BRILLOUIN SCATTERING SPECTROSCOPY AND MICROSCOPY: TECHNIQUES AND APPLICATIONS

Brillouin Spectroscopy is a widely used optical technique for material characterization and analysis. Recent studies suggest that Brillouin spectroscopy can be extended into an imaging modality, which would present with a wide range of applications in the study of biomechanics, stem cell differentiation, and cancer diagnostics. Extending this technology to microscopy would represent a significant advancement in optical imaging technology, in addition to a substantial capacity for commercialization. We show the potential use of Brillouin spectroscopy as a diagnostic tool for bacterial meningitis, improve the Brillouin spectrum using molecular absorption cells to filter elastically scattered photons, and develop existing Brillouin spectroscopy technology into imaging with Brillouin microscopy to create two-dimensional images of soft tissue on the micro-scale by the tissue’s bulk modulus or compressibility. In this way, we offer a method by which microscopic changes in the solid mechanical properties of tissue can be monitored, leading to a better understanding of the ways in way forces direct biological tissue to differentiate and change

Stakeholder Participation in Watershed Management: An Evaluation of the Jordan Lake Stakeholder Project

The Jordan Lake Stakeholder Project (JLSP) was convened by the NC Department of Water Quality (DWQ) to gather public input in response to high levels of nutrients found in Jordan Lake, a reservoir in the central piedmont of North Carolina. The DWQ is a frequent convener of such time- and resource-intensive projects, yet lacks methods for evaluating their successes and benefits. By assessing public involvement in terms of substantive and procedural factors and practical outcomes, I evaluated the success of the JLSP. This evaluation template can be used by environmental regulators to guide future collaborative processes in watershed management

BRILLOUIN SCATTERING SPECTROSCOPY AND MICROSCOPY: TECHNIQUES AND APPLICATIONS

Brillouin Spectroscopy is a widely used optical technique for material characterization and analysis. Recent studies suggest that Brillouin spectroscopy can be extended into an imaging modality, which would present with a wide range of applications in the study of biomechanics, stem cell differentiation, and cancer diagnostics. Extending this technology to microscopy would represent a significant advancement in optical imaging technology, in addition to a substantial capacity for commercialization. We show the potential use of Brillouin spectroscopy as a diagnostic tool for bacterial meningitis, improve the Brillouin spectrum using molecular absorption cells to filter elastically scattered photons, and develop existing Brillouin spectroscopy technology into imaging with Brillouin microscopy to create two-dimensional images of soft tissue on the micro-scale by the tissue’s bulk modulus or compressibility. In this way, we offer a method by which microscopic changes in the solid mechanical properties of tissue can be monitored, leading to a better understanding of the ways in way forces direct biological tissue to differentiate and change

Mechanical Turk Versus Student Samples: Comparisons and Recommendations

Mechanical Turk and other online crowdsourcing markets (OCMs) have become a go-to data source across scientific disciplines. In 2014 Steelman and colleagues investigated how Mechanical Turk data compared with student samples and consumer panels. They found the data to be comparable and reliable for academic research. In the nearly 10 years since its publication, the use of Mechanical Turk in research has grown substantially. To understand whether their results still hold, we conducted a partial replication to determine how Mechanical Turk workers continue to compare with students using UTAUT 2 as our theoretical model and virtual-reality headsets as the focal IT artifact. Our findings generally align with Steelman et al. (2014) and confirm that Mechanical Turk continues to offer a suitable alternative to student samples. This study reveals consistent results between the student and OCM samples, indicating the potential for interchangeability. The OCM samples are primarily male, while the student sample is majority female, following current US academic trends. All samples are significantly different in age, and only the US OCM and non-US OCM samples are similar in education. The path coefficients from the non-US OCM sample differ significantly from those from other OCM samples; the path coefficients derived from the student sample do not differ significantly from any OCM sample. While sample differences exist, as expected, many are addressable post hoc if anticipated and designed for during data collection. From our findings and the extant literature, we summarize recommendations for researchers and review teams

A Trustworthiness of Commercial Airline Pilots (T-CAP) Scale for Indian Consumers

A Trustworthiness of Commercial Airline Pilots (T-CAP) Scale was created for the purpose of measuring consumer perceptions about the trustworthiness of pilots in India. Previous research has used several different types of trust and trustworthiness scales, but none of them focus on pilot trustworthiness, particularly with an Indian consumer base. This paper outlines the process by which we validated the scale and tested reliability. We had 679 participants join in the process of determining the items that belonged in the scale, narrowing down the choices to highly relevant items, and testing the final scale. A factor analysis using the principle components and varimax rotation produced a single factor for the condition of trustworthiness, and all the items strongly loaded on this one factor. Reliability was tested via Cronbach’s Alpha and Guttmann’s Split-half test. Finally, the scale was tested in an experimental setting to determine discriminability. All tests provided evidence of high validity, reliability and discriminability

Mechanistic Studies on Selective Trimerization of Linear α-Olefins over a Supported Titanium Catalyst

The supported titanium catalyst s(FI)Ti, generated by adding (FI)TiCl3 to MAO-treated SiO2 (FI = (N-(5-methyl-3-(1-adamantyl)salicylidene)-2’-(2”-methoxyphenyl)anilinato)], effects the selective trimerization of the linear α-olefins (LAOs) propene, 1-pentene, 1-hexene, 1-decene, with >95% selectivity for trimers and ~85% selectivity to a single isomer thereof (2,3,5-trialkyl-1-hexene). Mechanistic interpretations are offered for the high regioselectivity as well as for some unusual kinetics behavior, including third-order dependence on LAO concentration and nearly identical initial rates at 0 and 25 °C

A systematic review and meta-analysis on the prevalence of dietary supplement use by military personnel

BACKGROUND: Although a number of studies have been conducted on the prevalence of dietary supplement (DS) use in military personnel, these investigations have not been previously summarized. This article provides a systematic literature review of this topic. METHODS: Literature databases, reference lists, and other sources were searched to find studies that quantitatively examined the prevalence of DS use in uniformed military groups. Prevalence data were summarized by gender and military service. Where there were at least two investigations, meta-analysis was performed using a random model and homogeneity of the prevalence values was assessed. RESULTS: The prevalence of any DS use for Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps men was 55%, 60%, 60%, and 61%, respectively; for women corresponding values were 65%, 71%, 76%, and 71%, respectively. Prevalence of multivitamin and/or multimineral (MVM) use for Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps men was 32%, 46%, 47%, and 41%, respectively; for women corresponding values were 40%, 55%, 63%, and 53%, respectively. Use prevalence of any individual vitamin or mineral supplement for Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps men was 18%, 27%, 25%, and 24%, respectively; for women corresponding values were 29%, 36%, 40%, and 33%, respectively. Men in elite military groups (Navy Special Operations, Army Rangers, and Army Special Forces) had a use prevalence of 76% for any DS and 37% for MVM, although individual studies were not homogenous. Among Army men, Army women, and elite military men, use prevalence of Vitamin C was 15% for all three groups; for Vitamin E, use prevalence was 8%, 7%, and 9%, respectively; for sport drinks, use prevalence was 22%, 25% and 39%, respectively. Use prevalence of herbal supplements was generally low compared to vitamins, minerals, and sport drinks, ≤5% in most investigations. CONCLUSIONS: Compared to men, military women had a higher use prevalence of any DS and MVM. Army men and women tended to use DSs and MVM less than other service members. Elite military men appeared to use DSs and sport drinks more than other service members

Molecular Beams

Contains reports on five research projects

Regulation and targeting of antiapoptotic XIAP in acute myeloid leukemia

: XIAP is a member of the inhibitors-of-apoptosis family of proteins, which inhibit caspases and block cell death, with prognostic importance in AML. Here we demonstrate that cytokines regulate the expression of XIAP in leukemic cell lines and primary AML blasts. Inhibition of phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3K) with LY294002 and of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade by PD98059 resulted in decreased XIAP levels (34+/-8.7 and 23+/-5.7%, respectively). We then generated OCI-AML3 cells with constitutively phosphorylated Akt (p473-Akt) by retroviral gene transfer. Neither these nor Akt inhibitor-treated OCI-AML3 cells showed changes in XIAP levels, suggesting that XIAP expression is regulated by PI3K downstream effectors other than Akt. The induction of XIAP expression by cytokines through PI3K/MAPK pathways is consistent with its role in cell survival. Exposure of leukemic cells to chemotherapeutic agents decreased XIAP protein levels by caspase-dependent XIAP cleavage. Targeting XIAP by XIAP antisense oligonucleotide resulted in downregulation of XIAP, activation of caspases and cell death, and sensitized HL-60 cells to Ara-C. Our results suggest that XIAP is regulated by cytokines through PI3K, and to a lesser degree through MAPK pathways. Selective downregulation of XIAP expression might be of therapeutic benefit to leukemic patients