Inklings: Research and Rhetoric from the Suffolk University First-Year Writing Program, vol. 1 no.1, Fall 2023

https://dc.suffolk.edu/inklings/1000/thumbnail.jp

Focus: Implementing participation - Advancement of social services in analog and digital spaces

Digitale Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien gewinnen als fester Bestandteil zunehmend Bedeutung in den alltäglichen Lebenswelten einer wachsenden Zahl von Menschen. Ihre Entwicklung und selbstverständliche Nutzung schreiten in einem immer rasanteren Tempo voran; die vielfältigen Anwendungsmöglichkeiten adressieren längst alle Lebensbereiche. Während der Digitalisierung von Kommunikationsprozessen zuweilen demokratisierende Kräfte zugesprochen werden, scheint eine kritische Reflexion möglicher Potentiale und Auswirkungen digitaler Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien auf Teilhabedynamiken in unterschiedlichen Lebensbereichen dringend erforderlich. Die Autorinnen und Autoren möchten mit dieser SI:SO-Schwerpunktausgabe einen Beitrag zu einer kritischen Reflexion digitaler Innovationen und ihrer Auswirkungen auf die zukünftige Gestaltung sozialer Dienste leisten. Mit der zweisprachigen Ausgabe ist zudem die Hoffnung verbunden, diesen Beitrag auch einem europäischen und weltweiten Publikum zugänglich zu machen.Digital information and communications technologies are becoming an increasingly important part in everyday life of a growing number of people. Their development and natural use are progressing even faster with a wide range of possible applications addressing all areas of life. While the digitization of communication processes is sometimes said to have democratizing forces, critical reflection on the potential and impact of digital information and communication technologies on participation dynamics in different areas of life seems urgently needed. The Authors would like to contribute to a critical reflection on digital innovations and their impact on the future design of social services. The bilingual edition further aims to make this contribution accessible to a European and global audience

Synergistic Interferon-Alpha-Based Combinations for Treatment of SARS-CoV-2 and Other Viral Infections

Background: There is an urgent need for new antivirals with powerful therapeutic potential and tolerable side effects. Methods: Here, we tested the antiviral properties of interferons (IFNs), alone and with other drugs in vitro. Results: While IFNs alone were insufficient to completely abolish replication of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), IFNα, in combination with remdesivir, EIDD-2801, camostat, cycloheximide, or convalescent serum, proved to be more effective. Transcriptome and metabolomic analyses revealed that the IFNα–remdesivir combination suppressed SARS-CoV-2-mediated changes in Calu-3 cells and lung organoids, although it altered the homeostasis of uninfected cells and organoids. We also demonstrated that IFNα combinations with sofosbuvir, telaprevir, NITD008, ribavirin, pimodivir, or lamivudine were effective against HCV, HEV, FLuAV, or HIV at lower concentrations, compared to monotherapies. Conclusions: Altogether, our results indicated that IFNα can be combined with drugs that affect viral RNA transcription, protein synthesis, and processing to make synergistic combinations that can be attractive targets for further pre-clinical and clinical development against emerging and re-emerging viral infections

Antiviral Properties of Chemical Inhibitors of Cellular Anti-Apoptotic Bcl-2 Proteins

Viral diseases remain serious threats to public health because of the shortage of effective means of control. To combat the surge of viral diseases, new treatments are urgently needed. Here we show that small-molecules, which inhibit cellular anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 proteins (Bcl-2i), induced the premature death of cells infected with different RNA or DNA viruses, whereas, at the same concentrations, no toxicity was observed in mock-infected cells. Moreover, these compounds limited viral replication and spread. Surprisingly, Bcl-2i also induced the premature apoptosis of cells transfected with viral RNA or plasmid DNA but not of mock-transfected cells. These results suggest that Bcl-2i sensitizes cells containing foreign RNA or DNA to apoptosis. A comparison of the toxicity, antiviral activity, and side effects of six Bcl-2i allowed us to select A-1155463 as an antiviral lead candidate. Thus, our results pave the way for the further development of Bcl-2i for the prevention and treatment of viral diseases.Peer reviewe

Antiviral properties of chemical inhibitors of cellular anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 proteins

Viral diseases remain serious threats to public health because of the shortage of effective means of control. To combat the surge of viral diseases, new treatments are urgently needed. Here we show that small-molecules, which inhibit cellular anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 proteins (Bcl-2i), induced the premature death of cells infected with different RNA or DNA viruses, whereas, at the same concentrations, no toxicity was observed in mock-infected cells. Moreover, these compounds limited viral replication and spread. Surprisingly, Bcl-2i also induced the premature apoptosis of cells transfected with viral RNA or plasmid DNA but not of mock-transfected cells. These results suggest that Bcl-2i sensitizes cells containing foreign RNA or DNA to apoptosis. A comparison of the toxicity, antiviral activity, and side effects of six Bcl-2i allowed us to select A-1155463 as an antiviral lead candidate. Thus, our results pave the way for the further development of Bcl-2i for the prevention and treatment of viral diseases.</p

ATLANTIC EPIPHYTES: a data set of vascular and non-vascular epiphyte plants and lichens from the Atlantic Forest

Epiphytes are hyper-diverse and one of the frequently undervalued life forms in plant surveys and biodiversity inventories. Epiphytes of the Atlantic Forest, one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world, have high endemism and radiated recently in the Pliocene. We aimed to (1) compile an extensive Atlantic Forest data set on vascular, non-vascular plants (including hemiepiphytes), and lichen epiphyte species occurrence and abundance; (2) describe the epiphyte distribution in the Atlantic Forest, in order to indicate future sampling efforts. Our work presents the first epiphyte data set with information on abundance and occurrence of epiphyte phorophyte species. All data compiled here come from three main sources provided by the authors: published sources (comprising peer-reviewed articles, books, and theses), unpublished data, and herbarium data. We compiled a data set composed of 2,095 species, from 89,270 holo/hemiepiphyte records, in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay, recorded from 1824 to early 2018. Most of the records were from qualitative data (occurrence only, 88%), well distributed throughout the Atlantic Forest. For quantitative records, the most common sampling method was individual trees (71%), followed by plot sampling (19%), and transect sampling (10%). Angiosperms (81%) were the most frequently registered group, and Bromeliaceae and Orchidaceae were the families with the greatest number of records (27,272 and 21,945, respectively). Ferns and Lycophytes presented fewer records than Angiosperms, and Polypodiaceae were the most recorded family, and more concentrated in the Southern and Southeastern regions. Data on non-vascular plants and lichens were scarce, with a few disjunct records concentrated in the Northeastern region of the Atlantic Forest. For all non-vascular plant records, Lejeuneaceae, a family of liverworts, was the most recorded family. We hope that our effort to organize scattered epiphyte data help advance the knowledge of epiphyte ecology, as well as our understanding of macroecological and biogeographical patterns in the Atlantic Forest. No copyright restrictions are associated with the data set. Please cite this Ecology Data Paper if the data are used in publication and teaching events. © 2019 The Authors. Ecology © 2019 The Ecological Society of Americ

»… in den allgemeinen Verhältnissen wohl unterrichtet«

Peer Reviewe

Digitize! Online Panel Survey (SUF edition)

Full edition for scientific use. The Digitize! Online Panel Survey is an offline-recruited Austrian opinion survey which measures attitudes and behavior towards several social phenomena and issues. Topics include, amongst others, attitudes towards work, immigration, family, health, environment, and media behavior as well as opinions on political events or parties in Austria. The survey also consists of general issue items and socio-demographic variables

The bivalent ligand approach as a tool for improving the in vitro anti-alzheimer multitarget profile of dimebon

Inspired by the concept of bivalent ligands, we prepared a small set of analogues of the drug candidate dimebon. They were shown to inhibit AChE, Aβ42 aggregation, and NMDA receptor activation to a greater extent than dimebon. Some of these compounds also enhanced the survival of chicken neurons under apoptosis-inducing conditions. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim