Three Factors Leading to the Failure of Communications in Emergency Situations

The failure of communications, particularly related to interoperability, between police and firefighters responding to dangerous situations has resulted in death or injury to themselves or those they strive to protect. Using Grebner\u27s and Shannon and Weaver\u27s conceptualizations of communications theory as the foundation, the purpose of this general qualitative study was to evaluate, from the perspective of first responders, what barriers exist that may impede opportunities for interoperability of communications systems. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of 18 experienced first responders from the states of California, New York, and Texas. Interview data were deductively coded and subjected to a thematic analysis procedure. Key findings indicated that participants perceived differences in technology among agencies as a primary source of frustration and impediment to full interoperability. Further, participants identified policy barriers, a lack of inter-agency training opportunities, and budgetary constraints as frustrating the efforts toward interoperability. The positive social change implications of this study include recommendations to policy makers and first responder agency leadership to support policy change, including appropriations, that encourage increased interoperability among first responder agencies to foster a more expeditious response to large scale emergencies

Evidence of reproductive endocrine effects in women with occupational fuel and solvent exposures.

Hydrocarbons (HCs) found in fuels and solvents are ubiquitous in the environment, yet we know little about their effects on the endocrine system. The objective of this study was to assess the potential reproductive endocrine effects of low-dose HCs encountered by female U.S. Air Force personnel with fuel (primarily JP-8 jet fuel) and solvent exposures (n = 63). We estimated the internal dose of HCs in fuels and solvents by measuring their levels in exhaled breath, including the sum of aliphatic HCs (C6H14-C16H34) and the sum of aromatic HCs (benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, and m,p,o-xylenes). Adverse outcome measures included urinary endocrine markers that have been associated with nonconceptive (vs. conceptive) menstrual cycles in ovulatory women: lower preovulatory luteinizing hormone (LH) and mid-luteal phase pregnanediol 3-glucuronide (Pd3G) and estrone 3-glucuronide, and higher follicle phase Pd3G. We also obtained reproductive and exposure information from baseline questionnaires and daily diaries. Toluene was the most frequently found analyte in the breath, with values up to 52.0 ppb, and benzene breath levels were up to 97.5 ppb. Regression analysis revealed that preovulatory LH levels were significantly lower (p = 0.007) among women whose total aliphatic HC levels were above the median. The relationship between elevated aliphatic HC exposure and lowered preovulatory LH levels in the present study suggests that compounds in fuels and some solvents may act as reproductive endocrine disruptors. Confirmation of these findings is needed, not only to determine if fuel and solvent exposure may impact other LH-dependent physiologic functions but also to examine effects of fuels and solvents on conception

Bostonia. Volume 4

Founded in 1900, Bostonia magazine is Boston University's main alumni publication, which covers alumni and student life, as well as university activities, events, and programs

Assessing the Validity of Several Heart Rate Monitors in Wearable Technology While Mountain Biking

International Journal of Exercise Science 16(7): 1440-1450, 2023. Purpose: This study sought to assess the validity of several heart rate (HR) monitors in wearable technology during mountain biking (MTB), compared to the Polar H7® HR monitor, used as the criterion device. Methods: A total of 20 participants completed two MTB trials while wearing six HR monitors (5 test devices, 1 criterion). HR was recorded on a second-by-second basis for all devices analyzed. After data processing, validity measures were calculated, including 1. error analysis: mean absolute percentage errors (MAPE), mean absolute error (MAE), and mean error (ME), and 2. Correlation analysis: Lin’s concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) and Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r). Thresholds for validity were set at MAPE \u3c 10% and CCC \u3e 0.7. Results: The only device that was found to be valid during mountain biking was the Suunto Spartan Sport watch with accompanying HR monitor, with a MAPE of 0.66% and a CCC of 0.99 for the overall, combined data. Conclusion: If a person would like to track their HR during mountain biking, for pacing, training, or other reasons, the devices best able to produce valid results are chest-based, wireless electrocardiogram (ECG) monitors, secured by elastic straps to minimize the movement of the device, such as the Suunto chest-based HR monitor

Initiation of T cell signaling by CD45 segregation at 'close contacts'.

It has been proposed that the local segregation of kinases and the tyrosine phosphatase CD45 underpins T cell antigen receptor (TCR) triggering, but how such segregation occurs and whether it can initiate signaling is unclear. Using structural and biophysical analysis, we show that the extracellular region of CD45 is rigid and extends beyond the distance spanned by TCR-ligand complexes, implying that sites of TCR-ligand engagement would sterically exclude CD45. We also show that the formation of 'close contacts', new structures characterized by spontaneous CD45 and kinase segregation at the submicron-scale, initiates signaling even when TCR ligands are absent. Our work reveals the structural basis for, and the potent signaling effects of, local CD45 and kinase segregation. TCR ligands have the potential to heighten signaling simply by holding receptors in close contacts.The authors thank R.A. Cornall, M.L. Dustin and P.A. van der Merwe for comments on the manuscript and S. Ikemizu for useful discussions about the structure. We also thank W. Lu and T. Walter for technical support with protein expression and crystallization, the staff at Diamond Light Source beamlines I02, I03 and I04-1 (proposal mx10627) and European Synchrotron Radiation Facility beamlines ID23EH1 and ID23EH2 for assistance at the synchrotrons, G. Sutton for assistance with MALS experiments, and M. Fritzsche for advice on the calcium analysis. This work was funded by the Wellcome Trust (098274/Z/12/Z to S.J.D.; 090532/Z/09/Z to R.J.C.G.; 090708/Z/09/Z to D.K.), the UK Medical Research Council (G0700232 to A.R.A.), the Royal Society (UF120277 to S.F.L.) and Cancer Research UK (C20724/A14414 to C.S.; C375/A10976 to E.Y.J.). The Oxford Division of Structural Biology is part of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, Wellcome Trust Core Award Grant Number 090532/Z/09/Z. We acknowledge financial support from Instruct, an ESFRI Landmark Project. The OPIC electron microscopy facility was funded by a Wellcome Trust JIF award (060208/Z/00/Z).This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Nature Publishing Group via https://doi.org/10.1038/ni.339

APC/C-Mediated Degradation of dsRNA-Binding Protein 4 (DRB4) Involved in RNA Silencing

Background: Selective protein degradation via the ubiquitin-26S proteasome is a major mechanism underlying DNA replication and cell division in all Eukaryotes. In particular, the APC/C (Anaphase Promoting Complex or Cyclosome) is a master ubiquitin protein ligase (E3) that targets regulatory proteins for degradation allowing sister chromatid separation and exit from mitosis. Interestingly, recent work also indicates that the APC/C remains active in differentiated animal and plant cells. However, its role in post-mitotic cells remains elusive and only a few substrates have been characterized. Methodology/Principal Findings: In order to identify novel APC/C substrates, we performed a yeast two-hybrid screen using as the bait Arabidopsis APC10/DOC1, one core subunit of the APC/C, which is required for substrate recruitment. This screen identified DRB4, a double-stranded RNA binding protein involved in the biogenesis of different classes of small RNA (sRNA). This protein interaction was further confirmed in vitro and in plant cells. Moreover, APC10 interacts with DRB4 through the second dsRNA binding motif (dsRBD2) of DRB4, which is also required for its homodimerization and binding to its Dicer partner DCL4. We further showed that DRB4 protein accumulates when the proteasome is inactivated and, most importantly, we found that DRB4 stability depends on APC/C activity. Hence, depletion of Arabidopsis APC/C activity by RNAi leads to a strong accumulation of endogenous DRB4, far beyond its normal level of accumulation. However, we could not detect any defects in sRNA production in lines where DRB4 was overexpressed

Primary biliary cirrhosis

Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is a chronic and slowly progressive cholestatic liver disease of autoimmune etiology characterized by injury of the intrahepatic bile ducts that may eventually lead to liver failure. Affected individuals are usually in their fifth to seventh decades of life at time of diagnosis, and 90% are women. Annual incidence is estimated between 0.7 and 49 cases per million-population and prevalence between 6.7 and 940 cases per million-population (depending on age and sex). The majority of patients are asymptomatic at diagnosis, however, some patients present with symptoms of fatigue and/or pruritus. Patients may even present with ascites, hepatic encephalopathy and/or esophageal variceal hemorrhage. PBC is associated with other autoimmune diseases such as Sjogren's syndrome, scleroderma, Raynaud's phenomenon and CREST syndrome and is regarded as an organ specific autoimmune disease. Genetic susceptibility as a predisposing factor for PBC has been suggested. Environmental factors may have potential causative role (infection, chemicals, smoking). Diagnosis is based on a combination of clinical features, abnormal liver biochemical pattern in a cholestatic picture persisting for more than six months and presence of detectable antimitochondrial antibodies (AMA) in serum. All AMA negative patients with cholestatic liver disease should be carefully evaluated with cholangiography and liver biopsy. Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) is the only currently known medication that can slow the disease progression. Patients, particularly those who start UDCA treatment at early-stage disease and who respond in terms of improvement of the liver biochemistry, have a good prognosis. Liver transplantation is usually an option for patients with liver failure and the outcome is 70% survival at 7 years. Recently, animal models have been discovered that may provide a new insight into the pathogenesis of this disease and facilitate appreciation for novel treatment in PBC

Primary biliary cirrhosis

Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is an immune-mediated chronic cholestatic liver disease with a slowly progressive course. Without treatment, most patients eventually develop fibrosis and cirrhosis of the liver and may need liver transplantation in the late stage of disease. PBC primarily affects women (female preponderance 9–10:1) with a prevalence of up to 1 in 1,000 women over 40 years of age. Common symptoms of the disease are fatigue and pruritus, but most patients are asymptomatic at first presentation. The diagnosis is based on sustained elevation of serum markers of cholestasis, i.e., alkaline phosphatase and gamma-glutamyl transferase, and the presence of serum antimitochondrial antibodies directed against the E2 subunit of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex. Histologically, PBC is characterized by florid bile duct lesions with damage to biliary epithelial cells, an often dense portal inflammatory infiltrate and progressive loss of small intrahepatic bile ducts. Although the insight into pathogenetic aspects of PBC has grown enormously during the recent decade and numerous genetic, environmental, and infectious factors have been disclosed which may contribute to the development of PBC, the precise pathogenesis remains enigmatic. Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) is currently the only FDA-approved medical treatment for PBC. When administered at adequate doses of 13–15 mg/kg/day, up to two out of three patients with PBC may have a normal life expectancy without additional therapeutic measures. The mode of action of UDCA is still under discussion, but stimulation of impaired hepatocellular and cholangiocellular secretion, detoxification of bile, and antiapoptotic effects may represent key mechanisms. One out of three patients does not adequately respond to UDCA therapy and may need additional medical therapy and/or liver transplantation. This review summarizes current knowledge on the clinical, diagnostic, pathogenetic, and therapeutic aspects of PBC

Lessons from the Subprime Meltdown

This paper uses Hyman P. Minsky's approach to analyze the current international financial crisis, which was initiated by problems in the American real estate market. In a 1987 manuscript, Minsky had already recognized the importance of the trend toward securitization of home mortgages. This paper identifies the causes and consequences of the financial innovations that created the real estate boom and bust. It examines the role played by each of the key playersincluding brokers, appraisers, borrowers, securitizers, insurers, and regulatorsin creating the crisis. Finally, it proposes short-run solutions to the current crisis, as well as longer-run policy to prevent it (a debt deflation) from happening again