Mitochondrial Integrity Distinguishes Exercise-induced vs. Pathogenic Cardiac Hypertrophy

Cardiac hypertrophy is a consequence of exercise training, as well as certain cardiomyopathies. However, the key genetic drivers of cardiomyocellular remodeling in a healthy vs diseased heart are inadequately understood. PURPOSE: Determine the genetic architecture of exercise training-induced cardiomyocellular remodeling and hypertrophy. METHODS: The exercise hybrid mouse diversity panel (ExcHMDP) is comprised of 100 strains of Exc trained (TRN) and sedentary (SED) animals (n=4-8/strain per group). After 30d of exercise, running wheels were locked, and 24-hours post-exercise, 6h-fasted animals were euthanized and tissues harvested (~20 tissues/mouse). To interrogate pathogenic cardiac hypertrophy, isoproterenol (ISO, 30mg/kg/day for 21d) was administered to a second HMDP cohort, and similar to TRN hearts, RNAseq analyses were performed. RESULTS: TRN increased heart weight in 85% of 100 mouse strains vs. sedentary (SED). Of the nearly thirty heart phenotypes assessed, none correlated significantly with running distance. Interestingly, the heart showed relatively few differentially expressed genes when compared to other tissues (e.g. skeletal muscle and white adipose). Enrichment analysis of differential gene expression revealed mitochondrial function, inflammatory and immune processes, calcium signaling, muscle growth and development, and angiogenesis (FDRIL31ra, Fam167b, Tafa5, Crip3, and Nanos1(PCONCLUSION: Our studies provide important insight into the genetic architecture of cardiac remodeling associated with healthy vs. pathogenic hypertrophy. A primary goal is that our transcriptomics analyses are leveraged to advance therapeutics to combat hypertrophic cardiac myopathy-associated heart failure

Sustainable seabed mining: guidelines and a new concept for Atlantis II Deep

The feasibility of exploiting seabed resources is subject to the engineering solutions, and economic prospects. Due to rising metal prices, predicted mineral scarcities and unequal allocations of resources in the world, vast research programmes on the exploration and exploitation of seabed minerals are presented in 1970s. Very few studies have been published after the 1980s, when predictions were not fulfilled. The attention grew back in the last decade with marine mineral mining being in research and commercial focus again and the first seabed mining license for massive sulphides being granted in Papua New Guinea’s Exclusive Economic Zone.Research on seabed exploitation and seabed mining is a complex transdisciplinary field that demands for further attention and development. Since the field links engineering, economics, environmental, legal and supply chain research, it demands for research from a systems point of view. This implies the application of a holistic sustainability framework of to analyse the feasibility of engineering systems. The research at hand aims to close this gap by developing such a framework and providing a review of seabed resources. Based on this review it identifies a significant potential for massive sulphides in inactive hydrothermal vents and sediments to solve global resource scarcities. The research aims to provide background on seabed exploitation and to apply a holistic systems engineering approach to develop general guidelines for sustainable seabed mining of polymetallic sulphides and a new concept and solutions for the Atlantis II Deep deposit in the Red Sea.The research methodology will start with acquiring a broader academic and industrial view on sustainable seabed mining through an online survey and expert interviews on seabed mining. In addition, the Nautilus Minerals case is reviewed for lessons learned and identification of challenges. Thereafter, a new concept for Atlantis II Deep is developed that based on a site specific assessment.The research undertaken in this study provides a new perspective regarding sustainable seabed mining. The main contributions of this research are the development of extensive guidelines for key issues in sustainable seabed mining as well as a new concept for seabed mining involving engineering systems, environmental risk mitigation, economic feasibility, logistics and legal aspects

Effect of a rotating frame on preventing bead aggregation in a microfluidic device

Varying bead concentrations over the course of experiments have been reported by many scientists. A new device was designed and fabricated to eliminate bead aggregation in a syringe pump prior to flowing through a microchannel. We have molded the effects of rotation in the absence of longitudinal flow by evenly populating the cross section of a syringe with particles, then tracking their movement due to rotation, gravity, and centripetal forces. We have shown both experimentally and numerically that the concentration of the beads remains constant over the course of experiments once the rotational device is used. However, the concentration of the beads drops significantly once no rotation is applied during the experiment

Social Integration in Newspaper Reporting: The Coverage of Vision School By Three Malaysian Dailies

This research was conducted to examine the coverage on Vision School by the different language dailies to better understand their role in promoting social integration. The daily newspaper with the largest circulation was chosen from the three main language streams. The three dailies chosen were Utusan MalaYSia, a daily in Bahasa Malaysia or the national language, The Star, an English language daily, and Sin Chew Jit Poh, a Chinese language daily. Content analysis was used in this research. A sub-sample of a "constructed week" was created for an indepth analysis and a total of 68 news items were qualified for an analysis in this study. The data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). Frequencies and percentages were employed in descriptive analysis. This study discovered that three of the dailies did not play an active role in promoting social integration in their coverage of Vision School. This study found very little evidence that the dailies tried to provide collective representations, which is the social symbols to promote cohesion and solidarity. The coverage by the three dailies also did not increase the degree of consensus or common assent that is necessary to sustain an integrated social system. This study recommended that the Vision School issue should be given equal coverage by all the major language newspapers because it is not an issue of race and ethnicity but of education. All newspapers must provide neutral coverage on the Vision School issue irrespective of the language of the newspapers because the function of the press is to inform and not to judge. This study also recommended that all news articles should aim at promoting social integration , intercultural understanding and tolerance. Newspapers should utilize and develop the specific potentialities of media to offer experiences and stimulate the imagination, thus affording opportunities for empathy, involvement and amusement

Using Shewanella Oneidensis MR1 as a Biocatalyst in a Microscale Microbial Fuel Cell

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology is a promising area in the field of renewable energy because of their capability to use the energy contained in wastewater, which has been previously an untapped source of power. Microscale MFCs are desirable for their small footprints, relatively high power density, fast start-up, and environmentally-friendly process. Microbial fuel cells employ microorganisms as the biocatalysts instead of metal catalysts, which are widely applied in conventional fuel cells. MFCs are capable of generating electricity as long as nutrition is provided. Miniature MFCs have faster power generation recovery than macroscale MFCs. Additionally, since power generation density is affected by the surface-to-volume ratio, miniature MFCs can facilitate higher power density. We have designed and fabricated a microscale microbial fuel cell with a volume of 4 μL in a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) chamber. The anode and cathode chambers were separated by a proton exchange membrane. Carbon cloth was used for both the anode and the cathode. Shewanella Oneidensis MR-1 was chosen to be the electrogenic bacteria and was inoculated into the anode chamber. We employed Ferricyanide as the catholyte and introduced it into the cathode chamber with a constant flow rate of approximately 50 μL/hr. We used trypticase soy broth as the bacterial nutrition and added it into the anode chamber approximately every 15 hours once current dropped to base current. Using our miniature MFC, we were able to generate a maximum current of 4.62 μA

A Microfluidic Reactor for Energy Applications

Miniature microbial fuel cells have recently drawn lots of attention as portable power generation devices due to their short startup time and environmentally-friendly process which could be used for powering small integrated biosensors. We designed and fabricated a microbial fuel cell in a microfluidic platform. The device was made in polydimethylsiloxane with a volume of 4 μL and consisted of two carbon cloth electrodes and proton exchange membrane. Shewanella Oneidensis MR-1 was chosen to be the electrogenic bacterial strain and inoculated into the anode chamber. Ferricyanide was used as the catholyte and pumped into the cathode chamber at a constant flow rate during the experiment. The mi- niature microbial fuel cell generated a maximum current of 2.59 μA and had a significantly short startup time

Improved Draft Genome Sequence of Microbacterium sp. Strain LKL04, a Bacterial Endophyte Associated with Switchgrass Plants.

We report here the genome assembly and analysis of Microbacterium strain sp. LKL04, a Gram-positive bacterial endophyte isolated from switchgrass plants (Panicum virgatum) grown on a reclaimed coal-mining site. The 2.9-Mbp genome of this bacterium was assembled into a single contig encoding 2,806 protein coding genes

Mining social media and web searches for disease detection

Web-based social media is increasingly being used across different settings in the health care industry. The increased frequency in the use of the Internet via computer or mobile devices provides an opportunity for social media to be the medium through which people can be provided with valuable health information quickly and directly. While traditional methods of detection relied predominately on hierarchical or bureaucratic lines of communication, these often failed to yield timely and accurate epidemiological intelligence. New web-based platforms promise increased opportunities for a more timely and accurate spreading of information and analysis. This article aims to provide an overview and discussion of the availability of timely and accurate information. It is especially useful for the rapid identification of an outbreak of an infectious disease that is necessary to promptly and effectively develop public health responses. These web-based platforms include search queries, data mining of web and social media, process and analysis of blogs containing epidemic key words, text mining, and geographical information system data analyses. These new sources of analysis and information are intended to complement traditional sources of epidemic intelligence. Despite the attractiveness of these new approaches, further study is needed to determine the accuracy of blogger statements, as increases in public participation may not necessarily mean the information provided is more accurate

Internet use among urban Malaysians: Network diversity effects

This study examines social network diversity in urban areas relative to residents’ usage of information and communication technologies (ICTs). Individual-level variation in social network diversity was measured using position generator data collected as part of a survey conducted in Malaysia’s Klang Valley (N = 808). Regression analyses were performed to assess the extent to which network diversity is related to ICTs. We find that most ICTs have a negative effect on diversity. Only frequent use of the Internet at work, mobile access to the Internet, and reading online news or blogs contribute positively to diversity. Findings support both a tendency toward ‘networked individualism’ and the more recent ‘glocalization’ thesis that some ICTs may also afford participation within local space rather than only across distant space