1,990 research outputs found
Complement and humoral adaptive immunity in the human choroid plexus: roles for stromal concretions, basement membranes, and epithelium
The choroid plexus (CP) provides a barrier to entry of toxic molecules from the blood into the brain and transports vital molecules into the cerebrospinal fluid. While a great deal is known about CP physiology, relatively little is known about its immunology. Here, we show immunohistochemical data that help define the role of the CP in innate and adaptive humoral immunity. The results show that complement, in the form of C1q, C3d, C9, or C9neo, is preferentially deposited in stromal concretions. In contrast, immunoglobulin (Ig) G (IgG) and IgA are more often found in CP epithelial cells, and IgM is found in either locale. C4d, IgD, and IgE are rarely, if ever, seen in the CP. In multiple sclerosis CP, basement membrane C9 or stromal IgA patterns were common but were not specific for the disease. These findings indicate that the CP may orchestrate the clearance of complement, particularly by deposition in its concretions, IgA and IgG preferentially via its epithelium, and IgM by either mechanism
Adolescentsâ responses to the promotion and flavouring of e-cigarettes
Objectives
The purpose of the study is to examine adolescentsâ awareness of e-cigarette marketing and investigate the impact of e-cigarette flavour descriptors on perceptions of product harm and user image.
Methods
Data come from the 2014 Youth Tobacco Policy Survey, a cross-sectional in-home survey conducted with 11â16 year olds across the UK (n = 1205). Adolescentsâ awareness of e-cigarette promotion, brands, and flavours was assessed. Perceptions of product harm, and likely user of four examples of e-cigarette flavours was also examined.
Results
Some participants had tried e-cigarettes (12 %) but regular use was low (2 %) and confined to adolescents who had also smoked tobacco. Most were aware of at least one promotional channel (82 %) and that e-cigarettes came in different flavours (69 %). Brand awareness was low. E-cigarettes were perceived as harmful (M = 3.54, SD = 1.19) but this was moderated by product flavours. Fruit and sweet flavours were perceived as more likely to be tried by young never smokers than adult smokers trying to quit (p < 0.001).
Conclusions
There is a need to monitor the impact of future market and regulatory change on youth uptake and perceptions of e-cigarettes
Theory of Circle Maps and the Problem of One-Dimensional Optical Resonator with a Periodically Moving Wall
We consider the electromagnetic field in a cavity with a periodically
oscillating perfectly reflecting boundary and show that the mathematical theory
of circle maps leads to several physical predictions. Notably, well-known
results in the theory of circle maps (which we review briefly) imply that there
are intervals of parameters where the waves in the cavity get concentrated in
wave packets whose energy grows exponentially. Even if these intervals are
dense for typical motions of the reflecting boundary, in the complement there
is a positive measure set of parameters where the energy remains bounded.Comment: 34 pages LaTeX (revtex) with eps figures, PACS: 02.30.Jr, 42.15.-i,
42.60.Da, 42.65.Y
DNA methylation among firefighters
Firefighters are exposed to carcinogens and have elevated cancer rates. We hypothesized that occupational exposures in firefighters would lead to DNA methylation changes associated with activation of cancer pathways and increased cancer risk. To address this hypothesis, we collected peripheral blood samples from 45 incumbent and 41 new recruit nonsmoking male firefighters and analyzed the samples for DNA methylation using an Illumina Methylation EPIC 850k chip. Adjusting for age and ethnicity, we performed: 1) genome-wide differential methylation analysis; 2) genome-wide prediction for firefighter status (incumbent or new recruit) and years of service; and 3) Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA). Four CpGs, including three in the YIPF6, MPST, and PCED1B genes, demonstrated above 1.5-fold statistically significant differential methylation after Bonferroni correction. Genome-wide methylation predicted with high accuracy incumbent and new recruit status as well as years of service among incumbent firefighters. Using IPA, the top pathways with more than 5 gene members annotated from differentially methylated probes included Sirtuin signaling pathway, p53 signaling, and 5' AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling. These DNA methylation findings suggest potential cellular mechanisms associated with increased cancer risk in firefighters.US Federal Emergency Management Agency Assistance to Firefighters Grant program [EMW-2014-FP-00200]Open access journalThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]
Visualizing the Anthropocene dialectically: Jessica Woodworth and Peter Brosensâ eco-crisis trilogy
The ambition of this article is to propose a way of visualizing the Anthropocene dialectically. As suggested by the Dutch atmospheric chemist Paul Crutzen and the professor of biology Eugene F. Stoermer, the term Anthropocene refers to a historical period in which humankind has turned into a geological force that transforms the natural environment in such a way that it is hard to distinguish between the human and the natural world. Crutzen and Stoermer explain that the Anthropocene has begun after the Holocene, the geological epoch that followed the last ice age and lasted until the industrial revolution. Drawing on a number of figures such as the âtenfoldâ increase in urbanisation, the extreme transformation of land surface by human action, the use of more than 50% of all accessible fresh water by humans, and the massive increase in greenhouse emissions, Crutzen and Stoermer conclude that the term Anthropocene describes aptly mankind's influence on ecological and geological cycles (Crutzen & Stoermer, 2000, p.17). The wager of this article is that we need to identify ways to visualize the Anthropocene dialectically and I proceed to do so using as a case study Jessica Woodworth's and Peter Brosen's trilogy on the conflict between humans and nature, which consists of Khadak (2006), Altiplano (2009), and The Fifth Season (La CinquiĂšme Saison, 2012)
Measuring the capability to raise revenue process and output dimensions and their application to the Zambia revenue authority
The worldwide diffusion of the good governance agenda and new public management has triggered a renewed focus on state capability and, more specifically, on the capability to raise revenue in developing countries. However, the analytical tools for a comprehensive understanding of the capability to raise revenue remain underdeveloped. This article aims at filling this gap and presents a model consisting of the three process dimensions âinformation collection and processingâ, âmerit orientationâ and âadministrative accountabilityâ. âRevenue performanceâ constitutes the fourth capability dimension which assesses tax administrationâs output. This model is applied to the case of the Zambia Revenue Authority. The dimensions prove to be valuable not only for assessing the how much but also the how of collecting taxes. They can be a useful tool for future comparative analyses of tax administrationsâ capabilities in developing countries.Die weltweite Verbreitung der Good-Governance- und New-Public-Management-Konzepte hat zu einer zunehmenden Konzentration auf staatliche LeistungsfĂ€higkeit und, im Besonderen, auf die LeistungsfĂ€higkeit der Steuererhebung in EntwicklungslĂ€ndern gefĂŒhrt. Allerdings bleiben die analytischen Werkzeuge fĂŒr ein umfassendes VerstĂ€ndnis von LeistungsfĂ€higkeit unterentwickelt. Dieser Artikel stellt hierfĂŒr ein Modell vor, das die drei Prozess-Dimensionen âSammeln und Verarbeiten von Informationenâ, âLeistungsorientierung der Mitarbeiterâ und âVerantwortlichkeit der Verwaltungâ beinhaltet. âEinnahmeperformanzâ ist die vierte Dimension und erfasst den Output der Steuerverwaltung. Das mehrdimensionale Modell wird fĂŒr die Analyse der LeistungsfĂ€higkeit der Steuerbehörde Zambias (Zambia Revenue Authority) genutzt. Es erweist sich nicht nur fĂŒr die Untersuchung des Wieviel, sondern auch des Wie des Erhebens von Steuern als wertvoll. Die vier Dimensionen können in Zukunft zur umfassenden und vergleichenden Analyse der LeistungsfĂ€higkeit verschiedener Steuerverwaltungen in EntwicklungslĂ€ndern genutzt werden
Search for Large Extra Dimensions in Dielectron and Diphoton Production
We report a search for effects of large extra spatial dimensions in ppbar
collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 1.8 TeV with the DZero detector, using
events containing a pair of electrons or photons. The data are in good
agreement with the expected background and do not exhibit evidence for large
extra dimensions. We set the most restrictive lower limits to date, at the 95%
confidence level, on the effective Planck scale between 1.0 TeV and 1.4 TeV for
several formalisms and numbers of extra dimensions.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
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