Anxiety and Its Impact on Memory

From influences on our memories of common words to even eyewitness testimonies, anxiety can shape our view of the world (Amir et al., 1996). Our research attempted to show a relationship between anxiety and its effects as an impact on memory as is supported by the Theory of Attentional Control (Eysenck & Calvo, 1992). A video from Simons’ and Chabris’ (1999) study on Inattentional Blindness was used to assess whether anxiety is adaptive or maladaptive to functions of our memory. Our study did not find significance regarding the impact of anxiety on memory. However, the relevance and interest of studies on memory and arousal continues to escalate through the years

Pool boiling on modified surfaces using R-123

This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.Saturated pool boiling of R-123 was investigated for five horizontal copper surfaces modified by different treatments, namely, an emery-polished surface, a fine sandblasted surface, a rough sandblasted surface, an electron beam-enhanced surface, and a sintered surface. Each 40-mm-diameter heating surface formed the upper face of an oxygen-free copper block, electrically heated by embedded cartridge heaters. The experiments were performed from the natural convection regime through nucleate boiling up to the critical heat flux, with both increasing and decreasing heat flux, at 1.01 bar, and additionally at 2 bar and 4 bar for the emery-polished surface. Significant enhancement of heat transfer with increasing surface modification was demonstrated, particularly for the electron beam-enhanced and sintered surfaces. The emery-polished and sandblasted surface results are compared with nucleate boiling correlations and other published data. © 2014 Syed W. Ahmad, John S. Lewis, Ryan J. McGlen, and Tassos G. Karayiannis Published with license by Taylor & Francis

Epstein-Barr virus-specific methylation of human genes in gastric cancer cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) is found in 10% of all gastric adenocarcinomas but its role in tumor development and maintenance remains unclear. The objective of this study was to examine EBV-mediated dysregulation of cellular factors implicated in gastric carcinogenesis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Gene expression patterns were examined in EBV-negative and EBV-positive AGS gastric epithelial cells using a low density microarray, reverse transcription PCR, histochemical stains, and methylation-specific DNA sequencing. Expression of PTGS2 (COX2) was measured in AGS cells and in primary gastric adenocarcinoma tissues.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In array studies, nearly half of the 96 human genes tested, representing 15 different cancer-related signal transduction pathways, were dysregulated after EBV infection. Reverse transcription PCR confirmed significant impact on factors having diverse functions such as cell cycle regulation (<it>IGFBP3</it>, <it>CDKN2A, CCND1, HSP70, ID2, ID4)</it>, DNA repair <it>(BRCA1, TFF1</it>), cell adhesion (<it>ICAM1</it>), inflammation (<it>COX2</it>), and angiogenesis (<it>HIF1A</it>). Demethylation using 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine reversed the EBV-mediated dysregulation for all 11 genes listed here. For some promoter sequences, CpG island methylation and demethylation occurred in an EBV-specific pattern as shown by bisulfite DNA sequencing. Immunohistochemistry was less sensitive than was western blot for detecting downregulation of COX2 upon EBV infection. Virus-related dysregulation of COX2 levels <it>in vitro </it>was not recapitulated <it>in vivo </it>among naturally infected gastric cancer tissues.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>EBV alters human gene expression in ways that could contribute to the unique pathobiology of virus-associated cancer. Furthermore, the frequency and reversability of methylation-related transcriptional alterations suggest that demethylating agents have therapeutic potential for managing EBV-related carcinoma.</p

Global survival trends for brain tumors, by histology: Analysis of individual records for 67,776 children diagnosed in 61 countries during 2000-2014 (CONCORD-3)

INTRODUCTION Tumors of the central nervous system are among the leading causes of cancer-related death in children. Population-based cancer survival reflects the overall effectiveness of a health care system in managing cancer. Inequity in access to care world-wide may result in survival disparities. METHODS We considered children (0-14 years) diagnosed with a brain tumor during 2000-2014, regardless of tumor behavior. Data underwent a rigorous, three-phase quality control as part of CONCORD-3. We implemented a revised version of the International Classification of Childhood Cancer (third edition) to control for under-registration of non-malignant astrocytic tumors. We estimated net survival using the unbiased nonparametric Pohar Perme estimator. RESULTS The study included 67,776 children. We estimated survival for 12 histology groups, each based on relevant ICD-O-3 codes. Age-standardized 5-year net survival for low-grade astrocytoma ranged between 84% and 100% world-wide during 2000-2014. In most countries, 5-year survival was 90% or more during 2000-2004, 2005-2009, and 2010-2014. Global variation in survival for medulloblastoma was much wider, with age-standardized 5-year net survival between 47% and 86% for children diagnosed during 2010-2014. CONCLUSIONS To the best of our knowledge, this study provides the largest account to date of global trends in population-based survival for brain tumors in children, by histology. We devised an enhanced version of ICCC-3 to account for differences in cancer registration practices world-wide. Our findings may have public health implications, because low-grade glioma is 1 of the 6 index childhood cancers included by WHO in the Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer

Quantum Electromagnetic Wormholes and Geometrical Description of the Electric Charge

I present and discuss a class of solutions of the Wheeler-de Witt equation describing wormholes generated by coupling of gravity to the electromagnetic field for Kantowski-Sachs and Bianchi I spacetimes. Since the electric charge can be viewed as electric lines of force trapped in a finite region of spacetime, these solutions can be interpreted as the quantum corresponding of the Ein\-stein\--Ro\-sen\--Mis\-ner\--Whee\-ler electromagnetic geon.Comment: 13 pages, PLAIN TEX, Report No: SISSA 92/94/A (to appear in Phys. Rev. D15

Chemical informatics uncovers a new role for moexipril as a novel inhibitor of cAMP phosphodiesterase-4 (PDE4)

PDE4 is one of eleven known cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase families and plays a pivotal role in mediating hydrolytic degradation of the important cyclic nucleotide second messenger, cyclic 3′5′ adenosine monophosphate (cAMP). PDE4 inhibitors are known to have anti-inflammatory properties, but their use in the clinic has been hampered by mechanism-associated side effects that limit maximally tolerated doses. In an attempt to initiate the development of better-tolerated PDE4 inhibitors we have surveyed existing approved drugs for PDE4-inhibitory activity. With this objective, we utilised a high-throughput computational approach that identified moexipril, a well tolerated and safe angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, as a PDE4 inhibitor. Experimentally we showed that moexipril and two structurally related analogues acted in the micro molar range to inhibit PDE4 activity. Employing a FRET-based biosensor constructed from the nucleotide binding domain of the type 1 exchange protein activated by cAMP, EPAC1, we demonstrated that moexipril markedly potentiated the ability of forskolin to increase intracellular cAMP levels. Finally, we demonstrated that the PDE4 inhibitory effect of moexipril is functionally able to induce phosphorylation of the Hsp20 by cAMP dependent protein kinase A. Our data suggest that moexipril is a bona fide PDE4 inhibitor that may provide the starting point for development of novel PDE4 inhibitors with an improved therapeutic window

The effects of creatine supplementation combined with resistance training on regional measures of muscle hypertrophy: a systematic review with meta-analysis.

The purpose of this paper was to carry out a systematic review with meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials that examined the combined effects of resistance training (RT) and creatine supplementation on regional changes in muscle mass with direct imaging measures of hypertrophy. Moreover, we performed regression analyses to determine the potential influence of covariates. We included trials of at least 6 weeks in duration that examined the combined effects of creatine supplementation and RT on site-specific direct measures of hypertrophy (magnetic resonance imaging [MRI], computed tomography [CT] or ultrasound) in healthy adults. A total of 44 outcomes were analyzed across 10 studies that met inclusion criteria. Univariate analysis of all standardized outcomes showed a pooled mean estimate of 0.11 (95% Credible Interval [CrI]: -0.02 to 0.25) providing evidence of a very small effect favoring creatine supplementation when combined with RT, compared to RT and placebo. Multivariate analyses found similar small benefits for the combination of creatine supplementation and RT on changes in upper and lower body muscle thickness (0.10-0.16 cm). Analyses of moderating effects indicated a small superior benefit for creatine supplementation on younger compared to older adults (0.17 [95% CrI: -0.09 to 0.45]). In conclusion, results suggest that creatine supplementation combined with RT promotes a small increase in direct measures of skeletal muscle hypertrophy in both the upper and lower body

On rotational excitations and axial deformations of BPS monopoles and Julia-Zee dyons

It is shown that Julia-Zee dyons do not admit slowly rotating excitations. This is achieved by investigating the complete set of stationary excitations which can give rise to non-vanishing angular momentum. The relevant zero modes are parametrized in a gauge invariant way and analyzed by means of a harmonic decomposition. Since general arguments show that the solutions to the linearized Bogomol'nyi equations cannot contribute to the angular momentum, the relevant modes are governed by a set of electric and a set of non self-dual magnetic perturbation equations. The absence of axial dipole deformations is also established.Comment: 22 pages, Revtex, no figure

Economics of Malaria Prevention in US Travelers to West Africa

Background. Pretravel health consultations help international travelers manage travel-related illness risks through education, vaccination, and medication. This study evaluated costs and benefits of that portion of the health consultation associated with malaria prevention provided to US travelers bound for West Africa. Methods. The estimated change in disease risk and associated costs and benefits resulting from traveler adherence to malaria chemoprophylaxis were calculated from 2 perspectives: the healthcare payer's and the traveler's. We used data from the Global TravEpiNet network of US travel clinics that collect de-identified pretravel data for international travelers. Disease risk and chemoprophylaxis effectiveness were estimated from published medical reports. Direct medical costs were obtained from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample and published literature. Results. We analyzed 1029 records from January 2009 to January 2011. Assuming full adherence to chemoprophylaxis regimens, consultations saved healthcare payers a per-traveler average of $14 (9-day trip) to$372 (30-day trip). For travelers, consultations resulted in a range of net cost of $20 (9-day trip) to a net savings of$32 (30-day trip). Differences were mostly driven by risk of malaria in the destination country. Conclusions. Our model suggests that healthcare payers save money for short- and longer-term trips, and that travelers save money for longer trips when travelers adhere to malaria recommendations and prophylactic regimens in West Africa. This is a potential incentive to healthcare payers to offer consistent pretravel preventive care to travelers. This financial benefit complements the medical benefit of reducing the risk of malaria

Tomographic Magnification of Lyman Break Galaxies in The Deep Lens Survey

Using about 450,000 galaxies in the Deep Lens Survey, we present a detection of the gravitational magnification of z > 4 Lyman Break Galaxies by massive foreground galaxies with 0.4 < z < 1.0, grouped by redshift. The magnification signal is detected at S/N greater than 20, and rigorous checks confirm that it is not contaminated by any galaxy sample overlap in redshift. The inferred galaxy mass profiles are consistent with earlier lensing analyses at lower redshift. We then explore the tomographic lens magnification signal by splitting our foreground galaxy sample into 7 redshift bins. Combining galaxy-magnification cross-correlations and galaxy angular auto-correlations, we develop a bias-independent estimator of the tomographic signal. As a diagnostic of magnification tomography, the measurement of this estimator rejects a flat dark matter dominated Universe at > 7.5{\sigma} with a fixed \sigma_8 and is found to be consistent with the expected redshift-dependence of the WMAP7 {\Lambda}CDM cosmology.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, Accepted to MNRA