regarding the use and potential risks of some complementary and alternative medicine. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

The neural substrates of action identification.

PubMed

Marsh, Abigail A; Kozak, Megan N; Wegner, Daniel M; Reid, Marguerite E; Yu, Henry H; Blair, R J R

2010-12-01

Mentalization is the process by which an observer views a target as possessing higher cognitive faculties such as goals, intentions and desires. Mentalization can be assessed using action identification paradigms, in which observers choose mentalistic (goals-focused) or mechanistic (action-focused) descriptions of targets' actions. Neural structures that play key roles in inferring goals and intentions from others' observed or imagined actions include temporo-parietal junction, ventral premotor cortex and extrastriate body area. We hypothesized that these regions play a role in action identification as well. Data collected using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) confirmed our predictions that activity in ventral premotor cortex and middle temporal gyrus near the extrastriate body area varies both as a function of the valence of the target and the extent to which actions are identified as goal-directed. In addition, the inferior parietal lobule is preferentially engaged when participants identify the actions of mentalized targets. Functional connectivity analyses suggest support from other regions, including the medial prefrontal cortex and amygdala, during mentalization. We found correlations between action identification and Autism Quotient scores, suggesting that understanding the neural correlates of action identification may enhance our understanding of the underpinnings of essential social cognitive processes.

Beyond Synchrony: Joint Action in a Complex Production Task Reveals Beneficial Effects of Decreased Interpersonal Synchrony

PubMed Central

Mitkidis, Panagiotis; Roepstorff, Andreas

2016-01-01

A variety of joint action studies show that people tend to fall into synchronous behavior with others participating in the same task, and that such synchronization is beneficial, leading to greater rapport, satisfaction, and performance. It has been noted that many of these task environments require simple interactions that involve little planning of action coordination toward a shared goal. The present study utilized a complex joint construction task in which dyads were instructed to build model cars while their hand movements and heart rates were measured. Participants built these models under varying conditions, delimiting how freely they could divide labor during a build session. While hand movement synchrony was sensitive to the different tasks and outcomes, the heart rate measure did not show any effects of interpersonal synchrony. Results for hand movements show that the more participants were constrained by a particular building strategy, the greater their behavioral synchrony. Within the different conditions, the degree of synchrony was predictive of subjective satisfaction and objective product outcomes. However, in contrast to many previous findings, synchrony was negatively associated with superior products, and, depending on the constraints on the interaction, positively or negatively correlated with higher subjective satisfaction. These results show that the task context critically shapes the role of synchronization during joint action, and that in more complex tasks, not synchronization of behavior, but rather complementary types of behavior may be associated with superior task outcomes. PMID:27997558

Beta Function Quintessence Cosmological Parameters and Fundamental Constants I: Power and Inverse Power Law Dark Energy Potentials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thompson, Rodger I.

2018-04-01

This investigation explores using the beta function formalism to calculate analytic solutions for the observable parameters in rolling scalar field cosmologies. The beta function in this case is the derivative of the scalar ϕ with respect to the natural log of the scale factor a, β (φ )=d φ /d ln (a). Once the beta function is specified, modulo a boundary condition, the evolution of the scalar ϕ as a function of the scale factor is completely determined. A rolling scalar field cosmology is defined by its action which can contain a range of physically motivated dark energy potentials. The beta function is chosen so that the associated "beta potential" is an accurate, but not exact, representation of the appropriate dark energy model potential. The basic concept is that the action with the beta potential is so similar to the action with the model potential that solutions using the beta action are accurate representations of solutions using the model action. The beta function provides an extra equation to calculate analytic functions of the cosmologies parameters as a function of the scale factor that are that are not calculable using only the model action. As an example this investigation uses a quintessence cosmology to demonstrate the method for power and inverse power law dark energy potentials. An interesting result of the investigation is that the Hubble parameter H is almost completely insensitive to the power of the potentials and that ΛCDM is part of the family of quintessence cosmology power law potentials with a power of zero.

Beta function quintessence cosmological parameters and fundamental constants - I. Power and inverse power law dark energy potentials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thompson, Rodger I.

2018-07-01

This investigation explores using the beta function formalism to calculate analytic solutions for the observable parameters in rolling scalar field cosmologies. The beta function in this case is the derivative of the scalar φ with respect to the natural log of the scale factor a, β (φ)=d φ/d ln (a). Once the beta function is specified, modulo a boundary condition, the evolution of the scalar φ as a function of the scale factor is completely determined. A rolling scalar field cosmology is defined by its action which can contain a range of physically motivated dark energy potentials. The beta function is chosen so that the associated `beta potential' is an accurate, but not exact, representation of the appropriate dark energy model potential. The basic concept is that the action with the beta potential is so similar to the action with the model potential that solutions using the beta action are accurate representations of solutions using the model action. The beta function provides an extra equation to calculate analytic functions of the cosmologies parameters as a function of the scale factor that are not calculable using only the model action. As an example, this investigation uses a quintessence cosmology to demonstrate the method for power and inverse power law dark energy potentials. An interesting result of the investigation is that the Hubble parameter H is almost completely insensitive to the power of the potentials and that Λ cold dark matter is part of the family of quintessence cosmology power-law potentials with a power of zero.

American Academy of Pediatrics. The use of complementary and alternative medicine in pediatrics.

PubMed

Kemper, Kathi J; Vohra, Sunita; Walls, Richard

2008-12-01

The American Academy of Pediatrics is dedicated to optimizing the well-being of children and advancing family-centered health care. Related to these goals, the American Academy of Pediatrics recognizes the increasing use of complementary and alternative medicine in children and, as a result, the need to provide information and support for pediatricians. From 2000 to 2002, the American Academy of Pediatrics convened and charged the Task Force on Complementary and Alternative Medicine to address issues related to the use of complementary and alternative medicine in children and to develop resources to educate physicians, patients, and families. One of these resources is this report describing complementary and alternative medicine services, current levels of utilization and financial expenditures, and associated legal and ethical considerations. The subject of complementary and alternative medicine is large and diverse, and consequently, an in-depth discussion of each method of complementary and alternative medicine is beyond the scope of this report. Instead, this report will define terms; describe epidemiology; outline common types of complementary and alternative medicine therapies; review medicolegal, ethical, and research implications; review education and training for complementary and alternative medicine providers; provide resources for learning more about complementary and alternative medicine; and suggest communication strategies to use when discussing complementary and alternative medicine with patients and families.

77 FR 61787 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Agreement...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-10-11

... for OMB Review; Comment Request; Agreement Approval Process for Use of Functional Affirmative Action..., ``Agreement Approval Process for Use of Functional Affirmative Action Programs,'' to the Office of Management... 11246 permit Federal supply and service contractors to develop affirmative action programs (AAPs) that...

Functional Deficits in the Extrastriate Body Area During Observation of Sports-Related Actions in Schizophrenia

PubMed Central

Takahashi, Hidehiko; Kato, Motoichiro; Sassa, Takeshi; Shibuya, Tomohisa; Koeda, Michihiko; Yahata, Noriaki; Matsuura, Masato; Asai, Kunihiko; Suhara, Tetsuya; Okubo, Yoshiro

2010-01-01

Exercise and sports are increasingly being implemented in the management of schizophrenia. The process of action perception is as important as that of motor execution for learning and acquiring new skills. Recent studies have suggested that body-selective extrastriate body area (EBA) in the posterior temporal-occipital cortex is involved not only in static visual perception of body parts but also in the planning, imagination, and execution of actions. However, functional abnormality of the EBA in schizophrenia has yet to be investigated. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with a task designed to activate the EBA by sports-related actions, we aimed to elucidate functional abnormality of the EBA during observation of sports-related actions in patients with schizophrenia. Twelve schizophrenia patients and 12 age-sex–matched control participants participated in the study. Using sports-related motions as visual stimuli, we examined brain activations during observation of context-congruent actions relative to context-incongruent actions by fMRI. Compared with controls, the patients with schizophrenia demonstrated diminished activation in the EBA during observation of sports-related context-congruent actions. Furthermore, the EBA activation in patients was negatively correlated with the severity of negative and general psychopathology symptoms measured by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. Dysfunction of the EBA might reflect a difficulty in representing dynamic aspects of human actions and possibly lead to impairments of simulation, learning, and execution of actions in schizophrenia. PMID:18927345

Volition and will in psychoanalysis.

PubMed

Meissner, W W

2009-10-01

To clarify the role and function of the will in psychoanalytic theory and praxis, the use and meaning of the concept of will are traced in the philosophical tradition influencing Freud, in Freud's own view of will, and in the subsequent history of psychoanalysis. Functions of the will relevant to psychoanalysis are described in terms of intellective preference and executive functioning. Operations of will as an executive function of the ego-self are analyzed, emphasizing will as efficient cause of motivated actions. The will functions to decide, choose, and initiate action directed to motivationally determined goals. The conclusion is drawn that will action is determined and directed by motivational influences, and that will decision and choice, while predominantly secondary process in organization, can operate consciously or unconsciously. Expressions of will action in psychopathology and in the analytic process are briefly discussed.

Complementary effects of multi-protein components on biomineralization in vitro

PubMed Central

Ba, Xiaolan; Rafailovich, Miriam; Meng, Yizhi; Pernodet, Nadine; Wirick, Sue; Füredi-Milhofer, Helga; Qin, Yi-Xian; DiMasi, Elaine

2016-01-01

The extracellular matrix (ECM) is composed of mixed protein fibers whose precise composition affects biomineralization. New methods are needed to probe the interactions of these proteins with calcium phosphate mineral and with each other. Here we follow calcium phosphate mineralization on protein fibers self-assembled in vitro from solutions of fibronectin, elastin and their mixture. We probe the surface morphology and mechanical properties of the protein fibers during the early stages. The development of mineral crystals on the protein matrices is also investigated. In physiological mineralization solution, the elastic modulus of the fibers in the fibronectin-elastin mixture increases to a greater extent than that of the fibers from either pure protein. In the presence of fibronectin, longer exposure in the mineral solution leads to the formation of amorphous calcium phosphate particles templated along the self-assembled fibers, while elastin fibers only collect calcium without any mineral observed during early stage. TEM images confirm that small needle-shape crystals are confined inside elastin fibers which suppress the release of mineral outside the fibers during late stage, while hydroxyapatite crystals form when fibronectin is present. These results demonstrate complementary actions of the two ECM proteins fibronectin and elastin to collect cations and template mineral, respectively. PMID:20035875

Directional Collective Cell Migration Emerges as a Property of Cell Interactions

PubMed Central

Woods, Mae L.; Carmona-Fontaine, Carlos; Barnes, Chris P.; Couzin, Iain D.; Mayor, Roberto; Page, Karen M.

2014-01-01

Collective cell migration is a fundamental process, occurring during embryogenesis and cancer metastasis. Neural crest cells exhibit such coordinated migration, where aberrant motion can lead to fatality or dysfunction of the embryo. Migration involves at least two complementary mechanisms: contact inhibition of locomotion (a repulsive interaction corresponding to a directional change of migration upon contact with a reciprocating cell), and co-attraction (a mutual chemoattraction mechanism). Here, we develop and employ a parameterized discrete element model of neural crest cells, to investigate how these mechanisms contribute to long-range directional migration during development. Motion is characterized using a coherence parameter and the time taken to reach, collectively, a target location. The simulated cell group is shown to switch from a diffusive to a persistent state as the response-rate to co-attraction is increased. Furthermore, the model predicts that when co-attraction is inhibited, neural crest cells can migrate into restrictive regions. Indeed, inhibition of co-attraction in vivo and in vitro leads to cell invasion into restrictive areas, confirming the prediction of the model. This suggests that the interplay between the complementary mechanisms may contribute to guidance of the neural crest. We conclude that directional migration is a system property and does not require action of external chemoattractants. PMID:25181349