Photoswitching Using Visible Light: A New Class of Organic Photochromic Molecules

A versatile new class of organic photochromic molecules that offers an unprecedented combination of physical properties including tunable photoswitching using visible light, excellent fatigue resistance, and large polarity changes is described. These unique features offer significant opportunities in diverse fields ranging from biosensors to targeted delivery systems while also allowing non-experts ready synthetic access to these materials

The effects of strength-based versus deficit-based self-regulated learning strategies on students' effort intentions

In two randomized experiments, one conducted online (n = 174) and one in the classroom (n = 267), we tested the effects of two types of self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies on students’ intentions to put effort into professional development activities: strength-based SRL strategies (i.e., identifying perceived relative strengths and, subsequently, selecting professional development activities to further improve those strengths) versus deficit-based SRL strategies (i.e., identifying perceived relative short- comings and, subsequently, selecting professional develop- ment activities to improve those shortcomings). Across both studies, analysis of variance revealed that, relative to students who used deficit-based SRL strategies, students who used strength-based SRL strategies were higher in perceived competence, intrinsic motivation, and effort in- tentions. Moreover, the results of multi-mediator analysis and structural equation modeling supported the hypothesis that the effect of strength-based versus deficit-based SRL strategies on students’ effort intentions was sequentially mediated by perceived competence and intrinsic motiva- tion. Implications for the application of self-regulated learning strategies in the context of professional self-de- velopment are discussed

Cardiac Dysfunction in the BACHD Mouse Model of Huntington's Disease.

While Huntington's disease (HD) is classified as a neurological disorder, HD patients exhibit a high incidence of cardiovascular events leading to heart failure and death. In this study, we sought to better understand the cardiovascular phenotype of HD using the BACHD mouse model. The age-related decline in cardiovascular function was assessed by echocardiograms, electrocardiograms, histological and microarray analysis. We found that structural and functional differences between WT and BACHD hearts start at 3 months of age and continue throughout life. The aged BACHD mice develop cardiac fibrosis and ultimately apoptosis. The BACHD mice exhibited adaptive physiological changes to chronic isoproterenol treatment; however, the medication exacerbated fibrotic lesions in the heart. Gene expression analysis indicated a strong tilt toward apoptosis in the young mutant heart as well as changes in genes involved in cellular metabolism and proliferation. With age, the number of genes with altered expression increased with the large changes occurring in the cardiovascular disease, cellular metabolism, and cellular transport clusters. The BACHD model of HD exhibits a number of changes in cardiovascular function that start early in the disease progress and may provide an explanation for the higher cardiovascular risk in HD

Cardiac Dysfunction in the BACHD Mouse Model of Huntington's Disease.

While Huntington's disease (HD) is classified as a neurological disorder, HD patients exhibit a high incidence of cardiovascular events leading to heart failure and death. In this study, we sought to better understand the cardiovascular phenotype of HD using the BACHD mouse model. The age-related decline in cardiovascular function was assessed by echocardiograms, electrocardiograms, histological and microarray analysis. We found that structural and functional differences between WT and BACHD hearts start at 3 months of age and continue throughout life. The aged BACHD mice develop cardiac fibrosis and ultimately apoptosis. The BACHD mice exhibited adaptive physiological changes to chronic isoproterenol treatment; however, the medication exacerbated fibrotic lesions in the heart. Gene expression analysis indicated a strong tilt toward apoptosis in the young mutant heart as well as changes in genes involved in cellular metabolism and proliferation. With age, the number of genes with altered expression increased with the large changes occurring in the cardiovascular disease, cellular metabolism, and cellular transport clusters. The BACHD model of HD exhibits a number of changes in cardiovascular function that start early in the disease progress and may provide an explanation for the higher cardiovascular risk in HD

As representações sociais da mulher no movimento hip hop Woman's social representations in the hip-hop movement

Este artigo discute as representações sociais da mulher construídas pelo movimento hip hop. Este movimento constitui-se como uma possibilidade de manifestação política de jovens, bem como uma possibilidade de produção artística que, se inicialmente esteve mais presente em espaços não institucionalizados e voltados para a população que vive na periferia, atualmente é consumido por jovens de camadas econômicas distintas. A participação de mulheres, porém, ainda não é significativa (ainda que existam mulheres participando) e ouve-se frequentemente músicas (ou raps) que veiculam imagens negativas da mulher. Este estudo, portanto, analisa as representações sociais da mulher que estão presentes em letras de rap, problematizando como estas representações constroem, socialmente, modos de "ser" mulher.<br>This paper discusses woman's social representations constructed by the hip-hop movement. This movement constitutes a possibility of younger generations to politically manifest themselves, as well as a possibility of artistic production that at the start was more present in non-institutionalized spaces and aimed at the populations living in marginal districts, it is now being currently consumed by youths of distinct social classes. However, the participation of women has not been significant (even though there are women taking part), and frequently negative images of women are conveyed from these songs (or raps). Thus, this study analyses the woman's social representations which are in rap lyrics, querying how such representations have built social ways of "being" a woman

Apoptotic and stress markers are increased in the aged BACHD heart.

<p>A significant increase in Cleaved Caspase 3 (A) and Hsp-70 (B) protein levels was found in whole tissue lysate of the heart of aged BACHD mice. Values derived from the densitometric analysis were corrected for the background, normalized to GAPDH and are shown as a percentage of the value for the WT mice. (C) Protein levels of GAPDH did not differ between WT and BACHD. Insert shows representative immunoblots. Data are shown as the mean ± SEM, * <i>P</i><0.05 for genotypic differences (n = 4 per group).</p

Microarray results were confirmed by probing expression of 4 genes using quantitative real-time PCR from ventricles from mice at 3 mo of age.

<p><i>Hspa1a</i> (A) and <i>Nppb</i> (B) are both involved in stress and pathological responses and were increased in the BACHD mice. Expression of <i>Kcnip2</i> (C), a voltage-gated potassium channel interacting protein responsive to changes in calcium, and <i>Acot1</i> (D) an enzyme involved in fatty acid metabolism were decreased in BACHD ventricles. Data are reported as ratios of the target gene expression to <i>Tbp</i>, and are shown as the mean ± SEM, * <i>P</i><0.05 for genotypic differences (n = 4 per group).</p