Painting anatase (TiO2) nanocrystals on long nanofibers to prepare photocatalysts with large active surface for dye degradation and organic synthesis

Anatase TiO2 nanocrystals were painted on H-titanate nanofibers by using an aqueous solution of titanyl sulfate. The anatase nanocrystals were bonded solidly onto the titanate fibers through formation of coherent interfaces at which the oxygen atoms were shared by the nanocrystals and the fiber. This approach allowed us to create large anatase surfaces on the nanofibers, which are active in photocatalytic reactions. This method was also applied successfully to coat anatase nanocrystals on surfaces of fly ash and layered clay. The painted nanofibers exhibited a much higher catalytic activity for the photocatalytic degradation of sulforhodamine B and the selective oxidation of benzylamine to the corresponding imine (with a product selectivity >99%) under UV irradiation than both the parent H-titanate nanofibers and a commercial TiO2 powder, P25. We found that gold nanoparticles supported on H-titanate nanofibers showed no catalytic activity for the reduction of nitrobenzene to azoxybenzene, whereas the gold nanoparticles supported on the painted nanofibers and P25 could efficiently reduce nitrobenzene to azoxybenzene as the sole product under visible light irradiation. These results were different from those from the reduction on the gold nanoparticles photocatalyst on ZrO2, in which the azoxybenzene was the intermediate and converted to azobenzene quickly. Evidently, the support materials significantly affect the product selectivity of the nitrobenzene reduction. Finally, the new photocatalysts could be easily dispersed into and separated from a liquid because of their fibril morphology, which is an important advantage for practical applications.

Long time, no see?

Long Time, No See? is a crowd-sourced project that asks people to reflect upon what kind of long term future they would each like to promote. It is an evolving experiment in the social practice of ‘everyday futuring’. To participate download the Long Time, No See? IPhone APP that gently guides you during a short walk, encouraging you to experience new places, sensations and thoughts in your locality. At nine stages along that journey you donate ‘field notes’ as images, texts, sounds and ‘themes’, offering a unique opportunity to reveal possible pathways towards more sustaining futures. The APP records the shape of your walk on the ground and draws an island on the ‘map’ shown here, populated by your nine sets of responses. The themes you have chosen then connect your island into an evolving ‘world’ map of connections and possibilities, which you can then explore at your leisure. In these ways, Long Time, No See? doesn’t ask you for lofty visions or ask you to lay out a program of action, but instead asks you to consider what is around you today, steering your eyes, ears and embodied experiences towards new futures that demonstrate your ‘care’ for what comes after you. Please use the contribute tab below to learn how to add your voice! PARTICIPATE To contribute 1: Download the APP {bit.do/ltns}, iPhone/iPad is supported right now. 2: Register a ‘walker name’. 3: Take a leisurely walk (30 -60mins) and contribute image, text, sound and themes when asked. 4: Wait while we verify and upload your walk (allow about 24 hours) 5: View your contributions via your ‘walker name’ and discover how it relates to others, here at the Cube and at www.long-time-no-see.org. NB You can undertake each walk over more than one day if that suits. You may even drive, cycle or move by other modes. DOWNLOAD THE APP: bit.do/ltns (insert QI Code) FIND OUT MORE www.long-time-no-see.org

Cork as canvas : exploring intersections of citizenship and collective memory in the Shandon Big Wash Up murals

Urban space has the potential to shape people's experience and understanding of the city and of the culture of a place. In some respects, murals and allied forms of wall art occupy the intersection of street art and public art; engaging, and sometimes, transforming the urban space in which they exist and those who use it. While murals are often conceived as a more ‘permanent’ form of painted art there has been a trend in recent years towards more deliberately transient forms of wall art such as washed-wall murals and reverse graffiti. These varying forms of public wall art are embedded within the fabric of the urban space and history. This paper will explore the intersection of public space, public art and public memory in a mural project in the Irish city of Cork. Focussing on the washed-wall murals of Cork's historic Shandon district, we explore the sympathetic and synergetic relationship of this wall art with the heritage architecture of the built environment and of the murals as an expression of and for the local community, past and present. Through the Shandon Big Wash Up murals we reflect on the function of participatory public art as an explicit act of urban citizenship which works to support community-led re-enchantment in the city through a reconnection with its past.

Developing transactive memory systems : theoretical contributions from a social identity perspective

Transactive memory system (TMS) theory explains how expertise is recognized and coordinated in teams. Extending current TMS research from a group information-processing perspective, our article presents a theoretical model that considers TMS development from a social identity perspective. We discuss how two features of communication (quantity and quality) important to TMS development are linked to TMS through the group identification mechanism of a shared common team identity. Informed by social identity theory, we also differentiate between intragroup and intergroup contexts and outline how, in multidisciplinary teams, professional identification and perceived equality of status among professional subgroups have a role to play in TMS development. We provide a theoretical discussion of future research directions aimed at testing and extending our model.

Summarisation of short-term and long-term videos using texture and colour

We present a novel approach to video summarisation that makes use of a Bag-of-visual-Textures (BoT) approach. Two systems are proposed, one based solely on the BoT approach and another which exploits both colour information and BoT features. On 50 short-term videos from the Open Video Project we show that our BoT and fusion systems both achieve state-of-the-art performance, obtaining an average F-measure of 0.83 and 0.86 respectively, a relative improvement of 9% and 13% when compared to the previous state-of-the-art. When applied to a new underwater surveillance dataset containing 33 long-term videos, the proposed system reduces the amount of footage by a factor of 27, with only minor degradation in the information content. This order of magnitude reduction in video data represents significant savings in terms of time and potential labour cost when manually reviewing such footage.

Human breast cancer cell metastasis to long bone and soft organs of nude mice : a quantitative assay

Bone is a common metastatic site in human breast cancer (HBC). Since bone metastasis occurs very rarely from current spontaneous or experimental metastasis models of HBC cells in nude mice, an arterial seeding model involving the direct injection of the cells into the left ventricle has been developed to better understand the mechanisms involved in this process. We present here a sensitive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method to detect and quantitate bone and soft organ metastasis in nude mice which have been intracardially inoculated with Lac Z transduced HBC cells. Amplification of genomically incorporated Lac Z sequences in MDA-MB-231-BAG HBC cells enables us to specifically detect these cells in mouse organs and bones. We have also created a competitive template to use as an internal standard in the PCR reactions, allowing us to better quantitate levels of HBC metastasis. The results of this PCR detection method correlate well with cell culture detection from alternate long bones from the same mice, and are more sensitive than gross Lac Z staining with X-gal or routine histology. Comparable qualitative results were obtained with PCR and culture in a titration experiment in which mice were inoculated with increasing numbers of cells, but PCR is more quantifiable, less time consuming, and less expensive. This assay can be employed to study the molecular and cellular aspects of bone metastasis, and could easily be used in conjunction with RT-PCR-based analyses of gene products which may be involved with HBC metastasis.

Effects of short-duration and long-duration exercise on lipoprotein(a)

Purpose Most studies that use either a single exercise session, exercise training, or a cross-sectional design have failed to find a relationship between exercise and plasma lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] concentrations. However, a few studies investigating the effects of longer and/or more strenuous exercise have shown elevated Lp(a) concentrations, possibly as an acute-phase reactant to muscle damage. Based on the assumption that greater muscle damage would occur with exercise of longer duration, the purpose of the present study was to determine whether exercise of longer duration would increase Lp(a) concentration and creatine kinase. (CK) activity more than exercise of shorter duration. Methods Ten endurance-trained men (mean +/- SD: age, 27 +/- 6 yr; maximal oxygen consumption [(V)over dotO(2max)], 57 +/- 7 mL(.)kg(-1) min(-1)) completed two separate exercise sessions at 70% (V)over dotO(2max). One session required 900 kcal of energy expenditure (60 +/- 6 min), and the other required 1500 kcal (112 +/- 12 min). Fasted blood samples were taken immediately before (0-pre), immediately after (0-post), 1 d after (1-post), and 2 d after (2-post) each exercise session. Results CK activity increased after both exercise sessions (mean +/- SE; 800 kcal: 0-pre 55 +/- 11, 1-post 168 +/- 64 U(.)L(-1.)min(-1); 1500 kcal: 0-pre 51 +/- 5, 1-post 187 +/- 30, 2-post 123 +/- 19 U(.)L(-1.)min(-1); P < 0.05). However, median Lp(a) concentrations were not altered by either exercise session (800 kcal: 0-pre 5.0 mg(.)dL(-1), 0-post 3.2 mg(.)dL(-1), 1-post 4.0 mg(.)dL(-1), 2-post 3.4 mg(.)dL(-1); 1500 kcal: 0-pre 5.8 mg(.)dL(-1), 0-post 4.3 mg(.)dL(-1), 1-post 3.2 mg(.)dL(-1), 2-post 5.3 mg(.)dL(-1)). In addition, no relationship existed between exercise-induced changes in CK activity and Lp(a) concentration (800 kcal: r = -0.26; 1500 kcal: r = -0.02). Conclusion These results suggest that plasma Lp(a) concentration will not increase in response to minor exercise-induced muscle damage in endurance-trained runners.

Long-term stability of adipose tissue generated from a vascularized pedicled fat flap inside a chamber

Background Numerous studies demonstrate the generation and short-term survival of adipose tissue; however, long-term persistence remains elusive. This study evaluates long-term survival and transferability of de novo adipose constructs based on a ligated vascular pedicle and tissue engineering chamber combination. Methods Defined adipose tissue flaps were implanted into rats in either intact or perforated domed chambers. In half of the groups, the chambers were removed after 10 weeks and the constructs transferred on their vascular pedicle to a new site, where they were observed for a further 10 weeks. In the remaining groups, the tissue construct was observed for 20 weeks inside the chamber. Tissue volume was assessed using magnetic resonance imaging and histologic measures, and constructs were assessed for stability and necrosis. Sections were assessed histologically and for proliferation using Ki-67. Results At 20 weeks, volume analysis revealed an increase in adipose volume from 0.04 ± 0.001 ml at the time of insertion into the chambers to 0.27 ± 0.004 ml in the closed and 0.44 ± 0.014 ml in the perforated chambers. There was an additional increase of approximately 10 to 15 percent in tissue volume in flaps that remained in chambers for 20 weeks, whereas the volume of the transferred tissue not in chambers remained unaltered. Histomorphometric assessment of the tissues documented no signs of hypertrophy, fat necrosis, or atypical changes of the newly generated tissue. Conclusion This study presents a promising new method of generating significant amounts of mature, vascularized, stable, and transferable adipose tissue for permanent autologous soft-tissue replacement.

Long-term persistence of tissue-engineered adipose flaps in a murine model to 1 year : an update

BACKGROUND Tissue engineering of patient-specific adipose tissue has the potential to revolutionize reconstructive surgery. Numerous models have been described for the production of adipose tissue with success in the short term, but little has been reported on the stability of this tissue-engineered fat beyond 4 months. METHODS A murine model of de novo adipogenesis producing a potentially transplantable adipose tissue flap within 4 to 6 weeks was developed in the authors' laboratory. In this study, the authors assess the ability of three-chamber (44-μl volume) configurations shown to be adipogenic in previous short-term studies (autograft, n = 8; open, n = 6; fat flap, n = 11) to maintain their tissue volume for up to 12 months in vivo, to determine the most adipogenic configuration in the long term. RESULTS Those chambers having the most contact with existing vascularized adipose tissue (open and fat flap groups) showed increased mean adipose tissue percentage (77 ± 5.6 percent and 81 ± 6.9 percent, respectively; p < 0.0007) and volume (12 ± 6.8 μl and 30 ± 14 μl, respectively; p < 0.025) when compared with short-term controls and greater adipose tissue volume than the autograft (sealed) chamber group (4.9 ± 5.8 μl; p = 0.0001) at 1 year. Inclusion of a vascularized fat flap within the chamber produced the best results, with new fat completely filling the chamber by 1 year. CONCLUSIONS These findings demonstrate that fat produced by tissue engineering is capable of maintaining its volume when the appropriate microenvironment is provided. This has important implications for the application of tissue-engineering techniques in humans.

Patient perspectives of the impact and long-term management of lymphoedema

Lymphoedema following cancer treatment is characterized by swelling, and adversely influences mobility, function and quality of life. There is no cure, but without treatment lymphedema may progress. Since lymphedema treatment options are costly and time consuming, understanding the influence of these, and other potential barriers, on treatment adherence is vital in reducing the public health burden of lymphedema. Complex physical therapy and compression are supported by scientific evidence and patients also perceive these treatments as effective for improving symptoms and function. Multiple treatments may be required to treat all aspects of the condition. Patients and health professionals should consider effect and costs when identifying optimal treatment strategies.

MT1-MMP-dependent and -independent regulation of gelatinase A activation in long-term, ascorbate-treated fibroblast cultures: Regulation by fibrillar collagen

Human skin fibroblasts were cultured long-term in the presence of ascorbic acid to allow formation of a three-dimensional collagen matrix, and the effects of this on activation of secreted matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) were examined. Accumulation of collagen over time correlated with increased levels of both mature MMP-2 and cell-associated membrane type 1-MMP (MT1-MMP), and subsequently increased mRNA levels for MT1-MMP, providing temporal resolution of the "nontranscriptional" and "transcriptional" effects of collagen on MT-1MMP functionality. MMP-2 activation by these cultures was blocked by inhibitors of prolyl-4-hydroxylase, or when fibroblasts derived from the collagen α1(I) gene-deficient Mov-13 mouse were used. MMP-2 activation by the Mov-13 fibroblasts was rescued by transfection of a full-length α1(I) collagen cDNA, and to our surprise, also by transfection with an α1(I) collagen cDNA carrying a mutation at the C-proteinase cleavage, which almost abrogated fibrillogenesis. Although studies with ascorbate-cultured MT1-MMP-/- fibroblasts showed that MT1-MMP played a significant role in the collagen-induced MMP-2 activation, a residual MT1-MMP-independent activation of MMP-2 was seen which resembled the level of MMP-2 activation persisting when wild-type fibroblasts were cultured in the presence of both ascorbic acid and MMP inhibitors. We were also unable to block this residual activation with inhibitors specific for serinyl, aspartyl, or cysteinyl enzymes.

Predicting positive and negative impacts of cancer among long-term endometrial cancer survivors

OBJECTIVE Although the survival outcomes among women diagnosed with endometrial cancer are very favorable, little is known about the long-term impact of their cancer experience. This study identifies the extent of positive and negative impacts of cancer and factors associated with this, amongst long-term survivors of endometrial cancer. METHODS Australian women diagnosed with endometrial cancer (N=632) were sent questionnaires at the time of diagnosis and 3-5 years later. Hierarchical multiple regression models were used to examine whether a range of variables at diagnosis/treatment predicted subsequent scores on the Impact of Cancer Scale, which examines positive (e.g. health awareness) and negative (e.g. appearance concerns) impacts amongst cancer survivors. RESULTS Overall, women had a higher mean score for the positive than negative impact scales (M=3.5 versus M=2.5, respectively). An intermediate grade of endometrial cancer, a prior diagnosis of cancer and lower levels of education were significant, but weak, predictors of higher scores on the positive impact scale. Higher scores on the negative impact scale were predicted by a higher grade of cancer, poor physical and mental health, a younger age, being single or having lower levels of education. CONCLUSIONS The study demonstrates that factors that predict positive impact in cancer survivors differ to those that predict negative impact, suggesting that interventions to optimize cancer survivors' quality of life will need to be multi-dimensional, and this supports the need for tailored intervention.

Multiple map hypotheses for planning and navigating in non-stationary environments

This paper presents a method to enable a mobile robot working in non-stationary environments to plan its path and localize within multiple map hypotheses simultaneously. The maps are generated using a long-term and short-term memory mechanism that ensures only persistent configurations in the environment are selected to create the maps. In order to evaluate the proposed method, experimentation is conducted in an office environment. Compared to navigation systems that use only one map, our system produces superior path planning and navigation in a non-stationary environment where paths can be blocked periodically, a common scenario which poses significant challenges for typical planners.

Intrinsic frames of reference in haptic spatial learning

It has been proposed that spatial reference frames with which object locations are specified in memory are intrinsic to a to-be-remembered spatial layout (intrinsic reference theory). Although this theory has been supported by accumulating evidence, it has only been collected from paradigms in which the entire spatial layout was simultaneously visible to observers. The present study was designed to examine the generality of the theory by investigating whether the geometric structure of a spatial layout (bilateral symmetry) influences selection of spatial reference frames when object locations are sequentially learned through haptic exploration. In two experiments, participants learned the spatial layout solely by touch and performed judgments of relative direction among objects using their spatial memories. Results indicated that the geometric structure can provide a spatial cue for establishing reference frames as long as it is accentuated by explicit instructions (Experiment 1) or alignment with an egocentric orientation (Experiment 2). These results are entirely consistent with those from previous studies in which spatial information was encoded through simultaneous viewing of all object locations, suggesting that the intrinsic reference theory is not specific to a type of spatial memory acquired by the particular learning method but instead generalizes to spatial memories learned through a variety of encoding conditions. In particular, the present findings suggest that spatial memories that follow the intrinsic reference theory function equivalently regardless of the modality in which spatial information is encoded.