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The AppleTron is a natural mosquito incense stick designed to combat mosquitoes, which are carriers of diseases like Malaria, Dengue fever, Zika, and West Nile virus. This product utilizes citronella oil and sugar apple skin, both known for their mosquito-repelling properties. The development of AppleTron aligns with growing concerns over the environmental and health impacts of synthetic mosquito repellents. This research focused on the efficacy of citronella oil and sugar apple skin, excluding other plant and fruit materials. Citronella oil, a primary ingredient in AppleTron, has been well-documented for its ability to repel mosquitoes, lessening their ability to prey-finding and spread diseases. Sugar apple skin contains compounds that enhance the repellent effect. By combining these two natural ingredients, AppleTron offers a dual-action approach to mosquito control. Studies have shown that natural alternatives like citronella oil can effectively repel mosquitoes without the drawbacks of synthetic chemicals. Research indicates that essential oils such as palmarosa, lemongrass, and citronella, as well as mylol—a chemical oil—can provide almost protection against some mosquito species (Pollack, R., Kiszewski, A., & Spielman, A. 2002). Similar research has demonstrated the efficacy of natural repellents against mosquito species like Anopheles stephensi and Aedes aegypti, crucial vectors for diseases affecting human health. Testing data showed that AppleTron significantly reduces the number of mosquitoes attracted to honey bait in its presence. Statistical analysis confirmed a significant reduction in mosquito numbers, reinforcing the product's efficacy. AppleTron addresses the need for sustainable solutions to combat mosquito-borne diseases without harming the environment or human health.

Alcohol is a widely consumed substance in the United States, however its effect on aging remains understudied. In this study of young adults, we examined whether cumulative alcohol consumption, i.e., alcohol years of beer, liquor, wine, and total alcohol, and recent binge drinking, were associated with four measures of age-related epigenetic changes via blood DNA methylation. A random subset of study participants in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study underwent DNA methylation profiling using the Illumina MethylationEPIC Beadchip. Participants with alcohol consumption and methylation data at examination years 15 (n = 1,030) and 20 (n = 945) were included. Liquor and total alcohol consumption were associated with a 0.31-year (P = 0.002) and a 0.12-year (P = 0.013) greater GrimAge acceleration (GAA) per additional five alcohol years, while beer and wine consumption observed marginal (P = 0.075) and no associations (P = 0.359) with GAA, respectively. Any recent binge drinking and the number of days of binge drinking were associated with a 1.38-year (P < 0.001) and a 0.15-year (P < 0.001) higher GAA, respectively. We observed statistical interactions between cumulative beer (P < 0.001) and total alcohol (P = 0.004) consumption with chronological age, with younger participants exhibiting a higher average in GAA compared to older participants. No associations were observed with the other measures of epigenetic aging. These results suggest cumulative liquor and total alcohol consumption and recent binge drinking may alter age-related epigenetic changes as captured by GAA. With the increasing aging population and widespread consumption of alcohol, these findings may have potential implications for lifestyle modification to promote healthy aging.

People living near oil and gas development are exposed to multiple environmental stressors that pose health risks. Some studies suggest these risks are higher for racially and socioeconomically marginalized people, which may be partly attributable to disparities in exposures. We examined whether racially and socioeconomically marginalized people in California are disproportionately exposed to oil and gas wells and associated hazards. We longitudinally assessed exposure to wells during three time periods (2005-2009, 2010-2014, and 2015-2019) using sociodemographic data at the census block group-level. For each block group and time period, we assessed exposure to new, active, retired, and plugged wells, and cumulative production volume. We calculated risk ratios to determine whether marginalized people disproportionately resided near wells (within 1 km). Averaged across the three time periods, we estimated that 1.1 million Californians (3.0%) lived within 1 km of active wells. Nearly 9 million Californians (22.9%) lived within 1 km of plugged wells. The proportion of Black residents near active wells was 42%-49% higher than the proportion of Black residents across California, and the proportion of Hispanic residents near active wells was 4%-13% higher than their statewide proportion. Disparities were greatest in areas with the highest oil and gas production, where the proportion of Black residents was 105%-139% higher than statewide. Socioeconomically marginalized residents also had disproportionately high exposure to wells. Though oil and gas production has declined in California, marginalized communities persistently had disproportionately high exposure to wells, potentially contributing to health disparities.

The title compound, thallium magnesium trichloride, has been identified as a scintillator with both moderate gamma-stopping power and moderate light yield. Knowledge of its crystal structure is needed for further development. This work determines the crystal structure of TlMgCl3 to be hexa-gonal P63/mmc (No. 194) and isostructural with RbMgCl3, contrary to previously reported data. This structure was obtained by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and was further confirmed by neutron diffraction measurements. Extending neutron diffraction measurements to high temperature, the data show that TlMgCl3 maintains this crystal structure from 290 K up through 725 K, approaching the melting point of 770 K. Anisotropic thermal expansion coefficients increase over this temperature range, from 31 to 38 × 10-6 K-1 along the a axis and from 19 to 34 × 10-6 K-1 along the c axis.

The impact of PPO concentration in LAB micelles on the luminescence decay time is determined.

Copyright © 2020 American Chemical Society. The surface mining and bitumen extraction of oil sands (OS) generates over one million barrels of heavy oil each day in the Alberta Oil Sands Region of Canada. Recent observations suggest that emissions from OS development contribute to secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation, but the chemical composition, mass fluxes, and sources of those emissions are poorly delineated. Here, we simulated OS extraction and used comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography to quantify and characterize direct air emissions, bitumen froth, residual wastewater, and tailings components, ultimately enabling fate modeling of over 1500 chromatographic features simultaneously. During the non-ice cover season, tailings ponds emissions contributed 15000-72000 metric tonnes of hydrocarbon SOA precursors, translating to 3000-13000 tonnes of SOA, whereas direct emissions during the extraction process itself were notably smaller (960 ± 500 tonnes SOA yr-1). These results suggest that tailings pond waste management practices should be targeted to reduce environmental emissions.

ObjectiveTo characterize the ecological effects of biologic therapies on the gut bacterial and fungal microbiome in psoriatic arthritis (PsA)/spondyloarthritis (SpA) patients.MethodsFecal samples from PsA/SpA patients pre- and posttreatment with tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi; n = 15) or an anti-interleukin-17A monoclonal antibody inhibitor (IL-17i; n = 14) underwent sequencing (16S ribosomal RNA, internal transcribed spacer and shotgun metagenomics) and computational microbiome analysis. Fecal levels of fatty acid metabolites and cytokines/proteins implicated in PsA/SpA pathogenesis or intestinal inflammation were correlated with sequence data. Additionally, ileal biopsies obtained from SpA patients who developed clinically overt Crohn's disease (CD) after treatment with IL-17i (n = 5) were analyzed for expression of IL-23/Th17-related cytokines, IL-25/IL-17E-producing cells, and type 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s).ResultsThere were significant shifts in abundance of specific taxa after treatment with IL-17i compared to TNFi, particularly Clostridiales (P = 0.016) and Candida albicans (P = 0.041). These subclinical alterations correlated with changes in bacterial community co-occurrence, metabolic pathways, IL-23/Th17-related cytokines, and various fatty acids. Ileal biopsies showed that clinically overt CD was associated with expansion of IL-25/IL-17E-producing tuft cells and ILC2s (P < 0.05), compared to pre-IL-17i treatment levels.ConclusionIn a subgroup of SpA patients, the initiation of IL-17A blockade correlated with features of subclinical gut inflammation and intestinal dysbiosis of certain bacterial and fungal taxa, most notably C albicans. Further, IL-17i-related CD was associated with overexpression of IL-25/IL-17E-producing tuft cells and ILC2s. These results may help to explain the potential link between inhibition of a specific IL-17 pathway and the (sub)clinical gut inflammation observed in SpA.

A hallmark of metastasis is the adaptation of tumor cells to new environments. Metabolic constraints imposed by the serine and glycine-limited brain environment restrict metastatic tumor growth. How brain metastases overcome these growth-prohibitive conditions is poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that 3-phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (PHGDH), which catalyzes the rate-limiting step of glucose-derived serine synthesis, is a major determinant of brain metastasis in multiple human cancer types and preclinical models. Enhanced serine synthesis proved important for nucleotide production and cell proliferation in highly aggressive brain metastatic cells. In vivo, genetic suppression and pharmacological inhibition of PHGDH attenuated brain metastasis, but not extracranial tumor growth, and improved overall survival in mice. These results reveal that extracellular amino acid availability determines serine synthesis pathway dependence, and suggests that PHGDH inhibitors may be useful in the treatment of brain metastasis.

PurposeVertical cup-disc ratio (VCDR) is used as a clinical assessment measure to identify and monitor glaucomatous damage to the optic nerve. Previous genetic studies conducted in European and Asian populations have identified many loci associated with VCDR. The genetic factors in other ethnic populations, such as Latino, influencing VCDR remain to be determined. Here, we describe the first genome-wide association study (GWAS) on VCDR in Latino individuals.MethodsWe conducted this GWAS on VCDR using 4537 Latino individuals who were genotyped by using either the Illumina OmniExpress BeadChip (∼730K markers) or the Illumina Hispanic/SOL BeadChip (∼2.5 million markers). Study subjects were 40 years of age and older. Linear regression, adjusting for age, sex, and principal components of genetic ancestry, was conducted to assess the associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and VCDR. We imputed SNPs from the 1000 Genomes Project to integrate additional SNPs not directly genotyped.ResultsWe replicated two previously reported SNPs that reached GWAS significance, rs1900005 and rs7916697, in the ATOH7-PBLD region, as well as identified two suggestive associations in the CDC7-TGFBR3 region on chromosome 1p22.1 and in the ZNF770-DPH6 region on chromosome 15q14. We discovered a novel SNP, rs56238729 (P = 1.22 × 10-13), in the ATOH7-PBLD region that is significantly associated with VCDR in Latino individuals. We replicated eight previously reported regions, including COL8A1, CDKN2B-CDKN2BAS, BMP2, and CHEK2 (P < 2.17 × 10-3).ConclusionsOur results discovered a novel SNP that is significantly associated with VCDR in Latino individuals and confirmed previously reported loci, providing further insight into the genetic architecture of VCDR.

MycG is a P450 monooxygenase that catalyzes the sequential hydroxylation and epoxidation of mycinamicin IV (M-IV), the last two steps in the biosynthesis of mycinamicin II, a macrolide antibiotic isolated from Micromonospora griseorubida. The crystal structure of MycG with M-IV bound was previously determined but showed the bound substrate in an orientation that did not rationalize the observed regiochemistry of M-IV hydroxylation. Nuclear magnetic resonance paramagnetic relaxation enhancements provided evidence of an orientation of M-IV in the MycG active site more compatible with the observed chemistry, but substrate-induced changes in the enzyme structure were not characterized. We now describe the use of amide 1H-15N residual dipolar couplings as experimental restraints in solvated "soft annealing" molecular dynamics simulations to generate solution structural ensembles of M-IV-bound MycG. Chemical shift perturbations, hydrogen-deuterium exchange, and 15N relaxation behavior provide insight into the dynamic and electronic perturbations in the MycG structure in response to M-IV binding. The solution and crystallographic structures are compared, and the possibility that the crystallographic orientation of bound M-IV represents an inhibitory mode is discussed.

Water-borne hormone measurement is a noninvasive method suitable for amphibians of all sizes that are otherwise difficult to sample. For this method, containment-water is assayed for hormones released by the animal. Originally developed in fish, the method has expanded to amphibians, but requires additional species-specific validations. We wanted to determine physiological relevance of water-borne corticosterone in spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) by comparing concentrations to those taken using established corticosterone sampling methods, such as plasma. Using a mixture of field and laboratory studies, we compared water-borne corticosterone levels to other traditional methods of sampling corticosterone for spotted salamander larvae, metamorphs, and adults. Despite multiple attempts, and detecting differences between age groups, we found no correlations between water-borne and plasma corticosterone levels in any age group. Water-borne sampling measures a rate of release; whereas plasma is the concentration circulating in the blood. The unique units of measurement may inherently prevent correlations between the two. These two methods may also require different interpretations of the data and the physiological meaning. We also note caveats with the method, including how to account for differences in body size and life history stages. Collectively, our results illustrate the importance of careful validation of water-borne hormone levels in each species in order to understand its physiological significance.

The use of fixed fibroblasts from familial and sporadic Alzheimer's disease patients has previously indicated an upregulation of mitochondria-ER contacts (MERCs) as a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. Despite its potential significance, the relevance of these results is limited because they were not extended to live neurons. Here we performed a dynamic in vivo analysis of MERCs in hippocampal neurons from McGill-R-Thy1-APP transgenic rats, a model of Alzheimer's disease-like amyloid pathology. Live FRET imaging of neurons from transgenic rats revealed perturbed 'lipid-MERCs' (gap width <10 nm), while 'Ca2+-MERCs' (10-20 nm gap width) were unchanged. In situ TEM showed no significant differences in the lipid-MERCs:total MERCs or lipid-MERCs:mitochondria ratios; however, the average length of lipid-MERCs was significantly decreased in neurons from transgenic rats as compared to controls. In accordance with FRET results, untargeted lipidomics showed significant decreases in levels of 12 lipids and bioenergetic analysis revealed respiratory dysfunction of mitochondria from transgenic rats. Thus, our results reveal changes in MERC structures coupled with impaired mitochondria! functions in Alzheimer's disease-related neurons. This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper.

The U.S. Air Force is suffering the worst pilot shortage in its history and is struggling to retain fighter pilots. Air Force leadership has implemented multiple changes to improve retention, but none have had the desired effect. Squadron commanders are in the best position to influence a pilot’s decision on whether to leave by adapting concepts from the talent management theory of job embeddedness. Job embeddedness focuses on the three areas that target retention: employee fit within an organization, links an employee has to the organization, and the sacrifice an employee makes if leaving the organization. Corporate examples show how businesses use these job embeddedness aspects to increase retention. Implications and recommendations for Air Force squadron commanders are given to show how job embeddedness principles can positively influence pilot retention.

Water-borne hormone measurement is a noninvasive method suitable for amphibians of all sizes that are otherwise difficult to sample. For this method, containment-water is assayed for hormones released by the animal. Originally developed in fish, the method has expanded to amphibians, but requires additional species-specific validations. We wanted to determine physiological relevance of water-borne corticosterone in spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) by comparing concentrations to those taken using established corticosterone sampling methods, such as plasma. Using a mixture of field and laboratory studies, we compared water-borne corticosterone levels to other traditional methods of sampling corticosterone for spotted salamander larvae, metamorphs, and adults. Despite multiple attempts, and detecting differences between age groups, we found no correlations between water-borne and plasma corticosterone levels in any age group. Water-borne sampling measures a rate of release; whereas plasma is the concentration circulating in the blood. The unique units of measurement may inherently prevent correlations between the two. These two methods may also require different interpretations of the data and the physiological meaning. We also note caveats with the method, including how to account for differences in body size and life history stages. Collectively, our results illustrate the importance of careful validation of water-borne hormone levels in each species in order to understand its physiological significance.

Colubridae represents the most phenotypically diverse and speciose family of snakes, yet no well-assembled and annotated genome exists for this lineage. Here, we report and analyze the genome of the garter snake, Thamnophis sirtalis, a colubrid snake that is an important model species for research in evolutionary biology, physiology, genomics, behavior, and the evolution of toxin resistance. Using the garter snake genome, we show how snakes have evolved numerous adaptations for sensing and securing prey, and identify features of snake genome structure that provide insight into the evolution of amniote genomes. Analyses of the garter snake and other squamate reptile genomes highlight shifts in repeat element abundance and expansion within snakes, uncover evidence of genes under positive selection, and provide revised neutral substitution rate estimates for squamates. Our identification of Z and W sex chromosome-specific scaffolds provides evidence for multiple origins of sex chromosome systems in snakes and demonstrates the value of this genome

Colubridae represents themost phenotypically diverse and speciose family of snakes, yet nowell-assembled and annotated genome exists for this lineage. Here, we report and analyze the genome of the garter snake, Thamnophis sirtalis, a colubrid snake that is an important model species for research in evolutionary biology, physiology, genomics, behavior, and the evolution of toxin resistance. Using the garter snake genome, we show how snakes have evolved numerous adaptations for sensing and securing prey, and identify features of snake genomestructure that provide insight into the evolution of amniote genomes.Analyses of the garter snake andother squamate reptile genomes highlight shifts in repeat element abundance andexpansionwithin snakes, uncover evidence of genes under positive selection, and provide revised neutral substitution rate estimates for squamates. Our identification of Z andW sex chromosome-specific scaffolds provides evidence for multiple origins of sex chromosome systems in snakes and demonstrates the value of this genome for studying sex chromosome evolution. Analysis of gene duplication and loss in visual and olfactory gene families supports a dim-light ancestral condition in snakes and indicates that olfactory receptor repertoires underwent an expansion early in snake evolution. Additionally, we provide some of the first links between secreted venom proteins, the genes that encode them, and their evolutionaryorigins ina rear-fanged colubridsnake, togetherwith newgenomic insight into the coevolutionary arms race between garter snakes and highly toxic newt prey that led to toxin resistance in garter snakes.

Environmental pollutants are capable of concomitantly inducing diverse toxic effects. However, it is largely unknown which effects are directly induced and which effects are secondary, thus calling for definitive identification of the initiating molecular event for a pollutant to elucidate the mechanism of toxicity. In the present study, affinity pull-down assays were used to identify target proteins for 4,5-dichloro-2-n-octyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one (DCOIT), a costal pollutant of emerging concern, in various tissues (e.g., brain, liver, plasma, and gonad) from marine medaka (Olyzias melastigma) and zebrafish (Danio rerio). Pull-down results showed that, in male and female brains from medaka and zebrafish, DCOIT had a consistently high affinity for G protein alpha subunits (G alpha), suggesting the targeted effects of DCOIT on signaling transduction from G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and an extrapolatable mode of action in teleost brains. Validation using recombinant proteins and molecular docking analysis confirmed that binding of DCOIT to G alpha protein competitively inhibited its activation by substrate. Considering the involvement of GPCRs in the regulation of myriad biological processes, including the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal-liver axis, binding of DCOIT to upstream G alpha proteins in the brain may provide a plausible explanation for the diversity of toxic effects resulting from DCOIT challenge, especially abnormal hormonal production through the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway. A new mechanism of action based on GPCR signaling is thus hypothesized for endocrine disrupting chemicals and warrants further research to clearly elucidate the link between GPCR signaling and endocrine disruption.

Contains fulltext : 170927.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)

A one-day symposium entitled "Genetically modified organisms in horticulture-past, present and future" was organized that provided a cross-disciplinary forum for policy makers, scientists and industry from around the world to consider policy issues relevant to the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in horticulture. Currently, many governments offer passive resistance to acceptance of GMO foods because of the starkly contrasting attitudes of stakeholders and in the media. As a result, the symposium has generated this policy paper that can be used to influence policy makers to make informed decisions on this topic in the future.

The cornea is the outermost layer of the eye and is a vital component of focusing incoming light on the retina. Central corneal thickness (CCT) is now recognized to have a significant role in ocular health and is a risk factor for various ocular diseases, such as keratoconus and primary open angle glaucoma. Most previous genetic studies utilized European and Asian subjects to identify genetic loci associated with CCT. Minority populations, such as Latinos, may aid in identifying additional loci and improve our understanding of the genetic architecture of CCT. In this study, we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in Latinos, a traditionally understudied population in genetic research, to further identify loci contributing to CCT. Study participants were genotyped using either the Illumina OmniExpress BeadChip (∼730K markers) or the Illumina Hispanic/SOL BeadChip (∼2.5 million markers). All study participants were 40 years of age and older. We assessed the association between individual single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and CCT using linear regression, adjusting for age, gender and principal components of genetic ancestry. To expand genomic coverage and to interrogate additional SNPs, we imputed SNPs from the 1000 Genomes Project reference panels. We identified a novel SNP, rs10453441 (P = 6.01E-09), in an intron of WNT7B that is associated with CCT. Furthermore, WNT7B is expressed in the human cornea. We also replicated 11 previously reported loci, including IBTK, RXRA-COL5A1, COL5A1, FOXO1, LRRK1 and ZNF469 (P < 1.25E-3). These findings provide further insight into the genetic architecture of CCT and illustrate that the use of minority groups in GWAS will help identify additional loci.

Traditional medicinal knowledge possessed by Indigenous people is a significant resource, as exemplified by traditional medicines being the primary healthcare for ∼80% of people in developing countries and their study being a successful drug discovery avenue. The Indigenous Bioresources Research Group of Macquarie University Sydney Australia, work in collaborative partnership with Indigenous people to document and preserve first hand traditional medicinal knowledge; identify flora of significant medicinal potential and evaluate their effectiveness using biological assays; identify the major bioactive components responsible for the medicinal properties of the flora; and provide capacity strengthening opportunities for the Indigenous partners and their communities. The Indigenous Bioresources Research Group has well established partnerships with Aboriginal Elders of northern New South Wales, Australia, and Indian traditional custodians. This paper provides an overview of the importance of traditional medicinal knowledge and a brief review on traditional 'bush medicines' of New South Wales. It additionally presents the methodologies employed and some cultural, scientific and educational goals and achievements of the Indigenous Bioresources Research Group through showcasing of three major partnerships of the group, i.e., with Yaegl Aboriginal people of New South Wales Australia, a Siddha Medical Practitioner of Chennai, Southern India, and Chungtia villagers of Nagaland, North East India. These case studies particularly highlight the immense reward that truly collaborative partnerships between academics and Indigenous communities can bring, including the two-way exchange of knowledge and skills and various capacity strengthening outcomes.

PEDOT-Tos is one of the conducting polymers that displays the most promising thermoelectric properties. Until now, it has been utterly difficult to control all the synthesis parameters and the morphology governing the thermoelectric properties. To improve our understanding of this material, we study the variation in the thermoelectric properties by a simple acido-basic treatment. The emphasis of this study is to elucidate the chemical changes induced by acid (HCl) or base (NaOH) treatment in PEDOT-Tos thin films using various spectroscopic and structural techniques. We could identify changes in the nanoscale morphology due to anion exchange between tosylate and Cl- or OH-. But, we identified that changing the pH leads to a tuning of the oxidation level of the polymer, which can explain the changes in thermoelectric properties. Hence, a simple acid-base treatment allows finding the optimum for the power factor in PEDOT-Tos thin films., Funding agencies: European Research Council (ERC) [307596]

The direct observation of electron transfer in a system comprising bacteria and a conductive substrate is reported. P. aeruginosa is shown to reduce high conductivity, electroactive and biocompatible graphene-PEDOT composites.

PEDOT-Tos is one of the conducting polymers that displays the most promising thermoelectric properties. Until now, it has been utterly difficult to control all the synthesis parameters and the morphology governing the thermoelectric properties. To improve our understanding of this material, we study the variation in the thermoelectric properties by a simple acido-basic treatment. The emphasis of this study is to elucidate the chemical changes induced by acid (HCl) or base (NaOH) treatment in PEDOT-Tos thin films using various spectroscopic and structural techniques. We could identify changes in the nanoscale morphology due to anion exchange between tosylate and Cl- or OH-. But, we identified that changing the pH leads to a tuning of the oxidation level of the polymer, which can explain the changes in thermoelectric properties. Hence, a simple acid-base treatment allows finding the optimum for the power factor in PEDOT-Tos thin films.

Polymers are lightweight, flexible, solution-processable materials that are promising for low-cost printed electronics as well as for mass-produced and large-area applications. Previous studies demonstrated that they can possess insulating, semiconducting or metallic properties; here we report that polymers can also be semi-metallic. Semi-metals, exemplified by bismuth, graphite and telluride alloys, have no energy bandgap and a very low density of states at the Fermi level. Furthermore, they typically have a higher Seebeck coefficient and lower thermal conductivities compared with metals, thus being suitable for thermoelectric applications. We measure the thermoelectric properties of various poly( 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) samples, and observe a marked increase in the Seebeck coefficient when the electrical conductivity is enhanced through molecular organization. This initiates the transition from a Fermi glass to a semi-metal. The high Seebeck value, the metallic conductivity at room temperature and the absence of unpaired electron spins makes polymer semi-metals attractive for thermoelectrics and spintronics.

Surface force measurements between titania surfaces in electrolyte solutions have previously revealed an unexplained long-range repulsive force at high pH, not described by Derjaguin, Landau, Verwey, and Overbeek (DLVO) theory. Here, the surface forces between titania surfaces produced by atomic layer deposition (ALD) and cleaned using a variety of methods have been measured to determine the influence of the cleaning protocol on the measured forces and test the hypothesis that water plasma cleaning of the surface results in non-DLVO forces at high pH. For argon plasma and water plasma cleaned surfaces, a diffuse double layer repulsion and van der Waals attraction is observed near the isoelectric point. At high pH, the force remained repulsive up until contact, and no van der Waals attraction or adhesion was observed. Differences in the measured forces are explained by modification of the surface chemistry during cleaning, which alters the density of charged groups on the surface, but this cannot explain the observed disagreement with DLVO theory at high pH.

Drew R Oostra,1 Erin R Macrae21Division of Hematology, Oncology, and Transplant. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA; 2Division of Medical Oncology, The James Cancer Hospital, The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbus, OH, USA Abstract: Trastuzumab is a monoclonal antibody that is used in the treatment of breast cancer. Trastuzumab targets the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) receptor on breast cancer cells that express this tyrosine kinase receptor. These cancers are referred to as HER2-positive breast cancer. The original studies of trastuzumab showed improved survival in metastatic breast cancer; however, resistance often develops. In the adjuvant setting, women often progress despite therapy that includes trastuzumab. Antibody–drug conjugates are a new class of powerful drugs designed to target high-dose chemotherapy directly to the cancer cells. Trastuzumab emtansine is one of these antibody–drug conjugates and was the first Food and Drug Administration approved drug for a solid tumor. Emtansine is a potent antimicrotubule agent. Trastuzumab is used to target this potent chemotherapy agent directly to the HER2-expressing cancer cells. This review article will summarize the evidence from the preclinical studies, summarize evidence from the clinical trials, discuss current clinical trials, discuss current approval of trastuzumab emtansine, and discuss future directions of research. Keywords: T-DM1, trastuzumab emtansine, Kadcyla®, breast cancer, HER2

Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology, Although spirituality and religion are linked to positive youth development (PYD), few studies have examined how religion and spirituality interact during adolescence. Drawing from developmental systems theory (DST), the current study investigated whether single dimensional models of religion and spirituality maybe improved by a multidimensional model that tested how fidelity and transcendence may mediate the influence of religious attendance on indicators of positive development. This model was hypothesized to affect prosocial behavior and social competencies in the lives of 272 Mexican youth. The model was tested using the bootstrapping procedure process. Fidelity and transcendence mediated the relationship between religious attendance and prosocial behavior. Fidelity mediated the religious attendance-social competencies relationship. Religious affiliation by religious attendance was not a significant moderator the prior models. These findings are discussed in light of prior PYD research: specifically considering the potential for spirituality and religion to illuminate how individual variables interact with external variables.

Metabolomics, the comprehensive analysis of metabolites in a biological system, provides detailed information about the biochemical/physiological status of a biological system, and about the changes caused by chemicals. Metabolomics analysis is used in many fields, ranging from the analysis of the physiological status of genetically modified organisms in safety science to the evaluation of human health conditions. In toxicology, metabolomics is the -omics discipline that is most closely related to classical knowledge of disturbed biochemical pathways. It allows rapid identification of the potential targets of a hazardous compound. It can give information on target organs and often can help to improve our understanding regarding the mode-of-action of a given compound. Such insights aid the discovery of biomarkers that either indicate pathophysiological conditions or help the monitoring of the efficacy of drug therapies. The first toxicological applications of metabolomics were for mechanistic research, but different ways to use the technology in a regulatory context are being explored. Ideally, further progress in that direction will position the metabolomics approach to address the challenges of toxicology of the 21st century. To address these issues, scientists from academia, industry, and regulatory bodies came together in a workshop to discuss the current status of applied metabolomics and its potential in the safety assessment of compounds. We report here on the conclusions of three working groups addressing questions regarding 1) metabolomics for in vitro studies 2) the appropriate use of metabolomics in systems toxicology, and 3) use of metabolomics in a regulatory context.

Anthropogenic disturbances have been implicated in the rapid decline of amphibians. Disturbances, such as disease and poor water quality, might cause changes in the physiology of amphibians resulting in chronic stress, which can result in decreased growth and development as well as immunosuppression. In amphibians, corticosterone (CORT) is the main hormone released in response to stressors. We took the first steps towards validating a new, non-invasive, technique to assay CORT in amphibians using a water-borne collection method previously used only with fish. In validation of this technique, we found a significant positive correlation between release rates of water-borne CORT and levels of CORT in circulating plasma in adults of the San Marcos salamander, Eurycea nana, and the common midwife toad, Alytes obstetricans. These results indicate that water-borne CORT can be used as a proxy for plasma CORT. Additionally, we examined basic background information on the physiological states of these two species. We found that captive-reared salamanders had significantly lower release rates of CORT than field-collected salamanders. Field-collected salamanders had significantly higher CORT release rates 24 h after capture and transfer to the laboratory. For tadpoles, we found that field-collected tadpoles did not have significantly different CORT release rates than those maintained in the laboratory for four months. Our research indicates that this method of water-borne hormone collection should be viable for many species of amphibians; however, further validation via adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) challenges is required. This method can be a useful tool for assessing the physiological state of laboratory and field populations of amphibians and the effects of urbanization, pesticides and diseases. An important benefit of this method is that it allows for repeated measures of the same individuals and can be less stressful than drawing blood. © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden

The reduced pressure synthesis of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) with sheet-like morphology has been achieved with the introduction of an amphiphilic triblock copolymer into the oxidant thin film. Addition of the copolymer not only results in an oxidant thin film which remains liquid-like under reduced pressure but also induces structured growth during film formation. PEDOT films were polymerized using the vacuum vapor phase polymerization (VPP) technique, in which we show that maintaining a liquid-like state for the oxidant is essential. The resulting conductivity is equivalent to commercially available indium tin oxide (ITO) with concomitant optical transmission values. PEDOT films can be produced with a variety of thicknesses across a range of substrate materials from plastics to metals to ceramics, with sheet resistances down to 45 Ω/□ (ca. 3400 S·cm–1), and transparency in the visible spectrum of >80% at 65 nm thickness. This compares favorably to ITO and its currently touted replacements.

The reduced pressure synthesis of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) with sheet-like morphology has been achieved with the introduction of an amphiphilic triblock copolymer into the oxidant thin film. Addition of the copolymer not only results in an oxidant thin film which remains liquid-like under reduced pressure but also induces structured growth during film formation. PEDOT films were polymerized using the vacuum vapor phase polymerization (VPP) technique, in which we show that maintaining a liquid-like state for the oxidant is essential. The resulting conductivity is equivalent to commercially available indium tin oxide (ITO) with concomitant optical transmission values. PEDOT films can be produced with a variety of thicknesses across a range of substrate materials from plastics to metals to ceramics, with sheet resistances down to 45 Omega/square (ca. 3400 S.cm(-1)), and transparency in the visible spectrum of >80% at 65 nm thickness. This compares favorably to ITO and its currently touted replacements.

The marked changed in the types of wars fought over the last ten years in Afghanistan and Iraq have demonstrated the need for commanders at echelons below the campaign level to develop and continuously refine operational approaches to guide their decisions and tactical actions within an assigned area of operation. Modern doctrine and most military literature regarding these wars have been deficient in fully explaining the significance of this new requirement and fail to recognize this as the application of operational art. The monograph explores this issue by investigating the concept of operational art and its application in modern counterinsurgency operations. The monograph demonstrates that U.S. counterinsurgency operations aim to achieve stability within an extremely complex environment. Because of this complexity, units must develop unique approaches and tailor solutions to the many different local areas. As such, subordinate commands employ operational art to achieve local stability by developing and refining long term plans that drive the development and execution of tactical action. Modern Army doctrine should refine its definition of operational art to reflect the essence of this concept. The findings also highlight the need for further research on synchronizing the application of operational art across multiple levels of command., The original document contains color images.

Non-aqueous colloidal dispersions form the basis of many real-world applications, including electro-rheological fluids in automotive assemblies and inks in printing devices. The dispersion of particles within the non-aqueous liquid is typically stabilised by the use of dispersants, which adsorb to the particle/liquid interface and provide steric and/or electrical forces to prevent their aggregation. Importantly, the selection of the dispersant influences not only the inter-particle forces, but also their summation across many particles then defines the bulk properties of the suspension. Tailoring of these bulk properties is important in an industrial context, as each application will demand different bulk properties. In this study, the adsorption of three dispersants onto a polyester resin surface from a simple alkane is investigated. It is shown that the competition between the rates of adsorption from the bulk relative to that of the internal relocation of the functional groups of already adsorbed material defines the total adsorbed mass and structure of the film. Dispersants that have a slow rate of adsorption and a relatively fast rate of internal reorganisation produce soft visco-elastic layers with less total adsorbed mass. Conversely, dispersants with fast rates of adsorption and relatively low rates of reorganisation produce stiffer more elastic films and a greater total adsorbed mass.

Historically, information was a form of power closely guarded, secured, and provided only when there was a need to know. Modern communication equipment and the internet make global news available to anyone who wants it, or wants to provide it. Senior military leaders grew up in the Military during a period when this technology was not a reality. In a very short period of time, typewritten forms were replaced by e-mails and instant messaging. Failing to adapt to the speed at which information travels has plagued today's military leadership. Legacy policies towards information management have crippled the nation's efforts against terrorism, creating a military that is reactive and defensive towards what Thomas L. Friedman refers to as "A Flat World." This monograph focuses on this failure and indicates a way ahead in understanding strategic communications within the military, and in creating a culture that is both proactive and adaptive to the realities of strategic communications in the 21st Century. Military leadership failed to understand the strategic impact of key events in Afghanistan and Iraq. Compounding this lack of understanding was the inability to visualize the second and third order effects of military plans and operations in the strategic landscape. The failure to visualize these effects resulted in strategic messages that were reactive, defensive, and unresponsive to the fast-paced, global-media world they faced. This monograph looks at communications failures going as far back as the NATO Bombing of the Chinese Embassy in 1999, but focuses on more recent failures in Afghanistan and Iraq, including those of Corporal Patrick Tillman and Abu Ghraib. These failures had damaging effects on both immediate operational objectives and long-term strategic goals. Military culture is slowly changing, but it will fail to adapt to the "Flat World" if all military leaders educated by typewriter leadership fail to adapt to the Facebook World., The original document contains color images.

ARKIVOC: vol. 2010, no. 6, (issn) 1551-7012, (dlps) 5550190.0011.602, This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License. Please contact mpub-help@umich.edu to use this work in a way not covered by the license.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2006., Includes bibliographical references (p. 121-125)., This thesis presents a novel guidance strategy that uses a randomized trajectory planning algorithm in a closed-loop fashion to provide robust motion planning and execution. By closing the guidance, navigation, and control loop around a randomized trajectory planning algorithm, a robotic vehicle can autonomously maneuver through a field of moving obstacles in a robust manner. The guidance strategy provides executable plans that are robust to known error sources when supplied with an estimate of the initial state, the goal, the predicted locations of obstacles, and bounds on error sources affecting the execution of a planned trajectory. The planning function presented in this thesis extends the Rapidly-exploring Random Tree algorithm to dynamic environments by exploring the configuration- x-time space using a node selection metric based on the maneuvering capability of the vehicle. The guidance strategy and the new randomized trajectory planning algorithm are applied to a challenging satellite attitude guidance problem in simulation., by Drew Richard Barker., S.M.

The high-frequency and low-amplitude dynamic mechanical response from a single poly(vinyl alcohol) chain was investigated. Modification of a commercial atomic force microscope enabled high-frequency and low-amplitude periodic deformations of polymer chains during extension to be performed. Such an experiment has previously been considered untenable due to hydrodynamic and viscous effects, but we introduce here a method to isolate the response of the polymer from the hydrodynamic response. For periodic deformations with frequencies of 400-2000 Hz and amplitudes of 0.55-16.9 nm, we find that the dynamic mechanical response from poly(vinyl alcohol) does not differ from its static response. This result is not unexpected as poly(vinyl alcohol) is a highly flexible polymer with intramolecular relaxation processes taking place on a short time scale. The choice of a polymer with a fast relaxation allows its static properties to be recovered from the dynamic measurements and enables the method suggested in this paper for decoupling the polymer response from the hydrodynamic response to be validated., QC 20120119

The Chinese citrus fruit fly, Bactrocera (Tetradacus) minax (Enderlein), is one of the major citrus pests in Bhutan and can cause >50% mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco) fruit drop. As part of the development of a management strategy for the fly in mandarin orchards, population monitoring and experimental manipulations were carried out to determine: (i) adult emergence period; (ii) adult phenology patterns; (iii) period of crop susceptibility; and (iv) period from fruit drop to pupation. In western Bhutan, adult flies emerge from the overwintering pupal stage in late April/early May. Most flies are mature by the end of May and it is inferred that mating occurs at this time: from the beginning of June males rapidly disappear from the population and by mid- to late June are rare or absent from traps. Mature females are present in the mandarin crop at the beginning of June, but very little oviposition occurs until mid-June, while most damage has occurred by mid-July. Initiation of oviposition into mandarins is almost certainly linked to crop phenology. Adult flies disappear from the orchard system during August. After fruit drop, larvae were recorded leaving the fruit to pupate within 13 days. The use of early to mid-season protein bait sprays and/or targeted use of systemic insecticides during the one month oviposition period, plus the removal of fallen fruit once every 10 days, are recommended as control strategies.

Frugivorous dacine fruit flies were studied in a lowland tropical rain forest in Papua New Guinea to determine their host specificity, abundance, and the number of species attacking various plant species. Plant species hosted 0 – 3 fruit fly species at median (1 - 3 quartile) densities of 1 (0 - 17) fruit flies per 100 fruits. Fruit flies were mostly specialised to a single plant family (83% species) and within each family to a single genus (88% species), while most of the species (66%) were able to feed on >1 congeneric plant species. Only 30 from the 53 studied plant species were colonised by fruit flies. The plant-fruit fly food web including these 30 plant species and the total of 29 fruit fly species feeding on them was divided into 14 compartments, each including 1 - 8 plant species hosting mutually disjunct assemblages of fruit flies. This structure minimises indirect interactions among plant species via shared herbivores. The local species pool was estimated at 152 32 (SE) fruit fly species. Forty percent of all taxonomically described species known from Papua New Guinea were reared or trapped in our study area. Such high proportion indicates low beta-diversity of fruit flies. Steiner traps were highly efficient in sampling the lure-responsive fruit fly species as they re-collected 84% of all species trapped in the same area 5 years before. Fruit fly monitoring by these traps is a cheap, simple and efficient method for the study of spatial and temporal changes in rain forest communities.

This work evaluated the following aspects of the use of exclusion netting in low chill stone fruit: the efficacy of protection from fruit fly for this highly susceptible crop; the effects on environmental factors; and the effects on crop development. Concurrently, an economic viability study on the use of exclusion netting was undertaken. The trial site was a 0.6-ha block of low chill stone fruit at Nambour, south-east Queensland, Australia. In this area, populations of Queensland fruit fly (Bactrocera tryoni) are known to be substantial, particularly in spring and summer. The trial block contained healthy 4-year-old trees as follows: 96 peach trees (Prunus persica cv. Flordaprince) and 80 nectarine trees (40 P. persica var. nucipersica cv. White Satin and 40 P. persica var. nucipersica cv. Sunwright). Exclusion netting was installed over approximately half of the block in february 2001. The net was a UV-stabilized structural knitted fabric made from high-density polyethylene yarn with a 10-year prorated UV degradation warranty. The results demonstrated the efficacy of exclusion netting in the control of fruit flies. Exclusion netting increased maximum temperatures by 4.4 deg C and decreased minimum temperatures by 0.5 deg C. Although exclusion netting reduced irradiance by approximately 20%, it enhanced fruit development by 7-10 days and improved fruit quality by increasing sugar concentration by 20-30% and colour intensity by 20%.

Papaya is a popular fruit crop in many tropical and subtropical regions. It grows quickly and is capable of bearing large crops. Because of extensive monoculture and a narrow gene-pool, papaya plants are susceptible to numerous diseases. Papaya ringspot virus, type P (PRSV-P), causes the most widespread of these diseases. Although it is not currently a major problem in Australia, PRSV-P dramatically reduces yield in many countries. Vasconcellea quercifolia is one of four wild Carica species that are known to be PRSV-P resistant. Hybrids of these species grow vigorously in the field. Males, females and hermaphrodites have been identified, and a few male hybrids exhibited some pollen fertility. A backcross generation has been produced. One plant was fertile and showed resistance to PRSV-P. Transgenic plants containing viral coat protein constructs have also shown resistance to PRSV-P in field plantings. In this paper, progress toward achieving PRSV-P resistance for papaya using both approaches is examined.

Modern theories of gravity predict ripples in space and time, which are known as gravitational waves. Very large interacting masses, such as binary systems of neutron stars or black holes, are predicted to generate gravitational waves that may be intense enough to bevvv detected. This study presents a response analysis for the proposed gravitational wave experiment known as the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). The analysis focuses on the gravitational wave distortion patterns, or polarizations, predicted by the Brans-Dicke Scalar-Tensor Theory of Gravity (BD). LISA, a cooperative venture between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the European Space Agency (ESA), is a proposed space-based gravitational wave experiment with the potential to distinguish between polarizations of gravitational waves. LISA is scheduled for launch in 2012; so much of the current work for LISA involves the development and design of systems and procedures that will allow LISA to attain its desired performance. For a gravitational wave experiment, the projected sensitivity is determined by an instrument response function, which relates the disturbance generated by the gravitational wave to the disturbance that can be measured by the instrument. This study compares the response functions for BD polarizations to the published response functions for GR. Response functions co-responding to several different methods of data collection were analyzed. To numerically evaluate and compare the response functions, two programs were generated in the MATLAB programming language. The first program computes the response functions averaged over all source directions for each gravitational wave polarization and data collection method. The second program calculates the instrument response at each point in LISA s orbit to gravitational waves originating from the galactic center., The original document contains color images.

A theoretical framework for determining the minimum number of bidders in competition for projects in the construction industry is proposed. This is based on the neo-classical micro-economic theory for price determination in construction and the assumption of random contractor-selection. Empirical analysis of the Hong Kong data set not only illustrates the applicability of the framework, but also supports the relevance of the microeconomic model for construction price determination. The main implication for clients is that, in order to obtain the most competitive bids for projects in the most cost efficient way, they should vary the minimum number of bidders in competition according to market conditions.