The effects of a Jewish primary school education in England on the religious observance and practice of less or non-observant parents of the pupils

The main aim of this research is to determine whether or not there has been any noticeable change in the level of religious observance and practice of less or non-observant parents which directly or indirectly can be attributed to the influence of their children and the Jewish primary school they attend. There is a frequently voiced assumption amongst those involved in Jewish education that parents, whose children attend a Jewish primary school, have increased their level of observance due to the influence of their children and the school. However, no previous research has been carried out in the United Kingdom in order to examine the basis of this premise. The purpose ofmy own research is to test this assumption in a thorough and rigorous manner by means of both questionnaires and in-depth interviews with parents of pupils attending three Jewish primary schools in England. In addition, there are two further specific areas that will be investigated as supplementary parts ofthe main research: [i] To compare the extent of similarities and differences of any such changes in religious observance between those Jewish families in England who formed part ofmy study, and those in the USA whose children attend Jewish day schools, who have also been the subject of separate research in the USA. [ii] To determine whether within the data of this research study, there is any correlation with previous research in the field of social psychology regarding causes and effects of social conformity and deviation. The data from this specific area of research will be used to focus on the effects of a crucial inter-connection between parents, children and the school. The thesis includes an examination of previous allied research and its implications relating to the nature of religious identity and changes in parental behaviour attributed to the influence of their children's Jewish education. It also contains chapters outlining the historical and social background which led to a weakening ofJewish religious observance in the UK during the zo" century and a study of the changing role of the traditional Jewish family and its effect on the levels of religious observance in Anglo-Jewry. The data from questionnaires and interviews are analysed in a thorough manner. The results and conclusions of this thesis should be of benefit to those planning and administering Jewish primary schools in the UK

Are All-Solid-State Lithium-Ion Batteries Really Safe?–Verification by Differential Scanning Calorimetry with an All-Inclusive Microcell

Although all-solid-state lithium-ion batteries (ALIBs) have been believed as the ultimate safe battery, their true character has been an enigma so far. In this paper, we developed an all-inclusive-microcell (AIM) for differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis to clarify the degree of safety (DOS) of ALIBs. Here AIM possesses all the battery components to work as a battery by itself, and DOS is determined by the total heat generation ratio (Δ<i>H</i>) of ALIB compared with the conventional LIB. When DOS = 100%, the safety of ALIB is exactly the same as that of LIB; when DOS = 0%, ALIB reaches the ultimate safety. We investigated two types of LIB-AIM and three types of ALIB-AIM. Surprisingly, all the ALIBs exhibit one or two exothermic peaks above 250 °C with 20–30% of DOS. The exothermic peak is attributed to the reaction between the released oxygen from the positive electrode and the Li metal in the negative electrode. Hence, ALIBs are found to be flammable as in the case of LIBs. We also attempted to improve the safety of ALIBs and succeeded in decreasing the DOS down to ∼16% by incorporating Ketjenblack into the positive electrode as an oxygen scavenger. Based on Δ<i>H</i> as a function of voltage window, a safety map for LIBs and ALIBs is proposed

Superior Low-Temperature Power and Cycle Performances of Na-Ion Battery over Li-Ion Battery

The most simple and clear advantage of Na-ion batteries (NIBs) over Li-ion batteries (LIBs) is the natural abundance of Na, which allows inexpensive production of NIBs for large-scale applications. However, although strenuous research efforts have been devoted to NIBs particularly since 2010, certain other advantages of NIBs have been largely overlooked, for example, their low-temperature power and cycle performances. Herein, we present a comparative study of spirally wound full-cells consisting of Li_0.1Na_0.7Co_0.5Mn_0.5O₂ (or Li_0.8Co_0.5Mn_0.5O₂) and hard carbon and report that the power of NIB at −30 °C is ∼21% higher than that of LIB. Moreover, the capacity retention in cycle testing at 0 °C is ∼53% for NIB but only ∼29% for LIB. Raman spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations revealed that the superior performance of NIB is due to the relatively weak interaction between Na⁺ ions and aprotic polar solvents

Synthesis and Properties of Nucleobase-Sugar Dual Modified Nucleic Acids: 2<b>′</b>‑OMe-RNA and scpBNA Bearing a 5‑Hydroxycytosine Nucleobase

Naturally occurring 5-hydroxycytosine (5‑OHCyt), which is associated with DNA damage, was recently found to reduce the hepatotoxicity of antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) without compromising its antisense activity when used as a replacement for cytosine (Cyt). Additionally, sugar-modified nucleic acids, such as 2′-O-methylribonucleic acid (2′-OMe-RNA) and 2′-O,4′-C-spirocyclopropylene-bridged nucleic acid (scpBNA), have emerged as useful antisense materials. Herein, we aimed to combine these two advantages by designing dual modified nucleic acids 2′-OMe-RNA-5‑OHCyt and scpBNA-5‑OHCyt bearing the 5‑OHCyt nucleobase to develop efficient and safe ASOs. We describe the synthesis of 2′-OMe-RNA-5‑OHCyt and scpBNA-5‑OHCyt phosphoramidites and their incorporation into oligonucleotides (ONs). The duplex-forming ability and base discrimination properties of 2′-OMe-RNA-5‑OHCyt- and scpBNA-5‑OHCyt-modified ONs were similar to those of 2′-OMe-RNA-Cyt- and scpBNA-mCyt-modified ONs, respectively. We also synthesized two 2′-OMe-RNA-5‑OHCyt-modified ASOs, and one of the two was found to exhibit reduced hepatotoxicity while retaining target mRNA knockdown activity in in vivo experiments

Data Files

Focal brain cooling experiments with anaesthetized male Sprague-Dawley rats induced with epilepsy using Penicillin G potassium. Cooling was performed in five different rats for each cooling temperature (15, 20, and 25 degrees Celcius)

Structural Optimization of Decoy Oligonucleotide-Based PROTAC That Degrades the Estrogen Receptor

Proteolysis-targeting chimeras (PROTACs) have attracted attention as a chemical method of protein knockdown via the ubiquitin–proteasome system. Some oligonucleotide-based PROTACs have recently been developed for disease-related proteins that do not have optimal small-molecule ligands such as transcription factors. We have previously developed the PROTAC LCL-ER­(dec), which uses a decoy oligonucleotide as a target ligand for estrogen receptor α (ERα) as a model transcription factor. However, LCL-ER­(dec) has a low intracellular stability because it comprises natural double-stranded DNA sequences. In the present study, we developed PROTACs containing chemically modified decoys to address this issue. Specifically, we introduced phosphorothioate modifications and hairpin structures into LCL-ER­(dec). Among the newly designed PROTACs, LCL-ER­(dec)-H46, with a T4 loop structure at the end of the decoy, showed long-term ERα degradation activity while acquiring enzyme tolerance. These findings suggest that the introduction of hairpin structures is a useful modification of oligonucleotides in decoy oligonucleotide-based PROTACs

Data_Sheet_1_Progression of Pulmonary Emphysema and Continued Increase in Ectodomain Shedding of Cell Adhesion Molecule 1 After Cessation of Cigarette Smoke Exposure in Mice.pdf

<p>Pulmonary emphysema usually arises in cigarette smokers, and often progresses after smoking cessation and even in ex-smokers. Lung-epithelial cell adhesion molecule 1 (CADM1), an immunoglobulin superfamily member, is extracellularly shed to produce a proapoptotic C-terminal fragment (CTF) within the cell and contribute to the development of emphysema. Here, we made an ex-smoker model using C57BL/6 mice; mice (6-week-old; 5 mice per group) were exposed to passive smoke of eight cigarettes twice a day 5 days a week until 18 weeks of age, and were then left untreated until 30 weeks of age. We calculated the mean linear intercept (Lm) and the alveolar septal thickness in the lung histologic sections to estimate the alveolar space dilatation. At 18 weeks of age, Lm was marginally enlarged (P = 0.023) with a marked increase in the septal thickness (P < 0.001) in comparison with age-matched control mice (5 mice per group), while at 30 weeks, the increase in Lm was much more prominent (P = 0.006) and the septal thickness was normalized, suggesting that emphysema progressed with septal remodeling during smoking cessation. Western blot analyses of the lungs were performed for CADM1, a possible CADM1 sheddase ADAM10, an epithelial marker pan-cytokeratin, and a myofibroblastic marker α-smooth muscle actin to estimate the expression levels of CTF and ADAM10 per epithelial cell and the levels of pan-cytokeratin and αSMA per tissue. CADM1 shedding was increased in the treated mice than in control mice at both ages, in association with an increase in the CTF level at 30 weeks (P = 0.021). In total of the treated and control mice of 30 weeks of age, Lm was positively correlated with the CTF and ADAM10 levels, and pan-cytokeratin was negatively correlated with CTF, suggesting an involvement of CADM1 shedding in emphysema progression. Positive correlations were also found between CTF and ADAM10, and between ADAM10 and αSMA, suggesting that increased septal myofibroblasts might be involved in increased CADM1 shedding. Taken together, persisting increase in ectodomain shedding of CADM1 appeared to contribute to the progression of emphysema in ex-smokers, and might be accounted for by alveolar septal remodeling.</p

Possible mechanism of life span extension by the <i>miro-1(tm1966)</i> mutation.

<p>On one hand (upper branch), the defect in <i>miro-1</i> may cause a neurosecretory defect which activates the <i>daf-16</i>-dependent stress resistance pathway. At the same time <i>miro-1(tm1966)</i> contains less mitochondria than the wild type (bottom branch). This may contribute to the phenotype through reduced ROS production or activation of a mitochondria stress resistance pathway.</p

Reduced amount of mitochondria of <i>miro-1(tm1966)</i> mutants.

<p>A. qPCR was performed on RNA extracted from individual L3 animals to determine the mtDNA copy number. Average and standard deviation from 20 animals are shown. B. Percentage of muscle area covered by mitochondria, calculated from images similar to those shown in panel C. C. Fluorescence images of body wall muscle mitochondria in animal carrying <i>zcIs14[myo-3</i>::<i>mtGFP]</i>. Rhomboid shapes are individual muscle cells, and bright spots within are mitochondria. D. Hypodermal mitochondria. From images similar to those in panel E, the width of the band containing mitochondria (yellow arrows in E), and the density of mitochondria within this band were measured. Six wild-type and nine mutant animals were assayed. E. Hypodermal mitochondria stained with MitoTracker Red CMXRos. Original fluorescence images and thresholded image representing mitochondria are shown.</p

Bifurcation with respect to <i>Q</i>_{10,<i>int</i>}.

<p>With <i>Q</i>_{10,<i>syn</i>} = 1.8, magnitude and frequency of discharges exhibit bifurcation behavior with respect to <i>Q</i>_{10,<i>int</i>} at different cooling temperatures. (From left to right: T = 15°C, 20°C, 25°C.)</p