I Know What You Are Going Through : The Impact of Negotiating the Criminal Justice System on the Well Being of Family Members of Homicide Victims and Criminal Offenders.

Increasingly individuals are coming into contact with the criminal justice system. For millions of Americans this contact is mediated by the victimization or offense of a loved one. This study focused on exploring what the family members of victims and offenders identify as their needs and concerns in relation to the criminal justice system, assessing if the system is effective in addressing these needs and concerns, and understanding how these families\u27 lives are shaped by interaction with the system. Grounded theory method was used to analyze the narratives posted on two on-line message boards, one for victims\u27 families and one for offenders\u27 families. The results from this study suggest that both groups express the same frustrations and concerns about the criminal justice system, and that both groups develop similar coping strategies to assist them in negotiating the system after initial incarceration or victimization

Inelastic Channels in the Electroweak Symmetry-Breaking Sector

It has been argued that if light Higgs bosons do not exist then the self--interactions of $W$'s become strong in the TeV region and can be observed in longitudinal $WW$ scattering. We present a model with many inelastic channels in the $WW$ scattering process, corresponding to the creation of heavy fermion pairs. The presence of these heavy fermions affects the elastic scattering of $W$'s by propagating in loops, greatly reducing the amplitudes in some charge channels. Consequently, the symmetry--breaking sector cannot be fully explored by using, for example, the $W^+W^+$ mode alone; all $WW \rightarrow WW$ scattering modes must be measured.}Comment: 10 pages, phyzzx, JHU-TIPAC-92001

Basal adenosine modulates the functional properties of AMPA receptors in mouse hippocampal neurons through the activation of A1R A2AR and A3R

Adenosine is a widespread neuromodulator within the CNS and its extracellular level is increased during hypoxia or intense synaptic activity, modulating pre- and postsynaptic sites. We studied the neuromodulatory action of adenosine on glutamatergic currents in the hippocampus, showing that activation of multiple adenosine receptors (ARs) by basal adenosine impacts postsynaptic site. Specifically, the stimulation of both A1R and A3R reduces AMPA currents, while A2AR has an opposite potentiating effect. The effect of ARs stimulation on glutamatergic currents in hippocampal cultures was investigated using pharmacological and genetic approaches. A3R inhibition by MRS1523 increased GluR1-Ser845 phosphorylation and potentiated AMPA current amplitude, increasing the apparent affinity for the agonist. A similar effect was observed blocking A1R with DPCPX or by genetic deletion of either A3R or A1R. Conversely, impairment of A2AR reduced AMPA currents, and decreased agonist sensitivity. Consistently, in hippocampal slices, ARs activation by AR agonist NECA modulated glutamatergic current amplitude evoked by AMPA application or afferent fiber stimulation. Opposite effects of AR subtypes stimulation are likely associated to changes in GluR1 phosphorylation and represent a novel mechanism of physiological modulation of glutamatergic transmission by adenosine, likely acting in normal conditions in the brain, depending on the level of extracellular adenosine and the distribution of AR subtypes

Chemokine fractalkine/CX3CL1 negatively modulates active glutamatergic synapses in rat hippocampal neurons

We examined the effects of the chemokine fractalkine (CX3CL1) on EPSCs evoked by electrical stimulation of Schaffer collaterals in patch-clamped CA1 pyramidal neurons from rat hippocampal slices. Acute application of CX3CL1 caused a sustained reduction of EPSC amplitude, with partial recovery after washout. CX3CL1-induced EPSC depression is postsynaptic in nature, because paired-pulse ratio was maintained, amplitude distribution of spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents shifted to lower values, and whole-cell current responses to AMPA were reversibly inhibited. EPSC depression by CX3CL1 is mediated by CX3CL1 receptor (CX3CR1), because CX3CL1 was unable to influence EPSC amplitude in CA1 pyramidal neurons from CX3CR1 knock-out mice. CX3CL1-induced depression of both EPSC and AMPA current was not observed in the absence of afferent fiber stimulation or AMPA receptor activation, respectively, indicating the requirement of sustained receptor activity for its development. Findings obtained from hippocampal slices, cultured hippocampal neurons, and transfected human embryonic kidney cells indicate that a Ca2+-, cAMP-, and phosphatase-dependent process is likely to modulate CX3CL1 effects because of the following: (1) CX3CL1-induced depression was antagonized by intracellular BAPTA, 8Br-cAMP, phosphatase inhibitors, and pertussis toxin (PTX); (2) CX3CL1 inhibited forskolin-induced cAMP formation sensitive to PTX; and (3) CX3CL1 inhibited forskolin-induced Ser845 GluR1 phosphorylation, which was sensitive to PTX and dependent on Ca2+ and phosphatase activity. Together, these findings indicate that CX3CL1 negatively modulates AMPA receptor function at active glutamatergic synapses through cell-signaling pathways by influencing the balance between kinase and phosphatase activity

Use of ivermectin in the treatment of COVID-19: a review

Introduction: SARS-CoV-2 produces a respiratory syndrome that can range from a mild, self-limiting inflammatory condition to severe, progressive pneumonia. Prevention and treatment strategies have become a priority since the emergence of COVID-19. Noteworthy is the use of ivermectin, an anti-parasitic agent, which has been widely recommended by some health professionals for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. Objective: To assess the evidence on the efficacy and safety of using ivermectin for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19, identifying its mode of action and the benefits and adverse reactions of using this drug. Methods: The search strategy for articles was based on a search in the electronic databases MEDLINE (NationalLibrary of Medicine, United States), LILACS (Latin American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences), Scielo, specialized libraries of Universities, PubMed, and Google Academic. The selected articles will be from 2015 to 2021. Results and Conclusion: Studies reveal that ivermectin is a broad-spectrum drug with high-fat solubility and has numerous effects on several parasites. In addition to having antiviral and antiparasitic effects, this drug also causes immunomodulation in the host. Ivermectin has already demonstrated its potent antiviral effects in vitro against several RNA viruses, such as influenza A, Zika virus, Newcastle disease virus, yellow fever virus, Chikungunya virus, dengue virus, among others. One way to delay viral transmission would be to stop the virus from replicating, thus reducing the viral load in infected individuals. Thus, studies have shown that ivermectin may have the potential for inhibiting and replicating SARS-CoV-2

Image processing system to analyze droplet distributions in sprays

An image processing system was developed which automatically analyzes the size distributions in fuel spray video images. Images are generated by using pulsed laser light to freeze droplet motion in the spray sample volume under study. This coherent illumination source produces images which contain droplet diffraction patterns representing the droplets degree of focus. The analysis is performed by extracting feature data describing droplet diffraction patterns in the images. This allows the system to select droplets from image anomalies and measure only those droplets considered in focus. Unique features of the system are the totally automated analysis and droplet feature measurement from the grayscale image. The feature extraction and image restoration algorithms used in the system are described. Preliminary performance data is also given for two experiments. One experiment gives a comparison between a synthesized distribution measured manually and automatically. The second experiment compares a real spray distribution measured using current methods against the automatic system

Spectral Signatures of the Diffusional Anomaly in Water

Analysis of power spectrum profiles for various tagged particle quantities in bulk SPC/E water is used to demonstrate that variations in mobility associated with the diffusional anomaly are mirrored in the exponent of the \onebyf\ region. Monitoring of \onebyf behaviour is shown to be a simple and direct method for linking phenomena on three distinctive length and time scales: the local molecular environment, hydrogen bond network reorganisations and the diffusivity. The results indicate that experimental studies of supercooled water to probe the density dependence of $1/f^\alpha$ spectral features, or equivalent stretched exponential behaviour in time-correlation functions, will be of interest.Comment: 5 Pages, 4 Figure