Microscopic colitis

This issue of eMedRef provides information to clinicians on the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and therapeutics of microscopic colitis

GFP tagged Hsp60 used to investigate the translocation of Hsp60 in response to mitochondrial stress in HeLa cells

Heat shock protein 60 (Hsp60) is a mitochondrial stress protein that is elevated in response to mitochondrial impairment. It is involved in protein folding and, more recently, it has been identified as a signalling molecule. It has been found elevated in patients suffering from diabetes, atherosclerosis and cardiomyopathy. In order to investigate the translocation of Hsp60 from mitochondria we employed RG224428, a plasmid housing genes for a human Hsp60 connected to a green fluorescent protein (GFP) bound at the C-terminus. The plasmid was cloned inside DH5α E. coli (DH5α) and purified using an endotoxin-free plasmid extraction kit. Using endotoxin-free DNA we transfected the human cervical cancer cell line HeLa with the Hsp60-GFP DNA. It has been found that endotoxin (or otherwise known as lipopolysaccharide) can affect Hsp60 expression in mammalian cells, so by using endotoxin-free plasmid DNA we could induce controlled stress treatments without the unwanted effects the DH5α endotoxin would exhibit. Propidium iodide staining found the plasmid posed very low-to-no toxicity on HeLa cells. Mitochondrial staining using Mitotracker CMX Ros showed that the Hsp60-GFP was being taken up by mitochondria almost exclusively. High-glucose and sodium azide were used to stress the transfected HeLa cells and the translocation of the Hsp60-GFP signal was recorded using an Olympus FV1000 laser scanning confocal microscope. We found that the Hsp60-GFP colocalises with mitochondria to a high degree. We also found that high-glucose can be linked to the translocation of Hsp60-GFP out of mitochondria. The results here support published data that suggest higher glucose concentrations may play a role in the translocation of Hsp60 out of mitochondria and into extracellular fluids. We have also found that the use of fluorescent-confocal microscopy may provide a useful way to detect the movement of the biomarker Hsp60 under stress and therapeutic treatments

Repeated compositions of Möbius transformations

We consider a class of dynamical systems generated by finite sets of Möbius transformations acting on the unit disc. Compositions of such Möbius transformations give rise to sequences of transformations that are used in the theory of continued fractions. In that theory, the distinction between sequences of limit-point type and sequences of limit-disc type is of central importance. We prove that sequences of limit-disc type only arise in exceptional circumstances, and we give necessary and sufficient conditions for a sequence to be of limit-disc type. We also calculate the Hausdorff dimension of the set of sequences of limit-disc type in some significant cases. Finally, we obtain strong and complete results on the convergence of these dynamical systems

Familial adenomatous polyposis

This issue of eMedRef provides information to clinicians on the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and therapeutics of familial adenomatous polyposis

Using Flow Regime Lightning and Sounding Climatologies to Initialize Gridded Lightning Threat Forecasts for East Central Florida

Each morning, the forecasters at the National Weather Service in Melbourne, FL (NWS MLB) produce an experimental cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning threat index map for their county warning area (CWA) that is posted to their web site (http://www.srh.weather.gov/mlb/ghwo/lightning.shtml) . Given the hazardous nature of lightning in East Central Florida, especially during the warm season months of May September, these maps help users factor the threat of lightning, relative to their location, into their daily plans. The maps are color-coded in five levels from Very Low to Extreme, with threat level definitions based on the probability of lightning occurrence and the expected amount of CG activity. On a day in which thunderstorms are expected, there are typically two or more threat levels depicted spatially across the CWA. The locations of relative lightning threat maxima and minima often depend on the position and orientation of the low-level ridge axis, forecast propagation and interaction of sea/lake/outflow boundaries, expected evolution of moisture and stability fields, and other factors that can influence the spatial distribution of thunderstorms over the CWA. The lightning threat index maps are issued for the 24-hour period beginning at 1200 UTC each day with a grid resolution of 5 km x 5 km. Product preparation is performed on the AWIPS Graphical Forecast Editor (GFE), which is the standard NWS platform for graphical editing. Currently, the forecasters create each map manually, starting with a blank map. To improve efficiency of the forecast process, NWS MLB requested that the Applied Meteorology Unit (AMU) create gridded warm season lightning climatologies that could be used as first-guess inputs to initialize lightning threat index maps. The gridded values requested included CG strike densities and frequency of occurrence stratified by synoptic-scale flow regime. The intent is to improve consistency between forecasters while allowing them to focus on the mesoscale detail of the forecast, ultimately benefiting the end-users of the product. Several studies took place at the Florida State University (FSU) and NWS Tallahassee (TAE) in which they created daily flow regimes using Florida 1200 UTC synoptic soundings and CG strike densities, or number of strikes per specified area. The soundings used to determine the flow regimes were taken at Miami (MIA), Tampa (TBW), and Jacksonville (JAX), FL, and the lightning data for the strike densities came from the National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN). The densities were created on a 2.5 km x 2.5 km grid for every hour of every day during the warm seasons in the years 1989-2004. The grids encompass an area that includes the entire state of Florida and adjacent Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico waters. Personnel at FSU and NWS TAE provided this data and supporting software for the work performed by the AMU

Advances in quantum machine learning

Here we discuss advances in the field of quantum machine learning. The following document offers a hybrid discussion; both reviewing the field as it is currently, and suggesting directions for further research. We include both algorithms and experimental implementations in the discussion. The field's outlook is generally positive, showing significant promise. However, we believe there are appreciable hurdles to overcome before one can claim that it is a primary application of quantum computation.Comment: 38 pages, 17 Figure

Validation of Practical Tools to Identify Walking Cadence to Reach Moderate Intensity

International Journal of Exercise Science 12(4): 1244-1253, 2019. It is recommended that adults get at minimum 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in bouts of 10 minutes or greaterevery week. Walking cadence (steps per minute) is one easy way to estimate intensity required, however tools that claim to quantify walking intensity via walking cadence have not been validated in adults. We aimed to validate: 1- the accuracy of walking cadence measurement by the Piezo RxD pedometer, Polar Stride Sensor Bluetooth Smart foot pod, and Garmin Ant+ foot pod at different speeds and slopes and 2- the ability of the Piezo RxD to identify bouts of walking at moderate intensity using walking cadence. Inclusion criteria included being aged 19+ and the ability to reach moderate intensity when walking without incline as determined by a treadmill cardiorespiratory fitness test to determine 40% of VO2reserve. Walking cadence measured from the three tools was compared to a manual count of walking cadence during a series of walking stages at several speeds (2.5-5.5 km/h) and inclines (0-15%). The ability of the Piezo RxD to quantify a 10-minute bout was determined by walking for 12 minutes at 40% of VO2reserve measured by indirect calorimetry. All correlations between manual walking cadence counts and all devices were significant regardless of speed (r ranging from 0.469 to 0.999; p£0.05) and slope (r ranging from 0.887 to 0.996; p£0.05). The Piezo RxD was able to correctly measure a 10-minute bout of walking at moderate intensity for 50 of 51 participants. We found that all walking cadence devices provided accurate measurements of walking cadence. The Piezo RxD is an effective tool to quantify bouts of walking done at a minimum of moderate intensity