The effect of temperature on the bystander effect as examined in human prostate carcinoma cells with alpha particle irradiation

Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Nuclear Science and Engineering, 2006."June 2006."Includes bibliographical references (p. 30-32).The bystander effect is seen when irradiated cells release a factor that can produce damage or death in neighboring "bystander" cells that are not actually hit by any radiation. One proposed mechanism involves the irradiated cells releasing a soluble factor into the medium that can cause damage to the non-irradiated cells. Previous studies in the Coderre lab showed that the soluble factor released by DU-145 human prostate carcinoma cells was a short-lived, free radical species (Wang and Coderre, Rad. Res., 164, 711-722, 2005). This thesis examined the effect of temperature on the bystander effect. A co-culture system was used to create irradiated and bystander DU-145 cells in the same medium. This thesis showed that a decrease in temperature lessens or prevents the bystander effect. Researching the bystander effect will allow a better understanding of a process that may already be occurring during alpha-particle based therapies such as boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) and tumor radioimmunotherapy and could provide a means to improve these therapies.by Sarah Sheppard.S.B

Being Sherlock Holmes: Can we sense empathy from a brief sample of behaviour?

Mentalizing (otherwise known as ‘theory of mind’) involves a special process that is adapted for predicting and explaining the behaviour of others (targets) based on inferences about targets’ beliefs and character. This research investigated how well participants made inferences about an especially apposite aspect of character, empathy. Participants were invited to make inferences of self-rated empathy after watching or listening to an unfamiliar target for a few seconds telling a scripted joke (or answering questions about him/herself or reading aloud a paragraph of promotional material). Across three studies, participants were good at identifying targets with low and high self-rated empathy but not good at identifying those who are average. Such inferences, especially of high self-rated empathy, seemed to be based mainly on clues in the target's behaviour, presented either in a video, a still photograph or in an audio track. However, participants were not as effective in guessing which targets had low or average self-rated empathy from a still photograph showing a neutral pose or from an audio track. We conclude with discussion of the scope and the adaptive value of this inferential ability

Azelastine hydrochloride, a dual-acting anti-inflammatory ophthalmic solution, for treatment of allergic conjunctivitis

Over 50% of patients who seek treatment for allergies present with ocular symptoms. Our current ability to control ocular allergic symptoms is greater than ever before. Newer dual-acting topical eyedrops attack multiple facets of the allergic cascade. Azelastine has antihistaminic effects providing immediate relief, mast cell stabilization providing early-phase intervention, and inhibition of expression and activation of anti-inflammatory mediators which characterize the late phase of the immune reaction. The ophthalmic eyedrop formulation is approved for treatment of allergic conjunctivitis in adults and children aged over 3 years. In clinical trials comparing azelastine with other dual-acting eyedrops, such as levocabastine and olopatadine, azelastine was reported to be slightly less efficacious and to sting briefly upon administration. Even so, many patients experienced the full benefit of symptom relief, and preferred azelastine. As a broad-spectrum drug, azelastine offers many desirable properties for management of ocular allergies. Because it can often produce maximal effect with just twice-daily dosing, azelastine is a particularly good choice for the allergic population in whom minimizing exposure to topical products and preservatives is a key concern

The evolution of individual foraging specialisation in a group-living mammal

Individual foraging specialisation has received much attention in the past few decades, however the causes and consequences of such specialisation in group-living and cooperative species remain poorly understood. These species merit special consideration as many of the key drivers associated with individual foraging specialisation, such as intrapopulation competition and social learning, are likely to be influenced by the intensified local social environment. In this thesis, I aim to investigate such social influences on individual foraging niche. I first explore current theory behind individual foraging specialisation and apply this to the social group in order to predict how living in groups may impact the development of such specialisation (Chapter 1). I also discuss the consequences of between-individual variation in foraging niche and consider how the development of this may feedback on the social environment of group- living species (Chapter 1). Following my review of current theoretical and empirical work in Chapter 1, I investigate the causes of individual foraging specialisation in a population of wild banded mongooses, Mungos mungo. I begin by outlining the general methods used in this thesis, detailing the study species, study site, data collection and sample preparation and processing (Chapter 2). Presenting my findings, I first show that increasing group size results in smaller individual foraging niche, suggesting that intragroup competition drives individual foraging specialisation (Chapter 3). Second, I present evidence for the non-genetic social inheritance of foraging niche and explore the influence of role models on the transmission of behavioural traditions (Chapter 4). This work highlights that the social group environment, in particular increased local competition and 2 opportunity for social learning, has a substantial effect on individual foraging niche in banded mongooses. I hypothesise that the ability to specialise may reduce intragroup competition, promoting group stability and propose further work to explore how living in groups influences both the causes and consequences of individual foraging specialisation.European Research Council Starting Grant (309249)Natural Environment Research Council (UK) Standard Grant (NE/J010278/1

Can Cartoons Which Depict Autistic Characters Improve Attitudes Towards Autistic Peers?

This study aimed to assess the efficacy of two cartoons which depict autistic characters in improving attitudes towards autistic peers in two separate studies. Forty-six children participated in study 1 (4–7 years), and 47 children participated in study 2 (8–11 years). Both the conative (behavioural) component of attitudes and knowledge about autism were measured before and after the cartoon interventions. Knowledge of autism increased after watching the cartoons in both studies but attitudes to autism only improved in study 1. Knowledge was shown to correlate with change in some but not all attitude measures. The findings suggest that cartoons can improve attitudes to autism, but this may depend on how information is presented

Presentation: NNLM Course Development for Building Nursing and Allied Health Research Skills

In 2019, the Network of the National Library of Medicine embarked on a process to update a course that aimed to 1) teach participants how to evaluate quality health websites for nurses; 2) enable participants to describe and evaluate quality nursing resources available on the internet; and 3) demonstrate searches for nursing literature in PubMed. The curriculum development team further refined these objectives. The new course would enable participants to connect National Library of Medicine resources to the needs of nursing and allied health professionals. After taking the course, participants would be able to list the ways librarians can support the information needs of their nursing and allied health audiences. The NNLM curriculum development team met from November 2019 through December 2020 to develop a course that would be launched in early 2021. In the kick-off meeting, the team agreed to investigate needs and best practices for librarians teaching nursing and allied health professionals. Members of the team divided up course development tasks. They reconvened bimonthly to share relevant information resources, sharpen the learning objectives, and share ideas for course activities such as readings, quizzes, and written assignments. The result is a three-week asynchronous course that is designed for library staff who support, or who want to support, nursing and allied health professionals. In Week One, participants learn about the information needs of nursing and allied health professionals. Week Two introduces participants to relevant information resources. Week Three asks participants to apply learning through creating and sharing a professional development plan. We gathered evaluation data after the pilot launch in December 2020 and the three sessions taught in early 2021. We will address participant needs for better navigation and more time to complete the professional development plan. We hope to offer the course again in Summer 2021

Autism and the double empathy problem: Implications for development and mental health

Autism and the double empathy problem: Implications for development and mental health This article explores how the experience of living in a largely neurotypical society could hinder development of abilities which allow smooth interactions between autistic 1 and neurotypical people. Autism is classified as a lifelong developmental condition marked by difficulties with social communication coupled with a restricted range of interests (DSM-5; APA, 2013). However, a particular aim of the article is to explore how being misunderstood or misperceived by other people could create a barrier to participation in social experiences for the minority-autistic people. We argue that this barrier acts to prevent both groups (autistic and non-autistic people) from having otherwise valuable opportunities to learn about each other's social behaviour and about how to interpret signals emanating from the other group. These signals can be informative about inner states (like what the person is thinking or how they feel-e.g

An analysis of possible off target effects following CAS9/CRISPR targeted deletions of neuropeptide gene enhancers from the mouse genome

Acknowledgements These studies were funded by a Wellcome Trust (105625/Z/14/Z) ISSF starting grant, Medical Research Scotland (PhD-719-2013) and GW Pharmaceuticals (PhD-719-2013 - S.5242.001).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

A cross-cultural comparison of where drivers choose to look when viewing driving scenes

A substantial proportion of road accidents occur as a result of drivers having poor or insufficient visual search strategies. However, the majority of research into drivers visual search comes from high income Western countries where roads are relatively safe, with less being known about the visual search of drivers from non-western, low and middle income countries with much higher crash rates. This is despite the fact that cross-cultural studies have shown differences in visual search outside of driving between Western and Eastern individuals. The current study aimed to see whether these differences were present in driving by asking UK and Malaysian drivers to select where they would look when viewing images of roads from the perspective of a driver. Results showed that all drivers selected a similar number of focal objects, however there was a difference in the type of background information drivers chose to attend to, with Malaysian drivers selecting more task irrelevant information at the expense of task relevant information. Results suggest that there are cultural differences in what drivers choose to attend to which may contribute to the increased crash rate amongst drivers from low and middle income countries

Dimensions of Self-Reported Driving Difficulty in Autistic and Non-Autistic Adults and their Relationship with Autistic Traits

A survey asked autistic and non-autistic people about the driving difficulties they experience and their autistic traits. Principle components analysis was used to identify how reported difficulties clustered together in each group, and regression was used to determine which subscales of the Autism Spectrum Quotient predict these factors. For autistic drivers three factors of driving difficulty emerged: a Driving Executive factor, predicted by Attention Switching; a Driving Understanding factor, predicted by Communication; and a Driving Social Interaction factor, predicted by Attention Switching. For non-autistic drivers only one Driving General factor emerged, predicted by Communication. This suggests autistic people may experience at least three distinct domains of difficulty when driving which may relate to their particular profile of autistic features