A systematic review of worldwide causal and correlational evidence on digital media and democracy.

One of today's most controversial and consequential issues is whether the global uptake of digital media is causally related to a decline in democracy. We conducted a systematic review of causal and correlational evidence (N = 496 articles) on the link between digital media use and different political variables. Some associations, such as increasing political participation and information consumption, are likely to be beneficial for democracy and were often observed in autocracies and emerging democracies. Other associations, such as declining political trust, increasing populism and growing polarization, are likely to be detrimental to democracy and were more pronounced in established democracies. While the impact of digital media on political systems depends on the specific variable and system in question, several variables show clear directions of associations. The evidence calls for research efforts and vigilance by governments and civil societies to better understand, design and regulate the interplay of digital media and democracy.

Kynurenine to tryptophan ratio as a biomarker of acute stress in fish.

The aim of this study was to determine the kynurenine (KYN) to tryptophan (TRP) ratio (KTR) in fish tissue to assess its usefulness as a biomarker of acute stress. Laboratory held rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were subjected to an acute stressor and KYN, TRP and cortisol were measured in liver and brain tissues at 4- and 48-h post-stress. The analytical method used to determine our analytes was based on lyophilization, and liquid-solid extraction followed by isotope dilution high-performance liquid chromatography positive ion electrospray tandem mass spectrometry. The [KYN]/[TRP] ratio (KTR) was greater in fish liver and brain in the 48-h post-stress exposure group (n = 8) relative to controls (n = 8, p < 0.05); a similar increase was not observed in fish in the 4-h post-stress exposure group. Hepatic and brain cortisol levels were also elevated in fish from both stress-induced groups relative to their respective controls implying that cortisol responded more quickly to the stressful stimulus than KYN and TRP. Our results suggest that the KTR is a promising acute stress diagnostic biomarker in fish. Efforts are ongoing to assess whether the KTR can be used as a biomarker for chronic stress in fish exposed to aquatic contaminants and other environmental stressors and if similar assessments can be made on tissues collected via non-lethal approaches.

Determination of levetiracetam in human plasma/serum/saliva by liquid chromatography-electrospray tandem mass spectrometry.

BACKGROUND: Levetiracetam (Keppra) is a novel antiepileptic drug recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as an add-on therapy in the treatment of partial onset seizures in patients. We developed and describe a simple and rapid high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS/MS) assay for the determination of levetiracetam in human matrix (plasma, serum, or saliva). METHODS: An API-3000 or API-4000 triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer (Sciex, Concord, Canada) coupled with the IonSpray source and Shimadzu HPLC system (Shimadzu Scientific Instruments, Columbia, MD) was used employing ritonavir as internal standard (IS) for levetiracetam. One hundred microliters of serum (or plasma, saliva) was deproteinized by adding 150 microl of acetonitrile containing internal standard. After centrifugation, 100 microl of supernatant was diluted with 300 microl of water and 10 microl aliquot was injected onto a C-18 column. After a 2.5 min wash the valve was activated to initiate the isocratic elution program which eluted the levetiracetam and internal standard into the MS/MS system. Quantitation by MRM analysis was performed in the positive ion mode. Within-day and between-day imprecision were evaluated for levetiracetam using three levels of in-house controls. Reliability and accuracy of this method were assessed by comparison of targets with external QC material (ChromSystems), between laboratory comparisons and by recovery studies. RESULTS: Within-day coefficients of variation (CVs) were <6.1% and between-day CVs were <8.2%. The average spiked recoveries of levetiracetam added to the drug-free human plasma samples were 108% at low concentration level and 103% at high concentration level. CONCLUSIONS: The method was found both specific and sensitive for the rapid and accurate measurement of levetiracetam in human matrices and correlated well with the Quest/Chantilly tandem mass spectrometric method (r=0.983).

Single-pass attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy for the prediction of protein secondary structure.

Principal component regression (PCR) was applied to a spectral library of proteins in H2O solution acquired by single-pass attenuated total reflectance (ATR) Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. PCR was used to predict the secondary structure content, principally alpha-helical and the beta-sheet content, of proteins within a spectral library. Quantitation of protein secondary structure content was performed as a proof of principle that use of single-pass ATR-FT-IR is an appropriate method for protein secondary structure analysis. The ATR-FT-IR method permits acquisition of the entire spectral range from 700 to 3900 cm(-1) without significant interference from water bands. An "inside model space" bootstrap and a genetic algorithm (GA) were used to improve prediction results. Specifically, the bootstrap was utilized to increase the number of replicates for adequate training and validation of the PCR model. The GA was used to optimize PCR parameters, particularly wavenumber selection. The use of the bootstrap allowed for adequate representation of variability in the amide A, amide B, and C-H stretching regions due to differing levels of sample hydration. Implementation of the bootstrap improved the robustness of the PCR models significantly; however, the use of a GA only slightly improved prediction results. Two spectral libraries are presented where one was better suited for beta-sheet content prediction and the other for alpha-helix content prediction. The GA-optimized PCR method for alpha-helix content prediction utilized 120 wavenumbers within the amide I, II, A, B, and IV and the C-H stretching regions and 18 factors. For beta-sheet content predictions, 580 wavenumbers within the amide I, II, A, and B and the C-H stretching regions and 18 factors were used. The validation results using these two methods yielded an average absolute error of 1.7% for alpha-helix content prediction and an average absolute error of 2.3% for beta-sheet content prediction. After the PCR models were developed and validated, they were used to predict the alpha-helix and beta-sheet content of two unknowns, casein and immunoglobulin G.