The authors investigate whether Western Bluebirds and other perching birds consume eggshells, as a source of calcium, at a greater rate before reproduction and during nest building when they are unable to store calcium.
Read More...Eggshell consumption in different reproductive stages and broods of the Western Bluebird, Sialia mexicana
The authors investigate whether Western Bluebirds and other perching birds consume eggshells, as a source of calcium, at a greater rate before reproduction and during nest building when they are unable to store calcium.
Read More...Evaluating Biomarkers and Treatments for Acute Kidney Injury in a Zebrafish Model
Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) is the leading cause of death in the United States, and 81% of Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) patients in the renal fibrosis stage later develop CAD. In this study, Mathew and Joykutty aimed to create a cost-effective strategy to treat AKI and thus prevent CAD using a model of the zebrafish, Danio rerio. They first tested whether AKI is induced in Danio rerio upon exposure to environmental toxins, then evaluated nitrotyrosine as an early biomarker for toxin-induced AKI. Finally, they evaluated 4 treatments of renal fibrosis, the last stage of AKI, and found that the compound SB431542 was the most effective treatment (reduced fibrosis by 99.97%). Their approach to treating AKI patients, and potentially prevent CAD, is economically feasible for translation into the clinic in both developing and developed countries.
Read More...Evaluation of in vitro anti-inflammatory effect of PLAY® on UC-MSCs: A COX-2 expression study
The authors seek to accelerate wound healing by reducing inflammation with a cocktail containing growth factors and bioactive modulators.
Read More...Modelling effects of alkylamines on sea salt aerosols using the Extended Aerosols and Inorganics Model
With monitoring of climate change and the evolving properties of the atmosphere more critical than ever, the authors of this study take sea salt aerosols into consideration. These sea salt aerosols, sourced from the bubbles found at the surface of the sea, serve as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and are effective for the formation of clouds, light scattering in the atmosphere, and cooling of the climate. With amines being involved in the process of CCN formation, the authors explore the effects of alkylamines on the properties of sea salt aerosols and their potential relevance to climate change.
Read More...Testing HCN1 channel dysregulation in the prefrontal cortex using a novel piezoelectric silk neuromodulator
Although no comprehensive characterization of schizophrenia exists, there is a general consensus that patients have electrical dysfunction in the prefrontal cortex. The authors designed a novel piezoelectric silk-based implant and optimized electrical output through the addition of conductive materials zinc oxide (ZnO) and aluminum nitride (AlN). With further research and compatibility studies, this implant could rectify electrical misfiring in the infralimbic prefrontal cortex.
Read More...Overcoming The Uncanny Valley Through Shared Stressful Experience with a Humanoid Robot
The "Uncanny Valley" is a phenomenon in which humans feel discomfort in the presence of objects that are almost, but not quite, human-like. In this study, the authors tested whether this phenomenon could be overcome by sharing a stressful experience with a humanoid robot. They found that human subjects more readily accepted a robot partner that they had previously shared a stressful experience with, suggesting a potential method for increasing the effectiveness of beneficial human-robot interactions by reducing the Uncanny Valley effect.
Read More...Fabrication of CuSbS2 Solar Cells by Sulfurization of Thermally Evaporated Metal Stacks
In this article, the authors created CuSbS2 solar cells. They discovered that the cells' efficiency was affected by the formation of MoS2. By incorporating a layer of single-walled carbon nanotubes, however, they were able to prevent MoS2 formation and increase the device's efficiency.
Read More...A machine learning approach to detect renal calculi by studying the physical characteristics of urine
The authors trained a machine learning model to detect kidney stones based on characteristics of urine. This method would allow for detection of kidney stones prior to the onset of noticeable symptoms by the patient.
Read More...Efficacy of Mass Spectrometry Versus 1H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance With Respect to Denaturant Dependent Hydrogen-Deuterium Exchange in Protein Studies
The misfolding of proteins leads to numerous diseases including Akzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Type II Diabetes. Understanding of exactly how proteins fold is crucial for many medical advancements. Chenna and Englander addressed this problem by measuring the rate of hydrogen-deuterium exchange within proteins exposed to deuterium oxide in order to further elucidate the process of protein folding. Here, mass spectrometry was used to measure exchange in Cytochrome c and was compared to archived 1H NMR data.
Read More...Taft linear free-energy relationships in the biocatalytic hydrolysis of sterically hindered nitrophenyl ester substrates
This study applies Taft linear free-energy relationships to study kinetic trends in the enzymatic hydrolysis of sterically hindered substrates.
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