Changes in Optical Properties of Plasmonic Nanoparticles in Cellular Environments are Modulated by Nanoparticle PEGylation and Serum Conditions

When plasmonic nanoparticles (NPs) are internalized by cells and agglomerate within intracellular vesicles, their optical spectra can shift and broaden as a result of plasmonic coupling of NPs in close proximity to one another. For such optical changes to be accounted for in the design of plasmonic NPs for light-based biomedical applications, quantitative design relationships between designable factors and spectral shifts need to be established. Here we begin building such a framework by investigating how functionalization of gold NPs (AuNPs) with biocompatible poly(ethylene) glycol (PEG), and the serum conditions in which the NPs are introduced to cells impact the optical changes exhibited by NPs in a cellular context. Utilizing darkfield hyperspectral imaging, we find that PEGylation decreases the spectral shifting and spectral broadening experienced by 100 nm AuNPs following uptake by Sk-Br-3 cells, but up to a 33 ± 12 nm shift in the spectral peak wavelength can still occur. The serum protein-containing biological medium also modulates the spectral changes experienced by cell-exposed NPs through the formation of a protein corona on the surface of NPs that mediates NP interactions with cells: PEGylated AuNPs exposed to cells in serum-free conditions experience greater spectral shifts than in serum-containing environments. Moreover, increased concentrations of serum (10, 25, or 50 %) result in the formation of smaller intracellular NP clusters and correspondingly reduced spectral shifts after 5 and 10 h NP-cell exposure. However, after 24 h, NP cluster size and spectral shifts are comparable and become independent of serum concentration. By elucidating the impact of PEGylation and serum concentration on the spectral changes experienced by plasmonic NPs in cells, this study provides a foundation for the optical engineering of plasmonic NPs for use in biomedical environments

Neoliberalisation and 'lad cultures' in higher education

This paper links HE neoliberalisation and ‘lad cultures’, drawing on interviews and focus groups with women students. We argue that retro-sexist ‘laddish’ forms of masculine competitiveness and misogyny have been reshaped by neoliberal rationalities to become modes of consumerist sexualised audit. We also suggest that neoliberal frameworks scaffold an individualistic and adversarial culture among young people that interacts with perceived threats to men’s privilege and intensifies attempts to put women in their place through misogyny and sexual harassment. Furthermore, ‘lad cultures’, sexism and sexual harassment in higher education may be invisibilised by institutions to preserve marketability in a neoliberal context. In response, we ask if we might foster dialogue and partnership between feminist and anti-marketisation politics

The variability of methane, nitrous oxide and sulfur hexafluoride in Northeast India

High-frequency atmospheric measurements of methane (CH[subscript 4]), nitrous oxide (N[subscript 2]O) and sulfur hexafluoride (SF[subscript 6]) from Darjeeling, India are presented from December 2011 (CH[subscript 4])/March 2012 (N[subscript 2]O and SF[subscript 6]) through February 2013. These measurements were made on a gas chromatograph equipped with a flame ionization detector and electron capture detector, and were calibrated on the Tohoku University, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO)-98 and SIO-2005 scales for CH[subscript 4], N[subscript 2]O and SF[subscript 6], respectively. The observations show large variability and frequent pollution events in CH[subscript 4] and N[subscript 2]O mole fractions, suggesting significant sources in the regions sampled by Darjeeling throughout the year. By contrast, SF[subscript 6] mole fractions show little variability and only occasional pollution episodes, likely due to weak sources in the region. Simulations using the Numerical Atmospheric dispersion Modelling Environment (NAME) particle dispersion model suggest that many of the enhancements in the three gases result from the transport of pollutants from the densely populated Indo-Gangetic Plains of India to Darjeeling. The meteorology of the region varies considerably throughout the year from Himalayan flows in the winter to the strong south Asian summer monsoon. The model is consistent in simulating a diurnal cycle in CH[subscript 4] and N[subscript 2]O mole fractions that is present during the winter but absent in the summer and suggests that the signals measured at Darjeeling are dominated by large-scale (~100 km) flows rather than local (<10 km) flows.Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Center for Global Change Science (Director's Fund)Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Joint Program on the Science & Policy of Global ChangeMartin Family Society of Fellows for SustainabilityMIT Energy InitiativeMIT International Science and Technology InitiativeUnited States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Grant NNX11AF17G)United States. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Contract RA133R09CN0062

Aspiration therapy for the treatment of obesity: 4-year results of a multicenter randomized controlled trial.

BackgroundThe AspireAssist is the first Food and Drug Administration-approved endoluminal device indicated for treatment of class II and III obesity.ObjectivesWe earlier reported 1-year results of the PATHWAY study. Here, we report 4-year outcomes.SettingUnited States-based, 10-center, randomized controlled trial involving 171 participants with the treatment arm receiving Aspiration Therapy (AT) plus Lifestyle Therapy and the control arm receiving Lifestyle Therapy (2:1 randomization).MethodsAT participants were permitted to continue in the study for an additional year up to a maximum of 5 years providing they maintained at least 10% total weight loss (TWL) from baseline at each year end. For AT participants who continued the study, 5 medical monitoring visits were provided at weeks 60, 68, 76, 90, and 104 and thereafter once every 13 weeks up to week 260. Exclusion criteria were a history of eating disorder or evidence of eating disorder on a validated questionnaire. Follow-up weight, quality of life, and co-morbidities were compared with the baseline levels. In addition, rates of serious adverse event, persistent fistula, withdrawal, and A-tube replacement were reported. All analyses were performed using a per-protocol analysis.ResultsOf the 82 AT participants who completed 1 year, 58 continued to this phase of the trial. Mean baseline body mass index of these 58 patients was 41.6 ± 4.5 kg/m2. At the end of first year (at the beginning of the follow-up study), these 58 patients had a body mass index of 34.1 ± 5.4 kg/m2 and had achieved an 18.3 ± 8.0% TWL. On a per protocol basis, patients experienced 14.2%, 15.3%, 16.6%, and 18.7% TWL at 1, 2, 3, and 4 years, respectively (P &lt; .01 for all). Forty of 58 patients (69%) achieved at least 10% TWL at 4 years or at time of study withdrawal. Improvements in quality of life scores and select cardiometabolic parameters were also maintained through 4 years. There were 2 serious adverse events reported in the second through fourth years, both of which resolved with removal or replacement of the A tube. Two persistent fistulas required surgical repair, representing approximately 2% of all tube removals. There were no clinically significant metabolic or electrolytes disorders observed, nor any evidence for development of any eating disorders.ConclusionsThe results of this midterm study have shown that AT is a safe, effective, and durable weight loss alternative for people with class II and III obesity and who are willing to commit to using the therapy and adhere to adjustments in eating behavior

The Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey: Survey Description and Data Reduction

We present the Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey (BGPS), a 1.1 mm continuum survey at 33" effective resolution of 170 square degrees of the Galactic Plane visible from the northern hemisphere. The survey is contiguous over the range -10.5 < l < 90.5, |b| < 0.5 and encompasses 133 square degrees, including some extended regions |b| < 1.5. In addition to the contiguous region, four targeted regions in the outer Galaxy were observed: IC1396, a region towards the Perseus Arm, W3/4/5, and Gem OB1. The BGPS has detected approximately 8400 clumps over the entire area to a limiting non-uniform 1-sigma noise level in the range 11 to 53 mJy/beam in the inner Galaxy. The BGPS source catalog is presented in a companion paper (Rosolowsky et al. 2010). This paper details the survey observations and data reduction methods for the images. We discuss in detail the determination of astrometric and flux density calibration uncertainties and compare our results to the literature. Data processing algorithms that separate astronomical signals from time-variable atmospheric fluctuations in the data time-stream are presented. These algorithms reproduce the structure of the astronomical sky over a limited range of angular scales and produce artifacts in the vicinity of bright sources. Based on simulations, we find that extended emission on scales larger than about 5.9' is nearly completely attenuated (> 90%) and the linear scale at which the attenuation reaches 50% is 3.8'. Comparison with other millimeter-wave data sets implies a possible systematic offset in flux calibration, for which no cause has been discovered. This presentation serves as a companion and guide to the public data release through NASA's Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC) Infrared Science Archive (IRSA). New data releases will be provided through IPAC IRSA with any future improvements in the reduction.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal Supplemen

Association between Serum IGF-I levels and Postoperative Delirium in Elderly Subjects Undergoing Elective Knee Arthroplasty.

Evidence is mixed for an association between serum insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) levels and postoperative delirium (POD). The current study assessed preoperative serum IGF-I levels as a predictor of incident delirium in non-demented elderly elective knee arthroplasty patients. Preoperative serum levels of total IGF-I were measured using a commercially available Human IGF-I ELISA kit. POD incidence and severity were determined using DSM-IV criteria and the Delirium Rating Scale-Revised-98 (DRS-R98), respectively. Median IGF-I levels in delirious (62.6 ng/ml) and non-delirious groups (65.9 ng/ml) were not significantly different (p = 0.141). The ratio (95% CI) of geometric means, D/ND, was 0.86 (0.70, 1.06). The Hodges-Lehmann median difference estimate was 7.23 ng/mL with 95% confidence interval (−2.32, 19.9). In multivariate logistic regression analysis IGF-I level was not a significant predictor of incident POD after correcting for medical comorbidities. IGF-I levels did not correlate wit

Modeling ring current ion and electron dynamics and plasma instabilities during a high‐speed stream driven storm

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/94593/1/jgra21840.pd

The Role of Medical Language in Changing Public Perceptions of Illness

This study was designed to investigate the impact of medical terminology on perceptions of disease. Specifically, we look at the changing public perceptions of newly medicalized disorders with accompanying newly medicalized terms (e.g. impotence has become erectile dysfunction disorder). Does using “medicalese” to label a recently medicalized disorder lead to a change in the perception of that condition? Undergraduate students (n = 52) rated either the medical or lay label for recently medicalized disorders (such as erectile dysfunction disorder vs. impotence) and established medical conditions (such as a myocardial infarction vs. heart attack) for their perceived seriousness, disease representativeness and prevalence. Students considered the medical label of the recently medicalized disease to be more serious (mean = 4.95 (SE = .27) vs. mean = 3.77 (SE = .24) on a ten point scale), more representative of a disease (mean = 2.47 (SE = .09) vs. mean = 1.83 (SE = .09) on a four point scale), and have lower prevalence (mean = 68 (SE = 12.6) vs. mean = 122 (SE = 18.1) out of 1,000) than the same disease described using common language. A similar pattern was not seen in the established medical conditions, even when controlled for severity. This study demonstrates that the use of medical language in communication can induce bias in perception; a simple switch in terminology results in a disease being perceived as more serious, more likely to be a disease, and more likely to be a rare condition. These findings regarding the conceptualization of disease have implications for many areas, including medical communication with the public, advertising, and public policy

Quadrupole Anisotropy in Dihadron Azimuthal Correlations in Central dd++Au Collisions at sNN\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200 GeV

The PHENIX collaboration at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) reports measurements of azimuthal dihadron correlations near midrapidity in $d$$+$Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}$=200 GeV. These measurements complement recent analyses by experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) involving central $p$$+$Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}$=5.02 TeV, which have indicated strong anisotropic long-range correlations in angular distributions of hadron pairs. The origin of these anisotropies is currently unknown. Various competing explanations include parton saturation and hydrodynamic flow. We observe qualitatively similar, but larger, anisotropies in $d$$+$Au collisions compared to those seen in $p$$+$Pb collisions at the LHC. The larger extracted $v_2$ values in $d$$+$Au collisions at RHIC are consistent with expectations from hydrodynamic calculations owing to the larger expected initial-state eccentricity compared with that from $p$$+$Pb collisions. When both are divided by an estimate of the initial-state eccentricity the scaled anisotropies follow a common trend with multiplicity that may extend to heavy ion data at RHIC and the LHC, where the anisotropies are widely thought to arise from hydrodynamic flow.Comment: 375 authors, 7 pages, 5 figures. Published in Phys. Rev. Lett. v2 has minor changes to text and figures in response to PRL referee suggestions. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm