Therapeutic Potential of Annexins in Sepsis and COVID-19

Sepsis is a continuing problem in modern healthcare, with a relatively high prevalence, and a significant mortality rate worldwide. Currently, no specific anti-sepsis treatment exists despite decades of research on developing potential therapies. Annexins are molecules that show efficacy in preclinical models of sepsis but have not been investigated as a potential therapy in patients with sepsis. Human annexins play important roles in cell membrane dynamics, as well as mediation of systemic effects. Most notably, annexins are highly involved in anti-inflammatory processes, adaptive immunity, modulation of coagulation and fibrinolysis, as well as protective shielding of cells from phagocytosis. These discoveries led to the development of analogous peptides which mimic their physiological function, and investigation into the potential of using the annexins and their analogous peptides as therapeutic agents in conditions where inflammation and coagulation play a large role in the pathophysiology. In numerous studies, treatment with recombinant human annexins and annexin analogue peptides have consistently found positive outcomes in animal models of sepsis, myocardial infarction, and ischemia reperfusion injury. Annexins A1 and A5 improve organ function and reduce mortality in animal sepsis models, inhibit inflammatory processes, reduce inflammatory mediator release, and protect against ischemic injury. The mechanisms of action and demonstrated efficacy of annexins in animal models support development of annexins and their analogues for the treatment of sepsis. The effects of annexin A5 on inflammation and platelet activation may be particularly beneficial in disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection. Safety and efficacy of recombinant human annexin A5 are currently being studied in clinical trials in sepsis and severe COVID-19 patients

Completing the bedrock mapping of southern Baffin Island, Nunavut; plutonic suites and regional stratigraphy

This paper summarizes the field observations and initial interpretations following eight weeks of regional and targeted bed- rock mapping on south-central Baffin Island, Nunavut. The 2015 field campaign completes a two-decade mission to update the geoscience knowledge for the whole of Baffin Island south of latitude 70°N. The bedrock in the area is dominated by a Paleoproterozoic metaplutonic suite, ranging in composition from gabbro to syenogranite, with crosscutting relations indi- cating a progression from mafic to silicic magmatism. Phase-equilibria modelling reveals that the prevailing upper-amphi- bolite– to lower-granulite–facies metamorphic conditions overlap the stability limits of magnetite and orthopyroxene for a typical granitoid bulk composition, which is consistent with field observations of the discontinuous presence of both phases throughout the map area. This result is also consistent with regional aeromagnetic data that show complex structures within relatively homogeneous map units, which are primarily attributed to variations in the abundance of magnetite. The granitoid rocks are interpreted as part of the middle Paleoproterozoic Cumberland Batholith. Metasedimentary rocks, including quartzite, pelite, marble and metagreywacke, are present as enclaves and screens within and between plutonic bodies. An examination of the ‘ghost’stratigraphy suggests that the metasedimentary rocks through- out most of the map area can be correlated with the middle Paleoproterozoic Lake Harbour Group, except in the northeast, where the unique presence of greywacke suggests a middle Paleoproterozoic Piling Group affinity. This transition in strata is consistent with the proposal that a middle Paleoproterozoic tectonic suture (the Baffin suture) associated with the Trans- Hudson Orogen runs through Cumberland Sound. Completion of the bedrock mapping in southern Baffin Island indicates that the region offers a world-class exposure of a reworked Paleoproterozoic convergent margin, which affords valuable in- sight into a variety of magmatic and tectonic processes that can be applied to younger collisional belt

Project X functional requirements specification

Project X is a multi-megawatt proton facility being developed to support intensity frontier research in elementary particle physics, with possible applications to nuclear physics and nuclear energy research, at Fermilab. A Functional Requirements Specification has been developed in order to establish performance criteria for the Project X complex in support of these multiple missions. This paper will describe the Functional Requirements for the Project X facility and the rationale for these requirements.Comment: 3 pp. Particle Accelerator, 24th Conference (PAC'11) 28 Mar - 1 Apr 2011: New York, US

Library Analytics Investigation Team Recommendations

The University of Michigan Library’s Technology Alignment and Stewardship Committee charged the Library Analytics Investigation Team in the Winter 2016 cycle. The team met from April through September of 2016 to investigate processes to provide library-generated data to library staff for service improvement and/or research investigations.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/134406/1/Library Analytics Investigation Team Report.pdfDescription of Library Analytics Investigation Team Report.pdf : Investigation Team Repor

Inside a Swiss Army Knife: An Assessment of AmeriCorps

This study reviews the goals and achievements of AmeriCorps, the national service program championed by President Clinton and approved by Congress in 1993. We identify five AmeriCorps goals: satisfying unmet social needs, developing corps members, enhancing the civic ethic, reinvigorating lethargic bureaucracies, and bridging race and class. The evidence of AmeriCorps\u27 effectiveness is not definitive. Self-reports from recipient programs, selective cost-benefit analyses, and some survey evidence indicate some positive results. More fine-grained survey and field research raise questions about AmeriCorps\u27 overall effects. Much more research is needed before policy makers and citizens can determine AmeriCorps\u27 productivity

Experimental limits on massive neutrinos from e(+)e(-) annihilations at 29 GeV

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://journals.aps.org/prd/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevD.37.577.A search was made in 29-GeV e(+)e(-) annihilations for massive neutrinos decaying to e(±)X(∓)(ν) where X is a muon or meson. A 300-pb(-1) data sample yielded just one candidate event with a mass m(e)X>1.8 GeV. Significant limits are found for new neutrinos with masses from 1.8 to 6.7 GeV and with mixing parameters in the range 3×10(-6)<‖U‖(2)<1. .A

Project X functional requirements specification

Project X is a multi-megawatt proton facility being developed to support a world-leading program in Intensity Frontier physics at Fermilab. The facility is designed to support programs in elementary particle and nuclear physics, with possible applications to nuclear energy research. A Functional Requirements Specification has been developed in order to establish performance criteria for the Project X complex in support of these multiple missions, and to assure that the facility is designed with sufficient upgrade capability to provide U.S. leadership for many decades to come. This paper will briefly review the previously described Functional Requirements, and then discuss their recent evolution.Comment: 3 p