Investigation of \u3cem\u3ede novo\u3c/em\u3e cholesterol synthetic capacity in the gonads of goldfish (\u3cem\u3eCarassius auratus\u3c/em\u3e) exposed to the phytosterol beta-sitosterol

Total and intra-mitochondrial gonadal cholesterol concentrations are decreased in fish exposed to the phytoestrogen beta-sitosterol (beta-sit). The present study examined the potential for beta-sit to disrupt de novo cholesterol synthesis in the gonads of goldfish exposed to 200 microgram/g beta-sit and 10 microgram/g 17beta-estradiol (E2; estrogenic control) by intra-peritoneal Silastic® implants for 21 days. The de novo cholesterol synthetic capacity was estimated by incubating gonadal tissue with 14C-acetate for a period of 18 hours, followed by chloroform/methanol lipid extraction and thin layer chromatography (TLC) lipid separation. Lipid classes were confirmed using infrared spectroscopy. Plasma testosterone (T) and total cholesterol concentration were measured and gonadosomatic index (GSI) was calculated. Plasma T was significantly reduced in male beta-sit-treated fish compared to control and E2-treated fish (p \u3c 0.001). 14C-Acetate incorporation into cholesterol and cholesterol esters was not significantly different among treatment groups for male and female fish, however, 14C-enrichment was higher than expected in both triglycerides (TG) and free fatty acids (FFA). FFA incorporation was significantly higher in male control fish than either beta-sit or E2 treatments (p = 0.005). Plasma cholesterol concentration was significantly increased in the male beta-sit treatment group compared to controls (p = 0.027). These results indicate gonadal de novo cholesterol biosynthetic capacity is not disrupted by betasit or E2 treatment in early recrudescing male or female goldfish, while plasma cholesterol and steroid concentrations are sensitive to beta-sit exposure

Investigation of de novo cholesterol synthetic capacity in the gonads of goldfish (Carassius auratus) exposed to the phytosterol beta-sitosterol

Total and intra-mitochondrial gonadal cholesterol concentrations are decreased in fish exposed to the phytoestrogen beta-sitosterol (beta-sit). The present study examined the potential for beta-sit to disrupt de novo cholesterol synthesis in the gonads of goldfish exposed to 200 microgram/g beta-sit and 10 microgram/g 17beta-estradiol (E2; estrogenic control) by intra-peritoneal Silastic(® )implants for 21 days. The de novo cholesterol synthetic capacity was estimated by incubating gonadal tissue with 14C-acetate for a period of 18 hours, followed by chloroform/methanol lipid extraction and thin layer chromatography (TLC) lipid separation. Lipid classes were confirmed using infrared spectroscopy. Plasma testosterone (T) and total cholesterol concentration were measured and gonadosomatic index (GSI) was calculated. Plasma T was significantly reduced in male beta-sit-treated fish compared to control and E2-treated fish (p < 0.001). 14C-Acetate incorporation into cholesterol and cholesterol esters was not significantly different among treatment groups for male and female fish, however, 14C-enrichment was higher than expected in both triglycerides (TG) and free fatty acids (FFA). FFA incorporation was significantly higher in male control fish than either beta-sit or E2 treatments (p = 0.005). Plasma cholesterol concentration was significantly increased in the male beta-sit treatment group compared to controls (p = 0.027). These results indicate gonadal de novo cholesterol biosynthetic capacity is not disrupted by beta-sit or E2 treatment in early recrudescing male or female goldfish, while plasma cholesterol and steroid concentrations are sensitive to beta-sit exposure

Digital Photographic Practices as Expressions of Personhood and Identity:Variations Across School Leavers and Recent Retirees

Over the last two decades, digital photography has been adopted by young and old. Many young adults easily take photos, share them across multiple social networks using smartphones, and create digital identities for themselves consciously and unconsciously. Is the same true for older adults? As part of a larger mixed-methods study of online life in the UK, we considered digital photographic practices at two life transitions: leaving secondary school and retiring from work. In this paper, we report on a complex picture of different kinds of interactions with visual media online, and variation across age groups in the construction of digital identities. In doing so, we argue for a blurring of the distinctions between Chalfen’s ‘Kodak Culture’ and Miller and Edwards’ ‘Snaprs’. The camera lens often faces inwards for young adults: tagged ‘Selfies’ and images co-constructed with social network members commonly contribute to their digital identities. In contrast, retirees turn the camera’s lens outwards towards the world, not inwards to themselves. In concluding, we pay special attention to the digital social norms of co-creation of self and balancing convenience and privacy for people of varying ages, and what our findings mean for the future of photo-sharing as a form of self-expression, as today’s young adults grow old and retire

Evaluating the End-User Experience of Private Browsing Mode

Nowadays, all major web browsers have a private browsing mode. However, the mode's benefits and limitations are not particularly understood. Through the use of survey studies, prior work has found that most users are either unaware of private browsing or do not use it. Further, those who do use private browsing generally have misconceptions about what protection it provides. However, prior work has not investigated \emph{why} users misunderstand the benefits and limitations of private browsing. In this work, we do so by designing and conducting a three-part study: (1) an analytical approach combining cognitive walkthrough and heuristic evaluation to inspect the user interface of private mode in different browsers; (2) a qualitative, interview-based study to explore users' mental models of private browsing and its security goals; (3) a participatory design study to investigate why existing browser disclosures, the in-browser explanations of private browsing mode, do not communicate the security goals of private browsing to users. Participants critiqued the browser disclosures of three web browsers: Brave, Firefox, and Google Chrome, and then designed new ones. We find that the user interface of private mode in different web browsers violates several well-established design guidelines and heuristics. Further, most participants had incorrect mental models of private browsing, influencing their understanding and usage of private mode. Additionally, we find that existing browser disclosures are not only vague, but also misleading. None of the three studied browser disclosures communicates or explains the primary security goal of private browsing. Drawing from the results of our user study, we extract a set of design recommendations that we encourage browser designers to validate, in order to design more effective and informative browser disclosures related to private mode

Factors associated with mobile health information seeking among Singaporean women

This study examined effects of age and social psychological factors on women’s willingness to be mobile health information seekers. A national survey of 1,878 Singaporean women was conducted to obtain information on women’s mobile phone usage, experiences of health information seeking, and appraisals of using mobile phones to seek health information. Results showed that young, middle-aged, and older women exhibited distinct mobile phone usage behaviors, health information-seeking patterns, and assessments of mobile health information seeking. Factors that accounted for their mobile information-seeking intention also varied. Data reported in this study provide insights into mobile health interventions in the future

Older Adults and Information and Communication Technologies in the Global North

At all ages, people are incorporating information and communication technologies (ICTs) into their lives. It is not that they have stopped talking with each other in-person, it is that ICTs complement their interactions when they cannot be together face-to-face. Since the 1990s, email has provided a routine way to stay in touch and sustain meaningful contact over distance. But not all age groups have adopted ICTs with the same enthusiasm. Research in the Global North has consistently reported that age plays an important role in ICT adoption and use (Anderson and Perrin 2017). For example, older adults have been the least likely to use ICTs, and even when they do use ICTs, they are less active in their use (Blank and Groselji 2014; Haight, Quan-Haase, and Corbett 2014; Schreurs, Quan-Haase, and Martin 2017). Yet, this is changing. As more older adults use ICTs, analysts are wondering how such ICTs affect older adults’ social networks (Wang, Zhang and Wellman 2018; Wellman, Quan-Haase and Harper forthcoming): Are ICTs helping older adults build, maintain, or diminish personal networks? And how are they supporting or limiting the exchange of social support both for local and long-distance social networks? Moreover, are ICTs affecting different types of social ties differently—be they kin, friend, neighbor, workmate, or churchgoer; or strong or weak

ERP Conceptual Ecology

The technological evolution of recent years has made that information systems frequently adapt to the market realities to fulfill the improvements of the company’s organizational processes. In this context, new paradigms, approaches, and concepts were disseminated through the new realities of information systems. This study aims to verify how ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) has been related to other information systems within its ecosystem. For this purpose, we have reviewed the literature based on 650 publications whose central theme was the ERP. The data were treated through a graphical analysis, inspired by SNA (Social Network Analysis), represented by related ERP concepts. The study results, determine the connection degree between the concepts that emerged with the technological evolution and the ERP, thus representing the ERP interoperability tendencies, over the last years. The study concludes that ERPs have been improving and substantially increasing the conditions of nteroperability with other information systems and with new organizational concepts that have emerged through the technological availability. This fact led to a better organizational process’s adoption and more organizational performance.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Locative Media and Identity

The role of location-based social networks (LBSNs) on identity is a relatively unexplored area within the growing cannon of work on locative media. Following an exegesis of Giddens’s argument that narrative biographical accounts are critical in self-identity in the modern age and Foucault’s technologies of the self, this article positions LBSN, and in particular Foursquare, as a contributor to self-identity in users’ lives. A close reading of ethnographic and interview data from Foursquare users reveals that in the context of the presentation, maintenance, and reflection upon self-identity, LBSN use can play an integral role in the self-identity of its users. The contribution of LBSN to indicators of user lifestyle, the intentional sharing of particular locations, and user recollection of events and locations are the key features of how LBSNs provide conduits to self-identity. The degree of usage in everyday life is identified as critical in the positioning of LBSN as a key contributor to identity narratives. With the integration of LBSN features into more mainstream social media platforms, this contribution to self-identity in the social media age is resilient to the demise of stand-alone LBSN application

Social media and social class

Background: This paper explores the relationship between social class and social media use, and draws upon the work of Bourdieu examining class in terms of social, economic and cultural capital. The paper starts from a prior finding that those who predominantly only use social media formed a higher proportion of internet users from lower socio-economic groups. Data: Drawing on data from two nationally representative UK surveys the paper makes use of the Ofcom Media Literacy survey (n ≈ 1800 per annum) and the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Taking Part survey (n ≈ 10,000 per annum). Methods: Following Yates, et al. (2015a), five types of internet behaviour and eight types of internet user are identified utilising a principal components analysis and k-means clustering. These internet user types are then examined against measures of social, economic and cultural capital. Data on forms of cultural consumption and digital media use are examined using multiple correspondence analysis. Findings: The paper concludes that forms of digital media use are in correspondence with other social, cultural and economic aspects of social class status and contemporary social systems of distinction

Reflections: Academia's Emerging Crisis of Relevance and the Consequent Role of the Engaged Scholar

Universities are facing a crisis of relevance. While there are multiple reasons for this to be happening, one that deserves particular attention is the extent to which academic scholars do not see it as their role to engage in public and political discourse. However, increased engagement is unavoidable in an emerging educational context where the caliber of public discourse has become so degraded and social media is changing the nature of science and scientific discourse within society. Further, there is a demographic shift in play, where young scholars are seeking more impact from their work than their more senior colleagues. In this article, I begin the process of articulating what we know and what we don’t know about the evolving role of the engaged scholar by breaking the conversation into two parts. First, why should academic scholars engage in public and political discourse? Second, how can we structure a set of ground rules that could form what might be considered a handbook for public engagement? In the end, this article is about a reexamination of how we practice our craft, to what purpose and to which audiences.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136168/1/1343_Hoffman.pd