Number Of Hits Research Articles

Unraveling the paths of water as aquatic cultural services for the ecotourism in Brazilian Protected Areas

Protected Areas (PAs) are fundamental to preserve biodiversity and ecosystem services. Moreover, PAs also provide different cultural, economic and social services for human populations. The interaction of visitors with natural habitats of PAs through contemplation or ecotourism activities (sports, education, and other activities), provides important cultural and social services for human population, reducing the stress and increasing physical and mental health of people. Here, we tested whether the number of tourists in Brazilian Protected Areas is influenced by aquatic resources and their cultural services. Moreover, we evaluated the influence of other variables to explain the number of ecotourism in PAs: size area, age, geographic distance to urban areas, population density of cities around the PA and PA’s popularity. Brazil has a total of 334 Protected Areas administered by the Brazilian Federal Government, from which we obtained the number of tourists to a total of 125 PAs. In 2019, the total number of tourists that visited Brazilian Federal PAs was 14,475,124, moreover, the most visited PA was the National Park of Tijuca situated in the Rio de Janeiro. Our results indicated that PAs more visited presented frequently recreational activities like swimming, canoeing, fishing, boat ride. Besides, PAs more visited are closer to cities, have higher population densities, and have greater popularity (number of hits in the internet). Thus, our results reinforce the importance of aquatic ecosystems as a cultural service jointly with social and demographic factors for Brazilian Protected Areas tourism. Also, it reinforces the importance of developing good strategies with the interaction among different players in the conservation process. • The total of 125 Brazilian Federal PAs received 14,475,124 tourists in one year. • PA with the highest number of visitors was the National Park of Tijuca – Rio de Janeiro. • Recreational aquatic services were important to explain ecotourism. • Swimming, canoeing, fishing and boat ride were the most popular recreational aquatic activities in PA. • PAs more visited are closer to cities, have higher population densities, and have greater popularity.

Evropsko fudbalsko prvenstvo 2020/2021 - analiza postignutih golova i evaluacija statističkih parametara na utakmicama

The aim of the study was to analyse the characteristics of goals scored in the tournament in terms of a specific way of evaluation. Based on a sample of 51 matches and the participation of 24 national teams, this study is based on the personal observation of the researcher, that is, the analysis was based on watching the matches live via domestic cable channels, as well as on the UEFA official YouTube channel. A two-way analysis of variance between groups was used to process one part of the data. A total of 142 goals were scored. The fixed factor showed the highest prevalence of goals scored in the period of 45-60 minutes (30), while the fixed factors included the types of attacks and the number of goals scored: (80) continuous attacks (mean value = 53.7 minutes), (13) fast attacks (59.5 minutes), (14) counter-attacks (55.7 minutes) and (35) set plays or interruptions (51.8 minutes). One final touch was evaluated (80 or 65.6%), as well as two touches (17 or 13.9%). The highest number of hits (37) was achieved with the inside of the foot (mean value = 53.5 minutes) compared to (27) when hitting the ball with the header (54.4 minutes) and (21) when kicking the ball with the middle part of the foot ridge (49.5 minutes). Most goals were scored with the right foot (66 or 46.5 %), i.e. (90) goals were scored within sixteen meters (outside the box) (54.1 minutes). The first goal provided value (33 or 64.7 %) of the final victory in the match. The obtained results point out to the coaches that they should focus on quick attacks and counter-attacks that consequently lead to scoring goals. Attention must also be paid to more ball strikes with the outside of the foot and the outside part of the foot ridge.

The fight against sexually transmitted infections cannot stop in the COVID-19 era: a brazilian experience in online training for sexually transmitted infections guidelines

Introduction: The Brazilian Ministry of Health had planned face-to-face workshops for professional training about the Clinical Protocols and Therapeutic Guidelines for Comprehensive Care for People with Sexually Transmitted Infections for the year 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the workshops were cancelled, and a new strategy was adopted: virtual meetings, called Webinars — Clinical Protocols and Therapeutic Guidelines for Comprehensive Care for People with Sexually Transmitted Infections 2020. Objective: To report the experience at the Ministry of Health in online training about the clinical protocol and therapeutic guidelines for comprehensive care for people sexually transmitted infections for health professionals in 2020. Methods: The webinars were held in partnership with the Brazilian Society of Sexually Transmitted Diseases and the Pan American Health Organization. Each chapter of the Clinical Protocols and Therapeutic Guidelines for Comprehensive Care for People with Sexually Transmitted Infections — 2020 was converted into a webinar, with the participation of at least three experts, two speakers, and a moderator. Results: In total, 16 webinars were presented, covering topics such as sexually transmitted infections surveillance, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, public policies, and sexual violence. The initiative had more than 77,000 hits, with an average of 4,900 hits per webinar and the topic “syphilis” being the most accessed. The event reached all 27 federative units of Brazil, as well as 27 other countries. About 500 questions were received from the audience and answered during the sessions and/or through a document published later on by the Ministry of Health. Conclusion: Given the high number of hits and inquiries received, we can conclude that health professionals remained engaged in the topic of sexually transmitted infections during the pandemic. This experience shows the great potential of innovative methods for distance learning to promote continuing education, including a series of webinars aimed at strengthening the fight against sexually transmitted infections.Keywords: Sexually transmitted infections. Education, continuing. Professional training. Clinical protocols. Education, distance.

Biochemical Mapping of Pyrodinium bahamense Unveils Molecular Underpinnings behind Organismal Processes.

Proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates from the harmful algal bloom (HAB)-causing organism Pyrodinium bahamense were characterized to obtain insights into the biochemical processes in this environmentally relevant dinoflagellate. Shotgun proteomics using label-free quantitation followed by proteome mapping using the P. bahamense transcriptome and translated protein databases of Marinovum algicola, Alexandrium sp., Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii, and Symbiodinium kawagutii for annotation enabled the characterization of the proteins in P. bahamense. The highest number of annotated hits were obtained from M. algicola and highlighted the contribution of microorganisms associated with P. bahamense. Proteins involved in dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) degradation such as propionyl CoA synthethase and acryloyl-CoA reductase were identified, suggesting the DMSP cleavage pathway as the preferred route in this dinoflagellate. Most of the annotated proteins were involved in amino acid biosynthesis and carbohydrate degradation and metabolism, indicating the active roles of these molecules in the vegetative stage of P. bahamense. This characterization provides baseline information on the cellular machinery and the molecular basis of the ecophysiology of P. bahamense.

The Design and Implementation of an Improved Lightweight BLASTP on CUDA GPU

In the field of computational biology, sequence alignment is a very important methodology. BLAST is a very common tool for performing sequence alignment in bioinformatics provided by National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) in the USA. The BLAST server receives tens of thousands of queries every day on average. Among the procedures of BLAST, the hit detection process whose core architecture is a lookup table is the most time-consuming. In the latest work, a lightweight BLASTP on CUDA GPU with a hybrid query-index table was proposed for servicing the sequence query length shorter than 512, which effectively improved the query efficiency. According to the reported protein sequence length distribution, about 90% of sequences are equal to or smaller than 1024. In this paper, we propose an improved lightweight BLASTP to speed up the hit detection time for longer query sequences. The largest sequence is enlarged from 512 to 1024. As a result, one more bit is required to encode each sequence position. To meet the requirement, an extended hybrid query-index table (EHQIT) is proposed to accommodate three sequence positions in a four-byte table entry, making only one memory access sufficient to retrieve all the position information as long as the number of hits is equal to or smaller than three. Moreover, if there are more than three hits for a possible word, all the position information will be stored in contiguous table entries, which eliminates branch divergence and reduces memory space for pointers to overflow buffer. A square symmetric scoring matrix, Blosum62, is used to determine the relative score made by matching two characters in a sequence alignment. The experimental results show that for queries shorter than 512 our improved lightweight BLASTP outperforms the original lightweight BLASTP with speedups of 1.2 on average. When the number of hit overflows increases, the speedup can be as high as two. For queries shorter than 1024, our improved lightweight BLASTP can provide speedups ranging from 1.56 to 3.08 over the CUDA-BLAST. In short, the improved lightweight BLASTP can replace the original one because it can support a longer query sequence and provide better performance.

Protein Receptors Evolved from Homologous Cohesion Modules That Self-Associated and Are Encoded by Interactive Networked Genes.

Previously, it was proposed that protein receptors evolved from self-binding peptides that were encoded by self-interacting gene segments (inverted repeats) widely dispersed in the genome. In addition, self-association of the peptides was thought to be mediated by regions of amino acid sequence similarity. To extend these ideas, special features of receptors have been explored, such as their degree of homology to other proteins, and the arrangement of their genes for clues about their evolutionary origins and dynamics in the genome. As predicted, BLASTP searches for homologous proteins detected a greater number of unique hits for queries with receptor sequences than for sequences of randomly-selected, non-receptor proteins. This suggested that the building blocks (cohesion modules) for receptors were duplicated, dispersed, and maintained in the genome, due to structure/function relationships discussed here. Furthermore, the genes coding for a representative panel of receptors participated in a larger number of gene–gene interactions than for randomly-selected genes. This could conceivably reflect a greater evolutionary conservation of the receptor genes, with their more extensive integration into networks along with inherent properties of the genes themselves. In support of the latter possibility, some receptor genes were located in active areas of adaptive gene relocation/amalgamation to form functional blocks of related genes. It is suggested that adaptive relocation might allow for their joint regulation by common promoters and enhancers, and affect local chromatin structural domains to facilitate or repress gene expression. Speculation is included about the nature of the coordinated communication between receptors and the genes that encode them.

Health monitoring of sandwich composites with auxetic core subjected to indentation tests using acoustic emission

The quasi-static indentation behavior of an eco-sandwich composite with auxetic core consisting of polylactic acid reinforced with flax fibers will be discussed in this article. The structures involved in the test were manufactured using 3D printing technique. Four configurations with different number of cells in the core, were tested. It is found that sandwiches with high number of cells are stiffer and dissipate more energy. Experimental tests were monitored with acoustic emission technique in order to detect the appearance and the evolution of damage behavior. An unsupervised pattern recognition algorithm was used to post process the acoustic emission signals. The classification is conducted using k-means algorithm. Results show that there are three different classes of events for each configuration, which are the core cracking, the matrix cracking and the fiber/matrix debonding. The evaluation of the contribution of each damage mechanism on the total amount of failure was deduced according to the amplitude range, the cumulative number of hits and the acoustic energy activity. Furthermore, macroscopic and microscopic observations were performed in order to correlate acoustic emission classes with the damage mechanisms observed.

Quiet eye studies in sport within the motor accuracy and motor error paradigms

This paper reveals new insights that comes from comparing quiet eye (QE) studies within the motor accuracy and motor error paradigms. Motor accuracy is defined by the rules of the sport (e.g,. hits versus misses), while motor error is defined by a behavioral measure, such as how far a ball or other object lands from the target (e.g. radial error). The QE motor accuracy paradigm treats accuracy as an independent variable and determines the QE duration during an equal (or near-equal) number of hits and misses per condition per participant, while the motor error QE paradigm combines hits and misses into one data set and determines the correlation between the QE and motor error, which is used as a proxy for accuracy. QE studies within the motor accuracy paradigm consistently find a longer QE duration is a characteristic of skill, and/or interaction of skill by accuracy. In contrast, QE motor error studies do not analyze or report the relationship between the QE duration and accuracy (although often claimed), and rarely find a significant correlation between the QE duration and error. Evidence is provided showing the absence of significant results in QE motor error studies is due to the low number of accurate trials found in motor error studies due to the inherent complexity of all sport skills. Novices in targeting skills make fewer than 20% of their shots and experts less than 40% (with some exceptions) creating imbalanced data sets that make it difficult, if not impossible, to find significant QE results (or any other neural, perceptual or cognitive variable) related to motor accuracy in sport.

Adult insect personality in the wild-Calopteryx splendens as a model for field studies.

Animal personality has received increasing interest and acknowledgment within ecological research over the past two decades. However, some areas are still poorly studied and need to be developed. For instance, field studies focused on invertebrates are currently highly underrepresented in the literature. More studies including a wider variety of traits measured and species tested are needed to improve our understanding of trait‐correlation patterns and generalities. We studied nine behavioral traits, in the damselfly Calopteryx splendens, from an array of three experiments: (i) courtship, (ii) aggressiveness, and (iii) boldness, and calculated their repeatability. The behaviors were measured twice in two different contexts: (i) undisturbed territory and (ii) partially deteriorated territory. Traits related to courtship and boldness were all repeatable across the two contexts. Among aggressive behaviors, only one trait (number of hits) was repeatable. This work demonstrates, for the first time, the presence of within‐population personality differences in an adult damselfly in the wild. We further propose C. splendens as a promising model species for testing personality in the wild under highly controlled environmental conditions.

Applications of thermal imaging with infrared thermography in Orthopaedics

BackgroundPathological conditions with ongoing inflammatory processes result in specific heat signatures at the affected body parts; infrared thermography (IRT) detects these changes and can be utilied in screening such conditions. The modern devices are advanced and their non contact, convenient and precise readings can aid in multiple medical sub fields. Orthopaedics as a broad entity has witnessed utilisation of this technology for different indications and the present scoping review was done to assess these established indications and further scope of its utility. Methodology: A Medline search was done on April 26, 2021 with specific keywords for studies of any design in English language discussing the usage of thermography in Orthopaedics. Animal studies, conference abstracts, systematic reviews, e-posters, case reports, book chapters, and studies describing the use of thermography in non-Orthopaedic patients were excluded. ResultsTotal number of hits were 1380. 43 studies including case series and case control studies were included in the review. The subfields or indications described were pain/arthritis, Charcot's foot/neuropathic ulcers, infections associated with diabetic feet and arthroplasties, reflex sympathetic dystrophy, carpal tunnel syndrome, sports medicine, paediatric orthopaedics, spine, ergonomics and compartment syndrome. ConclusionIRT has been described to be effective in orthopaedic conditions with specific heat signatures and this can assess the trend of the ongoing inflammatory process as well as response to a particular treatment. Additionally, it can specifically determine the exact loci of the pathology for targeted interventions.

Expression analysis of miRNAs and their putative target genes confirm a preponderant role of transcription factors in the early response of oil palm plants to salinity stress

BackgroundSeveral mechanisms regulating gene expression contribute to restore and reestablish cellular homeostasis so that plants can adapt and survive in adverse situations. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play roles important in the transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression, emerging as a regulatory molecule key in the responses to plant stress, such as cold, heat, drought, and salt. This work is a comprehensive and large-scale miRNA analysis performed to characterize the miRNA population present in oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) exposed to a high level of salt stress, to identify miRNA-putative target genes in the oil palm genome, and to perform an in silico comparison of the expression profile of the miRNAs and their putative target genes.ResultsA group of 79 miRNAs was found in oil palm, been 52 known miRNAs and 27 new ones. The known miRNAs found belonged to 28 families. Those miRNAs led to 229 distinct miRNA-putative target genes identified in the genome of oil palm. miRNAs and putative target genes differentially expressed under salinity stress were then selected for functional annotation analysis. The regulation of transcription, DNA-templated, and the oxidation-reduction process were the biological processes with the highest number of hits to the putative target genes, while protein binding and DNA binding were the molecular functions with the highest number of hits. Finally, the nucleus was the cellular component with the highest number of hits. The functional annotation of the putative target genes differentially expressed under salinity stress showed several ones coding for transcription factors which have already proven able to result in tolerance to salinity stress by overexpression or knockout in other plant species.ConclusionsOur findings provide new insights into the early response of young oil palm plants to salinity stress and confirm an expected preponderant role of transcription factors - such as NF-YA3, HOX32, and GRF1 - in this response. Besides, it points out potential salt-responsive miRNAs and miRNA-putative target genes that one can utilize to develop oil palm plants tolerant to salinity stress.

Transcriptomic Profile Identifies Early Signatures of Immunoediting and a Potential Role for VISTA As a Molecular Target in Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Immunotherapy-based regimens are now integrated in clinical practice for a wide range of cancers. However, responses to immunotherapy are inconsistent across the neoplastic spectrum. To this end, a deep characterization of intra-tumor immune architecture is essential for identifying subsets of patients who can benefit from checkpoint inhibitors and other immunomodulatory treatments. V-domain Ig suppressor of T-cell activation (VISTA) has recently been recognized as a key negative immune regulator of anti-tumor immune response and is gaining growing interest as a potential pharmacological target. This molecule can work either as a receptor or as a ligand, is highly expressed in hematopoietic stem cells and myeloid compartment (Fig.1A) and has been found upmodulated in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). 1 However, despite those features, and its compelling role as a mediator of immune escape in cancer, VISTA-associated immune features are relatively unexplored in myeloid malignancies.Herein, we conducted a large multi-omics study, investigating the transcriptomic and genetic signatures associated with VISTA expression in a large publicly available dataset of patients with AML 2 with the purpose of potentially inspiring selective molecular targeted therapies in defined subsets of patients.VISTA was found upregulated in 285 samples from AML patients at diagnosis compared to 33 specimens from healthy controls (HC) (Fig.1B) highlighting its dysregulation at disease onset. When exploring distinct AML subtypes, we observed a pattern reflecting the expression reported in normal myelopoiesis stages, with higher expression levels in myelomonocytic and monocytic subsets and lower levels in promyelocytic leukemia (Fig.1A,B). Accordingly, genomic aberrations associated with higher VISTA expression were more commonly NPM1 mutations and MLLT3-KTM2A gene fusions both enriching M4 and M5 morphologic subgroups respectively (Fig.1C, D). This pattern was also confirmed in a panel of human leukemia cell lines (Fig.1E).Based on the 75%ile of VISTA mRNA expression in HC, we categorized patients in high (N=139) and low (N=146) expressors and performed a differential analysis between the two groups. High VISTA expressors showed a striking enrichment in genes involved in immune activation with upregulation of antigen presentation and processing pathways, cytokine and interleukine signaling, toll-like receptor cascade, NK cytotoxicity and response to interferon (Fig.1F,G). Based on these findings, we reasoned that VISTA hyperexpression could arise from two possible mechanisms: I) a paraphenomenon of the enrichment in blasts with particular morphologic features, II) a feedback response to the initial immune activation against leukemic blasts, in patients with higher immunoediting potential, representing an early marker of immune pressure, shaping leukemia ontogeny. To further test this last hypothesis, we analyzed the correlation between VISTA expression and the mutational burden present in those AML specimens and found that high VISTA expression inversely correlated with the number of somatic hits acquired at diagnosis (Fig.1H). Consistent with lessons inherited from tumor biology, this result potentially indicates that VISTA hyperexpression counteracts immunoediting mechanisms that, in an initial phase, sculpt the oncogenic potential of leukemic blasts, selecting clones with lower neoantigenic burden. This phase of immune activation and elimination, is ideally followed by an equilibrium and escape stage, in which regulatory negative mechanisms arise, ultimately facilitating leukemic progression. Of note is that unbiased differential analysis of the same AML subset compared to HC did not identify upregulation in any other antigen presenting cell-associated checkpoint negative regulators, including PDL1.Altogether those findings pinpoint the role of VISTA as early marker of immune activation and potentially a feedback mechanism that ultimately may promote immune escape in AML. Targeting VISTA may be an effective approach for controlling disease recurrence and treatment resistance in molecularly defined subgroups of AML. Ongoing experiments and analysis of immunogenomic players of immune escape in the setting of allogenic stem cell transplantation will clarify the role of VISTA in mediating AML relapse and evasion from graft versus leukemia effect. [Display omitted] DisclosuresMaciejewski: Regeneron: Consultancy; Novartis: Consultancy; Bristol Myers Squibb/Celgene: Consultancy; Alexion: Consultancy.

A 2-D Clustering Algorithm for Data Reconstruction in Vertex Detector of ILC

On the vertex detector of the International Linear Collider, a large number of hits are generated by the charged particles coming from the beam background. These charged particles produce large angles of incidence and generate elongated clusters. The CMOS pixel sensor (CPS) which would contain on-chip artificial neural networks could tag and remove these clusters to reduce the data flow of the detector system. The clustering procedure is the first step of data preprocessing. The conventional clustering algorithm is not suitable for on-chip integration since it requires sequential and iterative processing. In this article, a 2-D real-time clustering algorithm is proposed. The clustering algorithm is tested by 4500 frames of pixel values (12 bit/pixel) from MIMOSA-18. The clustering algorithm is implemented using Very High-Speed Integrated Circuit Hardware Description Language (VHDL), synthesized for different windows, multiplexers, and analog-to-digital converter (ADC) resolution. Power consumption and the occupied surface of the clustering implementation are presented. This implementation provides a possibility to integrate the clustering procedure into a CPS.

American Football: Watch Your Head!

Head impacts in American football may lead to brain injuries called concussions. To study head impacts in young people who play American football, we collected data using sensors in mouthguards worn by young American football players. The sensors counted the number of hits and bumps to the head (head impacts) that players of American tackle and flag football got during the football season. We found that tackle football players had about 15 times more head impacts during a game or practice than flag football players had, and 23 times more hard head impacts. Learning more about head impacts in young American football players can help scientists find ways to lower the chances of concussions and other injuries. That way, kids can enjoy the benefits of sports while keeping their brains safe.

Wheelchair Control With Inductive Intra-Oral Tongue Interface for Individuals With Tetraplegia

High level spinal cord injury drastically reduces the quality of life of the injured person. Various systems attempted to interface the still intact or residual abilities following injury in various monomodal or multimodal designs to compensate for the highly affected mobility. An intra-oral inductive tongue computer interface (ITCI) has been designed to provide real-time discrete and proportional control for computers and assistive devices and to meet specific requirements for individuals with tetraplegia. Operation of the ITCI for wheelchair control was demonstrated with two participants with tetraplegia in a short-term training study. Additionally, two non-disabled individuals participated in the study. For each participant, the ability to drive a Permobil C500 with the ITCI was compared to that when driving the wheelchair with joystick (mouth-stick in one case) along two different lanes of 39 m, by reporting the speed along the lanes and the number of obstacles hit. The lanes consisted of 90°, 360°, and complex maneuver segments linked by linear segments. The ITCI featured a mouthpiece encapsulating two pads of inductive sensors, driving electronics, and battery. The mouthpiece was attached to the palate of the participant’s oral cavity with dental retainers. A piercing-like activation unit was attached to the tongue. Data were transmitted wirelessly to a central unit that controlled the wheelchair through wired interface. Among all participants, mean speeds along lane A or B reached maximal values between 0.42 and 0.74 m/s when driving with the ITCI, representing 41 to 71% of that obtained when driving with the joystick.

High-confidence structural annotation of metabolites absent from spectral libraries

Untargeted metabolomics experiments rely on spectral libraries for structure annotation, but, typically, only a small fraction of spectra can be matched. Previous in silico methods search in structure databases but cannot distinguish between correct and incorrect annotations. Here we introduce the COSMIC workflow that combines in silico structure database generation and annotation with a confidence score consisting of kernel density P value estimation and a support vector machine with enforced directionality of features. On diverse datasets, COSMIC annotates a substantial number of hits at low false discovery rates and outperforms spectral library search. To demonstrate that COSMIC can annotate structures never reported before, we annotated 12 natural bile acids. The annotation of nine structures was confirmed by manual evaluation and two structures using synthetic standards. In human samples, we annotated and manually validated 315 molecular structures currently absent from the Human Metabolome Database. Application of COSMIC to data from 17,400 metabolomics experiments led to 1,715 high-confidence structural annotations that were absent from spectral libraries.

Mechanical properties and damage analysis of rubber cement mortar mixed with ceramic waste aggregate based on acoustic emission monitoring technology

Adding rubber particles into mortar or concrete has become one of the green ways to deal with waste rubber from the transportation industry. On this basis, this study proposes the addition of ceramic waste aggregate (CWA) to solve the issue of mortar strength reduction after the addition of rubber. This paper mainly analyses the mechanical properties of rubber cement mortar (RCM) mixed with different contents of CWA and the damage analysis of composite mortar in the three-point bending test by using acoustic emission (AE) monitoring technology. The flexural test and compressive test show that the mechanical properties of composite mortar can be greatly improved by adding CWA into the mortar. With increasing CWA content, the strength first increases at low content and then decreases at high content due to the high water absorption of the aggregate. At the same time, combined with AE technology, the cumulative energy, cumulative number of hits, Ib-value analysis, intensity analysis and RA-AF value analysis of different kinds of composite mortar are analysed and compared. Based on the AE source location and damage index, the fracture damage characteristics of three kinds of mortar in the three-point bending test are described. The frequency analysis of the AE signal is carried out by the wavelet packet transform (WPT), and the energy percentage change of the AE signal within a specific frequency interval is analysed. Based on the above AE analysis method, the three kinds of mortar have different AE signals, corresponding to different fracture characteristics. This paper provides the basis of mechanical and AE tests for a new type of green composite mortar.

Bio-O1-08 - PLCγ1/PKCθ and its downstream effectors in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma development and progression

Developing mechanistic rationales can improve the clinical management of cutaneous T-cell lymphomas (CTCL). In the last few years, the use of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) approaches has revealed a rich landscape of genomic alterations potentially influencing the biology of these entities. In this regard, multiple genetic and biological evidences point at a malignant network of signaling mechanisms, highly influenced by deregulated TCR/PLCγ1 activity, to control the biology of CTCLs. In addition, activated STAT3 is associated with clinical progression, although the specific mechanisms responsible for this have not been fully elucidated. Here we studied PLCγ1-dependent mechanisms that can activate JAK/STAT and control tumor growth and progression. Downstream of PLCγ1, we identified PKCθ (a specific T cell PKC isoform) to mediate JAK/STAT3 activation and control CTCL cell proliferation and viability. In vivo, PKCθ blockage in CTCL cells, impaired tumor development and cells spreading to the liver and the lungs. In light of these results, we sought to identify specific PKCθ downstream effectors, that in addition to JAK/STATs, could help understanding its biological role in CTCL. To this end, we studied PKCθ-dependent transcriptome as well as its protein interactome in CTCL cells. This approach helped detecting a number of hits that can potentially explain STAT3 phosphorylation in CTCL cells (i.e. RACK1), and highlight a number of oncogenic activities controlled by PKCq, like mitochondrial activity (i.e. ASK1, HSPA9) and cytoskeletal regulation (i.e. ARHGAP-19 or CCT4, 5). As a result, this dual approach helped identifying a number of protein effectors and target genes that can participate in important CTCL activities like for example cytokine signaling, mitochondrial activity, TP53, and actin cytoskeleton dynamics. Finally, we took advantage of Nanostring to study the expression of a selection of PKCθ target genes, in a cohort of 81 human MF samples and control inflammatory dermatoses. In this context, PRKCQ (PKCθ) gene expression was significantly upregulated in MF cases vs. controls. Moreover, the expression of target genes like PRKACB (encoding for PKA isoform B) or the lymphocyte specific actin binding LCP1 and LCP1, positively correlated with that of PRKCQ expression in MF cases. On the other hand, genes like FGFR3 and RHOB showed a significant yet inverse correlation with PRKCQ in robust agreement with the data generated in CTCL cells. Overall, the results show a PKCθ gene signature that is significant and differentially expressed amongst different MF cases, at different stages of the disease. Moreover, this signature highlights novel CTCL disease mechanisms with translational potential in diagnosis and targeted therapy. In summary, we have uncover a series of PKCθ-dependent effectors/routes that can play a central role in the biology of CTCLs and help to develop novel approaches to diagnose and treat these malignancies.

Probing GFP Chromophore Analogs as Anti-HIV Agents Targeting LTR-III G-Quadruplex.

Green fluorescent protein (GFP) chromophore and its congeners draw significant attention mostly for bioimaging purposes. In this work we probed these compounds as antiviral agents. We have chosen LTR-III DNA G4, the major G-quadruplex (G4) present in the long terminal repeat (LTR) promoter region of the human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1), as the target for primary screening and designing antiviral drug candidates. The stabilization of this G4 was previously shown to suppress viral gene expression and replication. FRET-based high-throughput screening (HTS) of 449 GFP chromophore-like compounds revealed a number of hits, sharing some general structural features. Structure-activity relationships (SAR) for the most effective stabilizers allowed us to establish structural fragments, important for G4 binding. Synthetic compounds, developed on the basis of SAR analysis, exhibited high LTR-III G4 stabilization level. NMR spectroscopy and molecular modeling revealed the possible formation of LTR-III G4-ligand complex with one of the lead selective derivative ZS260.1 positioned within the cavity, thus supporting the LTR-III G4 attractiveness for drug targeting. Selected compounds showed moderate activity against HIV-I (EC50 1.78–7.7 μM) in vitro, but the activity was accompanied by pronounced cytotoxicity.

Attitudes and beliefs about recreational cannabis legalization among cannabis-using young adults in Los Angeles: Impact on concurrent cannabis practices and problematic cannabis use

BackgroundThis study investigated differences in attitudes and beliefs about recreational cannabis legalization (RCL) among cannabis-using young adults comprised of medical cannabis patients (MCP) and non-patient users (NPU). We further investigated whether these variations are associated with concurrent cannabis practices and problematic use. MethodCannabis-using young adults (N = 301) were interviewed between 2017 and 2018 – after RCL and through the early months after storefront sales began. Latent class analysis empirically derived groups based on participants’ attitudes/beliefs about the impact of RCL. Socio-demographic factors, patient status, medicinal and/or recreational use, and social norms differentiated latent class memberships, while concurrent cannabis practices and problematic use served as distal outcomes. The manual Bolck, Croon, and Hagenaars (BCH) three-step process modeled all covariates and distal outcomes simultaneously in the final LCA solution. ResultsThree patterns emerged: Impacted (RCL had broad impact on attitudes/beliefs) (n = 113), Partially-Impacted (RCL had some impact on attitudes/beliefs) (n = 131) and Neutral (RCL had no/limited impact) (n = 57). MCP were more likely to be Neutral than Partially-Impacted users while those who reported recreational cannabis use were more likely to be Impacted than Neutral users. Class membership predicted cannabis practices and problematic use with Impacted individuals reporting the greatest recent days of use, number of hits per day, and highest scores in problematic cannabis use compared to Partially-Impacted and Neutral users. ConclusionVariability in attitudes/beliefs about RCL served as strong drivers of concurrent cannabis practices and problematic use. Findings provide an important baseline for tracking attitudes/beliefs’ long-term health and substance use impact as retail cannabis sales evolve.