The Influence of Personality on Organ Donation Attitudes and Behaviours.

This study investigated the influence of personality, specifically conscientiousness, on organ donation attitudes (ODA), organ donor status and future registration intentions in an exclusively female sample. Forty-four female undergraduate students completed five questionnaires which measured the following variables: The Big Five personality dimensions, religiousness, organ donation knowledge, organ donation attitudes, altruism, social desirability, self-reported donor status, and intent to register as an organ donor. The results found no significant effect of personality on donor status or intent. However, ODA and religiousness significantly influence donor status and intent in female university students. Results offer valuable insight for how health professionals and organ donor campaigns should target prospective donors. Future research is needed to address the gap between positive attitudes towards organ donation and the act of registratio

The use of polyurethane foams for the extraction of platinum (II) from hydrochloric acid solutions in the presence of tin (II) chloride

A preliminary investigation prior to the study of the extraction of platinum, was conducted on the Co(NCS)₄²⁻ /foam system to, (a) develop a suitable experimental apparatus in order to study the loading of platinum foams and (b) obtain fundamental kinetic and thermodynamic data concerning the sorption process. The sorption of platinum(II) as complexes of [Pt(SnCl₃)nCl₄-n]²⁻ and [Pt(SnCl₃)₅]³⁻ from hydrochloric acid solutions by polyurethane foams was examined in detail. Our studies show that the capacity of the foam to extract platinum depends on the following solution conditions of, temperature, initial platinum concentration, hydrochloric acid and hydrogen ion concentrations, the Sn:Pt ratio and the presence of interfering cations and anions. The rate of platinum sorption is shown to be dependent on temperature, initial platinum concentration, the Sn:Pt ratio and the mass of the foam. The foam's ability to selectively extract platinum from solutions containing platinum and certain base metals is examined. Results obtained show that in all cases almost complete extraction of platinum was achieved. Of all the base metals investigated only Cu(II) co-extracts to a small extent with the noble metal. In this work a procedure has been developed in which we are able to quantitatively recover both platinum and tin from loaded foams, by dissolving the polyurethane in warm nitric acid. A simple distillation allows for the satisfactory separation of platinum from tin

The Tactical Power of Modern Field Artillery

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Na+ Channel β Subunits: Overachievers of the Ion Channel Family

Voltage-gated Na+ channels (VGSCs) in mammals contain a pore-forming α subunit and one or more β subunits. There are five mammalian β subunits in total: β1, β1B, β2, β3, and β4, encoded by four genes: SCN1B–SCN4B. With the exception of the SCN1B splice variant, β1B, the β subunits are type I topology transmembrane proteins. In contrast, β1B lacks a transmembrane domain and is a secreted protein. A growing body of work shows that VGSC β subunits are multifunctional. While they do not form the ion channel pore, β subunits alter gating, voltage-dependence, and kinetics of VGSCα subunits and thus regulate cellular excitability in vivo. In addition to their roles in channel modulation, β subunits are members of the immunoglobulin superfamily of cell adhesion molecules and regulate cell adhesion and migration. β subunits are also substrates for sequential proteolytic cleavage by secretases. An example of the multifunctional nature of β subunits is β1, encoded by SCN1B, that plays a critical role in neuronal migration and pathfinding during brain development, and whose function is dependent on Na+ current and γ-secretase activity. Functional deletion of SCN1B results in Dravet Syndrome, a severe and intractable pediatric epileptic encephalopathy. β subunits are emerging as key players in a wide variety of physiopathologies, including epilepsy, cardiac arrhythmia, multiple sclerosis, Huntington’s disease, neuropsychiatric disorders, neuropathic and inflammatory pain, and cancer. β subunits mediate multiple signaling pathways on different timescales, regulating electrical excitability, adhesion, migration, pathfinding, and transcription. Importantly, some β subunit functions may operate independently of α subunits. Thus, β subunits perform critical roles during development and disease. As such, they may prove useful in disease diagnosis and therapy

The neonatal splice variant of Nav1.5 potentiates in vitro invasive behaviour of MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells

Upregulation of functional voltage-gated Na+ channels (VGSCs) occurs in metastatic human breast cancer (BCa) in vitro and in vivo. The present study aimed to ascertain the specific involvement of the 'neonatal' splice variant of Nav1.5 (nNav1.5), thought to be predominant, in the VGSC-dependent invasive behaviour of MDA-MB-231 cells. Functional activity of nNav1.5 was suppressed by two different methods targeting nNav1.5: (i) small interfering RNA (siRNA), and (ii) a polyclonal antibody (NESO-pAb); effects upon migration and invasion were determined. nNav1.5 mRNA, protein and signalling were measured using real-time PCR, Western blotting, and patch clamp recording, respectively. Treatment with the siRNA rapidly reduced (by similar to 90%) the level of nNav1.5 (but not adult Nav1.5) mRNA, but the protein reduction was much smaller (similar to 30%), even after 13 days. Nevertheless, the siRNA reduced peak VGSC current density by 33%, and significantly increased the cells' sensitivity to nanomolar tetrodotoxin (TTX). Importantly, the siRNA suppressed in vitro migration by 43%, and eliminated the normally inhibitory effect of TTX. Migrated MDA-MB-231 cells expressed more nNav1.5 protein at the plasma membrane than non-migrated cells. Furthermore, NESO-pAb reduced migration by up to 42%, in a dose-dependent manner. NESO-pAb also reduced Matrigel invasion without affecting proliferation. TTX had no effect on cells already treated with NESO-pAb. It was concluded that nNav1.5 is primarily responsible for the VGSC-dependent enhancement of invasive behaviour in MDA-MB-231 cells. Accordingly, targeting nNav1.5 expression/activity may be useful in clinical management of metastatic BCa

Supporting Spoken Language in the Classroom (SSLiC) Knowledge Exchange Programme Case-Study

SSLiC is a knowledge exchange programme that aims to improve communication and learning outcomes for all children. It seeks to achieve this aim by providing a forum for knowledge exchange between practitioners and researchers. There is a growing evidence base in the area of speech, language and communication needs (SLCN), although there are still major gaps in our understanding of how to apply this in practice in schools and the best ways to support school practitioners to embed communication in their school’s policy and practice. If we as practitioners and researchers wish to see greater improvements in outcomes for all children starting in school and beyond, it is critical that we come together, over a sustained period of time, to investigate how the existing evidence base related to communication and oral language can be applied to settings and then how this collective knowledge might be used to inform the wider community of ‘what works’ in schools for children. To support this process the SSLiC programme has identified five evidence-informed domains around which schools can focus their professional development and learning: i) Language Leadership ii) Staff Professional Development and Learning iii) Communication Supporting Classrooms iv) Identifying and Supporting Speech, Language and Communication Needs v) Working with Others. The following describes four case-studies that implemented the SSLiC knowledge exchange programme

Alpha/beta and gamma interferons are induced by infection with noncytopathic bovine viral diarrhea virus in vivo

In contrast to the results of previous in vitro studies, experimental infection of calves with noncytopathic bovine viral diarrhea virus (ncpBVDV) was found to induce strong alpha/beta and gamma interferon responses in gnotobiotic animals. These responses were associated with depressed levels of transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) in serum. The results of this study indicate that the immunosuppression caused by ncpBVDV is not associated with low interferon responses or elevated levels of TGF-β