Self-stigma among Criminal Offenders: Risk and Protective Factors.

Those involved in the criminal justice system are swiftly identified as "criminals." Receipt of this label may promote self-stigma, a process wherein criminal stereotypes are internalized and produce negative psychological and behavioral consequences. Research has yet to identify which types of offenders are at risk for, or in contrast, protected from, experiencing self-stigma.

Body Fluid Processing Workspace Quality Improvement Initiative in a High-Volume Reference Laboratory.

Objectives: In a clinical laboratory, the design of the workspace directs the workflow and significantly affects the productivity of clinical laboratory scientists (CLS). With the chronic shortage of CLS, a well-designed workspace is essential to take full advantage of available staff, especially in high-volume laboratories.

Methods: Through the use of quality improvement tools, a manual body fluid testing workspace was redesigned to address weaknesses in the layout that led to excessive physical steps taken by staff.

Methamphetamine, smoking, and gestational hypertension affect norepinephrine levels in umbilical cord tissues.

Background: These studies were undertaken to determine methamphetamine (METH) and smoking effects on umbilical vascular dynamics and pregnancy outcomes.

Materials And Methods: Umbilical cords (54) were collected prospectively at birth, washed of blood, and stored at -80°C. Cords were thawed and lysates prepared, then catecholamine levels quantified with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

Drug Repurposing Screen Identifies Foxo1-Dependent Angiopoietin-2 Regulation in Sepsis.

Objective: The recent withdrawal of a targeted sepsis therapy has diminished pharmaceutical enthusiasm for developing novel drugs for the treatment of sepsis. Angiopoietin-2 is an endothelial-derived protein that potentiates vascular inflammation and leakage and may be involved in sepsis pathogenesis. We screened approved compounds for putative inhibitors of angiopoietin-2 production and investigated underlying molecular mechanisms.

The angiopoietin-Tie2 signaling axis in the vascular leakage of systemic inflammation.

The ability of small blood vessels to undergo rapid, reversible morphological changes is essential for the adaptive response to tissue injury or local infection. A canonical feature of this response is transient hyperpermeability. However, when leakiness is profound or persistent, adverse consequences accrue to the host, including organ dysfunction and shock.

Angiopoietin-1 requires oxidant signaling through p47phox to promote endothelial barrier defense.

Background: Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are largely considered to be pathogenic to normal endothelial function in disease states such as sepsis. We hypothesized that Angiopoietin-1 (Angpt-1), an endogenous agonist of the endothelial-specific receptor, Tie-2, promotes barrier defense by activating NADPH oxidase (NOX) signaling.

Methods And Findings: Using primary human microvascular endothelial cells (HMVECs), we found that Angpt-1 stimulation induces phosphorylation of p47phox and a brief oxidative burst that is lost when chemical inhibitors of NOX activity or siRNA against the NOX component p47phox were applied.

Upregulation of Ugt1a genes in placentas and fetal livers in a murine model of assisted reproduction.

Genes from Ugt1a family in placenta and fetal liver are responsible for hormone, nutrient and chemical balance during pregnancy. Assisted reproduction technologies (ART) i.e.

Agreement of umbilical cord drug and cotinine levels with maternal self-report of drug use and smoking during pregnancy.

Objective: We undertook this study to assess the agreement between fetal umbilical cord drug levels and maternal self-report.

Study Design: Cord samples were collected from 103 placentas after delivery as a subproject of the larger Pacific Research Center for Early Human Development (PRCEHD) study. These cord samples were then processed to obtain cord lysates and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) performed for cotinine and illicit drugs.

Swimming photochromic azobenzene single crystals in triacrylate solution.

Self-motion of a growing single crystal of azobenzene chromophore in triacrylate solution (TA) is investigated in relation to the solid-liquid phase diagram bound by the solidus and liquidus lines. Upon thermal quenching from the isotropic melt to the crystal + liquid gap, various single crystals develop in a manner dependent on concentration and supercooling depth. During the crystal growth, TA solvent is rejected from the growing faceted fronts, enriching with TA in close proximity to the crystal-solution interface.

Basaltic rocks analyzed by the Spirit Rover in Gusev Crater.

The Spirit landing site in Gusev Crater on Mars contains dark, fine-grained, vesicular rocks interpreted as lavas. Pancam and Mini-Thermal Emission Spectrometer (Mini-TES) spectra suggest that all of these rocks are similar but have variable coatings and dust mantles. Magnified images of brushed and abraded rock surfaces show alteration rinds and veins.

Hypothermia as an adjunctive treatment for severe bacterial meningitis.

Brain injury due to bacterial meningitis results in a high mortality rate and significant neurologic sequelae in survivors. The objective of this study was to determine if the application of moderate hypothermia shortly after the administration of antibiotics would attenuate the inflammatory response and increase in intracranial pressure that occurs in meningitis. For this study we used a rabbit model of severe Group B streptococcal meningitis.

The hepatocyte protein synthesis defect induced by galactosamine involves hypomethylation of ribosomal RNA.

D-galactosamine produces an early defect in protein synthesis, independent of its effects on RNA synthesis. Here we show that the defect in protein synthesis is inherent in purified ribosomal subunits in vitro. Further, galactosamine treatment is associated with an 85% decrease in methylation of ribosomal RNA, involving all sites (2'-0-ribose and base positions), intact ribosomes from galactosamine-treated animals can be methylated to a greater extent than control ribosomes and in vitro methylation restores their functional capacity.

Reduction in cis-diamminedichloroplatinum(II)-induced cytotoxicity, sister chromatid exchange, and DNA interstrand cross-links in 9L cells treated with the polyamine biosynthesis inhibitor (2R,5R)-6-heptyne-2,5-diamine.

The effects of depletion of intracellular levels of the polyamines putrescine and spermidine on cis-diamminedichloroplatinum(II)-induced cytotoxicity, sister chromatid exchanges, DNA interstrand cross-linking, and intracellular glutathione levels were studied in 9L rat brain tumor cells pretreated with the ornithine decarboxylase inhibitor (2R,5R)-6-heptyne-2,5-diamine (R,R-MAP). Pretreatment of 9L cells with R,R-MAP for 48 h decreased cis-diamminedichloroplatinum(II) cytotoxicity with an average dose reduction ratio of 0.55 at both the 5 and 10% survival levels; addition of putrescine partially prevented this effect.

Cell proliferation and polyamine metabolism in 9L cells treated with (2R,5R)-6-heptyne-2,5-diamine or alpha-difluoromethylornithine.

We studied the effects of the ornithine decarboxylase inhibitors (2R,5R)-6-heptyne-2,5-diamine (R,R,-MAP) and alpha-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) on cell proliferation and polyamine metabolism in 9L rat brain tumour cells. Treatment with 5 microM R,R-MAP inhibited cell proliferation to the same extent as did treatment with 1 mM DFMO. Both inhibitors depleted putrescine and spermidine concentrations to less than detectable levels within 24 h and 48 h of drug treatment, respectively; spermine levels were not affected significantly by either inhibitor.

Potassium carbonate as a potassium source and dietary buffer for lactating Holstein cows during hot weather.

Twenty-four lactating Holstein cows were offered diets containing .93, 1.29, and 1.

Evaluation of homology between cloned Escherichia coli and yeast DNA photolyase genes and higher eukaryotic genomes.

Repair of ultraviolet-induced pyrimidine dimers by photoreactivation is catalyzed by a single enzyme, DNA photolyase. However, the process of photoreactivation is difficult to detect reproducibly in cultured mammalian cells. We have used clones containing yeast and Escherichia coli DNA photolyase genes to determine whether their sequences are conserved and whether there is homology between either cloned sequence and chick or human genomic DNA and mRNA sequences.

Disturbances in DNA precursor metabolism associated with exposure to an inhibitor of poly(ADP-ribose) synthetase.

3-Aminobenzamide (3AB) is widely used as an inhibitor of poly(ADP-ribose) synthetase to study the effect of protein ribosylation on various cellular processes, but the specificity of its inhibition has not been demonstrated. We found that 3AB has a wide range of effects on DNA precursor metabolism, as determined by high-performance liquid chromatographic separation of deoxynucleosides derived from enzymatic digestion of cellular DNA. 3AB (10-20 mM) significantly reduced cell growth in human lymphoblastoid cells.

Effects of drinking water temperature on production responses in lactating Holstein cows in summer.

During late summer, 24 lactating Holstein cows were offered 10 or 28 degrees C (control) drinking water ad libitum at 1400 h for 10 min to investigate the effects on respiration rates, body temperatures, dry matter intake, and milk production. Experimental design was a 2 X 3 factorial arrangement of the two drinking water temperatures with .8, 1.

Effects of drinking water temperature on physiological responses of lactating Holstein cows in summer.

Nine lactating Holstein cows were offered drinking water of 7.2, 15.6, and 23.

Effect of drinking water temperature on heat stress of dairy cows.

Experiments were to determine the effectiveness of chilled drinking water in reducing heat stress of lactating dairy cows. Using a 4 X 4 Latin square statistical design, 16 cows (4/treatment) were deprived of water from 0800 until 1400 h at which time they were given chilled water (10, 16, 22 degrees C) or a control water (28 degrees C) ad libitum. Cows were rotated weekly among treatments.

Acetaminophen metabolism, cytotoxicity, and genotoxicity in rat primary hepatocyte cultures.

Acetaminophen (APAP) metabolism, cytotoxicity, and genotoxicity were measured in primary cultures of rat hepatocytes. Although 3 mM APAP caused a slight increase in cellular release of lactate dehydrogenase into the culture medium, cellular glutathione concentration (an index of APAP metabolism) was reduced by 50%. APAP at 7 mM was significantly more toxic to these hepatocytes and had a similar but more marked effect on glutathione concentrations.