INVESTIGATION INTO THE CELLULAR ACTIONS OF CARNOSINE AND C-PEPTIDE

Carnosine is a dipeptide composed of beta-alanine and histidine found exclusively in long-lived animal tissues. The cellular action of carnosine is still under extensive investigation; however, it has been proposed to have a role as an anti-oxidant and oxygen free radical scavenger, a physiological buffer, a heavy metal chelator, and has been implicated as an anti-aging agent.2,4 Our lab has been studying the interaction between carnosine and heme by analyzing both the effect carnosine has on the glycation of the heme containing protein cytochrome c and the interaction of carnosine with free hemin. We have observed that the addition of carnosine to glycated cytochrome c inhibits the formation of advanced glycation end product (AGE) structures. We have also found that the addition of carnosine to a solution of free hemin drastically increases the solubility of hemin and causes a shift of the max in its UV-Vis absorbance profile. We propose that carnosine is a natural intracellular heme chelator and that this interaction may act as a signal for cellular antioxidant processes. We have designed an experiment to identify proteins capable of binding to carnosine and heme-chelated carnosine. Using mass spectral techniques, we were able to identify a protein isolated from kidney tissue lysates using carnosine affinity beads. By identifying a carnosine protein binding partner, we gained a better understanding of the cellular action of carnosine that may eventually lead to the development of novel drugs for the treatment of a variety of diseases in which oxidative injury and cellular stress occurs

Accretion and Ejection around Astrophysical Black Holes

Astrophysical black holes should be simple objects with only two parameters: mass and spin. As material accretes onto the black hole this adds two further parameters: accretion rate and, since accretion generally occurs through a preferential plane, the inclination at which we view the system. Inclination becomes particularly important when a fraction of the inflowing material is not accreted but is instead ejected from the system in powerful, highly collimated and sometimes highly relativistic jets. It is these luminous accretion flows and jets that allow accreting black holes to be detected across the entire range of the electromagnetic spectrum from radio up to gamma-ray energies. The emission from the accretion flow and jet should be completely determined by the four fundamental parameters of mass, spin, accretion rate and inclination. Variations in these four parameters should be all that is required to explain the enormous variety of spectra from accreting black holes. In this thesis I present five papers studying emission from black holes of all size-scales and in all accretion regimes, including inclination effects and investigating the possible effect of the most difficult parameter to measure --- black hole spin. Black holes do not exist in isolation. Stellar mass black holes are fed by their companion stars and supermassive black holes by gas from their host galaxies. Not only does the galaxy fuel the growth of the supermassive black hole but equally the outflows that result from black hole accretion affect the growth of the galaxy, heating gas and suppressing star formation. This adds extra importance to understanding black hole accretion and the interplay between accretion and ejection. I find a scenario where low spin black holes are limited to feeding back via winds and moderately relativistic jets, while only the highest spin black holes are capable of producing the most powerful, highly relativistic jets, may be consistent with current observations

What powers the most relativistic jets? – II. Flat-spectrum radio quasars

Flat Spectrum Radio Quasars (FSRQs) are the most powerful relativistic jets seen from supermassive black holes (BHs) accreting via a radiatively efficient thin disc. Their high energy emission is well modelled by highly relativistic electrons in the jet Compton upscattering an external source of seed photons, primarily from the broad line region. Strong Doppler boosting by the jet bulk motion makes these FSRQs readily detectable by the Fermi Large Area Telescope. We combine jet spectral models with scaling relations for the jet physical parameters as a function of mass and accretion rate. This does not match well to the Gamma-ray loud Narrow Line Seyfert 1s, assuming their low BH masses are reliable, but is able to predict much of the spectral evolution observed along the Blazar sequence. We use these models in conjunction with cosmological simulations of efficiently accreting BH number densities, and find that they overpredict the observed number of FSRQs by 2 orders of magnitude if all of these objects produce a FSRQ jet. We can better reproduce the observed numbers if jets are only produced by high spin BHs and BH spin is built from chaotically aligned accretion episodes so that high spin BHs are rare. However, this does not reproduce the observed redshift and mass accretion rate distributions of the FSRQs. This may indicate a redshift dependence in accretion mode, with sustained alignment accretion episodes being more prevalent at higher redshift, or that there is some other trigger for FSRQ jets

Make the adder count: population trends from a citizen science survey of UK adders

Concern has been growing about the status of UK adder populations, with expert opinion reporting widespread declines. Assessing the true scale of these declines, however, has been hampered by a lack of quantitative data. Make the Adder Count began in 2005 as a national surveillance programme collecting standardised counts of adders lying-out after emerging from hibernation. 260 sites have contributed data, confirming a significant decline, on average, across sites with small populations, while the few with large populations (<10 % of sites) are weakly increasing. If these trends continue, within 15‒20 years, adders will be restricted to a few large population sites, significantly increasing the extinction risk for this priority species in the UK. Public pressure/disturbance was reported as the most frequent negative factor affecting sites, followed by habitat management and habitat fragmentation. Negative impacts from habitat management were reported almost as frequently as positive impacts, suggesting many management plans do not adequately consider the requirements of adders. The dataset also demonstrated earlier emergence among males, in warmer springs and at more northerly sites

Super-Eddington QSO RX J0439.6-5311 – II. Multiwavelength constraints on the global structure of the accretion flow

We present a detailed multiwavelength study of an unobscured, highly super-Eddington Type-1 QSO RX J0439.6-5311. We combine the latest XMM–Newton observation with all archival data from infrared to hard X-rays. The optical spectrum is very similar to that of 1H 0707-495 in having extremely weak [O III] and strong Fe II emission lines, although the black hole mass is probably slightly higher at 5-10 × 106 M⊙. The broad-band spectral energy distribution is uniquely well defined due to the extremely low Galactic and intrinsic absorption, so the bolometric luminosity is tightly constrained. The optical/UV accretion disc continuum is seen down to 900 Å, showing that there is a standard thin disc structure down to R ≥ 190–380 Rg and determining the mass accretion rate through the outer disc. This predicts a much higher bolometric luminosity than observed, indicating that there must be strong wind and/or advective energy losses from the inner disc, as expected for a highly super-Eddington accretion flow. Significant outflows are detected in both the narrow-line region (NLR) and broad-line region (BLR) emission lines, confirming the presence of a wind. We propose a global picture for the structure of a super-Eddington accretion flow where the inner disc puffs up, shielding much of the potential NLR material, and show how inclination angle with respect to this and the wind can explain very different X-ray properties of RX J0439.6-5311 and 1H 0707-495. Therefore, this source provides strong supporting evidence that ‘simple’ and ‘complex’ super-Eddington NLS1s can be unified within the same accretion flow scenario but with different inclination angles. We also propose that these extreme NLS1s could be the low-redshift analogues of weak emission-line quasars

Relationship Between Binge Drinking, Food Restriction, and Mental Health in College Students

Binge drinking is a prevalent problem among college students and it is impacting many aspects of lives. This study focuses on the detriments of binge drinking on college students’ nutrition and mental health. An anonymous online survey was administered through Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Discord. The survey included basic demographic questions and questions on frequency of drinking, eating habits while drinking, typical daily food consumption, and mental-well being. Pearson Correlation Coefficient was used to analyze data in SPSS version 25.0. There is an association between binge drinking, food choices, and mental health among college students. Because of the effects of binge drinking, it is important to be conscious of drinking habits to protect physical and mental health.https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_2023/1063/thumbnail.jp

Experiences of initiating and maintaining a vegan diet among young adults: A qualitative study

A vegan diet, which excludes all animal-derived products, has been associated with some improvements in health, while also conferring environmental benefits. Understanding the psychological determinants of successfully switching to a vegan diet will help to inform the design of interventions supporting long-term dietary change. Studies to date have tended to focus on reasoned motives underlying the decision to initiate such a dietary shift. Yet, focusing on reasons for switching may overlook the importance of a broader range of psychological factors that may help or hinder attempts to maintain a vegan diet. This qualitative interview study, the timing of which coincided with UK Covid-19 lockdowns, documented experiences of 20 young adults (17 female; mean age 22y) who attempted to adopt a vegan diet in the past nine months and had or had not successfully maintained this change. Reflexive Thematic Analysis identified five themes surrounding initiation and maintenance. A theme of ‘motives, expectations and cues to switching’ showed that switching was motivated by ethical or health concerns, and cued by Veganuary, lockdown or health issues. ‘The effortfulness of switching’ captured experiences of the perceived burden imposed by adhering to the diet due to, for example, a perceived lack of accessible vegan options. The ‘flexibility of dietary rules’ theme showed that many found the ‘no animal products’ rule clear but restrictive, so allowed themselves occasional non-meat animal products. ‘Social acceptability concerns’ captured the importance of acceptance from vegan and non-vegan family and friends, and ‘satisfaction with the switch’ described the perceived benefits that sustained maintenance for many. Our findings suggest that interventions should seek to support people to overcome potentially unforeseen practical and social challenges to adhering to a vegan diet

The effect of woodland area on avian community composition in a fragmented southern UK landscape and associated management recommendations

Capsule. Smaller woodlands not only support fewer species, but also show different avian community composition, due to loss of woodland interior and an increase in edge habitat. Aims. To use observed community composition changes, rather than traditional total species richness-area relations, to make area-specific management recommendations for optimising woodland habitat for avian communities in fragmented landscapes. Methods. We selected a sample of 17 woodlands with area 0.2<A<120ha in Oxfordshire, UK. Three dawn area searches were conducted in each woodland between 1st April and 28th May 2016, recording encounter rates for each species. The impact of internal habitat variation on woodland comparability was assessed using habitat surveys. Results. Woodlands with A3.6ha were all consistent with a mean total richness of 25.4±0.6 species, however the number of woodland specialists continued to increase with woodland area. Woodland generalists dominated the total encounter rate across the area range, however the fractional contribution of woodland specialists showed a significant positive correlation with woodland area, while the fractional contribution of non-woodland species significantly decreased. Non-woodland species numbers peaked in mid-sized woodlands with enhanced habitat heterogeneity. Conclusions. Community composition analysis enables more targeted recommendations than total species richness analysis, specifically: large woodlands (>25ha) in southern UK should focus conservation efforts on providing the specific internal habitats required by woodland specialists; medium-sized woodlands (approximately 4<A<25ha) should focus on promoting internal habitat variety, which can benefit both woodland species and non-woodland species of conservation concern in the surrounding landscape; small woodlands (<4ha) should focus on providing nesting opportunities for non-woodland species and on improving connectivity to maximise habitat for woodland generalists and facilitate movement of woodland specialists

Effects of Lula Mae Virtual Training Modules on Occupational Therapy Students

https://digitalcommons.unmc.edu/surp2023/1016/thumbnail.jp