Current DAMS In 3D: Access, Storage, And Preservation

The digital asset management systems (DAMS) landscape is rapidly evolving, and many new products have become available in the past few years. DAMS tend to vary widely in terms of scope, technical specifications, functionality, usability, and price point – so DAMS evaluations can be somewhat complex. The Orbis Cascade Alliance appointed a Digital Services Team to evaluate DAMS and consider offering an affordable digital repository platform for members. DAMS can fulfill a range of needs. Typical goals for libraries and archives include enabling access to digital content and providing short or long-term storage for digital objects and data. More recently, digital preservation (practices that ensure continued access to digital objects over time) has also emerged as a critical concern of libraries and cultural heritage institutions. What do access, storage, and preservation mean for your institution? An awareness of institutional or collaborative goals is key to a successful DAMS implementation

Micronutrients for wastewater treatment

The results of a postal survey strongly suggested that new developments in the optimisation of biological treatment processes would greatly increase the ability of wastewater-treating industries to adapt to Direct Toxicity Assessment (DTA). Trace metals (K, Fe, Mg, Cu, Ca, Mn, Al, Zn, Mo, Co) and vitamins (biotin, niacin, pyridoxine, lactoflavin, thiamine, pantothenic acid) were the micronutrients tested. Respirometry indicated that micronutrient addition could not ameliorate macronutrient deficiencies, but could significantly improve the degradation of hard chemical oxygen demand (COD) in the wastewater (up to 4.24kg COD/kg MLS S/d, i.e. 320% of the control) with no significant effect on the air requirement of the sludge. Complex interactions between trace metals that were dosed simultaneously were evident (e.g. Ca with other metals). Several positive effects led to the conclusion that micronutrients have the potential to optimise the process performance of activated sludge plants treating industrial wastewater. Porous pots were used to trial eight of the micronutrients. The retention of biomass in the pots was increased in all cases. Improvements in the degradation of COD (up to 260% of the control) were observed while biological oxygen demand (BOD) degradation was not affected. This implied the use of recalcitrant substrate components as a food source. Toxicity tests showed that the effluents from the experimental porous pots were less toxic than the control effluents. The effects of niacin addition in activated sludge treatment of industrial waste at pilot-scale were: improved sludge handling, increased COD, ammonia, SS and phosphorus removal. Mean test system COD removal efficiency was 123% of the control. The results of phosphorus and niacin dosing at pilotscale confirmed the trends observed in the porous pots. The results at all scales indicated that micronutrient addition could be a valuable tool for companies wishing to improve aerobic biological treatment of industrial wastewaters. Interviews were used to assess the potential value of micronutrient addition in responding to DTA. Several industrialists saw micronutrient addition as a route to successful adaptation.Ph

Errorful learning improves recognition memory for new vocabulary for people living with memory and dysexecutive impairment following brain injury

A widely accepted view is that errorless learning is essential for supporting new learning in people with anterograde amnesia, but findings are mixed for those with a broader range of memory impairments. People at a chronic stage of recovery from brain injury (BI) with impaired memory and executive function (N = 26) were compared with adults in a comparison group without any known risks to brain function (N = 25). Learning techniques were compared using a “Generate-and-correct” and “Read-only” condition when learning novel word pairs. At test, both groups scored above chance and showed benefits of Generate-and-correct (errorful learning). Poor learners in the BI group were classified from “flat” learning slopes extracted from an independent word-pair learning task. Critically, poor learners showed no benefit, but also no decrement to learning, using the Generate-and-correct method. No group was harmed by errorful learning; all, except the poorest learners, benefitted from errorful learning. This study indicates, that in some rehabilitation settings, encouraging clients to guess the meaning of unfamiliar material (e.g., from cards, magazines, newspapers) and then correct their errors, could have benefits for recognition memory. Determining when and how errorful learning benefits learning is a key aim for future research

Direct activation of NADPH oxidase 2 by 2-deoxyribose-1-phosphate triggers nuclear factor kappa B-dependent angiogenesis.

AbstractAims: Deoxyribose-1-phosphate (dRP) is a proangiogenic paracrine stimulus released by cancer cells, platelets, and macrophages and acting on endothelial cells. The objective of this study was to clarify how dRP stimulates angiogenic responses in human endothelial cells.Results: Live cell imaging, electron paramagnetic resonance, pull-down of dRP-interacting proteins, followed by immunoblotting, gene silencing of different NADPH oxidases (NOXs), and their regulatory cosubunits by small interfering RNA (siRNA) transfection, and experiments with inhibitors of the sugar transporter glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1) were utilized to demonstrate that dRP acts intracellularly by directly activating the endothelial NOX2 complex, but not NOX4. Increased reactive oxygen species generation in response to NOX2 activity leads to redox-dependent activation of the transcription factor nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), which, in turn, induces vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2) upregulation. Using endothelial tube formation assays, gene silencing by siRNA, and antibody-based receptor inhibition, we demonstrate that the activation of NF-κB and VEGFR2 is necessary for the angiogenic responses elicited by dRP. The upregulation of VEGFR2 and NOX2-dependent stimulation of angiogenesis by dRP were confirmed in excisional wound and Matrigel plug vascularization assays in vivo using NOX2−/− mice.Innovation: For the first time, we demonstrate that dRP acts intracellularly and stimulates superoxide anion generation by direct binding and activation of the NOX2 enzymatic complex.Conclusions: This study describes a novel molecular mechanism underlying the proangiogenic activity of dRP, which involves the sequential activation of NOX2 and NF-κB and upregulation of VEGFR2. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 28, 110–130

Directional wetting in anisotropic inverse opals

Porous materials display interesting transport phenomena due to the restricted motion of fluids within the nano- to micro-scale voids. Here, we investigate how liquid wetting in highly ordered inverse opals is affected by anisotropy in pore geometry. We compare samples with different degrees of pore asphericity and find different wetting patterns depending on the pore shape. Highly anisotropic structures are infiltrated more easily than their isotropic counterparts. Further, the wetting of anisotropic inverse opals is directional, with liquids filling from the side more easily. This effect is supported by percolation simulations as well as direct observations of wetting using time-resolved optical microscopy

Associations between the Trauma Memory Quality Questionnaire and posttraumatic stress symptoms in youth: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Cognitive models of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) propose that trauma memory characteristics are implicated in the etiology of the disorder. Empirical support for cognitive models in youth is necessary to ensure psychological interventions are based on appropriate theory. This meta-analysis was conducted to quantitatively investigate the strength of the associations between self-reported trauma memory characteristics (e.g., sensory and temporal features), measured using the Trauma Memory Quality Questionnaire (TMQQ), and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in children and adolescents. PsycINFO, MEDLINE, CINAHL, PTSDPubs, and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global were searched for relevant literature. In total, 11 studies (N = 1,270 participants) met the inclusion criteria for the random-effects meta-analysis. A large effect size was observed for the association between trauma memory characteristics and PTSS, r =.51, 95% CI [.44,.58], and was maintained in subgroup analyses of the prospective association between trauma memory characteristics and later PTSS (k = 5, n = 6 28), r =.51, 95% CI [.42,.59]. A slightly larger effect size was observed in subgroup analyses of the cross-sectional association between trauma memory characteristics and concurrent PTSS (k = 11, N = 1,270), r =.62, 95% CI [.53,.70]. Sensitivity analyses on study quality, TMQQ alteration, chronic trauma exposure, geographical location, and PTSS measure supported the robustness of these results. These findings provide empirical support for the role of trauma memory characteristics in PTSS, congruent with cognitive models, suggesting this theoretical framework is appropriate for youth populations. Limitations and recommendations for future research are discussed

Results of a nine month home-based physical activity intervention for people living with HIV.

Background: The purpose of this investigation was to test the feasibility of a home-based moderate-intensity physical activity (MPA) program for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) currently taking antiretroviral therapy (ART). Methods: 68 participants recruited for a 9-month home-based PA intervention aimed to reduce risk factors of cardiovascular disease for PLWHA taking ART. All participants received an educational weight loss workbook and a pedometer for self-monitoring of physical activity. The intervention group received elastic Therabands® for strength training in addition to telephone based behavioral coaching. Clinical assessments were conducted at baseline and each follow-up which also included psychometric questionnaires and PA levels via the SenseWear® armband accelerometer. Results: Of the 57 completing the study, 29 of those were in the intervention group and 28 were in the standard care group. Results show that the home-based PA intervention was not successful in increasing the total amount of MPA for PLWHA. However there was a trend (p=0.08) of decreasing sedentary time. In a secondary analysis those who increased PA by \u3e10% observed decreases in waist circumference and improved functioning at 18 weeks. None of the changes observed were significant after controlling for all potential confounders. Conclusions: A home-based exercise approach with telephone-based coaching may not be a feasible method for increasing MPA among PLWHA. Slight decreases in sedentary time indicate some positive changes in activity habits. A possible strategy to improve studies similar to this is to incorporate a group based social interaction each week similar to that of a support group