Changes in metabolic phenotypes of Plasmodium falciparum in vitro cultures during gametocyte development.

BACKGROUND: Gametocytes are the Plasmodium life stage that is solely responsible for malaria transmission. Despite their important role in perpetuating malaria, gametocyte differentiation and development is poorly understood. METHODS: To shed light on the biochemical changes that occur during asexual and gametocyte development, metabolic characterization of media from in vitro intra-erythrocytic Plasmodium falciparum cultures was performed throughout gametocyte development by applying 1H nuclear magnetic spectroscopy, and using sham erythrocyte cultures as controls. Spectral differences between parasite and sham cultures were assessed via principal component analyses and partial-least squares analyses, and univariate statistical methods. RESULTS: Clear parasite-associated changes in metabolism were observed throughout the culture period, revealing differences between asexual parasites and gametocyte stages. With culture progression and development of gametocytes, parasitic release of the glycolytic end products lactate, pyruvate, alanine, and glycerol, were found to be dramatically reduced whilst acetate release was greatly increased. Also, uptake of lipid moieties CH(2), CH(3), and CH = CH-CH(2)-CH(2) increased throughout gametocyte development, peaking with maturity. CONCLUSIONS: This study uniquely presents an initial characterization of the metabolic exchange between parasite and culture medium during in vitro P. falciparum gametocyte culture. Results suggest that energy metabolism and lipid utilization between the asexual stages and gametocytes is different. This study provides new insights for gametocyte-specific nutritional requirements to aid future optimization and standardization of in vitro gametocyte cultivation, and highlights areas of novel gametocyte cell biology that deserve to be studied in greater detail and may yield new targets for transmission-blocking drugs

Marital Quality and Marital Satisfaction in Protestant Haitian Americans vs. Non-Christian Haitian Americans

The current study examined perceptions regarding marital satisfaction as described by Protestants Haitians Americans and non-Christian Haitian Americans. Participants were selected from married Christian and non-Christian couples that have been married for over five years within the age range of 25-53. The study used the Religion-Adapted Cognitive Behavioral Therapy theory (R-CBT) framework. R-CBT is a well-known theoretical framework that integrates religious interventions in the therapeutic relationship to educate clients about the triangular relationship between thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and cognitive restructuring (de Abreu Costa & Moreira-Almeida, 2022). Religion-Adapted Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (R-CBT) incorporates cognitive behavioral therapy methods from the perspective of the clients’ organized system of beliefs. It also integrates practices that connect them with the sacred or God (de Abreu Costa & Moreira-Almeida, 2022; Moreira-Almeida & Koenig, 2006). The researcher used a qualitative descriptive research design because this methodology is used to understand how people make meanings of a given phenomenon or situation. Qualitative descriptive qualitative research design does not conform to a particular research process or procedure, making it possible for the researcher to use different methods in collecting and analyzing data (Patton, 2014). The study findings provided insights into factors influencing marital quality and satisfaction. The study findings also presented limitations, implications for stakeholders, and recommendations for future research

Eine Analyse parlamentarischer Debatten und Initiativen in den Landesparlamenten in der „Stunde der Exekutive“

In der Corona-Pandemie als „Stunde der Exekutive“ waren die Exekutiven der Länder und des Bundes die zentralen Akteure, die durch Verordnungen weitreichende Schutzmaßnahmen zur Pandemiebekämpfung erlassen konnten. Gegen den zu Beginn der Pandemie weitgehenden Ausschluss der Landesparlamente beim Erlass der Corona-Schutzmaßnahmen regte sich im weiteren Pandemieverlauf Widerstand in den Parlamenten. Es folgten zahlreiche parlamentarische Debatten über die Rolle der Parlamente in der Pandemiebekämpfung und schlussendlich in einigen Ländern die Verabschiedung von Parlamentsbeteiligungsgesetzen, die eine Beteiligung des Parlamentes beim Erlass von Corona-Verordnungen garantieren sollen. Die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit Hilfe einer qualitativen Inhalts- und Dokumentenanalyse mit den Debatten und Initiativen rund um die Parlamentsbeteiligung bei dem Erlass von Corona-Verordnungen in den deutschen Landesparlamenten. Es werden die Plenarbeiträge von Abgeordneten verschiedener Parteien in ausgewählten Ländern hinsichtlich ihrer Argumentation untersucht. Die Ergebnisse dieser Untersuchung zeigen, dass in den parlamentarischen Debatten um das Für und Wider von mehr Parlamentsbeteiligung der Wirkungsmechanismus des alten Dualismus von Parlament und Regierung in den Vordergrund rückt. Unter anderem zeigt sich dies darin, dass Abgeordnete besonders häufig in den Plenardebatten mit der Wahrnehmung der Funktionen des gesamten Parlamentes argumentieren, wie die Kontrollfunktion, die durch eine stärkere Parlamentsbeteiligung in der Corona-Pandemie sichergestellt werden soll

Como melhorar as práticas de alimentação para o paciente com demência de Alzheimer

A Doença de Alzheimer é uma enfermidade que se agrava ao longo do tempo. O comprometimento mais marcante é uma acentuada perda de peso, que normalmente vem acompanhada de desidratação e resulta freqüentemente em um quadro de subnutrição. Avaliação e reavaliação nutricional periódica com dados laboratoriais, anamnese alimentar e a avaliação do estágio da doença são importantes para a melhoria na estratégia da alimentação do idoso.Versão em H

Pre-Brides and Independent Heroines: Evolving Representations of Female Teen Protagonists in American Film, 1982-2015

Over the first seventy years of American cinema, big budget Hollywood films rarely told heroic stories about teen female protagonists as they did for young male protagonists. Until the civil rights era, young female protagonists most often found identity and sought economic security by winning the affection of a young man by the end of the film. I call this character type the “pre-bride” because she is a teenager, and while there is no “marriage” by the end of the film, she has successfully trained for the marriage plot ending in her future. Since then, some films have challenged this long-standing paradigm, leading to the emergence of a new conceptual model for teen girls—the independent heroine—who is defined by agency instead of the marriage plot.Drawing on the work of cultural historians and employing both ideological and formalist film analysis, this dissertation explores the emergence of the independent heroine and the persistence and updating of the pre-bride by analyzing the teen female protagonists in six representative, popular American films: two from the 1980s, two from the 1990s, and two from the past decade. By examining the teen protagonists of Sixteen Candles (1984), Clueless (1995), and Twilight (2008), I show that the pre-brides here were not seamless replicants of traditional femininity but rather altered old paradigms. At the same time, I analyze how the independent heroines develop considerable agency in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), Titanic (1997), and The Hunger Games (2012) by diverging from marriage plot conventions, although they are not always radically disruptive characters. The arc over the past thirty-plus years suggests that although the pre-bride remains as one persistent character prototype for female teen protagonists, independent heroines are beginning to appear in traditionally heroic roles as the culture adjusts to the idea that women may be as capable as men in pursuing authentic identity separate, but not necessarily apart, from seeking a mate

High pulse energy near-infrared ultrafast optical parametric oscillators

A source-demand in the near- and mid-IR wavelength spectrum exists for various applications such as waveguide inscription, multiphoton imaging, and nonlinear spectroscopy. All of the applications seek for higher repetitions rates for faster processing speed, better signal to noise ratios or to improve the results for applications like laser waveguide inscription. This is in contrast to the high pulse energies, required to drive the nonlinear processes involved with these applications. Available systems are either based on low-energy, high-repetition-rate optical parametric oscillators or high-energy, low-repetition-rate optical parametric amplifiers. In this thesis a sources was developed that can bridge the wide gap between these two extremes, providing sufficient energy to drive nonlinear processes, with repetition rates in the MHz domain. This was achieved by introducing three techniques previously employed for energy scaling in laser cavities. Firstly an exchange from the conventionally used Ti:sapphire pump to a commercial high power Yb:fibre laser system readily scaled the usable pump energy. This was combined with a technique known as cavity-length extension, which allows a lowering of the cavity roundtrip time offering the build-up of pulses with increased energy. In a final stage, cavity-dumping on basis of an acousto-optic modulator was introduced into the a redesigned cavity. The combination of these three techniques, novel to synchronously pumped optical parametric oscillators, enabled the extraction of record-high pulse energies and peak power

Appeasing the Animal

“Appeasing the Animal” is collection of thirty-two poems that represent a fight and conciliation between the civilized self and the spectrum of human needs in a socially constructed reality. These explorations were split into male and female representations of the human psyche. This intersection is also a place that investigates mothers & daughters, politics, sex, crisis, religion, and other important points of dramatic conflict

Modeling many-particle mechanical effects of an interacting Rydberg gas

In a recent work [Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 023004 (2007)] we have investigated the influence of attractive van der Waals interaction on the pair distribution and Penning ionization dynamics of ultracold Rydberg gases. Here we extend this description to atoms initially prepared in Rydberg states exhibiting repulsive interaction. We present calculations based on a Monte Carlo algorithm to simulate the dynamics of many atoms under the influence of both repulsive and attractive longrange interatomic forces. Redistribution to nearby states induced by black body radiation is taken into account, changing the effective interaction potentials. The model agrees with experimental observations, where the ionization rate is found to increase when the excitation laser is blue-detuned from the atomic resonance