Is There a Common Summary Statistical Process for Representing the Mean and Variance? A Study Using Illustrations of Familiar Items.

PubMed

Yang, Yi; Tokita, Midori; Ishiguchi, Akira

2018-01-01

A number of studies revealed that our visual system can extract different types of summary statistics, such as the mean and variance, from sets of items. Although the extraction of such summary statistics has been studied well in isolation, the relationship between these statistics remains unclear. In this study, we explored this issue using an individual differences approach. Observers viewed illustrations of strawberries and lollypops varying in size or orientation and performed four tasks in a within-subject design, namely mean and variance discrimination tasks with size and orientation domains. We found that the performances in the mean and variance discrimination tasks were not correlated with each other and demonstrated that extractions of the mean and variance are mediated by different representation mechanisms. In addition, we tested the relationship between performances in size and orientation domains for each summary statistic (i.e. mean and variance) and examined whether each summary statistic has distinct processes across perceptual domains. The results illustrated that statistical summary representations of size and orientation may share a common mechanism for representing the mean and possibly for representing variance. Introspections for each observer performing the tasks were also examined and discussed.

Model Driven Development of Web Services and Dynamic Web Services Composition

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-01-01

27 2.4.1 Feature-Oriented Domain Analysis ( FODA ).......................................27 2.4.2 The need of automation for Feature-Oriented...Diagram Algebra FDL Feature Description Language FODA Feature-Oriented Domain Analysis FSM Finite State Machine GDM Generative Domain...Oriented Domain Analysis ( FODA ) in Section 2.4 and Aspect-Oriented Generative Do- main Modeling (AOGDM) in Section 2.5, which not only represent two

Modulation and Functional Role of the Orientations of the N- and P-Domains of Cu+ -Transporting ATPase along the Ion Transport Cycle.

PubMed

Meng, Dan; Bruschweiler-Li, Lei; Zhang, Fengli; Brüschweiler, Rafael

2015-08-18

Ion transport of different P-type ATPases is regulated similarly through the interplay of multiple protein domains. In the presence of ATP, binding of a cation to the ion binding site in the transmembrane helices leads to the phosphorylation of the P-domain, allowing ion transfer across the membrane. The details of the mechanism, however, are not clear. Here, we report the modulation of the orientation between the N- and P-domains of Cu(+)-transporting ATPase along the ion transport cycle using high-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy in solution. On the basis of residual dipolar coupling measurements, it is found that the interdomain orientation (relative openness) of the N- and P-domains is distinctly modulated depending on the specific state of the N- and P-domains along the ion translocation cycle. The two domains' relative position in the apo state is semiopen, whereas it becomes closed upon binding of ATP to the N-domain. After phosphorylation of the P-domain and the release of ADP, the opening, however, becomes the widest among all the states. We reason such wide opening resulting from the departure of ADP prepares the N- and P-domains to accommodate the A-domain for interaction and, hence, promote ion transport and allow dephosphorylation of the P-domain. Such wide interdomain opening is abolished when an Asn to Asp mutation is introduced into the conserved DXXK motif located in the hinge region of the N- and P-domains of Cu(+)-ATPase, suggesting the indispensible role of the N- and P-interdomain orientation during ion transportation. Our results shed new light on the structural and mechanistic details of P-type ATPase function at large.

Creating and Manipulating a Domain-Specific Formal Object Base to Support a Domain-Oriented Application Composition System

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-12-01

and add new attributes as needed (11:129). 2.2.3.2 Feature Oriented Domain Analysis In their Feature-Oriented Domain Analysis ( FODA ) study, the...dissertation, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin Texas, 1990. 12. Kang, Kyo C. and others. Feature-Oriented Domain Analysis ( FODA ) Feasibil- ity Study...2-1 2.2.2 Requirements Languages ..................... 2-2 2.2.3 Domain Analysis ............................ 2-3 2.2.4

Is There a Common Summary Statistical Process for Representing the Mean and Variance? A Study Using Illustrations of Familiar Items

PubMed Central

Yang, Yi; Tokita, Midori; Ishiguchi, Akira

2018-01-01

A number of studies revealed that our visual system can extract different types of summary statistics, such as the mean and variance, from sets of items. Although the extraction of such summary statistics has been studied well in isolation, the relationship between these statistics remains unclear. In this study, we explored this issue using an individual differences approach. Observers viewed illustrations of strawberries and lollypops varying in size or orientation and performed four tasks in a within-subject design, namely mean and variance discrimination tasks with size and orientation domains. We found that the performances in the mean and variance discrimination tasks were not correlated with each other and demonstrated that extractions of the mean and variance are mediated by different representation mechanisms. In addition, we tested the relationship between performances in size and orientation domains for each summary statistic (i.e. mean and variance) and examined whether each summary statistic has distinct processes across perceptual domains. The results illustrated that statistical summary representations of size and orientation may share a common mechanism for representing the mean and possibly for representing variance. Introspections for each observer performing the tasks were also examined and discussed. PMID:29399318

Domains of State-Owned, Privately Held, and Publicly Traded Firms in International Competition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mascarenhas, Briance

1989-01-01

Hypotheses relating ownership to domain differences among state-owned, publicly traded, and privately held firms in international competition were examined in a controlled field study of the offshore drilling industry. Ownership explained selected differences in domestic market dominance, international presence, and customer orientation, even…

Component Provider’s and Tool Developer’s Handbook. Central Archive for Reusable Defense Software (CARDS)

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-03-25

metrics [DISA93b]. " The Software Engineering Institute (SET) has developed a domain analysis process (Feature-Oriented Domain Analysis - FODA ) and is...and expresses the range of variability of these decisions. 3.2.2.3 Feature Oriented Domain Analysis Feature Oriented Domain Analysis ( FODA ) is a domain...documents created in this phase. From a purely profit-oriented business point of view, a company may develop its own analysis of a government or commercial

Creating and Manipulating Formalized Software Architectures to Support a Domain-Oriented Application Composition System

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-12-01

OOD) Paradigm ...... .... 2-7 2.4.3 Feature-Oriented Domain Analysis ( FODA ) ..... 2-7 2.4.4 Hierarchical Software Systems .................. 2-7...domain analysis ( FODA ) is one approach to domain analysis whose primary goal is to make domain products reusable (20:47). A domain model describes 2-5...7), among others. 2.4.3 Feature-Oriented Domain Analysis ( FODA ) Kang and others used the com- plete FODA methodology to successfully develop a window

Equilibrium intermediate-state patterns in a type-I superconducting slab in an arbitrarily oriented applied magnetic field

DOE PAGES

Clem, John; Prozorov, Ruslan; Wijngaarden, Rinke J.

2013-09-04

The equilibrium topology of superconducting and normal domains in flat type-I superconductors is investigated. Important improvements with respect to previous work are that (1) the energy of the external magnetic field, as deformed by the presence of superconducting domains, is calculated in the same way for three different topologies and (2) calculations are made for arbitrary orientation of the applied field. A phase diagram is presented for the minimum-energy topology as a function of applied field magnitude and angle. For small (large) applied fields, normal (superconducting) tubes are found, while for intermediate fields, parallel domains have a lower energy. Themore » range of field magnitudes for which the superconducting-tubes structure is favored shrinks when the field is more in-plane oriented.« less

Cultural Dynamics and Marital Relationship Quality in Mexican-origin Families

PubMed Central

Cruz, Rick A.; Gonzales, Nancy A.; Corona, Marissa; King, Kevin M.; Cauce, Ana Mari; Robins, Richard W.; Widaman, Keith F.; Conger, Rand D.

2014-01-01

Prior research suggests that acculturation may influence relationship outcomes among Mexican-origin married couples, including marital adjustment and distress. Despite much theory and research on parent-child cultural differences and disruptions in the parent-child relationship, no previous research has investigated possible associations between husband-wife cultural differences and marital relationship quality. With a sample of Mexican-origin married couples (N = 398), the current study investigated the relations between husband-wife differences in acculturation (American orientation) and enculturation (Mexican orientation) with husband and wife reports of positive marital qualities (warmth and relationship satisfaction). To clarify and extend previous research, the current study also investigated within-person models of cultural orientation domains as related to positive marital quality. Results provide partial evidence showing that dyadic cultural differences are associated with lower positive marital quality while cultural similarity is associated with higher positive marital quality; however, the relations are complex and suggest that the associations between wife cultural orientation and positive marital quality may depend on husband cultural orientation (and vice versa). Findings also implicate the importance of assessing spouse bidimensional cultural orientation by showing that the relation between spouse acculturation level and relationship quality may depend on his or her enculturation level. Additional nuances in the findings illustrate the importance of assessing multiple domains of cultural orientation, including language use and cultural values. We highlight several future directions for research investigating nuances in spouse cultural dynamics and relationship processes. PMID:25313819

Distributed deformation and block rotation in 3D

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scotti, Oona; Nur, Amos; Estevez, Raul

1990-01-01

The authors address how block rotation and complex distributed deformation in the Earth's shallow crust may be explained within a stationary regional stress field. Distributed deformation is characterized by domains of sub-parallel fault-bounded blocks. In response to the contemporaneous activity of neighboring domains some domains rotate, as suggested by both structural and paleomagnetic evidence. Rotations within domains are achieved through the contemporaneous slip and rotation of the faults and of the blocks they bound. Thus, in regions of distributed deformation, faults must remain active in spite of their poor orientation in the stress field. The authors developed a model that tracks the orientation of blocks and their bounding faults during rotation in a 3D stress field. In the model, the effective stress magnitudes of the principal stresses (sigma sub 1, sigma sub 2, and sigma sub 3) are controlled by the orientation of fault sets in each domain. Therefore, adjacent fault sets with differing orientations may be active and may display differing faulting styles, and a given set of faults may change its style of motion as it rotates within a stationary stress regime. The style of faulting predicted by the model depends on a dimensionless parameter phi = (sigma sub 2 - sigma sub 3)/(sigma sub 1 - sigma sub 3). Thus, the authors present a model for complex distributed deformation and complex offset history requiring neither geographical nor temporal changes in the stress regime. They apply the model to the Western Transverse Range domain of southern California. There, it is mechanically feasible for blocks and faults to have experienced up to 75 degrees of clockwise rotation in a phi = 0.1 strike-slip stress regime. The results of the model suggest that this domain may first have accommodated deformation along preexisting NNE-SSW faults, reactivated as normal faults. After rotation, these same faults became strike-slip in nature.

Directed self-assembly of liquid crystalline blue-phases into ideal single-crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martínez-González, Jose A.; Li, Xiao; Sadati, Monirosadat; Zhou, Ye; Zhang, Rui; Nealey, Paul F.; de Pablo, Juan J.

2017-06-01

Chiral nematic liquid crystals are known to form blue phases--liquid states of matter that exhibit ordered cubic arrangements of topological defects. Blue-phase specimens, however, are generally polycrystalline, consisting of randomly oriented domains that limit their performance in applications. A strategy that relies on nano-patterned substrates is presented here for preparation of stable, macroscopic single-crystal blue-phase materials. Different template designs are conceived to exert control over different planes of the blue-phase lattice orientation with respect to the underlying substrate. Experiments are then used to demonstrate that it is indeed possible to create stable single-crystal blue-phase domains with the desired orientation over large regions. These results provide a potential avenue to fully exploit the electro-optical properties of blue phases, which have been hindered by the existence of grain boundaries.

A Review of Psychometric Assessment and Reporting Practices: An Examination of Measurement-Oriented versus Non-Measurement-Oriented Domains

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Slaney, Kathleen L.; Tkatchouk, Masha; Gabriel, Stephanie M.; Ferguson, Leona P.; Knudsen, Jared R. S.; Legere, Julien C.

2010-01-01

The primary aim of the present study is to determine whether the psychometric evaluation practices and test-analytic rationales of researchers publishing in journals with a measurement focus differ from those of researchers publishing in journals with varying substantive research foci. Several components of two different samples of articles were…

Towards an Interoperability Ontology for Software Development Tools

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-03-01

The description of feature models was tied to the introduction of the Feature-Oriented Domain Analysis ( FODA *) [KANG90] approach in the late eighties...Feature-oriented domain analysis ( FODA ) is a domain analysis method developed at the Software...ese obstacles was to construct a “pilot” ontology that is extensible. We applied the Feature-Oriented Domain Analysis approach to capture the

Evidence-Centered Design: Recommendations for Implementation and Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hendrickson, Amy; Ewing, Maureen; Kaliski, Pamela; Huff, Kristen

2013-01-01

Evidence-centered design (ECD) is an orientation towards assessment development. It differs from conventional practice in several ways and consists of multiple activities. Each of these activities results in a set of useful documentation: domain analysis, domain modeling, construction of the assessment framework, and assessment…

Discourses of student orientation to medical education programs

PubMed Central

Ellaway, Rachel H.; Cooper, Gerry; Al-Idrissi, Tracy; Dubé, Tim; Graves, Lisa

2014-01-01

Background Although medical students’ initial orientation is an important point of transition in medical education, there is a paucity of literature on the subject and major variations in the ways that different institutions orient incoming medical students to their programs. Methods We conducted a discourse analysis of medical education orientation in the literature and on data from a survey of peer institutions’ approaches to orientation. Results These two discourses of orientation had clear similarities, in particular, the critical role of ceremony and symbols, and the focus on developing professionalism and physician identities. There were also differences between them, in particular, in the way that the discourse in the literature focused on the symbolic and professional aspects of orientation; something we have called ‘cultural orientation’. Meanwhile, those who were responsible for orientation in their own institutions tended to focus on the practical and social dimensions. Conclusion By examining how orientation has been described and discussed, we identify three domains of orientation: cultural, social, and practical. These domains are relatively distinct in terms of the activities associated with them, and in terms of who is involved in organizing and running these activities. We also describe orientation as a liminal activity system on the threshold of medical school where incoming students initially cross into the profession. Interestingly, this state of ambiguity also extends to the scholarship of orientation with only some of its aspects attracting formal enquiry, even though there is a growing interest in transitions in medical education as a whole. We hope, therefore, that this study can help to legitimize enquiry into orientation in all its forms and that it can begin to situate the role of orientation more firmly within the firmament of medical education practice and research. PMID:24646440

Magnetic domain configuration of (111)-oriented LaFeO 3 epitaxial thin films

DOE PAGES

Hallsteinsen, I.; Moreau, M.; Chopdekar, R. V.; ...

2017-08-22

In antiferromagnetic spintronics control of the domains and corresponding spin axis orientation is crucial for devices. Here we investigate the antiferromagnetic axis in (111)-oriented LaFeO 3 SrTiO 3 , which is coupled to structural twin domains. The structural domains have either the orthorhombic a- or b-axis along the in-plane <1more » $$\\bar{1}$$0> cubic directions of the substrate, and the corresponding magnetic domains have the antiferromagnetic axis in the sample plane. Six degenerate antiferromagnetic axes are found corresponding to the <1$$\\bar{1}$$0> and <11$$\\bar{2}$$> in-plane directions. This is in contrast to the biaxial anisotropy in (001)-oriented films and reflects how crystal orientation can be used to control magnetic anisotropy in antiferromagnets.« less

Directed Self-Assembly of Liquid Crystalline Blue-Phases into Ideal Single-Crystals

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Martinez-Gonzalez, Jose A.; Li, Xiao; Sadati, Monirosadat

Chiral nematic liquid crystals are known to form blue phases—liquid states of matter that exhibit ordered cubic arrangements of topological defects. Blue-phase specimens, however, are generally polycrystalline, consisting of randomly oriented domains that limit their performance in applications. A strategy that relies on nano-patterned substrates is presented here for preparation of stable, macroscopic single-crystal blue-phase materials. Different template designs are conceived to exert control over different planes of the blue-phase lattice orientation with respect to the underlying substrate. Experiments are then used to demonstrate that it is indeed possible to create stable single-crystal blue-phase domains with the desired orientation overmore » large regions. Lastly, these results provide a potential avenue to fully exploit the electro-optical properties of blue phases, which have been hindered by the existence of grain boundaries.« less

Directed Self-Assembly of Liquid Crystalline Blue-Phases into Ideal Single-Crystals

DOE PAGES

Martinez-Gonzalez, Jose A.; Li, Xiao; Sadati, Monirosadat; ...

2017-06-16

Chiral nematic liquid crystals are known to form blue phases—liquid states of matter that exhibit ordered cubic arrangements of topological defects. Blue-phase specimens, however, are generally polycrystalline, consisting of randomly oriented domains that limit their performance in applications. A strategy that relies on nano-patterned substrates is presented here for preparation of stable, macroscopic single-crystal blue-phase materials. Different template designs are conceived to exert control over different planes of the blue-phase lattice orientation with respect to the underlying substrate. Experiments are then used to demonstrate that it is indeed possible to create stable single-crystal blue-phase domains with the desired orientation overmore » large regions. Lastly, these results provide a potential avenue to fully exploit the electro-optical properties of blue phases, which have been hindered by the existence of grain boundaries.« less

Proceedings of the First Workshop on Service-Oriented Architectures and Software Product Lines

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-05-01

Addison-Wesley, Har- low, 2000. [8] Kang, K., Cohen, S., Hess, J., Novak, W., & Peterson, S. Feature-Oriented Domain Analysis ( FODA ) Feasibility...Intensive Systems-Description, 2000. [17] K. Kang, S. Cohen, J. Hess, W. No- vak, and S. Peterson. Feature- Oriented Domain Analysis ( FODA ...product models. SPF modeling employs many approaches such as Feature- Oriented Domain Analysis and extensions to existing approaches such as UML

Molecular recognition of RAS/RAF complex at the membrane: Role of RAF cysteine-rich domain

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Travers, Timothy; Lopez Bautista, Cesar Augusto; Van, Que

Activation of RAF kinase involves the association of its RAS-binding domain (RBD) and cysteine-rich domain (CRD) with membrane-anchored RAS. However, the overall architecture of the RAS/RBD/CRD ternary complex and the orientations of its constituent domains at the membrane remain unclear. Here in this paper, we have combined all-atom and coarse-grained molecular dynamics (MD) simulations with experimental data to construct and validate a model of membrane-anchored CRD, and used this as a basis to explore models of membrane-anchored RAS/RBD/CRD complex. First, simulations of the CRD revealed that it anchors to the membrane via insertion of its two hydrophobic loops, which ismore » consistent with our NMR measurements of CRD bound to nanodiscs. Simulations of the CRD in the context of membrane-anchored RAS/RBD then show how CRD association with either RAS or RBD could play an unexpected role in guiding the membrane orientations of RAS/RBD. This finding has implications for the formation of RAS-RAS dimers, as different membrane orientations of RAS expose distinct putative dimerization interfaces.« less

Molecular recognition of RAS/RAF complex at the membrane: Role of RAF cysteine-rich domain

DOE PAGES

Travers, Timothy; Lopez Bautista, Cesar Augusto; Van, Que; ...

2018-05-31

Activation of RAF kinase involves the association of its RAS-binding domain (RBD) and cysteine-rich domain (CRD) with membrane-anchored RAS. However, the overall architecture of the RAS/RBD/CRD ternary complex and the orientations of its constituent domains at the membrane remain unclear. Here in this paper, we have combined all-atom and coarse-grained molecular dynamics (MD) simulations with experimental data to construct and validate a model of membrane-anchored CRD, and used this as a basis to explore models of membrane-anchored RAS/RBD/CRD complex. First, simulations of the CRD revealed that it anchors to the membrane via insertion of its two hydrophobic loops, which ismore » consistent with our NMR measurements of CRD bound to nanodiscs. Simulations of the CRD in the context of membrane-anchored RAS/RBD then show how CRD association with either RAS or RBD could play an unexpected role in guiding the membrane orientations of RAS/RBD. This finding has implications for the formation of RAS-RAS dimers, as different membrane orientations of RAS expose distinct putative dimerization interfaces.« less

Degradation studies on highly oriented poly(glycolic acid) fibres with different lamellar structures.

PubMed

de Oca, Horacio Montes; Farrar, David F; Ward, Ian M

2011-04-01

Highly oriented poly(glycolic acid) (PGA) fibres with an initial tensile strength of 1.1 GPa and different lamellar morphologies were prepared and studied during degradation in aqueous media at 37°C. A combination of small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering was used to study the structural changes during degradation and to generate two structural models of highly oriented PGA fibres with different lamellar morphologies. It is shown that as a result of crystallisation during degradation PGA crystals grow preferentially along the (110) and (020) directions of the crystal lattice or perpendicular to the orientation direction of the fibres. (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance measurements revealed three phases within the fibres with different relaxation times: (1) a mobile amorphous phase with a short relaxation time; (2) a semi-rigid phase with an intermediate relaxation time; (3) a rigid crystalline phase with a longer relaxation time. It is shown that the mobile amorphous phase degrades very rapidly and that it plays only a small role in the tensile mechanical behaviour of the fibres during degradation. It is shown that semi-rigid chains connecting crystalline domains are responsible for transferring the stress between crystalline domains and carrying the tensile deformation. It is proposed that once these tie molecules degrade considerably the oriented fibres very rapidly lose their strength retention. Copyright © 2010 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Pleckstrin Homology Domain of Phospholipase Cβ Transmits Enzymatic Activation through Modulation of Membrane - Domain Orientation§

PubMed Central

Drin, Guillaume; Douguet, Dominique; Scarlata, Suzanne

2008-01-01

Phospholipase C-beta (PLCβ) enzymes are activated by Gαq and Gβγ subunits and catalyze the hydrolysis of the minor membrane lipid phosphatidylinositol 4,5 bisphosphate (PI(4,5)P2). Activation of PLCβ2 by Gβγ subunits has been shown to be conferred through its N-terminal pleckstrin homology (PH) domain although the underlying mechanism is unclear. Also unclear are observations that the extent of Gβγ activation differs on different membrane surfaces. In this study, we have identified a unique region of the PH domain of PLCβ2 domain (residues 71-88) which, when added to the enzyme as a peptide, causes enzyme activation similar to Gβγ subunits. This PH domain segment interacts strongly with membranes composed of lipid mixtures but not those containing lipids with electrically neutral zwitterionic head groups. Moreso, addition of this segment perturbs interaction of the catalytic domain, but not the PH domain, with membrane surfaces. We monitored the orientation of the PH and catalytic domains of PLC by intermolecular fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) using the Gβγ activatable mutant, PLCβ2/δ1(C193S). We find an increase in FRET with binding to membranes with mixed lipids but not to those containing only lipids with electrically neutral head groups. These results suggest that enzymatic activation can be conferred through optimal association of the PHβ71-88 region to specific membrane surfaces. These studies allow us to understand the basis of variations of Gβγ activation on different membrane surfaces. PMID:16669615

How Adolescents Construct Their Future: The Effect of Loneliness on Future Orientation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seginer, Rachel; Lilach, Efrat

2004-01-01

This study examined the effect of loneliness, gender, and two dimensions of prospective life domains on adolescent future orientation. Future orientation was studied in four prospective domains: social relations, marriage and family, higher education and work and career. These domains are described in terms of two dimensions: theme (relational vs.…

Training Plan. Central Archive for Reusable Defense Software (CARDS)

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-01-29

Modeling Software Reuse Technology: Feature Oriented Domain Analysis ( FODA ). SEI, Carnegie Mellon University, May 1992. 8. Component Provider’s...events to the services of the domain. 4. Feature Oriented Domain Analysis ( FODA ) [COHEN92] The FODA method produces feature models. Feature models provide...Architecture FODA Feature-Oriented Domain Analysis GOTS Government-Off-The-Shelf Pap A-49 STARS-VC-B003/001/00 29 imaty 1994 MS Master of Science NEC

How adolescents construct their future: the effect of loneliness on future orientation.

PubMed

Seginer, Rachel; Lilach, Efrat

2004-12-01

This study examined the effect of loneliness, gender, and two dimensions of prospective life domains on adolescent future orientation. Future orientation was studied in four prospective domains: social relations, marriage and family, higher education and work and career. These domains are described in terms of two dimensions: theme (relational vs. instrumental) and distance (near vs. distant future). Data collected from Israeli Jewish adolescents (11th graders) were analysed by repeated measures ANOVAs and ANCOVAs (covariate: depressive experiences) for seven future orientation variables: value, expectance, control (motivational variables), hopes, fears (cognitive representation variables), exploration, commitment (behavioural variables). As predicted, lonely adolescents scored lower than socially embedded adolescents on future orientation variables applied to the relational and near future domains and lonely boys scored lower than lonely girls. However, effects were found only on the three future orientation motivational variables and not on the cognitive representation and behavioural variables. Contrary to prediction controlling for the effect of depressive experiences did not reduce the effect of loneliness on the future orientation variables, but reduced the tendency of adolescents to score higher on all future orientation variables in the instrumental than in the relational prospective domains. The contribution of these findings to the understanding of adolescent loneliness and future orientation was discussed and directions for future research were suggested.

Analysis of the binding loops configuration and surface adaptation of different crystallized single-domain antibodies in response to various antigens.

PubMed

Al Qaraghuli, Mohammed M; Ferro, Valerie A

2017-04-01

Monoclonal antibodies have revolutionized the biomedical field through their ubiquitous utilization in different diagnostics and therapeutic applications. Despite this widespread use, their large size and structural complexity have limited their versatility in specific applications. The antibody variable region that is responsible for binding antigen is embodied within domains that can be rescued individually as single-domain antibody (sdAb) fragments. Because of the unique characteristics of sdAbs, such as low molecular weight, high physicochemical stability, and the ability to bind antigens inaccessible to conventional antibodies, they represent a viable alternative to full-length antibodies. Consequently, 149 crystal structures of sdAbs, originating from human (VH), camelids (VHH), or sharks (VNAR), were retrieved from the Protein Data Bank, and their structures were compared. The 3 types of sdAbs displayed complementarity determining regions (CDRs) with different lengths and configurations. CDR3 of the VHH and VNAR domains were dominated by pleated and extended orientations, respectively. Although VNAR showed the smallest average molecular weight and molecular surface area compared with VHH and VH antibodies. However, the solvent accessible surface area measurements of the 3 tested sdAbs types were very similar. All the antihapten VHH antibodies showed pleated CDR3, which were sufficient to create a binding pocket to accommodate haptens (methotrexate and azo dyes) in terms of shape and electrostatic potential. The sdAbs that recognized lysozyme showed more diversity in their CDR3 orientation to enable them to recognize various topographies of lysozyme. Subsequently, the three sdAb classes were different in size and surface area and have shown distinguishable ability to optimize their CDR length and orientation to recognize different antigen classes. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Subcortical orientation biases explain orientation selectivity of visual cortical cells.

PubMed

Vidyasagar, Trichur R; Jayakumar, Jaikishan; Lloyd, Errol; Levichkina, Ekaterina V

2015-04-01

The primary visual cortex of carnivores and primates shows an orderly progression of domains of neurons that are selective to a particular orientation of visual stimuli such as bars and gratings. We recorded from single-thalamic afferent fibers that terminate in these domains to address the issue whether the orientation sensitivity of these fibers could form the basis of the remarkable orientation selectivity exhibited by most cortical cells. We first performed optical imaging of intrinsic signals to obtain a map of orientation domains on the dorsal aspect of the anaesthetized cat's area 17. After confirming using electrophysiological recordings the orientation preferences of single neurons within one or two domains in each animal, we pharmacologically silenced the cortex to leave only the afferent terminals active. The inactivation of cortical neurons was achieved by the superfusion of either kainic acid or muscimol. Responses of single geniculate afferents were then recorded by the use of high impedance electrodes. We found that the orientation preferences of the afferents matched closely with those of the cells in the orientation domains that they terminated in (Pearson's r = 0.633, n = 22, P = 0.002). This suggests a possible subcortical origin for cortical orientation selectivity. © 2015 The Authors. Physiological Reports published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of the American Physiological Society and The Physiological Society.

Nitridation- and Buffer-Layer-Free Growth of [1100]-Oriented GaN Domains on m-Plane Sapphire Substrates by Using Hydride Vapor Phase Epitaxy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seo, Yeonwoo; Lee, Sanghwa; Jue, Miyeon; Yoon, Hansub; Kim, Chinkyo

2012-12-01

Over a wide range of growth conditions, GaN domains were grown on bare m-plane sapphire substrates by using hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE), and the relation between these growth conditions and three possible preferred crystallographic orientations ([1100], [1103], [1122]) of GaN domains was investigated. In contrast with the previous reports by other groups, our results revealed that preferentially [1100]-oriented GaN domains were grown without low-temperature nitridation or a buffer layer, and that the growth condition of preferentially [1100]-oriented GaN was insensitive to V/III ratio.

The MMSE orientation for time domain is a strong predictor of subsequent cognitive decline in the elderly.

PubMed

Guerrero-Berroa, Elizabeth; Luo, Xiaodong; Schmeidler, James; Rapp, Michael A; Dahlman, Karen; Grossman, Hillel T; Haroutunian, Vahram; Beeri, Michal Schnaider

2009-12-01

The mini-mental state exam (MMSE) has been used to address questions such as determination of appropriate cutoff scores for differentiation of individuals with intact cognitive function from patients with dementia and rate of cognitive decline. However, little is known about the relationship of performance in specific cognitive domains to subsequent overall decline. To examine the specific and/or combined contribution of four MMSE domains (orientation for time, orientation for place, delayed recall, and attention) to prediction of overall cognitive decline on the MMSE. Linear mixed models were applied to 505 elderly nursing home residents (mean age = 85, > 12 years education = 27%; 79% F, mean follow-up = 3.20 years) to examine the relationship between baseline scores of these domains and total MMSE scores over time. Orientation for time was the only domain significantly associated with MMSE decline over time. Combination of poor delayed recall with either attention or orientation for place was associated with significantly increased decline on the MMSE. The MMSE orientation for time predicts overall decline on MMSE scores over time. A good functioning domain added to good functioning delayed recall was associated with slower rate of decline. Copyright (c) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A Method for Populating the Knowledge Base of APTAS, a Domain-Oriented Application Composition System

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-12-01

proposed a domain analysis approach called Feature-Oriented Domain Analysis ( FODA ). The approach identifies prominent features (similarities) and...characteristics of software systems in the domain. Unlike the other domain analysis approaches we have summarized, the re- searchers described FODA in...Domain Analysis ( FODA ) Feasibility Study. Technical Report, Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Novem- ber 1990. 19. Lee, Kenneth

Magnetic domain pattern in hierarchically twinned epitaxial Ni-Mn-Ga films.

PubMed

Diestel, Anett; Neu, Volker; Backen, Anja; Schultz, Ludwig; Fähler, Sebastian

2013-07-03

Magnetic shape memory alloys exhibit a hierarchically twinned microstructure, which has been examined thoroughly in epitaxial Ni-Mn-Ga films. Here we analyze the consequences of this 'twin within twins' microstructure on the magnetic domain pattern. Atomic and magnetic force microscopy are used to probe the correlation between the martensitic microstructure and magnetic domains. We examine the consequences of different twin boundary orientations with respect to the substrate normal as well as variant boundaries between differently aligned twinned laminates. A detailed micromagnetic analysis is given which describes the influence of the finite film thickness on the formation of magnetic band domains in these multiferroic materials.

Orientation of Myosin Binding Protein C in the Cardiac Muscle Sarcomere Determined by Domain-Specific Immuno-EM

PubMed Central

Lee, Kyounghwan; Harris, Samantha P.; Sadayappan, Sakthivel; Craig, Roger

2014-01-01

Myosin binding protein-C is a thick filament protein of vertebrate striated muscle. The cardiac isoform (cMyBP-C) is essential for normal cardiac function, and mutations in cMyBP-C cause cardiac muscle disease. The rod-shaped molecule is composed primarily of 11 immunoglobulin- or fibronectin-like domains, and is located at 9 sites, 43 nm apart, in each half of the A-band. To understand how cMyBP-C functions, it is important to know its structural organization in the sarcomere, as this will affect its ability to interact with other sarcomeric proteins. Several models have been proposed, in which cMyBP-C wraps around, extends radially from, or runs axially along the thick filament. Our goal was to define cMyBP-C orientation by determining the relative axial positions of different cMyBP-C domains. Immuno-electron microscopy was performed using mouse cardiac myofibrils labeled with antibodies specific to the N- and C-terminal domains and to the middle of cMyBP-C. Antibodies to all regions of the molecule, except the C-terminus, labeled at the same nine axial positions in each half A-band, consistent with a circumferential and/or radial rather than an axial orientation of the bulk of the molecule. The C-terminal antibody stripes were slightly displaced axially, demonstrating an axial orientation of the C-terminal 3 domains, with the C-terminus closer to the M-line. These results, combined with previous studies, suggest that the C-terminal domains of cMyBP-C run along the thick filament surface, while the N-terminus extends towards neighboring thin filaments. This organization provides a structural framework for understanding cMyBP-C’s modulation of cardiac muscle contraction. PMID:25451032

A multi-directional and multi-scale roughness filter to detect lineament segments on digital elevation models - analyzing spatial objects in R

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baumann, Sebastian; Robl, Jörg; Wendt, Lorenz; Willingshofer, Ernst; Hilberg, Sylke

2016-04-01

Automated lineament analysis on remotely sensed data requires two general process steps: The identification of neighboring pixels showing high contrast and the conversion of these domains into lines. The target output is the lineaments' position, extent and orientation. We developed a lineament extraction tool programmed in R using digital elevation models as input data to generate morphological lineaments defined as follows: A morphological lineament represents a zone of high relief roughness, whose length significantly exceeds the width. As relief roughness any deviation from a flat plane, defined by a roughness threshold, is considered. In our novel approach a multi-directional and multi-scale roughness filter uses moving windows of different neighborhood sizes to identify threshold limited rough domains on digital elevation models. Surface roughness is calculated as the vertical elevation difference between the center cell and the different orientated straight lines connecting two edge cells of a neighborhood, divided by the horizontal distance of the edge cells. Thus multiple roughness values depending on the neighborhood sizes and orientations of the edge connecting lines are generated for each cell and their maximum and minimum values are extracted. Thereby negative signs of the roughness parameter represent concave relief structures as valleys, positive signs convex relief structures as ridges. A threshold defines domains of high relief roughness. These domains are thinned to a representative point pattern by a 3x3 neighborhood filter, highlighting maximum and minimum roughness peaks, and representing the center points of lineament segments. The orientation and extent of the lineament segments are calculated within the roughness domains, generating a straight line segment in the direction of least roughness differences. We tested our algorithm on digital elevation models of multiple sources and scales and compared the results visually with shaded relief map of these digital elevation models. The lineament segments trace the relief structure to a great extent and the calculated roughness parameter represents the physical geometry of the digital elevation model. Modifying the threshold for the surface roughness value highlights different distinct relief structures. Also the neighborhood size at which lineament segments are detected correspond with the width of the surface structure and may be a useful additional parameter for further analysis. The discrimination of concave and convex relief structures perfectly matches with valleys and ridges of the surface.

Incremental Upgrade of Legacy Systems (IULS)

DTIC Science & Technology

2001-04-01

analysis task employed SEI’s Feature-Oriented Domain Analysis methodology (see FODA reference) and included several phases: • Context Analysis • Establish...Legacy, new Host and upgrade system and software. The Feature Oriented Domain Analysis approach ( FODA , see SUM References) was used for this step...Feature-Oriented Domain Analysis ( FODA ) Feasibility Study (CMU/SEI-90-TR- 21, ESD-90-TR-222); Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University

Individual differences in ensemble perception reveal multiple, independent levels of ensemble representation.

PubMed

Haberman, Jason; Brady, Timothy F; Alvarez, George A

2015-04-01

Ensemble perception, including the ability to "see the average" from a group of items, operates in numerous feature domains (size, orientation, speed, facial expression, etc.). Although the ubiquity of ensemble representations is well established, the large-scale cognitive architecture of this process remains poorly defined. We address this using an individual differences approach. In a series of experiments, observers saw groups of objects and reported either a single item from the group or the average of the entire group. High-level ensemble representations (e.g., average facial expression) showed complete independence from low-level ensemble representations (e.g., average orientation). In contrast, low-level ensemble representations (e.g., orientation and color) were correlated with each other, but not with high-level ensemble representations (e.g., facial expression and person identity). These results suggest that there is not a single domain-general ensemble mechanism, and that the relationship among various ensemble representations depends on how proximal they are in representational space. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Correlated individual differences suggest a common mechanism underlying metacognition in visual perception and visual short-term memory.

PubMed

Samaha, Jason; Postle, Bradley R

2017-11-29

Adaptive behaviour depends on the ability to introspect accurately about one's own performance. Whether this metacognitive ability is supported by the same mechanisms across different tasks is unclear. We investigated the relationship between metacognition of visual perception and metacognition of visual short-term memory (VSTM). Experiments 1 and 2 required subjects to estimate the perceived or remembered orientation of a grating stimulus and rate their confidence. We observed strong positive correlations between individual differences in metacognitive accuracy between the two tasks. This relationship was not accounted for by individual differences in task performance or average confidence, and was present across two different metrics of metacognition and in both experiments. A model-based analysis of data from a third experiment showed that a cross-domain correlation only emerged when both tasks shared the same task-relevant stimulus feature. That is, metacognition for perception and VSTM were correlated when both tasks required orientation judgements, but not when the perceptual task was switched to require contrast judgements. In contrast with previous results comparing perception and long-term memory, which have largely provided evidence for domain-specific metacognitive processes, the current findings suggest that metacognition of visual perception and VSTM is supported by a domain-general metacognitive architecture, but only when both domains share the same task-relevant stimulus feature. © 2017 The Author(s).

The Structured Intuitive Model for Product Line Economics (SIMPLE)

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-02-01

units are features and use cases. A feature is just as nebulous as a requirement, but techniques such as feature-oriented domain analysis ( FODA ) [Kang 90...cost avoidance DM design modified DOCU degree of documentation GQM Goal Question Metric FODA feature-oriented domain analysis IM integration effort...Hess, J.; Novak, W.; & Peterson, A. Feature- Oriented Domain Analysis ( FODA ) Feasibility Study (CMU/SEI- 90-TR-02 1, ADA235785). Pittsburgh, PA

FRET measurements of kinesin neck orientation reveal a structural basis for processivity and asymmetry.

PubMed

Martin, Douglas S; Fathi, Reza; Mitchison, Timothy J; Gelles, Jeff

2010-03-23

As the smallest and simplest motor enzymes, kinesins have served as the prototype for understanding the relationship between protein structure and mechanochemical function of enzymes in this class. Conventional kinesin (kinesin-1) is a motor enzyme that transports cargo toward the plus end of microtubules by a processive, asymmetric hand-over-hand mechanism. The coiled-coil neck domain, which connects the two kinesin motor domains, contributes to kinesin processivity (the ability to take many steps in a row) and is proposed to be a key determinant of the asymmetry in the kinesin mechanism. While previous studies have defined the orientation and position of microtubule-bound kinesin motor domains, the disposition of the neck coiled-coil remains uncertain. We determined the neck coiled-coil orientation using a multidonor fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) technique to measure distances between microtubules and bound kinesin molecules. Microtubules were labeled with a new fluorescent taxol donor, TAMRA-X-taxol, and kinesin derivatives with an acceptor fluorophore attached at positions on the motor and neck coiled-coil domains were used to reconstruct the positions and orientations of the domains. FRET measurements to positions on the motor domain were largely consistent with the domain orientation determined in previous studies, validating the technique. Measurements to positions on the neck coiled-coil were inconsistent with a radial orientation and instead demonstrated that the neck coiled-coil is parallel to the microtubule surface. The measured orientation provides a structural explanation for how neck surface residues enhance processivity and suggests a simple hypothesis for the origin of kinesin step asymmetry and "limping."

Shape of isolated domains in lithium tantalate single crystals at elevated temperatures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shur, V. Ya.; Akhmatkhanov, A. R.; Chezganov, D. S.; Lobov, A. I.; Baturin, I. S.; Smirnov, M. M.

2013-12-01

The shape of isolated domains has been investigated in congruent lithium tantalate (CLT) single crystals at elevated temperatures and analyzed in terms of kinetic approach. The obtained temperature dependence of the growing domain shape in CLT including circular shape at temperatures above 190 °C has been attributed to increase of relative input of isotropic ionic conductivity. The observed nonstop wall motion and independent domain growth after merging in CLT as opposed to stoichiometric lithium tantalate have been attributed to difference in wall orientation. The computer simulation has confirmed applicability of the kinetic approach to the domain shape explanation.

Broadening and shifting of Bragg reflections of nanoscale-microtwinned LT-Ni3Sn2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leineweber, Andreas; Krumeich, Frank

2013-12-01

The effect of nanoscale microtwinning of long-range ordered domains in LT-Ni3Sn2 on its diffraction behaviour was studied by X-ray powder diffraction and electron microscopy. LT-Ni3Sn2 exhibits a Ni2In/NiAs-type structure with a superstructure breaking the symmetry relative to the hexagonal high-temperature (HT) to the orthorhombic low-temperature (LT) phase, implying three different twin-domain orientations. The microstructure was generated by annealing HT-Ni3Sn2 considerably below the order-disorder transition temperature, establishing the LT phase avoiding too much domain coarsening. High-resolution electron microscopy reveals domain sizes of 100-200 Å compatible with the Scherrer broadening of the superstructure reflections recorded by X-ray diffraction. Whereas the orthorhombic symmetry of the LT phase leads in powder-diffraction patterns from coarse-domain size material to splitting of the fundamental reflections, this splitting does not occur for the LT-Ni3Sn2 with nanoscale domains. Instead, a (pseudo)hexagonal indexing is possible giving hexagonal lattice parameters, which are, however, incompatible with the positions of the superstructure reflections. This can be attributed to interference between X-rays scattered by the differently oriented, truly orthorhombic domains leading to merging of the fundamental reflections. These show pronounced anisotropic microstrain-like broadening, where the integral breadths ? on the reciprocal d-spacing scale of a series of higher order reflection increase in a non-linear fashion with upward curvature with the reciprocal d-spacings ? of these reflections. Such a type of unusual microstrain broadening appears to be typical for microstructures which are inhomogeneous on the nanoscale, and in which the structural inhomogeneities lead to small phase shifts of the scattered radiation from different locations (e.g. domains).

The anticipated transition to adulthood: effects of culture and individual experience on Polish and Finnish adolescents' future orientations.

PubMed

Trempala, J; Malmberg, L E

1998-05-01

The purpose of this study was to describe the effect of a set of individual resources and cultural factors on adolescents' probability estimations of the occurrence of positive future events in three life domains: education, occupation, and family. The hypothesis was that the effects of culture and individual resources are interwoven in the formation process of future orientation. The sample consisted of 352 17-year-old Polish and Finnish girls and boys from vocational and upper secondary schools. The 78-item questionnaire developed by the authors was used to measure different aspects of future orientation (probability, valence, and extension of future events in three life domains) and individual resources (self-esteem, control beliefs, and social knowledge about normatively and the generation gap). Data analysis showed that culture separately affected individual resources and adolescents' expectations. However, the results broadly confirmed the thesis that the culture has a limited effect on adolescents' expectations of the occurrence of future events. Moreover, these data suggested that the influence of sociocultural differences on adolescents' probability estimations is indirect. In the context of the presented data, the authors discuss their model of future orientation.

Tuning the functional properties of PMN-PT single crystals via doping and thermoelectrical treatments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Laihui; Dietze, Matthias; Solterbeck, Claus-Henning; Luo, Haosu; Es-Souni, Mohammed

2013-12-01

Single crystals based on solid solutions of lead-magnesium-niobate (PMN) and lead titanate (PT) have emerged as highly promising multifunctional systems combining piezoelectric, pyroelectric, and electro-optic properties that surpass by far those of the best known lead-zirkonium-titanate ceramics. In this paper we present new findings on how the phase transition temperature and the dielectric and ferroelectric properties can be tuned depending on crystal composition, orientation, and thermoelectrical treatment. Mn-doped and pure 0.72PbMg1/3Nb2/3O3-0.28PbTiO3 (0.72PMN-0.28PT) single crystals with ⟨111⟩ and ⟨001⟩ orientations were investigated. A special attention was devoted to field cooling (FC), i.e., cooling under electric field from different temperatures. The results illustrate different findings that were not reported before: the Curie temperature, i.e., ferroelectric-paraelectric transition temperature, is enhanced after field cooling of the Mn-doped, ⟨001⟩-oriented crystal while such a shift is not observed in the ⟨111⟩-oriented and the non-doped crystals. In addition, substantial polarization suppression occurs in the Mn-doped crystals upon FC from high temperature regardless of orientation. Based on piezoforce microscopy of the domain structure that shows suppression of domain growth following field cooling from 200 °C, we propose a mechanism for polarization suppression based on domain pinning by charged defects. The practical importance of our results lies in showing the opportunity offered by a proper choice of crystal composition and poling conditions for tuning the functional properties of PMN-PT single crystals for a specific application. This should contribute to the understanding of their properties towards advanced sensor and transducers devices.

Structural Insights into the HWE Histidine Kinase Family: The Brucella Blue Light-Activated Histidine Kinase Domain.

PubMed

Rinaldi, Jimena; Arrar, Mehrnoosh; Sycz, Gabriela; Cerutti, María Laura; Berguer, Paula M; Paris, Gastón; Estrín, Darío Ariel; Martí, Marcelo Adrián; Klinke, Sebastián; Goldbaum, Fernando Alberto

2016-03-27

In response to light, as part of a two-component system, the Brucella blue light-activated histidine kinase (LOV-HK) increases its autophosphorylation, modulating the virulence of this microorganism. The Brucella histidine kinase (HK) domain belongs to the HWE family, for which there is no structural information. The HWE family is exclusively present in proteobacteria and usually coupled to a wide diversity of light sensor domains. This work reports the crystal structure of the Brucella HK domain, which presents two different dimeric assemblies in the asymmetric unit: one similar to the already described canonical parallel homodimers (C) and the other, an antiparallel non-canonical (NC) dimer, each with distinct relative subdomain orientations and dimerization interfaces. Contrary to these crystallographic structures and unlike other HKs, in solution, the Brucella HK domain is monomeric and still active, showing an astonishing instability of the dimeric interface. Despite this instability, using cross-linking experiments, we show that the C dimer is the functionally relevant species. Mutational analysis demonstrates that the autophosphorylation activity occurs in cis. The different relative subdomain orientations observed for the NC and C states highlight the large conformational flexibility of the HK domain. Through the analysis of these alternative conformations by means of molecular dynamics simulations, we also propose a catalytic mechanism for Brucella LOV-HK. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Three-dimensional simulations of the orientation and structure of reconnection X-lines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schreier, R.; Swisdak, M.; Drake, J. F.; Cassak, P. A.

2010-11-01

This letter employs Hall magnetohydrodynamic simulations to study X-lines formed during the reconnection of magnetic fields with differing strengths and orientations embedded in plasmas of differing densities. Although random initial perturbations trigger the growth of X-lines with many orientations, a few robust X-lines sharing an orientation consistent with the direction of maximal outflow speed, as predicted by Swisdak and Drake [Geophys. Res. Lett. 34, L11106 (2007)] eventually dominate the system. Reconnection in the geometry examined here contradicts the suggestion of Sonnerup [J. Geophys. Res. 79, 1546 (1974)] that it occurs in a plane normal to the equilibrium current. At late time, the X-lines' growth stagnates, leaving them shorter than the simulation domain.

Fusing modeling techniques to support domain analysis for reuse opportunities identification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hall, Susan Main; Mcguire, Eileen

1993-01-01

Functional modeling techniques or object-oriented graphical representations, which are more useful to someone trying to understand the general design or high level requirements of a system? For a recent domain analysis effort, the answer was a fusion of popular modeling techniques of both types. By using both functional and object-oriented techniques, the analysts involved were able to lean on their experience in function oriented software development, while taking advantage of the descriptive power available in object oriented models. In addition, a base of familiar modeling methods permitted the group of mostly new domain analysts to learn the details of the domain analysis process while producing a quality product. This paper describes the background of this project and then provides a high level definition of domain analysis. The majority of this paper focuses on the modeling method developed and utilized during this analysis effort.

Domain Wall Formation in Ferromagnetic Layers: An Ab Initio Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herper, Heike C.

Domain walls are an inherent feature of ferromagnetic (FM) films consisting of layers with different magnetic orientations. Since FM films are used in electrical devices the question of the influence of domain walls on, e.g., the magnetoresistance has attracted much interest. Besides discussing the resistance contribution of domain walls, it is appropriate to study different types of domain walls and their energy of formation. The behaviour of domain walls is usually discussed within model calculations. In the present paper it is done within an ab initio Green's function technique for layered systems, i.e., the fully relativistic, spin-polarized screened Korringa-Kohn Rostoker method. Results are presented for fcc Co layers covered by two semi-infinite fcc Pt(001) bulk systems or by bulk fcc Co(001), respectively. The resistance, which is caused by the different types of domain walls is discussed within a Kubo-Greenwood approach considering Co(001)/Co24/Co(001) as an example.

Domain Specific Aspects of Locus of Control: Implications for Modifying Locus of Control Orientation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bradley, Robert H.; Gaa, John P.

1977-01-01

Goal-setting conferences were employed to improve LOC orientation for academic achievement situations among junior high school students (N=36). Results were interpreted as supporting domain-specific aspects of LOC. Results implied that educators can design programs to modify LOC orientation. (Author)

Market orientation: a concept for health libraries.

PubMed

Sen, Barbara

2006-03-01

This paper is the result of exploratory research forming part of ongoing study into the value and relevance of market orientation as a strategic option for library managers. The aim of the study is to gain an understanding of the concept of market orientation relative to the health library sector. A focus group was used to gather data from health librarians working at different levels in the sector. The data was coded and categorized by an expert panel and analysed using a taxonomic map developed during the study. Health library professionals define and understand market orientation in the same way as the concept is defined in the management literature. Their understanding of the concept is developing. A greater emphasis is given to some aspects of market orientation than others. There are implications for further research. Methods used to measure market orientation in other domains are likely to be relevant for libraries. Research should be extended to different sectors to explore any cross-sector differences. Fostering an organizational culture that supports market orientation has implications for service management and development.

Orienting Periodic Organic-Inorganic Nanoscale Domains Through One-Step Electrodeposition

PubMed Central

Herman, David J.; Goldberger, Joshua E.; Chao, Stephen; Martin, Daniel T.; Stupp, Samuel I

2011-01-01

One of the challenges in the synthesis of hybrid materials with nanoscale structure is to precisely control morphology across length scales. Using a one-step electrodeposition process on indium tin oxide (ITO) substrates followed by annealing, we report here the preparation of materials with preferentially oriented lamellar domains of electron donor surfactants and the semiconductor ZnO. We found that either increasing the concentration of surfactant or the water to dimethyl sulfoxide ratio of solutions used resulted in the suppression of bloom-like morphologies and enhanced the density of periodic domains on ITO substrates. Furthermore, by modifying the surface of the ITO substrate with the conductive polymer blend poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate), we were able to alter the orientation of these electrodeposited lamellar domains to be perpendicular to the substrate. The long-range orientation achieved was characterized by 2D grazing incidence small angle X-ray scattering. This high degree of orientation in electronically active hybrids with alternating nanoscale p-type and n-type domains is of potential interest in photovoltaics or thermoelectric materials. PMID:21142087

An fMRI Study of the Neural Systems Involved in Visually Cued Auditory Top-Down Spatial and Temporal Attention

PubMed Central

Li, Chunlin; Chen, Kewei; Han, Hongbin; Chui, Dehua; Wu, Jinglong

2012-01-01

Top-down attention to spatial and temporal cues has been thoroughly studied in the visual domain. However, because the neural systems that are important for auditory top-down temporal attention (i.e., attention based on time interval cues) remain undefined, the differences in brain activity between directed attention to auditory spatial location (compared with time intervals) are unclear. Using fMRI (magnetic resonance imaging), we measured the activations caused by cue-target paradigms by inducing the visual cueing of attention to an auditory target within a spatial or temporal domain. Imaging results showed that the dorsal frontoparietal network (dFPN), which consists of the bilateral intraparietal sulcus and the frontal eye field, responded to spatial orienting of attention, but activity was absent in the bilateral frontal eye field (FEF) during temporal orienting of attention. Furthermore, the fMRI results indicated that activity in the right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) was significantly stronger during spatial orienting of attention than during temporal orienting of attention, while the DLPFC showed no significant differences between the two processes. We conclude that the bilateral dFPN and the right VLPFC contribute to auditory spatial orienting of attention. Furthermore, specific activations related to temporal cognition were confirmed within the superior occipital gyrus, tegmentum, motor area, thalamus and putamen. PMID:23166800

Transitioning Domain Analysis: An Industry Experience.

DTIC Science & Technology

1996-06-01

References 6 Implementation 6.1 Analysis of Operator Services’ Requirements Process 21 6.2 Preliminary Planning for FODA Training by SEI 21...an academic and industry partnership took feature oriented domain analysis ( FODA ) from a methodology that is still being defined to a well-documented...to pilot the use of the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) domain analysis methodology known as feature-oriented domain analysis ( FODA ). Supported

Shape of isolated domains in lithium tantalate single crystals at elevated temperatures

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shur, V. Ya., E-mail: vladimir.shur@usu.ru; Akhmatkhanov, A. R.; Baturin, I. S.

2013-12-09

The shape of isolated domains has been investigated in congruent lithium tantalate (CLT) single crystals at elevated temperatures and analyzed in terms of kinetic approach. The obtained temperature dependence of the growing domain shape in CLT including circular shape at temperatures above 190 °C has been attributed to increase of relative input of isotropic ionic conductivity. The observed nonstop wall motion and independent domain growth after merging in CLT as opposed to stoichiometric lithium tantalate have been attributed to difference in wall orientation. The computer simulation has confirmed applicability of the kinetic approach to the domain shape explanation.

Effects of Process-Oriented and Product-Oriented Worked Examples and Prior Knowledge on Learner Problem Solving and Attitude: A Study in the Domain of Microeconomics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brooks, Christopher Darren

2009-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of process-oriented and product-oriented worked example strategies and the mediating effect of prior knowledge (high versus low) on problem solving and learner attitude in the domain of microeconomics. In addition, the effect of these variables on learning efficiency as well as the…

Oriented Liquid Crystalline Polymer Semiconductor Films with Large Ordered Domains.

PubMed

Xue, Xiao; Chandler, George; Zhang, Xinran; Kline, R Joseph; Fei, Zhuping; Heeney, Martin; Diemer, Peter J; Jurchescu, Oana D; O'Connor, Brendan T

2015-12-09

Large strains are applied to liquid crystalline poly(2,5-bis(3-tetradecylthiophen-2yl)thieno(3,2-b)thiophene) (pBTTT) films when held at elevated temperatures resulting in in-plane polymer alignment. We find that the polymer backbone aligns significantly in the direction of strain, and that the films maintain large quasi-domains similar to that found in spun-cast films on hydrophobic surfaces, highlighted by dark-field transmission electron microscopy imaging. The highly strained films also have nanoscale holes consistent with dewetting. Charge transport in the films is then characterized in a transistor configuration, where the field effect mobility is shown to increase in the direction of polymer backbone alignment, and decrease in the transverse direction. The highest saturated field-effect mobility was found to be 1.67 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1), representing one of the highest reported mobilities for this material system. The morphology of the oriented films demonstrated here contrast significantly with previous demonstrations of oriented pBTTT films that form a ribbon-like morphology, opening up opportunities to explore how differences in molecular packing features of oriented films impact charge transport. Results highlight the role of grain boundaries, differences in charge transport along the polymer backbone and π-stacking direction, and structural features that impact the field dependence of charge transport.

The Layer-Oriented Approach to Declarative Languages for Biological Modeling

PubMed Central

Raikov, Ivan; De Schutter, Erik

2012-01-01

We present a new approach to modeling languages for computational biology, which we call the layer-oriented approach. The approach stems from the observation that many diverse biological phenomena are described using a small set of mathematical formalisms (e.g. differential equations), while at the same time different domains and subdomains of computational biology require that models are structured according to the accepted terminology and classification of that domain. Our approach uses distinct semantic layers to represent the domain-specific biological concepts and the underlying mathematical formalisms. Additional functionality can be transparently added to the language by adding more layers. This approach is specifically concerned with declarative languages, and throughout the paper we note some of the limitations inherent to declarative approaches. The layer-oriented approach is a way to specify explicitly how high-level biological modeling concepts are mapped to a computational representation, while abstracting away details of particular programming languages and simulation environments. To illustrate this process, we define an example language for describing models of ionic currents, and use a general mathematical notation for semantic transformations to show how to generate model simulation code for various simulation environments. We use the example language to describe a Purkinje neuron model and demonstrate how the layer-oriented approach can be used for solving several practical issues of computational neuroscience model development. We discuss the advantages and limitations of the approach in comparison with other modeling language efforts in the domain of computational biology and outline some principles for extensible, flexible modeling language design. We conclude by describing in detail the semantic transformations defined for our language. PMID:22615554

The layer-oriented approach to declarative languages for biological modeling.

PubMed

Raikov, Ivan; De Schutter, Erik

2012-01-01

We present a new approach to modeling languages for computational biology, which we call the layer-oriented approach. The approach stems from the observation that many diverse biological phenomena are described using a small set of mathematical formalisms (e.g. differential equations), while at the same time different domains and subdomains of computational biology require that models are structured according to the accepted terminology and classification of that domain. Our approach uses distinct semantic layers to represent the domain-specific biological concepts and the underlying mathematical formalisms. Additional functionality can be transparently added to the language by adding more layers. This approach is specifically concerned with declarative languages, and throughout the paper we note some of the limitations inherent to declarative approaches. The layer-oriented approach is a way to specify explicitly how high-level biological modeling concepts are mapped to a computational representation, while abstracting away details of particular programming languages and simulation environments. To illustrate this process, we define an example language for describing models of ionic currents, and use a general mathematical notation for semantic transformations to show how to generate model simulation code for various simulation environments. We use the example language to describe a Purkinje neuron model and demonstrate how the layer-oriented approach can be used for solving several practical issues of computational neuroscience model development. We discuss the advantages and limitations of the approach in comparison with other modeling language efforts in the domain of computational biology and outline some principles for extensible, flexible modeling language design. We conclude by describing in detail the semantic transformations defined for our language.

A Novel Domain Assembly Routine for Creating Full-Length Models of Membrane Proteins from Known Domain Structures.

PubMed

Koehler Leman, Julia; Bonneau, Richard

2018-04-03

Membrane proteins composed of soluble and membrane domains are often studied one domain at a time. However, to understand the biological function of entire protein systems and their interactions with each other and drugs, knowledge of full-length structures or models is required. Although few computational methods exist that could potentially be used to model full-length constructs of membrane proteins, none of these methods are perfectly suited for the problem at hand. Existing methods require an interface or knowledge of the relative orientations of the domains or are not designed for domain assembly, and none of them are developed for membrane proteins. Here we describe the first domain assembly protocol specifically designed for membrane proteins that assembles intra- and extracellular soluble domains and the transmembrane domain into models of the full-length membrane protein. Our protocol does not require an interface between the domains and samples possible domain orientations based on backbone dihedrals in the flexible linker regions, created via fragment insertion, while keeping the transmembrane domain fixed in the membrane. For five examples tested, our method mp_domain_assembly, implemented in RosettaMP, samples domain orientations close to the known structure and is best used in conjunction with experimental data to reduce the conformational search space.

Development of a Visual System Interface to Support a Domain-Oriented Application Composition System

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-03-23

Austin Texas, 1990. 25. Kang, Kyo C. and others. Feature-Oriented Domain Analysis ( FODA ) Feasibility Study. Tech- nical Report CMU/SEI-90-TR-21, Software...Validation and Analysis of the Architect Visual System. .. .. .. .. .... ....... 5-1 5.1 Validation Domain...5-2 5.3 Analysis .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .... .... .. .... .... .. ....... 5-2 5.3.1 The REFINE Environment

A New Method of Using Sensor Arrays for Gas Leakage Location Based on Correlation of the Time-Space Domain of Continuous Ultrasound

PubMed Central

Bian, Xu; Zhang, Yu; Li, Yibo; Gong, Xiaoyue; Jin, Shijiu

2015-01-01

This paper proposes a time-space domain correlation-based method for gas leakage detection and location. It acquires the propagated signal on the skin of the plate by using a piezoelectric acoustic emission (AE) sensor array. The signal generated from the gas leakage hole (which diameter is less than 2 mm) is time continuous. By collecting and analyzing signals from different sensors’ positions in the array, the correlation among those signals in the time-space domain can be achieved. Then, the directional relationship between the sensor array and the leakage source can be calculated. The method successfully solves the real-time orientation problem of continuous ultrasonic signals generated from leakage sources (the orientation time is about 15 s once), and acquires high accuracy location information of leakage sources by the combination of multiple sets of orientation results. According to the experimental results, the mean value of the location absolute error is 5.83 mm on a one square meter plate, and the maximum location error is generally within a ±10 mm interval. Meanwhile, the error variance is less than 20.17. PMID:25860070

A new method of using sensor arrays for gas leakage location based on correlation of the time-space domain of continuous ultrasound.

PubMed

Bian, Xu; Zhang, Yu; Li, Yibo; Gong, Xiaoyue; Jin, Shijiu

2015-04-09

This paper proposes a time-space domain correlation-based method for gas leakage detection and location. It acquires the propagated signal on the skin of the plate by using a piezoelectric acoustic emission (AE) sensor array. The signal generated from the gas leakage hole (which diameter is less than 2 mm) is time continuous. By collecting and analyzing signals from different sensors' positions in the array, the correlation among those signals in the time-space domain can be achieved. Then, the directional relationship between the sensor array and the leakage source can be calculated. The method successfully solves the real-time orientation problem of continuous ultrasonic signals generated from leakage sources (the orientation time is about 15 s once), and acquires high accuracy location information of leakage sources by the combination of multiple sets of orientation results. According to the experimental results, the mean value of the location absolute error is 5.83 mm on a one square meter plate, and the maximum location error is generally within a ±10 mm interval. Meanwhile, the error variance is less than 20.17.

Differential and Domain-Specific Associations Among Right-Wing Authoritarianism, Social Dominance Orientation, and Adolescent Delinquency.

PubMed

Oosterhoff, Benjamin; Shook, Natalie J; Clay, Russ; Metzger, Aaron

2017-09-01

Using a dual-process model (DPM) framework, this research examined whether right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) and social dominance orientation (SDO) are differentially associated with adolescent delinquency. In Study 1 ( N = 847; M age = 15.96) and Study 2 ( N = 340; M age = 16.64), adolescents completed measures of RWA, SDO, and engagement in different forms of delinquency. In Study 2, adolescents also reported their beliefs about obeying different laws. Across both studies, adolescents who endorsed greater RWA engaged in lower levels of delinquency and those who endorsed greater SDO engaged in higher levels of delinquency. Findings from Study 2 suggest that these associations are contingent on the domain-specific purpose of the law being violated and are also present with adolescents' beliefs about their obligation to obey laws. These results extend the DPM, demonstrating that RWA and SDO are differentially linked with youth delinquency.

Closed membrane shapes with attached BAR domains subject to external force of actin filaments.

PubMed

Mesarec, Luka; Góźdź, Wojciech; Iglič, Veronika Kralj; Kralj, Samo; Iglič, Aleš

2016-05-01

Membrane deformations induced by attached BAR superfamily domains could trigger or facilitate the growth of plasma membrane protrusions. The BAR domain family consists of BAR, F-BAR and I-BAR domains, each enforcing a different local curvature when attached to the membrane surface. Our theoretical study mainly focuses on the role of I-BAR in the membrane tubular deformations generated or stabilised by actin filaments. The influence of the area density of membrane attached BAR domains and their intrinsic curvature on the closed membrane shapes (vesicles) was investigated numerically. We derived an analytical approximative expression for the critical relative area density of BARs at which the membrane tubular protrusions on vesicles are most prominent. We have shown that the BARs with a higher intrinsic curvature induce thinner and longer cylindrical protrusions. The average orientation of the membrane attached BARs is altered when the vesicle shape is subjected to external force of growing actin rod-like structure inside a vesicle. The average orientation angle of membrane attached BARs may indicate whether the actin filaments are just stabilising the protrusion or generating it by stretching the vesicle. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Interactions of the Auxilin-1 PTEN-like Domain with Model Membranes Result in Nanoclustering of Phosphatidyl Inositol Phosphates

PubMed Central

Kalli, Antreas C.; Morgan, Gareth; Sansom, Mark S.P.

2013-01-01

Auxilin-1 is a neuron-specific membrane-binding protein involved in a late stage of clathrin-mediated endocytosis. It recruits Hsc70, thus initiating uncoating of the clathrin-coated vesicles. Interactions of auxilin-1 with the vesicle membrane are crucial for this function and are mediated via an N-terminal PTEN-like domain. We have used multiscale molecular dynamics simulations to probe the interactions of the auxilin-1 PTEN-like domain with lipid bilayers containing differing phospholipid composition, including bilayers containing phosphatidyl inositol phosphates. Our results suggest a novel, to our knowledge, model for the auxilin/membrane encounter and subsequent interactions. Negatively charged lipids (especially PIP2) enhance binding of auxilin to lipid bilayers and facilitate its correct orientation relative to the membrane. Mutations in three basic residues (R301E/R307E/K311E) of the C2 subdomain of the PTEN-like domain perturbed its interaction with the bilayer, changing its orientation. The interaction of membrane-bound auxilin-1 PTEN-like domain with negatively charged lipid headgroups results in nanoclustering of PIP2 molecules in the adjacent bilayer leaflet. PMID:23823232

Visualization of molecular packing and tilting domains and interface effects in tetracene thin films on H/Si(001)

DOE PAGES

Tersigni, Andrew; Sadowski, Jerzy T.; Qin, Xiao-Rong

2017-03-27

Visualizing molecular crystalline domains and influence of substrate defects are important in understanding the charge transport in organic thin film devices. Vacuum evaporated tetracene films of four monolayers on hydrogen-terminated Si(001)-2x1 substrate, as a prototypical system, have been studied with ex situ atomic force microscopy (AFM), transverse shear microscopy (TSM), friction force microscopy (FFM), and low-energy electron microscopy (LEEM). Two differently oriented in-plane lattice domains are found due to the symmetry of the substrate lattice, with no visible azimuthal twist between adjacent molecular layers in surface islands, indicating significant bulk-like crystallization in the film. Meanwhile, two types of subdomains aremore » observed inside of each in-plane lattice domain. The subdomains are anisotropic in shape, and their sizes and distribution are highly influenced by the substrate atomic steps. TSM and FFM measurements indicate that these subdomains result from molecule-tilt orderings within the bulk-like lattice domains. Lastly, TSM evidently shows a sensitivity to probe vertical molecule-tilt anisotropy for the molecular crystals, in addition to its known ability to map the lateral lattice orientations.« less

A New Method for Conceptual Modelling of Information Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gustas, Remigijus; Gustiene, Prima

Service architecture is not necessarily bound to the technical aspects of information system development. It can be defined by using conceptual models that are independent of any implementation technology. Unfortunately, the conventional information system analysis and design methods cover just a part of required modelling notations for engineering of service architectures. They do not provide effective support to maintain semantic integrity between business processes and data. Service orientation is a paradigm that can be applied for conceptual modelling of information systems. The concept of service is rather well understood in different domains. It can be applied equally well for conceptualization of organizational and technical information system components. This chapter concentrates on analysis of the differences between service-oriented modelling and object-oriented modelling. Service-oriented method is used for semantic integration of information system static and dynamic aspects.

The Molecular Structure of Human Red Blood Cell Membranes from Highly Oriented, Solid Supported Multi-Lamellar Membranes

PubMed Central

Himbert, Sebastian; Alsop, Richard J.; Rose, Markus; Hertz, Laura; Dhaliwal, Alexander; Moran-Mirabal, Jose M.; Verschoor, Chris P.; Bowdish, Dawn M. E.; Kaestner, Lars; Wagner, Christian; Rheinstädter, Maikel C.

2017-01-01

We prepared highly oriented, multi-lamellar stacks of human red blood cell (RBC) membranes applied on silicon wafers. RBC ghosts were prepared by hemolysis and applied onto functionalized silicon chips and annealed into multi-lamellar RBC membranes. High resolution X-ray diffraction was used to determine the molecular structure of the stacked membranes. We present direct experimental evidence that these RBC membranes consist of nanometer sized domains of integral coiled-coil peptides, as well as liquid ordered (lo) and liquid disordered (ld) lipids. Lamellar spacings, membrane and hydration water layer thicknesses, areas per lipid tail and domain sizes were determined. The common drug aspirin was added to the RBC membranes and found to interact with RBC membranes and preferably partition in the head group region of the lo domain leading to a fluidification of the membranes, i.e., a thinning of the bilayers and an increase in lipid tail spacing. Our results further support current models of RBC membranes as patchy structures and provide unprecedented structural details of the molecular organization in the different domains. PMID:28045119

The Molecular Structure of Human Red Blood Cell Membranes from Highly Oriented, Solid Supported Multi-Lamellar Membranes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Himbert, Sebastian; Alsop, Richard J.; Rose, Markus; Hertz, Laura; Dhaliwal, Alexander; Moran-Mirabal, Jose M.; Verschoor, Chris P.; Bowdish, Dawn M. E.; Kaestner, Lars; Wagner, Christian; Rheinstädter, Maikel C.

2017-01-01

We prepared highly oriented, multi-lamellar stacks of human red blood cell (RBC) membranes applied on silicon wafers. RBC ghosts were prepared by hemolysis and applied onto functionalized silicon chips and annealed into multi-lamellar RBC membranes. High resolution X-ray diffraction was used to determine the molecular structure of the stacked membranes. We present direct experimental evidence that these RBC membranes consist of nanometer sized domains of integral coiled-coil peptides, as well as liquid ordered (lo) and liquid disordered (ld) lipids. Lamellar spacings, membrane and hydration water layer thicknesses, areas per lipid tail and domain sizes were determined. The common drug aspirin was added to the RBC membranes and found to interact with RBC membranes and preferably partition in the head group region of the lo domain leading to a fluidification of the membranes, i.e., a thinning of the bilayers and an increase in lipid tail spacing. Our results further support current models of RBC membranes as patchy structures and provide unprecedented structural details of the molecular organization in the different domains.

Study of the Induced Anisotropy in Field Annealed Hitperm Alloys by Mössbauer Spectroscopy and Kerr Microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blázquez, J. S.; Marcin, J.; Andrejka, F.; Franco, V.; Conde, A.; Skorvanek, I.

2016-08-01

Samples of Fe39Co39Nb6B15Cu1 alloy were nanocrystallized under zero field annealing (ZF) and transverse field annealing (TF) conditions. A reduction in coercivity for TF samples with respect to ZF sample (16 and 45 A/m, respectively) is observed. Kerr microscopy images show a well-defined parallel domain structure, transversally oriented to the ribbon axis for the TF sample unlike for the ZF sample, for which a complex pattern is observed with large and small domains at the surface of the ribbon. Although Mössbauer spectra are clearly different for the two studied samples, Mössbauer studies confirm that there is no significant difference between the hyperfine field distributions of TF and ZF samples but only the relative intensity of the 2nd and 3rd lines A 23 (related to the angle between the gamma radiation and the magnetic moments, α). However, for TF annealed samples α = 90 deg ( A 23 = 4), indicating that the magnetic moments lay on the plane of the ribbon in agreement with the well-defined domain structure observed by Kerr microscopy, ZF annealed samples show A 23 = 1.8. This value is close to that of a random orientation ( A 23 = 2) but smaller, indicating a slight preference for out of plane orientations. Moreover, it is clearly smaller than that of the as-cast amorphous samples A 23 = 2.8, with a preference to in-plane orientations. The application of the law of approach to saturation yields a larger effect of the inhomogeneities in ZF sample with respect to TF one.

Electron transfer flavoprotein domain II orientation monitored using double electron-electron resonance between an enzymatically reduced, native FAD cofactor, and spin labels

PubMed Central

Swanson, Michael A; Kathirvelu, Velavan; Majtan, Tomas; Frerman, Frank E; Eaton, Gareth R; Eaton, Sandra S

2011-01-01

Human electron transfer flavoprotein (ETF) is a soluble mitochondrial heterodimeric flavoprotein that links fatty acid β-oxidation to the main respiratory chain. The crystal structure of human ETF bound to medium chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase indicates that the flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) domain (αII) is mobile, which permits more rapid electron transfer with donors and acceptors by providing closer access to the flavin and allows ETF to accept electrons from at least 10 different flavoprotein dehydrogenases. Sequence homology is high and low-angle X-ray scattering is identical for Paracoccus denitrificans (P. denitrificans) and human ETF. To characterize the orientations of the αII domain of P. denitrificans ETF, distances between enzymatically reduced FAD and spin labels in the three structural domains were measured by double electron-electron resonance (DEER) at X- and Q-bands. An FAD to spin label distance of 2.8 ± 0.15 nm for the label in the FAD-containing αII domain (A210C) agreed with estimates from the crystal structure (3.0 nm), molecular dynamics simulations (2.7 nm), and rotamer library analysis (2.8 nm). Distances between the reduced FAD and labels in αI (A43C) were between 4.0 and 4.5 ± 0.35 nm and for βIII (A111C) the distance was 4.3 ± 0.15 nm. These values were intermediate between estimates from the crystal structure of P. denitrificans ETF and a homology model based on substrate-bound human ETF. These distances suggest that the αII domain adopts orientations in solution that are intermediate between those which are observed in the crystal structures of free ETF (closed) and ETF bound to a dehydrogenase (open). PMID:21308847

Microstructures and Crystallographic Misorientation in Experimentally Deformed Natural Quartz Single Crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thust, Anja; Heilbronner, Renée.; Stünitz, Holger

2010-05-01

Samples of natural milky quartz were deformed in a Griggs deformation apparatus at different confining pressures (700 MPa, 1000 MPa, 1500 MPa), with constant displacement rates of 1 * 10-6s-1, axial strains of 3 - 19%, and at a temperature of 900° C. The single crystal starting material contains a large number of H2O-rich fluid inclusions. Directly adjacent to the fluid inclusions the crystal is essentially dry (50-150H/106Si, determined by FTIR). The samples were cored from a narrow zone of constant 'milkyness' (i.e. same density of fluid inclusions) in a large single crystal in two different orientations (1) normal to one of the prism planes (⊥{m} orientation) and (2) 45° to and to (O+ orientation).During attaining of the experimental P and T conditions, numerous fluid inclusions decrepitate by cracking. Rapid crack healing produces regions of very small fluid inclusions ('wet' quartz domains). Only these regions are subsequently deformed by dislocation glide, dry quartz domains without cracking and decrepitation of fluid inclusions remain undeformed. Sample strain is not sufficient to cause recrystallization, so that deformation is restricted to dislocation glide. In experiments at lower temperatures (800, 700° C) or at lower strain rate (10-5s-1) there is abundant cracking and semi-brittle deformation, indicating that 900° C, (10-6s-1) represents the lower temperature end of crystal plastic deformation in these single crystals. Peak strengths (at 900° C) range between 150 and 250 MPa for most samples of both orientations. There is a trend of decreasing strength with increasing confining pressure, as described by Kronenberg and Tullis (1984) for quartzites, but the large variation in strength due to inhomogeneous sample strain precludes a definite analysis of the strength/pressure dependence in our single crystals. In the deformed samples, we can distinguish a number of microstructures and inferred different slip systems. In both orientations, deformation lamellae with a high optical relief appear in the usual sub-basal orientation; often they are associated with 'fluid inclusions trails', cracks or en echelon arrays. In ⊥{m} orientation, conjugate misorientation bands sub-parallel to the prism planes can be observed. The barreled shape of the samples can be explained by prism glide. Unfortunately, since prism glide does not affect the c-axis orientation it cannot be recognized on a c-axis orientation image. Nevertheless, changes in the c-axis orientation are observed locally, indicating either the activity of an additional slip system or a different deformation process (not specified yet). In O+ orientation, we observe the formation of internally kinked shear bands. They are up to 100 μm wide and oriented at α 90° w/r to the host c-axis, slightly oblique to the sense of shear. The width of the kinked domains is 20-40 μm and the average misorientation (β) is 5° . The dispersion of c-axis orientation with synthetic rotation of the c-axis is evidence of basal glide. References: Kronenberg, A.K. & Tullis, J. (1984): Flow strength of quartz aggregates: grain size and pressure effects due to hydrolytic weakening. JGR Vol. 89, 4281-4281.

Correlated motion of protein subdomains and large-scale conformational flexibility of RecA protein filament

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Garmay; A, Shvetsov; D, Karelov; D, Lebedev; A, Radulescu; M, Petukhov; V, Isaev-Ivanov

2012-02-01

Based on X-ray crystallographic data available at Protein Data Bank, we have built molecular dynamics (MD) models of homologous recombinases RecA from E. coli and D. radiodurans. Functional form of RecA enzyme, which is known to be a long helical filament, was approximated by a trimer, simulated in periodic water box. The MD trajectories were analyzed in terms of large-scale conformational motions that could be detectable by neutron and X-ray scattering techniques. The analysis revealed that large-scale RecA monomer dynamics can be described in terms of relative motions of 7 subdomains. Motion of C-terminal domain was the major contributor to the overall dynamics of protein. Principal component analysis (PCA) of the MD trajectories in the atom coordinate space showed that rotation of C-domain is correlated with the conformational changes in the central domain and N-terminal domain, that forms the monomer-monomer interface. Thus, even though C-terminal domain is relatively far from the interface, its orientation is correlated with large-scale filament conformation. PCA of the trajectories in the main chain dihedral angle coordinate space implicates a co-existence of a several different large-scale conformations of the modeled trimer. In order to clarify the relationship of independent domain orientation with large-scale filament conformation, we have performed analysis of independent domain motion and its implications on the filament geometry.

Mobile metallic domain walls in an all-in-all-out magnetic insulator

DOE PAGES

Ma, Eric Yue; Cui, Yong -Tao; Ueda, Kentaro; ...

2015-10-30

Magnetic domain walls are boundaries between regions with different configurations of the same magnetic order. In a magnetic insulator, where the magnetic order is tied to its bulk insulating property, it has been postulated that electrical properties are drastically different along the domain walls, where the order is inevitably disturbed. Here we report the discovery of highly conductive magnetic domain walls in a magnetic insulator, Nd 2Ir 2O 7, that has an unusual all-in-all-out magnetic order, via transport and spatially resolved microwave impedance microscopy. The domain walls have a virtually temperature-independent sheet resistance of ~1 kilohm per square, show smoothmore » morphology with no preferred orientation, are free from pinning by disorders, and have strong thermal and magnetic field responses that agree with expectations for all-in-all-out magnetic order.« less

Mobile metallic domain walls in an all-in-all-out magnetic insulator.

PubMed

Ma, Eric Yue; Cui, Yong-Tao; Ueda, Kentaro; Tang, Shujie; Chen, Kai; Tamura, Nobumichi; Wu, Phillip M; Fujioka, Jun; Tokura, Yoshinori; Shen, Zhi-Xun

2015-10-30

Magnetic domain walls are boundaries between regions with different configurations of the same magnetic order. In a magnetic insulator, where the magnetic order is tied to its bulk insulating property, it has been postulated that electrical properties are drastically different along the domain walls, where the order is inevitably disturbed. Here we report the discovery of highly conductive magnetic domain walls in a magnetic insulator, Nd2Ir2O7, that has an unusual all-in-all-out magnetic order, via transport and spatially resolved microwave impedance microscopy. The domain walls have a virtually temperature-independent sheet resistance of ~1 kilohm per square, show smooth morphology with no preferred orientation, are free from pinning by disorders, and have strong thermal and magnetic field responses that agree with expectations for all-in-all-out magnetic order. Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Ferroelectric translational antiphase boundaries in nonpolar materials

PubMed Central

Wei, Xian-Kui; Tagantsev, Alexander K.; Kvasov, Alexander; Roleder, Krystian; Jia, Chun-Lin; Setter, Nava

2014-01-01

Ferroelectric materials are heavily used in electro-mechanics and electronics. Inside the ferroelectric, domain walls separate regions in which the spontaneous polarization is differently oriented. Properties of ferroelectric domain walls can differ from those of the domains themselves, leading to new exploitable phenomena. Even more exciting is that a non-ferroelectric material may have domain boundaries that are ferroelectric. Many materials possess translational antiphase boundaries. Such boundaries could be interesting entities to carry information if they were ferroelectric. Here we show first that antiphase boundaries in antiferroelectrics may possess ferroelectricity. We then identify these boundaries in the classical antiferroelectric lead zirconate and evidence their polarity by electron microscopy using negative spherical-aberration imaging technique. Ab initio modelling confirms the polar bi-stable nature of the walls. Ferroelectric antiphase boundaries could make high-density non-volatile memory; in comparison with the magnetic domain wall memory, they do not require current for operation and are an order of magnitude thinner. PMID:24398704

Orientation control and domain structure analysis of {100}-oriented epitaxial ferroelectric orthorhombic HfO{sub 2}-based thin films

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Katayama, Kiliha; Shimizu, Takao; Sakata, Osami

2016-04-07

Orientation control of {100}-oriented epitaxial orthorhombic 0.07YO{sub 1.5}-0.93HfO{sub 2} films grown by pulsed laser deposition was investigated. To achieve in-plane lattice matching, indium tin oxide (ITO) and yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) were selected as underlying layers. We obtained (100)- and (001)/(010)-oriented films on ITO and YSZ, respectively. Ferroelastic domain formation was confirmed for both films by X-ray diffraction using the superlattice diffraction that appeared only for the orthorhombic symmetry. The formation of ferroelastic domains is believed to be induced by the tetragonal–orthorhombic phase transition upon cooling the films after deposition. The present results demonstrate that the orientation of HfO{sub 2}-based ferroelectricmore » films can be controlled in the same manner as that of ferroelectric films composed of conventional perovskite-type material such as Pb(Zr, Ti)O{sub 3} and BiFeO{sub 3}.« less

Raman tensor elements for tetragonal BaTiO3 and their use for in-plane domain texture assessments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deluca, Marco; Higashino, Masayuki; Pezzotti, Giuseppe

2007-08-01

A quantitative assessment of c-axis oriented domains in a textured BaTiO3 (BT) single crystal has been carried out by polarized Raman microprobe spectroscopy. The relative intensity modulation of the Raman phonon modes has been theoretically modeled as a function of crystal rotation and linked to the volume fraction of c-axis oriented domains. Raman tensor elements have also been experimentally determined for the Ag and B1 vibrational modes. As an application, the internal in-plane texture and the volume fraction of c-oriented domains in the BT single crystal have been nondestructively visualized by monitoring the relative intensity of Ag and B1 Raman modes.

An Initial Investigation of Sexual Minority Youth Involvement in School-Based Extracurricular Activities.

PubMed

Toomey, Russell B; Russell, Stephen T

2013-06-01

Sexual minority youth are at risk for negative school-based experiences and poor academic outcomes. Yet, little is known about their experiences in positive school-based contexts. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (1,214 sexual minority and 11,427 heterosexual participants), this study compared participation rates in, predictors of, and outcomes associated with three types of school-based extracurricular activities - sports, arts, and school clubs - by sexual orientation and gender. Findings revealed several significant sexual orientation and gender differences in participation rates in school-based sports, clubs, and arts activities. Further, findings suggested that the outcomes associated with extracurricular activity involvement do not differ by sexual orientation and gender; however, predictors of participation in these domains varied across groups.

Promoting Experimental Problem-Solving Ability in Sixth-Grade Students through Problem-Oriented Teaching of Ecology: Findings of an Intervention Study in a Complex Domain

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roesch, Frank; Nerb, Josef; Riess, Werner

2015-01-01

Our study investigated whether problem-oriented designed ecology lessons with phases of direct instruction and of open experimentation foster the development of cross-domain and domain-specific components of "experimental problem-solving ability" better than conventional lessons in science. We used a paper-and-pencil test to assess…

Issues in Requirements Elicitation

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-09-01

oriented domain analysis ( FODA ) continues that the re- quirements analyst uses the products of domain analysis when implementing a new system [Kang 90, p...Peterson, A. Spencer. Feature-Oriented Domain Analysis ( FODA ) Feasibility Study. Technical Report CMU/SEI-90-TR-21, ADA235785, Software Engineering...3.3 Problems of Volatility 12 4 Current Elicitation Techniques 15 4.1 Information Gathering 16 4.2 Requirements Expression and Analysis 19 4.3

Domain and phase change contributions to response in high strain piezoelectric actuators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cross, L. Eric

2000-09-01

Current solid state actuators are briefly compared to traditional actuator technologies to highlight the major need for enhanced strain capability. For the ferroelectric piezoelectric polycrystal ceramics, the balance of evidence suggests a large entrinsic contribution to the field induced strain from ferroelectric-ferroelastic domain wall motion. Here-to-fore the intrinsic single domain contribution has been derived indirectly from phenomenological analysis. Now, new evidence of a stable monoclinic phase at compositions very close to the MPB suggest that the previous assessment will need to be revised. Actuator behavior in the new lead zinc niobate-lead titanate (PZN:PT) single crystal shows most unusual anisotropic behavior. For 111 oriented field poled crystals in the rhombohedral phase normal low induced strain is observed. For 001 field poled crystals however massive (0.6%) quasi-linear anhysteritic strain can be induced. Since the 001 oriented field in the rhombohedral phase can not drive ferroelastic domain walls it is suggested that the strain must be intrinsic. The suggestion is that it is due to an induced monoclinic phase in which the Ps vector tilts under increasing field up to more than 20° from 111, before the vector switches to the tetragonal 001 direction. Such a polarization rotation mechanism has also been suggested by Fu and Cohen. Calculations of induced single domain strain using measured electrostriction constants agree well with observed behavior. Recent measurements by Park et al. and Wada et al. on single crystal BaTiO3 show strongly enhanced piezoelectricity at temperatures near the ferroelectric phase transitions. Of particular relevance is the inverse experiment forcing the tetragonal over to the rhombohedral phase with high 111 oriented field. From this result it is suggested that both cubic and dodecahedral mirrors participate in the reorientation through orthorhombic to the rhombohedral state giving rise to different value of the induced d33 at different field levels.

Decoupling of superposed textures in an electrically biased piezoceramic with a 100 preferred orientation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fancher, Chris M.; Blendell, John E.; Bowman, Keith J.

2017-02-07

A method leveraging Rietveld full-pattern texture analysis to decouple induced domain texture from a preferred grain orientation is presented in this paper. The proposed method is demonstrated by determining the induced domain texture in a polar polymorph of 100 oriented 0.91Bi 1/2Na 1/2TiO 3-0.07BaTiO 3-0.02K 0.5Na 0.5NbO 3. Domain textures determined using the present method are compared with results obtained via single peak fitting. Texture determined using single peak fitting estimated more domain alignment than that determined using the Rietveld based method. These results suggest that the combination of grain texture and phase transitions can lead to single peak fittingmore » under or over estimating domain texture. Finally, while demonstrated for a bulk piezoelectric, the proposed method can be applied to quantify domain textures in multi-component systems and thin films.« less

Modelling multi-protein complexes using PELDOR distance measurements for rigid body minimisation experiments using XPLOR-NIH

PubMed Central

Hammond, Colin M.; Owen-Hughes, Tom; Norman, David G.

2014-01-01

Crystallographic and NMR approaches have provided a wealth of structural information about protein domains. However, often these domains are found as components of larger multi domain polypeptides or complexes. Orienting domains within such contexts can provide powerful new insight into their function. The combination of site specific spin labelling and Pulsed Electron Double Resonance (PELDOR) provide a means of obtaining structural measurements that can be used to generate models describing how such domains are oriented. Here we describe a pipeline for modelling the location of thio-reactive nitroxyl spin locations to engineered sties on the histone chaperone Vps75. We then use a combination of experimentally determined measurements and symmetry constraints to model the orientation in which homodimers of Vps75 associate to form homotetramers using the XPLOR-NIH platform. This provides a working example of how PELDOR measurements can be used to generate a structural model. PMID:25448300

Goal orientation, perceived task outcome and task demands in mathematics tasks: effects on students' attitude in actual task settings.

PubMed

Seegers, Gerard; van Putten, Cornelis M; de Brabander, Cornelis J

2002-09-01

In earlier studies, it has been found that students' domain-specific cognitions and personal learning goals (goal orientation) influence task-specific appraisals of actual learning tasks. The relations between domain-specific and task-specific variables have been specified in the model of adaptive learning. In this study, additional influences, i.e., perceived task outcome on a former occasion and variations in task demands, were investigated. The purpose of this study was to identify personality and situational variables that mediate students' attitude when confronted with a mathematics task. Students worked on a mathematics task in two subsequent sessions. Effects of perceived task outcome at the first session on students' attitude at the second session were investigated. In addition, we investigated how differences in task demands influenced students' attitude. Variations in task demands were provoked by different conditions in task-instruction. In one condition, students were told that the result on the test would add to their mark on mathematics. This outcome orienting condition was contrasted with a task-orienting condition where students were told that the results on the test would not be used to give individual grades. Participants were sixth grade students (N = 345; aged 11-12 years) from 14 primary schools. Multivariate and univariate analyses of (co)variance were applied to the data. Independent variables were goal orientation, task demands, and perceived task outcome, with task-specific variables (estimated competence for the task, task attraction, task relevance, and willingness to invest effort) as the dependent variables. The results showed that previous perceived task outcome had a substantial impact on students' attitude. Additional but smaller effects were found for variation in task demands. Furthermore, effects of previous perceived task outcome and task demands were related to goal orientation. The resulting pattern confirmed that, in general, performance-oriented learning goals emphasised the negative impact of failure experiences, whereas task-oriented learning goals had a strengthening effect on how success experiences influenced students' attitude.

Oriented modulation for watermarking in direct binary search halftone images.

PubMed

Guo, Jing-Ming; Su, Chang-Cheng; Liu, Yun-Fu; Lee, Hua; Lee, Jiann-Der

2012-09-01

In this paper, a halftoning-based watermarking method is presented. This method enables high pixel-depth watermark embedding, while maintaining high image quality. This technique is capable of embedding watermarks with pixel depths up to 3 bits without causing prominent degradation to the image quality. To achieve high image quality, the parallel oriented high-efficient direct binary search (DBS) halftoning is selected to be integrated with the proposed orientation modulation (OM) method. The OM method utilizes different halftone texture orientations to carry different watermark data. In the decoder, the least-mean-square-trained filters are applied for feature extraction from watermarked images in the frequency domain, and the naïve Bayes classifier is used to analyze the extracted features and ultimately to decode the watermark data. Experimental results show that the DBS-based OM encoding method maintains a high degree of image quality and realizes the processing efficiency and robustness to be adapted in printing applications.

Evaluating Computer-Generated Domain-Oriented Vocabularies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Damerau, Fred J.

1990-01-01

Discusses methods for automatically compiling domain-oriented vocabularies in natural language systems and describes techniques for evaluating the quality of the resulting word lists. A study is described that used subject headings from Grolier's Encyclopedia and the United Press International newswire, and filters for removing high frequency…

Analytical saturated domain orientation textures and electromechanical properties of ferroelectric ceramics due to electric/mechanical poling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, F. X.; Rajapakse, R. K. N. D.

2007-03-01

Saturated domain orientation textures of three types of pseudocubic (tetragonal, rhombohedral, and orthorhombic) ferroelectric ceramics after complete electric and uniaxial tension (compression) poling is studied analytically in this paper. A one-dimensional orientation distribution function (ODF) of the domain polar vectors is explicitly derived from the uniform inverse pole figures of the poling field axes on a stereographic projection with respect to the fixed crystallite coordinates. The analytical ODF is used to obtain the analytical solutions of saturated polarization and strain after electric/mechanical poling. Based on the closed form solution of the saturated domain orientation textures, the resultant intrinsic electromechanical properties of ferroelectric ceramics, which depend only on the ODF and properties of the corresponding single crystals, are obtained. The results show how the macroscopic symmetries of ferroelectric crystals change from 4mm (tetragonal), 3m (rhombohedral), and mm2 (orthorhombic) single crystals to a ∞mm (transversely isotropic) completely poled ceramic.

Effect of cooling rate on magnetic domain structure and magnetic properties of Tb0.27Dy0.73Fe1.95 alloys solidified in high magnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Tie; Dong, Meng; Gao, Pengfei; Xiao, Yubao; Yuan, Yi; Wang, Qiang

2018-05-01

In this work, Tb0.27Dy0.73Fe1.95 alloys were solidified in a high magnetic field of 4.4 T at various cooling rates. Changes in the magnetostriction, crystal orientation, magnetization, and magnetic domain of the solidified alloys were investigated. The application of the magnetic field can induce <111> orientation of (Tb, Dy)Fe2 phase. However, the effect of the magnetic field is strongly dependent on the cooling rate. The alloy solidified at 5 °C/min shows the highest magnetostriction, strongest <111> orientation, best contrast of light and dark in the domain image, and fastest magnetization, and followed in descending order by the alloys solidified at 1.5 °C/min and 60 °C/min. The change in the magnetostriction of the alloys can be attributed to the changes in crystal orientation and magnetic domain structure caused by both the magnetic field and cooling rate.

Formal Transformations from Graphically-Based Object-Oriented Representations to Theory-Based Specifications

DTIC Science & Technology

1996-06-01

for Software Synthesis." KBSE 󈨡. IEEE, 1993. 51. Kang, Kyo C., et al. Feature-Oriented Domain Analysis ( FODA ) Feasibility Study. Technical Report...and usefulness in domain analysis and modeling. Rumbaugh uses three distinct views to describe a domain: (1) the object model describes structural...Gibbons describe a methodology where Structured Analysis is used to build a hierarchical system structure chart. This structure chart is then translated

Myristoylation Restricts Orientation of the GRASP Domain on Membranes and Promotes Membrane Tethering*

PubMed Central

Heinrich, Frank; Nanda, Hirsh; Goh, Haw Zan; Bachert, Collin; Lösche, Mathias; Linstedt, Adam D.

2014-01-01

The mammalian Golgi reassembly stacking protein (GRASP) proteins are Golgi-localized homotypic membrane tethers that organize Golgi stacks into a long, contiguous ribbon-like structure. It is unknown how GRASPs undergo trans pairing given that cis interactions between the proteins in the plane of the membrane are intrinsically favored. To test the hypothesis that myristoylation of the self-interacting GRASP domain restricts its orientation on the membrane to favor trans pairing, we established an in vitro assay that recapitulates GRASP-dependent membrane tethering and used neutron reflection under similar conditions to determine the orientation of the GRASP domain. In vivo, the membrane association of GRASP proteins is conferred by the simultaneous insertion of an N-terminal myristic acid and binding to a Golgi-associated binding partner. In our assay, the latter contact was replaced using a C-terminal hexa-His moiety, which bound to Ni2+-conjugated lipids incorporated into a substrate-supported bilayer lipid membrane. Nonmyristoylated protein lacked a fixed orientation on the membrane and inefficiently tethered liposomes. In contrast, myristoylated GRASP promoted tethering and exhibited a unique membrane complex. Thus, myristoylation restricts the membrane orientation of the GRASP domain favoring interactions in trans for membrane tethering. PMID:24505136

Molecular structure of the lecithin ripple phase

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Vries, Alex H.; Yefimov, Serge; Mark, Alan E.; Marrink, Siewert J.

2005-04-01

Molecular dynamics simulations of lecithin lipid bilayers in water as they are cooled from the liquid crystalline phase show the spontaneous formation of rippled bilayers. The ripple consists of two domains of different length and orientation, connected by a kink. The organization of the lipids in one domain of the ripple is found to be that of a splayed gel; in the other domain the lipids are gel-like and fully interdigitated. In the concave part of the kink region between the domains the lipids are disordered. The results are consistent with the experimental information available and provide an atomic-level model that may be tested by further experiments. molecular dynamics simulation | structural model

The influence of preferred orientation and poling temperature on the polarization switching current in PZT thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiao, Mi; Zhang, Weikang; Zhang, Zebin; Zhang, Ping; Lan, Kuibo

2017-07-01

In this paper, Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 (PZT) thin films with different preferred orientation were prepared on platinized silicon substrates by a modified sol-gel method. Our results indicate that the polarization switching current in PZT thin films is dependent on preferred orientation and poling temperature. In our measurements, (111)-oriented PZT has a larger polarization switching current than randomly oriented PZT, and with the increase of the degree of (111) preferred orientation and the poling temperature, the polarization switching current gradually increase. Considering the contact of PZT thin film with electrodes, the space-charged limited conduction (SCLC) combined with domain switching mechanism may be responsible for such phenomena. By analyzing the conduction data, we found the interface-limited Schottky emission (ES) and bulk-limited Poole-Frenkel hopping (PF) are not suitable for our samples.

Object-Oriented Implementation of the NAS Parallel Benchmarks using Charm++

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krishnan, Sanjeev; Bhandarkar, Milind; Kale, Laxmikant V.

1996-01-01

This report describes experiences with implementing the NAS Computational Fluid Dynamics benchmarks using a parallel object-oriented language, Charm++. Our main objective in implementing the NAS CFD kernel benchmarks was to develop a code that could be used to easily experiment with different domain decomposition strategies and dynamic load balancing. We also wished to leverage the object-orientation provided by the Charm++ parallel object-oriented language, to develop reusable abstractions that would simplify the process of developing parallel applications. We first describe the Charm++ parallel programming model and the parallel object array abstraction, then go into detail about each of the Scalar Pentadiagonal (SP) and Lower/Upper Triangular (LU) benchmarks, along with performance results. Finally we conclude with an evaluation of the methodology used.

Cognitive performance and engagement in physical, social and intellectual activities in older adults: The FIBRA study

PubMed Central

Sposito, Giovana; Neri, Anita Liberalesso; Yassuda, Mônica Sanches

2015-01-01

Cognitive decline in aging can negatively impact quality of life in the elderly. However, studies have shown that elderly engaged in advanced activities of daily living (AADLs) can maintain or enhance global cognitive function or specific domains. Objective To investigate the relationship between engagement in AADLs and domains of cognition in elderly from seven different locations in Brazil. Methods A cross-sectional study involving 2,549 elderly without cognitive deficits suggestive of dementia was conducted. Data were collected on sociodemographic characteristics, health status, the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) by subdomain (orientation, memory, attention/calculus, language and constructional praxis), and engagement in AADL grouped under physical, social and intellectual activities. Results Multivariate linear regression analysis revealed an association, albeit modest, between intellectual AADLs and the domains orientation, attention/calculus, language and constructional praxis (R2=0.005, 0.008, 0.021, and 0.021 respectively). Social AADLs were correlated with memory (R2=0.002) and language (R2=0.004) domains. No association was found between physical AADLs and MMSE domains. Schooling and family income were the sociodemographic variables exhibiting the strongest relationship with cognitive domains. Conclusion The study found associations between intellectual and social AADLs with higher cognitive performance, suggesting that active aging can provide opportunities to attenuate cognitive decline in aging. PMID:29213972

Single Crystalline Film of Hexagonal Boron Nitride Atomic Monolayer by Controlling Nucleation Seeds and Domains

PubMed Central

Wu, Qinke; Park, Ji-Hoon; Park, Sangwoo; Jung, Seong Jun; Suh, Hwansoo; Park, Noejung; Wongwiriyapan, Winadda; Lee, Sungjoo; Lee, Young Hee; Song, Young Jae

2015-01-01

A monolayer hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) film with controllable domain morphology and domain size (varying from less than 1 μm to more than 100 μm) with uniform crystalline orientation was successfully synthesized by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The key for this extremely large single crystalline domain size of a h-BN monolayer is a decrease in the density of nucleation seeds by increasing the hydrogen gas flow during the h-BN growth. Moreover, the well-defined shape of h-BN flakes can be selectively grown by controlling Cu-annealing time under argon atmosphere prior to h-BN growth, which provides the h-BN shape varies in triangular, trapezoidal, hexagonal and complex shapes. The uniform crystalline orientation of h-BN from different nucleation seeds can be easily confirmed by polarized optical microscopy (POM) with a liquid crystal coating. Furthermore, seamlessly merged h-BN flakes without structural domain boundaries were evidence by a selective hydrogen etching after a full coverage of a h-BN film was achieved. This seamless large-area and atomic monolayer of single crystalline h-BN film can offer as an ideal and practical template of graphene-based devices or alternative two-dimensional materials for industrial applications with scalability. PMID:26537788

Single Crystalline Film of Hexagonal Boron Nitride Atomic Monolayer by Controlling Nucleation Seeds and Domains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Qinke; Park, Ji-Hoon; Park, Sangwoo; Jung, Seong Jun; Suh, Hwansoo; Park, Noejung; Wongwiriyapan, Winadda; Lee, Sungjoo; Lee, Young Hee; Song, Young Jae

2015-11-01

A monolayer hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) film with controllable domain morphology and domain size (varying from less than 1 μm to more than 100 μm) with uniform crystalline orientation was successfully synthesized by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The key for this extremely large single crystalline domain size of a h-BN monolayer is a decrease in the density of nucleation seeds by increasing the hydrogen gas flow during the h-BN growth. Moreover, the well-defined shape of h-BN flakes can be selectively grown by controlling Cu-annealing time under argon atmosphere prior to h-BN growth, which provides the h-BN shape varies in triangular, trapezoidal, hexagonal and complex shapes. The uniform crystalline orientation of h-BN from different nucleation seeds can be easily confirmed by polarized optical microscopy (POM) with a liquid crystal coating. Furthermore, seamlessly merged h-BN flakes without structural domain boundaries were evidence by a selective hydrogen etching after a full coverage of a h-BN film was achieved. This seamless large-area and atomic monolayer of single crystalline h-BN film can offer as an ideal and practical template of graphene-based devices or alternative two-dimensional materials for industrial applications with scalability.

STARS Conceptual Framework for Reuse Processes (CFRP). Volume 2: application Version 1.0

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-09-30

Analysis and Design DISA/CIM process x OProcess [DIS93] Feature-Oriented Domain SEI process x Analysis ( FODA ) [KCH+90] JIAWG Object-Oriented Domain JIAWG...Domain Analysis ( FODA ) Feasibility Study. Technical Report CMU/S[1 ,N. I R 21. Soft- ware Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh...Electronic Systems Center Air Force Materiel Command, USAF Hanscom AFB, MA 01731-5000 Prepared by: The Boeing Company , IBM, Unisys Corporation, Defense

Orientationally ordered colloidal co-dispersions of gold nanorods and cellulose nanocrystals.

PubMed

Liu, Qingkun; Campbell, Michael G; Evans, Julian S; Smalyukh, Ivan I

2014-11-12

Nematic-like and helicoidally orientational self-assemblies of gold nanorods co-dispersed with cellulose nanocrystals to form liquid crystalline phases are developed. Polarization-sensitive extinction spectra and two-photon luminescence imaging are used to characterize orientations and spatial distributions of gold nanorods. Cholesteric-isotropic phase coexistence and continuous domains of single-phase regions are observed and qualitatively discussed on the basis of entropic and electrostatic interactions in co-dispersions of rigid rods of different aspect ratios. Potential applications include biologically compatible plasmonic composite nanomaterials for solar biofuel production and polarization-sensitive plasmonic papers and fabrics. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

An Initial Investigation of Sexual Minority Youth Involvement in School-Based Extracurricular Activities

PubMed Central

Russell, Stephen T.

2012-01-01

Sexual minority youth are at risk for negative school-based experiences and poor academic outcomes. Yet, little is known about their experiences in positive school-based contexts. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (1,214 sexual minority and 11,427 heterosexual participants), this study compared participation rates in, predictors of, and outcomes associated with three types of school-based extracurricular activities - sports, arts, and school clubs - by sexual orientation and gender. Findings revealed several significant sexual orientation and gender differences in participation rates in school-based sports, clubs, and arts activities. Further, findings suggested that the outcomes associated with extracurricular activity involvement do not differ by sexual orientation and gender; however, predictors of participation in these domains varied across groups. PMID:24187476

Conformational dynamics and ligand binding in the multi-domain protein PDC109.

PubMed

Kim, Hyun Jin; Choi, Moo Young; Kim, Hyung J; Llinás, Miguel

2010-02-18

PDC109 is a modular multi-domain protein with two fibronectin type II (Fn2) repeats joined by a linker. It plays a major role in bull sperm binding to the oviductal epithelium through its interactions with phosphorylcholines (PhCs), a head group of sperm cell membrane lipids. The crystal structure of the PDC109-PhC complex shows that each PhC binds to the corresponding Fn2 domain, while the two domains are on the same face of the protein. Long timescale explicit solvent molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of PDC109, in the presence and absence of PhC, suggest that PhC binding strongly correlates with the relative orientation of choline-phospholipid binding sites of the two Fn2 domains; unless the two domains tightly bind PhCs, they tend to change their relative orientation by deforming the flexible linker. The effective PDC109-PhC association constant of 28 M(-1), estimated from their potential of mean force is consistent with the experimental result. Principal component analysis of the long timescale MD simulations was compared to the significantly less expensive normal mode analysis of minimized structures. The comparison indicates that difference between relative domain motions of PDC109 with bound and unbound PhC is captured by the first principal component in the principal component analysis as well as the three lowest normal modes in the normal mode analysis. The present study illustrates the use of detailed MD simulations to clarify the energetics of specific ligand-domain interactions revealed by a static crystallographic model, as well as their influence on relative domain motions in a multi-domain protein.

Crystal structure of the motor domain of a class-I myosin

PubMed Central

Kollmar, Martin; Dürrwang, Ulrike; Kliche, Werner; Manstein, Dietmar J.; Kull, F.Jon

2002-01-01

The crystal structure of the motor domain of Dictyostelium discoideum myosin-IE, a monomeric unconventional myosin, was determined. The crystallographic asymmetric unit contains four independently resolved molecules, highlighting regions that undergo large conformational changes. Differences are particularly pronounced in the actin binding region and the converter domain. The changes in position of the converter domain reflect movements both parallel to and perpendicular to the actin axis. The orientation of the converter domain is ∼30° further up than in other myosin structures, indicating that MyoE can produce a larger power stroke by rotating its lever arm through a larger angle. The role of extended loops near the actin-binding site is discussed in the context of cellular localization. The core regions of the motor domain are similar, and the structure reveals how that core is stabilized in the absence of an N-terminal SH3-like domain. PMID:12032065

Field enhancement of electronic conductance at ferroelectric domain walls

DOE PAGES

Vasudevan, Rama K.; Cao, Ye; Laanait, Nouamane; ...

2017-11-06

Ferroelectric domain walls have continued to attract widespread attention due to both the novelty of the phenomena observed and the ability to reliably pattern them in nanoscale dimensions. But, the conductivity mechanisms remain in debate, particularly around nominally uncharged walls. Here, we posit a conduction mechanism relying on field-modification effect from polarization re-orientation and the structure of the reverse-domain nucleus. Through conductive atomic force microscopy measurements on an ultra-thin (001) BiFeO 3 thin film, in combination with phase-field simulations, we show that the field-induced twisted domain nucleus formed at domain walls results in local-field enhancement around the region of themore » atomic force microscope tip. In conjunction with slight barrier lowering, these two effects are sufficient to explain the observed emission current distribution. Our results suggest that different electronic properties at domain walls are not necessary to observe localized enhancement in domain wall currents.« less

Thermomagnetic processing of liquid-crystalline epoxy resins and their mechanical characterization using nanoindentation.

PubMed

Li, Yuzhan; Rios, Orlando; Kessler, Michael R

2014-11-12

A thermomagnetic processing method was used to produce a biphenyl-based liquid-crystalline epoxy resin (LCER) with oriented liquid-crystalline (LC) domains. The orientation of the LCER was confirmed and quantified using two-dimensional X-ray diffraction. The effect of molecular alignment on the mechanical and thermomechanical properties of the LCER was investigated using nanoindentation and thermomechanical analysis, respectively. The effect of the orientation on the fracture behavior was also examined. The results showed that macroscopic orientation of the LC domains was achieved, resulting in an epoxy network with an anisotropic modulus, hardness, creep behavior, and thermal expansion.

Latitudinal concordance between biogeographic regionalization, community structure, and richness patterns: a study on the reptiles of China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Youhua; Srivastava, Diane S.

2015-02-01

Latitudinal patterns in species richness may be affected by both continuous variations in macroecological factors as well as discrete change between biogeographic regions. We examined whether latitudinal reptilian richness and community structure in China were best explained by three macroecological patterns (mid-domain effects, Rapoport's rule effects, or environmental correlates) within or across the ranges of biogeographic realms. The results showed that (1) there was a weak mid-domain effect within the Oriental Realm. However, the mid-domain effect was detected neither at the overall regional scale nor in the Palaearctic Realm. (2) Rapoport's rule was only weakly supported for reptilian fauna in China at lower latitudinal areas. (3) Environmental variables were more strongly correlated with species' latitudinal community structure and richness patterns at the scale of biogeographic realms. Based on the faunal similarity of reptilian community across latitudinal bands, we proposed a latitudinal delineation scheme at 34° N for dividing East Asia into Oriental and Palaearctic biogeographic realms. At last, at the functional group level, we also evaluated the relevant ecological patterns for lizard and snake species across different latitudinal bins, showing that the distributions of lizards presented strong mid-domain effects at the latitudinal ranges within the Oriental Realm and over the whole range but did not support Rapoport's rule. In comparison, snake species supported Rapoport's rule at low latitudinal zones but did not present any remarkable mid-domain effects at any spatial extents. In conclusion, biogeographic realms are an appropriate scale for studying macroecological patterns. Reptilian latitudinal richness patterns of China were explained by a combination of environmental factors and geometric constraints, while the latitudinal community structure patterns were greatly affected by environmental gradients. Functional guilds present differentiated macroecological patterns along the latitudinal gradients.

Effect of screw threading dislocations and inverse domain boundaries in GaN on the shape of reciprocal-space maps.

PubMed

Barchuk, Mykhailo; Motylenko, Mykhaylo; Lukin, Gleb; Pätzold, Olf; Rafaja, David

2017-04-01

The microstructure of polar GaN layers, grown by upgraded high-temperature vapour phase epitaxy on [001]-oriented sapphire substrates, was studied by means of high-resolution X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Systematic differences between reciprocal-space maps measured by X-ray diffraction and those which were simulated for different densities of threading dislocations revealed that threading dislocations are not the only microstructure defect in these GaN layers. Conventional dark-field transmission electron microscopy and convergent-beam electron diffraction detected vertical inversion domains as an additional microstructure feature. On a series of polar GaN layers with different proportions of threading dislocations and inversion domain boundaries, this contribution illustrates the capability and limitations of coplanar reciprocal-space mapping by X-ray diffraction to distinguish between these microstructure features.

Mapping DNA cleavage by the Type ISP restriction-modification enzymes following long-range communication between DNA sites in different orientations

PubMed Central

van Aelst, Kara; Saikrishnan, Kayarat; Szczelkun, Mark D.

2015-01-01

The prokaryotic Type ISP restriction-modification enzymes are single-chain proteins comprising an Mrr-family nuclease, a superfamily 2 helicase-like ATPase, a coupler domain, a methyltransferase, and a DNA-recognition domain. Upon recognising an unmodified DNA target site, the helicase-like domain hydrolyzes ATP to cause site release (remodeling activity) and to then drive downstream translocation consuming 1–2 ATP per base pair (motor activity). On an invading foreign DNA, double-strand breaks are introduced at random wherever two translocating enzymes form a so-called collision complex following long-range communication between a pair of target sites in inverted (head-to-head) repeat. Paradoxically, structural models for collision suggest that the nuclease domains are too far apart (>30 bp) to dimerise and produce a double-strand DNA break using just two strand-cleavage events. Here, we examined the organisation of different collision complexes and how these lead to nuclease activation. We mapped DNA cleavage when a translocating enzyme collides with a static enzyme bound to its site. By following communication between sites in both head-to-head and head-to-tail orientations, we could show that motor activity leads to activation of the nuclease domains via distant interactions of the helicase or MTase-TRD. Direct nuclease dimerization is not required. To help explain the observed cleavage patterns, we also used exonuclease footprinting to demonstrate that individual Type ISP domains can swing off the DNA. This study lends further support to a model where DNA breaks are generated by multiple random nicks due to mobility of a collision complex with an overall DNA-binding footprint of ∼30 bp. PMID:26507855

The Development of Cadastral Domain Model Oriented at Unified Real Estate Registration of China Based on Ontology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, M.; Zhu, X.; Shen, C.; Chen, D.; Guo, W.

2012-07-01

With the certain regulation of unified real estate registration taken by the Property Law and the step-by-step advance of simultaneous development in urban and rural in China, it is the premise and foundation to clearly specify property rights and their relations in promoting the integrated management of urban and rural land. This paper aims at developing a cadastral domain model oriented at unified real estate registration of China from the perspective of legal and spatial, which set up the foundation for unified real estate registration, and facilitates the effective interchange of cadastral information and the administration of land use. The legal cadastral model is provided based on the analysis of gap between current model and the demand of unified real estate registration, which implies the restrictions between different rights. Then the new cadastral domain model is constructed based on the legal cadastral domain model and CCDM (van Oosterom et al., 2006), which integrate real estate rights of urban land and rural land. Finally, the model is validated by a prototype system. The results show that the model is applicable for unified real estate registration in China.

Future perspectives - proposal for Oxford Physiome Project.

PubMed

Oku, Yoshitaka

2010-01-01

The Physiome Project is an effort to understand living creatures using "analysis by synthesis" strategy, i.e., by reproducing their behaviors. In order to achieve its goal, sharing developed models between different computer languages and application programs to incorporate into integrated models is critical. To date, several XML-based markup languages has been developed for this purpose. However, source codes written with XML-based languages are very difficult to read and edit using text editors. An alternative way is to use an object-oriented meta-language, which can be translated to different computer languages and transplanted to different application programs. Object-oriented languages are suitable for describing structural organization by hierarchical classes and taking advantage of statistical properties to reduce the number of parameter while keeping the complexity of behaviors. Using object-oriented languages to describe each element and posting it to a public domain should be the next step to build up integrated models of the respiratory control system.

PSYCHE: An Object-Oriented Approach to Simulating Medical Education

PubMed Central

Mullen, Jamie A.

1990-01-01

Traditional approaches to computer-assisted instruction (CAI) do not provide realistic simulations of medical education, in part because they do not utilize heterogeneous knowledge bases for their source of domain knowledge. PSYCHE, a CAI program designed to teach hypothetico-deductive psychiatric decision-making to medical students, uses an object-oriented implementation of an intelligent tutoring system (ITS) to model the student, domain expert, and tutor. It models the transactions between the participants in complex transaction chains, and uses heterogeneous knowledge bases to represent both domain and procedural knowledge in clinical medicine. This object-oriented approach is a flexible and dynamic approach to modeling, and represents a potentially valuable tool for the investigation of medical education and decision-making.

Oriented conjugates of monoclonal and single-domain antibodies with quantum dots for flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry diagnostic applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sukhanova, Alyona; Even-Desrumeaux, Klervi; Millot, Jean-Marc; Chames, Patrick; Baty, Daniel; Artemyev, Mikhail; Oleinikov, Vladimir; Cohen, Jacques H. M.; Nabiev, Igor

2012-03-01

Ideal diagnostic nanoprobes should not exceed 15 nm in size and should contain high-affinity homogeneously oriented capture molecules on their surface. An advanced procedure for antibody (Ab) reduction was used to cleave each Ab into two functional half-Abs, 75-kDa heavy-light chain fragments, each containing an intact antigen-binding site. Affinity purification of half-Abs followed by their linkage to quantum dots (QDs) yielded oriented QD-Ab conjugates whose functionality was considerably improved compared to those obtained using the standard protocols. Ultrasmall diagnostic nanoprobes were engineered through oriented conjugation of QDs with 13-kDa single-domain Abs (sdAbs) derived from llama IgG. sdAbs were tagged with QDs via an additional cysteine residue specifically integrated into the C-terminal region of sdAb using genetic engineering. This approach made it possible to obtain sdAb-QD nanoprobes <12 nm in diameter comprising four copies of sdAbs linked to the same QD in an oriented manner. sdAb-QD conjugates against carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and HER2 exhibited an extremely high specificity in flow cytometry; the quality of immunohistochemical labeling of biopsy samples was found to be superior to that of labeling according to the current "gold standard" protocols of anatomo-pathological practice. The nano-bioengineering approaches developed can be extended to oriented conjugation of Abs and sdAbs with different semiconductor, noble metal, or magnetic nanoparticles.

Comparison of self-processing of foot-and-mouth disease virus leader proteinase and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus leader proteinase nsp1α

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Steinberger, Jutta; Kontaxis, Georg; Rancan, Chiara

The foot-and-mouth disease virus leader proteinase (Lb{sup pro}) cleaves itself off the nascent viral polyprotein. NMR studies on the monomeric variant Lb{sup pro} L200F provide structural evidence for intramolecular self-processing. {sup 15}N-HSQC measurements of Lb{sup pro} L200F showed specifically shifted backbone signals in the active and substrate binding sites compared to the monomeric variant sLb{sup pro}, lacking six C-terminal residues. This indicates transient intramolecular interactions between the C-terminal extension (CTE) of one molecule and its own active site. Contrastingly, the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) leader proteinase nsp1α, with a papain-like fold like Lb{sup pro}, stably binds itsmore » own CTE. Parts of the β-sheet domains but none of the α-helical domains of Lb{sup pro} and nsp1α superimpose; consequently, the α-helical domain of nsp1α is oriented differently relative to its β-sheet domain. This provides a large interaction surface for the CTE with the globular domain, stabilising the intramolecular complex. Consequently, self-processing inactivates nsp1α but not Lb{sup pro}. - Highlights: • We examine self-processing of the leader protease of foot-and-mouth disease virus. • NMR analysis strongly supports intramolecular self-processing. • Self-processing is a dynamic process with no stable complex. • Structural comparison with nsp1α of PRRSV which forms stable intramolecular complex. • Subdomain orientation explains differences in stability of intramolecular complexes.« less

Predicate Oriented Pattern Analysis for Biomedical Knowledge Discovery

PubMed Central

Shen, Feichen; Liu, Hongfang; Sohn, Sunghwan; Larson, David W.; Lee, Yugyung

2017-01-01

In the current biomedical data movement, numerous efforts have been made to convert and normalize a large number of traditional structured and unstructured data (e.g., EHRs, reports) to semi-structured data (e.g., RDF, OWL). With the increasing number of semi-structured data coming into the biomedical community, data integration and knowledge discovery from heterogeneous domains become important research problem. In the application level, detection of related concepts among medical ontologies is an important goal of life science research. It is more crucial to figure out how different concepts are related within a single ontology or across multiple ontologies by analysing predicates in different knowledge bases. However, the world today is one of information explosion, and it is extremely difficult for biomedical researchers to find existing or potential predicates to perform linking among cross domain concepts without any support from schema pattern analysis. Therefore, there is a need for a mechanism to do predicate oriented pattern analysis to partition heterogeneous ontologies into closer small topics and do query generation to discover cross domain knowledge from each topic. In this paper, we present such a model that predicates oriented pattern analysis based on their close relationship and generates a similarity matrix. Based on this similarity matrix, we apply an innovated unsupervised learning algorithm to partition large data sets into smaller and closer topics and generate meaningful queries to fully discover knowledge over a set of interlinked data sources. We have implemented a prototype system named BmQGen and evaluate the proposed model with colorectal surgical cohort from the Mayo Clinic. PMID:28983419

Quarterly Update, January-March 1992

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-03-01

representations to support exploiting that commonality. The project used the Feature-Oriented Domain Analysis ( FODA ) method, developed by the project in 1990, in...9 FODA feature-oriented domain analysis ................................... 14 FTP file transfer protocol...concentrations, and product market share for 23 countries. Along with other SEI staff, members of the Rate Monotonic Analysis for Real-Time Systems (RMARTS

The repetitive portion of the Xenopus IgH Mu switch region mediates orientation-dependent class switch recombination.

PubMed

Zhang, Zheng Z; Pannunzio, Nicholas R; Lu, Zhengfei; Hsu, Ellen; Yu, Kefei; Lieber, Michael R

2015-10-01

Vertebrates developed immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) class switch recombination (CSR) to express different IgH constant regions. Most double-strand breaks for Ig CSR occur within the repetitive portion of the switch regions located upstream of each set of constant domain exons for the Igγ, Igα or Igϵ heavy chain. Unlike mammalian switch regions, Xenopus switch regions do not have a high G-density on the non-template DNA strand. In previous studies, when Xenopus Sμ DNA was moved to the genome of mice, it is able to support substantial CSR when it is used to replace the murine Sγ1 region. Here, we tested both the 2kb repetitive portion and the 4.6 kb full-length portions of the Xenopus Sμ in both their natural (forward) orientation relative to the constant domain exons, as well as the opposite (reverse) orientation. Consistent with previous work, we find that the 4.6 kb full-length Sμ mediates similar levels of CSR in both the forward and reverse orientations. Whereas, the forward orientation of the 2kb portion can restore the majority of the CSR level of the 4.6 kb full-length Sμ, the reverse orientation poorly supports R-looping and no CSR. The forward orientation of the 2kb repetitive portion has more GG dinucleotides on the non-template strand than the reverse orientation. The correlation of R-loop formation with CSR efficiency, as demonstrated in the 2kb repetitive fragment of the Xenopus switch region, confirms a role played by R-looping in CSR that appears to be conserved through evolution. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Oral impacts on quality of life and problem-oriented attendance among South East London adults.

PubMed

Gaewkhiew, Piyada; Bernabé, Eduardo; Gallagher, Jennifer E; Klass, Charlotte; Delgado-Angulo, Elsa K

2017-04-26

Dental care seeking behaviour is often driven by symptoms. The value of oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL) measures to predict utilisation of dental services is unknown. This study aims to explore the association between OHRQoL and problem-oriented dental attendance among adults. We analysed cross-sectional data for 705 adults, aged 16 years and above, living in three boroughs of Inner South East London. Data were collected during structured interviews at home. The short form of the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) was used to assess the frequency of oral impacts on daily life in the last year. Problem-oriented attendance was defined based on time elapsed since last visit (last 6 months) and reason for that visit (trouble with teeth). The association between OHIP-14 (total and domain) scores and problem-oriented attendance was tested in logistic regression models adjusting for participants' sociodemographic characteristics. Problem-oriented attenders had a higher OHIP-14 total score than regular attenders (6.73 and 3.73, respectively). In regression models, there was a positive association between OHIP-14 total score and problem-oriented attendance. The odds of visiting the dentist for trouble with teeth were 1.07 greater (95% Confidence Interval: 1.04-1.10) per unit increase in the OHIP-14 total score, after adjustment for participants' sociodemographic characteristics. In subsequent analysis by OHIP-14 domains, greater scores in all domains but handicap were significantly associated with problem-oriented attendance. This study shows that oral impacts on quality of life are associated with recent problem-oriented dental attendance among London adults. Six of the seven domains in the OHIP-14 questionnaire were also associated with dental visits for trouble with teeth.

DARPin-Based Crystallization Chaperones Exploit Molecular Geometry as a Screening Dimension in Protein Crystallography.

PubMed

Batyuk, Alexander; Wu, Yufan; Honegger, Annemarie; Heberling, Matthew M; Plückthun, Andreas

2016-04-24

DARPin libraries, based on a Designed Ankyrin Repeat Protein consensus framework, are a rich source of binding partners for a wide variety of proteins. Their modular structure, stability, ease of in vitro selection and high production yields make DARPins an ideal starting point for further engineering. The X-ray structures of around 30 different DARPin complexes demonstrate their ability to facilitate crystallization of their target proteins by restricting flexibility and preventing undesired interactions of the target molecule. However, their small size (18 kDa), very hydrophilic surface and repetitive structure can limit the DARPins' ability to provide essential crystal contacts and their usefulness as a search model for addressing the crystallographic phase problem in molecular replacement. To optimize DARPins for their application as crystallization chaperones, rigid domain-domain fusions of the DARPins to larger proteins, proven to yield high-resolution crystal structures, were generated. These fusions were designed in such a way that they affect only one of the terminal capping repeats of the DARPin and do not interfere with residues involved in target binding, allowing to exchange at will the binding specificities of the DARPin in the fusion construct. As a proof of principle, we designed rigid fusions of a stabilized version of Escherichia coli TEM-1 β-lactamase to the C-terminal capping repeat of various DARPins in six different relative domain orientations. Five crystal structures representing four different fusion constructs, alone or in complex with the cognate target, show the predicted relative domain orientations and prove the validity of the concept. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Epitaxial Growth of Hetero-Ln-MOF Hierarchical Single Crystals for Domain- and Orientation-Controlled Multicolor Luminescence 3D Coding Capability.

PubMed

Pan, Mei; Zhu, Yi-Xuan; Wu, Kai; Chen, Ling; Hou, Ya-Jun; Yin, Shao-Yun; Wang, Hai-Ping; Fan, Ya-Nan; Su, Cheng-Yong

2017-11-13

Core-shell or striped heteroatomic lanthanide metal-organic framework hierarchical single crystals were obtained by liquid-phase anisotropic epitaxial growth, maintaining identical periodic organization while simultaneously exhibiting spatially segregated structure. Different types of domain and orientation-controlled multicolor photophysical models are presented, which show either visually distinguishable or visible/near infrared (NIR) emissive colors. This provides a new bottom-up strategy toward the design of hierarchical molecular systems, offering high-throughput and multiplexed luminescence color tunability and readability. The unique capability of combining spectroscopic coding with 3D (three-dimensional) microscale spatial coding is established, providing potential applications in anti-counterfeiting, color barcoding, and other types of integrated and miniaturized optoelectronic materials and devices. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Magnetic losses reduction in grain oriented silicon steel by pulse and continuous fiber laser processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petryshynets, Ivan; Kováč, František; Puchý, Viktor; Šebek, Martin; Füzer, Ján; Kollár, Peter

2018-04-01

The present paper shows the impact of different laser scribing conditions on possible reduction of magnetic losses in grain oriented electrical steel sheets. The experimental Fe-3%Si steel was taken from industrial line after final box annealing. The surface of investigated steel was subjected to fiber laser processing using both pulse and continuous scribing regimes in order to generate residual thermal stresses inducing the magnetic domains structure refinement. The magnetic losses of experimental samples before and after individual laser scribing regimes were tested in AC magnetic field with 50Hz frequency and induction of 1.5T. The most significant magnetic losses reduction of 38% was obtained at optimized conditions of continuous laser scribing regime. A semi quantitative relationship has been found between the domain patterns and the used fiber laser processing.

Effect of the SH3-SH2 domain linker sequence on the structure of Hck kinase.

PubMed

Meiselbach, Heike; Sticht, Heinrich

2011-08-01

The coordination of activity in biological systems requires the existence of different signal transduction pathways that interact with one another and must be precisely regulated. The Src-family tyrosine kinases, which are found in many signaling pathways, differ in their physiological function despite their high overall structural similarity. In this context, the differences in the SH3-SH2 domain linkers might play a role for differential regulation, but the structural consequences of linker sequence remain poorly understood. We have therefore performed comparative molecular dynamics simulations of wildtype Hck and of a mutant Hck in which the SH3-SH2 domain linker is replaced by the corresponding sequence from the homologous kinase Lck. These simulations reveal that linker replacement not only affects the orientation of the SH3 domain itself, but also leads to an alternative conformation of the activation segment in the Hck kinase domain. The sequence of the SH3-SH2 domain linker thus exerts a remote effect on the active site geometry and might therefore play a role in modulating the structure of the inactive kinase or in fine-tuning the activation process itself.

Comparison of Current and Field Driven Domain Wall Motion in Beaded Permalloy Nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lage, Enno; Dutta, Sumit; Ross, Caroline A.

2015-03-01

Domain wall based devices are promising candidates for non-volatile memory devices with no static power consumption. A common approach is the use of (field assisted) current driven domain wall motion in magnetic nanowires. In such systems local variations in linewidth act as obstacles for propagating domain walls. In this study we compare simulated field driven and current driven domain wall motion in permalloy nanowires with anti-notches. The simulations were obtained using the Object Oriented MicroMagnetics Framework (OOMMF). The wires with a constant thickness of 8 nm exhibit linewidths ranging from 40 nm to 300 nm. Circular shaped anti-notches extend the linewidth locally by 10% to 30% and raise information about the domain wall propagation in such beaded nanowires. The results are interpreted in terms of the observed propagation behavior and summarized in maps indicating ranges of different ability to overcome the pinning caused by anti-notches of different sizes. Furthermore, regimes of favored domain wall type (transverse walls or vortex walls) and complex propagation effects like walker breakdown behavior or dynamic change between domain wall structures are identified The authors thank the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for funding.

Through Two Lenses: A Cultural-Developmental Approach to Moral Psychology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jensen, Lene Arnett

2008-01-01

This paper proposes a cultural-developmental approach to moral psychology. The approach builds on and synthesizes findings from different research traditions, including the cognitive-developmental, domain, two orientations, three ethics, and moral identity traditions. The paper introduces a conception termed a "cultural-developmental template."…

Protein domain organisation: adding order.

PubMed

Kummerfeld, Sarah K; Teichmann, Sarah A

2009-01-29

Domains are the building blocks of proteins. During evolution, they have been duplicated, fused and recombined, to produce proteins with novel structures and functions. Structural and genome-scale studies have shown that pairs or groups of domains observed together in a protein are almost always found in only one N to C terminal order and are the result of a single recombination event that has been propagated by duplication of the multi-domain unit. Previous studies of domain organisation have used graph theory to represent the co-occurrence of domains within proteins. We build on this approach by adding directionality to the graphs and connecting nodes based on their relative order in the protein. Most of the time, the linear order of domains is conserved. However, using the directed graph representation we have identified non-linear features of domain organization that are over-represented in genomes. Recognising these patterns and unravelling how they have arisen may allow us to understand the functional relationships between domains and understand how the protein repertoire has evolved. We identify groups of domains that are not linearly conserved, but instead have been shuffled during evolution so that they occur in multiple different orders. We consider 192 genomes across all three kingdoms of life and use domain and protein annotation to understand their functional significance. To identify these features and assess their statistical significance, we represent the linear order of domains in proteins as a directed graph and apply graph theoretical methods. We describe two higher-order patterns of domain organisation: clusters and bi-directionally associated domain pairs and explore their functional importance and phylogenetic conservation. Taking into account the order of domains, we have derived a novel picture of global protein organization. We found that all genomes have a higher than expected degree of clustering and more domain pairs in forward and reverse orientation in different proteins relative to random graphs with identical degree distributions. While these features were statistically over-represented, they are still fairly rare. Looking in detail at the proteins involved, we found strong functional relationships within each cluster. In addition, the domains tended to be involved in protein-protein interaction and are able to function as independent structural units. A particularly striking example was the human Jak-STAT signalling pathway which makes use of a set of domains in a range of orders and orientations to provide nuanced signaling functionality. This illustrated the importance of functional and structural constraints (or lack thereof) on domain organisation.

High resolution immunoelectron microscopic localization of functional domains of laminin, nidogen, and heparan sulfate proteoglycan in epithelial basement membrane of mouse cornea reveals different topological orientations.

PubMed

Schittny, J C; Timpl, R; Engel, J

1988-10-01

Thin and ultrathin cryosections of mouse cornea were labeled with affinity-purified antibodies directed against either laminin, its central segments (domain 1), the end of its long arm (domain 3), the end of one of its short arms (domain 4), nidogen, or low density heparan sulfate proteoglycan. All basement membrane proteins are detected by indirect immunofluorescence exclusively in the epithelial basement membrane, in Descemet's membrane, and in small amorphous plaques located in the stroma. Immunoelectron microscopy using the protein A-gold technique demonstrated laminin domain 1 and nidogen in a narrow segment of the lamina densa at the junction to the lamina lucida within the epithelial basement membrane. Domain 3 shows three preferred locations at both the cellular and stromal boundaries of the epithelial basement membrane and in its center. Domain 4 is located predominantly in the lamina lucida and the adjacent half of the lamina densa. The low density heparan sulfate proteoglycan is found all across the basement membrane showing a similar uniform distribution as with antibodies against the whole laminin molecule. In Descemet's membrane an even distribution was found with all these antibodies. It is concluded that within the epithelial basement membrane the center of the laminin molecule is located near the lamina densa/lamina lucida junction and that its long arm favors three major orientations. One is close to the cell surface indicating binding to a cell receptor, while the other two are directed to internal matrix structures. The apparent codistribution of laminin domain 1 and nidogen agrees with biochemical evidence that nidogen binds to this domain.

Current at domain walls, roughly speaking: nanoscales studies of disorder roughening and conduction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paruch, Patrycja

2013-03-01

Domain walls in (multi)ferroic materials are the thin elastic interfaces separating regions with different orientations of magnetisation, electric polarisation, or spontaneous strain. Understanding their behaviour, and controlling domain size and stability, is key for their integration into applications, while fundamentally, domain walls provide an excellent model system in which the rich physics of disordered elastic interfaces can be accesses. In addition, domain walls can present novel properties, quite different from those of their parent materials, making them potentially useful as active components in future nano-devices. Here, we present our atomic force microscopy studies of ferroelectric domain walls in epitaxial Pb(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3 and BiFeO3 thin films, in which we use piezorespose force microscopy to show unusual domain wall roughening behaviour, with very localised disorder regions in the sample leading to a complex, multi-affine scaling of the domain wall shape. We also show the effects of temperature, environmental conditions, and defects on switching dynamics and domain wall roughness. We combine these observations with parallel conductive-tip atomic force microscopy current measurements, which also show highly localised variations in conduction, and highlight the key role played by oxygen vacancies in the observed domain wall conduction.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Flood, A.M.

This study investigates the theoretical extension of moral development theory from the strictly human, anthropocentric context to the environmental or ecological context in terms of Care and Justice orientations of moral development theory. A theoretical conceptualization of moral orientation to the environment was developed, based on the framework of Lyons' conceptualization of self and morality, and designed to fit her scoring method. This allowed for the testing of moral orientations in an environmental context to determine if moral orientation would remain the same in spite of contextual differences. A new scoring method, the Flood Relative Presence Scoring Method, was developed.more » This research serves as the theoretical basis for this new scoring method, which is designed to more accurately assess the relative presence of moral orientations among subjects than previously reported methods of Predominance of Orientations or Presence of Orientations. Gender differences in moral orientation which were found in subjects' responses to Human dilemmas were also found in their responses to Environmental dilemmas. This research looked at contextual variations of moral orientations and contains strong evidence that the present view of moral development theory is incomplete, as well as unnecessarily limited to the human domain. These findings underlie the need for further research to (1) reconceptualize our models of moral development to include relationships not only to humans, but also to the environment; (2) empirically derive within a framework of moral considerations concerning the environment; (3) examine how these orientations may be related to each other within the context of environmentally responsive behavior; (4) determine whether and how the relationship between these orientations and environmental ethical behavior varies over the life cycle; (5) investigate cross-cultural differences between moral orientation and environmentally responsive behavior.« less

Electron transfer flavoprotein domain II orientation monitored using double electron-electron resonance between an enzymatically reduced, native FAD cofactor, and spin labels.

PubMed

Swanson, Michael A; Kathirvelu, Velavan; Majtan, Tomas; Frerman, Frank E; Eaton, Gareth R; Eaton, Sandra S

2011-03-01

Human electron transfer flavoprotein (ETF) is a soluble mitochondrial heterodimeric flavoprotein that links fatty acid β-oxidation to the main respiratory chain. The crystal structure of human ETF bound to medium chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase indicates that the flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) domain (αII) is mobile, which permits more rapid electron transfer with donors and acceptors by providing closer access to the flavin and allows ETF to accept electrons from at least 10 different flavoprotein dehydrogenases. Sequence homology is high and low-angle X-ray scattering is identical for Paracoccus denitrificans (P. denitrificans) and human ETF. To characterize the orientations of the αII domain of P. denitrificans ETF, distances between enzymatically reduced FAD and spin labels in the three structural domains were measured by double electron-electron resonance (DEER) at X- and Q-bands. An FAD to spin label distance of 2.8 ± 0.15 nm for the label in the FAD-containing αII domain (A210C) agreed with estimates from the crystal structure (3.0 nm), molecular dynamics simulations (2.7 nm), and rotamer library analysis (2.8 nm). Distances between the reduced FAD and labels in αI (A43C) were between 4.0 and 4.5 ± 0.35 nm and for βIII (A111C) the distance was 4.3 ± 0.15 nm. These values were intermediate between estimates from the crystal structure of P. denitrificans ETF and a homology model based on substrate-bound human ETF. These distances suggest that the αII domain adopts orientations in solution that are intermediate between those which are observed in the crystal structures of free ETF (closed) and ETF bound to a dehydrogenase (open). Copyright © 2011 The Protein Society.

Supra-domains: evolutionary units larger than single protein domains.

PubMed

Vogel, Christine; Berzuini, Carlo; Bashton, Matthew; Gough, Julian; Teichmann, Sarah A

2004-02-20

Domains are the evolutionary units that comprise proteins, and most proteins are built from more than one domain. Domains can be shuffled by recombination to create proteins with new arrangements of domains. Using structural domain assignments, we examined the combinations of domains in the proteins of 131 completely sequenced organisms. We found two-domain and three-domain combinations that recur in different protein contexts with different partner domains. The domains within these combinations have a particular functional and spatial relationship. These units are larger than individual domains and we term them "supra-domains". Amongst the supra-domains, we identified some 1400 (1203 two-domain and 166 three-domain) combinations that are statistically significantly over-represented relative to the occurrence and versatility of the individual component domains. Over one-third of all structurally assigned multi-domain proteins contain these over-represented supra-domains. This means that investigation of the structural and functional relationships of the domains forming these popular combinations would be particularly useful for an understanding of multi-domain protein function and evolution as well as for genome annotation. These and other supra-domains were analysed for their versatility, duplication, their distribution across the three kingdoms of life and their functional classes. By examining the three-dimensional structures of several examples of supra-domains in different biological processes, we identify two basic types of spatial relationships between the component domains: the combined function of the two domains is such that either the geometry of the two domains is crucial and there is a tight constraint on the interface, or the precise orientation of the domains is less important and they are spatially separate. Frequently, the role of the supra-domain becomes clear only once the three-dimensional structure is known. Since this is the case for only a quarter of the supra-domains, we provide a list of the most important unknown supra-domains as potential targets for structural genomics projects.

Effect of Exogenous Cues on Covert Spatial Orienting in Deaf and Normal Hearing Individuals

PubMed Central

Prasad, Seema Gorur; Patil, Gouri Shanker; Mishra, Ramesh Kumar

2015-01-01

Deaf individuals have been known to process visual stimuli better at the periphery compared to the normal hearing population. However, very few studies have examined attention orienting in the oculomotor domain in the deaf, particularly when targets appear at variable eccentricity. In this study, we examined if the visual perceptual processing advantage reported in the deaf people also modulates spatial attentional orienting with eye movement responses. We used a spatial cueing task with cued and uncued targets that appeared at two different eccentricities and explored attentional facilitation and inhibition. We elicited both a saccadic and a manual response. The deaf showed a higher cueing effect for the ocular responses than the normal hearing participants. However, there was no group difference for the manual responses. There was also higher facilitation at the periphery for both saccadic and manual responses, irrespective of groups. These results suggest that, owing to their superior visual processing ability, the deaf may orient attention faster to targets. We discuss the results in terms of previous studies on cueing and attentional orienting in deaf. PMID:26517363

Effect of Exogenous Cues on Covert Spatial Orienting in Deaf and Normal Hearing Individuals.

PubMed

Prasad, Seema Gorur; Patil, Gouri Shanker; Mishra, Ramesh Kumar

2015-01-01

Deaf individuals have been known to process visual stimuli better at the periphery compared to the normal hearing population. However, very few studies have examined attention orienting in the oculomotor domain in the deaf, particularly when targets appear at variable eccentricity. In this study, we examined if the visual perceptual processing advantage reported in the deaf people also modulates spatial attentional orienting with eye movement responses. We used a spatial cueing task with cued and uncued targets that appeared at two different eccentricities and explored attentional facilitation and inhibition. We elicited both a saccadic and a manual response. The deaf showed a higher cueing effect for the ocular responses than the normal hearing participants. However, there was no group difference for the manual responses. There was also higher facilitation at the periphery for both saccadic and manual responses, irrespective of groups. These results suggest that, owing to their superior visual processing ability, the deaf may orient attention faster to targets. We discuss the results in terms of previous studies on cueing and attentional orienting in deaf.

Changes in magnetic domain structure during twin boundary motion in single crystal Ni-Mn-Ga exhibiting magnetic shape memory effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kopecký, V.; Fekete, L.; Perevertov, O.; Heczko, O.

2016-05-01

The complexity of Ni-Mn-Ga single crystal originates from the interplay between ferromagnetic domain structure and ferroelastic twinned microstructure. Magnetic domain structure in the vicinity of single twin boundary was studied using magneto-optical indicator film and magnetic force microscopy technique. The single twin boundary of Type I was formed mechanically and an initial magnetization state in both variants were restored by local application of magnetic field (≈40 kA/m). The differently oriented variants exhibited either stripe or labyrinth magnetic domain pattern in agreement with the uniaxial magnetocrystalline anisotropy of the martensite. The twin boundary was then moved by compressive or tensile stress. The passage of the boundary resulted in the formation of granular or rake domains, respectively. Additionally, the specific magnetic domains pattern projected by twin boundary gradually vanished during twin boundary motion.

Mental Health Orientation for Self-Help Group Members: A Feasibility Study

PubMed Central

Shrinivasa, Basavaraj; Janardhana, Navaneetham; Nirmala, Bergai Parthsarathy

2017-01-01

Background: Treatment gap for mental health care in low- and middle-income (LAMI) countries is very large, and building workforce using the locally available resources is very much essential in reducing this gap. The current study is a preliminary work toward this direction. Materials and Methods: A single group pre- and post-design was considered for assessing the feasibility of Mental Health Orientation (MHO) Program for Self-Help Group members. Assessment of participants’ MHO using Orientation Towards Mental Illness (OMI) scale was undertaken at three levels: Baseline assessment before the intervention, after completing 2 days orientation program, and 6 weeks later. Results: Analysis of data resulted in statistically significant mean scores in the domains of areas of causation (F[1.41, 40.7] = 21.7, P < 0.000, ηp2 = 0.428), perception of abnormality (F[1.27, 36.8] = 15.8, P < 0.000, ηp2 = 0.353), treatment (F[1.42, 41.3] = 34.8, P < 0.000, ηp2 = 0.546), and after effect (F[1.36,39.4] = 26.7, P < 0.000, ηp2 = 0.480). Although the overall mean scores of all the domains of OMI were found to be statistically significantly different, there was no significant difference in the mean scores between post and follow-up assessments on areas of causation (μd = 1.27, P = 0.440) and treatment (μd = 1.00, P = 0.156). Conclusion: Overall, the findings of our study demonstrate that brief MHO program can exert a beneficial effect on bringing about significant change in the orientation of the participants toward mental illness but need to be refreshed over time to make the impact of the program stay longer. PMID:28694619

Surface properties of atomically flat poly-crystalline SrTiO3

PubMed Central

Woo, Sungmin; Jeong, Hoidong; Lee, Sang A.; Seo, Hosung; Lacotte, Morgane; David, Adrian; Kim, Hyun You; Prellier, Wilfrid; Kim, Yunseok; Choi, Woo Seok

2015-01-01

Comparison between single- and the poly-crystalline structures provides essential information on the role of long-range translational symmetry and grain boundaries. In particular, by comparing single- and poly-crystalline transition metal oxides (TMOs), one can study intriguing physical phenomena such as electronic and ionic conduction at the grain boundaries, phonon propagation, and various domain properties. In order to make an accurate comparison, however, both single- and poly-crystalline samples should have the same quality, e.g., stoichiometry, crystallinity, thickness, etc. Here, by studying the surface properties of atomically flat poly-crystalline SrTiO3 (STO), we propose an approach to simultaneously fabricate both single- and poly-crystalline epitaxial TMO thin films on STO substrates. In order to grow TMOs epitaxially with atomic precision, an atomically flat, single-terminated surface of the substrate is a prerequisite. We first examined (100), (110), and (111) oriented single-crystalline STO surfaces, which required different annealing conditions to achieve atomically flat surfaces, depending on the surface energy. A poly-crystalline STO surface was then prepared at the optimum condition for which all the domains with different crystallographic orientations could be successfully flattened. Based on our atomically flat poly-crystalline STO substrates, we envision expansion of the studies regarding the TMO domains and grain boundaries. PMID:25744275

Predicting Homophobic Behavior among Heterosexual Youth: Domain General and Sexual Orientation-Specific Factors at the Individual and Contextual Level

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Poteat, V. Paul; DiGiovanni, Craig D.; Scheer, Jillian R.

2013-01-01

As a form of bias-based harassment, homophobic behavior remains prominent in schools. Yet, little attention has been given to factors that underlie it, aside from bullying and sexual prejudice. Thus, we examined multiple domain general (empathy, perspective-taking, classroom respect norms) and sexual orientation-specific factors (sexual…

Coarsening and persistence in a one-dimensional system of orienting arrowheads: Domain-wall kinetics with A +B →0

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khandkar, Mahendra D.; Stinchcombe, Robin; Barma, Mustansir

2017-01-01

We demonstrate the large-scale effects of the interplay between shape and hard-core interactions in a system with left- and right-pointing arrowheads <> on a line, with reorientation dynamics. This interplay leads to the formation of two types of domain walls, >< (A ) and <> (B ). The correlation length in the equilibrium state diverges exponentially with increasing arrowhead density, with an ordered state of like orientations arising in the limit. In this high-density limit, the A domain walls diffuse, while the B walls are static. In time, the approach to the ordered state is described by a coarsening process governed by the kinetics of domain-wall annihilation A +B →0 , quite different from the A +A →0 kinetics pertinent to the Glauber-Ising model. The survival probability of a finite set of walls is shown to decay exponentially with time, in contrast to the power-law decay known for A +A →0 . In the thermodynamic limit with a finite density of walls, coarsening as a function of time t is studied by simulation. While the number of walls falls as t-1/2, the fraction of persistent arrowheads decays as t-θ where θ is close to 1/4 , quite different from the Ising value. The global persistence too has θ =1/4 , as follows from a heuristic argument. In a generalization where the B walls diffuse slowly, θ varies continuously, increasing with increasing diffusion constant.

Coarsening and persistence in a one-dimensional system of orienting arrowheads: Domain-wall kinetics with A+B→0.

PubMed

Khandkar, Mahendra D; Stinchcombe, Robin; Barma, Mustansir

2017-01-01

We demonstrate the large-scale effects of the interplay between shape and hard-core interactions in a system with left- and right-pointing arrowheads <> on a line, with reorientation dynamics. This interplay leads to the formation of two types of domain walls, >< (A) and <> (B). The correlation length in the equilibrium state diverges exponentially with increasing arrowhead density, with an ordered state of like orientations arising in the limit. In this high-density limit, the A domain walls diffuse, while the B walls are static. In time, the approach to the ordered state is described by a coarsening process governed by the kinetics of domain-wall annihilation A+B→0, quite different from the A+A→0 kinetics pertinent to the Glauber-Ising model. The survival probability of a finite set of walls is shown to decay exponentially with time, in contrast to the power-law decay known for A+A→0. In the thermodynamic limit with a finite density of walls, coarsening as a function of time t is studied by simulation. While the number of walls falls as t^{-1/2}, the fraction of persistent arrowheads decays as t^{-θ} where θ is close to 1/4, quite different from the Ising value. The global persistence too has θ=1/4, as follows from a heuristic argument. In a generalization where the B walls diffuse slowly, θ varies continuously, increasing with increasing diffusion constant.

Optical switch based on the electrically controlled liquid crystal interface.

PubMed

Komar, Andrei A; Tolstik, Alexei L; Melnikova, Elena A; Muravsky, Alexander A

2015-06-01

The peculiarities of the linearly polarized light beam reflection at the interface within the bulk of a nematic liquid crystal (NLC) cell with different orientations of the director are analyzed. Two methods to create the interface are considered. Combination of the planar and homeotropic orientations of the NLC director is realized by means of a spatially structured electrode under the applied voltage. In-plane patterned azimuthal alignment of the NLC director is created by the patterned rubbing alignment technique. All possible orthogonal orientations of the LC director are considered; the configurations for realization of total internal reflection are determined. The revealed relationship between the propagation of optical beams in a liquid crystal material and polarization of laser radiation has enabled realization of the spatial separation for the orthogonally polarized light beams at the interface between two regions of NLC with different director orientations (domains). Owing to variations in the applied voltage and, hence, in the refractive index gradient, the light beam propagation directions may be controlled electrically.

Functional competency and cognitive ability in mild Alzheimer's disease: relationship between ADL assessed by a relative/ carer-rated scale and neuropsychological performance.

PubMed

Matsuda, Osamu; Saito, Masahiko

2005-06-01

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by multiple cognitive deficits and affects functional competency to perform daily activities (ADL). As this may contribute to the patient's overall disability, it is important to identify factors that compromise competency. The relationship between different cognitive domains and functional activities in AD was studied. The functional competency of 73 Japanese AD patients, most with mild dementia, was assessed using a 27-item relative/carer-rating scale covering 7 ADL: managing finances, using transportation, taking precautions, self-care, housekeeping, communication and taking medicine. Cognitive assessment used 16 neuropsychological tests from the Japanese version of the WAIS-R and COGNISTAT, covering 9 cognitive domains: orientation, attention, episodic memory, semantic memory, language, visuoperceptual and construction abilities, computational ability, abstract thinking, and psychomotor speed. Multiple regression analysis by the stepwise method indicated that functional competency could, for the most part, be predicted from test scores for orientation, abstract thinking and psychomotor speed. The results of this study suggest that impairment of these three cognitive domains plays an important role in the functional deterioration of AD.

Self-powdering and nonlinear optical domain structures in ferroelastic β‧-Gd2(MoO4)3 crystals formed in glass

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsukada, Y.; Honma, T.; Komatsu, T.

2009-08-01

Ferroelastic β'-Gd 2(MoO 4) 3, (GMO), crystals are formed through the crystallization of 21.25Gd 2O 3-63.75MoO 3-15B 2O 3 glass (mol%), and two scientific curious phenomena are observed. (1) GMO crystals formed in the crystallization break into small pieces with a triangular prism or pyramid shape having a length of 50-500 μm spontaneously during the crystallizations in the inside of an electric furnace, not during the cooling in air after the crystallization. This phenomenon is called "self-powdering phenomenon during crystallization" in this paper. (2) Each self-powdered GMO crystal grain shows a periodic domain structure with different refractive indices, and a spatially periodic second harmonic generation (SHG) depending on the domain structure is observed. It is proposed from polarized micro-Raman scattering spectra and the azimuthal dependence of second harmonic intensities that GMO crystals are oriented in each crystal grain and the orientation of (MoO 4) 2- tetrahedra in GMO crystals changes periodically due to spontaneous strains in ferroelastic GMO crystals.

Unidirectionally oriented nanocracks on metal surfaces irradiated by low-fluence femtosecond laser pulses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shimizu, Masahiro; Hashida, Masaki; Miyasaka, Yasuhiro; Tokita, Shigeki; Sakabe, Shuji

2013-10-01

We have investigated the origin of nanostructures formed on metals by low-fluence femtosecond laser pulses. Nanoscale cracks oriented perpendicular to the incident laser polarization are induced on tungsten, molybdenum, and copper targets. The number density of the cracks increases with the number of pulses, but crack length plateaus. Electromagnetic field simulation by the finite-difference time-domain method indicates that electric field is locally enhanced along the direction perpendicular to the incident laser polarization around a nanoscale hole on the metal surface. Crack formation originates from the hole.

Combination of oriented partial differential equation and shearlet transform for denoising in electronic speckle pattern interferometry fringe patterns.

PubMed

Xu, Wenjun; Tang, Chen; Gu, Fan; Cheng, Jiajia

2017-04-01

It is a key step to remove the massive speckle noise in electronic speckle pattern interferometry (ESPI) fringe patterns. In the spatial-domain filtering methods, oriented partial differential equations have been demonstrated to be a powerful tool. In the transform-domain filtering methods, the shearlet transform is a state-of-the-art method. In this paper, we propose a filtering method for ESPI fringe patterns denoising, which is a combination of second-order oriented partial differential equation (SOOPDE) and the shearlet transform, named SOOPDE-Shearlet. Here, the shearlet transform is introduced into the ESPI fringe patterns denoising for the first time. This combination takes advantage of the fact that the spatial-domain filtering method SOOPDE and the transform-domain filtering method shearlet transform benefit from each other. We test the proposed SOOPDE-Shearlet on five experimentally obtained ESPI fringe patterns with poor quality and compare our method with SOOPDE, shearlet transform, windowed Fourier filtering (WFF), and coherence-enhancing diffusion (CEDPDE). Among them, WFF and CEDPDE are the state-of-the-art methods for ESPI fringe patterns denoising in transform domain and spatial domain, respectively. The experimental results have demonstrated the good performance of the proposed SOOPDE-Shearlet.

Ribosomal small subunit domains radiate from a central core

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gulen, Burak; Petrov, Anton S.; Okafor, C. Denise; Vander Wood, Drew; O'Neill, Eric B.; Hud, Nicholas V.; Williams, Loren Dean

2016-02-01

The domain architecture of a large RNA can help explain and/or predict folding, function, biogenesis and evolution. We offer a formal and general definition of an RNA domain and use that definition to experimentally characterize the rRNA of the ribosomal small subunit. Here the rRNA comprising a domain is compact, with a self-contained system of molecular interactions. A given rRNA helix or stem-loop must be allocated uniquely to a single domain. Local changes such as mutations can give domain-wide effects. Helices within a domain have interdependent orientations, stabilities and interactions. With these criteria we identify a core domain (domain A) of small subunit rRNA. Domain A acts as a hub, linking the four peripheral domains and imposing orientational and positional restraints on the other domains. Experimental characterization of isolated domain A, and mutations and truncations of it, by methods including selective 2‧OH acylation analyzed by primer extension and circular dichroism spectroscopy are consistent with our architectural model. The results support the utility of the concept of an RNA domain. Domain A, which exhibits structural similarity to tRNA, appears to be an essential core of the small ribosomal subunit.

System and method for manipulating domain pinning and reversal in ferromagnetic materials

DOEpatents

Silevitch, Daniel M.; Rosenbaum, Thomas F.; Aeppli, Gabriel

2013-10-15

A method for manipulating domain pinning and reversal in a ferromagnetic material comprises applying an external magnetic field to a uniaxial ferromagnetic material comprising a plurality of magnetic domains, where each domain has an easy axis oriented along a predetermined direction. The external magnetic field is applied transverse to the predetermined direction and at a predetermined temperature. The strength of the magnetic field is varied at the predetermined temperature, thereby isothermally regulating pinning of the domains. A magnetic storage device for controlling domain dynamics includes a magnetic hard disk comprising a uniaxial ferromagnetic material, a magnetic recording head including a first magnet, and a second magnet. The ferromagnetic material includes a plurality of magnetic domains each having an easy axis oriented along a predetermined direction. The second magnet is positioned adjacent to the magnetic hard disk and is configured to apply a magnetic field transverse to the predetermined direction.

Multi-User Domain Object Oriented (MOO) as a High School Procedure for Foreign Language Acquisition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Backer, James A.

Foreign language students experience added difficulty when they are isolated from native speakers and from the culture of the target language. It has been posited that MOO (Multi-User Domain Object Oriented) may help overcome the geographical isolation of these students. MOOs are Internet-based virtual worlds in which people from all over the real…

A Formal Approach to Domain-Oriented Software Design Environments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lowry, Michael; Philpot, Andrew; Pressburger, Thomas; Underwood, Ian; Lum, Henry, Jr. (Technical Monitor)

1994-01-01

This paper describes a formal approach to domain-oriented software design environments, based on declarative domain theories, formal specifications, and deductive program synthesis. A declarative domain theory defines the semantics of a domain-oriented specification language and its relationship to implementation-level subroutines. Formal specification development and reuse is made accessible to end-users through an intuitive graphical interface that guides them in creating diagrams denoting formal specifications. The diagrams also serve to document the specifications. Deductive program synthesis ensures that end-user specifications are correctly implemented. AMPHION has been applied to the domain of solar system kinematics through the development of a declarative domain theory, which includes an axiomatization of JPL's SPICELIB subroutine library. Testing over six months with planetary scientists indicates that AMPHION's interactive specification acquisition paradigm enables users to develop, modify, and reuse specifications at least an order of magnitude more rapidly than manual program development. Furthermore, AMPHION synthesizes one to two page programs consisting of calls to SPICELIB subroutines from these specifications in just a few minutes. Test results obtained by metering AMPHION's deductive program synthesis component are examined. AMPHION has been installed at JPL and is currently undergoing further refinement in preparation for distribution to hundreds of SPICELIB users worldwide. Current work to support end-user customization of AMPHION's specification acquisition subsystem is briefly discussed, as well as future work to enable domain-expert creation of new AMPHION applications through development of suitable domain theories.

Goal Orientation, Deep Learning, and Sustainable Feedback in Higher Business Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Geitz, Gerry; Brinke, Desirée Joosten-ten; Kirschner, Paul A.

2015-01-01

Relations between and changeability of goal orientation and learning behavior have been studied in several domains and contexts. To alter the adopted goal orientation into a mastery orientation and increase a concomitant deep learning in international business students, a sustainable feedback intervention study was carried out. Sustainable…

Why Johnny can't reengineer health care processes with information technology.

PubMed

Webster, C; McLinden, S; Begler, K

1995-01-01

Many educational institutions are developing curricula that integrate computer and business knowledge and skills concerning a specific industry, such as banking or health care. We have developed a curriculum that emphasizes, equally, medical, computer, and business management concepts. Along the way we confronted a formidable obstacle, namely the domain specificity of the reference disciplines. Knowledge within each domain is sufficiently different from other domains that it reduces the leverage of building on preexisting knowledge and skills. We review this problem from the point of view of cognitive science (in particular, knowledge representation and machine learning) to suggest strategies for coping with incommensurate domain ontologies. These strategies include reflective judgment, implicit learning, abstraction, generalization, analogy, multiple inheritance, project-orientation, selectivity, goal- and failure-driven learning, and case- and story-based learning.

Wrinkle ridges, stress domains, and kinematics of venusian plains

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcgill, George E.

1993-01-01

Wrinkle ridges are nearly ubiquitous landforms on the plains of Venus. By analogy with similar structures on other planets, venusian wrinkle ridges are inferred to trend normal to the direction of maximum principal compression in the crust, an inference that is verified by geometrical relationships with positive and negative relief features on Venus. Because plains are the dominant terrain on Venus, wrinkle ridges provide an excellent opportunity to determine the orientations of shallow crustal principal stress trajectories over most of the planet. In most places there are two or more sets of wrinkle ridges, and commonly one of these persists over a large area, defining a regional stress domain. Intersection relationships indicate that these domains differ in age.

Oriented cell division shapes carnivorous pitcher leaves of Sarracenia purpurea

PubMed Central

Fukushima, Kenji; Fujita, Hironori; Yamaguchi, Takahiro; Kawaguchi, Masayoshi; Tsukaya, Hirokazu; Hasebe, Mitsuyasu

2015-01-01

Complex morphology is an evolutionary outcome of phenotypic diversification. In some carnivorous plants, the ancestral planar leaf has been modified to form a pitcher shape. However, how leaf development was altered during evolution remains unknown. Here we show that the pitcher leaves of Sarracenia purpurea develop through cell division patterns of adaxial tissues that are distinct from those in bifacial and peltate leaves, subsequent to standard expression of adaxial and abaxial marker genes. Differences in the orientation of cell divisions in the adaxial domain cause bifacial growth in the distal region and adaxial ridge protrusion in the middle region. These different growth patterns establish pitcher morphology. A computer simulation suggests that the cell division plane is critical for the pitcher morphogenesis. Our results imply that tissue-specific changes in the orientation of cell division underlie the development of a morphologically complex leaf. PMID:25774486

Oriented cell division shapes carnivorous pitcher leaves of Sarracenia purpurea.

PubMed

Fukushima, Kenji; Fujita, Hironori; Yamaguchi, Takahiro; Kawaguchi, Masayoshi; Tsukaya, Hirokazu; Hasebe, Mitsuyasu

2015-03-16

Complex morphology is an evolutionary outcome of phenotypic diversification. In some carnivorous plants, the ancestral planar leaf has been modified to form a pitcher shape. However, how leaf development was altered during evolution remains unknown. Here we show that the pitcher leaves of Sarracenia purpurea develop through cell division patterns of adaxial tissues that are distinct from those in bifacial and peltate leaves, subsequent to standard expression of adaxial and abaxial marker genes. Differences in the orientation of cell divisions in the adaxial domain cause bifacial growth in the distal region and adaxial ridge protrusion in the middle region. These different growth patterns establish pitcher morphology. A computer simulation suggests that the cell division plane is critical for the pitcher morphogenesis. Our results imply that tissue-specific changes in the orientation of cell division underlie the development of a morphologically complex leaf.

Varieties of noise: analogical reasoning in synthetic biology.

PubMed

Knuuttila, Tarja; Loettgers, Andrea

2014-12-01

The picture of synthetic biology as a kind of engineering science has largely created the public understanding of this novel field, covering both its promises and risks. In this paper, we will argue that the actual situation is more nuanced and complex. Synthetic biology is a highly interdisciplinary field of research located at the interface of physics, chemistry, biology, and computational science. All of these fields provide concepts, metaphors, mathematical tools, and models, which are typically utilized by synthetic biologists by drawing analogies between the different fields of inquiry. We will study analogical reasoning in synthetic biology through the emergence of the functional meaning of noise, which marks an important shift in how engineering concepts are employed in this field. The notion of noise serves also to highlight the differences between the two branches of synthetic biology: the basic science-oriented branch and the engineering-oriented branch, which differ from each other in the way they draw analogies to various other fields of study. Moreover, we show that fixing the mapping between a source domain and the target domain seems not to be the goal of analogical reasoning in actual scientific practice.

Activity Recognition Invariant to Sensor Orientation with Wearable Motion Sensors.

PubMed

Yurtman, Aras; Barshan, Billur

2017-08-09

Most activity recognition studies that employ wearable sensors assume that the sensors are attached at pre-determined positions and orientations that do not change over time. Since this is not the case in practice, it is of interest to develop wearable systems that operate invariantly to sensor position and orientation. We focus on invariance to sensor orientation and develop two alternative transformations to remove the effect of absolute sensor orientation from the raw sensor data. We test the proposed methodology in activity recognition with four state-of-the-art classifiers using five publicly available datasets containing various types of human activities acquired by different sensor configurations. While the ordinary activity recognition system cannot handle incorrectly oriented sensors, the proposed transformations allow the sensors to be worn at any orientation at a given position on the body, and achieve nearly the same activity recognition performance as the ordinary system for which the sensor units are not rotatable. The proposed techniques can be applied to existing wearable systems without much effort, by simply transforming the time-domain sensor data at the pre-processing stage.

Piecing Together the "Workplace Multilingualism" Jigsaw Puzzle

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hua, Zhu

2014-01-01

Multilingualism in the workplace is different from multilingualism at home or in other domains of social life. It has more direct, yet entangled, economic and social implications and serves interactional purposes which can be at any point on the continuum of goal-orientation and relationship-building. Multilingualism in the workplace is both a…

Social Possible Selves, Self-Regulation, and Social Goal Progress in Older Adulthood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ko, Han-Jung; Mejía, Shannon; Hooker, Karen

2014-01-01

Lifespan development involves setting and pursuing self-guided goals. This study examines how in the social domain, possible selves, a future-oriented self-concept, and self-regulation, including self-regulatory beliefs and intraindividual variability in self-regulatory behavior, relate to differences in overall daily social goal progress. An…

Impact of SES on Estonian Students' Science Achievement across Different Cognitive Domains

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mere, Kristi; Reiska, Priit; Smith, Thomas M.

2006-01-01

As Estonia has moved from a centrally planned towards a market-based economy, there has been a broad-based push to create an "egalitarian but innovative, "future-oriented" system of education, which would help to develop flexible, lifelong learning citizens open to new ideas." A national research and development strategy,…

The Cognitive Domain: The Last Frontier. Final Report of the Regional Study Award Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clary, Joan; Mahaffy, John

The theoretical foundations of thinking skills models differ. One category of thinking skills programs uses the cognitive process approach on the premise that thinking abilities depend upon certain fundamental processes. Thinking skills programs that present a strategic approach to thinking are called heuristics-oriented programs, and focus on an…

Orientational imaging of a single plasmonic nanoparticle using dark-field hyperspectral imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mehta, Nishir; Mahigir, Amirreza; Veronis, Georgios; Gartia, Manas Ranjan

2017-08-01

Orientation of plasmonic nanostructures is an important feature in many nanoscale applications such as catalyst, biosensors DNA interactions, protein detections, hotspot of surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), and fluorescence resonant energy transfer (FRET) experiments. However, due to diffraction limit, it is challenging to obtain the exact orientation of the nanostructure using standard optical microscope. Hyperspectral Imaging Microscopy is a state-of-the-art visualization technology that combines modern optics with hyperspectral imaging and computer system to provide the identification and quantitative spectral analysis of nano- and microscale structures. In this work, initially we use transmitted dark field imaging technique to locate single nanoparticle on a glass substrate. Then we employ hyperspectral imaging technique at the same spot to investigate orientation of single nanoparticle. No special tagging or staining of nanoparticle has been done, as more likely required in traditional microscopy techniques. Different orientations have been identified by carefully understanding and calibrating shift in spectral response from each different orientations of similar sized nanoparticles. Wavelengths recorded are between 300 nm to 900 nm. The orientations measured by hyperspectral microscopy was validated using finite difference time domain (FDTD) electrodynamics calculations and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. The combination of high resolution nanometer-scale imaging techniques and the modern numerical modeling capacities thus enables a meaningful advance in our knowledge of manipulating and fabricating shaped nanostructures. This work will advance our understanding of the behavior of small nanoparticle clusters useful for sensing, nanomedicine, and surface sciences.

Quantitative analysis of domain texture in polycrystalline barium titanate by polarized Raman microprobe spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sakashita, Tatsuo; Chazono, Hirokazu; Pezzotti, Giuseppe

2007-12-01

A quantitative determination of domain distribution in polycrystalline barium titanate (BaTiO3, henceforth BT) ceramics has been pursued with the aid of a microprobe polarized Raman spectrometer. The crystallographic texture and domain orientation distribution of BT ceramics, which switched upon applying stress according to ferroelasticity principles, were determined from the relative intensity of selected phonon modes, taking into consideration a theoretical analysis of the angular dependence of phonon mode intensity for the tetragonal BT phase. Furthermore, the angular dependence of Raman intensity measured in polycrystalline BT depended on the statistical distribution of domain angles in the laser microprobe, which was explicitly taken into account in this work for obtaining a quantitative analysis of domain orientation for in-plane textured BT polycrystalline materials.

Different states of synaptotagmin regulate evoked versus spontaneous release

PubMed Central

Bai, Hua; Xue, Renhao; Bao, Huan; Zhang, Leili; Yethiraj, Arun; Cui, Qiang; Chapman, Edwin R.

2016-01-01

The tandem C2-domains of synaptotagmin 1 (syt) function as Ca2+-binding modules that trigger exocytosis; in the absence of Ca2+, syt inhibits spontaneous release. Here, we used proline linkers to constrain and alter the relative orientation of these C2-domains. Short poly-proline helices have a period of three, so large changes in the relative disposition of the C2-domains result from changing the length of the poly-proline linker by a single residue. The length of the linker was varied one residue at a time, revealing a periodicity of three for the ability of the linker mutants to interact with anionic phospholipids and drive evoked synaptic transmission; syt efficiently drove exocytosis when its tandem C2-domains pointed in the same direction. Analysis of spontaneous release revealed a reciprocal relationship between the activation and clamping activities of the linker mutants. Hence, different structural states of syt underlie the control of distinct forms of synaptic transmission. PMID:27001899

Domain Specificity between Peer Support and Self-Concept

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leung, Kim Chau; Marsh, Herbert W.; Craven, Rhonda G.; Yeung, Alexander S.; Abduljabbar, Adel S.

2013-01-01

Peer support interventions have mostly neglected the domain specificity of intervention effects. In two studies, the present investigation examined the domain specificity of peer support interventions targeting specific domains of self-concept. In Study 1, participants ("n" = 50) who had received an academically oriented peer support…

Magnetic domains in Tb-Fe-Co thin films under anisotropy tilt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Talapatra, A.; Umadevi, K.; Arout Chelvane, J.; Mohanty, J.; Jayalakshmi, V.

2018-04-01

Tailoring of magnetic domains of Tb-Fe-Co thin films with rapid thermal processing has been reported in this paper. While the as-deposited films show elongated, inter-connected domains with high out-of-plane magnetic phase contrast, the rapid thermal processed films at 550 °C with different time intervals display deterioration of magnetic contrast. A longitudinal extension of domains has been observed with the processing time of 5 min. With subsequent increase in processing time, the domain patterns exhibit considerable decrease in magnetic phase difference combined with strong intermixing between two oppositely magnetized areas. The out-of-plane magnetic contrast is seen to be very weak for the Tb-Fe-Co film processed for 30 min. The domain morphology and the contrast variation have been modeled with micromagnetic simulations, considering the in-plane (along xz plane) tilt of anisotropy axis. The ground state energy profile and the variation in magnetic properties indicate the threshold tilt angle to be around 30 ° wherein the in-plane and out-of-plane squareness ratio and coercivities are comparable and hence the system shows a spin re-orientation behavior at higher tilt angles.

Fusion activity of HIV gp41 fusion domain is related to its secondary structure and depth of membrane insertion in a cholesterol-dependent fashion.

PubMed

Lai, Alex L; Moorthy, Anna Eswara; Li, Yinling; Tamm, Lukas K

2012-04-20

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) gp41 fusion domain plays a critical role in membrane fusion during viral entry. A thorough understanding of the relationship between the structure and the activity of the fusion domain in different lipid environments helps to formulate mechanistic models on how it might function in mediating membrane fusion. The secondary structure of the fusion domain in small liposomes composed of different lipid mixtures was investigated by circular dichroism spectroscopy.  The fusion domain formed an α-helix in membranes containing less than 30 mol% cholesterol and  formed β-sheet secondary structure in membranes containing ≥30 mol% cholesterol. EPR spectra of spin-labeled fusion domains also indicated different conformations in membranes with and without cholesterol. Power saturation EPR data were further used to determine the orientation and depth of α-helical fusion domains in lipid bilayers. Fusion and membrane perturbation activities of the gp41 fusion domain were measured by lipid mixing and contents leakage. The fusion domain fused membranes in both its helical form and its β-sheet form. High cholesterol, which induced β-sheets, promoted fusion; however, acidic lipids, which promoted relatively deep membrane insertion as an α-helix, also induced fusion. The results indicate that the structure of the HIV gp41 fusion domain is plastic and depends critically on the lipid environment. Provided that their membrane insertion is deep, α-helical and β-sheet conformations contribute to membrane fusion. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Strain-relaxed structure in (001)/(100)-oriented epitaxial PbTiO3 films grown on (100) SrTiO3 substrates by metal organic chemical vapor deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakaki, Hiroshi; Kim, Yong Kwan; Yokoyama, Shintaro; Ikariyama, Rikyu; Funakubo, Hiroshi; Nishida, Ken; Saito, Keisuke

2007-09-01

The authors grew (001)- and (001)/(100)-oriented epitaxial PbTiO3 films with various thicknesses on (100)SrTiO3 substrates. They used x-ray diffraction to measure the angles between surface normal [001] of (001)-oriented domains and [100] of (100)-oriented domains. The angles were found to be approximately 3.6° when the film thickness exceeded 1100nm. This value is consistent with the value obtained by a geometric calculation for strain-free PbTiO3. This result suggests that thick epitaxial PbTiO3 films grown on (100)SrTiO3 substrates have a fully strain-relaxed structure.

Using Domain Requirements to Achieve Science-Oriented Provenance

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stephan, Eric G; Halter, Todd D; Critchlow, Terence J

2010-06-18

Using Domain Requirements to Achieve Science-Oriented Provenance Eric Stephan1 Todd Halter1 Terence Critchlow1 Paulo Pinheiro da Silva2 Leonardo Salayandia2 1 Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA, USA 2 University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso TX, USA Abstract. The US Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radi- ation Measurement Program (ARM) is adopting the use of formalized provenance to support observational data products produced by ARM operations and relied upon by researchers. Because of the diversity of needs in the climate community provenance will need to be conveyed in a domain-oriented context. This paper explores a use case where semanticmore » abstract workflows (SAW) are employed as a means to filter, aggregate, and contextually describe the historical events responsible for the ARM data product the scientist is relying upon.« less

Conversion of the agent-oriented domain-specific language ALAS into JavaScript

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sredojević, Dejan; Vidaković, Milan; Okanović, Dušan; Mitrović, Dejan; Ivanović, Mirjana

2016-06-01

This paper shows generation of JavaScript code from code written in agent-oriented domain-specific language ALAS. ALAS is an agent-oriented domain-specific language for writing software agents that are executed within XJAF middleware. Since the agents can be executed on various platforms, they must be converted into a language of the target platform. We also try to utilize existing tools and technologies to make the whole conversion process as simple as possible, as well as faster and more efficient. We use the Xtext framework that is compatible with Java to implement ALAS infrastructure - editor and code generator. Since Xtext supports Java, generation of Java code from ALAS code is straightforward. To generate a JavaScript code that will be executed within the target JavaScript XJAF implementation, Google Web Toolkit (GWT) is used.

Domain walls and ferroelectric reversal in corundum derivatives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ye, Meng; Vanderbilt, David

2017-01-01

Domain walls are the topological defects that mediate polarization reversal in ferroelectrics, and they may exhibit quite different geometric and electronic structures compared to the bulk. Therefore, a detailed atomic-scale understanding of the static and dynamic properties of domain walls is of pressing interest. In this work, we use first-principles methods to study the structures of 180∘ domain walls, both in their relaxed state and along the ferroelectric reversal pathway, in ferroelectrics belonging to the family of corundum derivatives. Our calculations predict their orientation, formation energy, and migration energy and also identify important couplings between polarization, magnetization, and chirality at the domain walls. Finally, we point out a strong empirical correlation between the height of the domain-wall-mediated polarization reversal barrier and the local bonding environment of the mobile A cations as measured by bond-valence sums. Our results thus provide both theoretical and empirical guidance for future searches for ferroelectric candidates in materials of the corundum derivative family.

Domain walls and ferroelectric reversal in corundum derivatives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ye, Meng; Vanderbilt, David

Domain walls are the topological defects that mediate polarization reversal in ferroelectrics, and they may exhibit quite different geometric and electronic structures compared to the bulk. Therefore, a detailed atomic-scale understanding of the static and dynamic properties of domain walls is of pressing interest. In this work, we use first-principles methods to study the structures of 180° domain walls, both in their relaxed state and along the ferroelectric reversal pathway, in ferroelectrics belonging to the family of corundum derivatives. Our calculations predict their orientation, formation energy, and migration energy, and also identify important couplings between polarization, magnetization, and chirality at the domain walls. Finally, we point out a strong empirical correlation between the height of the domain-wall mediated polarization reversal barrier and the local bonding environment of the mobile A cations as measured by bond valence sums. Our results thus provide both theoretical and empirical guidance to further search for ferroelectric candidates in materials of the corundum derivative family. The work is supported by ONR Grant N00014-12-1-1035.

A Lexical-Ontological Resource for Consumer Healthcare

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cardillo, Elena; Serafini, Luciano; Tamilin, Andrei

In Consumer Healthcare Informatics it is still difficult for laypeople to find, understand and act on health information, due to the persistent communication gap between specialized medical terminology and that used by healthcare consumers. Furthermore, existing clinically-oriented terminologies cannot provide sufficient support when integrated into consumer-oriented applications, so there is a need to create consumer-friendly terminologies reflecting the different ways healthcare consumers express and think about health topics. Following this direction, this work suggests a way to support the design of an ontology-based system that mitigates this gap, using knowledge engineering and semantic web technologies. The system is based on the development of a consumer-oriented medical terminology that will be integrated with other medical domain ontologies and terminologies into a medical ontology repository. This will support consumer-oriented healthcare systems, such as Personal Health Records, by providing many knowledge services to help users in accessing and managing their healthcare data.

A Lexical-Ontological Resource for Consumer Heathcare

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cardillo, Elena

In Consumer Healthcare Informatics it is still difficult for laypersons to understand and act on health information, due to the persistent communication gap between specialized medical terminology and that used by healthcare consumers. Furthermore, existing clinically-oriented terminologies cannot provide sufficient support when integrated into consumer-oriented applications, so there is a need to create consumer-friendly terminologies reflecting the different ways healthcare consumers express and think about health topics. Following this direction, this work suggests a way to support the design of an ontology-based system that mitigates this gap, using knowledge engineering and Semantic Web technologies. The system is based on the development of a consumer-oriented medical terminology which will be integrated with other existing domain ontologies/terminologies into a medical ontology repository. This will support consumer-oriented healthcare systems by providing many knowledge services to help users in accessing and managing their healthcare data.

Chinese American immigrant parents' emotional expression in the family: Relations with parents' cultural orientations and children's emotion-related regulation.

PubMed

Chen, Stephen H; Zhou, Qing; Main, Alexandra; Lee, Erica H

2015-10-01

The present study examined 2 measures of Chinese American immigrant parents' emotional expression in the family context: self-reported emotional expressivity and observed emotional expression during a parent-child interaction task. Path analyses were conducted to examine the concurrent associations between measures of emotional expression and (a) parents' American and Chinese cultural orientations in language proficiency, media use, and social affiliation domains, and (b) parents' and teachers' ratings of children's emotion-related regulation. Results suggested that cultural orientations were primarily associated with parents' self-reported expressivity (rather than observed emotional expression), such that higher American orientations were generally associated with higher expressivity. Although parents' self-reported expressivity was only related to their own reports of children's regulation, parents' observed emotional expression was related to both parents' and teachers' reports of children's regulation. These results suggest that self-reported expressivity and observed emotional expression reflect different constructs and have differential relations to parents' cultural orientations and children's regulation. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Temperature evolution of polar states in GdMn2O5 and Gd0.8Ce0.2Mn2O5

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanina, V. A.; Golovenchits, E. I.; Khannanov, B. Kh.; Scheglov, M. P.; Zalesskii, V. G.

2014-11-01

The polar order along the c axis is revealed in GdMn2O5 and Gd0.8Ce0.2Mn2O5 at T ≤ T C1 ≈ 160 K for the first time. This polar order is induced by the charge disproportion in the 2D superstructures emerged due to phase separation. The dynamic state with restricted polar domains of different sizes is found at T > T C1 which is typical of the diffuse ferroelectric phase transition. At the lowest temperatures ( T < 40 K) two polar orders of different origins with perpendicular orientations (along the b and c axes) coexist. The 1D superlattices studied by us earlier in the set of RMn2O5 multiferroics are the charged domain walls which separate of these polar order domains.

Study Time: Temporal Orientations of Freshmen Students and Computing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson, Kenneth T.; McClard, Anne Page

1993-01-01

Examines student domains of study and time and how these relate to use of innovative computing facilities in a dormitory for 61 first-year college students at Brown University in Providence (Rhode Island). This ethnographic study points out how student conceptions of time differ from those of others and how this affects their use of personal…

Smoothing Data Friction through building Service Oriented Data Platforms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wyborn, L. A.; Richards, C. J.; Evans, B. J. K.; Wang, J.; Druken, K. A.

2017-12-01

Data Friction has been commonly defined as the costs in time, energy and attention required to simply collect, check, store, move, receive, and access data. On average, researchers spend a significant fraction of their time finding the data for their research project and then reformatting it so that it can be used by the software application of their choice. There is an increasing role for both data repositories and software to be modernised to help reduce data friction in ways that support the better use of the data. Many generic data repositories simply accept data in the format as supplied: the key check is that the data have sufficient metadata to enable discovery and download. Few generic repositories have both the expertise and infrastructure to support the multiple domain specific requirements that facilitate the increasing need for integration and reusability. In contrast, major science domain-focused repositories are increasingly able to implement and enforce community endorsed best practices and guidelines that ensure reusability and harmonization of data for use within the community by offering semi-automated QC workflows to improve quality of submitted data. The most advanced of these science repositories now operate as service-oriented data platforms that extend the use of data across domain silos and increasingly provide server-side programmatically-enabled access to data via network protocols and community standard APIs. To provide this, more rigorous QA/QC procedures are needed to validate data against standards and community software and tools. This ensures that the data can be accessed in expected ways and also demonstrates that the data works across different (non-domain specific) packages, tools and programming languages deployed by the various user communities. In Australia, the National Computational Infrastructure (NCI) has created such a service-oriented data platform which is demonstrating how this approach can reduce data friction, servicing both individual domains as well as facilitating cross-domain collaboration. The approach has required an increase in effort for the repository to provide the additional expertise, so as to enable a better capability and efficient system which ultimately saves time by the individual researcher.

Orientation-resolved domain mapping in tetragonal SrTiO 3 using polarized Raman spectroscopy

DOE PAGES

Gray, Jr., Dodd J.; Merz, Tyler A.; Hikita, Yasuyuki; ...

2016-12-16

Here, we present microscopically resolved, polarized spectroscopy of Raman scattering collected from tetragonal SrTiO 3. The anisotropic response of first-order Raman peaks within a single tetragonal domain has been measured. From these data, we assign symmetries to the phonons seen in the first-order Raman spectrum which is normally complicated by uncontrolled domain structure. Using a translation stage, we map the local domain orientation of a 3–μm 3 crystal volume near the laser focus and compare it to wide-field polarized images. This technique can be performed with readily available instruments and is relevant to the study of a wide range ofmore » related materials, interfaces, and devices.« less

Investigation of Ferroelectric Domain Walls by Raman Spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stone, Gregory A.

Ferroelectric materials are characterized by an intrinsic spontaneous electric dipole moment that can be manipulated by the application of an electric field. Regions inside the crystal, known as domains, can have the spontaneous dipole moments oriented in a different direction than the surrounding crystal. Due to favorable piezoelectric, pyroelectric, electro-optic, and nonlinear optical properties, ferroelectric materials are attractive for commercial applications. Many devices, such as nonlinear frequency converters, require precisely engineered domain patterns. The properties of domains and their boundaries, known as domain walls, are vital to the performance and limitations of these devices. As a result, ferroelectric domains and the domain walls have been the focus of many scientific studies. Despite all this work, questions remain regarding their properties. This work is aimed at developing a better understanding of the properties of the domain wall using confocal Raman spectroscopy. Raman spectra taken from domain walls in Lithium Niobate and Lithium Tantalate reveal two distinct changes in the Raman spectra: (1) Shifts in frequency of the bulk Raman modes, which persists over a range of 0.2-0.5 mu m from the domain wall. The absence of this effect in defect free stoichiometric Lithium Tantalate indicates that the shifts are related to defects inside the crystal. (2) The presence of Raman modes corresponding to phonons propagating orthogonal to the laser beam axis, which are not collected in the bulk crystal. The phonons also preferential propagate normal to the domain wall. These modes are detected up to 0.35 mum from the domain wall. The observation and separation of these effects was made possible by the optimized spatial resolution (0.23 mum) of a home-built scanning confocal microscope and the fact that degeneracy of the transverse and longitudinal phonon polarization is lifted by polar phonons in Lithium Niobate and Lithium Tantalate. Raman investigations on other interfaces such as front, side and bottom surfaces revealed a similar appearance of modes due to distortion of wave fronts and reflection. These surfaces are studied to provide insight into mechanism that give rise to Raman modes typically absent for the particular orientation of the crystal.

Fabrication of photonic crystal microprisms based on artificial opals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fenollosa, Roberto; Ibisate, Marta; Rubio, Silvia; Lopez, Ceferino; Meseguer, Francisco; Sanchez-Dehesa, Jose

2002-04-01

This paper reports a new method for faceting artificial opals based on micromanipulation techniques. By this means it was possible to fabricate an opal prism in a single domain with different faces: (111), (110) and (100), which were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy and Optical Reflectance Spectroscopy. Their spectra exhibit different characteristics depending on the orientation of the facet. While (111)-oriented face gives rise to a high Bragg reflection peak at about a/(lambda) equals 0.66 (where a is the lattice parameter), (110) and (100) faces show much less intense peaks corresponding to features in the band structure at a/(lambda) equals 1.12 and a/(lambda) equals 1.07 respectively. Peaks at higher energies have less obvious explanation.

Magnetic domains and defects in ferromagnetic liquid crystal colloids realized with optical patterning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hess, Andrew; Liu, Qingkun; Smalyukh, Ivan

A promising approach in designing composite materials with unusual physical behavior combines solid nanostructures and orientationally ordered soft matter at the mesoscale. Such composites not only inherit properties of their constituents but also can exhibit emergent behavior, such as ferromagnetic ordering of colloidal metal nanoparticles forming mesoscopic magnetization domains when dispersed in a nematic liquid crystal. Here we demonstrate the optical patterning of domain structures and topological defects in such ferromagnetic liquid crystal colloids which allows for altering their response to magnetic fields. Our findings reveal the nature of the defects in this soft matter system which is different as compared to non-polar nematic and ferromagnetic systems alike. This research was supported by the NSF Grant DMR-1420736.

The grain size(s) of Black Hills Quartzite deformed in the dislocation creep regime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heilbronner, Renée; Kilian, Rüdiger

2017-10-01

General shear experiments on Black Hills Quartzite (BHQ) deformed in the dislocation creep regimes 1 to 3 have been previously analyzed using the CIP method (Heilbronner and Tullis, 2002, 2006). They are reexamined using the higher spatial and orientational resolution of EBSD. Criteria for coherent segmentations based on c-axis orientation and on full crystallographic orientations are determined. Texture domains of preferred c-axis orientation (Y and B domains) are extracted and analyzed separately. Subdomains are recognized, and their shape and size are related to the kinematic framework and the original grains in the BHQ. Grain size analysis is carried out for all samples, high- and low-strain samples, and separately for a number of texture domains. When comparing the results to the recrystallized quartz piezometer of Stipp and Tullis (2003), it is found that grain sizes are consistently larger for a given flow stress. It is therefore suggested that the recrystallized grain size also depends on texture, grain-scale deformation intensity, and the kinematic framework (of axial vs. general shear experiments).

N- vs. C-Domain Selectivity of Catalytic Inactivation of Human Angiotensin Converting Enzyme by Lisinopril-Coupled Transition Metal Chelates

PubMed Central

Hocharoen, Lalintip; Joyner, Jeff C.; Cowan, J. A.

2014-01-01

The N- and C-terminal domains of human somatic Angiotensin I Converting Enzyme (sACE-1) demonstrate distinct physiological functions, with resulting interest in the development of domain-selective inhibitors for specific therapeutic applications. Herein, the activity of lisinopril-coupled transition metal chelates were tested for both reversible binding and irreversible catalytic inactivation of sACE-1. C/N domain binding selectivity ratios ranged from 1 to 350, while rates of irreversible catalytic inactivation of the N- and C-domains were found to be significantly greater for the N-domain, suggesting a more optimal orientation of the M-chelate-lisinopril complexes within the active site of the N-domain of sACE-1. Finally, the combined effect of binding selectivity and inactivation selectivity was assessed for each catalyst (double-filter selectivity factors), and several catalysts were found to cause domain-selective catalytic inactivation. The results of this study demonstrate the ability to optimize the target selectivity of catalytic metallopeptides through both binding and orientation factors (double-filter effect). PMID:24228790

Steroid ligands bind human sex hormone-binding globulin in specific orientations and produce distinct changes in protein conformation.

PubMed

Grishkovskaya, Irina; Avvakumov, George V; Hammond, Geoffrey L; Catalano, Maria G; Muller, Yves A

2002-08-30

The amino-terminal laminin G-like domain of human sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) contains a single high affinity steroid-binding site. Crystal structures of this domain in complex with several different steroid ligands have revealed that estradiol occupies the SHBG steroid-binding site in an opposite orientation when compared with 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone or C19 androgen metabolites (5 alpha-androstan-3 beta,17 beta-diol and 5 alpha-androstan-3 beta,17 alpha-diol) or the synthetic progestin levonorgestrel. Substitution of specific residues within the SHBG steroid-binding site confirmed that Ser(42) plays a key role in determining high affinity interactions by hydrogen bonding to functional groups at C3 of the androstanediols and levonorgestrel and the hydroxyl at C17 of estradiol. Among residues participating in the hydrogen bond network with hydroxy groups at C17 of C19 steroids or C3 of estradiol, Asp(65) appears to be the most important. The different binding mode of estradiol is associated with a difference in the position/orientation of residues (Leu(131) and Lys(134)) in the loop segment (Leu(131)-His(136)) that covers the steroid-binding site as well as others (Leu(171)-Lys(173) and Trp(84)) on the surface of human SHBG and may provide a basis for ligand-dependent interactions between SHBG and other macromolecules. These new crystal structures have also enabled us to construct a simple space-filling model that can be used to predict the characteristics of novel SHBG ligands.

Goals of Government-Funded Public Domain Software Efforts

PubMed Central

Rishel, Wesley J.

1980-01-01

The development of public domain software under Federal aegis and support has made possible a broadly competitive field of computer - oriented management information system consulting organizations with high technical competence and the potential for strong user orientation and loyalty. The impact of this assumption of major “front-end costs” by the Federal government has additional spin-off effects in terms of standardization and transportability features as well as reduced capital costs to the user.

Formation of liquid crystalline phases in aqueous suspensions of platelet-like tripalmitin nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmiele, Martin; Gehrer, Simone; Westermann, Martin; Steiniger, Frank; Unruh, Tobias

2014-06-01

Suspensions of platelet-like shaped tripalmitin nanocrystals stabilized by the pure lecithin DLPC and the lecithin blend S100, respectively, have been studied by small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) and optical observation of their birefringence at different tripalmitin (PPP) concentrations φPPP. It could be demonstrated that the platelets of these potential drug delivery systems start to form a liquid crystalline phase already at pharmaceutically relevant concentrations φPPP of less than 10 wt. %. The details of this liquid crystalline phase are described here for the first time. As in a previous study [A. Illing et al., Pharm. Res. 21, 592 (2004)] some platelets are found to self-assemble into lamellar stacks above a critical tripalmitin concentration \\varphi _{PPP}^{st} of 4 wt. %. In this study another critical concentration \\varphi _{PPP}^{lc}≈ 7 wt. % for DLPC and \\varphi _{PPP}^{lc}≈ 9 wt. % for S100 stabilized dispersions, respectively, has been observed. \\varphi _{PPP}^{lc} describes the transition from a phase of randomly oriented stacked lamellae and remaining non-assembled individual platelets to a phase in which the stacks and non-assembled platelets exhibit an overall preferred orientation. A careful analysis of the experimental data indicates that for concentrations above \\varphi _{PPP}^{lc} the stacked lamellae start to coalesce to rather small liquid crystalline domains of nematically ordered stacks. These liquid crystalline domains can be individually very differently oriented but possess an overall preferred orientation over macroscopic length scales which becomes successively more expressed when further increasing φPPP. The lower critical concentration for the formation of liquid crystalline domains of the DLPC-stabilized suspension compared to \\varphi _{PPP}^{lc} of the S100-stabilized suspension can be explained by a larger aspect ratio of the corresponding tripalmitin platelets. A geometrical model based on the excluded volumes of individual platelets and stacked lamellae has been developed and successfully applied to reproduce the critical volume fractions for both, the onset of stack formation and the appearance of the liquid crystalline phase.

Gender-Role Orientation, Creative Accomplishments and Cognitive Styles.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hittner, James B.; Daniels, Jennifer R.

2002-01-01

This study examined the association of gender-role orientation to creative accomplishments and cognitive styles in 127 college students. Results indicated that the gender role orientation of instrumentality was positively associated with creative accomplishments in the business venture domain and that androgynous, versus non-androgynous,…

Structural basis of DNA bending and oriented heterodimer binding by the basic leucine zipper domains of Fos and Jun.

PubMed

Leonard, D A; Rajaram, N; Kerppola, T K

1997-05-13

Interactions among transcription factors that bind to separate sequence elements require bending of the intervening DNA and juxtaposition of interacting molecular surfaces in an appropriate orientation. Here, we examine the effects of single amino acid substitutions adjacent to the basic regions of Fos and Jun as well as changes in sequences flanking the AP-1 site on DNA bending. Substitution of charged amino acid residues at positions adjacent to the basic DNA-binding domains of Fos and Jun altered DNA bending. The change in DNA bending was directly proportional to the change in net charge for all heterodimeric combinations between these proteins. Fos and Jun induced distinct DNA bends at different binding sites. Exchange of a single base pair outside of the region contacted in the x-ray crystal structure altered DNA bending. Substitution of base pairs flanking the AP-1 site had converse effects on the opposite directions of DNA bending induced by homodimers and heterodimers. These results suggest that Fos and Jun induce DNA bending in part through electrostatic interactions between amino acid residues adjacent to the basic region and base pairs flanking the AP-1 site. DNA bending by Fos and Jun at inverted binding sites indicated that heterodimers bind to the AP-1 site in a preferred orientation. Mutation of a conserved arginine within the basic regions of Fos and transversion of the central C:G base pair in the AP-1 site to G:C had complementary effects on the orientation of heterodimer binding and DNA bending. The conformational variability of the Fos-Jun-AP-1 complex may contribute to its functional versatility at different promoters.

Sexual Orientation in State Hate Crime Laws: Exploring Social Construction and Criminal Law.

PubMed

Valcore, Jace L

2017-09-15

Several studies have described and analyzed the development and diffusion of hate crime laws in the United States, but none specifically examined state-level differences in protected categories. Forty-five of the 50 states have a hate crime statute, but only 30 of those include sexual orientation. In this study the social construction framework is applied to the hate crime policy domain in order to determine whether or not variations in the social and political status of gays and lesbians are associated with the inclusion of sexual orientation in state hate crime laws. Content analysis of daily newspapers in six states revealed that a positive social construction is associated with groups seeking hate crime law protections, and that political influence may also be a key factor.

Lengthening of the Stargazin Cytoplasmic Tail Increases Synaptic Transmission by Promoting Interaction to Deeper Domains of PSD-95.

PubMed

Hafner, Anne-Sophie; Penn, Andrew C; Grillo-Bosch, Dolors; Retailleau, Natacha; Poujol, Christel; Philippat, Amandine; Coussen, Françoise; Sainlos, Matthieu; Opazo, Patricio; Choquet, Daniel

2015-04-22

PSD-95 is a prominent organizer of the postsynaptic density (PSD) that can present a filamentous orientation perpendicular to the plasma membrane. Interactions between PSD-95 and transmembrane proteins might be particularly sensitive to this orientation, as "long" cytoplasmic tails might be required to reach deeper PSD-95 domains. Extension/retraction of transmembrane protein C-tails offer a new way of regulating binding to PSD-95. Using stargazin as a model, we found that enhancing the apparent length of stargazin C-tail through phosphorylation or by an artificial linker was sufficient to potentiate binding to PSD-95, AMPAR anchoring, and synaptic transmission. A linear extension of stargazin C-tail facilitates binding to PSD-95 by preferentially engaging interaction with the farthest located PDZ domains regarding to the plasma membrane, which present a greater affinity for the stargazin PDZ-domain-binding motif. Our study reveals that the concerted orientation of the stargazin C-tail and PSD-95 is a major determinant of synaptic strength. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From scenarios to domain models: processes and representations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haddock, Gail; Harbison, Karan

1994-03-01

The domain specific software architectures (DSSA) community has defined a philosophy for the development of complex systems. This philosophy improves productivity and efficiency by increasing the user's role in the definition of requirements, increasing the systems engineer's role in the reuse of components, and decreasing the software engineer's role to the development of new components and component modifications only. The scenario-based engineering process (SEP), the first instantiation of the DSSA philosophy, has been adopted by the next generation controller project. It is also the chosen methodology of the trauma care information management system project, and the surrogate semi-autonomous vehicle project. SEP uses scenarios from the user to create domain models and define the system's requirements. Domain knowledge is obtained from a variety of sources including experts, documents, and videos. This knowledge is analyzed using three techniques: scenario analysis, task analysis, and object-oriented analysis. Scenario analysis results in formal representations of selected scenarios. Task analysis of the scenario representations results in descriptions of tasks necessary for object-oriented analysis and also subtasks necessary for functional system analysis. Object-oriented analysis of task descriptions produces domain models and system requirements. This paper examines the representations that support the DSSA philosophy, including reference requirements, reference architectures, and domain models. The processes used to create and use the representations are explained through use of the scenario-based engineering process. Selected examples are taken from the next generation controller project.

Distinct Ubiquitin Binding Modes Exhibited by SH3 Domains: Molecular Determinants and Functional Implications

PubMed Central

Ortega Roldan, Jose L.; Casares, Salvador; Ringkjøbing Jensen, Malene; Cárdenes, Nayra; Bravo, Jerónimo; Blackledge, Martin; Azuaga, Ana I.; van Nuland, Nico A. J.

2013-01-01

SH3 domains constitute a new type of ubiquitin-binding domains. We previously showed that the third SH3 domain (SH3-C) of CD2AP binds ubiquitin in an alternative orientation. We have determined the structure of the complex between first CD2AP SH3 domain and ubiquitin and performed a structural and mutational analysis to decipher the determinants of the SH3-C binding mode to ubiquitin. We found that the Phe-to-Tyr mutation in CD2AP and in the homologous CIN85 SH3-C domain does not abrogate ubiquitin binding, in contrast to previous hypothesis and our findings for the first two CD2AP SH3 domains. The similar alternative binding mode of the SH3-C domains of these related adaptor proteins is characterised by a higher affinity to C-terminal extended ubiquitin molecules. We conclude that CD2AP/CIN85 SH3-C domain interaction with ubiquitin constitutes a new ubiquitin-binding mode involved in a different cellular function and thus changes the previously established mechanism of EGF-dependent CD2AP/CIN85 mono-ubiquitination. PMID:24039852

Micropore extrusion-induced alignment transition from perpendicular to parallel of cylindrical domains in block copolymers.

PubMed

Qu, Ting; Zhao, Yongbin; Li, Zongbo; Wang, Pingping; Cao, Shubo; Xu, Yawei; Li, Yayuan; Chen, Aihua

2016-02-14

The orientation transition from perpendicular to parallel alignment of PEO cylindrical domains of PEO-b-PMA(Az) films has been demonstrated by extruding the block copolymer (BCP) solutions through a micropore of a plastic gastight syringe. The parallelized orientation of PEO domains induced by this micropore extrusion can be recovered to perpendicular alignment via ultrasonication of the extruded BCP solutions and subsequent annealing. A plausible mechanism is proposed in this study. The BCP films can be used as templates to prepare nanowire arrays with controlled layers, which has enormous potential application in the field of integrated circuits.

Thermal effects on domain orientation of tetragonal piezoelectrics studied by in situ x-ray diffraction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Wonyoung; King, Alexander H.; Bowman, Keith J.

2006-06-01

Thermal effects on domain orientation in tetragonal lead zirconate titanate (PZT) and lead titanate (PT) have been investigated by using in situ x-ray diffraction with an area detector. In the case of a soft PZT, it is found that the texture parameter called multiples of a random distribution (MRD) initially increases with temperature up to approximately 100°C and then falls to unity at temperatures approaching the Curie temperature, whereas the MRD of hard PZT and PT initially undergoes a smaller increase or no change. The relationship between the mechanical strain energy and domain wall mobility with temperature is discussed.

Fabric controls on the brittle failure of folded gneiss and schist

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agliardi, Federico; Zanchetta, Stefano; Crosta, Giovanni B.

2014-12-01

We experimentally studied the brittle failure behaviour of folded gneiss and schist. Rock fabric and petrography were characterised by meso-structural analyses, optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and SEM imaging. Uniaxial compression, triaxial compression and indirect tension laboratory tests were performed to characterise their strength and stress-strain behaviour. Fracture patterns generated in compression were resolved in 3D through X-ray computed tomography at different resolutions (30 to 625 μm). Uniaxial compression tests revealed relatively low and scattered values of unconfined compressive strength (UCS) and Young's modulus, with no obvious relationships with the orientation of foliation. Samples systematically failed in four brittle modes, involving different combinations of shear fractures along foliation or parallel to fold axial planes, or the development of cm-scale shear zones. Fracture quantification and microstructural analysis show that different failure modes occur depending on the mutual geometrical arrangement and degree of involvement of two distinct physical anisotropies, i.e. the foliation and the fold axial planes. The Axial Plane Anisotropy (APA) is related to micro-scale grain size reduction and shape preferred orientation within quartz-rich domains, and to mechanical rotation or initial crenulation cleavage within phyllosilicate-rich domains at fold hinge zones. In quartz-rich rocks (gneiss), fracture propagation through quartz aggregates forming the APA corresponds to higher fracture energy and strength than found for fracture through phyllosilicate-rich domains. This results in a strong dependence of strength on the failure mode. Conversely, in phyllosilicate-rich rocks (schist), all the failure modes are dominated by the strength of phyllosilicates, resulting in a sharp reduction of strength anisotropy.

The effect of solvent upon molecularly thin rotaxane film formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farrell, Alan A.; Kay, Euan R.; Bottari, Giovanni; Leigh, David A.; Jarvis, Suzanne P.

2007-05-01

We have investigated variations in molecularly thin rotaxane films deposited by solvent evaporation, using atomic force microscopy (AFM). Small changes in rotaxane structure result in significant differences in film morphology. The addition of exo-pyridyl moietes to the rotaxane macrocycle results in uniform domains having orientations corresponding to the underlying substrate lattice, while a larger, less symmetric molecule results in a greater lattice mismatch and smaller domain sizes. We have measured differences in film heights both as a function of the solvent of deposition and as a function of surface coverage of rotaxanes. Based on these observations we describe how the use of solvents with higher hydrogen-bond basicity results in films which are more likely to favour sub-molecular motion.

Warts phosphorylates Mud to promote Pins-mediated mitotic spindle orientation in Drosophila independent of Yorkie

PubMed Central

Dewey, Evan B.; Sanchez, Desiree; Johnston, Christopher A.

2015-01-01

SUMMARY Multicellular animals have evolved conserved signaling pathways that translate cell polarity cues into mitotic spindle positioning to control the orientation of cell division within complex tissue structures. These oriented cell divisions are essential for the development of cell diversity and the maintenance of tissue homeostasis. Despite intense efforts, the molecular mechanisms that control spindle orientation remain incompletely defined. Here we describe a role for the Hippo (Hpo) kinase complex in promoting Partner of Inscuteable (Pins)-mediated spindle orientation. Knockdown of Hpo, Salvador (Sav), or Warts (Wts) each result in a partial loss of spindle orientation, a phenotype previously described following loss of the Pins-binding protein Mushroom body defect (Mud). Similar to orthologs spanning yeast to mammals, Wts kinase localizes to mitotic spindle poles, a prominent site of Mud localization. Wts directly phosphorylates Mud in vitro within its C-terminal coiled-coil domain. This Mud coiled-coil domain directly binds the adjacent Pins-binding domain to dampen the Pins/Mud interaction, and Wts-mediated phosphorylation uncouples this intramolecular Mud interaction. Loss of Wts prevents cortical Pins/Mud association without affecting Mud accumulation at spindle poles, suggesting phosphorylation acts as a molecular switch to specifically activate cortical Mud function. Finally, loss of Wts in Drosophila imaginal disc epithelial cells results in diminished cortical Mud and defective planar spindle orientation. Our results provide new insights into the molecular basis for dynamic regulation of the cortical Pins/Mud spindle positioning complex and highlight a novel link with an essential, evolutionarily-conserved cell proliferation pathway. PMID:26592339

Warts phosphorylates mud to promote pins-mediated mitotic spindle orientation in Drosophila, independent of Yorkie.

PubMed

Dewey, Evan B; Sanchez, Desiree; Johnston, Christopher A

2015-11-02

Multicellular animals have evolved conserved signaling pathways that translate cell polarity cues into mitotic spindle positioning to control the orientation of cell division within complex tissue structures. These oriented cell divisions are essential for the development of cell diversity and the maintenance of tissue homeostasis. Despite intense efforts, the molecular mechanisms that control spindle orientation remain incompletely defined. Here, we describe a role for the Hippo (Hpo) kinase complex in promoting Partner of Inscuteable (Pins)-mediated spindle orientation. Knockdown of Hpo, Salvador (Sav), or Warts (Wts) each result in a partial loss of spindle orientation, a phenotype previously described following loss of the Pins-binding protein Mushroom body defect (Mud). Similar to orthologs spanning yeast to mammals, Wts kinase localizes to mitotic spindle poles, a prominent site of Mud localization. Wts directly phosphorylates Mud in vitro within its C-terminal coiled-coil domain. This Mud coiled-coil domain directly binds the adjacent Pins-binding domain to dampen the Pins/Mud interaction, and Wts-mediated phosphorylation uncouples this intramolecular Mud interaction. Loss of Wts prevents cortical Pins/Mud association without affecting Mud accumulation at spindle poles, suggesting phosphorylation acts as a molecular switch to specifically activate cortical Mud function. Finally, loss of Wts in Drosophila imaginal disc epithelial cells results in diminished cortical Mud and defective planar spindle orientation. Our results provide new insights into the molecular basis for dynamic regulation of the cortical Pins/Mud spindle positioning complex and highlight a novel link with an essential, evolutionarily conserved cell proliferation pathway. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Structural and molecular conformation of myosin in intact muscle fibers by second harmonic generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nucciotti, V.; Stringari, C.; Sacconi, L.; Vanzi, F.; Linari, M.; Piazzesi, G.; Lombardi, V.; Pavone, F. S.

2009-02-01

Recently, the use of Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) for imaging biological samples has been explored with regard to intrinsic SHG in highly ordered biological samples. As shown by fractional extraction of proteins, myosin is the source of SHG signal in skeletal muscle. SHG is highly dependent on symmetries and provides selective information on the structural order and orientation of the emitting proteins and the dynamics of myosin molecules responsible for the mechano-chemical transduction during contraction. We characterise the polarization-dependence of SHG intensity in three different physiological states: resting, rigor and isometric tetanic contraction in a sarcomere length range between 2.0 μm and 4.0 μm. The orientation of motor domains of the myosin molecules is dependent on their physiological states and modulate the SHG signal. We can discriminate the orientation of the emitting dipoles in four different molecular conformations of myosin heads in intact fibers during isometric contraction, in resting and rigor. We estimate the contribution of the myosin motor domain to the total second order bulk susceptibility from its molecular structure and its functional conformation. We demonstrate that SHG is sensitive to the fraction of ordered myosin heads by disrupting the order of myosin heads in rigor with an ATP analog. We estimate the fraction of myosin motors generating the isometric force in the active muscle fiber from the dependence of the SHG modulation on the degree of overlap between actin and myosin filaments during an isometric contraction.

Changes in myosin S1 orientation and force induced by a temperature increase.

PubMed

Griffiths, Peter J; Bagni, Maria A; Colombini, Barbara; Amenitsch, Heinz; Bernstorff, Sigrid; Ashley, Christopher C; Cecchi, Giovanni; Ameritsch, Heinz

2002-04-16

Force generation in myosin-based motile systems is thought to result from an angular displacement of the myosin subfragment 1 (S1) tail domain with respect to the actin filament axis. In muscle, raised temperature increases the force generated by S1, implying a greater change in tail domain angular displacement. We used time-resolved x-ray diffraction to investigate the structural corollary of this force increase by measuring M3 meridional reflection intensity during sinusoidal length oscillations. This technique allows definition of S1 orientation with respect to the myofilament axis. M3 intensity changes were approximately sinusoid at low temperatures but became increasingly distorted as temperature was elevated, with the formation of a double intensity peak at maximum shortening. This increased distortion could be accounted for by assuming a shift in orientation of the tail domain of actin-bound S1 toward the orientation at which M3 intensity is maximal, which is consistent with a tail domain rotation model of force generation in which the tail approaches a more perpendicular projection from the thin filament axis at higher temperatures. In power stroke simulations, the angle between S1 tail mean position during oscillations and the position at maximum intensity decreased by 4.7 degrees, corresponding to a mean tail displacement toward the perpendicular of 0.73 nm for a temperature-induced force increase of 0.28 P(0) from 4 to 22 degrees C. Our findings suggest that at least 62% of crossbridge compliance is associated with the tail domain.

Interoperable cross-domain semantic and geospatial framework for automatic change detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuo, Chiao-Ling; Hong, Jung-Hong

2016-01-01

With the increasingly diverse types of geospatial data established over the last few decades, semantic interoperability in integrated applications has attracted much interest in the field of Geographic Information System (GIS). This paper proposes a new strategy and framework to process cross-domain geodata at the semantic level. This framework leverages the semantic equivalence of concepts between domains through bridge ontology and facilitates the integrated use of different domain data, which has been long considered as an essential superiority of GIS, but is impeded by the lack of understanding about the semantics implicitly hidden in the data. We choose the task of change detection to demonstrate how the introduction of ontology concept can effectively make the integration possible. We analyze the common properties of geodata and change detection factors, then construct rules and summarize possible change scenario for making final decisions. The use of topographic map data to detect changes in land use shows promising success, as far as the improvement of efficiency and level of automation is concerned. We believe the ontology-oriented approach will enable a new way for data integration across different domains from the perspective of semantic interoperability, and even open a new dimensionality for the future GIS.

Endothermic decompositions of inorganic monocrystalline thin plates. I. Shape of polycrystalline product domains versus constraints and time

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bertrand, G.; Comperat, M.; Lallemant, M.; Watelle, G.

1980-03-01

Copper sulfate pentahydrate dehydration into trihydrate was investigated using monocrystalline platelets with varying crystallographic orientations. The morphological and kinetic features of the trihydrate domains were examined. Different shapes were observed: polygons (parallelograms, hexagons) and ellipses; their conditions of occurrence are reported in the (P, T) diagram. At first (for about 2 min), the ratio of the long to the short axes of elliptical domains changes with time; these subsequently develop homothetically and the rate ratio is then only pressure dependent. Temperature influence is inferred from that of pressure. Polygonal shapes are time dependent and result in ellipses. So far, no model can be put forward. Yet, qualitatively, the polygonal shape of a domain may be explained by the prevalence of the crystal arrangement and the elliptical shape by that of the solid tensorial properties. The influence of those factors might be modulated versus pressure, temperature, interface extent, and, thus, time.

Extensible Ontological Modeling Framefork for Subject Mediation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalinichenko, L. A.; Skvortsov, N. A.

An approach for extensible ontological model construction in a mediation environment intended for heterogeneous information sources integration in various subject domains is presented. A mediator ontological language (MOL) may depend on a subject domain and is to be defined at the mediator consolidation phase. On the other hand, for different information sources different ontological models (languages) can be used to define their own ontologies. Reversible mapping of the source ontological models into MOL is needed for information sources registration at the mediator. An approach for such reversible mapping is demonstrated for a class of the Web information sources. It is assumed that such sources apply the DAML+OIL ontological model. A subset of the hybrid object-oriented and semi-structured canonical mediator data model is used for the core of MOL. Construction of a reversible mapping of DAML+OIL into an extension of the core of MOL is presented in the paper. Such mapping is a necessary pre-requisite for contextualizing and registration of information sources at the mediator. The mapping shows how extensible MOL can be constructed. The approach proposed is oriented on digital libraries where retrieval is focused on information content, rather than on information entities.

Analysis of the substrate influence on the ordering of epitaxial molecular layers: The special case of point-on-line coincidence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mannsfeld, S. C.; Fritz, T.

2004-02-01

The physical structure of organic-inorganic heteroepitaxial thin films is usually governed by a fine balance between weak molecule-molecule interactions and a weakly laterally varying molecule-substrate interaction potential. Therefore, in order to investigate the energetics of such a layer system one has to consider large molecular domains. So far, layer potential calculations for large domains of organic thin films on crystalline substrates were difficult to perform concerning the computational effort which stems from the vast number of atoms which have to be included. Here, we present a technique which enables the calculation of the molecule-substrate interaction potential for large molecular domains by utilizing potential energy grid files. This technique allows the investigation of the substrate influence in systems prepared by organic molecular beam epitaxy (OMBE), like 3,4,9,10-perylenetetracarboxylicdianhydride on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite. For this system the so-called point-on-line coincidence was proposed, a growth mode which has been controversially discussed in literature. Furthermore, we are able to provide evidence for a general energetic advantage of such point-on-line coincident domain orientations over arbitrarily oriented domains which substantiates that energetically favorable lattice structures in OMBE systems are not restricted to commensurate unit cells or coincident super cells.

Twenty-first century macro-trends in the institutional fabric of science: bibliometric monitoring and analysis.

PubMed

Tijssen, Robert J W; Winnink, Jos

Some say that world science has become more 'applied', or at least more 'application-oriented', in recent years. Replacing the ill-defined distinction between 'basic research' and 'applied research', we introduce 'research application orientation' domains as an alternative conceptual and analytical framework for examining research output growth patterns. To distinguish possible developmental trajectories we define three institutional domains: 'university', 'industry', 'hospitals'. Our macro-level bibliometric analysis takes a closer look at general trends within and across some 750 of the world's largest research-intensive universities. To correct for database changes, our time-series analysis was applied to both a fixed journal set (same research journals and conference proceedings over time) and a dynamic journal set (changing set of publication outlets). We find that output growth in the 'hospital research orientation' has significantly outpaced the other two application domains, especially since 2006/2007. This happened mainly because of the introduction of new publication outlets in the WoS, but also partially because some universities-especially in China-seem to have become more visible in this domain. Our analytical approach needs further broadening and deepening to provide a more definitive answer whether hospitals and the medical sector are becoming increasingly dominant as a domain of scientific knowledge production and an environment for research applications.

Synergistic enhancement of cellulase pairs linked by consensus ankyrin repeats: Determination of the roles of spacing, orientation, and enzyme identity.

PubMed

Cunha, Eva S; Hatem, Christine L; Barrick, Doug

2016-08-01

Biomass deconstruction to small simple sugars is a potential approach to biofuels production; however, the highly recalcitrant nature of biomass limits the economic viability of this approach. Thus, research on efficient biomass degradation is necessary to achieve large-scale production of biofuels. Enhancement of cellulolytic activity by increasing synergism between cellulase enzymes holds promise in achieving high-yield biofuels production. Here we have inserted cellulase pairs from extremophiles into hyperstable α-helical consensus ankyrin repeat domain scaffolds. Such chimeric constructs allowed us to optimize arrays of enzyme pairs against a variety of cellulolytic substrates. We found that endocellulolytic domains CelA (CA) and Cel12A (C12A) act synergistically in the context of ankyrin repeats, with both three and four repeat spacing. The extent of synergy differs for different substrates. Also, having C12A N-terminal to CA provides greater synergy than the reverse construct, especially against filter paper. In contrast, we do not see synergy for these enzymes in tandem with CelK (CK) catalytic domain, a larger exocellulase, demonstrating the importance of enzyme identity in synergistic enhancement. Furthermore, we found endocellulases CelD and CA with three repeat spacing to act synergistically against filter paper. Importantly, connecting CA and C12A with a disordered linker of similar contour length shows no synergistic enhancement, indicating that synergism results from connecting these domains with folded ankyrin repeats. These results show that ankyrin arrays can be used to vary spacing and orientation between enzymes, helping to design and optimize artificial cellulosomes, providing a novel architecture for synergistic enhancement of enzymatic cellulose degradation. Proteins 2016; 84:1043-1054. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Synergistic enhancement of cellulase pairs linked by consensus ankyrin repeats: determination of the roles of spacing, orientation and enzyme identity

PubMed Central

Cunha, Eva S.; Hatem, Christine L.; Barrick, Doug

2017-01-01

Biomass deconstruction to small simple sugars is a potential approach to biofuels production, however the highly recalcitrant nature of biomass limits the economic viability of this approach. Thus, research on efficient biomass degradation is necessary to achieve large-scale production of biofuels. Enhancement of cellulolytic activity by increasing synergism between cellulase enzymes holds promise in achieving high-yield biofuels production. Here we have inserted cellulase pairs from extremophiles into hyper-stable α-helical consensus ankyrin repeat domain scaffolds. Such chimeric constructs allowed us to optimize arrays of enzyme pairs against a variety of cellulolytic substrates. We found that endocellulolytic domains CelA (CA) and Cel12A (C12A) act synergistically in the context of ankyrin repeats, with both three and four repeat spacing. The extent of synergy differs for different substrates. Also, having C12A N-terminal to CA provides greater synergy than the reverse construct, especially against filter paper. In contrast, we do not see synergy for these enzymes in tandem with CelK (CK) catalytic domain, a larger exocellulase, demonstrating the importance of enzyme identity in synergistic enhancement. Furthermore, we found endocellulases CelD and CA with three repeat spacing to act synergistically against filter paper. Importantly, connecting CA and C12A with a disordered linker of similar contour length, shows no synergistic enhancement, indicating that synergism results from connecting these domains with folded ankyrin repeats. These results show that ankyrin arrays can be used to vary spacing and orientation between enzymes, helping to design and optimize artificial cellulosomes, providing a novel architecture for synergistic enhancement of enzymatic cellulose degradation. PMID:27071357

Integrative Mechanisms of Oriented Neuronal Migration in the Developing Brain

PubMed Central

Evsyukova, Irina; Plestant, Charlotte; Anton, E.S.

2014-01-01

The emergence of functional neuronal connectivity in the developing cerebral cortex depends on neuronal migration. This process enables appropriate positioning of neurons and the emergence of neuronal identity so that the correct patterns of functional synaptic connectivity between the right types and numbers of neurons can emerge. Delineating the complexities of neuronal migration is critical to our understanding of normal cerebral cortical formation and neurodevelopmental disorders resulting from neuronal migration defects. For the most part, the integrated cell biological basis of the complex behavior of oriented neuronal migration within the developing mammalian cerebral cortex remains an enigma. This review aims to analyze the integrative mechanisms that enable neurons to sense environmental guidance cues and translate them into oriented patterns of migration toward defined areas of the cerebral cortex. We discuss how signals emanating from different domains of neurons get integrated to control distinct aspects of migratory behavior and how different types of cortical neurons coordinate their migratory activities within the developing cerebral cortex to produce functionally critical laminar organization. PMID:23937349

Structural insights into the specific binding of huntingtin proline-rich region with the SH3 and WW domains.

PubMed

Gao, Yong-Guang; Yan, Xian-Zhong; Song, Ai-Xin; Chang, Yong-Gang; Gao, Xue-Chao; Jiang, Nan; Zhang, Qi; Hu, Hong-Yu

2006-12-01

The interactions of huntingtin (Htt) with the SH3 domain- or WW domain-containing proteins have been implicated in the pathogenesis of Huntington's disease (HD). We report the specific interactions of Htt proline-rich region (PRR) with the SH3GL3-SH3 domain and HYPA-WW1-2 domain pair by NMR. The results show that Htt PRR binds with the SH3 domain through nearly its entire chain, and that the binding region on the domain includes the canonical PxxP-binding site and the specificity pocket. The C terminus of PRR orients to the specificity pocket, whereas the N terminus orients to the PxxP-binding site. Htt PRR can also specifically bind to WW1-2; the N-terminal portion preferentially binds to WW1, while the C-terminal portion binds to WW2. This study provides structural insights into the specific interactions between Htt PRR and its binding partners as well as the alteration of these interactions that involve PRR, which may have implications for the understanding of HD.

A Further Examination of the Distinction between Dependency-Oriented and Achievement-Oriented Parental Psychological Control: Psychometric Properties of the DAPCS with French-Speaking Late Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mantzouranis, Gregory; Zimmermann, Gregoire; Mahaim, Elodie Biermann; Favez, Nicolas

2012-01-01

Psychological control refers to parental behaviors that intrude on the psychological and emotional development of the child. In 2010, Soenens et al. proposed a distinction between two domain-specific expressions of psychological control, that is, Dependency-oriented Psychological Control (DPC) and Achievement-oriented Psychological Control (APC).…

Integrating traditional nursing service orientation content with electronic medical record orientation.

PubMed

Harton, Brenda B; Borrelli, Larry; Knupp, Ann; Rogers, Necolen; West, Vickie R

2009-01-01

Traditional nursing service orientation classes at an acute care hospital were integrated with orientation to the electronic medical record to blend the two components in a user-friendly format so that the learner is introduced to the culture, processes, and documentation methods of the organization, with an opportunity to document online in a practice domain while lecture and discussion information is fresh.

Structural analysis of β-prism lectin from Colocasia esculenta (L.) S chott.

PubMed

Vajravijayan, S; Pletnev, S; Pletnev, V Z; Nandhagopal, N; Gunasekaran, K

2016-10-01

The Mannose-binding β-Prism Colocasia esculenta lectin (β-PCL) was purified from tubers using ion exchange chromatography. The purified β-PCL appeared as a single band of ∼12kDa on SDS-PAGE. β-PCL crystallizes in trigonal space group P3121 and diffracted to a resolution of 2.1Å. The structure was solved using Molecular replacement using Crocus vernus lectin (PDB: 3MEZ) as a model. From the final refined model to an R-factor of 16.5% and an Rfree of 20.4%, it has been observed that the biological unit consists of two β-Prism domains augmented through C-terminals swap over to form one of faces for each domain. Cα superposition of individual domains of β-PCL with individual domains of other related structures and superposition of whole protein structures were carried out. The higher RMS deviation for the superposition of whole structures suggest that β-prism domains assume different orientation in each structure. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effect of externally applied electrostatic fields on the surface topography of ceramide-enriched domains in mixed monolayers with sphingomyelin.

PubMed

Wilke, Natalia; Maggio, Bruno

2006-06-20

Lipid and protein molecules anisotropically oriented at a hydrocarbon-aqueous interface configure a dynamic array of self-organized molecular dipoles. Electrostatic fields applied to lipid monolayers have been shown to induce in-plane migration of domains or phase separation in a homogeneous system. In this work, we have investigated the effect of externally applied electrostatic fields on the distribution of the condensed ceramide-enriched domains in mixed monolayers with sphingomyelin. In these monolayers, the lipids segregate in different phases at all pressures. This allows analyzing by epifluorescence microscopy the effect of the electrostatic field at all lateral pressure because coexistence of lipid domains in condensed state are always present. Our observations indicate that a positive potential applied to an electrode placed over the monolayer promotes a repulsion of the ceramide-enriched domains which is rather insensitive to the film composition, depends inversely on the lateral pressure and exhibits threshold dependence on the in-plane elasticity.

Modeling the Personal Health Ecosystem.

PubMed

Blobel, Bernd; Brochhausen, Mathias; Ruotsalainen, Pekka

2018-01-01

Complex ecosystems like the pHealth one combine different domains represented by a huge variety of different actors (human beings, organizations, devices, applications, components) belonging to different policy domains, coming from different disciplines, deploying different methodologies, terminologies, and ontologies, offering different levels of knowledge, skills, and experiences, acting in different scenarios and accommodating different business cases to meet the intended business objectives. For correctly modeling such systems, a system-oriented, architecture-centric, ontology-based, policy-driven approach is inevitable, thereby following established Good Modeling Best Practices. However, most of the existing standards, specifications and tools for describing, representing, implementing and managing health (information) systems reflect the advancement of information and communication technology (ICT) represented by different evolutionary levels of data modeling. The paper presents a methodology for integrating, adopting and advancing models, standards, specifications as well as implemented systems and components on the way towards the aforementioned ultimate approach, so meeting the challenge we face when transforming health systems towards ubiquitous, personalized, predictive, preventive, participative, and cognitive health and social care.

Comparison of molecular orientation and phase transition behaviors in the two kinds of ordered ultrathin films of reversed duckweed polymer ES-3 studied by infrared grazing reflection-absorption spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Qiang; Xu, Weiqing; Zhao, Bing

2003-03-01

A multilayer LB film and a casting film of reversed duckweed polymer ES-3 on Au-evaporated glass slides were investigated by Fourier Transform infrared grazing reflection-absorption spectroscopy. It is found that the two kinds of ordered ultrathin films have different orientation of alkyl chains, nearly perpendicular to the substrate surface for the LB film while rather tilted for the casting film. The studies on their thermal transition behaviors indicate that both of the films have three phase transition processes, respectively, occurring near 65, 105 and 140 °C for the former while near 80, 105 and 140 °C for the latter, but show different transition behavior in the each corresponding transition process. It is referred that at room temperature there are island-like domain structures formed in the LB film, but no ones in the casting film; however, the latter can form the domain structures between the first two transition points due to the desorption of solvents. The formation of domain structure seems to play two important roles, one of which is to make alkyl chains more perpendicular to the substrate surface, and the other to make alkyl chains more packed closely. Thermal cyclic experiments reveal that neither of the films could return to its original state after thermal cyclic treatment up to the temperature, which is above the third transition point, although its alkyl chain becomes highly ordered again.

C4 Software Technology Reference Guide - A Prototype.

DTIC Science & Technology

1997-01-10

domain analysis methods include • Feature-oriented domain analysis ( FODA ) (see pg. 185), a domain analysis method based upon identifying the... Analysis ( FODA ) Feasibility Study (CMU/SEI-90-TR-21, ADA 235785). Pittsburgh, PA: Software En- gineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, 1990. 178...domain analysis ( FODA ) (see pg. 185), in which a feature is a user-visible aspect or char- acteristic of the domain [Kang 90].) The features in a system

Structural insights into the functional versatility of WW domain-containing oxidoreductase tumor suppressor

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Recent work on WW domain-containing oxidoreductase (WWOX) tumor suppressor is beginning to shed new light on both the molecular mechanism of action of its WW domains as well as the contiguous catalytic domain. Herein, the structural basis underlying the ability of WW1 domain to bind to various physiological ligands and how the orphan WW2 tandem partner synergizes its ligand binding in the context of WW1–WW2 tandem module of WWOX is discussed. Notably, the WW domains within the WW1–WW2 tandem module physically associate so as to adopt a fixed spatial orientation relative to each other. In this manner, the association of WW2 domain with WW1 hinders ligand binding to the latter. Consequently, ligand binding to WW1 domain not only results in the displacement of WW2 lid but also disrupts the fixed orientation of WW domains in the liganded conformation. Equally importantly, structure-guided functional approach suggests that the catalytic domain of WWOX likely serves as a retinal oxidoreductase that catalyzes the reversible oxidation and reduction of all-trans-retinal. Collectively, this review provides structural insights into the functional versatility of a key signaling protein with important implications on its biology. PMID:25662954

Structural insights into the functional versatility of WW domain-containing oxidoreductase tumor suppressor.

PubMed

Farooq, Amjad

2015-03-01

Recent work on WW domain-containing oxidoreductase (WWOX) tumor suppressor is beginning to shed new light on both the molecular mechanism of action of its WW domains as well as the contiguous catalytic domain. Herein, the structural basis underlying the ability of WW1 domain to bind to various physiological ligands and how the orphan WW2 tandem partner synergizes its ligand binding in the context of WW1-WW2 tandem module of WWOX is discussed. Notably, the WW domains within the WW1-WW2 tandem module physically associate so as to adopt a fixed spatial orientation relative to each other. In this manner, the association of WW2 domain with WW1 hinders ligand binding to the latter. Consequently, ligand binding to WW1 domain not only results in the displacement of WW2 lid but also disrupts the fixed orientation of WW domains in the liganded conformation. Equally importantly, structure-guided functional approach suggests that the catalytic domain of WWOX likely serves as a retinal oxidoreductase that catalyzes the reversible oxidation and reduction of all-trans-retinal. Collectively, this review provides structural insights into the functional versatility of a key signaling protein with important implications on its biology. © 2015 by the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine.

High-resolution crystal structures of Drosophila melanogaster angiotensin-converting enzyme in complex with novel inhibitors and antihypertensive drugs.

PubMed

Akif, Mohd; Georgiadis, Dimitris; Mahajan, Aman; Dive, Vincent; Sturrock, Edward D; Isaac, R Elwyn; Acharya, K Ravi

2010-07-16

Angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE), one of the central components of the renin-angiotensin system, is a key therapeutic target for the treatment of hypertension and cardiovascular disorders. Human somatic ACE (sACE) has two homologous domains (N and C). The N- and C-domain catalytic sites have different activities toward various substrates. Moreover, some of the undesirable side effects of the currently available and widely used ACE inhibitors may arise from their targeting both domains leading to defects in other pathways. In addition, structural studies have shown that although both these domains have much in common at the inhibitor binding site, there are significant differences and these are greater at the peptide binding sites than regions distal to the active site. As a model system, we have used an ACE homologue from Drosophila melanogaster (AnCE, a single domain protein with ACE activity) to study ACE inhibitor binding. In an extensive study, we present high-resolution structures for native AnCE and in complex with six known antihypertensive drugs, a novel C-domain sACE specific inhibitor, lisW-S, and two sACE domain-specific phosphinic peptidyl inhibitors, RXPA380 and RXP407 (i.e., nine structures). These structures show detailed binding features of the inhibitors and highlight subtle changes in the orientation of side chains at different binding pockets in the active site in comparison with the active site of N- and C-domains of sACE. This study provides information about the structure-activity relationships that could be utilized for designing new inhibitors with improved domain selectivity for sACE. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Group differences in risk across three domains using an expanded measure of sexual orientation.

PubMed

Loosier, Penny S; Dittus, Patricia J

2010-12-01

The purpose of this study was to highlight associations between sexual orientation and risk outcomes in late adolescence and early adulthood using an expanded measure of sexual orientation. Recent data indicate higher levels of risk behavior in a newly identified population, mostly heterosexuals, as compared to heterosexuals. Comparisons among groups using an expanded measure of sexual orientation such as this, however, often do not include all possible groups or may restrict comparisons between groups. Data were derived from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health); participants identified as heterosexual, mostly heterosexual, bisexual, mostly gay, or gay. Main risk outcomes were parental mistreatment, home displacement, thoughts of suicide, depressive symptoms, frequency of drinking, and delinquency. A priori planned comparisons examined differences between: (a) heterosexual vs. mostly heterosexual, (b) gay vs. mostly gay, (c) mostly heterosexual vs. bisexual, (d) mostly gay vs. bisexual, (e) mostly heterosexual vs. mostly gay, (f) heterosexual vs. gay, (g) heterosexual vs. bisexual, and (h) gay vs. bisexual. Mostly heterosexual youth were at significantly greater risk than heterosexual youth on all outcomes but did not differ from bisexual or mostly gay youth. Heterosexuals were at lower risk as compared to mostly heterosexuals and bisexuals. This study provides further evidence of differential risk associations for sexual minorities.

Magnetic force microscopy studies in bulk polycrystalline iron

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abuthahir, J.; Kumar, Anish

2018-02-01

The paper presents magnetic force microscopy (MFM) studies on the effect of crystallographic orientation and external magnetic field on magnetic microstructure in a bulk polycrystalline iron specimen. The magneto crystalline anisotropic effect on the domain structure is characterized with the support of electron backscatter diffraction study. The distinct variations in magnetic domain structure are observed based on the crystallographic orientation of the grain surface normal with respect to the cube axis i.e. the easy axis of magnetization. Further, the local magnetization behavior is studied in-situ by MFM in presence of external magnetic field in the range of -2000 to 2000 Oe. Various micro-magnetization phenomena such as reversible and irreversible domain wall movements, expansion and contraction of domains, Barkhausen jump, bowing of a pinned domain wall and nucleation of a spike domain are visualized. The respective changes in the magnetic microstructure are compared with the bulk magnetization obtained using vibrating sample magnetometer. Bowing of a domain wall, pinned at two points, upon application of magnetic field is used to estimate the domain wall energy density. The MFM studies in presence of external field applied in two perpendicular directions are used to reveal the influence of the crystalline anisotropy on the local micro-magnetization.

Object-oriented design and programming in medical decision support.

PubMed

Heathfield, H; Armstrong, J; Kirkham, N

1991-12-01

The concept of object-oriented design and programming has recently received a great deal of attention from the software engineering community. This paper highlights the realisable benefits of using the object-oriented approach in the design and development of clinical decision support systems. These systems seek to build a computational model of some problem domain and therefore tend to be exploratory in nature. Conventional procedural design techniques do not support either the process of model building or rapid prototyping. The central concepts of the object-oriented paradigm are introduced, namely encapsulation, inheritance and polymorphism, and their use illustrated in a case study, taken from the domain of breast histopathology. In particular, the dual roles of inheritance in object-oriented programming are examined, i.e., inheritance as a conceptual modelling tool and inheritance as a code reuse mechanism. It is argued that the use of the former is not entirely intuitive and may be difficult to incorporate into the design process. However, inheritance as a means of optimising code reuse offers substantial technical benefits.

Giant strain with ultra-low hysteresis and high temperature stability in grain oriented lead-free K0.5Bi0.5TiO3-BaTiO3-Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3 piezoelectric materials

PubMed Central

Maurya, Deepam; Zhou, Yuan; Wang, Yaojin; Yan, Yongke; Li, Jiefang; Viehland, Dwight; Priya, Shashank

2015-01-01

We synthesized grain-oriented lead-free piezoelectric materials in (K0.5Bi0.5TiO3-BaTiO3-xNa0.5Bi0.5TiO3 (KBT-BT-NBT) system with high degree of texturing along the [001]c (c-cubic) crystallographic orientation. We demonstrate giant field induced strain (~0.48%) with an ultra-low hysteresis along with enhanced piezoelectric response (d33 ~ 190pC/N) and high temperature stability (~160°C). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) results demonstrate smaller size highly ordered domain structure in grain-oriented specimen relative to the conventional polycrystalline ceramics. The grain oriented specimens exhibited a high degree of non-180° domain switching, in comparison to the randomly axed ones. These results indicate the effective solution to the lead-free piezoelectric materials. PMID:25716551

Giant strain with ultra-low hysteresis and high temperature stability in grain oriented lead-free K₀̣₅Bi₀̣₅TiO₃-BaTiO₃-Na₀̣₅Bi₀̣₅TiO₃ piezoelectric materials

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Maurya, Deepam; Zhou, Yuan; Wang, Yaojin

2015-02-26

We synthesized grain-oriented lead-free piezoelectric materials in (K₀̣₅Bi₀̣₅TiO₃-BaTiO₃-xNa₀̣₅Bi₀̣₅TiO₃ (KBT-BT-NBT) system with high degree of texturing along the [001]c (c-cubic) crystallographic orientation. We demonstrate giant field induced strain (~0.48%) with an ultra-low hysteresis along with enhanced piezoelectric response (d₃₃ ~ 190pC/N) and high temperature stability (~160°C). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) results demonstrate smaller size highly ordered domain structure in grain-oriented specimen relative to the conventional polycrystalline ceramics. The grain oriented specimens exhibited a high degree of non-180° domain switching, in comparison to the randomly axed ones. These results indicate the effective solution to the lead-free piezoelectricmore » materials.« less

Crystallographic orientation inhomogeneity and crystal splitting in biogenic calcite

PubMed Central

Checa, Antonio G.; Bonarski, Jan T.; Willinger, Marc G.; Faryna, Marek; Berent, Katarzyna; Kania, Bogusz; González-Segura, Alicia; Pina, Carlos M.; Pospiech, Jan; Morawiec, Adam

2013-01-01

The calcitic prismatic units forming the outer shell of the bivalve Pinctada margaritifera have been analysed using scanning electron microscopy–electron back-scatter diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. In the initial stages of growth, the individual prismatic units are single crystals. Their crystalline orientation is not consistent but rather changes gradually during growth. The gradients in crystallographic orientation occur mainly in a direction parallel to the long axis of the prism, i.e. perpendicular to the shell surface and do not show preferential tilting along any of the calcite lattice axes. At a certain growth stage, gradients begin to spread and diverge, implying that the prismatic units split into several crystalline domains. In this way, a branched crystal, in which the ends of the branches are independent crystalline domains, is formed. At the nanometre scale, the material is composed of slightly misoriented domains, which are separated by planes approximately perpendicular to the c-axis. Orientational gradients and splitting processes are described in biocrystals for the first time and are undoubtedly related to the high content of intracrystalline organic molecules, although the way in which these act to induce the observed crystalline patterns is a matter of future research. PMID:23804442

Health care administration in the year 2000: practitioners' views of future issues and job requirements.

PubMed

Hudak, R P; Brooke, P P; Finstuen, K; Riley, P

1993-01-01

This research identifies the most important domains in health care administration (HCA) from now to the year 2000 and differentiates job skill, knowledge, and ability requirements necessary for successful management. Fellows of the American College of Healthcare Executives from about half of the United States responded to two iterations of a Delphi mail inquiry. Fellows identified 102 issues that were content-analyzed into nine domains by an HCA expert panel. Domains, in order of ranked importance, were cost/finance, leadership, professional staff interactions, health care delivery concepts, accessibility, ethics, quality/risk management, technology, and marketing. In the second Delphi iteration, Fellows reviewed domain results and rated job requirements on required job importance. Results indicated that while a business orientation is needed for organizational survival, an equal emphasis on person-oriented skills, knowledge, and abilities is required.

X-ray diffraction study of A- plane non-polar InN epilayer grown by MOCVD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moret, Matthieu; Briot, Olivier; Gil, Bernard

2015-03-01

Strong polarisation-induced electric fields in C-plane oriented nitrides semiconductor layers reduce the performance of devices. Eliminating the polarization fields can be achieved by growing nitrides along non polar direction. We have grown non polar A-plane oriented InN on R-plane (1‾102) nitridated sapphire substrate by MOCVD. We have studied the structural anisotropy observed in these layers by analyzing High Resolution XRay Diffraction rocking curve (RC) experiments as a function of the in-plane beam orientation. A-plane InN epilayer have a unique epitaxial relationship on R-Plane sapphire and show a strong structural anisotropy. Full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the InN(11‾20) XRD RC values are contained between 44 and 81 Arcmin. FWHM is smaller when the diffraction occurs along the [0001] and the largest FWHM values, of the (11‾20) RC, are obtained when the diffraction occurs along the [1‾100] in-plane direction. Atomic Force Microscopy imaging revealed morphologies with well organized crystallites. The grains are structured along a unique crystallographic orientation of InN, leading to larger domains in this direction. This structural anisotropy can be, in first approximation, attributed to the difference in the domain sizes observed. XRD reciprocal space mappings (RSM) were performed in asymmetrical configuration on (13‾40) and (2‾202) diffraction plane. RSM are measured with a beam orientation corresponding to a maximal and a minimal width of the (11‾20) Rocking curves, respectively. A simple theoretical model is exposed to interpret the RSM. We concluded that the dominant contribution to the anisotropy is due to the scattering coherence length anisotropy present in our samples.

Synthesis of Cubic-Shaped Pt Particles with (100) Preferential Orientation by a Quick, One-Step and Clean Electrochemical Method.

PubMed

Liu, Jie; Fan, Xiayue; Liu, Xiaorui; Song, Zhishuang; Deng, Yida; Han, Xiaopeng; Hu, Wenbin; Zhong, Cheng

2017-06-07

A new approach has been developed for in situ preparing cubic-shaped Pt particles with (100) preferential orientation on the surface of the conductive support by using a quick, one-step, and clean electrochemical method with periodic square-wave potential. The whole electrochemical deposition process is very quick (only 6 min is required to produce cubic Pt particles), without the use of particular capping agents. The shape and the surface structure of deposited Pt particles can be controlled by the lower and upper potential limits of the square-wave potential. For a frequency of 5 Hz and an upper potential limit of 1.0 V (vs saturated calomel electrode), as the lower potential limit decreases to the H adsorption potential region, the Pt deposits are changed from nearly spherical particles to cubic-shaped (100)-oriented Pt particles. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy and selected-area electron diffraction reveal that the formed cubic Pt particles are single-crystalline and enclosed by (100) facets. Cubic Pt particles exhibit characteristic H adsorption/desorption peaks corresponding to the (100) preferential orientation. Ge irreversible adsorption indicates that the fraction of wide Pt(100) surface domains is 47.8%. The electrocatalytic activities of different Pt particles are investigated by ammonia electro-oxidation, which is particularly sensitive to the amount of Pt(100) sites, especially larger (100) domains. The specific activity of cubic Pt particles is 3.6 times as high as that of polycrystalline spherical Pt particles, again confirming the (100) preferential orientation of Pt cubes. The formation of cubic-shaped Pt particles is related with the preferential electrochemical deposition and dissolution processes of Pt, which are coupled with the periodic desorption and adsorption processes of O-containing species and H adatoms.

Mesostructure of Ordered Corneal Nano-nipple Arrays: The Role of 5-7 Coordination Defects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Ken C.; Yu, Qi; Erb, Uwe

2016-06-01

Corneal nano-nipple structures consisting of hexagonally arranged protrusions with diameters around 200 nm have long been known for their antireflection capability and have served as biological blueprint for solar cell, optical lens and other surface designs. However, little is known about the global arrangement of these nipples on the ommatidial surface and their growth during the eye development. This study provides new insights based on the analysis of nano-nipple arrangements on the mesoscale across entire ommatidia, which has never been done before. The most important feature in the nipple structures are topological 5- and 7-fold coordination defects, which align to form dislocations and interconnected networks of grain boundaries that divide the ommatidia into crystalline domains in different orientations. Furthermore, the domain size distribution might be log-normal, and the domains demonstrate no preference in crystal orientation. Both observations suggest that the nipple growth process may be similar to the nucleation and growth mechanisms during the formation of other crystal structures. Our results are also consistent with the most recently proposed Turing-type reaction-diffusion process. In fact, we were able to produce the key structural characteristics of the nipple arrangements using Turing analysis from the nucleation to the final structure development.

Intramolecular trimerization, a novel strategy for making multispecific antibodies with controlled orientation of the antigen binding domains

PubMed Central

Alvarez-Cienfuegos, Ana; Nuñez-Prado, Natalia; Compte, Marta; Cuesta, Angel M.; Blanco-Toribio, Ana; Harwood, Seandean Lykke; Villate, Maider; Merino, Nekane; Bonet, Jaume; Navarro, Rocio; Muñoz-Briones, Clara; Sørensen, Karen Marie Juul; Mølgaard, Kasper; Oliva, Baldo; Sanz, Laura; Blanco, Francisco J.; Alvarez-Vallina, Luis

2016-01-01

Here, we describe a new strategy that allows the rapid and efficient engineering of mono and multispecific trivalent antibodies. By fusing single-domain antibodies from camelid heavy-chain-only immunoglobulins (VHHs) to the N-terminus of a human collagen XVIII trimerization domain (TIEXVIII) we produced monospecific trimerbodies that were efficiently secreted as soluble functional proteins by mammalian cells. The purified VHH-TIEXVIII trimerbodies were trimeric in solution and exhibited excellent antigen binding capacity. Furthermore, by connecting with two additional glycine-serine-based linkers three VHH-TIEXVIII modules on a single polypeptide chain, we present an approach for the rational design of multispecific tandem trimerbodies with defined stoichiometry and controlled orientation. Using this technology we report here the construction and characterization of a tandem VHH-based trimerbody capable of simultaneously binding to three different antigens: carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and green fluorescence protein (GFP). Multispecific tandem VHH-based trimerbodies were well expressed in mammalian cells, had good biophysical properties and were capable of simultaneously binding their targeted antigens. Importantly, these antibodies were very effective in inhibiting the proliferation of human epidermoid carcinoma A431 cells. Multispecific VHH-based trimerbodies are therefore ideal candidates for future applications in various therapeutic areas. PMID:27345490

Ordering of anisotropic nanoparticles in diblock copolymer lamellae: Simulations with dissipative particle dynamics and a molecular theory.

PubMed

Berezkin, Anatoly V; Kudryavtsev, Yaroslav V; Gorkunov, Maxim V; Osipov, Mikhail A

2017-04-14

Local distribution and orientation of anisotropic nanoparticles in microphase-separated symmetric diblock copolymers has been simulated using dissipative particle dynamics and analyzed with a molecular theory. It has been demonstrated that nanoparticles are characterized by a non-trivial orientational ordering in the lamellar phase due to their anisotropic interactions with isotropic monomer units. In the simulations, the maximum concentration and degree of ordering are attained for non-selective nanorods near the domain boundary. In this case, the nanorods have a certain tendency to align parallel to the interface in the boundary region and perpendicular to it inside the domains. Similar orientation ordering of nanoparticles located at the lamellar interface is predicted by the molecular theory which takes into account that the nanoparticles interact with monomer units via both isotropic and anisotropic potentials. Computer simulations enable one to study the effects of the nanorod concentration, length, stiffness, and selectivity of their interactions with the copolymer components on the phase stability and orientational order of nanoparticles. If the volume fraction of the nanorods is lower than 0.1, they have no effect on the copolymer transition from the disordered state into a lamellar microstructure. Increasing nanorod concentration or nanorod length results in clustering of the nanorods and eventually leads to a macrophase separation, whereas the copolymer preserves its lamellar morphology. Segregated nanorods of length close to the width of the diblock copolymer domains are stacked side by side into smectic layers that fill the domain space. Thus, spontaneous organization and orientation of nanorods leads to a spatial modulation of anisotropic composite properties which may be important for various applications.

Ordering of anisotropic nanoparticles in diblock copolymer lamellae: Simulations with dissipative particle dynamics and a molecular theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berezkin, Anatoly V.; Kudryavtsev, Yaroslav V.; Gorkunov, Maxim V.; Osipov, Mikhail A.

2017-04-01

Local distribution and orientation of anisotropic nanoparticles in microphase-separated symmetric diblock copolymers has been simulated using dissipative particle dynamics and analyzed with a molecular theory. It has been demonstrated that nanoparticles are characterized by a non-trivial orientational ordering in the lamellar phase due to their anisotropic interactions with isotropic monomer units. In the simulations, the maximum concentration and degree of ordering are attained for non-selective nanorods near the domain boundary. In this case, the nanorods have a certain tendency to align parallel to the interface in the boundary region and perpendicular to it inside the domains. Similar orientation ordering of nanoparticles located at the lamellar interface is predicted by the molecular theory which takes into account that the nanoparticles interact with monomer units via both isotropic and anisotropic potentials. Computer simulations enable one to study the effects of the nanorod concentration, length, stiffness, and selectivity of their interactions with the copolymer components on the phase stability and orientational order of nanoparticles. If the volume fraction of the nanorods is lower than 0.1, they have no effect on the copolymer transition from the disordered state into a lamellar microstructure. Increasing nanorod concentration or nanorod length results in clustering of the nanorods and eventually leads to a macrophase separation, whereas the copolymer preserves its lamellar morphology. Segregated nanorods of length close to the width of the diblock copolymer domains are stacked side by side into smectic layers that fill the domain space. Thus, spontaneous organization and orientation of nanorods leads to a spatial modulation of anisotropic composite properties which may be important for various applications.

Correlation between polymer architecture, mesoscale structure and photovoltaic performance in side-chain-modified PAE-PAV:fullerene bulk-heterojunction solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rathgeber, S.; Kuehnlenz, F.; Hoppe, H.; Egbe, D. A. M.; Tuerk, S.; Perlich, J.; Gehrke, R.

2012-02-01

A poly(arylene-ethynylene)-alt-poly(arylene-vinylene) statistical copolymer carrying linear and branched alkoxy side chains along the conjugated backbone in a random manner, yields, compared to its regular substituted counterparts, an improved performance in polymer:fullerene bulk-heterojunction solar cells. Results obtained from GiWAXS experiments show that the improved performance of the statistical copolymer may be attributed to the following structural characteristics: 1) Well, ordered stacked domains that promote backbone planarization and thus improve the ππ-overlap. 2) Partly face-on alignment of domains relative to the electrodes for an improved active layer electrode charge transfer. Branched side chains seem to promote face-on domain orientation. Most likely they can minimize their unfavorable contact with the interface by just bringing the CH3 groups of the branches into direct contact with the surface so that favorable phenylene-substrate interaction can promote face-on orientation. 3) A more isotropic domain orientation throughout the active layer to ensure that the backbone alignment direction has components perpendicular and parallel to the electrodes in order to compromise between light absorption and efficient intra-chain charge transport.

Bulk magnetic domain structures visualized by neutron dark-field imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grünzweig, C.; David, C.; Bunk, O.; Dierolf, M.; Frei, G.; Kühne, G.; Schäfer, R.; Pofahl, S.; Rønnow, H. M. R.; Pfeiffer, F.

2008-09-01

We report on how a neutron grating interferometer can yield projection images of the internal domain structure in bulk ferromagnetic samples. The image contrast relies on the ultrasmall angle scattering of unpolarized neutrons at domain wall structures in the specimen. The results show the basic domains of (110)-oriented sheets in an FeSi test sample. The obtained domain structures could be correlated with surface sensitive magneto-optical Kerr effect micrographs.

The Domains of Human Nutrition: The Importance of Nutrition Education in Academia and Medical Schools

PubMed Central

Donini, Lorenzo M.; Leonardi, Francesco; Rondanelli, Mariangela; Banderali, Giuseppe; Battino, Maurizio; Bertoli, Enrico; Bordoni, Alessandra; Brighenti, Furio; Caccialanza, Riccardo; Cairella, Giulia; Caretto, Antonio; Cena, Hellas; Gambarara, Manuela; Gentile, Maria Gabriella; Giovannini, Marcello; Lucchin, Lucio; Migliaccio, Pietro; Nicastro, Francesco; Pasanisi, Fabrizio; Piretta, Luca; Radrizzani, Danilo; Roggi, Carla; Rotilio, Giuseppe; Scalfi, Luca; Vettor, Roberto; Vignati, Federico; Battistini, Nino C.; Muscaritoli, Maurizio

2017-01-01

Human nutrition encompasses an extremely broad range of medical, social, commercial, and ethical domains and thus represents a wide, interdisciplinary scientific and cultural discipline. The high prevalence of both disease-related malnutrition and overweight/obesity represents an important risk factor for disease burden and mortality worldwide. It is the opinion of Federation of the Italian Nutrition Societies (FeSIN) that these two sides of the same coin, with their sociocultural background, are related to a low “nutritional culture” secondary, at least in part, to an insufficient academic training for health-care professionals (HCPs). Therefore, FeSIN created a study group, composed of delegates of all the federated societies and representing the different HCPs involved in human nutrition, with the aim of identifying and defining the domains of human nutrition in the attempt to more clearly define the cultural identity of human nutrition in an academically and professionally oriented perspective and to report the conclusions in a position paper. Three main domains of human nutrition, namely, basic nutrition, applied nutrition, and clinical nutrition, were identified. FeSIN has examined the areas of knowledge pertinent to human nutrition. Thirty-two items were identified, attributed to one or more of the three domains and ranked considering their diverse importance for academic training in the different domains of human nutrition. Finally, the study group proposed the attribution of the different areas of knowledge to the degree courses where training in human nutrition is deemed necessary (e.g., schools of medicine, biology, nursing, etc.). It is conceivable that, in the near future, a better integration of the professionals involved in the field of human nutrition will eventually occur based on the progressive consolidation of knowledge, competence, and skills in the different areas and domains of this discipline. PMID:28275609

Formation of Graphene Grain Boundaries on Cu(100) Surface and a Route Towards Their Elimination in Chemical Vapor Deposition Growth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuan, Qinghong; Song, Guangyao; Sun, Deyan; Ding, Feng

2014-10-01

Grain boundaries (GBs) in graphene prepared by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) greatly degrade the electrical and mechanical properties of graphene and thus hinder the applications of graphene in electronic devices. The seamless stitching of graphene flakes can avoid GBs, wherein the identical orientation of graphene domain is required. In this letter, the graphene orientation on one of the most used catalyst surface -- Cu(100) surface, is explored by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Our calculation demonstrates that a zigzag edged hexagonal graphene domain on a Cu(100) surface has two equivalent energetically preferred orientations, which are 30 degree away from each other. Therefore, the fusion of graphene domains on Cu(100) surface during CVD growth will inevitably lead to densely distributed GBs in the synthesized graphene. Aiming to solve this problem, a simple route, that applies external strain to break the symmetry of the Cu(100) surface, was proposed and proved efficient.

“The Early Specialised Bird Catches the Worm!” – A Specialised Sampling Model in the Development of Football Talents

PubMed Central

Sieghartsleitner, Roland; Zuber, Claudia; Zibung, Marc; Conzelmann, Achim

2018-01-01

Characteristics of learning activities in early sport participation play a key role in the development of the sporting talent. Therefore, pathways of specialisation or diversification/sampling are as well debated as the implementation of practice- or play-oriented activities. The related issues are currently perceived as a two-dimensional construct of domain specificity and performance orientation. In this context, it has been shown that early specialisation, with experiences in practice and play, has led to Swiss junior national team football players reaching higher success levels as adults. This study aimed to examine whether a similar approach improves chances of even being selected for junior national teams from a broader sample. Hence, 294 youth players answered retrospective questionnaires on their early sport participation when entering the Swiss football talent development programme. Using the person-oriented Linking of Clusters after removal of a Residue (LICUR) method, volumes of in-club practice, free play and activities besides football until 12 years of age were analysed along with age at initial club participation. According to the results, clusters of Football enthusiasts (p = 0.01) with the most free play and above average in-club practice and Club players (p = 0.02) with the most in-club practice and average free play had a greater chance of reaching junior national team level. Thus, high levels of domain-specific activities seem to increase the chances of junior national team participation. Furthermore, the most successful constellation (Football enthusiasts) may illustrate the relevance of domain-specific diversity, induced by several types of practice and play. In line with previous studies, specialising in football and sampling different experiences within this specific domain seems to be the most promising pathway. Therefore, we argue that the optimal model for the development of football talents is a specialised sampling model. PMID:29515500

Method for obtaining structure and interactions from oriented lipid bilayers

PubMed Central

Lyatskaya, Yulia; Liu, Yufeng; Tristram-Nagle, Stephanie; Katsaras, John; Nagle, John F.

2009-01-01

Precise calculations are made of the scattering intensity I(q) from an oriented stack of lipid bilayers using a realistic model of fluctuations. The quantities of interest include the bilayer bending modulus Kc , the interbilayer interaction modulus B, and bilayer structure through the form factor F(qz). It is shown how Kc and B may be obtained from data at large qz where fluctuations dominate. Good estimates of F(qz) can be made over wide ranges of qz by using I(q) in q regions away from the peaks and for qr≠0 where details of the scattering domains play little role. Rough estimates of domain sizes can also be made from smaller qz data. Results are presented for data taken on fully hydrated, oriented DOPC bilayers in the Lα phase. These results illustrate the advantages of oriented samples compared to powder samples. PMID:11304287

Modeling laser-induced periodic surface structures: Finite-difference time-domain feedback simulations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Skolski, J. Z. P., E-mail: j.z.p.skolski@utwente.nl; Vincenc Obona, J.; Römer, G. R. B. E.

2014-03-14

A model predicting the formation of laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSSs) is presented. That is, the finite-difference time domain method is used to study the interaction of electromagnetic fields with rough surfaces. In this approach, the rough surface is modified by “ablation after each laser pulse,” according to the absorbed energy profile, in order to account for inter-pulse feedback mechanisms. LIPSSs with a periodicity significantly smaller than the laser wavelength are found to “grow” either parallel or orthogonal to the laser polarization. The change in orientation and periodicity follow from the model. LIPSSs with a periodicity larger than the wavelengthmore » of the laser radiation and complex superimposed LIPSS patterns are also predicted by the model.« less

Using a Modelling Language for Supporting University Students' Orienting Activity When Studying Research Methods

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kosonen, Kari; Ilomäki, Liisa; Lakkala, Minna

2015-01-01

The present study focuses on examining how digitally guided conceptual mapping can be used in orienting students in higher education to learn complex domain content and practices. The outcomes of conceptual mapping were investigated as the orienting bases created by the students that used digitalized conceptual tools to construct an external…

The design and characterization of protein based block polymers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haghpanah, Jennifer Shorah

Over the past decades, protein engineering has provided noteworthy advances in basic science as well as in medicine and industry. Protein engineers are currently focusing their efforts on developing elementary rules to design proteins with a specific structure and function. Proteins derived from natural sources have been used generate a plethora of materials with remarkable structural and functional properties. In the first chapter, we show how we can fabricate protein polymers comprised of two different self-assembling domains (SADs). From our studies, we discover that SADs in different orientations have a large impact on their overall microscopic and macroscopic features. In the second chapter, we explore the impact of cellulose (Tc) on the diblocks EC and CE. We discover that Tc is able to selectively impact the mechanical propertied of CE because CE has smaller particle sizes and more E domain exposed on its surface at RT. In the third chapter, we appended an extra C domain to CE to generate CEC with improved mechanical properties, structure and small molecule recognition.

Problems with the concept of deformation phases as illustrated for the Goantagab Domain, NW Namibia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Passchier, C. W.

2010-12-01

The concept of deformation phases is one of the corner stones of structural geology and is used to reconstruct tectonic history in all metamorphic rocks. Despite its simplicity, however, there are situations where the concept breaks down. The junction of the Neoproterozoic-Cambrian Kaoko and Damara Belts in the well-exposed desert of Namibia is ideally suited for a critical assessment of our use of the deformation phase concept. Metaturbidites and granite intrusions in the Goantagab Domain at the junction of the belts record the amalgamation of the Congo, Kalahari and Rio de la Plata Cratons. The local structure is complicated, with km-scale sheath folds, and despite perfectly exposed geology over a large area, could only be reconstructed by detailed structural mapping. Structures can be subdivided into at least four sets, attributed to four deformation phases on the basis of overprinting relations. Three of these sets of structures, however, formed during the same tectonic event under similar metamorphic conditions but slightly different flow regime. These sets show unusual gradational “ring” transitions in space, where older DA structures are reoriented and overprinted by new structures DA+1 that have similar orientation, and seem to grade into DA structures outside the overprinted area. In the core of the Goantagab Domain, D2 is thus reoriented and overprinted by local D2b folds and foliations that have the same orientation and style as D2 structures outside the domain core. This kind of behaviour may be common in inhomogeneous non-coaxial flow in other, less well exposed terrains and would go there unnoticed, leading to erroneous interpretations. An additional general problem is that the geometry of critical structures is laterally highly variable because of changes in (1) lithology; (2) previous structure; (3) metamorphic conditions (4) orientation and geometry of stress and flow tensors and (5) finite strain magnitude. Of these, only (2) and (4) are relevant to understand local tectonics, while the other effects have to be filtered out. Work in the Goantagab Domain shows how such “expressions” of deformation can be organised. Foliation traces in metaturbidites of the Goantagab Domain, central Namibia. S2 and S2b show partially overlapping "ring" transitions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dai, Han; Shin, Ok-Ho; Machius, Mischa

The neuronal protein synaptotagmin 1 functions as a Ca{sup 2+} sensor in exocytosis via two Ca{sup 2+}-binding C{sub 2} domains. The very similar synaptotagmin 4, which includes all the predicted Ca{sup 2+}-binding residues in the C{sub 2}B domain but not in the C{sub 2}A domain, is also thought to function as a neuronal Ca{sup 2+} sensor. Here we show that, unexpectedly, both C{sub 2} domains of fly synaptotagmin 4 exhibit Ca{sup 2+}-dependent phospholipid binding, whereas neither C{sub 2} domain of rat synaptotagmin 4 binds Ca{sup 2+} or phospholipids efficiently. Crystallography reveals that changes in the orientations of critical Ca{sup 2+}more » ligands, and perhaps their flexibility, render the rat synaptotagmin 4 C{sub 2}B domain unable to form full Ca{sup 2+}-binding sites. These results indicate that synaptotagmin 4 is a Ca{sup 2+} sensor in the fly but not in the rat, that the Ca{sup 2+}-binding properties of C{sub 2} domains cannot be reliably predicted from sequence analyses, and that proteins clearly identified as orthologs may nevertheless have markedly different functional properties.« less

Functional Dissection of the Blocking and Bypass Activities of the Fab-8 Boundary in the Drosophila Bithorax Complex.

PubMed

Kyrchanova, Olga; Mogila, Vladic; Wolle, Daniel; Deshpande, Girish; Parshikov, Alexander; Cléard, Fabienne; Karch, Francois; Schedl, Paul; Georgiev, Pavel

2016-07-01

Functionally autonomous regulatory domains direct the parasegment-specific expression of the Drosophila Bithorax complex (BX-C) homeotic genes. Autonomy is conferred by boundary/insulator elements that separate each regulatory domain from its neighbors. For six of the nine parasegment (PS) regulatory domains in the complex, at least one boundary is located between the domain and its target homeotic gene. Consequently, BX-C boundaries must not only block adventitious interactions between neighboring regulatory domains, but also be permissive (bypass) for regulatory interactions between the domains and their gene targets. To elucidate how the BX-C boundaries combine these two contradictory activities, we have used a boundary replacement strategy. We show that a 337 bp fragment spanning the Fab-8 boundary nuclease hypersensitive site and lacking all but 83 bp of the 625 bp Fab-8 PTS (promoter targeting sequence) fully rescues a Fab-7 deletion. It blocks crosstalk between the iab-6 and iab-7 regulatory domains, and has bypass activity that enables the two downstream domains, iab-5 and iab-6, to regulate Abdominal-B (Abd-B) transcription in spite of two intervening boundary elements. Fab-8 has two dCTCF sites and we show that they are necessary both for blocking and bypass activity. However, CTCF sites on their own are not sufficient for bypass. While multimerized dCTCF (or Su(Hw)) sites have blocking activity, they fail to support bypass. Moreover, this bypass defect is not rescued by the full length PTS. Finally, we show that orientation is critical for the proper functioning the Fab-8 replacement. Though the inverted Fab-8 boundary still blocks crosstalk, it disrupts the topology of the Abd-B regulatory domains and does not support bypass. Importantly, altering the orientation of the Fab-8 dCTCF sites is not sufficient to disrupt bypass, indicating that orientation dependence is conferred by other factors.

Functional Dissection of the Blocking and Bypass Activities of the Fab-8 Boundary in the Drosophila Bithorax Complex

PubMed Central

Wolle, Daniel; Deshpande, Girish; Parshikov, Alexander; Cléard, Fabienne; Karch, Francois; Schedl, Paul; Georgiev, Pavel

2016-01-01

Functionally autonomous regulatory domains direct the parasegment-specific expression of the Drosophila Bithorax complex (BX-C) homeotic genes. Autonomy is conferred by boundary/insulator elements that separate each regulatory domain from its neighbors. For six of the nine parasegment (PS) regulatory domains in the complex, at least one boundary is located between the domain and its target homeotic gene. Consequently, BX-C boundaries must not only block adventitious interactions between neighboring regulatory domains, but also be permissive (bypass) for regulatory interactions between the domains and their gene targets. To elucidate how the BX-C boundaries combine these two contradictory activities, we have used a boundary replacement strategy. We show that a 337 bp fragment spanning the Fab-8 boundary nuclease hypersensitive site and lacking all but 83 bp of the 625 bp Fab-8 PTS (promoter targeting sequence) fully rescues a Fab-7 deletion. It blocks crosstalk between the iab-6 and iab-7 regulatory domains, and has bypass activity that enables the two downstream domains, iab-5 and iab-6, to regulate Abdominal-B (Abd-B) transcription in spite of two intervening boundary elements. Fab-8 has two dCTCF sites and we show that they are necessary both for blocking and bypass activity. However, CTCF sites on their own are not sufficient for bypass. While multimerized dCTCF (or Su(Hw)) sites have blocking activity, they fail to support bypass. Moreover, this bypass defect is not rescued by the full length PTS. Finally, we show that orientation is critical for the proper functioning the Fab-8 replacement. Though the inverted Fab-8 boundary still blocks crosstalk, it disrupts the topology of the Abd-B regulatory domains and does not support bypass. Importantly, altering the orientation of the Fab-8 dCTCF sites is not sufficient to disrupt bypass, indicating that orientation dependence is conferred by other factors. PMID:27428541

An object-oriented approach for harmonization of multimedia markup languages

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Yih-Feng; Kuo, May-Chen; Sun, Xiaoming; Kuo, C.-C. Jay

2003-12-01

An object-oriented methodology is proposed to harmonize several different markup languages in this research. First, we adopt the Unified Modelling Language (UML) as the data model to formalize the concept and the process of the harmonization process between the eXtensible Markup Language (XML) applications. Then, we design the Harmonization eXtensible Markup Language (HXML) based on the data model and formalize the transformation between the Document Type Definitions (DTDs) of the original XML applications and HXML. The transformation between instances is also discussed. We use the harmonization of SMIL and X3D as an example to demonstrate the proposed methodology. This methodology can be generalized to various application domains.

The effective magnetoelectric coefficients of polycrystalline Cr2O3 annealed in perpendicular electric and magnetic fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Y. Y.; Xie, S. H.; Jin, G.; Li, J. Y.

2009-04-01

Magnetoelectric annealing is necessary to remove antiferromagnetic domains and induce macroscopic magnetoelectric effect in polycrystalline magnetoelectric materials, and in this paper, we study the effective magnetoelectric properties of perpendicularly annealed polycrystalline Cr2O3 using effective medium approximation. The effect of temperatures, grain aspect ratios, and two different types of orientation distribution function have been analyzed, and unusual material symmetry is observed when the orientation distribution function only depends on Euler angle ψ. Optimal grain aspect ratio and texture coefficient are also identified. The approach can be applied to analyze the microstructural field distribution and macroscopic properties of a wide range of magnetoelectric polycrystals.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Parlinski, K.; Hashi, Y.; Tsunekawa, S.

A model of lanthanum orthoniobate which possesses a ferroelastic tetragonal-monoclinic phase transition is proposed. It contains only one particle per unit cell, but it is constructed consistently with symmetry changes at the phase transition. The model parameters are chosen to reproduce the bare soft mode, degree of deformation of the tetragonal unit cell to monoclinic one, and the phase transition temperature. The ferroelastic system with free boundary conditions was simulated by the molecular dynamics technique, and the second order phase transition was reproduced. The studied annealing process shows formation of the stripe lenticular domain pattern, which has been interrupted bymore » appearance of a temporary band of perpendicularly oriented lenticular domains. The maps contain W{sup {prime}}-type domain walls whose orientations are fixed only by interplay of potential parameters and not by symmetry elements. The simulated domain pattern has the same features as those observed by transmission electron microscopy. {copyright} {ital 1997 Materials Research Society.}« less

Self-powdering and nonlinear optical domain structures in ferroelastic beta'-Gd{sub 2}(MoO{sub 4}){sub 3} crystals formed in glass

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tsukada, Y.; Honma, T.; Komatsu, T., E-mail: komatsu@mst.nagaokaut.ac.j

Ferroelastic beta'-Gd{sub 2}(MoO{sub 4}){sub 3}, (GMO), crystals are formed through the crystallization of 21.25Gd{sub 2}O{sub 3}-63.75MoO{sub 3}-15B{sub 2}O{sub 3} glass (mol%), and two scientific curious phenomena are observed. (1) GMO crystals formed in the crystallization break into small pieces with a triangular prism or pyramid shape having a length of 50-500 {mu}m spontaneously during the crystallizations in the inside of an electric furnace, not during the cooling in air after the crystallization. This phenomenon is called 'self-powdering phenomenon during crystallization' in this paper. (2) Each self-powdered GMO crystal grain shows a periodic domain structure with different refractive indices, and amore » spatially periodic second harmonic generation (SHG) depending on the domain structure is observed. It is proposed from polarized micro-Raman scattering spectra and the azimuthal dependence of second harmonic intensities that GMO crystals are oriented in each crystal grain and the orientation of (MoO{sub 4}){sup 2-} tetrahedra in GMO crystals changes periodically due to spontaneous strains in ferroelastic GMO crystals. - Graphical abstract: This figure shows the polarized optical photograph at room temperature for a particle (piece) obtained by a heat treatment of the glass at 590 deg. C for 2 h in an electric furnace in air. This particle was obtained through the self-powdering behavior in the crystallization of glass. The periodic domain structure is observed. Ferroelastic beta'-Gd{sub 2}(MoO{sub 4}){sub 3} crystals are formed in the particle, and second harmonic generations are detected, depending on the domain structure.« less

Design and application of a mechanical load frame for in situ investigation of ferromagnetic shape memory alloys by magnetic force microscopy.

PubMed

Niklasch, D; Maier, H J; Karaman, I

2008-11-01

An in situ mechanical load frame has been developed for a commercially available atomic force microscope. This frame allows examining changes in topography and magnetic domain configuration under a given constant load or strain. First results obtained on Ni-Mn-Ga ferromagnetic shape memory alloy single crystals are presented. The magnetic force microscopy (MFM) measurements under different strain levels confirm the one-to-one correspondence, i.e., the magnetomicrostructural coupling between the martensite twins and the magnetic domains. Additionally, the growth of the twin variant with favorable orientation to the compression axis during martensite detwinning was observed. It will be shown that this load frame can be used for the investigation of the relationship between the microstructure and the magnetic domain structure in ferromagnetic shape memory alloys by MFM.

Unveiling Inherent Degeneracies in Determining Population-weighted Ensembles of Inter-domain Orientational Distributions Using NMR Residual Dipolar Couplings: Application to RNA Helix Junction Helix Motifs

PubMed Central

Yang, Shan; Al-Hashimi, Hashim M.

2016-01-01

A growing number of studies employ time-averaged experimental data to determine dynamic ensembles of biomolecules. While it is well known that different ensembles can satisfy experimental data to within error, the extent and nature of these degeneracies, and their impact on the accuracy of the ensemble determination remains poorly understood. Here, we use simulations and a recently introduced metric for assessing ensemble similarity to explore degeneracies in determining ensembles using NMR residual dipolar couplings (RDCs) with specific application to A-form helices in RNA. Various target ensembles were constructed representing different domain-domain orientational distributions that are confined to a topologically restricted (<10%) conformational space. Five independent sets of ensemble averaged RDCs were then computed for each target ensemble and a ‘sample and select’ scheme used to identify degenerate ensembles that satisfy RDCs to within experimental uncertainty. We find that ensembles with different ensemble sizes and that can differ significantly from the target ensemble (by as much as ΣΩ ~ 0.4 where ΣΩ varies between 0 and 1 for maximum and minimum ensemble similarity, respectively) can satisfy the ensemble averaged RDCs. These deviations increase with the number of unique conformers and breadth of the target distribution, and result in significant uncertainty in determining conformational entropy (as large as 5 kcal/mol at T = 298 K). Nevertheless, the RDC-degenerate ensembles are biased towards populated regions of the target ensemble, and capture other essential features of the distribution, including the shape. Our results identify ensemble size as a major source of uncertainty in determining ensembles and suggest that NMR interactions such as RDCs and spin relaxation, on their own, do not carry the necessary information needed to determine conformational entropy at a useful level of precision. The framework introduced here provides a general approach for exploring degeneracies in ensemble determination for different types of experimental data. PMID:26131693

Validation of the Chinese Version of the Social Achievement Goal Orientation Scale

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhao, Yanhua; Zhu, Xiangru; Zhao, Guoxiang

2016-01-01

This study examined the validity of a Chinese version of the Social Achievement Goal Orientation Scale (C-SAGOS), a measure testing the trichotomous framework of achievement goal orientations in a social domain. A total of 208 college students (51% female) aged 18 to 23 participated in the study. Factor analyses showed that the three-factor model…

Stepping through the Orientation Looking Glass: A Staged Approach for Postgraduate Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wozniak, Helen; Mahony, Mary Jane; Lever, Tim; Pizzica, Jenny

2009-01-01

Postgraduate coursework is now delivered to a largely mature age study population, in what may be an unfamiliar mix of online and distance learning to many students. This paper reports on a novel approach to student orientation in this new environment. Orientation is conceptualised as a process of transition between the domain of everyday life and…

A Confirmatory Factor Analytic Study of the Goal Orientation Theory of Motivation in Educational Leadership

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCollum, Daniel L.; Kajs, Lawrence T.

2009-01-01

The goal orientation theory of motivation posits sets of beliefs people hold regarding their goals. The 2 x 2 model of goal orientations has received almost no attention in the domain of educational leadership. The present researchers used a confirmatory factor analysis to test a measure based on the hypothesized 2 x 2 model in educational…

Evolution of an ancient protein function involved in organized multicellularity in animals.

PubMed

Anderson, Douglas P; Whitney, Dustin S; Hanson-Smith, Victor; Woznica, Arielle; Campodonico-Burnett, William; Volkman, Brian F; King, Nicole; Thornton, Joseph W; Prehoda, Kenneth E

2016-01-07

To form and maintain organized tissues, multicellular organisms orient their mitotic spindles relative to neighboring cells. A molecular complex scaffolded by the GK protein-interaction domain (GKPID) mediates spindle orientation in diverse animal taxa by linking microtubule motor proteins to a marker protein on the cell cortex localized by external cues. Here we illuminate how this complex evolved and commandeered control of spindle orientation from a more ancient mechanism. The complex was assembled through a series of molecular exploitation events, one of which - the evolution of GKPID's capacity to bind the cortical marker protein - can be recapitulated by reintroducing a single historical substitution into the reconstructed ancestral GKPID. This change revealed and repurposed an ancient molecular surface that previously had a radically different function. We show how the physical simplicity of this binding interface enabled the evolution of a new protein function now essential to the biological complexity of many animals.

The structure and dynamics of tandem WW domains in a negative regulator of notch signaling, Suppressor of deltex.

PubMed

Fedoroff, Oleg Y; Townson, Sharon A; Golovanov, Alexander P; Baron, Martin; Avis, Johanna M

2004-08-13

WW domains mediate protein recognition, usually though binding to proline-rich sequences. In many proteins, WW domains occur in tandem arrays. Whether or how individual domains within such arrays cooperate to recognize biological partners is, as yet, poorly characterized. An important question is whether functional diversity of different WW domain proteins is reflected in the structural organization and ligand interaction mechanisms of their multiple domains. We have determined the solution structure and dynamics of a pair of WW domains (WW3-4) from a Drosophila Nedd4 family protein called Suppressor of deltex (Su(dx)), a regulator of Notch receptor signaling. We find that the binding of a type 1 PPPY ligand to WW3 stabilizes the structure with effects propagating to the WW4 domain, a domain that is not active for ligand binding. Both WW domains adopt the characteristic triple-stranded beta-sheet structure, and significantly, this is the first example of a WW domain structure to include a domain (WW4) lacking the second conserved Trp (replaced by Phe). The domains are connected by a flexible linker, which allows a hinge-like motion of domains that may be important for the recognition of functionally relevant targets. Our results contrast markedly with those of the only previously determined three-dimensional structure of tandem WW domains, that of the rigidly oriented WW domain pair from the RNA-splicing factor Prp40. Our data illustrate that arrays of WW domains can exhibit a variety of higher order structures and ligand interaction mechanisms.

Recovery-oriented service provision and clinical outcomes in assertive community treatment.

PubMed

Kidd, Sean A; George, Lindsey; O'Connell, Maria; Sylvestre, John; Kirkpatrick, Helen; Browne, Gina; Odueyungbo, Adefowope O; Davidson, Larry

2011-01-01

While the term "recovery" is routinely referenced in clinical services and health policy, few studies have examined the relationship between recovery-oriented service provision and client outcomes. The present study was designed to examine the relationship between recovery-orientation of service provision for persons with severe mental illnesses and outcomes in Assertive Community Treatment (ACT). Client, family, staff, and manager ratings of service recovery-orientation and outcomes across a range of service utilization and community functioning indicators were examined among 67 ACT teams in Ontario, Canada. Significant associations were found between ratings of recovery-oriented service provision and better outcomes in the domains of legal involvement, hospitalization days, education involvement, and employment. Results were not uniformly positive or consistent, however, across stakeholder Recovery Self-Assessment (RSA) ratings or outcomes. These findings provide some preliminary support for an association between recovery-oriented service delivery for persons with severe mental illnesses and better outcomes. In line with the current practice commentary, this association would suggest the importance of evaluating and cultivating recovery-oriented values and practices in ACT contexts. This is a particularly salient point given that ACT standards minimally address key domains of recovery-oriented service provision. Further study is required, however, to determine if these findings apply to the implementation of ACT in other jurisdictions or generalize to other community support programs.

GPU-Accelerated Molecular Dynamics Simulation to Study Liquid Crystal Phase Transition Using Coarse-Grained Gay-Berne Anisotropic Potential.

PubMed

Chen, Wenduo; Zhu, Youliang; Cui, Fengchao; Liu, Lunyang; Sun, Zhaoyan; Chen, Jizhong; Li, Yunqi

2016-01-01

Gay-Berne (GB) potential is regarded as an accurate model in the simulation of anisotropic particles, especially for liquid crystal (LC) mesogens. However, its computational complexity leads to an extremely time-consuming process for large systems. Here, we developed a GPU-accelerated molecular dynamics (MD) simulation with coarse-grained GB potential implemented in GALAMOST package to investigate the LC phase transitions for mesogens in small molecules, main-chain or side-chain polymers. For identical mesogens in three different molecules, on cooling from fully isotropic melts, the small molecules form a single-domain smectic-B phase, while the main-chain LC polymers prefer a single-domain nematic phase as a result of connective restraints in neighboring mesogens. The phase transition of side-chain LC polymers undergoes a two-step process: nucleation of nematic islands and formation of multi-domain nematic texture. The particular behavior originates in the fact that the rotational orientation of the mesogenes is hindered by the polymer backbones. Both the global distribution and the local orientation of mesogens are critical for the phase transition of anisotropic particles. Furthermore, compared with the MD simulation in LAMMPS, our GPU-accelerated code is about 4 times faster than the GPU version of LAMMPS and at least 200 times faster than the CPU version of LAMMPS. This study clearly shows that GPU-accelerated MD simulation with GB potential in GALAMOST can efficiently handle systems with anisotropic particles and interactions, and accurately explore phase differences originated from molecular structures.

GPU-Accelerated Molecular Dynamics Simulation to Study Liquid Crystal Phase Transition Using Coarse-Grained Gay-Berne Anisotropic Potential

PubMed Central

Cui, Fengchao; Liu, Lunyang; Sun, Zhaoyan; Chen, Jizhong; Li, Yunqi

2016-01-01

Gay-Berne (GB) potential is regarded as an accurate model in the simulation of anisotropic particles, especially for liquid crystal (LC) mesogens. However, its computational complexity leads to an extremely time-consuming process for large systems. Here, we developed a GPU-accelerated molecular dynamics (MD) simulation with coarse-grained GB potential implemented in GALAMOST package to investigate the LC phase transitions for mesogens in small molecules, main-chain or side-chain polymers. For identical mesogens in three different molecules, on cooling from fully isotropic melts, the small molecules form a single-domain smectic-B phase, while the main-chain LC polymers prefer a single-domain nematic phase as a result of connective restraints in neighboring mesogens. The phase transition of side-chain LC polymers undergoes a two-step process: nucleation of nematic islands and formation of multi-domain nematic texture. The particular behavior originates in the fact that the rotational orientation of the mesogenes is hindered by the polymer backbones. Both the global distribution and the local orientation of mesogens are critical for the phase transition of anisotropic particles. Furthermore, compared with the MD simulation in LAMMPS, our GPU-accelerated code is about 4 times faster than the GPU version of LAMMPS and at least 200 times faster than the CPU version of LAMMPS. This study clearly shows that GPU-accelerated MD simulation with GB potential in GALAMOST can efficiently handle systems with anisotropic particles and interactions, and accurately explore phase differences originated from molecular structures. PMID:26986851

Microtubules Enable the Planar Cell Polarity of Airway Cilia

PubMed Central

Vladar, Eszter K.; Bayly, Roy D.; Sangoram, Ashvin; Scott, Matthew P.; Axelrod, Jeffrey D.

2012-01-01

Summary Background Airway cilia must be physically oriented along the longitudinal tissue axis for concerted, directional motility that is essential for proper mucociliary clearance. Results We show that Planar Cell Polarity (PCP) signaling specifies directionality and orients respiratory cilia. Within all airway epithelial cells a conserved set of PCP proteins shows interdependent, asymmetric junctional localization; non-autonomous signaling coordinates polarization between cells; and a polarized microtubule (MT) network is likely required for asymmetric PCP protein localization. We find that basal bodies dock after polarity of PCP proteins is established, are polarized nearly simultaneously, and refinement of basal body/cilium orientation continues during airway epithelial development. Unique to mature multiciliated cells, we identify PCP-regulated, planar polarized MTs that originate from basal bodies and interact, via their plus ends, with membrane domains associated with the PCP proteins Frizzled and Dishevelled. Disruption of MTs leads to misoriented cilia. Conclusions A conserved PCP pathway orients airway cilia by communicating polarity information from asymmetric membrane domains at the apical junctions, through MTs, to orient the MT and actin based network of ciliary basal bodies below the apical surface. PMID:23122850

Controlling domain orientation of liquid crystalline block copolymer in thin films through tuning mesogenic chemical structures

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xie, He-Lou; Li, Xiao; Ren, Jiaxing

Controlling the macroscopic orientation of nanoscale periodic structures of amphiphilic liquid crystalline block copolymers (LC BCPs) is important to a variety of technical applications (e.g., lithium conducting polymer electrolytes). To study LC BCP domain orientation, a series of LC BCPs containing a poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) block as a conventional hydrophilic coil block and LC blocks containing azobenzene mesogens is designed and synthesized. LC ordering in thin films of the BCP leads to the formation of highly ordered, microphase-separated nanostructures, with hexagonally arranged PEO cylinders. Substitution on the tail of the azobenzene mesogen is shown to control the orientation of themore » PEO cylinders. When the substitution on the mesogenic tails is an alkyl chain, the PEO cylinders have a perpendicular orientation to the substrate surface, provided the thin film is above a critical thickness value. In contrast, when the substitution on the mesogenic tails has an ether group the PEO cylinders assemble parallel to the substrate surface regardless of the film thickness value.« less

Quasi van der Waals epitaxy of copper thin film on single-crystal graphene monolayer buffer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Zonghuan; Sun, Xin; Washington, Morris A.; Lu, Toh-Ming

2018-03-01

Quasi van der Waals epitaxial growth of face-centered cubic Cu (~100 nm) thin films on single-crystal monolayer graphene is demonstrated using thermal evaporation at an elevated substrate temperature of 250 °C. The single-crystal graphene was transferred to amorphous (glass) and crystalline (quartz) SiO2 substrates for epitaxy study. Raman analysis showed that the thermal evaporation method had minimal damage to the graphene lattice during the Cu deposition. X-ray diffraction and electron backscatter diffraction analyses revealed that both Cu films are single-crystal with (1 1 1) out-of-plane orientation and in-plane Σ3 twin domains of 60° rotation. The crystallinity of the SiO2 substrates has a negligible effect on the Cu crystal orientation during the epitaxial growth, implying the strong screening effect of graphene. We also demonstrate the epitaxial growth of polycrystalline Cu on a commercial polycrystalline monolayer graphene consisting of two orientation domains offset 30° to each other. It confirms that the crystal orientation of the epitaxial Cu film follows that of graphene, i.e. the Cu film consists of two orientation domains offset 30° to each other when deposited on polycrystalline graphene. Finally, on the contrary to the report in the literature, we show that the direct current and radio frequency flip sputtering method causes significant damage to the graphene lattice during the Cu deposition process, and therefore neither is a suitable method for Cu epitaxial growth on graphene.

Raman study of local ordering processes of solid n-alkanes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hacura, A.; Zimnicka, B.; Wrzalik, R.

2016-02-01

The microphase separation of n-alkanes with different chain length was investigated by Raman spectroscopy for binary mixture rapidly quenched from the melt. The process was observed as a function of time. The first several minutes after solidification were crucial for the demixing process. For a few weeks old sample the orientational order parameters and were calculated based on the analysis of polarized spectra recorded in the area of the formed domains. The measured values are significantly greater than zero (from 0.17 to 0.32), which indicates the mutual parallel arrangement of the molecules in the domains composed of n-alkanes of the same chain length.

Endothermic decompositions of inorganic monocrystalline thin plates. II. Displacement rate modulation of the reaction front

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bertrand, G.; Comperat, M.; Lallemant, M.

1980-09-01

Copper sulfate pentahydrate dehydration into trihydrate was investigated using monocrystalline platelets with (110) crystallographic orientation. Temperature and pressure conditions were selected so as to obtain elliptical trihydrate domains. The study deals with the evolution, vs time, of elliptical domain dimensions and the evolution, vs water vapor pressure, of the {D}/{d} ratio of ellipse axes and on the other hand of the interface displacement rate along a given direction. The phenomena observed are not basically different from those yielded by the overall kinetic study of the solid sample. Their magnitude, however, is modulated depending on displacement direction. The results are analyzed within the scope of our study of endothermic decomposition of solids.

Efficacy of higher-dose 13.3 mg/24 h (15 cm2) rivastigmine patch on the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-cognitive subscale: domain and individual item analysis.

PubMed

Alva, Gustavo; Isaacson, Richard; Sadowsky, Carl; Grossberg, George; Meng, Xiangyi; Somogyi, Monique

2014-09-01

Rivastigmine displays dose-dependent efficacy on cognition in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), as measured by the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-cognitive subscale (ADAS-cog). Subanalysis of the OPTIMA (OPtimising Transdermal Exelon In Mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease) study aimed to define ADAS-cog domains by factor analysis of individual items. Efficacy of 13.3 mg/24 h versus 9.5 mg/24 h rivastigmine patch on individual items and newly derived domains was assessed. OPTIMA was a 48-week, double-blind (DB) study in patients with mild-to-moderate AD. Patients meeting pre-defined decline criteria during open-label treatment with 9.5 mg/24 h patch were randomized in the DB phase to 13.3 mg/24 h (n = 280) or 9.5 mg/24 h (n = 287) patch. ADAS-cog change from baseline was a co-primary outcome measure. Factor analysis categorized ADAS-cog items into newly derived domains. Change from DB-baseline was calculated for domains and individual items. Numerically, less decline was displayed with 13.3 mg/24 h versus 9.5 mg/24 h patch in the total ADAS-cog score at all time points (significant at Week 24, p = 0.027). Factor analysis identified two domains: memory and language. Significantly, less decline was observed on the memory domain with 13.3 mg/24 h versus 9.5 mg/24 h patch at Weeks 12, 24, and 48 (p < 0.05; observed cases). Three items (following commands, orientation, and word recognition) displayed numerically less decline with 13.3 mg/24 h versus 9.5 mg/24 h patch at all time points. No significant between-group differences were observed on the language domain. Results suggest that the greater cognitive efficacy of 13.3 mg/24 h versus 9.5 mg/24 h rivastigmine patch is driven primarily by effects on memory, particularly in the areas of following commands, orientation, and word recognition. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A collocation--Galerkin finite element model of cardiac action potential propagation.

PubMed

Rogers, J M; McCulloch, A D

1994-08-01

A new computational method was developed for modeling the effects of the geometric complexity, nonuniform muscle fiber orientation, and material inhomogeneity of the ventricular wall on cardiac impulse propagation. The method was used to solve a modification to the FitzHugh-Nagumo system of equations. The geometry, local muscle fiber orientation, and material parameters of the domain were defined using linear Lagrange or cubic Hermite finite element interpolation. Spatial variations of time-dependent excitation and recovery variables were approximated using cubic Hermite finite element interpolation, and the governing finite element equations were assembled using the collocation method. To overcome the deficiencies of conventional collocation methods on irregular domains, Galerkin equations for the no-flux boundary conditions were used instead of collocation equations for the boundary degrees-of-freedom. The resulting system was evolved using an adaptive Runge-Kutta method. Converged two-dimensional simulations of normal propagation showed that this method requires less CPU time than a traditional finite difference discretization. The model also reproduced several other physiologic phenomena known to be important in arrhythmogenesis including: Wenckebach periodicity, slowed propagation and unidirectional block due to wavefront curvature, reentry around a fixed obstacle, and spiral wave reentry. In a new result, we observed wavespeed variations and block due to nonuniform muscle fiber orientation. The findings suggest that the finite element method is suitable for studying normal and pathological cardiac activation and has significant advantages over existing techniques.

Second Generation Product Line Engineering Takes Hold in the DoD

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-01-01

Feature- Oriented Domain Analysis ( FODA ) Feasibility Study” (CMU/SEI-90- TR-021, ADA235785). Pittsburgh, PA: Software Engineering Institute...software product line engineering and software architecture documentation and analysis . Clements is co-author of three practitioner-oriented books about

Collisional spin-oriented Sherman function in electron-hole semiconductor plasmas: Landau damping effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Myoung-Jae; Jung, Young-Dae

2018-04-01

The influence of Landau damping on the spin-oriented collisional asymmetry is investigated in electron-hole semiconductor plasmas. The analytical expressions of the spin-singlet and the spin-triplet scattering amplitudes as well as the spin-oriented asymmetry Sherman function are obtained as functions of the scattering angle, the Landau parameter, the effective Debye length, and the collision energy. It is found that the Landau damping effect enhances the spin-singlet and spin-triplet scattering amplitudes in the forward and back scattering domains, respectively. It is also found that the Sherman function increases with an increase in the Landau parameter. In addition, the spin-singlet scattering process is found to be dominant rather than the spin-triplet scattering process in the high collision energy domain.

Stress dependence of the Raman spectrum of polycrystalline barium titanate in presence of localized domain texture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sakashita, Tatsuo; Deluca, Marco; Yamamoto, Shinsuke; Chazono, Hirokazu; Pezzotti, Giuseppe

2007-06-01

The stress dependence of the Raman spectrum of polycrystalline barium titanate (BaTiO3, BT) ceramics has been examined with microprobe polarized Raman spectroscopy. The angular dependence of the Raman spectrum of the tetragonal BT crystal has been theoretically established, enabling us to assess the stress dependence of selected spectral modes without the influence of crystallographic domain orientation. Upon considering the frequency shift of selected Raman modes as a function of orientation between the crystallographic axis and the polarization vector of incident and scattered light, a suitable instrumental configuration has been selected, which allowed a direct residual stress measurement according to a modified piezospectroscopic procedure. The analysis is based on the selection of mixed photostimulated spectral modes in two perpendicular angular orientations.

Use of NLM medical subject headings with the MeSH2010 thesaurus in the PORTAL-DOORS system.

PubMed

Taswell, Carl

2010-01-01

The NLM MeSH Thesaurus has been incorporated for use in the PORTAL-DOORS System (PDS) for resource metadata management on the semantic web. All 25588 descriptor records from the NLM 2010 MeSH Thesaurus have been exposed as web accessible resources by the PDS MeSH2010 Thesaurus implemented as a PDS PORTAL Registry operating as a RESTful web service. Examples of records from the PDS MeSH2010 PORTAL are demonstrated along with their use by records in other PDS PORTAL Registries that reference the concepts from the MeSH2010 Thesaurus. Use of this important biomedical terminology will greatly enhance the quality of metadata content of other PDS records thus improving cross-domain searches between different problem oriented domains and amongst different clinical specialty fields.

LASER APPLICATIONS AND OTHER TOPICS IN QUANTUM ELECTRONICS: Time-domain polarisation scrambler on one bulk LiNbO3 crystal with quadrupole electrodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davydov, B. L.; Mironov, V. Yu

2010-02-01

As distinct from the classic Billings depolariser, a simple time-domain polarisation scrambler can be made on one crystal possessing a threefold axis among its symmetry elements and displaying a linear electro-optical effect (Pockels effect). We demonstrate a polarisation scrambler on a LiNbO3 uniaxial crystal with two pairs of electrodes to which two harmonic voltages identical in amplitude and differing in phase by 90° are applied. The residual degree of polarisation of the depolarised light, quantified by the polarisation extinction ratio, is less than 0.1 dB. Tolerances on the crystal orientation and the phase difference between the control voltages are estimated. The quality of the crystal is shown to be critical to the performance of the scrambler.

Impact of Domain Analysis on Reuse Methods

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-11-06

return on the investment. The potential negative effects a "bad" domain analysis has on developing systems in the domain also increases the risks of a...importance of domain analysis as part of a software reuse program. A particular goal is to assist in avoiding the potential negative effects of ad hoc or...are specification objects discovered by performing object-oriented analysis. Object-based analysis approaches thus serve to capture a model of reality

Crystal structures of penicillin-binding protein 3 (PBP3) from methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in the apo and cefotaxime-bound forms.

PubMed

Yoshida, Hisashi; Kawai, Fumihiro; Obayashi, Eiji; Akashi, Satoko; Roper, David I; Tame, Jeremy R H; Park, Sam-Yong

2012-10-26

Staphylococcus aureus is a widespread Gram-positive opportunistic pathogen, and a methicillin-resistant form (MRSA) is particularly difficult to treat clinically. We have solved two crystal structures of penicillin-binding protein (PBP) 3 (PBP3) from MRSA, the apo form and a complex with the β-lactam antibiotic cefotaxime, and used electrospray mass spectrometry to measure its sensitivity to a variety of penicillin derivatives. PBP3 is a class B PBP, possessing an N-terminal non-penicillin-binding domain, sometimes called a dimerization domain, and a C-terminal transpeptidase domain. The model shows a different orientation of its two domains compared to earlier models of other class B PBPs and a novel, larger N-domain. Consistent with the nomenclature of "dimerization domain", the N-terminal region forms an apparently tight interaction with a neighboring molecule related by a 2-fold symmetry axis in the crystal structure. This dimer form is predicted to be highly stable in solution by the PISA server, but mass spectrometry and analytical ultracentrifugation provide unequivocal evidence that the protein is a monomer in solution. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

On the predictability of the orientation of protein domains joined by a spanning alpha-helical linker.

PubMed

Lai, Yen-Ting; Jiang, Lin; Chen, Wuyang; Yeates, Todd O

2015-11-01

Connecting proteins together in prescribed geometric arrangements is an important element in new areas of biomolecular design. In this study, we characterize the degree of three-dimensional orientational control that can be achieved when two protein domains that have alpha-helical termini are joined using an alpha-helical linker. A fusion between naturally oligomeric protein domains was designed in this fashion with the intent of creating a self-assembling 12-subunit tetrahedral protein cage. While the designed fusion protein failed to assemble into a tetrahedral cage in high yield, a series of crystal structures showed that the two fused components were indeed bridged by an intact alpha helix, although the fusion protein was distorted from the intended ideal configuration by bending of the helix, ranging from 7 to 35°. That range of deviation in orientation creates challenges for designing large, perfectly symmetric protein assemblies, although it should offer useful outcomes for other less geometrically demanding applications in synthetic biology. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Developing an industry-oriented safety curriculum using the Delphi technique.

PubMed

Chen, Der-Fa; Wu, Tsung-Chih; Chen, Chi-Hsiang; Chang, Shu-Hsuan; Yao, Kai-Chao; Liao, Chin-Wen

2016-09-01

In this study, we examined the development of industry-oriented safety degree curricula at a college level. Based on a review of literature on the practices and study of the development of safety curricula, we classified occupational safety and health curricula into the following three domains: safety engineering, health engineering, and safety and health management. We invited 44 safety professionals to complete a four-round survey that was designed using a modified Delphi technique. We used Chi-square statistics to test the panel experts' consensus on the significance of the items in the three domains and employed descriptive statistics to rank the participants' rating of each item. The results showed that the top three items for each of the three domains were Risk Assessment, Dangerous Machinery and Equipment, and Fire and Explosion Prevention for safety engineering; Ergonomics, Industrial Toxicology, and Health Risk Assessment for health engineering; and Industrial Safety and Health Regulations, Accident Investigation and Analysis, and Emergency Response for safety and health management. Only graduates from safety programmes who possess practical industry-oriented abilities can satisfy industry demands and provide value to the existence of college safety programmes.

Myosin conformational states determined by single fluorophore polarization

PubMed Central

Warshaw, David M.; Hayes, Eric; Gaffney, Donald; Lauzon, Anne-Marie; Wu, Junru; Kennedy, Guy; Trybus, Kathleen; Lowey, Susan; Berger, Christopher

1998-01-01

Muscle contraction is powered by the interaction of the molecular motor myosin with actin. With new techniques for single molecule manipulation and fluorescence detection, it is now possible to correlate, within the same molecule and in real time, conformational states and mechanical function of myosin. A spot-confocal microscope, capable of detecting single fluorophore polarization, was developed to measure orientational states in the smooth muscle myosin light chain domain during the process of motion generation. Fluorescently labeled turkey gizzard smooth muscle myosin was prepared by removal of endogenous regulatory light chain and re-addition of the light chain labeled at cysteine-108 with the 6-isomer of iodoacetamidotetramethylrhodamine (6-IATR). Single myosin molecule fluorescence polarization data, obtained in a motility assay, provide direct evidence that the myosin light chain domain adopts at least two orientational states during the cyclic interaction of myosin with actin, a randomly disordered state, most likely associated with myosin whereas weakly bound to actin, and an ordered state in which the light chain domain adopts a finite angular orientation whereas strongly bound after the powerstroke. PMID:9653135

Crystal structure of a novel conformational state of the flavivirus NS3 protein: implications for polyprotein processing and viral replication.

PubMed

Assenberg, René; Mastrangelo, Eloise; Walter, Thomas S; Verma, Anil; Milani, Mario; Owens, Raymond J; Stuart, David I; Grimes, Jonathan M; Mancini, Erika J

2009-12-01

The flavivirus genome comprises a single strand of positive-sense RNA, which is translated into a polyprotein and cleaved by a combination of viral and host proteases to yield functional proteins. One of these, nonstructural protein 3 (NS3), is an enzyme with both serine protease and NTPase/helicase activities. NS3 plays a central role in the flavivirus life cycle: the NS3 N-terminal serine protease together with its essential cofactor NS2B is involved in the processing of the polyprotein, whereas the NS3 C-terminal NTPase/helicase is responsible for ATP-dependent RNA strand separation during replication. An unresolved question remains regarding why NS3 appears to encode two apparently disconnected functionalities within one protein. Here we report the 2.75-A-resolution crystal structure of full-length Murray Valley encephalitis virus NS3 fused with the protease activation peptide of NS2B. The biochemical characterization of this construct suggests that the protease has little influence on the helicase activity and vice versa. This finding is in agreement with the structural data, revealing a single protein with two essentially segregated globular domains. Comparison of the structure with that of dengue virus type 4 NS2B-NS3 reveals a relative orientation of the two domains that is radically different between the two structures. Our analysis suggests that the relative domain-domain orientation in NS3 is highly variable and dictated by a flexible interdomain linker. The possible implications of this conformational flexibility for the function of NS3 are discussed.

An iterated local search algorithm for the team orienteering problem with variable profits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gunawan, Aldy; Ng, Kien Ming; Kendall, Graham; Lai, Junhan

2018-07-01

The orienteering problem (OP) is a routing problem that has numerous applications in various domains such as logistics and tourism. The objective is to determine a subset of vertices to visit for a vehicle so that the total collected score is maximized and a given time budget is not exceeded. The extensive application of the OP has led to many different variants, including the team orienteering problem (TOP) and the team orienteering problem with time windows. The TOP extends the OP by considering multiple vehicles. In this article, the team orienteering problem with variable profits (TOPVP) is studied. The main characteristic of the TOPVP is that the amount of score collected from a visited vertex depends on the duration of stay on that vertex. A mathematical programming model for the TOPVP is first presented and an algorithm based on iterated local search (ILS) that is able to solve modified benchmark instances is then proposed. It is concluded that ILS produces solutions which are comparable to those obtained by the commercial solver CPLEX for smaller instances. For the larger instances, ILS obtains good-quality solutions that have significantly better objective value than those found by CPLEX under reasonable computational times.

Properties of epitaxial, (001)- and (110)-oriented (PbMg1/3Nb2/3O3)2/3-(PbTiO3)1/3 films on silicon described by polarization rotation

PubMed Central

Boota, Muhammad; Houwman, Evert P.; Dekkers, Matthijn; Nguyen, Minh D.; Vergeer, Kurt H.; Lanzara, Giulia; Koster, Gertjan; Rijnders, Guus

2016-01-01

Abstract Epitaxial (PbMg1/3Nb2/3O3)2/3-(PbTiO3)1/3 (PMN-PT) films with different out-of-plane orientations were prepared using a CeO2/yttria stabilized ZrO2 bilayer buffer and symmetric SrRuO3 electrodes on silicon substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The orientation of the SrRuO3 bottom electrode, either (110) or (001), was controlled by the deposition conditions and the subsequent PMN-PT layer followed the orientation of the bottom electrode. The ferroelectric, dielectric and piezoelectric properties of the (SrRuO3/PMN-PT/SrRuO3) ferroelectric capacitors exhibit orientation dependence. The properties of the films are explained in terms of a model based on polarization rotation. At low applied fields domain switching dominates the polarization change. The model indicates that polarization rotation is easier in the (110) film, which is ascribed to a smaller effect of the clamping on the shearing of the pseudo-cubic unit cell compared to the (001) case. PMID:27877857

A Dictionary Approach to Electron Backscatter Diffraction Indexing.

PubMed

Chen, Yu H; Park, Se Un; Wei, Dennis; Newstadt, Greg; Jackson, Michael A; Simmons, Jeff P; De Graef, Marc; Hero, Alfred O

2015-06-01

We propose a framework for indexing of grain and subgrain structures in electron backscatter diffraction patterns of polycrystalline materials. We discretize the domain of a dynamical forward model onto a dense grid of orientations, producing a dictionary of patterns. For each measured pattern, we identify the most similar patterns in the dictionary, and identify boundaries, detect anomalies, and index crystal orientations. The statistical distribution of these closest matches is used in an unsupervised binary decision tree (DT) classifier to identify grain boundaries and anomalous regions. The DT classifies a pattern as an anomaly if it has an abnormally low similarity to any pattern in the dictionary. It classifies a pixel as being near a grain boundary if the highly ranked patterns in the dictionary differ significantly over the pixel's neighborhood. Indexing is accomplished by computing the mean orientation of the closest matches to each pattern. The mean orientation is estimated using a maximum likelihood approach that models the orientation distribution as a mixture of Von Mises-Fisher distributions over the quaternionic three sphere. The proposed dictionary matching approach permits segmentation, anomaly detection, and indexing to be performed in a unified manner with the additional benefit of uncertainty quantification.

Temporal-frequency tuning of cross-orientation suppression in the cat striate cortex.

PubMed

Allison, J D; Smith, K R; Bonds, A B

2001-01-01

A sinusoidal mask grating oriented orthogonally to and superimposed onto an optimally oriented base grating reduces a cortical neuron's response amplitude. The spatial selectivity of cross-orientation suppression (XOR) has been described, so for this paper we investigated the temporal properties of XOR. We recorded from single striate cortical neurons (n = 72) in anesthetized and paralyzed cats. After quantifying the spatial and temporal characteristics of each cell's excitatory response to a base grating, we measured the temporal-frequency tuning of XOR by systematically varying the temporal frequency of a mask grating placed at a null orientation outside of the cell's excitatory orientation domain. The average preferred temporal frequency of the excitatory response of the neurons in our sample was 3.8 (+/- 1.5 S.D.) Hz. The average cutoff frequency for the sample was 16.3 (+/- 1.7) Hz. The average preferred temporal frequency (7.0 +/- 2.6 Hz) and cutoff frequency (20.4 +/- 6.9 Hz) of the XOR were significantly higher. The differences averaged 1.1 (+/- 0.6) octaves for the peaks and 0.3 (+/- 0.4) octaves for the cutoffs. The XOR mechanism's preference for high temporal frequencies suggests a possible extrastriate origin for the effect and could help explain the low-pass temporal-frequency response profile displayed by most striate cortical neurons.

A path-oriented matrix-based knowledge representation system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Feyock, Stefan; Karamouzis, Stamos T.

1993-01-01

Experience has shown that designing a good representation is often the key to turning hard problems into simple ones. Most AI (Artificial Intelligence) search/representation techniques are oriented toward an infinite domain of objects and arbitrary relations among them. In reality much of what needs to be represented in AI can be expressed using a finite domain and unary or binary predicates. Well-known vector- and matrix-based representations can efficiently represent finite domains and unary/binary predicates, and allow effective extraction of path information by generalized transitive closure/path matrix computations. In order to avoid space limitations a set of abstract sparse matrix data types was developed along with a set of operations on them. This representation forms the basis of an intelligent information system for representing and manipulating relational data.

Ligand Binding to WW Tandem Domains of YAP2 Transcriptional Regulator Is Under Negative Cooperativity

PubMed Central

Schuchardt, Brett J.; Mikles, David C.; Hoang, Lawrence M.; Bhat, Vikas; McDonald, Caleb B.; Sudol, Marius; Farooq, Amjad

2014-01-01

YAP2 transcriptional regulator drives a multitude of cellular processes, including the newly discovered Hippo tumor suppressor pathway, by virtue of the ability of its WW domains to bind and recruit PPXY-containing ligands to specific subcellular compartments. Herein, we employ an array of biophysical tools to investigate allosteric communication between the WW tandem domains of YAP2. Our data show that the WW tandem domains of YAP2 negatively cooperate when binding to their cognate ligands. Moreover, the molecular origin of such negative cooperativity lies in an unfavorable entropic contribution to the overall free energy relative to ligand binding to isolated WW domains. Consistent with this notion, the WW tandem domains adopt a fixed spatial orientation such that the WW1 domain curves outwards and stacks onto the binding groove of WW2 domain, thereby sterically hindering ligand binding to both itself and its tandem partner. Although ligand binding to both WW domains disrupts such interdomain stacking interaction, they reorient themselves and adopt an alternative fixed spatial orientation in the liganded state by virtue of their ability to engage laterally so as to allow their binding grooves to point outwards and away from each other. In short, while the ability of WW tandem domains to aid ligand binding is well-documented, our demonstration that they may also be subject to negative binding cooperativity represents a paradigm shift in our understanding of the molecular action of this ubiquitous family of protein modules. PMID:25283809

Organization Domain Modeling. Volume 1. Conceptual Foundations, Process and Workproduct Description

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-07-31

J.A. Hess, W.E. Novak, and A.S. Peterson. Feature-Oriented Domain Analysis ( FODA ) Feasibility Study. Technical Report CMU/SEI-90-TR-21, Software...domain analysis (DA) and modeling, including a structured set of workproducts, a tailorable process model and a set of modeling techniques and guidelines...23 5.3.1 U sability Analysis (Rescoping) ..................................................... 24

Kinematic evolution of the Mbakop Pan-African granitoids (western Cameroon domain): An integrated AMS and EBSD approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bella Nké, B. E.; Njanko, T.; Mamtani, M. A.; Njonfang, E.; Rochette, P.

2018-06-01

This study integrates anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility, microstructural and crystallographic preferred orientation (CPO) data from the Mbakop granitic pluton (MGP; Pan-African age) in order to decipher its kinematic evolution. The MGP lies close to NE-SW branch of Central Cameroon Shear Zone (CCSZ) and is emplaced in gneissic basement. High mean magnetic susceptibility and presence of multi-domain magnetite are recorded. Quartz CPO measured using Electron Backscatter diffraction reveals dominance of rhomb , prism and prism slip in different samples, which is consistent with microstructures developed under upper greenschist/amphibolite facies conditions. Quartz CPO along with other kinematic indicators (feldspar porphyroclasts/mineral fish) indicate non-coaxial deformation was important during tectonic evolution of the MGP. Contrasting sense of shear is recorded implying multi-stage mylonitization in the Western Cameroon Domain. Top-towards-south sense of shear is related to regional D2 deformation (613-585 Ma), while top-towards-north is related to D3 (585-540 Ma). The magnetic fabric in MGP records D3. The obliquity between mean orientation of magnetic foliation (N12°E) and the NE-SW CCSZ branch (N48°E) gives kinematic vorticity number of 0.95. This indicates dominantly simple shear with a minor pure shear component. It is concluded that regional transpression was important during MGP emplacement.

Nanoscale control of stripe-ordered magnetic domain walls by vertical spin transfer torque in La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 film

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Jing; Wu, Shizhe; Ma, Ji; Xie, Lishan; Wang, Chuanshou; Malik, Iftikhar Ahmed; Zhang, Yuelin; Xia, Ke; Nan, Ce-Wen; Zhang, Jinxing

2018-02-01

Stripe-ordered domains with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy have been intensively investigated due to their potential applications in high-density magnetic data-storage devices. However, the conventional control methods (e.g., epitaxial strain, local heating, magnetic field, and magnetoelectric effect) of the stripe-ordered domain walls either cannot meet the demands for miniaturization and low power consumption of spintronic devices or require high strength of the electric field due to the small value of the magnetoelectric effect at room temperature. Here, a domain-wall resistive effect of 0.1% was clarified in La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 thin films between the configurations of current in the plane and perpendicular to the plane of walls. Furthermore, a reversible nanoscale control of the domain-wall re-orientation by vertical spin transfer torque across the probe/film interface was achieved, where a probe voltage of 0.1 V was applied on a manganite-based capacitor. We also demonstrated that the stripe-ordered magnetic domain-wall re-orientation strongly depends on the AC frequency of the scanning probe voltage which was applied on the capacitor.

Physical vapor deposition as a route to glasses with liquid crystalline order

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gomez, Jaritza

Physical vapor deposition (PVD) is an effective route to prepare glasses with a unique combination of properties. Substrate temperatures near the glass transition (Tg) and slow deposition rates can access enhanced mobility at the surface of the glass allowing molecules at the surface additional time to sample different molecular configurations. The temperature of the substrate can be used to control molecular mobility during deposition and properties in the resulting glasses such as higher density, kinetic stability and preferential molecular orientation. PVD was used to prepare glasses of itraconazole, a smectic A liquid crystal. We characterized molecular orientation using infrared and ellipsometry. Molecular orientation can be controlled by choice of Tsubstrate in a range of temperatures near Tg. Glasses deposited at Tsubstrate = Tg show nearly vertical molecular orientation relative to the substrate; at lower Tsubstrate, molecules are nearly parallel to the substrate. The molecular orientation depends on the temperature of the substrate during preparation and not on the molecular orientation of the underlying layer. This allows preparing samples of layers with differing orientations. We find these glasses are homogeneous solids without evidence of domain boundaries and are molecularly flat. We interpret the combination of properties obtained for vapor-deposited glasses of itraconazole to result from a process where molecular orientation is determined by the structure and dynamics at the free surface of the glass during deposition. We report the thermal and structural properties of glasses prepared using PVD of a rod-like molecule, posaconazole, which does not show equilibrium liquid crystal phases. These glasses show substantial molecular orientation that can be controlled by choice of Tsubstrate during deposition. Ellipsometry and IR indicate that glasses prepared at Tg - 3 K are highly ordered. At these Tsubstrate, molecules show preferential vertical orientation and orientation is similar to that measured in aligned nematic liquid crystal. Our results are consistent with a recently proposed mechanism where molecular orientation in equilibrium liquids can be trapped in PVD glasses and suggest that the orientation at the free surface of posaconazole is nematic-like. In addition, we show posaconazole glasses show high kinetic stability controlled by Tsubstrate.

Digital Library Collaboration: A Service-Oriented Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buchanan, Steven; Gibb, Forbes; Simmons, Susan; McMenemy, David

2012-01-01

Collaboration in the digital domain offers an opportunity to provide enhanced digital services and extended reach to the community. This article adopts a service-oriented perspective through which it considers environmental drivers for digital library collaboration; discusses emergent collaborative partnerships across UK educational institutions,…

Loop L5 Assumes Three Distinct Orientations during the ATPase Cycle of the Mitotic Kinesin Eg5

PubMed Central

Muretta, Joseph M.; Behnke-Parks, William M.; Major, Jennifer; Petersen, Karl J.; Goulet, Adeline; Moores, Carolyn A.; Thomas, David D.; Rosenfeld, Steven S.

2013-01-01

Members of the kinesin superfamily of molecular motors differ in several key structural domains, which probably allows these molecular motors to serve the different physiologies required of them. One of the most variable of these is a stem-loop motif referred to as L5. This loop is longest in the mitotic kinesin Eg5, and previous structural studies have shown that it can assume different conformations in different nucleotide states. However, enzymatic domains often consist of a mixture of conformations whose distribution shifts in response to substrate binding or product release, and this information is not available from the “static” images that structural studies provide. We have addressed this issue in the case of Eg5 by attaching a fluorescent probe to L5 and examining its fluorescence, using both steady state and time-resolved methods. This reveals that L5 assumes an equilibrium mixture of three orientations that differ in their local environment and segmental mobility. Combining these studies with transient state kinetics demonstrates that there is a major shift in this distribution during transitions that interconvert weak and strong microtubule binding states. Finally, in conjunction with previous cryo-EM reconstructions of Eg5·microtubule complexes, these fluorescence studies suggest a model in which L5 regulates both nucleotide and microtubule binding through a set of reversible interactions with helix α3. We propose that these features facilitate the production of sustained opposing force by Eg5, which underlies its role in supporting formation of a bipolar spindle in mitosis. PMID:24145034

Oriented conjugation of single-domain antibodies and quantum dots.

PubMed

Brazhnik, Kristina; Nabiev, Igor; Sukhanova, Alyona

2014-01-01

Nanoparticle-based biodetection routinely employs monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) for targeting. However, the large size of mAbs limits the number of ligands per nanoparticle and severely restricts the bioavailability and distribution of these probes in a sample. Furthermore, conventional conjugation techniques provide nanoprobes with irregular orientation of mAbs on the nanoparticle surface and often provoke mAb unfolding. Here, we describe a protocol for engineering a new generation of ultrasmall diagnostic nanoprobes through oriented conjugation of semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) with 13 kDa single-domain antibodies (sdAbs) derived from llama immunoglobulin G (IgG). The sdAbs are conjugated with QDs in a highly oriented manner via an additional cysteine residue specifically integrated into the sdAb C-terminus. The resultant nanoprobes are <12 nm in diameter, ten times smaller in volume compared to the known alternatives. They have been proved highly efficient in flow cytometry and immunuhistochemical diagnostics. This approach can be easily extended to other semiconductor and plasmonic nanoparticles.

Conformation of single block copolymer chain in two-dimensional microphase-separated structure studied by scanning near-field optical microscopy.

PubMed

Sekine, Ryojun; Aoki, Hiroyuki; Ito, Shinzaburo

2009-05-21

The localization and orientation of the symmetric diblock copolymer chain in a quasi-two-dimensional microphase-separated structure were studied by scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM). In the monolayer of poly(isobutyl methacrylate)-block-poly(octadecyl methacrylate) (PiBMA-b-PODMA), the individual PiBMA subchains were directly observed by SNOM, and the center of mass (CM) and orientational angle relative to the phase interface were examined at the single chain level. It was found that the position of the CM and the orientation of the PiBMA subchain in the lamellar structure were dependent on the curvature of the PiBMA/PODMA interface. As the interface was bent toward the objective chain, the block chain preferred the CM position closer to the domain center, and the conformation was strongly oriented perpendicularly to the domain interface. With increase of the curvature, the steric hindrance among the block chain increases, resulting in the stretched conformation.

Local twin domains and tip-voltage-induced domain switching of monoclinic M C phase in Pb ( M g 1 / 3 N b 2 / 3 ) O 3 - 0.34 PbTi O 3 single crystal revealed by piezoresponse force microscopy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Ruixue; Yang, Bin; Luo, Zhenlin

2016-08-29

Here, the monoclinic (M) phases in high-performance relaxor-based ferroelectric single crystals have been recognized to be a vital structural factor for the outstanding piezoelectric property. However, due to the complexity of the structure in M phases, the understanding about it is still limited. In this paper, the local twin domains and tip-voltage-induced domain switching of the M C phase in Pb(Mg 1/3Nb 2/3)O 3 - 0.34PbTiO 3 (PMN-0.34PT) single crystal have been intensively investigated by piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM). By theoretically analyzing the experimental patterns of domain walls on the (001) C face, the specific M C twin domains inmore » the initial annealed state of a selected area have been clarified, and the polarization orientation of the M C phase in this sample is determined to be at an angle of 29 degrees to the < 001 > C directions. In addition, based on the evolution of domains and the motion of domain walls under the step-increased PFM tip dc voltage (V dc), the switching process and features of different types of M C domain variants are visually revealed« less

Protein covalent immobilization via its scarce thiol versus abundant amine groups: Effect on orientation, cell binding domain exposure and conformational lability.

PubMed

Ba, O M; Hindie, M; Marmey, P; Gallet, O; Anselme, K; Ponche, A; Duncan, A C

2015-10-01

Quantity, orientation, conformation and covalent linkage of naturally cell adhesive proteins adsorbed or covalently linked to a surface, are known to influence the preservation of their subsequent long term cell adhesion properties and bioactivity. In the present work, we explore two different strategies for the covalent linking of plasma fibronectin (pFN) - used as a cell adhesive model protein, onto a polystyrene (PS) surface. One is aimed at tethering the protein to the surface in a semi-oriented fashion (via one of the 4 free thiol reactive groups on the protein) with a heterofunctional coupling agent (SSMPB method). The other aims to immobilize the protein in a more random fashion by reaction between the abundant pendant primary amine bearing amino acids of the pFN and activated carboxylic surface functions obtained after glutaric anhydride surface treatment (GA method). The overall goal will be to verify the hypothesis of a correlation between covalent immobilization of a model cell adhesive protein to a PS surface in a semi-oriented configuration (versus randomly oriented) with promotion of enhanced exposure of the protein's cell binding domain. This in turn would lead to enhanced cell adhesion. Ideally the goal is to elaborate substrates exhibiting a long term stable protein monolayer with preserved cell adhesive properties and bioactivity for biomaterial and/or cell adhesion commercial plate applications. However, the initial restrictive objective of this paper is to first quantitatively and qualitatively investigate the reversibly (merely adsorbed) versus covalently irreversibly bound protein to the surface after the immobilization procedure. Although immobilized surface amounts were similar (close to the monolayer range) for all immobilization approaches, covalent grafting showed improved retention and stronger "tethering" of the pFN protein to the surface (roughly 40%) after SDS rinsing compared to that for mere adsorption (0%) suggesting an added value to the covalent grafting immobilization methods. However no differences in exposure of the cell binding domains were observed (ELISA results) before SDS rinsing, suggesting that pFN protein grafting to the surface is initially kinetically driven be a stochastic random adsorption phenomenon. Covalent grafting acts in the final stage as a process that simply tethers and stabilizes (or freezes) the initial conformation/orientation of the adsorbed protein on the surface. In addition covalent linkage via the SSMPB approach is likely favored by surface-induce exposure of one of the normally hidden free thiol group pair, thus optimizing covalent linkage to the surface. However after SDS rinsing, this "tethering"/"freezing" effect was significantly more prominent for the GA grafting approach (due to greater number of potential covalent links between the protein and the surface) compared to that for the SSMPB approach. This hypothesis was buttressed by the improved resistance to denaturation (smaller conformational lability) for the GA compared to the SMPB approach and improved exposure of the cell binding domain for the former (>50%) even after SDS rinsing. These results are promising in that they suggest covalent tethering of fibronectin to PS substrate in a monolayer range, with significantly improved irreversible protein surface bonding via both approaches (compared to that for mere adsorption). The latter are likely applicable to a wide range of proteins. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Structure of a double ubiquitin-like domain in the talin head: a role in integrin activation

PubMed Central

Goult, Benjamin T; Bouaouina, Mohamed; Elliott, Paul R; Bate, Neil; Patel, Bipin; Gingras, Alexandre R; Grossmann, J Günter; Roberts, Gordon C K; Calderwood, David A; Critchley, David R; Barsukov, Igor L

2010-01-01

Talin is a 270-kDa protein that activates integrins and couples them to cytoskeletal actin. Talin contains an N-terminal FERM domain comprised of F1, F2 and F3 domains, but it is atypical in that F1 contains a large insert and is preceded by an extra domain F0. Although F3 contains the binding site for β-integrin tails, F0 and F1 are also required for activation of β1-integrins. Here, we report the solution structures of F0, F1 and of the F0F1 double domain. Both F0 and F1 have ubiquitin-like folds joined in a novel fixed orientation by an extensive charged interface. The F1 insert forms a loop with helical propensity, and basic residues predicted to reside on one surface of the helix are required for binding to acidic phospholipids and for talin-mediated activation of β1-integrins. This and the fact that basic residues on F2 and F3 are also essential for integrin activation suggest that extensive interactions between the talin FERM domain and acidic membrane phospholipids are required to orientate the FERM domain such that it can activate integrins. PMID:20150896

Eigenvalue sensitivity analysis of planar frames with variable joint and support locations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chuang, Ching H.; Hou, Gene J. W.

1991-01-01

Two sensitivity equations are derived in this study based upon the continuum approach for eigenvalue sensitivity analysis of planar frame structures with variable joint and support locations. A variational form of an eigenvalue equation is first derived in which all of the quantities are expressed in the local coordinate system attached to each member. Material derivative of this variational equation is then sought to account for changes in member's length and orientation resulting form the perturbation of joint and support locations. Finally, eigenvalue sensitivity equations are formulated in either domain quantities (by the domain method) or boundary quantities (by the boundary method). It is concluded that the sensitivity equation derived by the boundary method is more efficient in computation but less accurate than that of the domain method. Nevertheless, both of them in terms of computational efficiency are superior to the conventional direct differentiation method and the finite difference method.

Influence of copper morphology in forming nucleation seeds for graphene growth.

PubMed

Han, Gang Hee; Güneş, Fethullah; Bae, Jung Jun; Kim, Eun Sung; Chae, Seung Jin; Shin, Hyeon-Jin; Choi, Jae-Young; Pribat, Didier; Lee, Young Hee

2011-10-12

We report that highly crystalline graphene can be obtained from well-controlled surface morphology of the copper substrate. Flat copper surface was prepared by using a chemical mechanical polishing method. At early growth stage, the density of graphene nucleation seeds from polished Cu film was much lower and the domain sizes of graphene flakes were larger than those from unpolished Cu film. At later growth stage, these domains were stitched together to form monolayer graphene, where the orientation of each domain crystal was unexpectedly not much different from each other. We also found that grain boundaries and intentionally formed scratched area play an important role for nucleation seeds. Although the best monolayer graphene was grown from polished Cu with a low sheet resistance of 260 Ω/sq, a small portion of multilayers were also formed near the impurity particles or locally protruded parts.

Generation of Natural-Language Textual Summaries from Longitudinal Clinical Records.

PubMed

Goldstein, Ayelet; Shahar, Yuval

2015-01-01

Physicians are required to interpret, abstract and present in free-text large amounts of clinical data in their daily tasks. This is especially true for chronic-disease domains, but holds also in other clinical domains. We have recently developed a prototype system, CliniText, which, given a time-oriented clinical database, and appropriate formal abstraction and summarization knowledge, combines the computational mechanisms of knowledge-based temporal data abstraction, textual summarization, abduction, and natural-language generation techniques, to generate an intelligent textual summary of longitudinal clinical data. We demonstrate our methodology, and the feasibility of providing a free-text summary of longitudinal electronic patient records, by generating summaries in two very different domains - Diabetes Management and Cardiothoracic surgery. In particular, we explain the process of generating a discharge summary of a patient who had undergone a Coronary Artery Bypass Graft operation, and a brief summary of the treatment of a diabetes patient for five years.

Holocene compression in the Acequión valley (Andes Precordillera, San Juan province, Argentina): Geomorphic, tectonic, and paleoseismic evidence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Audemard, M.; Franck, A.; Perucca, L.; Laura, P.; Pantano, Ana; Avila, Carlos R.; Onorato, M. Romina; Vargas, Horacio N.; Alvarado, Patricia; Viete, Hewart

2016-04-01

The Matagusanos-Maradona-Acequión Valley sits within the Andes Precordillera fold-thrust belt of western Argentina. It is an elongated topographic depression bounded by the roughly N-S trending Precordillera Central and Oriental in the San Juan Province. Moreover, it is not a piggy-back basin as we could have expected between two ranges belonging to a fold-thrust belt, but a very active tectonic corridor coinciding with a thick-skinned triangular zone, squeezed between two different tectonic domains. The two domains converge, where the Precordillera Oriental has been incorporated to the Sierras Pampeanas province, becoming the western leading edge of the west-verging broken foreland Sierras Pampeanas domain. This latter province has been in turn incorporated into the active deformation framework of the Andes back-arc at these latitudes as a result of enhanced coupling between the converging plates due to the subduction of the Juan Fernández ridge that flattens the Nazca slab under the South American continent. This study focuses on the neotectonics of the southern tip of this N-S elongated depression, known as Acequión (from the homonym river that crosses the area), between the Del Agua and Los Pozos rivers. This depression dies out against the transversely oriented Precordillera Sur, which exhibits a similar tectonic style as Precordillera Occidental and Central (east-verging fold-thrust belt). This contribution brings supporting evidence of the ongoing deformation during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene of the triangular zone bounded between the two leading and converging edges of Precordillera Central and Oriental thrust fronts, recorded in a multi-episodic lake sequence of the Acequión and Nikes rivers. The herein gathered evidence comprise Late Pleistocene-Holocene landforms of active thrusting, fault kinematics (micro-tectonic) data and outcrop-scale (meso-tectonic) faulting and folding of recent lake and alluvial sequences. In addition, seismically-induced effects already reported in the literature by this working team further support the tectonic activity of neighboring faults in the Holocene. As a concluding remark we could state that the ongoing deformation in the region under study is driven by a compressional regime whose maximum horizontal stress in the late Pleistocene-Holocene is roughly east-west oriented. This is further supported by focal mechanism solutions.

Greater self-enhancement in Western than Eastern Ukraine, but failure to replicate the Muhammad Ali effect.

PubMed

Kemmelmeier, Markus; Malanchuk, Oksana

2016-02-01

Based on the cross-cultural research linking individualism-collectivism and self-enhancement, this research examines regional pattern of self-enhancement in Ukraine. Broadly speaking, the western part of Ukraine is mainly Ukrainian speaking and historically oriented towards Europe, whereas Eastern Ukraine is mainly Russian speaking and historically oriented towards the Russian cultural sphere. We found self-enhancement on a "better than average" task to be higher in a Western Ukrainian sample compared to an Eastern Ukrainian sample, with differences in independent self-construals supporting assumed regional variation in individualism. However, the Muhammad Ali effect, the finding that self-enhancement is greater in the domain of morality than intelligence, was not replicated. The discussion focuses on the specific sources of this regional difference in self-enhancement, and reasons for why the Muhammad Ali effect was not found. © 2015 International Union of Psychological Science.

Integrating heterogeneous databases in clustered medic care environments using object-oriented technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thakore, Arun K.; Sauer, Frank

1994-05-01

The organization of modern medical care environments into disease-related clusters, such as a cancer center, a diabetes clinic, etc., has the side-effect of introducing multiple heterogeneous databases, often containing similar information, within the same organization. This heterogeneity fosters incompatibility and prevents the effective sharing of data amongst applications at different sites. Although integration of heterogeneous databases is now feasible, in the medical arena this is often an ad hoc process, not founded on proven database technology or formal methods. In this paper we illustrate the use of a high-level object- oriented semantic association method to model information found in different databases into an integrated conceptual global model that integrates the databases. We provide examples from the medical domain to illustrate an integration approach resulting in a consistent global view, without attacking the autonomy of the underlying databases.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yu, Qi; Zhu, Fang-Yuan; Cheng, Li-Qian

Crystallographic structure of sol-gel-processed lead-free (K,Na)NbO{sub 3} (KNN) epitaxial films on [100]-cut SrTiO{sub 3} single-crystalline substrates was investigated for a deeper understanding of its piezoelectric response. Lattice parameter measurement by high-resolution X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy revealed that the orthorhombic KNN films on SrTiO{sub 3} (100) surfaces are [010] oriented (b-axis-oriented) rather than commonly identified c-axis orientation. Based on the crystallographic orientation and corresponding ferroelectric domain structure investigated by piezoresponse force microscopy, the superior piezoelectric property along b-axis of epitaxial KNN films than other orientations can be explained.

Intradomain phase transitions in flexible block copolymers with self-aligning segments.

PubMed

Burke, Christopher J; Grason, Gregory M

2018-05-07

We study a model of flexible block copolymers (BCPs) in which there is an enlthalpic preference for orientational order, or local alignment, among like-block segments. We describe a generalization of the self-consistent field theory of flexible BCPs to include inter-segment orientational interactions via a Landau-de Gennes free energy associated with a polar or nematic order parameter for segments of one component of a diblock copolymer. We study the equilibrium states of this model numerically, using a pseudo-spectral approach to solve for chain conformation statistics in the presence of a self-consistent torque generated by inter-segment alignment forces. Applying this theory to the structure of lamellar domains composed of symmetric diblocks possessing a single block of "self-aligning" polar segments, we show the emergence of spatially complex segment order parameters (segment director fields) within a given lamellar domain. Because BCP phase separation gives rise to spatially inhomogeneous orientation order of segments even in the absence of explicit intra-segment aligning forces, the director fields of BCPs, as well as thermodynamics of lamellar domain formation, exhibit a highly non-linear dependence on both the inter-block segregation (χN) and the enthalpy of alignment (ε). Specifically, we predict the stability of new phases of lamellar order in which distinct regions of alignment coexist within the single mesodomain and spontaneously break the symmetries of the lamella (or smectic) pattern of composition in the melt via in-plane tilt of the director in the centers of the like-composition domains. We further show that, in analogy to Freedericksz transition confined nematics, the elastic costs to reorient segments within the domain, as described by the Frank elasticity of the director, increase the threshold value ε needed to induce this intra-domain phase transition.

Intradomain phase transitions in flexible block copolymers with self-aligning segments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burke, Christopher J.; Grason, Gregory M.

2018-05-01

We study a model of flexible block copolymers (BCPs) in which there is an enlthalpic preference for orientational order, or local alignment, among like-block segments. We describe a generalization of the self-consistent field theory of flexible BCPs to include inter-segment orientational interactions via a Landau-de Gennes free energy associated with a polar or nematic order parameter for segments of one component of a diblock copolymer. We study the equilibrium states of this model numerically, using a pseudo-spectral approach to solve for chain conformation statistics in the presence of a self-consistent torque generated by inter-segment alignment forces. Applying this theory to the structure of lamellar domains composed of symmetric diblocks possessing a single block of "self-aligning" polar segments, we show the emergence of spatially complex segment order parameters (segment director fields) within a given lamellar domain. Because BCP phase separation gives rise to spatially inhomogeneous orientation order of segments even in the absence of explicit intra-segment aligning forces, the director fields of BCPs, as well as thermodynamics of lamellar domain formation, exhibit a highly non-linear dependence on both the inter-block segregation (χN) and the enthalpy of alignment (ɛ). Specifically, we predict the stability of new phases of lamellar order in which distinct regions of alignment coexist within the single mesodomain and spontaneously break the symmetries of the lamella (or smectic) pattern of composition in the melt via in-plane tilt of the director in the centers of the like-composition domains. We further show that, in analogy to Freedericksz transition confined nematics, the elastic costs to reorient segments within the domain, as described by the Frank elasticity of the director, increase the threshold value ɛ needed to induce this intra-domain phase transition.

Voltage control of magnetic single domains in Ni discs on ferroelectric BaTiO3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghidini, M.; Zhu, B.; Mansell, R.; Pellicelli, R.; Lesaine, A.; Moya, X.; Crossley, S.; Nair, B.; Maccherozzi, F.; Barnes, C. H. W.; Cowburn, R. P.; Dhesi, S. S.; Mathur, N. D.

2018-06-01

For 1 µm-diameter Ni discs on a BaTiO3 substrate, the local magnetization direction is determined by ferroelectric domain orientation as a consequence of growth strain, such that single-domain discs lie on single ferroelectric domains. On applying a voltage across the substrate, ferroelectric domain switching yields non-volatile magnetization rotations of 90°, while piezoelectric effects that are small and continuous yield non-volatile magnetization reversals that are non-deterministic. This demonstration of magnetization reversal without ferroelectric domain switching implies reduced fatigue, and therefore represents a step towards applications.

Recovery-Oriented Services--The Role of Training in Transformation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nowak, Izabela; Switaj, Piotr; Anczewska, Marta

2015-01-01

Recovery oriented practice/service provision is how workers and services support people in their recovery journey. There are four identified practice domains: promoting citizenship, organizational commitment, supporting personally defined recovery, and working relationship. Professionals might be helpful if they are willing to be open, respectful…

What does recovery mean in practice? A qualitative analysis of international recovery-oriented practice guidance.

PubMed

Le Boutillier, Clair; Leamy, Mary; Bird, Victoria J; Davidson, Larry; Williams, Julie; Slade, Mike

2011-12-01

Recovery is a multifaceted concept, and the need for operationalization in practice has been identified. Although guidance on recovery-oriented practice exists, it is from disparate sources and is difficult to apply. The aims of the study were to identify the key characteristics of recovery-oriented practice guidance on the basis of current international perspectives and to develop an overarching conceptual framework to aid the translation of recovery guidance into practice. A qualitative analysis of 30 international documents offering recovery-oriented practice guidance was conducted. Inductive, semantic-level, thematic analysis was used to identify dominant themes. Interpretive analysis was then undertaken to group the themes into practice domains. The guidance documents were diverse; from six countries-the United States, England, Scotland, Republic of Ireland, Denmark, and New Zealand-and varied in document type, categories of guidance, and level of service user involvement in guidance development. The emerging conceptual framework consists of 16 dominant themes, grouped into four practice domains: promoting citizenship, organizational commitment, supporting personally defined recovery, and working relationship. A key challenge for mental health services is the lack of clarity about what constitutes recovery-oriented practice. The conceptual framework contributes to this knowledge gap and provides a synthesis of recovery-oriented practice guidance.

Polarization switching behavior of one-axis-oriented lead zirconate titanate films fabricated on metal oxide nanosheet layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Uchida, Hiroshi; Ichinose, Daichi; Shiraishi, Takahisa; Shima, Hiromi; Kiguchi, Takanori; Akama, Akihiko; Nishida, Ken; Konno, Toyohiko J.; Funakubo, Hiroshi

2017-10-01

For the application of electronic devices using ferroelectric/piezoelectric components, one-axis-oriented tetragonal Pb(Zr0.40Ti0.60)O3 (PZT) films with thicknesses of up to 1 µm were fabricated with the aid of a Ca2Nb3O10 nanosheet (ns-CN) template for preferential crystal growth for evaluating their polarization switching behavior. The ns-CN template was supported on ubiquitous silicon (Si) wafer by a simple dip coating technique, followed by the repetitive chemical solution deposition (CSD) of PZT films. The PZT films were grown successfully with preferential crystal orientation of PZT(100) up to the thickness of 1020 nm. The (100)-oriented PZT film with ∼1 µm thickness exhibited unique polarization behavior of ferroelectric polarization, i.e., a marked increase in remanent polarization (P r) up to approximately 40 µC/cm2 induced by domain switching under high electric field, whereas the film with a lower thickness showed only a lower P r of approximately 11 µC/cm2 even under a high electric field. The ferroelectric property of the (100)-oriented PZT film after domain switching on ns-CN/Pt/Si can be comparable to those of (001)/(100)-oriented epitaxial PZT films.

Rural-to-Urban Migrants' Experiences with Primary Care under Different Types of Medical Institutions in Guangzhou, China

PubMed Central

Zeng, Jiazhi; Shi, Leiyu; Zou, Xia; Chen, Wen; Ling, Li

2015-01-01

Objectives China is facing the unprecedented challenge of rapidly increasing rural-to-urban migration. Migrants are in a vulnerable state when they attempt to access to primary care services. This study was designed to explore rural-to-urban migrants’ experiences in primary care, comparing their quality of primary care experiences under different types of medical institutions in Guangzhou, China. Methods The study employed a cross-sectional survey of 736 rural-to-urban migrants in Guangzhou, China in 2014. A validated Chinese version of Primary Care Assessment Tool—Adult Short Version (PCAT-AS), representing 10 primary care domains was used to collect information on migrants’ quality of primary care experiences. These domains include first contact (utilization), first contact (accessibility), ongoing care, coordination (referrals), coordination (information systems), comprehensiveness (services available), comprehensiveness (services provided), family-centeredness, community orientation and culturally competent. These measures were used to assess the quality of primary care performance as reported from patients’ perspective. Analysis of covariance was conducted for comparison on PCAT scores among migrants accessing primary care in tertiary hospitals, municipal hospitals, community health centers/community health stations, and township health centers/rural health stations. Multiple linear regression models were used to explore factors associated with PCAT total scores. Results After adjustments were made, migrants accessing primary care in tertiary hospitals (25.49) reported the highest PCAT total scores, followed by municipal hospitals (25.02), community health centers/community health stations (24.24), and township health centers/rural health stations (24.18). Tertiary hospital users reported significantly better performance in first contact (utilization), first contact (accessibility), coordination (information system), comprehensiveness (service available), and cultural competence. Community health center/community health station users reported significantly better experience in the community orientation domain. Township health center/rural health station users expressed significantly better experience in the ongoing care domain. There were no statistically significant differences across settings in the ongoing care, comprehensiveness (services provided), and family-centeredness domains. Multiple linear regression models showed that factors positively associated with higher PCAT total scores also included insurance covering parts of healthcare payment (P<0.001). Conclusions This study highlights the need for improvement in primary care provided by primary care institutions for rural-to-urban migrants. Relevant policies related to medical insurance should be implemented for providing affordable healthcare services for migrants accessing primary care. PMID:26474161

Phase-field model of domain structures in ferroelectric thin films

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, Y. L.; Hu, S. Y.; Liu, Z. K.

A phase-field model for predicting the coherent microstructure evolution in constrained thin films is developed. It employs an analytical elastic solution derived for a constrained film with arbitrary eigenstrain distributions. The domain structure evolution during a cubic{r_arrow}tetragonal proper ferroelectric phase transition is studied. It is shown that the model is able to simultaneously predict the effects of substrate constraint and temperature on the volume fractions of domain variants, domain-wall orientations, domain shapes, and their temporal evolution. {copyright} 2001 American Institute of Physics.

Fatigue mechanism of textured Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-PbTiO3 ceramics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, Yongke; Zhou, Yuan; Gupta, Shashaank; Priya, Shashank

2013-08-01

Grain orientation, BaTiO3 heterogeneous template content, and electrode materials are expected to play an important role in controlling the polarization fatigue behavior of ⟨001⟩ textured Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-PbTiO3 ceramics. A comparative analysis with randomly oriented ceramics showed that ⟨001⟩ grain orientation/texture exhibits improved fatigue characteristics due to the reduced switching activation energy and high domain mobility. The hypothesis was validated from the systematic characterization of polarization—electric field behavior and domain wall density. The defect accumulation at the grain boundary and clamping effect arising from the presence of BaTiO3 heterogeneous template in the final microstructure was found to be the main cause for polarization degradation in textured ceramic.

Preferentially oriented, High temperature superconductors by seeding and a method for their preparation

DOEpatents

Lee, Dominic F.; Kroeger, Donald M.; Goyal, Amit

2001-01-01

A multi-domained bulk REBa.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 O.sub.x with low-angle domain boundaries which resembles a quasi-single domained material and a method for producing the same comprising arranging multiple seeds, which can be small single crystals, single domained melt-textured REBa.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 O.sub.x pieces, textured substrates comprised of grains with low misorientation angles, or thick film REBa.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 O.sub.x deposited on such textured substrate, such seeds being tailored for various REBa.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 O.sub.x compounds, in specific pattern and relative seed orientations on a superconductor precursor material which may be placed in contact with a porous substrate so as to reduce the amount of liquid phase in the melt. Because seeds can be arranged in virtually any pattern, high quality REBa.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 O.sub.x elements of virtually unlimited size and complex geometry can be fabricated.

Method for preparing preferentially oriented, high temperature superconductors using solution reagents

DOEpatents

Lee, Dominic F.; Kroeger, Donald M.; Goyal, Amit

2002-01-01

A multi-domained bulk REBa.sub.2 CU.sub.3 O.sub.x with low-angle domain boundaries which resemble a quasi-single domained material and a method for producing the same comprising arranging multiple seeds, which can be small single crystals, single domained melt-textured REBa.sub.2 CU.sub.3 O.sub.x pieces, textured substrates comprises of grains with low misorientation angles, or thick film REBa.sub.2 CU.sub.3 O.sub.x deposited on such textured substrate, such seeds being tailored for various REBa.sub.2 CU.sub.3 O.sub.x compounds, in specific pattern and relative seed orientations on a superconductor precursor material which may be placed in contact with a porous substrate so as to reduce the amount of liquid phase in the melt. Because seeds can be arranged in virtually any pattern, high quality REBa.sub.2 CU.sub.3 O.sub.x elements of virtually unlimited size and complex geometry can be fabricated.

Framework for Development of Object-Oriented Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Perez-Poveda, Gus; Ciavarella, Tony; Nieten, Dan

2004-01-01

The Real-Time Control (RTC) Application Framework is a high-level software framework written in C++ that supports the rapid design and implementation of object-oriented application programs. This framework provides built-in functionality that solves common software development problems within distributed client-server, multi-threaded, and embedded programming environments. When using the RTC Framework to develop software for a specific domain, designers and implementers can focus entirely on the details of the domain-specific software rather than on creating custom solutions, utilities, and frameworks for the complexities of the programming environment. The RTC Framework was originally developed as part of a Space Shuttle Launch Processing System (LPS) replacement project called Checkout and Launch Control System (CLCS). As a result of the framework s development, CLCS software development time was reduced by 66 percent. The framework is generic enough for developing applications outside of the launch-processing system domain. Other applicable high-level domains include command and control systems and simulation/ training systems.

Existential Orientation: On the Phenomenology of Values, Attitudes, and Worldviews in Schizophrenia (Ancillary Article to EAWE Domain 6).

PubMed

Pienkos, Elizabeth; Sass, Louis

2017-01-01

Since the appearance of schizophrenia as a distinct diagnosis, various researchers and clinicians, particularly those in the phenomenological and existential tradition, have noted the unique contribution of attitudinal and characterological factors to the illness. There has been a notable lack of attention paid to these features in most recent research on the disorder; still, understanding the values, attitudes, and worldviews - what might be termed the "existential orientation" - of persons with schizophrenia may be essential for comprehending the illness and developing effective approaches to treatment. Domain 6, Existential orientation, of the Examination of Anomalous World Experience (EAWE) includes descriptions related to unusual worldviews and values that may be especially common in schizophrenia. The current paper provides a summary of classic and contemporary phenomenological literature on values and existential orientation in schizophrenia, with the goal of providing a context for and further explanation of the items in EAWE Domain 6. These characterizations generally suggest that persons with schizophrenia may more likely value being faithful to idiosyncratic, often eccentric ways of thinking and acting, questioning or rejecting conventions and common sense, refusing or avoiding relationships and intimacy with others, and living according to intellectual and idealistic rules (in contrast to a more immediate or spontaneous approach to life). Possible factors contributing to the development of these values are also discussed. © 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Shear at Twin Domain Boundaries in YBa2Cu3O7-x

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caldwell, W. A.; Tamura, N.; Celestre, R. S.; MacDowell, A. A.; Padmore, H. A.; Geballe, T. H.; Koster, G.; Batterman, B. W.; Patel, J. R.

2004-05-01

The microstructure and strain state of twin domains in YBa2Cu3O7-x are discussed based upon synchrotron white-beam x-ray microdiffraction measurements. Intensity variations of the fourfold twin splitting of Laue diffraction peaks are used to determine the twin domain structure. Strain analysis shows that interfaces between neighboring twin domains are strained in shear, whereas the interior of these domains are regions of low strain. These measurements are consistent with the orientation relationships of twin boundaries within and across domains and show that basal plane shear stresses can exceed 100MPa where twin domains meet. Our results support stress field pinning of magnetic flux vortices by twin domain boundaries.

Genome-wide identification of chitinase and chitin deacetylase gene families in the oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel).

PubMed

Liu, Shi-Huo; Li, Hong-Fei; Yang, Yang; Yang, Rui-Lin; Yang, Wen-Jia; Jiang, Hong-Bo; Dou, Wei; Smagghe, Guy; Wang, Jin-Jun

2018-05-01

Chitinases (Chts) and chitin deacetylases (CDAs) are important enzymes required for chitin metabolism in insects. In this study, 12 Cht-related genes (including seven Cht genes and five imaginal disc growth factor genes) and 6 CDA genes (encoding seven proteins) were identified in Bactrocera dorsalis using genome-wide searching and transcript profiling. Based on the conserved sequences and phylogenetic relationships, 12 Cht-related proteins were clustered into eight groups (group I-V and VII-IX). Further domain architecture analysis showed that all contained at least one chitinase catalytic domain, however, only four (BdCht5, BdCht7, BdCht8 and BdCht10) possessed chitin-binding domains. The subsequent phylogenetic analysis revealed that seven CDAs were clustered into five groups (group I-V), and all had one chitin deacetylase catalytic domain. However, only six exhibited chitin-binding domains. Finally, the development- and tissue-specific expression profiling showed that transcript levels of the 12 Cht-related genes and 6 CDA genes varied considerably among eggs, larvae, pupae and adults, as well as among different tissues of larvae and adults. Our findings illustrate the structural differences and expression patterns of Cht and CDA genes in B. dorsalis, and provide important information for the development of new pest control strategies based on these vital enzymes. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sabin, Charles; Plevka, Pavel, E-mail: pavel.plevka@ceitec.muni.cz

Molecular replacement and noncrystallographic symmetry averaging were used to detwin a data set affected by perfect hemihedral twinning. The noncrystallographic symmetry averaging of the electron-density map corrected errors in the detwinning introduced by the differences between the molecular-replacement model and the crystallized structure. Hemihedral twinning is a crystal-growth anomaly in which a specimen is composed of two crystal domains that coincide with each other in three dimensions. However, the orientations of the crystal lattices in the two domains differ in a specific way. In diffraction data collected from hemihedrally twinned crystals, each observed intensity contains contributions from both of themore » domains. With perfect hemihedral twinning, the two domains have the same volumes and the observed intensities do not contain sufficient information to detwin the data. Here, the use of molecular replacement and of noncrystallographic symmetry (NCS) averaging to detwin a 2.1 Å resolution data set for Aichi virus 1 affected by perfect hemihedral twinning is described. The NCS averaging enabled the correction of errors in the detwinning introduced by the differences between the molecular-replacement model and the crystallized structure. The procedure permitted the structure to be determined from a molecular-replacement model that had 16% sequence identity and a 1.6 Å r.m.s.d. for C{sup α} atoms in comparison to the crystallized structure. The same approach could be used to solve other data sets affected by perfect hemihedral twinning from crystals with NCS.« less

Effect of dipolar fields, surface termination, and surface orientation on photochemical reactions on transition metal oxides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giocondi, Jennifer Lynn

Experiments have been conducted to determine the effects of dipolar fields, surface termination, and surface orientation on the photochemical reactivity of several transition metal oxides. These compounds include BaTiO3, SrTiO3, BaTi4O9, Sr2Nb2O 7, and Sr2Ta2O7 which were studied as polycrystalline ceramics, single crystals, micron-sized faceted particles, or some combination of these forms. The reduction of Ag+ from an aqueous AgNO3 solution (Ag0 product) and the oxidation of Pb2+ from an aqueous lead acetate solution (PbO 2 product) were selected as probe reactions because they leave insoluble products on the oxide surfaces. The reactivity of ferroelectric BaTiO3 was dominated by the effect of dipolar fields on the transport of photogenerated charge carriers. Silver was reduced on domains with a positive surface charge while lead was oxidized on domains with a negative surface charge. This reactivity implies that the dipolar field in individual domains drives photogenerated charge carriers to oppositely charged surfaces. This reaction mechanism results in a physical separation of the photogenerated charge carriers and the locations of the oxidation and reduction half reactions on the catalyst surface. Experiments performed on polycrystalline ceramics, single crystals, and micron-sized particles all showed this domain specific reactivity. SrTiO3 has the ideal cubic perovskite structure from which the tetragonally distorted ferroelectric BaTiO3 phase is derived. Polished and annealed surfaces of randomly oriented grain surfaces were bound by some combination of the following three planes: {110}, {111}, and a complex facet inclined approximately 24° from {100}. Surfaces with the complex {100} facet were found to be the most active for Ag reduction. Single crystal studies also showed that the nonpolar (100) surface is the most reactive and that the composition of the termination layer does not influence this reaction. However, the polar (111) and (110) surfaces had a non-uniform distribution of reaction products. For these orientations, the location of the reduction and oxidation reactions is determined by the chemical and charge terminations of the different terraces or facets. The reactivity for silver reduction on the faceted particles is ranked as (100) > (111) > (110) while the (100) surface was least reactive for lead oxidation. Overall, these results show that the photochemical reactivity of SrTiO3 is anisotropic and that on polar surfaces, dipolar fields arising from charged surface domains influence the transport of photogenerated charge carriers and promote spatially selective oxidation and reduction reactions. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Molecular origin of photovoltaic performance in donor- block-acceptor all-conjugated block copolymers

DOE PAGES

Smith, Kendall A.; Lin, Yen -Hao; Mok, Jorge W.; ...

2015-11-03

All-conjugated block copolymers may be an effective route to self-assembled photovoltaic devices, but we lack basic information on the relationship between molecular characteristics and photovoltaic performance. Here, we synthesize a library of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) block poly((9,9-dialkylfluorene)-2,7-diyl-alt-[4,7-bis(alkylthiophen-5-yl)-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole]-2',2''-diyl) (PFTBT) donor- block-acceptor all-conjugated block copolymers and carry out a comprehensive study of processing conditions, crystallinity, domain sizes, and side-chain structure on photovoltaic device performance. We find that all block copolymers studied exhibit an out-of-plane crystal orientation after deposition, and on thermal annealing at high temperatures the crystal orientation flips to an in-plane orientation. By varying processing conditions on polymer photovoltaic devices, we showmore » that the crystal orientation has only a modest effect (15-20%) on photovoltaic performance. The addition of side-chains to the PFTBT block is found to decrease photovoltaic power conversion efficiencies by at least an order of magnitude. Through grazing-incidence X-ray measurements we find that the addition of side-chains to the PFTBT acceptor block results in weak segregation and small (< 10 nm) block copolymer self-assembled donor and acceptor domains. This work is the most comprehensive to date on all-conjugated block copolymer systems and suggests that photovoltaic performance of block copolymers depends strongly on the miscibility of donor and acceptor blocks, which impacts donor and acceptor domain sizes and purity. Lastly, strategies for improving the device performance of block copolymer photovoltaics should seek to increase segregation between donor and acceptor polymer domains.« less

Molecular origin of photovoltaic performance in donor- block-acceptor all-conjugated block copolymers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Smith, Kendall A.; Lin, Yen -Hao; Mok, Jorge W.

All-conjugated block copolymers may be an effective route to self-assembled photovoltaic devices, but we lack basic information on the relationship between molecular characteristics and photovoltaic performance. Here, we synthesize a library of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) block poly((9,9-dialkylfluorene)-2,7-diyl-alt-[4,7-bis(alkylthiophen-5-yl)-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole]-2',2''-diyl) (PFTBT) donor- block-acceptor all-conjugated block copolymers and carry out a comprehensive study of processing conditions, crystallinity, domain sizes, and side-chain structure on photovoltaic device performance. We find that all block copolymers studied exhibit an out-of-plane crystal orientation after deposition, and on thermal annealing at high temperatures the crystal orientation flips to an in-plane orientation. By varying processing conditions on polymer photovoltaic devices, we showmore » that the crystal orientation has only a modest effect (15-20%) on photovoltaic performance. The addition of side-chains to the PFTBT block is found to decrease photovoltaic power conversion efficiencies by at least an order of magnitude. Through grazing-incidence X-ray measurements we find that the addition of side-chains to the PFTBT acceptor block results in weak segregation and small (< 10 nm) block copolymer self-assembled donor and acceptor domains. This work is the most comprehensive to date on all-conjugated block copolymer systems and suggests that photovoltaic performance of block copolymers depends strongly on the miscibility of donor and acceptor blocks, which impacts donor and acceptor domain sizes and purity. Lastly, strategies for improving the device performance of block copolymer photovoltaics should seek to increase segregation between donor and acceptor polymer domains.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yu, Cun; Aoun, Bachir; Cui, Lishan

Microstructure evolution of a cold-drawn NiTi shape memory alloy wire was investigated by means of in-situ synchrotron high-energy X-ray diffraction during continuous heating. The cold-drawn wire contained amorphous regions and nano-crystalline domains in its microstructure. Pair distribution function analysis revealed that the amorphous regions underwent structural relaxation via atomic rearrangement when heated above 100 °C. The nano-crystalline domains were found to exhibit a strong cold work induced lattice strain anisotropy having a preferential <111> fiber orientation along the wire axial direction. The lattice strain anisotropy systematically decreased upon heating above 200 °C, implying a structural recovery. A broad conical texturemore » was formed in the wire specimen after crystallization similar in detail to the initial <111> texture axial orientation of the nano-crystalline domains produced by the severe cold wire drawing deformation.« less

The Generalized Support Software (GSS) Domain Engineering Process: An Object-Oriented Implementation and Reuse Success at Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Condon, Steven; Hendrick, Robert; Stark, Michael E.; Steger, Warren

1997-01-01

The Flight Dynamics Division (FDD) of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) recently embarked on a far-reaching revision of its process for developing and maintaining satellite support software. The new process relies on an object-oriented software development method supported by a domain specific library of generalized components. This Generalized Support Software (GSS) Domain Engineering Process is currently in use at the NASA GSFC Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL). The key facets of the GSS process are (1) an architecture for rapid deployment of FDD applications, (2) a reuse asset library for FDD classes, and (3) a paradigm shift from developing software to configuring software for mission support. This paper describes the GSS architecture and process, results of fielding the first applications, lessons learned, and future directions

Structure and ion channel activity of the human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV) small hydrophobic protein transmembrane domain

PubMed Central

Gan, Siok Wan; Ng, Lifang; Lin, Xin; Gong, Xiandi; Torres, Jaume

2008-01-01

The small hydrophobic (SH) protein from the human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV) is a glycoprotein of ∼64 amino acids with one putative α-helical transmembrane domain. Although SH protein is important for viral infectivity, its exact role during viral infection is not clear. Herein, we have studied the secondary structure, orientation, and oligomerization of the transmembrane domain of SH (SH-TM) in the presence of lipid bilayers. Only one oligomer, a pentamer, was observed in PFO-PAGE. Using polarized attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared (PATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, we show that the SH-TM is α-helical. The rotational orientation of SH-TM was determined by site-specific infrared dichroism (SSID) at two consecutive isotopically labeled residues. This orientation is consistent with that of an evolutionary conserved pentameric model obtained from a global search protocol using 13 homologous sequences of RSV. Conductance studies of SH-TM indicate ion channel activity, which is cation selective, and inactive below the predicted pKa of histidine. Thus, our results provide experimental evidence that the transmembrane domain of SH protein forms pentameric α-helical bundles that form cation-selective ion channels in planar lipid bilayers. We provide a model for this pore, which should be useful in mutagenesis studies to elucidate its role during the virus cycle. PMID:18369195

Solution Structure of the cGMP Binding GAF Domain from Phosphodiesterase 5: Insights into Nucleotide Specificity, Dimerization, and cGMP-Dependent Conformational Change

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Heikaus, Clemens C.; Stout, Joseph R.; Sekharan, Monica R.

2008-08-15

Phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5) controls intracellular levels of cGMP through its regulation of cGMP hydrolysis. Hydrolytic activity of the C-terminal catalytic domain is increased by cGMP binding to the N-terminal GAF A domain. We present the NMR solution structure of the cGMP-bound PDE5A GAF A domain. The cGMP orientation in the buried binding pocket was defined through 37 intermolecular NOEs.

In human pseudouridine synthase 1 (hPus1), a C-terminal helical insert blocks tRNA from binding in the same orientation as in the Pus1 bacterial homologue TruA, consistent with their different target selectivities.

PubMed

Czudnochowski, Nadine; Wang, Amy Liya; Finer-Moore, Janet; Stroud, Robert M

2013-10-23

Human pseudouridine (Ψ) synthase Pus1 (hPus1) modifies specific uridine residues in several non-coding RNAs: tRNA, U2 spliceosomal RNA, and steroid receptor activator RNA. We report three structures of the catalytic core domain of hPus1 from two crystal forms, at 1.8Å resolution. The structures are the first of a mammalian Ψ synthase from the set of five Ψ synthase families common to all kingdoms of life. hPus1 adopts a fold similar to bacterial Ψ synthases, with a central antiparallel β-sheet flanked by helices and loops. A flexible hinge at the base of the sheet allows the enzyme to open and close around an electropositive active-site cleft. In one crystal form, a molecule of Mes [2-(N-morpholino)ethane sulfonic acid] mimics the target uridine of an RNA substrate. A positively charged electrostatic surface extends from the active site towards the N-terminus of the catalytic domain, suggesting an extensive binding site specific for target RNAs. Two α-helices C-terminal to the core domain, but unique to hPus1, extend along the back and top of the central β-sheet and form the walls of the RNA binding surface. Docking of tRNA to hPus1 in a productive orientation requires only minor conformational changes to enzyme and tRNA. The docked tRNA is bound by the electropositive surface of the protein employing a completely different binding mode than that seen for the tRNA complex of the Escherichia coli homologue TruA. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The locus of adult intelligence: knowledge, abilities, and nonability traits.

PubMed

Ackerman, P L; Rolfhus, E L

1999-06-01

Some intelligence theorists (e.g., R. B. Cattell, 1943; D. O. Hebb, 1942) have suggested that knowledge is one aspect of human intelligence that is well preserved or increases during adult development. Very little is known about knowledge structures across different domains or about how individual differences in knowledge relate to other traits. Twenty academic and technology-oriented tests were administered to 135 middle-aged adults. In comparison with younger college students, the middle-aged adults knew more about nearly all of the various knowledge domains. Knowledge was partly predicted by general intelligence, by crystallized abilities, and by personality, interest, and self-concept. Implications of this work are discussed in the context of a developmental theory that focuses on the acquisition and maintenance of intelligence-as-knowledge, as well as the role of knowledge for predicting the vocational and avocational task performance of adults.

Cultural differences in emotion regulation during self-reflection on negative personal experiences.

PubMed

Tsai, William; Lau, Anna S

2013-01-01

Reflecting on negative personal experiences has implications for mood that may vary as a function of specific domains (e.g., achievement vs. interpersonal) and cultural orientation (e.g., interdependence vs. independence). This study investigated cultural differences in the social-cognitive and affective processes undertaken as Easterners and Westerners reflected on negative interpersonal and performance experiences. One hundred Asian Americans and 92 European-American college students were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: interpersonal rejection, achievement failure, or a control condition. Results revealed that Asian Americans experienced greater distress than European Americans after self-reflecting over a failed interpersonal experience, suggesting cultural sensitivity in the relational domain. Consistent with theoretical predictions, analysis of the social cognitive and affective processes that participants engaged in during self-reflection provided some evidence that self-enhancement may buffer distress for European Americans, while emotion suppression may be adaptive for Asian Americans.

Computational Architecture of the Parieto-Frontal Network Underlying Cognitive-Motor Control in Monkeys

PubMed Central

Borra, Elena; Visco-Comandini, Federica; Averbeck, Bruno B.

2017-01-01

The statistical structure of intrinsic parietal and parieto-frontal connectivity in monkeys was studied through hierarchical cluster analysis. Based on their inputs, parietal and frontal areas were grouped into different clusters, including a variable number of areas that in most instances occupied contiguous architectonic fields. Connectivity tended to be stronger locally: that is, within areas of the same cluster. Distant frontal and parietal areas were targeted through connections that in most instances were reciprocal and often of different strength. These connections linked parietal and frontal clusters formed by areas sharing basic functional properties. This led to five different medio-laterally oriented pillar domains spanning the entire extent of the parieto-frontal system, in the posterior parietal, anterior parietal, cingulate, frontal, and prefrontal cortex. Different information processing streams could be identified thanks to inter-domain connectivity. These streams encode fast hand reaching and its control, complex visuomotor action spaces, hand grasping, action/intention recognition, oculomotor intention and visual attention, behavioral goals and strategies, and reward and decision value outcome. Most of these streams converge on the cingulate domain, the main hub of the system. All of them are embedded within a larger eye–hand coordination network, from which they can be selectively set in motion by task demands. PMID:28275714

Local reaction kinetics by imaging☆

PubMed Central

Suchorski, Yuri; Rupprechter, Günther

2016-01-01

In the present contribution we present an overview of our recent studies using the “kinetics by imaging” approach for CO oxidation on heterogeneous model systems. The method is based on the correlation of the PEEM image intensity with catalytic activity: scaled down to the μm-sized surface regions, such correlation allows simultaneous local kinetic measurements on differently oriented individual domains of a polycrystalline metal-foil, including the construction of local kinetic phase diagrams. This allows spatially- and component-resolved kinetic studies and, e.g., a direct comparison of inherent catalytic properties of Pt(hkl)- and Pd(hkl)-domains or supported μm-sized Pd-powder agglomerates, studies of the local catalytic ignition and the role of defects and grain boundaries in the local reaction kinetics. PMID:26865736

On the role of the grain size in the magnetic behavior of sintered permanent magnets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Efthimiadis, K. G.; Ntallis, N.

2018-02-01

In this work the finite elements method is used to simulate, by micromagnetic modeling, the magnetic behavior of sintered anisotropic magnets. Hysteresis loops were simulated for different grain sizes in an oriented multigrain sample. By keeping out other parameters that contribute to the magnetic microstructure, such as the sample size, the grain morphology and the grain boundaries mismatch, it has been found that the grain size affects the magnetic properties only if the grains are exchange-decoupled. In this case, as the grain size decreases, a decrease in the nucleation field of a reverse magnetic domain is observed and an increase in the coercive field due to the pinning of the magnetic domain walls at the grain boundaries.

Ligand binding to WW tandem domains of YAP2 transcriptional regulator is under negative cooperativity.

PubMed

Schuchardt, Brett J; Mikles, David C; Hoang, Lawrence M; Bhat, Vikas; McDonald, Caleb B; Sudol, Marius; Farooq, Amjad

2014-12-01

YES-associated protein 2 (YAP2) transcriptional regulator drives a multitude of cellular processes, including the newly discovered Hippo tumor suppressor pathway, by virtue of the ability of its WW domains to bind and recruit PPXY-containing ligands to specific subcellular compartments. Herein, we employ an array of biophysical tools to investigate allosteric communication between the WW tandem domains of YAP2. Our data show that the WW tandem domains of YAP2 negatively cooperate when binding to their cognate ligands. Moreover, the molecular origin of such negative cooperativity lies in an unfavorable entropic contribution to the overall free energy relative to ligand binding to isolated WW domains. Consistent with this notion, the WW tandem domains adopt a fixed spatial orientation such that the WW1 domain curves outwards and stacks onto the binding groove of the WW2 domain, thereby sterically hindering ligand binding to both itself and its tandem partner. Although ligand binding to both WW domains disrupts such interdomain stacking interaction, they reorient themselves and adopt an alternative fixed spatial orientation in the liganded state by virtue of their ability to engage laterally so as to allow their binding grooves to point outwards and away from each other. In short, while the ability of WW tandem domains to aid ligand binding is well documented, our demonstration that they may also be subject to negative binding cooperativity represents a paradigm shift in our understanding of the molecular action of this ubiquitous family of protein modules. © 2014 FEBS.

Microstructural study of codeposited pentacene:perfluoropentacene grown on KCl by TEM techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Félix, Rocío; Breuer, Tobias; Witte, Gregor; Volz, Kerstin; Gries, Katharina I.

2017-08-01

Transmission electron microscopy techniques have been used as a research tool to derive information on structure and orientation of organic semiconductor blends. Within this work, we have studied the structure and morphology of pentacene (PEN, C22H14) and perfluoropentacene (PFP, C22F14) blends grown with [2:1] and [1:2] mixing ratios on KCl substrates. The [2:1] mixture exhibits a uniform layer on the substrate with domains that are rotated in-plane by 90° towards each other. Electron diffraction experiments revealed that these domains are formed by a crystalline mixed phase (consisting of PEN and PFP) and a PEN phase in excess whose lattice parameters are rather similar. By contrast, in the [1:2] blend, two different arrangements were found. The majority of the sample exhibits some spicular fibers on a background layer lying on top of the KCl substrate. The microstructural characterization revealed that these fibers consist of pure PFP in excess while the background layer is formed by the mixed phase. The other arrangement, which is present to a lesser extent, consists of a PFP film that is in direct contact with the KCl substrate. Using electron diffraction experiments, the orientation of the different phases with respect to each other and in some cases relative to the KCl substrate has been determined.

Psychosocial factors and therapeutic approaches in the context of sexual history taking in men: a study conducted among Swiss general practitioners and urologists.

PubMed

Platano, Giacomo; Margraf, Jürgen; Alder, Judith; Bitzer, Johannes

2008-11-01

Male sexual dysfunction is a common medical condition, which is addressed mainly from a biomedical perspective by Swiss general practitioners (GPs) and urologists as the results of part I of our study showed. A psychosocial orientation in sexual history taking (SHT) leads to a truly patient-centered approach and is crucial for improving therapy decisions related to sexual dysfunction. To analyze to what extent Swiss GPs and urologists have a psychosocial orientation in SHT, and what therapeutic options they focus on when confronted with male sexual dysfunction. A semistructured interview was developed and used in face-to-face encounters with 25 GPs and 25 urologists. Content and frequency of interview responses. The GPs and urologists differed significantly from each other in 5 out of 22 psychosocial factors. Summarizing these psychosocial factors in four domains showed a difference between the GPs and urologists in only one domain. Both groups focus on an open conversation as their approach in SHT. No GP and only a minority of urologists based their diagnosis on criteria of the International Classification of Diseases (10th edition) (ICD-10) or Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th edition) (DSM-IV). The GPs and urologists differed significantly from each other in 4 out of 16 combinations resulting from the given therapeutic options and form of sexual dysfunction. The urologists focus more strongly on medication as a therapeutic option. The results of part II additionally justify establishing guidelines and training resources related to SHT in Switzerland. Swiss physicians should be encouraged to apply a more psychosocial orientation in SHT. This will contribute to a better patient-centered approach with positive consequences on physicians' therapeutic decisions. Optimizing the approach in SHT and the choice of therapeutic options may better facilitate real sexual satisfaction for the patient and ultimately result in fewer health insurance costs.

Tunable thermal conductivity via domain structure engineering in ferroelectric thin films: A phase-field simulation

DOE PAGES

Wang, Jian -Jun; Wang, Yi; Ihlefeld, Jon F.; ...

2016-04-06

Effective thermal conductivity as a function of domain structure is studied by solving the heat conduction equation using a spectral iterative perturbation algorithm in materials with inhomogeneous thermal conductivity distribution. Using this proposed algorithm, the experimentally measured effective thermal conductivities of domain-engineered {001} p-BiFeO 3 thin films are quantitatively reproduced. In conjunction with two other testing examples, this proposed algorithm is proven to be an efficient tool for interpreting the relationship between the effective thermal conductivity and micro-/domain-structures. By combining this algorithm with the phase-field model of ferroelectric thin films, the effective thermal conductivity for PbZr 1-xTi xO 3 filmsmore » under different composition, thickness, strain, and working conditions is predicted. It is shown that the chemical composition, misfit strain, film thickness, film orientation, and a Piezoresponse Force Microscopy tip can be used to engineer the domain structures and tune the effective thermal conductivity. Furthermore, we expect our findings will stimulate future theoretical, experimental and engineering efforts on developing devices based on the tunable effective thermal conductivity in ferroelectric nanostructures.« less

Tunable thermal conductivity via domain structure engineering in ferroelectric thin films: A phase-field simulation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Jian -Jun; Wang, Yi; Ihlefeld, Jon F.

Effective thermal conductivity as a function of domain structure is studied by solving the heat conduction equation using a spectral iterative perturbation algorithm in materials with inhomogeneous thermal conductivity distribution. Using this proposed algorithm, the experimentally measured effective thermal conductivities of domain-engineered {001} p-BiFeO 3 thin films are quantitatively reproduced. In conjunction with two other testing examples, this proposed algorithm is proven to be an efficient tool for interpreting the relationship between the effective thermal conductivity and micro-/domain-structures. By combining this algorithm with the phase-field model of ferroelectric thin films, the effective thermal conductivity for PbZr 1-xTi xO 3 filmsmore » under different composition, thickness, strain, and working conditions is predicted. It is shown that the chemical composition, misfit strain, film thickness, film orientation, and a Piezoresponse Force Microscopy tip can be used to engineer the domain structures and tune the effective thermal conductivity. Furthermore, we expect our findings will stimulate future theoretical, experimental and engineering efforts on developing devices based on the tunable effective thermal conductivity in ferroelectric nanostructures.« less

Interaction Between the Biotin Carboxyl Carrier Domain and the Biotin Carboxylase Domain in Pyruvate Carboxylase from Rhizobium etli†

PubMed Central

Lietzan, Adam D.; Menefee, Ann L.; Zeczycki, Tonya N.; Kumar, Sudhanshu; Attwood, Paul V.; Wallace, John C.; Cleland, W. Wallace; Maurice, Martin St.

2011-01-01

Pyruvate carboxylase (PC) catalyzes the ATP-dependent carboxylation of pyruvate to oxaloacetate, an important anaplerotic reaction in mammalian tissues. To effect catalysis, the tethered biotin of PC must gain access to active sites in both the biotin carboxylase domain and the carboxyl transferase domain. Previous studies have demonstrated that a mutation of threonine 882 to alanine in PC from Rhizobium etli renders the carboxyl transferase domain inactive and favors the positioning of biotin in the biotin carboxylase domain. We report the 2.4 Å resolution X-ray crystal structure of the Rhizobium etli PC T882A mutant which reveals the first high-resolution description of the domain interaction between the biotin carboxyl carrier protein domain and the biotin carboxylase domain. The overall quaternary arrangement of Rhizobium etli PC remains highly asymmetrical and is independent of the presence of allosteric activator. While biotin is observed in the biotin carboxylase domain, its access to the active site is precluded by the interaction between Arg353 and Glu248, revealing a mechanism for regulating carboxybiotin access to the BC domain active site. The binding location for the biotin carboxyl carrier protein domain demonstrates that tethered biotin cannot bind in the biotin carboxylase domain active site in the same orientation as free biotin, helping to explain the difference in catalysis observed between tethered biotin and free biotin substrates in biotin carboxylase enzymes. Electron density located in the biotin carboxylase domain active site is assigned to phosphonoacetate, offering a probable location for the putative carboxyphosphate intermediate formed during biotin carboxylation. The insights gained from the T882A Rhizobium etli PC crystal structure provide a new series of catalytic snapshots in PC and offer a revised perspective on catalysis in the biotin-dependent enzyme family. PMID:21958016

Future Orientation in Cultural Transition: Acculturation Strategies of Youth From Three Minority Groups in Israel.

PubMed

Seginer, Rachel; Mahajna, Sami

2018-06-01

Using adolescents' narratives and survey data presented in earlier studies, we draw upon Berry's model of four acculturation strategies () to examine adolescents' narratives regarding the future orientation domains of education-and-career and marriage-and-family (Seginer, ) by three groups of nonimmigrant minority adolescents in Israel: Muslim, Druze, and ultra-Orthodox Jewish. The narratives of adolescents from the three communities studied here illustrate modified assimilation for education-and-career and separation for marriage-and-family, indicating both cultural transition and continuity. Quantitative analyses mapped domain-specific links from education-and-career and marriage-and-family to adolescents' academic achievement. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Recovery-Oriented Mental Health Practice in a Community Care Unit: An Exploratory Study.

PubMed

McKenna, Brian; Oakes, Jane; Fourniotis, Niki; Toomey, Nigel; Furness, Trentham

A recovery-oriented model of care has become the major focus of mental health service delivery in the state of Victoria, Australia. However, there is a total absence of knowledge of recovery-oriented mental health practice in community care units (CCUs). Therefore, the aims of this exploratory study were to: (a) describe what aspects of the current model of care fit within the domains of recovery; and (b) describe the pragmatic processes that staff use to mold their care within the domains of recovery. Twenty-one key stakeholders provided informed voluntary consent to participate in one-to-one interviews. Six content domains evolved to include: (a) a common vision: "a continuous journey"; (b) promoting hope; (c) promoting autonomy and self-determination; (d) meaningful engagement; (e) holistic and personalized care; and (f) community participation and citizenship. The CCU appeared to be on a journey of transformation toward personal recovery. However, clinicians were grappling with an identified tension among personal recovery and clinical recovery. The tension among personal recovery and clinical recovery may be attributed to the psychosocial rehabilitation model of care, which was previously systemic in Victorian CCUs.

AMPHION: Specification-based programming for scientific subroutine libraries

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lowry, Michael; Philpot, Andrew; Pressburger, Thomas; Underwood, Ian; Waldinger, Richard; Stickel, Mark

1994-01-01

AMPHION is a knowledge-based software engineering (KBSE) system that guides a user in developing a diagram representing a formal problem specification. It then automatically implements a solution to this specification as a program consisting of calls to subroutines from a library. The diagram provides an intuitive domain oriented notation for creating a specification that also facilitates reuse and modification. AMPHION'S architecture is domain independent. AMPHION is specialized to an application domain by developing a declarative domain theory. Creating a domain theory is an iterative process that currently requires the joint expertise of domain experts and experts in automated formal methods for software development.

Molecular mechanisms of protein-cholesterol interactions in plasma membranes: Functional distinction between topological (tilted) and consensus (CARC/CRAC) domains.

PubMed

Fantini, Jacques; Di Scala, Coralie; Baier, Carlos J; Barrantes, Francisco J

2016-09-01

The molecular mechanisms that control the multiple possible modes of protein association with membrane cholesterol are remarkably convergent. These mechanisms, which include hydrogen bonding, CH-π stacking and dispersion forces, are used by a wide variety of extracellular proteins (e.g. microbial or amyloid) and membrane receptors. Virus fusion peptides penetrate the membrane of host cells with a tilted orientation that is compatible with a transient interaction with cholesterol; this tilted orientation is also characteristic of the process of insertion of amyloid proteins that subsequently form oligomeric pores in the plasma membrane of brain cells. Membrane receptors that are associated with cholesterol generally display linear consensus binding motifs (CARC and CRAC) characterized by a triad of basic (Lys/Arg), aromatic (Tyr/phe) and aliphatic (Leu/Val) amino acid residues. In some cases, the presence of both CARC and CRAC within the same membrane-spanning domain allows the simultaneous binding of two cholesterol molecules, one in each membrane leaflet. In this review the molecular basis and the functional significance of the different modes of protein-cholesterol interactions in plasma membranes are discussed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Identifying interprofessional global health competencies for 21st-century health professionals.

PubMed

Jogerst, Kristen; Callender, Brian; Adams, Virginia; Evert, Jessica; Fields, Elise; Hall, Thomas; Olsen, Jody; Rowthorn, Virginia; Rudy, Sharon; Shen, Jiabin; Simon, Lisa; Torres, Herica; Velji, Anvar; Wilson, Lynda L

2015-01-01

At the 2008 inaugural meeting of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH), participants discussed the rapid expansion of global health programs and the lack of standardized competencies and curricula to guide these programs. In 2013, CUGH appointed a Global Health Competency Subcommittee and charged this subcommittee with identifying broad global health core competencies applicable across disciplines. The purpose of this paper is to describe the Subcommittee's work and proposed list of interprofessional global health competencies. After agreeing on a definition of global health to guide the Subcommittee's work, members conducted an extensive literature review to identify existing competencies in all fields relevant to global health. Subcommittee members initially identified 82 competencies in 12 separate domains, and proposed four different competency levels. The proposed competencies and domains were discussed during multiple conference calls, and subcommittee members voted to determine the final competencies to be included in two of the four proposed competency levels (global citizen and basic operational level - program oriented). The final proposed list included a total of 13 competencies across 8 domains for the Global Citizen Level and 39 competencies across 11 domains for the Basic Operational Program-Oriented Level. There is a need for continued debate and dialog to validate the proposed set of competencies, and a need for further research to identify best strategies for incorporating these competencies into global health educational programs. Future research should focus on implementation and evaluation of these competencies across a range of educational programs, and further delineating the competencies needed across all four proposed competency levels. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Modeling of the catalytic core of Arabidopsis thaliana Dicer-like 4 protein and its complex with double-stranded RNA.

PubMed

Mickiewicz, Agnieszka; Sarzyńska, Joanna; Miłostan, Maciej; Kurzyńska-Kokorniak, Anna; Rybarczyk, Agnieszka; Łukasiak, Piotr; Kuliński, Tadeusz; Figlerowicz, Marek; Błażewicz, Jacek

2017-02-01

Plant Dicer-like proteins (DCLs) belong to the Ribonuclease III (RNase III) enzyme family. They are involved in the regulation of gene expression and antiviral defense through RNA interference pathways. A model plant, Arabidopsis thaliana encodes four DCL proteins (AtDCL1-4) that produce different classes of small regulatory RNAs. Our studies focus on AtDCL4 that processes double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs) into 21 nucleotide trans-acting small interfering RNAs. So far, little is known about the structures of plant DCLs and the complexes they form with dsRNA. In this work, we present models of the catalytic core of AtDCL4 and AtDCL4-dsRNA complex constructed by computational methods. We built a homology model of the catalytic core of AtDCL4 comprising Platform, PAZ, Connector helix and two RNase III domains. To assemble the AtDCL4-dsRNA complex two modeling approaches were used. In the first method, to establish conformations that allow building a consistent model of the complex, we used Normal Mode Analysis for both dsRNA and AtDCL4. The second strategy involved template-based approach for positioning of the PAZ domain and manual arrangement of the Connector helix. Our results suggest that the spatial orientation of the Connector helix, Platform and PAZ relative to the RNase III domains is crucial for measuring dsRNA of defined length. The modeled complexes provide information about interactions that may contribute to the relative orientations of these domains and to dsRNA binding. All these information can be helpful for understanding the mechanism of AtDCL4-mediated dsRNA recognition and binding, to produce small RNA of specific size. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Confinement and Ordering of Au Nanorods in Polymer Films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hore, Michael J. A.; Mills, Eric; Liu, Yu; Composto, Russell J.

2009-03-01

Ordered arrays of gold nanorods (Au NRs) possess interesting optical properties that might be utilized in future devices. Au NRs functionalized with a poly(ethylene glycol)-thiol brush are incorporated into homopolymer or block copolymer (BCP) films. NR distribution and orientational correlations are studied as a function of nanorod concentration and spacial confinement via Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) and transmission electron microscopy, respectively. In particular, differences in the degree of nanorod ordering are presented for PMMA homopolymer films (d ˜ 45 nm) versus PS-b-PMMA BCP films (L/2 ˜ 40 nm), where higher ordering is seen in the case of BCP films. At moderate volume fractions of NRs, φ = 1% to 10%, the degree of ordering is moderate, and increases with increasing φ . However, coexistence between regions of higher ordering and isotropic orientations is observed. In addition to the planar confinement considered above, orientation of Au NRs confined to cylindrical P2VP domains is studied in PS-b-P2VP BCP films.

Bad for me or bad for us? Interpersonal orientations and the impact of losses on unethical behavior.

PubMed

Reinders Folmer, Christopher P; De Cremer, David

2012-06-01

The present research examines the role of allocations of losses versus gains on the emergence of unethical behavior as a function of people's social value orientation. The authors demonstrate that (a) proselfs regard unethical behavior to prevent losses as more justified than prosocials (Study 1) and (b) proselfs engage in more unethical behavior to prevent losses than prosocials (Study 2). These differences are explained by prosocials' greater concern for harm to interdependent others in the domain of losses. A third study further substantiates these findings by revealing that unethical behavior to prevent losses increases among prosocials as harm to others is reduced. In sum, these results reveal that depending on whether people attend only to their self-interest or also consider the outcomes of others, losses either may increase or curtail unethical conduct. Considering social value orientations thus may reconcile conflicting theoretical perspectives on the impact of losses on social decisions.

Evolution of an ancient protein function involved in organized multicellularity in animals

PubMed Central

Anderson, Douglas P; Whitney, Dustin S; Hanson-Smith, Victor; Woznica, Arielle; Campodonico-Burnett, William; Volkman, Brian F; King, Nicole; Thornton, Joseph W; Prehoda, Kenneth E

2016-01-01

To form and maintain organized tissues, multicellular organisms orient their mitotic spindles relative to neighboring cells. A molecular complex scaffolded by the GK protein-interaction domain (GKPID) mediates spindle orientation in diverse animal taxa by linking microtubule motor proteins to a marker protein on the cell cortex localized by external cues. Here we illuminate how this complex evolved and commandeered control of spindle orientation from a more ancient mechanism. The complex was assembled through a series of molecular exploitation events, one of which – the evolution of GKPID’s capacity to bind the cortical marker protein – can be recapitulated by reintroducing a single historical substitution into the reconstructed ancestral GKPID. This change revealed and repurposed an ancient molecular surface that previously had a radically different function. We show how the physical simplicity of this binding interface enabled the evolution of a new protein function now essential to the biological complexity of many animals. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.10147.001 PMID:26740169

Refraction of the principal stress trajectories and the stress jumps on faults and contact surfaces: Part 1. Non-constrained regular trajectories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mukhamediev, Sh. A.

2014-09-01

Rock masses contain ubiquitous multiscale heterogeneities, which (or whose boundaries) serve as the surfaces of discontinuity for some characteristics of the stress state, e.g., for the orientation of principal stress axes. Revealing the regularities that control these discontinuities is a key to understanding the processes taking place at the boundaries of the heterogeneities and for designing the correct procedures for reconstructing and theoretical modeling of tectonic stresses. In the present study, the local laws describing the refraction of the axes of extreme principal stresses T 1 (maximal tension in the deviatoric sense) and T 3 (maximal compression) of the Cauchy stress tensor at the transition over the elementary area n of discontinuity whose orientation is specified by the unit normal n are derived. It is assumed that on the area n of discontinuity, frictional contact takes place. No hypotheses are made on the constitutive equations, and a priori constraints are not posed on the orientation on the stress axes. Two domains, which adjoin area n on the opposite sides and are conventionally marked + and -, are distinguished. In the case of the two-dimensional (2D) stress state, any principal stress axis on passing from domain - to domain + remains in the same quadrant of the plane as the continuation of this axis in domain +. The sign and size of the refraction angle depend on the sign and amplitude of the jump of the normal stress, which is tangential to the surface of discontinuity. In the three-dimensional (3D) case, the refraction of axes T 1 and T 3 should be analyzed simultaneously. For each side, + and -, the projections of the T 1 and T 3 axes on the generally oriented plane n form the shear sectors S + and S -, which are determined unambiguously and to whose angular domains the possible directions p + and p - of the shear stress vectors belong. In order for the extreme stress axes T {1/+}, T {3/+} and T {1/-}, T {3/-} to be statically compatible on the generally oriented plane n, it is required that sectors S + and S - had a nonempty intersection. The direction vectors p + and p - are determined uniquely if, besides axes T {1/-}, T {3/-} and T {1/+}, T {3/+}, also the ratios of differential stresses R + and R - (0 ≤ R ± ≤ 1) are known. This is equivalent to specifying the reduced stress tensors T {/R +} and T {/R -} The necessary condition for tensors T {/R +} and T {/R -} being statically compatible on plane n is the equality p + = p -. In this paper, simple methods are suggested for solving the inverse problem of constructing the set of the orientations of the extreme stress axes from the known direction p of the shear stress vector on plane n and from the data on the shear sector. Based on these methods and using the necessary conditions of local equilibrium on plane n formulated above, all the possible orientations of axes T {1/+}, T {3/+} are determined if the projections of axes T {1/-}, T {3/-} axes on side — are given. The angle between the projections of axes T {1/+}, T {1/-} and/or T {3/+}, T {3/-} on the plane can attain 90°. Besides the general case, also the particular cases of the contact between the degenerate stress states and the special position of plane n relative to the principal stress axes are thoroughly examined. Generalization of the obtained results makes it possible to plot the local diagram of the orientations of axes T {1/+}, T {3/+} for a given sector S -. This diagram is a so-called stress orientation sphere, which is subdivided into three pairs of areas (compression, tension, and compression-extension). The tension and compression zones cannot contain the poles of T {3/+} and T {1/+} axes, respectively. The compression-extension zones can contain the poles of either T {1/+} or T {3/+} axis but not both poles simultaneously. In the particular case when the shear stress vector has a unique direction p - on side -, the areas of compression-extension disappear and the diagram is reduced to a beach-ball plot, which visualizes the focal mechanism solution of an earthquake. If area n is a generally oriented plane and if the orientation of the pairs of the statically compatible axes T {1/-}, T {3/-} and T {1/+}, T {3/+} is specified, then, the stress values on side + are uniquely determined from the known stress values on side -. From the value of differential stress ratio R -, one can calculate the value of R +, and using the values of the principal stresses on side -, determine the total stress tensor T + on side +. The obtained results are supported by the laboratory experiments and drilling data. In particular, these results disclose the drawbacks of some established notions and methods in which the possible refraction of the stress axes is unreasonably ignored or taken into account improperly. For example, it is generally misleading to associate the slip on the preexisting fault with the orientation of any particular trihedron of the principal stress axes. The reconstruction should address the potentially statically compatible principal stress axes, which are differently oriented on opposite sides of the fault plane. The fact that, based on the orientation of the intraplate principal stresses at the base of the lithosphere, one cannot make a conclusion on the active or passive influence of the mantle flows on the lithospheric plate motion is another example. The present relationships linking the stress values on the opposite sides of the fault plane on which the orientations of the principal stress axes are known demonstrate the incorrectness of the existing methods, in which the reduced stress tensors within the material domains are reconstructed without allowance for the dynamic interaction of these domains with their neighbors. In addition, using the obtained results, one can generalize the notion of the zone of dynamical control of a fault onto the case of the existence of discontinuities in this region and analyze the stress transfer across the system of the faults.

Twin related domains in 3D microstructures of conventionally processed and grain boundary engineered materials

DOE PAGES

Lind, Jonathan; Li, Shiu Fai; Kumar, Mukul

2016-05-20

The concept of twin-limited microstructures has been explored in the literature as a crystallographically constrained grain boundary network connected via only coincident site lattice (CSL) boundaries. The advent of orientation imaging has made classification of twin-related domains (TRD) or any other orientation cluster experimentally accessible in 2D using EBSD. With the emergence of 3D orientation mapping, a comparison of TRDs in measured 3D microstructures is performed in this paper and compared against their 2D counterparts. The TRD analysis is performed on a conventionally processed (CP) and a grain boundary engineered (EM) high purity copper sample that have been subjected tomore » successive anneal procedures to promote grain growth. Finally, the EM sample shows extremely large TRDs which begin to approach that of a twin-limited microstructure, while the TRDs in the CP sample remain relatively small and remote.« less

Predicting homophobic behavior among heterosexual youth: domain general and sexual orientation-specific factors at the individual and contextual level.

PubMed

Poteat, V Paul; DiGiovanni, Craig D; Scheer, Jillian R

2013-03-01

As a form of bias-based harassment, homophobic behavior remains prominent in schools. Yet, little attention has been given to factors that underlie it, aside from bullying and sexual prejudice. Thus, we examined multiple domain general (empathy, perspective-taking, classroom respect norms) and sexual orientation-specific factors (sexual orientation identity importance, number of sexual minority friends, parents' sexual minority attitudes, media messages). We documented support for a model in which these sets of factors converged to predict homophobic behavior, mediated through bullying and prejudice, among 581 students in grades 9-12 (55 % female). The structural equation model indicated that, with the exception of media messages, these additional factors predicted levels of prejudice and bullying, which in turn predicted the likelihood of students to engage in homophobic behavior. These findings highlight the importance of addressing multiple interrelated factors in efforts to reduce bullying, prejudice, and discrimination among youth.

Ferroelectric domain structure of anisotropically strained NaNbO3 epitaxial thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schwarzkopf, J.; Braun, D.; Schmidbauer, M.; Duk, A.; Wördenweber, R.

2014-05-01

NaNbO3 thin films have been grown under anisotropic biaxial strain on several oxide substrates by liquid-delivery spin metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. Compressive lattice strain of different magnitude, induced by the deposition of NaNbO3 films with varying film thickness on NdGaO3 single crystalline substrates, leads to modifications of film orientation and phase symmetry, which are similar to the phase transitions in Pb-containing oxides near the morphotropic phase boundary. Piezoresponse force microscopy measurements exhibit large out-of-plane polarization components, but no distinctive domain structure, while C-V measurements indicate relaxor properties in these films. When tensile strain is provoked by the epitaxial growth on DyScO3, TbScO3, and GdScO3 single crystalline substrates, NaNbO3 films behave rather like a normal ferroelectric. The application of these rare-earth scandate substrates yields well-ordered ferroelectric stripe domains of the type a1/a2 with coherent domain walls aligned along the [001] substrate direction as long as the films are fully strained. With increasing plastic lattice relaxation, initially, a 2D domain pattern with still exclusively in-plane electric polarization, and finally, domains with in-plane and out-of-plane polar components evolve.

Current-induced domain wall motion in permalloy nanowires with a rectangular cross-section

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ai, J. H.; Miao, B. F.; Sun, L.

2011-11-01

We performed micromagnetic simulations of the current-induced domain wall motion in permalloy nanowires with rectangular cross-section. In the absence of the nonadiabatic spin-transfer term, a threshold current, J{sub c} is required to drive the domain wall moving continuously. We find that J{sub c} is proportional to the maximum cross product of the demagnetization field and magnetization orientation of the domain wall and the domain wall width. With varying both the wire thickness and width, a minimum threshold current in the order of 10{sup 6} A/cm{sup 2} is obtained when the thickness is equivalent to the wire width. With the nonadiabaticmore » spin-transfer term, the calculated domain wall velocity {nu} equals to the adiabatic spin transfer velocity u when the current is far above the Walker limit J{sub w}. Below J{sub w}, {nu}=({beta}/{alpha})u, where {beta} is the nonadiabatic parameter and {alpha} is the damping factor. For different {beta}, we find the Walker limit can be scaled as J{sub w}=({alpha}/{beta}-{alpha})J{sub c}. Our simulations agree well with the one dimensional analytical calculation, suggesting the findings are the general behaviors of the systems in this particular geometry.« less

Pinning, rotation, and metastability of BiFeO 3 cycloidal domains in a magnetic field

DOE PAGES

Fishman, Randy S.

2018-01-03

Earlier models for the room-temperature multiferroic BiFeO 3 implicitly assumed that a very strong anisotropy restricts the domain wave vectors q to the threefold-symmetric axis normal to the static polarization P. However, recent measurements demonstrate that the domain wave vectors q rotate within the hexagonal plane normal to P away from the magnetic field orientation m. In this paper, we show that the previously neglected threefold anisotropy K 3 restricts the wave vectors to lie along the threefold axis in zero field. Taking m to lie along a threefold axis, the domain with q parallel to m remains metastable belowmore » B c1≈7 T. Due to the pinning of domains by nonmagnetic impurities, the wave vectors of the other two domains start to rotate away from m above 5.6 T, when the component of the torque τ=M×B along P exceeds a threshold value τ pin. Since τ=0 when m⊥q, the wave vectors of those domains never become completely perpendicular to the magnetic field. Our results explain recent measurements of the critical field as a function of field orientation, small-angle neutron scattering measurements of the wave vectors, as well as spectroscopic measurements with m along a threefold axis. Finally, the model developed in this paper also explains how the three multiferroic domains of BiFeO 3 for a fixed P can be manipulated by a magnetic field.« less

Pinning, rotation, and metastability of BiFeO3 cycloidal domains in a magnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fishman, Randy S.

2018-01-01

Earlier models for the room-temperature multiferroic BiFeO3 implicitly assumed that a very strong anisotropy restricts the domain wave vectors q to the threefold-symmetric axis normal to the static polarization P . However, recent measurements demonstrate that the domain wave vectors q rotate within the hexagonal plane normal to P away from the magnetic field orientation m . We show that the previously neglected threefold anisotropy K3 restricts the wave vectors to lie along the threefold axis in zero field. Taking m to lie along a threefold axis, the domain with q parallel to m remains metastable below Bc 1≈7 T. Due to the pinning of domains by nonmagnetic impurities, the wave vectors of the other two domains start to rotate away from m above 5.6 T, when the component of the torque τ =M ×B along P exceeds a threshold value τpin. Since τ =0 when m ⊥q , the wave vectors of those domains never become completely perpendicular to the magnetic field. Our results explain recent measurements of the critical field as a function of field orientation, small-angle neutron scattering measurements of the wave vectors, as well as spectroscopic measurements with m along a threefold axis. The model developed in this paper also explains how the three multiferroic domains of BiFeO3 for a fixed P can be manipulated by a magnetic field.

Pinning, rotation, and metastability of BiFeO 3 cycloidal domains in a magnetic field

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fishman, Randy S.

Earlier models for the room-temperature multiferroic BiFeO 3 implicitly assumed that a very strong anisotropy restricts the domain wave vectors q to the threefold-symmetric axis normal to the static polarization P. However, recent measurements demonstrate that the domain wave vectors q rotate within the hexagonal plane normal to P away from the magnetic field orientation m. In this paper, we show that the previously neglected threefold anisotropy K 3 restricts the wave vectors to lie along the threefold axis in zero field. Taking m to lie along a threefold axis, the domain with q parallel to m remains metastable belowmore » B c1≈7 T. Due to the pinning of domains by nonmagnetic impurities, the wave vectors of the other two domains start to rotate away from m above 5.6 T, when the component of the torque τ=M×B along P exceeds a threshold value τ pin. Since τ=0 when m⊥q, the wave vectors of those domains never become completely perpendicular to the magnetic field. Our results explain recent measurements of the critical field as a function of field orientation, small-angle neutron scattering measurements of the wave vectors, as well as spectroscopic measurements with m along a threefold axis. Finally, the model developed in this paper also explains how the three multiferroic domains of BiFeO 3 for a fixed P can be manipulated by a magnetic field.« less

Domain morphology, boundaries, and topological defects in biophotonic gyroid nanostructures of butterfly wing scales

PubMed Central

Singer, Andrej; Boucheron, Leandra; Dietze, Sebastian H.; Jensen, Katharine E.; Vine, David; McNulty, Ian; Dufresne, Eric R.; Prum, Richard O.; Mochrie, Simon G. J.; Shpyrko, Oleg G.

2016-01-01

Many organisms in nature have evolved sophisticated cellular mechanisms to produce photonic nanostructures and, in recent years, diverse crystalline symmetries have been identified and related to macroscopic optical properties. However, because we know little about the distributions of domain sizes, the orientations of photonic crystals, and the nature of defects in these structures, we are unable to make the connection between the nanostructure and its development and functionality. We report on nondestructive studies of the morphology of chitinous photonic crystals in butterfly wing scales. Using spatially and angularly resolved x-ray diffraction, we find that the domains are highly oriented with respect to the whole scale, indicating growth from scale boundaries. X-ray coherent diffractive imaging reveals two types of crystalline domain interfaces: abrupt changes between domains emerging from distinct nucleation sites and smooth transitions with edge dislocations presumably resulting from internal stresses during nanostructure development. Our study of the scale structure reveals new aspects of photonic crystal growth in butterfly wings and shows their similarity to block copolymer materials. It opens new avenues to exploration of fundamental processes underlying the growth of biological photonic nanostructures in a variety of species. PMID:27386575

Domain morphology, boundaries, and topological defects in biophotonic gyroid nanostructures of butterfly wing scales.

PubMed

Singer, Andrej; Boucheron, Leandra; Dietze, Sebastian H; Jensen, Katharine E; Vine, David; McNulty, Ian; Dufresne, Eric R; Prum, Richard O; Mochrie, Simon G J; Shpyrko, Oleg G

2016-06-01

Many organisms in nature have evolved sophisticated cellular mechanisms to produce photonic nanostructures and, in recent years, diverse crystalline symmetries have been identified and related to macroscopic optical properties. However, because we know little about the distributions of domain sizes, the orientations of photonic crystals, and the nature of defects in these structures, we are unable to make the connection between the nanostructure and its development and functionality. We report on nondestructive studies of the morphology of chitinous photonic crystals in butterfly wing scales. Using spatially and angularly resolved x-ray diffraction, we find that the domains are highly oriented with respect to the whole scale, indicating growth from scale boundaries. X-ray coherent diffractive imaging reveals two types of crystalline domain interfaces: abrupt changes between domains emerging from distinct nucleation sites and smooth transitions with edge dislocations presumably resulting from internal stresses during nanostructure development. Our study of the scale structure reveals new aspects of photonic crystal growth in butterfly wings and shows their similarity to block copolymer materials. It opens new avenues to exploration of fundamental processes underlying the growth of biological photonic nanostructures in a variety of species.

Domain wall magnetoresistance in BiFeO3 thin films measured by scanning probe microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Domingo, N.; Farokhipoor, S.; Santiso, J.; Noheda, B.; Catalan, G.

2017-08-01

We measure the magnetotransport properties of individual 71° domain walls in multiferroic BiFeO3 by means of conductive—atomic force microscopy (C-AFM) in the presence of magnetic fields up to one Tesla. The results suggest anisotropic magnetoresistance at room temperature, with the sign of the magnetoresistance depending on the relative orientation between the magnetic field and the domain wall plane. A consequence of this finding is that macroscopically averaged magnetoresistance measurements for domain wall bunches are likely to underestimate the magnetoresistance of each individual domain wall.

Cool Girls, Inc.: Promoting the Positive Development of Urban Preadolescent and Early Adolescent Girls

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kuperminc, Gabriel P.; Thomason, Jessica; DiMeo, Michelle; Broomfield-Massey, Kimberley

2011-01-01

The past two decades have seen a transformation in youth programming toward a comprehensive positive youth development (YD) framework. Cool Girls, Inc., a YD program, focuses on improving girls' life chances by promoting positive behaviors and attitudes in multiple domains. These include self-concept, academic orientation, future orientation, and…

The Effectiveness of Instruction-Oriented Hypertext Systems Compared to Direct Instruction in E-Learning Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barhoumi, Chokri; Rossi, Pier Giuseppe

2013-01-01

The use of hypertext systems for learning and teaching complex and ill-structured domain of knowledge has been attracting attention in design of instruction. In this context, an experimental research has been conducted to explore the effectiveness of instructional design oriented hypertext systems. Cognitive flexibility hypertext theory is…

The Relations between Scientific Epistemological Beliefs and Goal Orientations of Pre-Service Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaya, Gamze Inan

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relations between pre-service teachers' scientific epistemological beliefs and goal orientations in 2X2 framework. Scientific epistemological beliefs are domain-specific views of people about nature and acquisition of scientific knowledge, how scientific knowledge is produced, how reliable and valid…

Influence of lattice orientation on growth and structure of graphene on Cu(001)

DOE PAGES

Wofford, Joseph M.; Nie, Shu; Thürmer, Konrad; ...

2015-03-31

We have used low-energy electron microscopy (LEEM) and diffraction (LEED) to examine the significance of lattice orientation in graphene growth on Cu(0 0 1). Individual graphene domains undergo anisotropic growth on the Cu surface, and develop into lens shapes with their long axes roughly aligned with Cu <1 0 0> in-plane directions. Furthermore, the long axis of a lens-shaped domain is only rarely oriented along a C <1 1> direction, suggesting that carbon attachment at “zigzag” graphene island edges is unfavorable. A kink-mediated adatom attachment process is consistent with the behavior observed here and reported in the literature. Likewise, themore » details of the ridged moiré pattern formed by the superposition of the graphene lattice on the (0 0 1) Cu surface also evolve with the graphene lattice orientation, and are predicted well by a simple geometric model. Managing the kink-mediated growth mode of graphene on Cu(0 0 1) will be necessary for the continued improvement of this graphene synthesis technique.« less

Supramolecular order and structural dynamics: A STM study of 2H-tetraphenylporphycene on Cu(111)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stark, Michael; Träg, Johannes; Ditze, Stefanie

2015-03-14

The adsorption of 2H-tetraphenylporphycene (2HTPPc) on Cu(111) was investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). At medium coverages, supramolecular ordered islands are observed. The individual 2HTPPc molecules appear as two pairs of intense protrusions which are separated by an elongated depression. In the islands, the molecules are organized in rows oriented along one of the close packed Cu(111) substrate rows; the structure is stabilized by T-type interactions of the phenyl substituents of neighboring molecules. Two types of rows are observed, namely, highly ordered rows in which all molecules exhibit the same orientation, and less ordered rows in which the molecules exhibitmore » two perpendicular orientations. Altogether, three different azimuthal orientations of 2HTPPc are observed within one domain, all of them rotated by 15° ± 1° relative to one closed packed Cu direction. The highly ordered rows are always separated by either one or two less ordered rows, with the latter structure being the thermodynamically more stable one. The situation in the islands is highly dynamic, such that molecules in the less ordered rows occasionally change orientation, also complete highly ordered rows can move. The supramolecular order and structural dynamics are discussed on the basis of the specific molecule-substrate and molecule-molecule interactions.« less

How to measure separations and angles between intra-molecular fluorescent markers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flyvbjerg, Henrik; Mortensen, Kim I.; Sung, Jongmin; Spudich, James A.

We demonstrate a novel, yet simple tool for the study of structure and function of biomolecules by extending two-colour co-localization microscopy to fluorescent molecules with fixed orientations and in intra-molecular proximity. From each color-separated microscope image in a time-lapse movie and using only simple means, we simultaneously determine both the relative (x,y)-separation of the fluorophores and their individual orientations in space with accuracy and precision. The positions and orientations of two domains of the same molecule are thus time-resolved. Using short double-stranded DNA molecules internally labelled with two fixed fluorophores, we demonstrate the accuracy and precision of our method using the known structure of double-stranded DNA as a benchmark, resolve 10-base-pair differences in fluorophore separations, and determine the unique 3D orientation of each DNA molecule, thereby establishing short, double-labelled DNA molecules as probes of 3D orientation of anything to which one can attach them firmly. This work was supported by a Lundbeck fellowship to K.I.M; a Stanford Bio-X fellowship to J.S. and Grants from the NIH (GM33289) to J.A.S. and the Human Frontier Science Program (GP0054/2009-C) to J.A.S. and H.F.

Functional imaging with cellular resolution reveals precise micro-architecture in visual cortex

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ohki, Kenichi; Chung, Sooyoung; Ch'ng, Yeang H.; Kara, Prakash; Reid, R. Clay

2005-02-01

Neurons in the cerebral cortex are organized into anatomical columns, with ensembles of cells arranged from the surface to the white matter. Within a column, neurons often share functional properties, such as selectivity for stimulus orientation; columns with distinct properties, such as different preferred orientations, tile the cortical surface in orderly patterns. This functional architecture was discovered with the relatively sparse sampling of microelectrode recordings. Optical imaging of membrane voltage or metabolic activity elucidated the overall geometry of functional maps, but is averaged over many cells (resolution >100µm). Consequently, the purity of functional domains and the precision of the borders between them could not be resolved. Here, we labelled thousands of neurons of the visual cortex with a calcium-sensitive indicator in vivo. We then imaged the activity of neuronal populations at single-cell resolution with two-photon microscopy up to a depth of 400µm. In rat primary visual cortex, neurons had robust orientation selectivity but there was no discernible local structure; neighbouring neurons often responded to different orientations. In area 18 of cat visual cortex, functional maps were organized at a fine scale. Neurons with opposite preferences for stimulus direction were segregated with extraordinary spatial precision in three dimensions, with columnar borders one to two cells wide. These results indicate that cortical maps can be built with single-cell precision.

An effective noise-suppression technique for surface microseismic data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Forghani-Arani, Farnoush; Willis, Mark; Haines, Seth S.; Batzle, Mike; Behura, Jyoti; Davidson, Michael

2013-01-01

The presence of strong surface-wave noise in surface microseismic data may decrease the utility of these data. We implement a technique, based on the distinct characteristics that microseismic signal and noise show in the τ‐p domain, to suppress surface-wave noise in microseismic data. Because most microseismic source mechanisms are deviatoric, preprocessing is necessary to correct for the nonuniform radiation pattern prior to transforming the data to the τ‐p domain. We employ a scanning approach, similar to semblance analysis, to test all possible double-couple orientations to determine an estimated orientation that best accounts for the polarity pattern of any microseismic events. We then correct the polarity of the data traces according to this pattern, prior to conducting signal-noise separation in the τ‐p domain. We apply our noise-suppression technique to two surface passive-seismic data sets from different acquisition surveys. The first data set includes a synthetic microseismic event added to field passive noise recorded by an areal receiver array distributed over a Barnett Formation reservoir undergoing hydraulic fracturing. The second data set is field microseismic data recorded by receivers arranged in a star-shaped array, over a Bakken Shale reservoir during a hydraulic-fracturing process. Our technique significantly improves the signal-to-noise ratios of the microseismic events and preserves the waveforms at the individual traces. We illustrate that the enhancement in signal-to-noise ratio also results in improved imaging of the microseismic hypocenter.

Site-directed antibody immobilization using a protein A-gold binding domain fusion protein for enhanced SPR immunosensing.

PubMed

de Juan-Franco, Elena; Caruz, Antonio; Pedrajas, J R; Lechuga, Laura M

2013-04-07

We have implemented a novel strategy for the oriented immobilization of antibodies onto a gold surface based on the use of a fusion protein, the protein A-gold binding domain (PAG). PAG consists of a gold binding peptide (GBP) coupled to the immunoglobulin-binding domains of staphylococcal protein A. This fusion protein provides an easy and fast oriented immobilization of antibodies preserving its native structure, while leaving the antigen binding sites (Fab) freely exposed. Using this immobilization strategy, we have demonstrated the performance of the immunosensing of the human Growth Hormone by SPR. A limit of detection of 90 ng mL(-1) was obtained with an inter-chip variability lower than 7%. The comparison of this method with other strategies for the direct immobilization of antibodies over gold surfaces has showed the enhanced sensitivity provided by the PAG approach.

Efficient multiscale magnetic-domain analysis of iron-core material under mechanical stress

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nishikubo, Atsushi; Ito, Shumpei; Mifune, Takeshi; Matsuo, Tetsuji; Kaido, Chikara; Takahashi, Yasuhito; Fujiwara, Koji

2018-05-01

For an efficient analysis of magnetization, a partial-implicit solution method is improved using an assembled domain structure model with six-domain mesoscopic particles exhibiting pinning-type hysteresis. The quantitative analysis of non-oriented silicon steel succeeds in predicting the stress dependence of hysteresis loss with computation times greatly reduced by using the improved partial-implicit method. The effect of cell division along the thickness direction is also evaluated.

High-resolution orientation and depth of insertion of the voltage-sensing S4 helix of a potassium channel in lipid bilayers.

PubMed

Doherty, Tim; Su, Yongchao; Hong, Mei

2010-08-27

The opening and closing of voltage-gated potassium (Kv) channels are controlled by several conserved Arg residues in the S4 helix of the voltage-sensing domain. The interaction of these positively charged Arg residues with the lipid membrane has been of intense interest for understanding how membrane proteins fold to allow charged residues to insert into lipid bilayers against free-energy barriers. Using solid-state NMR, we have now determined the orientation and insertion depth of the S4 peptide of the KvAP channel in lipid bilayers. Two-dimensional (15)N correlation experiments of macroscopically oriented S4 peptide in phospholipid bilayers revealed a tilt angle of 40 degrees and two possible rotation angles differing by 180 degrees around the helix axis. Remarkably, the tilt angle and one of the two rotation angles are identical to those of the S4 helix in the intact voltage-sensing domain, suggesting that interactions between the S4 segment and other helices of the voltage-sensing domain are not essential for the membrane topology of the S4 helix. (13)C-(31)P distances between the S4 backbone and the lipid (31)P indicate a approximately 9 A local thinning and 2 A average thinning of the DMPC (1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphochloline)/DMPG (1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylglycerol) bilayer, consistent with neutron diffraction data. Moreover, a short distance of 4.6 A from the guanidinium C(zeta) of the second Arg to (31)P indicates the existence of guanidinium phosphate hydrogen bonding and salt bridges. These data suggest that the structure of the Kv gating helix is mainly determined by protein-lipid interactions instead of interhelical protein-protein interactions, and the S4 amino acid sequence encodes sufficient information for the membrane topology of this crucial gating helix. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A learning apprentice for software parts composition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allen, Bradley P.; Holtzman, Peter L.

1987-01-01

An overview of the knowledge acquisition component of the Bauhaus, a prototype computer aided software engineering (CASE) workstation for the development of domain-specific automatic programming systems (D-SAPS) is given. D-SAPS use domain knowledge in the refinement of a description of an application program into a compilable implementation. The approach to the construction of D-SAPS was to automate the process of refining a description of a program, expressed in an object-oriented domain language, into a configuration of software parts that implement the behavior of the domain objects.

Dike orientations in the late jurassic independence dike swarm and implications for vertical-axis tectonic rotations in eastern California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hopson, R.F.; Hillhouse, J.W.; Howard, K.A.

2008-01-01

Analysis of the strikes of 3841 dikes in 47 domains in the 500-km-long Late Jurassic Independence dike swarm indicates a distribution that is skewed clockwise from the dominant northwest strike. Independence dike swarm azimuths tend to cluster near 325?? ?? 30??, consistent with initial subparallel intrusion along much of the swarm. Dike azimuths in a quarter of the domains vary widely from the dominant trend. In domains in the essentially unrotated Sierra Nevada block, mean dike azimuths range mostly between 300?? and 320??, with the exception of Mount Goddard (247??). Mean dike azimuths in domains in the Basin and Range Province in the Argus, Inyo, and White Mountains areas range from 291?? to 354?? the mean is 004?? in the El Paso Mountains. In the Mojave Desert, mean dike azimuths range from 318?? to 023??, and in the eastern Transverse Ranges, they range from 316?? to 051??. Restoration for late Cenozoic vertical-axis rotations, suggested by paleodeclinations determined from published studies from nearby Miocene and younger rocks, shifts dike azimuths into better agreement with azimuths measured in the tectonically stable Sierra Nevada. This confirms that vertical-axis tectonic rotations explain some of the dispersion in orientation, especially in the Mojave Desert and eastern Transverse Ranges, and that the dike orientations can be a useful if imperfect guide to tectonic rotations where paleomagnetic data do not exist. Large deviations from the main trend of the swarm may reflect (1) clockwise rotations for which there is no paleomagnetic evidence available, (2) dike intrusions of other ages, (3) crack filling at angles oblique or perpendicular to the main swarm, (4) pre-Miocene rotations, or (5) unrecognized domain boundaries between dike localities and sites with paleomagnetic determinations. ?? 2008 The Geological Society of America.

Educational MOO: Text-Based Virtual Reality for Learning in Community. ERIC Digest.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Turbee, Lonnie

MOO stands for "Multi-user domain, Object-Oriented." Early multi-user domains, or "MUDs," began as net-based dungeons-and-dragons type games, but MOOs have evolved from these origins to become some of cyberspace's most fascinating and engaging online communities. MOOs are social environments in a text-based virtual reality…

Structure and Orientation of T4 Lysozyme Bound to the Small Heat Shock Protein α-Crystallin

PubMed Central

Claxton, Derek P.; Zou, Ping; Mchaourab, Hassane S.

2008-01-01

Summary We have determined the structural changes that accompany the formation of a stable complex between a destabilized mutant of T4 lysozyme (T4L) and the small heat-shock protein α-crystallin. Using pairs of fluorescence or spin label probes to fingerprint the T4L tertiary fold, we demonstrate that binding disrupts tertiary packing in the two domains as well as across the active site cleft. Furthermore, increased distances between i and i+4 residues of helices support a model in which the bound structure is not native-like but significantly unfolded. In the confines of the oligomer, T4L has a preferential orientation with residues in the more hydrophobic C-terminal domain sequestered in a buried environment while residues in the N-terminal domain are exposed to the aqueous solvent. Furthermore, EPR spectral lineshapes of sites in the N-terminal domain are narrower than in the folded, unbound T4L reflecting an unstructured backbone and an asymmetric pattern of contacts between T4L and α-crystallin. The net orientation is not affected by the location of the destabilizing mutation consistent with the notion that binding is not triggered by recognition of localized unfolding. Together, the structural and thermodynamic data indicate that the stably bound conformation of T4L is unfolded and support a model in which the two-modes of substrate binding originate from two discrete binding sites on the chaperone. PMID:18062989

Time perspective and weight management behaviors in newly diagnosed Type 2 diabetes: a mediational analysis.

PubMed

Hall, Peter A; Fong, Geoffrey T; Cheng, Alice Y

2012-12-01

The primary objective of the current study was to examine the extent to which domain-specific time perspective predicts weight management behaviors (dietary behavior and physical activity) among those newly diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. A secondary objective was to test potential mediators of the hypothesized effect (behavioral intention, self-efficacy and control beliefs). A total of 204 adults newly diagnosed (≤6 months) with Type 2 diabetes participated in the study, which included a baseline assessment of domain-general and domain-specific time perspective, as well as strength of intention to perform two weight-management behaviors (dietary choice and physical activity); both weight-management behaviors were assessed again at 6 month follow-up. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed a prospective association between domain-specific time perspective and uptake of weight management behaviors. Individuals with newly diagnosed T2DM possessing a future-oriented time perspective reported making less frequent fatty food choices and greater increases in physical activity over the 6-month follow-up interval. These effects were selectively mediated by intention strength, and not competing social cognitive variables. For both behaviors, the total effects and meditational models were robust to adjustments for demographics, body composition and disease variables. A future-oriented time perspective is prospectively associated with superior uptake of weight management behaviors among those with newly diagnosed Type 2 diabetes. The facilitating effect of future-oriented thinking appears to occur via enhanced strength of intentions to perform weight management behaviors.

Opinion dynamics in two dimensions: domain coarsening leads to stable bi-polarization and anomalous scaling exponents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Velásquez-Rojas, F.; Vazquez, F.

2018-04-01

We study an opinion dynamics model that explores the competition between persuasion and compromise in a population of agents with nearest-neighbor interactions on a two-dimensional square lattice. Each agent can hold either a positive or a negative opinion orientation, and can have two levels of intensity—moderate and extremist. When two interacting agents have the same orientation they become extremists with persuasion probability p, while if they have opposite orientations they become moderate with compromise probability q. These updating rules lead to the formation of same-opinion domains with a coarsening dynamics that depends on the ratio r  =  p/q. The population initially evolves to a centralized state for small r, where domains are composed of moderate agents and coarsening is without surface tension, and to a bi-polarized state for large r, where domains are formed by extremist agents and coarsening is driven by curvature. Consensus in an extreme opinion is finally reached in a time that scales with the population size N and r as for small r and as for large r. Bi-polarization could be quite stable when the system falls into a striped state where agents organize into single-opinion horizontal, vertical or diagonal bands. An analysis of the stripe dynamics towards consensus allows us to obtain an approximate expression for τ, which shows that the exponent 1.64 is a result of the diffusion of the stripe interfaces combined with their roughness properties.

Optimization of Ferroelectric Ceramics by Design at the Microstructure Level

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jayachandran, K. P.; Guedes, J. M.; Rodrigues, H. C.

2010-05-01

Ferroelectric materials show remarkable physical behaviors that make them essential for many devices and have been extensively studied for their applications of nonvolatile random access memory (NvRAM) and high-speed random access memories. Although ferroelectric ceramics (polycrystals) present ease in manufacture and in compositional modifications and represent the widest application area of materials, computational and theoretical studies are sparse owing to many reasons including the large number of constituent atoms. Macroscopic properties of ferroelectric polycrystals are dominated by the inhomogeneities at the crystallographic domain/grain level. Orientation of grains/domains is critical to the electromechanical response of the single crystalline and polycrystalline materials. Polycrystalline materials have the potential of exhibiting better performance at a macroscopic scale by design of the domain/grain configuration at the domain-size scale. This suggests that piezoelectric properties can be optimized by a proper choice of the parameters which control the distribution of grain orientations. Nevertheless, this choice is complicated and it is impossible to analyze all possible combinations of the distribution parameters or the angles themselves. Hence we have implemented the stochastic optimization technique of simulated annealing combined with the homogenization for the optimization problem. The mathematical homogenization theory of a piezoelectric medium is implemented in the finite element method (FEM) by solving the coupled equilibrium electrical and mechanical fields. This implementation enables the study of the dependence of the macroscopic electromechanical properties of a typical crystalline and polycrystalline ferroelectric ceramic on the grain orientation.

Cognitive reserve is not associated with improved performance in all cognitive domains.

PubMed

Lavrencic, Louise M; Churches, Owen F; Keage, Hannah A D

2017-06-08

Cognitive reserve beneficially affects cognitive performance, even into advanced age. However, the benefits afforded by high cognitive reserve may not extend to all cognitive domains. This study investigated whether cognitive reserve differentially affects performance on cognitive tasks, in 521 cognitively healthy individuals aged 60 to 98 years (Mage = 68, SD = 6.22, 287 female); years of education was used to index cognitive reserve. Cognitive performance variables assessed attention, executive functions, verbal memory, motor performance, orientation, perception of emotion, processing speed, and working memory. Bootstrapped regression analyses revealed that cognitive reserve was associated with attention, executive functions, verbal and working memory, and orientation; and not significantly related to emotion perception, processing speed, or motor performance. Cognitive reserve appears to differentially affect individual cognitive domains, which extends current theory that purports benefits for all domains. This finding highlights the possibility of using tests not (or minimally) associated with cognitive reserve, to screen for cognitive impairment and dementia in late life; these tests will likely best track brain health, free of compensatory neural mechanisms.

Morphological Simulation of Phase Separation Coupled Oscillation Shear and Varying Temperature Fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Heping; Li, Xiaoguang; Lin, Kejun; Geng, Xingguo

2018-05-01

This paper explores the effect of the shear frequency and Prandtl number ( Pr) on the procedure and pattern formation of phase separation in symmetric and asymmetric systems. For the symmetric system, the periodic shear significantly prolongs the spinodal decomposition stage and enlarges the separated domain in domain growth stage. By adjusting the Pr and shear frequency, the number and orientation of separated steady layer structures can be controlled during domain stretch stage. The numerical results indicate that the increase in Pr and decrease in the shear frequency can significantly increase in the layer number of the lamellar structure, which relates to the decrease in domain size. Furthermore, the lamellar orientation parallel to the shear direction is altered into that perpendicular to the shear direction by further increasing the shear frequency, and also similar results for larger systems. For asymmetric system, the quantitative analysis shows that the decrease in the shear frequency enlarges the size of separated minority phases. These numerical results provide guidance for setting the optimum condition for the phase separation under periodic shear and slow cooling.

Ferroelectric Self-Poling, Switching, and Monoclinic Domain Configuration in BiFeO 3 Thin Films

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Beekman, C.; Siemons, W.; Chi, M.

2016-05-23

Self-poling of ferroelectric films, i.e., a preferred, uniform direction of the ferroelectric polarization in as-grown samples is often observed yet poorly understood despite its importance for device applications. The multiferroic perovskite BiFeO 3, which crystallizes in two distinct structural polymorphs depending on applied epitaxial strain, is well known to exhibit self-poling. This study investigates the effect of self-poling on the monoclinic domain configuration and the switching properties of the two polymorphs of BiFeO 3 (R' and T') in thin films grown on LaAlO 3 substrates with slightly different La 0.3Sr 0.7MnO 3 buffer layers. Our study shows that the polarizationmore » state formed during the growth acts as “imprint” on the polarization and that switching the polarization away from this self-poled direction can only be done at the expense of the sample's monoclinic domain configuration. We observed reduction of the monoclinic domain size and found that it was largely reversible; hence, the domain size is restored when the polarization is switched back to its original orientation. This is a direct consequence of the growth taking place in the polar phase (below T c). Finally, switching the polarization away from the preferred configuration, in which defects and domain patterns synergistically minimize the system's energy, leads to a domain state with smaller (and more highly strained and distorted) monoclinic domains.« less

A cross-sectional study of chiropractic students' research readiness using the Academic Self-Concept Analysis Scale.

PubMed

Whillier, Stephney; Au, Kent; Feng, Louie; Su, Helen

2017-10-01

The shift toward evidence-based health care has reoriented tertiary clinical education in a way that necessitates and incorporates research. This study assesses the inclination and suitability of chiropractic students for research over a 5-year educational program. Research attributes of chiropractic students were assessed in this cross-sectional study using a validated and modified academic self-concept analysis scale. Students in first and final year were assessed in 4 domains: creativity, motivation, self-regulation, and general intellectual ability. Univariable differences were assessed using Welch 2-sample t tests, and multivariable analysis was carried out with multiple linear regression models. The response rate was 71% (n = 165). First- and fifth-year students scored highly on all 4 domains (80% to 96%). Compared to first-year students, fifth-year students rated themselves significantly lower in 3 of the domains: general intellectual abilities (t[126] = -2.01; p = 0.047), motivation (t[115] = -4.82; p < 0.001), and creativity (t[136] = -3.00; p = 0.003). Research suitability is high in chiropractic students. Both cohorts scored high in all domains despite the disparity between first and fifth years. First-year students outperformed fifth-year students in 3 domains, indicating a potential decline in the inclination to do research over time. However, unaccounted factors, such as the Dunning-Kruger effect, life changes, and "burnout," may have contributed to these differences. Future studies should include questions about stress, fatigue, clinical orientation, and educational environment to inform the interpretation of findings.

Object-oriented structures supporting remote sensing databases

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wichmann, Keith; Cromp, Robert F.

1995-01-01

Object-oriented databases show promise for modeling the complex interrelationships pervasive in scientific domains. To examine the utility of this approach, we have developed an Intelligent Information Fusion System based on this technology, and applied it to the problem of managing an active repository of remotely-sensed satellite scenes. The design and implementation of the system is compared and contrasted with conventional relational database techniques, followed by a presentation of the underlying object-oriented data structures used to enable fast indexing into the data holdings.

Anisotropy of domain switching in prepoled lead titanate zirconate ceramics under multiaxial electrical loading

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yuan-Ming; Li, Fa-Xin; Fang, Dai-Ning

2007-01-01

The authors report an observation of anisotropic domain switching process in prepoled lead titanate zirconate (PZT) ceramics under multiaxial electrical loading. Prepoled PZT blocks were obliquely cut to apply an electric field at discrete angles θ (0°-180°) to the initial poling direction. Both the coercive field and switchable polarization are found to decrease significantly when sinθ increases from zero to unity. The measured strain curves show that most domains that accomplished 180° domain switching actually experienced two successive 90° switching. The oriented domain texture after poling plus the induced nonuniform stress are used to explain the observed domain switching anisotropy.

Binding Rate Constants Reveal Distinct Features of Disordered Protein Domains.

PubMed

Dogan, Jakob; Jonasson, Josefin; Andersson, Eva; Jemth, Per

2015-08-04

Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) are abundant in the proteome and involved in key cellular functions. However, experimental data about the binding kinetics of IDPs as a function of different environmental conditions are scarce. We have performed an extensive characterization of the ionic strength dependence of the interaction between the molten globular nuclear co-activator binding domain (NCBD) of CREB binding protein and five different protein ligands, including the intrinsically disordered activation domain of p160 transcriptional co-activators (SRC1, TIF2, ACTR), the p53 transactivation domain, and the folded pointed domain (PNT) of transcription factor ETS-2. Direct comparisons of the binding rate constants under identical conditions show that the association rate constant, kon, for interactions between NCBD and disordered protein domains is high at low salt concentrations (90-350 × 10(6) M(-1) s(-1) at 4 °C) but is reduced significantly (10-30-fold) with an increasing ionic strength and reaches a plateau around physiological ionic strength. In contrast, the kon for the interaction between NCBD and the folded PNT domain is only 7 × 10(6) M(-1) s(-1) (4 °C and low salt) and displays weak ionic strength dependence, which could reflect a distinctly different association that relies less on electrostatic interactions. Furthermore, the basal rate constant (in the absence of electrostatic interactions) is high for the NCBD interactions, exceeding those typically observed for folded proteins. One likely interpretation is that disordered proteins have a large number of possible collisions leading to a productive on-pathway encounter complex, while folded proteins are more restricted in terms of orientation. Our results highlight the importance of electrostatic interactions in binding involving IDPs and emphasize the significance of including ionic strength as a factor in studies that compare the binding properties of IDPs to those of ordered proteins.

Time Domain Filtering of Resolved Images of Sgr A{sup ∗}

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shiokawa, Hotaka; Doeleman, Sheperd S.; Gammie, Charles F.

The goal of the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) is to provide spatially resolved images of Sgr A*, the source associated with the Galactic Center black hole. Because Sgr A* varies on timescales that are short compared to an EHT observing campaign, it is interesting to ask whether variability contains information about the structure and dynamics of the accretion flow. In this paper, we introduce “time-domain filtering,” a technique to filter time fluctuating images with specific temporal frequency ranges and to demonstrate the power and usage of the technique by applying it to mock millimeter wavelength images of Sgr A*. Themore » mock image data is generated from the General Relativistic Magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) simulation and the general relativistic ray-tracing method. We show that the variability on each line of sight is tightly correlated with a typical radius of emission. This is because disk emissivity fluctuates on a timescale of the order of the local orbital period. Time-domain filtered images therefore reflect the model dependent emission radius distribution, which is not accessible in time-averaged images. We show that, in principle, filtered data have the power to distinguish between models with different black-hole spins, different disk viewing angles, and different disk orientations in the sky.« less

Time Domain Filtering of Resolved Images of Sgr A∗

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shiokawa, Hotaka; Gammie, Charles F.; Doeleman, Sheperd S.

2017-09-01

The goal of the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) is to provide spatially resolved images of Sgr A*, the source associated with the Galactic Center black hole. Because Sgr A* varies on timescales that are short compared to an EHT observing campaign, it is interesting to ask whether variability contains information about the structure and dynamics of the accretion flow. In this paper, we introduce “time-domain filtering,” a technique to filter time fluctuating images with specific temporal frequency ranges and to demonstrate the power and usage of the technique by applying it to mock millimeter wavelength images of Sgr A*. The mock image data is generated from the General Relativistic Magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) simulation and the general relativistic ray-tracing method. We show that the variability on each line of sight is tightly correlated with a typical radius of emission. This is because disk emissivity fluctuates on a timescale of the order of the local orbital period. Time-domain filtered images therefore reflect the model dependent emission radius distribution, which is not accessible in time-averaged images. We show that, in principle, filtered data have the power to distinguish between models with different black-hole spins, different disk viewing angles, and different disk orientations in the sky.

An Investigation of Difficulties Experienced by Students Developing Unified Modelling Language (UML) Class and Sequence Diagrams

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sien, Ven Yu

2011-01-01

Object-oriented analysis and design (OOAD) is not an easy subject to learn. There are many challenges confronting students when studying OOAD. Students have particular difficulty abstracting real-world problems within the context of OOAD. They are unable to effectively build object-oriented (OO) models from the problem domain because they…

Self-Acceptance and Self-Disclosure of Sexual Orientation in Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Adults: An Attachment Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mohr, Jonathan J.; Fassinger, Ruth E.

2003-01-01

A model linking attachment variables with self-acceptance and self-disclosure of sexual orientation was tested using data from 489 lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) adults. The model included the following 4 domains of variables: (a) representations of childhood attachment experiences with parents, (b) perceptions of parental support for sexual…

Mastering Social and Organization Goals: Strategy Use by Two Children with Asperger Syndrome during Cognitive Orientation to Daily Occupational Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rodger, Sylvia; Vishram, Alysha

2010-01-01

Preliminary data supports the effectiveness of Cognitive Orientation to (daily) Occupational Performance (CO-OP) for children with Asperger syndrome (AS). Children with AS often experience social and organizational difficulties spanning daily occupations. This case study explored the pattern of Global Strategies and Domain-Specific Strategies…

Hails from the crypt: a terror management health model investigation of the effectiveness of health-oriented versus celebrity-oriented endorsements.

PubMed

McCabe, Simon; Vail, Kenneth E; Arndt, Jamie; Goldenberg, Jamie L

2014-03-01

Interfacing the terror management health model with the meaning transfer model, we offer novel hypotheses concerning the effectiveness of celebrity and medical endorsements for consumer products and health behavior decisions. Studies 1 and 2 revealed that, compared with control topic primes, death thoughts in focal attention increased the effectiveness of health-oriented (doctor) endorsers but not culture-oriented (celebrity) endorsers, whereas death thoughts outside of focal attention increased the effectiveness of culture-oriented endorsers but not health-oriented endorsers. Studies 3 and 4 then focus more specifically on the valence and specificity of culture-oriented endorsements, revealing that death thoughts outside focal attention increase the effectiveness of culture-oriented endorsers only on the behaviors specifically endorsed and only when the endorser is characterized as possessing cultural value. Discussion focuses on everyday management of existential concerns and implications for persuasive communications in the health domain.

Crystal structure of the Agrobacterium virulence complex VirE1-VirE2 reveals a flexible protein that can accommodate different partners.

PubMed

Dym, Orly; Albeck, Shira; Unger, Tamar; Jacobovitch, Jossef; Branzburg, Anna; Michael, Yigal; Frenkiel-Krispin, Daphna; Wolf, Sharon Grayer; Elbaum, Michael

2008-08-12

Agrobacterium tumefaciens infects its plant hosts by a mechanism of horizontal gene transfer. This capability has led to its widespread use in artificial genetic transformation. In addition to DNA, the bacterium delivers an abundant ssDNA binding protein, VirE2, whose roles in the host include protection from cytoplasmic nucleases and adaptation for nuclear import. In Agrobacterium, VirE2 is bound to its acidic chaperone VirE1. When expressed in vitro in the absence of VirE1, VirE2 is prone to oligomerization and forms disordered filamentous aggregates. These filaments adopt an ordered solenoidal form in the presence of ssDNA, which was characterized previously by electron microscopy and three-dimensional image processing. VirE2 coexpressed in vitro with VirE1 forms a soluble heterodimer. VirE1 thus prevents VirE2 oligomerization and competes with its binding to ssDNA. We present here a crystal structure of VirE2 in complex with VirE1, showing that VirE2 is composed of two independent domains presenting a novel fold, joined by a flexible linker. Electrostatic interactions with VirE1 cement the two domains of VirE2 into a locked form. Comparison with the electron microscopy structure indicates that the VirE2 domains adopt different relative orientations. We suggest that the flexible linker between the domains enables VirE2 to accommodate its different binding partners.

A prognostic model for temporal courses that combines temporal abstraction and case-based reasoning.

PubMed

Schmidt, Rainer; Gierl, Lothar

2005-03-01

Since clinical management of patients and clinical research are essentially time-oriented endeavours, reasoning about time has become a hot topic in medical informatics. Here we present a method for prognosis of temporal courses, which combines temporal abstractions with case-based reasoning. It is useful for application domains where neither well-known standards, nor known periodicity, nor a complete domain theory exist. We have used our method in two prognostic applications. The first one deals with prognosis of the kidney function for intensive care patients. The idea is to elicit impairments on time, especially to warn against threatening kidney failures. Our second application deals with a completely different domain, namely geographical medicine. Its intention is to compute early warnings against approaching infectious diseases, which are characterised by irregular cyclic occurrences. So far, we have applied our program on influenza and bronchitis. In this paper, we focus on influenza forecast and show first experimental results.

Specific arrangement of alpha-helical coiled coils in the core domain of the bacterial flagellar hook for the universal joint function.

PubMed

Fujii, Takashi; Kato, Takayuki; Namba, Keiichi

2009-11-11

The bacterial flagellar hook is a short, highly curved tubular structure connecting the rotary motor to the filament acting as a helical propeller. The bending flexibility of the hook allows it to work as a universal joint. A partial atomic model of the hook revealed a sliding intersubunit domain interaction along the protofilament to produce bending flexibility. However, it remained unclear how the tightly packed inner core domains can still permit axial extension and compression. We report advances in cryoEM image analysis for high-resolution, high-throughput structural analysis and a density map of the hook that reveals most of the secondary structures, including the terminal alpha helices forming a coiled coil. The orientations and axial packing interactions of these two alpha helices are distinctly different from those of the filament, allowing them to have a room for axial compression and extension for bending flexibility without impairing the mechanical stability of the hook.

Lipid-protein interaction induced domains: Kinetics and conformational changes in multicomponent vesicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sreeja, K. K.; Sunil Kumar, P. B.

2018-04-01

The spatio-temporal organization of proteins and the associated morphological changes in membranes are of importance in cell signaling. Several mechanisms that promote the aggregation of proteins at low cell surface concentrations have been investigated in the past. We show, using Monte Carlo simulations, that the affinity of proteins for specific lipids can hasten their aggregation kinetics. The lipid membrane is modeled as a dynamically triangulated surface with the proteins defined as in-plane fields at the vertices. We show that, even at low protein concentrations, strong lipid-protein interactions can result in large protein clusters indicating a route to lipid mediated signal amplification. At high protein concentrations, the domains form buds similar to that seen in lipid-lipid interaction induced phase separation. Protein interaction induced domain budding is suppressed when proteins act as anisotropic inclusions and exhibit nematic orientational order. The kinetics of protein clustering and resulting conformational changes are shown to be significantly different for the isotropic and anisotropic curvature inducing proteins.

Defect-selective dry etching for quick and easy probing of hexagonal boron nitride domains.

PubMed

Wu, Qinke; Lee, Joohyun; Park, Sangwoo; Woo, Hwi Je; Lee, Sungjoo; Song, Young Jae

2018-03-23

In this study, we demonstrate a new method to selectively etch the point defects or the boundaries of as-grown hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) films and flakes in situ on copper substrates using hydrogen and argon gases. The initial quality of the chemical vapor deposition-grown hBN films and flakes was confirmed by UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. Different gas flow ratios of Ar/H 2 were then employed to etch the same quality of samples and it was found that etching with hydrogen starts from the point defects and grows epitaxially, which helps in confirming crystalline orientations. However, etching with argon is sensitive to line defects (boundaries) and helps in visualizing the domain size. Finally, based on this defect-selective dry etching technique, it could be visualized that the domains of a polycrystalline hBN monolayer merged together with many parts, even with those that grew from a single nucleation seed.

Defect-selective dry etching for quick and easy probing of hexagonal boron nitride domains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Qinke; Lee, Joohyun; Park, Sangwoo; Woo, Hwi Je; Lee, Sungjoo; Song, Young Jae

2018-03-01

In this study, we demonstrate a new method to selectively etch the point defects or the boundaries of as-grown hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) films and flakes in situ on copper substrates using hydrogen and argon gases. The initial quality of the chemical vapor deposition-grown hBN films and flakes was confirmed by UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. Different gas flow ratios of Ar/H2 were then employed to etch the same quality of samples and it was found that etching with hydrogen starts from the point defects and grows epitaxially, which helps in confirming crystalline orientations. However, etching with argon is sensitive to line defects (boundaries) and helps in visualizing the domain size. Finally, based on this defect-selective dry etching technique, it could be visualized that the domains of a polycrystalline hBN monolayer merged together with many parts, even with those that grew from a single nucleation seed.

Magnetization Processes in Ribbons of Soft Magnetic Amorphous Alloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Skulkina, N. A.; Ivanov, O. A.; Mazeeva, A. K.; Kuznetsov, P. A.; Stepanova, E. A.; Blinova, O. V.; Mikhalitsyna, E. A.

2018-02-01

Using iron-based (Fe-B-Si-C; Fe-Ni-Si-B) and cobalt-based (Co-Fe-Ni-Cr-Mn-Si-B) soft magnetic alloys as examples, we have studied the dependences of the remanence measured using minor hysteresis loops on the maximum induction. The different degrees of stabilization of the 180° and 90° domain walls allows these dependences to be used to analyze the magnetization processes that occur in the rapidly quenched soft magnetic alloys. It has been established from the B r( B m) dependences that, in the ribbons of soft magnetic amorphous alloys, the processes of the rotation of the magnetization oriented perpendicular to the ribbon plane start before the end of the processes of the displacement of the walls of domains with planar magnetization. After the end of the magnetization rotation processes, the magnetization processes can be interpreted as the displacement of the domain walls with a planar magnetization accompanied by a decrease in their number and a transition to a bistable state.

Lattice-Rotation Vortex at the Charged Monoclinic Domain Boundary in a Relaxor Ferroelectric Crystal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shao, Yu-Tsun; Zuo, Jian-Min

2017-04-01

We present evidence of lattice-rotation vortices having an average radius of ˜7 nm at the ferroelectric domain boundary of (1 -x )Pb (Zn1 /3Nb2 /3)O3-xPbTiO3 (x =0.08 ). Maps of crystal orientations and domain symmetry breaking are obtained using scanning convergent beam electron diffraction, which show fractional rotation vortices near the 50° monoclinic domain walls. The merging of 2D and 1D topological defects is consistent with inhomogeneous boundary charge and expected to have a large impact on the domain-switching mechanisms in relaxor ferroelectric crystals and ferroelectric devices.

DOORS to the semantic web and grid with a PORTAL for biomedical computing.

PubMed

Taswell, Carl

2008-03-01

The semantic web remains in the early stages of development. It has not yet achieved the goals envisioned by its founders as a pervasive web of distributed knowledge and intelligence. Success will be attained when a dynamic synergism can be created between people and a sufficient number of infrastructure systems and tools for the semantic web in analogy with those for the original web. The domain name system (DNS), web browsers, and the benefits of publishing web pages motivated many people to register domain names and publish web sites on the original web. An analogous resource label system, semantic search applications, and the benefits of collaborative semantic networks will motivate people to register resource labels and publish resource descriptions on the semantic web. The Domain Ontology Oriented Resource System (DOORS) and Problem Oriented Registry of Tags and Labels (PORTAL) are proposed as infrastructure systems for resource metadata within a paradigm that can serve as a bridge between the original web and the semantic web. The Internet Registry Information Service (IRIS) registers [corrected] domain names while DNS publishes domain addresses with mapping of names to addresses for the original web. Analogously, PORTAL registers resource labels and tags while DOORS publishes resource locations and descriptions with mapping of labels to locations for the semantic web. BioPORT is proposed as a prototype PORTAL registry specific for the problem domain of biomedical computing.

Limb versus speech motor control: a conceptual review.

PubMed

Grimme, Britta; Fuchs, Susanne; Perrier, Pascal; Schöner, Gregor

2011-01-01

This paper presents a comparative conceptual review of speech and limb motor control. Speech is essentially cognitive in nature and constrained by the rules of language, while limb movement is often oriented to physical objects. We discuss the issue of intrinsic vs. extrinsic variables underlying the representations of motor goals as well as whether motor goals specify terminal postures or entire trajectories. Timing and coordination is recognized as an area of strong interchange between the two domains. Although coordination among different motor acts within a sequence and coarticulation are central to speech motor control, they have received only limited attention in manipulatory movements. The biomechanics of speech production is characterized by the presence of soft tissue, a variable number of degrees of freedom, and the challenges of high rates of production, while limb movements deal more typically with inertial constraints from manipulated objects. This comparative review thus leads us to identify many strands of thinking that are shared across the two domains, but also points us to issues on which approaches in the two domains differ. We conclude that conceptual interchange between the fields of limb and speech motor control has been useful in the past and promises continued benefit.

Correlation between the ripple phase and stripe domains in membranes.

PubMed

Bernchou, Uffe; Midtiby, Henrik; Ipsen, John Hjort; Simonsen, Adam Cohen

2011-12-01

We investigate the relationship between stripe domains and the ripple phase in membranes. These have previously been observed separately without being linked explicitly. Past results have demonstrated that solid and ripple phases exhibit rich textural patterns related to the orientational order of tilted lipids and the orientation of ripple corrugations. Here we reveal a highly complex network pattern of ripple and solid domains in DLPC, DPPC bilayers with structures covering length scales from 10 nm to 100 μm. Using spincoated double supported membranes we investigate domains by correlated AFM and fluorescence microscopy. Cooling experiments demonstrate the mode of nucleation and growth of stripe domains enriched in the fluorescent probe. Concurrent AFM imaging reveals that these stripe domains have a one-to-one correspondence with a rippled morphology running parallel to the stripe direction. Both thin and thick stripe domains are observed having ripple periods of 13.5±0.2 nm and 27.4±0.6 nm respectively. These are equivalent to previously observed asymmetric/equilibrium and symmetric/metastable ripple phases, respectively. Thin stripes grow from small solid domains and grow predominantly in length with a speed of ~3 times that of the thick stripes. Thick stripes grow by templating on the sides of thinner stripes or can emerge directly from the fluid phase. Bending and branching angles of stripes are in accordance with an underlying six fold lattice. We discuss mechanisms for the nucleation and growth of ripples and discuss a generic phase diagram that may partly rationalize the coexistence of metastable and stable phases. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Nano-domain states of strontium ferrites SrFe{sub 1−y}M{sub y}O{sub 2.5+x} (M=V, Mo; y≤0.1; x≤0.2)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ancharova, Uliana V., E-mail: ancharova@gmail.com; Cherepanova, Svetlana V., E-mail: svch@catalysis.ru; Novosibirsk State University, Pirogova st., 2, Novosibirsk 630090

Series of the oxygen-deficient strontium ferrites SrFe{sub 1−y}M{sub y}O{sub 2.5+x} (M=V, Mo, y<0.1; x<0.2) substituted with high-charged cations have been investigated by HRTEM and synchrotron radiation XRD. For artificial lowering of x, all the compounds were treated and quenched in vacuum from 950 °C, which led to the formation of the vacancy-ordered brownmillerite phase at local order. Depending on y, the substituted strontium ferrites have three differently disordered nano-domain states. At y≤0.03 there are twinned lamellar 1D nano-domain structures. At 0.04≤y≤0.05 and 0.06≤y≤0.08 the intergrown 3D nano-domain structures with two different types of disorder are formed. The higher the y,more » the lower the domain size. Disordering phenomena of the 3D nano-domain states were examined with local structure simulations followed by the Debye calculation of XRD patterns. - Graphical abstract: Evolution of nano-domain structure with an increase in the substitution degree y in strontium ferrites SrFe{sub 1−y}M{sub y}O{sub 2.5+x} (M=V, Mo; y≤0.1; x≤0.2): an increase in y decreases the average size of domains and increases the degree of disorder, thus producing the lamellar (1D) or 3D nano-domains. - Highlights: • Two major nanodomain states were found for SrFe{sub 1−y}M{sub y}O{sub 2.5+x} (M=V, Mo, y<0.1; x<0.2). • Both contain vacancy-ordered orthorhombic domains intergrown with cubic matrix. • First (y≤0.03) shows orthorhombic and second (0.04≤y≤0.08) – cubic XRD patterns. • First contains 1D twinned lamellar domains with low-angle boundaries and deformations. • Second contains intergrown isotropic in 3D domains perpendicular oriented in matrix.« less

Cultural orientations, parental beliefs and practices, and latino adolescents' autonomy and independence.

PubMed

Roche, Kathleen M; Caughy, Margaret O; Schuster, Mark A; Bogart, Laura M; Dittus, Patricia J; Franzini, Luisa

2014-08-01

Despite the salience of behavioral autonomy and independence to parent-child interactions during middle adolescence, little is known about parenting processes pertinent to youth autonomy development for Latino families. Among a diverse sample of 684 Latino-origin parent-adolescent dyads in Houston, Texas, this study examines how parents' cultural orientations are associated directly and indirectly, through parental beliefs, with parenting practices giving youth behavioral autonomy and independence. Informed by social domain theory, the study's parenting constructs pertain to youth behaviors in an "ambiguously personal" domain-activities that adolescents believe are up to youth to decide, but which parents might argue require parents' supervision, knowledge, and/or decision-making. Results for latent profile analyses of parents' cultural identity across various facets of acculturation indicate considerable cultural heterogeneity among Latino parents. Although 43% of parents have a Latino cultural orientation, others represent Spanish-speaking/bicultural (21%), bilingual/bicultural (15%), English-speaking/bicultural (15%), or US (6%) cultural orientations. Structural equation modeling results indicate that bilingual/bicultural, English-speaking/bicultural, and US-oriented parents report less emphasis on the legitimacy of parental authority and younger age expectations for youth to engage in independent behaviors than do Latino-oriented parents. Parental beliefs endorsing youth's behavioral independence and autonomy, in turn, are associated with less stringent parental rules (parental report), less parental supervision (parental and youth report), and more youth autonomy in decision-making (parental and youth report). Evidence thus supports the idea that the diverse cultural orientations of Latino parents in the US may result in considerable variations in parenting processes pertinent to Latino adolescents' development.

Topographic Independent Component Analysis reveals random scrambling of orientation in visual space

PubMed Central

Martinez-Garcia, Marina; Martinez, Luis M.

2017-01-01

Neurons at primary visual cortex (V1) in humans and other species are edge filters organized in orientation maps. In these maps, neurons with similar orientation preference are clustered together in iso-orientation domains. These maps have two fundamental properties: (1) retinotopy, i.e. correspondence between displacements at the image space and displacements at the cortical surface, and (2) a trade-off between good coverage of the visual field with all orientations and continuity of iso-orientation domains in the cortical space. There is an active debate on the origin of these locally continuous maps. While most of the existing descriptions take purely geometric/mechanistic approaches which disregard the network function, a clear exception to this trend in the literature is the original approach of Hyvärinen and Hoyer based on infomax and Topographic Independent Component Analysis (TICA). Although TICA successfully addresses a number of other properties of V1 simple and complex cells, in this work we question the validity of the orientation maps obtained from TICA. We argue that the maps predicted by TICA can be analyzed in the retinal space, and when doing so, it is apparent that they lack the required continuity and retinotopy. Here we show that in the orientation maps reported in the TICA literature it is easy to find examples of violation of the continuity between similarly tuned mechanisms in the retinal space, which suggest a random scrambling incompatible with the maps in primates. The new experiments in the retinal space presented here confirm this guess: TICA basis vectors actually follow a random salt-and-pepper organization back in the image space. Therefore, the interesting clusters found in the TICA topology cannot be interpreted as the actual cortical orientation maps found in cats, primates or humans. In conclusion, Topographic ICA does not reproduce cortical orientation maps. PMID:28640816

Topographic Independent Component Analysis reveals random scrambling of orientation in visual space.

PubMed

Martinez-Garcia, Marina; Martinez, Luis M; Malo, Jesús

2017-01-01

Neurons at primary visual cortex (V1) in humans and other species are edge filters organized in orientation maps. In these maps, neurons with similar orientation preference are clustered together in iso-orientation domains. These maps have two fundamental properties: (1) retinotopy, i.e. correspondence between displacements at the image space and displacements at the cortical surface, and (2) a trade-off between good coverage of the visual field with all orientations and continuity of iso-orientation domains in the cortical space. There is an active debate on the origin of these locally continuous maps. While most of the existing descriptions take purely geometric/mechanistic approaches which disregard the network function, a clear exception to this trend in the literature is the original approach of Hyvärinen and Hoyer based on infomax and Topographic Independent Component Analysis (TICA). Although TICA successfully addresses a number of other properties of V1 simple and complex cells, in this work we question the validity of the orientation maps obtained from TICA. We argue that the maps predicted by TICA can be analyzed in the retinal space, and when doing so, it is apparent that they lack the required continuity and retinotopy. Here we show that in the orientation maps reported in the TICA literature it is easy to find examples of violation of the continuity between similarly tuned mechanisms in the retinal space, which suggest a random scrambling incompatible with the maps in primates. The new experiments in the retinal space presented here confirm this guess: TICA basis vectors actually follow a random salt-and-pepper organization back in the image space. Therefore, the interesting clusters found in the TICA topology cannot be interpreted as the actual cortical orientation maps found in cats, primates or humans. In conclusion, Topographic ICA does not reproduce cortical orientation maps.

van der Waals epitaxial ZnTe thin film on single-crystalline graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Xin; Chen, Zhizhong; Wang, Yiping; Lu, Zonghuan; Shi, Jian; Washington, Morris; Lu, Toh-Ming

2018-01-01

Graphene template has long been promoted as a promising host to support van der Waals flexible electronics. However, van der Waals epitaxial growth of conventional semiconductors in planar thin film form on transferred graphene sheets is challenging because the nucleation rate of film species on graphene is significantly low due to the passive surface of graphene. In this work, we demonstrate the epitaxy of zinc-blende ZnTe thin film on single-crystalline graphene supported by an amorphous glass substrate. Given the amorphous nature and no obvious remote epitaxy effect of the glass substrate, this study clearly proves the van der Waals epitaxy of a 3D semiconductor thin film on graphene. X-ray pole figure analysis reveals the existence of two ZnTe epitaxial orientational domains on graphene, a strong X-ray intensity observed from the ZnTe [ 1 ¯ 1 ¯ 2] ǁ graphene [10] orientation domain, and a weaker intensity from the ZnTe [ 1 ¯ 1 ¯ 2] ǁ graphene [11] orientation domain. Furthermore, this study systematically investigates the optoelectronic properties of this epitaxial ZnTe film on graphene using temperature-dependent Raman spectroscopy, steady-state and time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy, and fabrication and characterization of a ZnTe-graphene photodetector. The research suggests an effective approach towards graphene-templated flexible electronics.

Characteristics of biogenic calcite in the prismatic layer of a pearl oyster, Pinctada fucata.

PubMed

Okumura, Taiga; Suzuki, Michio; Nagasawa, Hiromichi; Kogure, Toshihiro

2010-10-01

The fine structure of the calcite prism in the outer layer of a pearl oyster, Pinctada fucata, has been investigated using various electron beam techniques, in order to understand its characteristics and growth mechanism including the role of intracrystalline organic substances. As the calcite prismatic layer grows thicker, sinuous boundaries develop to divide the prism into a number of domains. The crystal misorientation between the adjacent domains is several to more than ten degrees. The component of the misorientation is mainly the rotation about the c-axis. There is no continuous organic membrane at the boundaries. Furthermore, the crystal orientation inside the domains changes gradually, as indicated by the electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD) in a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) examination revealed that the domain consists of sub-grains of a few hundred nanometers divided by small-angle grain boundaries, which are probably the origin of the gradual change of the crystal orientation inside the domains. Spherular Fresnel contrasts were often observed at the small-angle grain boundaries, in defocused TEM images. Electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) indicated the spherules are organic macromolecules, suggesting that incorporation of organic macromolecules during the crystal growth forms the sub-grain structure of the calcite prism.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jiang, Tao; Yang, Shengwei; Liu, Yukuai

Magnetic and resistive anisotropies have been studied for the La{sub 0.325}Pr{sub 0.3}Ca{sub 0.375}MnO{sub 3} films with different thicknesses grown on low symmetric (011)-oriented (LaAlO{sub 3}){sub 0.3}(SrAl{sub 0.5}Ta{sub 0.5}O{sub 3}){sub 0.7} substrates. In the magnetic and electronic phase separation region, a colossal anisotropic resistivity (AR) of ∼10{sup 5}% and an anomalous large anisotropic magnetoresistance can be observed for 30 nm film. However, for 120 nm film, the maximum AR decreases significantly (∼2 × 10{sup 3}%) due to strain relaxation. The colossal AR is strongly associated with the oriented formation of magnetic domains, and the features of the strain effects are believed to bemore » useful for the design of artificial materials and devices.« less

Anisotropic and Heterogeneous Development of Microstructures. Combining Laboratory/Synchrotron X-rays and EBSD on a few SPD Metallic Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bolmaro, Raúl E.; De Vincentis, Natalia S.; Benatti, Emanuel; Kliauga, Andrea M.; Avalos, Martina C.; Schell, Norbert; Brokmeier, Heinz-Günter

2014-08-01

The onset of Severe Plastic Deformation (SPD) regime is quite instructive on the possible origins of the nano-microstructures developed in metals and alloys. It is known that grain fragmentation and dislocation accumulation, among other defects, proceed at different paces depending fundamentally on grain orientations and active deformation mechanisms. There have been many attempts to characterize nano-microstructure anisotropy, leading all of them to sometimes contradictory conclusions. Moreover, the characterizations rely on different measurements techniques and pos-processing approaches, which can be observing different manifestations of the same phenomena. On the current presentation we show a few experimental and computer pos-processing and simulation approaches, applied to some SPD/alloy systems. Williamson-Hall and Convolutional Multiple Whole Profile (CMWP) techniques will be applied to peak broadening analysis on experimental results stemming from laboratory Cu Ka X-rays, and synchrotron radiation from LNLS (Laboratório Nacional de Luz Síncrotron, Campinas, Brazil) and Petra III line (HEMS station, at DESY, Hamburg, Germany). Taking advantage of the EBSD capability of giving information on orientational and topological characteristics of grain boundaries, microstructures, grain sizes, etc., we also performed investigations on dislocation density and Geometrically Necessary Dislocation Boundaries (GNDB) and their correlation with texture components. Orientation dependent nano-microstructures and domain sizes are shown on the scheme of generalized pole figures and discussions provide some hints on nano-microstructure anisotropy.

Characteristics of angular cross correlations studied by light scattering from two-dimensional microsphere films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schroer, M. A.; Gutt, C.; Grübel, G.

2014-07-01

Recently the analysis of scattering patterns by angular cross-correlation analysis (CCA) was introduced to reveal the orientational order in disordered samples with special focus to future applications on x-ray free-electron laser facilities. We apply this CCA approach to ultra-small-angle light-scattering data obtained from two-dimensional monolayers of microspheres. The films were studied in addition by optical microscopy. This combined approach allows to calculate the cross-correlations of the scattering patterns, characterized by the orientational correlation function Ψl(q), as well as to obtain the real-space structure of the monolayers. We show that CCA is sensitive to the orientational order of monolayers formed by the microspheres which are not directly visible from the scattering patterns. By mixing microspheres of different radii the sizes of ordered monolayer domains is reduced. For these samples it is shown that Ψl(q) quantitatively describes the degree of hexagonal order of the two-dimensional films. The experimental CCA results are compared with calculations based on the microscopy images. Both techniques show qualitatively similar features. Differences can be attributed to the wave-front distortion of the laser beam in the experiment. This effect is discussed by investigating the effect of different wave fronts on the cross-correlation analysis results. The so-determined characteristics of the cross-correlation analysis will be also relevant for future x-ray-based studies.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ALEXITHYMIA, PARENTING STYLE, AND PARENTAL CONTROL.

PubMed

Cuzzocrea, Francesca; Barberis, Nadia; Costa, Sebastiano; Larcan, Rosalba

2015-10-01

Research on the relationship between parental alexithymia and parenting is relatively scarce. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between parental alexithymia and three styles of parenting (authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive) and the relationships between parental alexithymia and two domains of psychological control (dependency and achievement). The participants were 946 parents ages 29-60 years (mothers: n = 473, M age = 44.6 yr., SD = 4.7; fathers: n = 473, M age = 48.1 yr., SD = 5.1) of children ages 11-18 years. All participants completed a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (TAS-20), the Parental Authority Questionnaire-Revised (PAQ-R), and the Dependency-Oriented and Achievement-Oriented Psychological Control Scale (DAPCS). Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to examine whether alexithymia could predict the three parenting styles (authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive) and the two domains of psychological control (dependency and achievement). The first model showed that alexithymia was a positive predictor of authoritative and permissive parenting and a negative predictor of authoritarian parenting in both paternal and maternal data. The second model showed that, in both paternal and maternal data, alexithymia was a positive predictor of both dependency-oriented psychological control (DPC) and achievement-oriented psychological control (APC).

Profile structures of the voltage-sensor domain and the voltage-gated K+-channel vectorially oriented in a single phospholipid bilayer membrane at the solid-vapor and solid-liquid interfaces determined by x-ray interferometry

PubMed Central

Gupta, S.; Liu, J.; Strzalka, J.; Blasie, J. K.

2011-01-01

One subunit of the prokaryotic voltage-gated potassium ion channel from Aeropyrum pernix (KvAP) is comprised of six transmembrane α helices, of which S1–S4 form the voltage-sensor domain (VSD) and S5 and S6 contribute to the pore domain (PD) of the functional homotetramer. However, the mechanism of electromechanical coupling interconverting the closed-to-open (i.e., nonconducting-to-K+-conducting) states remains undetermined. Here, we have vectorially oriented the detergent (OG)-solubilized VSD in single monolayers by two independent approaches, namely “directed-assembly” and “self-assembly,” to achieve a high in-plane density. Both utilize Ni coordination chemistry to tether the protein to an alkylated inorganic surface via its C-terminal His6 tag. Subsequently, the detergent is replaced by phospholipid (POPC) via exchange, intended to reconstitute a phospholipid bilayer environment for the protein. X-ray interferometry, in which interference with a multilayer reference structure is used to both enhance and phase the specular x-ray reflectivity from the tethered single membrane, was used to determine directly the electron density profile structures of the VSD protein solvated by detergent versus phospholipid, and with either a moist He (moderate hydration) or bulk aqueous buffer (high hydration) environment to preserve a native structure conformation. Difference electron density profiles, with respect to the multilayer substrate itself, for the VSD-OG monolayer and VSD-POPC membranes at both the solid-vapor and solid-liquid interfaces, reveal the profile structures of the VSD protein dominating these profiles and further indicate a successful reconstitution of a lipid bilayer environment. The self-assembly approach was similarly extended to the intact full-length KvAP channel for comparison. The spatial extent and asymmetry in the profile structures of both proteins confirm their unidirectional vectorial orientation within the reconstituted membrane and indicate retention of the protein’s folded three-dimensional tertiary structure upon completion of membrane bilayer reconstitution. Moreover, the resulting high in-plane density of vectorially oriented protein within a fully hydrated single phospholipid bilayer membrane at the solid-liquid interface will enable investigation of their conformational states as a function of the transmembrane electric potential. PMID:22060407

Minnesota anglers' fisheries-related value orientations and their stewardship of fish resources

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bruskotter, J.T.; Fulton, D.C.

2008-01-01

Research on natural resource-related values and value orientations has grown substantially over the past decade. However, existing studies have focused almost exclusively on value orientations related to wildlife and forests. This article reports data from two mail surveys of Minnesota anglers used to develop scales for measuring fisheries-related value orientations. We report results of regression analyses examining the relationship between anglers' value orientations and norms concerning fisheries stewardship and the use of technological aids to angling. Results indicate 10 items reliably measure three value orientations we termed utilitarianism, dominance, and protectionism. Regression analyses suggest anglers' stewardship norms are influenced by all three value orientation types, while support for the use of technological aids was related with protectionism and utilitarianism, but not dominance. Results suggest anglers' fisheries-related value orientations cannot be adequately captured using single domain scales. Implications for the study of natural resources-related value orientations are discussed. Copyright ?? Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Mapping 180° polar domains using electron backscatter diffraction and dynamical scattering simulations

DOE PAGES

Burch, Matthew J.; Fancher, Chris M.; Patala, Srikanth; ...

2016-11-18

A novel technique, which directly and nondestructively maps polar domains using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) is described and demonstrated. Through dynamical diffraction simulations and quantitative comparison to experimental EBSD patterns, the absolute orientation of a non-centrosymmetric crystal can be determined. With this information, the polar domains of a material can be mapped. The technique is demonstrated by mapping the non-ferroelastic, or 180°, ferroelectric domains in periodically poled LiNbO 3 single crystals. Furthermore, the authors demonstrate the possibility of mapping polarity using this technique in other polar materials system.

Textural evolution of plagioclase feldspar across a shear zone: Implications for deformation mechanism and rock strength

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Putnis, Andrew; Austrheim, Håkon; Mukai, Hiroki; Putnis, Christine V.

2014-05-01

Caledonian amphibolite facies shear zones developed in granulite facies anorthosites and anorthositic gabbros of the Bergen Arcs, western Norway allow a detailed study of the relationships between fluid-infiltration, mineral reactions, the evolution of microstructure and deformation mechanisms. A sequence of rocks from the relatively pristine granulites into a shear zone has been studied by optical microscopy, EMPA, SEM, EBSD and TEM, focusing on the progressive development of microstructure in the plagioclase feldspars, leading up to their deformation in the shear zone. At the outcrop scale, fluid infiltration into the granulites is marked by a distinct colour change in the plagioclase from lilac/brown to white. This is associated with the breakdown of the intermediate composition plagioclase (~An50) in the granulite to a complex intergrowth of Na-rich and Ca-rich domains. EBSD analysis shows that this intergrowth retains the crystallographic orientation of the parent feldspar, but that the Ca-rich domains contain many low-angle boundaries as well as twin-related domains. Within the shear zone, this complex intergrowth coarsens by grain boundary migration, annihilating grain boundaries but retaining the Na-rich and Ca-rich zoning pattern. Analysis of nearest-neighbour misorientations of feldspar grains in the shear zone demonstrates that local crystallographic preferred orientation (CPO) is inherited from the parent granulite grain orientations. Random pair misorientation angle distributions show that there is no CPO in the shear zone as a whole, nor is there significant shape preferred orientation (SPO) in individual grains. These observations are interpreted in terms of fluid-induced weakening and deformation by dissolution-precipitation (pressure solution) creep.

Domain imaging in ferroelectric thin films via channeling-contrast backscattered electron microscopy

DOE PAGES

Ihlefeld, Jon F.; Michael, Joseph R.; McKenzie, Bonnie B.; ...

2016-09-16

We report that ferroelastic domain walls provide opportunities for deterministically controlling mechanical, optical, electrical, and thermal energy. Domain wall characterization in micro- and nanoscale systems, where their spacing may be of the order of 100 nm or less is presently limited to only a few techniques, such as piezoresponse force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. These respective techniques cannot, however, independently characterize domain polarization orientation and domain wall motion in technologically relevant capacitor structures or in a non-destructive manner, thus presenting a limitation of their utility. In this work, we show how backscatter scanning electron microscopy utilizing channeling contrast yieldmore » can image the ferroelastic domain structure of ferroelectric films with domain wall spacing as narrow as 10 nm.« less

Queer eye for the straight guy: sexual orientation and stereotype lift effects on performance in the fashion domain.

PubMed

Cotner, Chad; Burkley, Melissa

2013-01-01

Stereotype lift is defined as a boost in performance caused by an awareness of a positive ingroup stereotype. This study investigated if gay men experience stereotype lift in the fashion domain. To date, no studies have examined stereotype lift in regards to stereotypes about sexual orientation or in regards to a non-academic task. To address this gap in the literature, gay and straight men completed a test of fashion knowledge under conditions where the relevant gay stereotype was either salient or not by reminding participants of their sexual orientation before or after completing the test. A sample of 66 undergraduate male students (31 heterosexual and 35 homosexual) showed that gay men did outperform straight men on the fashion test, but only when the relevant stereotype was made salient, F(1, 62) = 5.23, p = .03. Implications of stereotype lift in gay men and on non-academic tasks are discussed.

Crisis Management Systems: A Case Study for Aspect-Oriented Modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kienzle, Jörg; Guelfi, Nicolas; Mustafiz, Sadaf

The intent of this document is to define a common case study for the aspect-oriented modeling research community. The domain of the case study is crisis management systems, i.e., systems that help in identifying, assessing, and handling a crisis situation by orchestrating the communication between all parties involved in handling the crisis, by allocating and managing resources, and by providing access to relevant crisis-related information to authorized users. This document contains informal requirements of crisis management systems (CMSs) in general, a feature model for a CMS product line, use case models for a car crash CMS (CCCMS), a domain model for the CCCMS, an informal physical architecture description of the CCCMS, as well as some design models of a possible object-oriented implementation of parts of the CCCMS backend. AOM researchers who want to demonstrate the power of their AOM approach or technique can hence apply the approach at the most appropriate level of abstraction.

Socioemotional characteristics of elementary school children identified as exhibiting social leadership qualities.

PubMed

Scharf, Miri; Mayseless, Ofra

2009-03-01

Elementary school teachers identified characteristics in 4 major socioemotional domains associated with children's social leadership: self-perception, social anxiety, attachment orientation with peers, and interpersonal goals and skills in close friendships. Participants were 260 4th- and 5th-grade students (126 boys, 134 girls) from 10 classes in a school in northern Israel. Social leadership skills were associated with positive self-perceptions in various domains, low social anxiety, secure orientation to peers, higher levels of relationship-maintenance goal, lower levels of revenge goal in close friendships, and-unexpectedly-lower levels of accommodation as a strategy to solve conflicts with a friend. Positive self-concept and attachment security were indirectly associated with leadership qualities through their significant association with prosocial orientation skills. The authors discuss these findings as reflecting an internalization of positive model of self and positive model of others in children who exhibit social leadership qualities. The authors also discuss implications of these qualities for school and class ecology, as well as the importance of culture.

Structure of the tandem PX-PH domains of Bem3 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

PubMed

Ali, Imtiaz; Eu, Sungmin; Koch, Daniel; Bleimling, Nathalie; Goody, Roger S; Müller, Matthias P

2018-05-01

The structure of the tandem lipid-binding PX and pleckstrin-homology (PH) domains of the Cdc42 GTPase-activating protein Bem3 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae (strain S288c) has been determined to a resolution of 2.2 Å (R work = 21.1%, R free = 23.4%). It shows that the domains adopt a relative orientation that enables them to simultaneously bind to a membrane and suggests possible cooperativity in membrane binding. open access.

Structure of the tandem PX-PH domains of Bem3 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae

PubMed Central

Ali, Imtiaz; Eu, Sungmin; Bleimling, Nathalie

2018-01-01

The structure of the tandem lipid-binding PX and pleckstrin-homology (PH) domains of the Cdc42 GTPase-activating protein Bem3 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae (strain S288c) has been determined to a resolution of 2.2 Å (R work = 21.1%, R free = 23.4%). It shows that the domains adopt a relative orientation that enables them to simultaneously bind to a membrane and suggests possible cooperativity in membrane binding. PMID:29718000

Micro-domain controlled anisotropic laser ceramics assisted by rare-earth trivalent

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sato, Yoichi; Akiyama, Jun; Taira, Takunori

2012-01-01

Principles that enable to synthesize anisotropic laser ceramics have been established. Anisotropic laser ceramics contain micro domains made of anisotropic crystals, and we have invented the novel alignment technology of micro domain structure in laser ceramics assisted by rare-earth trivalent. Our novel process is essentially superior to the traditional electromagnetic processing from the viewpoint of mass production. We discussed the significance of anisotropic laser ceramics, and we also show the result of evaluations to our orientation controlled RE:FAP ceramics.

Initiation into Adolescent Marijuana Use.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brook, Judith S.; And Others

1980-01-01

This longitudinal study examined the relationship of three domains (personality/attitudinal orientations, peer relationships, and family socialization factors) with initiation into adolescent marihuana use. (Author/DB)

Perceptions of Sexual Orientation From Minimal Cues.

PubMed

Rule, Nicholas O

2017-01-01

People derive considerable amounts of information about each other from minimal nonverbal cues. Apart from characteristics typically regarded as obvious when encountering another person (e.g., age, race, and sex), perceivers can identify many other qualities about a person that are typically rather subtle. One such feature is sexual orientation. Here, I review the literature documenting the accurate perception of sexual orientation from nonverbal cues related to one's adornment, acoustics, actions, and appearance. In addition to chronicling studies that have demonstrated how people express and extract sexual orientation in each of these domains, I discuss some of the basic cognitive and perceptual processes that support these judgments, including how cues to sexual orientation manifest in behavioral (e.g., clothing choices) and structural (e.g., facial morphology) signals. Finally, I attend to boundary conditions in the accurate perception of sexual orientation, such as the states, traits, and group memberships that moderate individuals' ability to reliably decipher others' sexual orientation.

Parent-Teacher Association, Soup Kitchen, Church, or the Local Civic Club? Life Stage Indicators of Volunteer Domain.

PubMed

Carr, Dawn C; King, Katherine; Matz-Costa, Christina

2015-04-01

Gaps in existing literature hinder our knowledge of how life stage-related identities (e.g., worker, parent, student, etc.) influence individuals' decisions about whether and how to get involved in community service. Interventions to increase volunteerism throughout the life course require a more nuanced understanding of this relationship. We use multinomial logistic models to analyze how life phase factors relate to involvement in different types of voluntary organizations across the adult life course in the Chicago Community Adult Health Study. Half of the adults did not volunteer. Those who did volunteer were categorized as charitable, youth-oriented, religious, civic, or multidomain volunteers. Age, employment, family structure, demographics, and self-rated health differentially predicted volunteering in specific domains. Findings from this study suggest that recruitment and retention efforts employed by different nonprofit organizations may be more effective if they take into consideration the life phase factors that enhance or detract from likelihood of engagement. © The Author(s) 2015.

Staggered-grid finite-difference acoustic modeling with the Time-Domain Atmospheric Acoustic Propagation Suite (TDAAPS).

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Aldridge, David Franklin; Collier, Sandra L.; Marlin, David H.

2005-05-01

This document is intended to serve as a users guide for the time-domain atmospheric acoustic propagation suite (TDAAPS) program developed as part of the Department of Defense High-Performance Modernization Office (HPCMP) Common High-Performance Computing Scalable Software Initiative (CHSSI). TDAAPS performs staggered-grid finite-difference modeling of the acoustic velocity-pressure system with the incorporation of spatially inhomogeneous winds. Wherever practical the control structure of the codes are written in C++ using an object oriented design. Sections of code where a large number of calculations are required are written in C or F77 in order to enable better compiler optimization of these sections. Themore » TDAAPS program conforms to a UNIX style calling interface. Most of the actions of the codes are controlled by adding flags to the invoking command line. This document presents a large number of examples and provides new users with the necessary background to perform acoustic modeling with TDAAPS.« less

A Novel Topology of Proline-rich Transmembrane Protein 2 (PRRT2)

PubMed Central

Rossi, Pia; Sterlini, Bruno; Castroflorio, Enrico; Marte, Antonella; Onofri, Franco; Valtorta, Flavia; Maragliano, Luca; Corradi, Anna; Benfenati, Fabio

2016-01-01

Proline-rich transmembrane protein 2 (PRRT2) has been identified as the single causative gene for a group of paroxysmal syndromes of infancy, including epilepsy, paroxysmal movement disorders, and migraine. On the basis of topology predictions, PRRT2 has been assigned to the recently characterized family of Dispanins, whose members share the two-transmembrane domain topology with a large N terminus and short C terminus oriented toward the outside of the cell. Because PRRT2 plays a role at the synapse, it is important to confirm the exact orientation of its N and C termini with respect to the plasma membrane to get clues regarding its possible function. Using a combination of different experimental approaches, including live immunolabeling, immunogold electron microscopy, surface biotinylation and computational modeling, we demonstrate a novel topology for this protein. PRRT2 is a type II transmembrane protein in which only the second hydrophobic segment spans the plasma membrane, whereas the first one is associated with the internal surface of the membrane and forms a helix-loop-helix structure without crossing it. Most importantly, the large proline-rich N-terminal domain is not exposed to the extracellular space but is localized intracellularly, and only the short C terminus is extracellular (Ncyt/Cexo topology). Accordingly, we show that PRRT2 interacts with the Src homology 3 domain-bearing protein Intersectin 1, an intracellular protein involved in synaptic vesicle cycling. These findings will contribute to the clarification of the role of PRRT2 at the synapse and the understanding of pathogenic mechanisms on the basis of PRRT2-related neurological disorders. PMID:26797119

Is improved contrast sensitivity a natural consequence of visual training?

PubMed Central

Levi, Aaron; Shaked, Danielle; Tadin, Duje; Huxlin, Krystel R.

2015-01-01

Many studies have shown that training and testing conditions modulate specificity of visual learning to trained stimuli and tasks. In visually impaired populations, generalizability of visual learning to untrained stimuli/tasks is almost always reported, with contrast sensitivity (CS) featuring prominently among these collaterally-improved functions. To understand factors underlying this difference, we measured CS for direction and orientation discrimination in the visual periphery of three groups of visually-intact subjects. Group 1 trained on an orientation discrimination task with static Gabors whose luminance contrast was decreased as performance improved. Group 2 trained on a global direction discrimination task using high-contrast random dot stimuli previously used to recover motion perception in cortically blind patients. Group 3 underwent no training. Both forms of training improved CS with some degree of specificity for basic attributes of the trained stimulus/task. Group 1's largest enhancement was in CS around the trained spatial/temporal frequencies; similarly, Group 2's largest improvements occurred in CS for discriminating moving and flickering stimuli. Group 3 saw no significant CS changes. These results indicate that CS improvements may be a natural consequence of multiple forms of visual training in visually intact humans, albeit with some specificity to the trained visual domain(s). PMID:26305736

Ferromagnetic-Antiferromagnetic Coupling by Distortion of Fe/Mn Oxygen Octahedrons in (BiFeO3 )m (La0.7 Sr0.3 MnO3 )n Superlattices.

PubMed

Xiong, Jie; Lei, Tianyu; Chu, Junwei; Yang, Chao; Wei, Jiake; Zhuo, Mujin; Choi, Eun-Mi; Tao, Bowan; Zhang, Wanli; Wang, Yongqiang; Li, Yanrong

2017-05-01

Interface enhanced magnetism attracts much attention due to its potential use in exploring novel structure devices. Nevertheless, the magnetic behavior at interfaces has not been quantitatively determined. In this study, abnormal magnetic moment reduction is observed in La 0.7 Sr 0.3 MnO 3 (LSMO)/BiFeO 3 (BFO) superlattices, which is induced by ferromagnetic (FM)/antiferromagnetic (AFM) coupling in the interface. With reduced repetition of the superlattice's unit cell [(LSMO) n /(BFO) n ] 60/ n (n = 1, 2, 5, 10) on a SrTiO 3 substrate, magnetic moment reduction from 25.5 emu cc -1 ([(LSMO) 10 /(BFO) 10 ] 6 ) to 1.5 emu cc -1 ([(LSMO) 1 /(BFO) 1 ] 60 ) is obtained. Ab initio simulations show that due to the different magnetic domain formation energies, the magnetic moment orientation tends to be paramagnetic in the FM/AFM interface. The work focuses on the magnetic domain formation energy and provides a pathway to construct artificial heterostructures that can be an effective way to tune the magnetic moment orientation and control the magnetization of ultrathin films. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

USI: a fast and accurate approach for conceptual document annotation.

PubMed

Fiorini, Nicolas; Ranwez, Sylvie; Montmain, Jacky; Ranwez, Vincent

2015-03-14

Semantic approaches such as concept-based information retrieval rely on a corpus in which resources are indexed by concepts belonging to a domain ontology. In order to keep such applications up-to-date, new entities need to be frequently annotated to enrich the corpus. However, this task is time-consuming and requires a high-level of expertise in both the domain and the related ontology. Different strategies have thus been proposed to ease this indexing process, each one taking advantage from the features of the document. In this paper we present USI (User-oriented Semantic Indexer), a fast and intuitive method for indexing tasks. We introduce a solution to suggest a conceptual annotation for new entities based on related already indexed documents. Our results, compared to those obtained by previous authors using the MeSH thesaurus and a dataset of biomedical papers, show that the method surpasses text-specific methods in terms of both quality and speed. Evaluations are done via usual metrics and semantic similarity. By only relying on neighbor documents, the User-oriented Semantic Indexer does not need a representative learning set. Yet, it provides better results than the other approaches by giving a consistent annotation scored with a global criterion - instead of one score per concept.

Testing Neuronal Accounts of Anisotropic Motion Perception with Computational Modelling

PubMed Central

Wong, William; Chiang Price, Nicholas Seow

2014-01-01

There is an over-representation of neurons in early visual cortical areas that respond most strongly to cardinal (horizontal and vertical) orientations and directions of visual stimuli, and cardinal- and oblique-preferring neurons are reported to have different tuning curves. Collectively, these neuronal anisotropies can explain two commonly-reported phenomena of motion perception – the oblique effect and reference repulsion – but it remains unclear whether neuronal anisotropies can simultaneously account for both perceptual effects. We show in psychophysical experiments that reference repulsion and the oblique effect do not depend on the duration of a moving stimulus, and that brief adaptation to a single direction simultaneously causes a reference repulsion in the orientation domain, and the inverse of the oblique effect in the direction domain. We attempted to link these results to underlying neuronal anisotropies by implementing a large family of neuronal decoding models with parametrically varied levels of anisotropy in neuronal direction-tuning preferences, tuning bandwidths and spiking rates. Surprisingly, no model instantiation was able to satisfactorily explain our perceptual data. We argue that the oblique effect arises from the anisotropic distribution of preferred directions evident in V1 and MT, but that reference repulsion occurs separately, perhaps reflecting a process of categorisation occurring in higher-order cortical areas. PMID:25409518

Dielectric and Excess Properties of Glycols with Formamide Binary Mixtures at Different Temperatures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Navarkhele, V. V.

2018-07-01

Dielectric constant measurements of glycol-formamide binary solutions with various concentrations have been carried out at different temperatures. The dielectric measurement has been achieved at 100 MHz frequency using a sensor which is based on frequency domain reflectomery technique. The excess dielectric constant, Kirkwood correlation factor and Bruggeman factor has also been reported for the binary mixtures. The results show that the dielectric constant of the mixtures increases with increase in the volume fraction of formamide and decreases with increase in temperature. The study also confirms the presence of intermolecular interaction, hydrogen bonding and orientation of the dipoles in the binary mixtures.

Variation of the fractal dimension anisotropy of two major Cenozoic normal fault systems over space and time around the Snake River Plain, Idaho and SW Montana

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davarpanah, A.; Babaie, H. A.

2012-12-01

The interaction of the thermally induced stress field of the Yellowstone hotspot (YHS) with existing Basin and Range (BR) fault blocks, over the past 17 m.y., has produced a new, spatially and temporally variable system of normal faults around the Snake River Plain (SRP) in Idaho and Wyoming-Montana area. Data about the trace of these new cross faults (CF) and older BR normal faults were acquired from a combination of satellite imageries, DEM, and USGS geological maps and databases at scales of 1:24,000, 1:100,000, 1:250,000, 1:1000, 000, and 1:2,500, 000, and classified based on their azimuth in ArcGIS 10. The box-counting fractal dimension (Db) of the BR fault traces, determined applying the Benoit software, and the anisotropy intensity (ellipticity) of the fractal dimensions, measured with the modified Cantor dust method applying the AMOCADO software, were measured in two large spatial domains (I and II). The Db and anisotropy of the cross faults were studied in five temporal domains (T1-T5) classified based on the geologic age of successive eruptive centers (12 Ma to recent) of the YHS along the eastern SRP. The fractal anisotropy of the CF system in each temporal domain was also spatially determined in the southern part (domain S1), central part (domain S2), and northern part (domain S3) of the SRP. Line (fault trace) density maps for the BR and CF polylines reveal a higher linear density (trace length per unit area) for the BR traces in the spatial domain I, and a higher linear density of the CF traces around the present Yellowstone National Park (S1T5) where most of the seismically active faults are located. Our spatio-temporal analysis reveals that the fractal dimension of the BR system in domain I (Db=1.423) is greater than that in domain II (Db=1.307). It also shows that the anisotropy of the fractal dimension in domain I is less eccentric (axial ratio: 1.242) than that in domain II (1.355), probably reflecting the greater variation in the trend of the BR system in domain I. The CF system in the S1T5 domain has the highest fractal dimension (Db=1.37) and the lowest anisotropy eccentricity (1.23) among the five temporal domains. These values positively correlate with the observed maxima on the fault trace density maps. The major axis of the anisotropy ellipses is consistently perpendicular to the average trend of the normal fault system in each domain, and therefore approximates the orientation of extension for normal faulting in each domain. This fact gives a NE-SW and NW-SE extension direction for the BR system in domains I and II, respectively. The observed NE-SW orientation of the major axes of the anisotropy ellipses in the youngest T4 and T5 temporal domains, oriented perpendicular to the mean trend of the normal faults in the these domains, suggests extension along the NE-SW direction for cross faulting in these areas. The spatial trajectories (form lines) of the minor axes of the anisotropy ellipses, and the mean trend of fault traces in the T4 and T5 temporal domains, define a large parabolic pattern about the axis of the eastern SRP, with its apex at the Yellowstone plateau.

Crystal Structures of the Glutamate Receptor Ion Channel GluK3 and GluK5 Amino-Terminal Domains

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kumar, Janesh; Mayer, Mark L.

2010-11-30

Ionotropic glutamate receptors (iGluRs) mediate the majority of fast excitatory synaptic neurotransmission in the central nervous system. The selective assembly of iGluRs into AMPA, kainate, and N-methyl-d-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptor subtypes is regulated by their extracellular amino-terminal domains (ATDs). Kainate receptors are further classified into low-affinity receptor families (GluK1-GluK3) and high-affinity receptor families (GluK4-GluK5) based on their affinity for the neurotoxin kainic acid. These two families share a 42% sequence identity for the intact receptor but only a 27% sequence identity at the level of ATD. We have determined for the first time the high-resolution crystal structures of GluK3 andmore » GluK5 ATDs, both of which crystallize as dimers but with a strikingly different dimer assembly at the R1 interface. By contrast, for both GluK3 and GluK5, the R2 domain dimer assembly is similar to those reported previously for other non-NMDA iGluRs. This observation is consistent with the reports that GluK4-GluK5 cannot form functional homomeric ion channels and require obligate coassembly with GluK1-GluK3. Our analysis also reveals that the relative orientation of domains R1 and R2 in individual non-NMDA receptor ATDs varies by up to 10{sup o}, in contrast to the 50{sup o} difference reported for the NMDA receptor GluN2B subunit. This restricted domain movement in non-NMDA receptor ATDs seems to result both from extensive intramolecular contacts between domain R1 and domain R2 and from their assembly as dimers, which interact at both R1 and R2 domains. Our results provide the first insights into the structure and function of GluK4-GluK5, the least understood family of iGluRs.« less

Domain switching kinetics in ferroelectric-resistive BiFeO3 thin film memories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meng, Jianwei; Jiang, Jun; Geng, Wenping; Chen, Zhihui; Zhang, Wei; Jiang, Anquan

2015-02-01

We fabricated (00l) BiFeO3 (BFO) thin films in different growth modes on SrRuO3/SrTiO3 substrates using a pulsed laser deposition technique. X-ray diffraction patterns show an out-of-plane lattice constant of 4.03 Å and ferroelectric polarization of 82 µC/cm2 for the BFO thin film in a layer-by-layer growth mode (2D-BFO), larger than 3.96 Å and 51 µC/cm2 for the thin film in the 3D-island formation growth mode (3D-BFO). The 2D-BFO thin film at 300 K shows switchable on/off diode currents upon polarization flipping near a negative coercive voltage, which is nevertheless absent from the above 3D-BFO thin film. From a positive-up-negative-down pulse characterization technique, we measured domain switching current transients as well as polarization-voltage (Pf-Vf) hysteresis loops in both semiconducting thin films. Pf-Vf hysteresis loops after 1 µs-retention time show the preferred domain orientation pointing to bottom electrodes in a 3D-BFO thin film. The poor retention of the domains pointing to top electrodes can be improved considerably in a 2D-BFO thin film. From these measurements, we extracted domain switching time dependence of coercive voltage at temperatures of 78-300 K. From these dependences, we found coercive voltages in semiconducting ferroelectric thin films much higher than those in insulating thin films, disobeying the traditional Merz equation. Finally, an equivalent resistance model in description of free-carrier compensation of the front domain boundary charge is developed to interpret this difference. This equivalent resistance can be coincidently extracted either from domain switching time dependence of coercive voltage or from applied voltage dependence of domain switching current, which drops almost linearly with the temperature until down to 0 in a ferroelectric insulator at 78 K.

Evaluation of health care service quality in Poland with the use of SERVQUAL method at the specialist ambulatory health care center.

PubMed

Manulik, Stanisław; Rosińczuk, Joanna; Karniej, Piotr

2016-01-01

Service quality and customer satisfaction are very important components of competitive advantage in the health care sector. The SERVQUAL method is widely used for assessing the quality expected by patients and the quality of actually provided services. The main purpose of this study was to determine if patients from state and private health care facilities differed in terms of their qualitative priorities and assessments of received services. The study included a total of 412 patients: 211 treated at a state facility and 201 treated at a private facility. Each of the respondents completed a 5-domain, 22-item SERVQUAL questionnaire. The actual quality of health care services in both types of facilities proved significantly lower than expected. All the patients gave the highest scores to the domains constituting the core aspects of health care services. The private facility respondents had the highest expectations with regard to equipment, and the state facility ones regarding contacts with the medical personnel. Health care quality management should be oriented toward comprehensive optimization in all domains, rather than only within the domain identified as the qualitative priority for patients of a given facility.

Ceramic surfaces, interfaces and solid-state reactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heffelfinger, Jason Roy

Faceting, the decomposition of a surface into two or more surfaces of different orientation, is studied as a function of annealing time for ceramic surfaces. Single-crystals of Alsb2Osb3\\ (alpha-Alsb2Osb3 or corundum structure) are carefully prepared and characterized by atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The mechanisms by which the originally smooth vicinal surface transforms into either a hill-and-valley or a terrace-and-step structure have been characterized. The progression of faceting is found to have a series of stages: surface smoothing, nucleation and growth of individual facets, formation of facet domains, coalescence of individual and facet domains and facet coarsening. These stages provide a model for the mechanisms of how other ceramic surfaces may facet into hill-and-valley and terrace-and-step surface microstructures. The well characterized Alsb2Osb3 surfaces provide excellent substrates by which to study the effect of surface structure on thin-film growth. Pulsed-laser deposition was used to grow thin films of yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) and Ysb2Osb3 onto annealed Alsb2Osb3 substrates. The substrate surface structure, such as surface steps and terraces, was found to have several effects on thin-film growth. Thin-films grown onto single-crystal substrates serve as a model geometry for studying thin-film solid-state reactions. Here, the reaction sequence and orientation relationship between thin films of Ysb2Osb3 and an Alsb2Osb3 substrate were characterized for different reaction temperatures. In a system were multiple reaction phases can form, the yttria aluminum monoclinic phase (YAM) was found to form prior to formation of other phases in this system. In a second system, a titanium alloy was reacted with single crystal Alsb2Osb3 in order to study phase formation in an intermetallic system. Both Tisb3Al and TiAl were found to form as reaction products and their orientation relationships with the Alsb2Osb3 are discussed.

Controlled Terahertz Birefringence in Stretched Poly(lactic acid) Films Investigated by Terahertz Time-Domain Spectroscopy and Wide-Angle X-ray Scattering.

PubMed

Iwasaki, Hotsumi; Nakamura, Madoka; Komatsubara, Nozomu; Okano, Makoto; Nakasako, Masayoshi; Sato, Harumi; Watanabe, Shinichi

2017-07-20

We report a correlation between the dielectric property and structure of stretched poly(lactic acid) (PLA) films, revealed by polarization-sensitive terahertz time-domain spectroscopy and two-dimensional (2D) wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS). The experiments evidence that the dielectric function of the PLA film becomes more anisotropic with increasing draw ratio (DR). This behavior is explained by a classical Lorentz oscillator model assuming polarization-dependent absorption. The birefringence can be systematically altered from 0 to 0.13 by controlling DR. The combination of terahertz spectroscopy and 2D WAXS measurement reveals a clear correlation between the birefringence in the terahertz frequency domain and the degree of orientation of the PLA molecular chains. These findings imply that the birefringence is a result of the orientation of the PLA chains with anisotropic macromolecular vibration modes. Because of a good controllability of the birefringence, polymer-based materials will provide an attractive materials system for phase retarders in the terahertz frequency range.

Parental psychological control and dysfunctional separation-individuation: a tale of two different dynamics.

PubMed

Kins, Evie; Soenens, Bart; Beyers, Wim

2012-10-01

This study examined associations between psychologically controlling parenting and two possible manifestations of problematic separation-individuation (i.e., dysfunctional dependence and dysfunctional independence). To explain these associations, it has been argued that psychological control is an inherently independence-stifling parenting dimension that gives rise to a dysfunctional dependent orientation. In this study, it was argued that psychological control may relate to dysfunctional dependence and dysfunctional independence, depending on whether parents' use of psychological control is driven by issues of interpersonal closeness (i.e., dependency-oriented psychological control) or by issues of achievement (i.e., achievement-oriented psychological control). A Belgian sample of 232 emerging adults, involved in the process of home leaving, and their parents completed self-report questionnaires. Regression analyses indicated that domain-specific expressions of psychological control were related differentially to dysfunctional dependent and dysfunctional independent manifestations of problematic separation-individuation. Emerging adults' residential status did not moderate these associations. Implications and directions for future research are discussed. Copyright © 2012 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The utilization of neural nets in populating an object-oriented database

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Campbell, William J.; Hill, Scott E.; Cromp, Robert F.

1989-01-01

Existing NASA supported scientific data bases are usually developed, managed and populated in a tedious, error prone and self-limiting way in terms of what can be described in a relational Data Base Management System (DBMS). The next generation Earth remote sensing platforms (i.e., Earth Observation System, (EOS), will be capable of generating data at a rate of over 300 Mbs per second from a suite of instruments designed for different applications. What is needed is an innovative approach that creates object-oriented databases that segment, characterize, catalog and are manageable in a domain-specific context and whose contents are available interactively and in near-real-time to the user community. Described here is work in progress that utilizes an artificial neural net approach to characterize satellite imagery of undefined objects into high-level data objects. The characterized data is then dynamically allocated to an object-oriented data base where it can be reviewed and assessed by a user. The definition, development, and evolution of the overall data system model are steps in the creation of an application-driven knowledge-based scientific information system.

NAFLA - Ein Simulationswerkzeug zur analytischen Abschätzung von Schadstofffahnenlängen

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar Yadav, Prabhas; Händel, Falk; Müller, Christian; Liedl, Rudolf; Dietrich, Peter

2013-03-01

Groundwater pollution with organic contaminants remains a world-wide problem. Before selection of any remediation technique, it is important to pre-assess contaminated sites with respect to their hazard. For this, several analytical and numerical approaches have been used and an initial assessment of contaminated sites the MS-Excel© tool "NAFLA" was developed. "NAFLA" allows a quick and straightforward calculation and comparison of some analytical approaches for the estimation of maximum plume length under steady-state conditions. These approaches differ from each other in source geometry, model domain orientation, and in the consideration of (bio)chemical reaction within the domain. In this communication, we provide details about the development of "NAFLA", its possible usage and information for users. The tool is especially designed for application in student education, by authorities and consultants.

Map showing late Cenozoic faults in the Walker Lake 1 degree by 2 degrees Quadrangle, Nevada-California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dohrenwend, J.C.

1982-01-01

The Walker Lake 1o x 2o quadrangle lies athwart the transitional boundary between the Sierra Nevade and Basin and Range physiographic provinces. Six distinct topographic domains are identified with the quadrangle (fig. 1). Theses domains are clearly defined by contrasting orientations, densities, and styles of lake Neogene faulting as follows:

The Activation of c-Src Tyrosine Kinase: Conformational Transition Pathway and Free Energy Landscape.

PubMed

Fajer, Mikolai; Meng, Yilin; Roux, Benoît

2017-04-20

Tyrosine kinases are important cellular signaling allosteric enzymes that regulate cell growth, proliferation, metabolism, differentiation, and migration. Their activity must be tightly controlled, and malfunction can lead to a variety of diseases, particularly cancer. The nonreceptor tyrosine kinase c-Src, a prototypical model system and a representative member of the Src-family, functions as complex multidomain allosteric molecular switches comprising SH2 and SH3 domains modulating the activity of the catalytic domain. The broad picture of self-inhibition of c-Src via the SH2 and SH3 regulatory domains is well characterized from a structural point of view, but a detailed molecular mechanism understanding is nonetheless still lacking. Here, we use advanced computational methods based on all-atom molecular dynamics simulations with explicit solvent to advance our understanding of kinase activation. To elucidate the mechanism of regulation and self-inhibition, we have computed the pathway and the free energy landscapes for the "inactive-to-active" conformational transition of c-Src for different configurations of the SH2 and SH3 domains. Using the isolated c-Src catalytic domain as a baseline for comparison, it is observed that the SH2 and SH3 domains, depending upon their bound orientation, promote either the inactive or active state of the catalytic domain. The regulatory structural information from the SH2-SH3 tandem is allosterically transmitted via the N-terminal linker of the catalytic domain. Analysis of the conformational transition pathways also illustrates the importance of the conserved tryptophan 260 in activating c-Src, and reveals a series of concerted events during the activation process.

Selecting a Persistent Data Support Environment for Object-Oriented Applications

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-03-01

key features of most object DBMS products is contained in the <DWAS 9{eeds Assessment for Objects from Barry and Associates. The developer should...data structure and behavior in a self- contained module enhances maintainability of the system and promotes reuse of modules for similar domains...considered together, represent a survey of commercial object-oriented database management systems. These references contain detailed information needed

Assessment on Language Rights in Education Domain: Shift-Oriented, Maintenance-Oriented or Something Else?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ping, Wang

2016-01-01

There is a trend towards the shift of the Uyghur language as the language of instruction in schools in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. This article presents several examples of such a shift first and then it reviews the concept of language rights (LR) and applies them to the current situation of the Uyghur language in education…

A cross-sectional study of chiropractic students' research readiness using the Academic Self-Concept Analysis Scale

PubMed Central

Whillier, Stephney; Au, Kent; Feng, Louie; Su, Helen

2017-01-01

Objective: The shift toward evidence-based health care has reoriented tertiary clinical education in a way that necessitates and incorporates research. This study assesses the inclination and suitability of chiropractic students for research over a 5-year educational program. Methods: Research attributes of chiropractic students were assessed in this cross-sectional study using a validated and modified academic self-concept analysis scale. Students in first and final year were assessed in 4 domains: creativity, motivation, self-regulation, and general intellectual ability. Univariable differences were assessed using Welch 2-sample t tests, and multivariable analysis was carried out with multiple linear regression models. Results: The response rate was 71% (n = 165). First- and fifth-year students scored highly on all 4 domains (80% to 96%). Compared to first-year students, fifth-year students rated themselves significantly lower in 3 of the domains: general intellectual abilities (t[126] = −2.01; p = 0.047), motivation (t[115] = −4.82; p < 0.001), and creativity (t[136] = −3.00; p = 0.003). Conclusion: Research suitability is high in chiropractic students. Both cohorts scored high in all domains despite the disparity between first and fifth years. First-year students outperformed fifth-year students in 3 domains, indicating a potential decline in the inclination to do research over time. However, unaccounted factors, such as the Dunning-Kruger effect, life changes, and “burnout,” may have contributed to these differences. Future studies should include questions about stress, fatigue, clinical orientation, and educational environment to inform the interpretation of findings. PMID:28768108

Transitions from biomedical to recovery-oriented practices in mental health: a scoping review to explore the role of Internet-based interventions.

PubMed

Strand, Monica; Gammon, Deede; Ruland, Cornelia M

2017-04-07

The Internet is transforming mental health care services by increasing access to, and potentially improving the quality of, care. Internet-based interventions in mental health can potentially play a role in transitions from biomedical to recovery-oriented research and practices, but an overview of what this may entail, current work, and issues that need addressing, is lacking. The objective of this study is to describe Internet-based recovery-oriented interventions (referred to as e-recovery) and current research, and to identify gaps and issues relevant to advancing recovery research and practices through opportunities provided by the Internet. Five iterative stages of a scoping review framework were followed in searching and analyzing the literature. A recovery framework with four domains and 16 themes was used to deductively code intervention characteristics according to their support for recovery-oriented practices. Only Internet-based interventions used in conjunction with ongoing care were included. Twenty studies describing six e-recovery interventions were identified and originated in Australia, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway and USA. The domain supporting personal recovery was most clearly reflected in interventions, whereas the last three domains, i.e., promoting citizenship, organizational commitment and working relationship were less evident. Support for the formulation and follow-up of personal goals and preferences, and in accessing peer-support, were the characteristics shared by most interventions. Three of the six studies that employed a comparison group used randomization, and none presented definitive findings. None used recovery-oriented frameworks or specific recovery outcome measures. Four of the interventions were specific to a diagnosis. Research about how technologies might aid in illuminating and shaping recovery processes is in its formative stages. We recommend that future e-recovery research and innovation attend to four dimensions: evidence-supported interventions, new knowledge about personal recovery, values-based approaches and Internet as a facilitator for organizational transformation. The incremental changes facilitated by e-recovery may help propel a shift in mental health care toward recovery-oriented practices.

Measuring order in disordered systems and disorder in ordered systems: Random matrix theory for isotropic and nematic liquid crystals and its perspective on pseudo-nematic domains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Yan; Stratt, Richard M.

2018-05-01

Surprisingly long-ranged intermolecular correlations begin to appear in isotropic (orientationally disordered) phases of liquid crystal forming molecules when the temperature or density starts to close in on the boundary with the nematic (ordered) phase. Indeed, the presence of slowly relaxing, strongly orientationally correlated, sets of molecules under putatively disordered conditions ("pseudo-nematic domains") has been apparent for some time from light-scattering and optical-Kerr experiments. Still, a fully microscopic characterization of these domains has been lacking. We illustrate in this paper how pseudo-nematic domains can be studied in even relatively small computer simulations by looking for order-parameter tensor fluctuations much larger than one would expect from random matrix theory. To develop this idea, we show that random matrix theory offers an exact description of how the probability distribution for liquid-crystal order parameter tensors converges to its macroscopic-system limit. We then illustrate how domain properties can be inferred from finite-size-induced deviations from these random matrix predictions. A straightforward generalization of time-independent random matrix theory also allows us to prove that the analogous random matrix predictions for the time dependence of the order-parameter tensor are similarly exact in the macroscopic limit, and that relaxation behavior of the domains can be seen in the breakdown of the finite-size scaling required by that random-matrix theory.

Future orientation, impulsivity, and problem behaviors: a longitudinal moderation model.

PubMed

Chen, Pan; Vazsonyi, Alexander T

2011-11-01

In the current study, based on a sample of 1,873 adolescents between 11.4 and 20.9 years of age from the first 3 waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we investigated the longitudinal effects of future orientation on levels of and developmental changes in problem behaviors, while controlling for the effects by impulsivity; we also tested the moderating effects by future orientation on the impulsivity-problem behaviors link over time. Additionally, we examined future orientation operationalized by items measuring education, marriage, and life domains. Findings based on growth curve analyses provided evidence of longitudinal effects by education and life future orientation on both levels of and developmental changes in problem behaviors; the effect of marriage future orientation was not significant for either test. In addition, only life future orientation moderated the effect by impulsivity on levels of problem behaviors over time. More specifically, impulsivity had a weaker effect on levels of problem behaviors over time for adolescents who reported higher levels of life future orientation.

Reprogramming of orientation columns in visual cortex: a domino effect

PubMed Central

Bachatene, Lyes; Bharmauria, Vishal; Cattan, Sarah; Rouat, Jean; Molotchnikoff, Stéphane

2015-01-01

Cortical organization rests upon the fundamental principle that neurons sharing similar properties are co-located. In the visual cortex, neurons are organized into orientation columns. In a column, most neurons respond optimally to the same axis of an oriented edge, that is, the preferred orientation. This orientation selectivity is believed to be absolute in adulthood. However, in a fully mature brain, it has been established that neurons change their selectivity following sensory experience or visual adaptation. Here, we show that after applying an adapter away from the tested cells, neurons whose receptive fields were located remotely from the adapted site also exhibit a novel selectivity in spite of the fact that they were not adapted. These results indicate a robust reconfiguration and remapping of the orientation domains with respect to each other thus removing the possibility of an orientation hole in the new hypercolumn. These data suggest that orientation columns transcend anatomy, and are almost strictly functionally dynamic. PMID:25801392

Reflectivity of the gyroid biophotonic crystals in the ventral wing scales of the Green Hairstreak butterfly, Callophrys rubi.

PubMed

Michielsen, K; De Raedt, H; Stavenga, D G

2010-05-06

We present a comparison of the computer simulation data of gyroid nanostructures with optical measurements (reflectivity spectra and scattering diagrams) of ventral wing scales of the Green Hairstreak butterfly, Callophrys rubi. We demonstrate that the omnidirectional green colour arises from the gyroid cuticular structure grown in the domains of different orientation. We also show that this three-dimensional structure, operating as a biophotonic crystal, gives rise to various polarization effects. We briefly discuss the possible biological utility of the green coloration and polarization effects.

Deformation Partitioning: The Missing Link Between Outcrop-Scale Observations And Orogen-Scale Processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Attia, S.; Paterson, S. R.; Jiang, D.; Miller, R. B.

2017-12-01

Structural studies of orogenic deformation fields are mostly based on small-scale structures ubiquitous in field exposures, hand samples, and under microscopes. Relating deformation histories derived from such structures to changing lithospheric-scale deformation and boundary conditions is not trivial due to vast scale separation (10-6 107 m) between characteristic lengths of small-scale structures and lithospheric plates. Rheological heterogeneity over the range of orogenic scales will lead to deformation partitioning throughout intervening scales of structural development. Spectacular examples of structures documenting deformation partitioning are widespread within hot (i.e., magma-rich) orogens such as the well-studied central Sierra Nevada and Cascades core of western North America: (1) deformation partitioned into localized, narrow, triclinic shear zones separated by broad domains of distributed pure shear at micro- to 10 km scales; (2) deformation partitioned between plutons and surrounding metamorphic host rocks as shown by pluton-wide magmatic fabrics consistently oriented differently than coeval host rock fabrics; (3) partitioning recorded by different fabric intensities, styles, and orientations established from meter-scale grid mapping to 100 km scale domainal analyses; and (4) variations in the causes of strain and kinematics within fold-dominated domains. These complex, partitioned histories require synthesized mapping, geochronology, and structural data at all scales to evaluate partitioning and in the absence of correct scaling can lead to incorrect interpretations of histories. Forward modeling capable of addressing deformation partitioning in materials containing multiple scales of rheologically heterogeneous elements of varying characteristic lengths provides the ability to upscale the large synthesized datasets described above to plate-scale tectonic processes and boundary conditions. By comparing modeling predictions from the recently developed self-consistent Multi-Order Power-Law Approach (MOPLA) to multi-scale field observations, we constrain likely paleo-tectonic controls of orogenic structural evolution rather than predicting a unique, but likely incorrect deformation history.

HS-SPM Mapping of Ferroelectric Domain Dynamics with Combined Nanoscale and Nanosecond Resolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Polomoff, Nicholas Alexander

The unique properties of ferroelectric materials have been applied for a wide variety of device applications. In particular, properties such as spontaneous polarization and domain structure hysteresis at room temperature have rendered its application in nonvolatile memory devices such as FeRAMs. Along with the ever-present drive for smaller memory devices is the demand that they have increased operating speeds, longer retention times, lower power requirements and better overall reliability. It is therefore pertinent that further investigation of the dynamics, kinetics and mechanisms involved with ferroelectric domain polarization reversal at nanoscale lengths and temporal durations be conducted to optimize future ferroelectric based nonvolatile memory devices. Accordingly High Speed Piezoforce Microscopy (HSPFM) will be employed to directly investigate and observe the dynamic nucleation and growth progression of ferroelectric domain polarization reversal processes in thin epitaxial deposited PZT films. The capabilities of HSPFM will allow for in-situ direct observation of nascent dynamic domain polarization reversal events with nanoscale resolution. Correlations and characterization of the thin ferroelectric film samples will be made based on the observed polarization reversal dynamics and switching mechanism with respect to their varying strain states, compositions, and/or orientations. Electrical pulsing schemes will also be employed to enhance the HSPFM procedure to achieve nanoscale temporal resolution of nascent domain nucleation and growth events. A unique pulsing approach is also proposed, and tested, to improve power consumption during switching. Finally, artificial defects will be introduced into the PZT thin film by fabricating arrays of indentations with different shapes and loads. These controlled indents will result in the introduction of different stress states of compression and tension into the ferroelectric thin film. It is hypothesized that these different stress states will have a dramatic effect upon the polarization reversal process, domain nucleation and growth dynamics, as well as the device's overall performance. It is the aim of the research presented in this dissertation to leverage the superior lateral and temporal resolution of the HSPFM technique to observe the influence that a variety of different variables have upon polarization reversal and dynamic ferroelectric domain behavior in attempt to propose conventions in which such variables can be employed for the development of high functioning and overall better operating ferroelectric based devices.

Crystal orientation dependence of the dielectric properties for epitaxial BaZr0.15Ti0.85O3 thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miao, J.; Yuan, J.; Wu, H.; Yang, S. B.; Xu, B.; Cao, L. X.; Zhao, B. R.

2007-01-01

Epitaxial Ba0.15Zr0.85TiO3 (BZT) ferroelectric thin films with (001), (011), and (111) orientations were, respectively, grown on La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 (LSMO) buffered LaAlO3 substrates by pulsed laser deposition method. The dc electric-field dependence of permittivity and dielectric loss of (001)-, (011)-, and (111)-oriented BZT/LSMO heterostructures obeys the Johnson formula, and the ac electric-field dependence of that obeys the Rayleigh law under the subswitching field region. The anisotropic dielectric properties are attributed to the higher mobility of the charge carriers, the concentration of mobile interfacial domain walls, and boundaries in the (111)-oriental films than in the (110)- and (100)-oriented films.

Experiences in teaching of modeling and simulation with emphasize on equation-based and acausal modeling techniques.

PubMed

Kulhánek, Tomáš; Ježek, Filip; Mateják, Marek; Šilar, Jan; Kofránek, Jří

2015-08-01

This work introduces experiences of teaching modeling and simulation for graduate students in the field of biomedical engineering. We emphasize the acausal and object-oriented modeling technique and we have moved from teaching block-oriented tool MATLAB Simulink to acausal and object oriented Modelica language, which can express the structure of the system rather than a process of computation. However, block-oriented approach is allowed in Modelica language too and students have tendency to express the process of computation. Usage of the exemplar acausal domains and approach allows students to understand the modeled problems much deeper. The causality of the computation is derived automatically by the simulation tool.

Common and specific impairments in attention functioning in girls with chromosome 22q11.2 deletion, fragile X or Turner syndromes

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS), fragile X syndrome (FXS), and Turner syndrome (TS) are complex and variable developmental syndromes caused by different genetic abnormalities; yet, they share similar cognitive impairments in the domains of numbers, space, and time. The atypical development of foundational neural networks that underpin the attentional system is thought to result in further impairments in higher-order cognitive functions. The current study investigates whether children with similar higher-order cognitive impairments but different genetic disorders also show similar impairments in alerting, orienting, and executive control of attention. Methods Girls with 22q11.2DS, FXS, or TS and typically developing (TD) girls, aged 7 to 15 years, completed an attention network test, a flanker task with alerting and orienting cues. Exploration of reaction times and accuracy allowed us to test for potential commonalities in attentional functioning in alerting, orienting, and executive control. Linear regression models were used to test whether the predictors of group and chronological age were able to predict differences in attention indices. Results Girls with 22q11.2DS, FXS, or TS demonstrated unimpaired function of the alerting system and impaired function of the executive control system. Diagnosis-specific impairments were found such that girls with FXS made more errors and had a reduced orienting index, while girls with 22q11.2DS showed specific age-related deficits in the executive control system. Conclusions These results suggest that the control but not the implementation of attention is selectively impaired in girls with 22q11.2DS, TS or FXS. Additionally, the age effect on executive control in girls with 22q11.2DS implies a possible altered developmental trajectory. PMID:24628892

Toward an Intersectional Approach in Developmental Science: The Role of Race, Gender, Sexual Orientation, and Immigrant Status.

PubMed

Ghavami, Negin; Katsiaficas, Dalal; Rogers, Leoandra Onnie

2016-01-01

Developmental theory and research have often focused on a single social identity category, for example, race or sexual orientation, and examined the consequences of that category on life outcomes. Yet intersectional models of social disadvantage (eg, Cole, 2009; Crenshaw, 1995; King, 1988) suggest that social categories combine to shape the experiences and life outcomes of individuals across life domains. In this chapter, we review empirical research that offers insight into the intersectionality of social identities across three critical developmental periods, namely, middle childhood, adolescence, and emerging adulthood. We also consider the consequences of intersecting identities across several life domains, including intergroup relations and political and civic engagement. Recognizing that the body of work on social identities is expansive, we focus our review on race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and immigrant status. In each developmental stage, we discuss what we know, drawing from the limited empirical literature, and offer suggestions on where we need to go moving forward. We conclude that research that focuses on as a single category and ignores the specific domain of development provides an incomplete and inaccurate picture that will hinder efforts to develop culturally appropriate and clinically effective prevention and intervention programs to meet the needs of our diverse children and youth living in the United States. © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Single orientation graphene synthesized on iridium thin films grown by molecular beam epitaxy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dangwal Pandey, A., E-mail: arti.pandey@desy.de; Grånäs, E.; Shayduk, R.

Heteroepitaxial iridium thin films were deposited on (0001) sapphire substrates by means of molecular beam epitaxy, and subsequently, one monolayer of graphene was synthesized by chemical vapor deposition. The influence of the growth parameters on the quality of the Ir films, as well as of graphene, was investigated systematically by means of low energy electron diffraction, x-ray reflectivity, x-ray diffraction, Auger electron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy. Our study reveals (111) oriented iridium films with high crystalline quality and extremely low surface roughness, on which the formation of large-area epitaxial graphene is achieved. The presence of defects,more » like dislocations, twins, and 30° rotated domains in the iridium films is also discussed. The coverage of graphene was found to be influenced by the presence of 30° rotated domains in the Ir films. Low iridium deposition rates suppress these rotated domains and an almost complete coverage of graphene was obtained. This synthesis route yields inexpensive, air-stable, and large-area graphene with a well-defined orientation, making it accessible to a wider community of researchers for numerous experiments or applications, including those which use destructive analysis techniques or irreversible processes. Moreover, this approach can be used to tune the structural quality of graphene, allowing a systematic study of the influence of defects in various processes like intercalation below graphene.« less

Investigation of ferroelectric domains in thin films of vinylidene fluoride oligomers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sharma, Pankaj, E-mail: psharma@huskers.unl.edu; Poddar, Shashi; Ducharme, Stephen

2014-07-14

High-resolution vector piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) has been used to investigate ferroelectric domains in thin vinylidene fluoride oligomer films fabricated by the Langmuir-Blodgett deposition technique. Molecular chains are found to be preferentially oriented normal to the substrate, and PFM imaging shows that the films are in ferroelectric β-phase with a predominantly in-plane polarization, in agreement with infrared spectroscopic ellipsometry and X-ray diffraction measurements. The fractal analysis of domain structure has yielded the Hausdorff dimension (D) in the range of ∼1.3–1.5 indicating a random-bond nature of the disorder potential, with domain size exhibiting Landau-Lifshitz-Kittel scaling.

Magnetostrictive and magnetic effects in Fe-27%Co laminations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Savary, Maxime; Hubert, Olivier; Helbert, Anne-Laure; Baudin, Thierry; Waeckerlé, Thierry

2018-04-01

The present paper deals with the characterization of the magnetostriction of the Fe-27%Co alloy. When this alloy is annealed in the ferritic domain (between 700°C and 940°C) and submitted to a slow cooling, it exhibits a low and isotropic magnetostriction over a wide induction range (±1.5T). One reason that can explain this phenomenon is a high temperature selection of magnetic bi-domains preferentially oriented in the rolling plane. As soon as this material is annealed in the austenitic domain or quenched from the ferritic domain, the low and isotropic magnetostriction disappears giving way to a classical quadratic magnetostrictive behavior.

Multilingual natural language generation as part of a medical terminology server.

PubMed

Wagner, J C; Solomon, W D; Michel, P A; Juge, C; Baud, R H; Rector, A L; Scherrer, J R

1995-01-01

Re-usable and sharable, and therefore language-independent concept models are of increasing importance in the medical domain. The GALEN project (Generalized Architecture for Languages Encyclopedias and Nomenclatures in Medicine) aims at developing language-independent concept representation systems as the foundations for the next generation of multilingual coding systems. For use within clinical applications, the content of the model has to be mapped to natural language. A so-called Multilingual Information Module (MM) establishes the link between the language-independent concept model and different natural languages. This text generation software must be versatile enough to cope at the same time with different languages and with different parts of a compositional model. It has to meet, on the one hand, the properties of the language as used in the medical domain and, on the other hand, the specific characteristics of the underlying model and its representation formalism. We propose a semantic-oriented approach to natural language generation that is based on linguistic annotations to a concept model. This approach is realized as an integral part of a Terminology Server, built around the concept model and offering different terminological services for clinical applications.

The flexibility and dynamics of protein disulfide isomerase

PubMed Central

Wells, Stephen A.; Emilio Jimenez‐Roldan, J.; Bhattacharyya, Moitrayee; Vishweshwara, Saraswathi; Freedman, Robert B.

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT We have studied the mobility of the multidomain folding catalyst, protein disulfide isomerase (PDI), by a coarse‐graining approach based on flexibility. We analyze our simulations of yeast PDI (yPDI) using measures of backbone movement, relative positions and orientations of domains, and distances between functional sites. We find that there is interdomain flexibility at every interdomain junction but these show very different characteristics. The extent of interdomain flexibility is such that yPDI's two active sites can approach much more closely than is found in crystal structures—and indeed hinge motion to bring these sites into proximity is the lowest energy normal mode of motion of the protein. The flexibility predicted for yPDI (based on one structure) includes the other known conformation of yPDI and is consistent with (i) the mobility observed experimentally for mammalian PDI and (ii) molecular dynamics. We also observe intradomain flexibility and clear differences between the domains in their propensity for internal motion. Our results suggest that PDI flexibility enables it to interact with many different partner molecules of widely different sizes and shapes, and highlights considerable similarities of yPDI and mammalian PDI. Proteins 2016; 84:1776–1785. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. PMID:27616289

Random Wiring, Ganglion Cell Mosaics, and the Functional Architecture of the Visual Cortex

PubMed Central

Coppola, David; White, Leonard E.; Wolf, Fred

2015-01-01

The architecture of iso-orientation domains in the primary visual cortex (V1) of placental carnivores and primates apparently follows species invariant quantitative laws. Dynamical optimization models assuming that neurons coordinate their stimulus preferences throughout cortical circuits linking millions of cells specifically predict these invariants. This might indicate that V1’s intrinsic connectome and its functional architecture adhere to a single optimization principle with high precision and robustness. To validate this hypothesis, it is critical to closely examine the quantitative predictions of alternative candidate theories. Random feedforward wiring within the retino-cortical pathway represents a conceptually appealing alternative to dynamical circuit optimization because random dimension-expanding projections are believed to generically exhibit computationally favorable properties for stimulus representations. Here, we ask whether the quantitative invariants of V1 architecture can be explained as a generic emergent property of random wiring. We generalize and examine the stochastic wiring model proposed by Ringach and coworkers, in which iso-orientation domains in the visual cortex arise through random feedforward connections between semi-regular mosaics of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and visual cortical neurons. We derive closed-form expressions for cortical receptive fields and domain layouts predicted by the model for perfectly hexagonal RGC mosaics. Including spatial disorder in the RGC positions considerably changes the domain layout properties as a function of disorder parameters such as position scatter and its correlations across the retina. However, independent of parameter choice, we find that the model predictions substantially deviate from the layout laws of iso-orientation domains observed experimentally. Considering random wiring with the currently most realistic model of RGC mosaic layouts, a pairwise interacting point process, the predicted layouts remain distinct from experimental observations and resemble Gaussian random fields. We conclude that V1 layout invariants are specific quantitative signatures of visual cortical optimization, which cannot be explained by generic random feedforward-wiring models. PMID:26575467

Justice and care: the implications of the Kohlberg-Gilligan debate for medical ethics.

PubMed

Sharpe, V A

1992-12-01

Carol Gilligan has identified two orientations to moral understanding; the dominant 'justice orientation' and the under-valued 'care orientation'. Based on her discernment of a 'voice of care', Gilligan challenges the adequacy of a deontological liberal framework for moral development and moral theory. This paper examines how the orientations of justice and care are played out in medical ethical theory. Specifically, I question whether the medical moral domain is adequately described by the norms of impartiality, universality, and equality that characterize the liberal ideal. My analysis of justice-oriented medical ethics, focuses on the libertarian theory of H.T. Engelhardt and the contractarian theory of R.M. Veatch. I suggest that in the work of E.D. Pellegrino and D.C. Thomasma we find not only a more authentic representation of medical morality but also a project that is compatible with the care orientation's emphasis on human need and responsiveness to particular others.

Effect of orientational ordering of magnetic nanoemulsions immobilized in agar gel on magnetic hyperthermia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lahiri, B. B.; Ranoo, Surojit; Philip, John

2018-04-01

Magnetic nanoemulsions of droplet size ∼200 nm, loaded with single domain superparamagnetic nanoparticles (MNP), are potential candidates for multimodal hyperthermia due to availability of large loading volume and enhanced permeation and retention (EPR) in the cancerous tissues. In such nanoemulsions, radio frequency alternating magnetic field induced heating occur at two entirely different length scales, viz. Neel-Brown relaxation of the dispersed MNP and Brownian relaxation of emulsion droplets. Here we study the effects of orientation ordering or texturing of droplets, immobilized in a tissue mimicking agar matrix, on the field induced heating efficiency. A higher specific absorption rate (maximum ∼73 ± 2 W/gFe) is observed for droplets orientated parallel to the direction of the alternating magnetic field because of the enhancement of effective uniaxial anisotropy energy density and increased effective relaxation time. For identical and non-interacting MNP oriented parallel to the external DC magnetic field, a threefold increase in the effective uniaxial anisotropy energy density and ∼20-30% increased specific absorption rate are observed as compared to those oriented perpendicular to the magnetic field. Magnetic force microscopy images showed that the spherical morphology of the droplets remains intact even after orientational ordering and average topographic height of the droplets are found to be ∼220 (±17) nm, which is in good agreement with the most probable size obtained from dynamic light scattering. The residual volume magnetization of the emulsion droplets is found to be 1.1 × 10-6 emu/cc, indicating the superparamagnetic nature of the droplets in tissue equivalent environment. The observed increase in heating efficiency of the immobilized and oriented emulsion droplets shows promising applications in multimodal hyperthermia therapy because of the requirement of lower dose of MNP and shorter treatment time.

Age-related similarities and differences in monitoring spatial cognition.

PubMed

Ariel, Robert; Moffat, Scott D

2018-05-01

Spatial cognitive performance is impaired in later adulthood but it is unclear whether the metacognitive processes involved in monitoring spatial cognitive performance are also compromised. Inaccurate monitoring could affect whether people choose to engage in tasks that require spatial thinking and also the strategies they use in spatial domains such as navigation. The current experiment examined potential age differences in monitoring spatial cognitive performance in a variety of spatial domains including visual-spatial working memory, spatial orientation, spatial visualization, navigation, and place learning. Younger and older adults completed a 2D mental rotation test, 3D mental rotation test, paper folding test, spatial memory span test, two virtual navigation tasks, and a cognitive mapping test. Participants also made metacognitive judgments of performance (confidence judgments, judgments of learning, or navigation time estimates) on each trial for all spatial tasks. Preference for allocentric or egocentric navigation strategies was also measured. Overall, performance was poorer and confidence in performance was lower for older adults than younger adults. In most spatial domains, the absolute and relative accuracy of metacognitive judgments was equivalent for both age groups. However, age differences in monitoring accuracy (specifically relative accuracy) emerged in spatial tasks involving navigation. Confidence in navigating for a target location also mediated age differences in allocentric navigation strategy use. These findings suggest that with the possible exception of navigation monitoring, spatial cognition may be spared from age-related decline even though spatial cognition itself is impaired in older age.

The Computer Revolution and Physical Chemistry.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Brien, James F.

1989-01-01

Describes laboratory-oriented software programs that are short, time-saving, eliminate computational errors, and not found in public domain courseware. Program availability for IBM and Apple microcomputers is included. (RT)

On the use of response surface methodology to predict and interpret the preferred c-axis orientation of sputtered AlN thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adamczyk, J.; Horny, N.; Tricoteaux, A.; Jouan, P.-Y.; Zadam, M.

2008-01-01

This paper deals with experimental design applied to response surface methodology (RSM) in order to determine the influence of the discharge conditions on preferred c-axis orientation of sputtered AlN thin films. The thin films have been deposited by DC reactive magnetron sputtering on Si (1 0 0) substrates. The preferred orientation was evaluated using a conventional Bragg-Brentano X-ray diffractometer ( θ-2 θ) with the CuKα radiation. We have first determined the experimental domain for 3 parameters: sputtering pressure (2-6 mTorr), discharge current (312-438 mA) and nitrogen percentage (17-33%). For the setup of the experimental design we have used a three factors Doehlert matrix which allows the use of the statistical response surface methodology (RSM) in a spherical domain. A four dimensional surface response, which represents the (0 0 0 2) peak height as a function of sputtering pressure, discharge current and nitrogen percentage, was obtained. It has been found that the main interaction affecting the preferential c-axis orientation was the pressure-nitrogen percentage interaction. It has been proved that a Box-Cox transformation is a very useful method to interpret and discuss the experimental results and leads to predictions in good agreement with experiments.

Impasse-driven tutoring for reactive skill acquisition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hill, Randall W., Jr.; Johnson, W. Lewis

1993-01-01

We are interested in developing effective performance-oriented training for the operation of systems that are used for monitor and control purposes. We have focused on one such system, the communications Link Monitor and Control (LMC) system used in NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN), which is a worldwide system for navigating, tracking and communicating with unmanned interplanetary spacecraft. The tasks in this domain are procedural in nature and require reactive, goal-oriented skills; we have previously described a cognitive model for problem solving that accounts for both novice and expert levels of behavior as well as how skill is acquired. Our cognitive modeling work in this task domain led us to make a number of predictions about tutoring that have influenced the design of the system described in this paper.

Magnetization reversal in YIG/GGG(111) nanoheterostructures grown by laser molecular beam epitaxy.

PubMed

Krichevtsov, Boris B; Gastev, Sergei V; Suturin, Sergey M; Fedorov, Vladimir V; Korovin, Alexander M; Bursian, Viktor E; Banshchikov, Alexander G; Volkov, Mikhail P; Tabuchi, Masao; Sokolov, Nikolai S

2017-01-01

Thin (4-20 nm) yttrium iron garnet (Y 3 Fe 5 O 12 , YIG) layers have been grown on gadolinium gallium garnet (Gd 3 Ga 5 O 12 , GGG) 111-oriented substrates by laser molecular beam epitaxy in 700-1000 °C growth temperature range. The layers were found to have atomically flat step-and-terrace surface morphology with step height of 1.8 Å characteristic for YIG(111) surface. As the growth temperature is increased from 700 to 1000 °C the terraces become wider and the growth gradually changes from layer by layer to step-flow regime. Crystal structure studied by electron and X-ray diffraction showed that YIG lattice is co-oriented and laterally pseudomorphic to GGG with small rhombohedral distortion present perpendicular to the surface. Measurements of magnetic moment, magneto-optical polar and longitudinal Kerr effect (MOKE), and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) were used for study of magnetization reversal for different orientations of magnetic field. These methods and ferromagnetic resonance studies have shown that in zero magnetic field magnetization lies in the film plane due to both shape and induced anisotropies. Vectorial MOKE studies have revealed the presence of an in-plane easy magnetization axis. In-plane magnetization reversal was shown to occur through combination of reversible rotation and abrupt irreversible magnetization jump, the latter caused by domain wall nucleation and propagation. The field at which the flip takes place depends on the angle between the applied magnetic field and the easy magnetization axis and can be described by the modified Stoner-Wohlfarth model taking into account magnetic field dependence of the domain wall energy. Magnetization curves of individual tetrahedral and octahedral magnetic Fe 3+ sublattices were studied by XMCD.

Magnetization reversal in YIG/GGG(111) nanoheterostructures grown by laser molecular beam epitaxy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krichevtsov, Boris B.; Gastev, Sergei V.; Suturin, Sergey M.; Fedorov, Vladimir V.; Korovin, Alexander M.; Bursian, Viktor E.; Banshchikov, Alexander G.; Volkov, Mikhail P.; Tabuchi, Masao; Sokolov, Nikolai S.

2017-12-01

Thin (4-20 nm) yttrium iron garnet (Y3Fe5O12, YIG) layers have been grown on gadolinium gallium garnet (Gd3Ga5O12, GGG) 111-oriented substrates by laser molecular beam epitaxy in 700-1000 °C growth temperature range. The layers were found to have atomically flat step-and-terrace surface morphology with step height of 1.8 Å characteristic for YIG(111) surface. As the growth temperature is increased from 700 to 1000 °C the terraces become wider and the growth gradually changes from layer by layer to step-flow regime. Crystal structure studied by electron and X-ray diffraction showed that YIG lattice is co-oriented and laterally pseudomorphic to GGG with small rhombohedral distortion present perpendicular to the surface. Measurements of magnetic moment, magneto-optical polar and longitudinal Kerr effect (MOKE), and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) were used for study of magnetization reversal for different orientations of magnetic field. These methods and ferromagnetic resonance studies have shown that in zero magnetic field magnetization lies in the film plane due to both shape and induced anisotropies. Vectorial MOKE studies have revealed the presence of an in-plane easy magnetization axis. In-plane magnetization reversal was shown to occur through combination of reversible rotation and abrupt irreversible magnetization jump, the latter caused by domain wall nucleation and propagation. The field at which the flip takes place depends on the angle between the applied magnetic field and the easy magnetization axis and can be described by the modified Stoner-Wohlfarth model taking into account magnetic field dependence of the domain wall energy. Magnetization curves of individual tetrahedral and octahedral magnetic Fe3+ sublattices were studied by XMCD.

Is Traumatic Brain Injury Associated with Reduced Inter-Hemispheric Functional Connectivity? A Study of Large-Scale Resting State Networks following Traumatic Brain Injury

PubMed Central

Duff, Melissa C.; McAuley, Edward; Kramer, Arthur F.; Voss, Michelle W.

2016-01-01

Abstract Traumatic brain injury (TBI) often has long-term debilitating sequelae in cognitive and behavioral domains. Understanding how TBI impacts functional integrity of brain networks that underlie these domains is key to guiding future approaches to TBI rehabilitation. In the current study, we investigated the differences in inter-hemispheric functional connectivity (FC) of resting state networks (RSNs) between chronic mild-to-severe TBI patients and normal comparisons (NC), focusing on two externally oriented networks (i.e., the fronto-parietal network [FPN] and the executive control network [ECN]), one internally oriented network (i.e., the default mode network [DMN]), and one somato-motor network (SMN). Seed voxel correlation analysis revealed that TBI patients displayed significantly less FC between lateralized seeds and both homologous and non-homologous regions in the opposite hemisphere for externally oriented networks but not for DMN or SMN; conversely, TBI patients showed increased FC within regions of the DMN, especially precuneus and parahippocampal gyrus. Region of interest correlation analyses confirmed the presence of significantly higher inter-hemispheric FC in NC for the FPN (p < 0.01), and ECN (p < 0.05), but not for the DMN (p > 0.05) or SMN (p > 0.05). Further analysis revealed that performance on a neuropsychological test measuring organizational skills and visuo-spatial abilities administered to the TBI group, the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test, positively correlated with FC between the right FPN and homologous regions. Our findings suggest that distinct RSNs display specific patterns of aberrant FC following TBI; this represents a step forward in the search for biomarkers useful for early diagnosis and treatment of TBI-related cognitive impairment. PMID:25719433

Magnetization reversal in YIG/GGG(111) nanoheterostructures grown by laser molecular beam epitaxy

PubMed Central

Krichevtsov, Boris B.; Gastev, Sergei V.; Suturin, Sergey M.; Fedorov, Vladimir V.; Korovin, Alexander M.; Bursian, Viktor E.; Banshchikov, Alexander G.; Volkov, Mikhail P.; Tabuchi, Masao; Sokolov, Nikolai S.

2017-01-01

Abstract Thin (4–20 nm) yttrium iron garnet (Y3Fe5O12, YIG) layers have been grown on gadolinium gallium garnet (Gd3Ga5O12, GGG) 111-oriented substrates by laser molecular beam epitaxy in 700–1000 °C growth temperature range. The layers were found to have atomically flat step-and-terrace surface morphology with step height of 1.8 Å characteristic for YIG(111) surface. As the growth temperature is increased from 700 to 1000 °C the terraces become wider and the growth gradually changes from layer by layer to step-flow regime. Crystal structure studied by electron and X-ray diffraction showed that YIG lattice is co-oriented and laterally pseudomorphic to GGG with small rhombohedral distortion present perpendicular to the surface. Measurements of magnetic moment, magneto-optical polar and longitudinal Kerr effect (MOKE), and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) were used for study of magnetization reversal for different orientations of magnetic field. These methods and ferromagnetic resonance studies have shown that in zero magnetic field magnetization lies in the film plane due to both shape and induced anisotropies. Vectorial MOKE studies have revealed the presence of an in-plane easy magnetization axis. In-plane magnetization reversal was shown to occur through combination of reversible rotation and abrupt irreversible magnetization jump, the latter caused by domain wall nucleation and propagation. The field at which the flip takes place depends on the angle between the applied magnetic field and the easy magnetization axis and can be described by the modified Stoner–Wohlfarth model taking into account magnetic field dependence of the domain wall energy. Magnetization curves of individual tetrahedral and octahedral magnetic Fe3+ sublattices were studied by XMCD. PMID:28685003

Sources of Variation on the Mini-Mental State Examination in a Population-Based Sample of Centenarians

PubMed Central

Dai, Ting; Davey, Adam; Woodard, John L.; Miller, L. Stephen; Gondo, Yasuyuki; Kim, Seock-Ho; Poon, Leonard W.

2013-01-01

Centenarians represent a rare but rapidly growing segment of the oldest-old. This study presents item-level data from the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE, M=16.2, SD=8.8, Range 0–30) in a cross-sectional, population-based sample of 244 centenarians and near-centenarians (aged 98–108, 16% men, 21% African-American, 38% community-dwelling) from the Georgia Centenarian Study (2001–2008) by age, education, sex, race, and residential status. Multiple-Indicator Multiple-Causes (MIMIC) models were used to identify systematic domain-level differences on MMSE scores by key demographic characteristics in this age group. Indirect effects of age, educational attainment, race, and residential status were found on MMSE scores. Direct effects were limited to concentration for education and race, and orientation for residential status. Mean levels of cognitive functioning in centenarians were low, with mean values below most commonly-used cut-offs. Overall scores on the MMSE differed as a function of age, education, race, and residential status, with differences in scale performance limited primarily to concentration and orientation, with no evidence for interactions among centenarian characteristics. Adjusting for education was not sufficient to account for differences by race; adjusting for residential status was not sufficient to account for differences by age. PMID:23889552

A proxy of DICOM services

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ribeiro, Luís S.; Costa, Carlos; Oliveira, José Luís

2010-03-01

Diagnostic tools supported by digital medical images have increasingly become an essential aid to medical decisions. However, despite its growing importance, Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS) are typically oriented to support a single healthcare institution, and the sharing of medical data across institutions is still a difficult process. This paper describes a proposal to publish and control Digital Imaging Communications in Medicine (DICOM) services in a wide domain composed of several healthcare institutions. The system creates virtual bridges between intranets enabling the exchange, search and store of the medical data within the wide domain. The service provider publishes the DICOM services following a token-based strategy. The token advertisements are public and known by all system users. However, access to the DICOM service is controlled through a role association between an access key and the service. Furthermore, in medical diagnoses, time is a crucial factor. Therefore, our system is a turnkey solution, capable of exchanging medical data across firewalls and Network Address Translation (NAT), avoiding bureaucratic issues with local network security. Security is also an important concern - in any transmission across different domains, data is encrypted by Transport Layer Security (TLS).

The novel 2Fe–2S outer mitochondrial protein mitoNEET displays conformational flexibility in its N-terminal cytoplasmic tethering domain

PubMed Central

Conlan, Andrea R.; Paddock, Mark L.; Axelrod, Herbert L.; Cohen, Aina E.; Abresch, Edward C.; Wiley, Sandra; Roy, Melinda; Nechushtai, Rachel; Jennings, Patricia A.

2009-01-01

A primary role for mitochondrial dysfunction is indicated in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance. A widely used drug for the treatment of type 2 diabetes is pioglitazone, a member of the thiazolidinedione class of molecules. MitoNEET, a 2Fe–2S outer mitochondrial membrane protein, binds pioglitazone [Colca et al. (2004 ▶), Am. J. Physiol. Endocrinol. Metab. 286, E252–E260]. The soluble domain of the human mitoNEET protein has been expressed C-terminal to the superfolder green fluorescent protein and the mitoNEET protein has been isolated. Comparison of the crystal structure of mitoNEET isolated from cleavage of the fusion protein (1.4 Å resolution, R factor = 20.2%) with other solved structures shows that the CDGSH domains are superimposable, indicating proper assembly of mitoNEET. Furthermore, there is considerable flexibility in the position of the cytoplasmic tethering arms, resulting in two different conformations in the crystal structure. This flexibility affords multiple orientations on the outer mitochondrial membrane. PMID:19574633

Growth of Highly c-axis Oriented and/or Epitaxial Single-Domain b-axis Oriented La5Ca9Cu24O41 Thin Films by Pulsed Laser Deposition

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-04-01

project attempted to grow La5Ca9Cu24O41 (LCCO) films on important substrates with the high- thermal -conductivity direction parallel or perpendicular...to the surface of the substrate, counting success as demonstration of b-axis or c-axis oriented LCCO films along with measurement of bulk thermal ...deposition, LCCO, La5Ca9Cu24O41, thermal conductivity, epitaxy 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT SAR 18. NUMBER OF PAGES 24

Terahertz spectroscopic analysis of crystal orientation in polymers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Azeyanagi, Chisato; Kaneko, Takuya; Ohki, Yoshimichi

2018-05-01

Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) is attracting keen attention as a new spectroscopic tool for characterizing various materials. In this research, the possibility of analyzing the crystal orientation in a crystalline polymer by THz-TDS is investigated by measuring angle-resolved THz absorption spectra for sheets of poly(ethylene terephthalate), poly(ethylene naphthalate), and poly(phenylene sulfide). The resultant angle dependence of the absorption intensity of each polymer is similar to that of the crystal orientation examined using pole figures of X-ray diffraction. More specifically, THz-TDS can indicate the alignment of molecules in polymers.

Towards the XML schema measurement based on mapping between XML and OO domain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rakić, Gordana; Budimac, Zoran; Heričko, Marjan; Pušnik, Maja

2017-07-01

Measuring quality of IT solutions is a priority in software engineering. Although numerous metrics for measuring object-oriented code already exist, measuring quality of UML models or XML Schemas is still developing. One of the research questions in the overall research leaded by ideas described in this paper is whether we can apply already defined object-oriented design metrics on XML schemas based on predefined mappings. In this paper, basic ideas for mentioned mapping are presented. This mapping is prerequisite for setting the future approach to XML schema quality measuring with object-oriented metrics.

A Rehabilitation Protocol for Empowering Spatial Orientation in MCI. A Pilot Study.

PubMed

Gadler, Erminia; Grassi, Alessandra; Riva, Giuseppe

2009-01-01

Spatial navigation is among the first cognitive functions to be impaired in Alzheimer's disease [1] and deficit in this domain is detectable earlier in patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment [2]. Since efficacy of cognitive training in persons with MCI was successfully assessed [3], we developed a multitasking training protocol using virtual environments for stimulating attention, perception and visuo-spatial cognition in order to empower spatial orientation in MCI. Two healthy elders were exposed to the training over a period of four weeks and both showed improved performances in attention and orientation after the end of the intervention.

Shocked monazite chronometry: integrating microstructural and in situ isotopic age data for determining precise impact ages

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Erickson, Timmons M.; Timms, Nicholas E.; Kirkland, Christopher L.; Tohver, Eric; Cavosie, Aaron J.; Pearce, Mark A.; Reddy, Steven M.

2017-03-01

Monazite is a robust geochronometer and occurs in a wide range of rock types. Monazite also records shock deformation from meteorite impact but the effects of impact-related microstructures on the U-Th-Pb systematics remain poorly constrained. We have, therefore, analyzed shock-deformed monazite grains from the central uplift of the Vredefort impact structure, South Africa, and impact melt from the Araguainha impact structure, Brazil, using electron backscatter diffraction, electron microprobe elemental mapping, and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). Crystallographic orientation mapping of monazite grains from both impact structures reveals a similar combination of crystal-plastic deformation features, including shock twins, planar deformation bands and neoblasts. Shock twins were documented in up to four different orientations within individual monazite grains, occurring as compound and/or type one twins in (001), (100), ( 10bar{1} ), {110}, { 212 }, and type two (irrational) twin planes with rational shear directions in [0bar{1}bar{1}] and [bar{1}bar{1}0]. SIMS U-Th-Pb analyses of the plastically deformed parent domains reveal discordant age arrays, where discordance scales with increasing plastic strain. The correlation between discordance and strain is likely a result of the formation of fast diffusion pathways during the shock event. Neoblasts in granular monazite domains are strain-free, having grown during the impact events via consumption of strained parent grains. Neoblastic monazite from the Inlandsee leucogranofels at Vredefort records a 207Pb/206Pb age of 2010 ± 15 Ma (2 σ, n = 9), consistent with previous impact age estimates of 2020 Ma. Neoblastic monazite from Araguainha impact melt yield a Concordia age of 259 ± 5 Ma (2 σ, n = 7), which is consistent with previous impact age estimates of 255 ± 3 Ma. Our results demonstrate that targeting discrete microstructural domains in shocked monazite, as identified through orientation mapping, for in situ U-Th-Pb analysis can date impact-related deformation. Monazite is, therefore, one of the few high-temperature geochronometers that can be used for accurate and precise dating of meteorite impacts.

The solution structure of the prototype foamy virus RNase H domain indicates an important role of the basic loop in substrate binding.

PubMed

Leo, Berit; Schweimer, Kristian; Rösch, Paul; Hartl, Maximilian J; Wöhrl, Birgitta M

2012-09-10

The ribonuclease H (RNase H) domains of retroviral reverse transcriptases play an essential role in the replication cycle of retroviruses. During reverse transcription of the viral genomic RNA, an RNA/DNA hybrid is created whose RNA strand needs to be hydrolyzed by the RNase H to enable synthesis of the second DNA strand by the DNA polymerase function of the reverse transcriptase. Here, we report the solution structure of the separately purified RNase H domain from prototype foamy virus (PFV) revealing the so-called C-helix and the adjacent basic loop, which both were suggested to be important in substrate binding and activity. The solution structure of PFV RNase H shows that it contains a mixed five-stranded β-sheet, which is sandwiched by four α-helices (A-D), including the C-helix, on one side and one α-helix (helix E) on the opposite side. NMR titration experiments demonstrate that upon substrate addition signal changes can be detected predominantly in the basic loop as well as in the C-helix. All these regions are oriented towards the bound substrate. In addition, signal intensities corresponding to residues in the B-helix and the active site decrease, while only minor or no changes of the overall structure of the RNase H are detectable upon substrate binding. Dynamic studies confirm the monomeric state of the RNase H domain. Structure comparisons with HIV-1 RNase H, which lacks the basic protrusion, indicate that the basic loop is relevant for substrate interaction, while the C-helix appears to fulfill mainly structural functions, i.e. positioning the basic loop in the correct orientation for substrate binding. The structural data of PFV RNase H demonstrate the importance of the basic loop, which contains four positively charged lysines, in substrate binding and the function of the C-helix in positioning of the loop. In the dimeric full length HIV-1 RT, the function of the basic loop is carried out by a different loop, which also harbors basic residues, derived from the connection domain of the p66 subunit. Our results suggest that RNases H which are also active as separate domains might need a functional basic loop for proper substrate binding.

Study of magnetic domain evolution in an auxetic plane of Galfenol using Kerr microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raghunath, Ganesh; Flatau, Alison B.

2015-05-01

Galfenol (FexGa100-x), a magnetostrictive alloy (3/2λ 110-400 ppm) of Iron and Gallium exhibits an in-plane auxetic response in the ⟨110⟩ crystallographic direction. Negative Poisson's ratios have been observed in response to application of stress fields, where values of as low as -0.7 have been reported for compositions of greater than roughly 20% Ga [Zhang et al., J. Appl. Phys. 108(2), 023513 (2010)] and in response to application of magnetic fields, where values of as low as -2.5 have been reported to be expected for compositions of less than roughly 20% Ga [G. Raghunath and A. B. Flatau, IEEE Trans. Magn. (in press)]. Several models have been proposed to understand these two distinct phenomena. Galfenol samples with less than 20% Ga also exhibit an unusual response to an increasing magnetic field applied along the ⟨110⟩ direction. The longitudinal strain which increases initially with applied field experiences a dip (until ˜10 mT) before increasing again to reach saturation. The transverse strain increases and reaches a maximum value (at the same field of ˜10 mT) and then drops from the maximum by 5%-10% as magnetic saturation is approached [G. Raghunath and A. B. Flatau, IEEE Trans. Magn. (in press)].This work deals with discussing the evolution of magnetic domains in a 16 at. % Ga single crystal Galfenol sample when subjected to magnetic fields in the ⟨110⟩ direction in the (100) plane. The magnetic domains on the surface of mechanically polished Galfenol samples were imaged using Magneto-Optic Kerr Effect microscopy. Simultaneously, the strains along the longitudinal and transverse ⟨110⟩ directions were recorded using a bi-directional strain gauge rosette mounted on the unpolished bottom surface of the planar samples. The energy from the applied magnetic field is expected to grow the ⟨110⟩ oriented domains at the expense of domains oriented along all other directions. But since the plane has an easy ⟨100⟩ axis, we expect the domains to orient along the easy direction before saturating along the applied magnetic field direction. A correlation between the images recorded and the strains observed will be used to understand this shift of domains and bump in strain at low fields.

Shape Transitions and Lattice Structuring of Ceramide-Enriched Domains Generated by Sphingomyelinase in Lipid Monolayers

PubMed Central

Härtel, Steffen; Fanani, María Laura; Maggio, Bruno

2005-01-01

Sphingomyelinases (SMases) hydrolyze the membrane constituent sphingomyelin (SM) to phosphocholine and ceramide (Cer). Growing evidence supports that SMase-induced SM→Cer conversion leads to the formation of lateral Cer-enriched domains which drive structural reorganization in lipid membranes. We previously provided visual evidence in real-time for the formation of Cer-enriched domains in SM monolayers through the action of the neutral Bacillus cereus SMase. In this work, we disclose a succession of discrete morphologic transitions and lateral organization of Cer-enriched domains that underlay the SMase-generated surface topography. We further reveal how these structural parameters couple to the generation of two-dimensional electrostatic fields, based upon the specific orientation of the lipid dipole moments in the Cer-enriched domains. Advanced image processing routines in combination with time-resolved epifluorescence microscopy on Langmuir monolayers revealed: 1), spontaneous nucleation and circular growth of Cer-enriched domains after injection of SMase into the subphase of the SM monolayer; 2), domain-intrinsic discrete transitions from circular to periodically undulating shapes followed by a second transition toward increasingly branched morphologies; 3), lateral superstructure organization into predominantly hexagonal domain lattices; 4), formation of super-superstructures by the hexagonal lattices; and 5), rotationally and laterally coupled domain movement before domain border contact. All patterns proved to be specific for the SMase-driven system since they could not be observed with Cer-enriched domains generated by defined mixtures of SM/Cer in enzyme-free monolayers at the same surface pressure (Π = 10 mN/m). Following the theories of lateral shape transitions, dipolar electrostatic interactions of lipid domains, and direct determinations of the monolayer dipole potential, our data show that SMase induces a domain-specific packing and orientation of the molecular dipole moments perpendicular to the air/water interface. In consequence, protein-driven generation of specific out-of-equilibrium states, an accepted concept for maintenance of transmembrane lipid asymmetry, must also be considered on the lateral level. Lateral enzyme-specific out-of-equilibrium organization of lipid domains represents a new level of signal transduction from local (nm) to long-range (μm) scales. The cross-talk between lateral domain structures and dipolar electrostatic fields adds new perspectives to the mechanisms of SMase-mediated signal transduction in biological membranes. PMID:15489298

Thermal-induced domain wall motion of tip-inverted micro/nanodomains in near-stoichiometric LiNbO3 crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, X. Y.; Kitamura, K.; Liu, Y. M.; Ohuchi, F. S.; Li, J. Y.

2011-09-01

Thermal-induced domain wall motion of tip-inverted micro/nanodomains in near-stoichiometric LiNbO3 single crystals was investigated using piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM). The domain wall motion was observed in PFM phase and amplitude images at room temperature after the sample was subjected to a thermal process at a heating temperature higher than 100 °C. In hexagonal domains with only y walls, predetermined nucleation with layer-by-layer growth is the main mechanism for the domain wall motion. In the domains composed of both x walls and y walls, the x walls are more mobile than the y walls, and the domain wall motion starts from the random nucleation of steps along the x walls that finally grow into y walls. The domain wall motion in the near-stoichiometric LiNbO3 crystal is attributed to the energy-preferable domain wall orientation, the pyroelectric effect, and the screening charge variation caused by the thermal process.

Surface structural conformations of fibrinogen polypeptides for improved biocompatibility.

PubMed

Yaseen, Mohammed; Zhao, Xiubo; Freund, Amy; Seifalian, Alexander M; Lu, Jian R

2010-05-01

This work reports on how incorporation of silica nanocages into poly(urethane) copolymers (PU) affects conformational orientations of adsorbed fibrinogen and how different surfaces subsequently influenced HeLa cell attachment and proliferation. Incorporation of 2 wt% silica nanocages into poly(urethane) (PU4) substantially altered the surface topography of the films and some 50% of the surface was covered with the nanocages due to their preferential exposure. AFM studies revealed the deposition of a dense protein network on the soft polymeric domains of PU4 and much reduced fibrinogen adsorption on the hard nanocage domains. As on the bare SiO(2) control surface, fibrinogen molecules adsorbed on top of the hard nanocages mainly took the dominant trinodular structures in monomeric and dimeric forms. In addition, net positively charged long alpha chains were prone to being hidden beneath the D domains whilst gamma chains predominantly remained exposed. Dynamic interfacial adsorption as probed by spectroscopic ellipsometry revealed fast changes in interfacial conformation induced by electrostatic interactions between different segments of fibrinogen and the surface, consistent with the AFM imaging. On the PU surfaces without nanocage incorporation (PUA), however, adsorbed fibrinogen molecules formed beads-like chain networks, consistent with the structure featured on the soft PU4 domains, showing very different effects of surface chemical nature. Monoclonal antibodies specific to the alpha and gamma chains showed reduced alpha but increased gamma chain binding at the silicon oxide control and PU4 surfaces, whilst on the PUA, C18 and amine surfaces (organic surface controls) the opposite binding trend was detected with alpha chain binding dominant, showing different fibrinogen conformations. Cell attachment studies revealed differences in cell attachment and proliferation, consistent with the different polypeptide conformations on the two types of surfaces, showing a strong preference to the extent of exposure of gamma chains. Crown Copyright 2010. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Deformation-induced structural transition in body-centred cubic molybdenum

PubMed Central

Wang, S. J.; Wang, H.; Du, K.; Zhang, W.; Sui, M. L.; Mao, S. X.

2014-01-01

Molybdenum is a refractory metal that is stable in a body-centred cubic structure at all temperatures before melting. Plastic deformation via structural transitions has never been reported for pure molybdenum, while transformation coupled with plasticity is well known for many alloys and ceramics. Here we demonstrate a structural transformation accompanied by shear deformation from an original <001>-oriented body-centred cubic structure to a <110>-oriented face-centred cubic lattice, captured at crack tips during the straining of molybdenum inside a transmission electron microscope at room temperature. The face-centred cubic domains then revert into <111>-oriented body-centred cubic domains, equivalent to a lattice rotation of 54.7°, and ~15.4% tensile strain is reached. The face-centred cubic structure appears to be a well-defined metastable state, as evidenced by scanning transmission electron microscopy and nanodiffraction, the Nishiyama–Wassermann and Kurdjumov–Sachs relationships between the face-centred cubic and body-centred cubic structures and molecular dynamics simulations. Our findings reveal a deformation mechanism for elemental metals under high-stress deformation conditions. PMID:24603655