The Writing of Judicial Biography- An Introduction

Symposium: The Writing of Judicial Biography American Political Science Association, Chicago, December 28-30, 194

Towards the Development of Peptide Nanfilaments and Nanoropes as Smart Materials

Protein design studies using coiled coils have illustrated the potential of engineering simple peptides to self-associate into polymers and networks. Although basic aspects of self-assembly in protein systems have been demonstrated, it remains a major challenge to create materials whose large-scale structures are well determined from design of local protein–protein interactions. Here, we show the design and characterization of a helical peptide, which uses phased hydrophobic interactions to drive assembly into nanofilaments and fibrils (“nanoropes”). Using the hydrophobic effect to drive self-assembly circumvents problems of uncontrolled self-assembly seen in previous approaches that used electrostatics as a mode for self-assembly. The nanostructures designed here are characterized by biophysical methods including analytical ultracentrifugation, dynamic light scattering, and circular dichroism to measure their solution properties, and atomic force microscopy to study their behavior on surfaces. Additionally, the assembly of such structures can be predictably regulated by using various environmental factors, such as pH, salt, other molecular crowding reagents, and specifically designed “capping” peptides. This ability to regulate self-assembly is a critical feature in creating smart peptide biomaterials

Rehabilitation strategies following oesophagogastric and Hepatopancreaticobiliary cancer (ReStOre II) : a protocol for a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Curative treatment for upper gastrointestinal (UGI) and hepatopancreaticobiliary (HPB) cancers, involves complex surgical resection often in combination with neoadjuvant/adjuvant chemo/chemoradiotherapy. With advancing survival rates, there is an emergent cohort of UGI and HPB cancer survivors with physical and nutritional deficits, resultant from both the cancer and its treatments. Therefore, rehabilitation to counteract these impairments is required to maximise health related quality of life (HRQOL) in survivorship. The initial feasibility of a multidisciplinary rehabilitation programme for UGI survivors was established in the Rehabilitation Strategies following Oesophago-gastric Cancer (ReStOre) feasibility study and pilot randomised controlled trial (RCT). ReStOre II will now further investigate the efficacy of that programme as it applies to a wider cohort of UGI and HPB cancer survivors, namely survivors of cancer of the oesophagus, stomach, pancreas, and liver. METHODS: The ReStOre II RCT will compare a 12-week multidisciplinary rehabilitation programme of supervised and self-managed exercise, dietary counselling, and education to standard survivorship care in a cohort of UGI and HPB cancer survivors who are > 3-months post-oesophagectomy/ gastrectomy/ pancreaticoduodenectomy, or major liver resection. One hundred twenty participants (60 per study arm) will be recruited to establish a mean increase in the primary outcome (cardiorespiratory fitness) of 3.5 ml/min/kg with 90% power, 5% significance allowing for 20% drop out. Study outcomes of physical function, body composition, nutritional status, HRQOL, and fatigue will be measured at baseline (T0), post-intervention (T1), and 3-months follow-up (T2). At 1-year follow-up (T3), HRQOL alone will be measured. The impact of ReStOre II on well-being will be examined qualitatively with focus groups/interviews (T1, T2). Bio-samples will be collected from T0-T2 to establish a national UGI and HPB cancer survivorship biobank. The cost effectiveness of ReStOre II will also be analysed. DISCUSSION: This RCT will investigate the efficacy of a 12-week multidisciplinary rehabilitation programme for survivors of UGI and HPB cancer compared to standard survivorship care. If effective, ReStOre II will provide an exemplar model of rehabilitation for UGI and HPB cancer survivors. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, registration number: NCT03958019, date registered: 21/05/2019

Effects of a Nighttime Multi-Ingredient Supplement on Recovery from a Damaging Exercise Protocol

International Journal of Exercise Science 9(4): 471-481, 2016. The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of a nighttime multi-ingredient supplement on noninvasive markers of recovery in resistance trained and untrained individuals. Forty-nine participants, both trained (n=25) and untrained (n=24) completed the randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled study. Trained participants were randomly divided into supplement (n=12) and placebo (n=13) groups. Untrained participants were randomly divided into supplement (n=14) and placebo (n=10) groups. Two, 2 (supplement group) x 2 (training status) x 5 (time points) repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) were utilized to determine if an interaction for supplement group and training status existed for peak force (PForce) and delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). Four, 2 (supplement group) x 2 (training status) x 4 (time points) repeated measures ANOVAs was employed for SWVL-Long, SWVL-Tera, SWVL-Trans and ROM to determine interactions for supplement group and training status. For significant main effects, pairwise comparisons were utilized to determine at what time-points significant differences occurred. There were no significant interactions for either DOMS or PForce. However, significant main effects of time were observed for both variables (p\u3c0.001). No significant interactions were determined for either training group, or supplement group for SWVL-Tera, SWVL-Trans, SWVL-Long, or ROM. Although the SWVL-Long had a significant main effect of time (p=0.033), post-hoc pairwise comparisons revealed no significant differences between time points. There was no effect of the nighttime multi-ingredient supplement for attenuation of symptoms associated with acute exercise induced muscle damage