Formation of viable cell fragments by treatment with colchicine

Time-lapse cinematography of human fibroblasts revealed that mitotic cells separated into numerous cell fragments containing varying amounts of chromatin and cytoplasm when treated with colchicine. As cell fragments were very loosely attached to the surface of the culture vessel during their formation, they could be easily detached like mitotic cells by gently shaking the vessel and thus separated from normal interphase cells. Fragments obtained by this procedure were able to exclude trypan blue indicating, therefore, an intact cell membrane. When placed into Petri dishes many of them attached to and even spread out on the surface. Five hours later the majority of the attached fragments incorporated [3H]leucine. Time-lapse films showed that fragments were able to extend and retract pseudopodia at least for several hours after their formation. Although the fragments degenerated within a few days, in the present experiments the possibility was not excluded that fragments which had lost only a very small amount of chromatin and cytoplasm survived for longer periods of time. The observations clearly indicate viability of many newly formed fragments

Smart Card Fault Injections with High Temperatures

Power and clock glitch attacks on smart cards can help an attacker to discover some internal secrets or bypass certain security checks. Also, an attacker can manipulate the temperature and supply voltage of the device, thus making the device glitch more easily. If these manipulations are within the device operating conditions, it becomes harder to distinguish between an extreme condition from an attacker. To demonstrate temperature and power supply effect on fault attacks, we perform several tests on an Atmega 163 microcontroller in different conditions. Our results show that this kind of attacks are still a serious threat to small devices, whilst maintaining the manufacturer recommendations

Trading interactions for topology in scale-free networks

Scale-free networks with topology-dependent interactions are studied. It is shown that the universality classes of critical behavior, which conventionally depend only on topology, can also be explored by tuning the interactions. A mapping, $\gamma' = (\gamma - \mu)/(1-\mu)$, describes how a shift of the standard exponent $\gamma$ of the degree distribution $P(q)$ can absorb the effect of degree-dependent pair interactions $J_{ij} \propto (q_iq_j)^{-\mu}$. Replica technique, cavity method and Monte Carlo simulation support the physical picture suggested by Landau theory for the critical exponents and by the Bethe-Peierls approximation for the critical temperature. The equivalence of topology and interaction holds for equilibrium and non-equilibrium systems, and is illustrated with interdisciplinary applications.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Communication-Efficient Zeroth-Order Distributed Online Optimization: Algorithm, Theory, and Applications

This paper focuses on a multi-agent zeroth-order online optimization problem in a federated learning setting for target tracking. The agents only sense their current distances to their targets and aim to maintain a minimum safe distance from each other to prevent collisions. The coordination among the agents and dissemination of collision-prevention information is managed by a central server using the federated learning paradigm. The proposed formulation leads to an instance of distributed online nonconvex optimization problem that is solved via a group of communication-constrained agents. To deal with the communication limitations of the agents, an error feedback-based compression scheme is utilized for agent-to-server communication. The proposed algorithm is analyzed theoretically for the general class of distributed online nonconvex optimization problems. We provide non-asymptotic convergence rates that show the dominant term is independent of the characteristics of the compression scheme. Our theoretical results feature a new approach that employs significantly more relaxed assumptions in comparison to standard literature. The performance of the proposed solution is further analyzed numerically in terms of tracking errors and collisions between agents in two relevant applications.Comment: 21 pages, 5 figures, and this paper has been accepted by IEEE Acces

Plastron properties of a superhydrophobic surface

Most insects and spiders drown when submerged during flooding or tidal inundation, but some are able to survive and others can remain submerged indefinitely without harm. Many achieve this by natural adaptations to their surface morphology to trap films of air, creating plastrons which fix the water-vapor interface and provide an incompressible oxygen-carbon dioxide exchange surface. Here the authors demonstrate how the surface of an extremely water-repellent foam mimics this mechanism of underwater respiration and allows direct extraction of oxygen from aerated water. The biomimetic principle demonstrated can be applied to a wide variety of man-made superhydrophobic materials

Preliminary Findings: Relationship Between IgG-Based Food Elimination and Whole-Body Inflammation

High levels of whole-body inflammation are associated with increased risk of poor health outcomes and chronic disease. Inflammatory symptoms (e.g., digestive, psychological, and whole-body irritation) are commonly addressed via food elimination diets, yet individual differences may exist for persons with unique immunoglobulin-G (IgG) mediated food sensitivities. Few studies have examined IgG food sensitivities using an understood biomarker of inflammation, high-sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hsCRP). Identification of IgG mediated food sensitivities may be a feasible means for targeted-food elimination seeking to address inflammatory symptoms. PURPOSE: To assess measurable changes in primary outcomes, hsCRP and inflammatory symptomology, within subjects following an IgG targeted-food elimination diet compared to standard diet. METHODS: From 2021-2023, 20 subjects (male: n=20, Age=26 ± 7.6, Wt (kg)=88.43 ± 20.74, LBM (kg)=67.44 ± 10.15) underwent both a 4-week standard diet and 4-week IgG-targeted elimination diet, in a cross-over design ordered by random assignment. Body composition (InBody 570, BIA), inflammation (hsCRP blood draw), and symptomology (Inflammatory Symptom Screening Questionnaire) were assessed at baseline. Participants completed hsCRP and symptom screeners at the following appointments: start and end of baseline (days 1, 8), after week one and week four of first (days 15, 36) and second diet assignment (days 43, 64). Food logging was done throughout the duration of the study. Correlations and ANOVAs were run to assess relationships between demographics and hsCRP and symptom screener scores, as well as any interaction between diet condition, time point, or diet order. Data are reported as mean ± standard error. RESULTS: No meaningful correlations were found between InBody assessments and primary outcomes. No differences were found in hsCRP measurements between any of the time points in the standard and elimination diet conditions (p=.810). On the contrary, differences in inflammatory symptom scores were dependent on diet condition (p\u3c.001). During their standard diet, participants reported increased symptom frequency at week one (20.40) and week four (20.33). Greater differences in inflammatory symptomology were found the longer participants eliminated food; after one week of elimination (15.20) compared to one week of standard diet (-5.20, p=.001) and four weeks of standard diet (-5.13, p=.003). Differences were magnified by the fourth week of elimination (10.67) compared to week one (-9.73, p\u3c.001) and week four of standard diet (-9.667, p\u3c.001). CONCLUSION: This study suggests targeted IgG-based food elimination diets significantly reduce inflammatory symptoms despite finding no detectable changes in whole body inflammation via hsCRP. The results presented here influenced a subsequent study examining the effect of plant versus animal protein on athletic performance in individuals with and without whey IgG sensitivities

Comparison of Actual versus Recommended Intake of Collegiate Athletes Across Gender and Season at a Small Division I University

Collegiate athletes often struggle to consume foods that provide adequate energy and nutrition to fuel their demanding physical performance and recovery needs. The increased energy expenditure during in- versus off-season training may further hinder an athlete’s ability to meet recommended intake guidelines. PURPOSE: to assess Division I student-athlete nutrition intake (calories, protein, carbohydrates, and fat) throughout training seasons of the 2019-2021 school years. METHODS: From 2019-2021, 29 athletes (male: n=9, Wt=76.9 ± 2.2kg, LBM=66.0 ± 6.7kg; female: n=20, Wt=68.6 ± 3.7, LBM=51.4 ± 1.7kg) completed 3-day intake (ASA24) logs monthly. Body composition (InBody 570, BIA) and sport nutrition knowledge (NSKQ) were assessed at baseline. Paired samples t-tests were used to assess differences between actual intake and recommended values (based on kg/BW and sport) while repeated measures ANOVAs were used to assess gender by season interactions; data are reported as mean ± standard error. RESULTS: Regardless of training season athletes failed to meet recommended intake guidelines for carbohydrates (-319.5 ± 27.5g; P\u3c0.001) and calories (-552.7 ± 144.2kcals; P=0.001). Fat was the only macronutrient consistently overconsumed throughout the year (+19.3 ± 4.7g; P\u3c0.001) while protein intake was not significantly different from recommendations (-1.7 ± 6.7g, P=0.804). Males and females did not differ in their ability to meet recommendations. When comparing training seasons, the carbohydrate underconsumption was greater in-season (-379 ± 26.2g) than off-season (-245 ± 26.4g; P=0.001) while the fat overconsumption was greater in-season (+34.7 ± 5.9g) than off-season (+17.1 ± 6.2g; P=0.002). When comparing gender by season interactions, males significantly overconsumed fat off-season (+12.8 ± 10.3g; P=0.031) while females significantly under consumed protein in-season (-9.3 ± 8.2g; P=0.044). Knowledge scores (51.7 ± 2.3%) were not correlated with matching intake, regardless of season and across macronutrients, however this sample’s narrow distribution of scores may have prevented significant findings. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that collegiate athletes at a small D1 university can meet protein and fat recommendations yet struggle to meet calorie and carbohydrate guidelines. Gender differences may also exist, and sport nutrition knowledge was not found to influence an athlete’s nutrient intake

Skin cancer risk and shade: comparing the risk of foresters with other outdoor workers

Background: Keratinocyte carcinoma (KC) is an increasingly important public health problem with an especially high prevalence in outdoor workers. In contrast to other occupations, foresters spend most of their outdoor time under the shade of trees. Objectives: We aimed to compare the unique sun exposure patterns and sun protection behaviour of foresters with those of other outdoor workers and their relation to the KC risk. Methods: In July 2018, a cross‐sectional study was conducted at an international forestry fair using a questionnaire about health awareness and skin cancer screening by dermatologists to assess the prevalence of KC. Results: A total of 591 participants (78.7% male; mean age 46.8 ± 16.2 years) including 193 foresters were enrolled. Of all foresters, 72% experienced sunburns (solar erythema) within the past year and 50% of them experienced the worst sunburn during work. Foresters were most likely to often/always wear protective clothes (29.0%) but were least likely to often/always avoid midday sun (23.8%) and stay in the shade (31.1%). Having an outdoor profession or spending hours outside for leisure was negatively associated with sun protection. Skin examination revealed an overall KC prevalence of 16.7%, with 16.5% of foresters being affected. Conclusion: Despite being protected by trees, the risk of KC for foresters is comparable to that of other professional groups. Shade alone may not provide sufficient protection. Additional sun protection measures are necessary

The New Mexico State University Satellite (NMSUSat) Mission

The New Mexico State University Satellite (NMSUSat) is part of the University Nanosat 3 program managed by the Air Force Research Laboratory and it is being developed at New Mexico State University. The planned Science Mission for the satellite is to perform Near Ultra Violet emission intensity measurements of the earth\u27s upper atmosphere over the night side of the earth. The Engineering Mission is to demonstrate techniques for distributed data relaying over the Internet and to conduct an energy storage experiment to assess the operational characteristics of double layer capacitors. The Educational Mission of the program to assist in the further development of the aerospace engineering concentration area in the College of Engineering and to develop multi-disciplinary capstone and design classes for students in engineering departments, computer science, and the engineering physics program. This paper will discuss the preliminary design for the satellite components and how the mission segments will be worked among the participating departments at New Mexico State University

Genome-wide interaction study of early-life smoking exposure on time-to-asthma onset in childhood

BACKGROUND: Asthma, a heterogeneous disease with variable age of onset, results from the interplay between genetic and environmental factors. Early-life tobacco smoke (ELTS) exposure is a major asthma risk factor. Only a few genetic loci have been reported to interact with ELTS exposure in asthma. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to identify new loci interacting with ELTS exposure on time-to-asthma onset (TAO) in childhood. METHODS: We conducted genome-wide interaction analyses of ELTS exposure on time-to-asthma onset in childhood in five European-ancestry studies (totaling 8,273 subjects) using Cox proportional-hazard model. The results of all five genome-wide analyses were meta-analyzed. RESULTS: The 13q21 locus showed genome-wide significant interaction with ELTS exposure (P=4.3x10-8 for rs7334050 within KLHL1 with consistent results across the five studies). Suggestive interactions (P<5x10-6 ) were found at three other loci: 20p12 (rs13037508 within MACROD2; P=4.9x10-7 ), 14q22 (rs7493885 near NIN; P=2.9x10-6 ) and 2p22 (rs232542 near CYP1B1; P=4.1x10-6 ). Functional annotations and the literature showed that the lead SNPs at these four loci influence DNA methylation in the blood and are located nearby CpG sites reported to be associated with exposure to tobacco smoke components, which strongly support our findings. CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: We identified novel candidate genes interacting with ELTS exposure on time-to-asthma onset in childhood. These genes have plausible biological relevance related to tobacco smoke exposure. Further epigenetic and functional studies are needed to confirm these findings and to shed light on the underlying mechanisms. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved