Life prediction systems for critical rotating components

With the advent of advanced materials in rotating gas turbine engine components, the methodologies for life prediction of these parts must also increase in sophistication and capability. Pratt & Whitney's view of generic requirements for composite component life prediction systems are presented, efforts underway to develop these systems are discussed, and industry participation in key areas requiring development is solicited

Life Chaos is Associated with Reduced HIV Testing, Engagement in Care, and ART Adherence Among Cisgender Men and Transgender Women upon Entry into Jail.

Life chaos, the perceived inability to plan for and anticipate the future, may be a barrier to the HIV care continuum for people living with HIV who experience incarceration. Between December 2012 and June 2015, we interviewed 356 adult cisgender men and transgender women living with HIV in Los Angeles County Jail. We assessed life chaos using the Confusion, Hubbub, and Order Scale (CHAOS) and conducted regression analyses to estimate the association between life chaos and care continuum. Forty-eight percent were diagnosed with HIV while incarcerated, 14% were engaged in care 12 months prior to incarceration, mean antiretroviral adherence was 65%, and 68% were virologically suppressed. Adjusting for sociodemographics, HIV-related stigma, and social support, higher life chaos was associated with greater likelihood of diagnosis while incarcerated, lower likelihood of engagement in care, and lower adherence. There was no statistically significant association between life chaos and virologic suppression. Identifying life chaos in criminal-justice involved populations and intervening on it may improve continuum outcomes

Differential binding patterns of anti-sulfatide antibodies to glial membranes

Sulfatide is a major glycosphingolipid in myelin and a target for autoantibodies in autoimmune neuropathies. However neuropathy disease models have not been widely established, in part because currently available monoclonal antibodies to sulfatide may not represent the diversity of anti-sulfatide antibody binding patterns found in neuropathy patients. We sought to address this issue by generating and characterising a panel of new anti-sulfatide monoclonal antibodies. These antibodies have sulfatide reactivity distinct from existing antibodies in assays and in binding to peripheral nerve tissues and can be used to provide insights into the pathophysiological roles of anti-sulfatide antibodies in demyelinating neuropathies

It's cool to be dominant : social status alters short-term risks of heat stress

Climate change has the potential to trigger social change. As a first step towards understanding mechanisms determining the vulnerability of animal societies to rising temperatures, we investigated interactions between social rank and thermoregulation in three arid-zone bird species: fawn-coloured lark (Mirafra africanoides, territorial); African red-eyed bulbul (Pycnonotus nigricans, loosely social) and sociable weaver (Philetairus socius, complex cooperative societies). We assessed relationships between body temperature (Tb), air temperature (Ta) and social rank in captive groups in the Kalahari Desert. Socially dominant weavers and bulbuls had lower mean Tb than subordinate conspecifics, and dominant individuals of all species maintained more stable Tb as Ta increased. Dominant bulbuls and larks tended to monopolise available shade, but dominant weavers did not. Nevertheless, dominantweavers thermoregulated more precisely, despite expending no more behavioural effort on thermoregulation than subordinates. Increasingly unequal risks associated with heat stress may have implications for the stability of animal societies in warmer climates.This study was supported by National Science Foundation Peer Grant no. PGA- 2000003431 to A.E.M., and funding from the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence at the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology to S.J.C. and M.L.T.http://jeb.biologists.org2018-05-30am2017Zoology and Entomolog

Dysregulation of endothelial cell connexin-43 localisation in response to doxorubicin

Introduction: Anthracyclines, such as doxorubicin, remain an important class of chemotherapeutic agent however their efficacy in treating cancer is limited by a cumulative dose-dependent cardiotoxicity. Whilst most studies have focused on cardiomyocyte impairment, circulating doxorubicin has been shown to impact human microvascular responses to doxorubicin in coronary vessels.1 Studies show increased endothelial cell permeability resulting in increased paracellular permeability due to damage to the integrity of cell-cell junctions.2 Strategies to maintain vessel integrity and prevent endothelial cell dysregulation could represent a novel therapeutic opportunity to limit the toxic effects of doxorubicin. The aim of this project was to assess the impact of doxorubicin upon endothelial gap junction proteins, in particular connexin-43 (Cx43)

Models for Research in Art, Design, and the Creative Industries

Research in art and design involves the knowledge and understanding associated with creative works. Practice-led research is also an integral part of art and design. All these areas have been subject to ongoing discussion and debate. One of the current challenges is to produce models that facilitate and enable the development and advancement of research within art and design. However, these models must also synchronise with institutional, national and international frameworks for research development, evaluation, and assessment. The latter can have implications for faculty advancement and also formulaic allocations of research funding across the sector. Practice-led and practice-based research have also generated substantial discussion in terms of seeking a consensus on what is appropriate for developmental purposes and academic assessment. In addition, this area also needs evaluation methods which are fair and consistent across different types of practice. The current situation is that works in these areas are assessed, various types of metric are compared and evaluated, and a proposal is made for the inclusion of metrics alongside the development and use of research models for the development of research. It is argued that deeper analyses of, and more enlightened interdisciplinary approaches to, this are clearly needed

Mortality among birds and bats during an extreme heat event in eastern South Africa

Please read abstract in the article.The National Research Foundation of South Africahttps://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14429993hj2022Zoology and Entomolog

"Over-reviewing" of research? An analysis of orthodontic reviews

INTRODUCTION: Research overviews may be undertaken to identify gaps in the literature, evaluate existing systematic reviews (SRs), and summarize evidence. This paper aims to profile overviews that have been conducted in orthodontics and related interventions since 2012 and to evaluate the degree of overlap among these overviews. METHODS: Overviews published between January 1, 2012 and June 20, 2023 were identified using an electronic search involving Google Scholar and PubMed. A descriptive summary was produced, and citation matrices were used to evaluate the percentage of overlap between overviews using corrected covered area and covered area. This was classified as slight, moderate, high, or very high. RESULTS: A total of 35 overviews were identified across a wide range of topics. Eight overviews included 20 SRs (median no. of SRs per overview, 15; range, 3-62). Meta-analysis was conducted in only 5 overviews. Overlap between overviews on the same topic ranged from slight (2.7%) to very high (53.8%). CONCLUSIONS: Almost all overview topics address treatments and their effects, with a wide variation in the number and quality of SRs included. There is considerable overlap in some orthodontic overviews, suggesting unnecessary duplication and research waste. Researchers should be encouraged to focus on primary data collection to add more high-quality data to SRs, which will ultimately enhance the yield from secondary and tertiary orthodontic research

Zika virus tropism and interactions in myelinating neural cell cultures: CNS cells and myelin are preferentially affected

The recent global outbreak of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection has been linked to severe neurological disorders affecting the peripheral and central nervous systems (PNS and CNS, respectively). The pathobiology underlying these diverse clinical phenotypes are the subject of intense research; however, even the principal neural cell types vulnerable to productive Zika infection remain poorly characterised. Here we used CNS and PNS myelinating cultures from wild type and Ifnar1 knockout mice to examine neuronal and glial tropism and short-term consequences of direct infection with a Brazilian variant of ZIKV. Cell cultures were infected pre- or post-myelination for various intervals, then stained with cell-type and ZIKV-specific antibodies. In bypassing systemic immunity using ex vivo culture, and the type I interferon response in Ifnar1 deficient cells, we were able to evaluate the intrinsic infectivity of neural cells. Through systematic quantification of ZIKV infected cells in myelinating cultures, we found that ZIKV infection is enhanced in the absence of the type I interferon responses and that CNS cells are considerably more susceptible to infection than PNS cells. In particular, we demonstrate that CNS axons and myelinating oligodendrocytes are especially vulnerable to injury. These results have implications for understanding the pathobiology of neurological symptoms associated with ZIKV infection. Furthermore, we provide a quantifiable ex vivo infection model that can be used for fundamental and therapeutic studies on viral neuroinvasion and its consequences