Electrochemical detection of peroxynitrite using a biosensor based on a conducting polymer-manganese ion complex

A peroxynitrite (ONOO(-)) biosensor has been developed through the preparation of a new manganese-[poly-2,5-di-(2-thienyl)-1H-pyrrole)-1-(p-benzoic acid)] (Mn-pDPB) complex. DPB monomer was first synthesized and polymerized for the purpose of providing a polymer backbone for complex formation with Mn(2+) ion. The Mn-pDPB complex was characterized via Magnetomotive Force (MMF) simulation, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and cyclic voltammetry. The complex selectively enhanced the reduction process of ONOO(-) which was used as the analytical signal for chronoamperometric detection. A polyethyleneimmine (PEI) layer was coated on the complex surface to increase selectivity and stability. The chronoamperometric calibration plot showed the hydrodynamic range of 2.0 × 10(-8)-5.0 × 10(-7) M. The detection limit was determined to be 1.9 (±0.2) × 10(-9) M based on S/N = 3. The microbiosensor, fabricated on a 100 μm diameter Pt tip, was applied in a real rat plasma sample for the detection of spiked concentrations of ONOO(-). The reliability and long-term stability of the microbiosensor was also examined with YPEN-1 cells in vitro, and the results shown were promising.     

On finding that speech is special.

Determined how speech is able to communicate phonological segments by sounds. Is was found that specialized processes of phonetic perception had been made to conform to the acoustic consequences of the way articulatory movements are regulated. The distinctively linguistic function of these specializations is to provide for efficient perception of phonetic structures that can also be efficiently produced. To assume that a phonetic specialization exists accords well with a "vertical" view of language (rather than the "horizontal" view expected), in which the underlying activities are seen as coherent and distinctive. Recent evidence for such special processes comes from experiments designed to investigate the integration of cues (e.g., B. H. Repp et al; see record 1980-22645-001). (60 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

FixMyStreet Brussels: Socio-Demographic Inequality in Crowdsourced Civic Participation

FixMyStreet (FMS) is a web-based civic participation platform that allows inhabitants to report environmental defects like potholes and damaged pavements to the government. In this paper, we examine the use of FMS in Brussels, the capital city of Belgium. Analyzing a total of 30,041 reports since its inception in 2013, we demonstrate how civic participation on FMS varies between the ethnically diverse districts in Brussels. We compare FMS use to a range of sociodemographic indicators derived from official city statistics as well as geotagged social media data from Twitter. Our statistical analysis revealed several significant differences between the districts that suggested that crowdsourced civic participation platforms tend to marginalize low-income and ethnically diverse communities. In this respect, our findings provide timely evidence to inform the design of more inclusive crowdsourced, civic participation platforms in the future.     

Schizophrenia is associated with altered orienting activity: Depression with electrodermal (cholinergic?) deficit and normal orienting response.

The import of a recent consensus that a distinctive subgroup of schizophrenics is marked by nonreactivity of the orienting response (OR) to innocuous stimuli has been made ambiguous by reports of similar nonreactivity among depressives. To test this, we studied 50 schizophrenics (14 drug free), 50 depressives (20 drug free), and 50 normal controls. Stimuli were 1000 Hz (60 dB) or 2000 Hz (58 dB) 1-s tones delivered either to the left or right ear. A subsample of each group was told they need do nothing during tone presentations (habituation series); other subsamples had to press a pedal for each designated target signal (left ear, right ear, 1000 Hz, 2000 Hz), ignoring all nontarget tones. Skin conductance response (SCR) and finger pulse volume (FPV) analyses are reported. As in previous work, schizophrenics showed high nonresponding in the habituation series, consistent in both SCR and FPV, and they showed normalizing in both to target signals. Depressives were equally nonresponsive during the habituation series in SCR, but did not normalize to target signals and showed normal FPV response during both the habituation and target series. Whereas schizophrenic dysfunction reflected OR change, that of depressives seemed to reflect cholinergic deficit but intact OR. This was associated with high retardation and low agitation ratings, but not with degree of depression on Hamilton or Zung scales. In addition, 10 largely remitted depressives showed the same pattern as did patients currently in a major depressive episode. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Discovery-oriented psychotherapy research: Rationale, aims, and methods.

A critique of hypothesis-testing psychotherapy research holds that this traditional approach is unfeasible and unproductive for confirming or disconfirming theories of psychotherapy and also for contributing to a putative cumulative body of psychotherapeutic knowledge. Two approaches to discovery-oriented psychotherapy research are presented as alternatives to hypothesis-testing research, with their own rationales, aims, and methods. One consists of providing a closer, discovery-oriented look at psychotherapeutic events and phenomena, and the second consists of the discovery of the interconnections among psychotherapeutic conditions, operations, and consequences. Discovery-oriented research rationales, aims, and methods are described in sufficient detail to invite adoption by psychotherapy researchers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Seam-Tracking for Friction Stir Welded Lap Joints

This article presents a method for automatic seam-tracking in friction stir welding (FSW) of lap joints. In this method, tracking is accomplished by weaving the FSW tool back-and-forth perpendicular to the direction of travel during welding and monitoring force and torque signals. Research demonstrates the ability of this method to automatically track weld seam positions. Additionally, tensile and S-bend test result comparisons demonstrate that weaving most likely does not reduce weld quality. Finally, benefits of this weave-based method to FSW of lap joints are discussed and methods for incorporating it into existing friction stir welding control algorithms (such as axial load control) are examined.     

Optimization of Inhibitors of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Pantothenate Synthetase Based on Group Efficiency Analysis

Ligand efficiency has proven to be a valuable concept for optimization of leads in the early stages of drug design. Taking this one step further, group efficiency (GE) evaluates the binding efficiency of each appendage of a molecule, further fine‐tuning the drug design process. Here, GE analysis is used to systematically improve the potency of inhibitors of Mycobacterium tuberculosis pantothenate synthetase, an important target in tuberculosis therapy. Binding efficiencies were found to be distributed unevenly within a lead molecule derived using a fragment‐based approach. Substitution of the less efficient parts of the molecule allowed systematic development of more potent compounds. This method of dissecting and analyzing different groups within a molecule offers a rational and general way of carrying out lead optimization, with potential broad application within drug discovery.