Parental perceptions of the effects of exercise on behavior in children and adolescents with ADHD

AbstractBackgroundAnecdotally, parents often report that children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who engage in regular physical activity (PA) experience positive behavioral changes. The purpose of this study was to examine this anecdotal relationship to provide preliminary evidence relevant to the potential benefits of PA on ADHD symptoms.MethodsParents (n = 68) of children diagnosed with ADHD completed an Internet survey assessing perceptions of how PA influences their child's symptoms.ResultsA significantly greater percentage of parents reported that regular PA positively impacted symptoms. However, there were no uniform effects for all types of ADHD symptoms. The results indicate that there may be more positive benefits for symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity than for those of impulsivity.ConclusionThis is the first study to empirically document parents' perceptions of how PA influences ADHD and suggests that PA can be a viable strategy for reducing symptoms. PA may have greater benefits for specific symptoms of ADHD, providing critical information for developing PA interventions for children and adolescents

Growth of aligned carbon nanotubes on carbon microfibers by dc plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition

It is shown that unidirectionally aligned carbon nanotubes can be grown on electrically conductive network of carbon microfibers via control of buffer layer material and applied electric field during dc plasma chemical vapor deposition growth. Ni catalyst deposition on carbon microfiber produces relatively poorly aligned nanotubes with significantly varying diameters and lengths obtained. The insertion of Ti 5 nm thick underlayer between Ni catalyst layer and C microfiber substrate significantly alters the morphology of nanotubes, resulting in much better aligned, finer diameter, and longer array of nanotubes. This beneficial effect is attributed to the reduced reaction between Ni and carbon paper, as well as prevention of plasma etching of carbon paper by inserting a Ti buffer layer. Such a unidirectionally aligned nanotube structure on an open-pore conductive substrate structure may conveniently be utilized as a high-surface-area base electrodes for fuel cells, batteries, and other electrochemical and catalytic reactions

Control of carbon nanotube morphology by change of applied bias field during growth

Carbon nanotube morphology has been engineered via simple control of applied voltage during dc plasma chemical vapor deposition growth. Below a critical applied voltage, a nanotube configuration of vertically aligned tubes with a constant diameter is obtained. Above the critical voltage, a nanocone-type configuration is obtained. The strongly field-dependent transition in morphology is attributed primarily to the plasma etching and decrease in the size of nanotube-nucleating catalyst particles. A two-step control of applied voltage allows a creation of dual-structured nanotube morphology consisting of a broad base nanocone (~200 nm dia.) with a small diameter nanotube (~7 nm) vertically emanating from the apex of the nanocone, which may be useful for atomic force microscopy

Mutation of the Traj18 gene segment using TALENs to generate Natural Killer T cell deficient mice.

Invariant Natural Killer T (iNKT) cells are a unique subset of T lymphocytes that have been implicated in both promoting and suppressing a multitude of immune responses. In mice, iNKT cells express T cell antigen receptors (TCRs) comprising a unique TCRα rearrangement between the Trav11 and Traj18 gene segments. When paired with certain Trbv TCRβ chains, these TCRs recognize lipid antigens presented by the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I-like molecule, CD1d. Until recently, the sole model of iNKT deficiency targeted the Jα18, which is absolutely required to form the TCR with the appropriate antigenic specificity. However, these mice were demonstrated to have a large reduction in TCR repertoire diversity, which could confound results arising from studies using these mice. Here, we have created a new NKT-deficient mouse strain using transcription activator-like effector nuclease (TALEN) technology to only disrupt the expression of Jα18, leaving the remaining Jα repertoire unperturbed. We confirm that these mice lack iNKT cells and do not respond to lipid antigen stimulation while the development of conventional T cells, regulatory T cells, and type Ib NKT cells is normal. This new mouse strain will serve as a new model of iNKT cell deficiency to facilitate our understanding of iNKT biology

Trithiocarbonate-Mediated RAFT Polymerization Enables the Synthesis of Homotelechelic N-Vinylpyrrolidone Oligomers with Surfactant Properties

International audiencePoly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) is a well-known biocompatible polymer widely used in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and many other applications and is usually synthesized via radical polymerization. High molar mass PVP lacks biodegradability according to the OECD 301 F standard and can lead to permanent accumulation within the body or in the environment. Nowadays, lower molar mass PVP is produced via xanthate-mediated reversible addition–fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) polymerization. However, this type of polymerization also leads to a large amount of undesired dimer formation. Herein, various homotelechelic PVP oligomers were prepared via a trithiocarbonate-mediated RAFT polymerization with the production of a minimal amount of unsaturated dimer. These PVP oligomers showed similar surfactant properties as the well-known Lutensol AT50 surfactant, and they were used as a nonionic surfactant in a typical radical aqueous miniemulsion polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) to produce well-defined PMMA nanoparticles. Additionally, PVP oligomers showed no toxicity to the bacterial strain Escherichia coli and to the water fleas Daphnia pulex, which is promising for safe release in wastewater systems

Invariant Natural Killer T Cell Subsets—More Than Just Developmental Intermediates

Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells are a CD1d-restricted T cell population that can respond to lipid antigenic stimulation within minutes by secreting a wide variety of cytokines. This broad functional scope has placed iNKT cells at the frontlines of many kinds of immune responses. Although the diverse functional capacities of iNKT cells have long been acknowledged, only recently have distinct iNKT cell subsets, each with a marked functional predisposition, been appreciated. Furthermore, the subsets can frequently occupy distinct niches in different tissues and sometimes establish long-term tissue residency where they can impact homeostasis and respond quickly when they sense perturbations. In this review, we discuss the developmental origins of the iNKT cell subsets, their localization patterns, and detail what is known about how different subsets specifically influence their surroundings in conditions of steady and diseased states

Toward robust segmented nanowires : understanding the impact of crystallographic texture on the quality of segment interfaces in magnetic metallic nanowires

Segmented nanowires (NWs) have found a wealth of applications due to their multifuctionality, arising from complementarities and synergies among segments of different materials. However, to ensure a practical use of segmented NWs, high quality interfaces between dissimilar segments must be ensured. Herein, tri-segmented CoPt/Cu/Ni NWs and bi-segmented CoPt/Ni magnetic NWs are fabricated by means of template-assisted electrodeposition and the characteristics of their interfaces are investigated in detail. The presence of a Cu segment sandwiched between the CoPt and the Ni segments severely affects the integrity of the whole NW. Namely, Cu deposits in a (200) textured face-centered cubic (fcc) structure, which cannot accommodate well on the c-axis oriented hexagonal close-packed CoPt. Instead, when the Cu segment is absent, well-connected CoPt/Ni NWs with smooth interface are obtained. Unlike the Cu segment, Ni shows the (111) textured fcc structure, which holds good crystallographic matching with the underlying CoPt segment. Magnetic measurements reveal that CoPt/Ni NWs exhibit staircase-like hysteresis loops similar to the tri-segmented CoPt/Cu/Ni NWs. Such loop shape stems from the dissimilar coercivity between the hard (CoPt) and soft (Ni) segments. The bi-segmented NWs (with robust interfaces) are appealing for multi-bit recording media, magnetic nanoelectromechanical systems and magnetically-driven wireless drug delivery nanoplatforms

TINJAUAN HUKUM ISLAM TERHADAP STRATEGI PEMASARAN DALAM BUDIDAYA UDANG TAMBAK(Studi Di Desa Pengubaian Kecamatan Kaur Selatan Kabupaten Kaur Provinsi Bengkulu)

ABSTRAK Pemasaran Islam adalah sebuah displin bisnis strategi yang mengarahkan proses penciptaan, penawaran dan perubahan values dari satu investor kepada stakholders(pemilik kepentingan) yang dalam keseluruhan proses sesuai akad serta prinsip-prinsip Al-Quran dan Hadist. Tujuan adanya strategi pemasaran ialah bisa tercapainya suatu upaya mempertahankan dan meningkatkan penjualan untuk memperoleh keuntungan yang lebih besar. Islam sangat mengedepankan prinsip saling rela (ridha) dan menghidari riba. Dimana konsumen yang membeli udang tambak belum mengetahui secara pasti bentuk dari udang yang dijual oleh pemilik itu sendiri.Dengan begitu apakah strategi pemasaran yang dilakukan pemilik udang tambak melakukan pemasaran dalam penjualannya sesuai dengan hukum Islam atau tidak. Rumusan masalah dalam penelitian ini adalah Bagaimana praktik Strategi Pemasaran Budidaya Udang Tambak yang ada Desa Pengubaian. Bagaimana Tinjauan Dari Hukum Islam terhadap praktik Strategi Pemasaran Budidaya Udang Tambak Desa Pengubaian. Tujuan dalam penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui Bagaimana praktik Strategi Pemasaran Budidaya Udang Tambak yang ada Desa Pengubaian. Bagaimana Tinjauan Dari Hukum Islam terhadap praktik Strategi Pemasaran Budidaya Udang Tambak Desa Pengubaian. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian lapangan yang dilakukan pada pemilik, pengelola dan konsumen udang tambak di Desa PengubaianKecamatan Kaur Selatan. Sumber data yang penulis gunakan adalah terdiri dari sumber data primer yaitu data-data yang diperoleh dari hasil wawancara dan dokumentasi dan sumber data sekunder yaitu data-data yang diperoleh dari penelaahan buku-buku yang berkaitan dan menunjang penelitian ini.Setelah data terkumpul penulis melakukan analisis data dengan menggunakan metode kualitatif deskriptif. Penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa praktikStrategi Pemasaran Budidaya Udang Tambak Desa Pengubaiandengan cara promosi yang dimana promosi bertujuan untuk memberi informasi, mempengaruhi iii atu membujuk kepada calon pelanggan agar produknya dapat digunakan dan diterima oleh konsumen penentuan hargaudang tambak yang dijual masih dalam tarif harga yang normal. Hal ini tentunya tidak bertentangan dengan hukum Islam. Dan transaksi pertukaran antara barang dengan barang atau barang dengan uang dengan jalan melepaskan hak milik dari satu dengan yang lain atas dasar saling merelakan sesuai dengan ketentuan yang dibenarkan syara’ (hukum Islam)

Differing roles of CD1d2 and CD1d1 proteins in type I natural killer T cell development and function

MHC class I-like CD1 molecules have evolved to present lipid-based antigens to T cells. Differences in the antigen-binding clefts of the CD1 family members determine the conformation and size of the lipids that are presented, although the factors that shape CD1 diversity remain unclear. In mice, two homologous genes, CD1D1 and CD1D2, encode the CD1d protein, which is essential to the development and function of natural killer T (NKT) cells. However, it remains unclear whether both CD1d isoforms are equivalent in their antigen presentation capacity and functions. Here, we report that CD1d2 molecules are expressed in the thymus of some mouse strains, where they select functional type I NKT cells. Intriguingly, the T cell antigen receptor repertoire and phenotype of CD1d2-selected type I NKT cells in CD1D1−/− mice differed from CD1d1-selected type I NKT cells. The structures of CD1d2 in complex with endogenous lipids and a truncated acyl-chain analog of α-galactosylceramide revealed that its A′-pocket was restricted in size compared with CD1d1. Accordingly, CD1d2 molecules could not present glycolipid antigens with long acyl chains efficiently, favoring the presentation of short acyl chain antigens. These results indicate that the two CD1d molecules present different sets of self-antigen(s) in the mouse thymus, thereby impacting the development of invariant NKT cells

T cell immunodominance is dictated by the positively selecting self-peptide

Naive T cell precursor frequency determines the magnitude of immunodominance. While a broad T cell repertoire requires diverse positively selecting self-peptides, how a single positively selecting ligand influences naive T cell precursor frequency remains undefined. We generated a transgenic mouse expressing a naturally occurring self-peptide, gp250, that positively selects an MCC-specific TCR, AND, as the only MHC class II I-E(k) ligand to study the MCC highly organized immunodominance hierarchy. The single gp250/I-E(k) ligand greatly enhanced MCC-tetramer(+) CD4(+) T cells, and skewed MCC-tetramer(+) population toward V11α(+)Vβ3(+), a major TCR pair in MCC-specific immunodominance. The gp250-selected V11α(+)Vβ3(+) CD4(+) T cells had a significantly increased frequency of conserved MCC-preferred CDR3 features. Our studies establish a direct and causal relationship between a selecting self-peptide and the specificity of the selected TCRs. Thus, an immunodominant T cell response can be due to a dominant positively selecting self-peptide. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.01457.00