Investigating the Effects of 17α-Ethynylestradiol on Mitochondrial Genome Stability

Environmental toxicants are ubiquitous throughout the environment as a result of human activity. Among these toxicants, environmental estrogens are a category of particular concern due to their environmental prevalence and potency in altering reproductive traits. While many studies have addressed the detrimental effects of environmental estrogens on both aquatic and terrestrial organisms, few have analyzed the potential for these compounds to alter mitochondrial function. Mitochondria are the primary energy-generating system for all eukaryotic life, supporting all aspects of development, metabolism, and growth. Each cell within the body contains many mitochondria which in turn contain multiple copies of their own DNA genome, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Mutations in mtDNA are responsible for a wide range of human diseases such as metabolic syndromes, cancers, and obesity. Among these mitochondrial diseases many are characterized by increased levels of heteroplasmy, multiple mitochondrial DNA haplotypes within an individual. Increased heteroplasmy can alter normal mitochondrial function and influence disease initiation and progression. To date, no studies have investigated the effects of synthetic estrogens on mitochondrial genome stability. Synthetic estrogens have the capacity to bind to estrogen receptors and initiate estrogenic responses through translocation into the mitochondrion. Despite our knowledge about the relationship of heteroplasmy and disease, we still do not have a complete grasp of the mechanisms of heteroplasmic induction. Here we report our analysis of the effects of 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2) exposure in three studies to investigate its effect on mitochondrial genome stability. Data analysis reveals a statistically significant relationship between EE2 exposure and increased heteroplasmic frequency

Disorders of sex development: mothers’ experiences of support

Abstract Background: An increasing body of research has sought to determine the impact of Disorders of Sex Development (DSD) on the family of the affected child. Little is currently understood about the support needs of the family and how well these needs are met. Methods: Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis was used to analyse semi-structured interviews with eight mothers of children with DSD about their experiences of support. Results: Four master themes emerged which encapsulated (a) the stages in their child’s development when mothers most needed support, (b) the importance of developing an understanding of the child’s condition, (c) the lack of acknowledgement of the emotional needs of the parent and (d) the importance of having close and trusted networks for support. Continuity and availability of support were considered important and while all participants prioritised maintaining privacy about the condition, a minority felt that this impacted the level of support they received. Conclusions: Key time points for support were identified and while some felt that they were well supported others felt that the support available did not meet their emotional needs. Clinical implications and directions for future research were considered

Privacy Preserving Internet Browsers: Forensic Analysis of Browzar

With the advance of technology, Criminal Justice agencies are being confronted with an increased need to investigate crimes perpetuated partially or entirely over the Internet. These types of crime are known as cybercrimes. In order to conceal illegal online activity, criminals often use private browsing features or browsers designed to provide total browsing privacy. The use of private browsing is a common challenge faced in for example child exploitation investigations, which usually originate on the Internet. Although private browsing features are not designed specifically for criminal activity, they have become a valuable tool for criminals looking to conceal their online activity. As such, Technological Crime units often focus their forensic analysis on thoroughly examining the web history on a computer. Private browsing features and browsers often require a more in-depth, post mortem analysis. This often requires the use of multiple tools, as well as different forensic approaches to uncover incriminating evidence. This evidence may be required in a court of law, where analysts are often challenged both on their findings and on the tools and approaches used to recover evidence. However, there are very few research on evaluating of private browsing in terms of privacy preserving as well as forensic acquisition and analysis of privacy preserving internet browsers. Therefore in this chapter, we firstly review the private mode of popular internet browsers. Next, we describe the forensic acquisition and analysis of Browzar, a privacy preserving internet browser and compare it with other popular internet browser

Innovative librarians: Harnessing passion and involvement for library metamorphosis

During 2010 the RMIT University Library formed the 'Innovative Librarians Group' (ILG). The idea for the ILG was conceived from a debrief meeting with the University Librarian and acting Staff Development Librarian for the group's leader on her return from the Aurora leadership course. The ILG combined her interests in shifting the library staff mindset toward innovation and forward thinking, and integrating a technology focus into the library environment

Impact of prospective measurement of outflow tracts in the prediction of coarctation of the aorta

Background: Prenatal diagnosis of coarctation of the aorta (COA) is associated with reduced mortality and morbidity, however, accurate prenatal prediction remains challenging. To date, studies have measured the outflow tracts retrospectively to gauge the potential to predict COA. Our primary objective was to evaluate prospectively acquired measurements of the outflow tracts in prenatally suspected COA. A secondary aim was to report the postnatal prevalence of bicuspid aortic valve in this cohort. Methods: Measurement of the aortic valve, pulmonary valve, distal transverse aortic arch (DTAA) and arterial duct (AD) diameters were undertaken routinely in fetuses with suspected COA between 2002–2017. Using published reference ranges based on >7000 fetuses from our own unit, z scores were computed. Results: COA was confirmed after birth in 77/149 (52%) cases. DTAA z score and the z score of DTAA:AD were smaller in cases with confirmed COA compared to false positive (FP) (-2.8 vs -1.9, p=0.039; -3.13 vs -2.61, p=0.005, respectively). Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that z scores of DTAA and AD were the only significant predictors (p=0.001). Bicuspid aortic valve was identified in 30% of the FP group. Conclusion: Measurement of the DTAA and AD z scores can be used to attribute risk for postnatal COA in a selected cohort. The significance of the high incidence of bicuspid aortic valve in FP cases merits further study both with respect to aetiology and longer- term significance

A Critical Analysis of the Theoretical Basis of Ultrasonic Scattering Measurements

There are three elements involved in the backscattering from inhomogeneous media; the scattering properties of a single particle or scattering element, the scattering associated with a group of such particles and the relationship of the scattered wave to the measured signal. Ideally it should be possible to obtain information about the material microstructure from ultrasonic backscattering measurements. However, a number of assumptions and approximations must be made before the problem becomes tractable, and it is the purpose of the present investigation to compare the various approaches available in the literature in an attempt to quantify the errors involved with some of these approximations

Incorporating Animal Movement Into Distance Sampling

Distance sampling is a popular statistical method to estimate the density of wild animal populations. Conventional distance sampling represents animals as fixed points in space that are detected with an unknown probability that depends on the distance between the observer and the animal. Animal movement can cause substantial bias in density estimation. Methods to correct for responsive animal movement exist, but none account for nonresponsive movement independent of the observer. Here, an explicit animal movement model is incorporated into distance sampling, combining distance sampling survey data with animal telemetry data. Detection probability depends on the entire unobserved path the animal travels. The intractable integration over all possible animal paths is approximated by a hidden Markov model. A simulation study shows themethod to be negligibly biased (\u3c5%) in scenarioswhere conventional distance sampling overestimates abundance by up to 100%. The method is applied to line transect surveys (1999– 2006) of spotted dolphins (Stenella attenuata) in the eastern tropical Pacific where abundance is shown to be positively biased by 21% on average, which can have substantial impact on the population dynamics estimated from these abundance estimates and on the choice of statistical methodology applied to future surveys. Supplementary materials for this article, including a standardized description of the materials available for reproducing the work, are available as an online supplement

Bis(μ-disulfur dinitrido)bis­[diphenyl­tin(IV)]

The title compound, [Sn2(C6H5)4(N2S2)2], exists as a centrosymmetric binuclear dimer with the SnIV centres in distorted trigonal bipyramidal geometry and a central Sn2N2 core

Sexual arousal: the correspondence of eyes and genitals.

Men's, more than women's, sexual responses may include a coordination of several physiological indices in order to build their sexual arousal to relevant targets. Here, for the first time, genital arousal and pupil dilation to sexual stimuli were simultaneously assessed. These measures corresponded more strongly with each other, subjective sexual arousal, and self-reported sexual orientation in men than women. Bisexual arousal is more prevalent in women than men. We therefore predicted that if bisexual-identified men show bisexual arousal, the correspondence of their arousal indices would be more female-typical, thus weaker, than for other men. Homosexual women show more male-typical arousal than other women; hence, their correspondence of arousal indices should be stronger than for other women. Findings, albeit weak in effect, supported these predictions. Thus, if sex-specific patterns are reversed within one sex, they might affect more than one aspect of sexual arousal. Because pupillary responses reflected sexual orientation similar to genital responses, they offer a less invasive alternative for the measurement of sexual arousal