Opioid regulation of Mu receptor internalisation: relevance to the development of tolerance and dependence

Internalisation of the mu opioid receptor from the surface of cells is generally achieved by receptor occupancy with agonist ligands of high efficacy. However, in many situations the potent analgesic morphine fails to promote internalisation effectively and whether there is a direct link between this and the propensity for the sustained use of morphine to result in both tolerance and dependence has been studied intensely. Although frequently described as a partial agonist, this characteristic appears insufficient to explain the poor capacity of morphine to promote internalisation of the mu opioid receptor. Experiments performed using both transfected cell systems and ex vivo/in vivo models have provided evidence that when morphine can promote internalisation of the mu receptor there is a decrease in the development of tolerance and dependence. Although aspects of this model are controversial, such observations suggest a number of approaches to further enhance the use of morphine as an analgesic

Simple vs. sophisticated approaches for patent prior-art search

Patent prior-art search is concerned with finding all filed patents relevant to a given patent application. We report a comparison between two search approaches representing the state-of-the-art in patent prior-art search. The first approach uses simple and straightforward information retrieval (IR) techniques, while the second uses much more sophisticated techniques which try to model the steps taken by a patent examiner in patent search. Experiments show that the retrieval effectiveness using both techniques is statistically indistinguishable when patent applications contain some initial citations. However, the advanced search technique is statistically better when no initial citations are provided. Our findings suggest that less time and effort can be exerted by applying simple IR approaches when initial citations are provided

Effect of graphene substrate on the SERS Spectra of Aromatic bifunctional molecules on metal nanoparticles

The design of molecular sensors plays a very important role within nanotechnology and especially in the development of different devices for biomedical applications. Biosensors can be classified according to various criteria such as the type of interaction established between the recognition element and the analyte or the type of signal detection from the analyte (transduction). When Raman spectroscopy is used as an optical transduction technique the variations in the Raman signal due to the physical or chemical interaction between the analyte and the recognition element has to be detected. Therefore any significant improvement in the amplification of the optical sensor signal represents a breakthrough in the design of molecular sensors. In this sense, Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) involves an enormous enhancement of the Raman signal from a molecule in the vicinity of a metal surface. The main objective of this work is to evaluate the effect of a monolayer of graphene oxide (GO) on the distribution of metal nanoparticles (NPs) and on the global SERS enhancement of paminothiophenol (pATP) and 4-mercaptobenzoic acid (4MBA) adsorbed on this substrate. These aromatic bifunctional molecules are able to interact to metal NPs and also they offer the possibility to link with biomolecules. Additionally by decorating Au or Ag NPs on graphene sheets, a coupled EM effect caused by the aggregation of the NPs and strong electronic interactions between Au or Ag NPs and the graphene sheets are considered to be responsible for the significantly enhanced Raman signal of the analytes [1-2]. Since there are increasing needs for methods to conduct reproducible and sensitive Raman measurements, Grapheneenhanced Raman Scattering (GERS) is emerging as an important method [3].Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Strategies for recruiting foster families

Fostering provides children with an opportunity to grow and develop in a family environment until the source of separationfrom their families is resolved, they are adopted or they emancipate on reaching the age of majority. Finding families ready to look after those children is one of the most important challenges for foster care systems in the next decade. This paper aims to review international procedures for the recruitment of foster families. The most successful recruitment interventions are those aimed at the general population, involving experienced foster parents, using all available resources, and sending objective messages about what this decision entails. Previous research also underlines the need for yearly recruitment and sensitization plans, and assessment systems of the strategies used. Several guidelines are offered in this paper for agencies and managers of foster programs

The Uncertainty in Newton's Constant and Precision Predictions of the Primordial Helium Abundance

The current uncertainty in Newton's constant, G_N, is of the order of 0.15%. For values of the baryon to photon ratio consistent with both cosmic microwave background observations and the primordial deuterium abundance, this uncertainty in G_N corresponds to an uncertainty in the primordial 4He mass fraction, Y_P, of +-1.3 x 10^{-4}. This uncertainty in Y_P is comparable to the effect from the current uncertainty in the neutron lifetime, which is often treated as the dominant uncertainty in calculations of Y_P. Recent measurements of G_N seem to be converging within a smaller range; a reduction in the estimated error on G_N by a factor of 10 would essentially eliminate it as a source of uncertainty in the calculation of the primordial 4He abundance.Comment: 3 pages, no figures, fixed typos, to appear in Phys. Rev.