The Impact of Parenting Classes on Incarcerated Mothers

With growing public attention to the problem of mass incarceration, many individuals want to know about the vast rise in women’s incarceration rate; particularly concerning, the increase of mothers in prison. For many mothers, the only source of hope and motivation they have while involved in the criminal justice system is the connection with their children. This article demonstrates that educational programs focusing on parenting can help incarcerated mothers renew their parental role upon release from prison. The target audience for this article includes, but is not limited to, correctional facility administrators, family counselors, educators, and anyone with an interest in parenting after prison. This article can also serve as a platform to advocate for quality parenting classes for incarcerated mothers

Let the Rhythm Move You: A Scoping Review of Music and Athletic Performance

PURPOSE: Numerous athletes utilize music to train, warm-up, and during competition. Listening to music during sport activity can capture attention, distract from fatigue and comfort, alter mood state, relieve stress, and evoke a sense of power. The purpose of this study is to examine the literature to determine the impact of music on athletic performance. METHODS: Three databases were searched in September 2022. These included PubMed, Science Direct, Taylor & Francis Online, and the California State Polytechnic University Pomona OneSearch, which indexes over 20 databases within the field of exercise science. Articles that described an intervention program that utilized music as a part of their regimen, exercise bouts of varying intensity/duration were included for review. Studies were excluded if they did not focus on effects of music, were animal-based studies, or not published in English. RESULTS: Fourteen articles were identified. The current literature provides multiple positive impacts on athletic performance when combined with music. Studies reported that the introduction of a music stimulus has improved running cadence, and overall improved running performance over a six- minute time trial. Additionally, studies found music with a higher tempo has provided subjects with a greater blood flow rate, heart rate and heart rate recovery post exercise. Studies vary by the genre and tempo of music listened to. Studies primarily investigated the impact of listening to music during activity; very few assessed the impact of listening to music only during the warmup before activity. CONCLUSION: The need for research on the relationship of music and athletic performance is still necessary. Exercise is extremely beneficial for an individual’s health and if the introduction of music into a workout regimen is able to improve the performance of individuals, that exhibits the need for proper research comparing music’s effect of performance

Zwischen Universalismus und Partikularismus. Transkulturalität als Ziel moralphilosophischer Rechtfertigungen

In der Dissertation bin ich der Frage nachgegangen, ob und wie moralische Sätze und ihre Prämissen rational zu rechtfertigen sind, und habe diese Frage auf einem methodisch-kulturalistischen Wege zu beantworten versucht. Meine These ist dahingehend zu formulieren, dass man einen rationalen moralischen Standpunkt auf der reflexiven Ebene postkonventioneller Sittlichkeit verteidigen und vor allem Transkulturalität als dessen Geltungsanspruch ausweisen kann. Im ersten Teil der Dissertation habe ich nicht nur die Deutungs- und Geltungsprobleme von Richtigkeit einer Norm, sondern auch die von Wahrheit einer Aussage thematisiert. Das Ziel dieser Thematisierung liegt darin, den nicht selten bezweifelten, rationalen Status der Rede von Richtigkeit zu klären und zu rehabilitieren. Im zweiten Teil habe ich mich dann moralphilosophischen Überlegungen gewidmet. Der Ausgangspunkt dafür bildet die selbstbestimmende Moralauffassung, die vor allem Kant in der transzendentalphilosophischen Hinsicht und Habermas in der sprachpragmatischen entwickelt haben. Jedoch weicht meine Position von der Kantischen und der Habermasschen Ansicht darin ab, dass Moral in einer derartigen Selbstbestimmung besteht, die auf einer in lebensweltlichen Handlungszusammenhängen situierten Vernunft beruht. Für eine so handlungspragmatisch aufgefasste, autonome Moral bin ich vor allem drei folgenden Themen nachgegangen . Das erste Thema handelt von einem Selbstkonzept. Diese Erörterung soll die Beziehung zwischen Moral und Identität erkennbar machen, denn von einer autonomen Moral können wir nur dann sinnvoll sprechen, wenn wir darin unser eigenes Wertsystem wieder erkennen können. Das zweite Thema betrifft eine methodische Frage, wie nämlich die Richtigkeit moralischer Normen zu rechtfertigen ist. Dazu werden drei aufeinander folgende Schritte vorgestellt: Finalisierung, Generalisierung und Universalisierung. Insbesondere ist der Universalisierungsschritt von großer Wichtigkeit, da erst dadurch einer gewissen Handlungsaufforderung ein universeller Geltungsanspruch zugesprochen werden kann. Beim dritten Thema geht es um die Frage, worauf sich die Geltung hochstilisierter moralischer Normen bezieht. Hierzu wird das Universalisierungsverfahren im Rahmen der methodischen Rekonstruktion weiter betrachtet, die den Übergng von der kulturellen Konvention zur postkonventionellen Reflexion aufzeigt. In diesem Rekonstruktionsrahmen wird darauf aufmerksam gemacht, dass die zwischenmenschlichen normativen Handlungen einen personeninvarianten Charakter ausweisen, während die poietisch-technischen Handlungen ganz personenunabängig sind. Das heißt, die zwischenmenschliche normative Handlungsmöglichkeit basiert jederzeit auf dem Anerkennungsverhältnis zwischen Handlungssubjekten, so dass die moralisch-normativen Geltungsansprüche stets auf einen Hintergrundkonsens angewiesen werden, während für die Wirksamkeit der poietischen und technischen Geltungsansprüche Subjekte irrelevant sind. Zur Bildung eines Hintergrundkonsenses spielt dabei eingelebte Kultur eine kaum unterschätzbare Rolle, weil sie einer Handlungsgemeinschaft einen weltbild- und identitätsstiftenden Rahmen bietet. Insofern soll eine methodische Rekonstruktion der moralisch-normativen Geltungsansprüche ihren Anfang bei kulturellen Konventionen nehmen, nicht bei einem atomisierten Subjekt oder bei einer künstlichen Konstruktion der Sittengesetze. In diesem Sinne habe ich zum Schluss vorgeschlagen, die Rechtfertigung der moralisch-normativen Geltungsansprüche auf »Transkulturalität« zu richten. Da das Universalisierungsverfahren als der permanente Annäherungsversuch an eine sittliche Welt erachtet wird, kann die Transkulturalität als Mittelweg zwischen Universalismus und Partikularismus aufgefasst werden

Anti-Obesity and Anti-Adipogenic Effects of Chitosan Oligosaccharide (GO2KA1) in SD Rats and in 3T3-L1 Preadipocytes Models

Excess body weight is a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes (T2D) and associated metabolic complications, and weight loss has been shown to improve glycemic control and decrease morbidity and mortality in T2D patients. Weight-loss strategies using dietary interventions produce a significant decrease in diabetes-related metabolic disturbance. We have previously reported that the supplementation of low molecular chitosan oligosaccharide (GO2KA1) significantly inhibited blood glucose levels in both animals and humans. However, the effect of GO2KA1 on obesity still remains unclear. The aim of the study was to evaluate the anti-obesity effect of GO2KA1 on lipid accumulation and adipogenic gene expression using 3T3-L1 adipocytes in vitro and plasma lipid profiles using a Sprague-Dawley (SD) rat model. Murine 3T3-L1 preadipocytes were stimulated to differentiate under the adipogenic stimulation in the presence and absence of varying concentrations of GO2KA1. Adipocyte differentiation was confirmed by Oil Red O staining of lipids and the expression of adipogenic gene expression. Compared to control group, the cells treated with GO2KA1 significantly decreased in intracellular lipid accumulation with concomitant decreases in the expression of key transcription factors, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) and CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein alpha (CEBP/α). Consistently, the mRNA expression of downstream adipogenic target genes such as fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4), fatty acid synthase (FAS), were significantly lower in the GO2KA1-treated group than in the control group. In vivo, male SD rats were fed a high fat diet (HFD) for 6 weeks to induced obesity, followed by oral administration of GO2KA1 at 0.1 g/kg/body weight or vehicle control in HFD. We assessed body weight, food intake, plasma lipids, levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) for liver function, and serum level of adiponectin, a marker for obesity-mediated metabolic syndrome. Compared to control group GO2KA1 significantly suppressed body weight gain (185.8 ± 8.8 g vs. 211.6 ± 20.1 g, p \u3c 0.05) with no significant difference in food intake. The serum total cholesterol, triglyceride, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels were significantly lower in the GO2KA1-treated group than in the control group, whereas the high-density lipoprotein (HDL) level was higher in the GO2KA1 group. The GO2KA1-treated group also showed a significant reduction in ALT and AST levels compared to the control. Moreover, serum adiponectin levels were significantly 1.5-folder higher than the control group. These in vivo and in vitro findings suggest that dietary supplementation of GO2KA1 may prevent diet-induced weight gain and the anti-obesity effect is mediated in part by inhibiting adipogenesis and increasing adiponectin level

Health promoting potential of herbal teas and tinctures from Artemisia campestris subsp maritima: from traditional remedies to prospective products

This work explored the biotechnological potential of the medicinal halophyte Artemisia campestris subsp. maritima (dune wormwood) as a source of health promoting commodities. For that purpose, infusions, decoctions and tinctures were prepared from roots and aerial-organs and evaluated for in vitro antioxidant, anti-diabetic and tyrosinase-inhibitory potential, and also for polyphenolic and mineral contents and toxicity. The dune wormwood extracts had high polyphenolic content and several phenolics were identified by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array-mass-spectrometry (UHPLC-PDA-MS). The main compounds were quinic, chlorogenic and caffeic acids, coumarin sulfates and dicaffeoylquinic acids; several of the identified phytoconstituents are here firstly reported in this A. campestris subspecies. Results obtained with this plant's extracts point to nutritional applications as mineral supplementary source, safe for human consumption, as suggested by the moderate to low toxicity of the extracts towards mammalian cell lines. The dune wormwood extracts had in general high antioxidant activity and also the capacity to inhibit a-glucosidase and tyrosinase. In summary, dune wormwood extracts are a significant source of polyphenolic and mineral constituents, antioxidants and a-glucosidase and tyrosinase inhibitors, and thus, relevant for different commercial segments like the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and/or food industries.FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology [CCMAR/Multi/04326/2013]; Portuguese National Budget; FCT [IF/00049/2012, SFRH/BD/94407/2013]; Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO) [12M8315N]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Regulation of cell survival by sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor S1P1 via reciprocal ERK-dependent suppression of bim and PI-3-kinase/protein kinase C-mediated upregulation of Mcl-1

Although the ability of bioactive lipid sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) to positively regulate anti-apoptotic/pro-survival responses by binding to S1P1 is well known, the molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Here we demonstrate that expression of S1P1 renders CCL39 lung fibroblasts resistant to apoptosis following growth factor withdrawal. Resistance to apoptosis was associated with attenuated accumulation of pro-apoptotic BH3-only protein Bim. However, although blockade of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activation could reverse S1P1-mediated suppression of Bim accumulation, inhibition of caspase-3 cleavage was unaffected. Instead S1P1-mediated inhibition of caspase-3 cleavage was reversed by inhibition of phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K) and protein kinase C (PKC), which had no effect on S1P1 regulation of Bim. However, S1P1 suppression of caspase-3 was associated with increased expression of anti-apoptotic protein Mcl-1, the expression of which was also reduced by inhibition of PI3K and PKC. A role for the induction of Mcl-1 in regulating endogenous S1P receptor-dependent pro-survival responses in human umbilical vein endothelial cells was confirmed using S1P receptor agonist FTY720-phosphate (FTY720P). FTY720P induced a transient accumulation of Mcl-1 that was associated with a delayed onset of caspase-3 cleavage following growth factor withdrawal, whereas Mcl-1 knockdown was sufficient to enhance caspase-3 cleavage even in the presence of FTY720P. Consistent with a pro-survival role of S1P1 in disease, analysis of tissue microarrays from ER+ breast cancer patients revealed a significant correlation between S1P1 expression and tumour cell survival. In these tumours, S1P1 expression and cancer cell survival were correlated with increased activation of ERK, but not the PI3K/PKB pathway. In summary, pro-survival/anti-apoptotic signalling from S1P1 is intimately linked to its ability to promote the accumulation of pro-survival protein Mcl-1 and downregulation of pro-apoptotic BH3-only protein Bim via distinct signalling pathways. However, the functional importance of each pathway is dependent on the specific cellular context

Uniform electron gases

We show that the traditional concept of the uniform electron gas (UEG) --- a homogeneous system of finite density, consisting of an infinite number of electrons in an infinite volume --- is inadequate to model the UEGs that arise in finite systems. We argue that, in general, a UEG is characterized by at least two parameters, \textit{viz.} the usual one-electron density parameter $\rho$ and a new two-electron parameter $\eta$. We outline a systematic strategy to determine a new density functional $E(\rho,\eta)$ across the spectrum of possible $\rho$ and $\eta$ values.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, 5 table

Adverse reactions to metal debris occur with all types of hip replacement not just metal-on-metal hips: a retrospective observational study of 3340 revisions for adverse reactions to metal debris from the National Joint Registry for England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man.

BACKGROUND: Adverse reactions to metal debris (ARMD) have resulted in the high short-term failure rates observed with metal-on-metal hip replacements. ARMD has recently been reported in non-metal-on-metal total hip replacements (non-MoM THRs) in a number of small cohort studies. However the true magnitude of this complication in non-MoM THRs remains unknown. We used a nationwide database to determine the risk of ARMD revision in all non-MoM THRs, and compared patient and surgical factors associated with ARMD revision between non-MoM and MoM hips. METHODS: We performed a retrospective observational study using data from the National Joint Registry for England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man. All primary hip replacements undergoing revision surgery for ARMD were included (n = 3,340). ARMD revision risk in non-MoM THRs was compared between different commonly implanted bearing surfaces and femoral head sizes (Chi-squared test). Differences in patient and surgical factors between non-MoM hips and MoM hips revised for ARMD were also analysed (Chi-squared test and unpaired t-test). RESULTS: Of all ARMD revisions, 7.5% (n = 249) had non-MoM bearing surfaces. The relative risk of ARMD revision was 2.35 times (95% CI 1.76-3.11) higher in ceramic-on-ceramic bearings compared with hard-on-soft bearings (0.055 vs. 0.024%; p < 0.001), and 2.80 times (95% CI 1.74-4.36) higher in 36 mm metal-on-polyethylene bearings compared to 28 mm and 32 mm metal-on-polyethylene bearings (0.058 vs. 0.021%; p < 0.001). ARMD revisions were performed earlier in non-MoM hips compared to MoM hips (mean 3.6-years vs. 5.6-years; p < 0.0001). Non-MoM hips had more abnormal findings at revision (63.1 vs. 35.7%; p < 0.001), and more intra-operative adverse events (6.4 vs. 1.6%; p < 0.001) compared to MoM hips. CONCLUSIONS: Although the overall risk of ARMD revision surgery in non-MoM THRs appears low, this risk is increasing, and is significantly higher in ceramic-on-ceramic THRs and 36 mm metal-on-polyethylene THRs. ARMD may therefore represent a significant clinical problem in non-MoM THRs

STK295900, a Dual Inhibitor of Topoisomerase 1 and 2, Induces G<inf>2</inf> Arrest in the Absence of DNA Damage

STK295900, a small synthetic molecule belonging to a class of symmetric bibenzimidazoles, exhibits antiproliferative activity against various human cancer cell lines from different origins. Examining the effect of STK295900 in HeLa cells indicates that it induces G2 phase arrest without invoking DNA damage. Further analysis shows that STK295900 inhibits DNA relaxation that is mediated by topoisomerase 1 (Top 1) and topoisomerase 2 (Top 2) in vitro. In addition, STK295900 also exhibits protective effect against DNA damage induced by camptothecin. However, STK295900 does not affect etoposide-induced DNA damage. Moreover, STK295900 preferentially exerts cytotoxic effect on cancer cell lines while camptothecin, etoposide, and Hoechst 33342 affected both cancer and normal cells. Therefore, STK295900 has a potential to be developed as an anticancer chemotherapeutic agent. © 2013 Kim et al

Chern-Simons black holes: scalar perturbations, mass and area spectrum and greybody factors

We study the Chern-Simons black holes in d-dimensions and we calculate analytically the quasi-normal modes of the scalar perturbations and we show that they depend on the highest power of curvature present in the Chern-Simons theory. We obtain the mass and area spectrum of these black holes and we show that they have a strong dependence on the topology of the transverse space and they are not evenly spaced. We also calculate analytically the reflection and transmission coefficients and the absorption cross section and we show that at low frequency limit there is a range of modes which contributes to the absorption cross section.Comment: 19 pages, 18 figures, the title has been changed to reflect the addition of an another section on the reflection, transmission coefficients and absorption cross sections of the Chern-Simons black holes. Version to be published in JHE