cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
Insulator elements mediate long-range interactions between Polycomb targets and between active enhancers in Drosophila
Creators: name: LI, Huabing
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2011

description: The genomic binding sites of Polycomb (PcG) complexes have been found to cluster, forming Polycomb “bodies” or foci in mammalian or fly nuclei. These associations are thought to be driven by interaction between PcG complexes and result in enhanced repression. Similar mechanisms were proposed to explain the clustered genes which share the same transcriptional loci, called “transcription factories”. However, the elements that mediate the long-range interactions and form those bodies remain elusive.    The insulator element is a new class of DNA elements and indicated to function in the nuclear structure. Fab-7 and Mcp, the boundaries of cis-regulatory domains of the Bithorax Complex in Drosophila Genome, each contain two functional parts: the silencer (Polycomb Response Element, PRE) and the insulator. Using in-vivo fluorescence imaging and 3C methods, we show that the interactions between remote copies of Mcp or Fab-7 elements are dependent on the insulator activities present in these elements and not on their PREs.    However, the interaction ratio is around 6~7%, much lower than the published 20% or 90% interactions. By constructing new transgenic flies, that with enhancer and Mcp flanked by removable lox and frt elements, we have observed high interaction ratio (60~90%) in the Drosophila third instar larva eye discs, low interaction ratio (10~20%) with enhancer deleted, and no interaction (<1%) without Mcp, demonstrating that enhancer is needed for the high stable trans-interactions. We also show that this high interaction is dependent on the insulator protein dCTCF, Mcp PRE part and the Trithorax protein. In addition, a different enhancer could also promote the co-localization.    In the related works we conclude that the insulators mediate long-range interactions of PcG targets to form the PcG bodies in the nucleus, and that the insulators also enhance the transcription of active genes by bringing enhancers into the transcription factories. We clarified the mechanism of PcG bodies, and for the first time prove that insulators also mediate long-range interactions between enhancers and bring active transcription units into the transcription factories. In summary, insulators help both silencers and enhancers to build the higher-order organization in the nucleus to regulate gene expression.
Le metamorfosi di Bonifacio
Creators: name: Lerro, Alessio
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2011

description: My thesis is a comparative reading of two major works by the Italian philosopher Giordano Bruno: Il Candelaio (The Candle Bearer) and De Umbris Idearum (The Shadows of Ideas). The two texts were published in the lapse of three years and scholarship has for the major part interpreted the Candle Bearer, which is a comedy, in light of the philosophy of images exposed by Bruno in The Shadows of Ideas. IN this view, the literary work was an expansion of the philosophical discourse. In my thesis I counter this reading reverting the approach: I thus read the philosophical work in light of the images built by Bruno in his literary text.   The goal of my analysis is to show how Bruno introduced into the philosophical discourse strategies belonging to the dynamics of literature and how these strategies modify the epistemological foundations of the philosophical discourse itself. My analysis is based on the comparison of those images in the two texts which reciprocally complete each other and at the same time undermine their epistemological validity. I explore how The Shadows of Ideas is constructed according to a model of which The Candle Bearer is the original mold and thus how Bruno turns the philosophical discourse into a process of interpretation of figures of speeches, images, and rhetorical devices.   This reading of these two early Bruno’s works proposes to illustrate how, on the level of the production of speech and writing, at the end of the 16th century the philosophical speculation becomes progressively a matter of self-reflection on the epistemological foundation trough which philosophy strives to represent its object. In conclusion of my thesis, I argue how literature represents for philosophy the gateway to a new nuanced and mystifying language which blurs the borders between words and images, speech and writing. In the last instance, Bruno’s works are an ideal bridge that joins the pinnacle of the Renaissance to the upcoming age of Baroque.
JobPlan --- a new integrated representation and planner for batch job workflow automation
Creators: name: Lall, Tracey D.
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2011

description: This dissertation presents a new representation and action logic for integrated planning, scheduling, execution monitoring and sensing. These features were motivated by the problem of computer batch job management but are applicable to any domain entailing these forms of reasoning. The existing planning literature has primarily focussed on providing highly efficient representations and algorithms which address specific aspects of planning and sensing. However no single planning framework currently combines the requisite integrated abilities of managing durative triggered actions in an open world environment. The dissertation's contributions are a multi-purpose planning and sensing representation and an associated partial order action logic to support these features. Plans and beliefs are represented as a workflow state machine governed by a clearly defined dynamics. Time based goals are handled by treating time as a fluent. The implementation and evaluation of a prototype planner ``JobPlan" on key domain scenarios illustrating these features is presented.
Short and long-term biases in European football pre-game betting markets
Creators: name: Winkelmann, David
name: Ötting, Marius
name: Deutscher, Christian
Publisher: name: Bielefeld University, Department of Business Administration and Economics
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: 300
subject: 330
subject: OR in sports
subject: Sports betting
subject: Efficient markets
subject: Biases

description: Research on sports betting often attempts to identify biased evaluation by
bookmakers, opening opportunities for profitable strategies to bettors. Previous
studies have provided evidence for the existence of such ineffiiciencies. Since most
studies cover only a few seasons, the question of whether market inefficiencies per-
sist over time remains unanswered. We analyse the big five leagues in European
association football for fourteen seasons to detect the occurrence and duration of
market inefficiencies. While our results suggest that most biases do not persist
for a long time, we still uncover profitable betting strategies throughout the full
observation period.
Microcredit as a poverty alleviation strategy, women's empowerment and gender relations
Creators: name: Kumari, Kumar Bhargavi Valsala
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2011

description: This dissertation is about how women are empowered when they gain access to small loans (microcredit) and how that alters or reinforces existing gender relations. My study shows that “the poor” is not a monolithic entity but is an aggregation of differentiated categories with the most vulnerable segments of society occupying the lowest rung of society. The state-civil society synergy that is so characteristic of the state of Kerala does not percolate down to the poorest and most vulnerable segments of society and the tribes for a variety of reasons. If these segments of the population have to benefit, the structure of microcredit has to be redesigned to make it more appropriate and responsive to their special needs. Microcredit provides the entry point but it is the networking that empowers impoverished women who lack material resources. Networking itself is an umbrella term that entails different kinds of networking.  My conclusion is that the women-centric microcredit program sponsored by the state marks a departure from the earlier paradigms of developments in which women were not placed at the center of developmental activities. The new paradigm is the state’s attempt at negotiating privatized strategies of development in the larger context of liberalization espoused by the Indian state. My study reveals that microcredit does help women tide over the emergency needs of the family without relying on others. But it is not a substitute for long term structural problems of poverty. The social solidarity generated by different kinds of networking helps women’s empowerment by way of expanding their consciousness through new knowledge including legal literacy and through exposure to other people with other ideals and ethics. I also find that the social capital generated by the networking of over 3.7 million women through self help groups has not transformed into organized demand cutting across party politics for radical changes like redistribution of resources especially arable land. Microcredit has functioned to depoliticize what could have been a progressive politics for gender equity.
Scalable kernel methods and algorithms for general sequence analysis
Creators: name: Kuksa, Pavel
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2011

description: Analysis of large-scale sequential data has become an important task in machine learning and pattern recognition, inspired in part by numerous scientific and technological applications such as the document and text classification or the analysis of biological sequences.  However, current computational methods for sequence comparison still lack accuracy and scalability necessary for reliable analysis of large datasets. To this end, we develop a new framework (efficient algorithms and methods) that solve sequence matching, comparison, classification, and pattern extraction problems in linear time, with increased accuracy, improving over the prior art.  In particular, we propose novel ways of modeling sequences under complex transformations (such as multiple insertions, deletions, mutations) and present a new family of similarity measures (kernels), the spatial string kernels (SSK). SSKs can be computed very efficiently and perform better than the best available methods on a variety of distinct classification tasks. We also present new algorithms for approximate (e.g., with mismatches) string comparison that improve currently known time complexity bounds for such tasks and show order-of-magnitude running time improvements. We then propose novel linear time algorithms for representative pattern extraction in sequence data sets that exploit developed computational framework.  In an extensive set of experiments on many challenging classification problems, such as detecting homology (evolutionary similarity) of remotely related proteins, categorizing texts, and performing classification of music samples, our algorithms and similarity measures display state-of-the-art classification performance and run significantly faster than existing methods.
Therapeutic potential of oxytocin for nicotine addiction
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: Disruption of socioemotional processing (i.e., the cognitive and mood processes that are involved in social behavior) increases vulnerability to smoking maintenance and relapse. Smokers with socioemotional processing disturbances (such as high rejection sensitivity or hostility) are more likely to relapse, and short-term disruption of social emotions (such as diminished feelings of friendliness or heightened anger) during tobacco abstinence is associated with smoking lapse behavior in a laboratory model. Thus, developing a drug that improves socioemotional processing during smoking abstinence may be a beneficial addition to other cessation treatment strategies that do not directly address socioemotional mechanisms (e.g., nicotine replacement, bupropion, varenicline).

 In this laboratory-based pilot project, we propose to investigate the effectiveness of a new and unique medication, oxytocin, on socioemotional processing disruptions, cigarette craving, and smoking lapse in abstinent smokers. Oxytocin is a naturally occurring hormone that is involved in social behavior as well as social and drug reward. Intranasal (nose spray) oxytocin is a promising candidate drug for nicotine addiction for several reasons, including: 1) in rats, oxytocin administration reduces symptoms of nicotine withdrawal; 2) in marijuana users, intranasal oxytocin reduces marijuana craving; and 3) in healthy volunteers, intranasal oxytocin produces a range of “prosocial” effects on the socioemotional processes that may underlie smoking behavior, suggesting that the drug may alleviate abstinence-related socioemotional processing disruptions. Here, we hypothesize that intranasal oxytocin will reduce symptoms of nicotine withdrawal and craving, and will increase the ability to resist smoking after a smoking lapse.

 This pilot project has the potential to have a high impact on tobacco-related research in at least two ways. First, data from this project will provide critical information on the usefulness of a new and unique drug treatment strategy, and could be leveraged for a future clinical trial investigating the effects of intranasal oxytocin for smoking cessation in humans. Second, examining the effects of increasing oxytocin on smoking outcomes will provide further insight into the complex underlying neurobiology of nicotine addiction. These results could be used to further develop other medications that may impact the naturally occurring oxytocin system.
Tobacco/marijuana smoke: from lab to public health policy
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: In a major policy controversy that may ultimately rival that surrounding public e-cigarette use, communities around the country and world are grappling NOW with whether public smoking bans should include marijuana, and whether leaf vaporization of marijuana or tobacco is less harmful than combustion. In this project, we will ask whether multiple brief exposures to tobacco and marijuana secondhand smoke (SHS) cause lasting damage to cardiovascular health, and if exposure to non-combustion leaf “vaporization” products from tobacco and marijuana is less harmful to vascular health than exposure to smoke.

 We and others have demonstrated that short exposures to tobacco SHS, as brief as one minute, can cause transient drops in blood vessel function, specifically a property of arteries called FMD that enables them to rapidly grow in diameter when more blood needs to be passed the limbs or heart. FMD is important in maintaining the health of arteries. Impairment of FMD can increase the risk of atherosclerosis in the long term, as well as the risk of heart attack and stroke. In humans who are exposed frequently to SHS, FMD is chronically impaired; therefore, it is likely that multiple brief insults cause long-term vascular health problems. Using a rat model of blood vessel function with great similarity to human blood vessel function, we have shown that marijuana SHS has a similar effect on vascular function than tobacco SHS that takes longer to recover, with a one-minute exposure leading to substantial impairment of FMD that lasts for at least 90 minutes. Our results indicate that combustion products in smoke from either tobacco or marijuana, rather than nicotine or cannabinoids, are responsible for this harmful effect. Media reports of our results have already stimulated much public debate about whether it may be safer to use vaporizers for marijuana (the kind that slowly heats the plant material instead of burning it), and tobacco companies have also been attempting to introduce similar products for tobacco that may be safer than combustible cigarettes. (E-cigarettes, which aerosolize liquid solutions of nicotine or THC, are a different product.) The leaf vaporization approach may or may not avoid the combustion products that lead to the vascular harm.

 The public, clinicians, and policy makers need to know the extent of potential harm caused by both tobacco and marijuana SHS, to ensure that increasing marijuana legalization does not undo decades of progress of smoke-free laws and smoking denormalization; and it is important to determine whether people who use leaf vaporizers face the same acute vascular risks as those who smoke or inhale SHS. Our findings will be actively disseminated to the community, clinicians, policy advocates, regulators, politicians, and journalists.
Stratospheric geoengineering with black carbon aerosols
Creators: name: Kravitz, Benjamin S.
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2011

description: I use a general circulation model of Earth's climate to simulate stratospheric geoengineering with black carbon aerosols, varying the altitude of injection, initial particle size, and whether the deposited black carbon modifies ground albedo. 1 Tg of black carbon aerosols injected into the stratosphere each year will cause significant enough surface cooling to negate anthropogenic warming if the aerosols are small (r=0.03 μm) or if the aerosols are injected into the middle stratosphere, although using small aerosols causes large regional cooling effects that would be catastrophic to agriculture. The aerosols cause significant stratospheric heating, resulting in stratospheric ozone destruction and circulation changes, most notably an increase in the Northern Hemisphere polar jet, which forms an Arctic ozone hole and forces a positive mode of the Arctic Oscillation. The hydrologic cycle is perturbed, specifically the summer monsoon system of India, Africa, and East Asia, resulting in monsoon precipitation collapse. Global primary productivity is decreased by 35.5% for the small particle case. Surface cooling causes some sea ice regrowth, but not at statistically significant levels. All of these climate impacts are exacerbated for small particle geoengineering, with high altitude geoengineering with the default particle size (r=0.08 μm) causing a reasonable amount of cooling, and large particle (r=0.15 μm) geoengineering or particle injection into the lower stratosphere causing few of these effects. The modification of ground albedo by the soot particles slightly perturbs the radiative budget but does not cause any distinguishable climate effects. The cheapest means we investigated for placing 1 Tg of black carbon aerosols into the stratosphere by diesel fuel combustion would cost $1.4 trillion initially and $541 billion annual, or 2.0% and 0.8% of GDP, respectively. The additional carbon dioxide released from combusting diesel to produce these aerosols is about 1% of current emissions, but the additional NOx would be 17% of current sources and could further reduce the total ozone column by up to 10%. Geoengineering with carbon black, if technically feasible, would be much cheaper, costing approximately $1 billion initially and $1.3 billion annually, with few troublesome emissions factors.
Aetobatus de Blainville 1816
Creators: name: Ebersole, Jun A.
name: Cicimurri, David J.
name: Stringer, Gary L.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Elasmobranchii
Myliobatiformes
Myliobatidae
Aetobatus

description: Genus Aetobatus de Blainville, 1816
Type species
Raja narinari Euphrasen, 1790, Recent.
description: Published as part of Ebersole, Jun A., Cicimurri, David J. & Stringer, Gary L., 2019, Taxonomy and biostratigraphy of the elasmobranchs and bony fishes (Chondrichthyes and Osteichthyes) of the lower-to-middle Eocene (Ypresian to Bartonian) Claiborne Group in Alabama, USA, including an analysis of otoliths, pp. 1-274 in European Journal of Taxonomy 585 on page 123, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2019.585, http://zenodo.org/record/3660259
Metabolic and Carcinogen Effect of Electronic Cigarettes
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: Tobacco use is the #1 leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States. Approximately 90% of adult smokers reported smoking prior to the age of 18. Recently, Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems, ENDS (also known as electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes) have surpassed conventional cigarettes among adolescents. ENDS are considered to be safe by the general public, however there have been no studies to determine their long-term effects and whether they lead to diabetes, insulin resistance or increase the rate at which cancer cells divide. The use of our mouse electronic cigarette delivery system will allow us to deliver nicotine from leading brands of electronic cigarettes into mice. We will determine if these mice develop diabetes, fat depositions in their liver or, in mouse models of breast cancer, if there is an increase in the rate of cell division and tumor growth. Our mouse electronic cigarette delivery system will allow us and other investigators to study other potential negative effects of ENDS, including their effects on lung function and potential to induce a variety of cancers. We will report our results in high quality, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences such as TRDRP conference, the annual meeting of Society for Neuroscience, the annual Drug Abuse Research Symposium at Charles R. Drew University, and the translational nicotine research group symposium at UCLA. Of paramount importance in the study community where smoking is abundant and where there are high tobacco-related health disparities, researchers will bring awareness about our study and outcomes to residents, community and faith-based organizations. Our study will help policy makers determine whether electronic cigarettes should be regulated as conventional cigarettes are currently regulated. As our study is looking at electronic cigarette vapors, it will also inform policy makers on the safety of second-hand electronic cigarette vapor and whether electronic cigarettes should be banned from public use.
Spectacles of modernity
Creators: name: Kostova, Julia
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2011

description: My dissertation focuses on the three major international fairs held in Paris in the interwar period – the Art Deco Exposition of 1925, the Colonial Fair of 1931 and the International Exposition of 1937. Like all world’s fairs, these expositions responded to and imagined solutions to pressing economic, political, and cultural problems by offering elaborate ideological messages, shrouded in spectacle and entertainment, in an attempt to reassure fairgoers of the tenability of French values and the bright future. Yet, I argue that despite efforts to provide coherent and reassuring answers to visitors, the narratives the fairs produced were often conflicting and inconsistent. In fact, the narratives of modernity, progress and nationhood, created by the displays, architectural representations and debates surrounding the planning stages, often problematized the dominant, officially-sanctioned visions that the fairs relentlessly promoted. I explore precisely the inconsistencies between these conflicting visions because they shed light on the process by which the fairs configured national identity and formulated images of modernity. I contend that these internal conflicts are an indication of France’s deeply problematic relationship to the modernity traditionally extolled at the fairs, and that it emerged as a serious challenge to deeply engrained national self-perception. My dissertation is divided in two parts. In Part One, I trace the conceptual origins and history of the expositions tradition in France, dating back to the late 18th century, to which the interwar fairs are heirs. My aim there is to outline important questions and debates that continue to be defining at the interwar fairs. Part Two of my dissertation contains three chapters, each dedicated to the study of the fairs of 1925, 1931, and 1937. By situating each event within the broader historical, cultural and aesthetic context of their planning and duration, and by analyzing closely the representations of these fairs, I demonstrate how the fairs actively shaped notions of modernity and national identity, and read them as part of a broader self-presentational discourse. By pointing out the internal conflicts within these representations, I aim to show that France’s ambiguous relation to modernity in fact stems from and conceals a deep anxiety over loss of a cultural particularity, compromised at the same time by France’s desire and imperative to modernize.
Flexible modeling and simulating mission availability within the operational framework for Canadian Naval platforms
Creators: name: Koshman, Scott
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2011

description: Availability and reliability metrics have become key in-service performance measures in Canadian defence contracting.  Previous implementations have evolved due to challenges in application, and were focused on the Air Force operational environment.  With ongoing capital procurement and in-service support contracting, the Navy requires a definition and method of assessing availability appropriate to Naval platforms. Naval ships are multi-role multi-function platforms. Traditional single function availability metrics are ambiguous for multiple functions / capabilities. Critical systems (e.g. propulsion, power) have an obvious effect on availability, while the loss of other functions (e.g. radar) do not.  Non-critical system and capability impact is a function of the requirements of the current mission, thus mission availability must be evaluated. Mission availability for a multi-function platform was defined as the interval average evaluation of critical system availability, mean capability availability, and mean weighted performance availability. The latter linked engineering performance to expected operational performance.  Mission Capability Configuration Reliability Model was introduced to link system performance to capability performance.  Using this model, an availability simulation, incorporating failure, maintenance, and logistical models was developed to assess mission availability.  The simulation was applied to the project management functions of ship design and specification prototyping, availability assessment for contract management, and in-service performance prediction.
Hyperiella Bovallius 1887
Creators: name: Zeidler, Wolfgang
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2004
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Malacostraca
Amphipoda
Hyperiidae
Hyperiella

description: Genus Hyperiella Bovallius, 1887
Remarks
This genus has been revised by Bowman (1973) and Weigmann­Haass (1989), and includes three species, with a circumpolar distribution in the Antarctic Ocean. Very little is known about the biology of these species. To what extent adults are parasitic, or commensal, is not known although their morphology suggests a parasitic existence (Laval, 1980). Libertini and Lazzaretto (1993) provide some information on the karyotype morphology of H. dilatata Stebbing, 1888.
Species: Hyperiella antarctica Bovallius, 1887; H. dilatata Stebbing, 1888; H. macronyx (Walker, 1906).
description: Published as part of Zeidler, Wolfgang, 2004, A review of the families and genera of the hyperiidean amphipod superfamily Phronimoidea Bowman & Gruner, 1973 (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Hyperiidea), pp. 1-66 in Zootaxa 567 on page 29, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.567.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/5259734
Glosario para Partituras Digitales Dinámicas
Creators: name: Calatayud, Patricio F.
name: Campos Arcaraz, María Teresa
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019

description: En este trabajo se plantea la necesidad de desarrollar un punto de partida que permita a compositores musicales actuales apropiarse de nuevas formas de escritura musical por computadora. Para esto se creó un glosario, enmarcado en la tradición musical occidental y que concluye con una bibliografía sugerida, en el caso de necesitar un marco teórico más amplio.

Palabras clave: Partituras digitales, escritura musical, realidad virtual.
Hyperoche Bovallius 1887
Creators: name: Zeidler, Wolfgang
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2004
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Malacostraca
Amphipoda
Hyperiidae
Hyperoche

description: Genus Hyperoche Bovallius, 1887
Remarks
This genus is in need of a thorough taxonomic revision. The most recent review is by Vinogradov et al. (1982) who recognised seven species. Weigmann­Haass (1991) also reviewed the taxonomy and geographical distribution of H. luetkenides Walker, 1906 and H. capucinus Barnard, 1930 in the Antarctic waters of the Atlantic.
The gelatinous plankton associates of Hyperoche are summarised by Laval (1980). Most are with ctenophores but H. medusarum (Kröyer, 1838) is mostly found with medusae. Additional biological information is provided by Bowman et al. (1963), Brusca (1970), Evans and Sheader (1972), Flores and Brusca (1975), Westerhagen (1976), Westerhagen and Rosenthal (1976), Harbison et al. (1977) and Cahoon et al. (1986).
Vinogradov et al. (1982) and Weigmann­Haass (1991) provide distributional data for the species.
Species (according to Vinogradov et al. (1982)): Hyperoche medusarum (Kröyer, 1838); H. martinezi (Müller, 1864); H. cryptodactylus Stebbing, 1888; H. picta Bovallius, 1889: H. luetkenides (Walker, 1906); H. mediterranea Senna, 1908; H. capucinus Barnard, 1930.
description: Published as part of Zeidler, Wolfgang, 2004, A review of the families and genera of the hyperiidean amphipod superfamily Phronimoidea Bowman & Gruner, 1973 (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Hyperiidea), pp. 1-66 in Zootaxa 567 on page 29, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.567.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/5259734
Effect of voltage on electronic cigarette aerosol deposition
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: Although awareness and use of electronic cigarettes (EC) have increased exponentially since their introduction into the U.S. market, important questions about their toxicity and environmental impact are unanswered. One unanswered question, "Where in the body are EC aerosols deposited in humans?", which was posed by the Food and Drug Administration, has implications for both EC toxicology and environmental impact. We also do not know the effect of EC design features such as voltage setting on EC aerosol deposition in the airways. To fill these data gaps, we are proposing to conduct a study in which we will use positron emission tomography (PET), a nuclear imaging technique, to visualize EC aerosol deposition in the human airways when used at low and high EC voltages. We will also assess the effect of EC voltage on the amount of nicotine that is retained in the body after a puff and the amount exhaled in the environment, as well as the relationship between the sites of EC aerosol deposition and plasma nicotine concentrations. The proposed project is particularly timely as state and federal regulations of ECs are being considered. It is important that regulations are based on sound scientific data. The proposed study is novel and answers important questions on EC aerosol deposition in human airways as well as the influence of an EC design feature, namely voltage, on aerosol deposition, systemic nicotine retention, and expulsion of nicotine into the environment. The proposal is responsive to TRDRP's Environmental Exposure and Toxicology research priorities.
Pegohyperia Barnard 1931
Creators: name: Zeidler, Wolfgang
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2004
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Malacostraca
Amphipoda
Hyperiidae
Pegohyperia

description: Genus Pegohyperia Barnard, 1931
Remarks
This is a very distinctive monotypic genus. Virtually nothing is known regarding its biology. It seems to be a relatively rare species having been recorded from the southeastern Atlantic Ocean (33°07’S, 4°30’E) by Barnard (1931, 1932); the Antarctic (65°51’S, 54°16’E) by Hurley (1960a); the North Pacific Ocean (28°N, 155°W) by Shulenberger (1977), and the equatorial Pacific (13°35’N, 101°145’W) by Vinogradov (1990). Specimens from South Georgia (BMNH), the tropical south­eastern Atlantic and tropical north­ west Pacific (ZMUC), the North Pacific Ocean (USNM) and the Tasman Sea (ZMUC) have also been examined. In addition, there are several lots in the SAMA and USNM recently collected from Antarctic waters.
Species: Pegohyperia princeps Barnard, 1931.
description: Published as part of Zeidler, Wolfgang, 2004, A review of the families and genera of the hyperiidean amphipod superfamily Phronimoidea Bowman & Gruner, 1973 (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Hyperiidea), pp. 1-66 in Zootaxa 567 on pages 29-30, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.567.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/5259734
High-throughput systems to dissect Snail-driven malignancy
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: Molecular details regarding the factors that regulate the early development of lung cancer and its early spread to other sites are currently incomplete. Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) is a process critical during early tissue development when cells lose cell-to-cell contacts (epithelial state) and acquire properties that cause cells to migrate and invade other tissues (mesenchymal state).

 An increasing number of studies suggest that EMT would facilitate the early steps of carcinogenesis and metastasis. Several studies also support the idea that this tumor spread can occur at very early stages of cancer growth, perhaps even when the tumor is initially formed. A protein called Snail/SNAI1 is a key EMT regulator and its up-regulation has been associated with early formation of cancer, cancer progression, and early tumor spread.

 The overall objective of the proposed research is to discover targets of clinical use for the detection, prevention and treatment of early cancer formation that is caused by Snail. To this aim, we propose an extensive study of the activity of the protein Snail in early lung cancer formation and early dissemination utilizing large-scale experiments that can detect when Snail is inhibited and loses its effect. Our previous work demonstrates that this study can be carried out successfully.

 We think that Snail stability can be targeted to disrupt the formation of lung cancer and its spread to other sites. We anticipate that this extensive study will lead to the identification of a list of factors that inhibit cell movement caused by Snail, and this could be exploited clinically for the early detection of lung cancer and the prevention of its spread to other sites.
Third-Hand Smoke Impact on Platelet Function and Thrombosis
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: While cigarette smoking is the single most preventable risk factor for cardiovascular disease, a significant percentage of disabilities and deaths are attributable to it. In fact, cardiovascular disease such as the thrombosis-based disorders heart attacks and strokes are considered the main cause of death due to smoking. In this connection, thrombosis is defined as the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel, thereby obstructing blood flow to a particular organ or area of the body. To this end, smoking accelerates the hardening and narrowing process in blood vessels, which substantially contributes to the pathogenesis of certain cardiovascular disease such heart attacks. Importantly, it has been established that activation of blood cells known as platelets is an important risk factor in atherosclerosis caused by smoking.

 In this connection, while the toxicity of first-hand smoke and second-hand smoke is well recognized, much less is known regarding that of third-hand smoke (THS). THS is formed from toxicants produced by second-hand smoke that end up depositing on surfaces such as upholstery, curtains, car seats, carpet, etc., which over time can undergo chemical reactions and changes that may make them more toxic. Those can then be reabsorbed upon direct exposure by a child or an adult. There has been a growing interest in understanding the toxicity of this form of smoke exposure, and whether it has any detrimental effects on human health. To this end, while we have very recently shown that THS does modulate platelet activity, and increase the risk of thrombosis, the mechanism by which THS does so, and whether the effects are dependent on the amount and duration of exposure remains to be determined. Our goal is to investigate these issues by employing a THS exposure model that mimics that of humans. Thus, we should not only learn about the negative effects of THS, but also better understand mechanistically how those effects are exerted on the cardiovascular system. The outcome of these studies may also result in new or better ways for managing smoking induced platelet-dependent diseases.

 In summary, our study aims to better understand the health consequences of exposure to THS in the context of platelet activation and thrombotic diseases. It is expected that those studies will inform the public of the seriousness of THS exposure, and perhaps guide policy for effective control & prevention measures, and may lay down the foundation for better therapeutic approaches for managing THS-dependent thrombosis, such as that seen in heart attacks.
Laxohyperia Vinogradov and Volkov 1982
Creators: name: Zeidler, Wolfgang
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2004
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Malacostraca
Amphipoda
Hyperiidae
Laxohyperia

description: Genus Laxohyperia Vinogradov and Volkov, 1982
Remarks
This monotypic genus is very similar to Hyperoche but is readily distinguished by the smaller size and the unique structure of the gnathopods. Virtually nothing is known regarding its biology, but its similarity to Hyperoche suggests that it may eventually be found in association with ctenophores. It seems to be a rare species having been recorded only three times in the literature. Vinogradov et al. (1982) had three females from the northern part of the South China Sea, Shih and Chen (1995) described a male, also from the South China Sea and Lima and Valentin (2001) record a male and some females from the South Atlantic Ocean, off Brazil. I have also seen specimens from the Tasman Sea (SAMA), the Gulf of Guinea (USNM), the North Pacific Ocean, off Baja California (USNM), the tropical South Pacific Ocean (ZMUC), the Arabian Sea (USNM), the tropical South Indian Ocean, near the Seychelles (ZMUC) and the eastern Mediterranean Sea (ZMUC).
Species: Laxohyperia vespuliformis Vinogradov & Volkov, 1982.
description: Published as part of Zeidler, Wolfgang, 2004, A review of the families and genera of the hyperiidean amphipod superfamily Phronimoidea Bowman & Gruner, 1973 (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Hyperiidea), pp. 1-66 in Zootaxa 567 on page 30, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.567.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/5259734
Lateral septum circuitry underlying vulnerability to nicotine consumption
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: Early childhood adversity accounts for over 30% of all mental illnesses and is associated heightened risk for later psychopathology. In particular, recent reports suggested that exposure to early life stress (ELS) increases an individual’s vulnerability to substance abuse, especially of nicotine. They showed that people with early childhood adversity had a 3.5-fold greater likelihood of smoking than those without childhood abuse. Several studies have found mechanisms in the brain underlying the strong correlation between ELS and smoking behaviors such as alterations of brain chemicals including dopamine (DA) and serotonin. However, the drug treatments that were developed to function in this manner have many side effects and remain ineffective for certain individuals.

 To date, the specific intervening mechanisms for ELS-induced vulnerability to nicotine consumption remained unexplored, although the investment into identifying therapeutic targets continued. This lack of clarity is largely due to our limited knowledge of the specific adaptations in the circuitry (connections) within the brain leading to increased vulnerability to nicotine consumption that can be attributed to ELS. Therefore, the identification of specific connections in the brain underlying ELS-induced increased vulnerability to nicotine consumption is a critical step for the development of therapeutics of nicotine addiction.

 Here, we propose a multi-faceted approach to tackle this issue. We will focus on the lateral septum (LS), an area of the brain that governs feelings of reward and motivation. The LS is thought to be an important component for regulating ELS-induced vulnerability to nicotine consumption for three reasons. First, traumatic stress triggers a increase of LS immediate early gene (IEG) induction, indicating that the LS is a critical brain region for processing the stressful episode. Second, the LS physically connects to the prominent central site of nicotine action and its influence on motivation (ventral tegmental area or VTA). Third, the LS is known to have an abundance of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) which mediate the nicotine’s action. Despite of these issues, the LS has been largely neglected for a long time in nicotine addiction research.

 In this proposal, we aim to dissect the LS circuitry in the brain underlying ELS-induced vulnerability to nicotine consumption using multiple cutting-edge techniques including optogenetics, viral mediated tracing, and single cell level molecular screening methods. Understanding the circuit-specific brain adaptations and underlying molecular changes that occur during nicotine consumption will provide invaluable insights in understanding and treating nicotine addiction and can serve as a basis for studies for many other early childhood adversity-induced psychiatric diseases.
microRNA biomarkers of THS teratogenicity
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: Active smoking of a pregnant women or her exposure to passive secondhand smoke can cause a myriad of adverse health consequences in her newborn, including those that affect the limb and facial bones. However, how exposure to third hand smoke (THS), which was recently identified to be chemical residues of cigarette smoke that deposit on the skin and household surfaces (carpets, fabric, plastic toys), affect developing bone structures remains unknown.

 To establish baseline information regarding the toxicity of THS towards developing live, we will expose pregnant mice to THS and examine embryo growth in general and bone development in particular. Screening in stem cell models of human bone development will provide much needed data on the relative toxicity of individual chemical constituents found in THS. Lastly, molecular approaches will identify novel biomarkers associated with THS exposure that can be used by health care workers to counsel parents. Together, the data gathered in this project will have implications for our entire population and how its reproductive health could be affected by THS and will aid in the formulation of novel policies set forth to regulate THS exposure.
title: Keynote: Vom Bundestag bis in den Seminarraum — Stolz und Vorurteil im politischen Diskurs
Creators: name: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena. Multimediazentrum
name: Rothmund, Tobias
Publisher: name: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität
Year: 2024
Subjects: subject: Politik
subject: Demokratie
subject: 370

description: Mit seiner Keynote „Vom Bundestag bis in den Seminarraum – Stolz und Vorurteil im politischen Diskurs“ gelang es Prof. Dr. Tobias Rothmund, den Bogen zu spannen von der Diskurskultur in der Gesellschaft über die sozialen Medien hin zur Universitätsgesellschaft. Anhand der Begriffe kritische und faire Rationalität zog er abschließend Implikationen für Studium und Lehre.
description: Dies Legendi 2024: Let´s communicate! Diskurskultur in Lehrveranstaltungen
Aetomylaeus Garman 1908
Creators: name: Ebersole, Jun A.
name: Cicimurri, David J.
name: Stringer, Gary L.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Elasmobranchii
Myliobatiformes
Myliobatidae
Aetomylaeus

description: Genus Aetomylaeus Garman, 1908
Type species
Myliobatus maculatus Gray 1834, Recent.
description: Published as part of Ebersole, Jun A., Cicimurri, David J. & Stringer, Gary L., 2019, Taxonomy and biostratigraphy of the elasmobranchs and bony fishes (Chondrichthyes and Osteichthyes) of the lower-to-middle Eocene (Ypresian to Bartonian) Claiborne Group in Alabama, USA, including an analysis of otoliths, pp. 1-274 in European Journal of Taxonomy 585 on page 125, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2019.585, http://zenodo.org/record/3660259
Pharmacist-led Si-care (schizophrenia care) model to improve medication adherence and symptom management in schizophrenia
Creators: name: Cahaya, Noor
name: Kristina, Susi Ari
name: Widayanti, Anna Wahyuni
name: GREEN, JAMES
Publisher: name: University of Limerick
Year: 2024
Subjects: classificationCode: 42
subject: Health sciences
subject: FOS: Health sciences

description: Introduction: Schizophrenia is a chronic mental disorder that requires long-term treatment, particularly anti psychotic medications. However, medication adherence among patients with schizophrenia is often suboptimal, leading to symptom relapse and poor outcomes. The Si-Care (Schizophrenia Care) program was developed as a pharmacist-led home intervention to improve medication adherence and support symptom control in patients with schizophrenia. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the Si-Care intervention in improving medication adherence and maintaining stability of symptoms among schizophrenia patients. Methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted in three community health centers or Puskesmas in Ban jarmasin, Indonesia. A total of 57 participants were recruited according to the sampling criteria. The Si-Care intervention consisted of seven home visits by trained pharmacists over four months, providing education, counseling, and medication monitoring. Adherence to medication was evaluated using the pill count method and severity of symptoms was measured using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) pre- and post-intervention. Data were analyzed using the Friedman test for adherence and the Wilcoxon test for PANSS scores. Results: Mean medication adherence improved significantly from 77.38 % ± 25.85 at baseline (T0) to 97.57 % ± 11.09 at the final visit (T4) (p = 0.000). However, the decrease in PANSS scores from 38.03 ± 9.14 to 37.81 ± 9.15 was not statistically significant (p = 0.089). Despite the lack of significant change in PANSS scores, symptoms remained stable throughout the intervention, suggesting effective symptom management. Conclusions: The Si-Care intervention significantly improved medication adherence among people with schizo phrenia, contributing to the maintenance of stable symptoms. Pharmacist-led home interventions provide valuable support to address adherence challenges and should be considered a critical component in schizophrenia care. Future studies should consider a more rigorous design, a larger sample size, and longer follow-up to better evaluate the sustainability, scalability, and applicability of the intervention in diverse healthcare settings.