Does Activating the Human Identity Improve Health-Related Behaviors During COVID-19?: A Social Identity Approach.

Taking a social identity approach to health behaviors, this research examines whether experimentally "activating" the human identity is an effective public-health strategy to curb the spread of COVID-19. Three goals of the research include examining: (1) whether the human identity can be situationally activated using an experimental manipulation, (2) whether activating the human identity causally increases behavioral intentions to protect the self and others from COVID-19, and (3) whether activating the human identity causally increases behaviors that help protect vulnerable communities from COVID-19. Across two preregistered experiments (total = 675), results suggest (1) the manipulation of identification with humanity had a significant but small effect on participants' psychological bond with all humanity (Cohen's s = 0.

Subjective morbidity following fibular free flap reconstruction in head and neck cancer patients.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the presence of subjective post-operative donor site morbidity after fibula free flap reconstruction in head and neck cancer patients, utilising three validated instruments: the 36-item Short Form Health Survey, the Short Musculoskeletal Function Assessment questionnaire and the Lower Limb Core Scale.

Methods: In this retrospective study, all head and neck cancer patients who underwent fibula free flap reconstruction between January 2009 and July 2014 were identified. All questionnaires and their respective subcomponents were scored.

Retropharyngeal Contralateral C7 Nerve Transfer to the Lower Trunk for Brachial Plexus Birth Injury: Technique and Results.

Purpose: Brachial plexus birth injuries with multiple nerve root avulsions present a particularly difficult reconstructive challenge because of the limited availability of donor nerves. The contralateral C7 has been described for brachial plexus reconstruction in adults but has not been well-studied in the pediatric population. We present our technique and results for retropharyngeal contralateral C7 nerve transfer to the lower trunk for brachial plexus birth injury.

Random field assessment of nanoscopic inhomogeneity of bone.

Bone quality is significantly correlated with the inhomogeneous distribution of material and ultrastructural properties (e.g., modulus and mineralization) of the tissue.

Temperature-dependent release of volatile organic compounds of eucalypts by direct analysis in real time (DART) mass spectrometry.

A method is described for the rapid identification of biogenic, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by plants, including the analysis of the temperature dependence of those emissions. Direct analysis in real time (DART) enabled ionization of VOCs from stem and leaf of several eucalyptus species including E. cinerea, E.

Streamlined system for purifying and quantifying a diverse library of compounds and the effect of compound concentration measurements on the accurate interpretation of biological assay results.

As part of an overall systems approach to generating highly accurate screening data across large numbers of compounds and biological targets, we have developed and implemented streamlined methods for purifying and quantitating compounds at various stages of the screening process, coupled with automated "traditional" storage methods (DMSO, -20 degrees C). Specifically, all of the compounds in our druglike library are purified by LC/MS/UV and are then controlled for identity and concentration in their respective DMSO stock solutions by chemiluminescent nitrogen detection (CLND)/evaporative light scattering detection (ELSD) and MS/UV. In addition, the compound-buffer solutions used in the various biological assays are quantitated by LC/UV/CLND to determine the concentration of compound actually present during screening.

A quantitative assessment of glycolipid and protein associated with paired helical filament preparations from Alzheimer's diseased brain.

Protease resistant paired helical filaments (prcPHF) can be isolated from the brains of Alzheimer's diseased patients. A second type of PHF, A68 PHF, may be extracted in soluble form from brain homogenate and induced to form filaments in vitro. Here we use a variety of analytical techniques to assess the protein, carbohydrate and fatty acid composition of prcPHF and A68 PHF.

Co-association of parkin and alpha-synuclein.

Parkin and alpha-synuclein are two proteins that are associated with the pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease (PD). Parkin is present in Lewy bodies and axonal spheroids in brains affected by PD, and mutations in parkin cause hereditary forms of Parkinsonism. Alpha-synuclein is a major component of Lewy bodies and is associated with rare cases of PD.

Parkin is metabolized by the ubiquitin/proteosome system.

Mutations in the parkin gene cause autosomal recessive juvenile parkinsonism. Immunostaining of substantia nigra sections from sporadic Parkinson's disease (PD) cases shows that Parkin accumulates in axonal spheroids and in some Lewy bodies. Because ubiquitin is a major component of Lewy bodies and axonal spheroids, we investigated whether Parkin is metabolized via the ubiquitin/proteosomal pathway.

Characterization of the glycolipid associated with Alzheimer paired helical filaments.

In the present study, analytical techniques including gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS)-assisted carbohydrate linkage-analysis, one- and two-dimensional NMR, and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectroscopy (MALDI-MS) have been used to characterize the structure of the glycolipid associated with the paired helical filaments (PHF) isolated from the neurofibrillary tangles of Alzheimer's diseased brain. The 1H NMR spectrum of acid-hydrolyzed protein-resistant core PHF (prcPHF) displays resonances that can be assigned to fatty acid and glucose. There are no resonances present that would indicate the presence of protein, amino acids, or a sphingosine base.

Assembly of Alzheimer-like, insoluble filaments from brain cerebrosides.

Amphiphiles are molecules which contain a polar head and a hydrophobic tail. When the head contains a chiral center, amphiphiles, incubated in the presence of some di- and trivalent metal ions, have been shown to form large fibrous molecular aggregates. In this study, naturally occurring brain cerebroside was tested to determine if it had sufficient amphiphilic properties to form similar supramolecular structures.

Analysis of the core components of Alzheimer paired helical filaments. A gas chromatography/mass spectrometry characterization of fatty acids, carbohydrates and long-chain bases.

We have carried out a fatty acid and carbohydrate compositional analysis of the protease-resistant core of paired helical filaments (prcPHF) isolated from six Alzheimer's diseased brains. Fatty acids, long-chain bases and monosaccharides were characterized by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) of fatty acid methyl esters, trimethylsilylated long-chain bases, peracetylated alditol acetates and trimethylsilyl methyl glycosides. Glucose and mannose were found to be the only carbohydrate components.

X-ray probe microanalysis of Alzheimer disease soluble and insoluble paired helical filaments.

The paired helical filaments of Alzheimer disease, which have been shown to consist of both soluble and insoluble forms, were examined by X-ray probe microanalysis in order to determine if there existed differences in their elemental composition. The soluble paired helical filaments contained both sulfur and phosphorus, supporting their composition being enriched in a phosphorylated protein. The insoluble paired helical filament core structures, which retained their morphology after extensive protease digestion, contained only a small amount of sulfur over background, which suggests that they are not composed entirely of protein.

Dansyl hydrazine labeling of polysaccharide bodies in human brain.

A method is described for selective fluorescent staining of polysaccharide bodies, such as those found in Alzheimer's disease, Lafora's disease and adult polyglucosan disease. Formalin fixed, paraffin embedded sections of human autopsied brain tissue were stained with the fluorescent compound dansyl hydrazine. It specifically stained polysaccharide bodies in tissue sections with great sensitivity and little background.

Comparison of methods for the in vitro assembly of postmortem human brain microtubules that retain the microtubule-associated protein tau.

Several methods for the in vitro assembly of microtubules from postmortem human brain were compared for the purpose of obtaining microtubule preparations that best retained their microtubule-associated proteins. The polymerized microtubules from the preparations were examined by negative staining and electron microscopy and shown to consist of well-formed microtubules with varying amounts of abnormal assembly products that differed between methods. The microtubule protein was analyzed by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, quantitative densitometry, as well as trans-blotted onto membranes which were reacted with monoclonal antibodies to tubulin subunits and microtubule-associated proteins.

Alzheimer disease paired helical filament core structures contain glycolipid.

The core structures of sodium dodecyl sulfate extracted, pronase digested paired helical filaments of Alzheimer disease were solubilized by heating in dimethyl sulfoxide. Electron microscopy revealed that after heating in dimethyl sulfoxide, intact paired helical filaments were no longer present in the dimethyl sulfoxide soluble fractions or in the insoluble lipofuscin-containing fractions. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays of the various fractions with the monospecific antibody A128 to paired helical filaments demonstrated 96% of the immunoreactivity to be in the dimethyl sulfoxide soluble fraction, and only 4% in the dimethyl sulfoxide insoluble fractions.

Transplants of mouse trisomy 16 hippocampus provide a model of Alzheimer's disease neuropathology.

Alzheimer's disease, which is characterized by amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, may be attributed to the abnormal expression of gene(s) located on human chromosome 21. Genetic linkage studies have narrowed the region of candidate genes to 21q11.2-21q22 of the long arm of this chromosome.

A rapid one-step extraction procedure for the isolation of ubiquitin from human erythrocytes for antibody production.

A procedure is described that employs 5% perchloric acid extraction to isolate ubiquitin from human erythrocytes. The procedure is rapid and economical as it requires no specialized equipment. The extracted protein appeared to be highly purified as judged by electrophoresis and was identified as ubiquitin by immunoblotting and total amino acid analysis.

Production and characterization of a monospecific antiserum (A128) to disaggregated Alzheimer paired helical filaments.

Paired helical filaments (PHF), which constitute neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) and neuritic plaque (NP) neurites, serve as a useful marker for Alzheimer disease (AD). We have isolated AD PHF in a highly purified and disaggregated form for use as an immunogen to produce a heterologous polyclonal antiserum in rabbits. One rabbit was maintained long-term for the high quality of the antiserum it produced.

Paired helical filaments are not the major binding sites for wheat germ and Dolichos biflorus agglutinins in the neurofibrillary tangles of Alzheimer's disease.

The isolated paired helical filaments (PHF) that occur in the neurofibrillary tangles of Alzheimer's disease were assayed to determine if they contained N-acetyl-glucosamine and N-acetyl-galactosamine residues. The enzyme-linked lectin assay was used to detect their total content in the PHF preparation. The assay employed biotinylated Dolichos biflorus and wheat germ agglutinins and was developed with avidin-horseradish peroxidase.