Sample records for kai vellak nele

  1. CryoEM and Molecular Dynamics of the Circadian KaiB-KaiC Complex Indicates That KaiB Monomers Interact with KaiC and Block ATP Binding Clefts

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

    Villarreal, Seth A.; Pattanayek, Rekha; Williams, Dewight R.

    The circadian control of cellular processes in cyanobacteria is regulated by a posttranslational oscillator formed by three Kai proteins. During the oscillator cycle, KaiA serves to promote autophosphorylation of KaiC while KaiB counteracts this effect. Here, we present a crystallographic structure of the wild-type Synechococcus elongatus KaiB and a cryo-electron microscopy (cryoEM) structure of a KaiBC complex. The crystal structure shows the expected dimer core structure and significant conformational variations of the KaiB C-terminal region, which is functionally important in maintaining rhythmicity. The KaiBC sample was formed with a C-terminally truncated form of KaiC, KaiC-Δ489, which is persistently phosphorylated. Themore » KaiB–KaiC-Δ489 structure reveals that the KaiC hexamer can bind six monomers of KaiB, which form a continuous ring of density in the KaiBC complex. We performed cryoEM-guided molecular dynamics flexible fitting simulations with crystal structures of KaiB and KaiC to probe the KaiBC protein–protein interface. This analysis indicated a favorable binding mode for the KaiB monomer on the CII end of KaiC, involving two adjacent KaiC subunits and spanning an ATP binding cleft. A KaiC mutation, R468C, which has been shown to affect the affinity of KaiB for KaiC and lengthen the period in a bioluminescence rhythm assay, is found within the middle of the predicted KaiBC interface. The proposed KaiB binding mode blocks access to the ATP binding cleft in the CII ring of KaiC, which provides insight into how KaiB might influence the phosphorylation status of KaiC.« less

  2. Nature of KaiB-KaiC binding in the cyanobacterial circadian oscillator

    PubMed Central

    Pattanayek, Rekha; Yadagiri, Kirthi Kiran; Ohi, Melanie D.; Egli, Martin

    2013-01-01

    In the cyanobacteria Synechococcus elongatus and Thermosynechococcus elongatus, the KaiA, KaiB and KaiC proteins in the presence of ATP generate a post-translational oscillator (PTO) that can be reconstituted in vitro. KaiC is the result of a gene duplication and resembles a double doughnut with N-terminal CI and C-terminal CII hexameric rings. Six ATPs are bound between subunits in both the CI and CII ring. CI harbors ATPase activity, and CII catalyzes phosphorylation and dephosphorylation at T432 and S431 with a ca. 24-h period. KaiA stimulates KaiC phosphorylation, and KaiB promotes KaiC subunit exchange and sequesters KaiA on the KaiB-KaiC interface in the final stage of the clock cycle. Studies of the PTO protein-protein interactions are convergent in terms of KaiA binding to CII but have led to two opposing models of the KaiB-KaiC interaction. Electron microscopy (EM) and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), together with native PAGE using full-length proteins and separate CI and CII rings, are consistent with binding of KaiB to CII. Conversely, NMR together with gel filtration chromatography and denatured PAGE using monomeric CI and CII domains support KaiB binding to CI. To resolve the existing controversy, we studied complexes between KaiB and gold-labeled, full-length KaiC with negative stain EM. The EM data clearly demonstrate that KaiB contacts the CII ring. Together with the outcomes of previous analyses, our work establishes that only CII participates in interactions with KaiA and KaiB as well as with the His kinase SasA involved in the clock output pathway. PMID:23388462

  3. A dynamic interaction process between KaiA and KaiC is critical to the cyanobacterial circadian oscillator.

    PubMed

    Dong, Pei; Fan, Ying; Sun, Jianqiang; Lv, Mengting; Yi, Ming; Tan, Xiao; Liu, Sen

    2016-04-26

    The core circadian oscillator of cyanobacteria consists of three proteins, KaiA, KaiB, and KaiC. This circadian oscillator could be functionally reconstituted in vitro with these three proteins, and therefore has been a very important model in circadian rhythm research. KaiA can bind to KaiC and then stimulate its phosphorylation, but their interaction mechanism remains elusive. In this study, we followed the "second-site suppressor" strategy to investigate the interaction mechanism of KaiA and KaiC. Using protein sequence analyses, we showed that there exist co-varying residues in the binding interface of KaiA and KaiC. The followed mutagenesis study verified that these residues are important to the functions of KaiA and KaiC, but their roles could not be fully explained by the reported complex structures of KaiA and KaiC derived peptides. Combining our data with previous reports, we suggested a dynamic interaction mechanism in KaiA-KaiC interaction, in which both KaiA and the intrinsically disordered tail of KaiC undergo significant structural changes through conformational selection and induced fit during the binding process. At last, we presented a mathematic model to support this hypothesis and explained the importance of this interaction mechanism for the KaiABC circadian oscillator.

  4. A dynamic interaction process between KaiA and KaiC is critical to the cyanobacterial circadian oscillator

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dong, Pei; Fan, Ying; Sun, Jianqiang; Lv, Mengting; Yi, Ming; Tan, Xiao; Liu, Sen

    2016-04-01

    The core circadian oscillator of cyanobacteria consists of three proteins, KaiA, KaiB, and KaiC. This circadian oscillator could be functionally reconstituted in vitro with these three proteins, and therefore has been a very important model in circadian rhythm research. KaiA can bind to KaiC and then stimulate its phosphorylation, but their interaction mechanism remains elusive. In this study, we followed the “second-site suppressor” strategy to investigate the interaction mechanism of KaiA and KaiC. Using protein sequence analyses, we showed that there exist co-varying residues in the binding interface of KaiA and KaiC. The followed mutagenesis study verified that these residues are important to the functions of KaiA and KaiC, but their roles could not be fully explained by the reported complex structures of KaiA and KaiC derived peptides. Combining our data with previous reports, we suggested a dynamic interaction mechanism in KaiA-KaiC interaction, in which both KaiA and the intrinsically disordered tail of KaiC undergo significant structural changes through conformational selection and induced fit during the binding process. At last, we presented a mathematic model to support this hypothesis and explained the importance of this interaction mechanism for the KaiABC circadian oscillator.

  5. Survey of Two New (Kai 1 and Kai 2) and Other Blood Groups in Dogs of North America.

    PubMed

    Euler, C C; Lee, J H; Kim, H Y; Raj, K; Mizukami, K; Giger, U

    2016-09-01

    Based upon serology, >10 canine blood group systems have been reported. We surveyed dogs for dog erythrocyte antigen (DEA) 1 and 2 new blood types (Kai 1 and Kai 2), and some samples also were screened for Dal and DEA 3, 4, and 7. Blood samples provided by owners, breeders, animal blood banks, and clinical laboratories were typed for DEA 1 by an immunochromatographic strip technique with a monoclonal antibody and analysis of band intensity. Both new antigens, the Dal and other DEAs (except DEA 7 by tube method), were assessed by a gel column method with either monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies. The same gel column method was applied for alloantibody detection. Of 503 dogs typed, 59.6% were DEA 1+ with 4% weakly, 10% moderately, and 45.6% strongly DEA 1+. Regarding Kai 1 and Kai 2, 94% were Kai 1+/Kai 2-, 5% were Kai 1-/Kai 2- and 1% were Kai 1-/Kai 2+, but none were Kai 1+/Kai 2+. There was no relationship between Kai 1/Kai 2 and other blood types tested. Plasma from DEA 1-, Kai 1-, Kai 2- dogs, or some combination of these contained no detectable alloantibodies against DEA 1 and Kai 1 or Kai, respectively. The new blood types, called Kai 1 and Kai 2, are unrelated to DEA 1, 3, 4, and 7 and Dal. Kai 1+/Kai 2- dogs were most commonly found in North America. The clinical relevance of Kai 1 and Kai 2 in canine transfusion medicine still needs to be elucidated. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.

  6. On the age of the Nele asteroid family

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Carruba, V.; Vokrouhlický, D.; Nesvorný, D.; Aljbaae, S.

    2018-06-01

    The Nele group, formerly known as the Iannini family, is one of the youngest asteroid families in the main belt. Previously, it has been noted that the pericentre longitudes ϖ and nodal longitudes Ω of its largest member asteroids are clustered at the present time, therefore suggesting that the collisional break-up of parent body must have happened recently. Here, we verify this conclusion by detailed orbit-propagation of a synthetic Nele family and show that the current level of clustering of secular angles of the largest Nele family members requires an approximate age limit of 4.5 Myr. Additionally, we make use of an updated and largely extended Nele membership to obtain, for the first time, an age estimate of this family using the backward integration method. Convergence of the secular angles in a purely gravitational model and in a model including the non-gravitational forces caused by the Yarkovsky effect are both compatible with an age younger than 7 Myr. More accurate determination of the Nele family age would require additional data about the spin state of its members.

  7. Active output state of the Synechococcus Kai circadian oscillator.

    PubMed

    Paddock, Mark L; Boyd, Joseph S; Adin, Dawn M; Golden, Susan S

    2013-10-01

    The mechanisms by which cellular oscillators keep time and transmit temporal information are poorly understood. In cyanobacteria, the timekeeping aspect of the circadian oscillator, composed of the KaiA, KaiB, and KaiC proteins, involves a cyclic progression of phosphorylation states at Ser431 and Thr432 of KaiC. Elucidating the mechanism that uses this temporal information to modulate gene expression is complicated by unknowns regarding the number, structure, and regulatory effects of output components. To identify oscillator signaling states without a complete description of the output machinery, we defined a simple metric, Kai-complex output activity (KOA), that represents the difference in expression of reporter genes between strains that carry specific variants of KaiC and baseline strains that lack KaiC. In the absence of the oscillator, expression of the class 1 paradigm promoter P(kaiBC) was locked at its usual peak level; conversely, that of the class 2 paradigm promoter P(purF) was locked at its trough level. However, for both classes of promoters, peak KOA in wild-type strains coincided late in the circadian cycle near subjective dawn, when KaiC-pST becomes most prevalent (Ser431 is phosphorylated and Thr432 is not). Analogously, peak KOA was detected specifically for the phosphomimetic of KaiC-pST (KaiC-ET). Notably, peak KOA required KaiB, indicating that a KaiBC complex is involved in the output activity. We also found evidence that phosphorylated RpaA (regulator of phycobilisome associated) represses an RpaA-independent output of KOA. A simple mathematical expression successfully simulated two key features of the oscillator-the time of peak KOA and the peak-to-trough amplitude changes.

  8. Active output state of the Synechococcus Kai circadian oscillator

    PubMed Central

    Paddock, Mark L.; Boyd, Joseph S.; Adin, Dawn M.; Golden, Susan S.

    2013-01-01

    The mechanisms by which cellular oscillators keep time and transmit temporal information are poorly understood. In cyanobacteria, the timekeeping aspect of the circadian oscillator, composed of the KaiA, KaiB, and KaiC proteins, involves a cyclic progression of phosphorylation states at Ser431 and Thr432 of KaiC. Elucidating the mechanism that uses this temporal information to modulate gene expression is complicated by unknowns regarding the number, structure, and regulatory effects of output components. To identify oscillator signaling states without a complete description of the output machinery, we defined a simple metric, Kai-complex output activity (KOA), that represents the difference in expression of reporter genes between strains that carry specific variants of KaiC and baseline strains that lack KaiC. In the absence of the oscillator, expression of the class 1 paradigm promoter PkaiBC was locked at its usual peak level; conversely, that of the class 2 paradigm promoter PpurF was locked at its trough level. However, for both classes of promoters, peak KOA in wild-type strains coincided late in the circadian cycle near subjective dawn, when KaiC-pST becomes most prevalent (Ser431 is phosphorylated and Thr432 is not). Analogously, peak KOA was detected specifically for the phosphomimetic of KaiC-pST (KaiC-ET). Notably, peak KOA required KaiB, indicating that a KaiBC complex is involved in the output activity. We also found evidence that phosphorylated RpaA (regulator of phycobilisome associated) represses an RpaA-independent output of KOA. A simple mathematical expression successfully simulated two key features of the oscillator—the time of peak KOA and the peak-to-trough amplitude changes. PMID:24043774

  9. Enhancing Māori food security using traditional kai.

    PubMed

    McKerchar, Christina; Bowers, Sharron; Heta, Craig; Signal, Louise; Matoe, Leonie

    2015-09-01

    Lack of food security is one of the major nutrition issues facing Māori today. Loss of traditional kai (food) gathering places and practices following colonisation and urbanisation has impacted negatively on food security for Māori. This paper explores the role of Māori in enhancing Māori food security through revitalising traditional kai. A narrative literature review of peer reviewed and grey literature on revitalising traditional kai for Māori was conducted. The focus was on two areas: increasing the availability of traditional kai to Māori households (such as through replenishing fish stocks, and gardening projects) and increasing the financial means available to Māori households to purchase food (by economic development of traditional kai industries and employment creation). A range of activities to improve food security for Māori by revitalising traditional kai was identified in the literature. Māori are now significant players in New Zealand's fishing industry, and are developing their horticultural resources. Gardening initiatives have also grown considerably in Māori communities. Enabling factors included: the return of traditional kai resources by the Crown, and successful pursuit by Māori of the legal rights to develop them; development of Māori models of governance; government policy around Māori economic development and healthy eating; and Māori leadership on the issue. Barriers to revitalising traditional kai that remain to be addressed include: tensions between Government and Māori goals and models of resource management; economic pressures resulting in severely depleted fishing stocks; and pollution of marine and freshwater fish. Revitalising traditional kai has considerable potential to improve food security for Māori, both directly in terms of food supply and by providing income, and warrants policy and practical support. These findings have implications for other indigenous cultures who are struggling to be food secure. © The

  10. A thermodynamically consistent model of the post-translational Kai circadian clock

    PubMed Central

    Lubensky, David K.; ten Wolde, Pieter Rein

    2017-01-01

    The principal pacemaker of the circadian clock of the cyanobacterium S. elongatus is a protein phosphorylation cycle consisting of three proteins, KaiA, KaiB and KaiC. KaiC forms a homohexamer, with each monomer consisting of two domains, CI and CII. Both domains can bind and hydrolyze ATP, but only the CII domain can be phosphorylated, at two residues, in a well-defined sequence. While this system has been studied extensively, how the clock is driven thermodynamically has remained elusive. Inspired by recent experimental observations and building on ideas from previous mathematical models, we present a new, thermodynamically consistent, statistical-mechanical model of the clock. At its heart are two main ideas: i) ATP hydrolysis in the CI domain provides the thermodynamic driving force for the clock, switching KaiC between an active conformational state in which its phosphorylation level tends to rise and an inactive one in which it tends to fall; ii) phosphorylation of the CII domain provides the timer for the hydrolysis in the CI domain. The model also naturally explains how KaiA, by acting as a nucleotide exchange factor, can stimulate phosphorylation of KaiC, and how the differential affinity of KaiA for the different KaiC phosphoforms generates the characteristic temporal order of KaiC phosphorylation. As the phosphorylation level in the CII domain rises, the release of ADP from CI slows down, making the inactive conformational state of KaiC more stable. In the inactive state, KaiC binds KaiB, which not only stabilizes this state further, but also leads to the sequestration of KaiA, and hence to KaiC dephosphorylation. Using a dedicated kinetic Monte Carlo algorithm, which makes it possible to efficiently simulate this system consisting of more than a billion reactions, we show that the model can describe a wealth of experimental data. PMID:28296888

  11. Dephosphorylation of the Core Clock Protein KaiC in the Cyanobacterial KaiABC Circadian Oscillator Proceeds via an ATP Synthase Mechanism

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

    Egli, Martin; Mori, Tetsuya; Pattanayek, Rekha

    The circadian clock of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus can be reconstituted in vitro from three proteins, KaiA, KaiB, and KaiC in the presence of ATP, to tick in a temperature-compensated manner. KaiC, the central cog of this oscillator, forms a homohexamer with 12 ATP molecules bound between its N- and C-terminal domains and exhibits unusual properties. Both the N-terminal (CI) and C-terminal (CII) domains harbor ATPase activity, and the subunit interfaces between CII domains are the sites of autokinase and autophosphatase activities. Hydrolysis of ATP correlates with phosphorylation at threonine and serine sites across subunits in an orchestrated manner, suchmore » that first T432 and then S431 are phosphorylated, followed by dephosphorylation of these residues in the same order. Although structural work has provided insight into the mechanisms of ATPase and kinase, the location and mechanism of the phosphatase have remained enigmatic. From the available experimental data based on a range of approaches, including KaiC crystal structures and small-angle X-ray scattering models, metal ion dependence, site-directed mutagenesis (i.e., E318, the general base), and measurements of the associated clock periods, phosphorylation patterns, and dephosphorylation courses as well as a lack of sequence motifs in KaiC that are typically associated with known phosphatases, we hypothesized that KaiCII makes use of the same active site for phosphorylation and dephosphorlyation. We observed that wild-type KaiC (wt-KaiC) exhibits an ATP synthase activity that is significantly reduced in the T432A/S431A mutant. We interpret the first observation as evidence that KaiCII is a phosphotransferase instead of a phosphatase and the second that the enzyme is capable of generating ATP, both from ADP and P{sub i} (in a reversal of the ATPase reaction) and from ADP and P-T432/P-S431 (dephosphorylation). This new concept regarding the mechanism of dephosphorylation is also supported

  12. The karrikin receptor KAI2 promotes drought resistance in Arabidopsis thaliana

    PubMed Central

    Li, Weiqiang; Nguyen, Kien Huu; Ha, Chien Van; Watanabe, Yasuko; Osakabe, Yuriko; Leyva-González, Marco Antonio; Sato, Mayuko; Tanaka, Maho; Mostofa, Mohammad Golam; Seki, Motoaki; Seo, Mitsunori; Yamaguchi, Shinjiro; Nelson, David C.; Herrera-Estrella, Luis

    2017-01-01

    Drought causes substantial reductions in crop yields worldwide. Therefore, we set out to identify new chemical and genetic factors that regulate drought resistance in Arabidopsis thaliana. Karrikins (KARs) are a class of butenolide compounds found in smoke that promote seed germination, and have been reported to improve seedling vigor under stressful growth conditions. Here, we discovered that mutations in KARRIKIN INSENSITIVE2 (KAI2), encoding the proposed karrikin receptor, result in hypersensitivity to water deprivation. We performed transcriptomic, physiological and biochemical analyses of kai2 plants to understand the basis for KAI2-regulated drought resistance. We found that kai2 mutants have increased rates of water loss and drought-induced cell membrane damage, enlarged stomatal apertures, and higher cuticular permeability. In addition, kai2 plants have reduced anthocyanin biosynthesis during drought, and are hyposensitive to abscisic acid (ABA) in stomatal closure and cotyledon opening assays. We identified genes that are likely associated with the observed physiological and biochemical changes through a genome-wide transcriptome analysis of kai2 under both well-watered and dehydration conditions. These data provide evidence for crosstalk between ABA- and KAI2-dependent signaling pathways in regulating plant responses to drought. A comparison of the strigolactone receptor mutant d14 (DWARF14) to kai2 indicated that strigolactones also contributes to plant drought adaptation, although not by affecting cuticle development. Our findings suggest that chemical or genetic manipulation of KAI2 and D14 signaling may provide novel ways to improve drought resistance. PMID:29131815

  13. The karrikin receptor KAI2 promotes drought resistance in Arabidopsis thaliana.

    PubMed

    Li, Weiqiang; Nguyen, Kien Huu; Chu, Ha Duc; Ha, Chien Van; Watanabe, Yasuko; Osakabe, Yuriko; Leyva-González, Marco Antonio; Sato, Mayuko; Toyooka, Kiminori; Voges, Laura; Tanaka, Maho; Mostofa, Mohammad Golam; Seki, Motoaki; Seo, Mitsunori; Yamaguchi, Shinjiro; Nelson, David C; Tian, Chunjie; Herrera-Estrella, Luis; Tran, Lam-Son Phan

    2017-11-01

    Drought causes substantial reductions in crop yields worldwide. Therefore, we set out to identify new chemical and genetic factors that regulate drought resistance in Arabidopsis thaliana. Karrikins (KARs) are a class of butenolide compounds found in smoke that promote seed germination, and have been reported to improve seedling vigor under stressful growth conditions. Here, we discovered that mutations in KARRIKIN INSENSITIVE2 (KAI2), encoding the proposed karrikin receptor, result in hypersensitivity to water deprivation. We performed transcriptomic, physiological and biochemical analyses of kai2 plants to understand the basis for KAI2-regulated drought resistance. We found that kai2 mutants have increased rates of water loss and drought-induced cell membrane damage, enlarged stomatal apertures, and higher cuticular permeability. In addition, kai2 plants have reduced anthocyanin biosynthesis during drought, and are hyposensitive to abscisic acid (ABA) in stomatal closure and cotyledon opening assays. We identified genes that are likely associated with the observed physiological and biochemical changes through a genome-wide transcriptome analysis of kai2 under both well-watered and dehydration conditions. These data provide evidence for crosstalk between ABA- and KAI2-dependent signaling pathways in regulating plant responses to drought. A comparison of the strigolactone receptor mutant d14 (DWARF14) to kai2 indicated that strigolactones also contributes to plant drought adaptation, although not by affecting cuticle development. Our findings suggest that chemical or genetic manipulation of KAI2 and D14 signaling may provide novel ways to improve drought resistance.

  14. Circadian clock protein KaiC forms ATP-dependent hexameric rings and binds DNA

    PubMed Central

    Mori, Tetsuya; Saveliev, Sergei V.; Xu, Yao; Stafford, Walter F.; Cox, Michael M.; Inman, Ross B.; Johnson, Carl H.

    2002-01-01

    KaiC from Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 (KaiC) is an essential circadian clock protein in cyanobacteria. Previous sequence analyses suggested its inclusion in the RecA/DnaB superfamily. A characteristic of the proteins of this superfamily is that they form homohexameric complexes that bind DNA. We show here that KaiC also forms ring complexes with a central pore that can be visualized by electron microscopy. A combination of analytical ultracentrifugation and chromatographic analyses demonstrates that these complexes are hexameric. The association of KaiC molecules into hexamers depends on the presence of ATP. The KaiC sequence does not include the obvious DNA-binding motifs found in RecA or DnaB. Nevertheless, KaiC binds forked DNA substrates. These data support the inclusion of KaiC into the RecA/DnaB superfamily and have important implications for enzymatic activity of KaiC in the circadian clock mechanism that regulates global changes in gene expression patterns. PMID:12477935

  15. Circadian clock protein KaiC forms ATP-dependent hexameric rings and binds DNA.

    PubMed

    Mori, Tetsuya; Saveliev, Sergei V; Xu, Yao; Stafford, Walter F; Cox, Michael M; Inman, Ross B; Johnson, Carl H

    2002-12-24

    KaiC from Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 (KaiC) is an essential circadian clock protein in cyanobacteria. Previous sequence analyses suggested its inclusion in the RecADnaB superfamily. A characteristic of the proteins of this superfamily is that they form homohexameric complexes that bind DNA. We show here that KaiC also forms ring complexes with a central pore that can be visualized by electron microscopy. A combination of analytical ultracentrifugation and chromatographic analyses demonstrates that these complexes are hexameric. The association of KaiC molecules into hexamers depends on the presence of ATP. The KaiC sequence does not include the obvious DNA-binding motifs found in RecA or DnaB. Nevertheless, KaiC binds forked DNA substrates. These data support the inclusion of KaiC into the RecADnaB superfamily and have important implications for enzymatic activity of KaiC in the circadian clock mechanism that regulates global changes in gene expression patterns.

  16. Structural basis of unique ligand specificity of KAI2-like protein from parasitic weed Striga hermonthica.

    PubMed

    Xu, Yuqun; Miyakawa, Takuya; Nakamura, Hidemitsu; Nakamura, Akira; Imamura, Yusaku; Asami, Tadao; Tanokura, Masaru

    2016-08-10

    The perception of two plant germination inducers, karrikins and strigolactones, are mediated by the proteins KAI2 and D14. Recently, KAI2-type proteins from parasitic weeds, which are possibly related to seed germination induced by strigolactone, have been classified into three clades characterized by different responses to karrikin/strigolactone. Here we characterized a karrikin-binding protein in Striga (ShKAI2iB) that belongs to intermediate-evolving KAI2 and provided the structural bases for its karrikin-binding specificity. Binding assays showed that ShKAI2iB bound karrikins but not strigolactone, differing from other KAI2 and D14. The crystal structures of ShKAI2iB and ShKAI2iB-karrikin complex revealed obvious structural differences in a helix located at the entry of its ligand-binding cavity. This results in a smaller closed pocket, which is also the major cause of ShKAI2iB's specificity of binding karrikin. Our structural study also revealed that a few non-conserved amino acids led to the distinct ligand-binding profile of ShKAI2iB, suggesting that the evolution of KAI2 resulted in its diverse functions.

  17. Structural basis of unique ligand specificity of KAI2-like protein from parasitic weed Striga hermonthica

    PubMed Central

    Xu, Yuqun; Miyakawa, Takuya; Nakamura, Hidemitsu; Nakamura, Akira; Imamura, Yusaku; Asami, Tadao; Tanokura, Masaru

    2016-01-01

    The perception of two plant germination inducers, karrikins and strigolactones, are mediated by the proteins KAI2 and D14. Recently, KAI2-type proteins from parasitic weeds, which are possibly related to seed germination induced by strigolactone, have been classified into three clades characterized by different responses to karrikin/strigolactone. Here we characterized a karrikin-binding protein in Striga (ShKAI2iB) that belongs to intermediate-evolving KAI2 and provided the structural bases for its karrikin-binding specificity. Binding assays showed that ShKAI2iB bound karrikins but not strigolactone, differing from other KAI2 and D14. The crystal structures of ShKAI2iB and ShKAI2iB-karrikin complex revealed obvious structural differences in a helix located at the entry of its ligand-binding cavity. This results in a smaller closed pocket, which is also the major cause of ShKAI2iB’s specificity of binding karrikin. Our structural study also revealed that a few non-conserved amino acids led to the distinct ligand-binding profile of ShKAI2iB, suggesting that the evolution of KAI2 resulted in its diverse functions. PMID:27507097

  18. Evolution of strigolactone receptors by gradual neo-functionalization of KAI2 paralogues.

    PubMed

    Bythell-Douglas, Rohan; Rothfels, Carl J; Stevenson, Dennis W D; Graham, Sean W; Wong, Gane Ka-Shu; Nelson, David C; Bennett, Tom

    2017-06-29

    Strigolactones (SLs) are a class of plant hormones that control many aspects of plant growth. The SL signalling mechanism is homologous to that of karrikins (KARs), smoke-derived compounds that stimulate seed germination. In angiosperms, the SL receptor is an α/β-hydrolase known as DWARF14 (D14); its close homologue, KARRIKIN INSENSITIVE2 (KAI2), functions as a KAR receptor and likely recognizes an uncharacterized, endogenous signal ('KL'). Previous phylogenetic analyses have suggested that the KAI2 lineage is ancestral in land plants, and that canonical D14-type SL receptors only arose in seed plants; this is paradoxical, however, as non-vascular plants synthesize and respond to SLs. We have used a combination of phylogenetic and structural approaches to re-assess the evolution of the D14/KAI2 family in land plants. We analysed 339 members of the D14/KAI2 family from land plants and charophyte algae. Our phylogenetic analyses show that the divergence between the eu-KAI2 lineage and the DDK (D14/DLK2/KAI2) lineage that includes D14 occurred very early in land plant evolution. We show that eu-KAI2 proteins are highly conserved, and have unique features not found in DDK proteins. Conversely, we show that DDK proteins show considerable sequence and structural variation to each other, and lack clearly definable characteristics. We use homology modelling to show that the earliest members of the DDK lineage structurally resemble KAI2 and that SL receptors in non-seed plants likely do not have D14-like structure. We also show that certain groups of DDK proteins lack the otherwise conserved MORE AXILLARY GROWTH2 (MAX2) interface, and may thus function independently of MAX2, which we show is highly conserved throughout land plant evolution. Our results suggest that D14-like structure is not required for SL perception, and that SL perception has relatively relaxed structural requirements compared to KAI2-mediated signalling. We suggest that SL perception gradually evolved

  19. The Difficult Pursuit of Truth: A Response to Kai Horsthemke

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Godon, Rafal

    2017-01-01

    In this article, Rafal Godon responds to Kai Horsthemke's article (this issue), "Inclusive Education and 'Barrierefreiheit': Some Social-Epistemological Considerations" (EJ1130978). The question raised by Kai Horsthemke, Godon says, draws readers' attention to a very specific aspect of the conference theme, "Philosophy as…

  20. Smoke-derived karrikin perception by the α/β-hydrolase KAI2 from Arabidopsis

    PubMed Central

    Guo, Yongxia; Zheng, Zuyu; La Clair, James J.; Chory, Joanne; Noel, Joseph P.

    2013-01-01

    Genetic studies in Arabidopsis implicate an α/β-hydrolase, KARRIKIN-INSENSITIVE 2 (KAI2) as a receptor for karrikins, germination-promoting butenolide small molecules found in the smoke of burned plants. However, direct biochemical evidence for the interaction between KAI2 and karrikin and for the mechanism of downstream signaling by a KAI2–karrikin complex remain elusive. We report crystallographic analyses and ligand-binding experiments for KAI2 recognition of karrikins. The karrikin-1 (KAR1) ligand sits in the opening to the active site abutting a helical domain insert but distal from the canonical catalytic triad (Ser95-His246-Asp217) of α/β-hydrolases, consistent with the lack of detectable hydrolytic activity by purified KAI2. The closest approach of KAR1 to Ser95-His246-Asp217 is 3.8 Å from His246. Six aromatic side chains, including His246, encapsulate KAR1 through geometrically defined aromatic–aromatic interactions. KAR1 binding induces a conformational change in KAI2 at the active site entrance. A crevice of hydrophobic residues linking the polar edge of KAR1 and the helical domain insert suggests that KAI2–KAR1 creates a contiguous interface for binding signaling partners in a ligand-dependent manner. PMID:23613584

  1. Smoke-derived karrikin perception by the α/β-hydrolase KAI2 from Arabidopsis.

    PubMed

    Guo, Yongxia; Zheng, Zuyu; La Clair, James J; Chory, Joanne; Noel, Joseph P

    2013-05-14

    Genetic studies in Arabidopsis implicate an α/β-hydrolase, KARRIKIN-INSENSITIVE 2 (KAI2) as a receptor for karrikins, germination-promoting butenolide small molecules found in the smoke of burned plants. However, direct biochemical evidence for the interaction between KAI2 and karrikin and for the mechanism of downstream signaling by a KAI2-karrikin complex remain elusive. We report crystallographic analyses and ligand-binding experiments for KAI2 recognition of karrikins. The karrikin-1 (KAR1) ligand sits in the opening to the active site abutting a helical domain insert but distal from the canonical catalytic triad (Ser95-His246-Asp217) of α/β-hydrolases, consistent with the lack of detectable hydrolytic activity by purified KAI2. The closest approach of KAR1 to Ser95-His246-Asp217 is 3.8 Å from His246. Six aromatic side chains, including His246, encapsulate KAR1 through geometrically defined aromatic-aromatic interactions. KAR1 binding induces a conformational change in KAI2 at the active site entrance. A crevice of hydrophobic residues linking the polar edge of KAR1 and the helical domain insert suggests that KAI2-KAR1 creates a contiguous interface for binding signaling partners in a ligand-dependent manner.

  2. Differential tumor biological role of the tumor suppressor KAI1 and its splice variant in human breast cancer cells

    PubMed Central

    Miller, Julia; Dreyer, Tobias F.; Bächer, Anne Sophie; Sinner, Eva-Kathrin; Heinrich, Christine; Benge, Anke; Gross, Eva; Preis, Sarah; Rother, Jan; Roberts, Anthony; Nelles, Gabriele; Miteva, Tzenka; Reuning, Ute

    2018-01-01

    The tetraspanin and tumor suppressor KAI1 is downregulated or lost in many cancers which correlates with poor prognosis. KAI1 acts via physical/functional crosstalk with other membrane receptors. Also, a splice variant of KAI1 (KAI1-SP) has been identified indicative of poor prognosis. We here characterized differential effects of the two KAI1 variants on tumor biological events involving integrin (αvß3) and/or epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF-R). In MDA-MB-231 and -435 breast cancer cells, differential effects were documented on the expression levels of the tumor biologically relevant integrin αvß3 which colocalized with KAI1-WT but not with KAI1-SP. Cellular motility was assessed by video image processing, including motion detection and vector analysis for the quantification and visualization of cell motion parameters. In MDA-MB-231 cells, KAI1-SP provoked a quicker wound gap closure and higher closure rates than KAI1-WT, also reflected by different velocities and average motion amplitudes of singular cells. KAI1-SP induced highest cell motion adjacent to the wound gap borders, whereas in MDA-MB-435 cells a comparable induction of both KAI1 variants was noticed. Moreover, while KAI1-WT reduced cell growth, KAI1-SP significantly increased it going along with a pronounced EGF-R upregulation. KAI1-SP-induced cell migration and proliferation was accompanied by the activation of the focal adhesion and Src kinase. Our findings suggest that splicing of KAI1 does not only abrogate its tumor suppressive functions, but even more, promotes tumor biological effects in favor of cancer progression and metastasis. PMID:29464079

  3. Evidence that KARRIKIN-INSENSITIVE2 (KAI2) Receptors may Perceive an Unknown Signal that is not Karrikin or Strigolactone.

    PubMed

    Conn, Caitlin E; Nelson, David C

    2015-01-01

    The α/β-hydrolases KAI2 and D14 are paralogous receptors for karrikins and strigolactones, two classes of plant growth regulators with butenolide moieties. KAI2 and D14 act in parallel signaling pathways that share a requirement for the F-box protein MAX2, but produce distinct growth responses by regulating different members of the SMAX1-LIKE/D53 family. kai2 and max2 mutants share seed germination, seedling growth, leaf shape, and petiole orientation phenotypes that are not found in d14 or SL-deficient mutants. This implies that KAI2 recognizes an unknown, endogenous signal, herein termed KAI2 ligand (KL). Recent studies of ligand-specificity among KAI2 paralogs in basal land plants and root parasitic plants suggest that karrikin and strigolactone perception may be evolutionary adaptations of KL receptors. Here we demonstrate that evolutionarily conserved KAI2c genes from two parasite species rescue multiple phenotypes of the Arabidopsis kai2 mutant, unlike karrikin-, and strigolactone-specific KAI2 paralogs. We hypothesize that KAI2c proteins recognize KL, which could be an undiscovered hormone.

  4. The structure of the karrikin-insensitive protein (KAI2) in Arabidopsis thaliana.

    PubMed

    Bythell-Douglas, Rohan; Waters, Mark T; Scaffidi, Adrian; Flematti, Gavin R; Smith, Steven M; Bond, Charles S

    2013-01-01

    KARRIKIN INSENSITIVE 2 (KAI2) is an α/β hydrolase involved in seed germination and seedling development. It is essential for plant responses to karrikins, a class of butenolide compounds derived from burnt plant material that are structurally similar to strigolactone plant hormones. The mechanistic basis for the function of KAI2 in plant development remains unclear. We have determined the crystal structure of Arabidopsis thaliana KAI2 in space groups P2(1) 2(1) 2(1) (a =63.57 Å, b =66.26 Å, c =78.25 Å) and P2(1) (a =50.20 Å, b =56.04 Å, c =52.43 Å, β =116.12°) to 1.55 and 2.11 Å respectively. The catalytic residues are positioned within a large hydrophobic pocket similar to that of DAD2, a protein required for strigolactone response in Petunia hybrida. KAI2 possesses a second solvent-accessible pocket, adjacent to the active site cavity, which offers the possibility of allosteric regulation. The structure of KAI2 is consistent with its designation as a serine hydrolase, as well as previous data implicating the protein in karrikin and strigolactone signalling.

  5. Proposed Role for KaiC-Like ATPases as Major Signal Transduction Hubs in Archaea

    PubMed Central

    2017-01-01

    ABSTRACT All organisms must adapt to ever-changing environmental conditions and accordingly have evolved diverse signal transduction systems. In bacteria, the most abundant networks are built around the two-component signal transduction systems that include histidine kinases and receiver domains. In contrast, eukaryotic signal transduction is dominated by serine/threonine/tyrosine protein kinases. Both of these systems are also found in archaea, but they are not as common and diversified as their bacterial and eukaryotic counterparts, suggesting the possibility that archaea have evolved other, still uncharacterized signal transduction networks. Here we propose a role for KaiC family ATPases, known to be key components of the circadian clock in cyanobacteria, in archaeal signal transduction. The KaiC family is notably expanded in most archaeal genomes, and although most of these ATPases remain poorly characterized, members of the KaiC family have been shown to control archaellum assembly and have been found to be a stable component of the gas vesicle system in Halobacteria. Computational analyses described here suggest that KaiC-like ATPases and their homologues with inactivated ATPase domains are involved in many other archaeal signal transduction pathways and comprise major hubs of complex regulatory networks. We predict numerous input and output domains that are linked to KaiC-like proteins, including putative homologues of eukaryotic DEATH domains that could function as adapters in archaeal signaling networks. We further address the relationships of the archaeal family of KaiC homologues to the bona fide KaiC of cyanobacteria and implications for the existence of a KaiC-based circadian clock apparatus in archaea. PMID:29208747

  6. Evidence that KARRIKIN-INSENSITIVE2 (KAI2) Receptors may Perceive an Unknown Signal that is not Karrikin or Strigolactone

    PubMed Central

    Conn, Caitlin E.; Nelson, David C.

    2016-01-01

    The α/β-hydrolases KAI2 and D14 are paralogous receptors for karrikins and strigolactones, two classes of plant growth regulators with butenolide moieties. KAI2 and D14 act in parallel signaling pathways that share a requirement for the F-box protein MAX2, but produce distinct growth responses by regulating different members of the SMAX1-LIKE/D53 family. kai2 and max2 mutants share seed germination, seedling growth, leaf shape, and petiole orientation phenotypes that are not found in d14 or SL-deficient mutants. This implies that KAI2 recognizes an unknown, endogenous signal, herein termed KAI2 ligand (KL). Recent studies of ligand-specificity among KAI2 paralogs in basal land plants and root parasitic plants suggest that karrikin and strigolactone perception may be evolutionary adaptations of KL receptors. Here we demonstrate that evolutionarily conserved KAI2c genes from two parasite species rescue multiple phenotypes of the Arabidopsis kai2 mutant, unlike karrikin-, and strigolactone-specific KAI2 paralogs. We hypothesize that KAI2c proteins recognize KL, which could be an undiscovered hormone. PMID:26779242

  7. Expression of KAI1/CD82 and MRP-1/CD9 in transitional cell carcinoma of bladder.

    PubMed

    Ai, Xing; Zhang, Xu; Wu, Zhun; Ma, Xin; Ju, Zhenghua; Wang, Baojun; Shi, Taoping

    2007-02-01

    The expression of KAI1/CD82 and MRP-1/CD9 in transitional cell carcinoma of bladder (TCCB) and its clinical significance were investigated. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect KAI1/CD82 and MRP-1/CD9 protein expression in 52 TCCB specimens. Correlation between the expression of KAI1/CD82 and MRP-1/CD9 to clinicopathologic factors was statistically analyzed. The results showed that the positive rate of KAI1/CD82 and MRP-1/CD9 in TCCB was 50% and 61.5%, respectively. The MRP-1/CD9 and KAI1/CD82 expression was significantly associated with grade of TCCB (P<0.05), but no correlation was found between MRP-1/CD9 or KAI1/CD82 expression and clinical stage of TCCB (P>0.05). The expression level of MRP-1/CD9 and KAI1/CD82 in recurrent TCCB samples was lower than that in non-recurrent samples (P<0.05). Meanwhile, the correlation between the KAI1/CD82 expression and MRP-1/CD9 expression was statistically significant (r=0.316, P<0.05). It was concluded that KAI1/CD82 and MRP-1/CD9 expression may be important prognostic indicators and potentially useful for assessing the biological behavior of TCCB.

  8. The Structure of the Karrikin-Insensitive Protein (KAI2) in Arabidopsis thaliana

    PubMed Central

    Bythell-Douglas, Rohan; Waters, Mark T.; Scaffidi, Adrian; Flematti, Gavin R.; Smith, Steven M.; Bond, Charles S.

    2013-01-01

    KARRIKIN INSENSITIVE 2 (KAI2) is an α/β hydrolase involved in seed germination and seedling development. It is essential for plant responses to karrikins, a class of butenolide compounds derived from burnt plant material that are structurally similar to strigolactone plant hormones. The mechanistic basis for the function of KAI2 in plant development remains unclear. We have determined the crystal structure of Arabidopsis thaliana KAI2 in space groups P21 21 21 (a  = 63.57 Å, b  = 66.26 Å, c  = 78.25 Å) and P21 (a  = 50.20 Å, b  = 56.04 Å, c  = 52.43 Å, β  = 116.12°) to 1.55 and 2.11 Å respectively. The catalytic residues are positioned within a large hydrophobic pocket similar to that of DAD2, a protein required for strigolactone response in Petunia hybrida. KAI2 possesses a second solvent-accessible pocket, adjacent to the active site cavity, which offers the possibility of allosteric regulation. The structure of KAI2 is consistent with its designation as a serine hydrolase, as well as previous data implicating the protein in karrikin and strigolactone signalling. PMID:23349965

  9. KAI1 overexpression promotes apoptosis and inhibits proliferation, cell cycle, migration, and invasion in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells.

    PubMed

    Guo, Zheng; Wang, Yili; Yang, Jing; Zhong, Jinghua; Liu, Xia; Xu, Mingjun

    The purpose of this study is to characterize the effect of KAI1 overexpression on the biological behavior of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) cells. Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is a highly malignant tumor with a high rate of incidence in China. Currently, there are no ideal therapeutic options for patients with NPC, but a targeted therapy would have great potential for treating it. Therefore, there is an urgent need for novel therapeutic targets to provide new options for treating NPC. The KAI1 gene was originally identified as a metastasis suppressor gene for advanced human cancer. In NPC cell lines and tissues, the expression of KAI1 decreased as the metastatic potential of cells increased, but its potential as a therapeutic target has not been elucidated. Non-transformed nasopharyngeal epithelium cell NP69 and NPC cell line C666-1 were cultured and KAI1 expression in these cells was detected by qRT-PCR and Western blot. After the transfection of KAI1-pCDNA3.1 to NP69 and C666-1, the KAI1 expression in these cells was detected by qRT-PCR and Western blot, the proliferation was performed by MTS, the cell cycle and apoptosis were performed by flow cytometry, the migration and invasion were examined by transwell. Our results showed that KAI1 was significantly upregulated in C666-1 cells compared to that in NP69 cells. In addition, KAI1 overexpression significantly inhibited the proliferation, cell cycle, migration, and invasion, and promoted apoptosis of C666-1 cells, but had no significant effect on NP69 cells. Our findings suggest that KAI1 overexpression promotes apoptosis and inhibits proliferation, cell cycle, migration, and invasion in NPC cells. We hypothesize that KAI1 overexpression could be a potential therapeutic target for NPC. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Mechanism of Tumor Metastasis Suppression by the KAI1 Gene

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2008-02-01

    CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT 18. NUMBER OF PAGES 19a. NAME OF RESPONSIBLE PERSON USAMRMC a. REPORT U b . ABSTRACT U c. THIS...activated by the interaction of DARC and Kai1. Task1- b . (completed) Examine the effects of siRNA against the DARC gene on the binding and...suggesting that the N terminus of DARC is essential for binding to KAI1. Task 2- b . Screening a phage display library followed by sequencing the

  11. SITE TECHNOLOGY CAPSULE: KAI RADIO FREQUENCY HEATING TECHNOLOGY

    EPA Science Inventory

    KAI developed a patented, in situ RFH technology to enhance the removal of volatile and semi-volatile organics by soil vapor extraction (SVE). Electromagnetic energy heats the soil resulting in increased contaminant vapor pressures and soil permeability that may increase with dry...

  12. DEMONSTRATION BULLETIN: RADIO FREQUENCY HEATING - KAI TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

    EPA Science Inventory

    Radio frequency heating (RFH) is a process that uses electromagnetic energy in the radio frequency (RF) band to heat soil in situ, thereby potentially enhancing the performance of standard soil vapor extraction (SVE) technologies. An RFH system developed by KAI Technologies, I...

  13. Differential expression of the metastasis suppressor KAI1 in decidual cells and trophoblast giant cells at the feto-maternal interface.

    PubMed

    Koo, Tae Bon; Han, Min-Su; Tadashi, Yamashita; Seong, Won Joon; Choi, Je-Yong

    2013-10-01

    Invasion of trophoblasts into maternal uterine tissue is essential for establishing mature feto-maternal circulation. The trophoblast invasion associated with placentation is similar to tumor invasion. In this study, we investigated the role of KAI1, an antimetastasis factor, at the maternal-fetal interface during placentation. Mouse embryos were obtained from gestational days 5.5 (E5.5) to E13.5. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that KAI1 was expressed on decidual cells around the track made when a fertilized ovum invaded the endometrium, at days E5.5 and E7.5, and on trophoblast giant cells, along the central maternal artery of the placenta at E9.5. KAI1 in trophoblast giant cells was increased at E11.5, and then decreased at E13.5. Furthermore, KAI1 was upregulated during the forskolin-mediated trophoblastic differentiation of BeWo cells. Collectively, these results indicate that KAI1 is differentially expressed in decidual cells and trophoblasts at the maternal-fetal interface, suggesting that KAI1 prevents trophoblast invasion during placentation.

  14. Structural modelling and transcriptional responses highlight a clade of PpKAI2-LIKE genes as candidate receptors for strigolactones in Physcomitrella patens.

    PubMed

    Lopez-Obando, Mauricio; Conn, Caitlin E; Hoffmann, Beate; Bythell-Douglas, Rohan; Nelson, David C; Rameau, Catherine; Bonhomme, Sandrine

    2016-06-01

    A set of PpKAI2 - LIKE paralogs that may encode strigolactone receptors in Physcomitrella patens were identified through evolutionary, structural, and transcriptional analyses, suggesting that strigolactone perception may have evolved independently in basal land plants in a similar manner as spermatophytes. Carotenoid-derived compounds known as strigolactones are a new class of plant hormones that modulate development and interactions with parasitic plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. The strigolactone receptor protein DWARF14 (D14) belongs to the α/β hydrolase family. D14 is closely related to KARRIKIN INSENSITIVE2 (KAI2), a receptor of smoke-derived germination stimulants called karrikins. Strigolactone and karrikin structures share a butenolide ring that is necessary for bioactivity. Charophyte algae and basal land plants produce strigolactones that influence their development. However phylogenetic studies suggest that D14 is absent from algae, moss, and liverwort genomes, raising the question of how these basal plants perceive strigolactones. Strigolactone perception during seed germination putatively evolved in parasitic plants through gene duplication and neofunctionalization of KAI2 paralogs. The moss Physcomitrella patens shows an increase in KAI2 gene copy number, similar to parasitic plants. In this study we investigated whether P. patens KAI2-LIKE (PpKAI2L) genes may contribute to strigolactone perception. Based on phylogenetic analyses and homology modelling, we predict that a clade of PpKAI2L proteins have enlarged ligand-binding cavities, similar to D14. We observed that some PpKAI2L genes have transcriptional responses to the synthetic strigolactone GR24 racemate or its enantiomers. These responses were influenced by light and dark conditions. Moreover, (+)-GR24 seems to be the active enantiomer that induces the transcriptional responses of PpKAI2L genes. We hypothesize that members of specific PpKAI2L clades are candidate strigolactone

  15. INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION REPORT: RADIO FREQUENCY HEATING, KAI TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

    EPA Science Inventory

    A demonstration of KAI Technologies in-situ radio frequency heating system for soil treatment was conducted from January 1994 to July 1994 at Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. This demonstration was conducted as a joint effort between the USEPA and the USAF. The technol...

  16. Down-regulation of the metastasis suppressor protein KAI1/CD82 correlates with occurrence of metastasis, prognosis and presence of HPV DNA in human penile squamous cell carcinoma.

    PubMed

    Protzel, C; Kakies, C; Kleist, B; Poetsch, M; Giebel, J

    2008-04-01

    In penile squamous cell carcinoma (PSCC), the outcome largely depends on early detection and resection of inguinal lymph node metastases. We investigated the role of metastasis suppressor protein kang ai 1 (KAI1)/cluster of differentiation 82 (CD82), which is known to be of prognostic significance for a wide variety of cancers. Moreover, we analysed the tumours for human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA and loss of heterozygosity at the 11p11.2 locus. Tissue samples of 30 primary PSCCs were investigated immunohistochemically using an anti-KAI1/CD82 polyclonal antibody. The expression was assessed according to the degree of KAI1/CD82-positive tumour cells as positive, decreased or negative. The presence of HPV6/11, HPV16 and HPV18 DNA was analysed by polymerase chain reaction. All patients with decreased or negative expression of KAI1/CD82 in primary lesions had lymph node metastases (p = 0.0002). Patients with positive KAI1/CD82 expression showed a significant better prognosis for survival compared to the other groups (p = 0.0042). Presence of HPV DNA was associated with decreased or negative KAI1/CD82 expression. Lacking or decreased expression of metastasis suppressor gene KAI1/CD82 appears to be a prognostic parameter for the occurrence of lymph node metastases in PSCC. Our study suggests an association of decreased KAI1/CD82 expression with tumour progression, development of metastases and disease-specific death.

  17. Karrikin-KAI2 signalling provides Arabidopsis seeds with tolerance to abiotic stress and inhibits germination under conditions unfavourable to seedling establishment.

    PubMed

    Wang, Lu; Waters, Mark T; Smith, Steven M

    2018-07-01

    The control of seed germination in response to environmental conditions is important for plant success. We investigated the role of the karrikin receptor KARRIKIN INSENSITIVE2 (KAI2) in the response of Arabidopsis seeds to osmotic stress, salinity and high temperature. Germination of the kai2 mutant was examined in response to NaCl, mannitol and elevated temperature. The effect of karrikin on germination of wild-type seeds, hypocotyl elongation and the expression of karrikin-responsive genes was also examined in response to such stresses. The kai2 seeds germinated less readily than wild-type seeds and germination was more sensitive to inhibition by abiotic stress. Karrikin-induced KAI2 signalling stimulated germination of wild-type seeds under favourable conditions, but, surprisingly, inhibited germination in the presence of osmolytes or at elevated temperature. By contrast, GA stimulated germination of wild-type seeds and mutants under all conditions. Karrikin induced expression of DLK2 and KUF1 genes and inhibited hypocotyl elongation independently of osmotic stress. Under mild osmotic stress, karrikin enhanced expression of DREB2A, WRKY33 and ERF5 genes, but not ABA signalling genes. Thus, the karrikin-KAI2 signalling system can protect against abiotic stress, first by providing stress tolerance, and second by inhibiting germination under conditions unfavourable to seedling establishment. © 2018 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2018 New Phytologist Trust.

  18. Overexpression of MTA1 and loss of KAI-1 and KiSS-1 expressions are associated with invasion, metastasis, and poor-prognosis of gallbladder adenocarcinoma.

    PubMed

    Wang, Wenjun; Yang, Zhu-lin; Liu, Jie-qiong; Yang, Le-ping; Yang, Xiao-jing; Fu, Xi

    2014-01-01

    Over 90% of patients with gallbladder cancer have invasion and/or metastasis when they are diagnosed at the clinic. Such patients usually have an extremely poor prognosis. The molecular mechanism responsible for the high prevalence of invasion and metastasis remains unknown. We investigated the expression of two metastasis-suppression genes--KAI-1 and KiSS-1--and a metastasis-associated gene--MTA1--in 108 adenocarcinomas, 15 gallbladder polyps, 35 chronic cholecystitis tissues, and 46 peritumoral tissues using in situ hybridization or immunohistochemistry. We demonstrated that positive MTA1 expression was significantly higher whereas positive expressions of KAI-1 and KiSS-1 genes were significantly lower in gallbladder adenocarcinoma than in peritumoral tissues, polyps, and chronic cholecystitis. Positive MTA1 expression was significantly lower, but positive KAI-1 and KiSS-1 expressions were significantly higher in cases with well-differentiated adenocarcinoma, smaller tumor mass, no metastasis of lymph node, and no invasion of regional tissues than in cases having poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma, larger tumor mass, metastasis and invasion. Univariate Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that increased expression of MTA1 and lowered expression of KAI-1 and KiSS-1 were significantly associated with decreased overall survival. Cox regression analysis showed that tumor mass, lymph node metastasis, invasion, and MTA1 expression levels negatively correlated with survival. Our study suggested that KAI-1, KiSS-1, and MTA1 might be important biological markers involved in the carcinogenesis, metastasis, and invasion of gallbladder adenocarcinoma, but MTA1 is an independent factor of prognosis.

  19. Early diagenetic processes of saline meromictic Lake Kai-ike, southwest Japan: III. Sulfur speciation and isotopes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sakai, N.; Yamaguchi, K. E.; Oguri, K.

    2014-12-01

    Lake Kai-ike is a saline meromictic lake located along the coast of Kami-Koshiki Island. The lake is isolated from ocean by a gravel bar, through which seawater infiltrates by tidal pumping. The lake is permanently redox (density)-stratified with a mid-depth development of photic zone anoxia and a dense community of photosynthetic bacteria pinkish "bacterial plate". The early diagenesis of sulfur in sediments overlain by an anoxic water body was investigated using a sediment core (KAI4) from the lake. We determined abundance of various S-bearing species (i.e., Cr-reducible sulfide (= pyrite S: Spy), acid-volatile sulfide (AVS), sulfate sulfur (SSO4), elemental sulfur (S0), and organic sulfur) by an improved sequential extraction method. Here we focus on drastic and rapid changes on sulfur biogeochemistry found in the uppermost 5cm layer. With increasing depth, abundance of Spy increased but that of SSO4 and δ34S value of Spy (δ34Spy) decreased. These results suggest progressive formation of bacteriogenic pyrite. The δ34S values of SSO4 (δ34SSO4) ranged from 25.1 ‰ (at sediment surface) to 3.8 ‰ in the uppermost 5 cm layer. This δ34SSO4 decrease in the top 5 cm sediment suggests that SSO4 in the surface sediment inherits SO42- with elevated δ34S values (higher than typical seawater δ34S value of 21‰) in the water column, which is due to extensive bacterial sulfate reduction with preferential removal of low-δ34S sulfur as sulfide. In the lower part of the uppermost 5 cm layer, SO42- formed by oxidation of S0, AVS, and/or Spy with low-δ34S values by SO42--bearing seawater introduced by infiltration through the gravel bar. Increasing δ34Spy values with increasing depth suggest near complete consumption of SO42- by active bacterial sulfate reduction, and this process could be explained by Rayleigh distillation model. Early diagenesis of sulfur does occur in whole section of 25cm-long KAI4 core that accumulated for the last ~60 years (Yamaguchi et al

  20. The Academic Profession and University Governance Participation in Japan: Focusing on the Role of Kyoju-kai

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yonezawa, Akiyoshi

    2014-01-01

    The dominant role of Kyoju-kai (the professoriate) in university governance in Japan is now facing a critical examination as part of university reforms in response to global competition. What are the determinants of the characteristics of participation in university governance by individual faculty members? In what way does the organizational…

  1. Detection of parasitic plant suicide germination compounds using a high-throughput Arabidopsis HTL/KAI2 strigolactone perception system.

    PubMed

    Toh, Shigeo; Holbrook-Smith, Duncan; Stokes, Michael E; Tsuchiya, Yuichiro; McCourt, Peter

    2014-08-14

    Strigolactones are terpenoid-based plant hormones that act as communication signals within a plant, between plants and fungi, and between parasitic plants and their hosts. Here we show that an active enantiomer form of the strigolactone GR24, the germination stimulant karrikin, and a number of structurally related small molecules called cotylimides all bind the HTL/KAI2 α/β hydrolase in Arabidopsis. Strigolactones and cotylimides also promoted an interaction between HTL/KAI2 and the F-box protein MAX2 in yeast. Identification of this chemically dependent protein-protein interaction prompted the development of a yeast-based, high-throughput chemical screen for potential strigolactone mimics. Of the 40 lead compounds identified, three were found to have in planta strigolactone activity using Arabidopsis-based assays. More importantly, these three compounds were all found to stimulate suicide germination of the obligate parasitic plant Striga hermonthica. These results suggest that screening strategies involving yeast/Arabidopsis models may be useful in combating parasitic plant infestations. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Hui Malama O Ke Kai: A Positive Prevention-Based Youth Development Program Based on Native Hawaiian Values and Activities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hishinuma, Earl S.; Chang, Janice Y.; Sy, Angela; Greaney, Malia F.; Morris, Katherine A.; Scronce, Ami C.; Rehuher, Davis; Nishimura, Stephanie T.

    2009-01-01

    Evaluation of after-school programs that are culturally and place-based and promote positive youth development among minority and indigenous youths has not been widely published. The present evaluation is the first of its kind of an after-school, youth-risk prevention program called Hui Malama O Ke Kai (HMK), that emphasizes Native Hawaiian values…

  3. The Use of Rockets as Military Weapons at the Siege of Kai Fung Foo in 1232 A.D

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2004-01-01

    One of the earliest recorded instances of the use of rockets was as military weapons against the Mongols by the Chinese at the siege of Kai Fung Foo in 1232 A.D. An arrow with a tube of gunpowder produced an arrow of flying fire. The Mongol attackers fled in terror, even though the rockets were inaccurate and relatively harmless.

  4. The Experience of KAI MAHI, an Employment Initiative for People with an Experience of Mental Illness, as Told by Zarna, Zeus, Lulu, Mary, Paul, and Hemi.

    PubMed

    de Malmanche, Janie; Robertson, Linda

    2015-11-01

    There is a growing body of evidence endorsing the use of supported employment models for people with an experience of mental illness. However current literature and research regarding the perspective of people with experience of mental illness, as well as alternate models of employment support, is sparse. This study has captured the stories of employment of people with experience of mental illness who participated in KAI MAHI, a group based employment program. Findings identified key components of KAI MAHI, consistent with their overall experiences of employment, which were influential in assisting them to find and sustain employment. These included the opportunity for self-determination, a sense of self-efficacy, and respectful relationships.

  5. Hui Malama o ke Kai: mobilizing to prevent youth violence and substance use with passion, common goals, and culture.

    PubMed

    Akeo, Nani P; Bunyan, Eric S; Burgess, Kaui N; Eckart, David R; Evensen, Shirley L; Hirose-Wong, Shannon M; Majit-Gorion, Sharon S; Takeshita, Carl K; Takeshita, Irene K; Vasconcellos, Carl G

    2008-03-01

    The goal of the Hui Malama o ke Kai project was the development of a community-based youth program that supported the prevention of youth violence and substance use among 5th- and 6th-grade students from a predominantly Hawaiian community. This program's development included engaging with a variety of community partners and mobilizing parents through the youths' cultural development. Recommendations for working with Hawaiians and other indigenous peoples include having program evaluators work more intimately with program participants and developing program components that address ethnic identity and family engagement. In doing so, youth programs with indigenous peoples can also galvanize small communities that are coping with destructive social concerns.

  6. A comitative source for object markers in Sinitic languages: 跟 kai55 in Waxiang and 共 kang7 in Southern Min

    PubMed Central

    Chappell, Hilary; Peyraube, Alain; Wu, Yunji

    2013-01-01

    This analysis sets out to specifically discuss the polyfunctionality of 跟 [kai55] in Waxiang (Sinitic), whose lexical source is the verb ‘to follow’. Amongst its various uses, we find a preposition ‘with, along’, a marker of adjuncts and a NP conjunction, thus superficially resembling its Mandarin cognate 跟 gēn ‘with’. Curiously, however, it has also evolved into a direct object marker in Waxiang, with a function similar to that of preposition 把 bă < ‘hold, take’ as found in the S–bă–O–VP or so-called ‘disposal’ form in standard Mandarin. The pathways of grammaticalization for 跟 [kai55] in Waxiang are thus discussed in order to determine how it has developed this unusual grammatical function in one of the linguistic zones of China where verbs of giving or taking are, in fact, the main source for grammaticalized object markers in ‘disposal’ constructions. On the basis of 16th and 17th century Southern Min literature (Sinitic), a comparison is also made with analogous developments for comitative 共 gòng ‘with’ to provide support for our hypothesis that the direct object marking use has evolved from the oblique function of a benefactive or dative, and is clearly separate from the crosslinguistically well-attested pathway that leads to its use as a conjunction. We would thus like to propose that these data contribute a new pattern to the stock of grammaticalization pathways, specifically, comitative > dative/benefactive > accusative (direct object marker). PMID:24273384

  7. Antidepressant effects of Kai-Xin-San in fluoxetine-resistant depression rats.

    PubMed

    Dong, X Z; Wang, D X; Lu, Y P; Yuan, S; Liu, P; Hu, Y

    2017-08-17

    This study aimed to investigate the antidepressant effect and the mechanism of action of Kai-Xin-San (KXS) in fluoxetine-resistant depressive (FRD) rats. Two hundred male Wistar rats weighing 200±10 g were exposed to chronic and unpredictable mild stresses (CUMS) for 4 weeks and given fluoxetine treatment simultaneously. The rats that did not show significant improvement in behavioral indexes were chosen as the FRD model rats. These rats were randomly divided into four groups: FRD model control; oral fluoxetine and aspirin; oral KXS at a dose of 338 mg·kg-1·day-1; and oral KXS at a dose of 676 mg·kg-1·day-1. Rats continued to be exposed to CUMS and underwent treatment once a day for 3 weeks, then cytokine (COX-2, IFN-γ, IL-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, TGF-β, and TNF-α) levels in the hippocampus and serum, and organ coefficients were measured. Both doses of KXS improved the crossing and rearing frequencies, sucrose-preference index, and body weight in FRD rats. KXS at a dose of 338 mg·kg-1·day-1reduced COX-2, IL-2, IL-6, TNF-α levels, increased IL-10 level in the hippocampus, and reduced IL-2 and TNF-α levels in serum. KXS at a dose of 676 mg·kg-1·day-1reduced TNF-α level in the hippocampus, reduced IL-2 and TNF-α levels in serum, and increased IFN-γ and IL-10 levels in the hippocampus and serum. There were no significant differences in organ-coefficients of the spleen among and between groups. The results suggested that oral administration of KXS in FRD rats was effective in improving behavior disorders by influencing various inflammatory pathways.

  8. PLANT EVOLUTION. Convergent evolution of strigolactone perception enabled host detection in parasitic plants.

    PubMed

    Conn, Caitlin E; Bythell-Douglas, Rohan; Neumann, Drexel; Yoshida, Satoko; Whittington, Bryan; Westwood, James H; Shirasu, Ken; Bond, Charles S; Dyer, Kelly A; Nelson, David C

    2015-07-31

    Obligate parasitic plants in the Orobanchaceae germinate after sensing plant hormones, strigolactones, exuded from host roots. In Arabidopsis thaliana, the α/β-hydrolase D14 acts as a strigolactone receptor that controls shoot branching, whereas its ancestral paralog, KAI2, mediates karrikin-specific germination responses. We observed that KAI2, but not D14, is present at higher copy numbers in parasitic species than in nonparasitic relatives. KAI2 paralogs in parasites are distributed into three phylogenetic clades. The fastest-evolving clade, KAI2d, contains the majority of KAI2 paralogs. Homology models predict that the ligand-binding pockets of KAI2d resemble D14. KAI2d transgenes confer strigolactone-specific germination responses to Arabidopsis thaliana. Thus, the KAI2 paralogs D14 and KAI2d underwent convergent evolution of strigolactone recognition, respectively enabling developmental responses to strigolactones in angiosperms and host detection in parasites. Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

  9. Development of a systematic strategy for the global identification and classification of the chemical constituents and metabolites of Kai-Xin-San based on liquid chromatography with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry combined with multiple data-processing approaches.

    PubMed

    Wang, Xiaotong; Liu, Jing; Yang, Xiaomei; Zhang, Qian; Zhang, Yiwen; Li, Qing; Bi, Kaishun

    2018-03-30

    To rapidly identify and classify complicated components and metabolites for traditional Chinese medicines, a liquid chromatography with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry method combined with multiple data-processing approaches was established. In this process, Kai-Xin-San, a widely used classic traditional Chinese medicine preparation, was chosen as a model prescription. Initially, the fragmentation patterns, diagnostic product ions and neutral loss of each category of compounds were summarized by collision-induced dissociation analysis of representative standards. In vitro, the multiple product ions filtering technique was utilized to identify the chemical constituents for globally covering trace components. With this strategy, 108 constituents were identified, and compounds database was successfully established. In vivo, the prototype compounds were extracted based on the established database, and the neutral loss filtering technique combined with the drug metabolism reaction rules was employed to identify metabolites. Overall, 69 constituents including prototype and metabolites were characterized in rat plasma and nine constituents were firstly characterized in rat brain, which may be the potential active constituents resulting in curative effects by synergistic interaction. In conclusion, this study provides a generally applicable strategy to global metabolite identification for the complicated components in complex matrix and a chemical basis for further pharmacological research of Kai-Xin-San. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  10. A Selaginella moellendorffii Ortholog of KARRIKIN INSENSITIVE2 Functions in Arabidopsis Development but Cannot Mediate Responses to Karrikins or Strigolactones[OPEN

    PubMed Central

    Waters, Mark T.; Scaffidi, Adrian; Moulin, Solène L.Y.; Sun, Yueming K.; Flematti, Gavin R.; Smith, Steven M.

    2015-01-01

    In Arabidopsis thaliana, the α/β-fold hydrolase KARRIKIN INSENSITIVE2 (KAI2) is essential for normal seed germination, seedling development, and leaf morphogenesis, as well as for responses to karrikins. KAI2 is a paralog of DWARF14 (D14), the proposed strigolactone receptor, but the evolutionary timing of functional divergence between the KAI2 and D14 clades has not been established. By swapping gene promoters, we show that Arabidopsis KAI2 and D14 proteins are functionally distinct. We show that the catalytic serine of KAI2 is essential for function in plants and for biochemical activity in vitro. We identified two KAI2 homologs from Selaginella moellendorffii and two from Marchantia polymorpha. One from each species could hydrolyze the strigolactone analog GR24 in vitro, but when tested for their ability to complement Arabidopsis d14 and kai2 mutants, neither of these homologs was effective. However, the second KAI2 homolog from S. moellendorffii was able to complement the seedling and leaf development phenotypes of Arabidopsis kai2. This homolog could not transduce signals from exogenous karrikins, strigolactone analogs, or carlactone, but its activity did depend on the conserved catalytic serine. We conclude that KAI2, and most likely the endogenous signal to which it responds, has been conserved since the divergence of lycophytes and angiosperm lineages, despite their major developmental and morphogenic differences. PMID:26175507

  11. A Selaginella moellendorffii Ortholog of KARRIKIN INSENSITIVE2 Functions in Arabidopsis Development but Cannot Mediate Responses to Karrikins or Strigolactones.

    PubMed

    Waters, Mark T; Scaffidi, Adrian; Moulin, Solène L Y; Sun, Yueming K; Flematti, Gavin R; Smith, Steven M

    2015-07-01

    In Arabidopsis thaliana, the α/β-fold hydrolase KARRIKIN INSENSITIVE2 (KAI2) is essential for normal seed germination, seedling development, and leaf morphogenesis, as well as for responses to karrikins. KAI2 is a paralog of DWARF14 (D14), the proposed strigolactone receptor, but the evolutionary timing of functional divergence between the KAI2 and D14 clades has not been established. By swapping gene promoters, we show that Arabidopsis KAI2 and D14 proteins are functionally distinct. We show that the catalytic serine of KAI2 is essential for function in plants and for biochemical activity in vitro. We identified two KAI2 homologs from Selaginella moellendorffii and two from Marchantia polymorpha. One from each species could hydrolyze the strigolactone analog GR24 in vitro, but when tested for their ability to complement Arabidopsis d14 and kai2 mutants, neither of these homologs was effective. However, the second KAI2 homolog from S. moellendorffii was able to complement the seedling and leaf development phenotypes of Arabidopsis kai2. This homolog could not transduce signals from exogenous karrikins, strigolactone analogs, or carlactone, but its activity did depend on the conserved catalytic serine. We conclude that KAI2, and most likely the endogenous signal to which it responds, has been conserved since the divergence of lycophytes and angiosperm lineages, despite their major developmental and morphogenic differences. © 2015 American Society of Plant Biologists. All rights reserved.

  12. Distinguishing Feedback Mechanisms in Clock Models

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Golden, Alexander; Lubensky, David

    Biological oscillators are very diverse but can be classified based on dynamical motifs such as type of feedback. The S. Elongatus circadian oscillator is a novel circadian oscillator that can operate at constant protein number by modifying covalent states. It can be reproduced in vitro with only 3 different purified proteins: KaiA, KaiB, and KaiC. We use computational and analytic techniques to compare models of the S. Elongatus post-translational oscillator that rely on positive feedback with models that rely on negative feedback. We show that introducing a protein that binds competitively with KaiA to the KaiB-KaiC complex can distinguish between positive and negative feedback as the primary driver of the rhythm, which has so far been difficult to address experimentally. NSF Grant DMR-1056456.

  13. Reporter Gene-Facilitated Detection of Compounds in Arabidopsis Leaf Extracts that Activate the Karrikin Signaling Pathway.

    PubMed

    Sun, Yueming K; Flematti, Gavin R; Smith, Steven M; Waters, Mark T

    2016-01-01

    Karrikins are potent germination stimulants generated by the combustion of plant matter. Treatment of Arabidopsis with karrikins triggers a signaling process that is dependent upon a putative receptor protein KARRIKIN INSENSITIVE 2 (KAI2). KAI2 is a homolog of DWARF 14 (D14), the receptor for endogenous strigolactone hormones. Genetic analyses suggest that KAI2 also perceives endogenous signal(s) that are not strigolactones. Activation of KAI2 by addition of karrikins to Arabidopsis plants induces expression of transcripts including D14-LIKE 2 ( DLK2 ). We constructed the synthetic reporter gene DLK2 : LUC in Arabidopsis , which comprises the firefly luciferase gene ( LUC ) driven by the DLK2 promoter. Here we describe a luminescence-based reporter assay with Arabidopsis seeds to detect chemical signals that can activate the KAI2 signaling pathway. We demonstrate that the DLK2 : LUC assay can selectively and sensitively detect karrikins and a functionally similar synthetic strigolactone analog. Crucially we show that crude extracts from Arabidopsis leaves can also activate DLK2 : LUC in a KAI2-dependent manner. Our work provides the first direct evidence for the existence of endogenous chemical signals that can activate the KAI2-mediated signaling pathway in Arabidopsis . This sensitive reporter system can now be used for the bioassay-guided purification and identification of putative endogenous KAI2 ligands or their precursors, and endogenous compounds that might modulate the KAI2 signaling pathway.

  14. Reporter Gene-Facilitated Detection of Compounds in Arabidopsis Leaf Extracts that Activate the Karrikin Signaling Pathway

    PubMed Central

    Sun, Yueming K.; Flematti, Gavin R.; Smith, Steven M.; Waters, Mark T.

    2016-01-01

    Karrikins are potent germination stimulants generated by the combustion of plant matter. Treatment of Arabidopsis with karrikins triggers a signaling process that is dependent upon a putative receptor protein KARRIKIN INSENSITIVE 2 (KAI2). KAI2 is a homolog of DWARF 14 (D14), the receptor for endogenous strigolactone hormones. Genetic analyses suggest that KAI2 also perceives endogenous signal(s) that are not strigolactones. Activation of KAI2 by addition of karrikins to Arabidopsis plants induces expression of transcripts including D14-LIKE 2 (DLK2). We constructed the synthetic reporter gene DLK2:LUC in Arabidopsis, which comprises the firefly luciferase gene (LUC) driven by the DLK2 promoter. Here we describe a luminescence-based reporter assay with Arabidopsis seeds to detect chemical signals that can activate the KAI2 signaling pathway. We demonstrate that the DLK2:LUC assay can selectively and sensitively detect karrikins and a functionally similar synthetic strigolactone analog. Crucially we show that crude extracts from Arabidopsis leaves can also activate DLK2:LUC in a KAI2-dependent manner. Our work provides the first direct evidence for the existence of endogenous chemical signals that can activate the KAI2-mediated signaling pathway in Arabidopsis. This sensitive reporter system can now be used for the bioassay-guided purification and identification of putative endogenous KAI2 ligands or their precursors, and endogenous compounds that might modulate the KAI2 signaling pathway. PMID:27994609

  15. Architecture and mechanism of the central gear in an ancient molecular timer.

    PubMed

    Egli, Martin

    2017-03-01

    Molecular clocks are the product of natural selection in organisms from bacteria to human and their appearance early in evolution such as in the prokaryotic cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus suggests that these timers served a crucial role in genetic fitness. Thus, a clock allows cyanobacteria relying on photosynthesis and nitrogen fixation to temporally space the two processes and avoid exposure of nitrogenase carrying out fixation to high levels of oxygen produced during photosynthesis. Fascinating properties of molecular clocks are the long time constant, their precision and temperature compensation. Although these are hallmarks of all circadian oscillators, the actual cogs and gears that control clocks vary widely between organisms, indicating that circadian timers evolved convergently multiple times, owing to the selective pressure of an environment with a daily light/dark cycle. In S. elongatus , the three proteins KaiA, KaiB and KaiC in the presence of ATP constitute a so-called post-translational oscillator (PTO). The KaiABC PTO can be reconstituted in an Eppendorf tube and keeps time in a temperature-compensated manner. The ease by which the KaiABC clock can be studied in vitro has made it the best-investigated molecular clock system. Over the last decade, structures of all three Kai proteins and some of their complexes have emerged and mechanistic aspects have been analysed in considerable detail. This review focuses on the central gear of the S. elongatus clock and only enzyme among the three proteins: KaiC. Our determination of the three-dimensional structure of KaiC early in the quest for a better understanding of the inner workings of the cyanobacterial timer revealed its unusual architecture and conformational differences and unique features of the two RecA-like domains constituting KaiC. The structure also pinpointed phosphorylation sites and differential interactions with ATP molecules at subunit interfaces, and helped guide experiments to

  16. An allele of the crm gene blocks cyanobacterial circadian rhythms.

    PubMed

    Boyd, Joseph S; Bordowitz, Juliana R; Bree, Anna C; Golden, Susan S

    2013-08-20

    The SasA-RpaA two-component system constitutes a key output pathway of the cyanobacterial Kai circadian oscillator. To date, rhythm of phycobilisome associated (rpaA) is the only gene other than kaiA, kaiB, and kaiC, which encode the oscillator itself, whose mutation causes completely arrhythmic gene expression. Here we report a unique transposon insertion allele in a small ORF located immediately upstream of rpaA in Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 termed crm (for circadian rhythmicity modulator), which results in arrhythmic promoter activity but does not affect steady-state levels of RpaA. The crm ORF complements the defect when expressed in trans, but only if it can be translated, suggesting that crm encodes a small protein. The crm1 insertion allele phenotypes are distinct from those of an rpaA null; crm1 mutants are able to grow in a light:dark cycle and have no detectable oscillations of KaiC phosphorylation, whereas low-amplitude KaiC phosphorylation rhythms persist in the absence of RpaA. Levels of phosphorylated RpaA in vivo measured over time are significantly altered compared with WT in the crm1 mutant as well as in the absence of KaiC. Taken together, these results are consistent with the hypothesis that the Crm polypeptide modulates a circadian-specific activity of RpaA.

  17. The origins and mechanisms of karrikin signalling.

    PubMed

    Waters, Mark T; Scaffidi, Adrian; Flematti, Gavin R; Smith, Steven M

    2013-10-01

    Karrikins are butenolides in smoke and char that stimulate seed germination. Karrikin action in Arabidopsis requires the F-box protein MAX2 and the α/β-hydrolase KAI2, a paralogue of D14 that is required for perception of strigolactones (SL). SL response involves hydrolysis by D14, whereas karrikins bind to KAI2 without apparent hydrolysis. We discuss the current understanding of the mechanisms of karrikin perception and response. The usual function of KAI2 is unclear, but we hypothesise that the similarity between karrikins and the endogenous ligand for KAI2 made adaptation of some plants to karrikins possible. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Kenya AIDS Indicator Surveys 2007 and 2012: implications for public health policies for HIV prevention and treatment.

    PubMed

    Maina, William K; Kim, Andrea A; Rutherford, George W; Harper, Malayah; K'Oyugi, Boniface O; Sharif, Shahnaaz; Kichamu, George; Muraguri, Nicholas M; Akhwale, Willis; De Cock, Kevin M

    2014-05-01

    AIDS Indicator Surveys are standardized surveillance tools used by countries with generalized HIV epidemics to provide, in a timely fashion, indicators for effective monitoring of HIV. Such data should guide responses to the HIV epidemic, meet program reporting requirements, and ensure comparability of findings across countries and over time. Kenya has conducted 2 AIDS Indicator Surveys, in 2007 (KAIS 2007) and 2012-2013 (KAIS 2012). These nationally representative surveys have provided essential epidemiologic, sociodemographic, behavioral, and biologic data on HIV and related indicators to evaluate the national HIV response and inform policies for prevention and treatment of the disease. We present a summary of findings from KAIS 2007 and KAIS 2012 and the impact that these data have had on changing HIV policies and practice.

  19. A Standardized Chinese Herbal Decoction, Kai-Xin-San, Restores Decreased Levels of Neurotransmitters and Neurotrophic Factors in the Brain of Chronic Stress-Induced Depressive Rats

    PubMed Central

    Zhu, Kevin Yue; Mao, Qing-Qiu; Ip, Siu-Po; Choi, Roy Chi-Yan; Dong, Tina Ting-Xia; Lau, David Tai-Wai; Tsim, Karl Wah-Keung

    2012-01-01

    Kai-xin-san (KXS), a Chinese herbal decoction being prescribed by Sun Simiao in Beiji Qianjin Yaofang about 1400 years ago, contains Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma, Polygalae Radix, Acori tatarinowii Rhizoma, and Poria. KXS has been used to treat stress-related psychiatric disease with the symptoms of depression and forgetfulness in ancient China until today. However, the mechanism of its antidepression action is still unknown. Here, the chronic mild-stress-(CMS-) induced depressive rats were applied in exploring the action mechanisms of KXS treatment. Daily intragastric administration of KXS for four weeks significantly alleviated the CMS-induced depressive symptoms displayed by enhanced sucrose consumption. In addition, the expressions of those molecular bio-markers relating to depression in rat brains were altered by the treatment of KXS. These KXS-regulated brain biomarkers included: (i) the levels of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin (ii) the transcript levels of proteins relating to neurotransmitter metabolism; (iii) the transcript levels of neurotrophic factors and their receptors. The results suggested that the anti-depressant-like action of KXS might be mediated by an increase of neurotransmitters and expression of neurotrophic factors and its corresponding receptors in the brain. Thus, KXS could serve as alternative medicine, or health food supplement, for patients suffering from depression. PMID:22973399

  20. Kai Xin San aqueous extract improves Aβ1-40-induced cognitive deficits on adaptive behavior learning by enhancing memory-related molecules expression in the hippocampus.

    PubMed

    Lu, Cong; Shi, Zhe; Sun, Xiuping; Pan, Ruile; Chen, Shanguang; Li, Yinghui; Qu, Lina; Sun, Lihua; Dang, Haixia; Bu, Lanlan; Chen, Lingling; Liu, Xinmin

    2017-04-06

    Kai Xin San (KXS), a traditional formula of Chinese medicine, has been used to treat dementia. The present study aimed to investigate its ameliorating effects on Aβ 1-40 -induced cognitive impairment in rats using a series of novel reward-directed instrumental learning tasks, and to determine its possible mechanism of action. Rats were pretreated with KXS aqueous extract (0.72 and 1.44g/kg, p.o.) for 10 days, and were trained to gain reward reinforcement by lever pressing at the meantime. Thereafter, rats received a bilateral microinjection of Aβ 1-40 in CA1 regions of the hippocampus. Cognitive performance was evaluated with the goal directed (higher response ratio) and habit (visual signal discrimination and extinction) learning tasks, as well as on the levels of memory-related biochemical parameters and molecules. Our findings first demonstrated that KXS can improve Aβ 1-40 -induced amnesia in RDIL via enhancing the comprehension of action-outcome association and the utilization of cue information to guide behavior. Then, its ameliorating effects should be attributed to the modulation of memory-related molecules in the hippocampus. In conclusion, KXS has the potential to prevent and/or delay the deterioration of cognitive impairment in AD. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. The circadian oscillator in Synechococcus elongatus controls metabolite partitioning during diurnal growth.

    PubMed

    Diamond, Spencer; Jun, Darae; Rubin, Benjamin E; Golden, Susan S

    2015-04-14

    Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 is a genetically tractable model cyanobacterium that has been engineered to produce industrially relevant biomolecules and is the best-studied model for a prokaryotic circadian clock. However, the organism is commonly grown in continuous light in the laboratory, and data on metabolic processes under diurnal conditions are lacking. Moreover, the influence of the circadian clock on diurnal metabolism has been investigated only briefly. Here, we demonstrate that the circadian oscillator influences rhythms of metabolism during diurnal growth, even though light-dark cycles can drive metabolic rhythms independently. Moreover, the phenotype associated with loss of the core oscillator protein, KaiC, is distinct from that caused by absence of the circadian output transcriptional regulator, RpaA (regulator of phycobilisome-associated A). Although RpaA activity is important for carbon degradation at night, KaiC is dispensable for those processes. Untargeted metabolomics analysis and glycogen kinetics suggest that functional KaiC is important for metabolite partitioning in the morning. Additionally, output from the oscillator functions to inhibit RpaA activity in the morning, and kaiC-null strains expressing a mutant KaiC phosphomimetic, KaiC-pST, in which the oscillator is locked in the most active output state, phenocopies a ΔrpaA strain. Inhibition of RpaA by the oscillator in the morning suppresses metabolic processes that normally are active at night, and kaiC-null strains show indications of oxidative pentose phosphate pathway activation as well as increased abundance of primary metabolites. Inhibitory clock output may serve to allow secondary metabolite biosynthesis in the morning, and some metabolites resulting from these processes may feed back to reinforce clock timing.

  2. Vacuum Ultraviolet Laser Probe of Chemical Dynamics of Aerospace Relevance

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-09-12

    carbide cation”, J. Phys. Chem. A (invited), 113, 4242 (2009). 5. Kai-Chung Lau , Yih-Chung Chang, Chow-Sheng Lam , and C. Y. Ng, “High-level ab...Chem. A (invited), 113, 14321 (2009). 6. Kai-Chung Lau , Yih-Chung Chang, Chow-Sheng Lam , and C. Y. Ng, “High-level ab initio predictions of the...VI. Selected scientific findings 1. Kai-Chung Lau , Yih-Chung Chang, Xiaoyu Shi, and C. Y. Ng, “High-level ab initio predictions of the ionization

  3. Strigolactone Hormones and Their Stereoisomers Signal through Two Related Receptor Proteins to Induce Different Physiological Responses in Arabidopsis1[W

    PubMed Central

    Scaffidi, Adrian; Waters, Mark T.; Sun, Yueming K.; Skelton, Brian W.; Dixon, Kingsley W.; Ghisalberti, Emilio L.; Flematti, Gavin R.; Smith, Steven M.

    2014-01-01

    Two α/β-fold hydrolases, KARRIKIN INSENSITIVE2 (KAI2) and Arabidopsis thaliana DWARF14 (AtD14), are necessary for responses to karrikins (KARs) and strigolactones (SLs) in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). Although KAI2 mediates responses to KARs and some SL analogs, AtD14 mediates SL but not KAR responses. To further determine the specificity of these proteins, we assessed the ability of naturally occurring deoxystrigolactones to inhibit Arabidopsis hypocotyl elongation, regulate seedling gene expression, suppress outgrowth of secondary inflorescences, and promote seed germination. Neither 5-deoxystrigol nor 4-deoxyorobanchol was active in KAI2-dependent seed germination or hypocotyl elongation, but both were active in AtD14-dependent hypocotyl elongation and secondary shoot growth. However, the nonnatural enantiomer of 5-deoxystrigol was active through KAI2 in growth and gene expression assays. We found that the four stereoisomers of the SL analog GR24 had similar activities to their deoxystrigolactone counterparts. The results suggest that AtD14 and KAI2 exhibit selectivity to the butenolide D ring in the 2′R and 2′S configurations, respectively. However, we found, for nitrile-debranone (CN-debranone, a simple SL analog), that the 2′R configuration is inactive but that the 2′S configuration is active through both AtD14 and KAI2. Our results support the conclusion that KAI2-dependent signaling does not respond to canonical SLs. Furthermore, racemic mixtures of chemically synthesized SLs and their analogs, such as GR24, should be used with caution because they can activate responses that are not specific to naturally occurring SLs. In contrast, the use of specific stereoisomers might provide valuable information about the specific perception systems operating in different plant tissues, parasitic weed seeds, and arbuscular mycorrhizae. PMID:24808100

  4. Strigolactone Hormones and Their Stereoisomers Signal through Two Related Receptor Proteins to Induce Different Physiological Responses in Arabidopsis.

    PubMed

    Scaffidi, Adrian; Waters, Mark T; Sun, Yueming K; Skelton, Brian W; Dixon, Kingsley W; Ghisalberti, Emilio L; Flematti, Gavin R; Smith, Steven M

    2014-07-01

    Two α/β-fold hydrolases, KARRIKIN INSENSITIVE2 (KAI2) and Arabidopsis thaliana DWARF14 (AtD14), are necessary for responses to karrikins (KARs) and strigolactones (SLs) in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). Although KAI2 mediates responses to KARs and some SL analogs, AtD14 mediates SL but not KAR responses. To further determine the specificity of these proteins, we assessed the ability of naturally occurring deoxystrigolactones to inhibit Arabidopsis hypocotyl elongation, regulate seedling gene expression, suppress outgrowth of secondary inflorescences, and promote seed germination. Neither 5-deoxystrigol nor 4-deoxyorobanchol was active in KAI2-dependent seed germination or hypocotyl elongation, but both were active in AtD14-dependent hypocotyl elongation and secondary shoot growth. However, the nonnatural enantiomer of 5-deoxystrigol was active through KAI2 in growth and gene expression assays. We found that the four stereoisomers of the SL analog GR24 had similar activities to their deoxystrigolactone counterparts. The results suggest that AtD14 and KAI2 exhibit selectivity to the butenolide D ring in the 2'R and 2'S configurations, respectively. However, we found, for nitrile-debranone (CN-debranone, a simple SL analog), that the 2'R configuration is inactive but that the 2'S configuration is active through both AtD14 and KAI2. Our results support the conclusion that KAI2-dependent signaling does not respond to canonical SLs. Furthermore, racemic mixtures of chemically synthesized SLs and their analogs, such as GR24, should be used with caution because they can activate responses that are not specific to naturally occurring SLs. In contrast, the use of specific stereoisomers might provide valuable information about the specific perception systems operating in different plant tissues, parasitic weed seeds, and arbuscular mycorrhizae. © 2014 American Society of Plant Biologists. All Rights Reserved.

  5. An application of adaption-innovation theory to bioremediation

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

    Guerin, L.J.; Guerin, T.F.

    1995-12-31

    This paper provides a discussion of the potential application of the Kirton Adaption-Innovation Inventory (KAI) for assessing the adaptive-innovative cognitive style of individuals and organizations within the bioremediation industry. Human-resource and line managers, or other individuals responsible for staff evaluation, selection, and project planning, should consider using the KAI to assist them in selecting individuals for specific roles requiring either an innovative or adaptive style. The KAI, a measure for assessing adaption-innovation at the individual employee level, is introduced and its potential value in the bioremediation industry is discussed.

  6. Evaluation of Object Detection Algorithms for Ship Detection in the Visible Spectrum

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2013-12-01

    Kodak KAI-2093 was assumed throughout the model to be the image equitation sensor. The sensor was assumed to have taken all of the evaluation imagery...www.ShipPhotos.co.uk. [Online]. Available: http://www.shipphotos.co.uk/hull/ [42] Kodak (2007. March 19). Kodak KAI-2093 image sensor. [Online]. Available

  7. NREL Research Pushes Perovskites Closer to Market | News | NREL

    Science.gov Websites

    cell. Photo by Dennis Schroeder/NREL Kai Zhu, a researcher at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Kai Zhu has been conducting perovskite research at NREL since 2012. Photo by Dennis Schroeder/NREL , creating a solar cell. Photo by Dennis Schroeder/NREL Pioneering Cutting-Edge Research In a solar cell

  8. A missense allele of KARRIKIN-INSENSITIVE2 impairs ligand-binding and downstream signaling in Arabidopsis thaliana.

    PubMed

    Lee, Inhye; Kim, Kuglae; Lee, Sumin; Lee, Seungjun; Hwang, Eunjin; Shin, Kihye; Kim, Dayoung; Choi, Jungki; Choi, Hyunmo; Cha, Jeong Seok; Kim, Hoyoung; Lee, Rin-A; Jeong, Suyeong; Kim, Jeongsik; Kim, Yumi; Nam, Hong Gil; Park, Soon-Ki; Cho, Hyun-Soo; Soh, Moon-Soo

    2018-06-27

    A smoke-derived compound, karrikin (KAR), and an endogenous but as yet unidentified KARRIKIN INSENSITIVE2 (KAI2) ligand (KL) have been identified as chemical cues in higher plants that impact on multiple aspects of growth and development. Genetic screening of light-signaling mutants in Arabidopsis thaliana has identified a mutant designated as ply2 (pleiotropic long hypocotyl2) that has pleiotropic light-response defects. In this study, we used positional cloning to identify the molecular lesion of ply2 as a missense mutation of KAI2/HYPOSENSITIVE TO LIGHT, which causes a single amino acid substitution, Ala219Val. Physiological analysis and genetic epistasis analysis with the KL-signaling components MORE AXILLARY GROWTH2 (MAX2) and SUPPRESSOR OF MAX2 1 suggested that the pleiotropic phenotypes of the ply2 mutant can be ascribed to a defect in KL-signaling. Molecular and biochemical analyses revealed that the mutant KAI2ply2 protein is impaired in its ligand-binding activity. In support of this conclusion, X-ray crystallography studies suggested that the KAI2ply2 mutation not only results in a narrowed entrance gate for the ligand but also alters the structural flexibility of the helical lid domains. We discuss the structural implications of the Ala219 residue with regard to ligand-specific binding and signaling of KAI2, together with potential functions of KL-signaling in the context of the light-regulatory network in Arabidopsis thaliana.

  9. Specialisation within the DWARF14 protein family confers distinct responses to karrikins and strigolactones in Arabidopsis.

    PubMed

    Waters, Mark T; Nelson, David C; Scaffidi, Adrian; Flematti, Gavin R; Sun, Yueming K; Dixon, Kingsley W; Smith, Steven M

    2012-04-01

    Karrikins are butenolides derived from burnt vegetation that stimulate seed germination and enhance seedling responses to light. Strigolactones are endogenous butenolide hormones that regulate shoot and root architecture, and stimulate the branching of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Thus, karrikins and strigolactones are structurally similar but physiologically distinct plant growth regulators. In Arabidopsis thaliana, responses to both classes of butenolides require the F-box protein MAX2, but it remains unclear how discrete responses to karrikins and strigolactones are achieved. In rice, the DWARF14 protein is required for strigolactone-dependent inhibition of shoot branching. Here, we show that the Arabidopsis DWARF14 orthologue, AtD14, is also necessary for normal strigolactone responses in seedlings and adult plants. However, the AtD14 paralogue KARRIKIN INSENSITIVE 2 (KAI2) is specifically required for responses to karrikins, and not to strigolactones. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that KAI2 is ancestral and that AtD14 functional specialisation has evolved subsequently. Atd14 and kai2 mutants exhibit distinct subsets of max2 phenotypes, and expression patterns of AtD14 and KAI2 are consistent with the capacity to respond to either strigolactones or karrikins at different stages of plant development. We propose that AtD14 and KAI2 define a class of proteins that permit the separate regulation of karrikin and strigolactone signalling by MAX2. Our results support the existence of an endogenous, butenolide-based signalling mechanism that is distinct from the strigolactone pathway, providing a molecular basis for the adaptive response of plants to smoke.

  10. Analysis of Selected Enhancements for Soil Vapor Extraction

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1997-09-01

    Inches per second ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS (Continued) xiii ISB In situ bioremediation JFK John F. Kennedy Airport K Hydraulic conductivity KAI KAI...wells by an applied vacuum. RFH is effective for treating VOCs in low-permeability soil in the vadose zone. Electrical Resistance Heating : This... applied vacuum. However, application of steam injection/stripping systems is limited to medium- to high-permeability soils. ER heating is more

  11. Non-Metric Similarity Measures

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-03-26

    Sunil Aryal and Kai Ming Ting. (2015) A generic ensemble approach to estimate multi-dimensional likelihood in Bayesian classifier learning...Computational Intelligence. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/coin.12063/abstract 5.2 List of peer-reviewed conference publications [3] Sunil Aryal...International Conference on Data Mining. 707-711. [4] Sunil Aryal, Kai Ming Ting, Jonathan R. Wells and Takashi Washio. (2014) Improv- ing iForest with

  12. Second Generation of Mass Estimation

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2013-09-01

    Takashi Washio, Jonathan R. Wells, Fei Tony Liu and Sunil Aryal (2013). DEMass: A New Density Estimator for Big Data. International Journal of Knowledge...and Information Systems. Vol. 35, Issue. 3, pp. 493-524 5.2 List of peer-reviewed conference publications [3] Sunil Aryal and Kai Ming Ting (2013...Measures. Submitted to 2013 IEEE International Conference on Data Mining [6] Sunil Aryal and Kai Ming Ting. An ensemble approach to estimate multi

  13. Taiwan-U.S. Relations: Developments and Policy Implications

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2009-04-02

    government, led by Chiang Kai -shek and his Kuomintang (KMT) party, fled mainland China and moved to Taiwan, an island off the southern Chinese...system in which Chiang Kai -shek’s authoritarian Nationalist Party (KMT) ruled under martial law.7 The KMT permitted no political opposition and held no...19 Hsu, Jenny, “’Taipei’ gets direct link to WHO unit,” Taipei Times, January 23, 2009, p. 1. 20 Xie Yu , “Taiwan put under WHO

  14. Taiwan-U.S. Relations: Developments and Policy Implications

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2009-04-14

    Chinese government, led by Chiang Kai -shek and his Kuomintang (KMT) party, fled mainland China and moved to Taiwan, an island off the southern Chinese...system in which Chiang Kai -shek’s authoritarian Nationalist Party (KMT) ruled under martial law.7 The KMT permitted no political opposition and held...19 Hsu, Jenny, “’Taipei’ gets direct link to WHO unit,” Taipei Times, January 23, 2009, p. 1. 20 Xie Yu , “Taiwan put under WHO

  15. Smoke and Hormone Mirrors: Action and Evolution of Karrikin and Strigolactone Signaling.

    PubMed

    Morffy, Nicholas; Faure, Lionel; Nelson, David C

    2016-03-01

    Karrikins and strigolactones are two classes of butenolide molecules that have diverse effects on plant growth. Karrikins are found in smoke and strigolactones are plant hormones, yet both molecules are likely recognized through highly similar signaling mechanisms. Here we review the most recent discoveries of karrikin and strigolactone perception and signal transduction. Two paralogous α/β hydrolases, KAI2 and D14, are respectively karrikin and strigolactone receptors. D14 acts with an F-box protein, MAX2, to target SMXL/D53 family proteins for proteasomal degradation, and genetic data suggest that KAI2 acts similarly. There are striking parallels in the signaling mechanisms of karrikins, strigolactones, and other plant hormones, including auxins, jasmonates, and gibberellins. Recent investigations of host perception in parasitic plants have demonstrated that strigolactone recognition can evolve following gene duplication of KAI2. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Root growth of Cynodon dactylon and Eleusine indica collected from motorways at different concentrations of lead.

    PubMed

    Wong, M H; Lau, W M

    1985-04-01

    An ecological survey was conducted on the roadside vegetation at three different sites: Tai Po, a commercial and residential area (average annual daily traffic (AADT) = 23730; and Shek O and Wu Kai Sha, recreational areas (AADT = 1590 and 20, respectively). Cynodon dactylon and Eleusine indica were the two most dominant species recorded. The Tai Po site had higher Pb contents in both soil and plant, followed by Shek O, and then Wu Kai Sha. Tillers of C. dactylon and E. indica from the three sites were subjected to a series concentrations of Pb(NO3)2. By comparing their indexes of tolerance and values of 14-day EC50 (effective concentration reducing the normal root growth by 50%), roadside populations of the two grasses collected from Tai Po and Shek O, especially the former one, were more tolerant to elevated levels of Pb compared with those collected from Wu Kai Sha.

  17. Does Access to Care Still Affect Health Care Utilization by Immigrants? Testing of an Empirical Explanatory Model of Health Care Utilization by Korean American Immigrants with High Blood Pressure

    PubMed Central

    Han, Hae-Ra; Lee, Jong-Eun; Kim, Ji-Yun; Kim, Kim B.; Ryu, Jai Poong; Kim, Miyong

    2015-01-01

    Despite well-known benefits of health care utilization for the effective management of chronic diseases, the underlying mechanism of understanding health care utilization in ethnic minority population has not been systematically explored. The purpose of this paper is to examine the predictive ability of a health care utilization model by analyzing the interplay between predisposing, enabling, and need factors. The sample consisted of hypertensive Korean American immigrants (KAIs) 40–64 years of age who participated in a self-help intervention for high blood pressure care (SHIP-HBP). Using structured questionnaires, data were collected from 445 KAIs at baseline and analyzed with path analysis. Insurance status and relevant medical history were not just strong direct effects but also carried the most total effect on the health care utilization of these patients. Life priorities, years of residence in the US and perceived income level exerted indirect effects through the participants’ insurance status. Our statistical analysis indicated a good fit for the proposed model (x2 = 28.4, P = 0.29; NFI = 0.91; CFI = 0.99; RMSEA = 0.02). Overall, the model explained 18% of the variance in health care utilization of hypertensive KAIs. These findings strongly support a need to improve access to health care for KAIs by introducing a variety of community resources and building sustainable community infrastructures. PMID:19649709

  18. Taiwan-U.S. Relations: Developments and Policy Implications

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2009-05-01

    ally, China’s situation changed dramatically after the civil war victory of Mao Tse-tung in 1949. The reigning Chinese government, led by Chiang Kai ...Congressional Research Service 5 Changing Political Dynamics in Taiwan Until the mid-1980s, Taiwan had a one-party system in which Chiang Kai -shek’s...Taipei Times, January 23, 2009, p. 1. 21 Xie Yu , “Taiwan put under WHO health rules,” China Daily, February 12, 2009. 22 Chen, Jian, “WHA arrangements

  19. Kai Zhu | NREL

    Science.gov Websites

    ., "Long-range hot-carrier transport in hybrid perovskites visualized by ultrafast microscopy," perovskites for optoelectronic and electronic applications," Chem. Soc. Rev. 45, 655-689 (2016). Yang, M

  20. Maintaining an outward image: a Korean immigrant's life with type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertension.

    PubMed

    Pistulka, Gina M; Winch, Peter J; Park, Hyunjeong; Han, Hae-Ra; Kim, Miyong T

    2012-06-01

    Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension (HTN) disproportionately affect minority populations in the United States, including Korean American immigrants (KAI). We conducted qualitative interviews with middle-aged KAI in Maryland living with DM and HTN to examine the illness experience to inform future intervention strategies. Study results show that participants utilized strategies to maintain respect and Korean identity, including an image of being healthy and in control of their behavior in the public arena. These strategies included the lack of disclosure of their illness, even to family members, and avoiding outside assistance when engaging in problem solving. Maintaining an outward image of health was a common goal that affected the self-care of KAI in this study, a finding that might prove significant in the management of other chronic illnesses affecting this population. The study findings demonstrate the importance of in-depth understanding of specific populations when treating chronic illness, and caretakers' sensitivity to each population's unique cultural issues regarding identity, image, and disclosure.

  1. Ultra-fast liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry determination of eight bioactive components of Kai-Xin-San in rat plasma and its application to a comparative pharmacokinetic study in normal and Alzheimer's disease rats.

    PubMed

    Wang, Xiaotong; Zhang, Yue; Niu, Huibin; Geng, Yajing; Wang, Bing; Yang, Xiaomei; Yan, Pengyu; Li, Qing; Bi, Kaishun

    2017-05-01

    A method of ultra-fast liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry was developed and validated for the simultaneous quantitation of eight bioactive components, including polygalaxanthone III, sibiricaxanthone B, tenuifolin, sibiricose A5, sibiricose A6, tenuifoliside A, ginsenoside Re and ginsenoside Rb1 in rat plasma after oral administration of Kai-Xin-San. The plasma samples were extracted by liquid-liquid extraction using digoxin as an internal standard. Chromatographic separation was performed on a Venusil MP C 18 column (100 mm × 2.1 mm, 3 μm) with methanol and 0.05% acetic acid in water as mobile phase. The tandem mass spectrometric detection was performed in the multiple reaction monitoring with turbo ion spray source in the negative ionization. Validation parameters were within acceptable ranges. The established method has been successfully applied to compare the pharmacokinetic profiles of the analytes between normal and Alzheimer's disease rats. The results indicated that there were significant differences in pharmacokinetic parameters of some components between two groups, which may be due to the mechanisms of Alzheimer's disease and pharmacological effects of the analytes. The pharmacokinetic research in the pathological state might provide more useful information to guide the clinical usage of herbal medicine. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  2. The (temporary?) queering of Japanese TV.

    PubMed

    Miller, S D

    2000-01-01

    One of the primary texts of the "out" queer cinema of Japan is the television serial D s kai, first aired in 1993. Unlike Western television shows positing queer characters, D s kai presents its gay characters without apology or excuses, and as leads rather than as colorful appendages. At the same time, however, the show filters gay eroticism through the (hetero)normative mode of serial melodrama, at once pushing the boundaries of national permissiveness while normalizing and homogenizing homosexuality by rendering it within a conventional form.

  3. The karrikin response system of Arabidopsis.

    PubMed

    Waters, Mark T; Scaffidi, Adrian; Sun, Yueming K; Flematti, Gavin R; Smith, Steven M

    2014-08-01

    Arabidopsis thaliana provides a powerful means to investigate the mode of action of karrikins, compounds produced during wildfires that stimulate germination of seeds of fire-following taxa. These studies have revealed close parallels between karrikin signalling and strigolactone signalling. The two perception systems employ similar mechanisms involving closely related α/β-fold hydrolases (KAI2 and AtD14) and a common F-box protein (MAX2). However, karrikins and strigolactones may be distinguished from each other and elicit different responses. The karrikin response requires a newly discovered protein (SMAX1), a homologue of rice protein D53 that is required for the strigolactone response. Mutants defective in the response to karrikins have seeds with increased dormancy, altered seedling photomorphogenesis and modified leaf shape. As the karrikin and strigolactone response mechanisms are so similar, it is speculated that the endogenous signalling compound for the KAI2 system may be a specific strigolactone. However, new results show that the proposed endogenous signalling compound is not produced by the known strigolactone biosynthesis pathway via carlactone. Structural studies of KAI2 protein and its interaction with karrikins and strigolactone analogues provide some insight into possible protein-ligand interactions, but are hampered by lack of knowledge of the endogenous ligand. The KAI2 system appears to be present throughout angiosperms, implying a fundamentally important function in plant biology. © 2014 The Authors The Plant Journal © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  4. Spectroscopic evidence of hippocampal abnormalities in neocortical epilepsy

    PubMed Central

    Mueller, S. G.; Laxer, K. D.; Cashdollar, N.; Lopez, R. C.; Weiner, M. W.

    2009-01-01

    Lesional neocortical epilepsy (NE) can be associated with hippocampal sclerosis or hippocampal spectroscopic abnormalities without atrophy (dual pathology). In this study, magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) was used to determine the frequency of hippocampal damage/dysfunction in NE with and without structural lesion. Sixteen patients with NE [seven temporal NE (NE-T), nine extratemporal (NE-ET)] and 16 controls were studied with a 2D MRSI sequence (Repetition time/echo time (TR/TE) = 1800/135 ms) covering both hippocampi. Seven NE patients had MR visible lesions (NE-Les), nine had normal MRI (NE-no). In each hippocampus, 12 voxels were uniformly selected. In controls, mean (± SD) NAA/(Cr + Cho) values for each voxel were calculated and voxels with NAA/(Cr + Cho) ≤ (mean in controls – 2SD in controls) were defined as ‘pathological’ in patients. Eight of 16 NE patients had at least two ‘pathological’ voxel (mean 2.5, range 2–5) in one hippocampus. Four were NE-Les and four NE-no. Three (43%) NE-T patients, had evidence for hippocampal damage/dysfunction and five (56%) had NE-ET. The ipsilateral hippocampus was affected in six of eight NE patients. Evidence for unilateral hippocampal damage/dysfunction was demonstrated in 50% of the NE patients. The type of NE, i.e. NE-Les or NE-no, NE-T or NE-ET, had no influence on the occurrence of hippocampal damage/dysfunction. PMID:16618342

  5. Robust and tunable circadian rhythms from differentially sensitive catalytic domains

    PubMed Central

    Phong, Connie; Markson, Joseph S.; Wilhoite, Crystal M.; Rust, Michael J.

    2013-01-01

    Circadian clocks are ubiquitous biological oscillators that coordinate an organism’s behavior with the daily cycling of the external environment. To ensure synchronization with the environment, the period of the clock must be maintained near 24 h even as amplitude and phase are altered by input signaling. We show that, in a reconstituted circadian system from cyanobacteria, these conflicting requirements are satisfied by distinct functions for two domains of the central clock protein KaiC: the C-terminal autokinase domain integrates input signals through the ATP/ADP ratio, and the slow N-terminal ATPase acts as an input-independent timer. We find that phosphorylation in the C-terminal domain followed by an ATPase cycle in the N-terminal domain is required to form the inhibitory KaiB•KaiC complexes that drive the dynamics of the clock. We present a mathematical model in which this ATPase-mediated delay in negative feedback gives rise to a compensatory mechanism that allows a tunable phase and amplitude while ensuring a robust circadian period. PMID:23277568

  6. Biobutanol production in a Clostridium acetobutylicum biofilm reactor integrated with simultaneous product recovery by adsorption

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background Clostridium acetobutylicum can propagate on fibrous matrices and form biofilms that have improved butanol tolerance and a high fermentation rate and can be repeatedly used. Previously, a novel macroporous resin, KA-I, was synthesized in our laboratory and was demonstrated to be a good adsorbent with high selectivity and capacity for butanol recovery from a model solution. Based on these results, we aimed to develop a process integrating a biofilm reactor with simultaneous product recovery using the KA-I resin to maximize the production efficiency of biobutanol. Results KA-I showed great affinity for butanol and butyrate and could selectively enhance acetoin production at the expense of acetone during the fermentation. The biofilm reactor exhibited high productivity with considerably low broth turbidity during repeated batch fermentations. By maintaining the butanol level above 6.5 g/L in the biofilm reactor, butyrate adsorption by the KA-I resin was effectively reduced. Co-adsorption of acetone by the resin improved the fermentation performance. By redox modulation with methyl viologen (MV), the butanol-acetone ratio and the total product yield increased. An equivalent solvent titer of 96.5 to 130.7 g/L was achieved with a productivity of 1.0 to 1.5 g · L-1 · h-1. The solvent concentration and productivity increased by 4 to 6-fold and 3 to 5-fold, respectively, compared to traditional batch fermentation using planktonic culture. Conclusions Compared to the conventional process, the integrated process dramatically improved the productivity and reduced the energy consumption as well as water usage in biobutanol production. While genetic engineering focuses on strain improvement to enhance butanol production, process development can fully exploit the productivity of a strain and maximize the production efficiency. PMID:24401161

  7. [Effect of calcium cations on acid-base properties and free radical oxidation of dopamine and pyrocatechol].

    PubMed

    Lebedev, A V; Ivanova, M V; Timoshin, A A; Ruuge, E K

    2008-01-01

    Ca2+-induced increase in the rate of pyrocatechol and dopamine oxidation by dioxygen and Ca2+-dependent acid-base properties of the catechols were studied by potentiometric titration, UV/Vis-spectrophotometry, EPR-spectroscopy, and by measurement of oxygen consumption. The effect of Ca2+ on the chain reactions of oxidation can be explained by additional deprotonation (decrease in pKai) of the catechols that accelerates one electron transport to dioxygen and formation of calcium semiquinonate, undergoing further oxidation. The described Ca2+-dependent redox-conversion of ortho-phenols proposes that an additional function of calcium in the cell can be its involvement in free radical oxidoreductive reactions at pH > pKai.

  8. Comprehensive Analysis of DWARF14-LIKE2 (DLK2) Reveals Its Functional Divergence from Strigolactone-Related Paralogs

    PubMed Central

    Végh, Attila; Incze, Norbert; Fábián, Attila; Huo, Heqiang; Bradford, Kent J.; Balázs, Ervin; Soós, Vilmos

    2017-01-01

    Strigolactones (SLs) and related butenolides, originally identified as active seed germination stimulants of parasitic weeds, play important roles in many aspects of plant development. Two members of the D14 α/β hydrolase protein family, DWARF14 (D14) and KARRIKIN INSENSITIVE2 (KAI2) are essential for SL/butenolide signaling. The third member of the family in Arabidopsis, DWARF 14-LIKE2 (DLK2) is structurally very similar to D14 and KAI2, but its function is unknown. We demonstrated that DLK2 does not bind nor hydrolyze natural (+)5-deoxystrigol [(+)5DS], and weakly hydrolyzes non-natural strigolactone (-)5DS. A detailed genetic analysis revealed that DLK2 does not affect SL responses and can regulate seedling photomorphogenesis. DLK2 is upregulated in the dark dependent upon KAI2 and PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTORS (PIFs), indicating that DLK2 might function in light signaling pathways. In addition, unlike its paralog proteins, DLK2 is not subject to rac-GR24-induced degradation, suggesting that DLK2 acts independently of MORE AXILLARY GROWTH2 (MAX2); however, regulation of DLK2 transcription is mostly accomplished through MAX2. In conclusion, these data suggest that DLK2 represents a divergent member of the DWARF14 family. PMID:28970845

  9. Comprehensive Analysis of DWARF14-LIKE2 (DLK2) Reveals Its Functional Divergence from Strigolactone-Related Paralogs.

    PubMed

    Végh, Attila; Incze, Norbert; Fábián, Attila; Huo, Heqiang; Bradford, Kent J; Balázs, Ervin; Soós, Vilmos

    2017-01-01

    Strigolactones (SLs) and related butenolides, originally identified as active seed germination stimulants of parasitic weeds, play important roles in many aspects of plant development. Two members of the D14 α/β hydrolase protein family, DWARF14 (D14) and KARRIKIN INSENSITIVE2 (KAI2) are essential for SL/butenolide signaling. The third member of the family in Arabidopsis, DWARF 14-LIKE2 (DLK2) is structurally very similar to D14 and KAI2, but its function is unknown. We demonstrated that DLK2 does not bind nor hydrolyze natural (+)5-deoxystrigol [(+)5DS], and weakly hydrolyzes non-natural strigolactone (-)5DS. A detailed genetic analysis revealed that DLK2 does not affect SL responses and can regulate seedling photomorphogenesis. DLK2 is upregulated in the dark dependent upon KAI2 and PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTORS (PIFs), indicating that DLK2 might function in light signaling pathways. In addition, unlike its paralog proteins, DLK2 is not subject to rac -GR24-induced degradation, suggesting that DLK2 acts independently of MORE AXILLARY GROWTH2 (MAX2); however, regulation of DLK2 transcription is mostly accomplished through MAX2. In conclusion, these data suggest that DLK2 represents a divergent member of the DWARF14 family.

  10. 76 FR 72094 - IFR Altitudes; Miscellaneous Amendments

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-11-22

    ....6017 VOR Federal Airway V17 is Amended to Read in Part Fator, TX FIX *Nelee, TX FIX **4000 *5500-MRA... Read in Part Sandhills, NC VORTAC *RAEFO, NC FIX **6000 *6000-MRA **2000-MOCA **3000-GNSS MEA *Raefo, NC FIX Fayetteville, NC VOR/DME **2800 *6000-MRA **1900-MOCA &95.6104 VOR Federal Airway V104 Is...

  11. Molecular evolution and diversification of the SMXL gene family.

    PubMed

    Moturu, Taraka Ramji; Thula, Sravankumar; Singh, Ravi Kumar; Nodzynski, Tomasz; Vareková, Radka Svobodová; Friml, Jirí; Simon, Sibu

    2018-04-23

    Strigolactones (SLs) are a relatively recent addition to the list of plant hormones that control different aspects of plant development. SL signalling is perceived by an α/β hydrolase, DWARF 14 (D14). A close homolog of D14, KARRIKIN INSENSTIVE2 (KAI2), is involved in perception of an uncharacterized molecule called karrikin (KAR). Recent studies in Arabidopsis identified the SUPPRESSOR OF MAX2 1 (SMAX1) and SMAX1-LIKE 7 (SMXL7) to be potential SCF-MAX2 complex-mediated proteasome targets of KAI2 and D14, respectively. Genetic studies on SMXL7 and SMAX1 demonstrated distinct developmental roles for each, but very little is known about these repressors in terms of their sequence features. In this study, we performed an extensive comparative analysis of SMXLs and determined their phylogenetic and evolutionary history in the plant lineage. Our results show that SMXL family members can be sub-divided into four distinct phylogenetic clades/classes, with an ancient SMAX1. Further, we identified the clade-specific motifs that have evolved and that might act as determinants of SL-KAR signalling specificity. These specificities resulted from functional diversities among the clades. Our results suggest that a gradual co-evolution of SMXL members with their upstream receptors D14/KAI2 provided an increased specificity to both the SL perception and response in land plants.

  12. Strigolactones, karrikins and beyond.

    PubMed

    De Cuyper, Carolien; Struk, Sylwia; Braem, Lukas; Gevaert, Kris; De Jaeger, Geert; Goormachtig, Sofie

    2017-09-01

    The plant hormones strigolactones are synthesized from carotenoids and signal via the α/β hydrolase DWARF 14 (D14) and the F-box protein MORE AXILLARY GROWTH 2 (MAX2). Karrikins, molecules produced upon fire, share MAX2 for signalling, but depend on the D14 paralog KARRIKIN INSENSITIVE 2 (KAI2) for perception with strong evidence that the MAX2-KAI2 protein complex might also recognize so far unknown plant-made karrikin-like molecules. Thus, the phenotypes of the max2 mutants are the complex consequence of a loss of both D14-dependent and KAI2-dependent signalling, hence, the reason why some biological roles, attributed to strigolactones based on max2 phenotypes, could never be observed in d14 or in the strigolactone-deficient max3 and max4 mutants. Moreover, the broadly used synthetic strigolactone analog rac-GR24 has been shown to mimic strigolactone as well as karrikin(-like) signals, providing an extra level of complexity in the distinction of the unique and common roles of both molecules in plant biology. Here, a critical overview is provided of the diverse biological processes regulated by strigolactones and/or karrikins. These two growth regulators are considered beyond their boundaries, and the importance of the yet unknown karrikin-like molecules is discussed as well. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  13. Carlactone-independent seedling morphogenesis in Arabidopsis.

    PubMed

    Scaffidi, Adrian; Waters, Mark T; Ghisalberti, Emilio L; Dixon, Kingsley W; Flematti, Gavin R; Smith, Steven M

    2013-10-01

    Strigolactone hormones are derived from carotenoids via carlactone, and act through the α/β-hydrolase D14 and the F-box protein D3/MAX2 to repress plant shoot branching. While MAX2 is also necessary for normal seedling development, D14 and the known strigolactone biosynthesis genes are not, raising the question of whether endogenous, canonical strigolactones derived from carlactone have a role in seedling morphogenesis. Here, we report the chemical synthesis of the strigolactone precursor carlactone, and show that it represses Arabidopsis shoot branching and influences leaf morphogenesis via a mechanism that is dependent on the cytochrome P450 MAX1. In contrast, both physiologically active Z-carlactone and the non-physiological E isomer exhibit similar weak activity in seedlings, and predominantly signal through D14 rather than its paralogue KAI2, in a MAX2-dependent but MAX1-independent manner. KAI2 is essential for seedling morphogenesis, and hence this early-stage development employs carlactone-independent morphogens for which karrikins from wildfire smoke are specific surrogates. While the commonly employed synthetic strigolactone GR24 acts non-specifically through both D14 and KAI2, carlactone is a specific effector of strigolactone signalling that acts through MAX1 and D14. © 2013 The Authors The Plant Journal © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  14. Differential expression patterns of metastasis suppressor proteins in basal cell carcinoma.

    PubMed

    Bozdogan, Onder; Yulug, Isik G; Vargel, Ibrahim; Cavusoglu, Tarik; Karabulut, Ayse A; Karahan, Gurbet; Sayar, Nilufer

    2015-08-01

    Basal cell carcinomas (BCCs) are common malignant skin tumors. Despite having a significant invasion capacity, they metastasize only rarely. Our aim in this study was to detect the expression patterns of the NM23-H1, NDRG1, E-cadherin, RHOGDI2, CD82/KAI1, MKK4, and AKAP12 metastasis suppressor proteins in BCCs. A total of 96 BCC and 10 normal skin samples were included for the immunohistochemical study. Eleven frozen BCC samples were also studied by quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) to detect the gene expression profile. NM23-H1 was strongly and diffusely expressed in all types of BCC. Significant cytoplasmic expression of NDRG1 and E-cadherin was also detected. However, AKAP12 and CD82/KAI1 expression was significantly decreased. The expressions of the other proteins were somewhere between the two extremes. Similarly, qRT-PCR analysis showed down-regulation of AKAP12 and up-regulation of NM23-H1 and NDRG1 in BCC. Morphologically aggressive BCCs showed significantly higher cytoplasmic NDRG1 expression scores and lower CD82/KAI1 scores than non-aggressive BCCs. The relatively preserved levels of NM23-H1, NDRG1, and E-cadherin proteins may have a positive effect on the non-metastasizing features of these tumors. © 2014 The International Society of Dermatology.

  15. Purple dots phase II.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2012-06-01

    On behalf of the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA), Kittelson & Associates, Inc. : (KAI) is conducting an evaluation of an experimental traffic control device at a Maryland toll : plaza. This report summarizes our findings for the evaluation o...

  16. NREL Research Pinpoints Promise of Polycrystalline Perovskites | News |

    Science.gov Websites

    Beard, David Moore and Elisa Miller are co-authors of a new paper in Nature Energy about perovskites , Yong Yan, Elisa M. Miller, and Kai Zhu. Beard said the research determined surface recombination

  17. 76 FR 58436 - Proposed Flood Elevation Determinations

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-09-21

    .... Approximately 105 feet None [caret]500 upstream of Haihai Street. Shallow Flooding Approximately 2.8 miles None 2 Hawaii County. northeast of the intersection of Ka'Ulu Street and 'Ahinahina Place. Shallow... and Naupaka Kai Place. [[Page 58438

  18. [Achievements and enlightenment of modern acupuncture therapy for stroke based on the neuroanatomy].

    PubMed

    Chen, Li-Fang; Fang, Jian-Qiao; Chen, Lu-Ni; Wang, Chao

    2014-04-01

    Up to now, in the treatment of stroke patients by acupuncture therapy, three main representative achievements involving scalp acupuncture intervention, "Xing Nao Kai Qiao" (restoring consciousness and inducing resuscitation) acupuncture technique and nape acupuncture therapy have been got. Regarding their neurobiological mechanisms, the scalp acupuncture therapy is based on the functional localization of the cerebral cortex, "Xing Nao Kai Qiao" acupuncture therapy is closely related to nerve stem stimulation, and the nape acupuncture therapy is based on the nerve innervation of the regional neck-nape area in obtaining therapeutic effects. In fact, effects of these three acupuncture interventions are all closely associated with the modern neuroanatomy. In the treatment of post-stroke spastic paralysis, cognitive disorder and depression with acupuncture therapy, modern neuroanatomical knowledge should be one of the key theoretical basis and new therapeutic techniques should be explored and developed continuously.

  19. Nanotribology Investigations of Solid and Liquid Lubricants Using Scanned Probe Microscopies

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2000-01-28

    Kai Rose, postdoctoral fellow (external fellowship support; supplies on AFOSR) 7. Ernesto Joselevich, postdoctoral fellow (external fellowship...scale friction measurements", European Semiconductor, July/August 1997. 2. I. Amato , "Candid Cameras for the Nanoworld," Science 276, 1982-1985 (1997

  20. Taiwan’s Transition to Democracy

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1997-03-01

    hard authoritarianism established by Chiang-Kai Shek’s regime allowed the institutions of private property and free enterprise to promote economic ... stability . Rapid growth followed and Taiwan transitioned from an agrarian based economy to a modem industrialized nation. The pressures from economic

  1. Creative style, personality, and artistic endeavor.

    PubMed

    Gelade, Garry A

    2002-08-01

    Research has shown that creative style, as measured by the Kirton Adaption-Innovation Inventory (KAI; M. J. Kirton, 1976), is correlated with more than 30 different personality traits. In this article, the author demonstrates that many of these correlations can be understood within the framework of the Five-Factor Model of personality and shows that the predominant correlates of creative style are personality indicators in the domains of the factors Conscientiousness, Openness to Experience, and, to a lesser extent, Extraversion. These findings provide a basis for comparing the personality traits associated with creative style and occupational creativity. High scorers on the KAI (innovators) differ from both average and creative scientists but have personality characteristics similar to those of artists. This finding suggests that the artistic personality may be more common than is generally supposed and that common factors might underlie both artistic endeavor and creative style.

  2. Design of multi-mode compatible image acquisition system for HD area array CCD

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Chen; Sui, Xiubao

    2014-11-01

    Combining with the current development trend in video surveillance-digitization and high-definition, a multimode-compatible image acquisition system for HD area array CCD is designed. The hardware and software designs of the color video capture system of HD area array CCD KAI-02150 presented by Truesense Imaging company are analyzed, and the structure parameters of the HD area array CCD and the color video gathering principle of the acquisition system are introduced. Then, the CCD control sequence and the timing logic of the whole capture system are realized. The noises of the video signal (KTC noise and 1/f noise) are filtered by using the Correlated Double Sampling (CDS) technique to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio of the system. The compatible designs in both software and hardware for the two other image sensors of the same series: KAI-04050 and KAI-08050 are put forward; the effective pixels of these two HD image sensors are respectively as many as four million and eight million. A Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) is adopted as the key controller of the system to perform the modularization design from top to bottom, which realizes the hardware design by software and improves development efficiency. At last, the required time sequence driving is simulated accurately by the use of development platform of Quartus II 12.1 combining with VHDL. The result of the simulation indicates that the driving circuit is characterized by simple framework, low power consumption, and strong anti-interference ability, which meet the demand of miniaturization and high-definition for the current tendency.

  3. Using Information and Communications Technology in a National Population-Based Survey: The Kenya AIDS Indicator Survey 2012

    PubMed Central

    Ojwang’, James K.; Lee, Veronica C.; Waruru, Anthony; Ssempijja, Victor; Ng’ang’a, John G.; Wakhutu, Brian E.; Kandege, Nicholas O.; Koske, Danson K.; Kamiru, Samuel M.; Omondi, Kenneth O.; Kakinyi, Mutua; Kim, Andrea A.; Oluoch, Tom

    2016-01-01

    Background With improvements in technology, electronic data capture (EDC) for large surveys is feasible. EDC offers benefits over traditional paper-based data collection, including more accurate data, greater completeness of data, and decreased data cleaning burden. Methods The second Kenya AIDS Indicator Survey (KAIS 2012) was a population-based survey of persons aged 18 months to 64 years. A software application was designed to capture the interview, specimen collection, and home-based testing and counseling data. The application included: interview translations for local languages; options for single, multiple, and fill-in responses; and automated participant eligibility determination. Data quality checks were programmed to automate skip patterns and prohibit outlier responses. A data sharing architecture was developed to transmit the data in realtime from the field to a central server over a virtual private network. Results KAIS 2012 was conducted between October 2012 and February 2013. Overall, 68,202 records for the interviews, specimen collection, and home-based testing and counseling were entered into the application. Challenges arose during implementation, including poor connectivity and a systems malfunction that created duplicate records, which prevented timely data transmission to the central server. Data cleaning was minimal given the data quality control measures. Conclusions KAIS 2012 demonstrated the feasibility of using EDC in a population-based survey. The benefits of EDC were apparent in data quality and minimal time needed for data cleaning. Several important lessons were learned, such as the time and monetary investment required before survey implementation, the importance of continuous application testing, and contingency plans for data transmission due to connectivity challenges. PMID:24732816

  4. Using information and communications technology in a national population-based survey: the Kenya AIDS Indicator Survey 2012.

    PubMed

    Ojwang', James K; Lee, Veronica C; Waruru, Anthony; Ssempijja, Victor; Ng'ang'a, John G; Wakhutu, Brian E; Kandege, Nicholas O; Koske, Danson K; Kamiru, Samuel M; Omondi, Kenneth O; Kakinyi, Mutua; Kim, Andrea A; Oluoch, Tom

    2014-05-01

    With improvements in technology, electronic data capture (EDC) for large surveys is feasible. EDC offers benefits over traditional paper-based data collection, including more accurate data, greater completeness of data, and decreased data cleaning burden. The second Kenya AIDS Indicator Survey (KAIS 2012) was a population-based survey of persons aged 18 months to 64 years. A software application was designed to capture the interview, specimen collection, and home-based testing and counseling data. The application included: interview translations for local languages; options for single, multiple, and fill-in responses; and automated participant eligibility determination. Data quality checks were programmed to automate skip patterns and prohibit outlier responses. A data sharing architecture was developed to transmit the data in real-time from the field to a central server over a virtual private network. KAIS 2012 was conducted between October 2012 and February 2013. Overall, 68,202 records for the interviews, specimen collection, and home-based testing and counseling were entered into the application. Challenges arose during implementation, including poor connectivity and a systems malfunction that created duplicate records, which prevented timely data transmission to the central server. Data cleaning was minimal given the data quality control measures. KAIS 2012 demonstrated the feasibility of using EDC in a population-based survey. The benefits of EDC were apparent in data quality and minimal time needed for data cleaning. Several important lessons were learned, such as the time and monetary investment required before survey implementation, the importance of continuous application testing, and contingency plans for data transmission due to connectivity challenges.

  5. Two Viewpoints on the Challenges of ICT in Education: Knowledge-Building Theory vs. a Pragmatist Conception of Learning in Social Action

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kivinen, Osmo; Piiroinen, Tero; Saikkonen, Loretta

    2016-01-01

    The paper contrasts two different approaches to the educational challenges of the ubiquitous, rapidly developing information and communication technologies (ICT). The first is the constructivist "knowledge building" theory spearheaded by Carl Bereiter and Marlene Scardamalia and recently further developed by Kai Hakkarainen and Sami…

  6. Optimal design of a combustion chamber of gas turbine engine by a Combustion chamber 1D-2D computer program

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Aleksandrov, Y. B.; Mingazov, B. G.

    2017-09-01

    The paper shows a method of modeling and optimization of processes in combustion chambers of gas turbine engines using a computer program developed by a team at the Department of Jet Engines and Power Plants (DJEPP) of Technical University named after A N Tupolev KNRTU-KAI.

  7. ACUTE-TO-CHRONIC ESTIMATION (ACE V 2.0) WITH TIME-CONCENTRATION-EFFECT MODELS: USER MANUAL AND SOFTWARE

    EPA Science Inventory

    Ellersieck, Mark R., Amha Asfaw, Foster L. Mayer, Gary F. Krause, Kai Sun and Gunhee Lee. 2003. Acute-to-Chronic Estimation (ACE v2.0) with Time-Concentration-Effect Models: User Manual and Software. EPA/600/R-03/107. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Health and Envi...

  8. Determining the Effects of Reflection Type and Cognitive Style on Students' Content Knowledge

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Blackburn, J. Joey; Robinson, J. Shane; Kacal, Amanda

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this exploratory, experimental study was to determine the effects that the type of reflection-in-action and students' cognitive style had on content knowledge of preservice agriculture teachers (N = 57) at Oklahoma State University. Students' cognitive style was assessed using Kirton's Adaptation-Innovation Inventory (KAI). Students…

  9. 75 FR 69160 - Quarterly Publication of Individuals, Who Have Chosen To Expatriate, as Required by Section 6039G

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-11-10

    ... Anderson John Derek Anderson Rose Mary Andreen Clas Svante Joel Ang Diana Shu-Zhen Angelini Kevin Yang... Anthony Bergandi Marco Lee Berre Jean N. Berryman Curtis Frederick Beveridge Richard Henry Earle Beveridge... Cheung Mark Quintin Chih-Hsiang Lisa Lee Chiu Sammy Kai-Kong Christianson Marlys Chun Jessica Chung...

  10. Chinese Lessons: Shanghai's Rise to the Top of the PISA League Tables

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tucker, Marc S., Ed.

    2014-01-01

    Marc Tucker, President of the National Center on Education and the Economy, presents this compilation of interviews with top Chinese education leaders and international researchers exploring some of the policies and practices behind Shanghai's outstanding performance on PISA 2009 and PISA 2012. The interviews include perspectives from Kai-ming…

  11. Collaborative Research: Neutrinos and Nucleosynthesis in Hot and Dense Matter

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

    Alford, Mark

    2015-05-31

    The Topical Collaboration funded one of Prof. Alford's graduate students, Jun (Sophia) Han, by providing 75% of her support. The work reported here was wholly or partly supported by the Topical Collaboration. Additional support, e.g. for postdoc Kai Schwenzer, came from Nuclear Theory grant #DE-FG02-05ER41375.

  12. ICCE/ICCAI 2000 Full & Short Papers (Methodologies).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    2000

    This document contains the full text of the following full and short papers on methodologies from ICCE/ICCAI 2000 (International Conference on Computers in Education/International Conference on Computer-Assisted Instruction): (1) "A Methodology for Learning Pattern Analysis from Web Logs by Interpreting Web Page Contents" (Chih-Kai Chang and…

  13. Intrusion Detection and Forensics for Self-Defending Wireless Networks

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-12-01

    ICNP), Nov. 2007. 5. Yao Zhao, Yan Chen, Bo Li, and Qian Zhang, Hop ID: A Virtual Coordinate based Routing for Sparse Mobile Ad Hoc Networks, in...Liu, Hongbo Zhao, Kai Chen and Yan Chen, " DISCO : Memory Efficient and Accurate Flow Statistics for Network Measurement", in the Proc. of IEEE ICDCS

  14. Strigolactone and karrikin signal perception: receptors, enzymes, or both?

    PubMed Central

    Janssen, Bart J.; Snowden, Kimberley C.

    2012-01-01

    The signaling molecules strigolactone (SL) and karrikin are involved in seed germination, development of axillary meristems, senescence of leaves, and interactions with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. The signal transduction pathways for both SLs and karrikins require the same F-box protein (MAX2) and closely related α/β hydrolase fold proteins (DAD2 and KAI2). The crystal structure of DAD2 has been solved revealing an α/β hydrolase fold protein with an internal cavity capable of accommodating SLs. DAD2 responds to the SL analog GR24 by changing conformation and binding to MAX2 in a GR24 concentration-dependent manner. DAD2 can also catalyze hydrolysis of GR24. Structure activity relationships of analogs indicate that the butenolide ring common to both SLs and karrikins is essential for biological activity, but the remainder of the molecules can be significantly modified without loss of activity. The combination of data from the study of DAD2, KAI2, and chemical analogs of SLs and karrikins suggests a model for binding that requires nucleophilic attack by the active site serine of the hydrolase at the carbonyl atom of the butenolide ring. A conformational change occurs in the hydrolase that results in interaction with the F-box protein MAX2. Downstream signal transduction is then likely to occur via SCF (Skp-Cullin-F-box) complex-mediated ubiquitination of target proteins and their subsequent degradation. The role of the catalytic activity of the hydrolase is unclear but it may be integral in binding as well as possibly allowing the signal to be cleared from the receptor. The α/β hydrolase fold family consists mostly of active enzymes, with a few notable exceptions. We suggest that DAD2 and KAI2 represent an intermediate stage where some catalytic activity is retained at the same time as a receptor role has evolved. PMID:23293648

  15. Strigolactone and karrikin signal perception: receptors, enzymes, or both?

    PubMed

    Janssen, Bart J; Snowden, Kimberley C

    2012-01-01

    The signaling molecules strigolactone (SL) and karrikin are involved in seed germination, development of axillary meristems, senescence of leaves, and interactions with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. The signal transduction pathways for both SLs and karrikins require the same F-box protein (MAX2) and closely related α/β hydrolase fold proteins (DAD2 and KAI2). The crystal structure of DAD2 has been solved revealing an α/β hydrolase fold protein with an internal cavity capable of accommodating SLs. DAD2 responds to the SL analog GR24 by changing conformation and binding to MAX2 in a GR24 concentration-dependent manner. DAD2 can also catalyze hydrolysis of GR24. Structure activity relationships of analogs indicate that the butenolide ring common to both SLs and karrikins is essential for biological activity, but the remainder of the molecules can be significantly modified without loss of activity. The combination of data from the study of DAD2, KAI2, and chemical analogs of SLs and karrikins suggests a model for binding that requires nucleophilic attack by the active site serine of the hydrolase at the carbonyl atom of the butenolide ring. A conformational change occurs in the hydrolase that results in interaction with the F-box protein MAX2. Downstream signal transduction is then likely to occur via SCF (Skp-Cullin-F-box) complex-mediated ubiquitination of target proteins and their subsequent degradation. The role of the catalytic activity of the hydrolase is unclear but it may be integral in binding as well as possibly allowing the signal to be cleared from the receptor. The α/β hydrolase fold family consists mostly of active enzymes, with a few notable exceptions. We suggest that DAD2 and KAI2 represent an intermediate stage where some catalytic activity is retained at the same time as a receptor role has evolved.

  16. Influence of Creative Style and Gender on Students' Achievement in Physics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mkpanang, John T.

    2016-01-01

    The research investigated the influence of creative style and gender on students' achievement in physics. The sample consisting one hundred (100) Senior Secondary II physics students, made up of 50 males and 50 females in Oruk Anam Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, were administered the Kirton Adaptor-Innovator Inventory (KAI),…

  17. On a Quest for English

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Waters, John K.

    2007-01-01

    This article reports the potential of online role-playing games to be a powerful tool for English as a second language (ESL) learning. When Professor Edd Schneider and game designer Kai Zheng suggested to attendees gathered in San Francisco last spring for the annual Game Developers Conference that massively multiplayer online role-playing games,…

  18. Exploration of the factor structure of the Kirton Adaption-Innovation Inventory using bootstrapping estimation.

    PubMed

    Im, Subin; Min, Soonhong

    2013-04-01

    Exploratory factor analyses of the Kirton Adaption-Innovation Inventory (KAI), which serves to measure individual cognitive styles, generally indicate three factors: sufficiency of originality, efficiency, and rule/group conformity. In contrast, a 2005 study by Im and Hu using confirmatory factor analysis supported a four-factor structure, dividing the sufficiency of originality dimension into two subdimensions, idea generation and preference for change. This study extends Im and Hu's (2005) study of a derived version of the KAI by providing additional evidence of the four-factor structure. Specifically, the authors test the robustness of the parameter estimates to the violation of normality assumptions in the sample using bootstrap methods. A bias-corrected confidence interval bootstrapping procedure conducted among a sample of 356 participants--members of the Arkansas Household Research Panel, with middle SES and average age of 55.6 yr. (SD = 13.9)--showed that the four-factor model with two subdimensions of sufficiency of originality fits the data significantly better than the three-factor model in non-normality conditions.

  19. The Impact of an Assurance System on the Quality of Teaching and Learning--Using the Example of a University in Russia and One of the Universities in Germany

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Szymenderski, Peggy; Yagudina, Liliya; Burenkova, Olga

    2015-01-01

    In this paper we consider the question of how quality assurance can have a real, positive impact on the quality of teaching and learning at universities, considering the realities of different systems--the system of control and the system of quality culture--in using the example of two universities: the KNITU-KAI in Russia and the TU Dresden in…

  20. Font Effects of Chinese Characters and Pseudo-Characters on the N400: Evidence for an Orthographic Processing View

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lv, Caixia; Wang, Quanhong

    2012-01-01

    Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were recorded during a Chinese character decision task to examine whether N400 amplitude is modulated by stimulus font. Results revealed large negative-going ERPs in an N400 time window of 300-500 ms to stimuli presented in degraded Xing Kai Ti (XKT) font compared with more intact Song Ti (ST) font regardless…

  1. Effects of Typographic Variables on Eye-Movement Measures in Reading Chinese from a Screen

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yen, Nai-Shing; Tsai, Jie-Li; Chen, Pei-Ling; Lin, Hsuan-Yu; Chen, Arbee L. P.

    2011-01-01

    To investigate the most efficient way to represent text in reading Chinese on computer displays, three typographic variables, character size (41[feet] arc/24 pixels and 60[feet] arc/32 pixels), character spacing (1/4 and 1/8 character width) and font type (Kai and Ming), were manipulated. Results showed that the reading speed for Chinese…

  2. 76 FR 50423 - Changes in Flood Elevation Determinations

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-08-15

    ...; May 13, The Honorable Tony April 29, 2011 015011 (11-04-0533P). 2011; The Islander. Kennon, Mayor... Meeker, (11- April 28, 2011; May The Honorable Mandi September 2, 2011 080151 08-0007P). 5, 2011; The Rio... Unincorporated areas April 28, 2011; May The Honorable Kai Turner, September 2, 2011 080288 of Rio Blanco 5, 2011...

  3. International Conference on Environmental Ergonomics (4th) Held in Austin, Texas on 1-5 October 1990

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1991-01-15

    measurement error in relation 94 Ducharme, Michel B. to clothing and tissue insulation -- a simplified view 5 Reischl, Uwe Breathability measurements...PROTECTIVE CLOTHING Uwe Reischl, Francis N. Dukes-Dobos, Thomas E. Bernard and Kai Buller Department of Environmental and Occupational Health 0 College of...understood. 117 BREATHING APPARATUS AND VENTILATION William P. Morgan Biodynamics Laboratory University of Wisconsin- Madison 0 Madison , Wisconsin USA

  4. NCCR Chemical Biology: Interdisciplinary Research Excellence, Outreach, Education, and New Tools for Switzerland.

    PubMed

    Sturzenegger, Susi; Johnsson, Kai; Riezman, Howard

    2011-01-01

    Funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation to promote cutting edge research as well as the advancement of young researchers and women, technology transfer, outreach and education, the NCCR (Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research) Chemical Biology is co-led by Howard Riezman, University of Geneva and Kai Johnsson, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL).

  5. Early Rockets

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2004-04-15

    One of the earliest recorded instances of the use of rockets was as military weapons against the Mongols by the Chinese at the siege of Kai Fung Foo in 1232 A.D. An arrow with a tube of gunpowder produced an arrow of flying fire. The Mongol attackers fled in terror, even though the rockets were inaccurate and relatively harmless.

  6. Driving techniques for high frame rate CCD camera

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guo, Weiqiang; Jin, Longxu; Xiong, Jingwu

    2008-03-01

    This paper describes a high-frame rate CCD camera capable of operating at 100 frames/s. This camera utilizes Kodak KAI-0340, an interline transfer CCD with 640(vertical)×480(horizontal) pixels. Two output ports are used to read out CCD data and pixel rates approaching 30 MHz. Because of its reduced effective opacity of vertical charge transfer registers, interline transfer CCD can cause undesired image artifacts, such as random white spots and smear generated in the registers. To increase frame rate, a kind of speed-up structure has been incorporated inside KAI-0340, then it is vulnerable to a vertical stripe effect. The phenomena which mentioned above may severely impair the image quality. To solve these problems, some electronic methods of eliminating these artifacts are adopted. Special clocking mode can dump the unwanted charge quickly, then the fast readout of the images, cleared of smear, follows immediately. Amplifier is used to sense and correct delay mismatch between the dual phase vertical clock pulses, the transition edges become close to coincident, so vertical stripes disappear. Results obtained with the CCD camera are shown.

  7. Sustaining Competitive Advantage: Mental Models and Organizational Learning for Future Marines

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2007-01-01

    Soft Systems Methodology : Other Voices.” Systemic Practice and Action Research. 13, no. 6, (2000): 773. Larsen, Kai R. T., Claire McInerney...30. Mingers, John. “An Idea Ahead of Its Time: The History and Development of Soft Systems Methodology .” Systemic Practice and Action...Soft System Dynamics Methodology (SSDM): Combinging Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) and System Dynamics (SD).” Systemic Practice and Action

  8. Lego clocks: building a clock from parts.

    PubMed

    Brunner, Michael; Simons, Mirre J P; Merrow, Martha

    2008-06-01

    A new finding opens up speculation that the molecular mechanism of circadian clocks in Synechococcus elongatus is composed of multiple oscillator systems (Kitayama and colleagues, this issue, pp. 1513-1521), as has been described in many eukaryotic clock model systems. However, an alternative intepretation is that the pacemaker mechanism-as previously suggested-lies primarily in the rate of ATP hydrolysis by the clock protein KaiC.

  9. Integrated Fatigue Damage Diagnosis and Prognosis Under Uncertainties

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-09-01

    Integrated fatigue damage diagnosis and prognosis under uncertainties Tishun Peng 1 , Jingjing He 1 , Yongming Liu 1 , Abhinav Saxena 2 , Jose...Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, 94035, USA kai.goebel@nasa.gov ABSTRACT An integrated fatigue damage diagnosis and prognosis framework is...remaining useful life (RUL) prediction. First, a piezoelectric sensor network is used to detect the fatigue crack size near the rivet holes in fuselage

  10. Stability and Noise in the Cyanobacterial Circadian Clock

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mihalcescu, Irina

    2008-03-01

    Accuracy in cellular function has to be achieved despite random fluctuations (noise) in the concentrations of different molecular constituents inside and outside the cell. Single cell in vivo monitoring reveals that individual cells generate autonomous circadian rhythms in protein abundance. In multi-cellular organisms, the individual cell rhythms appear to be noisy with drifting phases and frequencies. However, the whole organism is significantly more accurate, the temporal precision being achieved most probably via intercellular coupling of the individual noisy oscillators. In cyanobacteria, we have shown that single cell oscillators are impressively stable and a first estimation rules out strong intercellular coupling. Interestingly, these prokaryotes also have the simplest molecular mechanism at the heart of their circadian clock. In the absence of transcriptional activity in vivo, as well alone in vitro, the three clock proteins KaiA, KaiB and KaiC generate a self-sustained circadian oscillation of autophosphorylation and dephosphorylation. Recent chemical kinetics models provide a possible understanding of the three-protein oscillator, but the measured in vivo stability remains yet unexplained. Is the clock stability a built-in property for each bacterium or does a weak intercellular coupling, make them appear like that? To address this question we first theoretically designed our experiment to be able to distinguish coupling, even weak, from phase diffusion. As the precision of our evaluation increases with the length of the experiments, we continuously monitor, for a couple of weeks, mixtures of cell populations with different initial phases. The inherent experimental noise contribution, initially dominant, is reduced by enhanced statistics. In addition, in situ entrainment experiments confirm our ability to detect a coupling of the circadian oscillator to an external force and to describe explicitly the dynamic change of the mean phase. We report a value

  11. Afghanistan: Politics, Elections, and Government Performance

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2010-04-06

    investigated. On that basis, the United States, as well as U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon (visiting Kabul), and several governments, congratulated...investigation of the fraud. This led to the September 29, 2009, dismissal by Secretary General Ban Ki Moon of Galbraith, who had openly accused UNAMA head Kai...Minister of Transport and Aviation; and (10) Sultan Hussein Hesari, Minister of Urban Development. 2010 Parliamentary Elections and Election Law

  12. Afghanistan: Politics, Elections, and Government Performance

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2010-02-19

    States, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon (visiting Kabul), and several governments congratulated Karzai on the victory. U.S. officials, including...Ban Ki Moon of Galbraith, who had openly accused UNAMA head Kai Eide of soft-pedaling on the fraud charges and siding with Karzai. Galbraith has...of Transport and Aviation; and (10) Sultan Hussein Hesari, Minister of Urban Development. 2010 Parliamentary Elections/Election Law On January 2

  13. C. albicans Growth, Transition, Biofilm Formation, and Gene Expression Modulation by Antimicrobial Decapeptide KSL-W

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2013-11-07

    Simon Theberge1, Abdelhabib Semlali1,2, Abdullah Alamri1, Kai P Leung3 and Mahmoud Rouabhia1* Abstract Background: Antimicrobial peptides have been the... peptides , including KSL-W (KKVVFWVKFK-NH2), for potential clinical use. Because this peptide displays antimicrobial activity against bacteria, we sought...the efficacy of KSL-W against C. albicans and its potential use as an antifungal therapy. Keywords: Antimicrobial peptide , KSL-W, C. albicans, Growth

  14. Operating Below Crush Depth: The Formation, Evolution, and Collapse of the Imperial Japanese Navy Submarine Force in World War II

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2011-06-10

    Subamrine, Medium) LCDR Lieutenant Commander LT Lieutenant NM Nautical Mile RADM Rear Admiral ST Sen- Taka (Submarine, High Speed) STo Sen-Toku...Special Submarine) STS Sen- Taka -Sho (Submarine, High Speed(Victory)) USS United States Ship VADM Vice Admiral 1 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION On...Kirai-Sen meaning Mine-Layer, KT for Kai-Toku-Chu meaning Medium, Special Submarine, ST for Sen- Taka meaning Submarine, High speed, STo for Sen Toku

  15. Field Marshal Slim -- Theoretical Thinking and the Impact of Theory on Campaign Planning

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-05-17

    2004); Ronald Lewin, Slim the Standard Bearer: A Biography of Field-marshal the Viscount Slim (London: Leo Cooper...Volume II India’s most Dangerous Hour, 17. 51 Ian Lyall Grant, Burma: The Turning Point (UK: Leo Cooper, 2003), 21; Baillergeon, Field Marshal Slim and... LOCs ; encourage Chaing-Kai-Shek to send more forces; and create confusion in the Japanese rear area. It was this last effect that Slim sought to

  16. Art, class and gender in Joseon dynasty Korea: representations of lower-class women by the scholar-painter Yun Duseo.

    PubMed

    Chung, Saehyang P

    2011-01-01

    This paper examines several pioneering genre paintings by the important scholar painter Yun Duseo (1668-1715), with its focus on their artistic sources which have not yet been explored so far. Painted on ramie, 'Women Picking Potherbs' is one of the most intriguing examples among Yun Duseo's oeuvre, which encompasses a broad variety of themes, including genre imagery, landscapes, portraits, dragons, and horses. Even among Yun Duseo's genre paintings, 'Women Picking Potherbs' is extraordinary, as recent scholarship regards it as the earliest independent representation of lower-class women in the history of Korean art. In particular, Yun Duseo painted two women who were working ourdoors to gather spring potherbs. In a conservative Confucian society, it was extraordinary women who were working outdoors. Hence, Yun Duseo occupies a highly important place in Korean painting. Furthermore, even though Yun Duseo came from the upper-class, he often painted images of lower class people working. It is possible that Yun Duseo was familiar with the book titled "Tian gong kai wu" (Exploitation of the Works of Nature) which was published in the 17th century. By identifying the probable body of his artistic sources in the book known as "Tian gong kai wu," it will be possible to assess the innovations and limitations found in 'Women Picking Potherbs'.

  17. Aberration analysis and calculation in system of Gaussian beam illuminates lenslet array

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Zhu; Hui, Mei; Zhou, Ping; Su, Tianquan; Feng, Yun; Zhao, Yuejin

    2014-09-01

    Low order aberration was founded when focused Gaussian beam imaging at Kodak KAI -16000 image detector, which is integrated with lenslet array. Effect of focused Gaussian beam and numerical simulation calculation of the aberration were presented in this paper. First, we set up a model of optical imaging system based on previous experiment. Focused Gaussian beam passed through a pinhole and was received by Kodak KAI -16000 image detector whose microlenses of lenslet array were exactly focused on sensor surface. Then, we illustrated the characteristics of focused Gaussian beam and the effect of relative space position relations between waist of Gaussian beam and front spherical surface of microlenses to the aberration. Finally, we analyzed the main element of low order aberration and calculated the spherical aberration caused by lenslet array according to the results of above two steps. Our theoretical calculations shown that , the numerical simulation had a good agreement with the experimental result. Our research results proved that spherical aberration was the main element and made up about 93.44% of the 48 nm error, which was demonstrated in previous experiment. The spherical aberration is inversely proportional to the value of divergence distance between microlens and waist, and directly proportional to the value of the Gaussian beam waist radius.

  18. Armed Forces and National Development in Korea

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1988-12-01

    2698 Naval Postgraduate School Monterey, CA 93943 7. Ha, Tae Hwan SMC 2588 Naval Postgraduate School Monterey, CA 93943 8. Kim , Dong Hui SMC 2610 Naval...an agreement between the Provisional Government leader Kim Ku and Chiang Kai-Shek. Many of these Korean officers, mostly the Japanese-trained, played...when the military took over the corrupt and inefficient government [Ref. 6:p. 36]. Kim said that the military assumption of power in 1961 was

  19. High-Throughput Nano-Biofilm Microarray for Antifungal Drug Discovery

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2013-06-25

    High-Throughput Nano-Biofilm Microarray for Antifungal Drug Discovery Anand Srinivasan,a, c Kai P. Leung,d Jose L. Lopez-Ribot,b, c Anand K...Ramasubramaniana, c Departments of Biomedical Engineeringa and Biologyb and South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, c The University of Texas at San...of the opportunistic fungal pathogen Candida albicans on a microarray platform. The mi- croarray consists of 1,200 individual cultures of 30 nl of C

  20. Spin-Orbit Coupled Bose-Einstein Condensates

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-11-03

    generalized the new concepts to interacting spin-1/2 bosons in optical lattices and described a superfluid-to-Mott insulator transition in spin-orbit...and quantum phase transitions in topological insulators , Physical Review B, (09 2010): 0. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevB.82.115125 Christopher Varney, Kai...109.235308 J. Radi?, A. Di Ciolo, K. Sun, V. Galitski. Exotic Quantum Spin Models in Spin-Orbit-Coupled Mott Insulators , Physical Review Letters

  1. Into the Eye of the Commander: Military Advisory During Conflict

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2011-03-16

    Northeast 3 Asia. First, China continued to struggle through a bloody civil war between Chiang Kai- shek‘s Nationalists and Mao Tse -tung‘s Communist...Indochina into Cambodia and Laos and further sub-divided Vietnam along the 17th Parallel into a communist north and a democratic 9 south. The...insurgencies in Laos and South Vietnam had begun to take an ominous turn. Fearing both nuclear and conventional parity with the Soviet Union

  2. AF-TRUST, Air Force Team for Research in Ubiquitous Secure Technology

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2010-07-26

    Charles Sutton, J. D. Tygar, and Kai Xia. Book chapter in Jeffrey J. P. Tsai and Philip S. Yu (eds.) Machine Learning in Cyber Trust: Security, Privacy...enterprise, tactical, embedded systems and command and control levels. From these studies, commissioned by Dr . Sekar Chandersekaran of the Secretary of the...Data centers avoid IP Multicast because of a series of problems with the technology. • Dr . Multicast (the MCMD), a system that maps traditional I PMC

  3. Gas Warfare in World War I. The 3rd. Division at Chateau Thierry, July 1918

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1959-07-01

    I hvt ’.o 1, 17 Jun (Vb, i p. 35 - 36’. 1Jnf.-D>in -i. 10. 1andý’er:Divu i -@Una 5O~fg opv ~lGe vns me., 44 %~ Aw sw1 .~.g P.. 9.s KAi,, .I P LAM... indoors (where delay in masking or escaping to the open was almost certain to rqsult in casualties]. Shell fire and a general sense of insecurity

  4. Uncertainty in Steady-State Diagnostics of a Current-Pressure Transducer: How Confident are We in Diagnosing Faults

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-10-02

    and off-nominal behav- ior of the I/ P transducer; however, sensor measurements are not fast enough to capture brief transient states that are in...nasa.gov 3 NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA kai.goebel@nasa.gov ABSTRACT Current-Pressure (I/ P ) transducers are effective...transducers (I/ P transducer or IPT) are ef- fective pressure regulators that vary the output pressure de- pending on the supplied electrical current

  5. Contract W911NF-09-1-0384 (Purdue University)

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-10-27

    spin system, Physical Review A , (02 2010): 22324. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevA.81.022324 08/31/2011 8.00 Sabre Kais, Anmer Daskin . Group leaders... a collection of information if it does not display a currently valid OMB control number. PLEASE DO NOT RETURN YOUR FORM TO THE ABOVE ADDRESS. a ...billions ) and developed new quantum algorithms to solve complex chemistry problems such as global optimization and excited states of molecules. ( a ) Papers

  6. Management of Bottom Sediments Containing Toxic Substances: Proceedings of the U.S./Japan Experts Meetings (15th) Held in San Pedro, California on 19-21 November 1991

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1994-05-01

    on Economic Development, which will convene in Rio de Janeiro in June of 1992, will be the next major forum at which this issue may surface for...1985. Coastal oceanography of Japan Islands. Tokai University Shuppan-kai, viii+8+353 pp. (in Japanese). Otsuki, T. 1990. Jinko lagoon . Umetate to...for acclima- tion. It also took 100 days for the test to get the expected water quality with performing de -nitrogen treatment by reducing airflow of

  7. Afghanistan: Politics, Elections, and Government Performance

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2010-06-29

    constitution,” on the grounds that the fraud had been investigated. On that basis, the United States, as well as U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon (visiting...of the fraud. This led to the September 29, 2009, dismissal by Secretary General Ban Ki Moon of Galbraith, who had openly accused UNAMA head Kai Eide...Abdul Qadus Hamidi, minister of communications; (9) Abdur Rahim Oraz, minister of transport and aviation; and (10) Sultan Hussein Hesari, minister of

  8. Advanced Organic Solid States Materials. Volume 173. Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1990-08-08

    for their collaboration in synthetic study. We also thank Prof. N. Kasai and Dr. Y. Kai for their collaboration in X - ray crystallographic study. We...substantially with the increasing amount of doping as monitored by the powder x - ray diffraction. After doping the sample was kept for at least one day...physical properties at different oxidation states in solution and in the solid state of tEDTB complexed with TCNQF4. The X ray crystal structure of

  9. Large-scale Heterogeneous Network Data Analysis

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-07-31

    Mining (KDD’09), 527-535, 2009. [20] B. Long, Z. M. Zhang, X. Wu, and P. S. Yu . Spectral Clustering for Multi-type Relational Data. In Proceedings of...and Data Mining (KDD’06), 374-383, 2006. [33] Y. Sun, Y. Yu , and J. Han. Ranking-Based Clustering of Heterogeneous Information Networks with Star...publications in 2012 so far:  Yi-Kuang Ko, Jing- Kai Lou, Cheng-Te Li, Shou-de Lin, and Shyh-Kang Jeng. “A Social Network Evolution Model Based on

  10. Silicon Nanotips and Related Nano-Systems Involving Fluid and Carrier Transport and Their Micro-Devices for Power and Sensing Applications

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2011-05-10

    Methanol’, Chien-Cheng Li, Ran-Jin Lin, Hong-Ping Lin, Ching-Chun Chang, Yu - Kai Lin, Li-Chyong Chen*, Kuei-Hsien Chen*, Chem. Comm. 47, 1473 (2011). (5...CuO-ZnO Inverse Opals as High-performance Methanol Microreformer’, Yan-Gu Lin, Yu -Kuei Hsu, San-Yuan Chen, Li-Chyong Chen* and Kuei-Hsien Chen*, J...Chun Lo, Hsin-I Hsiung, Surojit Chattopadhyay*, Hsieh -Cheng Han, Chia-Fu Chen*, Jih Perng Leu, Kuei-Hsien Chen and Li-Chyong Chen*, Biosens

  11. [The Evolutionary Origin of Placodes and Neural Crest Cells

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bronner-Fraser, Marianne

    2003-01-01

    The long-term goal of this NASA-supported research is to understand the evolutionary origin of placodes and neural crest cells, with particular reference to evolution of the inner ear, and their evolutionary and developmental relationships. The cephalochordcate amphioxus, the closest living invertebrate relative of the vertebrates is used as a stand-in for the ancestral vertebrate. The research, which has supported one graduate student, Jr-Kai Yu, has resulted in ten publications by the Holland laboratory in peer-reviewed journals.

  12. Translations From Red Flag, Number 6, 3 June 1978

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1978-08-07

    Control of Population Growth (pp 60-64) (Liu Jo-ching) • 106 Planned Economy and the Law of Value (pp 65-70) (Liu Kuo -kuang, et al.) • • H4 How Do...triumphed over the capitulationist line of Chen Tu-hsiu and Chang Kuo -tao. The Red Army smashed Chiang Kai-shek’s several million enemy troops who...Tung Li- kuo [5516 4539 0948] of the reporting group of the Wuchiao County CCP Committee; Fu Tieh-kuei [0265 6993 2710] of the reporting section of

  13. Theory and Applications of Elliptically Contoured and Related Distributions

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1990-09-01

    is invariant under n x n orthogonal transfor- mations. When the parent distribution is more generally ECp(pA, X, 4), the c.f. of X is n E(eitrTIX...those properties to some wider class than that of SD? 18 A largest characterization of SD is a demonstration that there is no generating vector Y...Takemura’s Generalizations of Cochran’s Theorem," George P.H. Styan, September 1982. 3. " Some Further Applications of Finite Difference Operators," Kai

  14. Photonic Analog-to-Digital Converter Preprocessing Using the Robust Symmetrical Number System for Direct Digitization of Antenna Signals

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2010-12-01

    sample and hold circuit was reported by Urata et al. [6–9]. A 160 megasamples/s sampling rate with 3.5 ENOB was achieved using this design. The...2006. [6] R. Urata , L. Y. Nathawad, R. Takahashi, Kai Ma, D. A. B. Miller, B. A. Wooley and J. S. Harris Jr., “Photonic A/D conversion using low... Urata , R. Takahashi, V. A. Sabnis, D. A. B. Miller, and J. S. Harris Jr., “Ultrafast differential sample and hold using low-temperature-grown GaAs MSM

  15. A model and treatment for autism at the convergence of Chinese medicine and Western science: first 130 cases.

    PubMed

    Silva, Louisa M T; Schalock, Mark; Ayres, Robert

    2011-06-01

    To present a model for autism showing that impairment of sensory and self-regulation is the core deficit that underlies delays in social/language skills and abnormal behavior in autism; and to demonstrate the efficacy of a treatment for autism based on Chinese medicine. Children with autism under 6 years of age were assigned to treatment or wait-list conditions. A total of 130 children were treated and the results compared with 45 wait-list controls. Treatment is a tuina methodology directed at sensory impairment--Kai Qiao Tuina. The treatment was a five-month protocol that was implemented daily by trained parents via trained support staff. The effects of treatment on the main symptoms, autistic behavior, social/language delay, sensory and self-regulatory impairment, as well as on parenting stress, were observed and compared. The treatment had a large effect size (P<0.0001) on measures of sensory and self-regulation. The evaluations done by pre-school teachers demonstrated improvement in the measures of autism (P<0.003), and were confirmed by evaluations done by parents (P<0.0001). There was a large decrease (P<0.0001) in parenting stress. Sensory and self-regulatory impairment is a main factor in the development and severity of autism. Treatment of young children with autism with Kai Qiao Tuina resulted in a decrease in sensory and self-regulatory impairment and a reduction in severity of measures of autism.

  16. Cloud Computing: Virtual Clusters, Data Security, and Disaster Recovery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hwang, Kai

    Dr. Kai Hwang is a Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Director of Internet and Cloud Computing Lab at the Univ. of Southern California (USC). He received the Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the Univ. of California, Berkeley. Prior to joining USC, he has taught at Purdue Univ. for many years. He has also served as a visiting Chair Professor at Minnesota, Hong Kong Univ., Zhejiang Univ., and Tsinghua Univ. He has published 8 books and over 210 scientific papers in computer science/engineering.

  17. Advanced Filters and Components for Power Applications

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2006-08-31

    PCB with a rectangular and circular coil version on each board. The printed windings are placed in an end-tapped configuration, with the winding...of fiat circular loops of various diameters in a system without magnetic material. We have found that the most accurate prediction for this...application is that of [31]. The formula for mutual inductance of circular traces is: Mt=°T f 00 S(kr2, kri)S(ka 2 , kai)Q(kh)e-k zdk (3.2) h2ln (rf) In (az) J0

  18. A High Frequency Inverse Scattering Model to Recover the Specular Point Curvature from Polarimetric Scattering Data.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1982-05-21

    MAY A2 B FO0 N00014-80-C0708 UNCLASSIFIED EMID-CL-1982-05-21-Ol NL12fflllllfl I Eh|hEEEE| h |hEE EEEE|hEEEEE|hI EEllllEEEEEEEE EEEEmnhEmhEEEE m|hEE...hEE| h |hE EEEEEEEEEEnllI COMMUNICATN LABORATOR Y Oeprtment of information E ngineering University of Illinois at Chicago Circle Box 4348. Chicago IL...Recommendation concurred irDr. Wolfpan-M. Boornor AA4 -’, : Dr. Bruc H ..M ~ ri kC m it- Dr. Wai-Kai Chen on Dr. Piergiorgio L. E. Uslengh

  19. A design of driving circuit for star sensor imaging camera

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Da-wei; Yang, Xiao-xu; Han, Jun-feng; Liu, Zhao-hui

    2016-01-01

    The star sensor is a high-precision attitude sensitive measuring instruments, which determine spacecraft attitude by detecting different positions on the celestial sphere. Imaging camera is an important portion of star sensor. The purpose of this study is to design a driving circuit based on Kodak CCD sensor. The design of driving circuit based on Kodak KAI-04022 is discussed, and the timing of this CCD sensor is analyzed. By the driving circuit testing laboratory and imaging experiments, it is found that the driving circuits can meet the requirements of Kodak CCD sensor.

  20. Mechanism of Tumor Metastasis Suppression by the KAI1 Gene

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2008-02-01

    antibody to Flag covalently crosslinked to agarose beads followed by western blot with monoclonal antibody to Flag (lanes 1, 2). For coimmunoprecipitation...negative controls (lanes 4, 6). IgH appeared in lanes 5 and 6, as antibody to hemagglutinin was not crosslinked to the agarose beads during...mixed in the presence of a cell-impermeable crosslinker DTSSP for 30 min followed by immunoprecipitation with DARC antibody and western blot with

  1. Mechanisms of KAI1/CD82-Induced Prostate Cancer Metastasis

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2011-08-01

    carcinoma. J Hepatol 35:637-42. 16. Wright MD, Geary SM, Fitter S, Moseley GW, Lau LM, Sheng KC, Apostolopoulos V, Stanley EG, Jackson DE , and...appears to facilitate transport and clustering of the loaded MHC II complexes on the cell surface [75]. 2.2.3. Animal models To date six tetraspanins...first step in the degradation of GSH and GSH- conjugates (GS–SG) into glutamate (Gl), cysteine (C) and glycine (G). These are transported back into

  2. Mechanisms of KAI1/CD82 - Induced Prostate Cancer Metastasis

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2009-02-01

    appears to facilitate transport and clustering of the loaded MHC II complexes on the cell surface [75]. 2.2.3. Animal models To date six tetraspanins...step in the degradation of GSH and GSH- conjugates (GS–SG) into glutamate (Gl), cysteine (C) and glycine (G). These are transported back into the cell...are released by a constitutive dipeptidase and all three are transported back into the cell for resynthesis of GSH via γ- glutamylcysteine synthetase

  3. Generic temperature compensation of biological clocks by autonomous regulation of catalyst concentration

    PubMed Central

    Hatakeyama, Tetsuhiro S.; Kaneko, Kunihiko

    2012-01-01

    Circadian clocks—ubiquitous in life forms ranging from bacteria to multicellular organisms—often exhibit intrinsic temperature compensation; the period of circadian oscillators is maintained constant over a range of physiological temperatures, despite the expected Arrhenius form for the reaction coefficient. Observations have shown that the amplitude of the oscillation depends on the temperature but the period does not; this suggests that although not every reaction step is temperature independent, the total system comprising several reactions still exhibits compensation. Here we present a general mechanism for such temperature compensation. Consider a system with multiple activation energy barriers for reactions, with a common enzyme shared across several reaction steps. The steps with the highest activation energy rate-limit the cycle when the temperature is not high. If the total abundance of the enzyme is limited, the amount of free enzyme available to catalyze a specific reaction decreases as more substrates bind to the common enzyme. We show that this change in free enzyme abundance compensates for the Arrhenius-type temperature dependence of the reaction coefficient. Taking the example of circadian clocks with cyanobacterial proteins KaiABC, consisting of several phosphorylation sites, we show that this temperature compensation mechanism is indeed valid. Specifically, if the activation energy for phosphorylation is larger than that for dephosphorylation, competition for KaiA shared among the phosphorylation reactions leads to temperature compensation. Moreover, taking a simpler model, we demonstrate the generality of the proposed compensation mechanism, suggesting relevance not only to circadian clocks but to other (bio)chemical oscillators as well. PMID:22566655

  4. Generic temperature compensation of biological clocks by autonomous regulation of catalyst concentration.

    PubMed

    Hatakeyama, Tetsuhiro S; Kaneko, Kunihiko

    2012-05-22

    Circadian clocks--ubiquitous in life forms ranging from bacteria to multicellular organisms--often exhibit intrinsic temperature compensation; the period of circadian oscillators is maintained constant over a range of physiological temperatures, despite the expected Arrhenius form for the reaction coefficient. Observations have shown that the amplitude of the oscillation depends on the temperature but the period does not; this suggests that although not every reaction step is temperature independent, the total system comprising several reactions still exhibits compensation. Here we present a general mechanism for such temperature compensation. Consider a system with multiple activation energy barriers for reactions, with a common enzyme shared across several reaction steps. The steps with the highest activation energy rate-limit the cycle when the temperature is not high. If the total abundance of the enzyme is limited, the amount of free enzyme available to catalyze a specific reaction decreases as more substrates bind to the common enzyme. We show that this change in free enzyme abundance compensates for the Arrhenius-type temperature dependence of the reaction coefficient. Taking the example of circadian clocks with cyanobacterial proteins KaiABC, consisting of several phosphorylation sites, we show that this temperature compensation mechanism is indeed valid. Specifically, if the activation energy for phosphorylation is larger than that for dephosphorylation, competition for KaiA shared among the phosphorylation reactions leads to temperature compensation. Moreover, taking a simpler model, we demonstrate the generality of the proposed compensation mechanism, suggesting relevance not only to circadian clocks but to other (bio)chemical oscillators as well.

  5. Plant growth-promoting activities of Streptomyces spp. in sorghum and rice.

    PubMed

    Gopalakrishnan, Subramaniam; Srinivas, Vadlamudi; Sree Vidya, Meesala; Rathore, Abhishek

    2013-01-01

    Five strains of Streptomyces (CAI-24, CAI-121, CAI-127, KAI-32 and KAI-90) were earlier reported by us as biological control agents against Fusarium wilt of chickpea caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceri (FOC). In the present study, the Streptomyces were characterized for enzymatic activities, physiological traits and further evaluated in greenhouse and field for their plant growth promotion (PGP) of sorghum and rice. All the Streptomyces produced lipase, β-1-3-glucanase and chitinase (except CAI-121 and CAI-127), grew in NaCl concentrations of up to 6%, at pH values between 5 and 13 and temperatures between 20 and 40°C and were highly sensitive to Thiram, Benlate, Captan, Benomyl and Radonil at field application level. When the Streptomyces were evaluated in the greenhouse on sorghum all the isolates significantly enhanced all the agronomic traits over the control. In the field, on rice, the Streptomyces significantly enhanced stover yield (up to 25%; except CAI-24), grain yield (up to 10%), total dry matter (up to 18%; except CAI-24) and root length, volume and dry weight (up to 15%, 36% and 55%, respectively, except CAI-24) over the control. In the rhizosphere soil, the Streptomyces significantly enhanced microbial biomass carbon (except CAI-24), nitrogen, dehydrogenase (except CAI-24), total N, available P and organic carbon (up to 41%, 52%, 75%, 122%, 53% and 13%, respectively) over the control. This study demonstrates that the selected Streptomyces which were antagonistic to FOC also have PGP properties.

  6. Volatile components of ethanolic extract from broccolini leaves.

    PubMed

    Wang, Xiaoqin; Zhang, Bochao; Wang, Bingfang; Zhang, Xuewu

    2012-01-01

    Broccolini (Brassica oleracea Italica × Alboglabra) is a hybrid of broccoli and kai-lan, Chinese broccoli. To date, no study has been reported on the chemical composition of the volatile fractions of this raw material. In this study, the volatile constituents from the ethanolic extract of broccolini leaves were analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Sixteen compounds were identified. The major components include 5-phenyl-undecane (11%), n-hexadecanoic acid (9.34%), octadecanoic acid (6.39%), 1,1,3-trimethyl-3-phenyl-indan (4.0%), 3-(2-phenylethyl)benzonitrile (3.48%) and phytol (3.37%).

  7. ADP Regulates the Structure and Function of the Protein KaiC

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-08-11

    J. S., Lee, Y., Kang, S., Lee, D., Li, S., Britt, R. D., Rust , M., J., Golden, S., S., LiWang, A. (2015) A protein fold switch joins the circadian... Rust , M.J. (2013). Robust and tunable circadian rhythms from differentially sensitive catalytic domains. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 110, 1124- 1129

  8. Orphans and vulnerable children in Kenya: results from a nationally representative population-based survey.

    PubMed

    Lee, Veronica C; Muriithi, Patrick; Gilbert-Nandra, Ulrike; Kim, Andrea A; Schmitz, Mary E; Odek, James; Mokaya, Rose; Galbraith, Jennifer S

    2014-05-01

    In Kenya, it is estimated that there are approximately 3.6 million children aged <18 years who have been orphaned or who are vulnerable. We examined the data from the second Kenya AIDS Indicator Survey (KAIS 2012) to determine the number and profile of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in Kenya who were aged <18 years. KAIS 2012 was a nationally representative, population-based household survey. We analyzed the data for all the children from birth to age 17 years who resided in an eligible household so as to determine whether their parents were alive or had been very ill to define their OVC status. We estimated that there were 2.6 million OVC in Kenya in 2012, of whom 1.8 million were orphans and 750,000 were vulnerable. Among orphans, 15% were double orphans. Over one-third of all the OVC were aged between 10 and 14 years. Households with ≥1 OVC (12% of all households) were usually in the lowest 2 wealth quintiles, and 22% of OVC households had experienced moderate or severe hunger. Receipt of OVC support services was low for medical (3.7%), psychological (4.1%), social (1.3%), and material support (6.2%); educational support was slightly more common (11.5%). Orphanhood among children aged <15 years increased from 1993 to 2003 (P < 0.01) but declined from 2003 to 2012 (P < 0.01). The 2.6 million OVC constitute a significant proportion of Kenya's population aged <18 years. Special attention should be paid to OVC to prevent further vulnerability and ensure their well-being and development as they transition into adulthood.

  9. Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Kenya: Results From a Nationally Representative Population-Based Survey

    PubMed Central

    Lee, Veronica C.; Muriithi, Patrick; Gilbert-Nandra, Ulrike; Kim, Andrea A.; Schmitz, Mary E.; Odek, James; Mokaya, Rose; Galbraith, Jennifer S.

    2016-01-01

    Background In Kenya, it is estimated that there are approximately 3.6 million children aged <18 years who have been orphaned or who are vulnerable. We examined the data from the second Kenya AIDS Indicator Survey (KAIS 2012) to determine the number and profile of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in Kenya who were aged <18 years. Methods KAIS 2012 was a nationally representative, population-based household survey. We analyzed the data for all the children from birth to age 17 years who resided in an eligible household so as to determine whether their parents were alive or had been very ill to define their OVC status. Results We estimated that there were 2.6 million OVC in Kenya in 2012, of whom 1.8 million were orphans and 750,000 were vulnerable. Among orphans, 15% were double orphans. Over one-third of all the OVC were aged between 10 and 14 years. Households with ≥1 OVC (12% of all households) were usually in the lowest 2 wealth quintiles, and 22% of OVC households had experienced moderate or severe hunger. Receipt of OVC support services was low for medical (3.7%), psychological (4.1%), social (1.3%), and material support (6.2%); educational support was slightly more common (11.5%). Orphanhood among children aged <15 years increased from 1993 to 2003 (P < 0.01) but declined from 2003 to 2012 (P < 0.01). Conclusions The 2.6 million OVC constitute a significant proportion of Kenya’s population aged <18 years. Special attention should be paid to OVC to prevent further vulnerability and ensure their well-being and development as they transition into adulthood. PMID:24732824

  10. A community-based, culturally tailored behavioral intervention for Korean Americans with type 2 diabetes.

    PubMed

    Kim, Miyong T; Han, Hae-Ra; Song, Hee-Jung; Lee, Jong-Eun; Kim, Jiyun; Ryu, Jai P; Kim, Kim B

    2009-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to test the efficacy of a culturally tailored comprehensive type 2 diabetes management intervention for Korean American immigrants (KAIs) with type 2 diabetes. A randomized controlled pilot trial with 2 parallel arms (intervention vs control) with a delayed intervention design was used. A total of 79 KAIs, recruited from the Baltimore-Washington area, completed baseline, 18-week, and 30-week follow-ups (intervention, n = 40; control, n = 39). All participants had uncontrolled type 2 diabetes (hemoglobin A1C >or=7.5%) at baseline. The authors' comprehensive, self-help intervention program for type 2 diabetes management (SHIP-DM) consisted of a 6-week structured psychobehavioral education, home glucose monitoring with teletransmission, and bilingual nurse telephone counseling for 24 weeks. The primary outcome of the study was A1C level, and secondary outcomes included an array of psychobehavioral variables. Using analysis of covariance, the findings support that the proposed intervention was effective in significantly lowering A1C and fasting glucose and also in improving psychosocial outcomes in the sample. Specifically, the amount of reduction in A1C among intervention group participants was 1.19% at 18 weeks and 1.31% at 30 weeks, with 10% and 15.5% of the participants achieving the suggested goal of A1C <7% at 18 and 30 weeks of follow-up, respectively. The results highlight the clinical efficacy of the SHIP-DM intervention composed of a 6-week education program, self-monitoring, and follow-up counseling, in terms of maintaining the improved intervention effects obtained and in terms of glucose control.

  11. A spectroscopic study of phenylbutazone and aspirin bound to serum albumin in rheumatoid diseases

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Maciążek-Jurczyk, M.; Sułkowska, A.; Bojko, B.; Równicka-Zubik, J.; Sułkowski, W. W.

    2011-11-01

    Interaction of phenylbutazone (PBZ) and aspirin (ASA), two drugs recommended in rheumatoid diseases (RDs), when binding to human (HSA) and bovine (BSA) serum albumins, has been studied by quenching of fluorescence and proton nuclear magnetic resonance ( 1HNMR) techniques. On the basis of spectrofluorescence measurements high affinity binding sites of PBZ and ASA on albumin as well as their interaction within the binding sites were described. A low affinity binding site has been studied by proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Using fluorescence spectroscopy the location of binding site in serum albumin (SA) for PBZ and ASA was found. Association constants Ka were determined for binary (i.e. PBZ-SA and ASA-SA) and ternary complexes (i.e. PBZ-[ASA]-SA and ASA-[PBZ]-SA). PBZ and ASA change the affinity of each other to the binding site in serum albumin (SA). The presence of ASA causes the increase of association constants KaI of PBZ-SA complex. Similarly, PBZ influences KaI of ASA-SA complex. This phenomenon shows that the strength of binding and the stability of the complexes increase in the presence of the second drug. The decrease of KaII values suggests that the competition between PBZ and ASA in binding to serum albumin in the second class of binding sites occurs. The analysis of 1HNMR spectral parameters i.e. changes of chemical shifts and relaxation times of the drug indicate that the presence of ASA weakens the interaction of PBZ with albumin. Similarly PBZ weakens the interaction of ASA with albumin. This conclusion points to the necessity of using a monitoring therapy owning to the possible increase of uncontrolled toxic effects.

  12. Production of proinflammatory cytokines without invocation of cytotoxic effects by an Epstein-Barr virus-infected natural killer cell line established from a patient with hypersensitivity to mosquito bites.

    PubMed

    Suzuki, Daisuke; Tsuji, Kazuhide; Yamamoto, Takenobu; Fujii, Kazuyasu; Iwatsuki, Keiji

    2010-10-01

    Cumulative evidence supports that Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-infected natural killer (NK) cells induce severe systemic and cutaneous inflammation in patients with hypersensitivity to mosquito bites (HMB). In order to understand the pathogenesis of HMB, we established an EBV-infected cell line and characterized the cytological profiles. A novel EBV-infected NK-cell line, designated NKED, was established from a patient with HMB and used for the present study along with two other NK-cell lines, KAI3 and KHYG-1. NKED expressed the latency II-related transcripts. NKED cells were positive for CD2 and CD161 antigens, and negative for CD3, CD16, CD34, CD56, and T-cell receptor α/β and γ/δ antigens. Although NKED cells contained several cytotoxic molecules, the cells had an extremely poor cytotoxic activity. The majority of NKED cells were negative for perforin, major histocompatibility complex class I-restricted NK-cell receptors, CD94 and KIR2D, and an activating receptor, NKG2D. NKED cells, however, secreted higher levels of tumor necrosis factor-α. Stimulation with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate or tumor necrosis factor-α induced expression of BZLF1 messenger RNA in the NKED and KAI3 cells, indicating the transition from the latent- to the lytic-cycle infection. These data suggested that NKED cells revealed a very low cytotoxic effect probably because of the low expression levels of perforin, but had the ability to release proinflammatory cytokines. NKED cells did not reflect the characteristics of HMB, as they were different from pathogenic NK cells proliferating in the HMB patient, but the difference indicated that pathogenic NK cells could change their character in the presence of interleukin-2. Copyright © 2010 ISEH - Society for Hematology and Stem Cells. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Hit 'em where it hurts: The growing and structurally diverse family of peptides that target lipid-II.

    PubMed

    Oppedijk, Sabine F; Martin, Nathaniel I; Breukink, Eefjan

    2016-05-01

    Understanding the mode of action of antibiotics is becoming more and more important in the time that microorganisms start to develop resistance. One very well validated target of several classes of antibiotics is the peptidoglycan precursor lipid II. In this review different classes of lipid II targeting antibiotics will be discussed in detail, including the lantibiotics, human invertebrate defensins and the recently discovered teixobactin. By hitting bacteria where it hurts, at the level of lipid II, we expect to be able to develop efficient antibacterial agents in the future. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Antimicrobial peptides edited by Karl Lohner and Kai Hilpert. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. RecA family proteins in archaea: RadA and its cousins.

    PubMed

    Haldenby, Sam; White, Malcolm F; Allers, Thorsten

    2009-02-01

    Recombinases of the RecA family are essential for homologous recombination and underpin genome stability, by promoting the repair of double-stranded DNA breaks and the rescue of collapsed DNA replication forks. Until now, our understanding of homologous recombination has relied on studies of bacterial and eukaryotic model organisms. Archaea provide new opportunities to study how recombination operates in a lineage distinct from bacteria and eukaryotes. In the present paper, we focus on RadA, the archaeal RecA family recombinase, and its homologues in archaea and other domains. On the basis of phylogenetic analysis, we propose that a family of archaeal proteins with a single RecA domain, which are currently annotated as KaiC, be renamed aRadC.

  15. Antiretroviral treatment scale-up among persons living with HIV in Kenya: results from a nationally representative survey.

    PubMed

    Odhiambo, Jacob O; Kellogg, Timothy A; Kim, Andrea A; Ng'ang'a, Lucy; Mukui, Irene; Umuro, Mamo; Mohammed, Ibrahim; De Cock, Kevin M; Kimanga, Davies O; Schwarcz, Sandra

    2014-05-01

    In 2007, 29% of HIV-infected Kenyans in need of antiretroviral therapy (ART), based on an immunologic criterion of CD4 ≤350 cells per microliter, were receiving ART. Since then, substantial treatment scale-up has occurred in the country. We analyzed data from the second Kenya AIDS Indicator Survey (KAIS 2012) to assess progress of treatment scale-up in Kenya. KAIS 2012 was a nationally representative survey of persons aged 18 months to 64 years that collected information on HIV status, care, and treatment. ART eligibility was defined based on 2 standards: (1) 2011 Kenya eligibility criteria for ART initiation: CD4 ≤350 cells per microliter or co-infection with active tuberculosis and (2) 2013 World Health Organization (WHO) eligibility criteria for ART initiation: CD4 ≤500 cells per microliter, co-infection with active tuberculosis, currently pregnant or breastfeeding, and infected partners in serodiscordant relationships. Blood specimens were tested for HIV antibodies and HIV-positive specimens tested for CD4 cell counts. Among 13,720 adults and adolescents aged 15-64 years, 11,626 provided a blood sample, and 648 were HIV infected. Overall, 58.8% [95% confidence interval (CI): 52.0 to 65.5) were eligible for treatment using the 2011 Kenya eligibility criteria and 77.4% (95% CI: 72.4 to 82.4) using the 2013 WHO eligibility criteria. Coverage of ART was 60.5% (95% CI: 50.8 to 70.2) using the 2011 Kenya eligibility criteria and 45.9% (95% CI: 37.7 to 54.2) using the 2013 WHO eligibility criteria. ART coverage has increased from 29% in 2007 to 61% in 2012. If Kenya adopts the 2013 WHO guidelines for ART initiation, need for ART increases by an additional 19 percentage points and current coverage decreases by an additional 15 percentage points, representing an additional 214,000 persons who will need to be reached.

  16. Functional redundancy in the control of seedling growth by the karrikin signaling pathway.

    PubMed

    Stanga, John P; Morffy, Nicholas; Nelson, David C

    2016-06-01

    SMAX1 and SMXL2 control seedling growth, demonstrating functional redundancy within a gene family that mediates karrikin and strigolactone responses. Strigolactones (SLs) are plant hormones with butenolide moieties that control diverse aspects of plant growth, including shoot branching. Karrikins (KARs) are butenolide molecules found in smoke that enhance seed germination and seedling photomorphogenesis. In Arabidopsis thaliana, SLs and KARs signal through the α/β hydrolases D14 and KAI2, respectively. The F-box protein MAX2 is essential for both signaling pathways. SUPPRESSOR OF MAX2 1 (SMAX1) plays a prominent role in KAR-regulated growth downstream of MAX2, and SMAX1-LIKE genes SMXL6, SMXL7, and SMXL8 mediate SL responses. We previously found that smax1 loss-of-function mutants display constitutive KAR response phenotypes, including reduced seed dormancy and hypersensitive growth responses to light in seedlings. However, smax1 seedlings remain slightly responsive to KARs, suggesting that there is functional redundancy in karrikin signaling. SMXL2 is a strong candidate for this redundancy because it is the closest paralog of SMAX1, and because its expression is regulated by KAR signaling. Here, we present evidence that SMXL2 controls hypocotyl growth and expression of the KAR/SL transcriptional markers KUF1, IAA1, and DLK2 redundantly with SMAX1. Hypocotyl growth in the smax1 smxl2 double mutant is insensitive to KAR and SL, and etiolated smax1 smxl2 seedlings have reduced hypocotyl elongation. However, smxl2 has little or no effect on seed germination, leaf shape, or petiole orientation, which appear to be predominantly controlled by SMAX1. Neither SMAX1 nor SMXL2 affect axillary branching or inflorescence height, traits that are under SL control. These data support the model that karrikin and strigolactone responses are mediated by distinct subclades of the SMXL family, and further the case for parallel butenolide signaling pathways that evolved through

  17. Hierarchy of models: From qualitative to quantitative analysis of circadian rhythms in cyanobacteria

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chaves, M.; Preto, M.

    2013-06-01

    A hierarchy of models, ranging from high to lower levels of abstraction, is proposed to construct "minimal" but predictive and explanatory models of biological systems. Three hierarchical levels will be considered: Boolean networks, piecewise affine differential (PWA) equations, and a class of continuous, ordinary, differential equations' models derived from the PWA model. This hierarchy provides different levels of approximation of the biological system and, crucially, allows the use of theoretical tools to more exactly analyze and understand the mechanisms of the system. The Kai ABC oscillator, which is at the core of the cyanobacterial circadian rhythm, is analyzed as a case study, showing how several fundamental properties—order of oscillations, synchronization when mixing oscillating samples, structural robustness, and entrainment by external cues—can be obtained from basic mechanisms.

  18. Will Kai Become a Skinhead? Cultures of Hate in Germany and the New Europe.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lhotzky, Stephan

    2001-01-01

    The rise of hate crimes and development of right-wing extremism among adolescents in Europe will require a response involving a multitude of measures in different areas and various levels. Combating this development will necessitate cooperation of experts in different fields. Individuals and groups will need to contribute knowledge in a way that…

  19. Inexpensive Neutron Imaging Cameras Using CCDs for Astronomy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hewat, A. W.

    We have developed inexpensive neutron imaging cameras using CCDs originally designed for amateur astronomical observation. The low-light, high resolution requirements of such CCDs are similar to those for neutron imaging, except that noise as well as cost is reduced by using slower read-out electronics. For example, we use the same 2048x2048 pixel ;Kodak; KAI-4022 CCD as used in the high performance PCO-2000 CCD camera, but our electronics requires ∼5 sec for full-frame read-out, ten times slower than the PCO-2000. Since neutron exposures also require several seconds, this is not seen as a serious disadvantage for many applications. If higher frame rates are needed, the CCD unit on our camera can be easily swapped for a faster readout detector with similar chip size and resolution, such as the PCO-2000 or the sCMOS PCO.edge 4.2.

  20. Determination of acrylamide in Thai-conventional snacks from Nong Mon market, Chonburi using GC-MS technique.

    PubMed

    Komthong, P; Suriyaphan, O; Charoenpanich, J

    2012-01-01

    Acrylamide in Thai-conventional snacks was analysed by GC/MS with a linear response ranged of 5-50 µg and r² > 0.99. The limit of detection (s/n = 3) and limit of quantification (s/n = 10) were 4 and 15 µg kg⁻¹, respectively, and RSD < 2%. Acrylamide in 19 food samples ranged from <15 µg kg⁻¹ to 1.26 mg kg⁻¹ with highest concentrations in Kanom Jak. Moderate levels (150-500 µg kg⁻¹) were detected mostly in deep-fried products, especially sweet potato and taro crisps, Kanom Kai Hong, banana fritters, durian chips and spring rolls. Thai-conventional snacks possessed low concentrations (<150 µg kg⁻¹) including Khao Larm, Pa Tong Koo, sweet banana crisps and deep-fried Chinese wonton. Acrylamide was lowest (<15 µg kg⁻¹) in fish strips, rice crackers, Hoi Jor and fried fish balls. Dietary habits by 400 tourists indicate a daily intake of acrylamide <150 ng, well below a toxic dose.

  1. RAF Woodbridge, UK. Revised Uniform Summary of Surface Weather Observations. Parts A-F.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1988-02-01

    LOPFILt I ?CKS AL L AVAI L A L c i tiATI(NS 6 "LK~ ISCL UC tS -’ CUPLY OO-rVATT! n Ns lP AP C %’ P 4r L(CEL) IIN LOLIIMSS E(-7 3, 1.4 F LLMS I / I... P "A121 N S Aw 51,0 TO 595b IR 012,1 91v S I ( . .0C . .c 3.2 3. 7. 1 3. . 3 03-G5 I .: e9.9 95. ’.0 .3 !5 06OA-0. 3 7.4 4. 33. I 2ŕ.. 19. z3 09-11...Pt:C 4 -: ION1h: S57 I fAIN FRINU SNO. A Of MOOL I % ,) HOURS IT4S LO p kAI N O HAIL !ITH ft LIAR LU. iNu 7iC A’ItH03 57:10: (LST I u’I ZLL L UI SLEET

  2. In vitro antitumor activity of broccolini seeds extracts.

    PubMed

    Yang, Yanjing; Zhang, Xuewu

    2011-01-01

    Broccolini (Brassica oleracea Italica × Alboglabra) is a hybrid of broccoli and kai-lan, Chinese broccoli. To date, no report on antitumor activity of Broccolini (NOT Broccoli) is available. In this study, we evaluated the antiproliferative effects of broccolini seeds extract (BSE) on human lung and ovarian cancer cells. It was found that BSE induces A549 and OVCAR-3 cells apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner by using MTT assay. The IC(50) values of BSE in A549 and OVCAR-3 cells were estimated to be 81.94 and 78.6 µg/ml, respectively. Furthermore, the phase contrast microscope showed that in high-dose group (90∼120 µg/ml), the morphology structure of OVCAR-3 cells become irregular and exhibited characteristics of apoptosis such as cell membrane shrinkage, condensation and fragmentation of nuclear chromatin as well as formation of apoptotic bodies. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  3. Extraction and identification of isothiocyanates from broccolini seeds.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Bochao; Wang, Xiaoqin; Yang, Yanjing; Zhang, Xuewu

    2011-01-01

    Broccolini (Brassica oleracea Italica x Alboglabra) is a cross between broccoli and kai-lan (Chinese broccoli), which contains abundant glucosinolates. The intact glucosinolates are believed to be inactive, while their hydrolysis products, such as isothiocyanates (ITCs), are found to have bacteriocidal and anticarcinogenic activities. So far, no report is available about generation of ITCs during the process of glucosinolate hydrolysis in broccolini. In this study, the hydrolysis of broccolini seed glucosinolates was investigated under controlled conditions of pH, time and temperature, and the ITCs produced were determined. The results showed that an optimum hydrolysis of glucosinolates could be achieved at a temperature of 250C, at pH 7.0, and a reaction time of eight hours. Furthermore, GC-MS analysis indicated that the extracted ITCs primarily were: 3-BITC (3-benzyl-ITC) (10.8%), 4-methylpentyl-ITC (0.5%), 1-isothiocyanato-butane (26.8%), PEITC (phenethyl-ITC) (22.6%) and SFN (sulforaphane) (19.2%).

  4. The cyanobacterial circadian clock follows midday in vivo and in vitro

    PubMed Central

    Leypunskiy, Eugene; Lin, Jenny; Yoo, Haneul; Lee, UnJin; Dinner, Aaron R; Rust, Michael J

    2017-01-01

    Circadian rhythms are biological oscillations that schedule daily changes in physiology. Outside the laboratory, circadian clocks do not generally free-run but are driven by daily cues whose timing varies with the seasons. The principles that determine how circadian clocks align to these external cycles are not well understood. Here, we report experimental platforms for driving the cyanobacterial circadian clock both in vivo and in vitro. We find that the phase of the circadian rhythm follows a simple scaling law in light-dark cycles, tracking midday across conditions with variable day length. The core biochemical oscillator comprised of the Kai proteins behaves similarly when driven by metabolic pulses in vitro, indicating that such dynamics are intrinsic to these proteins. We develop a general mathematical framework based on instantaneous transformation of the clock cycle by external cues, which successfully predicts clock behavior under many cycling environments. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.23539.001 PMID:28686160

  5. TADtool: visual parameter identification for TAD-calling algorithms.

    PubMed

    Kruse, Kai; Hug, Clemens B; Hernández-Rodríguez, Benjamín; Vaquerizas, Juan M

    2016-10-15

    Eukaryotic genomes are hierarchically organized into topologically associating domains (TADs). The computational identification of these domains and their associated properties critically depends on the choice of suitable parameters of TAD-calling algorithms. To reduce the element of trial-and-error in parameter selection, we have developed TADtool: an interactive plot to find robust TAD-calling parameters with immediate visual feedback. TADtool allows the direct export of TADs called with a chosen set of parameters for two of the most common TAD calling algorithms: directionality and insulation index. It can be used as an intuitive, standalone application or as a Python package for maximum flexibility. TADtool is available as a Python package from GitHub (https://github.com/vaquerizaslab/tadtool) or can be installed directly via PyPI, the Python package index (tadtool). kai.kruse@mpi-muenster.mpg.de, jmv@mpi-muenster.mpg.deSupplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press.

  6. Application of Barcoding to Reduce Error of Patient Identification and to Increase Patient's Information Confidentiality of Test Tube Labelling in a Psychiatric Teaching Hospital.

    PubMed

    Liu, Hsiu-Chu; Li, Hsing; Chang, Hsin-Fei; Lu, Mei-Rou; Chen, Feng-Chuan

    2015-01-01

    Learning from the experience of another medical center in Taiwan, Kaohsiung Municipal Kai-Suan Psychiatric Hospital has changed the nursing informatics system step by step in the past year and a half . We considered ethics in the original idea of implementing barcodes on the test tube labels to process the identification of the psychiatric patients. The main aims of this project are to maintain the confidential information and to transport the sample effectively. The primary nurses had been using different work sheets for this project to ensure the acceptance of the new barcode system. In the past two years the errors in the blood testing process were as high as 11,000 in 14,000 events per year, resulting in wastage of resources. The actions taken by the nurses and the new barcode system implementation can improve the clinical nursing care quality, safety of the patients, and efficiency, while decreasing the cost due to the human error.

  7. 78 FR 70096 - Requested Administrative Waiver of the Coastwise Trade Laws: Vessel KOKUA KAI; Invitation for...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-11-22

    ... entered into this docket is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.regulations.gov . FOR FURTHER... submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's complete Privacy...

  8. Local Wave Propagation and Crustal Structure Tomography in Northern Mississippi Embayment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Y.; Langston, C. A.

    2016-12-01

    Several datasets in the vicinity of the New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ) are used to study local wave propagation and crustal structure in this region, including data collected for the Northern Embayment Lithosphere Experiment (NELE) project, Transportable Array, New Madrid Cooperative Network and Embayment Seismic Excitation Experiment (ESEE). Focal mechanisms and focal depths are determined with the help of synthetic seismograms for earthquakes with magnitude larger than 3. The thick unconsolidated sediment complicates waveforms inside the Mississippi Embayment by producing large converted PS, SP phases and reverberations that mask important near-source depth phases. Modeling events with well-constrained focal mechanisms using synthetic seismograms reveals a variety of waveguide propagation effects including P and S sediment reverberations as well as leaky mode P wave trains. Substantial differences in the travel time of the mid-crustal reflection are observed for waves traveling in different directions. The travel time of the mid-crustal reflection waves and direct waves are then used in a tomography for the crustal structure. The result reveals that there is a significant southwest dip to the top of the mid-crust in the vicinity of the NMSZ. Resulting image and the determined source parameters are essential for full waveform inversion to determine high-resolution crustal structure of the Northern Mississippi Embayment.

  9. Colonial modernity and networks in the Japanese empire: the role of Gotō Shinpei.

    PubMed

    Low, Morris

    2010-01-01

    This paper examines how Gotō Shinpei (1857-1929) sought to develop imperial networks emanating out of Tokyo in the fields of public health, railways, and communications. These areas helped define colonial modernity in the Japanese empire. In public health, Gotō's friendship with the bacteriologist Kitasato Shibasaburō led to the establishment of an Institute of Infectious Diseases in Tokyo. Key scientists from the institute took up positions in colonial medical colleges, creating a public health network that serviced the empire. Much of the empire itself was linked by a network of railways. Gotō was the first president of the South Manchuria Railway company (SMR). Communication technologies, especially radio, helped to bring the empire closer. By 1925, the Tokyo Broadcasting Station had begun its public radio broadcasts. Broadcasting soon came under the umbrella of the new organization, the Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai (NHK). Gotō was NHK's first president. The empire would soon be linked by radio, and it was by radio that Emperor Hirohito announced to the nation in 1945 that the empire had been lost.

  10. Novel Functional Properties of Drosophila CNS Glutamate Receptors

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

    Li, Yan; Dharkar, Poorva; Han, Tae-Hee

    Phylogenetic analysis reveals AMPA, kainate, and NMDA receptor families in insect genomes, suggesting conserved functional properties corresponding to their vertebrate counterparts. However, heterologous expression of the Drosophila kainate receptor DKaiR1D and the AMPA receptor DGluR1A revealed novel ligand selectivity at odds with the classification used for vertebrate glutamate receptor ion channels (iGluRs). DKaiR1D forms a rapidly activating and desensitizing receptor that is inhibited by both NMDA and the NMDA receptor antagonist AP5; crystallization of the KaiR1D ligand-binding domain reveals that these ligands stabilize open cleft conformations, explaining their action as antagonists. Surprisingly, the AMPA receptor DGluR1A shows weak activation bymore » its namesake agonist AMPA and also by quisqualate. Crystallization of the DGluR1A ligand-binding domain reveals amino acid exchanges that interfere with binding of these ligands. The unexpected ligand-binding profiles of insect iGluRs allows classical tools to be used in novel approaches for the study of synaptic regulation.« less

  11. Advancing Cancer Survivorship in a Country with 1.35 Billion People: The China Lymphoma Project

    PubMed Central

    Coughlin, Steven; Reno, Jamie

    2016-01-01

    Rates of lymphoma are rising rapidly and lymphoma is now the ninth most common cancer among Chinese males. The China Lymphoma Project was founded to increase awareness of lymphoma in China, including the survivability of the disease and the availability of potentially life-saving treatments, and to provide social support for men, women, and children in China who are living with the disease. The project is working with China government officials, several of the top cancer hospitals in China and the U.S., internationally known oncologists and cancer researchers, pharmaceutical and biotech companies in China and the U.S., healthcare and environmental companies, the Confucius Institute at San Diego State University, and the Asian Heritage Society. Advances in e-Health are being utilized to provide patient education and social support. The project will provide free e-books that profile lymphoma survivors (e.g., Kai-Fu Lee, creator of Google China), new videos, websites, pamphlets, blogs, video logs (vlogs), peer-to-peer counseling and support, and information about the latest treatments and oncology clinical trials. PMID:27570834

  12. Advancing Cancer Survivorship in a Country with 1.35 Billion People: The China Lymphoma Project.

    PubMed

    Coughlin, Steven; Reno, Jamie

    Rates of lymphoma are rising rapidly and lymphoma is now the ninth most common cancer among Chinese males. The China Lymphoma Project was founded to increase awareness of lymphoma in China, including the survivability of the disease and the availability of potentially life-saving treatments, and to provide social support for men, women, and children in China who are living with the disease. The project is working with China government officials, several of the top cancer hospitals in China and the U.S., internationally known oncologists and cancer researchers, pharmaceutical and biotech companies in China and the U.S., healthcare and environmental companies, the Confucius Institute at San Diego State University, and the Asian Heritage Society. Advances in e-Health are being utilized to provide patient education and social support. The project will provide free e-books that profile lymphoma survivors (e.g., Kai-Fu Lee, creator of Google China), new videos, websites, pamphlets, blogs, video logs (vlogs), peer-to-peer counseling and support, and information about the latest treatments and oncology clinical trials.

  13. Determination of Vitamin C, b-carotene and Riboflavin Contents in Five Green Vegetables Organically and Conventionally Grown.

    PubMed

    Ismail, Amin; Cheah, Sook Fun

    2003-03-01

    As consumer interest in organically grown vegetables is increasing in Malaysia, there is a need to answer whether the vegetables are more nutritious than those conventionally grown. This study investigates commercially available vegetables grown organically and conventionally, purchased from retailers to analyse β-carotene, vitamin C and riboflavin contents. Five types of green vegetables were selected, namely Chinese mustard (sawi) (Brassica juncea), Chinese kale (kai-lan) (Brassica alboglabra), lettuce (daun salad) (Lactuca sativa), spinach (bayam putih) (Amaranthus viridis) and swamp cabbage (kangkung) (Ipomoea aquatica). For vitamin analysis, a reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography was used to identify and quantify β -carotene, vitamin C and riboflavin. The findings showed that not all of the organically grown vegetables were higher in vitamins than that conventionally grown. This study found that only swamp cabbage grown organically was highest in β -carotene, vitamin C and riboflavin contents among the entire samples studied. The various nutrients in organically grown vegetables need to be analysed for the generation of a database on nutritional value which is important for future research.

  14. Novel Functional Properties of Drosophila CNS Glutamate Receptors.

    PubMed

    Li, Yan; Dharkar, Poorva; Han, Tae-Hee; Serpe, Mihaela; Lee, Chi-Hon; Mayer, Mark L

    2016-12-07

    Phylogenetic analysis reveals AMPA, kainate, and NMDA receptor families in insect genomes, suggesting conserved functional properties corresponding to their vertebrate counterparts. However, heterologous expression of the Drosophila kainate receptor DKaiR1D and the AMPA receptor DGluR1A revealed novel ligand selectivity at odds with the classification used for vertebrate glutamate receptor ion channels (iGluRs). DKaiR1D forms a rapidly activating and desensitizing receptor that is inhibited by both NMDA and the NMDA receptor antagonist AP5; crystallization of the KaiR1D ligand-binding domain reveals that these ligands stabilize open cleft conformations, explaining their action as antagonists. Surprisingly, the AMPA receptor DGluR1A shows weak activation by its namesake agonist AMPA and also by quisqualate. Crystallization of the DGluR1A ligand-binding domain reveals amino acid exchanges that interfere with binding of these ligands. The unexpected ligand-binding profiles of insect iGluRs allows classical tools to be used in novel approaches for the study of synaptic regulation. VIDEO ABSTRACT. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  15. Pilot Testing of an Intensive Cooking Course for New Zealand Adolescents: The Create-Our-Own Kai Study

    PubMed Central

    Black, Katherine; Thomson, Carla; Chryssidis, Themis; Finigan, Rosie; Hann, Callum; Jackson, Rosalie; Robinson, Caleb; Toldi, Olivia; Skidmore, Paula

    2018-01-01

    The role of cooking on health and wellbeing is a recent area of scientific interest. In order to investigate this role, a cooking program that is suitable for each target population is needed e.g., a program designed for American or Australian children might not be appropriate for teenagers in New Zealand. As there was no similar previously evaluated program already available, the study’s purpose was to test an intensive cooking intervention on cooking confidence and knowledge amongst a group of adolescents from Dunedin, New Zealand, and to assess its acceptability to participants. This five-day program comprised interactive cooking sessions and informal nutrition education and ran from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday to Friday during school holidays. Participants completed questionnaires on cooking skills and confidence at baseline and the end of intervention and took part in a group interview, which aimed to investigate the acceptability and outcome of the program. Twenty-one participants aged between 12 and 16 years old completed the program. At the end of the program, significant increases were seen in both skills and confidence levels, and feedback from the group interview indicated that the participants enjoyed the program and that it provided additional results other than those that were cooking related. PMID:29710863

  16. Identifying Moho depths and velocity anomalies in the uppermost mantle of the Mississippi Embayment from Pn tomography and anisotropy studies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Basu, U.; Powell, C. A.

    2017-12-01

    Lateral depth variations of the Mohorovicic discontinuity, Pn velocities, and anisotropy features at uppermost mantle depths below the central U.S. are determined using Pn tomography. Excellent raypath coverage throughout the northern Mississippi Embayment (ME) is obtained using the NELE (Northern Embayment Lithosphere Experiment) and US TA (Transportable Array) datasets. High Pn velocities are present below the northern portion of the Reelfoot Rift and the New Madrid seismic zone. Prominent regions of low velocity are present to the east and north of the ME, in agreement with recent teleseismic tomography studies indicating the presence of low P- and S-wave velocities in the uppermost mantle. A prominent region of low velocity coincides with the southwestern portion of the Illinois Basin. Higher velocities are located west of the Illinois Basin and west of the Ozark Plateau. Crustal thicknesses obtained from the Pn station delays indicate thinner crust in the southern Coastal Plain and ME and thicker crust north of the ME. Strong Pn anisotropy and rotation of the fast directions are associated with the northern ME. Fast directions differ from present absolute plate motion directions and from fast directions determined from SKS splitting, suggesting the presence of multiple anisotropic layers. Parameter errors estimated using the bootstrap method are all less than 0.1 km/s for velocity and magnitude of the anisotropy.

  17. Nuclear waste`s human dimension

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

    Erikson, K.; Colglazier, E.W.; White, G.F.

    1994-12-31

    The United States has pinned its hopes for a permanent underground repository for its high-level nuclear wastes on Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Nevertheless, the Department of Energy`s (DOE) site research efforts have failed {open_quotes}to adequately consider human behavior and emotions,{close_quotes} write Kai Erikson of Yale University, E. William Colglazier of the National Academy of Sciences, and Gilbert F. White of the University of Colorado. The authors maintain that it is impossible to predict changes in geology, seismology, and hydrology that may affect the Yucca Mountain area over the next 1,000 years. Predicting human behavior in that time frame remains even moremore » daunting, they insist. They admit that {open_quotes}DOE...has been given the impossible assignment to take tens of thousands of metric tons of the most hazardous materials ever created and, in the face of growing opposition, entomb them so that they will do little harm for thousands of years.{close_quotes} The researchers suggest that the government seek a secure, retrievable storage arrangement while it continues its search for safer long-term options.« less

  18. Quantifying the robustness of circadian oscillations at the single-cell level

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lambert, Guillaume; Rust, Michael

    2014-03-01

    Cyanobacteria are light-harvesting microorganisms that contribute to 30% of the photosynthetic activity on Earth and contain one of the simplest circadian systems in the animal kingdom. In Synechococcus elongatus , a species of freshwater cyanobacterium, circadian oscillations are regulated by the KaiABC system, a trio of interacting proteins that act as a biomolecular pacemaker of the circadian system. While the core oscillator precisely anticipates Earth's 24h light/dark cycle, it is unclear how much individual cells benefit from the expression and maintenance of a circadian clock. By studying the growth dynamics of individual S . elongatus cells under sudden light variations, we show that several aspects of cellular growth, such as a cell's division probability and its elongation rate, are tightly coupled to the circadian clock. We propose that the evolution and maintenance of a circadian clock increases the fitness of cells by allowing them to take advantage of cyclical light/dark environments by alternating between two phenotypes: expansionary, where cells grow and divide at a fast pace during the first part of the day, and conservative, where cells enter a more quiescent state to better prepare to the stresses associated with the night's prolonged darkness.

  19. Cold Atmospheric Plasma for Medicine: State of Research and Clinical Application

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    von Woedtke, Thomas

    2015-09-01

    Basic research in plasma medicine has made excellent progress and resulted in the fundamental insights that biological effects of cold atmospheric plasmas (CAP) are significantly caused by changes of the liquid environment of cells, and are dominated by redox-active species. First CAP sources are CE-certified as medical devices. Main focus of plasma application is on wound healing and treatment of infective skin diseases. Clinical applications in this field confirm the supportive effect of cold plasma treatment in acceleration of healing of chronic wounds above all in cases where conventional treatment fails. Cancer treatment is another actual and emerging field of CAP application. The ability of CAP to kill cancer cells by induction of apoptosis has been proved in vitro. First clinical applications of CAP in palliative care of cancer are realized. In collaboration with Hans-Robert Metelmann, University Medicine Greifswald; Helmut Uhlemann, Klinikum Altenburger Land GmbH Altenburg; Anke Schmidt and Kai Masur, Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology (INP Greifswald); Renate Schönebeck, Neoplas Tools GmbH Greifswald; and Klaus-Dieter Weltmann, Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology (INP Greifswald).

  20. Neurobehavioral consequences of prenatal alcohol exposure: an international perspective.

    PubMed

    Riley, Edward P; Mattson, Sarah N; Li, Ting-Kai; Jacobson, Sandra W; Coles, Claire D; Kodituwakku, P W; Adnams, Colleen M; Korkman, Marit I

    2003-02-01

    This article represents the proceedings of a symposium at the 2002 Research Society on Alcoholism/International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism meeting in San Francisco, CA. The organizers were Edward P. Riley and Sarah N. Mattson, and the chairperson was Edward P. Riley. The presentations were (1) Neurobehavioral deficits in alcohol-exposed South African infants: preliminary findings, by Sandra W. Jacobson, Christopher D. Molteno, Denis Viljoen, and Joseph L. Jacobson; (2) A pilot study of classroom intervention for learners with fetal alcohol syndrome in South Africa, by Colleen Adnams, M. W. Rossouw, M. D. Perold, P. W. Kodituwakku, and W. Kalberg; (3) Differential effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on fluid versus crystallized intelligence, by P. W. Kodituwakku, W. Kalberg, L. Robinson, and P. A. May; (4) Neurobehavioral outcomes of prenatal alcohol exposure: early identification of alcohol effects, by Claire D. Coles; (5) Fetal alcohol syndrome in Moscow, Russia: neuropsychology test performance, by Sarah N. Mattson, E. P. Riley, A. Matveeva, and G. Marintcheva; and (6) Long-term follow-up of Finnish children exposed to alcohol in utero in various durations, by Marit I. Korkman and I. Autti-Rämö. The discussant was Ting-Kai Li.

  1. Mono- and bis-tolyl­terpyridine iridium(III) complexes

    PubMed Central

    Hinkle, Lindsay M.; Young, Victor G.; Mann, Kent R.

    2010-01-01

    The first structure report of trichlorido[4′-(p-tolyl)-2,2′:6′,2′′-terpyridine]iridium(III) dimethyl sulfoxide solvate, [IrCl3(C22H17N3)]·C2H6OS, (I), is presented, along with a higher-symmetry setting of previously reported bis­[4′-(p-tolyl)-2,2′:6′,2′′-terpyridine]iridium(III) tris­(hexa­fluorido­phosphate) acetonitrile disolvate, [Ir(C22H17N3)2](PF6)3·2C2H3N, (II) [Yoshikawa, Yamabe, Kanehisa, Kai, Takashima & Tsukahara (2007 ▶). Eur. J. Inorg. Chem. pp. 1911–1919]. For (I), the data were collected with synchrotron radiation and the dimethyl sulfoxide solvent mol­ecule is disordered over three positions, one of which is an inversion center. The previously reported structure of (II) is presented in the more appropriate C2/c space group. The iridium complex and one PF6 − anion lie on twofold axes in this structure, making half of the mol­ecule unique. PMID:20203396

  2. Inhibition of VEGF-dependent angiogenesis by the anti-CD82 monoclonal antibody 4F9 through regulation of lipid raft microdomains

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

    Nomura, Sayaka; Iwata, Satoshi; Hatano, Ryo

    CD82 (also known as KAI1) belongs to the tetraspanin superfamily of type III transmembrane proteins, and is involved in regulating cell adhesion, migration and proliferation. In contrast to these well-established roles of CD82 in tumor biology, its function in endothelial cell (EC) activity and tumor angiogenesis is yet to be determined. In this study, we show that suppression of CD82 negatively regulates vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-induced angiogenesis. Moreover, we demonstrate that the anti-CD82 mAb 4F9 effectively inhibits phosphorylation of VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR2), which is the principal mediator of the VEGF-induced angiogenic signaling process in tumor angiogenesis, by regulatingmore » the organization of the lipid raft microdomain signaling platform in human EC. Our present work therefore suggests that CD82 on EC is a potential target for anti-angiogenic therapy in VEGFR2-dependent tumor angiogenesis. -- Highlights: •Knockdown of CD82 decreases EC migration, proliferation and angiogenesis. •Anti-CD82 mAb 4F9 inhibits EC migration, proliferation and angiogenesis. •4F9 inhibits VEGFR2 phosphorylation via control of CD82 distribution in lipid rafts.« less

  3. Mono- and bis-tolylterpyridine iridium(III) complexes

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

    Hinkle, Lindsay M.; Young, Jr., Victor G.; Mann, Kent R.

    The first structure report of trichlorido[4'-(p-tolyl)-2,2':6',2{double_prime}-terpyridine]iridium(III) dimethyl sulfoxide solvate, [IrCl{sub 3}(C{sub 22}H{sub 17}N{sub 3})] {center_dot} C{sub 2}H{sub 6}OS, (I), is presented, along with a higher-symmetry setting of previously reported bis[4'-(p-tolyl)-2,2':6',2{double_prime}-terpyridine]iridium(III) tris(hexafluoridophosphate) acetonitrile disolvate, [Ir(C{sub 22}H{sub 17}N{sub 3})2](PF{sub 6}){sub 3} {center_dot} 2C{sub 2}H{sub 3}N, (II) [Yoshikawa, Yamabe, Kanehisa, Kai, Takashima & Tsukahara (2007). Eur. J. Inorg. Chem. pp. 1911-1919]. For (I), the data were collected with synchrotron radiation and the dimethyl sulfoxide solvent molecule is disordered over three positions, one of which is an inversion center. The previously reported structure of (II) is presented in the more appropriate C2/c space group.more » The iridium complex and one PF{sub 6}{sup -} anion lie on twofold axes in this structure, making half of the molecule unique.« less

  4. Improving short antimicrobial peptides despite elusive rules for activity.

    PubMed

    Mikut, Ralf; Ruden, Serge; Reischl, Markus; Breitling, Frank; Volkmer, Rudolf; Hilpert, Kai

    2016-05-01

    Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) can effectively kill a broad range of life threatening multidrug-resistant bacteria, a serious threat to public health worldwide. However, despite great hopes novel drugs based on AMPs are still rare. To accelerate drug development we studied different approaches to improve the antibacterial activity of short antimicrobial peptides. Short antimicrobial peptides seem to be ideal drug candidates since they can be synthesized quickly and easily, modified and optimized. In addition, manufacturing a short peptide drug will be more cost efficient than long and structured ones. In contrast to longer and structured peptides short AMPs seem hard to design and predict. Here, we designed, synthesized and screened five different peptide libraries, each consisting of 600 9-mer peptides, against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Each library is presenting a different approach to investigate effectiveness of an optimization strategy. The data for the 3000 peptides were analyzed using models based on fuzzy logic bioinformatics and plausible descriptors. The rate of active or superior active peptides was improved from 31.0% in a semi-random library from a previous study to 97.8% in the best new designed library. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Antimicrobial peptides edited by Karl Lohner and Kai Hilpert. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. VizieR Online Data Catalog: M67 variable stars photometry (Nardiello+, 2016)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nardiello, D.; Libralato, M.; Bedin, L. R.; Piotto, G.; Ochner, P.; Cunial, A.; Borsato, L.; Granata, V.

    2016-07-01

    All images of the OC M 67 [(RA,DE)=(08:51:18,+11:48:00)] were collected with the Asiago 67/92cm Schmidt Telescope located on Mount Ekar (longitude 11.5710°E, latitude 45.8430°N, altitude 1370m), that belongs to the Astronomical Observatory of Padova (OAPD), which is part of the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF). At the focus of the Schmidt telescope there is a SBIG STL-11000M camera, equipped with a Kodak KAI-11000M detector (4050x2672 pixel, field of view: 58x38-arcmin2, pixel scale: 862.5mas/pixel). In the first observing season (2012) M 67 data were collected in white light (hereafter indicated with filter N, where N stands for 'None'), with exposure time of 120s, and 60s (during the almost-full moon nights); during the second (2013) and the third season (2014) we collected 180s+15s R-filter and 180s B-filter images. Finally, during the fourth season (2015), the observations were carried out in I band (240s+15s) and V band (240s). A catalogue for variable stars in M 67 field is presented. (3 data files).

  6. 75 FR 35513 - Application of Schuman Aviation Company Ltd. D/B/A Makani Kai Helicopters D/B/A Ko Olina...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-06-22

    ... directing all interested persons to show cause why it should not issue an order finding Schuman Aviation... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Office of the Secretary Application of Schuman Aviation Company Ltd.... Kurland, Assistant Secretary, for Aviation and International Affairs. [FR Doc. 2010-15028 Filed 6-21-10; 8...

  7. Acetone-butanol-ethanol competitive sorption simulation from single, binary, and ternary systems in a fixed-bed of KA-I resin.

    PubMed

    Wu, Jinglan; Zhuang, Wei; Ying, Hanjie; Jiao, Pengfei; Li, Renjie; Wen, Qingshi; Wang, Lili; Zhou, Jingwei; Yang, Pengpeng

    2015-01-01

    Separation of butanol based on sorption methodology from acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation broth has advantages in terms of biocompatibility and stability, as well as economy, and therefore gains much attention. In this work a chromatographic column model based on the solid film linear driving force approach and the competitive Langmuir isotherm equations was used to predict the competitive sorption behaviors of ABE single, binary, and ternary mixture. It was observed that the outlet concentration of weaker retained components exceeded the inlet concentration, which is an evidence of competitive adsorption. Butanol, the strongest retained component, could replace ethanol almost completely and also most of acetone. In the end of this work, the proposed model was validated by comparison of the experimental and predicted ABE ternary breakthrough curves using the real ABE fermentation broth as a feed solution. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

  8. Education of Sustainability Engineers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Oleschko, K.; Perrier, E.; Tarquis, A. M.

    2010-05-01

    It's not the same to educate the sustainable engineers as to prepare the engineers of Sustainability. In the latter case all existing methods of inventive creativity (Altshuller, 1988) should be introduced in the teaching and research processes in order to create a culture of innovation at a group. The Theory of Inventing Problem Solving (TRIZ) is based on the pioneer works of Genrich Altshuller (1988) and his associated. Altshuller reviewed over 2 million patents beginning in 1946 (Orlov, 2006) and developed the Laws of Evolution of Technological Systems; An Algorithm for Inventive Problem Solving (ARIZ); forty typical Techniques for Overcoming System Conflicts (TOSC); a system of 76 Standard Approaches to Inventive Problems (Standards) etc. (Fey and Rivin, 1997). Nowadays, "a theory and constructive instrument package for the controlled synthesis of ideas and the focused transformation of the object to be improved" (Orlov, 2006) are used with high efficacy as the teaching and thinking inventive problem-solving methods in some high schools (Barak and Mesika, 2006; Sokoi et al., 2008) as well as a framework for research (Moehrle, 2005) in construction industry (Zhang et al., 2009); chemical engineering (Cortes Robles et al., 2008) etc. In 2005 US Congress passed the innovation act with the intent of increasing research investment (Gupta, 2007), while China had included inventive principles of TRIZ in strategy and decision making structure design (Kai Yang, 2010). The integrating of TRIZ into eco-innovation diminishes the common conflicts between technology and environment (Chang and Chen, 2004). In our presentation we show discuss some examples of future patents elaborated by the master degree students of Queretaro University, Faculty of Engineering, Mexico using TRIZ methods. References 1. Altshuller, G., 1988. Creativity as an Exact Science. Gordon and Breach, New York. 2. Chang, Hsiang-Tang and Chen, Jahau Lewis, 2004. The conflict-problem-solving CAD software

  9. Integrin-Mediated Signaling in Prostate Cancer: Role of KAI1/CD82 in Regulating Integrin and Androgen Receptor Function During Metastasis

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2007-09-01

    models of prostate cancer, Clusterin antisense improved the efficacy of chemotherapy, radiation, and androgen withdrawal [Miyake et al., 2000]. Hsp27 ...and phosphorylation of Hsp27 , thereby increasing the network of actin stress fibers and numbers of focal adhesions. Thus, an advantage of the Hsp27 ...Prostatic Dis 6:174–181. Jia Y, Ransom RF, Shibanuma M, Liu C, Welsh MJ, Smoyer WE. 2001. Identification and characterization of hic-5/ARA55 as an hsp27

  10. Ancient lenses in art and sculpture and the objects viewed through them, dating back 4500 years

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Enoch, Jay M.

    1998-07-01

    The early history of lenses is controversial. The author has sought to address the problem by identifying lens elements (mainly convex/plano) which remain associated with objects intended to be viewed through them (i.e., in their original context). These are found in museums in sculptures, rings, pendants, etc. A number of outstanding examples will be illustrated in the talk; these sophisticated pieces of art are certainly not first constructs. Most are of rock crystal, rose quartz, or glass. Lenses have origin among artisans rather than scientists. Clearly, skills were often lost and rediscovered. Early lens-like objects have been found broadly in the eastern Mediterranean area/Middle East, in France, in Italy (Rome), and possibly in Peru and Scandinavia, etc. To date, the earliest lenses identified in context are from the IV/V Dynasties of Egypt, dating back to about 4500 years ago (e.g., the superb `Le Scribe Accroupi' and `the Kai' in the Louvre; added fine examples are located in the Cairo Museum). Latter examples have been found in Knossos (Minoan [Herakleion Museum]; ca. 3500 years ago); others had origin in Greece (examples in the Athens National Archeological Museum and the British Museum equals BM), in Rome (Metropolitan Museum, NY; BM; Vatican Museums; Bologna Archeological Museum), etc. Also. of great interest is the study of possible lens applications. This is a fascinating scientific, artistic and intellectual project.

  11. Strigolactones Inhibit Caulonema Elongation and Cell Division in the Moss Physcomitrella patens

    PubMed Central

    Hoffmann, Beate; Proust, Hélène; Belcram, Katia; Labrune, Cécile; Boyer, François-Didier; Rameau, Catherine; Bonhomme, Sandrine

    2014-01-01

    In vascular plants, strigolactones (SLs) are known for their hormonal role and for their role as signal molecules in the rhizosphere. SLs are also produced by the moss Physcomitrella patens, in which they act as signaling factors for controlling filament extension and possibly interaction with neighboring individuals. To gain a better understanding of SL action at the cellular level, we investigated the effect of exogenously added molecules (SLs or analogs) in moss growth media. We used the previously characterized Ppccd8 mutant that is deficient in SL synthesis and showed that SLs affect moss protonema extension by reducing caulonema cell elongation and mainly cell division rate, both in light and dark conditions. Based on this effect, we set up bioassays to examine chemical structure requirements for SL activity in moss. The results suggest that compounds GR24, GR5, and 5-deoxystrigol are active in moss (as in pea), while other analogs that are highly active in the control of pea branching show little activity in moss. Interestingly, the karrikinolide KAR1, which shares molecular features with SLs, did not have any effect on filament growth, even though the moss genome contains several genes homologous to KAI2 (encoding the KAR1 receptor) and no canonical homologue to D14 (encoding the SL receptor). Further studies should investigate whether SL signaling pathways have been conserved during land plant evolution. PMID:24911649

  12. Global Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals the Mechanism of Phelipanche aegyptiaca Seed Germination

    PubMed Central

    Yao, Zhaoqun; Tian, Fang; Cao, Xiaolei; Xu, Ying; Chen, Meixiu; Xiang, Benchun; Zhao, Sifeng

    2016-01-01

    Phelipanche aegyptiaca is one of the most destructive root parasitic plants of Orobanchaceae. This plant has significant impacts on crop yields worldwide. Conditioned and host root stimulants, in particular, strigolactones, are needed for unique seed germination. However, no extensive study on this phenomenon has been conducted because of insufficient genomic information. Deep RNA sequencing, including de novo assembly and functional annotation was performed on P. aegyptiaca germinating seeds. The assembled transcriptome was used to analyze transcriptional dynamics during seed germination. Key gene categories involved were identified. A total of 274,964 transcripts were determined, and 53,921 unigenes were annotated according to the NR, GO, COG, KOG, and KEGG databases. Overall, 5324 differentially expressed genes among dormant, conditioned, and GR24-treated seeds were identified. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses demonstrated numerous DEGs related to DNA, RNA, and protein repair and biosynthesis, as well as carbohydrate and energy metabolism. Moreover, ABA and ethylene were found to play important roles in this process. GR24 application resulted in dramatic changes in ABA and ethylene-associated genes. Fluridone, a carotenoid biosynthesis inhibitor, alone could induce P. aegyptiaca seed germination. In addition, conditioning was probably not the indispensable stage for P. aegyptiaca, because the transcript level variation of MAX2 and KAI2 genes (relate to strigolactone signaling) was not up-regulated by conditioning treatment. PMID:27428962

  13. Global Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals the Mechanism of Phelipanche aegyptiaca Seed Germination.

    PubMed

    Yao, Zhaoqun; Tian, Fang; Cao, Xiaolei; Xu, Ying; Chen, Meixiu; Xiang, Benchun; Zhao, Sifeng

    2016-07-15

    Phelipanche aegyptiaca is one of the most destructive root parasitic plants of Orobanchaceae. This plant has significant impacts on crop yields worldwide. Conditioned and host root stimulants, in particular, strigolactones, are needed for unique seed germination. However, no extensive study on this phenomenon has been conducted because of insufficient genomic information. Deep RNA sequencing, including de novo assembly and functional annotation was performed on P. aegyptiaca germinating seeds. The assembled transcriptome was used to analyze transcriptional dynamics during seed germination. Key gene categories involved were identified. A total of 274,964 transcripts were determined, and 53,921 unigenes were annotated according to the NR, GO, COG, KOG, and KEGG databases. Overall, 5324 differentially expressed genes among dormant, conditioned, and GR24-treated seeds were identified. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses demonstrated numerous DEGs related to DNA, RNA, and protein repair and biosynthesis, as well as carbohydrate and energy metabolism. Moreover, ABA and ethylene were found to play important roles in this process. GR24 application resulted in dramatic changes in ABA and ethylene-associated genes. Fluridone, a carotenoid biosynthesis inhibitor, alone could induce P. aegyptiaca seed germination. In addition, conditioning was probably not the indispensable stage for P. aegyptiaca, because the transcript level variation of MAX2 and KAI2 genes (relate to strigolactone signaling) was not up-regulated by conditioning treatment.

  14. Collagen Fibrils and Proteoglycans of Macular Dystrophy Cornea: Ultrastructure and 3D Transmission Electron Tomography.

    PubMed

    Akhtar, Saeed; Alkatan, Hind M; Kirat, Omar; Khan, Adnan A; Almubrad, Turki

    2015-06-01

    We report the ultrastructure and 3D transmission electron tomography of collagen fibrils (CFs), proteoglycans (PGs), and microfibrils within the CF of corneas of patients with macular corneal dystrophy (MCD). Three normal corneas and three MCD corneas from three Saudi patients (aged 25, 31, and 49 years, respectively) were used for this study. The corneas were processed for light and electron microscopy studies. 3D images were composed from a set of 120 ultrastructural images using the program "Composer" and visualized using the program "Visuliser Kai". 3D image analysis of MCD cornea showed a clear organization of PGs around the CF at very high magnification and degeneration of the microfibrils within the CF. Within the MCD cornea, the PG area in the anterior stroma was significantly larger than in the middle and posterior stroma. The PG area in the MCD cornea was significantly larger compared with the PG area in the normal cornea. The CF diameter and inter-fibrillar spacing of the MCD cornea were significantly smaller compared with those of the normal cornea. Ultrastructural 3D imaging showed that the production of unsulfated keratin sulfate (KS) may lead to the degeneration of micro-CFs within the CFs. The effect of the unsulfated KS was higher in the anterior stroma compared with the posterior stroma.

  15. Implementation green and low cost on landscape design of Manggarai Integrated Station, Jakarta

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Suryanti, T.; Meilianti, H.

    2018-01-01

    The Manggarai Integrated Station is the transit of various transportation modes. The Integrated Station located in Manggarai Jakarta and managed by PT. KAI. The Manggarai station is integrated and have terminal nature of transit areas (switching mode of transportation). There are several problems in the site, such as the problem of the site conditions in the urban area, topography, soil, vegetation, space, visual, users on the site can provide ideas for the concepts. The data was analyzed using the quantitative descriptive methode. The purpose of this research is to design the integrated station atmosphere, not only can support of the activities station users, but can also accommodate the needs of the community. It will “Green, Low cost” at the Manggarai integrated transport transit station in Jakarta. The potential that exists in this area is the lowliest integrated from various areas of the mode of transportation that make the users to facilitate transit transportation to the other. The basic concept of this design refers to the “Green, Low Cost” which unite with theme “user friendly” land use on a more efficient and effective site. The result of this research is landscape design development of Manggarai integrated station. Its consists of landscape design in west and east area, transition area, parking area, solar panel area, and social interaction area.

  16. Areal Feature Matching Based on Similarity Using Critic Method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, J.; Yu, K.

    2015-10-01

    In this paper, we propose an areal feature matching method that can be applied for many-to-many matching, which involves matching a simple entity with an aggregate of several polygons or two aggregates of several polygons with fewer user intervention. To this end, an affine transformation is applied to two datasets by using polygon pairs for which the building name is the same. Then, two datasets are overlaid with intersected polygon pairs that are selected as candidate matching pairs. If many polygons intersect at this time, we calculate the inclusion function between such polygons. When the value is more than 0.4, many of the polygons are aggregated as single polygons by using a convex hull. Finally, the shape similarity is calculated between the candidate pairs according to the linear sum of the weights computed in CRITIC method and the position similarity, shape ratio similarity, and overlap similarity. The candidate pairs for which the value of the shape similarity is more than 0.7 are determined as matching pairs. We applied the method to two geospatial datasets: the digital topographic map and the KAIS map in South Korea. As a result, the visual evaluation showed two polygons that had been well detected by using the proposed method. The statistical evaluation indicates that the proposed method is accurate when using our test dataset with a high F-measure of 0.91.

  17. Culture heritage and identity - some cases in Taiwan on the protection of cultural heritage

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, R. W.-C.

    2015-09-01

    The protection of cultural heritage relates to an issue of identity. How a nation or a state tries to face to its history is often revealed on the protection of cultural heritage. Taiwan is as a country with complex history, especially the period after World War II. This article will work on some significant cases, regarded as ideological representation of identity. This article works on the cultural identity by observing and analyzing different cases of classified Historic Monuments. In different political periods, we see how the government tries to fabricate on the identity issue by working on Historic Monuments preservation. During the presidency of Chiang Kai-shek and his son Chiang Ching-kuo, the classification of Historic Monuments tried to focus on those make by former Chinese migrants. They tried hard to establish and reaffirm the ever existing "fact" of people in Taiwan. Whereas after the late 1980s and 1990s, after Chiang's reign, local conscience has been awaken. Political ambience turned to a new era. This freedom of speech of post-Chiang's reign encourages people to seek on their identity. The complex political situation of Taiwan makes this seeking cultural identity related to the seeking of independence of Taiwan. The respect to the aboriginal people also reoriented to include the preservation of their tribes and villages.

  18. Night airglow in RGB mode

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mikhalev, Aleksandr; Podlesny, Stepan; Stoeva, Penka

    2016-09-01

    To study dynamics of the upper atmosphere, we consider results of the night sky photometry, using a color CCD camera and taking into account the night airglow and features of its spectral composition. We use night airglow observations for 2010-2015, which have been obtained at the ISTP SB RAS Geophysical Observatory (52° N, 103° E) by the camera with KODAK KAI-11002 CCD sensor. We estimate the average brightness of the night sky in R, G, B channels of the color camera for eastern Siberia with typical values ranging from ~0.008 to 0.01 erg*cm-2*s-1. Besides, we determine seasonal variations in the night sky luminosities in R, G, B channels of the color camera. In these channels, luminosities decrease in spring, increase in autumn, and have a pronounced summer maximum, which can be explained by scattered light and is associated with the location of the Geophysical Observatory. We consider geophysical phenomena with their optical effects in R, G, B channels of the color camera. For some geophysical phenomena (geomagnetic storms, sudden stratospheric warmings), we demonstrate the possibility of the quantitative relationship between enhanced signals in R and G channels and increases in intensities of discrete 557.7 and 630 nm emissions, which are predominant in the airglow spectrum.

  19. HBCU Equipment for AFOSR Project 13RSL012: The Mechanism by which ADP Regulates the Structure and Function of the Protein KaiC

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-05-18

    4 , as well as increases the risk of obesity 5-7 , diabetes 8, 9 , heart disease 10 , and cancer 11, 12 . Our lab studies the circadian clock of a...2013) Two Antagonistic Clock-Regulated Histidine Kinases Time the Activation of Circadian Gene Expression. Mol. Cell 50, 288-294. 10.1016/j.molcel...Circadian Clock-associated Histidine Kinase SasA. J. Mol. Biol. 342, 9-17. 10.1016/j.jmb.2004.07.010. 19. Smith R. M., Williams S. B. (2006) Circadian

  20. "Healthy Eating - Healthy Action": evaluating New Zealand's obesity prevention strategy.

    PubMed

    McLean, Rachael M; Hoek, Janet A; Buckley, Sue; Croxson, Bronwyn; Cumming, Jacqueline; Ehau, Terry H; Tanuvasa, Ausaga Fa'asalele; Johnston, Margaret; Mann, Jim I; Schofield, Grant

    2009-12-06

    New Zealand rates of obesity and overweight have increased since the 1980s, particularly among indigenous Māori people, Pacific people and those living in areas of high deprivation. New Zealand's response to the obesity epidemic has been The Healthy Eating-Healthy Action: Oranga Kai - Oranga Pumau (HEHA) Strategy ('the Strategy'), launched in 2003. Because the HEHA Strategy explicitly recognises the importance of evaluation and the need to create an evidence base to support future initiatives, the Ministry of Health has commissioned a Consortium of researchers to evaluate the Strategy as a whole. This paper discusses the Consortium's approach to evaluating the HEHA Strategy. It includes an outline of the conceptual framework underpinning the evaluation, and describes the critical components of the evaluation which are: judging to what extent stakeholders were engaged in the process of the strategy implementation and to what extent their feedback was incorporated in to future iterations of the Strategy (continuous improvement), to what extent the programmes, policies, and initiatives implemented span the target populations and priority areas, whether there have been any population changes in nutrition and/or physical activity outcomes or behaviours relating to those outcomes, and to what extent HEHA Strategy and spending can be considered value for money. This paper outlines our approach to evaluating a complex national health promotion strategy. Not only does the Evaluation have the potential to identify interventions that could be adopted internationally, but also the development of the Evaluation design can inform other complex evaluations.

  1. Structures of D14 and D14L in the strigolactone and karrikin signaling pathways.

    PubMed

    Kagiyama, Megumi; Hirano, Yoshinori; Mori, Tomoyuki; Kim, Sun-Yong; Kyozuka, Junko; Seto, Yoshiya; Yamaguchi, Shinjiro; Hakoshima, Toshio

    2013-02-01

    Strigolactones (SLs) are plant hormones that inhibit shoot branching. DWARF14 (D14) inhibits rice tillering and is an SL receptor candidate in the branching inhibition pathway, whereas the close homologue DWARF14-LIKE (D14L) participates in the signaling pathway of karrikins (KARs), which are derived from burnt vegetation as smoke stimulants of seed germination. We provide the first evidence for direct binding of the bioactive SL analogue GR24 to D14. Isothermal titration calorimetry measurements show a D14-GR24 binding affinity in the sub-micromolar range. Similarly, bioactive KAR1 directly binds D14L in the micromolar range. The crystal structure of rice D14 shows a compact α-/β-fold hydrolase domain forming a deep ligand-binding pocket capable of accommodating GR24. Insertion of four α-helices between β6 strand and αD helix forms the helical cap of the pocket, although the pocket is open to the solvent. The pocket contains the conserved catalytic triad Ser-His-Asp aligned with the oxyanion hole, suggesting hydrolase activity. Although these structural characteristics are conserved in D14L, the D14L pocket is smaller than that of D14. The KAR-insensitive mutation kai2-1 is located at the prominent long β6-αD1 loop, which is characteristic in D14 and D14L, but not in related α-/β-fold hydrolases. © 2013 The Authors Genes to Cells © 2013 by the Molecular Biology Society of Japan and Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

  2. Human aflatoxin exposure in Kenya, 2007: a cross-sectional study

    PubMed Central

    Yard, Ellen E.; Daniel, Johnni H.; Lewis, Lauren S.; Rybak, Michael E.; Paliakov, Ekaterina M.; Kim, Andrea A.; Montgomery, Joel M.; Bunnell, Rebecca; Abudo, Mamo Umuro; Akhwale, Willis; Breiman, Robert F.; Sharif, Shahnaaz K.

    2013-01-01

    Aflatoxins contaminate approximately 25% of agricultural products worldwide. They can cause liver failure and liver cancer. Kenya has experienced multiple aflatoxicosis outbreaks in recent years, often resulting in fatalities. However, the full extent of aflatoxin exposure in Kenya has been unknown. Our objective was to quantify aflatoxin exposure across Kenya. We analysed aflatoxin levels in serum specimens from the 2007 Kenya AIDS Indicator Survey – a nationally representative, cross-sectional serosurvey. KAIS collected 15,853 blood specimens. Of the 3180 human immunodeficiency virus-negative specimens with ≥1 mL sera, we randomly selected 600 specimens stratified by province and sex. We analysed serum specimens for aflatoxin albumin adducts by using isotope dilution MS/MS to quantify aflatoxin B1-lysine, and normalised with serum albumin. Aflatoxin concentrations were then compared by demographic, socioeconomic and geographic characteristics. We detected serum aflatoxin B1-lysine in 78% of serum specimens (range =

  3. CCD image sensor induced error in PIV applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Legrand, M.; Nogueira, J.; Vargas, A. A.; Ventas, R.; Rodríguez-Hidalgo, M. C.

    2014-06-01

    The readout procedure of charge-coupled device (CCD) cameras is known to generate some image degradation in different scientific imaging fields, especially in astrophysics. In the particular field of particle image velocimetry (PIV), widely extended in the scientific community, the readout procedure of the interline CCD sensor induces a bias in the registered position of particle images. This work proposes simple procedures to predict the magnitude of the associated measurement error. Generally, there are differences in the position bias for the different images of a certain particle at each PIV frame. This leads to a substantial bias error in the PIV velocity measurement (˜0.1 pixels). This is the order of magnitude that other typical PIV errors such as peak-locking may reach. Based on modern CCD technology and architecture, this work offers a description of the readout phenomenon and proposes a modeling for the CCD readout bias error magnitude. This bias, in turn, generates a velocity measurement bias error when there is an illumination difference between two successive PIV exposures. The model predictions match the experiments performed with two 12-bit-depth interline CCD cameras (MegaPlus ES 4.0/E incorporating the Kodak KAI-4000M CCD sensor with 4 megapixels). For different cameras, only two constant values are needed to fit the proposed calibration model and predict the error from the readout procedure. Tests by different researchers using different cameras would allow verification of the model, that can be used to optimize acquisition setups. Simple procedures to obtain these two calibration values are also described.

  4. Forgotten research from 19th century: science should not follow fashion.

    PubMed

    Galler, Stefan

    2015-02-01

    The fine structure of cross-striated muscle and its changes during contraction were known already in considerable detail in the 19th century. This knowledge was the result of studying birefringence properties of muscle fibres under the polarization microscope, a method mainly established by Brücke (Denk Kais Akad Wiss Math Naturwiss Cl 15:69-84, 1858) in Vienna, Austria. The knowledge was seemingly forgotten in the first half of the 20th century before it was rediscovered in 1954. This rediscovery was essential for the formulation of the sliding filament theory which represents the commonly accepted concept of muscle contraction (A.F. Huxley and Niedergerke, Nature 173:971-973, 1954; H.E. Huxley and Hanson, Nature 173:973-976, 1954). The loss of knowledge was the result of prevailing views within the scientific community which could be attributed to "fashion": it was thought that the changes of cross-striations, which were observed under the microscope, were inconsequential for contraction since other types of movements like cell crawling and smooth muscle contraction were not associated with similar changes of the fine structure. The basis for this assumption was the view that all types of movements associated with life must be caused by the same mechanisms. Furthermore, it was assumed that the light microscopy was of little use, because the individual molecules that carry out life functions cannot be seen under the light microscope. This unfortunate episode of science history teaches us that the progress of science can severely be retarded by fashion.

  5. CD39 improves survival in microbial sepsis by attenuating systemic inflammation

    PubMed Central

    Csóka, Balázs; Németh, Zoltán H.; Törő, Gábor; Koscsó, Balázs; Kókai, Endre; Robson, Simon C.; Enjyoji, Keiichi; Rolandelli, Rolando H.; Erdélyi, Katalin; Pacher, Pál; Haskó, György

    2015-01-01

    Sepsis remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in critically ill patients. Excessive inflammation is a major cause of organ failure and mortality in sepsis. Ectonucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase 1, ENTPDase1 (CD39) is a cell surface nucleotide-metabolizing enzyme, which degrades the extracellular purines ATP and ADP, thereby regulating purinergic receptor signaling. Although the role of purinergic receptor signaling in regulating inflammation and sepsis has been addressed previously, the role of CD39 in regulating the host’s response to sepsis is unknown. We found that the CD39 mimic apyrase (250 U/kg) decreased and knockout or pharmacologic blockade with sodium polyoxotungstate (5 mg/kg; IC50 ≈ 10 μM) of CD39 increased mortality of mice with polymicrobial sepsis induced by cecal ligation and puncture. CD39 decreased inflammation, organ damage, immune cell apoptosis, and bacterial load. Use of bone marrow chimeric mice revealed that CD39 expression on myeloid cells decreases inflammation in septic mice. CD39 expression is upregulated during sepsis in mice, as well as in both murine and human macrophages stimulated with Escherichia coli. Moreover, E. coli increases CD39 promoter activity in macrophages. Altogether, these data indicate CD39 as an evolutionarily conserved inducible protective pathway during sepsis. We propose CD39 as a novel therapeutic target in the management of sepsis.—Csóka, B., Németh, Z. H., Törő, G., Koscsó, B., Kókai, E., Robson, S. C., Enjyoji, K., Rolandelli, R. H., Erdélyi, K., Pacher, P., Haskó, G. CD39 improves survival in microbial sepsis by attenuating systemic inflammation. PMID:25318479

  6. Managing boundaries between professional and lay nursing following the influenza pandemic, 1918-1919: insights for professional resilience today?

    PubMed

    Wood, Pamela J

    2017-03-01

    To examine lay-professional nursing boundaries, using challenges to the New Zealand nursing profession following the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic as the example. The influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 had an overwhelming international impact on communities and the nursing profession. After the pandemic, the expectation for communities to be able to nurse the sick reflects today's increasing reliance on families to care for people at home. It similarly raised questions about the profession's role and professional boundaries in relation to volunteer or lay nursing. In New Zealand, the postpandemic challenge to build community lay nursing capacity tested these boundaries. Historical research. Analysis of historical primary sources of official reports, newspaper accounts, articles in New Zealand's professional nursing journal Kai Tiaki and the memoir of Hester Maclean, the country's chief nurse. Interpretation of findings in relation to secondary sources examining similar historical tensions between professional and lay nursing, and to the more recent notion of professional resilience. Maclean guarded nursing's professional boundaries by maintaining considerable control over community instruction in nursing and by strenuously resisting the suggestion that this should be done in hospitals where professional nurses trained. This historical example shows how the nursing profession faced the perceived threat to its professional boundaries. It also shows how competing goals of building community lay nursing capacity and protecting professional boundaries can be effectively managed. In the context of a global nursing shortage, limited healthcare budgets and a consequently increasing reliance on households to provide care for family members, this historical research shows nurses today that similar issues have been faced and effectively managed in the past. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  7. Drying characteristics of hui ink at 25 °C and 35 °C

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fu, Yang; Yao, Yao; Liu, Le; Wang, Fengwen; Yang, Shuyun

    2018-05-01

    Temperature and humidity are the main factors affecting the drying of Hui ink. For the experiment, fresh Hui ink billets from two big ink industries were selected. We tried to find the fast and efficient drying conditions of Hui ink and calculate effective diffusion coefficient by performing manual control of temperature and relative humidity (RH). Several dry kinetic models were fitted. A constant temperature incubator was utilized for temperature control, while humidification and dehumidification were implemented accordingly for RH control. Setups of 25 °C and 35 °C were designed, and a relative humidity of 60%, 65%, 70%, and 75% was applied for each temperature. The process of ink drying was recorded, and the drying effect of Hui ink was estimated through expert decision. The appropriate drying temperature and humidity of the Jinbuhuan(J) and Huangshansongyan(H) ink billets from Lao Hu Kai Wen Ink Industry are at (31.99 ± 1.41) °C and (55.84 ± 10.38)% RH, whereas those of the Songyantanhei(ST), Chunyouyan(CY), and Quansongyan(QS) ink billets from Ju Mo Tang Ink Industry are at (23.70 ± 2.19) °C and (60.56 ± 2.16)% RH or (34.56 ± 2.37) °C and (59.16 ± 6.38)% RH; Initial moisture content of Hui ink has great influence on the water loss in the drying process; The effective diffusion coefficient of the ink lump ranges from 8.41538E-07 to 1.95891E-06 m2·s-1, and increases mainly with the temperature's rising; Logarithmic model fits best of the chosen models.

  8. Prices of Healthy and Unhealthy Beverages in High and Low Per Capita Income Areas

    PubMed Central

    Corrado, Rachel S; Chaloupka, Frank J

    2013-01-01

    To better understand availability and price of beverages in Hawai‘i, the prices of healthy (milk, orange juice, unsweetened tea, unsweetened coffee, diet soda) and unhealthy beverages (regular soda, fruit drink, sports drink, sweetened tea, flavored water) were collected and the beverage prices in lower per capita income areas and higher per capita income areas were compared. Cross-sectional data on prices of healthy and unhealthy beverages were collected from supermarkets, convenience stores, and quick serve restaurants from two lower per capita income areas (Waimanalo and Wai‘anae) and two higher per capita income areas (Hawai‘i Kai and Manoa) on O‘ahu, Hawai‘i from May 15 to June 10, 2012. Using composite data from across all areas, there was a significant difference of $0.58 (95% CI 0.46, 0.70) between the healthy beverages' mean price per 20 ounces ($1.76 ± $0.86) and the unhealthy beverages' mean price per 20 ounces ($1.18 ± $0.38) (P <.001). Although there was no statistically significant difference between per capita income areas, the lower per capita income areas' mean price per 20 ounces of healthy beverages was slightly higher and mean price per 20 ounces of unhealthy beverages was slightly lower than the higher per capita income areas. Pricing strategies that enable healthy beverages to be less expensive than unhealthy beverages is one method to increase consumption of healthy beverages and decrease consumption of unhealthy beverages. Reduction in unhealthy beverage consumption is needed to help reduce obesity, especially in the lower per capita income areas that have higher obesity prevalence. PMID:23520564

  9. Metastasis suppressor proteins in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma.

    PubMed

    Bozdogan, Onder; Vargel, Ibrahim; Cavusoglu, Tarik; Karabulut, Ayse A; Karahan, Gurbet; Sayar, Nilufer; Atasoy, Pınar; Yulug, Isik G

    2016-07-01

    Cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (cSCCs) are common human carcinomas. Despite having metastasizing capacities, they usually show less aggressive progression compared to squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of other organs. Metastasis suppressor proteins (MSPs) are a group of proteins that control and slow-down the metastatic process. In this study, we established the importance of seven well-defined MSPs including NDRG1, NM23-H1, RhoGDI2, E-cadherin, CD82/KAI1, MKK4, and AKAP12 in cSCCs. Protein expression levels of the selected MSPs were detected in 32 cSCCs, 6 in situ SCCs, and two skin cell lines (HaCaT, A-431) by immunohistochemistry. The results were evaluated semi-quantitatively using the HSCORE system. In addition, mRNA expression levels were detected by qRT-PCR in the cell lines. The HSCOREs of NM23-H1 were similar in cSCCs and normal skin tissues, while RGHOGDI2, E-cadherin and AKAP12 were significantly downregulated in cSCCs compared to normal skin. The levels of MKK4, NDRG1 and CD82 were partially conserved in cSCCs. In stage I SCCs, nuclear staining of NM23-H1 (NM23-H1nuc) was significantly lower than in stage II/III SCCs. Only nuclear staining of MKK4 (MKK4nuc) showed significantly higher scores in in situ carcinomas compared to invasive SCCs. In conclusion, similar to other human tumors, we have demonstrated complex differential expression patterns for the MSPs in in-situ and invasive cSCCs. This complex MSP signature warrants further biological and experimental pathway research. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  10. Traditional Knowledge Strengthens NOAA's Environmental Education

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stovall, W. K.; McBride, M. A.; Lewinski, S.; Bennett, S.

    2010-12-01

    Environmental education efforts are increasingly recognizing the value of traditional knowledge, or indigenous science, as a basis to teach the importance of stewardship. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Pacific Services Center incorporates Polynesian indigenous science into formal and informal education components of its environmental literacy program. By presenting indigenous science side by side with NOAA science, it becomes clear that the scientific results are the same, although the methods may differ. The platforms for these tools span a vast spectrum, utilizing media from 3-D visualizations to storytelling and lecture. Navigating the Pacific Islands is a Second Life project in which users navigate a virtual Polynesian voyaging canoe between two islands, one featuring native Hawaiian practices and the other where users learn about NOAA research and ships. In partnership with the University of Hawai‘i Waikiki Aquarium, the Nana I Ke Kai (Look to the Sea) series focuses on connecting culture and science during cross-discipline, publicly held discussions between cultural practitioners and research scientists. The Indigenous Science Video Series is a multi-use, animated collection of short films that showcase the efforts of NOAA fisheries management and ship navigation in combination with the accompanying Polynesian perspectives. Formal education resources and lesson plans for grades 3-5 focusing on marine science have also been developed and incorporate indigenous science practices as examples of conservation success. By merging traditional knowledge and stewardship practices with NOAA science in educational tools and resources, NOAA's Pacific Services Center is helping to build and increase environmental literacy through the development of educational tools and resources that are applicable to place-based understanding and approaches.

  11. Striving for best practice: standardising New Zealand nursing procedures, 1930-1960.

    PubMed

    Wood, Pamela J; Nelson, Katherine

    2013-11-01

    To identify how nurses in the past determined best practice, using the context of New Zealand, 1930-1960. In the current context of evidence-based practice, nurses strive to provide the best care, based on clinical research. We cannot assume that nurses in the past, prior to the evidence-based practice movement, did not also have a deliberate process for pursuing best practice. Discovering historical approaches to determining best practice will enrich our understanding of how nurses' current efforts are part of a continuing commitment to ensuring quality care. Historical research. The records of the Nursing Education Committee of the New Zealand Registered Nurses' Association, 1940-1959, and the 309 issues of New Zealand's nursing journal, Kai Tiaki, 1930-1960, were analysed to identify the profession's approach to ensuring best practice. This approach was then interpreted within the international context, particularly Canada and the USA. For nearly 30 years, nurse leaders collaborated in undertaking national surveys of training hospitals requesting information on different nursing practices. They subsequently distributed instructions for a range of procedures and other aspects of nursing care to standardise practice. Standardising nursing care was an effective way to ensure quality nursing at a time when hospital care was delivered mostly by nurses in training. The reasons for and timing of standardisation of nursing care in New Zealand differed from the international move towards standardisation, particularly in the USA. Historically, nurses also pursued best practice, based on standardising nursing procedures. Examining the antecedents of the present evidence-based approach to care reminds us that the process and reasons for determining best practice change through time. As knowledge and practice continually change, current confident assertions of best practice should and will continue to be challenged in future. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  12. The Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover Mastcam instruments: Preflight and in-flight calibration, validation, and data archiving

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Bell, James F.; Godber, A.; McNair, S.; Caplinger, M.A.; Maki, J.N.; Lemmon, M.T.; Van Beek, J.; Malin, M.C.; Wellington, D.; Kinch, K.M.; Madsen, M.B.; Hardgrove, C.; Ravine, M.A.; Jensen, E.; Harker, D.; Anderson, Ryan; Herkenhoff, Kenneth E.; Morris, R.V.; Cisneros, E.; Deen, R.G.

    2017-01-01

    The NASA Curiosity rover Mast Camera (Mastcam) system is a pair of fixed-focal length, multispectral, color CCD imagers mounted ~2 m above the surface on the rover's remote sensing mast, along with associated electronics and an onboard calibration target. The left Mastcam (M-34) has a 34 mm focal length, an instantaneous field of view (IFOV) of 0.22 mrad, and a FOV of 20° × 15° over the full 1648 × 1200 pixel span of its Kodak KAI-2020 CCD. The right Mastcam (M-100) has a 100 mm focal length, an IFOV of 0.074 mrad, and a FOV of 6.8° × 5.1° using the same detector. The cameras are separated by 24.2 cm on the mast, allowing stereo images to be obtained at the resolution of the M-34 camera. Each camera has an eight-position filter wheel, enabling it to take Bayer pattern red, green, and blue (RGB) “true color” images, multispectral images in nine additional bands spanning ~400–1100 nm, and images of the Sun in two colors through neutral density-coated filters. An associated Digital Electronics Assembly provides command and data interfaces to the rover, 8 Gb of image storage per camera, 11 bit to 8 bit companding, JPEG compression, and acquisition of high-definition video. Here we describe the preflight and in-flight calibration of Mastcam images, the ways that they are being archived in the NASA Planetary Data System, and the ways that calibration refinements are being developed as the investigation progresses on Mars. We also provide some examples of data sets and analyses that help to validate the accuracy and precision of the calibration

  13. Microwave Spectrum of Hydrogen Bonded HEXAFLUOROISOPROPANOL•••WATER Complex

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shahi, Abhishek; Arunan, Elangannan

    2014-06-01

    Stabilizing α-helical structure of protein and dissolving a hard to dissolve polymer, polythene terphthalete, are some of the unique properties of the organic solvent Hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP). After determining the complete microwave spectrum of HFIP monomer, we have recorded the spectrum of HFIP***H_2O complex. Ab initio calculations were used to optimize three different possible structures. The global minimum, structure 1, had HFIP as proton donor. Another promising structure, Structure 2, has been obtained from a molecular dynamic study. A total of 46 observed lines have been fitted well for obtaining the rotational and distortion constants within experimental uncertainty. The observed rotational constants are A = 1134.53898(77) MHz, B = 989.67594(44) MHz and C = 705.26602(20) MHz. Interestingly, the rotational constants of structure 1, structure 2 and experiments were very close. Experimentally observed distortion constants were close to structure 1. b-type transitions were stronger than c-type which is also consistent with the calculated dipole moment components of structure 1. Calculations predict a non-zero a-dipole moment but experimentally a-type transitions were absent. Microwave spectra of two of the deuterium isotopologues of this complex i.e. HFIP***D_2O (30 transitions) and HFIP***HOD (33 transitions) have been also observed. Search for other isotopologues are in progress. To characterize the nature of hydrogen bonding, Atoms in Molecules and Natural Bond Orbital theoretical analysis have been done. Experimental structure and these theoretical analyses indicate that the hydrogen bonding in HFIP***H_2O complex is stronger than that in water dimer. A. Shahi and E. Arunan, Talk number RK16, 68th International Symposium on Molecular Spectroscopy 2013, Ohio, USA. Yamaguchi, T.; Imura, S.; Kai, T.; Yoshida, K. Zeitschrift für Naturforsch. A 2013, 68a, 145.

  14. The Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover Mastcam instruments: Preflight and in-flight calibration, validation, and data archiving

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bell, J. F.; Godber, A.; McNair, S.; Caplinger, M. A.; Maki, J. N.; Lemmon, M. T.; Van Beek, J.; Malin, M. C.; Wellington, D.; Kinch, K. M.; Madsen, M. B.; Hardgrove, C.; Ravine, M. A.; Jensen, E.; Harker, D.; Anderson, R. B.; Herkenhoff, K. E.; Morris, R. V.; Cisneros, E.; Deen, R. G.

    2017-07-01

    The NASA Curiosity rover Mast Camera (Mastcam) system is a pair of fixed-focal length, multispectral, color CCD imagers mounted 2 m above the surface on the rover's remote sensing mast, along with associated electronics and an onboard calibration target. The left Mastcam (M-34) has a 34 mm focal length, an instantaneous field of view (IFOV) of 0.22 mrad, and a FOV of 20° × 15° over the full 1648 × 1200 pixel span of its Kodak KAI-2020 CCD. The right Mastcam (M-100) has a 100 mm focal length, an IFOV of 0.074 mrad, and a FOV of 6.8° × 5.1° using the same detector. The cameras are separated by 24.2 cm on the mast, allowing stereo images to be obtained at the resolution of the M-34 camera. Each camera has an eight-position filter wheel, enabling it to take Bayer pattern red, green, and blue (RGB) "true color" images, multispectral images in nine additional bands spanning 400-1100 nm, and images of the Sun in two colors through neutral density-coated filters. An associated Digital Electronics Assembly provides command and data interfaces to the rover, 8 Gb of image storage per camera, 11 bit to 8 bit companding, JPEG compression, and acquisition of high-definition video. Here we describe the preflight and in-flight calibration of Mastcam images, the ways that they are being archived in the NASA Planetary Data System, and the ways that calibration refinements are being developed as the investigation progresses on Mars. We also provide some examples of data sets and analyses that help to validate the accuracy and precision of the calibration.

  15. KITENIN is associated with tumor progression in human gastric cancer.

    PubMed

    Ryu, Ho-Seong; Park, Young-Lan; Park, Su-Jin; Lee, Ji-Hee; Cho, Sung-Bum; Lee, Wan-Sik; Chung, Ik-Joo; Kim, Kyung-Keun; Lee, Kyung-Hwa; Kweon, Sun-Seog; Joo, Young-Eun

    2010-09-01

    KAI1 COOH-terminal interacting tetraspanin (KITENIN) promotes tumor cell migration, invasion and metastasis in colon, bladder, head and neck cancer. The aims of current study were to evaluate whether KITENIN affects tumor cell behavior in human gastric cancer cell line and to document the expression of KITENIN in a well-defined series of gastric tumors, including complete long-term follow-up, with special reference to patient prognosis. To evaluate the impact of KITENIN knockdown on behavior of a human gastric cancer cell line, AGS, migration, invasion and proliferation assays using small-interfering RNA were performed. The expression of activator protein-1 (AP-1) target genes and AP-1 transcriptional activity were evaluated by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and luciferase reporter assay. The expression of KITENIN and AP-1 target genes by RT-PCR and Western blotting or immunohistochemistry was also investigated in human gastric cancer tissues. The knockdown of KITENIN suppressed tumor cell migration, invasion and proliferation in AGS cells. The mRNA expression of matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1), MMP-3, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and CD44 was reduced by knockdown of KITENIN in AGS. AP-1 transcriptional activity was significantly decreased by knockdown of KITENIN in AGS cells. KITENIN expression was significantly increased in human cancer tissues at RNA and protein levels. Expression of MMP-1, MMP-3, COX-2 and CD44 were significantly increased in human gastric cancer tissues. Immunostaining of KITENIN was predominantly identified in the cytoplasm of cancer cells. Expression of KITENIN was significantly associated with tumor size, Lauren classification, depth of invasion, lymph node metastasis, tumor stage and poor survival. These results indicate that KITENIN plays an important role in human gastric cancer progression by AP-1 activation.

  16. Downregulated long non-coding RNA MEG3 in breast cancer regulates proliferation, migration and invasion by depending on p53’s transcriptional activity

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

    Sun, Lin; Li, Yu; Yang, Bangxiang, E-mail: b19933009@qq.coom

    Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) was found to play critical roles in tumorigenesis, hence, screen of tumor-related lncRNAs, identification of their biological roles is important for understanding the processes of tumorigenesis. In this study, we identified the expressing difference of several tumor-related lncRNAs in breast cancer samples and found that, MEG3, which is downregulated in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tumor tissues, is also downregulated in breast cancer samples compared with adjacent tissues. For figuring out the effect of MEG3 in breast cancer cells MCF7 and MB231, we overexpressed MEG3 in these cells, and found that it resulted the inhibition ofmore » proliferation, colony formation, migration and invasion capacities by enhancing p53’s transcriptional activity on its target genes, including p21, Maspin and KAI1. MEG3 presented similar effects in MB157, which is a p53-null breast cancer cell line, when functional p53 but not p53R273H mutant, which lacks transcriptional activity, was introduced. Surprisingly, overexpression of MEG3 activates p53’s transcriptional activity by decreasing MDM2’s transcription level, and thus stabilizes and accumulates P53. Taken together, our findings indicate that MEG3 is downregulated in breast cancer tissues and affects breast cancer cells’ malignant behaviors, which indicate MEG3 a potential therapeutic target for breast cancer. - Highlights: • MEG3 RNA is widely downregulated in breast tumor tissue. • MEG3 regulates P53 indirectly through transcriptional regulation of MDM2. • Under unstressed condition, MEG3-related P53 accumulation transcriptionally activates p53’s target genes. • MEG3 expression level tightly regulates proliferation, colony formation, migration and invasion in breast tumor cells.« less

  17. Complex educational and care (geron)technology for elderly individuals/families experiencing Alzheimer's disease.

    PubMed

    Ilha, Silomar; Santos, Silvana Sidney Costa; Backes, Dirce Stein; Barros, Edaiane Joana Lima; Pelzer, Marlene Teda; Costenaro, Regina Gema Santini

    2017-01-01

    Grupo contribui como (geronto)tecnologia de cuidado e educação para o cuidado; nele, são construídos conhecimentos que, aplicados na prática, auxiliam nas desordens vivenciadas, melhorando o cuidado à pessoa idosa com doença de Alzheimer.

  18. An Efficient Method for Adventitious Root Induction from Stem Segments of Brassica Species

    PubMed Central

    Srikanth, Sandhya; Choong, Tsui Wei; Yan, An; He, Jie; Chen, Zhong

    2016-01-01

    Plant propagation via in vitro culture is a very laborious and time-consuming process. The growth cycle of some of the crop species is slow even in the field and the consistent commercial production is hard to maintain. Enhanced methods of reduced cost, materials and labor significantly impact the research and commercial production of field crops. In our studies, stem-segment explants of Brassica species were found to generate adventitious roots (AR) in aeroponic systems in less than a week. As such, the efficiency of rooting from stem explants of six cultivar varieties of Brassica spp was tested without using any plant hormones. New roots and shoots were developed from Brassica alboglabra (Kai Lan), B. oleracea var. acephala (purple kale), B. rapa L. ssp. chinensis L (Pai Tsai, Nai Bai C, and Nai Bai T) explants after 3 to 5 days of growing under 20 ± 2°C cool root zone temperature (C-RZT) and 4 to 7 days in 30 ± 2°C ambient root zone temperature (A-RZT). At the base of cut end, anticlinal and periclinal divisions of the cambial cells resulted in secondary xylem toward pith and secondary phloem toward cortex. The continuing mitotic activity of phloem parenchyma cells led to a ring of conspicuous white callus. Root initials formed from the callus which in turn developed into ARs. However, B. rapa var. nipposinica (Mizuna) explants were only able to root in C-RZT. All rooted explants were able to develop into whole plants, with higher biomass obtained from plants that grown in C-RZT. Moreover, explants from both RZTs produced higher biomass than plants grown from seeds (control plants). Rooting efficiency was affected by RZTs and explant cuttings of donor plants. Photosynthetic CO2 assimilation rate (Asat) and stomatal conductance (gssat) were significantly differentiated between plants derived from seeds and explants at both RZTs. All plants in A-RZT had highest transpiration rates. PMID:27446170

  19. A representative prescription for emotional disease, Ding-Zhi-Xiao-Wan restores 5-HT system deficit through interfering the synthesis and transshipment in chronic mild stress-induced depressive rats.

    PubMed

    Dong, Xian-Zhe; Li, Zhao-Liang; Zheng, Xiao-Li; Mu, Li-Hua; Zhang, Gang-qiang; Liu, Ping

    2013-12-12

    Ding-Zhi-Xiao-Wan (DZ, also known as Kai-Xin-San) is a famous traditional Chinese medicine used for the treatment of emotional disease. Previously, we have found that in a variety of animal models of depression (such as tail suspension model, model of chronic fatigue and forced swimming model) DZ demonstrated significant antidepressant behavior and promoted the production of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT). However, the mechanisms of 5-HT regulation are still unclear. Therefore, the current study is designed to further investigate the antidepressant effect of DZ by observing its influence on 5-HT synthesis, metabolism, transport and other key links, so as to clarify the molecular mechanism of its 5-HT regulation. Solitary rising combined with the chronic unpredictable mild stress (CMS) was used to establish the rat model of depression. The rats were given DZ for 3 weeks, the behavior change and the following items in hippocampus and prefrontal cortex were detected simultaneously: 5-HT, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH), aromatic amino acid decarboxylase (AADC), monoamine oxidase (MAO) and 5-HT transporter (5-HTT) were observed. Our results showed that treatment with the DZ significantly improved the behavior and simultaneously increased the 5-HT level in the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex tissues and hippocampus extracellular of depressive rats. In future studies revealed that DZ could significantly increase the protein and mRNA expression of the key enzymes TPH during the 5-HT synthesis process in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex of the depressed rats, and suppress the expression of 5-HTT protein and mRNA at the same time. But it had no effects on MAO-A and MAO-B activities. We believe that antidepressant effect of DZ is caused by the increase of 5-HT synthesis and reduction of 5-HT re-uptake, and eventually increase the content of 5-HT in the brain and the synaptic gaps. © 2013 Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

  20. The interactions of the bacterium Cupriavidus metallidurans CH34 with basalt rock, on Earth and in Space

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Byloos, Bo; Van Houdt, Rob; Leys, Natalie; Ilyin, Vyacheslav; Nicholson, Natasha; Childers, Delma; Cockell, Charles; Boon, Nico

    2016-07-01

    Microbe-mineral interactions have become of interest for space exploration as microorganisms can biomine elements from extra-terrestrial materials, which could be used as nutrients in a life support system. This research is aimed at identifying the molecular mechanisms behind the interaction of Cupriavidus metallidurans CH34 with basalt, a lunar-type rock, and determining the influence of space flight conditions on this interaction. Survival and physiology of CH34 was monitored, with and without basalt, in mineral water over several months by flow cytometry, plate counts, ICP-MS, microscopy and proteomics. To study the influence of space conditions, a flight experiment on board the Russian FOTON-M4 capsule was performed. The results obtained from from water survival experiments on ground showed that CH34 was able to survive in mineral water, in the absence and presence of basalt, for several months. The total cell concentration remained stable but the cultivable fraction dropped to 10%, indicating a transition to a more dormant state. In the presence of basalt, this transition was less pronounced and cultivability was enhanced. In addition, with basalt, CH34 attached to the rock surface and formed a biofilm. The space flight experiment indicated more viable and cultivable cells compared to the ground experiment, both in the absence and presence of basalt, indicating a positive effect of space flight on survival. Chemical analysis indicated that basalt leaches out elements which may contribute to a positive effect of basalt on survival. Basalt may thus enhance survival and viability of CH34 both in ground and space flight experimental conditions. This study hopefully can contribute to a better understanding of microbe-mineral interactions, opening the door to future applications, in space, and on Earth. Acknowledgments: This work is supported by the European Space Agency (ESA-PRODEX) and the Belgian Science Policy (Belspo) through the BIOROCK project. We thank Kai

  1. Public Response to Obamacare on Twitter.

    PubMed

    Davis, Matthew A; Zheng, Kai; Liu, Yang; Levy, Helen

    2017-05-26

    The Affordable Care Act (ACA), often called "Obamacare," is a controversial law that has been implemented gradually since its enactment in 2010. Polls have consistently shown that public opinion of the ACA is quite negative. The aim of our study was to examine the extent to which Twitter data can be used to measure public opinion of the ACA over time. We prospectively collected a 10% random sample of daily tweets (approximately 52 million since July 2011) using Twitter's streaming application programming interface (API) from July 10, 2011 to July 31, 2015. Using a list of key terms and ACA-specific hashtags, we identified tweets about the ACA and examined the overall volume of tweets about the ACA in relation to key ACA events. We applied standard text sentiment analysis to assign each ACA tweet a measure of positivity or negativity and compared overall sentiment from Twitter with results from the Kaiser Family Foundation health tracking poll. Public opinion on Twitter (measured via sentiment analysis) was slightly more favorable than public opinion measured by the Kaiser poll (approximately 50% vs 40%, respectively) but trends over time in both favorable and unfavorable views were similar in both sources. The Twitter-based measures of opinion as well as the Kaiser poll changed very little over time: correlation coefficients for favorable and unfavorable public opinion were .43 and .37, respectively. However, we found substantial spikes in the volume of ACA-related tweets in response to key events in the law's implementation, such as the first open enrollment period in October 2013 and the Supreme Court decision in June 2012. Twitter may be useful for tracking public opinion of health care reform as it appears to be comparable with conventional polling results. Moreover, in contrast with conventional polling, the overall amount of tweets also provides a potential indication of public interest of a particular issue at any point in time. ©Matthew A Davis, Kai Zheng

  2. The bioinformatics of nucleotide sequence coding for proteins requiring metal coenzymes and proteins embedded with metals

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tremberger, G.; Dehipawala, Sunil; Cheung, E.; Holden, T.; Sullivan, R.; Nguyen, A.; Lieberman, D.; Cheung, T.

    2015-09-01

    All metallo-proteins need post-translation metal incorporation. In fact, the isotope ratio of Fe, Cu, and Zn in physiology and oncology have emerged as an important tool. The nickel containing F430 is the prosthetic group of the enzyme methyl coenzyme M reductase which catalyzes the release of methane in the final step of methano-genesis, a prime energy metabolism candidate for life exploration space mission in the solar system. The 3.5 Gyr early life sulfite reductase as a life switch energy metabolism had Fe-Mo clusters. The nitrogenase for nitrogen fixation 3 billion years ago had Mo. The early life arsenite oxidase needed for anoxygenic photosynthesis energy metabolism 2.8 billion years ago had Mo and Fe. The selection pressure in metal incorporation inside a protein would be quantifiable in terms of the related nucleotide sequence complexity with fractal dimension and entropy values. Simulation model showed that the studied metal-required energy metabolism sequences had at least ten times more selection pressure relatively in comparison to the horizontal transferred sequences in Mealybug, guided by the outcome histogram of the correlation R-sq values. The metal energy metabolism sequence group was compared to the circadian clock KaiC sequence group using magnesium atomic level bond shifting mechanism in the protein, and the simulation model would suggest a much higher selection pressure for the energy life switch sequence group. The possibility of using Kepler 444 as an example of ancient life in Galaxy with the associated exoplanets has been proposed and is further discussed in this report. Examples of arsenic metal bonding shift probed by Synchrotron-based X-ray spectroscopy data and Zn controlled FOXP2 regulated pathways in human and chimp brain studied tissue samples are studied in relationship to the sequence bioinformatics. The analysis results suggest that relatively large metal bonding shift amount is associated with low probability correlation R

  3. Spatiotemporal PET Imaging of Dynamic Metabolic Changes After Therapeutic Approaches of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells, Neuronal Stem Cells, and a Chinese Patent Medicine in Stroke.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Hong; Song, Fahuan; Xu, Caiyun; Liu, Hao; Wang, Zefeng; Li, Jinhui; Wu, Shuang; YehuaShen; Chen, Yao; Zhu, Yunqi; Du, Ruili; Tian, Mei

    2015-11-01

    This study aimed to use spatiotemporal PET imaging to investigate the dynamic metabolic changes after a combined therapeutic approach of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), neuronal stem cells (NSCs), and Chinese patent medicine in a rat model of cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury. Cerebral ischemia was established by the middle cerebral artery occlusion approach. Thirty-six male rats were randomly assigned to 1 of the 6 groups: control phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), Chinese patent medicine (Qing-kai-ling [QKL]), induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), combination of iPSCs and QKL, neuronal stem cells (NSCs), and combination of NSCs and QKL. Serial (18)F-FDG small-animal PET imaging and neurofunctional tests were performed weekly. Autoradiographic imaging and immunohistochemical and immunofluorescent analyses were performed at 4 wk after stem cell transplantation. Compared with the PBS control group, significantly higher (18)F-FDG accumulations in the ipsilateral cerebral infarction were observed in 5 treatment groups from weeks 1-4. Interestingly, the most intensive (18)F-FDG accumulation was found in the NSCs + QKL group at week 1 but in the iPSCs + QKL group at week 4. The neurofunctional scores in the 5 treatment groups were significantly higher than that of the PBS group from week 3 to 4. In addition, there was a significant correlation between the PET imaging findings and neurofunctional recovery (P < 0.05) or glucose transporter-1 expression (P < 0.01). Immunohistochemical and immunofluorescence studies found that transplanted iPSCs survived and migrated to the ischemic region and expressed protein markers for cells of interest. Spatiotemporal PET imaging with (18)F-FDG demonstrated dynamic metabolic and functional recovery after iPSCs or NSCs combined with QKL in a rat model of cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury. iPSCs or NSCs combined with Chinese medicine QKL seemed to be a better therapeutic approach than these stem cells used individually.

  4. Measuring the style of innovative thinking among engineering students

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Passig, David; Cohen, Lizi

    2014-01-01

    Background: Many tools have been developed to measure the ability of workers to innovate. However, all of them are based on self-reporting questionnaires, which raises questions about their validity Purpose: The aim was to develop and validate a tool, called Ideas Generation Implementation (IGI), to objectively measure the style and potential of engineering students in generating innovative technological ideas. The cognitive framework of IGI is based on the Architectural Innovation Model (AIM). Tool description: The IGI tool was designed to measure the level of innovation in generating technological ideas and their potential to be implemented. These variables rely on the definition of innovation as 'creativity, implemented in a high degree of success'. The levels of innovative thinking are based on the AIM and consist of four levels: incremental innovation, modular innovation, architectural innovation and radical innovation. Sample: Sixty experts in technological innovation developed the tool. We checked its face validity and calculated its reliability in a pilot study (kappa = 0.73). Then, 145 undergraduate students were sampled at random from the seven Israeli universities offering engineering programs and asked to complete the questionnaire. Design and methods: We examined the construct validity of the tool by conducting a variance analysis and measuring the correlations between the innovator's style of each student, as suggested by the AIM, and the three subscale factors of creative styles (efficient, conformist and original), as suggested by the Kirton Adaptors and Innovators (KAI) questionnaire. Results: Students with a radical innovator's style inclined more than those with an incremental innovator's style towards the three creative cognitive styles. Students with an architectural innovator's style inclined moderately, but not significantly, towards the three creative styles. Conclusions: The IGI tool objectively measures innovative thinking among students

  5. Metabolic Environments and Genomic Features Associated with Pathogenic and Mutualistic Interactions between Bacteria and Plants is accepted for publication in MPMI

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

    Karpinets, Tatiana V; Park, Byung H; Syed, Mustafa H

    organisms. The protein belongs to the same clan of thioredoxins as the circadian clock protein kaiB found in many mutualistic symbionts and highly abundant in blood cells colonized by a human pathogen, Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi, the cause of typhoid fever.« less

  6. Readout of the UFFO Slewing Mirror Telescope to detect UV/optical photons from Gamma-Ray Bursts

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, J. E.; Lim, H.; Nam, J. W.; Brandt, S.; Budtz-Jørgensen, C.; Castro-Tirado, A. J.; Chen, P.; Choi, H. S.; Grossan, B.; Huang, M. A.; Jeong, S.; Jung, A.; Kim, M. B.; Kim, S.-W.; Lee, J.; Linder, E. V.; Liu, T.-C.; Na, G. W.; Panasyuk, M. I.; Park, I. H.; Ripa, J.; Reglero, V.; Smoot, G. F.; Svertilov, S.; Vedenkin, N.; Yashin, I.

    2013-07-01

    The Slewing Mirror Telescope (SMT) was proposed for rapid response to prompt UV/optical photons from Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs). The SMT is a key component of the Ultra-Fast Flash Observatory (UFFO)-pathfinder, which will be launched aboard the Lomonosov spacecraft at the end of 2013. The SMT utilizes a motorized mirror that slews rapidly forward to its target within a second after triggering by an X-ray coded mask camera, which makes unnecessary a reorientation of the entire spacecraft. Subsequent measurement of the UV/optical is accomplished by a 10 cm aperture Ritchey-Chrètien telescope and the focal plane detector of Intensified Charge-Coupled Device (ICCD). The ICCD is sensitive to UV/optical photons of 200-650 nm in wavelength by using a UV-enhanced S20 photocathode and amplifies photoelectrons at a gain of 104-106 in double Micro-Channel Plates. These photons are read out by a Kodak KAI-0340 interline CCD sensor and a CCD Signal Processor with 10-bit Analog-to-Digital Converter. Various control clocks for CCD readout are implemented using a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). The SMT readout is in charge of not only data acquisition, storage and transfer, but also control of the slewing mirror, the ICCD high voltage adjustments, power distribution, and system monitoring by interfacing to the UFFO-pathfinder. These functions are realized in the FPGA to minimize power consumption and to enhance processing time. The SMT readout electronics are designed and built to meet the spacecraft's constraints of power consumption, mass, and volume. The entire system is integrated with the SMT optics, as is the UFFO-pathfinder. The system has been tested and satisfies the conditions of launch and those of operation in space: those associated with shock and vibration and those associated with thermal and vacuum, respectively. In this paper, we present the SMT readout electronics: the design, construction, and performance, as well as the results of space environment test.

  7. CD82 suppresses CD44 alternative splicing-dependent melanoma metastasis by mediating U2AF2 ubiquitination and degradation

    PubMed Central

    Fu, Ailing; Zhu, Huifeng; Ren, Qiao; Wang, Bochu; Xu, Xingran; Bai, Huiyuan; Dong, Cheng

    2016-01-01

    Melanoma is one of the most lethal forms of skin cancer due to its early metastatic spread. The variant form of CD44 (CD44v), a cell surface glycoprotein, is highly expressed on metastatic melanoma. The mechanisms of regulation of CD44 alternative splicing in melanoma and its pathogenic contributions are so far poorly understood. Here, we investigated the expression level of CD44 in a large set of melanocytic lesions at different stages. We found that the expression of CD44v8-10 and a splicing factor, U2AF2, is significantly increased during melanoma progression, while CD82/KAI1, a tetraspanin family of tumor suppressor, is reduced in metastatic melanoma. CD44v8-10 and U2AF2 expressions which are negatively correlated with CD82 levels are dramatically elevated in primary melanoma compared with dysplastic nevi and further increased in metastatic melanoma. We also showed that patients with higher CD44v8-10 and U2AF2 expression levels tended to have shorter survival. By using both in vivo and in vitro assays, we demonstrated that CD82 inhibits the production of CD44v8-10 on melanoma. Mechanistically, U2AF2 is a downstream target of CD82 and in malignant melanoma facilitates CD44v8-10 alternative splicing. U2AF2-mediated CD44 isoform switch is required for melanoma migration in vitro and lung and liver metastasis in vivo. Notably, overexpression of CD82 suppresses U2AF2 activity by inducing U2AF2 ubiquitination. In addition, our data suggested that enhancement of melanoma migration by U2AF2-dependent CD44v8-10 splicing is mediated by Src/FAK/RhoA activation and formation of stress fibers as well as CD44-E-selectin binding reinforcement. These findings uncovered a hitherto unappreciated function of CD82 in severing the linkage between U2AF2-mediated CD44 alternative splicing and cancer aggressiveness, with potential prognostic and therapeutic implications in melanoma. PMID:27041584

  8. An Acoustic Charge Transport Imager for High Definition Television

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hunt, William D.; Brennan, Kevin; May, Gary; Glenn, William E.; Richardson, Mike; Solomon, Richard

    1999-01-01

    This project, over its term, included funding to a variety of companies and organizations. In addition to Georgia Tech these included Florida Atlantic University with Dr. William E. Glenn as the P.I., Kodak with Mr. Mike Richardson as the P.I. and M.I.T./Polaroid with Dr. Richard Solomon as the P.I. The focus of the work conducted by these organizations was the development of camera hardware for High Definition Television (HDTV). The focus of the research at Georgia Tech was the development of new semiconductor technology to achieve a next generation solid state imager chip that would operate at a high frame rate (I 70 frames per second), operate at low light levels (via the use of avalanche photodiodes as the detector element) and contain 2 million pixels. The actual cost required to create this new semiconductor technology was probably at least 5 or 6 times the investment made under this program and hence we fell short of achieving this rather grand goal. We did, however, produce a number of spin-off technologies as a result of our efforts. These include, among others, improved avalanche photodiode structures, significant advancement of the state of understanding of ZnO/GaAs structures and significant contributions to the analysis of general GaAs semiconductor devices and the design of Surface Acoustic Wave resonator filters for wireless communication. More of these will be described in the report. The work conducted at the partner sites resulted in the development of 4 prototype HDTV cameras. The HDTV camera developed by Kodak uses the Kodak KAI-2091M high- definition monochrome image sensor. This progressively-scanned charge-coupled device (CCD) can operate at video frame rates and has 9 gm square pixels. The photosensitive area has a 16:9 aspect ratio and is consistent with the "Common Image Format" (CIF). It features an active image area of 1928 horizontal by 1084 vertical pixels and has a 55% fill factor. The camera is designed to operate in continuous mode

  9. Small angle X-ray scattering as a high-throughput method to classify antimicrobial modes of action.

    PubMed

    von Gundlach, A R; Garamus, V M; Gorniak, T; Davies, H A; Reischl, M; Mikut, R; Hilpert, K; Rosenhahn, A

    2016-05-01

    days or weeks per single substance. The antimicrobial peptide showed a different mode of action as all tested antibiotics including polymyxin B and is therefore a good candidate for further drug development. We envision SAXS to become a useful tool within the high-throughput screening pipeline of modern drug discovery. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Antimicrobial peptides edited by Karl Lohner and Kai Hilpert. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. A resolution commemorating and celebrating the lives of Officer Kristine Marie Fairbanks, Deputy Anne Marie Jackson, and Sergeant Nelson Kai Ng who gave their lives in the service of the people of Washington State in 2008.

    THOMAS, 111th Congress

    Sen. Murray, Patty [D-WA

    2009-05-14

    Senate - 05/14/2009 Submitted in the Senate, considered, and agreed to without amendment and with a preamble by Unanimous Consent. (All Actions) Tracker: This bill has the status Agreed to in SenateHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

  11. Tobacco-Smoking, Alcohol-Drinking, and Betel-Quid-Chewing Behaviors: Development and Use of a Web-Based Survey System.

    PubMed

    Hsu, Kuo-Yao; Tsai, Yun-Fang; Huang, Chu-Ching; Yeh, Wen-Ling; Chang, Kai-Ping; Lin, Chen-Chun; Chen, Ching-Yen; Lee, Hsiu-Lan

    2018-06-11

    family members or friends took 7.7 minutes (SD 2.8; range 3-18). Most of the participants completed the survey within 5-10 minutes. The Web-based survey was easy to self-administer. Health care providers can use this Web-based survey system to save time in assessing these risk behaviors in clinical settings. All smokers had mild-to-severe nicotine addiction, and 5.6%-12.3% of patients and their family members or friends were at risk of alcohol dependence. Considering that these three behaviors, particularly in combination, dramatically increase the risk of esophageal cancer, appropriate and convenient interventions are necessary for preserving public health in Taiwan. ©Kuo-Yao Hsu, Yun-Fang Tsai, Chu-Ching Huang, Wen-Ling Yeh, Kai-Ping Chang, Chen-Chun Lin, Ching-Yen Chen, Hsiu-Lan Lee. Originally published in JMIR Mhealth and Uhealth (http://mhealth.jmir.org), 11.06.2018.

  12. Investigation Into the Accuracy of 3D Surface Roughness Characteristics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kumermanis, M.; Rudzitis, J.; Mozga, N.; Ancans, A.; Grislis, A.

    2014-04-01

    ārt pārāk liels punktu skaits nedod būtisku informācijas pieaugumu, bet palielina mērījumam nepieciešamo laiku. Līdz ar to, mums ir jāatrod optimālākais datu punktu skaits katrai virsmas apstrādes metodei vai to grupai.

  13. Analysis of astronomy knowledge of the students in the Federal Institute Sao Paulo

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moraes, A. C.; Voelzke, M. R.

    2014-08-01

    Este trabalho é parte integrante da pesquisa de mestrado acadêmico em ensino de ciências. Nele, busca-se apresentar os resultados da pesquisa realizada entre os 106 alunos do curso superior de tecnologia em automação industrial do Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia de São Paulo campus Cubatão, divididos em cinco turmas, duas no período matutino e três no período noturno. A análise dos resultados deste pré questionárioconstatou a falta de conhecimento básico dos discentes, sobre assuntos relacionados à astronomia, o que pode ser atribuído ao ineficiente processo de aprendizado pelo qual eles passaram tanto no ensino médio como no ensino fundamental, em escolas municipais, estaduais e particulares onde estudaram. No ensino de astronomia, têm-se diagnosticado constantemente diversas dificuldades conceituais tanto por parte de alunos como de professores de todas as áreas e níveis de ensino e poucos de fato a compreendem (ALBRECHT; VOELZKE, 2010). Demonstra-se as duas etapas concluídas do trabalho. A primeira etapa indica a análise dos conhecimentos prévios sobre conceitos astronômicos, através do questionário com 25 perguntas. A fim de corrigir as falhas constatadas, experimentalmente ministrou-se, externo ao conteúdo programático, um curso básico em astronomia, com diferentes estratégias de ensino, tais como, utilização de aulas expositivas dialogadas, recursos audiovisuais e palestras, para corrigir as dificuldades diagnosticadas. Essas estratégias de ensino se comprovaram adequadas às necessidades dos alunos e os conceitos foram finalmente compreendidos. Ao término do curso, completado o interstício de 120 dias, para caracterizar que houve a aprendizagem significativa, realizou-se uma nova pesquisa, quando, exatamente os mesmos 106 alunos responderam as mesmas 25 questões aplicadas na primeira etapa. Constata-se na segunda etapa, após análise, que em todas as questões, houve maior compreensão dos assuntos

  14. Earthquake prediction in Japan and natural time analysis of seismicity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Uyeda, S.; Varotsos, P.

    2011-12-01

    M9 super-giant earthquake with huge tsunami devastated East Japan on 11 March, causing more than 20,000 casualties and serious damage of Fukushima nuclear plant. This earthquake was predicted neither short-term nor long-term. Seismologists were shocked because it was not even considered possible to happen at the East Japan subduction zone. However, it was not the only un-predicted earthquake. In fact, throughout several decades of the National Earthquake Prediction Project, not even a single earthquake was predicted. In reality, practically no effective research has been conducted for the most important short-term prediction. This happened because the Japanese National Project was devoted for construction of elaborate seismic networks, which was not the best way for short-term prediction. After the Kobe disaster, in order to parry the mounting criticism on their no success history, they defiantly changed their policy to "stop aiming at short-term prediction because it is impossible and concentrate resources on fundamental research", that meant to obtain "more funding for no prediction research". The public were and are not informed about this change. Obviously earthquake prediction would be possible only when reliable precursory phenomena are caught and we have insisted this would be done most likely through non-seismic means such as geochemical/hydrological and electromagnetic monitoring. Admittedly, the lack of convincing precursors for the M9 super-giant earthquake has adverse effect for us, although its epicenter was far out off shore of the range of operating monitoring systems. In this presentation, we show a new possibility of finding remarkable precursory signals, ironically, from ordinary seismological catalogs. In the frame of the new time domain termed natural time, an order parameter of seismicity, κ1, has been introduced. This is the variance of natural time kai weighted by normalised energy release at χ. In the case that Seismic Electric Signals

  15. Noise in Nonlinear Dynamical Systems 3 Volume Paperback Set

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moss, Frank; McClintock, P. V. E.

    2011-11-01

    ring-laser gyroscope K. Vogel, H. Risken and W. Schleich; 12. Control of noise and applications to optical systems L. A. Lugiato, G. Broggi, M. Merri and M. A. Pernigo; 13. Transition probabilities and spectral density of fluctuations of noise driven bistable systems M. I. Dykman, M. A. Krivoglaz and S. M. Soskin; Index. Volume 3: List of contributors; Preface; Introduction to volume three; 1. The effects of coloured quadratic noise on a turbulent transition in liquid He II J. T. Tough; 2. Electrohydrodynamic instability of nematic liquid crystals: growth process and influence of noise S. Kai; 3. Suppression of electrohydrodynamic instabilities by external noise Helmut R. Brand; 4. Coloured noise in dye laser fluctuations R. Roy, A. W. Yu and S. Zhu; 5. Noisy dynamics in optically bistable systems E. Arimondo, D. Hennequin and P. Glorieux; 6. Use of an electronic model as a guideline in experiments on transient optical bistability W. Lange; 7. Computer experiments in nonlinear stochastic physics Riccardo Mannella; 8. Analogue simulations of stochastic processes by means of minimum component electronic devices Leone Fronzoni; 9. Analogue techniques for the study of problems in stochastic nonlinear dynamics P. V. E. McClintock and Frank Moss; Index.

  16. A new phase of matter in Oakland

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

    Klein, Spencer; Nystrand, Joakim

    2004-03-18

    Recent results from the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) and the phase diagram of matter at very high energies were the focal points of Quark Matter 2004, held January 10-17, 2004 in the Oakland, California convention center. About 700 participants, including 125 students, from 28 countries gathered for 5 days of plenary and parallel sessions. Besides the scientific discussions, participants enjoyed an afternoon of excursions; choices included visits to San Francisco, the Muir woods, and, of course, a chance to sample Napa Valley wines. There was also a day of introductory lectures for graduate students and a separate afternoon programmore » for 50 local high school teachers. The ''Quark Matter'' conference series has evolved into the premier venue for relativistic heavy ion collisions, and QM2004 was no exception. The 44 plenary and 92 parallel session talks featured a veritable flood of data from STAR (Kai Schweda, LBNL), PHENIX (Tony Frawley, Florida State), PHOBOS (Peter Steinberg, BNL) and BRAHMS (Michael Murray, Kansas), at RHIC. This was accompanied by contributions from HERMES ( Pasquale DiNezza, Frascati) and HERA-B (Joakim Spengler, Heidelberg) and continuing analyses from NA-49 (Marek Gazdzicki, Frankfurt) and NA-57 (Giuseppe Bruno, Bari) at the CERN SPS. The theoretical contributions presented a broad range of models and calculations, from microscopic particle-by-particle simulations to hydrodynamic models that model the bulk behavior using an equation of state. A focus of much discussion was the question ''Have we found the Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP)?'' This search was the prime motivation to build RHIC. Although the RHIC experiments made no formal statement, most conference attendees seemed to feel that the answer was yes. No single measurement makes the case, but the variety of data featured at QM2004 seems most easily explained in the context of a QGP. Some of the signatures included the suppression of high transverse momentum (pT) particles

  17. [Tuberculosis care and new horizon of Japanese society].

    PubMed

    Ishikawa, Nobukatsu; Nagayama, Naohiro

    2012-04-01

    SAWADA (Services for Health in Asian & African Regions (SHARE)). In 2006, Tokyo Metropolitan Government started to dispatch interpreters for foreigners to strengthen DOTS program. Collaboration with NGOs made it possible to train 37 volunteer interpreters, and to provide services in 13 languages, as of 2010. In Japan, the treatment defaulter rate among non-Japanese tuberculosis patients had been remarkably high. But with having the assistance of interpreters, the treatment completion rate has become higher than 80%. It is recommended to expand a similar system to other part of Japan, as the proportion of foreigners among total tuberculosis cases keeps on increasing nationwide. 3. Tuberculosis problems in Japan from the view point of homelessness-through the activities of a NPO supporting the homeless in collaboration with a public health center: Sadako KANAZAWA (Volunteer, NPO Medical Care Team of Shinjuku Renraku-Kai). It has been 20 years since the issue of homelessness emerged in Japanese society. The people with a history of both tuberculosis and experience of homelessness tend to show a poor prognosis. Our team has played an active role, working with Shinjuku Public Health Center for conducting a screening for tuberculosis every year. It seems that the screening service itself does not make a fundamental solution for homeless people with tuberculosis. Developing a more basic system of 'from street to apartment' is more essential. We believe that understanding the importance of the system is most essential to the people who are involved in health and medical care. 4. What we have learned from DOTS--Toward care by cuddling the patient's mind: Kazuyo ARIMA (PHN, Osaka City Public Health Center). Osaka City has achieved the goals of DOTS set up by the City's TB Control Guidelines since 2001 such as 80% DOTS implementation rate, halving the defaulter rate and incidence rate. It was shown by analysis that the treatment success depends on 'patient's awareness of the

  18. The relationship between shellbed type and sequence architecture: examples from Japan and New Zealand

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kondo, Yasuo; Abbott, Stephen T.; Kitamura, Akihisa; Kamp, Peter J. J.; Naish, Tim R.; Kamataki, Takanobu; Saul, Gordon S.

    1998-12-01

    Examples of lithology, fossil content and taphonomic features of shellbeds and intervening less fossiliferous intervals are presented from four Plio-Pleistocene successions (Shimosa Group, Boso Peninsula, Omma Formation, Hokuriku area, Japan, and Okehu, Kai-iwi, and Shakespeare groups in Wanganui, and the Rangitikei Group along the Rangitikei River in New Zealand). As for pre-Pliocene 3rd- and 4th-order depositional sequences, Plio-Pleistocene 5th- to 7th-order depositional sequences contain a variety of shellbeds which are often associated with surfaces or intervals that are characterized by sedimentary condensation, omission or erosion (e.g. sequence boundaries, ravinement surfaces, downlap surfaces and condensed sections). Stratigraphic patterns of shellbed type tend to be similar and repetitive within a basin and a locality. This demonstrates that a specific palaeogeography played an important role in determining the nature of shellbeds. For example, shellbeds formed in the context of toplap are common only in the Shimosa Group, which was deposited in a moderately sheltered sea, the palaeo-Tokyo Bay. Toplap shellbeds are rare in other sequences formed in more open conditions. Despite the variability resulting from such basin characteristics, common styles of shellbeds can be recognized that formed under conditions of marine onlap, backlap, downlap and toplap. Each type of shellbed has a characteristic fossil composition and taphonomy. Onlap and toplap shellbeds contain low-diversity macrobenthic associations including Glycymeris, Mercenaria, Paphies or other bivalves having robust shells, which are often abraded or fragmented. Backlap shellbeds, which are equivalent to the condensed section formed at the maximum transgression, are characterized by dominance of epifaunal macrobenthos such as bryozoa, brachiopoda, pectinid and ostreid bivalves, preserved in a slightly cemented, glauconitic muddy matrix. In contrast to fossils in such condensed sections, the shell

  19. In situ soil moisture and matrix potential - what do we measure?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jackisch, Conrad; Durner, Wolfgang

    2017-04-01

    poses quite some concern about deriving field parameters from lab measurements. We will present some insights from the comparison study and highlight the conceptual concerns arising from it. Through this we hope to stimulate a discussion towards more critical revision of measurement assumptions and towards the development of alternative techniques to monitor subsurface states. The sensor comparison study consortium is a cooperation of Wolfgang Durner2, Ines Andrä2, Kai Germer2, Katrin Schulz2, Marcus Schiedung2, Jaqueline Haller-Jans2, Jonas Schneider2, Julia Jaquemotte2, Philipp Helmer2, Leander Lotz2, Thomas Graeff3, Andreas Bauer3, Irene Hahn3, Conrad Jackisch1, Martin Sanda4, Monika Kumpan5, Johann Dorner5, Gerrit de Rooij6, Stephan Wessel-Bothe7, Lorenz Kottmann8, and Siegfried Schittenhelm8. The great support by the team and the Thünen Institute Braunschweig is gratefully acknowledged. 1 Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, 2 Technical University of Braunschweig, 3 University of Potsdam, 4 Technical University of Prague, 5 Federal Department for Water Management Petzenkirchen, 6 Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research Halle, 7 ecoTech GmbH Bonn, 8 Julius Kühn Institute Braunschweig

  20. Cretaceous combined structure in eastern Sichuan Basin, China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, P.; Liu, S.

    2009-12-01

    Eastern Sichuan Basin is confined by two thin-skinned fold-thrust belt, NW-trending Southern Daba Shan (Shan=Mountain) (SDB) in the northeast and NNE- or NE-trending Western XueFeng Shan (WXF) in the southeast, which constitute two convergent salients convex to the inner basin respectively. Although many factors can lead to the formation of fold-thrust belt salients, the eastern Sichuan salients would be attributed to the combined structure (firstly nominated by Chinese geologist, Li Siguang), which means the interaction of two structural belts in the same period. By field surveying and geological map interpreting, we found that WXF deformation began in Late Jurassic along the eastern side of structral belt, where the synclines cored by Upper-Middle Jurassic rock. The initial time of SDB deformation remains poorly determined, however our palaeocurrent data of Lower Cretaceous rock in adjecent foreland basin indicate the provenance from northeast or east. Hence we considered the two fold-thrust belt started interactive in Late Jurassic and mainly combined during Cretaceous. In Early Cretaceous, the front belt of WXF salient arrived near KaiXian where NEE-trending arc-shape folds converged with the NWW-trending arc-shape folds of SDB.The two salients shaped like an westward "open mouth", east of which EW-trending folds of two structural belts juxtaposed. Particularly in the middle belt of WXF (FengJie - WuFeng) the earlier NEE-trending folds were refolded by later NNE-trending folds. We interpret the NEE-trending folds as the front belt of earlier (maybe Late Jurassic) WXF salient. When the two combined fold belts propagated westward together, the original NNE-trending front belt of WXF constrained by the front belt of SDB and formed the curved fold trend lines convex to NNW. Then as WXF deformation continued but SDB gradually terminated, the consequent NNE-trending folds could not be curved and would superpose on the earlier NEE-trending folds.In Late Cretaceous

  1. The Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) aboard the Mars rover, Curiosity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Edgett, K. S.; Ravine, M. A.; Caplinger, M. A.; Ghaemi, F. T.; Schaffner, J. A.; Malin, M. C.; Baker, J. M.; Dibiase, D. R.; Laramee, J.; Maki, J. N.; Willson, R. G.; Bell, J. F., III; Cameron, J. F.; Dietrich, W. E.; Edwards, L. J.; Hallet, B.; Herkenhoff, K. E.; Heydari, E.; Kah, L. C.; Lemmon, M. T.; Minitti, M. E.; Olson, T. S.; Parker, T. J.; Rowland, S. K.; Schieber, J.; Sullivan, R. J.; Sumner, D. Y.; Thomas, P. C.; Yingst, R. A.

    2009-08-01

    The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover, Curiosity, is expected to land on Mars in 2012. The Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) will be used to document martian rocks and regolith with a 2-megapixel RGB color CCD camera with a focusable macro lens mounted on an instrument-bearing turret on the end of Curiosity's robotic arm. The flight MAHLI can focus on targets at working distances of 20.4 mm to infinity. At 20.4 mm, images have a pixel scale of 13.9 μm/pixel. The pixel scale at 66 mm working distance is about the same (31 μm/pixel) as that of the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Microscopic Imager (MI). MAHLI camera head placement is dependent on the capabilities of the MSL robotic arm, the design for which presently has a placement uncertainty of ~20 mm in 3 dimensions; hence, acquisition of images at the minimum working distance may be challenging. The MAHLI consists of 3 parts: a camera head, a Digital Electronics Assembly (DEA), and a calibration target. The camera head and DEA are connected by a JPL-provided cable which transmits data, commands, and power. JPL is also providing a contact sensor. The camera head will be mounted on the rover's robotic arm turret, the DEA will be inside the rover body, and the calibration target will be mounted on the robotic arm azimuth motor housing. Camera Head. MAHLI uses a Kodak KAI-2020CM interline transfer CCD (1600 x 1200 active 7.4 μm square pixels with RGB filtered microlenses arranged in a Bayer pattern). The optics consist of a group of 6 fixed lens elements, a movable group of 3 elements, and a fixed sapphire window front element. Undesired near-infrared radiation is blocked using a coating deposited on the inside surface of the sapphire window. The lens is protected by a dust cover with a Lexan window through which imaging can be ac-complished if necessary, and targets can be illuminated by sunlight or two banks of two white light LEDs. Two 365 nm UV LEDs are included to search for fluores-cent materials at night. DEA

  2. Determination for regional differences of agriculture using satellite data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Saito, G.

    2006-12-01

    Remote Sensing Laboratory, Field Science Center, Graduate School of Agriculture Science, Tohoku University starts at April 2004. For studies and education at the laboratory we are now developing the system of remote sensing and GIS. Earth Remote Sensing Data Analysis Center (ERSDAC) made the Home Pages of Terra/ASTER Image Web Library 3 "The Major Airport of the World." http://www.Ersdac.or.jp/ASTERimage3/library_E.html. First, we check the Airport Data to use agricultural understanding for the world. Almost major airport is located in rural area and surrounded with agriculture field. To survey the agriculture field adjacent to the major airport has almost the same condition of human activities. The images are same size and display about 18km X 14km. We can easily understand field size and surrounding conditions. We study seven airports as follows, 1. Tokyo Narita Airport (NRT), Japan, 2. Taipei Chiang kai Shek International Airport (TPE), Taiwan, 3. Bangkok International Airport (BKK), Thailand, 4. Riyadh King Khalid International Airport (RUH), Saudi Arabia, 5. Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG), Paris, France, 6. Vienna International Airport (VIE), Austria, 7. Denver International Airport (DEN), CO, USA. At the area of Tokyo Narita Airport, there are many golf courses, big urban area and small size of agricultural fields. At Taipei Airport area are almost same as Tokyo Narita Airport area and there are many ponds for irrigations. Bangkok Airport area also has golf courses and many ponds for irrigation water. Riyadh Airport area is quite different from others, and there are large bare soils and small agriculture fields with irrigation and circle shape. Paris Airport area and Vienna Airport area are almost agricultural fields and there are vegetated field and bare soil fields because of crop rotation. Denver Airport area consists of almost agriculture fields and each field size is very large. The advantages of ASTER data are as follows, 1. High-resolution and large

  3. The Astronomy Club of Araranguá: Educating Science Teachers as Science Communicators. (Breton Title: Clube de Astronomia de AraranguÁ: a Formação de Professores de Ciências Como Divulgadores Científicos. ) Club de Astronomía de Araranguá: la Formación del Profesorado Como Comunicadores de la Ciencia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Damasio, Felipe; Allain, Olivier; Antunes Rodrigues, Adriano

    2013-07-01

    The study reported in this work takes place since 2009 at the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Santa Catarina, Campus Araranguá. Our main goal is to help form teachers, training undergraduate students in Natural Sciences with specialization in Physics as science communicators, as well as to promote actions of broader scientific popularization in the region of the town of Araranguá through an Astronomy Club called CA2. Among the actions of scientific popularization that the students promote are: video production, radio broadcasts, lectures, nightly observations, preparation and exhibition of posters, physics teaching for children, continuing education activities for teachers and regular physics teaching using Astronomy as a theme. The Club's teacher education and scientific dissemination work is based on the Theory of Meaningful Learning, always trying to reach the student's predisposition to learn and produce potentially meaningful material, the two essential conditions for meaningful learning to occur. O estudo que este trabalho relata ocorre desde 2009 no Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia de Santa Catarina, campus Araranguá. Nele procura-se formar divulgadores científicos durante a formação inicial de docentes do curso de Licenciatura em Ciências da Natureza com habilitação em Física, além de promover ações de divulgação científica para o público geral da região da cidade de Araranguá por meio de um Clube de Astronomia chamado CA² (Clube de Astronomia de Araranguá). Entre as ações de divulgação científica que os licenciandos promovem estão: produção de vídeos, programas de rádio, palestras, observações noturnas, confecção e exposição de pôsteres, ensino de física para crianças, formação continuada de professores em atividades e ensino de Física regular utilizando a Astronomia como tema gerador. O trabalho de formação docente e divulgação científica do Clube fundamenta

  4. PREFACE: 17th International Conference on Recent Progress in Many-Body Theories (MBT17)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Reinholz, Heidi; Boronat, Jordi

    2014-08-01

    imaginative use and development of the Monte-Carlo approach and for his ground-breaking contributions to superconductivity. The Kümmel Award went to Max Metlitski (UC Santa Barbara) for remarkable advances in the theory of quantum criticality in metals. The nominations for the Kümmel Award were of such high standard that the Committee announced Honourable Mentions to Martin Eckstein (MPDS/U Hamburg, Germany) for his leading contributions in the development of non-equilibrium dynamical mean field theory, Emanuel Gull (U Michigan, USA) for the development of the Continuous-Time Auxiliary-Field Quantum Monte Carlo Method and for its use in understanding the interplay of the pseudogap and superconductivity in the Hubbard model and Kai Sun (U Michigan, USA) for seminal contributions to the theory of topological effects in strongly correlated electron systems. The Conference continues the series of conferences held before in Trieste, Italy (1979); Oaxtapec, Mexico (1981); Odenthal-Altenberg, Germany (1983); San Francisco, USA (1985); Oulu, Finland (1987); Arad, Israel (1989); Minneapolis, USA (1991); Schloé Segau, Austria (1994); Sydney, Australia (1997); Seattle, USA (1999); Manchester, UK (2001); Santa Fe, USA (2004); Buenos Aires, Argentina (2005); Barcelona, Spain (2007); Columbus, USA (2009) and Bariloche, Argentina (2011). It has been a great pleasure to prepare for the conference. We thank the IAC and in particular Susana Hernandez and David Neilson as well as the International Programme Committee for their great support and advice. Many more people have been involved locally in organizing this international meeting and thanks goes to them, in particular to the members of the LOC Sonja Lorenzen, Dieter Bauer, Niels-Uwe Bastian, Marina Hertzfeldt, Volker Mosert and Gerd Röpke. The next meeting will take place in Buffalo, USA in 2015 and we look forward to yet another exciting exchange on Recent Progress in Many-Body Theories. Heidi Reinholz and Jordi Boronat Guest editors

  5. Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Due to Improvement of Biodegradable Waste Management System

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bendere, R.; Teibe, I.; Arina, D.; Lapsa, J.

    2014-12-01

    ārdāmo atkritumu apsaimniekošanas statistikas datu novērtējums atbilstoši likumdošanas prasībām. Izmantojot matemātisko modelēšanas programmu WAMPS, analizēti trīs dažādi bioloģisko noārdāmo atkritumu apsaimniekošanas scenāriji, kuriem veikts vides ietekmes novērtējums, kas izteikts klimata pārmaiņu potenciālā - tonnas CO2 ekv. Darbā secināts, ka lielākais siltumnīcefektu (SEG) avots atkritumu apsaimniekošanas ir atkritumu poligoni (Bāzes scenārijs), ko galvenokārt ietekmē CH4 rašanās, organiskajiem atkritumiem sadaloties anaerobos apstākļos. Būtisku pozitīvo efektu SEG emisiju samazināšanā dod atkritumu pārstrāde otrreizējās izejvielās un sadedzināšana cementa ražotnē, kas ļauj samazināt dabīgo izejmateriālu un fosilo enerģijas resursu patēriņu. Attīstot pārtikas atkritumu pārstrādi biogāzē, lietderīgi veidot alternatīvās vai izmantot esošās sistēmas, kas nodrošina iegūtās enerģijas un digestāta patēriņu, t.i lauksaimniecība, transports vai komunālie pakalpojumi. Lai no zaļajiem dārza atkritumiem iegūtu augstvērtīgu kompostu, valstī jārada tam nepieciešami likumdošanas un ekonomiskie instrumenti, kas veicina komposta tirgus attīstību.

  6. Summary of the Oahu, Hawaii, Regional Aquifer-System Analysis

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Nichols, William D.; Shade, Patricia J.; Hunt, Charles D.

    1996-01-01

    island. A regional aquifer system composed of the Waianae aquifer in the Waianae Volcanics and the Koolau aquifer in the Koolau Basalt is subdivided into well-defined areas by geohydrologic barriers. The aquifers are separated by the Waianae confining unit formed by weathering along the Waianae-Koolau unconformity. In some coastal areas, a caprock of sedimentary deposits overlies and confines the aquifers. The island of Oahu has been divided into seven major ground-water areas delineated by deep-seated structural geohydrologic barriers; these areas are further subdivided by shallower internal barriers to ground-water flow. The Koolau rift zone along the eastern (windward) side of the island and the Waianae rift zone to the west (Waianae area) constitute two of the major ground-water areas. North-central Oahu is divided into three smaller ground-water areas, Mokuleia, Waialua, and Kawailoa. The Schofield ground-water area encompasses much of the Schofield Plateau of central Oahu. Southern Oahu is divided into six areas, Ewa, Pearl Harbor, Moanalua, Kalihi, Beretania, and Kaimuki. Southeastern Oahu is divided into the Waialae and Wailupe-Hawaii Kai areas. Along the northeast coast of windward Oahu is the Kahuku ground-water area. The aquifers of Oahu contain shallow freshwater and deeper saltwater flow systems. There are five fresh ground-water flow systems: meteoric freshwater flow diverges from ground-water divides that lie somewhere within the Waianae and Koolau rift zones, forming an interior flow system in central Oahu (which is divided into the northern and southern Oahu flow systems) and exterior flow systems in western (Waianae area) Oahu, eastern (windward) Oahu, and southeastern Oahu. Development of the ground-water resources on Oahu began when the first well was drilled near Honouliuli in the summer of 1879. By 1890, 86 wells had been drilled on the island. From about 1891 to about 1910, development increased rapidly with the drilling of a

  7. Nature's loss, Immunologists gain?

    PubMed

    Aluvihare

    2000-01-01

    Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology Nature Publishing Group (2000). ISSN 1471-0072. Monthly First there was Annual Reviews, then came the monthly Elsevier Trends Journals, both of which try to identify hot topics in their chosen fields. The Current Opinion journals followed several years later, and Current Opinion in Cell Biology is presently one of the highest 'impact factor' review journals, with a distinguished board of editors and advisors and a systematic approach to regular coverage of the major fields of cell biology. Important topics are visited once a year, whether or not something specially exciting happened in the last 12 months. Add to this list Seminars in Cell and Developmental Biology, the FASEB journal and the countless minireviews in 'real' journals, and you begin to wonder how anyone finds any time for doing experiments, or indeed reading the primary literature. So, into this already crowded field arrive three important newcomers: Nature Reviews in Molecular Cell Biology, Genetics, and Neurosciences, of which the first two will probably interest readers of Journal of Cell Science the most. Backed by the name and money of Nature and edited by experienced Nature staff, it is hard to see how these publications can possibly do other than succeed with writers and readers alike. What's inside the first issue? The cover of Nature Reviews in Molecular Cell Biology presents a 3-colour montage of a blue cell nucleus surrounded by splotches of green GPI-anchored GFP overlaid by orange actin stress fibres that seem to come from somewhere else. This image trails a comprehensive review from Kai Simons and Derek Toomre about Lipid Rafts. There are another five major review articles: calcium puffs and sparks, rings around DNA, HIV inhibitors, kinesin and the circadian clock provide a rich and varied mix of topics from authors who know what they're talking about. Surrounding this core is an entertaining mixture of 'highlights' at the front: news and views about

  8. Bright and dynamic, constantly updated and enhanced online.?

    PubMed

    Hunt

    2000-01-01

    Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology Nature Publishing Group (2000). ISSN 1471-0072. Monthly First there was Annual Reviews, then came the monthly Elsevier Trends Journals, both of which try to identify hot topics in their chosen fields. The Current Opinion journals followed several years later, and Current Opinion in Cell Biology is presently one of the highest 'impact factor' review journals, with a distinguished board of editors and advisors and a systematic approach to regular coverage of the major fields of cell biology. Important topics are visited once a year, whether or not something specially exciting happened in the last 12 months. Add to this list Seminars in Cell and Developmental Biology, the FASEB journal and the countless minireviews in 'real' journals, and you begin to wonder how anyone finds any time for doing experiments, or indeed reading the primary literature. So, into this already crowded field arrive three important newcomers: Nature Reviews in Molecular Cell Biology, Genetics, and Neurosciences, of which the first two will probably interest readers of Journal of Cell Science the most. Backed by the name and money of Nature and edited by experienced Nature staff, it is hard to see how these publications can possibly do other than succeed with writers and readers alike. What's inside the first issue? The cover of Nature Reviews in Molecular Cell Biology presents a 3-colour montage of a blue cell nucleus surrounded by splotches of green GPI-anchored GFP overlaid by orange actin stress fibres that seem to come from somewhere else. This image trails a comprehensive review from Kai Simons and Derek Toomre about Lipid Rafts. There are another five major review articles: calcium puffs and sparks, rings around DNA, HIV inhibitors, kinesin and the circadian clock provide a rich and varied mix of topics from authors who know what they're talking about. Surrounding this core is an entertaining mixture of 'highlights' at the front: news and views about

  9. PREFACE: International Conference on Computing in High Energy and Nuclear Physics (CHEP 2010)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lin, Simon C.; Shen, Stella; Neufeld, Niko; Gutsche, Oliver; Cattaneo, Marco; Fisk, Ian; Panzer-Steindel, Bernd; Di Meglio, Alberto; Lokajicek, Milos

    2011-12-01

    , as well as two banquets held at the Grand Hotel and Grand Formosa Regent in Taipei. The next CHEP conference will be held in New York, the United States on 21-25 May 2012. We would like to thank the National Science Council of Taiwan, the EU ACEOLE project, commercial sponsors, and the International Advisory Committee and the Programme Committee members for all their support and help. Special thanks to the Programme Committee members for their careful choice of conference contributions and enormous effort in reviewing and editing about 340 post conference proceedings papers. Simon C Lin CHEP 2010 Conference Chair and Proceedings Editor Taipei, Taiwan November 2011 Track Editors/ Programme Committee Chair Simon C Lin, Academia Sinica, Taiwan Online Computing Track Y H Chang, National Central University, Taiwan Harry Cheung, Fermilab, USA Niko Neufeld, CERN, Switzerland Event Processing Track Fabio Cossutti, INFN Trieste, Italy Oliver Gutsche, Fermilab, USA Ryosuke Itoh, KEK, Japan Software Engineering, Data Stores, and Databases Track Marco Cattaneo, CERN, Switzerland Gang Chen, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China Stefan Roiser, CERN, Switzerland Distributed Processing and Analysis Track Kai-Feng Chen, National Taiwan University, Taiwan Ulrik Egede, Imperial College London, UK Ian Fisk, Fermilab, USA Fons Rademakers, CERN, Switzerland Torre Wenaus, BNL, USA Computing Fabrics and Networking Technologies Track Harvey Newman, Caltech, USA Bernd Panzer-Steindel, CERN, Switzerland Antonio Wong, BNL, USA Ian Fisk, Fermilab, USA Niko Neufeld, CERN, Switzerland Grid and Cloud Middleware Track Alberto Di Meglio, CERN, Switzerland Markus Schulz, CERN, Switzerland Collaborative Tools Track Joao Correia Fernandes, CERN, Switzerland Philippe Galvez, Caltech, USA Milos Lokajicek, FZU Prague, Czech Republic International Advisory Committee Chair: Simon C. Lin , Academia Sinica, Taiwan Members: Mohammad Al-Turany , FAIR, Germany Sunanda Banerjee, Fermilab, USA Dario Barberis, CERN

  10. Nėščiųjų ir jaunų negimdžiusių moterų krūtų tūrio, kūno dydžio ir pasyviosios masės lyginamasis tyrimas

    PubMed Central

    Drąsutis, Jonas; Barkus, Arūnas; Kairienė, Elena; Drąsutienė, Gražina; Norvilaitė, Kristina; Tutkuvienė, Janina

    2016-01-01

    Tikslas. Palyginti nėščiųjų ir jaunų negimdžiusių moterų kūno ir krūtų dydžio rodiklius. Medžiaga ir metodika. 2008–2009 m. (I tyrimas) ištirti 82 jaunų negimdžiusių devyniolikos metų amžiaus merginų krūtų ir kūno dydžio rodikliai, jie palyginti su 2013–2015 m. (II tyrimas) Vilniuje tirtų nėščiųjų (pirmuoju nėštumo trečdaliu) tais pačiais kūno stambumo ir krūtų parametrais – ūgiu, svoriu, įvairių kūno dalių apimtimis, odos klostėmis, pasyviąja kūno mase ir krūtų tūriu. Kūno dydžio rodikliams palyginti visos tiriamosios buvo skirstomos į grupes pagal krūtų dydį ir kūno stambumą (procentiliniu metodu). Nėščiosios suskirstytos į gimdančias pirmą kartą ir pakartotinai. Abiejuose tyrimuose naudota standartinė antropometrinė metodika. Krūties tūris apskaičiuotas pagal R. Kramerio ir G. Dexlerio (1981) formulę. Pasyviosios kūno masės (riebalinio audinio) kiekis procentais – pagal odos ir poodžio riebalines klostes naudojant W. E. Sirio (1961), J. H. Wilmorės ir A. R. Behnkės (1970) formules. Rezultatai, nustatyti visų parametrų aprašomosios statistikos, įvairovės ir pasiskirstymo rodikliais, apdoroti naudojant SPSS 22.0 programą. Skirtumai tarp tiriamųjų grupių vertinti pagal Stjudento t kriterijų. Pasirinktas patikimumo lygmuo p < 0,05. Rezultatai. Statistiškai reikšmingai didesni nei jaunų negimdžiusių nėščiųjų grupės moterų rodikliai buvo šie: krūtinės, juosmens, klubų apimties, krūties tūrio ir juosmens klubų indeksas. Nėščių moterų riebalinis audinys kaupėsi daugiau viršutinėje kūno dalyje, nors santykinė ir absoliuti pasyvioji kūno masė tarp grupių skyrėsi nereikšmingai. Lyginant pirmą kartą ir pakartotinai gimdančių su jaunų negimdžiusių moterų rodmenimis paaiškėjo, kad pakartotinai gimdančios moterys turėjo didesnį riebalinio audinio kiekį, o pirmąkart ir jaunų negimdžiusių merginų rodikliai reikšmingai nesiskyrė. Ma

  11. ESA and NASA agree new mission scenario for Cassini-Huygens

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    2001-07-01

    may arise,” said John Credland, Head of ESA’s Space Science Projects Department. “The measure of an organisation is the manner in which it recovers.” The new mission scenario will have some impact on Cassini’s propellant supply, consuming about a quarter of the Orbiter’s reserve fuel by the end of the four-year mission. It also involves several modifications to ensure maximum efficiency of the Huygens communications system. These include pre-heating the Probe to improve tuning of the transmitted signal, continuous commanding by the Orbiter to force the receiver into non-Doppler mode, and changes in the Probe’s on-board software. "I am very happy that we have found a good engineering solution,” said Kai Clausen, ESA’s Integral Project Manager and co-chairman of the HRTF. “But a lot more work still needs to be done. Now we need to complete the detailed design, implementation, validation and testing over the next few years." “There are still some uncertainties, for example the exact definition of the landing site, but these are minor problems,” said Jean-Pierre Lebreton, ESA’s Huygens Project Scientist. “What is important is that we have found the solution. It is now time for fine tuning.” The ESA Director of Science, David Southwood, and the NASA Associate Director for Space Science, Edward Weiler, have jointly agreed to the new mission approach and have asked the HRTF to hand over to the project teams in July for implementation of the joint recommendations. (**) The Doppler shift is a measure of the difference in tone between an emitted and a received wave (e.g. radio) when the transmitting source and the receiver move one with respect to the other. Note to editors Cassini-Huygens is a joint NASA/ESA mission with the participation of the Italian Space Agency (ASI) launched by a Titan IVB/Centaur launch vehicle on 15 October 1997, that will reach Saturn in 2004. It consists of NASA's orbiter Cassini and ESA's probe Huygens. While Cassini

  12. Exclusive Reactions at High Momentum Transfer

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Radyushkin, Anatoly; Stoler, Paul

    2008-03-01

    . P. Szczepaniak and J. T. Londergan -- High energy break-up of few-nucleon systems / M. Sargsian -- Photodisintegration of the deuteron, and [symbol]He / R. Gilman -- A review of the few-body form factors / G. G. Petratos -- Nucleon form factor measurements and interpretation / C. F. Perdrisat -- Implications of G[symbol](Q[symbol])/G[symbol](Q[symbol]) / S. Dubnicka and A. Z. Dubnickova -- High Q[symbol] large acceptance G[symbol]/G[symbol] measurements using polarization transfer / L. Pentchev, C. F. Perdrisat and B. Wojtsekhowski -- A precise measurement of the neutron magnetic form factor G[symbol] in the few-GeV[symbol] region / G. P. Gilfoyle et al. (the CLAS collaboration) -- Magnetic form factor of the neutron up to 8 (GeV/c)[symbol] / B. Quinn -- Timelike form factors / K. K. Seth -- Polarization phenomena in e[symbol]e[symbol] [symbol] pp¯ revisited / A. Z. Dubnickova and S. Dubnicka -- Light-cone sum rules for form factors of the N[symbol] transition at Q[symbol] = 0 / J. Rohrwild -- Exclusive electroproduction of [symbol] mesons / A. N. Villano (for the JLab E01-002 collaboration) -- Exclusive electroproduction of [symbol] mesons in the S[symbol](1535) resonance region at high momentum transfer / M. M. Dalton (for the JLab E01-002 collaboration) -- Two-photon exchange in electron-proton elastic scattering: theory update / A. V. Afanasev -- Two-photon exchange contributions to elastic ep scattering in the non-local field formalism / P. Jain, S. D. Joglekar and S. Mitra -- Beyond the born approximation: a precise comparison of positron-proton and electron-proton elastic scattering in CLAS / J. Lachniet et al. -- Meson form factors in the space-like region / D. Gaskell -- Pion-nucleon distribution amplitudes / A. Peters -- [symbol] scattering in the 1/N[symbol] expansion / H. J. Kwee -- [symbol] annihilations into quasi-two-body final states at 10.58 GeV / Kai Yi -- Transition distribution amplitudes / J. P. Lansberg, B. Pire and L. Szymanowski -- Novel QCD

  13. Conversations with Marcgrave: the Origin of Modern Astronomy in the Southern Hemisphere (Spanish Title: Conversando con Marcgrave: El Origen de la Astronomía Moderna en el Hemisferio Sur) Conversando Com Marcgrave: a Origem da Moderna Astronomia no Hemisfério Sul

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Medeiros, Alexandre; Araújo, Fábio

    2005-12-01

    ício de Nassau e reúne alguns colegas professores apaixonados pelo ensino da Astronomia. A história é contada, deste modo, em um clima ameno e pretensamente divertido, mas as informações históricas e conceituais nele contidas estão apoiadas em fontes bibliográficas confiáveis devidamente apontadas ao final do texto. Elas vão desde a obra original desse cientista, na qual aparece o seu relato sobre a observação de um eclipse solar no Recife, passando por obras clássicas a seu respeito, como a do professor Juliano Moreira, até fontes bem mais recentes, como o trabalho muito influente do Professor John North. Outros textos de porte sobre o período da colonização holandesa no Brasil, como as obras já clássicas de Charles Boxer, Bouman e Boogaart, dentre outras, são também utilizados na construção desta dramatização pedagógica envolvendo um interessante capítulo da História da Astronomia.

  14. ESA presents INTEGRAL, its space observatory for Gamma-ray astronomy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    1998-09-01

    Baikonur is actually scheduled for 2001. ESA pioneered gamma-ray astronomy in space with its COS-B satellite (1975). Russia's Granat (1989) and NASA's Compton GRO (1991) followed. But INTEGRAL will be better still. With this mission ESA will further strengthen its lead in gamma-astronomy. Principal Investigators : Imager : Pietro Ubertini (IAS, Frascati, Italy) Spectrometer : Gilbert Vedrenne (CESR, Toulouse/France) Volker Schoenfelder (MPE, Garching/.Germany) X-Ray monitor : Niels Lund (DSRI, Copenhagen/Denmark) Optical Monitoring Camera : Alvaro Gimenez (INTA, Madrid/Spain) Integral Science Data Center : Thierry Courvoisier (Genova Observatory, Switzerland) For further information, please contact : ESA Public Relations Division Tel: +33(0)1.53.69.71.55 Fax: +33(0)1.53.69.76.90 INTEGRAL MEDIA DAY Tuesday 22 September 1998 Newton Conference Centre ESTEC, Noordwijk, Keplerlaan 1 (The Netherlands) Programme 10:30 . Arrival and Registration in the Newton Conference Centre 10:45. Welcome and introduction by David Dale, Director of ESTEC 10:50 The Scientific Challenge : the mission of INTEGRAL, by Chistoph Winkler, INTEGRAL Project Scientist 11:10 The Technical Challenge : the INTEGRAL spacecraft, by Kai Clausen, INTEGRAL Project Manager 11:30 The Industrial Challenge by A. Simeone, Programme Director at Aleniaspazio 11:45 Question/Answer session 12:00 Visit to INTEGRAL spacecraft ; photo and film opportunities, incl. Interview opportunities with speakers 13:00 Informal buffet lunch in Foyer of Conference Centre Newton 14:30 End of event

  15. Development and Experimental Study of Phantoms for Mapping Skin Chromophores

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Silapetere, A.; Spigulis, J.; Saknite, I.

    2014-06-01

    šanu veicinošu serumu (FBS). Šūnu kultivēšanai nepieciešamas vismaz divas nedēļas. Šajā slāņainajā struktūrā ir iespējams pievienot ādas hromoforu simulējošus iekļāvumus. Optiskajā diapazonā no 450-900 nm ādas hromoforas, kurām ir visizteiktākais spektrs, ir bilirubīns, melanīns un hemoglobīns. Lai simulētu ādas hromoforu spektrālās īpašības, tika izmantots sintezēts bilirubīns, eritrocītu masa un nigrozīns. Lai izpētītu šī maketa iekārtu kalibrēšanas potenciālu, tika izveidoti 76 paraugi, kur katros 24 paraugos bija pievienots viens no absorbentiem ar dažādām koncentrācijām. Pilna ādas maketa audzēšanai nepieciešamas divas nedēļas, lai ātrāk tiktu iegūti pirmie rezultāti tika veidoti maketi bez dermālo un epidermālo šūnu piejaukuma. Fibrīna matricas un ādas imitējošā maketa absorbcijas spējas ir mazas salīdzinājumā ar hromoforu absorbcijas spējām. Lai novērtētu maketu, kas paredzēti konkrētu hromoforu spektrālo īpašību imitēšanai, iespējams veikt eksperimentus ar fibrīna matricu, kuras izveidošanai ir nepieciešama viena diena. Sintezētā bilirubīna koncentrācijas tika mainītas robežās no 0,01-2,00 mg/ml, melanīna optisko īpašību simulējošās vielas nigrozīna koncentrācija tika mainīta no 1,5 - 312,8 μg/ml, eritrocītu masas koncentrācija mainījās no 0,2 - 42,4 mg/ml.Mērījumi tika veikti, izmantojot multispektrālās attēlošanas iekārtu Cri Nuance 2.4. (Cambridge Research & Instrumentation, Inc., Amerikas Savienotās Valstis). Absorbcijas spektrs tika apstrādāts, izmantojot Microsoft Office Excel 2007. Iegūtajos rezultātos ir iespējams redzēt, ka piedāvātais ādas makets spēj simulēt ādas optiskās īpašības. Izmantotie absorbenti - sintezētais bilirubīns, nigrozīns un eritrocītu masa - spēj simulēt ādas hromoforu spektrālās īpašības. Palielinot absorbentu koncentrāciju paraugā, palielinās absorbcijas spektra maksimālā intensit

  16. EDITORIAL: Focus on Micro- and Nanofluidics FOCUS ON MICRO- AND NANOFLUIDICS

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ajdari, Armand; Stone, Howard A.

    2009-07-01

    , simulation and theory, in this rapidly developing field. Focus on Micro- and Nanofluidics Contents The anti-lotus leaf effect in nanohydrodynamic bump arrays Keith Morton, Ophelia K C Tsui, Chih-Kuan Tung, James C Sturm, Stephen Y Chou and Robert Austin Transport in nanofluidic systems: a review of theory and applications W Sparreboom, A van den Berg and J C T Eijkel The effects of polymer molecular weight on filament thinning and drop breakup in microchannels P E Arratia, L-A Cramer, J P Gollub and D J Durian Mass transfer and interfacial properties in two-phase microchannel flows Jeffrey D Martin and Steven D Hudson Temporal response of an initially deflected PDMS channel Priyadarshi Panda, Kai P Yuet, Dhananjay Dendukuri, T Alan Hatton and Patrick S Doyle Gas-liquid two-phase flow patterns in rectangular polymeric microchannels: effect of surface wetting properties D Huh, C-H Kuo, J B Grotberg and S Takayama Mixing via thermocapillary generation of flow patterns inside a microfluidic drop María Luisa Cordero, Hans Olav Rolfsnes, Daniel R Burnham, Paul A Campbell, David McGloin and Charles N Baroud Pressure-driven DNA transport across an artificial nanotopography J T Del Bonis-O'Donnell, W Reisner and D Stein Eulerian indicators for predicting and optimizing mixing quality Rob Sturman and Stephen Wiggins Asymmetric flows over symmetric surfaces: capacitive coupling in induced-charge electro-osmosis T S Mansuripur, A J Pascall and T M Squires High-viscosity fluid threads in weakly diffusive microfluidic systems T Cubaud and T G Mason Interfacial mass transport in steady three-dimensional flows in microchannels Joseph D Kirtland, Corey R Siegel and Abraham D Stroock Active connectors for microfluidic drops on demand Jean-Christophe Galas, Denis Bartolo and Vincent Studer Electrokinetic control of sample splitting at a channel bifurcation using isotachophoresis Alexandre Persat and Juan G Santiago Differential inertial focusing of particles in curved low

  17. Ep32_African American History Month

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2018-02-16

    >> Houston, We Have A Podcast. Welcome to the official podcast of the NASA Johnson Space Center, Episode 32, African American History Month. I'm Gary Jordan, and I'll be your co-host today, along with Kai Harris, the Lead Budget Analyst for Propulsion and Power Engineering Division, and the chair of the African American Employee Resource Group. Kai, thanks for coming on! >> Hey, Gary! Glad to be here! >> So we have these groups here at the center called, Employee Resource Groups, and Kai here is the Chair of the African American Employee Resource Group, so, we teamed up to do a special episode for African American History Month where we'll be bringing in four guests that specialize in different areas across the center to do four unique segments. >> That's right! We're very proud of our employee resource group, and we have folks with the right range of skills. Today, we have guests involved in life support systems, an Orion flight controller, robotics engineering, and human health and performance. >> Awesome! I'm excited that we can bring everyone together for this episode. So this is pretty cool, because you'll see, all in one episode, how many things are going on at the same time. So, with no further delay, let's go lightspeed and jump right ahead to talk with our guests from across the center for African American History Month. Enjoy! [ Music & Radio Transmissions ] Alright, Kai, thanks for helping me open up this episode, but before we go to our first guest, I kind of wanted to set some context about ERGs, these employer resource groups. So, you can kind of start off by talking about, what is an employee resource group here at the Johnson Space Center, and then about yours, the African American Employee Resource Group. >> So the mission of the AAERG is to serve JSC as a catalyst to strengthen JSC recruitment, onboarding, retention, engagement, and development of African Americans at JSC. That's contributing to the maximum inclusion and innovation of the JSC

  18. Advanced Materials and Processing 2010

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Yunfeng; Su, Chun Wei; Xia, Hui; Xiao, Pengfei

    2011-06-01

    EuFe[symbol] materials / Huen Kan ... [et al.] -- Synthesis and characterization of Ni(OH)[symbol] nanosheets by a simple route at low temperature / Qian Li ... [et al.] -- The prediction of laser clad parameters based on neural network / Jichang Liu and Libin Ni -- The effects of Y[symbol] doping on the phase structure and photoluminescence properties of (Gd[symbol]) red phosphors / Qi Zhu ... [et al.] -- Design of an in situ detection system for laser hardened width / Caixia Yang and Jichang Liu -- Numerical simulation microstructure morphology evolution and solute microsegregation of Al-Si-Cu ternary alloys during solidification process / Shuisheng Xie ... [et al.].A shear-lag model for carbon nonotube-reinforced magnesium matrix composites / Wei-Xue Li ... [et al.] -- Corrosion behavior of the Alumina Coated Al6061 Alloy by Plasma electrolytic oxidation / Kai Wang ... [et al.] -- A simple route for synthesis of tin dioxide nanorods based on improved solid-state reactions / Yuehua Li ... [et al.] -- Comparative study on microstructure and magnetic properties of amorphous wires with different diameters / Jing-Shun Liu ... [et al.] -- Chemical-Vapor-Depositing (CVD) aluminium film on steel surface with the disproportionation reaction of Al[symbol]S / Wu Guoyuan and Dai Yongnian -- The microstructure and properties of super martensitic stainless steel microalloyed with tungsten and copper / Dong Ye ... [et al.] -- Design of low elastic modulus Ti-Nb-Zr alloys for implant materials / Xiping Song ... [et al.] -- In situ monitoring molten pool parameters for detecting visible defects in laser cladding / Liusha Yang ... [et al.].

  19. Wrench tectonics control on Neogene-Quaternary sedimentation along the Mid-Hungarian Mobile Belt

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pogacsas, Gyorgy; Juhász, Györgyi; Mádl-Szőnyi, Judit; Simon, Szilvia; Lukács, Szilveszter; Csizmeg, János

    2010-05-01

    Africa-Europe convergence vector. Pliocene-Quaternary was characterised by 1-5 km left lateral wrenching along the Mid-Hungarian Mobile Belt. Based on high resolution seismic measurements on the Danube river Toth (2003) supposed an even more recent activity along the Paks-Szolnok wrench fault zone. The supposed late Quaternary activity of the Mid-Hungarian Mobile Belt is supported by recent hydrogeologic investigations. According to Mádl-Szőnyi et al (2005) and Simon et al (in press) from the Pre-Neogene basement originates an ascending overpressured highly saline water flow regime. Deep ascending water rises near to the surface, intercepting the aquifer and aquitard layers along conductive strike slipe faults of the Mid-Hungarian Mobile Belt and mixing with shallower groundwater. Acknowledgements The research work was supported by the Hungarian National Research Fund (OTKA 035168, T 047159). References Detzky Lőrinc K. (1997) Detailed tectonic study of the Western edge of the Szolnok flysch zone using seismic and well data. Thesis Candidate of Science. Hungarian Academy of Science. p. 121. Grow J. A., R. E. Mattick, A. Bérczi-Makk, Cs. Péró, D. Hajdú, Gy. Pogácsás, P. Várnai, E. Varga, (1994) Structure of the Békés basin inferred from seismic reflection, well and gravity data. in Teleki P., J. Kókai, R.E. Mattick eds. Basin analysis in petroleum exploration, a case study from the Békés basin, Hungary. Kluwer Academic Publisher, Dordrecht, Netherlands, p. 1-38. Juhász, Gy., Pogácsás Gy., Magyar I. (2007) A giant canyon system incised into the Late-Neogene (pannonian s.l.) sediments? (in Hungarian Óriáskanyon-rendszer szeli át a pannóniai üledékeket? Földtani Közlöny (Bulletin of the Geological Society of Hungary)137/3. 307-326. Mádlné Szőnyi J. Simon Sz. Tóth J. Pogácsás Gy. (2005) Interrelationship between surface and subsurface waters at the Kelemen-szék and Kolon lakes, Duna-Tisza Interfluve, Hungary (in Hungarian Felszíni és felsz

  20. Rivers of Carbon: Carbon Fluxes in a Watershed Context

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wohl, E.; Tom, B.; Hovius, N.

    2017-12-01

    Research within the past decade has identified the roles of diverse terrestrial processes in mobilizing terrestrial carbon from bedrock, soil, and vegetation and in redistributing this carbon among the atmosphere, biota, geosphere, and oceans. Rivers are central to carbon redistribution, serving as the primary initial receptor of mobilized terrestrial carbon, as well as governing the proportions of carbon sequestered within sediment, transported to oceans, or released to the atmosphere. We use a riverine carbon budget to examine how key questions regarding carbon dynamics can be addressed across diverse spatial and temporal scales from sub-meter areas over a few hours on a single gravel bar to thousands of square kilometers over millions of years across an entire large river network. The portion of the budget applying to the active channel(s) takes the form of kAI6jwI7jwI7kAE7jwBVqgBmtgBmtQFltABltQBltAFmtQFmtgFmtAJmtACqqgCq/wD//zoAADsBATsBADwCAToBADsCAToAOjsBOjwCOzoBOjsBOzoAZjsCZjwCZjsBZjs6ADo6Ojo6kDs7kDw7kDpmZjtmZTtmtjuQkDqQ2zqP2jqP2TqQ2jmP2TuQ2juP2TuP2lVVqlWq/2YAAGcBAWgDAmcCAWcCAmYBAGYBAWYAOmcBOmcCO2YBOmYBZmcBZmY6AGY6OmY6kGc8kGZmtme22ma2/2a1/mW1/mW1/WW0/Wa2/ma1/Wa0/We1/We2/mW0/JA6AJE7AZE8ApA7AZA7ApA6AZE7ApA8ApA6OpE8O5A7Z5CQZpG2/pDb/4/a/o/Z/ZDa/pDZ/ZDa/5Db/pDa/Y/Z/rZmALZlALVmALdmALZnArZmAbVmAbVnArZmOrZnPLdmZqqq/7XakLT92rb//7X+/qr//7T8/bb+/7b+/rX9/rT9/tuQOtyROtuROtyQOtuQOdqQPNqQO9uQZtr9ttn9ttv/ttv//9r+/tn9/tr+/9r//9n+/tr9/v+2Zv+2Zf+1Zv+3Zv+2Z/62Z/22Z//bkP/bkf/ckP/ckf7bkf3akf//tv//tf//t/7/tv//2///3P7/2////wECAwECAwECAwECAwECAwECAwECAwECAwECAwECAwECAwECAwECAwECAwECAwECAwECAwECAwECAwECAwECAwECAwECAwECAwECAwECAwECAwECAwECAwECAw

  1. Effects of Potassium Mineral Fertilization on Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) Yield on a Chernozem Soil in Hungary

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    László, Márton, ,, Dr.

    2010-05-01

    varieties, estimated at 85-100 t/ha for potato, 75-85 t/ha for beet and 12-15 t/ha for wheat (Evans 1977). These are far higher than the yields commonly obtained in practice. World average yields were only 1/6th of the potential for potato, 1/6th for wheat and 2/5th for sugar beet in 1995. Utilization of the crop The major part of potato production is usually used for human consumption. Human consumption of potatoes however has declined in the industrialised countries as the standard of living has increased. In these countries an increasing proportion of the crop is used for manufacturing products such as crisp, oven-ready chips, dehydrated potato powder. Thus, in Hungary the consumption of potatoes per person decreased from 110 kg in 1951/1960 to 60 kg in 1995, whereas the consumption of processed potatoes increased from 1 to 15 kg/person during this period. Uptake of potassium Potassium is the nutrient taken up by potato in the greatest quantity, it also takes up much nitrogen and appreciable amounts of phosphorus, calcium, magnesium and sulphur (Perrenoud 1993). Maximum uptakes by different varieties in Japan range between 140 and 267 K2O (Kali Kenkyu Kai 1980). In England, potatoes grown on the " blueprint" system and giving the very high yield of 77.7 t/ha took up 450 kg/ha K2O (Anderson and Hewgill 1978). Brazílian experiments with 6 varieties showed the following uptakes (kg/ha): potassium 207-367 (Motta 1976). Removal of potassium by tubers 23 experimental crops in France (Loué 1977), -with a mean yield of 37.3 t/ha tubers removed: 196 kg K2O, respectively. It is equal to 5.3 kg K2O per 1 tonne tuber. Motta Macedo (1976) reports the following removals in kg/ha for 6 varieties grown in Brazíl: K2O: 118-192. In 14 experiments in India (Grewal and Singh 1979) a mean yield of 28.8 t/ha tuber was obtained which removed an average of 91 kg/ha K2O. At very high yield level, nutrient removal in tuber is very high. Anderson and Hewgill (1978) report a yield of 90 t

  2. Farmyard Manure and Fertilizer Effects on Seed Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) Yield in Green House Production

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    László, M.

    2009-04-01

    ção máximas, principalmente em solos mais ácidos e pobres em matéria orgânico. A adubação fosfatada é muito importante no crescimento inicial da planta e, além de aumentar a produção de tuberculos em peso e números, aumenta também a quantidade e qualidade do amido neles contidos e reduz perdas durante o armazenamento dos mesmos. A quantidade de fósforo a aplicar dependerá da análise do solo considerando- se principalmente o nível de P existente e a textura do solo. Solos de textura média e arenosa necessitam maior conteúdo de fósforo do que os de textura argilosa para serem considerandos solos de baixo, médio ou alto teor de fósfato. Efeito da potássica Embora seja o elemento mais absorbido pela batateira, nem sempre há resposta positiva da aduba potássica sobre o rendimento da cultura. Provavelmente isto esteja relacionado com níveis elevados deste elemento no solo (Kurnik et all. 2001.). Entretanto, em solos com médios e baixos teores de potássio, aumentos significativos são conseguidos. Por isto, as recomendações de adubação com potássio, nas diversas regiões do mundo, variam de 50-300 kg ha-1 de K2O. Resultados de trabalhos em brasiléiros têm demonstrado que a aduba potássica pode ser substituída pela aplicação de 150 m3 ha-1 de vinhaça de cana de açúcar. Ao elevar- se a dose de fertilização potássica deverá haver precaução para que a adubação magnesiana seja suficiente. O K além de aumentar a produção, em solos deficientes, aumenta também o tamanho dos tubérculos produzidos, e a proporção de tubérculos grandes. Deficiência no suprimento de potássio á planta pode acarretar produção de tubérculos com elevada susceptibilidade aos danos mecánicos pós-colheita. Os tubérculos injuriados enegrecem facilmente e este enegrecimento é inversamente proporcional á quantidade de potássio nos tuberculos. Ademais, quando fritos dão origem a um produto escuro, de baixa valor comercial. Manejo de aduba