Introduction: Platelet activation by mechanical means such as shear stress exposure, is a vital driver of thrombotic risk in implantable blood-contacting devices used in the treatment of heart failure. Lipids are essential in platelets activation and have been studied following biochemical activation. However, little is known regarding lipid alterations occurring with mechanical shear-mediated platelet activation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHuman cytomegalovirus (HCMV) replication depends on the activities of several host regulators of metabolism. Hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF1α) was previously proposed to support virus replication through its metabolic regulatory function. HIF1α protein levels rise in response to HCMV infection in nonhypoxic conditions, but its effect on HCMV replication was not investigated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnnu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc
July 2020
Vibro-tactile feedback offers a complementary augmentation cue for motor guidance and training. Motivated by the needs of prosthetic vision rehabilitation, we explore the use of the cylindrical forearm surface to deliver arm guidance cues via vibro-tactile stimulation. We present 'VibroSleeve', a novel wearable arm motion guidance aid made up of 4x4 arrangement of vibration coin motors embedded within an elastic sleeve for delivering vibro-tactile patterns to the forearm.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHuman cytomegalovirus (HCMV) replication requires host metabolism. Infection alters the activity in multiple metabolic pathways, including increasing fatty acid elongation and lipid synthesis. The virus-host interactions regulating the metabolic changes associated with replication are essential for infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe purpose of this study was to determine the situational and individual factors that influence vulnerability to public stranger violence (PSV) from the perspective of young adults and industry professionals. In total, 25 young adults aged between 18 and 29 years formed one sample and participated in one of four focus groups. The second sample consisted of 10 industry professionals with backgrounds in policing, corrections, and forensic psychology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe activity of a self-sufficient cytochrome P450 enzyme, CYP505D6, from the lignin-degrading basidiomycete was characterized. Recombinant CYP505D6 was produced in and purified. In the presence of NADPH, CYP505D6 used a series of saturated fatty alcohols with C carbon chain lengths as the substrates.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStud Health Technol Inform
January 2018
The current study investigated how adolescents behave on Social Networking Sites (SNSs) and how they interpret the feedback they receive online from others. Thirty-four Australian adolescents (26 girls, 8 boys) aged 13 to 17 years participated in the study. Five semi-structured focus groups (3 mixed groups, 2 all-girl groups) were conducted to explore how adolescents perceive their own and others' SNS behaviours, the motivation underlying these behaviours, and the expected outcomes related to particular behaviours.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo date, there has been a lack of consensus among researchers, practitioners, and laypersons about the definition of cyberbullying. Researchers have typically applied the key characteristics of intent to harm, power imbalance, and repetition from the definition of traditional bullying to cyberbullying, but how these characteristics transfer from the real world to a technology-mediated environment remains ambiguous. Moreover, very few studies have specifically investigated how cyberbullying is defined from the perspective of bullies, victims and bystanders.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFN Engl J Med
January 2016
Background: Papillary renal-cell carcinoma, which accounts for 15 to 20% of renal-cell carcinomas, is a heterogeneous disease that consists of various types of renal cancer, including tumors with indolent, multifocal presentation and solitary tumors with an aggressive, highly lethal phenotype. Little is known about the genetic basis of sporadic papillary renal-cell carcinoma, and no effective forms of therapy for advanced disease exist.
Methods: We performed comprehensive molecular characterization of 161 primary papillary renal-cell carcinomas, using whole-exome sequencing, copy-number analysis, messenger RNA and microRNA sequencing, DNA-methylation analysis, and proteomic analysis.
Background: Diffuse low-grade and intermediate-grade gliomas (which together make up the lower-grade gliomas, World Health Organization grades II and III) have highly variable clinical behavior that is not adequately predicted on the basis of histologic class. Some are indolent; others quickly progress to glioblastoma. The uncertainty is compounded by interobserver variability in histologic diagnosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe purpose of this study was to explore people's conceptual understanding of Social Networking Sites (SNSs) through exploring the combined use of a range of popular SNSs, including Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Instagram, Tumblr, LinkedIn and Google Plus. Seventy-three adults, aged 18 to 63, participated in an online survey that used open-ended questions to ask how participants define and use different SNSs. Four themes were identified, including the explicit presentation and interpretation of different selves, the love-hate relationship with SNSs, privacy and danger concerns, and limited SNS knowledge.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Many mutations that contribute to the pathogenesis of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are undefined. The relationships between patterns of mutations and epigenetic phenotypes are not yet clear.
Methods: We analyzed the genomes of 200 clinically annotated adult cases of de novo AML, using either whole-genome sequencing (50 cases) or whole-exome sequencing (150 cases), along with RNA and microRNA sequencing and DNA-methylation analysis.
The study of expertise in surgery aims to facilitate the development of improved training methods by understanding the characteristics of expert practitioners. In this article and its companion, we present our study of the characteristics of competence and expertise in the field of oral surgery. We observed participants of different skill levels as they performed an ex vivo drilling task designed to test the psychomotor skill of distinguishing the material boundaries between tooth and bone.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTechnical skills are critical for dentists. Computer-based simulation offers a range of potential benefits for surgical training, but to date the development of simulators has not been characterized by a structured investigation of specific mechanisms by which trainees attain competence. This two-part study contributes to the understanding of the manner in which surgical psychomotor skills are acquired so that this knowledge can be incorporated into the design of training simulations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Skeletons are formed in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and compositions of organic and mineral components. Many invertebrate skeletons are constructed from carbonate or silicate minerals, whereas vertebrate skeletons are instead composed of a calcium phosphate mineral known as apatite. No one yet knows why the dynamic vertebrate skeleton, which is continually rebuilt, repaired, and resorbed during growth and normal remodeling, is composed of apatite.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEthical and regulatory guidelines recommend disclosure of medical errors to patients and families. Yet few studies examine how to effectively train healthcare professionals to deliver communications about adverse events to family members of affected pediatric patients. This pilot study uses a preintervention-postintervention study design to investigate the effects of medical error disclosure training in a simulated setting for pediatric oncology nurses (N=16).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe menopausal transition in human females, which is driven by a loss of cyclic ovarian function, occurs around age 50 and is thought to underlie the emergence of an array of health problems in aging women. Although mice do not undergo a true menopause, female mice exhibit ovarian failure long before death because of chronological age and subsequently develop many of the same age-associated health complications observed in postmenopausal women. Here we show in mice that inactivation of the proapoptotic Bax gene, which sustains ovarian lifespan into advanced age, extends fertile potential and minimizes many age-related health problems, including bone and muscle loss, excess fat deposition, alopecia, cataracts, deafness, increased anxiety, and selective attention deficit.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAust Fam Physician
December 2005
Introduction: This paper evaluates usage of discussion forums forming part of an integrated online learning environment that supplements a face to face general practice registrar training program.
Method: Basic general practice registrars were given training in the use of the online learning environment, which was explicitly linked to their other educational activities. A group of advanced registrars was given access to the online environment without any formal training or support and without specific curriculum linkage.