Participants\u27 Perceptions of Factors in Preventing Falls

Falls pose a serious threat to older adults, often resulting in physical, emotional, and financial consequences. The use of multifactorial fall prevention programs has provided community-dwelling older adults with strategies to decrease the risk of falling. Outcomes for these programs are measured in terms of such factors as fear of falling, balance and self-efficacy. One outcome of fall prevention programs that is less well understood is what the older adults themselves perceive as most beneficial. For this program evaluation project, five women participated in semi-structured interviews to understand which aspects of a multifactorial fall prevention program they found to be most beneficial. Three themes emerged in the interviews: integration of exercises into daily life, implementation of home modification recommendations, and appreciation of volunteer phone calls. Based on these themes, program enhancements were recommended

In silico comparative analysis of LRRK2 interactomes from brain, kidney and lung

Mutations in LRRK2 are the most frequent cause of familial Parkinson’s disease (PD), with common LRRK2 non-coding variants also acting as risk factors for idiopathic PD. Currently, therapeutic agents targeting LRRK2 are undergoing advanced clinical trials in humans, however, it is important to understand the wider implications of LRRK2 targeted treatments given that LRRK2 is expressed in diverse tissues including the brain, kidney and lungs. This presents challenges to treatment in terms of effects on peripheral organ functioning, thus, protein interactors of LRRK2 could be targeted in lieu to optimize therapeutic effects. Herein an in-silico analysis of LRRK2 direct interactors in brain tissue from various brain regions was conducted along with a comparative analysis of the LRRK2 interactome in the brain, kidney, and lung tissues. This was carried out based on curated protein–protein interaction (PPI) data from protein interaction databases such as HIPPIE, human gene/protein expression databases and Gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis using Bingo. Seven targets (MAP2K6, MATK, MAPT, PAK6, SH3GL2, CDC42EP3 and CHGB) were found to be viable objectives for LRRK2 based investigations for PD that would have minimal impact on optimal functioning within peripheral organs. Specifically, MAPT, CHGB, PAK6, and SH3GL2 interacted with LRRK2 in the brain and kidney but not in lung tissue whilst LRRK2-MAP2K6 interacted only in the cerebellum and MATK-LRRK2 interaction was absent in kidney tissues. CDC42EP3 expression levels were low in brain tissues compared to kidney/lung. The results of this computational analysis suggest new avenues for experimental investigations towards LRRK2-targeted therapeutics

Self-Consistent Model of Magnetospheric Electric Field, Ring Current, Plasmasphere, and Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron Waves: Initial Results

Further development of our self-consistent model of interacting ring current (RC) ions and electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves is presented. This model incorporates large scale magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling and treats self-consistently not only EMIC waves and RC ions, but also the magnetospheric electric field, RC, and plasmasphere. Initial simulations indicate that the region beyond geostationary orbit should be included in the simulation of the magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling. Additionally, a self-consistent description, based on first principles, of the ionospheric conductance is required. These initial simulations further show that in order to model the EMIC wave distribution and wave spectral properties accurately, the plasmasphere should also be simulated self-consistently, since its fine structure requires as much care as that of the RC. Finally, an effect of the finite time needed to reestablish a new potential pattern throughout the ionosphere and to communicate between the ionosphere and the equatorial magnetosphere cannot be ignored

A bounce‐averaged kinetic model of the ring current ion population

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/94668/1/grl7966.pd

Quantum Cryptography Based on the Time--Energy Uncertainty Relation

A new cryptosystem based on the fundamental time--energy uncertainty relation is proposed. Such a cryptosystem can be implemented with both correlated photon pairs and single photon states.Comment: 5 pages, LaTex, no figure

Quantum geometry of 3-dimensional lattices

We study geometric consistency relations between angles on 3-dimensional (3D) circular quadrilateral lattices -- lattices whose faces are planar quadrilaterals inscribable into a circle. We show that these relations generate canonical transformations of a remarkable ``ultra-local'' Poisson bracket algebra defined on discrete 2D surfaces consisting of circular quadrilaterals. Quantization of this structure leads to new solutions of the tetrahedron equation (the 3D analog of the Yang-Baxter equation). These solutions generate an infinite number of non-trivial solutions of the Yang-Baxter equation and also define integrable 3D models of statistical mechanics and quantum field theory. The latter can be thought of as describing quantum fluctuations of lattice geometry. The classical geometry of the 3D circular lattices arises as a stationary configuration giving the leading contribution to the partition function in the quasi-classical limit.Comment: 27 pages, 10 figures. Minor corrections, references adde

Exponential Distribution of Locomotion Activity in Cell Cultures

In vitro velocities of several cell types have been measured using computer controlled video microscopy, which allowed to record the cells' trajectories over several days. On the basis of our large data sets we show that the locomotion activity displays a universal exponential distribution. Thus, motion resulting from complex cellular processes can be well described by an unexpected, but very simple distribution function. A simple phenomenological model based on the interaction of various cellular processes and finite ATP production rate is proposed to explain these experimental results.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Specific features of the luminescence and conductivity of zinc selenide on exposure to X-ray and optical excitation

The set of experimental data on the X-ray-excited luminescence and X-ray induced conductivity of ZnSe are compared to the data on the photoluminescence and photoconductivity. It is experimentally established that the current-voltage characteristics and the kinetics of phosphorescence and current relaxation depend on the type of excitation. It is found that the external electric field influences the intensity and shape of bands in the luminescence spectra. It is shown that the character of excitation defines the kinetics of recombination, charge carrier trapping, and conductivity in wide-gap semiconductors.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, published in Fizika i Tekhnika Poluprovodnikov, 2010, Vol. 44, No. 5, pp. 594-59