2,753 research outputs found
Recommended from our members
Point-of-Sale Marketing in Recreational Marijuana Dispensaries Around California Schools.
PurposeAfter marijuana commercialization, the presence of recreational marijuana dispensaries (RMDs) was rapidly increasing. The point-of-sale marketing poses concerns about children's exposure. This study examined advertising and promotions that potentially appeal to children and access restrictions in RMDs around California schools.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional and observational study conducted from June to September 2018. Trained fieldworkers audited retail environments in 163 RMDs in closest proximity to 333 randomly sampled public schools in California.ResultsAbout 44% of schools had RMDs located within 3 miles. Regarding interior marketing, 74% of RMDs had at least one instance of child-appealing products, packages, paraphernalia, or advertisements. RMDs closer to a school had a higher proportion with interior child-appealing marketing. More than three fourths of RMDs had generic promotional activities; particularly, 28% violated the free-sample ban. Regarding exterior marketing, only 2% of RMDs had those appealing to children. More than 60% of RMDs had exterior signs indicative of marijuana. Approximately, one-third had generic advertisements, and 13% had advertisements bigger than 1,600 square inches. Regarding access restrictions, almost all RMDs complied with age verification, but 84% had no age limit signs, and only 40% had security personnel.ConclusionsDespite minimal point-of-sale marketing practices appealing to children on the exterior of RMDs around California schools, such practices were abundant on the interior. Marketing practices not specifically appealing to children were also common on both the interior and exterior of RMDs. Dispensaries' violation of age verification law, lack of security personnel, and presence of child-appealing marketing should be continuously monitored and prevented
A Comparative Study of the Parker Instability under Three Models of the Galactic Gravity
To examine how non-uniform nature of the Galactic gravity might affect length
and time scales of the Parker instability, we took three models of gravity,
uniform, linear and realistic ones. To make comparisons of the three gravity
models on a common basis, we first fixed the ratio of magnetic pressure to gas
pressure at = 0.25, that of cosmic-ray pressure at = 0.4, and
the rms velocity of interstellar clouds at = 6.4 km s, and then
adjusted parameters of the gravity models in such a way that the resulting
density scale heights for the three models may all have the same value of 160
pc. Performing linear stability analyses onto equilibrium states under the
three models with the typical ISM conditions, we calculate the maximum growth
rate and corresponding length scale for each of the gravity models. Under the
uniform gravity the Parker instability has the growth time of 1.2
years and the length scale of 1.6 kpc for symmetric mode. Under the realistic
gravity it grows in 1.8 years for both symmetric and
antisymmetric modes, and develops density condensations at intervals of 400 pc
for the symmetric mode and 200 pc for the antisymmetric one. A simple change of
the gravity model has thus reduced the growth time by almost an order of
magnitude and its length scale by factors of four to eight. These results
suggest that an onset of the Parker instability in the ISM may not necessarily
be confined to the regions of high and .Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ, using aaspp4.sty, 18 text pages with
9 figure
Positive allosteric modulation as a potential therapeutic strategy in anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis
N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) are ionotropic glutamate receptors important for synaptic plasticity, memory, and neuropsychiatric health. NMDAR hypofunction contributes to multiple disorders, including anti-NMDAR encephalitis (NMDARE), an autoimmune disease of the CNS associated with GluN1 antibody-mediated NMDAR internalization. Here we characterize the functional/pharmacological consequences of exposure to CSF from female human NMDARE patients on NMDAR function, and we characterize the effects of intervention with recently described positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) of NMDARs. Incubation (48 h) of rat hippocampal neurons of both sexes in confirmed NMDARE patient CSF, but not control CSF, attenuated NMDA-induced current. Residual NMDAR function was characterized by lack of change in channel open probability, indiscriminate loss of synaptic and extrasynaptic NMDARs, and indiscriminate loss of GluN2B-containing and GluN2B-lacking NMDARs. NMDARs tagged with N-terminal pHluorin fluorescence demonstrated loss of surface receptors. Thus, function of residual NMDARs following CSF exposure was indistinguishable from baseline, and deficits appear wholly accounted for by receptor loss. Coapplication of CSF and PAMs of NMDARs (SGE-301 or SGE-550, oxysterol-mimetic) for 24 h restored NMDAR function following 24 h incubation in patient CSF. Curiously, restoration of NMDAR function was observed despite washout of PAMs before electrophysiological recordings. Subsequent experiments suggested that residual allosteric potentiation of NMDAR function explained the persistent rescue. Further studies of the pathogenesis of NMDARE and intervention with PAMs may inform new treatments for NMDARE and other disorders associated with NMDAR hypofunction.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTAnti-N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor encephalitis (NMDARE) is increasingly recognized as an important cause of sudden-onset psychosis and other neuropsychiatric symptoms. Current treatment leaves unmet medical need. Here we demonstrate cellular evidence that newly identified positive allosteric modulators of NMDAR function may be a viable therapeutic strategy.</jats:p
Parker Instability in a Self-Gravitating Magnetized Gas Disk: I. Linear Stability Analysis
To be a formation mechanism of such large-scale structures as giant molecular
clouds (GMCs) and HI superclouds, the classical Parker instability driven by
external gravity has to overcome three major obstacles: The convective motion
accompanying the instability generates thin sheets than large condensations.
The degree of density enhancement achieved by the instability is too low to
make dense interstellar clouds. The time and the length scales of the
instability are significantly longer and larger than the estimated formation
time and the observed mean separation of the GMCs, respectively. This paper
examines whether a replacement of the driving agent from the external to the
self gravity might remove these obstacles by activating the gravitational
instability in the Galactic ISM disk. The self gravity can suppress the
convective motions, and a cooperative action of the Jeans and the Parker
instabilities can remove all the obstacles confronting the classical version of
the Parker instability. The mass and mean separation of the structures
resulting from the odd-parity undular mode solution are shown to agree better
with the HI superclouds than with the GMCs. We briefly discuss how inclusions
of the external gravity and cosmic rays would modify behaviors of the
odd-parity undular mode solution.Comment: 53 pages, 21 figure
The effects of low frequency electrical stimulation on satellite cell activity in rat skeletal muscle during hindlimb suspension
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The ability of skeletal muscle to grow and regenerate is dependent on resident stem cells called satellite cells. It has been shown that chronic hindlimb unloading downregulates the satellite cell activity. This study investigated the role of low-frequency electrical stimulation on satellite cell activity during a 28 d hindlimb suspension in rats.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Mechanical unloading resulted in a 44% reduction in the myofiber cross-sectional area as well as a 29% and 34% reduction in the number of myonuclei and myonuclear domains, respectively, in the soleus muscles (<it>P </it>< 0.001 <it>vs </it>the weight-bearing control). The number of quiescent (M-cadherin<sup>+</sup>), proliferating (BrdU<sup>+ </sup>and myoD<sup>+</sup>), and differentiated (myogenin<sup>+</sup>) satellite cells was also reduced by 48-57% compared to the weight-bearing animals (<it>P </it>< 0.01 for all). Daily application of electrical stimulation (2 × 3 h at a 20 Hz frequency) partially attenuated the reduction of the fiber cross-sectional area, satellite cell activity, and myonuclear domain (<it>P </it>< 0.05 for all). Extensor digitorum longus muscles were not significantly altered by hindlimb unloading.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study shows that electrical stimulation partially attenuated the decrease in muscle size and satellite cells during hindlimb unloading. The causal relationship between satellite cell activation and electrical stimulation remain to be established.</p
Probing flavor changing interactions in hadron collisions
The subprocess in the two-Higgs-doublet model with
flavor-changing scalar couplings is examined at the one loop level. With
perturbative QCD factorization theorem, the corresponding cross sections for
hadron-hadron collisions are computed numerically. The results are applicable
to the whole mass range of the weakly coupled Higgs bosons. In case we could
efficiently exclude the severe backgrounds of the
production signal, probing the flavor-changing top-charm-scalar vertex at
hadron colliders would be very promising and accessible experimentally.Comment: LaTex file, 14 pages, 8 EPS figure
Toward a simulation approach for alkene ring-closing metathesis : scope and limitations of a model for RCM
A published model for revealing solvent effects on the ring-closing metathesis (RCM) reaction of di-Et diallylmalonate 7 has been evaluated over a wider range of conditions, to assess its suitability for new applications. Unfortunately, the model is too flexible and the published rate consts. do not agree with exptl. studies in the literature. However, by fixing the values of important rate consts. and restricting the concn. ranges studied, useful conclusions can be drawn about the relative rates of RCM of different substrates, precatalyst concn. can be simulated accurately and the effect of precatalyst loading can be anticipated. Progress has also been made toward applying the model to precatalyst evaluation, but further modifications to the model are necessary to achieve much broader aims
- …