Introduction to the Special Issue -- Science in Politics: Methodological Innovations and Political Issues

We introduce the Special Issue on Life Science in Politics: Methodological Innovations and Political Issues. This issue of Politics and the Life Sciences is focused on the use of life science theory and methods to study political phenomena and the exploration of the intersection of science and political attitudes. This issue is the third in a series of special issues funded by the Association for Politics and the Life Sciences that adheres to the Open Science Framework for registered reports. Pre-analysis plans are peer reviewed and given in-principle acceptance before data are collected and/or analyzed, and the articles are published contingent upon the preregistration of the study being followed as proposed. We note various interpretations and challenges associated with studying the science of politics and discuss the contributions

Book Review: Frédéric Keck. Avian Reservoirs: Virus Hunters and Birdwatchers in Chinese Sentinel Posts. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, pp. 245. 2020.

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The Bloomsbury Handbook of the Cultural and Cognitive Aesthetics of Religion

The wide range of approaches gathered in this volume makes it indispensable for studying how exactly the much-evoked forces and agencies of sensuality, matter and affect actually affect bodies. It has been often and repeatedly claimed that objects have agency, that religion might be seen as a flow of affective powers through bodies (see, for instance, Donovan O. Schaefer’s book on Religious Affects) – but the question remains open what that would exactly mean. In all their polyphony and discontinuity, the contributions to this volume give much-needed answers to such questions, gained from philological and ethnographic as well as from neuroscientific studies. Filling a lot of gaps, many new questions rise, and the insights into the diverse methods and processes of data collection are useful for ongoing and upcoming studies within the still emerging field of the Aesthetics of Religion.</p

The Affine Uncertainty Principle, Associated Frames and Applications in Signal Processing

Uncertainty relations play a prominent role in signal processing, stating that a signal can not be simultaneously concentrated in the two related domains of the corresponding phase space. In particular, a new uncertainty principle for the affine group, which is directly related to the wavelet transform has lead to a new minimizing waveform. In this thesis, a frame construction is proposed which leads to approximately tight frames based on this minimizing waveform. Frame properties such as the diagonality of the frame operator as well as lower and upper frame bounds are analyzed. Additionally, three applications of such frame constructions are introduced: inpainting of missing audio data, detection of neuronal spikes in extracellular recorded data and peak detection in MALDI imaging data

Investigating a novel intramyocardial delivery method for induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes

Cell therapy is a potential novel treatment for cardiac regeneration and numerous studies have attempted to transplant cells to regenerate the myocardium lost during myocardial infarction. To date, only minimal improvements to cardiac function have been reported. This is likely to occur from low cell retention following delivery and high cell death after transplantation. The thesis aimed to improve the delivery and engraftment of viable cells by using an injectable biomaterial which provides an implantable, biodegradable substrate for attachment and growth of cardiomyocytes derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC). The thesis describes the fabrication and characterisation of Thermally Induced Phase Separation (TIPS) microspheres, and functionalisation of the microspheres to enable cell attachment in xeno-free conditions. The selected formulation resulted in iPSC attachment, expansion, and retention of pluripotent phenotype. Differentiation of iPSC into cardiomyocytes was investigated and characterised, comparing in vitro culture to microsphere culture using flow cytometry, immunocytochemistry and western blotting techniques. Microsphere culture was shown to be protective against anoikis and compatible for injectable delivery. The in vivo compatibility of the microspheres was assessed using pre-clinical murine models. The microspheres were rendered trackable, using the computed tomography contrast agent barium sulphate, to assess the distribution after ultra-sound guided intramyocardial injections for targeted delivery. The findings suggest that barium sulphate-loaded microspheres can be used as a novel tool for optimising delivery techniques and tracking persistence and distribution of implanted products. Once in vivo compatibility was established, a cellularised microsphere formulation was delivered to the myocardium of immunocompromised mice, to compare the efficacy of biomaterial assisted versus suspension cell therapy. This work demonstrates that TIPS microcarriers offer a supporting matrix for culturing iPSC and iPSC derived cardiomyocytes in vitro and when implanted in vivo have the potential to be developed into an injectable biomaterial for cardiac regeneration

School Readiness Profiles and Growth in Academic Achievement

The purpose of this research was to identify the presence of different school readiness profiles and to determine whether profiles could differentially predict academic growth. The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study: 2010-11 (ECLS-K: 2011) public data set was used, and participants were 14,954 first-time kindergarteners. The age of entering kindergarten ranged from 44.81 to 87.98 months with a mean of 76.13 months. In Study 1, a six-dimensional construct of school readiness was used: health, self-regulation, social and emotional development, language development, cognitive development, and approaches to learning. Results revealed 41 profiles with the top six school readiness profiles covering 85% of the sample: (1) Positive Development (28%); (2) Comprehensive At-Risk (24%); (3) Personal and Social Strengths (20%); (4) Cognitive and Language Strengths (5%), (5) Health Strength (5%); and (6) Cognitive, Personal and Social Strengths (3%). Study 2 examined whether school readiness profiles could predict children\u27s reading and math achievement growth using growth curve models. Results showed that different school readiness profile membership had unique academic growth patterns and could predict academic growth above and beyond child and family background variables. Moreover, children with the Positive Development profile had higher academic achievement over time. Children with the Personal and Social Strengths profile had the largest growth rates. In sum, findings support the inclusion of self-regulation as another dimension of school readiness and the important role of personal and social skills in the development of reading and math achievement

OARDC: A generator of positive economic impacts for Ohio

The University Archives has determined that this item is of continuing value to OSU's history.The Technology Partnership Practice of Battelle Memorial Institute assessed the economic impact of OARDC research on the State of Ohio. The study found that OARDC is a substantial economic engine for the state. The state's investment also sustains and enhances the agriculture and food-related industry sector

A Study of 3D Graphene-based Scaffolds for Advanced Neural Engineering

The field of tissue engineering aims to create functional tissues/organs using scaffold biomaterials and cell sources to treat a multitude of diseases. To guide the regeneration process, the development of biomaterials with desirable characteristics, described as scaffold, is required. It is believed that 3D scaffolds can effectively reflect the realistic characteristic of living tissues, in contrast to 2D culture systems. Graphene, a 2D carbon allotrope, brings several advantages in neural tissue engineering owing to its unique properties including high surface area, suitable biocompatibility, mechanical properties and excellent electrical conductivity. In this study, 3D graphene-based composite scaffolds, consisting of Graphene Oxide (GO) and Sodium Alginate (Na-ALG), were fabricated as functional neural scaffolds. The fabrication method, physical and chemical characterizations of synthesized scaffolds are extensively studied and analysed to match neural tissue engineering requirements. Besides, electrically conductive scaffolds are developed based on the in-situ bioreduction of GO/Na-ALG aerogels which makes scaffolds more favourable for engineering of electroactive tissues. GO/Na-ALG scaffolds showed great improvement in hydrophilicity, electrochemical properties and mechanical integrity. Furtheremore, in vitro biodegradation study reveals that the proposed composite scaffolds have a controlled biodegradation rate. The prepared scaffold with interconnected porous structure and suitable mechanical properties is an appropriate platform for 3D stem cell culture. As a result, human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) are combined with the fabricated graphene-based scaffolds to support cellular responses. The biological effects of prepared graphene-based 3D scaffolds on dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) in terms of proliferation, cell viability, and cytotoxicity were investigated. The Alamar Blue (AB) assay shows that DPSCs viability cultured onto Na-ALG and GO/Na-ALG scaffolds was higher than that of 2D controls confirming the desirable initial cell adhesion to the scaffolds’ surface followed by cell spreading through pores. Besides, the LDH release measurements show that DPSCs toxicity on the GO/Na-ALG and RGO/Na-ALG scaffolds was comparable to that obtained on the 2D surface in the absence of the biomaterial. The cellular viability and activity are improved on scaffolds coated with PLL, being superior to combined PLL+LAM coating. The incorporation of graphene into the composite scaffold supported higher DPSCs viability and function, suggesting that the selected biomaterials are biocompatible with DPSCs which is ascribed to unique surface chemistry, good mechanical properties, high surface area, and excellent physicochemical properties of graphene-based nanomaterials. The cytotoxicity of GO/Na-ALG and RGO/Na-ALG scaffolds indicates that DPSCs can be seeded in serum-free media without cytotoxic effects. This is critical for human translation as cellular transplants are typically serum-free. The findings from the current study suggest that proposed composite 3D graphene-based scaffolds had a favourable effect on the biological responses of DPSCs. The knowledge and contributions made in the current work can be exploited for further studies on electrical stimulation and in vivo investigation of the engineered scaffolds for neural regeneration.Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, 202

Carbon Nanotube Degradation in Macrophages: Live Nanoscale Monitoring and Understanding of Biological Pathway

Despite numerous applications, the cellular-clearance mechanism of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) has not been clearly established yet. Previous <i>in vitro</i> studies showed the ability of oxidative enzymes to induce nanotube degradation. Interestingly, these enzymes have the common capacity to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS). Here, we combined material and life science approaches for revealing an intracellular way taken by macrophages to degrade carbon nanotubes. We report the <i>in situ</i> monitoring of ROS-mediated MWCNT degradation by liquid-cell transmission electron microscopy. Two degradation mechanisms induced by hydroxyl radicals were extracted from these unseen dynamic nanoscale investigations: a non-site-specific thinning process of the walls and a site-specific transversal drilling process on pre-existing defects of nanotubes. Remarkably, similar ROS-induced structural injuries were observed on MWCNTs after aging into macrophages from 1 to 7 days. Beside unraveling oxidative transformations of MWCNT structure, we elucidated an important, albeit not exclusive, biological pathway for MWCNT degradation in macrophages, involving NOX₂ complex activation, superoxide production, and hydroxyl radical attack, which highlights the critical role of oxidative stress in cellular processing of MWCNTs