Alcohol-responsive genes in the frontal cortex and nucleus accumbens of human alcoholics

The molecular processes underlying alcohol dependence are not fully understood. Many characteristic behaviours result from neuroadaptations in the mesocorticolimbic system. In addition, alcoholism is associated with a distinct neuropathology. To elucidate the molecular basis of these features, we compared the RNA expression profile of the nucleus accumbens and prefrontal cortex of human brain from matched individual alcoholic and control cases using cDNA microarrays. Approximately 6% of genes with a marked alcohol response were common to the two brain regions. Alcohol-responsive genes were grouped into 11 functional categories. Predominant alcohol-responsive genes in the prefrontal cortex were those encoding DNA-binding proteins including transcription factors and repair proteins. There was also a down-regulation of genes encoding mitochondrial proteins, which could result in disrupted mitochondrial function and energy production leading to oxidative stress. Other alcohol-responsive genes in the prefrontal cortex were associated with neuroprotection/apoptosis. In contrast, in the nucleus accumbens, alcohol-responsive genes were associated with vesicle formation and regulation of cell architecture, which suggests a neuroadaptation to chronic alcohol exposure at the level of synaptic structure and function. Our data are in keeping with the previously reported alcoholism-related pathology characteristic of the prefrontal cortex, but suggest a persistent decrease in neurotransmission and changes in plasticity in the nucleus accumbens of the alcoholic.

Foaming properties of a peptide designed to form stimuli-responsive interfacial films

We have designed an amphipathic peptide, AM1, that can self-assemble at the air-water interface to form an interfacial ensemble capable of switching between a mechanically strong cohesive film state and a mobile detergent state in response to changes in the solution conditions. The mechanical properties of the AM1 ensemble in the cohesive film state are qualitatively equivalent to the protein beta-LG, while in the mobile detergent state they are equivalent to the low molecular weight surfactant, SDS. In this work the foaming properties of AM1 are compared to those of beta-LG and SDS at the same weight concentration and it is found that AM1 adsorbs rapidly to the interface, initially forming a dense foam like that formed by SDS and superior to beta-LG. In addition, under solution conditions where interfacially adsorbed AM1 forms a cohesive film state the foam stability is high, comparable to beta-LG. However when the interfacially adsorbed AM1 forms a foam under detergent-state conditions, the foam stability is poor. We have achieved control of foam stability through the design of a peptide that exhibits stimuli-responsive changes in the extent of intermolecular interactions between peptide molecules adsorbed at the air water interface. These results illustrate the exciting potential of peptide surfactants to form a new class of stimuli-responsive foaming agents.

'Worldmarks': Web guidelines for socially and culturally responsive assessment in university classrooms

In the early 21st century, we need to prepare university students to navigate local and global cultures effectively and sensitively. These future professionals must develop comprehensive intercultural communication skills and understanding. Yet university assessment in Australia is often based on a western template of knowledge, which automatically places International, Indigenous, as well as certain groups of local students at a study disadvantage. It also ensures that Australian students from dominant groups are not given the opportunity to develop these vital intercultural skills. This paper explores the issues embedded in themes 1 and 4 of this conference and provides details of an innovative website developed at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia, which encourages academic staff to investigate the hidden assumptions that can underpin their assessment practices. The website also suggests strategies academics can use to ensure that their assessment becomes more socially and culturally responsive.

The pharmacology of CGRP-responsive receptors in cultured and transfected cells

Historically, CGRP receptors have been classified as CGRP(1) or CGRP(2) subtypes, chiefly depending on their affinity for the antagonist CGRP(8-37). It has been shown that the complex between calcitonin receptor-like receptor (CRLR or CL) and receptor activity modifying protein (RAMP) 1 provides a molecular correlate for the CGRP(1) receptor; however this does not explain the range of affinities seen for CGRP(8-37) in isolated tissues. It is suggested that these may largely be explained by a combination of methodological factors and CGRP-responsive receptors generated by CL and RAMP2 or RAMP3 and complexes of RAMPs with the calcitonin receptor.

Highly thermally responsive hybrid in-fiber slab waveguide grating structure with a plastic core and a silica cladding

A 1.2(height)×125(depth)×500(length) micro-slot was engraved along a fiber Bragg grating by chemically assisted femtosecond laser processing. By filling epoxy and UV-curing, waveguide with plastic-core and silica-cladding was created, presenting high thermal responding coefficient of 211pm/°C.

Responsive systems:an introduction

This paper introduces responsive systems: systems that are real-time, event-based, or time-dependent. There are a number of trends that are accelerating the adoption of responsive systems: timeliness requirements for business information systems are becoming more prevalent, embedded systems are increasingly integrated into soft real-time command-and-control systems, improved message-oriented middleware is facilitating growth in event-processing applications, and advances in service-oriented and component-based techniques are lowering the costs of developing and deploying responsive applications. The use of responsive systems is illustrated here in two application areas: the defense industry and online gaming. The papers in this special issue of the IBM Systems Journal are then introduced. The paper concludes with a discussion of the key remaining challenges in this area and ideas for further work.

Highly thermally responsive hybrid in-fiber sSlab waveguide grating structure with a plastic core and a silica cladding

A 1.2(height)×125(depth)×500(length) micro-slot was engraved along a fiber Bragg grating by chemically assisted femtosecond laser processing. By filling epoxy and UV-curing, waveguide with plastic-core and silica-cladding was created, presenting high thermal responding coefficient of 211pm/°C.

Effect of the Hofmeister anions upon the swelling of a self-assembled pH-responsive hydrogel

We report the effect of a range of monovalent sodium salts on the molecular equilibrium swelling of a simple synthetic microphase separated poly(methyl methacrylate)-block-poly(2-(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate)-block-poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA88-b-PDEA223-b-PMMA88) pH-responsive hydrogel. Sodium acetate, sodium chloride, sodium bromide, sodium iodide, sodium nitrate and sodium thiocyanate were selected for study at controlled ionic strength and pH; all salts are taken from the Hofmeister series (HS). The influence of the anions on the expansion of the hydrogel was found to follow the reverse order of the classical HS. The expansion ratio of the gel measured in solutions containing the simple sodium halide salts (NaCl, NaBr, and NaI) was found to be strongly related to parameters which describe the interaction of the ion with water; surface charge density, viscosity coefficient, and entropy of hydration. A global study which also included nonspherical ions (NaAce, NaNO3 and NaSCN) showed the strongest correlation with the viscosity coefficient. Our results are interpreted in terms of the Collins model,(1) where larger ions have more mobile water in the first hydration cage immediately surrounding the gel, therefore making them more adhesive to the surface of the stationary phase of the gel and ultimately reducing the level of expansion.

An iterative agent bidding mechanism for responsive manufacturing

In today's market, the global competition has put manufacturing businesses in great pressures to respond rapidly to dynamic variations in demand patterns across products and changing product mixes. To achieve substantial responsiveness, the manufacturing activities associated with production planning and control must be integrated dynamically, efficiently and cost-effectively. This paper presents an iterative agent bidding mechanism, which performs dynamic integration of process planning and production scheduling to generate optimised process plans and schedules in response to dynamic changes in the market and production environment. The iterative bidding procedure is carried out based on currency-like metrics in which all operations (e.g. machining processes) to be performed are assigned with virtual currency values, and resource agents bid for the operations if the costs incurred for performing them are lower than the currency values. The currency values are adjusted iteratively and resource agents re-bid for the operations based on the new set of currency values until the total production cost is minimised. A simulated annealing optimisation technique is employed to optimise the currency values iteratively. The feasibility of the proposed methodology has been validated using a test case and results obtained have proven the method outperforming non-agent-based methods.

Responsive core−shell latex particles as colloidosome microcapsule membranes

Responsive core-shell latex particles are used to prepare colloidosome microcapsules using thermal annealing and internal cross-linking of the shell, allowing production of the microcapsules at high concentrations. The core-shell particles are composed of a polystyrene core and a shell of poly[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate]-b-poly[methyl methacrylate] (PDMA-b-PMMA) chains adsorbed onto the core surface, providing steric stabilisation. The PDMA component of adsorbed polymer shell confers the latex particle thermal and pH responsive characteristics, it also provides glass transitions at lower temperatures than that of the core and reactive amine groups. These features facilitate the formation of stable Pickering emulsion droplets and the immobilisation of the latex particle monolayer on these droplets to form colloidosome microcapsules. The immobilisation is achieved through thermal annealing or cross-linking of the shell at mild conditions feasible for large scale economic production. We demonstrate here that it is possible to anneal the particle monolayer on the emulsion drop surface at 75-86 ºC by using the lower glass transition temperature of the shell compared to that of the polystyrene cores (~108 ºC). The colloidosome microcapsules formed have a rigid membrane basically composed of a monolayer of particles. Chemical cross-linking has also been successfully achieved by confining a cross-linker within the disperse droplet. This approach leads to the formation of single-layered stimulus-responsive soft colloidosome membranes and provides the advantage of working at very high emulsion concentrations since inter-droplet cross-linking is thus avoided. The porosity and mechanical strength of microcapsules are also discussed here in terms of the observed structure of the latex particle monolayers forming the capsule membrane.

Novel pH‐and temperature‐responsive methacrylamide microgels

A novel transition temperature in MeAM copolymer microgels is reported. Despite the fact that MeAM homopolymers do not show thermosensitive properties, a specific synthetic strategy leads to a thermo-responsive swelling behavior that could be potentially useful in medical and/or industrial applications. The pH and temperature-dependent swelling response of microgels of MeAM copolymerized with 2-aminomethylpyridine and ethylenediamine is reported. The changes in particle sizes, which depend on the nature of the surrounding environment, are recorded by QELS. The relation between copolymer structure and its novel behavior is analyzed by several techniques (1H NMR, TGA).