771 research outputs found
Memory and attention while SCUBA diving at shallow and deep depths: An open water study
SCUBA diving requires a high level of cognitive functioning, however, many divers anecdotally report poor memory and attentional skills while underwater. Few studies have documented cognitive deficits resulting from an open-water dive. Here, 23 divers completed both shallow (8 m) and deep (28 m) dives over two days in the open-water. The order of the dives was counterbalanced across participants. While at depth, they completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory to assess anxiety levels, learned and were tested on a list of 36 words, and completed the trail making task (TMT) to assess executive functioning. They also gave saliva samples to measure cortisol levels before and after each dive and completed the Profile of Mood States survey after each dive on the boat. Divers remembered fewer words, took longer to complete the TMT, and exhibited higher cortisol levels following a deep dive; they reported no changes in anxiety or mood states. The results contribute to our understanding of how cognition is affected by pressurized environments and has implications for divers, as well as others who engage in high-altitude sports
Utilising an accelerated Delphi process to develop consensus on the requirement and components of a pre-procedural core robotic surgery curriculum
Identification and validation of genes with expression patterns inverse to multiple metastasis suppressor genes in breast cancer cell lines
Metastasis suppressor genes (MSGs) have contributed to an understanding of regulatory pathways unique to the lethal metastatic process. When re-expressed in experimental models, MSGs block cancer spread to, and colonization of distant sites without affecting primary tumor formation. Genes have been identified with expression patterns inverse to a single MSG, and found to encode functional, druggable signaling pathways. We now hypothesize that common signaling pathways mediate the effects of multiple MSGs. By gene expression profiling of human MCF7 breast carcinoma cells expressing a scrambled siRNA, or siRNAs to each of 19 validated MSGs (NME1, BRMS1, CD82, CDH1, CDH2, CDH11, CASP8, MAP2K4, MAP2K6, MAP2K7, MAPK14, GSN, ARHGDIB, AKAP12, DRG1, CD44, PEBP1, RRM1, KISS1), we identified genes whose expression was significantly opposite to at least five MSGs. Five genes were selected for further analysis: PDE5A, UGT1A, IL11RA, DNM3 and OAS1. After stable downregulation of each candidate gene in the aggressive human breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231T, in vitro motility was significantly inhibited. Two stable clones downregulating PDE5A (phosphodiesterase 5A), an enzyme involved in the regulation of cGMP-specific signaling, exhibited no difference in cell proliferation, but reduced motility by 47 and 66 % compared to the empty vector-expressing cells (p = 0.01 and p = 0.005). In an experimental metastasis assay, two shPDE5A-MDA-MB-231T clones produced 47-62 % fewer lung metastases than shRNA-scramble expressing cells (p = 0.045 and p = 0.009 respectively). This study demonstrates that previously unrecognized genes are inversely related to the expression of multiple MSGs, contribute to aspects of metastasis, and may stand as novel therapeutic targets
The Revised TESS Input Catalog and Candidate Target List
We describe the catalogs assembled and the algorithms used to populate the
revised TESS Input Catalog (TIC), based on the incorporation of the Gaia second
data release. We also describe a revised ranking system for prioritizing stars
for 2-minute cadence observations, and assemble a revised Candidate Target List
(CTL) using that ranking. The TIC is available on the Mikulski Archive for
Space Telescopes (MAST) server, and an enhanced CTL is available through the
Filtergraph data visualization portal system at the URL
http://filtergraph.vanderbilt.edu/tess_ctl.Comment: 30 pages, 16 figures, submitted to AAS Journals; provided to the
community in advance of publication in conjunction with public release of the
TIC/CTL on 28 May 201
Ascaris lumbricoides Infection Following School-Based Deworming in Western Kenya: Assessing the Role of Pupils' School and Home Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Exposures.
Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WaSH) technologies and behaviors can prevent infection by soil-transmitted helminth species independently, but may also interact in complex ways. However, these interactions are poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to characterize how school and home WaSH exposures were associated with Ascaris lumbricoides infection and to identify relevant interactions between separate WaSH technologies and behaviors. A study was conducted among 4,404 children attending 51 primary schools in western Kenya. We used multivariable mixed effects logistic regression to characterize how various WaSH exposures were associated with A. lumbricoides infection after annual school-based deworming. Few WaSH behaviors and technologies were independently associated with A. lumbricoides infection. However, by considering relevant interdependencies between variables, important associations were elucidated. The association between handwashing and A. lumbricoides depended largely upon the pupils' access to an improved water source. Among pupils who had access to improved water sources, A. lumbricoides prevalence was lower for those who handwashed both at school and home compared with neither place (odds ratio: 0.38, 95% confidence interval: 0.18-0.83; P = 0.01). This study contributes to a further understanding of the impact of WaSH on A. lumbricoides infection and shows the importance of accounting for interactions between WaSH technologies and behaviors
KELT-10b: The First Transiting Exoplanet from the KELT-South Survey -- A Hot Sub-Jupiter Transiting a V = 10.7 Early G-Star
We report the discovery of KELT-10b, the first transiting exoplanet
discovered using the KELT-South telescope. KELT-10b is a highly inflated
sub-Jupiter mass planet transiting a relatively bright star (TYC
8378-64-1), with T = K, =
and [Fe/H] = , an inferred mass
M = M and radius R =
R. The planet has a radius R =
R and mass M =
M. The planet has an eccentricity consistent with zero and a semi-major
axis = AU. The best fitting linear
ephemeris is = 2457066.720450.00027 BJD and P =
4.16627390.0000063 days. This planet joins a group of highly inflated
transiting exoplanets with a radius much larger and a mass much less than those
of Jupiter. The planet, which boasts deep transits of 1.4%, has a relatively
high equilibrium temperature of T = K, assuming zero
albedo and perfect heat redistribution. KELT-10b receives an estimated
insolation of 10 erg s cm,
which places it far above the insolation threshold above which hot Jupiters
exhibit increasing amounts of radius inflation. Evolutionary analysis of the
host star suggests that KELT-10b is unlikely to survive beyond the current
subgiant phase, due to a concomitant in-spiral of the planet over the next
1 Gyr. The planet transits a relatively bright star and exhibits the
third largest transit depth of all transiting exoplanets with V 11 in the
southern hemisphere, making it a promising candidate for future atmospheric
characterization studies.Comment: 20 pages, 13 figures, 7 tables, accepted for publication in MNRA
KELT-7b: A hot Jupiter transiting a bright V=8.54 rapidly rotating F-star
We report the discovery of KELT-7b, a transiting hot Jupiter with a mass of
MJ, radius of RJ, and an orbital
period of days. The bright host star (HD33643;
KELT-7) is an F-star with , Teff K, [Fe/H]
, and . It has a mass of
Msun, a radius of Rsun, and
is the fifth most massive, fifth hottest, and the ninth brightest star known to
host a transiting planet. It is also the brightest star around which KELT has
discovered a transiting planet. Thus, KELT-7b is an ideal target for detailed
characterization given its relatively low surface gravity, high equilibrium
temperature, and bright host star. The rapid rotation of the star (
km/s) results in a Rossiter-McLaughlin effect with an unusually large amplitude
of several hundred m/s. We find that the orbit normal of the planet is likely
to be well-aligned with the stellar spin axis, with a projected spin-orbit
alignment of degrees. This is currently the second most
rapidly rotating star to have a reflex signal (and thus mass determination) due
to a planetary companion measured.Comment: Accepted to The Astronomical Journa
KELT-3b: A Hot Jupiter Transiting a V=9.8 Late-F Star
We report the discovery of KELT-3b, a moderately inflated transiting hot
Jupiter with a mass of 1.477 (-0.067, +0.066) M_J, and radius of 1.345 +/-
0.072 R_J, with an orbital period of 2.7033904 +/- 0.000010 days. The host
star, KELT-3, is a V=9.8 late F star with M_* = 1.278 (-0.061, +0.063) M_sun,
R_* = 1.472 (-0.067, +0.065) R_sun, T_eff = 6306 (-49, +50) K, log(g) = 4.209
(-0.031, +0.033), and [Fe/H] = 0.044 (-0.082, +0.080), and has a likely proper
motion companion. KELT-3b is the third transiting exoplanet discovered by the
KELT survey, and is orbiting one of the 20 brightest known transiting planet
host stars, making it a promising candidate for detailed characterization
studies. Although we infer that KELT-3 is significantly evolved, a preliminary
analysis of the stellar and orbital evolution of the system suggests that the
planet has likely always received a level of incident flux above the
empirically-identified threshold for radius inflation suggested by Demory &
Seager (2011).Comment: 12 pages, 12 figures, accepted to Ap
Effect of Inhibition of the Lysophosphatidic Acid Receptor 1 on Metastasis and Metastatic Dormancy in Breast Cancer
Background Previous studies identified the human nonmetastatic gene 23 (NME1, hereafter Nm23-H1) as the first metastasis suppressor gene. An inverse relationship between Nm23-H1 and expression of lysophosphatidic acid receptor 1 gene (LPAR1, also known as EDG2 or hereafter LPA1) has also been reported. However, the effects of LPA1 inhibition on primary tumor size, metastasis, and metastatic dormancy have not been investigated. Methods The LPA1 inhibitor Debio-0719 or LPA1 short hairpinned RNA (shRNA) was used. Primary tumor size and metastasis were investigated using the 4T1 spontaneous metastasis mouse model and the MDA-MB-231T experimental metastasis mouse model (n = 13 mice per group). Proliferation and p38 intracellular signaling in tumors and cell lines were determined by immunohistochemistry and western blot to investigate the effects of LPA1 inhibition on metastatic dormancy. An analysis of variance-based two-tailed t test was used to determine a statistically significant difference between treatment groups. Results In the 4T1 spontaneous metastasis mouse model, Debio-0719 inhibited the metastasis of 4T1 cells to the liver (mean = 25.2 liver metastases per histologic section for vehicle-treated mice vs 6.8 for Debio-0719-treated mice, 73.0% reduction, P < .001) and lungs (mean = 6.37 lesions per histologic section for vehicle-treated mice vs 0.73 for Debio-0719-treated mice, 88.5% reduction, P < .001), with no effect on primary tumor size. Similar results were observed using the MDA-MB-231T experimental pulmonary metastasis mouse model. LPA1 shRNA also inhibited metastasis but did not affect primary tumor size. In 4T1 metastases, but not primary tumors, expression of the proliferative markers Ki67 and pErk was reduced by Debio-0719, and phosphorylation of the p38 stress kinase was increased, indicative of metastatic dormancy. Conclusion The data identify Debio-0719 as a drug candidate with metastasis suppressor activity, inducing dormancy at secondary tumor site
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