Functional resilience of C57BL/6J mouse heart to dietary fat overload.

Molecular mechanisms underlying cardiac dysfunction and subsequent heart failure in diabetic cardiomyopathy are incompletely understood. Initially we intended to test the role of G protein-coupled receptor kinase 2 (GRK2), a potential mediator of cardiac dysfunction in diabetic cardiomyopathy, but found that control animals on HFD did not develop cardiomyopathy. Cardiac function was preserved in both wild-type and knockout animals fed high-fat diet as indicated by preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) although heart mass was increased.

TMEM135 is a Novel Regulator of Mitochondrial Dynamics and Physiology with Implications for Human Health Conditions.

Transmembrane proteins (TMEMs) are integral proteins that span biological membranes. TMEMs function as cellular membrane gates by modifying their conformation to control the influx and efflux of signals and molecules. TMEMs also reside in and interact with the membranes of various intracellular organelles.

Empirical determination of explosive vapor transport efficiencies.

The transport efficiency of 2,4-dinitrotoluene (2,4-DNT), 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) and 1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazinane (RDX) trace vapors through tubing materials that commonly constitute vapor handling infrastructures have been determined for a variety of tubing dimensions and sampling conditions. Using a programmable temperature vaporization inlet coupled with a gas chromatography mass spectrometer (PTV-GC-MS), the explosive vapors were quantified both with and without a length of tubing of a specific material in the sampling flow path. At vapor temperatures of 30 °C and 66 °C, minimal attenuations were observed for 2,4-DNT and TNT vapor concentrations when the tubing material was in-line with the sampling flow path, indicating that the transport is largely unaffected by interactions with the surface of the tubing materials.

Trace vapor generator for Explosives and Narcotics (TV-Gen).

The Trace Vapor Generator for Explosives and Narcotics (TV-Gen) is a portable and compact instrument designed to deliver a continuous source of trace-level vapors and vapor mixtures. It provides a tool to assist in the independent validation and verification of new materials and sensors under development for the vapor detection of explosives and narcotics. The design was conceived for use with a broad range of analytes, detection systems, materials, and sensors and to switch easily between the clean and analyte vapor streams.

Reducing drought emergencies in the Horn of Africa.

Drought-driven humanitarian emergencies are becoming more frequent in the Horn of Africa where millions of people in this arid region face chronic water and food insecurity. Evidence from the region shows increasing reliance on groundwater supplies, infrastructure and institutional systems in response to decreasing rainfall. Drought emergencies can be mitigated by investing in resilience efforts that make safe water reliably available at strategic groundwater abstraction locations during cycles of water stress.

Flow-Through Optical Chromatography in Combination with Confocal Raman Microspectroscopy: A Novel Label-Free Approach To Detect Responses of Live Macrophages to Environmental Stimuli.

Flow-through optical chromatography (FT-OC), an advanced mode of optical chromatography, achieved baseline separation of a mixture of silica microparticles (SiO, 1.00 and 2.50 μm) and a mixture of polystyrene microparticles (PS, 1.

Micellar Electrokinetic Chromatography.

Micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) is a mode of capillary electrophoresis that allows for the separation of neutral molecules in an electric field. Typically, neutral molecules move with electroosmotic flow (EOF) or bulk flow during electrophoretic separations resulting in no temporal resolution between mixtures of neutral analytes. Inclusion of surfactant micelles in the separation buffer allows for the separation of neutral analytes from one another through association with the micelle.

Trace explosives sensor testbed (TESTbed).

A novel vapor delivery testbed, referred to as the Trace Explosives Sensor Testbed, or TESTbed, is demonstrated that is amenable to both high- and low-volatility explosives vapors including nitromethane, nitroglycerine, ethylene glycol dinitrate, triacetone triperoxide, 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, pentaerythritol tetranitrate, and hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine. The TESTbed incorporates a six-port dual-line manifold system allowing for rapid actuation between a dedicated clean air source and a trace explosives vapor source. Explosives and explosives-related vapors can be sourced through a number of means including gas cylinders, permeation tube ovens, dynamic headspace chambers, and a Pneumatically Modulated Liquid Delivery System coupled to a perfluoroalkoxy total-consumption microflow nebulizer.

Reducing barriers to mental health care for student-athletes: An integrated care model.

Research suggests that National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I student-athletes have higher levels of stress and other behavioral health issues, including substance use, than nonathletes. For several reasons, student-athletes may be less likely to admit to behavioral health issues and seek mental health care. Integrated care is a model of care that integrates behavioral health into a medical practice.

Factors affecting the intramolecular decomposition of hexamethylene triperoxide diamine and implications for detection.

Hexamethylene triperoxide diamine (HMTD) is an easily synthesized and highly sensitive organic peroxide frequently used as a primary explosive. The vapor pressure of HMTD is very low, impeding vapor detection, especially when compared to other peroxide explosives, such as triacetone triperoxide (TATP) or diacetone diperoxide (DADP). Despite this fact, HMTD has a perceptible odor that could be utilized in the indirect detection of HMTD vapor.

Trace Explosives Vapor Generation and Quantitation at Parts per Quadrillion Concentrations.

The generation of trace 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine (RDX), and pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) vapors using a pneumatically modulated liquid delivery system (PMLDS) coupled to a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) total-consumption micronebulizer is presented. The vapor generator operates in a continuous manner with final vapor concentrations proportional to the explosive concentration in aqueous solution delivered through the nebulizer and the diluent air flow rate. For quantitation of concentrations in the parts per billionvolume (ppbv) to parts per trillionvolume (pptrv) range, Tenax-TA thermal desorption tubes were used for vapor collection with subsequent analysis on a thermal-desorption system programmable-temperature vaporization gas chromatograph (TDS-PTV-GC) with a μ-ECD detector.

Catalytic activity and thermal stability of horseradish peroxidase encapsulated in self-assembled organic nanotubes.

Horseradish peroxidase (HRP) was encapsulated in self-assembled lithocholic acid (LCA) based organic nanotubes and its catalytic activity before and after thermal treatment was measured for comparison with free HRP. The apparent kcat (kcat/Km) for nanotube encapsulated HRP remained almost the same before and after thermal treatment, reporting an average value of 3.7 ± 0.

Analysis of ammonium nitrate headspace by on-fiber solid phase microextraction derivatization with gas chromatography mass spectrometry.

A novel analytical method has been developed for the quantitation of trace levels of ammonia in the headspace of ammonium nitrate (AN) using derivatized solid phase microextraction (SPME) fibers with gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Ammonia is difficult to detect via direct injection into a GC-MS because of its low molecular weight and extreme polarity. To circumvent this issue, ammonia was derivatized directly onto a SPME fiber by the reaction of butyl chloroformate coated fibers with the ammonia to form butyl carbamate.

Impact of confinement on proteins concentrated in lithocholic acid based organic nanotubes.

Organic nanotubes form in aqueous solution near physiological pH by self-assembly of lithocholic acid (LCA) with inner diameters of 20-40nm. The encapsulation of enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) and resultant confinement effect for eGFP within these nanotubes is studied via confocal microscopy. Timed release rate studies of eGFP encapsulated in LCA nanotubes and fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) indicate that the diffusive transport of eGFP out of and/or within the nanotubes is very slow, in contrast to the rapid introduction of eGFP into the nanotubes.

Mobile Versus Fixed Deployment of Automated External Defibrillators in Rural EMS.

Introduction: There is no consensus on where automated external defibrillators (AEDs) should be placed in rural communities to maximize impact on survival from cardiac arrest. In the community of Stokes County, North Carolina (USA) the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) system promotes cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) public education and AED use with public access defibrillators (PADs) placed mainly in public schools, churches, and government buildings.

Hypothesis/problem: This study tested the utilization of AEDs assigned to first responders (FRs) in their private-owned-vehicle (POV) compared to AEDs in fixed locations.

Continuous flow, explosives vapor generator and sensor chamber.

A novel liquid injection vapor generator (LIVG) is demonstrated that is amenable to low vapor pressure explosives, 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene and hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine. The LIVG operates in a continuous manner, providing a constant and stable vapor output over a period of days and whose concentration can be extended over as much as three orders of magnitude. In addition, a large test atmosphere chamber attached to the LIVG is described, which enables the generation of a stable test atmosphere with controllable humidity and temperature.

Strain-induced anisotropic transport properties of LaBaCo₂O₅.₅+δ thin films on NdGaO₃ substrates.

Thin films of double-perovskite structural LaBaCo2O5.5+δ were epitaxially grown on (110) NdGaO3 substrates by pulsed laser deposition. Microstructural studies by high-resolution X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy revealed that the films have an excellent quality epitaxial structure.

Dynamic headspace generation and quantitation of triacetone triperoxide vapor.

Two methods for quantitation of triacetone triperoxide (TATP) vapor using a programmable temperature vaporization (PTV) inlet coupled to a gas chromatography/mass spectrometer (GC/MS) have been demonstrated. The dynamic headspace of bulk TATP was mixed with clean humid air to produce a TATP vapor stream. Sampling via a heated transfer line to a PTV inlet with a Tenax-TA™ filled liner allowed for direct injection of the vapor stream to a GC/MS for vapor quantitation.

Pico-force optical exchange (pico-FOX): utilizing optical forces applied to an orthogonal electroosmotic flow for particulate enrichment from mixed sample streams.

Results are reported from a combined optical force and electrokinetic microfluidic device that separates individual particulates from molecular components in a mixed sample stream. A pico-Newton optical force was applied to an orthogonal electroosmotic flow carrying a hydrodynamically pinched, mixed sample, resulting in the separation of the various particles from the sample stream. Different combinations of polystyrene, PMMA, and silica particles with a commercially available dye were utilized to test the different separation modes available, from purely optical force to combined optical and electrophoretic forces.

Direct liquid deposition calibration method for trace cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine using thermal desorption instrumentation.

A simple method for establishing calibration curves with sorbent-filled thermal desorption tubes has been demonstrated for nitroaromatic and nitramine vapor samples using a thermal desorption system with a cooled inlet system (TDS-CIS), which was coupled to a gas chromatograph (GC) with an electron capture detector (ECD). The method relies upon the direct liquid deposition of standard solutions onto the glass frit at the head of sorbent-filled thermal desorption tubes. Linear calibration results and ideal system conditions for the TDS-CIS-GC-ECD were established for mixtures containing both cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine, a.

Orthogonal optical force separation simulation of particle and molecular species mixtures under direct current electroosmotic driven flow for applications in biological sample preparation.

Presented here are the results from numerical simulations applying optical forces orthogonally to electroosmotically induced flow containing both molecular species and particles. Simulations were conducted using COMSOL v4.2a Multiphysics® software including the particle tracking module.

Single particle analysis using fluidic, optical and electrophoretic force balance in a microfluidic system.

A unique microfluidic system is developed which enables the interrogation of a single particle by using multiple force balances from a combination of optical force, hydrodynamic drag force, and electrophoretic force. Two types of polystyrene (PS) particles with almost identical size and refractive index (plain polystyrene (PS) particle - mean diameter: 2.06 μm, refractive index: 1.

Lab on a chip packing of submicron particles for high performance EOF pumping.

The packing of submicrometer sized silica beads inside a microchannel was enabled by a novel method which avoids the complication and limitations of generating a frit using conventional approaches and the restriction of flow using a submicrometer sized weir. A micrometer sized weir and two short columns of 5 μm and 800 nm silica beads packed in succession behind the weir together functioned as a high pressure frit to allow the construction of a primary packed bed of 390 nm silica beads. This packed bed microchannel was tested as an EOF pump, wherein it exhibited superior performance with regards to pressure tolerance, i.

Direct injection of seawater for the analysis of nitroaromatic explosives and their degradation products by micellar electrokinetic chromatography.

Practical considerations for the injection and separation of nitroaromatic explosives in seawater sample matrices are discussed. The use of high surfactant concentrations and long electrokinetic injections allows for improved detection limits. Sensitivity was enhanced by two mechanisms, improved stacking at the detector-side of the sample plug and desorption of analyte from the capillary wall by surfactant-containing BGE from the inlet side of the sample plug.

A fritless, EOF microchip pump for high pressure pumping of aqueous and organic solvents.

A fritless, microchip electroosmotic flow (EOF) pump is microfabricated and demonstrated on a planar soda lime glass substrate to be capable of supplying reasonable flow rates under high back pressures, such as that required for micro-high pressure liquid chromatography (micro-HPLC). The microchip EOF pump is composed of a densely packed microchannel containing 800 nm silica particles and was capable of generating a maximum pressure > 1000 psi ( approximately 7 MPa) and a maximum flow rate of 282 nL/min (aqueous cyclohexylamino alkyl sulfonate (CHES) buffer, 10 mM, pH 9.0, 200 V/cm).