Relative Ability Research Articles

Abstract 805: Employment characteristics and work ability differences by race and income before undergoing curative treatment for prostate cancer (PCW WF-1802)

Abstract Background: African American (AA) men are, on average, diagnosed with prostate cancer at younger ages and more advanced stages than white men and therefore may be at greater risk of having cancer treatment negatively impact their work ability and job opportunities. This longitudinal, observational study aims to better identify whether race, household income (< or ≥ 300% the U.S. poverty line), or work-related factors may place some men with prostate cancer at greater risk for experiencing negative employment impacts from cancer treatment and its side effects. Here we report on individual and employment-related factors by race and income prior to treatment initiation. Methods: AA and white men who were expected to undergo primary curative treatment (prostatectomy or radiation therapy) in the near future for prostate cancer were recruited through the Wake Forest NCORP Research Base (UG1CA189824, NCT03963739) between 2019 and 2023. Participants were AA or white, recently employed, expecting to be working in 6 months, and willing to disclose income status. Participants answered questions prior to treatment initiation related to employment and working conditions, work ability, and demographic characteristics. Differences in outcomes by race and income were analyzed with Fisher's exact test or t-test. Results: The baseline questionnaire was completed by 244 men; 48% AA/52% white and 64% higher/36% lower Income. Most planned treatments included radiation therapy (60%) and/or prostatectomy (41%), with no statistical differences by income or race. Higher income men were significantly more likely than lower income men to be married, have attained higher education, have a management or professional job, work full-time, be a permanent employee, salaried, eligible to retain their job under FMLA, work in an office/home, have a psychologically demanding job, and less likely to hold a physically demanding job. AA men were significantly less likely than white men to be married, have attained higher education, have a management or professional job, or work in an office/home. AA men were more continuously hopeful about the future (69%) compared to white men (52%; p=0.0079). There were no significant differences across categories in age, perceived current work ability in relation to physical (69% very good) or mental (71% very good) demands, or number of jobs held. Prior to treatment, participants reported almost optimal current work ability (mean 9.0, SD 1.2) with a range of 0 to 10 with 10 as best possible work ability. Conclusion: In this study, income category is a greater predictor than race of job characteristics that may impact employment following definitive prostate cancer treatment. Citation Format: Joanne C. Sandberg, Emily V. Dressler, Louis S. Krane, Karen M. Winkfield, Lingyi Lu, Andrew M. Mayfield, Drew C. Monitto, J. Daniel Pennington, Deimante M. Tamkus, Glenn J. Lesser. Employment characteristics and work ability differences by race and income before undergoing curative treatment for prostate cancer (PCW WF-1802) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 805.

Sensory processing abilities in relation to motor capabilities in children with different types of cerebral palsy

Background and purpose. children with cerebral palsy have sensory processing issues as well as motor problems, which lead to severe developmental disability. In this study, we aimed to assess correlation between sensory processing abilities and motor capabilities in children with cerebral palsy and assess the effect of cerebral palsy types on sensory processing abilities and motor capabilities. Materials and methods. One hundred cerebral palsy children of both sex were included in the study; their age ranged from 4-10 years old were selected from pediatric rehabilitation out clinic of faculty of Physical Therapy Cairo University, fulfilling inclusion criteria. All children were assessed by Short sensory profile: to measure sensory processing ability, Gross Motor Function Classification System: to measure the gross motor skills and Manual Ability Classification System: to measure the fine motor skills. Result. there was a significant correlation between GMFCS, MACS and the total score of SSP as well as Low energy weak, tactile sensitivity score, taste smell sensitivity, Movement sensitivity, and Under-responsive seeks sensation (P ≤ 0.05*). There was no significant correlations between both auditory filtering and Visual-auditory sensitivity with GMFCS and MACS (P = 0.676 and 0.266, respectively). There was statistical variation among different CP types regarding SSP and motor assessment (P ≤ 0.05*). Conclusion. the study showed: sensory processing abilities effect on motor capabilities in children with cerebral palsy.

Abstract 3062: Unraveling the role of RCC2 in glioblastoma by mutational analysis and a murine model of glioma

Abstract Glioblastoma (GBM) is a brain malignancy characterized by being highly aggressive, lethal, yet treatment modalities remain limited. Recent studies have implicated Regulator of Chromosome Condensation 2 (RCC2), a guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) for RalA, as a potential regulator in glioblastoma pathogenesis. RCC2 has been shown to play a role in promoting glucose metabolism through BACH1-dependent upregulation of hexokinase II (HK2)(1). In this study, we investigated the functional mechanism of RCC2 in gliomagenesis using two complementary approaches. First, the relevance of RCC2 structural regions on its downstream functions were examined. By superimposing the three-dimensional crystal structure of RCC2 onto RCC1 (Regulator of Chromosome Condensation 1), a related GEF, we identified several unique regions within the RCC1-like domain of RCC2. A panel of point, substitution, and deletion mutants were generated, and pulldown experiments were performed to assess their relative binding affinity with BACH1. Additional assays to assess their relative ability to modulate the expression of HK2 and other cellular parameters will be discussed. The structure-functional characterization of distinct regions within RCC2 may identify unique sequences within RCC2 that could have relevance to glucose metabolism, cell proliferation and cell motility. Additionally, we have established a murine glioma model utilizing a Pten heterozygous mice expressing a GFAP-Cre-recombinase transgene (Gfap-cre;Ptenfl/+). Glioma were induced by stereotaxically injected lentiviral constructs expressing either with HRasV12 oncogene alone or together with RCC2. Neurological symptoms were monitored over a period of 7 months, and histopathological analysis was performed to evaluate the morphological and molecular features of the tumors. We showed that co-expression of HRasV12 and RCC2 exhibited earlier emergence of neurological manifests in both male and female groups (Log-rank test, p<0.05) when compared to HRasV12 alone. Overall, our study provides insights into both the structural mechanism of RCC2 in gliomagenesis through mutational analysis of RCC2 and the functional relevance through a murine model of glioma. (1)Liu, T. et. al. Cancer Lett (2022) 549:215914. Funding: This work is supported by a General Research Fund grant (#14113519) from the University Grants Committee of Hong Kong. Citation Format: Wayne L.H. Ho, Penelope M.Y. Or, Andrew M. Chan. Unraveling the role of RCC2 in glioblastoma by mutational analysis and a murine model of glioma [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 3062.

Caring and building friendships in the UK’s asylum system

To care and feel cared for are considered fundamental to what makes us human, and what enables us to live and thrive in this world. Yet for the UK’s asylum-seeking population who is living with uncertainties for the future, care appears absent. In such contexts, it is imperative to understand how care is enacted, experienced, and valued amongst spaces and people often considered to be care-less. Drawing on data collected in four collaborative photographic workshops and photo elicitation interviews with asylum seekers and refugees (ASRs) (N: 7), this study aims to gain insight into how ASRs in the UK care and feel cared for and their relative ability to forge friendships during their migration journey. We show how their relationship to caregiving and care-receiving changes over time and is deeply influenced by asylum policies and the refugee experience more generally. Responding to feminist scholars’ calls to disrupt the normative assumptions about how and between whom care is exchanged, this article highlights the diversity of friendships forged while on the move and seeking asylum as well as the caring practices emerging in situations of precarity, the pervasive impacts of the hostile environment on disrupting and distorting such caring relationships, and cautious but agentic and caring ways that ASRs seek to navigate the ambiguities of friendships in hostility. In doing so, the article provides an important counter-narrative to the dominant portrayal of ASRs as passive recipients of care, by highlighting how their way to approach care and friendship varies across time and circumstances.

Methods comparison of two-dimensional gel electrophoresis for host cell protein characterization.

Two-dimensional electrophoresis (2DE) is a gel-based protein separation method based on size and charge which is commonly used for the characterization of host cell proteins (HCPs) during drug development in biotech and pharmaceutical companies. HCPs are a heterogenous mixture of proteins produced by host cells during a biologics drug manufacturing process. Different gel electrophoresis methods including traditional 2D SDS-PAGE with silver and SYPRO Ruby fluorescent dye staining as well as two-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE) were compared for their relative abilities to characterize HCPs. SYPRO Ruby was shown to be more sensitive than silver stain in the traditional 2D gels both with and without product protein present. Silver stain also displayed a significant preference for staining acidic proteins over basic ones while SYPRO Ruby was more consistent in imaging proteins across different isoelectric points. The non-traditional method of 2D-DIGE provides high resolution and reproducibility when comparing samples with similar protein profiles but was limited in imaging HCP spots due to its narrow dynamic range. Overall, 2DE is a powerful tool to separate and characterize HCPs and is optimized by choosing the best stain or method for each specific application. Using a combination of two or more different 2DE staining methods, when possible, provides the most comprehensive coverage to support the characterization of a complex mixture like HCPs. However, in instances where only one staining method can be used, SYPRO Ruby is shown to be the more reliable, more sensitive, and easier to use traditional staining method for most HCP-based applications.

General or Situational? Exploring Cultural Identification Patterns Using Entropy Among Maghrebi Immigrants to Canada

Migrants and members of cultural minorities must negotiate their identification with multiple cultural groups. Many studies have investigated associations between general questionnaire–based cultural identity patterns and psychological adjustment. Research on situational cultural identity patterns—context-bound, momentary identification with a given cultural group—is scarcer. Furthermore, we know little about how variability in identification across contexts and situations may be associated with psychological adjustment. This study addresses these issues by (a) comparing the relative ability of general questionnaire–based and situational diary–based cultural identity patterns in statistically predicting psychological adjustment among Maghrebi migrants to Canada, and (b) introducing and testing cultural identity entropy, a novel approach to characterizing variability in a person’s multiple cultural identities during daily interactions. Drawing on concepts in thermodynamics and information theory, cultural identity entropy indexes greater balance in one’s multiple identifications during an interaction and reflects greater flexibility in cultural ways in that moment. Participants were 93 Maghrebi migrants to Canada who completed baseline questionnaires and daily diaries on situational identification during interactions for 7 days. Results show that situational diary–based cultural identity patterns accounted for substantial variance in psychological adjustment, above and beyond general questionnaire–based patterns, and that greater entropy in heritage cultural contexts was associated with greater psychological adjustment. These results underscore the importance of going beyond general characterizations of multicultural identity by investigating the shifting and contextual ways in which migrants mobilize and negotiate their cultural identities in daily life.

Relative Discriminatory Ability of AMMI and GGE Biplot in Analysis of GxE Interaction for Yield and Seed Index in Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

Background: The research focused on investigating the impact of genotype-environment interaction on the yield stability and performance of eight chickpea genotypes across three different locations (Bhatapara, Kawardha and Raipur). Method: The study employed a randomized block design with two replications in each environment in Rabi season during 2021-22. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed significant variations between environments and genotype-environment interaction (G x E) based on AMMI and GGE biplot. Results: To visualize the genotype-environment relationship, a two-dimensional GGE biplot was created using the first two principal components, which accounted for 87.8% and 11.5% of the interaction’s variation. The GGE biplot indicated that genotype g4 (ICCX 161100-B-B-B-B) in environment e2 (Kawardha) and g8 (JG-24) in environment e1 (Bhatapara) exhibited high yield. Genotype g3 (ICCV 201112) in environment e3 (Raipur) also showed high yield, while genotype g5 (JG 2020-10) demonstrated stability across all three environments. Furthermore, the AMMI analysis identified genotype g2 (ICCV 201103) as a superior performer in terms of yield stability across environments. By employing the GGE biplot and AMMI analysis, the study categorized the genotypes into three groups, facilitating simplified visual evaluations. The GGE biplot highlighted that genotype g8 (JG-24) exhibited better seed index in environment e3 (Raipur), while genotype g1 (ICCV 201210) performed well in environment e1 (Bhatapara). Genotype g2 (ICCV 201103) demonstrated a good seed index in all three environments. The AMMI analysis indicated that genotype g3 (ICCV 201112) had a slightly lower seed index but maintained stability across all environments. Overall, the findings of this investigation, as represented by the GGE and AMMI biplots, visually illustrated the relationship between genotypes and environments. The identified genotypes hold potential for improving yield production and further research and breeding efforts can be based on these findings.

The role of self‐regulatory abilities in predicting performance while teleworking: A cross‐sectional and a panel study during the COVID‐19 pandemic

AbstractScholars have argued that individual characteristics promoting self‐regulation such as self‐efficacy and self‐goal setting were crucial for employees to cope effectively with the challenges of teleworking during the early stages of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Yet, research simultaneously exploring these specific self‐regulatory abilities in relation to various performance dimensions is scarce. Thus, we examined whether self‐efficacy and self‐goal setting are related to proficiency, adaptivity, and proactivity while teleworking during the pandemic using a cross‐sectional design (Study 1) and tested the directionality of these relationships using a two‐wave cross‐lagged panel design (Study 2). The degree of telework was considered a moderator for these relationships in both studies. Study 1 (N = 830) findings indicated that both self‐efficacy and self‐goal setting were positively related to all performance dimensions and that the degree of telework moderated the regression of adaptivity on self‐efficacy to a small extent. Study 2 (N = 263) findings showed that self‐efficacy at Time 1 had a positive effect on self‐goal setting, proficiency, and adaptivity, measured at Time 2, whereas self‐goal setting at Time 1 did not predict significantly any of the performance dimensions at Time 2. We also found evidence that adaptivity positively influenced self‐efficacy over time. Our results provide important insights into the nature and directional relationships between self‐regulatory abilities and different performance dimensions while teleworking during the pandemic.

The relative and combined ability of stress hyperglycemia ratio and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide to predict all-cause mortality in diabetic patients with multivessel coronary artery disease

BackgroundStress hyperglycemia ratio (SHR) and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) are independently associated with increased mortality risk in diabetic patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). However, the role of these biomarkers in patients with diabetes and multivessel disease (MVD) remains unknown. The present study aimed to assess the relative and combined abilities of these biomarkers to predict all-cause mortality in patients with diabetes and MVD.MethodsThis study included 1148 diabetic patients with MVD who underwent coronary angiography at Tianjin Chest Hospital between January 2016 and December 2016. The patients were divided into four groups according to their SHR (SHR-L and SHR-H) and NT-proBNP (NT-proBNP-L and NT-proBNP-H) levels. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality. Multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed to evaluate the association of SHR and NT-proBNP levels with all-cause mortality.ResultsDuring a mean 4.2 year follow-up, 138 patients died. Multivariate analysis showed that SHR and NT-proBNP were strong independent predictors of all-cause mortality in diabetic patients with MVD (SHR: HR hazard ratio [2.171; 95%CI 1.566–3.008; P < 0.001; NT-proBNP: HR: 1.005; 95%CI 1.001–1.009; P = 0.009). Compared to patients in the first (SHR-L and NT-proBNP-L) group, patients in the fourth (SHR-H and NT-proBNP-H) group had the highest mortality risk (HR: 12.244; 95%CI 5.828–25.721; P < 0.001). The areas under the curve were 0.615(SHR) and 0.699(NT-proBNP) for all-cause mortality. Adding either marker to the original models significantly improved the C-statistic and integrated discrimination improvement values (all P < 0.05). Moreover, combining SHR and NT-proBNP levels into the original model provided maximal prognostic information.ConclusionsSHR and NT-proBNP independently and jointly predicted all-cause mortality in diabetic patients with MVD, suggesting that strategies to improve risk stratification in these patients should incorporate SHR and NT-porBNP into risk algorithms.

Green synthesis of hybrids of zinc oxide, titanium oxide, and calcium oxide nanoparticles from Foeniculum vulgare: an assessment of biological activity

The increased prominence in the use of nanoparticles has made it important to employ synergy between nanoparticles while harnessing individual metallic and biological properties to improve and modify the surface, the versatility, and efficiency of nanoparticle hybrid. This study aims to conduct a bio-assessment assay of nanoparticle hybrid systems within an in-vitro set-up and improve the surface modifications of these systems. The hybrid surfaces are characterized using a scanning electron microscope, dynamic light scattering (DLS), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). FTIR reveals the presence of functional groups like phenols, carboxylic acids, and esters. The XRD confirms the hexagonal crystalline phase of Fe-NZnO, the cubic lattice of Fe-NCaO, and the rutile phase of TiO2. The hydrodynamic diameter of Fe-NZnO-NCaO, Fe-NTiO2-NCaO, and Fe-NTiO2-NZnO are shown to be 163.2, 164.6, and 219.4 nm, respectively, using DLS analysis. Turbidity analysis indicates that Fe-NZnO-NCaO is the least aggregated particle following a 14-day observation period, meaning that it is the most stable over that period. Anti-hemolytic erythrocyte assay demonstrates the relative biocompatibility and ability of the hybrids to enhance cell protein protection. Fe-NZnO-NCaO and Fe-NTiO2-NCaO exhibit higher post-treatment cytotoxicity across the concentrations than Fe-NTiO2-NZnO.

Deep Metric Learning With Locality Sensitive Mining for Self-Correcting Source Separation of Neural Spiking Signals.

Automated source separation algorithms have become a central tool in neuroengineering and neuroscience, where they are used to decompose neurophysiological signal into its constituent spiking sources. However, in noisy or highly multivariate recordings these decomposition techniques often make a large number of errors. Such mistakes degrade online human-machine interfacing methods and require costly post-hoc manual cleaning in the offline setting. In this article we propose an automated error correction methodology using a deep metric learning (DML) framework, generating embedding spaces in which spiking events can be both identified and assigned to their respective sources. Furthermore, we investigate the relative ability of different DML techniques to preserve the intraclass semantic structure needed to identify incorrect class labels in neurophysiological time series. Motivated by this analysis, we propose locality sensitive mining, an easily implemented sampling-based augmentation to typical DML losses which substantially improves the local semantic structure of the embedding space. We demonstrate the utility of this method to generate embedding spaces which can be used to automatically identify incorrectly labeled spiking events with high accuracy.

"Show Me What You Got": The Nomological Network of the Ability to Pose Facial Emotion Expressions.

Just as receptive emotional abilities, productive emotional abilities are essential for social communication. Although individual differences in receptive emotional abilities, such as perceiving and recognizing emotions, are well-investigated, individual differences in productive emotional abilities, such as the ability to express emotions in the face, are largely neglected. Consequently, little is known about how emotion expression abilities fit in a nomological network of related abilities and typical behavior. We developed a multitask battery for measuring the ability to pose emotional expressions scored with facial expression recognition software. With three multivariate studies (n1 = 237; n2 = 141; n3 = 123), we test competing measurement models of emotion posing and relate this construct with other socio-emotional traits and cognitive abilities. We replicate the measurement model that includes a general factor of emotion posing, a nested task-specific factor, and emotion-specific factors. The emotion-posing ability factor is moderately to strongly related to receptive socio-emotional abilities, weakly related to general cognitive abilities, and weakly related to extraversion. This is strong evidence that emotion posing is a cognitive interpersonal ability. This new understanding of abilities in emotion communication opens a gateway for studying individual differences in social interaction.

Work ability trends 2000-2020 and birth-cohort projections until 2040 in Finland.

Aims: To examine age-group and birth-cohort trends in perceived work ability in Finland in 2000-2020 and make projections of perceived work ability up to 2040 based on the observed birth-cohort development. Methods: Ten population-representative cross-sectional surveys conducted in Finland between 2000 and 2020 were used (overall N = 61,087, range 817-18,956). Self-reported estimates of current work ability in relation to the person's lifetime best on a scale from zero to ten (0-10) were classified into three groups: limited (0-5), intermediate (6-7), and good (8-10). Multiple imputation was used in projecting work ability. Results: Examining past trends by 5-year birth-cohorts born between 1961 and 1995 showed that work ability has declined steadily over time among older birth-cohorts, while in the two younger cohorts a stable development before 2017 and a steep decline between 2017 and 2020 was seen. Trends by 5-year age groups showed a declining trend of good work ability among 20-44-year-olds, a stable trend among 45-54-year-olds, and an improving trend among 55-year-olds and older was observed for the period 2000-2020. Among the under 55-year-olds the prevalence of good work ability ended up around 75% and at 68% among the 55-59-year-olds, 58% among the 60-69-year-olds and 49% among the 70-74-year-olds in 2020. Birth-cohort projections suggested a declining work ability in the future among all age groups included (30-74 years). By 2040, the prevalence of good work ability is projected to decline by 10 to 15 percentage points among 45-74-year-olds. Conclusions: The projections suggest declining work ability in the future. Efforts to counteract the decline in work ability are needed.

Distinct but related abilities for visual and haptic object recognition.

People vary in their ability to recognize objects visually. Individual differences for matching and recognizing objects visually is supported by a domain-general ability capturing common variance across different tasks (e.g., Richler et al., Psychological Review, 126, 226-251, 2019). Behavioral (e.g., Cooke et al., Neuropsychologia, 45, 484-495, 2007) and neural evidence (e.g., Amedi, Cerebral Cortex, 12, 1202-1212, 2002) suggest overlapping mechanisms in the processing of visual and haptic information in the service of object recognition, but it is unclear whether such group-average results generalize to individual differences. Psychometrically validated measures are required, which have been lacking in the haptic modality. We investigate whether object recognition ability is specific to vision or extends to haptics using psychometric measures we have developed. We use multiple visual and haptic tests with different objects and different formats to measure domain-general visual and haptic abilities and to test for relations across them. We measured object recognition abilities using two visual tests and four haptic tests (two each for two kinds of haptic exploration) in 97 participants. Partial correlation and confirmatory factor analyses converge to support the existence of a domain-general haptic object recognition ability that is moderately correlated with domain-general visual object recognition ability. Visual and haptic abilities share about 25% of their variance, supporting the existence of a multisensory domain-general ability while leaving a substantial amount of residual variance for modality-specific abilities. These results extend our understanding of the structure of object recognition abilities; while there are mechanisms that may generalize across categories, tasks, and modalities, there are still other mechanisms that are distinct between modalities.

Natural xanthones as modulators of the Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway and potential gastroprotective agents.

Oxidative stress is implicated in the initiation, pathogenesis, and progression of various gastric inflammatory diseases (GID). The prevalence of these diseases remains a concern along with the increasing risks of adverse effects in current clinical interventions. Hence, new gastroprotective agents capable of inhibiting oxidative stress by modulating cellular defense systems such as the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)/antioxidant response element (ARE) signaling pathway are critically needed to address these issues. A candidate to solve the present issue is xanthone, a natural compound that reportedly exerts gastroprotective effects via antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and cytoprotective mechanisms. Moreover, xanthone derivatives were shown to modulate the Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway to counter oxidative stress in both in vitro and in vivo models. Thirteen natural xanthones have demonstrated the ability to modulate the Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway and have high potential as lead compounds for GID as indicated by their in vivo gastroprotective action-particularly mangiferin (2), α-mangostin (3), and γ-mangostin (4). Further studies on these compounds are recommended to validate the Nrf2 modulatory ability in relation to their gastroprotective action.

Evaluation of alternative approaches to PHABSIM modeling of coastal cutthroat trout spawning habitat

AbstractIn the face of a changing climate and increasing human demand for water, an understanding of habitat preference has become critical for managing wild fish populations and projecting potential changes in habitat and populations. Two approaches to Physical Habitat Simulation (PHABSIM) modeling of coastal cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii spawning habitat were compared by modeling a reach, consisting of eight transects covering a pool and upstream and downstream riffles, of a small Puget Sound stream with two sets of habitat variables. The reach contained a cluster of redds 2 years in a row, assumed to be an indication of preferred spawning habitat and was located in the area of maximum spawning in the watershed, based on multiple years of redd surveys. Two PHABSIM instream flow models of the study site, one based on standard microhabitat (depth [D], velocity [V], and substrate [S]) suitabilities and the other based on D, V, and channel unit (CU) suitabilities, were developed and compared for their relative ability to correctly predict coastal cutthroat trout spawning habitat selection at the redd cluster within the PHABSIM study site. One approach was the standard use of habitat suitability criteria (HSC) for D, V, and S to indicate spawning habitat quality. The alternate approach was to replace substrate HSC with CU index HSC that incorporated dominant substrate particle diameter, CU (riffle, deep and shallow pool tail, pool body, deep and shallow pool edge, cascade, waterfall, and terrestrial), where deep and shallow units were based on relative residual depth (RRD), size of CU relative to channel width, and position within CU. Spawning habitat quality was calculated for each transect as weighted usable width with the standard HSC metrics (WUWs) as well as the modified CU index (WUWm). WUWm at the transects bracketing the redd cluster exceeded WUWm at the remaining six transects and was outside the 95% confidence interval for WUWm at the remaining transects. In contrast, WUWs varied less between the redd cluster and the remainder of the transects, suggesting the CU index better reflected spawning habitat quality than substrate. Incorporation of elevation relative to SZF addressed vulnerability to declining flow during incubation. Both models resulted in maximum WUA within the range of discharges that coincided with the majority of fresh cutthroat trout redds in Skookum Creek.

Analysis of the Antioxidant &amp; Antimutagenic Potential of CGA, a phenolic component of Coffee, in Inhibiting Mutations in Salmonella typhimurium

Excess cellular radical oxygen species are associated with an increase in cellular, including geneticdamage. In somatic cells, this may lead to cancer when genes associated with cell growthand reproduction are impacted. Opposing radical oxygen species are antioxidants which canquench free radicals that otherwise may damage a cell’s DNA. The body produces some antioxidantsnaturally, such as glutathione, while others are obtained through diet, including vitaminsC and E. Chlorogenic Acid (CGA) is one example of a polyphenolic compound in coffeewith the potential to exhibit antioxidant and antimutagenic properties. The concentration ofCGA in a commercially available coffee was measured and its potential to exhibit antioxidantproperties was assessed. An extract was prepared in which the spectral properties of CGAwere exploited to quantitate its concentration in green coffee extract via HPLC. The antioxidantactivity of CGA was characterized by measuring its relative ability to neutralize free radicals usinga colorimetric assay vs. a pure vitamin C standard. The antimutagenic activity of CGA wasto be assessed via an Ames test using mutant Salmonella strains incapable of producing theamino acid histidine. The results demonstrated a considerable amount of CGA in green coffeeextract, that exhibited antioxidant properties. Future work will assess antimutagenic effectsof CGA in the extract compared to the antimutagenic effect of vitamin C and pure CGA standards.Overall, these results suggested that coffee beverages may serve as potent antioxidantswith the potential to protect consumers from the harmful effects of mutagenic free radicals.

Beware the HIV Env, Which Comes to you in Glycosylated Coating

Excess cellular radical oxygen species are associated with an increase in cellular, including geneticdamage. In somatic cells, this may lead to cancer when genes associated with cell growthand reproduction are impacted. Opposing radical oxygen species are antioxidants which canquench free radicals that otherwise may damage a cell’s DNA. The body produces some antioxidantsnaturally, such as glutathione, while others are obtained through diet, including vitaminsC and E. Chlorogenic Acid (CGA) is one example of a polyphenolic compound in coffeewith the potential to exhibit antioxidant and antimutagenic properties. The concentration ofCGA in a commercially available coffee was measured and its potential to exhibit antioxidantproperties was assessed. An extract was prepared in which the spectral properties of CGAwere exploited to quantitate its concentration in green coffee extract via HPLC. The antioxidantactivity of CGA was characterized by measuring its relative ability to neutralize free radicals usinga colorimetric assay vs. a pure vitamin C standard. The antimutagenic activity of CGA wasto be assessed via an Ames test using mutant Salmonella strains incapable of producing theamino acid histidine. The results demonstrated a considerable amount of CGA in green coffeeextract, that exhibited antioxidant properties. Future work will assess antimutagenic effectsof CGA in the extract compared to the antimutagenic effect of vitamin C and pure CGA standards.Overall, these results suggested that coffee beverages may serve as potent antioxidantswith the potential to protect consumers from the harmful effects of mutagenic free radicals.

Branched-Chain-Induced Host-Guest Assembly in Covalent-Organic Frameworks for Efficient Separation of No-Carrier-Added 177Lu.

No-carrier-added (NCA) 177Lu is one of the most interesting nuclides for endoradiotherapy. With the dramatically rapid development of radiopharmaceutical and nuclear medicine, there is a sharp increase in the radionuclide supply of NCA 177Lu, which has formed a great challenge to current radiochemical separation constituted on classical materials. Hence, it is of vital importance to design and prepare new functional materials able of recovering 177Lu from an irradiated target with excellent efficacy. In this work, we proposed to apply noncovalent interactions to regulate the porous properties of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) by tuning the branched chain, rendering related covalent hosts different encapsulation abilities toward a flexible guest, 2-ethylhexylphosphonic acid mono-2-ethylhexyl ester (P507). More interestingly, we found that the noncovalent interaction has a great effect on the host-guest complexes, which can achieve efficient NCA 177Lu separation with high recovery (95.97%). A systematic mechanism combined with experimental and theoretical investigations has confirmed that the noncovalent interactions between COFs and P507 play a preeminent role in adjusting the macroscopic properties of the host-guest complexes. This work not only uncovers that noncovalent interactions can affect the basic properties of covalent organic bonded materials but also provides a strategy for the design and preparation of other new moieties with specific functionalities.

Isolation and Identification of Acer truncatum Endophytic Fungus Talaromyces verruculosus and Evaluation of Its Effects on Insoluble Phosphorus Absorption Capacity and Growth of Cucumber Seedlings.

The symbiosis between endophytic fungi and plants can promote the absorption of potassium, nitrogen, phosphorus, and other nutrients by plants. Phosphorus is one of the indispensable nutrient elements for plant growth and development. However, the content of available phosphorus in soil is very low, which limits the growth of plants. Phosphorus-soluble microorganisms can improve the utilization rate of insoluble phosphorus. In this study, Talaromyces verruculosus (T. verruculosus), a potential phosphorus-soluble fungus, was isolated from Acer truncatum, a plant with strong stress resistance, and its phosphorus-soluble ability in relation to cucumber seedlings under different treatment conditions was determined. In addition, the morphological, physiological, and biochemical indexes of the cucumber seedlings were assessed. The results show that T. verruculosus could solubilize tricalcium phosphate (TCP) and lecithin, and the solubilization effect of lecithin was higher than that of TCP. After the application of T. verruclosus, the leaf photosynthetic index increased significantly. The photosynthetic system damage caused by low phosphorus stress was alleviated, and the root morphological indexes of cucumber seedlings were increased. The plant height, stem diameter, and leaf area of cucumber seedlings treated with T. verruculosus were also significantly higher than those without treatment. Therefore, it was shown that T. verruculosus is a beneficial endophytic fungus that can promote plant growth and improve plant stress resistance. This study will provide a useful reference for further research on endophytic fungi to promote growth and improve plant stress resistance.