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Immune Function Modulation by Temperature on Isolated Rainbow Trout Macrophages
Get PDFFever is an evolutionary mechanism that enhances immune function, yet the molecular and metabolic responses to fever temperatures in ectothermic species remain poorly understood. In this study, we investigated how fever temperatures (19° C) influence macrophage function and metabolic activity in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), rather than normal temperatures (16° C). Using a rainbow trout monocytic cell line, RTS11, and primary head kidney-derived macrophages (HKCs), we examined the effects of fever temperatures on nitric oxide (NO) production, gene expression, protein synthesis, and energy metabolism. We found that fever temperatures increased NO production in both cell types, with further induction of interleukin-6 (IL-6) mRNA expression in response to LPS stimulation. Additionally, fever temperatures enhanced protein synthesis in the absence of LPS activation, but no further increase was observed upon activation. Metabolic analysis showed that fever temperatures increased basal oxidative phosphorylation and proton efflux rate (PER), but LPS activation did not significantly modify these metabolic profiles. Rainbow trout macrophages primarily relied on oxidative phosphorylation for ATP production, and fever temperatures resulted in a modest increase in ATP levels. These findings suggest that fever temperatures enhance innate immune responses and metabolic activity in rainbow trout macrophages, promoting immune function through increased NO production and enhanced gene expression without major shifts in metabolic pathways
Examining the Motivational Circumstances of Bias-Motivated Violence and the Likelihood of Fatal Outcomes
Get PDFBias-motivated violence has emerged as an increasingly urgent social problem in the United States, with recent years witnessing significant rises in hate crimes against multiple marginalized groups. Although prior research has recognized that bias crimes are not motivated by a single factor, gaps remain in understanding how motivational circumstances relate to fatal outcomes and how situational factors differ between types of bias attacks. Using descriptive and bivariate analyses of cases from the Bias Homicide Database (2015-2022), this study examines the relationship between motivation, fatal outcomes, and incident characteristics in bias-motivated murders and attempted murders. Findings show that while predatory motivations were more prevalent overall, they did not significantly increase the likelihood of a fatal outcome compared to responsive motivations. However, important differences emerged between predatory and responsive attacks in terms of victim group, weapon type, and number of deaths. These results challenge traditional typologies that portray offender motivations as rigid or universally predictive, highlighting the need for greater attention to the fluid and complex nature of bias violence. By improving understanding of these nuances, the study offers insights for researchers, law enforcement, prosecutors, and policymakers seeking to more effectively identify, prevent, and respond to violent bias crime
There’s No Place Like Essentially at Home: General Jurisdiction Over Individuals Apart From Domicile and Presence
Get PDFIn personal jurisdiction, an intellectual siloing has prevented some courts from using a basis of jurisdiction over individuals that is available for corporations. This Article explores this question. Jurisdiction in such a case turns on whether general jurisdiction based on a large number of unrelated contacts--contacts-based general jurisdiction--applies to individuals as well as to corporations. The short answer is that despite hesitancy in the cases, such jurisdiction has historically been invoked and this is a correct result as a matter of due process doctrine. One aim of this Article is to dispel the doubt on this point that unnecessarily persists. A second question is how the test of Daimler applies to individuals. Third, one may wonder about this question’s practical importance. Given the availability of specific jurisdiction in the place where the events giving rise to the litigation occurred and general jurisdiction both where the defendant is domiciled and where he or she might be served with process, when is an additional place of jurisdiction useful? Part I briefly lays out the law of contacts-based general jurisdiction over corporations to provide the background of how that law might apply to individuals. The Article then proceeds chronologically. Part II examines the case law employing what we would now call general jurisdiction over individuals in the pre-Shoe era. Along the way, it reviews jurisdiction from that era based on domicile and then moves to cases asserting general jurisdiction over individuals despite an absence of domicile or in-state service. Part III then examines contacts-based general jurisdiction over individuals in the modern, post-International Shoe era. Part IV assesses this branch of jurisdiction under the due process doctrine, finding it valid. Part V distills from the case law several fact patterns where one might find valid exercises of contacts-based general jurisdiction over individuals, cases where an individual might be considered “essentially at home” even though domiciled elsewhere
Widening the Net: How CogAT and ACT Aspire Compare in Gifted Identification
Get PDFPrevious research indicates that many academically accomplished students from disadvantaged backgrounds are not identified for gifted and talented (G/T) programs. This study examines a large sample of students (N = 10,508), many of whom took both the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) and the ACT Aspire test. We examined test similarities and differences with an eye to widen the net for G/T identification in practice. This study demonstrates that the ACT Aspire and CogAT have a significant correlation in our sample of r = .59. However, the correlation varies across cohorts noticeably from r = .72 to r = .49. This variation in correlations and inconsistency in the predictive nature of diversity of both tests across cohorts suggest greater caution in the interchangeable use of ACT Aspire and CogAT as indicators. Instead, this suggests the use of more than one test as part of the package for identification
Conversations with Friends: How Gender and Politics in the 2024 U.S Presidential Election was Perceived by the People and by the Numbers
Get PDFThe 2024 U.S. presidential election were largely unprecedented, with President Joe Biden withdrawing from the race and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic Nominee mere months before election day. The events that followed were rife with opportunity to explore the intersection of gender and politics, a topic of increasing relevance as women have become more politically active over the past century. Going beyond the traditional gender gap research, which demonstrates the divergent voting patterns of women and men, this research seeks to understand how the gender of the candidate influences vote choice. Using empirical data on the gender gap, this essay confirms that gender played a role in this election quite clearly. Additionally, literature which explores previous elections suggests that a candidate’s gender also plays a role in vote choice. When examining the 2024 presidential election, the literature relies more on personal testimony, case studies, and interviews to support the same claim. This essay takes a similar approach and uses friendship as a research method, which is endorsed by feminist methodologies, to investigate the relationship between Harris’s gender and her loss in this election. It was found that according to much personal testimony, Harris did lose in part due to her gender, among other factors
Protein Intake and the Wellbeing of Postmenopausal Women: Investigating Sleep, Mood, and Quality of Life
Get PDFPostmenopausal women commonly experience declines in sleep quality, mood, and overall wellbeing, with limited non-pharmacological options available to address these concerns. This randomized controlled trial investigated whether daily beef consumption as part of a higher-protein diet could improve sleep, mood, and quality of life over four weeks. Participants were randomized to either a standard protein intake control group or a treatment group consuming a high-protein diet with daily lean beef.
The treatment group showed modest improvements in subjective sleep quality and perceived health compared to controls, although these changes were not statistically significant. Fatigue, however, significantly decreased in the treatment group, suggesting a meaningful boost in daily energy levels. Objective sleep measurements via wrist actigraphy did not reveal significant changes, reflecting a known discrepancy between subjective perceptions and physiological data in postmenopausal women.
These early findings suggest that increasing high-quality dietary protein may have beneficial effects on fatigue and self-perceived wellbeing, even over a short timeframe. While larger, longer-term studies are needed, the results support the potential role of targeted nutrition strategies to improve quality of life in postmenopausal women
Can Shame and Guilt be used as a Deterrent for Drug Use and Drug Crime Recidivism?
Get PDFIntroduction: The present study focuses on how shame and guilt can be used as a deterrent for substance use and substance-related crime recidivism. This research is significant because of on-going alcohol and other drug crime recidivism in the United States. About 68% of drug-involved offenders have been found to recidivate within three years of their release from prison. Understanding how guilt and shame affect one\u27s drug use and crime recidivism is important in recovery. This study was influenced by Braithwaite\u27s theory of reintegrative shaming: using shame and guilt as the specific deterrent for recidivism. Methods: Based on this theory, I developed vignettes to manipulate feelings of shame and guilt in the participant as a function of the degree to which the crime was publicly known versus private. Four vignettes are included: 2 drunk-driving (private and public) and 2 driving under the influence of marijuana (private and public), all of which were first piloted with students and experts. After the participant read their randomly assigned vignette, they were asked questions regarding their levels of shame and guilt (5-point scale), and likelihood to use the substance and likelihood to engage in the behavior again (7-point scale). I hypothesized that (H1) elevated levels of shame and guilt would be correlated with lower levels of likelihood to use and likelihood to engage in the behavior again, (H2) public factors would induce more shame than would private factors, and private factors would produce more guilt than public factors, and (H3) public factors would cause decreased likelihood to use and to engage in the behavior again than would private factors. Results: Shame and guilt were negatively correlated with the likelihood to engage in the behavior again (ps \u3c .001), but not likelihood to use the substance again. Public and private factors did not have significant main effects on levels of shame and guilt, and they were not significantly different across substance type conditions. There was no significant main effect on public and privacy factors on the likelihood to use again or the likelihood to engage in the behavior again. There were significant main effects of the substance type on the likelihood to use again across conditions, F (1,303) = 13.778, p\u3c .001. Conclusion: Results do not fully support the hypotheses or Braithwaite’s theory. However, future research can continue to understand how these results may differ among individuals with more severe drug-related crimes and use, and among other populations who have interacted with the criminal justice system (i.e., drug court participants, incarcerated adults)
Towards the Design of a Super FGF1-FGF10 Chimera
No full textThe Fibroblast Growth Factor family consists of 23 different fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) that are each involved in various cellular processes, including cell proliferation and tissue repair. Fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFR) are different tyrosine kinase receptors. There are four FGFRs in the human body, each binding to different combinations of FGFs. Fibroblast growth factor 1 (FGF1) is the only FGF that can bind with all four types of fibroblast growth factor receptors. Therefore, it is the most powerful mitogen. However, FGF1 has low thermodynamic stability under the physiological conditions. Prior work in the Kumar lab has constructed several points of mutations on FGF1 to create a more stable version of the universal mitogen (FGF1) with higher biological activity that is named super FGF1. Super FGF1 also lacks heparin binding.
My project focus is to design one point mutation on the N-terminus of Super FGF1 (C10K) to investigate if it will affect the heparin binding affinity, structural properties, and biological activity of the mitogen. The one-point mutation is resembled from the sequence of amino acids of fibroblast growth factor 10 (FGF10). FGF10 has a key role in keratinocyte growth in the human body. Therefore, the aim of the project is to produce a version of FGF1 that has the stability of superFGF1 and the keratinocyte growth activity of FGF10.
After finishing the experiments and research, it can be concluded that the one-point mutation, C10K (Super FGF1), does not affect the thermal, chemical, or biological activity of the protein