Cluster Catalysis with Lattice Oxygen: Tracing Oxygen Transport from a Magnetite(001) Support onto Small Pt Clusters

Oxidation catalysis on reducible oxide-supported small metal clusters often involves lattice oxygen. In the present work, we trace the path of lattice oxygen from Fe3O4(001) onto small Pt clusters during the CO oxidation, aiming at differentiating whether the reaction takes place at the cluster/support interface or on the cluster. While oxygen vacancies form on many other supports, magnetite maintains its surface stoichiometry upon reduction thanks to a high cation mobility. In order to investigate whether size-dependent oxygen affinities play a role, we study two specific cluster sizes, Pt5 and Pt19. By separating different reaction steps in our experiment, lattice oxygen can be accumulated on the clusters. Temperature programmed desorption (TPD) and sophisticated pulsed valve experiments indicate that the CO oxidation takes place on the Pt clusters rather than at the interface. Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) shows a decrease in apparent height of the clusters, which density functional theory (DFT) explains as a restructuring following lattice oxygen reverse spillover

Building Performance Assessment Protocol for Timber Dwellings – Conducting Thermography Tests on Live Construction sites

This paper introduces the pan-Wales (UK) Home-Grown Homes (HGH) project (2018 to 2020) which focusses on three areas of improvement for delivering high performance, affordable and healthy homes. The HGH project is funded by Powys County Council, through the European Regional Development Fund’s Agricultural Stream. The HGH project is being delivered by Woodknowledge Wales in a consortium with Cardiff Metropolitan University (CMU), TRADA and Coed Cymru, with seven work packages. ‘More and Better Homes from Wood’ (work package (WP) WP3) focusses on the assessment of building performance for dwellings using timber, and is being delivered by a multi-disciplinary team at CMU through the Sustainable and Resilient Built Environment (SuRBe) group. This paper discusses the context and need for the HGH project as Wales launched its low carbon agenda in March 2019. The focus of this paper on introducing the building performance assessment (BPA) protocol to be implemented by SuRBe across several housing case studies in Wales, through the design, in-construction and occupancy phases, to address thermal and fire (TaF) performance issues, and impacts on occupants’ quality of life, comfort and safety. Preliminary results of in-construction testing on a live construction site are presented, with the challenges of conducting thermography tests whilst construction is in progress and weather conditions in spring in the UK (April 2019). This paper will be useful for academics, architects, building contractors, housing developers and professionals undertaking building performance assessment and evaluation on live construction sites

Positive Psychology in Cancer Care: Bad Science, Exaggerated Claims, and Unproven Medicine

Claims of positive psychology about people with cancer enjoy great popularity because they seem to offer scientific confirmation of strongly held cultural beliefs and values. Our goal is to examine critically four widely accepted claims in the positive psychology literature regarding adaptational outcomes among individuals living with cancer. We examine: (1) the role of positive factors, such as a "fighting spirit" in extending the life of persons with cancer; (2) effects of interventions cultivating positive psychological states on immune functioning and cancer progression and mortality; and evidence concerning (3) benefit finding and (4) post-traumatic growth following serious illness such as cancer and other highly threatening experiences. Claims about these areas of research routinely made in the positive psychology literature do not fit with available evidence. We note in particular the incoherence of claims about the adaptational value of benefit finding and post-traumatic growth among cancer patients, and the implausibility of claims that interventions that enhance benefit finding improve the prognosis of cancer patients by strengthening the immune system. We urge positive psychologists to rededicate themselves to a positive psychology based on scientific evidence rather than wishful thinking

Individual, social, environmental, and physical environmental correlates with physical activity among Canadians: a cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The identification of various individual, social and physical environmental factors affecting physical activity (PA) behavior in Canada can help in the development of more tailored intervention strategies for promoting higher PA levels in Canada. This study examined the influences of various individual, social and physical environmental factors on PA participation by gender, age and socioeconomic status, using data from the 2002 nationwide survey of the Physical Activity Monitor.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In 2002, 5,167 Canadians aged 15–79 years, selected by random-digit dialling from household-based telephone exchanges, completed a telephone survey. The short version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire was used to collect information on total physical activity. The effects of socio-economical status, self-rated health, self-efficacy, intention, perceived barriers to PA, health benefits of PA, social support, and facility availability on PA level were examined by multiple logistic regression analyses.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Self-efficacy and intention were the strongest correlates and had the greatest effect on PA. Family income, self-rated health and perceived barriers were also consistently associated with PA. The effects of the perceived health benefits, education and family income were more salient to older people, whereas the influence of education was more important to women and the influence of perceived barriers was more salient to women and younger people. Facility availability was more strongly associated with PA among people with a university degree than among people with a lower education level. However, social support was not significantly related to PA in any subgroup.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study suggests that PA promotion strategies should be tailored to enhance people's confidence to engage in PA, motivate people to be more active, educate people on PA's health benefits and reduce barriers, as well as target different factors for men and women and for differing socio-economic and demographic groups.</p

Arabidopsis CULLIN3 Genes Regulate Primary Root Growth and Patterning by Ethylene-Dependent and -Independent Mechanisms

CULLIN3 (CUL3) together with BTB-domain proteins form a class of Cullin-RING ubiquitin ligases (called CRL3s) that control the rapid and selective degradation of important regulatory proteins in all eukaryotes. Here, we report that in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, CUL3 regulates plant growth and development, not only during embryogenesis but also at post-embryonic stages. First, we show that CUL3 modulates the emission of ethylene, a gaseous plant hormone that is an important growth regulator. A CUL3 hypomorphic mutant accumulates ACS5, the rate-limiting enzyme in ethylene biosynthesis and as a consequence exhibits a constitutive ethylene response. Second, we provide evidence that CUL3 regulates primary root growth by a novel ethylene-dependant pathway. In particular, we show that CUL3 knockdown inhibits primary root growth by reducing root meristem size and cell number. This phenotype is suppressed by ethylene-insensitive or resistant mutations. Finally, we identify a function of CUL3 in distal root patterning, by a mechanism that is independent of ethylene. Thus, our work highlights that CUL3 is essential for the normal division and organisation of the root stem cell niche and columella root cap cells

RTA Promoter Demethylation and Histone Acetylation Regulation of Murine Gammaherpesvirus 68 Reactivation

Gammaherpesviruses have a common biological characteristic, latency and lytic replication. The balance between these two phases in murine gammaherpesvirus 68 (MHV-68) is controlled by the replication and transcription activator (RTA) gene. In this report, we investigated the effect of DNA demethylation and histone acetylation on MHV-68 replication. We showed that distinctive methylation patterns were associated with MHV-68 at the RTA promoter during latency or lytic replication. Treatment of MHV-68 latently-infected S11E cells with a DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) inhibitor 5-azacytidine (5-AzaC), only weakly reactivated MHV-68, despite resulted in demethylation of the viral RTA promoter. In contrast, treatment with a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor trichostatin A (TSA) strongly reactivated MHV-68 from latency, and this was associated with significant change in histone H3 and H4 acetylation levels at the RTA promoter. We further showed that HDAC3 was recruited to the RTA promoter and inhibited RTA transcription during viral latency. However, TSA treatment caused rapid removal of HDAC3 and also induced passive demethylation at the RTA promoter. In vivo, we found that the RTA promoter was hypomethylated during lytic infection in the lung and that methylation level increased with virus latent infection in the spleen. Collectively, our data showed that histone acetylation, but not DNA demethylation, is sufficient for effective reactivation of MHV-68 from latency in S11E cells

Challenges in the association of human single nucleotide polymorphism mentions with unique database identifiers

Thomas PE, Klinger R, Furlong LI, Hofmann-Apitius M, Friedrich CM. Challenges in the association of human single nucleotide polymorphism mentions with unique database identifiers. BMC Bioinformatics. 2011;12(Suppl 4): S4

Pediatric multiple sclerosis: update on diagnostic criteria, imaging, histopathology and treatment choices

Pediatric multiple sclerosis (MS) represents less than 5% of the MS population, but patients with pediatric-onset disease reach permanent disability at a younger age than adult onset patients. Accurate diagnosis at presentation and optimal long-term treatment is vital to mitigate ongoing neuroinflammation and irreversible neurodegeneration. However, it may be difficult to early differentiate pediatric MS from acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) as they often have atypical presentation that differs from that of adult-onset MS. The purpose of this review is to summarize the updated views on diagnostic criteria, imaging, histopathology and treatment choices

Urban Biodiversity and Landscape Ecology: Patterns, Processes and Planning

Effective planning for biodiversity in cities and towns is increasingly important as urban areas and their human populations grow, both to achieve conservation goals and because ecological communities support services on which humans depend. Landscape ecology provides important frameworks for understanding and conserving urban biodiversity both within cities and considering whole cities in their regional context, and has played an important role in the development of a substantial and expanding body of knowledge about urban landscapes and communities. Characteristics of the whole city including size, overall amount of green space, age and regional context are important considerations for understanding and planning for biotic assemblages at the scale of entire cities, but have received relatively little research attention. Studies of biodiversity within cities are more abundant and show that longstanding principles regarding how patch size, configuration and composition influence biodiversity apply to urban areas as they do in other habitats. However, the fine spatial scales at which urban areas are fragmented and the altered temporal dynamics compared to non-urban areas indicate a need to apply hierarchical multi-scalar landscape ecology models to urban environments. Transferring results from landscape-scale urban biodiversity research into planning remains challenging, not least because of the requirements for urban green space to provide multiple functions. An increasing array of tools is available to meet this challenge and increasingly requires ecologists to work with planners to address biodiversity challenges. Biodiversity conservation and enhancement is just one strand in urban planning, but is increasingly important in a rapidly urbanising world

Heterochromatin and the molecular mechanisms of 'parent-of-origin' effects in animals.

Twenty five years ago it was proposed that conserved components of constitutive heterochromatin assemble heterochromatinlike complexes in euchromatin and this could provide a general mechanism for regulating heritable (cell-to-cell) changes in gene expressibility. As a special case, differences in the assembly of heterochromatin-like complexes on homologous chromosomes might also regulate the parent-of-origin-dependent gene expression observed in placental mammals. Here, the progress made in the intervening period with emphasis on the role of heterochromatin and heterochromatin-like complexes in parent-of-origin effects in animals is reviewed