Using Chemical, Optical and Biological Methods to Characterize Cu Complexation by Different Natural Organic Matter Sources Collected from Canadian Shield Waters

The effects of natural organic matter (NOM) source on Cu complexation were characterized chemically, optically and biologically in soft waters. NOM from different Canadian Shield soft water lakes were concentrated using reverse osmosis and for comparison NOM was also sampled from a hard water source. NOM complexation capacity was assessed directly in Cu spiked solutions (with and without additions of NOM) by measuring free Cu activity using an ion selective electrode. Additional chemical and optical characterizations of NOM included specific absorbance coefficient (SAC; at 340 nm), excitation-emission matrix spectroscopy, protein content, and molecular weight fractionation (fraction of DOCkDa). The biological characterization of the ability of various NOMs to complex Cu was measured in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) using short term (3 h) gill accumulation, 96h-LC50, and the inhibition of gill Na+/K+ ATPase. Results indicate that a more allochthonous NOM having a higher HA content and a higher UV/Vis absorbance complex better with Cu and usually reduce gill Cu accumulation more effectively than autochthonous NOM sources. Those NOM sources which were used for toxicity experiments did not reveal many differences in their chemical or optical properties, yet there was still a 3.5 fold difference in NOM ability to reduce acute Cu toxicity. The geochemical prediction model Windermere Humic Aqueous Model (WHAM), was modified to account for SAC340 which increased its predictive capabilities by 18%. This suggests that SAC340 could be an important measure when considering NOM quality for better predicting Cu speciation and toxicity in aquatic environments

Cognitive Resilience to Psychological Stress in Military Personnel

Military personnel often perform complex cognitive operations under unique conditions of intense stress. This requirement to perform diverse physical and mental tasks under stress, often with high stakes, has led to recognition of the term ‘tactical athlete’ for these performers. Impaired cognitive performance as a result of this stress may have serious implications for the success of military operations and the well-being of military service men and women, particularly in combat scenarios. Therefore, understanding the nature of the stress experienced by military personnel and the resilience of cognitive functioning to this stress is of great importance. This review synthesises the current state of the literature regarding cognitive resilience to psychological stress in tactical athletes. The experience of psychological stress in military personnel is considered through the lens of the Transactional Theory of stress, while offering contemporary updates and new insights. Models of the effects of stress on cognitive performance are then reviewed to highlight the complexity of this interaction before considering recent advancements in the preparation of military personnel for the enhancement of cognitive resilience. Several areas for future research are identified throughout the review, emphasising the need for the wider use of self-report measures and mixed methods approaches to better reflect the subjective experience of stress and its impact on the performance of cognitive operations

Detection of non-coding RNAs on the basis of predicted secondary structure formation free energy change

BACKGROUND: Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) have a multitude of roles in the cell, many of which remain to be discovered. However, it is difficult to detect novel ncRNAs in biochemical screens. To advance biological knowledge, computational methods that can accurately detect ncRNAs in sequenced genomes are therefore desirable. The increasing number of genomic sequences provides a rich dataset for computational comparative sequence analysis and detection of novel ncRNAs. RESULTS: Here, Dynalign, a program for predicting secondary structures common to two RNA sequences on the basis of minimizing folding free energy change, is utilized as a computational ncRNA detection tool. The Dynalign-computed optimal total free energy change, which scores the structural alignment and the free energy change of folding into a common structure for two RNA sequences, is shown to be an effective measure for distinguishing ncRNA from randomized sequences. To make the classification as a ncRNA, the total free energy change of an input sequence pair can either be compared with the total free energy changes of a set of control sequence pairs, or be used in combination with sequence length and nucleotide frequencies as input to a classification support vector machine. The latter method is much faster, but slightly less sensitive at a given specificity. Additionally, the classification support vector machine method is shown to be sensitive and specific on genomic ncRNA screens of two different Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhi genome alignments, in which many ncRNAs are known. The Dynalign computational experiments are also compared with two other ncRNA detection programs, RNAz and QRNA. CONCLUSION: The Dynalign-based support vector machine method is more sensitive for known ncRNAs in the test genomic screens than RNAz and QRNA. Additionally, both Dynalign-based methods are more sensitive than RNAz and QRNA at low sequence pair identities. Dynalign can be used as a comparable or more accurate tool than RNAz or QRNA in genomic screens, especially for low-identity regions. Dynalign provides a method for discovering ncRNAs in sequenced genomes that other methods may not identify. Significant improvements in Dynalign runtime have also been achieved

Trailblazers: Innovation Portfolio

We are so grateful for your interest in our proposal of redesigning the Frederick Meijer Honors College Curriculum. This journey spanned four months and included countless hours of researching, interviewing, collaborating, ideating, and prototyping. Our portfolio will navigate through the process to provide an in-depth overview of our insights and show how we used Design Thinking to create our final prototype concept. We would like to express our sincere gratitude toward our professor Linda Chamberlain, fellow classmates, collaborators, and stakeholders who were involved in the process. All of these individuals guided us through the Design Thinking process and allowed us to creatively derive a solution to the challenge we were given. Sincerely, Team Trailblazer

Behaviour change techniques in cardiovascular disease smartphone apps to improve physical activity and sedentary behaviour:Systematic review and meta-regression

BACKGROUND: Smartphone apps are increasingly used to deliver physical activity and sedentary behaviour interventions for people with cardiovascular disease. However, the active components of these interventions which aim to change behaviours are unclear. AIMS: To identify behaviour change techniques used in smartphone app interventions for improving physical activity and sedentary behaviour in people with cardiovascular disease. Secondly, to investigate the association of the identified techniques on improving these behaviours. METHODS: Six databases (Medline, CINAHL Plus, Cochrane Library, SCOPUS, Sports Discus, EMBASE) were searched from 2007 to October 2020. Eligible studies used a smartphone app intervention for people with cardiovascular disease and reported a physical activity and/or sedentary behaviour outcome. The behaviour change techniques used within the apps for physical activity and/or sedentary behaviour were coded using the Behaviour Change Technique Taxonomy (v1). The association of behaviour change techniques on physical activity outcomes were explored through meta-regression. RESULTS: Forty behaviour change techniques were identified across the 19 included app-based interventions. Only two studies reported the behaviour change techniques used to target sedentary behaviour change. The most frequently used techniques for sedentary behaviour and physical activity were habit reversal and self-monitoring of behaviour respectively. In univariable analyses, action planning (β =0.42, 90%CrI 0.07–0.78) and graded tasks (β =0.33, 90%CrI -0.04-0.67) each had medium positive associations with increasing physical activity. Participants in interventions that used either self-monitoring outcome(s) of behaviour (i.e. outcomes other than physical activity) (β = − 0.47, 90%CrI -0.79--0.16), biofeedback (β = − 0.47, 90%CrI -0.81--0.15) and information about health consequences (β = − 0.42, 90%CrI -0.74--0.07) as behaviour change techniques, appeared to do less physical activity. In the multivariable model, these predictors were not clearly removed from zero. CONCLUSION: The behaviour change techniques action planning and graded tasks are good candidates for causal testing in future experimental smartphone app designs. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12966-022-01319-8

On-Shell Representations of Two-Body Transition Amplitudes: Single External Current

This work explores scattering amplitudes that couple two-particle systems via a single external current insertion, 2 + J → 2. Such amplitudes can provide structural information about the excited QCD spectrum. We derive an exact analytic representation for these reactions. From these amplitudes, we show how to rigorously define resonance and bound-state form factors. Furthermore, we explore the consequences of the narrow-width limit of the amplitudes as well as the role of the Ward-Takahashi identity for conserved vector currents. These results hold for any number of two-body channels with no intrinsic spin, and a current with arbitrary Lorentz structure and quantum numbers. This work and the existing finite-volume formalism provide a complete framework for determining this class of amplitudes from lattice QCD