Method of treating endothelial dysfunction comprising administration of a thrombin peptide derivative

Endothelial dysfunction (ED) is associated with a number of diseases and disorders. Agonists of the non-proteolytically activated thrombin receptor can be used in methods to treat ED or ED-related diseases and disorders.Board of Regents, University of Texas Syste

Factors Affecting U.S. Trade and Shipments of Information Technology Products: Computer Equipment, Telecommunications Equipment, and Semiconductors

Despite a recent downturn, the information technology (IT) products sector experienced a tremendous expansion in trade and shipments during the last decade and became an increasingly important component of the U.S. economy. This expansion was driven by a variety of factors such as the globalization of IT production, constant technological innovation, rapid growth in worldwide consumption, and global trade liberalization. This working paper will examine these factors, providing particular attention to the computer equipment, telecommunications equipment, and semiconductor industries.International Development,

Trading the People\u27s Homes for the People\u27s Olympics: The Property Regime in China

China is under increasing international scrutiny as the country’s economic growth launches the previously isolated nation onto the world stage. As the national wealth increases at a record rate, the government is constantly modifying strategies to ensure its economic stability. In response to this nearly unmanageable growth, entire Chinese cities are remodeled and progressively more privatized, while urban dwellers are evicted from their homes in the name of economic development. These urban land acquisitions often occur with little or no compensation, while private developers reap the economic benefits. These policies follow a pattern of development replayed throughout history, notably in the nineteenth-century United States. This Comment focuses on these similarities, explores the fundamental differences between the American past and the Chinese present regarding property rights, acknowledges the improbability of China’s adopting Western models of governance wholesale, and ultimately argues the national government should reform its policies on urban requisitions to include viable venues of just compensation for victims of forced evictions

Statistical periodicity in driven quantum systems: General formalism and application to noisy Floquet topological chains

Much recent experimental effort has focused on the realization of exotic quantum states and dynamics predicted to occur in periodically driven systems. But how robust are the sought-after features, such as Floquet topological surface states, against unavoidable imperfections in the periodic driving? In this work, we address this question in a broader context and study the dynamics of quantum systems subject to noise with periodically recurring statistics. We show that the stroboscopic time evolution of such systems is described by a noise-averaged Floquet superoperator. The eigenvectors and -values of this superoperator generalize the familiar concepts of Floquet states and quasienergies and allow us to describe decoherence due to noise efficiently. Applying the general formalism to the example of a noisy Floquet topological chain, we re-derive and corroborate our recent findings on the noise-induced decay of topologically protected end states. These results follow directly from an expansion of the end state in eigenvectors of the Floquet superoperator.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures. This is the final, published versio

California Adolescents Increasingly Inactive

Explores the health benefits of regular exercise; the extent to which adolescents in California are getting adequate levels of physical activity; and factors that affect high rates of inactivity. Provides policy recommendations

Low-Income Adolescents Face More Barriers to Healthy Weight

Examines the causes behind the higher prevalence of obesity among low-income adolescents, including unhealthy food environments, few opportunities for physical activity, and irregular family meals. Makes policy recommendations to address such disparities

Bioluminescence Imaging to Detect Late Stage Infection of African Trypanosomiasis.

Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) is a multi-stage disease that manifests in two stages; an early blood stage and a late stage when the parasite invades the central nervous system (CNS). In vivo study of the late stage has been limited as traditional methodologies require the removal of the brain to determine the presence of the parasites. Bioluminescence imaging is a non-invasive, highly sensitive form of optical imaging that enables the visualization of a luciferase-transfected pathogen in real-time. By using a transfected trypanosome strain that has the ability to produce late stage disease in mice we are able to study the kinetics of a CNS infection in a single animal throughout the course of infection, as well as observe the movement and dissemination of a systemic infection. Here we describe a robust protocol to study CNS infections using a bioluminescence model of African trypanosomiasis, providing real time non-invasive observations which can be further analyzed with optional downstream approaches

Outdoor music festivals: Cacophonous consumption or melodious moderation?

Large outdoor music festivals have emerged as part of a general expansion of licensed recreational activities, but in research terms they have been largely impenetrable due to commercial sensitivities. These sensitivities notwithstanding, the number and scale of such events necessitate a greater understanding of alcohol and drug use and the potential to promote normative protective behaviours in this context. This study examines self-reported alcohol and drug behaviours of 1589 attendees at a music festival in Scotland during the summer of 2008. Similarities between the outdoor rock music festivals and the dance club scene are considered alongside the challenges associated with risk reduction in these settings. Results show that alcohol was consumed by the majority of samples; however, negative consequences were reported by a minority of respondents, suggesting evidence of controlled hedonism within a situation traditionally associated with unrestrained excess. Similarly, the majority of samples did not use drugs. The majority also report a number of self-regulating protective behaviours suggesting that alcohol and drug use is contained within a developing social culture of ‘controlled intoxication’. Results further suggest that although music festivals are transitory events, there is a degree of consistency amongst attendees. Music festivals may therefore be atypical but potentially effective environments to increase protective behaviours using normative messaging and modern communications media. This study was resourced exclusively by local alcohol and drug partnerships