Internet Campaign Strategies in the 2010 Massachusetts Gubernatorial Election

The internet is a greatly expanding source of information in the digital age, and has been used extensively in political campaigns in the past several years. Campaigns from across the nation have been using social networking and websites as a way of spreading messages, soliciting donations, and recruiting and organizing supporters in an effort to reach the voting population. These tactics were employed by each of the four candidates for Massachusetts Governor in the recent 2010 election season, to varying degrees of success. Internet survey and exit polling were used in this study, as well as direct monitoring of website content, in order to ascertain the effectiveness of these strategies and the possible future in political races that internet media may possess

Natural background levels of primary biogenic amines in water samples from lakes and rivers around Stoke-on-Trent

Searching for victims of crime who have been buried in hidden (clandestine) graves or dumped into water courses currently utilises a number of techniques such as victim recovery dogs or ground penetrating radar. The development of chemical techniques would offer further assistance in body location and previous research has shown that primary biogenic amines are potential chemical markers of decomposition. There is a paucity of information about the natural abundance of the primary biogenic amines cadaverine, methylamine and putrescine in different water courses and an understanding of this natural abundance would allow for more accurate detection. This work aimed to chemically detect the natural background levels of primary biogenic amines (cadaverine, methylamine, and putrescine) in water samples taken from canals, lakes and rivers around Stoke-on-Trent (UK), These amines were quantified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Water samples from the Hanley Park in Stoke-on-Trent were examined. In Hanley Park, there is a lake fed by a canal. It was determined that 0.002 mM putrescine was present in the analysed water samples from the park; cadaverine could not be detected. For comparison, in previously analysed leachate samples of buried porcine material with a post-burial interval of 350 days, putrescine had a concentration of 0.374 mM and cadaverine had a concentration of 0.323 mM. These data suggest that background levels of key bioamines are much lower than those found from buried material and it expected that this will be the scenario for bodies found in water

Optimizing electric adjustment mechanism using the combination of multi-body dynamics and control

Abstract : Optimization was carried out on the electric adjustment mechanism for transplanter by using the multidisciplinary design with weight, transmission efficiency, vibration frequency, and control error as the optimization goals. Then, a collaborative optimization model for the multidisciplinary design of a mechanism system was constructed. Based on ISIGHT software, the multidisciplinary design integration platform for the electric adjustment mechanism was built. A hybrid algorithm comprising the dual sequential quadratic programming method and the multi-island genetic algorithm was used to calculate the model. Optimization results show that the weight of the electric adjustment mechanism drops by 13.10%, its vibration frequency decreases by 27.71%, its transmission efficiency increases by 20.26%, and the control error decreases by 36.98%. Under the mutual coordination and balance of all discipline goals, the optimal values of the design variables of the electric adjustment mechanism indicate overall optimal performance

Interactions between Amyloid-β and Hemoglobin: Implications for Amyloid Plaque Formation in Alzheimer's Disease

Accumulation of amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides in the brain is one of the central pathogenic events in Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, why and how Aβ aggregates within the brain of AD patients remains elusive. Previously, we demonstrated hemoglobin (Hb) binds to Aβ and co-localizes with the plaque and vascular amyloid deposits in post-mortem AD brains. In this study, we further characterize the interactions between Hb and Aβ in vitro and in vivo and report the following observations: 1) the binding of Hb to Aβ required iron-containing heme; 2) other heme-containing proteins, such as myoglobin and cytochrome C, also bound to Aβ; 3) hemin-induced cytotoxicity was reduced in neuroblastoma cells by low levels of Aβ; 4) Hb was detected in neurons and glial cells of post-mortem AD brains and was up-regulated in aging and APP/PS1 transgenic mice; 5) microinjection of human Hb into the dorsal hippocampi of the APP/PS1 transgenic mice induced the formation of an envelope-like structure composed of Aβ surrounding the Hb droplets. Our results reveal an enhanced endogenous expression of Hb in aging brain cells, probably serving as a compensatory mechanism against hypoxia. In addition, Aβ binds to Hb and other hemoproteins via the iron-containing heme moiety, thereby reducing Hb/heme/iron-induced cytotoxicity. As some of the brain Hb could be derived from the peripheral circulation due to a compromised blood-brain barrier frequently observed in aged and AD brains, our work also suggests the genesis of some plaques may be a consequence of sustained amyloid accretion at sites of vascular injury

Observed deep energetic eddies by seamount wake

Despite numerous surface eddies are observed in the ocean, deep eddies (a type of eddies which have no footprints at the sea surface) are much less reported in the literature due to the scarcity of their observation. In this letter, from recently collected current and temperature data by mooring arrays, a deep energetic and baroclinic eddy is detected in the northwestern South China Sea (SCS) with its intensity, size, polarity and structure being characterized. It remarkably deepens isotherm at deep layers by the amplitude of ~120 m and induces a maximal velocity amplitude about 0.18 m/s, which is far larger than the median velocity (0.02 m/s). The deep eddy is generated in a wake when a steering flow in the upper layer passes a seamount, induced by a surface cyclonic eddy. More observations suggest that the deep eddy should not be an episode in the area. Deep eddies significantly increase the velocity intensity and enhance the mixing in the deep ocean, also have potential implication for deep-sea sediments transport

miR-590-3p protects against ischaemia/reperfusion injury in an oxygen-glucose deprivation and reoxygenation cellular model by regulating HMGB1/TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signalling

miR-590-3p has been reported to be reduced in myocardial ischaemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury, but its specific role in cerebral I/R injury is still uncertain. Thus, we explored the function and mechanism of miR590-3p in cerebral I/R injury using a cellular model. miR-590-3p, high mobility group Box 1 (HMGB1), and signalling-related factor levels were assessed using qPCR or a western blot analysis. Cell apoptosis was measured by flow cytometry. Inflammatory factors were detected by ELISA. The target of miR-590-3p was confirmed by dual-luciferase reporter assay and western blot analysis. We found that miR-590-3p was decreased and HMGB1 was increased in the OGD/R model. Upregulation of miR-590-3p reduced cell apoptosis and inflammation in the OGD/R model, and the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signalling pathway was suppressed. However, inhibition of miR-590-3p showed the opposite effects. Moreover, HMGB1 was verified as a target gene of miR-590-3p. HMGB1 reversed the decrease in apoptosis and inflammation caused by overexpression of miR590-3p, and the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signalling pathway was activated. Our results suggest that miR-590-3p regulates the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB pathway by interacting with HMGB1 to protect against OGD/R-induced I/R injury. Thus, miR-590-3p may serve as a potential therapeutic target in cerebral I/R repair