SAi: an experimental incubator for informal science learning initiatives.

Informal STEM learning (ISL) programs propel the connections between science and society. The STEM Advocacy Institute (SAi) is an experimental incubator that is addressing the ongoing challenges faced by founders of such initiatives. The holistic model used by the institute can be both scaled and replicated in other contexts to nurture novel ideas and projects in ISL.

Human Narratives in Science: The Power of Storytelling.

Science is fundamentally about people - the people who do science and the people who are affected by science. However, access to these human stories is limited. We argue that these narratives must be captured and shared publicly as an integral part of the scientific process.

Electrical stimulation of the parabrachial nucleus induces reanimation from isoflurane general anesthesia.

Clinically, emergence from general anesthesia is viewed as a passive process where anesthetics are discontinued at the end of surgery and anesthesiologists wait for the drugs to wear off. The mechanisms involved in emergence are not well understood and there are currently no drugs that can actively reverse the state of general anesthesia. An emerging hypothesis states that brain regions that control arousal become active during emergence and are a key part of the return to wakefulness.

Loss of Melanopsin Photoreception and Antagonism of the Histamine H3 Receptor by Ciproxifan Inhibit Light-Induced Sleep in Mice.

Light has direct effects on sleep and wakefulness causing arousal in diurnal animals and sleep in nocturnal animals. In the present study, we assessed the modulation of light-induced sleep by melanopsin and the histaminergic system by exposing mice to millisecond light flashes and continuous light respectively. First, we show that the induction of sleep by millisecond light flashes is dose dependent as a function of light flash number.

Retino-hypothalamic regulation of light-induced murine sleep.

The temporal organization of sleep is regulated by an interaction between the circadian clock and homeostatic processes. Light indirectly modulates sleep through its ability to phase shift and entrain the circadian clock. Light can also exert a direct, circadian-independent effect on sleep.

The acute effects of light on murine sleep during the dark phase: importance of melanopsin for maintenance of light-induced sleep.

Light exerts a direct effect on sleep and wakefulness in nocturnal and diurnal animals, with a light pulse during the dark phase suppressing locomotor activity and promoting sleep in the former. In the present study, we investigated this direct effect of light on various sleep parameters by exposing mice to a broad range of illuminances (0.2-200 μW/cm(2) ; equivalent to 1-1000 lux) for 1 h during the dark phase (zeitgeber time 13-14).

Aza-peptidyl Michael acceptor and epoxide inhibitors--potent and selective inhibitors of Schistosoma mansoni and Ixodes ricinus legumains (asparaginyl endopeptidases).

Aza-peptide Michael acceptors and epoxides with the general structure of YCO-Ala-Ala-AAsn-trans-CH horizontal lineCHCOR and YCO-Ala-Ala-AAsn-EP-COR, respectively, are shown to be potent inhibitors of asparaginyl endopeptidases (legumains) from the bloodfluke, Schistosoma mansoni (SmAE), and the hard tick, Ixodes ricinus (IrAE). Structure-activity relationships (SARs) were determined for a set of 41 aza-peptide Michael acceptors and eight aza-peptide epoxides. Both enzymes prefer disubstituted amides to monosubstituted amides in the P1' position, and potency increased as we increased the hydrophobicity of the inhibitor in this position.