Ambassadors and Key Issues

Ambassadors and Key Issue

Cell phone-generated radio frequency electromagnetic field effects on the locomotor behaviors of the fishes <i>Poecilia reticulata</i> and <i>Danio rerio</i>

<div><p><i>Purpose</i>: The locomotor behavior of small fish was characterized under a cell phone-generated radio frequency electromagnetic field (RF EMF).</p><p><i>Materials and methods</i>: The trajectory of movement of 10 pairs of guppy (<i>Poecilia reticulate</i>) and 15 pairs of Zebrafish (<i>Danio rerio</i>) in a fish tank was recorded and tracked under the presence of a cell phone-generated RF EMF. The measures were based on spatial and temporal distributions. A time-series trajectory was utilized to emphasize the dynamic nature of locomotor behavior. Fish movement was recorded in real-time. Their spatial, velocity, turning angle and sinuosity distribution were analyzed in terms of <i>F</i>(<i>v,x</i>), <i>P</i>[<i>n</i>(<i>x,t</i>)], <i>P</i>(<i>v</i>), <i>F</i> (θ) and <i>F</i>(<i>s</i>), respectively. In addition, potential temperature elevation caused by a cellular phone was also examined.</p><p><i>Results</i>: We demonstrated that a cellular phone-induced temperature elevation was not relevant, and that our measurements reflected RF EMF-induced effects on the locomotor behavior of <i>Poecilia reticulata</i> and <i>Danio rerio</i>. Fish locomotion was observed under normal conditions, in the visual presence of a cell phone, after feeding, and under starvation. Fish locomotor behavior was random both in normal conditions and in the presence of an off-signaled cell phone. However, there were significant changes in the locomotion of the fish after feeding under the RF EMF.</p><p><i>Conclusions</i>: The locomotion of the fed fish was affected in terms of changes in population and velocity distributions under the presence of the RF EMF emitted by the cell phone. There was, however, no significant difference in angular distribution.</p></div

Supplemental Material - An Evaluation of Online Training on Pre-service Special Education Teachers’ Case Application of Visual Schedules for Individuals With Intellectual and Developmental Disability in China

Supplemental Material for An Evaluation of Online Training on Pre-service Special Education Teachers’ Case Application of Visual Schedules for Individuals With Intellectual and Developmental Disability in China by Zhigao Liang, Juanjuan Zuo and David Lee in Journal of Special Education Technology</p

A sulfonated reversible thermal gel for the spatiotemporal control of VEGF delivery to promote therapeutic angiogenesis

Despite medical and surgical advancements for the treatment of cardiovascular disease, mortality and morbidity remain high. Therapeutic angiogenesis has been one approach to address the major clinical need for a more effective treatment, but current progress in angiogenic drug delivery is inadequate at providing sufficient bioavailability without causing safety concerns. An injectable sulfonated reversible thermal gel composed of a polyurea conjugated with poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) and sulfonate groups has been developed for the electrostatic binding and delivery of angiogenic factors. The thermal gel allowed for the spatiotemporal control of vascular endothelial growth factor release with a decreased initial burst release and reduced release rate in vitro. A subcutaneous injection mouse model was used to evaluate efficacious vascularization and assess the inflammatory response due to a foreign body. Thermal gel injections showed substantial vascularization properties by inducing vessel formation, recruitment and differentiation of vascular endothelial cells, and vessel stabilization by perivascular cells, while infiltrating macrophages due to the thermal gel injections decreased over time. These results demonstrated effective localization and delivery of angiogenic factors for therapeutic angiogenesis

Id Proteins Regulate Capillary Repair and Perivascular Cell Proliferation following Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury - Table 1

<p>Id Proteins Regulate Capillary Repair and Perivascular Cell Proliferation following Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury - Table 1 </p

Transgenic mice have doxycycline inducible endothelial Id1 expression in normal kidneys and following IRI.

<p>A) Western blot of Id1 expression in control kidneys from mice with indicated genotype: Id1−/−, Id3RFP/+ = Id1/Id3 knockout (KO), wild-type littermate = WT, TRE Id1 = TRE Id1, Tie2 rtTA mice. Mice were fed doxycycline (+ doxy) for 1 week before isolation of kidney tissue or ischemia-perfusion injury. Control chow fed TRE Id1 mice (− doxy, lane 2) did not demonstrate ‘leaky’ Id1 expression compared with WT mice (lane 3). B) Densitometry of kidney Id1 levels from control (con) and day 7 following IRI (IRD7) TRE Id1 mice (n = 3/group) compared with WT control littermates. *p = .01, **p<.001 (unpaired two-tailed t-test).</p

Investigation of the Diastereoselective Cyclization of Bis-sulfonyl Esters

The diastereoselective cyclization of bissulfonyl esters was investigated by varying both the size and the placement of the substituent on the tether adjoining the reacting centers. Substitution at either the α or β position relative to the ester moiety gave diastereomeric ratios of (1−3):1, while γ substitution dramatically increased the diastereomeric ratios to (6−20):1

Id1/Id3 knockout mice have increased tubular damage following IRI compared with WT and Id1 transgenic mice.

<p>Hematoxylin and eosin staining of kidney sections from WT (A), Id1/Id3 KO (B) and TRE Id1 (C) mice at day 3 following IRI with corresponding assessment of tubular damage expressed as tubular injury index (1–5) (D) from 5 mice (mean +/− SEM) in each genotype *p<.01. Ki67 staining of from WT (E), Id1/Id3 KO (F) and TRE Id1 (G) mice at day 3 following IRI with corresponding cell counts (H) from 5 mice (Ki67 positive cells/HPF from 10 fields/kidney, mean +/− SEM) in each genotype *p<.001 (unpaired two-tailed t-test). Original magnification = 400X.</p

Id1/Id3 knockout mice have decreased baseline capillary density and Id1 transgenic mice have decreased capillary rarefaction 7 days following IRI followed by increased rarefaction at 42 days following IRI compared with WT mice.

<p>A) Immunofluorescence labeling of CD31 on outer medullary peritubular capillaries in normal kidneys (con) and at day 7 following IRI (IRD7) of indicated genotypes. B) Capillary rarefaction index (% area with no CD31 staining using 100 square grid) following IRI at indicated time points. *p<.001, **p = .04 compared with WT control kidneys (one way ANOVA with Tukey HSD test).</p

Angiopoietin 1 levels are increased in TRE Id1 mice and Angiopoietin 2 levels are decreased following IRI in knockout and transgenic mice.

<p>A) Comparative PCR expressed as levels relative to WT control kidneys for Ang1 levels in control and day 7 post IRI kidneys of WT, Id1/Id3 KO, and TRE Id1 mice. *p<.05, **p<.01. B) Western blot of Ang2 levels in control and day 7 post IRI kidneys of WT, Id1/Id3 KO, and TRE Id1 mice. Results expressed as levels relative to WT control kidneys. *p<.001, **p<.05. (one way ANOVA with Tukey HSD test).</p