Some Molecular and Cellular Stress Mechanisms Associated with Neurodegenerative Diseases and Atherosclerosis

Chronic stress is a combination of nonspecific adaptive reactions of the body to the influence of various adverse stress factors which disrupt its homeostasis, and it is also a corresponding state of the organism’s nervous system (or the body in general). We hypothesized that chronic stress may be one of the causes occurence of several molecular and cellular types of stress. We analyzed literary sources and considered most of these types of stress in our review article. We examined genes and mutations of nuclear and mitochondrial genomes and also molecular variants which lead to various types of stress. The end result of chronic stress can be metabolic disturbance in humans and animals, leading to accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), oxidative stress, energy deficiency in cells (due to a decrease in ATP synthesis) and mitochondrial dysfunction. These changes can last for the lifetime and lead to severe pathologies, including neurodegenerative diseases and atherosclerosis. The analysis of literature allowed us to conclude that under the influence of chronic stress, metabolism in the human body can be disrupted, mutations of the mitochondrial and nuclear genome and dysfunction of cells and their compartments can occur. As a result of these processes, oxidative, genotoxic, and cellular stress can occur. Therefore, chronic stress can be one of the causes forthe occurrence and development of neurodegenerative diseases and atherosclerosis. In particular, chronic stress can play a large role in the occurrence and development of oxidative, genotoxic, and cellular types of stress.     

Perceived effectiveness of filial therapy for a Jamaican mother: A qualitative case study.

Although filial therapy has traditionally been viewed as suitable for children of diverse cultures, there is limited research to support this perspective. This qualitative case study examined the perceived effectiveness of filial therapy for a Jamaican mother and the perceived effect on the mother-child relationship. Findings indicate that some aspects of filial therapy are congruent with the parenting practices and values of this Jamaican mother. The mother reported an increase in empathy, a heightened awareness of her child's needs, and a stronger relationship with her child. She expressed some difficulty with limit setting and tracking skills taught as part of the model. Future research directions include further examination of the compatibility of filial therapy with other Jamaican parents and the effectiveness of group filial therapy with Jamaican parents or other parents of Caribbean descent. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Engineering of functional supramacromolecular complexes of proteins (enzymes) using reversed micelles as matrix microreactors

The size of the inner water cavity of reversed micelles formedin a triple system ‘water-surfactant-organic solvent’can be widely varied by changing the degree of surfactant hydration.This gives grounds to use reversed micelles as matrix microreactorsfor the design of supramolecular complexes of proteins. Usingultracentrifugation analysis, it has been demonstrated thatthe oligomeric composition of various enzymes (ketoglutaratedehydrogenase, alkaline phosphatase, lactic dehydrogenase, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphatedehydrogenase) solubilized in reversed micelles of Aerosol OT[sodium bis(2-ethylehexyl)sulfosuccinate] in octane changesupon variation of the degree of hydration. An oligomeric complexforms under conditions when the radius of the micelle innercavity is big enough to incorporate this complex as a whole.At lower degrees of hydration the micelles ‘uncouple’such complexes to their components. The catalytic propertiesof various oligomeric complexes have been studied. Possibilitiesof using reversed micelles for the separation of subunits ofoligomeric enzymes under non-denaturating conditions have beendemonstrated. In particular, the isolated subunits of alkalinephosphatase, lactic dehydrogenase and glyceralde-hyde-3-phosphatedehydrogenase have been found to be active in Aerosol OT reversedmicelles. The dependences of the catalytic activity of oligomericenzymes represent saw-like curves. The maxima of the catalyticactivity observed at these curves relate to the functioningof various oligomeric forms of an enzyme. The radii of the micelleinner cavity under conditions when these maxima are observedcorrelate with the linear dimensions of the enzyme oligomericforms. Correlation of the position of a maximum with the shapeof an oligomeric complex is discussed.     

Effect of photoaligning azo dye structure on liquid crystal anchoring energy

A method of controlling anchoring energy of surface interaction of liquid crystal photoaligning substances is considered to enhance the liquid crystal display performances. An important parameter of the dye's molecular structure that determines the ratio of polar and azimuthal anchoring energy is the ability to form dimers. The values of dimerization thermodynamic potentials have been found. The probability of the formation of dye molecules dimers is evaluated. The bonds conjugation transfer via intermolecular hydrogen bond is revealed, and anisotropy of polarizability of the hydrogen bond is evaluated. The effect of dimerization on polar and azimuthal anchoring energy of liquid crystal — azo dye system — is shown.     

Reputation management algorithms for DHT-based peer-to-peer environment

This paper addresses the problem of integration of reputation management mechanisms into data look-up and routing processes to cope with some specific security problems in peer-to-peer (P2P) networks based on Distributed Hash Tables (DHT). The goal is to find a mode for “good” peers to cooperate in order to withstand malicious activity of single malevolent peers and their collusions as well.We start from consideration of individual instruments for reputation evaluation that every single peer should be provided with to autonomously define the level of its own trust towards others. We also propose a possible scenario of integration of some existing reputation management techniques and routing mechanisms in a P2P network based on the popular Kademlia algorithm. Then, we present an interaction algorithm that allows peers to obtain the global trust value for each single node through exchanging opinions in the form of local trust values independently calculated by every peer with other members of the community. Such collaboration between peers is indispensable to cope with malicious activity of inconsistent nature specific to DHT-based environment. To render the algorithm resilient to the presence of malicious participants we propose to apply solutions for Byzantine Agreement to exchange opinions among peers. We also provide mathematical evaluations concerning the complexity and computational costs of the proposed algorithm that evidence apparent improvements over the previous one.     

Communication and reputation as essentials for the positioning of an organization

Communication and reputation are essential for the positioning of an organization, which is based on communications theory, management sociology, corporate management, and public relations. Corporate culture and visual identity are also important for any organization; they not only help develop an integrated image of the organization but also contribute to developing its successful positioning strategy. We began our research with the analysis stage, in which we elicited the practices of both the internal and external communications of the organization studied. We used such methods as communication and reputation audits with a questionnaire survey, focus groups, the semantic differential method, and the projective method. The analysis stage of the research produced results that helped us adjust the positioning strategy of the organization by taking into account its individual characteristics and the features of its target publics and its target markets.     

Translating the Foundational Model of Anatomy into OWL

The Foundational Model of Anatomy (FMA) represents the result of manual and disciplined modeling of the structural organization of the human body. It is a tremendous resource in bioinformatics that facilitates sharing of information among applications that use anatomy knowledge. The FMA was developed in Protégé and the Protégé frames language is the canonical representation language for the FMA. We present a translation of the original Protégé frame representation of the FMA into OWL. Our effort is complementary to the earlier efforts to represent FMA in OWL and is focused on two main goals: (1) representing only the information that is explicitly present in the frames representation of the FMA or that can be directly inferred from the semantics of Protégé frames; (2) representing all the information that is present in the frames representation of the FMA, thus producing an OWL representation for the complete FMA. Our complete representation of the FMA in OWL consists of two components: an OWL DL component that contains the FMA constructs that are compatible with OWL DL; and an OWL Full component that imports the OWL DL component and adds the FMA constructs that OWL DL does not allow.     

The PROMPT suite: interactive tools for ontology merging and mapping

Researchers in the ontology-design field have developed the content for ontologies in many domain areas. This distributed nature of ontology development has led to a large number of ontologies covering overlapping domains. In order for these ontologies to be reused, they first need to be merged or aligned to one another. We developed a suite of tools for managing multiple ontologies. These suite provides users with a uniform framework for comparing, aligning, and merging ontologies, maintaining versions, translating between different formalisms. Two of the tools in the suite support semi-automatic ontology merging: P is an interactive ontology-merging tool that guides the user through the merging process, presenting him with suggestions for next steps and identifying inconsistencies and potential problems. A P uses a graph structure of ontologies to find correlation between concepts and to provide additional information for P .     

One‐pot synthesis of {Mo6I8}4+‐doped polystyrene microspheres via a free radical dispersion copolymerisation reaction

Molybdenum octahedral clusters, when incorporated into an appropriate polymer matrix, are considered as promising agents for a range of biological applications. This work describes the one‐pot synthesis, morphology and cellular toxicity of nano‐sized polystyrene beads doped with luminescent cluster complexes [{Mo₆X₈}(NO₃)₆]^2? (X = Cl, Br or I). Specifically, the particles were obtained by free radical dispersion copolymerisation of styrene and methacrylic acid or 4‐vinylpyridine in the presence of the cluster complexes. The effects of the cluster loading in the reaction mixture on both the content of the final material and number‐average molar mass of the copolymers were evaluated. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry     

Managerial identity work in action: performative narratives and anecdotal stories of innovation

Innovation is invariably accepted as a central component of construction sector competitiveness. Yet, there remains a paucity of empirical research, which explores the gap between the way innovation is promoted in the policy discourse and how it is interpreted in practice. We follow the “narrative turn” in organization studies to explore the ways in which senior executives in the UK construction sector ascribe themselves with informal roles while advocating the cause of innovation. Empirical data is derived from narrative interviews with 32 senior executives who self-identify as “innovation champions”. When talking about innovation, the respondents were found to oscillate between performative narratives of innovation and more personalized stories derived from their own experience. The narratives were invariably pre-rehearsed often to the point of being monotonous. In contrast, the personalized stories tended to be engaging and emotionally laden. The tendency for senior executives to oscillate between narratives and stories is seen as an important means through which they search for meaning while at the same time legitimizing their self-identities as “innovation champions”. Of particular note is the way in which senior managers self-ascribe themselves with informal roles which are notably at odds with those described in more formalized narratives.