Altered dopamine levels induced by the parasite Profilicollis antarcticus on its intermediate host, the crab Hemigrapsus crenulatus.

PubMed

Rojas, José Miguel; Ojeda, F Patricio

2005-01-01

A serotonergic pathway is apparently involved in parasite-host interactions. Previous studies conducted in our laboratory showed increased rates in oxygen consumption and alterations in body posture in the crab Hemigrapsus crenulatus parasitized by the acanthocephalan, Profilicollis antarcticus. Such changes may be related to the functions described for biogenic amines in crustaceans. During the infective stage the acanthocephalans live freely in the hemocelomic cavity, suggesting that the possible alteration induced by biogenic amines may be related to their neurohormonal function in crustaceans. To test whether the presence of P. antarcticus produced neurohormonal changes in its intermediate host, H. crenulatus, we analyzed serotonin and dopamine levels in the host using HPLC with electrochemical detection. Two groups of 11 female crabs were studied; one group was artificially inoculated with two cystacanths while the other was used as the control. Our results show a dramatic increase in hemolymph dopamine, but not serotonin in H. crenulatus parasitized by the acanthocephalan P. antarcticus. Our results, along with those reported by Maynard (1996), suggest a parasite-specific strategy involved in the behavior alteration caused by the acanthocephalans on their intermediate host. The use of a biogenic amine as a mechanism of interaction by the parasites gives them an endless number of alternative potential actions on their intermediate hosts.

Circular polarization survey of intermediate polars I. Northern targets in the range 17 h < RA < 23 h

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Butters, O. W.; Katajainen, S.; Norton, A. J.; Lehto, H. J.; Piirola, V.

2009-03-01

Context: The origin, evolution, and ultimate fate of magnetic cataclysmic variables are poorly understood. It is largely the nature of the magnetic fields in these systems that leads to this poor understanding. Fundamental properties, such as the field strength and the axis alignment, are unknown in a majority of these systems. Aims: We undertake to put all the previous circular polarization measurements into context and systematically survey intermediate polars for signs of circular polarization, hence to get an indication of their true magnetic field strengths and try to understand the evolution of magnetic cataclysmic variables. Methods: We used the TurPol instrument at the Nordic Optical Telescope to obtain simultaneous UBVRI photo-polarimetric observations of a set of intermediate polars, during the epoch 2006 July 31-August 2. Results: Of this set of eight systems two (1RXS J213344.1+510725 and 1RXS J173021.5-055933) were found to show significant levels of circular polarization, varying with spin phase. Five others (V2306 Cyg, AO Psc, DQ Her, FO Aqr, and V1223 Sgr) show some evidence for circular polarization and variation of this with spin phase, whilst AE Aqr shows little evidence for polarized emission. We also report the first simultaneous UBVRI photometry of the newly identified intermediate polar 1RXS J173021.5-055933. Conclusions: Circular polarization may be ubiquitous in intermediate polars, albeit at a low level of one or two percent or less. It is stronger at longer wavelengths in the visible spectrum. Our results lend further support to the possible link between the presence of soft X-ray components and the detectability of circular polarization in intermediate polars. Based on observations obtained at the Nordic Optical Telescope at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory in La Palma.

Evaluation of the mechanical properties of the anterior lens capsule following femtosecond laser capsulotomy at different pulse energy settings.

PubMed

Sándor, Gábor L; Kiss, Zoltán; Bocskai, Zoltán I; Kolev, Krasimir; Takács, Ágnes I; Juhász, Éva; Kránitz, Kinga; Tóth, Gábor; Gyenes, Andrea; Bojtár, Imre; Juhász, Tibor; Nagy, Zoltán Z

2015-03-01

To evaluate and compare the mechanical properties of anterior capsule opening performed with femtosecond laser capsulotomy at different energy settings in ex vivo porcine anterior lens capsule specimens. Twenty-five fresh porcine eyes per group were included in the study. Femtosecond laser capsulotomy was performed with three different pulse energy levels: 2 µJ (low energy group), 5 µJ (intermediate energy group), and 10 µJ (high energy group). The capsule openings were stretched with universal testing equipment until they ruptured. The morphologic profile of the cut capsule edges was evaluated using scanning electron microscopy. The high energy group had significantly lower rupture force (108 ± 14 mN) compared to the intermediate energy group (118 ± 10 mN) (P < .05) and low energy group (119 ± 11 mN) (P < .05), but the difference between the intermediate energy and low energy groups was not significant (P = .9479). The high energy group had significantly lower circumference stretching ratio (144% ± 3%) compared to the intermediate energy group (148% ± 3%) (P < .05) and low energy group (148% ± 3%) (P < .05), but the difference between the intermediate energy group and low energy group was not significant (P = .9985). Scanning electron microscopy images showed that the edge was only serrated with low and intermediate energy, but additional signs of collagen melting and denaturation were observed at high energy. Anterior capsule openings created at a high energy level were slightly weaker and less extensible than those created at low or intermediate levels, possibly due to the increased thermal effect of photo-disruption. Copyright 2015, SLACK Incorporated.

Addendum to "Harmony of computational quantum chemistry and experimental chemistry: Comprehensive DFT studies, microsynthesis, and characterization of mustard gas polysulfide analogues" [J. Mol. Struct. (2018) 57-62

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saeidian, Hamid; Faraz, Sajjad Mousavi; Mirjafary, Zohreh; Babri, Mehran

2018-07-01

Recently, Blum from OPCW laboratory investigated HD, HS2, HS3 and higher polysulfides and their corresponding reactive intermediates by using Amsterdam Density Functional (ADF) calculations [22, 23]. In his presentation, he mentioned that analysis of MO energy levels for episulfonium ions of HD, HS2 and HS3 shows that the sulfur centered LUMOs for HS2 and HS3 are LUMO+1 for HD ion; and LUMOs energy levels of HS2 and HS3 are decreased by addition of polarizable sulfur atoms. He also showed that no four-membered sulfonium ion ring structures are formed for HS2, HS3 and higher polysulfides; and episulfonium ion is the only reactive intermediate for them.

Intermediate-consumer identity and resources alter a food web with omnivory.

PubMed

Kneitel, Jamie M

2007-07-01

1. Omnivory is an important interaction that has been the centre of numerous theoretical and empirical studies in recent years. Most of these studies examine the conditions necessary for coexistence between an omnivore and an intermediate consumer. Trait variation in ecological interactions (competition and predator tolerance) among intermediate consumers has not been considered in previous empirical studies despite the evidence that variation in species-specific traits can have important community-level effects. 2. I conducted a multifactorial microcosm experiment using species from the Sarracenia purpurea phytotelmata community, organisms that inhabit the water collected within its modified leaves. The basal trophic level consisted of bacterial decomposers, the second trophic level (intermediate consumers) consisted of protozoa and rotifers, and the third trophic level (omnivore) were larvae of the pitcher plant mosquito Wyeomyia smithii. Trophic level number (1, 2 and 3), resources (low and high), omnivore density (low and high) and intermediate consumer (monoculture of five protozoa and rotifers) identity were manipulated. Abundance of the basal trophic level, intermediate consumers, and growth of the omnivore were measured, as well as time to extinction (intermediate consumers) and time to pupation (mosquito larvae). 3. The presence of different intermediate consumers affected both bacteria abundance and omnivore growth. At high resource levels, Poteriochromonas, Colpidium and Habrotrocha rosa reduced bacteria densities greater than omnivore reduction of bacteria. Mosquito larvae did not pupate at low resource levels except when Poteriochromonas and Colopoda were present as intermediate consumers. Communities with H. rosa were the only ones consistent with the prediction that omnivores should exclude intermediate consumers at high resources. 4. These results had mixed support for predictions from omnivory food web theory. Intermediate consumers responded and affected this community differently under different community structures and resource levels. Consequently, variation in species-specific traits can have important population- and community-level effects and needs to be considered in food webs with omnivory.

A laboratory study of subjective response to sonic booms measured at White Sands Missile Range

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sullivan, Brenda M.; Leatherwood, Jack D.

1993-01-01

The Sonic Boom Simulator of the Langley Research Center was used to quantify subjective loudness response to boom signatures consisting of: (1) simulator reproductions of booms recently recorded at White Sands Missile Range; (2) idealized N-waves; and (3) idealized booms having intermediate shocks. The booms with intermediate shocks represented signatures derived from CFD predictions. The recorded booms represented those generated by F15 and T38 aircraft flyovers and represented a variety of waveforms reflecting the effects of propagation through a turbulent atmosphere. These waveforms included the following shape categories: N-waves, peaked, rounded, and U-shaped. Results showed that Perceived Level and Zwicker Loudness Level were good estimators of the loudness of turbulence modified sonic booms. No significant differences were observed between loudness responses for the several shape categories when expressed in terms of Perceived Level. Thus, Perceived Level effectively accounted for waveform differences due to turbulence. Idealized booms with intermediate shocks, however, were rated as being approximately 2.7 dB(PL) less loud than the recorded signatures. This difference was not accounted for by PL.

Effect of two intermediate electron donors, NADPH and FADH(2), on Spirulina Delta (6)-desaturase co-expressed with two different immediate electron donors, cytochrome b (5) and ferredoxin, in Escherichia coli.

PubMed

Kurdrid, Pavinee; Subudhi, Sanjukta; Cheevadhanarak, Supapon; Tanticharoen, Morakot; Hongsthong, Apiradee

2007-12-01

When the gene desD encoding Spirulina Delta(6)-desaturase was heterologously expressed in E. coli, the enzyme was expressed without the ability to function. However, when this enzyme was co-expressed with an immediate electron donor, i.e. the cytochrome b (5) domain from Mucor rouxii, the results showed the production of GLA (gamma-linolenic acid), the product of the reaction catalyzed by Delta(6)-desaturase. The results revealed that in E. coli cells, where cytochrome b (5) is absent and ferredoxin, a natural electron donor of Delta(6)-desaturase, is present at a very low level, the cytochrome b (5) domain can complement for the function of ferredoxin in the host cells. In the present study, the Spirulina-ferredoxin gene was cloned and co-expressed with the Delta(6)-desaturase in E. coli. In comparison to the co-expression of cytochrome b ( 5 ) with the Delta(6)-desaturase, the co-expression with ferredoxin did not cause any differences in the GLA level. Moreover, the cultures containing the Delta(6)-desaturase co-expressed with cytochrome b (5) and ferredoxin were exogenously supplied with the intermediate electron donors, NADPH (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate, reduced form) and FADH(2) (flavin adenine dinucleotide, reduced form), respectively. The GLA level in these host cells increased drastically, by approximately 50%, compared to the cells without the intermediate electron donors. The data indicated that besides the level of immediate electron donors, the level of intermediate electron donors is also critical for GLA production. Therefore, if the pools of the immediate and intermediate electron donors in the cells are manipulated, the GLA production in the heterologous host will be affected.

Understanding Intermediate-Level Speakers' Strengths and Weaknesses: An Examination of OPIc Tests from Korean Learners of English

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cox, Troy L.

2017-01-01

This study profiled Intermediate-level learners in terms of their linguistic characteristics and performance on different proficiency tasks. A stratified random sample of 300 Korean learners of English with holistic ratings of Intermediate Low (IL), Intermediate Mid (IM), and Intermediate High (IH) on Oral Proficiency Interviews-computerized…

Impact of Oral Health Education on Oral Health Knowledge of Private School Children in Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia

PubMed Central

Al Saffan, Abdulrahman Dahham; Baseer, Mohammad Abdul; Alshammary, Abdul Aziz; Assery, Mansour; Kamel, Ashraf; Rahman, Ghousia

2017-01-01

Aims and Objectives: To assess the early effect of oral health education on oral health knowledge of primary and intermediate school students of private schools by utilizing pre/post questionnaires data from oral health educational projects in Riyadh city, Saudi Arabia. Second, to examine topic-specific knowledge differences between genders, nationalities, and educational levels of the students. Materials and Methods: Cross-sectional oral health educational data of private school students (n = 1279) in primary and intermediate levels were extracted from the King Salman Centre for Children's Health (KSCCH) projects undertaken by Riyadh Colleges of Dentistry and Pharmacy. Student's pre- and post-test data were analyzed for changes in oral health knowledge. Overall knowledge score and topic-specific knowledge scores were calculated and the differences between gender, nationality, and educational level were examined using Mann–Whitney U-test. Pre/post change in the oral health knowledge was evaluated by Wilcoxon's sign rank test. Results: Immediately, after oral health educational session high knowledge score category showed an increase of 25.6%, medium and low knowledge score categories showed −3.2% and −22.3% decrease, and this change was statistically significant (P < 0.001). Comparison of correct responses between pre- and post-test showed statistically significant (P < 0.05) increase in all the questions except for the timing of tooth brushing. Females, non-Saudi nationals and students in primary level of education showed significantly high mean knowledge (P < 0.001) at posttest assessment. Conclusion: Primary and intermediate private school student's overall, and topic-specific oral health knowledge improved immediately after educational intervention provided by KSCCH. High knowledge gain was observed among female non-Saudi primary school students. PMID:29285475

New Mexico Community Health Councils: Documenting Contributions to Systems Changes.

PubMed

Sánchez, Victoria; Andrews, Mark L; Carrillo, Christina; Hale, Ron

2015-01-01

Coalition research has shifted from delineating structures and processes to identifying intermediate, systems changes (e.g., changes in policies) that contribute to longterm community health improvement. The University of New Mexico, the New Mexico Department of Health, and community health councils entered a multiyear participatory evaluation process to answer: What actions did health councils take that led to improving health through intermediate, systems changes? The evaluation system was created over several phases through an iterative, participatory process. Data were collected for councils' health priority areas (e.g., substance abuse) from 2009 to 2011. Twenty-three community health councils participated. Intermediate systems changes were measured: 1) networking and partnering, 2) joint planning of strategies, programs, and services, 3) leveraging resources, and 4) policy initiatives. Health councils reported data for each intermediate outcome by health priority area. Data showed councils identified local public health priorities and addressed those priorities through strengthening networks and partnerships, which lead to the creation and enhancement of strategies, services, and programs. Data also showed councils influenced policies in several ways (e.g., developing policy, identifying new policy, or sponsoring informational forums). Additionally, data showed councils leveraged $1.10 for every dollar invested by the state. When funding was suspended in July 2010, data showed dramatic decreases in activity levels from 2010 to 2011. The data demonstrate the feasibility and utility of an Internet-based system designed to gather intermediate systems changes evaluation data. This process is a model for similar efforts to capture common outcomes across diverse coalitions and partnerships.

Chicken line-dependent mortality after experimental infection with three type IIxIII recombinant Toxoplasma gondii clones.

PubMed

Schares, G; Herrmann, D C; Maksimov, P; Matzkeit, B; Conraths, F J; Moré, G; Preisinger, R; Weigend, S

2017-09-01

Three genetically different clones of Toxoplasma gondii, also different in mouse virulence, were studied by experimental infection in chickens. For the experiments, four chicken lines were used, which differed in phylogenetic origin and performance level: two white egg layer lines, one with high laying performance (WLA), one with low (R11) and two brown layer lines, also displaying high (BLA) and low (L68) egg number. Chickens were intraperitoneally infected with three different T. gondii isolates representing type IIxIII recombinant clones, i.e. showing both, type II- and type III-specific alleles. These clones (K119/2 2C10, B136/1 B6H6, K119/2 A7) had exhibited virulence differences in a mouse model. In chickens, a significantly higher mortality was observed in white layer lines, but not in brown layer lines, suggesting that differences in the phylogenetic background may influence the susceptibility of chickens for toxoplasmosis. In addition, antibody (IgY) levels varied in surviving chickens at 31 days post infection. While low to intermediate antibody levels were observed in white layers, intermediate to high levels were measured in brown layers. Infection with a T. gondii clone showing low chicken virulence resulted in higher antibody levels in all chicken lines compared to infection with T. gondii clones of intermediate or high chicken virulence. This was in agreement with the parasite load as determined by real-time PCR. Overall, results show that progeny resulting from natural sexual recombination of T. gondii clonal lineages, may differ in their virulence for mice and chickens. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

T-helper 17-related cytokines and IgE antibodies during hepatitis A virus infection in children.

PubMed

Trujillo-Ochoa, Jorge L; Corral-Jara, Karla F; Escobedo-Meléndez, Griselda; Realpe, Mauricio; Panduro, Arturo; Roman, Sonia; Fierro, Nora A

2015-04-01

We determined the serum IgE levels and T-helper (Th)17-related cytokines during distinct hepatitis A virus (HAV)-induced clinical courses in children. A significantly higher concentration of macrophage inflammatory protein 3α, interleukin (IL)-17E and IL-17F in HAV-infected children with intermediate liver injury compared with those with minor liver damage was found. A reduction in the IgE levels in those patients who showed the highest levels of IL-17F in the group of intermediate liver injury was found. The data suggested that the Th17-related profile is associated with the severity of HAV infection and might play a role on the modulation achieved by HAV during allergies.

Improvement of the U.S. Army Intermediate Cold Wet Boot

DTIC Science & Technology

2002-04-01

thermal comfort of the human foot during exposure to cold ambient temperatures. 33-5 Figure 4. Photograph showing human volunteers during the 1990 ICWB...boot indicating that it would provide an increased level of thermal comfort . The then-current U.S. Army Intermediate Cold-Wet Boot, 34 33 32 31 E 30 E...has been recommended that the U.S. Army continue to evaluate future improvements in these materials designed to increase individual thermal comfort and

Numerical Study of Quantum Hall Bilayers at Total Filling νT=1 : A New Phase at Intermediate Layer Distances

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Zheng; Fu, Liang; Sheng, D. N.

2017-10-01

We study the phase diagram of quantum Hall bilayer systems with total filing νT=1 /2 +1 /2 of the lowest Landau level as a function of layer distances d . Based on numerical exact diagonalization calculations, we obtain three distinct phases, including an exciton superfluid phase with spontaneous interlayer coherence at small d , a composite Fermi liquid at large d , and an intermediate phase for 1.1

Fasting glucose, obesity, and metabolic syndrome as predictors of type 2 diabetes: the Cooper Center Longitudinal Study.

PubMed

DeFina, Laura F; Vega, Gloria Lena; Leonard, David; Grundy, Scott M

2012-12-01

To determine risk for type 2 diabetes in subjects with fasting glucose levels in the ranges of normoglycemia, mild hyperglycemia, and intermediate hyperglycemia and to assess the effect of obesity and metabolic syndrome on this risk. Incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus was evaluated in 28,209 relatively healthy subjects participating in the Cooper Center Longitudinal Study. They were included in the study if they had more than 1 fasting plasma glucose measurement, anthropometry, and other parameters of interest. Three subgroups were identified: normoglycemic (<5.6 mmol/L), mild hyperglycemia (5.6-6.0 mmol/L), and intermediate hyperglycemia (6.1-7.0 mmol/L). Diabetes incidence was calculated in categories of sex, age, obesity, and metabolic syndrome status. Incident diabetes was assessed at the earliest clinic visit at which the individual exhibited a blood glucose level of more than 7.0 mmol/L or reported a diagnosis of diabetes. Thirty-one percent of men and 15.9% of women had mild hyperglycemia and 11.9% of men and 3.6% of women had intermediate hyperglycemia. Yearly conversion rates to diabetes were low in individuals with normoglycemia and mild hyperglycemia but were strikingly higher in those with intermediate hyperglycemia. In subjects with intermediate hyperglycemia, presence of obesity and/or metabolic syndrome doubled conversion rates to diabetes. This study showed a marked difference in outcomes in subjects with mild and intermediate hyperglycemia. Moreover, obesity and metabolic syndrome were associated with strikingly elevated risk for diabetes in subjects with intermediate hyperglycemia. Thus intermediate hyperglycemia plus obesity/metabolic syndrome seemingly justifies intensive clinical intervention for prevention of both diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Effects of Trichothecene Production on the Plant Defense Response and Fungal Physiology: Overexpression of the Trichoderma arundinaceum tri4 Gene in T. harzianum.

PubMed

Cardoza, R E; McCormick, S P; Malmierca, M G; Olivera, E R; Alexander, N J; Monte, E; Gutiérrez, S

2015-09-01

Trichothecenes are fungal sesquiterpenoid compounds, the majority of which have phytotoxic activity. They contaminate food and feed stocks, resulting in potential harm to animals and human beings. Trichoderma brevicompactum and T. arundinaceum produce trichodermin and harzianum A (HA), respectively, two trichothecenes that show different bioactive properties. Both compounds have remarkable antibiotic and cytotoxic activities, but in addition, trichodermin is highly phytotoxic, while HA lacks this activity when analyzed in vivo. Analysis of Fusarium trichothecene intermediates led to the conclusion that most of them, with the exception of the hydrocarbon precursor trichodiene (TD), have a detectable phytotoxic activity which is not directly related to the structural complexity of the intermediate. In the present work, the HA intermediate 12,13-epoxytrichothec-9-ene (EPT) was produced by expression of the T. arundinaceum tri4 gene in a transgenic T. harzianum strain that already produces TD after transformation with the T. arundinaceum tri5 gene. Purified EPT did not show antifungal or phytotoxic activity, while purified HA showed both antifungal and phytotoxic activities. However, the use of the transgenic T. harzianum tri4 strain induced a downregulation of defense-related genes in tomato plants and also downregulated plant genes involved in fungal root colonization. The production of EPT by the transgenic tri4 strain raised levels of erg1 expression and reduced squalene accumulation while not affecting levels of ergosterol. Together, these results indicate the complex interactions among trichothecene intermediates, fungal antagonists, and host plants. Copyright © 2015, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Effects of Trichothecene Production on the Plant Defense Response and Fungal Physiology: Overexpression of the Trichoderma arundinaceum tri4 Gene in T. harzianum

PubMed Central

Cardoza, R. E.; McCormick, S. P.; Malmierca, M. G.; Olivera, E. R.; Alexander, N. J.; Monte, E.

2015-01-01

Trichothecenes are fungal sesquiterpenoid compounds, the majority of which have phytotoxic activity. They contaminate food and feed stocks, resulting in potential harm to animals and human beings. Trichoderma brevicompactum and T. arundinaceum produce trichodermin and harzianum A (HA), respectively, two trichothecenes that show different bioactive properties. Both compounds have remarkable antibiotic and cytotoxic activities, but in addition, trichodermin is highly phytotoxic, while HA lacks this activity when analyzed in vivo. Analysis of Fusarium trichothecene intermediates led to the conclusion that most of them, with the exception of the hydrocarbon precursor trichodiene (TD), have a detectable phytotoxic activity which is not directly related to the structural complexity of the intermediate. In the present work, the HA intermediate 12,13-epoxytrichothec-9-ene (EPT) was produced by expression of the T. arundinaceum tri4 gene in a transgenic T. harzianum strain that already produces TD after transformation with the T. arundinaceum tri5 gene. Purified EPT did not show antifungal or phytotoxic activity, while purified HA showed both antifungal and phytotoxic activities. However, the use of the transgenic T. harzianum tri4 strain induced a downregulation of defense-related genes in tomato plants and also downregulated plant genes involved in fungal root colonization. The production of EPT by the transgenic tri4 strain raised levels of erg1 expression and reduced squalene accumulation while not affecting levels of ergosterol. Together, these results indicate the complex interactions among trichothecene intermediates, fungal antagonists, and host plants. PMID:26150463

Lessons from the synthetic chemist nature.

PubMed

Jürjens, Gerrit; Kirschning, Andreas; Candito, David A

2015-05-01

This conceptual review examines the ideal multistep synthesis from the perspective of nature. We suggest that besides step- and redox economies, one other key to efficiency is steady state processing with intermediates that are immediately transformed to the next intermediate when formed. We discuss four of nature's strategies (multicatalysis, domino reactions, iteration and compartmentation) that commonly proceed via short-lived intermediates and show that these strategies are also part of the chemist's portfolio. We particularly focus on compartmentation which in nature is found microscopically within cells (organelles) and between cells and on a molecular level on multiprotein scaffolds (e.g. in polyketide synthases) and demonstrate how compartmentation is manifested in modern multistep flow synthesis.

Plant phenolics are detoxified by prophenoloxidase in the insect gut

PubMed Central

Wu, Kai; Zhang, Jie; Zhang, Qiaoli; Zhu, Shoulin; Shao, Qimiao; Clark, Kevin D.; Liu, Yining; Ling, Erjun

2015-01-01

Plant phenolics are a group of important secondary metabolites that are toxic to many animals and insects if ingested at high concentrations. Because most insects consume plant phenolics daily, they have likely evolved the capacity to detoxify these compounds. Here, we used Drosophila melanogaster, Bombyx mori and Helicoverpa armigera as models to study the metabolism of plant phenolics by prophenoloxidases. We found that insect foreguts release prophenoloxidases into the lumen, and that the survival of prophenoloxidase-deletion mutants was impaired when fed several plant phenolics and tea extracts. Using l-DOPA as a model substrate, biochemical assays in large Lepidopteran insects demonstrated that low levels of l-DOPA are rapidly metabolized into intermediates by phenoloxidases. Feeding with excess l-DOPA showed that the metabolic intermediate 5,6-dihydroxyindole reached the hindgut either by passing directly through the midgut, or by transport through the hemolymph. In the hindgut, 5,6-dihydroxyindole was further oxidized by prophenoloxidases. Intermediates exerted no toxicity in the hemocoel or midgut. These results show that plant phenolics are not toxic to insects unless prophenoloxidase genes are lost or the levels of phenolics exceed the catalytic activity of the gut prophenoloxidases. PMID:26592948

Films in the ESL Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

St. Martin, Gail M.

Films can be used at any level of language proficiency to teach or afford practice in a variety of language skills. At lower and intermediate levels, a film could serve as the tool for teaching vocabulary, grammar, speaking skills and composition. The lesson would proceed in several stages. Prior to the showing, the students would become familiar…

Intermediate-phase method for computing the natural band offset between two materials with dissimilar structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gu, Hui-Jun; Zhang, Yue-Yu; Chen, Shi-You; Xiang, Hong-Jun; Gong, Xin-Gao

2018-06-01

The band offset between different semiconductors is an important physical quantity determining carrier transport properties near the interface in heterostructure devices. Computation of the natural band offset is a longstanding challenge. We propose an intermediate-phase method to predict the natural band offset between two structures with different symmetry, for which the superlattice model cannot be directly constructed. With this method and the intermediate phases obtained by our searching algorithm, we successfully calculate the natural band offsets for two representative systems: (i) zinc-blende CdTe and wurtzite CdS and (ii) diamond and graphite. The calculation shows that the valence band maximum (VBM) of zinc-blende CdTe lies 0.71 eV above that of wurtzite CdS, close to the result 0.76 eV obtained by the three-step method. For the natural band offset between diamond and graphite which could not be computed reliably with any superlattice methods, our calculation shows that the Fermi level of graphite lies 1.51 eV above the VBM of diamond using an intermediate phase. This method, under the assumption that the transitivity rule is valid, can be used to calculate the band offsets between any semiconductors with different symmetry on condition that the intermediate phase is reasonably designed.

Chemotherapy of colorectal liver metastases induces a rapid rise in intermediate blood monocytes which predicts treatment response

PubMed Central

Schauer, Dominic; Starlinger, Patrick; Alidzanovic, Lejla; Zajc, Philipp; Maier, Thomas; Feldman, Alexandra; Padickakudy, Robin; Buchberger, Elisabeth; Elleder, Vanessa; Spittler, Andreas; Stift, Judith; Pop, Lorand; Gruenberger, Birgit; Gruenberger, Thomas; Brostjan, Christine

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT We have previously reported that intermediate monocytes (CD14++/CD16+) were increased in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients, while the subset of pro-angiogenic TIE2-expressing monocytes (TEMs) was not significantly elevated. This study was designed to evaluate changes in frequency and function of intermediate monocytes and TEMs during chemotherapy and anti-angiogenic cancer treatment and their relation to treatment response. Monocyte populations were determined by flow cytometry in 60 metastasized CRC (mCRC) patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy with or without bevacizumab. Blood samples were taken before treatment, after two therapy cycles, at the end of neoadjuvant therapy and immediately before surgical resection of liver metastases. Neoadjuvant treatment resulted in a significant increase in circulating intermediate monocytes which was most pronounced after two cycles and positively predicted tumor response (AUC = 0.875, p = 0.005). With a cut-off value set to 1% intermediate monocytes of leukocytes, this parameter showed a predictive sensitivity and specificity of 75% and 88%. Anti-angiogenic therapy with bevacizumab had no impact on monocyte populations including TEMs. In 15 patients and six healthy controls, the gene expression profile and the migratory behavior of monocyte subsets was evaluated. The profile of intermediate monocytes suggested functions in antigen presentation, inflammatory cytokine production, chemotaxis and was remarkably stable during chemotherapy. Intermediate monocytes showed a preferential migratory response to tumor-derived signals in vitro and correlated with the level of CD14+/CD16+ monocytic infiltrates in the resected tumor tissue. In conclusion, the rapid rise of intermediate monocytes during chemotherapy may offer a simple marker for response prediction and a timely change in regimen. PMID:27471631

T-helper 17-related cytokines and IgE antibodies during hepatitis A virus infection in children

PubMed Central

Trujillo-Ochoa, Jorge L; Corral-Jara, Karla F; Escobedo-Meléndez, Griselda; Realpe, Mauricio; Panduro, Arturo; Roman, Sonia; Fierro, Nora A

2015-01-01

We determined the serum IgE levels and T-helper (Th)17-related cytokines during distinct hepatitis A virus (HAV)-induced clinical courses in children. A significantly higher concentration of macrophage inflammatory protein 3α, interleukin (IL)-17E and IL-17F in HAV-infected children with intermediate liver injury compared with those with minor liver damage was found. A reduction in the IgE levels in those patients who showed the highest levels of IL-17F in the group of intermediate liver injury was found. The data suggested that the Th17-related profile is associated with the severity of HAV infection and might play a role on the modulation achieved by HAV during allergies. PMID:25946253

INTEGRATED MODULATION OF PHORBOL ESTER-INDUCED RAF ACTIVATION IN EL4 LYMPHOMA CELLS

PubMed Central

Han, Shujie; Meier, Kathryn E.

2009-01-01

The EL4 murine lymphoma cell line exists in variant phenotypes that differ with respect to responses to the tumor promoter phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA1). Previous work showed that “PMA-sensitive” cells, characterized by a high magnitude of PMA-induced Erk activation, express RasGRP, a phorbol ester receptor that directly activates Ras. In “PMA-resistant” and “intermediate” EL4 cell lines, PMA induces Erk activation to lesser extents, but with a greater response in intermediate cells. In the current study, these cell lines were used to examine mechanisms of Raf-1 modulation. Phospho-specific antibodies were utilized to define patterns and kinetics of Raf-1 phosphorylation on several sites. Further studies showed that Akt is constitutively activated to a greater extent in PMA-resistant than in PMA-sensitive cells, and also to a greater extent in resistant than intermediate cells. Akt negatively regulates Raf-1 activation (Ser259), partially explaining the difference between resistant and intermediate cells. Erk activation exerts negative feedback on Raf-1 (Ser289/296/301), thus resulting in earlier termination of the signal in cells with a higher level of Erk activation. RKIP, a Raf inhibitory protein, is expressed at higher levels in resistant cells than in sensitive or intermediate cells. Knockdown of RKIP increases Erk activation and also negative feedback. In conclusion, this study delineates Raf-1 phosphorylation events occurring in response to PMA in cell lines with different extents of Erk activation. Variations in the levels of expression and activation of multiple signaling proteins work in an integrated fashion to modulate the extent and duration of Erk activation. PMID:19263515

Use of CAS in Secondary School: A Factor Influencing the Transition to University-Level Mathematics?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Varsavsky, Cristina

2012-01-01

Australian secondary school systems offer three levels of senior (year 12) mathematics studies, none of them compulsory: elementary, intermediate and advanced. The intermediate and advanced studies prepare students for further mathematics studies at university level. In the state of Victoria, there are two versions of intermediate mathematics: one…

49 CFR Figure 2b to Subpart B of... - Example of an Intermediate Level Seating Area of a Multi-Level Car Complying With Window Location...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Example of an Intermediate Level Seating Area of a Multi-Level Car Complying With Window Location Requirements-§§ 238.113 and 238.114 2B Figure 2B to... Intermediate Level Seating Area of a Multi-Level Car Complying With Window Location Requirements—§§ 238.113 and...

49 CFR Figure 2a to Subpart B of... - Example of an Intermediate Level Seating Area of a Multi-Level Car Complying With Window Location...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Example of an Intermediate Level Seating Area of a Multi-Level Car Complying With Window Location Requirements-§§ 238.113 and 238.114 2A Figure 2A to... Intermediate Level Seating Area of a Multi-Level Car Complying With Window Location Requirements—§§ 238.113 and...

The Arabidopsis dwarf1 Mutant Is Defective in the Conversion of 24-Methylenecholesterol to Campesterol in Brassinosteroid Biosynthesis1

PubMed Central

Choe, Sunghwa; Dilkes, Brian P.; Gregory, Brian D.; Ross, Amanda S.; Yuan, Heng; Noguchi, Takahiro; Fujioka, Shozo; Takatsuto, Suguru; Tanaka, Atsushi; Yoshida, Shigeo; Tax, Frans E.; Feldmann, Kenneth A.

1999-01-01

Since the isolation and characterization of dwarf1-1 (dwf1-1) from a T-DNA insertion mutant population, phenotypically similar mutants, including deetiolated2 (det2), constitutive photomorphogenesis and dwarfism (cpd), brassinosteroid insensitive1 (bri1), and dwf4, have been reported to be defective in either the biosynthesis or the perception of brassinosteroids. We present further characterization of dwf1-1 and additional dwf1 alleles. Feeding tests with brassinosteroid-biosynthetic intermediates revealed that dwf1 can be rescued by 22α-hydroxycampesterol and downstream intermediates in the brassinosteroid pathway. Analysis of the endogenous levels of brassinosteroid intermediates showed that 24-methylenecholesterol in dwf1 accumulates to 12 times the level of the wild type, whereas the level of campesterol is greatly diminished, indicating that the defective step is in C-24 reduction. Furthermore, the deduced amino acid sequence of DWF1 shows significant similarity to a flavin adenine dinucleotide-binding domain conserved in various oxidoreductases, suggesting an enzymatic role for DWF1. In support of this, 7 of 10 dwf1 mutations directly affected the flavin adenine dinucleotide-binding domain. Our molecular characterization of dwf1 alleles, together with our biochemical data, suggest that the biosynthetic defect in dwf1 results in reduced synthesis of bioactive brassinosteroids, causing dwarfism. PMID:10069828

Cognitive decline and survival in Alzheimer's disease according to education level.

PubMed

Bruandet, A; Richard, F; Bombois, S; Maurage, C A; Masse, I; Amouyel, P; Pasquier, F

2008-01-01

We tested the hypothesis that a higher education level is associated with faster cognitive decline and lower survival in a cohort of 670 Alzheimer's disease patients, followed for 3.5 years at the Lille-Bailleul memory centre. The patients were categorized in 3 groups according to educational levels: low (12 years). Cognitive function was measured with the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale (DRS). Survival was analyzed with a Cox model. Analyses were adjusted for age, sex, cholinesterase inhibitor treatment, diabetes, hypertension, visible vascular lesions on MRI, baseline DRS and MMSE. The adjusted mixed random model showed that MMSE declined faster for patients with high and intermediate educational levels compared with those with a low educational level (p < 0.0001). The mean annually adjusted DRS decline was highest for the groups with the most education (p = 0.05). The mortality risk was not higher in the better-educated groups (high vs. low: RR = 0.84; 95% CI = 0.35-1.99, intermediate vs. low: RR = 0.82; 95% CI = 0.41-1.63). In our cohort, highly educated patients had a faster cognitive decline than less educated patients but similar mortality rates. Our findings support the cognitive reserve hypothesis. (c) 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Cyclohexane isomerization. Unimolecular dynamics of the twist-boat intermediate.

PubMed

Kakhiani, Khatuna; Lourderaj, Upakarasamy; Hu, Wenfang; Birney, David; Hase, William L

2009-04-23

Direct dynamics simulations were performed at the HF/6-31G level of theory to investigate the intramolecular and unimolecuar dynamics of the twist-boat (TB) intermediate on the cyclohexane potential energy surface (PES). Additional calculations were performed at the MP2/aug-cc-pVDZ level of theory to further characterize the PES's stationary points. The trajectories were initiated at the C(1) and C(2) half-chair transition states (TSs) connecting a chair conformer with a TB intermediate, via an intrinsic reaction coordinate (IRC). Energy was added in accord with a microcanonical ensemble at the average energy for experiments at 263 K. Important nontransition state theory (TST), non-IRC, and non-RRKM dynamics were observed in the simulations. Trajectories initially directed toward the chair conformer had a high probability of recrossing the TS, with approximately 30% forming a TB intermediate instead of accessing the potential energy well for the conformer. The TB intermediate initially formed was not necessarily the one connected to the TS via the IRC. Of the trajectories initiated at the C(2) half-chair TS and initially directed toward the chair conformer, 35% formed a TB intermediate instead of the chair conformer. Also, of the trajectories forming a TB intermediate, only 16% formed the TB intermediate connected with the C(2) TS via the IRC. Up to eight consecutive TB --> TB isomerizations were followed, and non-RRKM behavior was observed in their dynamics. A TB can isomerize to two different TBs, one by a clockwise rotation of C-C-C-C dihedral angles and the other by a counterclockwise rotation. In contrast to RRKM theory, which predicts equivalent probabilities for these rotations, the trajectory dynamics show they are not equivalent and depend on whether the C(1) or C(2) half-chair TS is initially excited. Non-RRKM dynamics is also observed in the isomerization of the TB intermediates to the chair conformers. RRKM theory assumes equivalent probabilities for isomerizing to the two chair conformers. In contrast, for the first and following TB intermediate formed, there is a preference to isomerize to the chair conformer connected to the TS at which the trajectories were initiated. For the first TB intermediate formed, approximately 30% of the isomerization is to a chair conformer, but this fraction decreases for the later formed TB intermediates and becomes approximately 10% for the eighth consecutive TB intermediate formed.

Changing Returns to Education in Spain During the 1980s.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vila, Luis-Eduardo; Mora, Jose-Gines

1998-01-01

Presents evidence on returns to education for Spanish employees during the 1980s, a period of remarkable structural transformation. Results show a declining payoff to education between 1981 and 1991 for lower and intermediate educational levels. Higher education does not show a reduction in return. Earnings inequality by gender declined noticeably…

Cytoplasmic peptidoglycan intermediate levels in Staphylococcus aureus.

PubMed

Vemula, Harika; Ayon, Navid J; Gutheil, William G

2016-02-01

Intracellular cytoplasmic peptidoglycan (PG) intermediate levels were determined in Staphylococcus aureus during log-phase growth in enriched media. Levels of UDP-linked intermediates were quantitatively determined using ion pairing LC-MS/MS in negative mode, and amine intermediates were quantitatively determined stereospecifically as their Marfey's reagent derivatives in positive mode. Levels of UDP-linked intermediates in S. aureus varied from 1.4 μM for UDP-GlcNAc-Enolpyruvyate to 1200 μM for UDP-MurNAc. Levels of amine intermediates (L-Ala, D-Ala, D-Ala-D-Ala, L-Glu, D-Glu, and L-Lys) varied over a range of from 860 μM for D-Ala-D-Ala to 30-260 mM for the others. Total PG was determined from the D-Glu content of isolated PG, and used to estimate the rate of PG synthesis (in terms of cytoplasmic metabolite flux) as 690 μM/min. The total UDP-linked intermediates pool (2490 μM) is therefore sufficient to sustain growth for 3.6 min. Comparison of UDP-linked metabolite levels with published pathway enzyme characteristics demonstrates that enzymes on the UDP-branch range from >80% saturation for MurA, Z, and C, to <5% saturation for MurB. Metabolite levels were compared with literature values for Escherichia coli, with the major difference in UDP-intermediates being the level of UDP-MurNAc, which was high in S. aureus (1200 μM) and low in E. coli (45 μM). Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. and Société Française de Biochimie et Biologie Moléculaire (SFBBM). All rights reserved.

Impact of low-level BK polyomavirus viremia on intermediate-term renal allograft function.

PubMed

Korth, Johannes; Widera, Marek; Dolff, Sebastian; Guberina, Hana; Bienholz, Anja; Brinkhoff, Alexandra; Anastasiou, Olympia Evdoxia; Kribben, Andreas; Dittmer, Ulf; Verheyen, Jens; Wilde, Benjamin; Witzke, Oliver

2018-02-01

BK polyomavirus (BKPyV)-associated nephropathy (PyVAN) is a significant cause of premature renal transplant failure. High-level BKPyV viremia is predictive for PyVAN; however, low-level BKPyV viremia does not necessarily exclude the presence of PyVAN. As data are limited regarding whether or not low-level BKPyV viremia has an effect on intermediate-term graft outcome, this study analyzes the impact of low-level BKPyV viremia on intermediate-term graft function and outcome compared with high-level viremia and non-viremic patients. All renal transplant patients received follow-up examinations at the Department of Nephrology, University Hospital Essen. Patients were screened for BKPyV viremia and stratified into three groups according to their maximum BKPyV load in serum (low-level viremia, high-level viremia, and no viremia). In 142 of 213 (67%) patients, BKPyV was never detected in serum; 42 of 213 (20%) patients were found positive for low-level viremia (≤10 4 copies/mL); and 29 of 213 (13%) patients showed high-level viremia (>10 4 copies/mL). No significant differences regarding transplant function and graft failure were observed between patients without BKPyV viremia (delta estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR] +0.1 mL/min [month 1 vs last visit at month 44]) and patients with low-level BKPyV viremia (delta eGFR -1.7 mL/min). In patients with high-level viremia, transplant function was significantly restricted (delta eGFR -6.5 mL/min) compared with low-level viremia until the last visit at 44 ± 9.7 months after transplantation. Although the graft function and graft loss were worse in the high-level viremia group compared with no viremia (eGFR 37 vs 45 mL/min), the difference was not significant. High-level viremia was associated with impaired graft function. In contrast, low-level BKPyV viremia had no significant impact on intermediate-term graft function. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A fluidized bed enhances biotreatment

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

NONE

1996-03-01

Chlorinated organics such as trichloroethylene (TCE) are often difficult to treat biologically because they degrade into intermediate compounds that are toxic to most microorganisms. But recent advances in fluidized bed biotreatment by Envirex, Inc. (Waukesha, Wis.) indicate that difficult-to-treat wastes like TCE can be successfully biodegraded. The key is to add chemicals (dubbed co-metabolic substrates), which promote the growth of microbes that preferentially degrade the unwanted intermediate compounds. Preliminary field tests using phenol, toluene and methane as the co-metabolic substrate show that TCE levels can be reduced by as much as 95%.

[Stakeholder representations of the role of the intermediate level of the DRC health system].

PubMed

Mbeva, Jean Bosco Kahindo; Karemere, Hermès; Schirvel, Carole; Porignon, Denis

2014-01-01

Intermediate health care structures in the DRC were designed during the setting-up of primary health care in a perspective of health district support. This study was designed to describe stakeholder representations of the intermediate level of the DRC health system during the first 30 years of the primary health care system. This case study was based on inductive analysis of data from 27 key informant interviews.. The intermediate level of the health system, lacking sufficient expertise and funding during the 1980s, was confined to inspection and control functions, answering to the central level of the Ministry of health and provincial authorities. Since the 1990s, faced with the pressing demand for support from health district teams, whose self-management had to deal with humanitarian emergencies, the need to integrate vertical programmes, and cope with the logistics of many different actors, the intermediate heath system developed methods and tools to support heath districts. This resulted in a subsidiary model of the intermediate level, the perceived efficacy of which varies according to the province over recent years. The "subsidiary" model of the intermediary health system level seems a good alternative to the "control" model in DRC.

Chloroplast to chromoplast transition in tomato fruit: spectral confocal microscopy analyses of carotenoids and chlorophylls in isolated plastids and time-lapse recording on intact live tissue.

PubMed

Egea, Isabel; Bian, Wanping; Barsan, Cristina; Jauneau, Alain; Pech, Jean-Claude; Latché, Alain; Li, Zhengguo; Chervin, Christian

2011-08-01

There are several studies suggesting that tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) chromoplasts arise from chloroplasts, but there is still no report showing the fluorescence of both chlorophylls and carotenoids in an intermediate plastid, and no video showing this transition phase. Pigment fluorescence within individual plastids, isolated from tomato fruit using sucrose gradients, was observed at different ripening stages, and an in situ real-time recording of pigment fluorescence was performed on live tomato fruit slices. At the mature green and red stages, homogenous fractions of chloroplasts and chromoplasts were obtained, respectively. At the breaker stage, spectral confocal microscopy showed that intermediate plastids contained both chlorophylls and carotenoids. Furthermore, an in situ real-time recording (a) showed that the chloroplast to chromoplast transition was synchronous for all plastids of a single cell; and (b) confirmed that all chromoplasts derived from pre-existing chloroplasts. These results give details of the early steps of tomato chromoplast biogenesis from chloroplasts, with the formation of intermediate plastids containing both carotenoids and chlorophylls. They provide information at the sub-cellular level on the synchronism of plastid transition and pigment changes.

Genetic association with low concentrations of high density lipoprotein-cholesterol in a pediatric population of the Middle East and North Africa: the CASPIAN-III study.

PubMed

Kelishadi, Roya; Haghjooy Javanmard, Shaghayegh; Tajadini, Mohammad Hasan; Mansourian, Marjan; Motlagh, Mohammad Esmaeil; Ardalan, Gelayol; Ban, Matthew

2014-11-01

Depressed high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) is prevalent the Middle East and North Africa. Some studies have documented associations between HDL-C and several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in candidate gene polymorphisms. We investigated the associations between SNP genotypes and HDL-C levels in Iranian students, aged 10-18 years. Genotyping was performed in 750 randomly selected participants among those with low HDL-C levels (below 5th percentile), intermediate HDL-C levels (5-95th) and high HDL-C levels (above the 95th percentile). Minor allele frequencies (MAFs) of the SNPs of interest were compared between the three HDL-C groups. The vast majority of pairwise comparisons of MAFs between HDL-C groups were significant. Pairwise comparisons between low and high HDL-C groups showed significant between-group differences in MAFs for all SNPs, except for APOC3 rs5128. Pairwise comparisons between low and intermediate HDL-C groups showed significant between-group differences in MAFs for all SNPs, except for APOC3 rs5128 and APOA1 rs2893157. Pairwise comparisons between intermediate and high HDL-C groups showed significant between-group differences in MAFs for all SNPs, except for ABCA1 APOC3 rs5128 and APOA1 rs2893157. After adjustment for confounding factors, including age, sex, body mass index, low physical activity, consumption of saturated fats, and socioeconomic status, ABCA1 r1587K and CETP A373P significantly increased the risk of depressed HDL-C, and CETP Taq1 had a protective role. This study replicated several associations between HDL-C levels and candidate gene SNPs from genome-wide associations with HDL-C in Iranians from the pediatric age group. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Objective assessment of gynecologic laparoscopic skills using the LapSimGyn virtual reality simulator.

PubMed

Larsen, C R; Grantcharov, T; Aggarwal, R; Tully, A; Sørensen, J L; Dalsgaard, T; Ottesen, B

2006-09-01

Safe realistic training and unbiased quantitative assessment of technical skills are required for laparoscopy. Virtual reality (VR) simulators may be useful tools for training and assessing basic and advanced surgical skills and procedures. This study aimed to investigate the construct validity of the LapSimGyn VR simulator, and to determine the learning curves of gynecologists with different levels of experience. For this study, 32 gynecologic trainees and consultants (juniors or seniors) were allocated into three groups: novices (0 advanced laparoscopic procedures), intermediate level (>20 and <60 procedures), and experts (>100 procedures). All performed 10 sets of simulations consisting of three basic skill tasks and an ectopic pregnancy program. The simulations were carried out on 3 days within a maximum period of 2 weeks. Assessment of skills was based on time, economy of movement, and error parameters measured by the simulator. The data showed that expert gynecologists performed significantly and consistently better than intermediate and novice gynecologists. The learning curves differed significantly between the groups, showing that experts start at a higher level and more rapidly reach the plateau of their learning curve than do intermediate and novice groups of surgeons. The LapSimGyn VR simulator package demonstrates construct validity on both the basic skills module and the procedural gynecologic module for ectopic pregnancy. Learning curves can be obtained, but to reach the maximum performance for the more complex tasks, 10 repetitions do not seem sufficient at the given task level and settings. LapSimGyn also seems to be flexible and widely accepted by the users.

Intermediate P* from soluble methane monooxygenase contains a diferrous cluster.

PubMed

Banerjee, Rahul; Meier, Katlyn K; Münck, Eckard; Lipscomb, John D

2013-06-25

During a single turnover of the hydroxylase component (MMOH) of soluble methane monooxygenase from Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b, several discrete intermediates are formed. The diiron cluster of MMOH is first reduced to the Fe(II)Fe(II) state (H(red)). O₂ binds rapidly at a site away from the cluster to form the Fe(II)Fe(II) intermediate O, which converts to an Fe(III)Fe(III)-peroxo intermediate P and finally to the Fe(IV)Fe(IV) intermediate Q. Q binds and reacts with methane to yield methanol and water. The rate constants for these steps are increased by a regulatory protein, MMOB. Previously reported transient kinetic studies have suggested that an intermediate P* forms between O and P in which the g = 16 EPR signal characteristic of the reduced diiron cluster of H(red) and O is lost. This was interpreted as signaling oxidation of the cluster, but a low level of accumulation of P* prevented further characterization. In this study, three methods for directly detecting and trapping P* are applied together to allow its spectroscopic and kinetic characterization. First, the MMOB mutant His33Ala is used to specifically slow the decay of P* without affecting its formation rate, leading to its nearly quantitative accumulation. Second, spectra-kinetic data collection is used to provide a sensitive measure of the formation and decay rate constants of intermediates as well as their optical spectra. Finally, the substrate furan is included to react with Q and quench its strong chromophore. The optical spectrum of P* closely mimics those of H(red) and O, but it is distinctly different from that of P. The reaction cycle rate constants allowed prediction of the times for maximal accumulation of the intermediates. Mössbauer spectra of rapid freeze-quench samples at these times show that the intermediates are formed at almost exactly the predicted levels. The Mössbauer spectra show that the diiron cluster of P*, quite unexpectedly, is in the Fe(II)Fe(II) state. Thus, the loss of the g = 16 EPR signal results from a change in the electronic structure of the Fe(II)Fe(II) center rather than oxidation. The similarity of the optical and Mössbauer spectra of H(red), O, and P* suggests that only subtle changes occur in the electronic and physical structure of the diiron cluster as P* forms. Nevertheless, the changes that do occur are necessary for O₂ to be activated for hydrocarbon oxidation.

Reducing the cost of using collocation to compute vibrational energy levels: Results for CH2NH.

PubMed

Avila, Gustavo; Carrington, Tucker

2017-08-14

In this paper, we improve the collocation method for computing vibrational spectra that was presented in the work of Avila and Carrington, Jr. [J. Chem. Phys. 143, 214108 (2015)]. Known quadrature and collocation methods using a Smolyak grid require storing intermediate vectors with more elements than points on the Smolyak grid. This is due to the fact that grid labels are constrained among themselves and basis labels are constrained among themselves. We show that by using the so-called hierarchical basis functions, one can significantly reduce the memory required. In this paper, the intermediate vectors have only as many elements as the Smolyak grid. The ideas are tested by computing energy levels of CH 2 NH.

Chromosome 15q25.1 genetic markers associated with level of response to alcohol in humans.

PubMed

Joslyn, Geoff; Brush, Gerry; Robertson, Margaret; Smith, Tom L; Kalmijn, Jelger; Schuckit, Marc; White, Raymond L

2008-12-23

As with other genetically complex common psychiatric and medical conditions, multiple genetic and environmental components contribute to alcohol use disorders (AUDs), which can confound attempts to identify genetic components. Intermediate phenotypes are often more closely correlated with underlying biology and have often proven invaluable in genetic studies. Level of response (LR) to alcohol is an intermediate phenotype for AUDs, and individuals with a low LR are at increased risk. A high rate of concurrent alcohol and nicotine use and dependence suggests that these conditions may share biochemical and genetic mechanisms. Genetic association studies indicate that a genetic locus, which includes the CHRNA5-CHRNA3-CHRNB4 gene cluster, plays a role in nicotine consumption and dependence. Genetic association with alcohol dependence was also recently shown. We show here that two of the markers from the nicotine studies also show an association (multiple testing corrected P < 0.025) with several LR phenotypes in a sample of 367 siblings. Additional markers in the region were analyzed and shown to be located in a 250-kb expanse of high linkage disequilibrium containing three additional genes. These findings indicate that LR intermediate phenotypes have utility in genetic approaches to AUDs and will prove valuable in the identification of other genetic loci conferring susceptibility to AUDs.

Shockley-Read-Hall recombination in pre-filled and photo-filled intermediate band solar cells

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

Mayani, Maryam Gholami; Reenaas, Turid Worren, E-mail: turid.reenaas@ntnu.no

2014-08-18

In this work, we study how Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) recombination via energy levels in the bandgap, caused by defects or impurities, affects the performance of both photo-filled and pre-filled intermediate band solar cells (IBSCs). For a pre-filled cell, the IB is half-filled in equilibrium, while it is empty for the photo-filled cell in equilibrium. The energy level, density, and capture cross-sections of the defects/impurities are varied systematically. We find that the photo-filled cells are, in general, less efficient than pre-filled cells, except when the defect level is between the conduction band and the IB. In that case, for a range ofmore » light intensities, the photo-filled cell performs better than the pre-filled. When the defect level is at the same energy as the IB, the efficiency is above 82% of the defect-free case, when less than 50% of the states at the IB lead to SRH recombination. This shows that even if SRH recombination via the IB takes place, high efficiencies can be achieved. We also show that band gap optimization can be used to reduce the SRH recombination.« less

Collective stochastic coherence in recurrent neuronal networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sancristóbal, Belén; Rebollo, Beatriz; Boada, Pol; Sanchez-Vives, Maria V.; Garcia-Ojalvo, Jordi

2016-09-01

Recurrent networks of dynamic elements frequently exhibit emergent collective oscillations, which can show substantial regularity even when the individual elements are considerably noisy. How noise-induced dynamics at the local level coexists with regular oscillations at the global level is still unclear. Here we show that a combination of stochastic recurrence-based initiation with deterministic refractoriness in an excitable network can reconcile these two features, leading to maximum collective coherence for an intermediate noise level. We report this behaviour in the slow oscillation regime exhibited by a cerebral cortex network under dynamical conditions resembling slow-wave sleep and anaesthesia. Computational analysis of a biologically realistic network model reveals that an intermediate level of background noise leads to quasi-regular dynamics. We verify this prediction experimentally in cortical slices subject to varying amounts of extracellular potassium, which modulates neuronal excitability and thus synaptic noise. The model also predicts that this effectively regular state should exhibit noise-induced memory of the spatial propagation profile of the collective oscillations, which is also verified experimentally. Taken together, these results allow us to construe the high regularity observed experimentally in the brain as an instance of collective stochastic coherence.

The tug-of-war between the West Philippine Sea and South China Sea Tropical Waters and Intermediate Waters in the Okinawa Trough

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, C. T. A.

2015-12-01

It has been known that Kuroshio subsurface waters are the major source of nutrients to the East China Sea continental shelf, a major fishing ground. It has also been known that subsurface waters that upwell onto the shelf are heavily affected by the South China Sea (SCS) Tropical Water and the SCS Intermediate Water which contain more nutrients than the tropical (Smax) and intermediate (Smin) waters from the West Philippine Sea (WPS). A front has been found to separate the tropical and intermediate waters from the SCS and WPS. The reported front in the Okinawa Trough, however, was identified based only on one-time data from a single cross-section in the central Okinawa Trough. Here historical hydrographic data between Mar. 1950 and Dec. 2011 in the Okinawa Trough and its neighborhood are analyzed. A vertical front tilted toward the west is found in all seasons in all years across the World Ocean Circulation Repeated Lines PR 18 and 19 as well as at the PN cross-section in the central Okinawa Trough. The front at the Smax level (sigma theta=24.6-24.9) shows large seasonal and interannual variations. In winter during normal and La Niña periods the presence of the SCS Tropical Water is the most prominent. It is the weakest in autumn during normal periods and in spring during La Nina periods. Yet during El Niño periods the SCS Tropical Water is the most prominent in spring and it becomes the weakest in winter. As for intermediate waters (Smin at sigma theta= 26.7-26.9) the WPS Intermediate Water and SCS Intermediate Water show much weaker seasonality compared with tropical waters although during normal periods in winter the WPS Intermediate Water contribution is slightly larger than during other times. During El Niño periods the WPS Intermediate Water contribution is the smallest but in spring it is much strengthened. On the other hand, the WPS Intermediate Water contribution is the smallest in spring, and the largest in winter during La Niña periods.

Disturbance History,Spatial Variability, and Patterns of Biodiversity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bendix, J.; Wiley, J. J.; Commons, M.

2012-12-01

The intermediate disturbance hypothesis predicts that species diversity will be maximized in environments experiencing intermediate intensity disturbance, after an intermediate timespan. Because many landscapes comprise mosaics with complex disturbance histories, the theory implies that each patch in those mosaics should have a distinct level of diversity reflecting combined impact of the magnitude of disturbance and the time since it occurred. We modeled the changing patterns of species richness across a landscape experiencing varied scenarios of simulated disturbance. Model outputs show that individual landscape patches have highly variable species richness through time, with the details reflecting the timing, intensity and sequence of their disturbance history. When the results are mapped across the landscape, the resulting temporal and spatial complexity illustrates both the contingent nature of diversity and the danger of generalizing about the impacts of disturbance.

The miRNA Transcriptome Directly Reflects the Physiological and Biochemical Differences between Red, White, and Intermediate Muscle Fiber Types.

PubMed

Ma, Jideng; Wang, Hongmei; Liu, Rui; Jin, Long; Tang, Qianzi; Wang, Xun; Jiang, Anan; Hu, Yaodong; Li, Zongwen; Zhu, Li; Li, Ruiqiang; Li, Mingzhou; Li, Xuewei

2015-04-29

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that can regulate their target genes at the post-transcriptional level. Skeletal muscle comprises different fiber types that can be broadly classified as red, intermediate, and white. Recently, a set of miRNAs was found expressed in a fiber type-specific manner in red and white fiber types. However, an in-depth analysis of the miRNA transcriptome differences between all three fiber types has not been undertaken. Herein, we collected 15 porcine skeletal muscles from different anatomical locations, which were then clearly divided into red, white, and intermediate fiber type based on the ratios of myosin heavy chain isoforms. We further illustrated that three muscles, which typically represented each muscle fiber type (i.e., red: peroneal longus (PL), intermediate: psoas major muscle (PMM), white: longissimus dorsi muscle (LDM)), have distinct metabolic patterns of mitochondrial and glycolytic enzyme levels. Furthermore, we constructed small RNA libraries for PL, PMM, and LDM using a deep sequencing approach. Results showed that the differentially expressed miRNAs were mainly enriched in PL and played a vital role in myogenesis and energy metabolism. Overall, this comprehensive analysis will contribute to a better understanding of the miRNA regulatory mechanism that achieves the phenotypic diversity of skeletal muscles.

Exhaust emission survey of an F100 afterburning turbofan engine at simulated altitude flight conditions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moss, J. E.; Cullom, R. R.

1981-01-01

Emissions of carbon monoxide, total oxides of nitrogen, unburned hydrocarbons, and carbon dioxide from an F100, afterburning, two spool turbofan engine at simulated flight conditions are reported. For each flight condition emission measurements were made for two or three power levels from intermediate power (nonafterburning) through maximum afterburning. The data showed that emissions vary with flight speed, altitude, power level, and radial position across the nozzle. Carbon monoxide emissions were low for intermediate power (nonafterburning) and partial afterburning, but regions of high carbon monoxide were present downstream of the flame holder at maximum afterburning. Unburned hydrocarbon emissions were low for most of the simulated flight conditions. The local NOX concentrations and their variability with power level increased with increasing flight Mach number at constant altitude, and decreased with increasing altitude at constant Mach number. Carbon dioxide emissions were proportional to local fuel air ratio for all conditions.

Sense of Accomplishment Is Modulated by a Proper Level of Instruction and Represented in the Brain Reward System.

PubMed

Nakai, Tomoya; Nakatani, Hironori; Hosoda, Chihiro; Nonaka, Yulri; Okanoya, Kazuo

2017-01-01

Problem-solving can be facilitated with instructions or hints, which provide information about given problems. The proper amount of instruction that should be provided for learners is controversial. Research shows that tasks with intermediate difficulty induce the largest sense of accomplishment (SA), leading to an intrinsic motivation for learning. To investigate the effect of instructions, we prepared three instruction levels (No hint, Indirect hint, and Direct hint) for the same insight-problem types. We hypothesized that indirect instructions impose intermediate difficulty for each individual, thereby inducing the greatest SA per person. Based on previous neuroimaging studies that showed involvement of the bilateral caudate in learning and motivation, we expected SA to be processed in this reward system. We recruited twenty-one participants, and investigated neural activations during problem solving by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We confirmed that the Indirect hint, which imposed intermediate difficulty, induced the largest SA among the three instruction types. Using fMRI, we showed that activations in the bilateral caudate and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) were significantly modulated by SA. In the bilateral caudate, the indirect hint induced the largest activation, while the ACC seemed to reflect the difference between correct and incorrect trials. Importantly, such activation pattern was independent of notations (number or letter). Our results indicate that SA is represented in the reward system, and that the Indirect instruction effectively induces such sensation.

Sense of Accomplishment Is Modulated by a Proper Level of Instruction and Represented in the Brain Reward System

PubMed Central

Nakai, Tomoya; Nakatani, Hironori; Hosoda, Chihiro; Nonaka, Yulri; Okanoya, Kazuo

2017-01-01

Problem-solving can be facilitated with instructions or hints, which provide information about given problems. The proper amount of instruction that should be provided for learners is controversial. Research shows that tasks with intermediate difficulty induce the largest sense of accomplishment (SA), leading to an intrinsic motivation for learning. To investigate the effect of instructions, we prepared three instruction levels (No hint, Indirect hint, and Direct hint) for the same insight-problem types. We hypothesized that indirect instructions impose intermediate difficulty for each individual, thereby inducing the greatest SA per person. Based on previous neuroimaging studies that showed involvement of the bilateral caudate in learning and motivation, we expected SA to be processed in this reward system. We recruited twenty-one participants, and investigated neural activations during problem solving by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We confirmed that the Indirect hint, which imposed intermediate difficulty, induced the largest SA among the three instruction types. Using fMRI, we showed that activations in the bilateral caudate and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) were significantly modulated by SA. In the bilateral caudate, the indirect hint induced the largest activation, while the ACC seemed to reflect the difference between correct and incorrect trials. Importantly, such activation pattern was independent of notations (number or letter). Our results indicate that SA is represented in the reward system, and that the Indirect instruction effectively induces such sensation. PMID:28052091

Elementary Environmental Learning Packet Grades 4-6, Second Revised Edition. [Intermediate CEL Blocks. Teacher's Guide].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brevard County School Board, Cocoa, FL.

This environmental education program consists of two levels: primary and intermediate. The material in this publication encompasses the intermediate level. The learning materials are activity-based and incorporate process and subject area skills with knowledge and concern for the environment. The program is also interdisciplinary including…

Expertise under the microscope: processing histopathological slides.

PubMed

Jaarsma, Thomas; Jarodzka, Halszka; Nap, Marius; van Merrienboer, Jeroen J G; Boshuizen, Henny P A

2014-03-01

Although the obvious goal of training in clinical pathology is to bring forth capable diagnosticians, developmental stages and their characteristics are unknown. This study therefore aims to find expertise-related differences in the processing of histopathological slides using a combination of eye tracking data and verbal data. Participants in this study were 13 clinical pathologists (experts), 12 pathology residents (intermediates) and 13 medical students (novices). They diagnosed 10 microscopic images of colon tissue for 2 seconds. Eye movements, the given diagnoses, and the vocabulary used in post hoc verbal explanations were registered. Eye movements were analysed according to changes over trial time and the processing of diagnostically relevant areas. The content analysis of verbal data was based on a categorisation system developed from the literature. Although experts and intermediates showed equal levels of diagnostic accuracy, their visual and cognitive processing differed. Whereas experts relied on their first findings and checked the image further for other abnormalities, intermediates tended to double-check their first findings. In their explanations, experts focused on the typicality of the tissue, whereas intermediates mainly mentioned many specific pathologies. Novices looked less often at the relevant areas and were incomplete, incorrect and inconclusive in their explanations. Their diagnostic accuracy was correspondingly poor. This study indicates that in the case of intermediates and experts, different visual and cognitive strategies can result in equal levels of diagnostic accuracy. Lessons for training underline the relevance of the distinction between normal and abnormal tissue for novices, especially when the mental rotation of 2-D images is required. Intermediates need to be trained to see deviations in abnormalities. Feedback and an educational design that is specific to these developmental stages might improve training. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Effects of CO2-driven acidification of seawater on the calcification process in the calcareous hydrozoan Millepora alcicornis (Linnaeus, 1758)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Barros Marangoni, Laura Fernandes; Calderon, Emiliano Nicolas; Marques, Joseane Aparecida; Duarte, Gustavo Adolpho Santos; Pereira, Cristiano Macedo; e Castro, Clovis Barreira; Bianchini, Adalto

2017-12-01

Ocean acidification is expected to intensify due to increasing levels in the partial pressure of atmospheric CO2 ( pCO2). This could negatively affect major calcifying reef organisms. In this study, the effects of different levels of CO2-driven acidification of seawater (control: pH 8.1; moderate: pH 7.8; intermediate: pH 7.5; and severe: pH 7.2) on the net calcification rate and activity of enzymes related to the calcification process (Ca-ATPase and carbonic anhydrase) were evaluated in the calcareous hydrozoan Millepora alcicornis. The experiment was run for 30 d using a marine mesocosm system. Net calcification ratio was significantly reduced in hydrocorals exposed to intermediate seawater acidification for 16 d and to severe seawater acidification for 16 d or 30 d, compared to animals at control conditions. However, only hydrocorals exposed to severe seawater acidification showed lower net calcification rates than those exposed to control conditions for 30 d. In accordance, the activities of enzymes involved in the calcification process markedly increased in hydrocorals exposed to reduced pH. Ca-ATPase seemed to be more sensitive to seawater acidification than carbonic anhydrase as it increased in hydrocorals exposed to intermediate and severe seawater acidification for 30 d, while carbonic anhydrase activity was only stimulated under severe seawater acidification. Therefore, our findings clearly show that the hydrocoral M. alcicornis is able to cope, to some extent, with long-term CO2-driven acidification of seawater (pH ≥ 7.5). In addition, they show that Ca-ATPase plays a key role in the maintenance of calcification rate under scenarios of moderate and intermediate levels of seawater acidification. However, the observed increase in Ca-ATPase and carbonic anhydrase activity was not enough to compensate for the effects of CO2-driven reduction in seawater pH on the net calcification rate of the hydrocoral M. alcicornis under a scenario of severe ocean acidification (pH 7.2).

SOX2 expression levels distinguish between neural progenitor populations of the developing dorsal telencephalon.

PubMed

Hutton, Scott R; Pevny, Larysa H

2011-04-01

The HMG-Box transcription factor SOX2 is expressed in neural progenitor populations throughout the developing and adult central nervous system and is necessary to maintain their progenitor identity. However, it is unclear whether SOX2 levels are uniformly expressed across all neural progenitor populations. In the developing dorsal telencephalon, two distinct populations of neural progenitors, radial glia and intermediate progenitor cells, are responsible for generating a majority of excitatory neurons found in the adult neocortex. Here we demonstrate, using both cellular and molecular analyses, that SOX2 is differentially expressed between radial glial and intermediate progenitor populations. Moreover, utilizing a SOX2(EGFP) mouse line, we show that this differential expression can be used to prospectively isolate distinct, viable populations of radial glia and intermediate cells for in vitro analysis. Given the limited repertoire of cell-surface markers currently available for neural progenitor cells, this provides an invaluable tool for prospectively identifying and isolating distinct classes of neural progenitor cells from the central nervous system. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

In Vivo Regulation of Hepatitis B Virus Replication by Peroxisome Proliferators†

PubMed Central

Guidotti, Luca G.; Eggers, Carrie M.; Raney, Anneke K.; Chi, Susan Y.; Peters, Jeffrey M.; Gonzalez, Frank J.; McLachlan, Alan

1999-01-01

The role of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) in regulating hepatitis B virus (HBV) transcription and replication in vivo was investigated in an HBV transgenic mouse model. Treatment of HBV transgenic mice with the peroxisome proliferators Wy-14,643 and clofibric acid resulted in a less than twofold increase in HBV transcription rates and steady-state levels of HBV RNAs in the livers of these mice. In male mice, this increase in transcription was associated with a 2- to 3-fold increase in replication intermediates, whereas in female mice it was associated with a 7- to 14-fold increase in replication intermediates. The observed increases in transcription and replication were dependent on PPARα. HBV transgenic mice lacking this nuclear hormone receptor showed similar levels of HBV transcripts and replication intermediates as untreated HBV transgenic mice expressing PPARα but failed to demonstrate alterations in either RNA or DNA synthesis in response to peroxisome proliferators. Therefore, it appears that very modest alterations in transcription can, under certain circumstances, result in relatively large increases in HBV replication in HBV transgenic mice. PMID:10559356

Evaluation and comparison of predictive individual-level general surrogates.

PubMed

Gabriel, Erin E; Sachs, Michael C; Halloran, M Elizabeth

2018-07-01

An intermediate response measure that accurately predicts efficacy in a new setting at the individual level could be used both for prediction and personalized medical decisions. In this article, we define a predictive individual-level general surrogate (PIGS), which is an individual-level intermediate response that can be used to accurately predict individual efficacy in a new setting. While methods for evaluating trial-level general surrogates, which are predictors of trial-level efficacy, have been developed previously, few, if any, methods have been developed to evaluate individual-level general surrogates, and no methods have formalized the use of cross-validation to quantify the expected prediction error. Our proposed method uses existing methods of individual-level surrogate evaluation within a given clinical trial setting in combination with cross-validation over a set of clinical trials to evaluate surrogate quality and to estimate the absolute prediction error that is expected in a new trial setting when using a PIGS. Simulations show that our method performs well across a variety of scenarios. We use our method to evaluate and to compare candidate individual-level general surrogates over a set of multi-national trials of a pentavalent rotavirus vaccine.

Distinct roles for the 5' and 3' untranslated regions in the degradation and accumulation of chloroplast tufA mRNA: identification of an early intermediate in the in vivo degradation pathway.

PubMed

Zicker, Alicia A; Kadakia, Crystal S; Herrin, David L

2007-03-01

Elongation factor Tu in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is a chloroplast-encoded gene (tufA) whose 1.7-kb mRNA has a relatively short half-life. In the presence of chloramphenicol (CAP), which freezes translating chloroplast ribosomes, a 1.5-kb tufA RNA becomes prominent. Rifampicin-chase analysis indicates that the 1.5-kb RNA is a degradation intermediate, and mapping studies show that it is missing 176-180 nucleotides from the 5' end of tufA. The 5' terminus of the intermediate maps to a section of the untranslated region (UTR) predicted to be highly structured and to encode a small ORF. The intermediate could be detected in older cultures in the absence of CAP, indicating that it is not an artifact of drug treatment. Also, it did not overaccumulate in the chloroplast ribosome-deficient mutant, ac20 cr1, indicating its stabilization is specific to elongation-arrested ribosomes. To determine if the 5' UTR of tufA is destabilizing, the corresponding region of the atpA-aadA-rbcL gene was replaced with the tufA sequence, and introduced into the chloroplast genome; the 3' UTR was also substituted for comparison. Analysis of these transformants showed that the transcripts containing the tufA 3'-UTR accumulate to significantly lower levels. Data from constructs based on the vital reporter, Renilla luciferase, confirmed the importance of the tufA 3'-UTR in determining RNA levels, and suggested that the 5' UTR of tufA affects translation efficiency. These data indicate that the in vivo degradation of tufA mRNA begins in the 5' UTR, and is promoted by translation. The data also suggest, however, that the level of the mature RNA is determined more by the 3' UTR than the 5' UTR.

Characterization of a CD44/CD122int memory CD8 T cell subset generated under sterile inflammatory conditions.

PubMed

Mbitikon-Kobo, Florentin-Martial; Vocanson, Marc; Michallet, Marie-Cécile; Tomkowiak, Martine; Cottalorda, Anne; Angelov, Georgi S; Coupet, Charles-Antoine; Djebali, Sophia; Marçais, Antoine; Dubois, Bertrand; Bonnefoy-Bérard, Nathalie; Nicolas, Jean-François; Arpin, Christophe; Marvel, Jacqueline

2009-03-15

Most memory CD8 T cell subsets that have been hitherto defined are generated in response to infectious pathogens. In this study, we have characterized the CD8 T cells that survive priming conditions, devoid of pathogen-derived danger signals. In both a TCR-transgenic model and a model of contact hypersensitivity, we show that the priming of naive CD8 T cells under sterile inflammatory conditions generates memory. The corresponding memory CD8 T cells can be identified by their intermediate expression levels of CD44 and CD122. We also show that CD44/122(int) memory CD8 T cells spontaneously develop in wild type mice and that they display intermediate levels of several other memory traits including functional (IFN-gamma secretion capacity, CCL5 messenger stores), phenotypic, and molecular (T-bet and eomesodermin expression levels) features. We finally show that they correspond to an early differentiation stage and can further differentiate in CD44/122(high) memory T cells. Altogether, our results identify a new memory CD8 T cell subset that is generated under sterile inflammatory conditions and involved in the recall contact hypersensitivity reactions that are responsible for allergic contact dermatitis.

Constraints on mechanisms and rates of anaerobic oxidation of methane by microbial consortia: process-based modeling of ANME-2 archaea and sulfate reducing bacteria interactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Orcutt, B.; Meile, C.

2008-11-01

Anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) is the main process responsible for the removal of methane generated in Earth's marine subsurface environments. However, the biochemical mechanism of AOM remains elusive. By explicitly resolving the observed spatial arrangement of methanotrophic archaea and sulfate reducing bacteria found in consortia mediating AOM, potential intermediates involved in the electron transfer between the methane oxidizing and sulfate reducing partners were investigated via a consortium-scale reaction transport model that integrates the effect of diffusional transport with thermodynamic and kinetic controls on microbial activity. Model simulations were used to assess the impact of poorly constrained microbial characteristics such as minimum energy requirements to sustain metabolism and cell specific rates. The role of environmental conditions such as the influence of methane levels on the feasibility of H2, formate and acetate as intermediate species, and the impact of the abundance of intermediate species on pathway reversal were examined. The results show that higher production rates of intermediates via AOM lead to increased diffusive fluxes from the methane oxidizing archaea to sulfate reducing bacteria, but the build-up of the exchangeable species can cause the energy yield of AOM to drop below that required for ATP production. Comparison to data from laboratory experiments shows that under the experimental conditions of Nauhaus et al. (2007), none of the potential intermediates considered here is able to support metabolic activity matching the measured rates.

Separating the effects of environment and space on tree species distribution: from population to community.

PubMed

Lin, Guojun; Stralberg, Diana; Gong, Guiquan; Huang, Zhongliang; Ye, Wanhui; Wu, Linfang

2013-01-01

Quantifying the relative contributions of environmental conditions and spatial factors to species distribution can help improve our understanding of the processes that drive diversity patterns. In this study, based on tree inventory, topography and soil data from a 20-ha stem-mapped permanent forest plot in Guangdong Province, China, we evaluated the influence of different ecological processes at different spatial scales using canonical redundancy analysis (RDA) at the community level and multiple linear regression at the species level. At the community level, the proportion of explained variation in species distribution increased with grid-cell sizes, primarily due to a monotonic increase in the explanatory power of environmental variables. At the species level, neither environmental nor spatial factors were important determinants of overstory species' distributions at small cell sizes. However, purely spatial variables explained most of the variation in the distributions of understory species at fine and intermediate cell sizes. Midstory species showed patterns that were intermediate between those of overstory and understory species. At the 20-m cell size, the influence of spatial factors was stronger for more dispersal-limited species, suggesting that much of the spatial structuring in this community can be explained by dispersal limitation. Comparing environmental factors, soil variables had higher explanatory power than did topography for species distribution. However, both topographic and edaphic variables were highly spatial structured. Our results suggested that dispersal limitation has an important influence on fine-intermediate scale (from several to tens of meters) species distribution, while environmental variability facilitates species distribution at intermediate (from ten to tens of meters) and broad (from tens to hundreds of meters) scales.

Levels of Processing in Mild Disabilities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Al-Hilawani, Yasser A.; And Others

This study examined the effects of the second level (intermediate acoustical processing of rhyming words) and the third level (deep-semantic processing of words in sentences) of the "levels of processing" framework on memory performance of four types of intermediate-grade students (52 "normal" students, 50 students with…

Chloroplast to chromoplast transition in tomato fruit: spectral confocal microscopy analyses of carotenoids and chlorophylls in isolated plastids and time-lapse recording on intact live tissue

PubMed Central

Egea, Isabel; Bian, Wanping; Barsan, Cristina; Jauneau, Alain; Pech, Jean-Claude; Latché, Alain; Li, Zhengguo; Chervin, Christian

2011-01-01

Background and Aims There are several studies suggesting that tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) chromoplasts arise from chloroplasts, but there is still no report showing the fluorescence of both chlorophylls and carotenoids in an intermediate plastid, and no video showing this transition phase. Methods Pigment fluorescence within individual plastids, isolated from tomato fruit using sucrose gradients, was observed at different ripening stages, and an in situ real-time recording of pigment fluorescence was performed on live tomato fruit slices. Key results At the mature green and red stages, homogenous fractions of chloroplasts and chromoplasts were obtained, respectively. At the breaker stage, spectral confocal microscopy showed that intermediate plastids contained both chlorophylls and carotenoids. Furthermore, an in situ real-time recording (a) showed that the chloroplast to chromoplast transition was synchronous for all plastids of a single cell; and (b) confirmed that all chromoplasts derived from pre-existing chloroplasts. Conclusions These results give details of the early steps of tomato chromoplast biogenesis from chloroplasts, with the formation of intermediate plastids containing both carotenoids and chlorophylls. They provide information at the sub-cellular level on the synchronism of plastid transition and pigment changes. PMID:21788376

Effects of Comic Strips on L2 Learners' Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Jun

2004-01-01

This article reports the results of an experiment investigating the role of comic strips on ESL learners' reading comprehension. The students' proficiency levels were estimated, and students were organized into a low intermediate-level proficiency group (low-level students) and a high intermediate-level proficiency group (high-level students).…

A promiscuous intermediate underlies the evolution of LEAFY DNA binding specificity.

PubMed

Sayou, Camille; Monniaux, Marie; Nanao, Max H; Moyroud, Edwige; Brockington, Samuel F; Thévenon, Emmanuel; Chahtane, Hicham; Warthmann, Norman; Melkonian, Michael; Zhang, Yong; Wong, Gane Ka-Shu; Weigel, Detlef; Parcy, François; Dumas, Renaud

2014-02-07

Transcription factors (TFs) are key players in evolution. Changes affecting their function can yield novel life forms but may also have deleterious effects. Consequently, gene duplication events that release one gene copy from selective pressure are thought to be the common mechanism by which TFs acquire new activities. Here, we show that LEAFY, a major regulator of flower development and cell division in land plants, underwent changes to its DNA binding specificity, even though plant genomes generally contain a single copy of the LEAFY gene. We examined how these changes occurred at the structural level and identify an intermediate LEAFY form in hornworts that appears to adopt all different specificities. This promiscuous intermediate could have smoothed the evolutionary transitions, thereby allowing LEAFY to evolve new binding specificities while remaining a single-copy gene.

Determination of low ppm levels of dimethyl sulfate in an aqueous soluble API intermediate using liquid-liquid extraction and GC-MS.

PubMed

Zheng, Jie; Pritts, Wayne A; Zhang, Shuhong; Wittenberger, Steve

2009-12-05

Dimethyl sulfate (DMS) is an alkylating reagent commonly used in organic syntheses and pharmaceutical manufacturing processes. Due to its potential carcinogenicity, the level of DMS in the API process needs to be carefully monitored. However, in-process testing for DMS is challenging because of its reactivity and polarity as well as complex matrix effects. In this short communication, we report a GC-MS method for determination of DMS in an API intermediate that is a methyl sulfate salt. To overcome the complex matrix interference, DMS and an internal standard, d6-DMS, were extracted from the matrix with methyl tert-butyl ether. GC separation was conducted on a DB-624 column (30 m long, 0.32 mm ID, 1.8 microm film thickness). MS detection was performed on a single-quad Agilent MSD equipped with an electron impact source while the MSD signal was acquired in selected ion monitoring mode. This GC/MS method showed a linear response for DMS equivalent from 1.0 to 60 ppm. The practical quantitation limit for DMS was 1.0 ppm and the practical detection limit was 0.3 ppm. The relative standard derivation for analyte response was found as 0.1% for six injections of a working standard equivalent to 18.6 ppm of DMS. The spike recovery was ranged from 102.1 to 108.5% for a sample of API intermediate spiked with 8.0 ppm of DMS. In summary, the GC/MS method showed adequate specificity, linearity, sensitivity, repeatability and accuracy for determination of DMS in the API intermediate. This method has been successfully applied to study the efficiency of removing DMS from the process.

Fourier's law for quasi-one-dimensional chaotic quantum systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seligman, Thomas H.; Weidenmüller, Hans A.

2011-05-01

We derive Fourier's law for a completely coherent quasi-one-dimensional chaotic quantum system coupled locally to two heat baths at different temperatures. We solve the master equation to first order in the temperature difference. We show that the heat conductance can be expressed as a thermodynamic equilibrium coefficient taken at some intermediate temperature. We use that expression to show that for temperatures large compared to the mean level spacing of the system, the heat conductance is inversely proportional to the level density and, thus, inversely proportional to the length of the system.

Bothered by abstractness or engaged by cohesion? Experts' explanations enhance novices' deep-learning.

PubMed

Lachner, Andreas; Nückles, Matthias

2015-03-01

Experts' explanations have been shown to better enhance novices' transfer as compared with advanced students' explanations. Based on research on expertise and text comprehension, we investigated whether the abstractness or the cohesion of experts' and intermediates' explanations accounted for novices' learning. In Study 1, we showed that the superior cohesion of experts' explanations accounted for most of novices' transfer, whereas the degree of abstractness did not impact novices' transfer performance. In Study 2, we investigated novices' processing while learning with experts' and intermediates' explanations. We found that novices studying experts' explanations actively self-regulated their processing of the explanations, as they showed mainly deep-processing activities, whereas novices learning with intermediates' explanations were mainly engaged in shallow-processing activities by paraphrasing the explanations. Thus, we concluded that subject-matter expertise is a crucial prerequisite for instructors. Despite the abstract character of experts' explanations, their subject-matter expertise enables them to generate highly cohesive explanations that serve as a valuable scaffold for students' construction of flexible knowledge by engaging them in deep-level processing. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved.

Sea level rise drives increased tidal flooding frequency at tide gauges along the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts: Projections for 2030 and 2045.

PubMed

Dahl, Kristina A; Fitzpatrick, Melanie F; Spanger-Siegfried, Erika

2017-01-01

Tidal flooding is among the most tangible present-day effects of global sea level rise. Here, we utilize a set of NOAA tide gauges along the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts to evaluate the potential impact of future sea level rise on the frequency and severity of tidal flooding. Using the 2001-2015 time period as a baseline, we first determine how often tidal flooding currently occurs. Using localized sea level rise projections based on the Intermediate-Low, Intermediate-High, and Highest projections from the U.S. National Climate Assessment, we then determine the frequency and extent of such flooding at these locations for two near-term time horizons: 2030 and 2045. We show that increases in tidal flooding will be substantial and nearly universal at the 52 locations included in our analysis. Long before areas are permanently inundated, the steady creep of sea level rise will force many communities to grapple with chronic high tide flooding in the next 15 to 30 years.

Sea level rise drives increased tidal flooding frequency at tide gauges along the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts: Projections for 2030 and 2045

PubMed Central

Fitzpatrick, Melanie F.; Spanger-Siegfried, Erika

2017-01-01

Tidal flooding is among the most tangible present-day effects of global sea level rise. Here, we utilize a set of NOAA tide gauges along the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts to evaluate the potential impact of future sea level rise on the frequency and severity of tidal flooding. Using the 2001–2015 time period as a baseline, we first determine how often tidal flooding currently occurs. Using localized sea level rise projections based on the Intermediate-Low, Intermediate-High, and Highest projections from the U.S. National Climate Assessment, we then determine the frequency and extent of such flooding at these locations for two near-term time horizons: 2030 and 2045. We show that increases in tidal flooding will be substantial and nearly universal at the 52 locations included in our analysis. Long before areas are permanently inundated, the steady creep of sea level rise will force many communities to grapple with chronic high tide flooding in the next 15 to 30 years. PMID:28158209

An Affirmative Approach to Vocabulary Development.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shioji, Jean

Methods for second language vocabulary development in the intermediate and advanced level English classroom are described. Rather than require students to memorize lists of words, the teacher should give students a better understanding of the process of vocabulary development by showing them how to refine their use of new lexical items and implant…

Auditory object salience: human cortical processing of non-biological action sounds and their acoustic signal attributes

PubMed Central

Lewis, James W.; Talkington, William J.; Tallaksen, Katherine C.; Frum, Chris A.

2012-01-01

Whether viewed or heard, an object in action can be segmented as a distinct salient event based on a number of different sensory cues. In the visual system, several low-level attributes of an image are processed along parallel hierarchies, involving intermediate stages wherein gross-level object form and/or motion features are extracted prior to stages that show greater specificity for different object categories (e.g., people, buildings, or tools). In the auditory system, though relying on a rather different set of low-level signal attributes, meaningful real-world acoustic events and “auditory objects” can also be readily distinguished from background scenes. However, the nature of the acoustic signal attributes or gross-level perceptual features that may be explicitly processed along intermediate cortical processing stages remain poorly understood. Examining mechanical and environmental action sounds, representing two distinct non-biological categories of action sources, we had participants assess the degree to which each sound was perceived as object-like versus scene-like. We re-analyzed data from two of our earlier functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) task paradigms (Engel et al., 2009) and found that scene-like action sounds preferentially led to activation along several midline cortical structures, but with strong dependence on listening task demands. In contrast, bilateral foci along the superior temporal gyri (STG) showed parametrically increasing activation to action sounds rated as more “object-like,” independent of sound category or task demands. Moreover, these STG regions also showed parametric sensitivity to spectral structure variations (SSVs) of the action sounds—a quantitative measure of change in entropy of the acoustic signals over time—and the right STG additionally showed parametric sensitivity to measures of mean entropy and harmonic content of the environmental sounds. Analogous to the visual system, intermediate stages of the auditory system appear to process or extract a number of quantifiable low-order signal attributes that are characteristic of action events perceived as being object-like, representing stages that may begin to dissociate different perceptual dimensions and categories of every-day, real-world action sounds. PMID:22582038

Hidden Markov analysis of mechanosensitive ion channel gating.

PubMed

Khan, R Nazim; Martinac, Boris; Madsen, Barry W; Milne, Robin K; Yeo, Geoffrey F; Edeson, Robert O

2005-02-01

Patch clamp data from the large conductance mechanosensitive channel (MscL) in E. coli was studied with the aim of developing a strategy for statistical analysis based on hidden Markov models (HMMs) and determining the number of conductance levels of the channel, together with mean current, mean dwell time and equilibrium probability of occupancy for each level. The models incorporated state-dependent white noise and moving average adjustment for filtering, with maximum likelihood parameter estimates obtained using an EM (expectation-maximisation) based iteration. Adjustment for filtering was included as it could be expected that the electronic filter used in recording would have a major effect on obviously brief intermediate conductance level sojourns. Preliminary data analysis revealed that the brevity of intermediate level sojourns caused difficulties in assignment of data points to levels as a result of over-estimation of noise variances. When reasonable constraints were placed on these variances using the better determined noise variances for the closed and fully open levels, idealisation anomalies were eliminated. Nevertheless, simulations suggested that mean sojourn times for the intermediate levels were still considerably over-estimated, and that recording bandwidth was a major limitation; improved results were obtained with higher bandwidth data (10 kHz sampled at 25 kHz). The simplest model consistent with these data had four open conductance levels, intermediate levels being approximately 20%, 51% and 74% of fully open. The mean lifetime at the fully open level was about 1 ms; estimates for the three intermediate levels were 54-92 micros, probably still over-estimates.

The miRNA Transcriptome Directly Reflects the Physiological and Biochemical Differences between Red, White, and Intermediate Muscle Fiber Types

PubMed Central

Ma, Jideng; Wang, Hongmei; Liu, Rui; Jin, Long; Tang, Qianzi; Wang, Xun; Jiang, Anan; Hu, Yaodong; Li, Zongwen; Zhu, Li; Li, Ruiqiang; Li, Mingzhou; Li, Xuewei

2015-01-01

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that can regulate their target genes at the post-transcriptional level. Skeletal muscle comprises different fiber types that can be broadly classified as red, intermediate, and white. Recently, a set of miRNAs was found expressed in a fiber type-specific manner in red and white fiber types. However, an in-depth analysis of the miRNA transcriptome differences between all three fiber types has not been undertaken. Herein, we collected 15 porcine skeletal muscles from different anatomical locations, which were then clearly divided into red, white, and intermediate fiber type based on the ratios of myosin heavy chain isoforms. We further illustrated that three muscles, which typically represented each muscle fiber type (i.e., red: peroneal longus (PL), intermediate: psoas major muscle (PMM), white: longissimus dorsi muscle (LDM)), have distinct metabolic patterns of mitochondrial and glycolytic enzyme levels. Furthermore, we constructed small RNA libraries for PL, PMM, and LDM using a deep sequencing approach. Results showed that the differentially expressed miRNAs were mainly enriched in PL and played a vital role in myogenesis and energy metabolism. Overall, this comprehensive analysis will contribute to a better understanding of the miRNA regulatory mechanism that achieves the phenotypic diversity of skeletal muscles. PMID:25938964

DCEBIO facilitates myogenic differentiation via intermediate conductance Ca2+ activated K+ channel activation in C2C12 myoblasts.

PubMed

Tanaka, Shoko; Ono, Yuko; Sakamoto, Kazuho

2017-04-01

Membrane hyperpolarization is suggested to be a trigger for skeletal muscle differentiation. We investigated whether DCEBIO, an opener of the small/intermediate conductance Ca 2+ activated K + (SK Ca /IK Ca ) channels, increase myogenic differentiation in C2C12 skeletal myoblasts. DCEBIO significantly increased myotube formation, protein expression level of myosin heavy chain II, and mRNA expression level of myogenin in C2C12 myoblasts cultured in differentiation medium. DCEBIO induced myotube formation and hyperpolarization were reduced by the IK Ca channel blocker TRAM-34, but not by the SK Ca channel blocker apamin. These findings show that DCEBIO increases myogenic differentiation by activating IK Ca channels. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Serum C-reactive protein (CRP) as a simple and independent prognostic factor in extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type.

PubMed

Li, Ya-Jun; Li, Zhi-Ming; Xia, Yi; Huang, Jia-Jia; Huang, Hui-Qiang; Xia, Zhong-Jun; Lin, Tong-Yu; Li, Su; Cai, Xiu-Yu; Wu-Xiao, Zhi-Jun; Jiang, Wen-Qi

2013-01-01

C-reactive protein (CRP) is a biomarker of the inflammatory response, and it shows significant prognostic value for several types of solid tumors. The prognostic significance of CRP for lymphoma has not been fully examined. We evaluated the prognostic role of baseline serum CRP levels in patients with extranodal natural killer (NK)/T-cell lymphoma (ENKTL). We retrospectively analyzed 185 patients with newly diagnosed ENKTL. The prognostic value of the serum CRP level was evaluated for the low-CRP group (CRP≤10 mg/L) versus the high-CRP group (CRP>10 mg/L). The prognostic value of the International Prognostic Index (IPI) and the Korean Prognostic Index (KPI) were evaluated and compared with the newly developed prognostic model. Patients in the high-CRP group tended to display increased adverse clinical characteristics, lower rates of complete remission (P<0.001), inferior progression-free survival (PFS, P = 0.001), and inferior overall survival (OS, P<0.001). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that elevated serum CRP levels, age >60 years, hypoalbuminemia, and elevated lactate dehydrogenase levels were independent adverse predictors of OS. Based on these four independent predictors, we constructed a new prognostic model that identified 4 groups with varying OS: group 1, no adverse factors; group 2, 1 factor; group 3, 2 factors; and group 4, 3 or 4 factors (P<0.001). The novel prognostic model was found to be superior to both the IPI in discriminating patients with different outcomes in the IPI low-risk group and the KPI in distinguishing between the low- and intermediate-low-risk groups, the intermediate-low- and high-intermediate-risk groups, and the high-intermediate- and high-risk groups. Our results suggest that pretreatment serum CRP levels represent an independent predictor of clinical outcome for patients with ENKTL. The prognostic value of the new prognostic model is superior to both IPI and KPI.

Serum C-Reactive Protein (CRP) as a Simple and Independent Prognostic Factor in Extranodal Natural Killer/T-Cell Lymphoma, Nasal Type

PubMed Central

Xia, Yi; Huang, Jia-Jia; Huang, Hui-Qiang; Xia, Zhong-Jun; Lin, Tong-Yu; Li, Su; Cai, Xiu-Yu; Wu-Xiao, Zhi-Jun; Jiang, Wen-Qi

2013-01-01

Background C-reactive protein (CRP) is a biomarker of the inflammatory response, and it shows significant prognostic value for several types of solid tumors. The prognostic significance of CRP for lymphoma has not been fully examined. We evaluated the prognostic role of baseline serum CRP levels in patients with extranodal natural killer (NK)/T-cell lymphoma (ENKTL). Methods We retrospectively analyzed 185 patients with newly diagnosed ENKTL. The prognostic value of the serum CRP level was evaluated for the low-CRP group (CRP≤10 mg/L) versus the high-CRP group (CRP>10 mg/L). The prognostic value of the International Prognostic Index (IPI) and the Korean Prognostic Index (KPI) were evaluated and compared with the newly developed prognostic model. Results Patients in the high-CRP group tended to display increased adverse clinical characteristics, lower rates of complete remission (P<0.001), inferior progression-free survival (PFS, P = 0.001), and inferior overall survival (OS, P<0.001). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that elevated serum CRP levels, age >60 years, hypoalbuminemia, and elevated lactate dehydrogenase levels were independent adverse predictors of OS. Based on these four independent predictors, we constructed a new prognostic model that identified 4 groups with varying OS: group 1, no adverse factors; group 2, 1 factor; group 3, 2 factors; and group 4, 3 or 4 factors (P<0.001). The novel prognostic model was found to be superior to both the IPI in discriminating patients with different outcomes in the IPI low-risk group and the KPI in distinguishing between the low- and intermediate-low-risk groups, the intermediate-low- and high-intermediate-risk groups, and the high-intermediate- and high-risk groups. Conclusions Our results suggest that pretreatment serum CRP levels represent an independent predictor of clinical outcome for patients with ENKTL. The prognostic value of the new prognostic model is superior to both IPI and KPI. PMID:23724031

Compartmentalization of metabolic pathways in yeast mitochondria improves production of branched chain alcohols

PubMed Central

Avalos, José L.; Fink, Gerald R.; Stephanopoulos, Gregory

2013-01-01

Efforts to improve the production of a compound of interest in Saccharomyces cerevisiae have mainly involved engineering or overexpression of cytoplasmic enzymes. We show that targeted expression of metabolic pathways to mitochondria can increase production levels compared with expression of the same pathways in the cytoplasm. Compartmentalisation of the Ehrlich pathway into mitochondria increased isobutanol production by 260%, whereas overexpression of the same pathway in the cytoplasm only improved yields by 10%, compared with a strain overexpressing only the first three steps of the biosynthetic pathway. Subcellular fractionation of engineered strains reveals that targeting the enzymes of the Ehrlich pathway to the mitochondria achieves higher local enzyme concentrations. Other benefits of compartmentalization may include increased availability of intermediates, removing the need to transport intermediates out of the mitochondrion, and reducing the loss of intermediates to competing pathways. PMID:23417095

A directed-overflow and damage-control N -glycosidase in riboflavin biosynthesis

DOE PAGES

Frelin, Océane; Huang, Lili; Hasnain, Ghulam; ...

2015-02-15

Plants and bacteria synthesize the essential human micronutrient riboflavin (vitamin B2) via the same multistep pathway. The early intermediates of this pathway are notoriously reactive, and may be overproduced in vivo because riboflavin biosynthesis enzymes lack feedback controls. Here we demonstrate disposal of riboflavin intermediates by COG3236 (DUF1768), a protein of previously unknown function that is fused to two different riboflavin pathway enzymes in plants and bacteria (RIBR and RibA, respectively). We present cheminformatic, biochemical, genetic, and genomic evidence to show that: (i) plant and bacterial COG3236 proteins cleave the N-glycosidic bond of the first two intermediates of riboflavin biosynthesis,more » yielding relatively innocuous products; (ii) certain COG3236 proteins are in a multienzyme riboflavin biosynthesis complex that gives them privileged access to riboflavin intermediates; and (iii) COG3236 action in Arabidopsis thaliana and Escherichia coli helps maintain flavin levels. We find COG3236 proteins thus illustrate two emerging principles in chemical biology: directed overflow metabolism, in which excess flux is diverted out of a pathway, and the pre-emption of damage from reactive metabolites.« less

Failure of Castlegate Sandstone under True Triaxial Loading

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ingraham, M. D.; Issen, K. A.; Holcomb, D. J.

2011-12-01

Understanding the stress conditions that cause deformation bands to form can provide insight into the geologic processes in a given location. In particular, understanding the relationship of the intermediate principal stress with respect to maximum and minimum compression when bands form, could provide useful information about the intermediate principal stress in field settings. Therefore, a series of tests were performed to investigate the effect of the intermediate principal stress on the mechanical response and failure of Castlegate sandstone under true triaxial states of stress. Constant mean stress tests were run at five different stress states ranging from: 1) intermediate principal stress equal to minimum compression to 2) intermediate principal stress equal to maximum compression. Failure occurred either through deformation band formation or apparent bulk compaction. Specimens that formed a deformation band experienced a stress drop at band formation. For a given level of intermediate principal stress, the peak stress increases with increasing mean stress. Additionally, as intermediate principal stress increases, the peak stress decreases for a given mean stress. Acoustic emissions (AE) recorded during testing were used to locate failure events in three-dimensional space within the sample. This allowed for more detailed investigation of the formation and propagation of the band(s) within the specimen. In specimens that appear to have undergone bulk compaction, AE events were randomly distributed throughout the sample. For specimens with bands, the band angles were measured as the angle between the maximum principal stress direction and the normal to the band that formed. Band angles tend to increase with increasing intermediate principal stress, and decrease with increasing mean stress. Results from the AE data shows that the band angle evolves during testing and the band that is expressed on the surface of the specimen at the conclusion of testing is not always the band that initially formed. AE results also show that low angle bands tend to be more diffuse than higher angle bands. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory managed and operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000.

Competition-Colonization Trade-Offs, Competitive Uncertainty, and the Evolutionary Assembly of Species

PubMed Central

Pillai, Pradeep; Guichard, Frédéric

2012-01-01

We utilize a standard competition-colonization metapopulation model in order to study the evolutionary assembly of species. Based on earlier work showing how models assuming strict competitive hierarchies will likely lead to runaway evolution and self-extinction for all species, we adopt a continuous competition function that allows for levels of uncertainty in the outcome of competition. We then, by extending the standard patch-dynamic metapopulation model in order to include evolutionary dynamics, allow for the coevolution of species into stable communities composed of species with distinct limiting similarities. Runaway evolution towards stochastic extinction then becomes a limiting case controlled by the level of competitive uncertainty. We demonstrate how intermediate competitive uncertainty maximizes the equilibrium species richness as well as maximizes the adaptive radiation and self-assembly of species under adaptive dynamics with mutations of non-negligible size. By reconciling competition-colonization tradeoff theory with co-evolutionary dynamics, our results reveal the importance of intermediate levels of competitive uncertainty for the evolutionary assembly of species. PMID:22448253

Floods n' Dams: A Watershed Model.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Milne, Andrew; Etches, John

1996-01-01

Describes an activity meant to illustrate flooding in a watershed as it impinges on human activities. Shows how flood protection can be provided using the natural holding capacity of basins elsewhere in the water system to reduce the impact on the settled flood plain. The activity works well with intermediate and senior level students but can be…

The Importance of Sports Performance Factors and Training Contents From the Perspective of Futsal Coaches

PubMed Central

Serrano, João; Shahidian, Shakib; Sampaio, Jaime; Leite, Nuno

2013-01-01

The aim of this study was to identify the importance assigned by futsal coaches with different education levels to the sports performance factors (technical, tactical, physical and psychological) and to the training contents. The sample was divided into three groups (novice: n=35, intermediate: n=42; and elite coaches: n=15) depending on the degree of specific education, coaching experience and the level of the teams trained. To achieve this goal, the coaches answered a questionnaire previously validated by specialists in sport sciences. The results showed significant differences between the novice and elite group in small-sided games, inferiority games, opposition and execution timing of the training and drill items. The analyses also showed significant differences between the novice and intermediate group in inferiority games and opposition of the training and drill items. Although, no differences were identified between groups for the remaining performance factors and training and drill items considered, the identified trends provide a baseline related to the knowledge that contributes to the development of expertise of futsal coaches. PMID:24235991

Kidney transplantation: a systematic review of interventional and observational studies of physical activity on intermediate outcomes.

PubMed

Macdonald, Jamie Hugo; Kirkman, Danielle; Jibani, Mahdi

2009-11-01

Kidney transplant patients have decreased quality and longevity of life. Whether exercise can positively affect associated outcomes such as physical functioning, metabolic syndrome, kidney function, and immune function, has only been addressed in relatively small studies. Thus the aim of this systematic review was to determine effects of physical activity level on these intermediate outcomes in kidney transplant patients. We electronically and hand searched to identify 21 studies (6 retrospective assessments of habitual physical activity and 15 intervention studies including 6 controlled trials). After study quality assessment, intermediate outcomes associated with quality and longevity of life were expressed as correlations or percentage changes in addition to effect sizes. Habitual physical activity level was positively associated with quality of life and aerobic fitness and negatively associated with body fat (medium to large effect sizes). Exercise interventions also showed medium to large positive effects on aerobic capacity (10%-114% increase) and muscle strength (10%-22% increase). However, exercise programs had minimal or contradictory effects on metabolic syndrome and immune and kidney function. In kidney transplant patients, physical activity intervention is warranted to enhance physical functioning. Whether exercise impacts on outcomes associated with longevity of life requires further study.

Spatial Skill Profile of Mathematics Pre-Service Teachers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Putri, R. O. E.

2018-01-01

This study is aimed to investigate the spatial intelligence of mathematics pre-service teachers and find the best instructional strategy that facilitates this aspect. Data were collected from 35 mathematics pre-service teachers. The Purdue Spatial Visualization Test (PSVT) was used to identify the spatial skill of mathematics pre-service teachers. Statistical analysis indicate that more than 50% of the participants possessed spatial skill in intermediate level, whereas the other were in high and low level of spatial skill. The result also shows that there is a positive correlation between spatial skill and mathematics ability, especially in geometrical problem solving. High spatial skill students tend to have better mathematical performance compare to those in two other levels. Furthermore, qualitative analysis reveals that most students have difficulty in manipulating geometrical objects mentally. This problem mostly appears in intermediate and low-level spatial skill students. The observation revealed that 3-D geometrical figures is the best method that can overcome the mentally manipulation problem and develop the spatial visualization. Computer application can also be used to improve students’ spatial skill.

The cytoplasmic mRNA degradation factor Pat1 is required for rRNA processing

PubMed Central

Muppavarapu, Mridula; Huch, Susanne; Nissan, Tracy

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT Pat1 is a key cytoplasmic mRNA degradation factor, the loss of which severely increases mRNA half-lives. Several recent studies have shown that Pat1 can enter the nucleus and can shuttle between the nucleus and the cytoplasm. As a result, many nuclear roles have been proposed for Pat1. In this study, we analyzed four previously suggested nuclear roles of Pat1 and show that Pat1 is not required for efficient pre-mRNA splicing or pre-mRNA decay in yeast. However, lack of Pat1 results in accumulation of pre-rRNA processing intermediates. Intriguingly, we identified a novel genetic relationship between Pat1 and the rRNA decay machinery, specifically the exosome and the TRAMP complex. While the pre-rRNA processing intermediates that accumulate in the pat1 deletion mutant are, at least to some extent, recognized as aberrant by the rRNA degradation machinery, it is unlikely that these accumulations are the cause of their synthetic sick relationship. Here, we show that the dysregulation of the levels of mRNAs related to ribosome biogenesis could be the cause of the accumulation of the pre-rRNA processing intermediates. Although our results support a role for Pat1 in transcription, they nevertheless suggest that the primary cause of the dysregulated mRNA levels is most likely due to Pat1's role in mRNA decapping and mRNA degradation. PMID:26918764

The cytoplasmic mRNA degradation factor Pat1 is required for rRNA processing.

PubMed

Muppavarapu, Mridula; Huch, Susanne; Nissan, Tracy

2016-01-01

Pat1 is a key cytoplasmic mRNA degradation factor, the loss of which severely increases mRNA half-lives. Several recent studies have shown that Pat1 can enter the nucleus and can shuttle between the nucleus and the cytoplasm. As a result, many nuclear roles have been proposed for Pat1. In this study, we analyzed four previously suggested nuclear roles of Pat1 and show that Pat1 is not required for efficient pre-mRNA splicing or pre-mRNA decay in yeast. However, lack of Pat1 results in accumulation of pre-rRNA processing intermediates. Intriguingly, we identified a novel genetic relationship between Pat1 and the rRNA decay machinery, specifically the exosome and the TRAMP complex. While the pre-rRNA processing intermediates that accumulate in the pat1 deletion mutant are, at least to some extent, recognized as aberrant by the rRNA degradation machinery, it is unlikely that these accumulations are the cause of their synthetic sick relationship. Here, we show that the dysregulation of the levels of mRNAs related to ribosome biogenesis could be the cause of the accumulation of the pre-rRNA processing intermediates. Although our results support a role for Pat1 in transcription, they nevertheless suggest that the primary cause of the dysregulated mRNA levels is most likely due to Pat1's role in mRNA decapping and mRNA degradation.

Developing Computer-Interactive Tape Exercises for Intermediate-Level Business French.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garnett, Mary Anne

One college language teacher developed computer-interactive audiotape exercises for an intermediate-level class in business French. The project was undertaken because of a need for appropriate materials at that level. The use of authoring software permitted development of a variety of activity types, including multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank,…

Determinants of intensive insulin therapeutic regimens in patients with type 1 diabetes: data from a nationwide multicenter survey in Brazil

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background To evaluate the determinants of intensive insulin regimens (ITs) in patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Methods This multicenter study was conducted between December 2008 and December 2010 in 28 public clinics in 20 Brazilian cities. Data were obtained from 3,591 patients (56.0% female, 57.1% Caucasian). Insulin regimens were classified as follows: group 1, conventional therapy (CT) (intermediate human insulin, one to two injections daily); group 2 (three or more insulin injections of intermediate plus regular human insulin); group 3 (three or more insulin injections of intermediate human insulin plus short-acting insulin analogues); group 4, basal-bolus (one or two insulin injections of long-acting plus short-acting insulin analogues or regular insulin); and group 5, basal-bolus with continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII). Groups 2 to 5 were considered IT groups. Results We obtained complete data from 2,961 patients. Combined intermediate plus regular human insulin was the most used therapeutic regimen. CSII was used by 37 (1.2%) patients and IT by 2,669 (90.2%) patients. More patients on IT performed self-monitoring of blood glucose and were treated at the tertiary care level compared to CT patients (p < 0.001). The majority of patients from all groups had HbA1c levels above the target. Overweight or obesity was not associated with insulin regimen. Logistic regression analysis showed that economic status, age, ethnicity, and level of care were associated with IT (p < 0.001). Conclusions Given the prevalence of intensive treatment for T1D in Brazil, more effective therapeutic strategies are needed for long term-health benefits. PMID:24920963

The Reaction of Criegee Intermediate CH 2OO with Water Dimer: Primary Products and Atmospheric Impact

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

Sheps, Leonid; Rotavera, Brandon; Eskola, Arkke J.

The rapid reaction of the smallest Criegee intermediate, CH 2OO, with water dimers is the dominant removal mechanism for CH 2OO in the Earth's atmosphere, but its products are not well understood. This reaction was recently suggested as a significant source of the most abundant tropospheric organic acid, formic acid (HCOOH), which is consistently underpredicted by atmospheric models. Furthermore, using time-resolved measurements of reaction kinetics by UV absorption and product analysis by photoionization mass spectrometry, we show that the primary products of this reaction are formaldehyde and hydroxymethyl hydroperoxide (HMHP), with direct HCOOH yields of less than 10%. Incorporating ourmore » results into a global chemistry-transport model further reduces HCOOH levels by 10–90%, relative to previous modeling assumptions, which indicates that the reaction CH 2OO + water dimer by itself cannot resolve the discrepancy between the measured and predicted HCOOH levels.« less

The Reaction of Criegee Intermediate CH 2OO with Water Dimer: Primary Products and Atmospheric Impact

DOE PAGES

Sheps, Leonid; Rotavera, Brandon; Eskola, Arkke J.; ...

2017-08-04

The rapid reaction of the smallest Criegee intermediate, CH 2OO, with water dimers is the dominant removal mechanism for CH 2OO in the Earth's atmosphere, but its products are not well understood. This reaction was recently suggested as a significant source of the most abundant tropospheric organic acid, formic acid (HCOOH), which is consistently underpredicted by atmospheric models. Furthermore, using time-resolved measurements of reaction kinetics by UV absorption and product analysis by photoionization mass spectrometry, we show that the primary products of this reaction are formaldehyde and hydroxymethyl hydroperoxide (HMHP), with direct HCOOH yields of less than 10%. Incorporating ourmore » results into a global chemistry-transport model further reduces HCOOH levels by 10–90%, relative to previous modeling assumptions, which indicates that the reaction CH 2OO + water dimer by itself cannot resolve the discrepancy between the measured and predicted HCOOH levels.« less

Design evolution of a low shock release nut

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Otth, D. H.; Gordon, W.

1976-01-01

Design improvements and detailed functional analyses are reviewed to trace the development of a pyroactuated release device with segmented thread design from its intermediate design into one that reduces the levels of shock spectra generated during its operation by 50%. Comparisons of shock output and internal load distribution are presented, along with descriptions of mechanical operation for both designs. Results also show the potential areas where design development activity can gain further progress in lowering actuation shock levels.

Novices in surgery are the target group of a virtual reality training laboratory.

PubMed

Hassan, Iyad; Maschuw, Katja; Rothmund, Matthias; Koller, Michael; Gerdes, Berthold

2006-01-01

This study aims to establish which physicians represent the suitable target group of a virtual training laboratory. Novices (48 physicians with fewer than 10 laparoscopic operations) and intermediate trainees (19 physicians who performed 30-50 laparoscopic operations) participated in this study. Each participant performed the basic module 'clip application' at the beginning and after a 1-hour short training course on the LapSim. The course consisted of the tasks coordination, lift and grasp, clip application, cutting with diathermy and fine dissection at increasing difficulty levels. The time taken to complete the tasks, number of errors, and economy of motion parameters (path length and angular path) were analyzed. Following training with the simulator, novices completed the task significantly faster (p = 0.001), demonstrated a greater economy of motion [path length (p = 0.04) and angular path (p = 0.01)]. In contrast, the intermediate trainees showed a reduction of their errors, but without reaching statistical significance. They showed no improvement in economy of motion and completed the task significantly slower (p = 0.03). Novices, in comparison to intermediate trainees, tend to benefit most during their first exposure to a laparoscopy simulator.

Empirical Support for Optimal Virulence in a Castrating Parasite

PubMed Central

Jensen, Knut Helge; Little, Tom; Skorping, Arne; Ebert, Dieter

2006-01-01

The trade-off hypothesis for the evolution of virulence predicts that parasite transmission stage production and host exploitation are balanced such that lifetime transmission success (LTS) is maximised. However, the experimental evidence for this prediction is weak, mainly because LTS, which indicates parasite fitness, has been difficult to measure. For castrating parasites, this simple model has been modified to take into account that parasites convert host reproductive resources into transmission stages. Parasites that kill the host too early will hardly benefit from these resources, while postponing the killing of the host results in diminished returns. As predicted from optimality models, a parasite inducing castration should therefore castrate early, but show intermediate levels of virulence, where virulence is measured as time to host killing. We studied virulence in an experimental system where a bacterial parasite castrates its host and produces spores that are not released until after host death. This permits estimating the LTS of the parasite, which can then be related to its virulence. We exposed replicate individual Daphnia magna (Crustacea) of one host clone to the same amount of bacterial spores and followed individuals until their death. We found that the parasite shows strong variation in the time to kill its host and that transmission stage production peaks at an intermediate level of virulence. A further experiment tested for the genetic basis of variation in virulence by comparing survival curves of daphniids infected with parasite spores obtained from early killing versus late killing infections. Hosts infected with early killer spores had a significantly higher death rate as compared to those infected with late killers, indicating that variation in time to death was at least in part caused by genetic differences among parasites. We speculate that the clear peak in lifetime reproductive success at intermediate killing times may be caused by the exceptionally strong physiological trade-off between host and parasite reproduction. This is the first experimental study to demonstrate that the production of propagules is highest at intermediate levels of virulence and that parasite genetic variability is available to drive the evolution of virulence in this system. PMID:16719563

Gender and Family Influences on Spanish Students' Aspirations and Values in STEM Fields

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sáinz, Milagros; Müller, Jörg

2018-01-01

Drawing on expectancy-value theory, this study examines gender and family influences on students' career aspirations and attached values. 796 secondary Spanish students (M age = 16 years old, S.D. = 0.81) participated. 53% were boys. The results show that boys and students with mothers who have completed intermediate level education were more…

Regulation of Carbon Flow by Nitrogen and Light in the Red Alga, Gelidium coulteri.

PubMed

Macler, B A

1986-09-01

The red alga Gelidium coulteri Harv. photosynthetically fixed [(14)C] bicarbonate at high rates under defined conditions in unialgal laboratory culture. The fixation rate and flow of photosynthate into various end products were dependent on the nitrogen status of the tissue. Plants fed luxury levels of nitrogen (approximately 340 micromolar) showed fixation rates several-fold higher than those seen for plants starved for nitrogen. The addition of NO(3) (-) or NH(4) (+) to such starved plants further inhibited fixation over at least the first several hours after addition. The majority of (14)C after incubations of 30 minutes to 8 hours was found in the compounds floridoside, agar and floridean starch. In addition, amino acids and intermediate compounds of the reductive pentose phosphate pathway, glycolytic pathway and tricarboxylic acid cycle were detected. Nitrogen affected the partitioning of labeled carbon into these compounds. Plants under luxury nitrogen conditions had higher floridoside levels and markedly lower amounts of agar and starch than found in plants limited for nitrogen. Amino acid, phycobiliprotein and chlorophyll levels were also significantly higher in nitrogen-enriched plants. Addition of NO(3) (-) to starved plants led to an increase in floridoside, tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates and amino acids within 1 hour and inhibited carbon flow into agar and starch. Carbon fixation in the dark was only 1 to 7% of that seen in the light. Dark fixation of [(14)C]bicarbonate yielded label primarily in tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates, amino acids and polysaccharides. Nitrogen stimulated amino acid synthesis at the expense of agar and starch. Floridoside was only a minor component in the dark. Pulse-chase experiments, designed to show carbon turnover, indicated a 2-fold increase in labeling of agar over 96 hours of chase in the light. No increases were seen in the dark. Low molecular weight pools, including floridoside, decreased 2- to 5-fold over this period under both light and dark conditions. Nitrogen status did not influence turnover. There was little or no organic carbon released into the culture medium over this period. The results are consistent with biosynthetic pathways to floridoside and agar that share the common intermediate UDP-d-galactose. It is hypothesized that synthesis of floridoside is regulated by nitrogen and light at the enzymic level.

Regulation of Carbon Flow by Nitrogen and Light in the Red Alga, Gelidium coulteri1

PubMed Central

Macler, Bruce A.

1986-01-01

The red alga Gelidium coulteri Harv. photosynthetically fixed [14C] bicarbonate at high rates under defined conditions in unialgal laboratory culture. The fixation rate and flow of photosynthate into various end products were dependent on the nitrogen status of the tissue. Plants fed luxury levels of nitrogen (approximately 340 micromolar) showed fixation rates several-fold higher than those seen for plants starved for nitrogen. The addition of NO3− or NH4+ to such starved plants further inhibited fixation over at least the first several hours after addition. The majority of 14C after incubations of 30 minutes to 8 hours was found in the compounds floridoside, agar and floridean starch. In addition, amino acids and intermediate compounds of the reductive pentose phosphate pathway, glycolytic pathway and tricarboxylic acid cycle were detected. Nitrogen affected the partitioning of labeled carbon into these compounds. Plants under luxury nitrogen conditions had higher floridoside levels and markedly lower amounts of agar and starch than found in plants limited for nitrogen. Amino acid, phycobiliprotein and chlorophyll levels were also significantly higher in nitrogen-enriched plants. Addition of NO3− to starved plants led to an increase in floridoside, tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates and amino acids within 1 hour and inhibited carbon flow into agar and starch. Carbon fixation in the dark was only 1 to 7% of that seen in the light. Dark fixation of [14C]bicarbonate yielded label primarily in tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates, amino acids and polysaccharides. Nitrogen stimulated amino acid synthesis at the expense of agar and starch. Floridoside was only a minor component in the dark. Pulse-chase experiments, designed to show carbon turnover, indicated a 2-fold increase in labeling of agar over 96 hours of chase in the light. No increases were seen in the dark. Low molecular weight pools, including floridoside, decreased 2- to 5-fold over this period under both light and dark conditions. Nitrogen status did not influence turnover. There was little or no organic carbon released into the culture medium over this period. The results are consistent with biosynthetic pathways to floridoside and agar that share the common intermediate UDP-d-galactose. It is hypothesized that synthesis of floridoside is regulated by nitrogen and light at the enzymic level. PMID:16664980

Quantitative PCR estimates Angiostrongylus cantonensis (rat lungworm) infection levels in semi-slugs (Parmarion martensi)

PubMed Central

Jarvi, Susan I.; Farias, Margaret E.M.; Howe, Kay; Jacquier, Steven; Hollingsworth, Robert; Pitt, William

2013-01-01

The life cycle of the nematode Angiostrongylus cantonensis involves rats as the definitive host and slugs and snails as intermediate hosts. Humans can become infected upon ingestion of intermediate or paratenic (passive carrier) hosts containing stage L3 A. cantonensis larvae. Here, we report a quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay that provides a reliable, relative measure of parasite load in intermediate hosts. Quantification of the levels of infection of intermediate hosts is critical for determining A. cantonensis intensity on the Island of Hawaii. The identification of high intensity infection ‘hotspots’ will allow for more effective targeted rat and slug control measures. qPCR appears more efficient and sensitive than microscopy and provides a new tool for quantification of larvae from intermediate hosts, and potentially from other sources as well. PMID:22902292

A whole blood bactericidal assay for tuberculosis.

PubMed

Wallis, R S; Palaci, M; Vinhas, S; Hise, A G; Ribeiro, F C; Landen, K; Cheon, S H; Song, H Y; Phillips, M; Dietze, R; Ellner, J J

2001-04-15

The bactericidal activity of orally administered antituberculosis (anti-TB) drugs was determined in a whole blood culture model of intracellular infection in which microbial killing reflects the combined effects of drug and immune mechanisms. Rifampin (Rif) was the most active compound studied and reduced the number of viable bacilli by >4 logs. Isoniazid (INH), 2 quinolones, and pyrazinamide (PZA) showed intermediate levels of activity. Ethambutol exerted only a bacteristatic effect; amoxicillin/clavulanate was inactive. The combination of INH-Rif-PZA showed strong activity against 11 drug-sensitive isolates (mean, -3.8 log) but no activity against 12 multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains. The combination of levofloxacin-PZA-ethambutol had intermediate bactericidal activity against MDR isolates (mean, -1.2 log) but failed to equal that of INH-Rif-PZA against sensitive isolates (P<.001). The whole blood BACTEC method (Becton Dickinson) may be useful for the early clinical evaluation of new anti-TB drugs and in the management of individual patients.

ELF (Extremely Low Frequency) Communications System - Ecological Monitoring Program: Summary of 1988 Progress

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-11-01

of fresh leaves are fast at both sites. 3 Similar comparisons using autumn abscised leaves show intermediate processing rates at the treatment site...processing fresh or autumn- abscised leaves during 1988 (t-test). Analyses of variance showed that fresh leaves were pricessed significantly faster at the...Northern Journal of Applied Forestry, 5:14, 1988. 22 Connaughton, P. The effects of acid precipi*ation on nutrient levels in a forest soil and foliage of

Incoherence in the South African Labour Market for Intermediate Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kraak, Andre

2008-01-01

This article is concerned with the production and employment of technically skilled labour at the intermediate level in South Africa. Three differing labour market pathways to intermediate skilling are identified. These are: the traditional apprenticeship route, the new "Learnerships" pathway (similar to the "modern…

SPACE: Intermediate Level Modules.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Indiana State Dept. of Education, Indianapolis. Center for School Improvement and Performance.

These modules were developed to assist teachers at the intermediate level to move away from extensive skill practice and toward more meaningful interdisciplinary learning. This packet, to be used by teachers in the summer Extended Learning Program, provides detailed thematic lesson plans matched to the Indiana Curriculum Proficiency Guide. The…

Connecting Language to Content: Second Language Literature Instruction at the Intermediate Level

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoecherl-Alden, Gisela

2006-01-01

Meaningfully integrating multidimensional approaches with learner-centered, workshop-style second language (L2) literature instruction at intermediate-level proficiency can help students increase their linguistic competence and further both their cultural understanding and analytical thinking skills. Moreover, the utilization of drama techniques…

Potentiometric surface of the intermediate aquifer system, west- central Florida, May 1987

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lewelling, B.R.

1988-01-01

The intermediate aquifer system within the Southwest Florida Water Management District underlies a 5,000 sq mi area of De Soto, Sarasota, Hardee, Manatee, and parts of Charlotte, Hillsborough, Highlands, and Polk Counties. The intermediate aquifer system occurs between the overlying surficial aquifer system and the underlying Floridan aquifer system, and consists of layers of sand, shell, clay, marl, limestone, and dolom of the Tamiami, Hawthorn, and Tampa Formations of late Tertiary age. The intermediate aquifer system contains one or more water-bearing units separated by discontinuous confining units. This aquifer system is the principal source of potable water in the southwestern part of the study area and is widely used as a source of water in other parts where wells are open to the intermediate aquifer system or to both the intermediate and Floridan aquifer systems. Yields of individual wells open to the intermediate aquifer system range from a few gallons to several hundred gallons per minute. The volume of water withdrawn from the intermediate aquifer system is considerably less than that withdrawn from the Floridan aquifer system in the study area. The surface was mapped by determining the altitude of water levels in a network of wells and is represented on maps by contours that connect points of equal altitude. The compos potentiometric surface of all water-bearing units within the intermediate aquifer system is shown. In areas where multiple aquifers exist, wells open to all aquifers were selected for water level measurements whenever possible. In the southwestern and lower coastal region of the study area, two aquifers and confining units are described for the intermediate aquifer system: the Tamiami-upper Hawthorn aquifer and the underlying lower Hawthorn-upper Tampa aquifer. The potentiometric surface of the Tamiami-upper Hawthorn aquifer is also shown. Water levels are from wells drilled and open exclusively to that aquifer. The exact boundary for the Tamiami-upper Hawthorn aquifer is undetermined because of limd geohydrologic data available from wells. (Lantz-PTT)

H2@Scale Analysis

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

Ruth, Mark

2017-07-12

'H2@Scale' is a concept based on the opportunity for hydrogen to act as an intermediate between energy sources and uses. Hydrogen has the potential to be used like the primary intermediate in use today, electricity, because it too is fungible. This presentation summarizes the H2@Scale analysis efforts performed during the first third of 2017. Results of technical potential uses and supply options are summarized and show that the technical potential demand for hydrogen is 60 million metric tons per year and that the U.S. has sufficient domestic resources to meet that demand. A high level infrastructure analysis is also presentedmore » that shows an 85% increase in energy on the grid if all hydrogen is produced from grid electricity. However, a preliminary spatial assessment shows that supply is sufficient in most counties across the U.S. The presentation also shows plans for analysis of the economic potential for the H2@Scale concept. Those plans involve developing supply and demand curves for potential hydrogen generation options and as compared to other options for use of that hydrogen.« less

Antibiotic Effects on Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Cytoplasmic Peptidoglycan Intermediate Levels and Evidence for Potential Metabolite Level Regulatory Loops.

PubMed

Vemula, Harika; Ayon, Navid J; Burton, Alloch; Gutheil, William G

2017-06-01

Cytoplasmic peptidoglycan (PG) precursor levels were determined in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) after exposure to several cell wall-targeting antibiotics. Three experiments were performed: (i) exposure to 4× MIC levels (acute); (ii) exposure to sub-MIC levels (subacute); (iii) a time course experiment of the effect of vancomycin. In acute exposure experiments, fosfomycin increased UDP-GlcNAc, as expected, and resulted in substantially lower levels of total UDP-linked metabolite accumulation relative to other pathway inhibitors, indicating reduced entry into this pathway. Upstream inhibitors (fosfomycin, d-cycloserine, or d-boroalanine) reduced UDP-MurNAc-pentapeptide levels by more than fourfold. Alanine branch inhibitors (d-cycloserine and d-boroalanine) reduced d-Ala-d-Ala levels only modestly (up to 4-fold) but increased UDP-MurNAc-tripeptide levels up to 3,000-fold. Downstream pathway inhibitors (vancomycin, bacitracin, moenomycin, and oxacillin) increased UDP-MurNAc-pentapeptide levels up to 350-fold and UDP-MurNAc-l-Ala levels up to 80-fold, suggesting reduced MurD activity by downstream inhibitor action. Sub-MIC exposures demonstrated effects even at 1/8× MIC which strongly paralleled acute exposure changes. Time course data demonstrated that UDP-linked intermediate levels respond rapidly to vancomycin exposure, with several intermediates increasing three- to sixfold within minutes. UDP-linked intermediate level changes were also multiphasic, with some increasing, some decreasing, and some increasing and then decreasing. The total (summed) UDP-linked intermediate pool increased by 1,475 μM/min during the first 10 min after vancomycin exposure, providing a revised estimate of flux in this pathway during logarithmic growth. These observations outline the complexity of PG precursor response to antibiotic exposure in MRSA and indicate likely sites of regulation (entry and MurD). Copyright © 2017 American Society for Microbiology.

Phenotypes and genes of resistance of pneumococci to penicillin isolated from children.

PubMed

Kotevska, V; Trajkovska-Dokic, E; Jankoska, G; Kaftandzieva, A; Panovski, N; Petrovska, M

2009-07-01

(Full text is available at http://www.manu.edu.mk/prilozi). In recent decades, the increase of Streptococcus pneumoniae strains resistant to beta-lactams, to other classes of antimicrobial drugs and especially to penicillin (penicillin-resistant pneumococcus - PRP) has further complicated the treatment of pneumococcal infection. Penicillin resistance in pneumococci is due to the development of altered penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) in the bacterial cell wall. PBPs are known as six different variants (PBP1a, 1b, 2x, 2a, 2b and 3). to compare the presence and types of genes responsible for penicillin resistance in Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates with the minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of penicillin as well as their correlation within the period of childhood. A total of 45 pneumococci obtained from nasal swabs and tracheal aspirates of children treated at the University Paediatric Clinic in Skopje were examined. According to age, the children were grouped as 1-3, 4-6 and 7-10 years. the oxacillin test (1microg) was used as a rapid screening test for the detection of PRP. MIC of penicillin were determined using the agar dilution method and interpreted according to NCCLS as resistant (if MIC are > 2 microg/ml), intermediate resistant (between 0,12-1.0 microg/ml) and susceptible (< 0,06 microg/ml). The genes pbp2b and pbp 2x, which are the genes mainly responsible for the onset of PRP, were detected using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). the oxacillin test showed that 38 pneumococci were resistant and 7 susceptible to penicillin. MIC of penicillin showed that 7 strains were resistant, 33 strains were intermediate resistant (12, 18, and 3 with MIC of 0.5 microg/ml, 0.25 microg/ml and 0.12 microg/ml, respectively) and 5 susceptible. According to MIC, of the total 40 resistant/intermediate resistant pneumococci, in 22 genes pbp2b and/or pbp2x, were confirmed (3 resistant strains with both genes; 7 intermediate resistant and 3 resistant strains with pbp2x genes; whereas 8 intermediate resistance and 1 susceptible strain with pbp2b). In a total of 11 strains (10 intermediate resistant and one resistant according to MIC), pbp2b and/or pbp2x genes were not detected, and their resistance is probably due to some other mechanisms or other genes that code PBP. The largest number of the examined pneumococci (32) were isolated from children aged 1-3 years and in 18 of them either pbp2b or pbp2x genes were detected. the oxacillin test is not suitable for discriminating the intermediate resistant and resistant pneumococci, while it is relevant for the detection of susceptible strains. Penicillin resistance of pneumococci that were causes of infection in children was on a lower level (15.5% resistant strains with MIC 1double dagger2 mg/ml and 73.3% intermediate resistant strains with MIC 0.12double dagger1 microg/ml). Pbp2b and/or pbp2x genes were detected in 22 of the examined strains and all of them except one were intermediate resistant or resistant. The Pbp2b gene is mostly present in the intermediate resistant strains and because it was detected in one susceptible strain, this gene is responsible for a low level of resistance. The pbp2x gene was detected in all the resistant strains and that is why we could conclude that it was coding the high level of resistance. Streptococcus pneumoniae was predominantly isolated from the age group 1-3 years where the PRP were not significant (Chi square; p > 0.05). Key words: Streptococcus pneumoniae, Penicillin resistance, Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC), Genes of Resistance.

Doping evolution of charge and spin excitations in two-leg Hubbard ladders: Comparing DMRG and FLEX results [Doping evolution of charge and spin excitations in two-leg Hubbard ladders: Comparing DMRG and RPA+FLEX results

DOE PAGES

Nocera, Alberto; Wang, Yan; Patel, Niravkumar D.; ...

2018-05-31

Here, we study the magnetic and charge dynamical response of a Hubbard model in a two-leg ladder geometry using the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) method and the random phase approximation within the fluctuation-exchange approximation (FLEX). Our calculations reveal that FLEX can capture the main features of the magnetic response from weak up to intermediate Hubbard repulsion for doped ladders, when compared with the numerically exact DMRG results. However, while at weak Hubbard repulsion both the spin and charge spectra can be understood in terms of weakly interacting electron-hole excitations across the Fermi surface, at intermediate coupling DMRG shows gappedmore » spin excitations at large momentum transfer that remain gapless within the FLEX approximation. For the charge response, FLEX can only reproduce the main features of the DMRG spectra at weak coupling and high doping levels, while it shows an incoherent character away from this limit. Overall, our analysis shows that FLEX works surprisingly well for spin excitations at weak and intermediate Hubbard U values even in the difficult low-dimensional geometry such as a two-leg ladder. Finally, we discuss the implications of our results for neutron scattering and resonant inelastic x-ray scattering experiments on two-leg ladder cuprate compounds.« less

Doping evolution of charge and spin excitations in two-leg Hubbard ladders: Comparing DMRG and FLEX results [Doping evolution of charge and spin excitations in two-leg Hubbard ladders: Comparing DMRG and RPA+FLEX results

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

Nocera, Alberto; Wang, Yan; Patel, Niravkumar D.

Here, we study the magnetic and charge dynamical response of a Hubbard model in a two-leg ladder geometry using the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) method and the random phase approximation within the fluctuation-exchange approximation (FLEX). Our calculations reveal that FLEX can capture the main features of the magnetic response from weak up to intermediate Hubbard repulsion for doped ladders, when compared with the numerically exact DMRG results. However, while at weak Hubbard repulsion both the spin and charge spectra can be understood in terms of weakly interacting electron-hole excitations across the Fermi surface, at intermediate coupling DMRG shows gappedmore » spin excitations at large momentum transfer that remain gapless within the FLEX approximation. For the charge response, FLEX can only reproduce the main features of the DMRG spectra at weak coupling and high doping levels, while it shows an incoherent character away from this limit. Overall, our analysis shows that FLEX works surprisingly well for spin excitations at weak and intermediate Hubbard U values even in the difficult low-dimensional geometry such as a two-leg ladder. Finally, we discuss the implications of our results for neutron scattering and resonant inelastic x-ray scattering experiments on two-leg ladder cuprate compounds.« less

Genome wide assessment of mRNA in astrocyte protrusions by direct RNA sequencing reveals mRNA localization for the intermediate filament protein nestin.

PubMed

Thomsen, Rune; Pallesen, Jonatan; Daugaard, Tina F; Børglum, Anders D; Nielsen, Anders L

2013-11-01

Subcellular RNA localization plays an important role in development, cell differentiation, and cell migration. For a comprehensive description of the population of protrusion localized mRNAs in astrocytes we separated protrusions from cell bodies in a Boyden chamber and performed high-throughput direct RNA sequencing. The mRNAs with localization in astrocyte protrusions encode proteins belonging to a variety of functional groups indicating involvement of RNA localization for a palette of cellular functions. The mRNA encoding the intermediate filament protein Nestin was among the identified mRNAs. By RT-qPCR and RNA FISH analysis we confirmed Nestin mRNA localization in cell protrusions and also protrusion localization of Nestin protein. Nestin mRNA localization was dependent of Fragile X mental retardation syndrome proteins Fmrp and Fxr1, and the Nestin 3'-UTR was sufficient to mediate protrusion mRNA localization. The mRNAs for two other intermediate filament proteins in astrocytes, Gfap and Vimentin, have moderate and no protrusion localization, respectively, showing that individual intermediate filament components have different localization mechanisms. The correlated localization of Nestin mRNA with Nestin protein in cell protrusions indicates the presence of a regulatory mechanism at the mRNA localization level for the Nestin intermediate filament protein with potential importance for astrocyte functions during brain development and maintenance. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

CUE USAGE IN VOLLEYBALL: A TIME COURSE COMPARISON OF ELITE, INTERMEDIATE AND NOVICE FEMALE PLAYERS

PubMed Central

Vaeyens, R; Zeuwts, L; Philippaerts, R; Lenoir, M

2014-01-01

This study compared visual search strategies in adult female volleyball players of three levels. Video clips of the attack of the opponent team were presented on a large screen and participants reacted to the final pass before the spike. Reaction time, response accuracy and eye movement patterns were measured. Elite players had the highest response accuracy (97.50 ± 3.5%) compared to the intermediate (91.50 ± 4.7%) and novice players (83.50 ± 17.6%; p<0.05). Novices had a remarkably high range of reaction time but no significant differences were found in comparison to the reaction time of elite and intermediate players. In general, the three groups showed similar gaze behaviour with the apparent use of visual pivots at moments of reception and final pass. This confirms the holistic model of image perception for volleyball and suggests that expert players extract more information from parafoveal regions. PMID:25609887

Reduced 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, Ecstasy)-Initiated Oxidative DNA Damage and Neurodegeneration in Prostaglandin H Synthase-1 Knockout Mice

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

The neurodegenerative potential of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy) and underlying mechanisms are under debate. Here, we show that MDMA is a substrate for CNS prostaglandin H synthase (PHS)-catalyzed bioactivation to a free radical intermediate that causes reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation and neurodegenerative oxidative DNA damage. In vitro PHS-1-catalyzed bioactivation of MDMA stereoselectively produced free radical intermediate formation and oxidative DNA damage that was blocked by the PHS inhibitor eicosatetraynoic acid. In vivo, MDMA stereoselectively caused gender-independent DNA oxidation and dopaminergic nerve terminal degeneration in several brain regions, dependent on regional PHS-1 levels. Conversely, MDMA-initiated striatal DNA oxidation, nerve terminal degeneration, and motor coordination deficits were reduced in PHS-1 +/− and −/− knockout mice in a gene dose-dependent fashion. These results confirm the neurodegenerative potential of MDMA and provide the first direct evidence for a novel molecular mechanism involving PHS-catalyzed formation of a neurotoxic MDMA free radical intermediate. PMID:22778832

Genetic variants in a haplotype block spanning IDE are significantly associated with plasma Abeta42 levels and risk for Alzheimer disease.

PubMed

Ertekin-Taner, Nilüfer; Allen, Mariet; Fadale, Daniel; Scanlin, Leah; Younkin, Linda; Petersen, Ronald C; Graff-Radford, Neill; Younkin, Steven G

2004-04-01

Risk for late onset Alzheimer disease (LOAD) and plasma amyloid beta levels (Abeta42; encoded by APP), an intermediate phenotype for LOAD, show linkage to chromosome 10q. Several strong candidate genes (VR22, PLAU, IDE) lie within the 1-lod support interval for linkage. Others have independently identified haplotypes in the chromosome 10q region harboring IDE that show highly significant association with intermediate AD phenotypes and with risk for AD. To pursue these associations, we analyzed the same haplotypes for association with plasma Abeta42 in 24 extended LOAD families and for association with LOAD in two independent case-control series. One series (MCR, 188 age-matched case-control pairs) did not show association (p=0.64) with the six haplotypes in the 276-kb region spanning three genes (IDE, KNSL1, and HHEX) previously shown to associate with LOAD. The other series (MCJ, 109 age-matched case-control pairs) showed significant (p=0.003) association with these haplotypes. In the MCJ series, the H4 (odds ratio [OR]=5.1, p=0.003) and H2(H7) haplotypes (OR=0.60, p=0.04) had the same effects previously reported. In this series, the H8 haplotype (OR=2.7, p=0.098) also had an effect similar as in one previous case control series but not in others. In the extended families, the H8 haplotype was associated with significantly elevated plasma Abeta42 (p=0.02). In addition, the H5(H10) haplotype, which is associated with reduced risk for AD in the other study is associated with reduced plasma Abeta42 (p=0.007) in our family series. These results provide strong evidence for pathogenic variant(s) in the 276-kb region harboring IDE that influence intermediate AD phenotypes and risk for AD. Copyright 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Radio and Television Servicing. Intermediate Course.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campbell, Guy; And Others

Several intermediate performance objectives and corresponding criterion measures are listed for each of 32 terminal objectives for an intermediate (second year) radio/TV servicing course. This 1-year course (3 hours daily) was designed to provide the student with the basic skills and knowledges necessary for entry level employment in the Radio/TV…

Business Machine Maintenance. Performance Objectives. Intermediate Course.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McMinn, Robert

Several intermediate performance objectives and corresponding criterion measures are listed for each of 28 terminal objectives presented in this guide for an intermediate business machine maintenance course at the secondary level. (For the basic course guide see CE 010 949.) Titles of the 28 terminal objective sections are Career Opportunities,…

Gasoline Engine Mechanics. Performance Objectives. Intermediate Course.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Marion

Several intermediate performance objectives and corresponding criterion measures are listed for each of six terminal objectives presented in this curriculum guide for an intermediate gasoline engine mechanics course at the secondary level. (For the beginning course guide see CE 010 947.) The materials were developed for a two-semester (2 hour…

Masonry. Performance Objectives. Intermediate Course.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompson, Moses

Several intermediate performance objectives and corresponding criterion measures are listed for each of 13 terminal objectives for an intermediate masonry course. These materials, developed for a two-semester (3 hours daily) course, are designed to provide the student with the skills and knowledge necessary for entry level employment in the field…

Validation of the da Vinci Surgical Skill Simulator across three surgical disciplines: A pilot study

PubMed Central

Alzahrani, Tarek; Haddad, Richard; Alkhayal, Abdullah; Delisle, Josée; Drudi, Laura; Gotlieb, Walter; Fraser, Shannon; Bergman, Simon; Bladou, Frank; Andonian, Sero; Anidjar, Maurice

2013-01-01

Objective: In this paper, we evaluate face, content and construct validity of the da Vinci Surgical Skills Simulator (dVSSS) across 3 surgical disciplines. Methods: In total, 48 participants from urology, gynecology and general surgery participated in the study as novices (0 robotic cases performed), intermediates (1–74) or experts (≥75). Each participant completed 9 tasks (Peg board level 2, match board level 2, needle targeting, ring and rail level 2, dots and needles level 1, suture sponge level 2, energy dissection level 1, ring walk level 3 and tubes). The Mimic Technologies software scored each task from 0 (worst) to 100 (best) using several predetermined metrics. Face and content validity were evaluated by a questionnaire administered after task completion. Wilcoxon test was used to perform pair wise comparisons. Results: The expert group comprised of 6 attending surgeons. The intermediate group included 4 attending surgeons, 3 fellows and 5 residents. The novices included 1 attending surgeon, 1 fellow, 13 residents, 13 medical students and 2 research assistants. The median number of robotic cases performed by experts and intermediates were 250 and 9, respectively. The median overall realistic score (face validity) was 8/10. Experts rated the usefulness of the simulator as a training tool for residents (content validity) as 8.5/10. For construct validity, experts outperformed novices in all 9 tasks (p < 0.05). Intermediates outperformed novices in 7 of 9 tasks (p < 0.05); there were no significant differences in the energy dissection and ring walk tasks. Finally, experts scored significantly better than intermediates in only 3 of 9 tasks (matchboard, dots and needles and energy dissection) (p < 0.05). Conclusions: This study confirms the face, content and construct validities of the dVSSS across urology, gynecology and general surgery. Larger sample size and more complex tasks are needed to further differentiate intermediates from experts. PMID:23914275

The intermediate disturbance hypothesis applies to tropical forests, but disturbance contributes little to tree diversity.

PubMed

Bongers, Frans; Poorter, Lourens; Hawthorne, William D; Sheil, Douglas

2009-08-01

The intermediate disturbance hypothesis (IDH) predicts local species diversity to be maximal at an intermediate level of disturbance. Developed to explain species maintenance and diversity patterns in species-rich ecosystems such as tropical forests, tests of IDH in tropical forest remain scarce, small-scale and contentious. We use an unprecedented large-scale dataset (2504 one-hectare plots and 331,567 trees) to examine whether IDH explains tree diversity variation within wet, moist and dry tropical forests, and we analyse the underlying mechanism by determining responses within functional species groups. We find that disturbance explains more variation in diversity of dry than wet tropical forests. Pioneer species numbers increase with disturbance, shade-tolerant species decrease and intermediate species are indifferent. While diversity indeed peaks at intermediate disturbance levels little variation is explained outside dry forests, and disturbance is less important for species richness patterns in wet tropical rain forests than previously thought.

ESL for Hotel/Hospitality Industry. Level: Advanced Beginner/Intermediate.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Western Suffolk County Board of Cooperative Educational Services, Northport, NY.

This document contains 16 lesson plans for an advanced beginning and intermediate course in work-related English for non-English- or limited-English-speaking entry-level employees in the hotel and hospitality industry. Course objectives are as follows: helping participants understand and use job-specific vocabulary; receive and understand…

42 CFR 435.622 - Individuals in institutions who are eligible under a special income level.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... THE STATES, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS, AND AMERICAN SAMOA General Financial..., nursing facilities, and intermediate care facilities for the mentally retarded who would not be eligible... (hospital, nursing facility, or intermediate level care for the mentally retarded), or by other factors...

Flavocoxid exerts a potent antiviral effect against hepatitis B virus.

PubMed

Pollicino, Teresa; Musolino, Cristina; Irrera, Natasha; Bitto, Alessandra; Lombardo, Daniele; Timmoneri, Martina; Minutoli, Letteria; Raimondo, Giovanni; Squadrito, Giovanni; Squadrito, Francesco; Altavilla, Domenica

2018-01-01

Flavocoxid is a proprietary blend of two flavonoids, baicalin and catechin, and recent evidence has shown that bioflavonoids may exert antiviral activities. The potential antiviral activity of Flavocoxid against hepatitis B virus (HBV) was evaluated. Additionally, it was investigated if Flavocoxid used in combination with Entecavir could potentiate its anti-HBV activity. Hepatoma cells replicating HBV were treated with Flavocoxid, or Entecavir alone or in combination for up to 5 days. Viral replicative intermediates, transcripts, and cccDNA levels were evaluated in HBV-replicating cells by real-time PCR, Southern and Northern blotting. Expression profiling was performed using TaqMan low-density arrays. Flavocoxid treatment induced a reduction of HBV replicative intermediates, the amount of transcripts, and HBsAg levels. Flavocoxid and Entecavir combination therapy further decreased the amount of HBV replicative intermediates, compared to Flavocoxid alone. Importantly, Flavocoxid alone or in combination with Entecavir also induced a reduction of cccDNA. Gene-expression analysis showed that Flavocoxid activates type I IFNs-signaling and dampens the HBV-induced inflammatory response. Flavocoxid inhibits HBV replication by targeting multiple steps of viral life cycle. These results indicate that the antiviral activity of Entecavir is potentiated by Flavocoxid, suggesting that this medical food might be considered as an adjuvant for anti-HBV therapy.

Use of response surface methodology in a fed-batch process for optimization of tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates to achieve high levels of canthaxanthin from Dietzia natronolimnaea HS-1.

PubMed

Nasri Nasrabadi, Mohammad Reza; Razavi, Seyed Hadi

2010-04-01

In this work, we applied statistical experimental design to a fed-batch process for optimization of tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA) intermediates in order to achieve high-level production of canthaxanthin from Dietzia natronolimnaea HS-1 cultured in beet molasses. A fractional factorial design (screening test) was first conducted on five TCA cycle intermediates. Out of the five TCA cycle intermediates investigated via screening tests, alfaketoglutarate, oxaloacetate and succinate were selected based on their statistically significant (P<0.05) and positive effects on canthaxanthin production. These significant factors were optimized by means of response surface methodology (RSM) in order to achieve high-level production of canthaxanthin. The experimental results of the RSM were fitted with a second-order polynomial equation by means of a multiple regression technique to identify the relationship between canthaxanthin production and the three TCA cycle intermediates. By means of this statistical design under a fed-batch process, the optimum conditions required to achieve the highest level of canthaxanthin (13172 + or - 25 microg l(-1)) were determined as follows: alfaketoglutarate, 9.69 mM; oxaloacetate, 8.68 mM; succinate, 8.51 mM. Copyright 2009 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Spanish Imperfect Revisited: Exploring L1 Influence in the Reassembly of Imperfective Features onto New L2 Forms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Domínguez, Laura; Arche, María J.; Myles, Florence

2017-01-01

This study investigates the acquisition of the Spanish Imperfect by 60 English learners of Spanish at three different proficiency levels (beginner, intermediate and advanced). Two oral production tasks and one interpretation task show that although the Imperfect is used from early on, the full array of interpretations associated with this form…

The Effects of Peer Tutoring on the Reading Achievement and Social Acceptance of Mainstreamed Handicapped Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gajar, Anna H.; And Others

The research analyzed the effects of peer tutoring and teacher presentations about handicaps on the social acceptance of 16 mainstreamed educable mentally retarded (EMR) children (10 from primary and 6 from intermediate level classes). In addition, the effect of peer tutoring on reading achievement of EMR students was examined. Results showed that…

Career Cluster Activity Book, Intermediate Level. Learn About the Fifteen Career Clusters and Color the Pictures.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

White Hawk, Sharon, Ed.

Simple black and white illustrations portray one occupation for each of 15 career clusters. Directed toward the Indian student and showing Indians at work in the occupations depicted, the illustrations are intended to create an awareness, understanding, and motivation for Indian students to become involved in work, both on and off the reservation.…

Eight-Week Traditional Mat Pilates Training-Program Effects on Adult Fitness Characteristics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rogers, Kate; Gibson, Ann L.

2009-01-01

We investigated responses of adult, novice practitioners (n = 9) to an 8-week traditional mat Pilates program (P) that met 1 hr/day three times/week. Classes consisted primarily of beginner and intermediate level exercises. Compared to an active control group (C; n = 13) that showed no improvements, those in P significantly (p less than 0.05)…

Metabolic Evidence of Diminished Lipid Oxidation in Women With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

PubMed Central

Whigham, Leah D.; Butz, Daniel E.; Dashti, Hesam; Tonelli, Marco; Johnson, LuAnn K.; Cook, Mark E.; Porter, Warren P.; Eghbalnia, Hamid R.; Markley, John L.; Lindheim, Steven R.; Schoeller, Dale A.; Abbott, David H.; Assadi-Porter, Fariba M.

2014-01-01

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a common female endocrinopathy, is a complex metabolic syndrome of enhanced weight gain. The goal of this pilot study was to evaluate metabolic differences between normal (n=10) and PCOS (n=10) women via breath carbon isotope ratio, urinary nitrogen and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-determined serum metabolites. Breath carbon stable isotopes measured by cavity ring down spectroscopy (CRDS) indicated diminished (p<0.030) lipid use as a metabolic substrate during overnight fasting in PCOS compared to normal women. Accompanying urinary analyses showed a trending correlation (p<0.057) between overnight total nitrogen and circulating testosterone in PCOS women, alone. Serum analyzed by NMR spectroscopy following overnight, fast and at 2 h following an oral glucose tolerance test showed that a transient elevation in blood glucose levels decreased circulating levels of lipid, glucose and amino acid metabolic intermediates (acetone, 2-oxocaporate, 2-aminobutyrate, pyruvate, formate, and sarcosine) in PCOS women, whereas the 2 h glucose challenge led to increases in the same intermediates in normal women. These pilot data suggest that PCOS-related inflexibility in fasting-related switching between lipid and carbohydrate/protein utilization for carbon metabolism may contribute to enhanced weight gain. PMID:24765590

Linking molecular level chemistry to macroscopic combustion behavior for nano-energetic materials with halogen containing oxides.

PubMed

Farley, Cory W; Pantoya, Michelle L; Losada, Martin; Chaudhuri, Santanu

2013-08-21

Coupling molecular scale reaction kinetics with macroscopic combustion behavior is critical to understanding the influences of intermediate chemistry on energy propagation, yet bridging this multi-scale gap is challenging. This study integrates ab initio quantum chemical calculations and condensed phase density functional theory to elucidate factors contributing to experimentally measured high flame speeds (i.e., >900 m∕s) associated with halogen based energetic composites, such as aluminum (Al) and iodine pentoxide (I2O5). Experiments show a direct correlation between apparent activation energy and flame speed suggesting that flame speed is directly influenced by chemical kinetics. Toward this end, the first principle simulations resolve key exothermic surface and intermediate chemistries contributing toward the kinetics that promote high flame speeds. Linking molecular level exothermicity to macroscopic experimental investigations provides insight into the unique role of the alumina oxide shell passivating aluminum particles. In the case of Al reacting with I2O5, the alumina shell promotes exothermic surface chemistries that reduce activation energy and increase flame speed. This finding is in contrast to Al reaction with metal oxides that show the alumina shell does not participate exothermically in the reaction.

Intermediate added salt levels as sodium reduction strategy: Effects on chemical, microbial, textural and sensory quality of polony.

PubMed

Cluff, M; Kobane, I A; Bothma, C; Hugo, C J; Hugo, A

2017-11-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of intermediate added salt levels (1.33% w/w and 1.84% w/w) as a strategy for reducing the total sodium content of polony, an emulsified, heat-treated meat product, which is reliant on the various functions of salt normally included at a 2.5% (w/w) level. Chemical, microbial, and textural stability over 180days as well as sensory quality were evaluated. At 1.84% (w/w) added salt content, the product was indistinguishable from the positive control except for a slightly wetter cutting surface. A level of 1.33% (w/w) added salt showed similar results, except for a slight variation in initial moisture content and a much wetter cutting surface. The hardest texture was achieved at 1.33% (w/w) added salt up to 90days of shelf-life. Consumers had a slight preference for a lower salt content. From this research it can be recommended that salt reduction as sole approach in sodium reduction should be evaluated for meat products in limiting the possibly costly and negatively perceived use of sodium replacers. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Two-photon excitation cross-section in light and intermediate atoms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Omidvar, K.

1980-01-01

The method of explicit summation over the intermediate states is used along with LS coupling to derive an expression for two-photon absorption cross section in light and intermediate atoms in terms of integrals over radial wave functions. Two selection rules, one exact and one approximate, are also derived. In evaluating the radial integrals, for low-lying levels, the Hartree-Fock wave functions, and for high-lying levels, hydrogenic wave functions obtained by the quantum defect method are used. A relationship between the cross section and the oscillator strengths is derived. Cross sections due to selected transitions in nitrogen, oxygen, and chlorine are given. The expression for the cross section is useful in calculating the two-photon absorption in light and intermediate atoms.

Pediatric hypertension in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia

PubMed Central

Alkahtani, Shaea A.

2015-01-01

Objectives: To compare the levels of blood pressure (BP) between male and female adolescents in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia and reference percentiles for Saudi adolescents. A secondary aim was to explore the distribution of BP among the participants based on age and gender. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 146 boys and girls attending intermediate and secondary schools in 2 regions (Al-Mallaha and Al-Mubarraz) in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Weight, random blood glucose, and BP were collected by a team of health educators in the morning of the school day between April and May 2014. Results: Of the current sample of adolescents originally from the Eastern Province, 30% had systolic blood pressure (SBP) of ≥140 mm Hg and 22% had diastolic blood pressure of ≥90 mm Hg. For girls between 13 and 16 years old, the SBP was greater than the 95th percentile of Saudi national norms. Participants were classified by gender and school stage, and one-way analysis of variance showed significant differences in the means of SBP between intermediate boys (127±2.5 mm Hg) and secondary boys (136±2.1 mm Hg) (p<0.05), and between intermediate boys and intermediate girls (138±1.6 mm Hg) (p<0.01). Conclusion: The increased level of BP among adolescents originally from the Eastern Province raises the need to update the current BP nomograms, considering possible differences for specific geographic areas across the country. Implementing therapeutic life style management in girls’ schools is recommended. PMID:25987114

Exploring ethnomathematics in Central Java

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zaenuri; Dwidayati, N.

2018-03-01

This research was intended to: (1) explore the forms of ethnomathematics and (2) analyze the integration of ethnomathematic at elementary and intermediate educations. This research used surveys as the main method. The data were collected by means of questionnaires, observations and documentation as well as literature reviews. The data were then analyzed descriptively and qualitatively. The analyses showed the following results: (1) ethnomathematics within the cultures of communities in northern coastal areas of Java Island were in the forms of: (a) cultural buildings (Menara Kudus), (b) non-cultural buildings, traditional foods and (c) batik motifs, and (2) various forms of ethnomathematics in the communities studied relate to the concepts of mathematics that they could be integrated into mathematic learning-teaching activities both in elementary and intermediate levels.

Reassessment of the risk factors for biochemical recurrence in D'Amico intermediate-risk prostate cancer treated using radical prostatectomy.

PubMed

Narita, Shintaro; Mitsuzuka, Koji; Tsuchiya, Norihiko; Koie, Takuya; Kawamura, Sadafumi; Ohyama, Chikara; Tochigi, Tatsuo; Yamaguchi, Takuhiro; Arai, Yoichi; Habuchi, Tomonori

2015-11-01

To assess the risk factors for biochemical recurrence in D'Amico intermediate-risk prostate cancer patients treated using radical prostatectomy. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 1268 men with prostate cancer treated using radical prostatectomy without neoadjuvant therapy. The association between various risk factors and biochemical recurrence was then statistically evaluated. The Kaplan-Meier method, log-rank tests and Cox proportional hazards models were used for statistical analysis. In the intermediate-risk group, 96 patients (14.5%) experienced biochemical recurrence during a median follow up of 41 months. In the intermediate-risk group, preoperative prostate-specific antigen level, prostate volume and prostate-specific antigen density were significant preoperative risk factors for biochemical recurrence, whereas other factors including age, primary Gleason 4, clinical stage >T2 and percentage of positive biopsies were not. In multivariate analysis, higher preoperative prostate-specific antigen level and density, and a smaller prostate volume were independent risk factors for biochemical recurrence in the intermediate-risk group. Biochemical recurrence-free survival of patients in the intermediate-risk group with a higher prostate-specific antigen level and density (≥15 ng/mL, ≥0.6 ng/mL/cm(3), respectively), and lower prostate volume (≤10 mL) was comparable with that of high-risk group individuals (P = 0.632, 0.494 and 0.961, respectively). Preoperative prostate-specific antigen, prostate volume and prostate-specific antigen density are significant risk factors for biochemical recurrence in D'Amico intermediate-risk prostate cancer patients treated using radical prostatectomy. Using these variables, a subset of the intermediate-risk patients can be identified as having equivalent outcomes to high-risk patients. © 2015 The Japanese Urological Association.

How Do Transfer Students Perform in Economics? Evidence from Intermediate Macroeconomics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Asarta, Carlos J.; Fuess, Scott M., Jr.; Perumal, Andrew

2013-01-01

For students taking intermediate-level economics, does it matter where they studied principles of economics? Does transferring college credit influence subsequent academic performance in economics? With a sample covering 1999-2008, the authors analyze in this article a group of nearly 1,000 students taking intermediate macroeconomics at a…

The influence of dissolved oxygen on winter habitat selection by largemouth bass: an integration of field biotelemetry studies and laboratory experiments.

PubMed

Hasler, C T; Suski, C D; Hanson, K C; Cooke, S J; Tufts, B L

2009-01-01

In this study, field biotelemetry and laboratory physiology approaches were coupled to allow understanding of the behavioral and physiological responses of fish to winter hypoxia. The biotelemetry study compared dissolved oxygen levels measured throughout the winter period with continually tracked locations of nine adult largemouth bass obtained from a whole-lake submerged telemetry array. Fish habitat usage was compared with habitat availability to assess whether fish were selecting for specific dissolved oxygen concentrations. The laboratory study examined behavioral and physiological responses to progressive hypoxia in juvenile largemouth bass acclimated to winter temperatures. Results from the dissolved oxygen measurements made during the biotelemetry study showed high variance in under-ice dissolved oxygen levels. Avoidance of water with dissolved oxygen <2.0 mg/L by telemetered fish was demonstrated, but significant use of water with intermediate dissolved oxygen levels was also found. Results from the lab experiments showed marked changes in behavior (i.e., yawning and vertical movement) at <2.0 mg/L of dissolved oxygen but no change in tissue lactate, an indicator of anaerobic metabolism. Combined results of the biotelemetry and laboratory studies demonstrate that a dissolved oxygen content of 2.0 mg/L may be a critical threshold that induces behavioral responses by largemouth bass during the winter. In addition, the use by fish of areas with intermediate levels of dissolved oxygen suggests that there are multiple environmental factors influencing winter behavior.

Course and Curriculum Improvement Materials: Mathematics, Science, Social Sciences - Elementary, Intermediate, Secondary.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Science Foundation, Washington, DC.

This is a list of curriculum improvement materials produced by major course and curriculum projects supported by the National Science Foundation's Division of Pre-College Education in Science. The materials are grouped by educational level (elementary, intermediate, and secondary) and within each level by broad discipline groupings (mathematics,…

Exploring Optimal Pronunciation Teaching: Integrating Instructional Software into Intermediate-Level EFL Classes in China

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gao, Yang; Hanna, Barbara E.

2016-01-01

This study investigates the effectiveness of teaching pronunciation with instructional software to a cohort of Chinese learners of English aged 13 to 16 at lower-intermediate level. It also explores the relationship between learners' attitudes towards pronunciation and their pronunciation learning. Participants were 60 students at a language…

Intermediate Decoding Skills. NetNews. Volume 4, Number 4

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

LDA of Minnesota, 2004

2004-01-01

Intermediate decoding refers to word analysis skills that are beyond a beginning, one-syllable level as described in an earlier NetNews issue, yet are just as important for building adult level reading proficiency. Research from secondary settings indicates that struggling readers in middle school or high school programs often read between the…

Vertical Integration at Junior and Intermediate Levels. School Research Newsletter.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marklund, Inger, Ed.; Hanse, Mona-Britt, Ed.

1984-01-01

In recent years, there has been a rapid growth of interest in Sweden in vertically integrated classes in compulsory schools, especially at junior high school and intermediate grade levels. This development is supported in various ways by the curriculum, partly because it puts more emphasis than previous curricula on the occurrence of teaching…

Assessment of Student Achievement: Evaluation of Student Achievement at the Intermediate Level. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wahlstrom, M.; And Others

Evaluation and assessment procedures of Ontario, Canada principals and teachers at the Intermediate level (grades 7 and 8) were examined. Extensive questionnaires were returned by 134 principals and 225 teachers divided across the subject areas of English, Mathematics, Science, Languages, History, Home Economics or Shop, Arts, and Physical…

Characterization of reaction intermediate aggregates in aniline oxidative polymerization at low proton concentration.

PubMed

Ding, Zhongfen; Sanchez, Timothy; Labouriau, Andrea; Iyer, Srinivas; Larson, Toti; Currier, Robert; Zhao, Yusheng; Yang, Dali

2010-08-19

Aggregates of reaction intermediates form during the early stages of aniline oxidative polymerization whenever the initial mole ratio of proton concentration to aniline monomer concentration is low ([H(+)](0)/[An](0)

Tectonic Setting and Bimodal Magmatic Evolution of Eocene Volcanic Rocks of the Bijgerd-Kuh-e Kharchin area, Uromieh-Dokhtar Zone, Iran

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davarpanah, A.; Khalatbari-Jafari, M.; Babaie, H. A.; Krogstad, E. J.; Mobasher, K.; La Tour, T. E.; Deocampo, D. M.

2008-12-01

Geochemical composition and texture of the Middle and Late Eocene volcanic, volcaniclastic, and volcanic- sedimentary rocks in the Bijgerd-Kuh-e Kharchin area, northwest of Saveh, provide significant geochemical and geological clues for the tectonic and magmatic evolution of the Uromieh-Dokhtar volcanic-plutonic zone of Iran. The Middle Eocene volcanic rocks have an intermediate composition and include green tuff and tuffaceous sandstone with intercalated sandstone, sandy tuff, and shale. The shale has lenses of nummulite- bearing limestone with a Middle Eocene detrital age. The time between the Middle and Late Eocene volcanic activities in this area is marked by the presence of andesite and rhyolitic tuff. The Late Eocene succession is distinguished by the presence of four alternating levels (horizons) of intermediate lava and ignimbrite which we designate as Eig. The ignimbrites of the Eig sequence have a rhyolitic composition and include ignimbrite- breccia, ignimbrite-tuff, and ignimbrite-lava pairs. The volume of the felsic volcanic rocks in this sequence far exceeds that of the intermediate rocks, which makes it unlikely that they evolved through the magmatic differentiation of a basaltic magma. The presence of the nummulite-bearing limestone lenses, and sandstone and conglomerate interbeds between the ignimbrites, suggests a shallow marine environment for the pyroclastic deposition and probably the eruptions. The tuff and siltstone of the Est unit that sits above the first ignimbrite may represent deep water, Late Eocene deposit. Oligo-Miocene limestone of the Qom Formation unconformably overlies the uppermost Late Eocene ignimbrite. Washings from red marls give microfossils with Late Eocene age for the Eig sequence, which is synchronous with other paleontological evidence that puts the peak volcanic activity as Late Eocene in the Bijgerd-Kuh-e Kharchin area. Field and petrographic evidence for magma mixing/mingling is given by the presence of mafic- intermediate enclaves in the ignimbrite, hybrid breccias with felsic and mafic clasts, felsic pseudo-flames filled with intermediate lava, heterogeneity in the ignimbrite texture, and sieve texture and oscillatory zoning of plagioclase and opacitization of olivine in the intermediate lava. Geochemical analyses of the major and trace elements (including the REE) and rock texture and assemblages indicate the bimodal magmatic characteristics of the mafic-intermediate lavas and ignimbrites. The tuff and the breccia show a hybrid elemental distribution between those of rhyolite and basalt. The ignimbrites show more enriched compositions than those of the mafic and intermediate rocks on the chondrite-normalized trace element distribution diagram. The higher enrichment of the LREE in the ignimbrites may be due to a crustal contribution. The primitive mantle-normalized elemental distributions show a distinct depletion of Nb and Ti, which suggests a subduction-related volcanism during Eocene.

Snail phenotypic variation and stress proteins: do different heat response strategies contribute to Waddington's widget in field populations?

PubMed

Köhler, Heinz-R; Lazzara, Raimondo; Dittbrenner, Nils; Capowiez, Yvan; Mazzia, Christophe; Triebskorn, Rita

2009-03-15

On the basis of studies with laboratory strains of Drosophila and Arabidopsis, it has been hypothesized that potential buffers to the expression of phenotypic morphological variation, such as Hsp90 and possibly Hsp70, represent important components of Waddington's widget, which may confer capacitive evolution. As studies on field populations of living organisms to test this hypothesis are lacking, we tested whether a heat response strategy involving high stress protein levels is associated with low morphological variation and vice versa, using four natural populations of Mediterranean pulmonate snails. In response to 8 hr of elevated temperatures, a population of Xeropicta derbentina with uniform shell pigmentation pattern showed remarkably high Hsp70 but low Hsp90 levels. In contrast, a highly variable population of Cernuella virgata kept both Hsp90 and Hsp70 levels low when held at diverse though environmentally relevant temperatures. Two other populations (Theba pisana and another X. derbentina population) with intermediate variation in shell pigmentation pattern were also intermediate in inducing Hsp70, though Hsp90 was maintained at a low level. The observed correlation of stress protein levels and coloration pattern variation provide the first indirect evidence for an association of stress proteins with Waddington's widget under natural conditions.

Metabolic responses to Wii Fit™ video games at different game levels.

PubMed

Worley, Jennifer R; Rogers, Sharon N; Kraemer, Robert R

2011-03-01

The Wii Fit™ is a form of interactive gaming designed to elicit health and fitness benefits to replace sedentary gaming. This study was designed to determine the effectiveness of Wii Fit™ fitness games. The purpose of the study was to determine the %VO2max and energy expenditure from different Wii Fit™ games at different levels including the step and hula games. Eight healthy young women completed a preliminary trial to determine VO2max and later played the Wii Fit™ during 2 separate counterbalanced trials. During each session, subjects played levels of Wii Fit™ games for 10 minutes each level. One session involved beginning and intermediate hula, and the other session involved beginning and intermediate steps. The VO2 was measured continuously via metabolic cart, and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) was assessed at the end of each game level. The lowest %VO2max, kcal·min, and RPE occurred during the beginning step game and the highest values occurred during the intermediate hula game. Respiratory exchange ratio was significantly higher in the intermediate hula than beginning hula game but was not significantly different between step game levels. The intermediate hula and step games produced the greatest energy expenditure with an equivalent effect of a walking speed of >5.63 km·h (>3.5 miles·h). This is the first study to determine the percentage of VO2max and caloric expenditure elicited by different Wii Fit™ video games at different game levels in adults. Findings suggest that the Wii Fit™ can be used as an effective activity for promoting physical health in this population.

Stress and Achievement of Cardiovascular Health Metrics: The American Heart Association Life's Simple 7 in Blacks of the Jackson Heart Study.

PubMed

Brewer, LaPrincess C; Redmond, Nicole; Slusser, Joshua P; Scott, Christopher G; Chamberlain, Alanna M; Djousse, Luc; Patten, Christi A; Roger, Veronique L; Sims, Mario

2018-06-05

Ideal cardiovascular health metrics (defined by the American Heart Association Life's Simple 7 [LS7]) are suboptimal among blacks, which results in high risk of cardiovascular disease. We examined the association of multiple stressors with LS7 components among blacks. Using a community-based cohort of blacks (N=4383), we examined associations of chronic stress, minor stressors, major life events, and a cumulative stress score with LS7 components (smoking, diet, physical activity, body mass index, blood pressure, total cholesterol, and fasting plasma glucose) and an LS7 composite score. Multivariable logistic regression assessed the odds of achieving intermediate/ideal levels of cardiovascular health adjusted for demographic, socioeconomic, behavioral, and biomedical factors. The LS7 components with the lowest percentages of intermediate/ideal cardiovascular health levels were diet (39%), body mass index (47%), and physical activity (51%). Higher chronic, minor, and cumulative stress scores were associated with decreased odds (odds ratio [OR]) of achieving intermediate/ideal levels for smoking (OR [95% confidence interval], 0.80 [0.73-0.88], 0.84 [0.75-0.94], and 0.81 [0.74-0.90], respectively). Participants with more major life events had decreased odds of achieving intermediate/ideal levels for smoking (OR, 0.84; 95% confidence interval, 0.76-0.92) and fasting plasma glucose (OR, 0.90; 95% confidence interval, 0.82-0.98). Those with higher scores for minor stressors and major life events were less likely to achieve intermediate or ideal LS7 composite scores (OR [95% confidence interval], 0.89 [0.81-0.97] and 0.91 [0.84-0.98], respectively). Blacks with higher levels of multiple stress measures are less likely to achieve intermediate or ideal levels of overall cardiovascular health (LS7 composite score), specific behaviors (smoking), and biological factors (fasting plasma glucose). © 2018 The Authors and Mayo Clinic. Published on behalf of the American Heart Association, Inc., by Wiley.

Correlation between root respiration and the levels of biomass and glycyrrhizic acid in Glycyrrhiza uralensis

PubMed Central

Liu, Wenlan; Sun, Zhirong; Qu, Jixu; Yang, Chunning; Zhang, Xiaomin; Wei, Xinxin

2017-01-01

The aim of the present study was to investigate the correlation between root respiration and the levels of biomass and glycyrrhizic acid in Glycyrrhiza uralensis. Root respiration was determined using a biological oxygen analyzer. Respiration-related enzymes including glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase plus 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, phosphohexose isomerase and succinate dehydrogenase, and respiratory pathways were evaluated. Biomass was determined by a drying-weighing method. In addition, the percentage of glycyrrhizic acid was detected using high-performance liquid chromatography. The association between root respiration and the levels of biomass and glycyrrhizic acid was investigated. The glycolysis pathway (EMP), tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA) and pentose phosphate (PPP) pathway acted concurrently in the roots of G. uralensis. Grey correlation analysis showed that TCA had the strongest correlation (correlation coefficient, 0.8003) with biomass. Starch and acetyl coenzyme A had the closest association with above-ground biomass, while soluble sugar correlated less strongly with above-ground biomass. Grey correlation analysis between biochemical pathways and the intermediates showed that pyruvic acid had the strongest correlation with EMP, while acetyl coenzyme A correlated most strongly with TCA. Among the intermediates and pathways, pyruvic acid and EMP exhibited the greatest correlation with glycyrrhizic acid, while acetyl coenzyme A and TCA correlated with glycyrrhizic acid less closely. The results of this study may aid the cultivation of G. uralensis. However, these results require verification in further studies. PMID:28962162

Correlation between root respiration and the levels of biomass and glycyrrhizic acid in Glycyrrhiza uralensis.

PubMed

Liu, Wenlan; Sun, Zhirong; Qu, Jixu; Yang, Chunning; Zhang, Xiaomin; Wei, Xinxin

2017-09-01

The aim of the present study was to investigate the correlation between root respiration and the levels of biomass and glycyrrhizic acid in Glycyrrhiza uralensis . Root respiration was determined using a biological oxygen analyzer. Respiration-related enzymes including glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase plus 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, phosphohexose isomerase and succinate dehydrogenase, and respiratory pathways were evaluated. Biomass was determined by a drying-weighing method. In addition, the percentage of glycyrrhizic acid was detected using high-performance liquid chromatography. The association between root respiration and the levels of biomass and glycyrrhizic acid was investigated. The glycolysis pathway (EMP), tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA) and pentose phosphate (PPP) pathway acted concurrently in the roots of G. uralensis . Grey correlation analysis showed that TCA had the strongest correlation (correlation coefficient, 0.8003) with biomass. Starch and acetyl coenzyme A had the closest association with above-ground biomass, while soluble sugar correlated less strongly with above-ground biomass. Grey correlation analysis between biochemical pathways and the intermediates showed that pyruvic acid had the strongest correlation with EMP, while acetyl coenzyme A correlated most strongly with TCA. Among the intermediates and pathways, pyruvic acid and EMP exhibited the greatest correlation with glycyrrhizic acid, while acetyl coenzyme A and TCA correlated with glycyrrhizic acid less closely. The results of this study may aid the cultivation of G. uralensis . However, these results require verification in further studies.

Attitudes of the Preparatory Class Students towards the Writing Course and Their Attitude-Success Relationship in Writing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Paker, Turan; Erarslan, Ali

2015-01-01

This study aims to explore the attitudes of Turkish EFL students towards the writing course at university and to investigate the relationship between students' attitudes and their overall proficiency in writing. The participants were 782 students from various departments in the pre-intermediate, intermediate and upper-intermediate levels in a…

The Impact of the Principles of Accounting Experience on Student Preparation for Intermediate Accounting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carrington, Linda G.

2012-01-01

Both students and instructors alike will generally agree that intermediate accounting courses are among the most difficult and demanding in an accounting or finance curriculum, and perhaps even on the college campus. Intermediate accounting contains subject matter which requires a higher level of thinking and a greater ability to process prior…

Equilibrium and kinetic folding of rabbit muscle triosephosphate isomerase by hydrogen exchange mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Pan, Hai; Raza, Ashraf S; Smith, David L

2004-03-05

Unfolding and refolding of rabbit muscle triosephosphate isomerase (TIM), a model for (betaalpha)8-barrel proteins, has been studied by amide hydrogen exchange/mass spectrometry. Unfolding was studied by destabilizing the protein in guanidine hydrochloride (GdHCl) or urea, pulse-labeling with 2H2O and analyzing the intact protein by HPLC electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. Bimodal isotope patterns were found in the mass spectra of the labeled protein, indicating two-state unfolding behavior. Refolding experiments were performed by diluting solutions of TIM unfolded in GdHCl or urea and pulse-labeling with 2H2O at different times. Mass spectra of the intact protein labeled after one to two minutes had three envelopes of isotope peaks, indicating population of an intermediate. Kinetic modeling indicates that the stability of the folding intermediate in water is only 1.5 kcal/mol. Failure to detect the intermediate in the unfolding experiments was attributed to its low stability and the high concentrations of denaturant required for unfolding experiments. The folding status of each segment of the polypeptide backbone was determined from the deuterium levels found in peptic fragments of the labeled protein. Analysis of these spectra showed that the C-terminal half folds to form the intermediate, which then forms native TIM with folding of the N-terminal half. These results show that TIM folding fits the (4+4) model for folding of (betaalpha)8-barrel proteins. Results of a double-jump experiment indicate that proline isomerization does not contribute to the rate-limiting step in the folding of TIM.

Constraints on mechanisms and rates of anaerobic oxidation of methane by microbial consortia: process-based modeling of ANME-2 archaea and sulfate reducing bacteria interactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Orcutt, B.; Meile, C.

2008-05-01

Anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) is the main process responsible for the removal of methane generated in Earth's marine subsurface environments. However, the biochemical mechanism of AOM remains elusive. By explicitly resolving the observed spatial arrangement of methanotrophic archaea and sulfate reducing bacteria found in consortia mediating AOM, potential intermediates involved in the electron transfer between the methane oxidizing and sulfate reducing partners were investigated via a consortium-scale reaction transport model that integrates the effect of diffusional transport with thermodynamic and kinetic controls on microbial activity. Model simulations were used to assess the impact of poorly constrained microbial characteristics such as minimum energy requirements to sustain metabolism, substrate affinity and cell specific rates. The role of environmental conditions such as the influence of methane levels on the feasibility of H2, formate and acetate as intermediate species, and the impact of the abundance of intermediate species on pathway reversal was examined. The results show that higher production rates of intermediates via AOM lead to increased diffusive fluxes from the methane oxidizing archaea to sulfate reducing bacteria, but the build-up of the exchangeable species causes the energy yield of AOM to drop below that required for ATP production. Comparison to data from laboratory experiments shows that under the experimental conditions of Nauhaus et al. (2007), neither hydrogen nor formate is exchanged fast enough between the consortia partners to achieve measured rates of metabolic activity, but that acetate exchange might support rates that approach those observed.

2. GENERAL VIEW LOOKING NORTHEAST, SHOWING COKE MACHINE (CENTER), INTERMEDIATE ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

2. GENERAL VIEW LOOKING NORTHEAST, SHOWING COKE MACHINE (CENTER), INTERMEDIATE TIPPLE (RIGHT), AND OVENS - Shoaf Mine & Coke Works, East side of Shoaf, off Township Route 472, Shoaf, Fayette County, PA

Serial Recall, Word Frequency, and Mixed Lists: The Influence of Item Arrangement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Leonie M.; Roodenrys, Steven

2012-01-01

Studies of the effect of word frequency in the serial recall task show that lists of high-frequency words are better recalled than lists of low-frequency words; however, when high- and low-frequency words are alternated within a list, there is no difference in the level of recall for the two types of words, and recall is intermediate between lists…

Discovery of a Recursive Principle: An Artificial Grammar Investigation of Human Learning of a Counting Recursion Language

PubMed Central

Cho, Pyeong Whan; Szkudlarek, Emily; Tabor, Whitney

2016-01-01

Learning is typically understood as a process in which the behavior of an organism is progressively shaped until it closely approximates a target form. It is easy to comprehend how a motor skill or a vocabulary can be progressively learned—in each case, one can conceptualize a series of intermediate steps which lead to the formation of a proficient behavior. With grammar, it is more difficult to think in these terms. For example, center embedding recursive structures seem to involve a complex interplay between multiple symbolic rules which have to be in place simultaneously for the system to work at all, so it is not obvious how the mechanism could gradually come into being. Here, we offer empirical evidence from a new artificial language (or “artificial grammar”) learning paradigm, Locus Prediction, that, despite the conceptual conundrum, recursion acquisition occurs gradually, at least for a simple formal language. In particular, we focus on a variant of the simplest recursive language, anbn, and find evidence that (i) participants trained on two levels of structure (essentially ab and aabb) generalize to the next higher level (aaabbb) more readily than participants trained on one level of structure (ab) combined with a filler sentence; nevertheless, they do not generalize immediately; (ii) participants trained up to three levels (ab, aabb, aaabbb) generalize more readily to four levels than participants trained on two levels generalize to three; (iii) when we present the levels in succession, starting with the lower levels and including more and more of the higher levels, participants show evidence of transitioning between the levels gradually, exhibiting intermediate patterns of behavior on which they were not trained; (iv) the intermediate patterns of behavior are associated with perturbations of an attractor in the sense of dynamical systems theory. We argue that all of these behaviors indicate a theory of mental representation in which recursive systems lie on a continuum of grammar systems which are organized so that grammars that produce similar behaviors are near one another, and that people learning a recursive system are navigating progressively through the space of these grammars. PMID:27375543

Discovery of a Recursive Principle: An Artificial Grammar Investigation of Human Learning of a Counting Recursion Language.

PubMed

Cho, Pyeong Whan; Szkudlarek, Emily; Tabor, Whitney

2016-01-01

Learning is typically understood as a process in which the behavior of an organism is progressively shaped until it closely approximates a target form. It is easy to comprehend how a motor skill or a vocabulary can be progressively learned-in each case, one can conceptualize a series of intermediate steps which lead to the formation of a proficient behavior. With grammar, it is more difficult to think in these terms. For example, center embedding recursive structures seem to involve a complex interplay between multiple symbolic rules which have to be in place simultaneously for the system to work at all, so it is not obvious how the mechanism could gradually come into being. Here, we offer empirical evidence from a new artificial language (or "artificial grammar") learning paradigm, Locus Prediction, that, despite the conceptual conundrum, recursion acquisition occurs gradually, at least for a simple formal language. In particular, we focus on a variant of the simplest recursive language, a (n) b (n) , and find evidence that (i) participants trained on two levels of structure (essentially ab and aabb) generalize to the next higher level (aaabbb) more readily than participants trained on one level of structure (ab) combined with a filler sentence; nevertheless, they do not generalize immediately; (ii) participants trained up to three levels (ab, aabb, aaabbb) generalize more readily to four levels than participants trained on two levels generalize to three; (iii) when we present the levels in succession, starting with the lower levels and including more and more of the higher levels, participants show evidence of transitioning between the levels gradually, exhibiting intermediate patterns of behavior on which they were not trained; (iv) the intermediate patterns of behavior are associated with perturbations of an attractor in the sense of dynamical systems theory. We argue that all of these behaviors indicate a theory of mental representation in which recursive systems lie on a continuum of grammar systems which are organized so that grammars that produce similar behaviors are near one another, and that people learning a recursive system are navigating progressively through the space of these grammars.

The effect of illumination and electrode adjustment on the carrier behavior in special multilayer devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deng, Yanhong; Ou, Qingdong; Wang, Jinjiang; Zhang, Dengyu; Chen, Liezun; Li, Yanqing

2017-08-01

Intermediate connectors play an important role in semiconductor devices, especially in tandem devices. In this paper, four types of different intermediate connectors (e.g. Mg:Alq3/MoO3, MoO3, Mg:Alq3, and none) and two kinds of modified electrode materials (LiF and MoO3) integrated into the special multilayer devices are proposed, with the aim of studying the impact of light illumination and electrode adjustment on the carrier behavior of intermediate connectors through the current density-voltage characteristics, interfacial electronic structures, and capacitance-voltage characteristics. The results show that the illumination enhances the charge generation and separation in intermediate connectors, and further electrode interface modifications enhance the functionality of intermediate connectors. In addition, the device with an efficient intermediate connector structure shows a photoelectric effect, which paves the way for organic photovoltaic devices to realize optical-electrical integration transformation.

Just Around the Corner... A Guide for Career Education in the Intermediate Levels.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arkansas State Dept. of Education, Little Rock. Career Education Section.

This curriculum guide provides examples of activities a teacher at the intermediate level can use for any phase of career education being studied. Activities are listed under each of the eight elements of career education: (1) Self Awareness, (2) Educational Awareness, (3) Career Awareness, (4) Economic Awareness, (5) Decision Making, (6)…

Probing the Natural World, Level III, Student Guide: Investigating Variation. Intermediate Science Curriculum Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bonar, John R., Ed.; Hathway, James A., Ed.

This is the student's text of one unit of the Intermediate Science Curriculum Study (ISCS) for level III students (grade 9). This unit focuses on diversity in human populations, measurement, and data collection. Numerous activities are given and optional excursions encourage students to pursue a topic in greater depth. Data tables within the…

Homogeneous Grouping and the Individualization of Instruction in Remedial Reading in an Intermediate School.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelly, Thomas F.

A remedial reading program designed for intermediate-grade students who read from 1 to 7 years below grade level was studied. The program provided individualized instruction within classes homogeneously grouped on the basis of reading level only. Six seventh-grade classes were studied, with three acting as homogeneously grouped experimental…

Social Networking, Microlending, and Translation in the Spanish Service-Learning Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Faszer-McMahon, Debra

2013-01-01

This small-scale study analyzes the use of service-learning pedagogy via non-profit translation in the intermediate-level language classroom. Forty-three students at the intermediate-high level in three Spanish classes in Greensburg, Pennsylvania served as part of a translation team for the non-profit organization Kiva, which helps to fund…

Oxidative stress in the hydrocoral Millepora alcicornis exposed to CO2-driven seawater acidification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luz, Débora Camacho; Zebral, Yuri Dornelles; Klein, Roberta Daniele; Marques, Joseane Aparecida; Marangoni, Laura Fernandes de Barros; Pereira, Cristiano Macedo; Duarte, Gustavo Adolpho Santos; Pires, Débora de Oliveira; Castro, Clovis Barreira e.; Calderon, Emiliano Nicolas; Bianchini, Adalto

2018-06-01

Global impacts are affecting negatively coral reefs' health worldwide. Ocean acidification associated with the increasing CO2 partial pressure in the atmosphere can potentially induce oxidative stress with consequent cellular damage in corals and hydrocorals. In the present study, parameters related to oxidative status were evaluated in the hydrocoral Millepora alcicornis exposed to three different levels of seawater acidification using a mesocosm system. CO2-driven acidification of seawater was performed until reaching 0.3, 0.6 and 0.9 pH units below the current pH of seawater pumped from the coral reef adjacent to the mesocosm. Therefore, treatments corresponded to control (pH 8.1), mild (pH 7.8), intermediate (pH 7.5) and severe (pH 7.2) seawater acidification. After 0, 16 and 30 d of exposure, hydrocorals were collected and the following parameters were analyzed in the holobiont: antioxidant capacity against peroxyl radicals (ACAP), total glutathione (GSHt) concentration, reduced (GSH) and oxidized (GSSG) glutathione ratio (GSH/GSSG), lipid peroxidation (LPO) and protein carbonyl group (PC) levels. ACAP was increased in hydrocorals after 16 d of exposure to intermediate levels of seawater acidification. GSHt and GSH/GSSG did not change over the experimental period. LPO was increased at any level of seawater acidification, while PC content was increased in hydrocorals exposed to intermediate and severe seawater acidification for 30 d. These findings indicate that the antioxidant defense system of M. alcicornis is capable of coping with acidic conditions for a short period of time (16 d). Additionally, they clearly show that a long-term (30 d) exposure to seawater acidification induces oxidative stress with consequent oxidative damage to lipids and proteins, which could compromise hydrocoral health.

Coenzyme Q supplementation or over-expression of the yeast Coq8 putative kinase stabilizes multi-subunit Coq polypeptide complexes in yeast coq null mutants.

PubMed

He, Cuiwen H; Xie, Letian X; Allan, Christopher M; Tran, Uyenphuong C; Clarke, Catherine F

2014-04-04

Coenzyme Q biosynthesis in yeast requires a multi-subunit Coq polypeptide complex. Deletion of any one of the COQ genes leads to respiratory deficiency and decreased levels of the Coq4, Coq6, Coq7, and Coq9 polypeptides, suggesting that their association in a high molecular mass complex is required for stability. Over-expression of the putative Coq8 kinase in certain coq null mutants restores steady-state levels of the sensitive Coq polypeptides and promotes the synthesis of late-stage Q-intermediates. Here we show that over-expression of Coq8 in yeast coq null mutants profoundly affects the association of several of the Coq polypeptides in high molecular mass complexes, as assayed by separation of digitonin extracts of mitochondria by two-dimensional blue-native/SDS PAGE. The Coq4 polypeptide persists at high molecular mass with over-expression of Coq8 in coq3, coq5, coq6, coq7, coq9, and coq10 mutants, indicating that Coq4 is a central organizer of the Coq complex. Supplementation with exogenous Q6 increased the steady-state levels of Coq4, Coq7, and Coq9, and several other mitochondrial polypeptides in select coq null mutants, and also promoted the formation of late-stage Q-intermediates. Q supplementation may stabilize this complex by interacting with one or more of the Coq polypeptides. The stabilizing effects of exogenously added Q6 or over-expression of Coq8 depend on Coq1 and Coq2 production of a polyisoprenyl intermediate. Based on the observed interdependence of the Coq polypeptides, the effect of exogenous Q6, and the requirement for an endogenously produced polyisoprenyl intermediate, we propose a new model for the Q-biosynthetic complex, termed the CoQ-synthome. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Coenzyme Q supplementation or over-expression of the yeast Coq8 putative kinase stabilizes multi-subunit Coq polypeptide complexes in yeast coq null mutants*

PubMed Central

He, Cuiwen H.; Xie, Letian X.; Allan, Christopher M.; Tran, UyenPhuong C.; Clarke, Catherine F.

2014-01-01

Coenzyme Q biosynthesis in yeast requires a multi-subunit Coq polypeptide complex. Deletion of any one of the COQ genes leads to respiratory deficiency and decreased levels of the Coq4, Coq6, Coq7, and Coq9 polypeptides, suggesting that their association in a high molecular mass complex is required for stability. Over-expression of the putative Coq8 kinase in certain coq null mutants restores steady-state levels of the sensitive Coq polypeptides and promotes the synthesis of late-stage Q-intermediates. Here we show that over-expression of Coq8 in yeast coq null mutants profoundly affects the association of several of the Coq polypeptides in high molecular mass complexes, as assayed by separation of digitonin extracts of mitochondria by two-dimensional blue-native/SDS PAGE. The Coq4 polypeptide persists at high molecular mass with over-expression of Coq8 in coq3, coq5, coq6, coq7, coq9, and coq10 mutants, indicating that Coq4 is a central organizer of the Coq complex. Supplementation with exogenous Q6 increased the steady-state levels of Coq4, Coq7, Coq9, and several other mitochondrial polypeptides in select coq null mutants, and also promoted the formation of late-stage Q-intermediates. Q supplementation may stabilize this complex by interacting with one or more of the Coq polypeptides. The stabilizing effects of exogenously added Q6 or over-expression of Coq8 depend on Coq1 and Coq2 production of a polyisoprenyl intermediate. Based on the observed interdependence of the Coq polypeptides, the effect of exogenous Q6, and the requirement for an endogenously produced polyisoprenyl intermediate, we propose a new model for the Q-biosynthetic complex, termed the CoQ-synthome. PMID:24406904

The role of matched controls in building an evidence base for hospital-avoidance schemes: a retrospective evaluation.

PubMed

Steventon, Adam; Bardsley, Martin; Billings, John; Georghiou, Theo; Lewis, Geraint Hywel

2012-08-01

To test whether two hospital-avoidance interventions altered rates of hospital use: "intermediate care" and "integrated care teams." Linked administrative data for England covering the period 2004 to 2009. This study was commissioned after the interventions had been in place for several years. We developed a method based on retrospective analysis of person-level data comparing health care use of participants with that of prognostically matched controls. Individuals were linked to administrative datasets through a trusted intermediary and a unique patient identifier. Participants who received the intermediate care intervention showed higher rates of unscheduled hospital admission than matched controls, whereas recipients of the integrated care team intervention showed no difference. Both intervention groups showed higher rates of mortality than did their matched controls. These are potentially powerful techniques for assessing impacts on hospital activity. Neither intervention reduced admission rates. Although our analysis of hospital utilization controlled for a wide range of observable characteristics, the difference in mortality rates suggests that some residual confounding is likely. Evaluation is constrained when performed retrospectively, and careful interpretation is needed. © Health Research and Educational Trust.

The Jeffers Brook diorite-granodiorite pluton: style of emplacement and role of volatiles at various crustal levels in Avalonian appinites, Canadian Appalachians

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pe-Piper, Georgia; Piper, David J. W.

2018-04-01

Small appinite plutons ca. 610 Ma outcrop in the peri-Gondwanan Avalon terrane of northern Nova Scotia, with different structural levels exposed. Field mapping shows that the Jeffers Brook pluton is a laccolith emplaced along an upper crustal thrust zone, likely in a dilational jog in a regional dextral strike-slip system. The oldest rocks are probably mafic sills, which heated the area facilitating emplacement of intermediate magmas. Cross-cutting relationships show that both mafic and intermediate magmas were supplied throughout the history of pluton emplacement. The modal composition, mineral chemistry, and bulk chemistry of gabbro, diorite, tonalite, granodiorite, and granite have been studied in the main plutonic phases, dykes, and sills, and mafic microgranular enclaves. As with the type appinites in the Scottish Caledonides, the pluton shows evidence of high water content: the dominance of hornblende, locally within pegmatitic texture; vesicles and irregular felsic patches in enclaves; and late aplite dykes. Analyzed mafic microgranular enclaves are geochemically similar to larger diorite bodies in the pluton. Tonalite-granodiorite is distinct from the diorite in trace-element geochemistry and radiogenic isotopes. Elsewhere to the east, similar rocks of the same age form vertically sheeted complexes in major shear zones; hornblende chemistry shows that they were emplaced at a deeper upper crustal level. This implies that little of the observed geochemical variability in the Jeffers Brook pluton was developed within the pluton. The general requirements to form appinites are proposed to be small magma volumes of subduction-related magmas that reach the upper crust because of continual heating by mafic magmas moving through strike-slip fault pathways and trapping of aqueous fluids rather than venting through volcanic activity.

Involving older people in intermediate care.

PubMed

Andrews, JoyAnn; Manthorpe, Jill; Watson, Roger

2004-05-01

Intermediate care has become a crucial part of the United Kingdom government's programme for improving services for older people. Older people comprise a substantial part of the user base for these services, and it is increasingly recognized that there is a need for greater user involvement in service development for intermediate care. National initiatives undertaken in intermediate care have sought to widen and deepen the remit of such services, and in this way promote greater independence and improved quality of care for older people. In particular, the government has set out clear plans for reshaping services for older people in the National Health Service Plan and the rationale for greater involvement of older people in service development. This article considers ways in which these national and local objectives may be achieved and considers some of the implications for nursing. This paper aims to explore the concept of intermediate care and to identify trends and existing evidence of user involvement in care. In this way it charts a possible way forward for the development of a more 'user sensitive' approach. The following databases were searched: Medline, Cochrane Library, the Social Science Citation Index and CINAHL. Key words were 'intermediate care', 'older people', 'formal care', 'primary care', 'social services' and 'geriatrics', used in combination. The findings from this study indicate that there is considerable scope for increased user involvement in service development for intermediate care. Such challenges may be more effectively met through greater clarity of the concept of intermediate care, and a bridging of user involvement at the practice and policy levels. Nurses are key providers of intermediate care in the community. The involvement of older people in intermediate care service development must be premised on a shared comprehension of the purpose and function of intermediate care. Nurses must be involved in shifting intermediate care from being service-focused to patient-centred. Effective participation eschews the application of global constructs for older people, while supporting greater participation at all levels and robust implementation processes.

Effects of perceived job insecurity on depression, suicide ideation, and decline in self-rated health in Korea: a population-based panel study.

PubMed

Kim, Min-Seok; Hong, Yun-Chul; Yook, Ji-Hoo; Kang, Mo-Yeol

2017-10-01

To investigate the effects of job security on new development of depressive episode, suicide ideation, and decline in self-rated health. Data from the Korea Welfare Panel Study from 2012 to 2015 were analysed. A total of 2912 waged workers self-assessed their depressive episode, suicide ideation, and health annually by answering the questionnaire. Participants were divided into three groups according to the level of job security: high, intermediate and low. To evaluate the influence of job security, we performed survival analysis after stratification by gender with adjustment for covariates. The result was further stratified by whether the respondent was the head of household. After adjusting for covariates, men in low job security group showed significantly higher hazard ratios (HRs) for depression (HR 1.27, 95% CI 1.01-1.60), suicide ideation (HR 3.25, 95% CI 1.72-6.16), and decline in self-rated health (HR 1.73, 95% CI 1.16-2.59). Women showed significantly higher HR of depression in the intermediate (HR 1.37, 95% CI 1.01-1.87) and low (HR 1.50, 95% CI 1.12-1.99) job security group. Male head of household with low job security showed significantly higher HR of depression, suicide ideation, and decline in self-rated health. Non-head-of-household women with intermediate and low job security showed higher risk of depression than those with high job security. We found that perceived job insecurity is associated with the new development of depressive episode, suicide ideation, and decline in self-rated health.

Selective binding of meiosis-specific yeast Hop1 protein to the holliday junctions distorts the DNA structure and its implications for junction migration and resolution.

PubMed

Tripathi, Pankaj; Anuradha, S; Ghosal, Gargi; Muniyappa, K

2006-12-08

Saccharomyces cerevisiae HOP1, which encodes a component of synaptonemal complex (SC), plays an important role in both gene conversion and crossing over between homologs, as well as enforces meiotic recombination checkpoint control over the progression of recombination intermediates. In hop1Delta mutants, meiosis-specific double-strand breaks (DSBs) are reduced to 10% of the wild-type level, and at aberrantly late times, these DSBs are processed into inter-sister recombination intermediates. However, the underlying mechanism by which Hop1 protein regulates these nuclear events remains obscure. Here we show that Hop1 protein interacts selectively with the Holliday junction, changes its global conformation and blocks the dissolution of the junction by a RecQ helicase. The Holliday junction-Hop1 protein complexes are significantly more stable at higher ionic strengths and molar excess of unlabeled competitor DNA than complexes containing other recombination intermediates. Structural analysis of the Holliday junction using 2-aminopurine fluorescence emission, DNase I footprinting and KMnO4 probing provide compelling evidence that Hop1 protein binding induces significant distortion at the center of the Holliday junction. We propose that Hop1 protein might coordinate the physical monitoring of meiotic recombination intermediates with the process of branch migration of Holliday junction.

Hierarchical Structure Controls Nanomechanical Properties of Vimentin Intermediate Filaments

PubMed Central

Qin, Zhao; Kreplak, Laurent; Buehler, Markus J.

2009-01-01

Intermediate filaments (IFs), in addition to microtubules and microfilaments, are one of the three major components of the cytoskeleton in eukaryotic cells, playing a vital role in mechanotransduction and in providing mechanical stability to cells. Despite the importance of IF mechanics for cell biology and cell mechanics, the structural basis for their mechanical properties remains unknown. Specifically, our understanding of fundamental filament properties, such as the basis for their great extensibility, stiffening properties, and their exceptional mechanical resilience remains limited. This has prevented us from answering fundamental structure-function relationship questions related to the biomechanical role of intermediate filaments, which is crucial to link structure and function in the protein material's biological context. Here we utilize an atomistic-level model of the human vimentin dimer and tetramer to study their response to mechanical tensile stress, and describe a detailed analysis of the mechanical properties and associated deformation mechanisms. We observe a transition from alpha-helices to beta-sheets with subsequent interdimer sliding under mechanical deformation, which has been inferred previously from experimental results. By upscaling our results we report, for the first time, a quantitative comparison to experimental results of IF nanomechanics, showing good agreement. Through the identification of links between structures and deformation mechanisms at distinct hierarchical levels, we show that the multi-scale structure of IFs is crucial for their characteristic mechanical properties, in particular their ability to undergo severe deformation of ≈300% strain without breaking, facilitated by a cascaded activation of a distinct deformation mechanisms operating at different levels. This process enables IFs to combine disparate properties such as mechanosensitivity, strength and deformability. Our results enable a new paradigm in studying biological and mechanical properties of IFs from an atomistic perspective, and lay the foundation to understanding how properties of individual protein molecules can have profound effects at larger length-scales. PMID:19806221

Hierarchical structure controls nanomechanical properties of vimentin intermediate filaments.

PubMed

Qin, Zhao; Kreplak, Laurent; Buehler, Markus J

2009-10-06

Intermediate filaments (IFs), in addition to microtubules and microfilaments, are one of the three major components of the cytoskeleton in eukaryotic cells, playing a vital role in mechanotransduction and in providing mechanical stability to cells. Despite the importance of IF mechanics for cell biology and cell mechanics, the structural basis for their mechanical properties remains unknown. Specifically, our understanding of fundamental filament properties, such as the basis for their great extensibility, stiffening properties, and their exceptional mechanical resilience remains limited. This has prevented us from answering fundamental structure-function relationship questions related to the biomechanical role of intermediate filaments, which is crucial to link structure and function in the protein material's biological context. Here we utilize an atomistic-level model of the human vimentin dimer and tetramer to study their response to mechanical tensile stress, and describe a detailed analysis of the mechanical properties and associated deformation mechanisms. We observe a transition from alpha-helices to beta-sheets with subsequent interdimer sliding under mechanical deformation, which has been inferred previously from experimental results. By upscaling our results we report, for the first time, a quantitative comparison to experimental results of IF nanomechanics, showing good agreement. Through the identification of links between structures and deformation mechanisms at distinct hierarchical levels, we show that the multi-scale structure of IFs is crucial for their characteristic mechanical properties, in particular their ability to undergo severe deformation of approximately 300% strain without breaking, facilitated by a cascaded activation of a distinct deformation mechanisms operating at different levels. This process enables IFs to combine disparate properties such as mechanosensitivity, strength and deformability. Our results enable a new paradigm in studying biological and mechanical properties of IFs from an atomistic perspective, and lay the foundation to understanding how properties of individual protein molecules can have profound effects at larger length-scales.

Chronic administration of thiamine pyrophosphate decreases age-related histological atrophic testicular changes and improves sexual behavior in male Wistar rats.

PubMed

Hernández-Montiel, H L; Vásquez López, C M; González-Loyola, J G; Vega-Anaya, G C; Villagrán-Herrera, M E; Gallegos-Corona, M A; Saldaña, C; Ramos Gómez, M; García Horshman, P; García Solís, P; Solís-S, J C; Robles-Osorio, M L; Ávila Morales, J; Varela-Echavarría, A; Paredes Guerrero, R

2014-06-01

Aging is a multifactorial universal process and constitutes the most important risk factor for chronic-degenerative diseases. Although it is a natural process, pathological aging arises when these changes occur quickly and the body is not able to adapt. This is often associated with the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), inflammation, and a decrease in the endogenous antioxidant systems, constituting a physiopathological state commonly found in chronic-degenerative diseases. At the testicular level, aging is associated with tissue atrophy, decreased steroidogenesis and spermatogenesis, and sexual behavior disorders. This situation, in addition to the elevated generation of ROS in the testicular steroidogenesis, provides a critical cellular environment causing oxidative damage at diverse cellular levels. To assess the effects of a reduction in the levels of ROS, thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP) was chronically administered in senile Wistar rats. TPP causes an activation of intermediate metabolism routes, enhancing cellular respiration and decreasing the generation of ROS. Our results show an overall decrease of atrophic histological changes linked to aging, with higher levels of serum testosterone, sexual activity, and an increase in the levels of endogenous antioxidant enzymes in TPP-treated animals. These results suggest that TPP chronic administration decreases the progression of age-related atrophic changes by improving the intermediate metabolism, and by increasing the levels of antioxidant enzymes.

Reducing conditions can alter the source of respired carbon and stimulate decomposition in mineral soils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, W.; Hall, S. J.

2016-12-01

Soil organic matter decomposition is widely thought to be constrained by reducing conditions in flooded wetland ecosystems. However, the potential impact of periodic reducing conditions on carbon (C) mineralization in terrestrial mineral soils that experience transient moisture saturation has received less attention. Here we incubated three Mollisols amended with C4 leaf litter at three different soil moisture levels (field capacity for the control, intermediate, and saturation) over three months in the laboratory. Soil CO2 and CH4 production and isotope ratios of CO2 (δ13CO2) were measured daily using a tunable diode laser for the first two weeks and weekly thereafter. Soil Eh dropped from 516 mV to -184 mV in the intermediate and saturated soils during the first seventeen days; iron (Fe) reduction occurred in both intermediate and saturated soils after the seventh day. Total CO2 production rate in the intermediate and saturated soils was initially lower than the control, but exceeded the control after the eleventh day. After three months, mean cumulative CO2 production was significantly higher in the intermediate soil moisture treatment (152 μmol CO2 g-1 soil, P < 0.01) and equivalent between the saturated and control soils (128 and 141 μmol CO2 g-1 soil, P = 0.11). The intermediate and saturated soils also induced substantial CH4 production. Differences in mean δ13CO2 (-14.0‰ for the control and -22.7‰ for the saturated soils) over the first two weeks (before CH4 production began) showed that CO2 production from the saturated soils was derived from different C source(s) compared to the control. These findings challenge traditional paradigms by showing that reducing conditions can enhance C mineralization, perhaps by facilitating microbial access to alternative or occluded C sources. We suggest that Fe reduction could be an important mechanism of C loss in mineral soils due to the release of adsorbed or co-precipitated organic matter during Fe solubilization.

Conservation of Bio synthetic pheromone pathways in honeybees Apis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martin, Stephen J.; Jones, Graeme R.

Social insects use complex chemical communication systems to govern many aspects of their life. We studied chemical changes in Dufour's gland secretions associated with ovary development in several genotypes of honeybees. We found that C28-C38 esters were associated only with cavity nesting honeybee queens, while the alcohol eicosenol was associated only with their non-laying workers. In contrast, both egg-laying anarchistic workers and all parasitic Cape workers from queenright colonies showed the typical queen pattern (i.e. esters present and eicosenol absent), while egg-laying wild-type and anarchistic workers in queenless colonies showed an intermediate pattern, producing both esters and eicosenol but at intermediate levels. Furthermore, neither esters nor eicosenol were found in aerial nesting honeybee species. Both esters and eicosenol are biosynthetically similar compounds since both are recognizable products of fatty acid biosynthesis. Therefore, we propose that in honeybees the biosynthesis of esters and eicosenol in the Dufour's gland is caste-regulated and this pathway has been conserved over evolutionary time.

Ozone dissociation to oxygen affected by Criegee intermediate.

PubMed

Wei, Wen-Mei; Zheng, Ren-Hui; Pan, Yue-Li; Wu, Yun-Kai; Yang, Fan; Hong, Shi

2014-03-06

The detailed potential energy surfaces for the reactions of Criegee intermediate (CI, H2COO) and formaldehyde (H2CO) with ozone (O3) have been investigated at the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVDZ//B3LYP/6-311++G(2d,2p) level of theory, respectively. New alternative reaction mechanisms, to the one previously proposed (J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2013, 4, 2525) have been found. The lower barrier of the new mechanism shows that it is easy for H2COO + O3 to dissociate to formaldehyde and oxygen. For the reactions of H2CO with O3 to produce H2COO and O2, we find relatively high energy barriers, which makes the ozone dissociation to oxygen unlikely to be catalyzed by CI.

Cellular and humoral immunity after vaccination or natural mumps infection.

PubMed

Terada, Kihei; Hagihara, Kimiko; Oishi, Tomohiro; Miyata, Ippei; Akaike, Hiroto; Ogita, Satoko; Ohno, Naoki; Ouchi, Kazunobu

2017-08-01

This study measured cell-mediated immunity (CMI) and serum antibody to clarify the basis of breakthrough after vaccination and reinfection after mumps. From a pool of 54 college students, 17 seronegative subjects and 14 subjects with intermediate level of antibodies against mumps were vaccinated with a monovalent mumps vaccine, and CMI was assessed using interferon-γ release assay. CMI positivity according to pre-existing antibody level, defined as titer <2.0 index units, negative; 2.0-3.9 index units, intermediate; and ≥4.0 index units, positive, was 8/17 (47.1%), 9/14 (64.3%) and 19/23 (82.6%) before vaccination, respectively. Of the 17 seronegative subjects, seven (41.2%) had a history of vaccination and/or natural infection, four (57.1%) of whom were CMI positive or intermediate. Ten (71%) of 14 subjects with intermediate antibody level had a history of vaccination or natural infection, eight (80%) of whom were CMI positive or intermediate. After vaccination the interferon (IFN)-γ and antibody titers increased significantly, but seven (41.2%) of the 17 seronegative subjects and 13 (92.9%) of the 14 intermediate-level subjects tested positive for both antibody and CMI. In a comparison of the natural infection group (confirmed as IgG seropositive and/or CMI positive without vaccination) versus the vaccination group, IgG antibody titer (mean ± SD) was 14.4 ± 8.0 versus 3.6 ± 2.4 index units (P < 0.01) and IFN-γ was 122.7 ± 90.0 pg/mL versus 59.5 ± 37.8 pg/mL (P > 0.05), respectively. Vaccination or even natural mumps infection did not always induce both cellular and humoral immunity. © 2017 Japan Pediatric Society.

Overexpression of the Coq8 Kinase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae coq Null Mutants Allows for Accumulation of Diagnostic Intermediates of the Coenzyme Q6 Biosynthetic Pathway*

PubMed Central

Xie, Letian X.; Ozeir, Mohammad; Tang, Jeniffer Y.; Chen, Jia Y.; Jaquinod, Sylvie-Kieffer; Fontecave, Marc; Clarke, Catherine F.; Pierrel, Fabien

2012-01-01

Most of the Coq proteins involved in coenzyme Q (ubiquinone or Q) biosynthesis are interdependent within a multiprotein complex in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Lack of only one Coq polypeptide, as in Δcoq strains, results in the degradation of several Coq proteins. Consequently, Δcoq strains accumulate the same early intermediate of the Q6 biosynthetic pathway; this intermediate is therefore not informative about the deficient biosynthetic step in a particular Δcoq strain. In this work, we report that the overexpression of the protein Coq8 in Δcoq strains restores steady state levels of the unstable Coq proteins. Coq8 has been proposed to be a kinase, and we provide evidence that the kinase activity is essential for the stabilizing effect of Coq8 in the Δcoq strains. This stabilization results in the accumulation of several novel Q6 biosynthetic intermediates. These Q intermediates identify chemical steps impaired in cells lacking Coq4 and Coq9 polypeptides, for which no function has been established to date. Several of the new intermediates contain a C4-amine and provide information on the deamination reaction that takes place when para-aminobenzoic acid is used as a ring precursor of Q6. Finally, we used synthetic analogues of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid to bypass deficient biosynthetic steps, and we show here that 2,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid is able to restore Q6 biosynthesis and respiratory growth in a Δcoq7 strain overexpressing Coq8. The overexpression of Coq8 and the use of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid analogues represent innovative tools to elucidate the Q biosynthetic pathway. PMID:22593570

Overexpression of the Coq8 kinase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae coq null mutants allows for accumulation of diagnostic intermediates of the coenzyme Q6 biosynthetic pathway.

PubMed

Xie, Letian X; Ozeir, Mohammad; Tang, Jeniffer Y; Chen, Jia Y; Jaquinod, Sylvie-Kieffer; Fontecave, Marc; Clarke, Catherine F; Pierrel, Fabien

2012-07-06

Most of the Coq proteins involved in coenzyme Q (ubiquinone or Q) biosynthesis are interdependent within a multiprotein complex in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Lack of only one Coq polypeptide, as in Δcoq strains, results in the degradation of several Coq proteins. Consequently, Δcoq strains accumulate the same early intermediate of the Q(6) biosynthetic pathway; this intermediate is therefore not informative about the deficient biosynthetic step in a particular Δcoq strain. In this work, we report that the overexpression of the protein Coq8 in Δcoq strains restores steady state levels of the unstable Coq proteins. Coq8 has been proposed to be a kinase, and we provide evidence that the kinase activity is essential for the stabilizing effect of Coq8 in the Δcoq strains. This stabilization results in the accumulation of several novel Q(6) biosynthetic intermediates. These Q intermediates identify chemical steps impaired in cells lacking Coq4 and Coq9 polypeptides, for which no function has been established to date. Several of the new intermediates contain a C4-amine and provide information on the deamination reaction that takes place when para-aminobenzoic acid is used as a ring precursor of Q(6). Finally, we used synthetic analogues of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid to bypass deficient biosynthetic steps, and we show here that 2,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid is able to restore Q(6) biosynthesis and respiratory growth in a Δcoq7 strain overexpressing Coq8. The overexpression of Coq8 and the use of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid analogues represent innovative tools to elucidate the Q biosynthetic pathway.

Effects of methyltestosterone on immunity against Salmonella Pullorum in dwarf chicks.

PubMed

Li, H; Zhang, Y; Zuo, S F; Lian, Z X; Li, N

2009-12-01

This study was conducted to determine effects of methyltestosterone on innate immunity and adaptive immunity against Salmonella Pullorum in dwarf chicks. In vivo experiment, comparisons of pathological sections, viable counts of bacteria, specific antibody levels, and subsets of T lymphocytes were set forth between chicks with or without 10(-7) M methyltestosterone treatment (2 d of age through 21 d of age) and challenged with 5 x 10(8) virulent Salmonella Pullorum (7 d of age), and in vitro experiment, phagocytic and killing abilities, reactive oxygen intermediate production, and reactive nitrogen intermediate production of monocytes-macrophages treated with high (10(-8) M/10(6) cell) or physiological (10(-14) M/10(6) cell) concentration of methyltestosterone were examined after Salmonella Pullorum infection. The results showed that (1) in vivo, administration of methyltestosterone enhanced susceptibility to Salmonella Pullorum infection and depressed cellular immunity against Salmonella Pullorum, whereas it had no effect on humoral immunity in dwarf chicks; (2) in vitro, at high concentration, methyltestosterone reduced (P < 0.05) monocytes-macrophages mediated reactive oxygen intermediate-dependent killing of Salmonella Pullorum, whereas low concentration of methyltestosterone enhanced (P < 0.05) reactive oxygen intermediate-dependent killing of Salmonella Pullorum in male dwarf chicks but not in females; and (3) although challenged with Salmonella Pullorum, phagocytic ability and monocytes-macrophages mediated reactive nitrogen intermediate-dependent killing were not affected by methyltestosterone in vitro. The results indicated that methyltestosterone affected the immune response to Salmonella Pullorum in dwarf chicks by changing monocytes-macrophages mediated reactive oxygen intermediate-dependent killing and cellular immunity, and the effects were dose-dependent; furthermore, the former 2 pathways played important roles in preventing Salmonella Pullorum infection in dwarf chicks, although the mechanism needs further study.

Influence of an Intermediate Option on the Description-Experience Gap and Information Search

PubMed Central

Sharma, Neha; Debnath, Shoubhik; Dutt, Varun

2018-01-01

Research shows that people tend to overweight small probabilities in description and underweight them in experience, thereby leading to a different pattern of choices between description and experience; a phenomenon known as the Description-Experience (DE) gap. However, little is known on how the addition of an intermediate option and contextual framing influences the DE gap and people’s search strategies. This paper tests the effects of an intermediate option and contextual framing on the DE gap and people’s search strategies, where problems require search for information before a consequential choice. In the first experiment, 120 participants made choice decisions across investment problems that differed in the absence or presence of an intermediate option. Results showed that adding an intermediate option did not reduce the DE gap on the maximizing option across a majority of problems. There were a large majority of choices for the intermediate option. Furthermore, there was an increase in switching between options due to the presence of the intermediate option. In the second experiment, 160 participants made choice decisions in problems like those presented in experiment 1; however, problems lacked the investment framing. Results replicated findings from the first experiment and showed a similar DE gap on the maximizing option in a majority of problems in both the absence and presence of the intermediate option. Again, there were a large majority of choices for the intermediate option. Also, there was an increase in switching between options due to the presence of the intermediate option. Meta-analyses revealed that the absence or presence of the intermediate option created certain differences in the strength of frequency and recency processes. Also, a single natural-mean heuristic model was able to account for the experimental results across both experiments. We discuss implications of our findings to consequential decisions made after information search. PMID:29643821

Influence of an Intermediate Option on the Description-Experience Gap and Information Search.

PubMed

Sharma, Neha; Debnath, Shoubhik; Dutt, Varun

2018-01-01

Research shows that people tend to overweight small probabilities in description and underweight them in experience, thereby leading to a different pattern of choices between description and experience; a phenomenon known as the Description-Experience (DE) gap. However, little is known on how the addition of an intermediate option and contextual framing influences the DE gap and people's search strategies. This paper tests the effects of an intermediate option and contextual framing on the DE gap and people's search strategies, where problems require search for information before a consequential choice. In the first experiment, 120 participants made choice decisions across investment problems that differed in the absence or presence of an intermediate option. Results showed that adding an intermediate option did not reduce the DE gap on the maximizing option across a majority of problems. There were a large majority of choices for the intermediate option. Furthermore, there was an increase in switching between options due to the presence of the intermediate option. In the second experiment, 160 participants made choice decisions in problems like those presented in experiment 1; however, problems lacked the investment framing. Results replicated findings from the first experiment and showed a similar DE gap on the maximizing option in a majority of problems in both the absence and presence of the intermediate option. Again, there were a large majority of choices for the intermediate option. Also, there was an increase in switching between options due to the presence of the intermediate option. Meta-analyses revealed that the absence or presence of the intermediate option created certain differences in the strength of frequency and recency processes. Also, a single natural-mean heuristic model was able to account for the experimental results across both experiments. We discuss implications of our findings to consequential decisions made after information search.

Importance of tetrahedral intermediate formation in the catalytic mechanism of the serine proteases chymotrypsin and subtilisin.

PubMed

Petrillo, Teodolinda; O'Donohoe, Catrina A; Howe, Nicole; Malthouse, J Paul G

2012-08-07

Two new inhibitors in which the terminal α-carboxyl groups of Z-Ala-Ala-Phe-COOH and Z-Ala-Pro-Phe-COOH have been replaced with a proton to give Z-Ala-Ala-Phe-H and Z-Ala-Pro-Phe-H, respectively, have been synthesized. Using these inhibitors, we estimate that for α-chymotrypsin and subtilisin Carlsberg the terminal carboxylate group decreases the level of inhibitor binding 3-4-fold while a glyoxal group increases the level of binding by 500-2000-fold. We show that at pH 7.2 the effective molarities of the catalytic hydroxyl group of the active site serine are 41000-229000 and 101000-159000 for α-chymotrypsin and subtilisin Carlsberg, respectively. It is estimated that oxyanion stabilization and the increased effective molarity of the catalytic serine hydroxyl group can account for the catalytic efficiency of the reaction. We argue that substrate binding induces the formation of a strong hydrogen bond or low-barrier hydrogen bond between histidine-57 and aspartate-102 that increases the pK(a) of the active site histidine, allowing it to be an effective general base catalyst for the formation of the tetrahedral intermediate and increasing the effective molarity of the catalytic hydroxyl group of serine-195. A catalytic mechanism for acyl intermediate formation in the serine proteases is proposed.

31. DETAIL VIEW OF UPPER INTERMEDIATE WALL CONTROL STATION, SHOWING ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

31. DETAIL VIEW OF UPPER INTERMEDIATE WALL CONTROL STATION, SHOWING RECESSES FOR AUXILIARY LOCK LIFT GATE LEAVES, LOOKING EAST - Upper Mississippi River 9-Foot Channel Project, Lock & Dam 27, Granite City, Madison County, IL

32. DETAIL VIEW OF UPPER INTERMEDIATE WALL CONTROL STATION, SHOWING ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

32. DETAIL VIEW OF UPPER INTERMEDIATE WALL CONTROL STATION, SHOWING RECESSES FOR AUXILIARY LOCK LIFT GATE LEAVES, LOOKING NORTHEAST - Upper Mississippi River 9-Foot Channel Project, Lock & Dam 27, Granite City, Madison County, IL

18F Fluorocholine Dynamic Time-of-Flight PET/MR Imaging in Patients with Newly Diagnosed Intermediate- to High-Risk Prostate Cancer: Initial Clinical-Pathologic Comparisons.

PubMed

Choi, Joon Young; Yang, Jaewon; Noworolski, Susan M; Behr, Spencer; Chang, Albert J; Simko, Jeffry P; Nguyen, Hao G; Carroll, Peter R; Kurhanewicz, John; Seo, Youngho

2017-02-01

Purpose To investigate the initial clinical value of fluorine 18 ( 18 F) fluorocholine (FCH) dynamic positron emission tomography (PET)/magnetic resonance (MR) imaging by comparing its parameters with clinical-pathologic findings in patients with newly diagnosed intermediate- to high-risk prostate cancer (PCa) who plan to undergo radical prostatectomy. Materials and Methods The institutional review board approved the study protocol, and informed written consent was obtained from all subjects for this HIPAA-compliant study. Twelve men (mean age ± standard deviation, 61.7 years ± 8.4; range, 46-74 years) with untreated intermediate- to high-risk PCa characterized according to Cancer of the Prostate Risk Assessment (CAPRA) underwent preoperative FCH dynamic PET/MR imaging followed by radical prostatectomy between April and November 2015. PET/MR imaging parameters including average and maximum K1 (delivery rate constant) and standardized uptake values (SUVs) and Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) version 2 scores were measured and compared with clinical-pathologic characteristics. For statistical analysis, the Spearman rank correlation and Mann-Whitney U tests were performed. Results Of the PET parameters, maximum SUV of primary tumors showed significant correlations with several clinical-pathologic parameters including serum prostate-specific antigen level (ρ = 0.71, P = .01), pathologic stage (ρ = 0.59, P = .043), and postsurgical CAPRA score (ρ = 0.72, P = .008). The overall PI-RADS score showed significant correlations with pathologic tumor volume (ρ = 0.81, P < .001), percentage of tumor cells with Gleason scores greater than 3 (ρ = 0.59, P = .02), and postsurgical CAPRA score (ρ = 0.58, P = .046). The high-risk postsurgical CAPRA score patient group had a significantly higher maximum SUV than did the intermediate-risk group. Combined PET and MR imaging showed improved sensitivity (88%) for prediction of pathologic extraprostatic extension compared with that with MR imaging (50%) and PET (75%) performed separately. Conclusion Maximum SUVs and PI-RADS scores from FCH PET/MR imaging show good correlation with clinical-pathologic characteristics, such as postsurgical CAPRA score, which are related to prognosis in patients with newly diagnosed intermediate- to high-risk PCa. © RSNA, 2016 Online supplemental material is available for this article.

Substrate polarization in enzyme catalysis: QM/MM analysis of the effect of oxaloacetate polarization on acetyl-CoA enolization in citrate synthase.

PubMed

van der Kamp, Marc W; Perruccio, Francesca; Mulholland, Adrian J

2007-11-15

Citrate synthase is an archetypal carbon-carbon bond forming enzyme. It promotes the conversion of oxaloacetate (OAA) to citrate by catalyzing the deprotonation (enolization) of acetyl-CoA, followed by nucleophilic attack of the enolate form of this substrate on OAA to form a citryl-CoA intermediate and subsequent hydrolysis. OAA is strongly bound to the active site and its alpha-carbonyl group is polarized. This polarization has been demonstrated spectroscopically, [(Kurz et al., Biochemistry 1985;24:452-457; Kurz and Drysdale, Biochemistry 1987;26:2623-2627)] and has been suggested to be an important catalytic strategy. Substrate polarization is believed to be important in many enzymes. The first step, formation of the acetyl-CoA enolate intermediate, is thought to be rate-limiting in the mesophilic (pig/chicken) enzyme. We have examined the effects of substrate polarization on this key step using quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM) methods. Free energy profiles have been calculated by AM1/CHARMM27 umbrella sampling molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, together with potential energy profiles. To study the influence of OAA polarization, profiles were calculated with different polarization of the OAA alpha-carbonyl group. The results indicate that OAA polarization influences catalysis only marginally but has a larger effect on intermediate stabilization. Different levels of treatment of OAA are compared (MM or QM), and its polarization in the protein and in water analyzed at the B3LYP/6-31+G(d)/CHARMM27 level. Analysis of stabilization by individual residues shows that the enzyme mainly stabilizes the enolate intermediate (not the transition state) through electrostatic (including hydrogen bond) interactions: these contribute much more than polarization of OAA. (c) 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Multi-shell spherical GaAs /AlxGa1-x As quantum dot shells-size distribution as a mechanism to generate intermediate band energy levels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodríguez-Magdaleno, K. A.; Pérez-Álvarez, R.; Martínez-Orozco, J. C.; Pernas-Salomón, R.

2017-04-01

In this work the generation of an intermediate band of energy levels from multi-shell spherical GaAs /AlxGa1-x As quantum dot shells-size distribution is reported. Within the effective mass approximation the electronic structure of a GaAs spherical quantum-dot surrounded by one, two and three shells is studied in detail using a numerically stable transfer matrix method. We found that a shells-size distribution characterized by continuously wider GaAs domains is a suitable mechanism to generate the intermediate band whose width is also dependent on the Aluminium concentration x. Our results suggest that this effective mechanism can be used for the design of wider intermediate band than reported in other quantum systems with possible solar cells enhanced performance.

The ARES High-level Intermediate Representation

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

Moss, Nicholas David

The LLVM intermediate representation (IR) lacks semantic constructs for depicting common high-performance operations such as parallel and concurrent execution, communication and synchronization. Currently, representing such semantics in LLVM requires either extending the intermediate form (a signi cant undertaking) or the use of ad hoc indirect means such as encoding them as intrinsics and/or the use of metadata constructs. In this paper we discuss a work in progress to explore the design and implementation of a new compilation stage and associated high-level intermediate form that is placed between the abstract syntax tree and when it is lowered to LLVM's IR. Thismore » highlevel representation is a superset of LLVM IR and supports the direct representation of these common parallel computing constructs along with the infrastructure for supporting analysis and transformation passes on this representation.« less

Peroxide Activation for Electrophilic Reactivity by the Binuclear Non-heme Iron Enzyme AurF

DOE PAGES

Park, Kiyoung; Li, Ning; Kwak, Yeonju; ...

2017-05-01

Binuclear non-heme iron enzymes activate O 2 for diverse chemistries that include oxygenation of organic substrates and hydrogen atom abstraction. This process often involves the formation of peroxo-bridged biferric intermediates, only some of which can perform electrophilic reactions. To elucidate the geometric and electronic structural requirements to activate peroxo reactivity, the active peroxo intermediate in 4-aminobenzoate N-oxygenase (AurF) has been characterized spectroscopically and computationally. A magnetic circular dichroism study of reduced AurF shows that its electronic and geometric structures are poised to react rapidly with O 2. Nuclear resonance vibrational spectroscopic definition of the peroxo intermediate formed in this reactionmore » shows that the active intermediate has a protonated peroxo bridge. Density functional theory computations on the structure established here show that the protonation activates peroxide for electrophilic/single-electron-transfer reactivity. As a result, this activation of peroxide by protonation is likely also relevant to the reactive peroxo intermediates in other binuclear non-heme iron enzymes.« less

Peroxide Activation for Electrophilic Reactivity by the Binuclear Non-heme Iron Enzyme AurF

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

Park, Kiyoung; Li, Ning; Kwak, Yeonju

Binuclear non-heme iron enzymes activate O 2 for diverse chemistries that include oxygenation of organic substrates and hydrogen atom abstraction. This process often involves the formation of peroxo-bridged biferric intermediates, only some of which can perform electrophilic reactions. To elucidate the geometric and electronic structural requirements to activate peroxo reactivity, the active peroxo intermediate in 4-aminobenzoate N-oxygenase (AurF) has been characterized spectroscopically and computationally. A magnetic circular dichroism study of reduced AurF shows that its electronic and geometric structures are poised to react rapidly with O 2. Nuclear resonance vibrational spectroscopic definition of the peroxo intermediate formed in this reactionmore » shows that the active intermediate has a protonated peroxo bridge. Density functional theory computations on the structure established here show that the protonation activates peroxide for electrophilic/single-electron-transfer reactivity. As a result, this activation of peroxide by protonation is likely also relevant to the reactive peroxo intermediates in other binuclear non-heme iron enzymes.« less

Divide and conquer: intermediate levels of population fragmentation maximize cultural accumulation.

PubMed

Derex, Maxime; Perreault, Charles; Boyd, Robert

2018-04-05

Identifying the determinants of cumulative cultural evolution is a key issue in the interdisciplinary field of cultural evolution. A widely held view is that large and well-connected social networks facilitate cumulative cultural evolution because they promote the spread of useful cultural traits and prevent the loss of cultural knowledge through factors such as drift. This view stems from models that focus on the transmission of cultural information, without considering how new cultural traits actually arise. In this paper, we review the literature from various fields that suggest that, under some circumstances, increased connectedness can decrease cultural diversity and reduce innovation rates. Incorporating this idea into an agent-based model, we explore the effect of population fragmentation on cumulative culture and show that, for a given population size, there exists an intermediate level of population fragmentation that maximizes the rate of cumulative cultural evolution. This result is explained by the fact that fully connected, non-fragmented populations are able to maintain complex cultural traits but produce insufficient variation and so lack the cultural diversity required to produce highly complex cultural traits. Conversely, highly fragmented populations produce a variety of cultural traits but cannot maintain complex ones. In populations with intermediate levels of fragmentation, cultural loss and cultural diversity are balanced in a way that maximizes cultural complexity. Our results suggest that population structure needs to be taken into account when investigating the relationship between demography and cumulative culture.This article is part of the theme issue 'Bridging cultural gaps: interdisciplinary studies in human cultural evolution'. © 2018 The Author(s).

Use of low density lipoprotein particle number levels as an aid in statin treatment decisions for intermediate risk patients: a cost-effectiveness analysis.

PubMed

Shiffman, Dov; Arellano, Andre R; Caulfield, Michael P; Louie, Judy Z; Bare, Lance A; Devlin, James J; Melander, Olle

2016-12-07

The 2013 ACC/AHA guideline recommended either no statin therapy or moderate-intensity statin therapy (MST) for intermediate risk patients-those with 5-7.5% 10-year risk and without cardiovascular disease (CVD), hypercholesterolemia or diabetes. The guideline further suggested that the therapy choice be based on patient-clinician discussions of risks and benefits. Since low-density lipoprotein particle (LDL-P) levels were reported to be associated with CVD independently of traditional risk factors in intermediate and low risk patients, we investigated the cost-effectiveness of using LDL-P levels to identify intermediate risk patients likely to benefit from initiating or intensifying statin therapy. We evaluated 5 care strategies for intermediate risk patients. These included the strategies suggested by the guideline: no-statin therapy and MST. We compared each of these strategies to a related strategy that incorporated LDL-P testing. No-statin therapy was compared with the strategy of MST for those with high LDL-P levels and no statin therapy for all other patients (test-and-MST). MST was compared with the strategy of high-intensity statin therapy (HST) for those with high LDL-P levels and MST for all other patients (test-and-HST). We also evaluated the strategy of HST for all. Costs (payer perspective) and utilities were assessed over a 5-year time horizon in a Markov model of 100,000 hypothetical intermediate risk patients. HST dominated all other strategies, costing less and-despite causing 739 more cases of diabetes than did MST-resulting in more quality adjusted life-years (QALYs). For patient-clinician discussions that would otherwise lead to the MST strategy, we found the test-and-HST strategy reduced costs by $4.67 MM and resulted in 134 fewer CVD events and 115 additional QALYs. For patient-clinician discussions that would otherwise lead to no statin therapy, we found that the test-and-MST strategy reduced costs by $3.25 MM, resulted in 97 fewer CVD events and 44 additional QALYs. The HST strategy was cost saving and improved outcomes in intermediate risk patients. For patient and clinicians concerned about the adverse events associated with HST, using LDL-P levels to target intensified statin therapy could improve outcomes and reduce costs.

An Examination of the Quality of Literacy Skill Assessments across Levels of Second-Grade, Spanish-Speaking, English-Language Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gutierrez, Gabriel

2010-01-01

The current study examined the quality of the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) across a sample of second-grade English Language (EL) learners with varying degrees of English proficiency (e.g., students with beginning, early intermediate, intermediate, early advanced, and advanced levels). DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency…

The "Illusio" of the Foreign Language Standard in a Colombian University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Castillo, Rigoberto; Alexandra, Pineda-Puerta

2016-01-01

The Ministry of education in Colombia set a policy for higher education in which graduates should achieve an intermediate proficiency level (B1) in another language; and by 2025 it expects that they leave college with an upper intermediate level (B2). This report deals with a private college that attempts to participate in the policy, yet the…

A Study of the Curricular Organization of Intermediate Sciences in a County in New York State

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nettuno, Thomas

2012-01-01

This study of a County in New York State gathered information about the means for teaching the intermediate science curriculum in middle schools. The study collected 43 surveys and conducted ten follow-up interviews with administrators responsible for curriculum. Data included the division of content among grade level, starting grade level,…

A Western Blot-based Investigation of the Yeast Secretory Pathway Designed for an Intermediate-Level Undergraduate Cell Biology Laboratory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hood-DeGrenier, Jennifer K.

2008-01-01

The movement of newly synthesized proteins through the endomembrane system of eukaryotic cells, often referred to generally as the secretory pathway, is a topic covered in most intermediate-level undergraduate cell biology courses. An article previously published in this journal described a laboratory exercise in which yeast mutants defective in…

Probing the Natural World, Level III, Teacher's Edition: Investigating Variation. Intermediate Science Curriculum Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bonar, John R., Ed.; Hathway, James A., Ed.

This is the teacher's edition of one of the eight units of the Intermediate Science Curriculum Study (ISCS) for level III students (grade 9). This unit focuses on diversity in human populations, measurement, and data collection. Optional excursions are described for students who wish to study a topic in greater depth. An introduction describes…

What's so Simple about Simplified Texts? A Computational and Psycholinguistic Investigation of Text Comprehension and Text Processing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crossley, Scott A.; Yang, Hae Sung; McNamara, Danielle S.

2014-01-01

This study uses a moving windows self-paced reading task to assess both text comprehension and processing time of authentic texts and these same texts simplified to beginning and intermediate levels. Forty-eight second language learners each read 9 texts (3 different authentic, beginning, and intermediate level texts). Repeated measures ANOVAs…

Probing the Natural World, Level III, Student Guide: What's Up? Intermediate Science Curriculum Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bonar, John R., Ed.; Hathway, James A., Ed.

This is the student's text of one unit of the Intermediate Science Curriculum Study (ISCS) for level III students (grade 9). The chapters contain basic information about rockets, space, and principles of physics, as well as activities related to the subject and optional excursions. A section of introductory notes to the student discusses how the…

Probing the Natural World, Level III, Teacher's Edition: Environmental Science. Intermediate Science Curriculum Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bonar, John R., Ed.; Hathway, James A., Ed.

This is the teacher's edition of one of the eight units of the Intermediate Science Curriculum Study (ISCS) for level III students (grade 9). This unit and its activities focuses on environmental pollution and hazards. Optional excursions are suggested for students who wish to study an area in greater depth. An introduction describes the problem…

Low eigenvalues of the entanglement Hamiltonian, localization length, and rare regions in one-dimensional disordered interacting systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berkovits, Richard

2018-03-01

The properties of the low-lying eigenvalues of the entanglement Hamiltonian and their relation to the localization length of a disordered interacting one-dimensional many-particle system are studied. The average of the first entanglement Hamiltonian level spacing is proportional to the ground-state localization length and shows the same dependence on the disorder and interaction strength as the localization length. This is the result of the fact that entanglement is limited to distances of order of the localization length. The distribution of the first entanglement level spacing shows a Gaussian-type behavior as expected for level spacings much larger than the disorder broadening. For weakly disordered systems (localization length larger than sample length), the distribution shows an additional peak at low-level spacings. This stems from rare regions in some samples which exhibit metalliclike behavior of large entanglement and large particle-number fluctuations. These intermediate microemulsion metallic regions embedded in the insulating phase are discussed.

Molecular analyses reveal high species diversity of trematodes in a sub-Arctic lake

USGS Publications Warehouse

Soldánová, Miroslava; Georgieva, Simona; Roháčováa, Jana; Knudsen, Rune; Kuhn, Jesper A.; Henriksen, Eirik H.; Siwertsson, Anna; Shaw, Jenny C.; Kuris, Armand M.; Amundsen, Per-Arne; Scholz, Tomáš; Lafferty, Kevin D.; Kostadinova, Aneta

2017-01-01

To identify trematode diversity and life-cycles in the sub-Arctic Lake Takvatn, Norway, we characterised 120 trematode isolates from mollusc first intermediate hosts, metacercariae from second intermediate host fishes and invertebrates, and adults from fish and invertebrate definitive hosts, using molecular techniques. Phylogenies based on nuclear and/or mtDNA revealed high species richness (24 species or species-level genetic lineages), and uncovered trematode diversity (16 putative new species) from five families typical in lake ecosystems (Allocreadiidae, Diplostomidae, Plagiorchiidae, Schistosomatidae and Strigeidae). Sampling potential invertebrate hosts allowed matching of sequence data for different stages, thus achieving molecular elucidation of trematode life-cycles and exploration of host-parasite interactions. Phylogenetic analyses also helped identify three major mollusc intermediate hosts (Radix balthica, Pisidium casertanum and Sphaerium sp.) in the lake. Our findings increase the known trematode diversity at the sub-Arctic Lake Takvatn, showing that digenean diversity is high in this otherwise depauperate sub-Arctic freshwater ecosystem, and indicating that sub-Arctic and Arctic ecosystems may be characterised by unique trematode assemblages.

[Nursing personnel downsizing in a teaching hospital].

PubMed

Fakih, Flávio Trevisan; Carmagnani, Maria Isabel Sampaio; Cunha, Isabel Cristina Kowal Olm

2006-01-01

The objective of this study was to adjust the downsizing of nursing personnel in a teaching hospital to the resolution of Federal Nursing Council no. 293/2004. The classification of patients in levels of complexity care was done and the required time for the nurse care also was verified. The present number of employees was compared to the measured one. The outcomes showed the levels of patients'care complexity is on intermediate care (42%), and the required time to the nurse care was greater on intensive care patients (42%). The present staff has a deficit of 205 nurses and an exceding of 284 professionals of techinical college level.

Changes of air-tissue ratio evaluated by EBCT after cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR): validation in swine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Recheis, Wolfgang A.; Schuster, Antonius H.; Kleinsasser, Axel; Loeckinger, Alexander; Hoermann, Christoph; zur Nedden, Dieter

2001-05-01

The purpose was to evaluate changes of the air-tissue ratio (ATR) in previously defined regions of interest after cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in porcine model. Eight anesthetized and ventilated pigs we scanned in supine position before and 30 minutes after CPR at two different constant PEEP levels (5 cm H2O, 15 cm H2O). Volume scans were obtained using 6 mm slices. The gray values of the lung were divided into steps of 100 HU in order to get access to the changes of ATR. ATR was evaluated in ventral, intermediate and dorsal regions of the lung. CPR for 9 minutes led to an uneven distribution of ventilation. In the ventral region, areas with high ATR increased. Areas with normal ATR decreased. In contrast the dorsal regions with low ATR increased. ATR in the intermediate regions remained almost unchanged. Using the higher PEEP level, areas with normal ATR showed a marked increase accompanied by a decrease of areas with low ATR. After CPR, an uneven distribution of lung aeration was detected. According to the impaired hemodynamics, areas with normal ATR decreased and areas with high and low ATR increased. Using higher PEEP levels improved lung aeration.

Metabolomic Approaches to Explore Chemical Diversity of Human Breast-Milk, Formula Milk and Bovine Milk

PubMed Central

Qian, Linxi; Zhao, Aihua; Zhang, Yinan; Chen, Tianlu; Zeisel, Steven H.; Jia, Wei; Cai, Wei

2016-01-01

Although many studies have been conducted on the components present in human breast milk (HM), research on the differences of chemical metabolites between HM, bovine milk (BM) and formula milk (FM) is limited. This study was to explore the chemical diversity of HM, BM and FM by metabolomic approaches. GC-TOFMS and UPLC-QTOFMS were applied to investigate the metabolic compositions in 30 HM samples, 20 FM samples and 20 BM samples. Metabolite profiling identified that most of the non-esterified fatty acids, which reflected the hydrolysis of triglycerides, were much more abundant in HM than those in FM and BM, except for palmitic acid and stearic acid. The levels of tricarboxylic acid (TCA) intermediates were much higher in FM and BM than those in HM. Each type of milk also showed its unique composition of free amino acids and free carbohydrates. In conclusion, higher levels of non-esterified saturated fatty acids with aliphatic tails <16 carbons, monounsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids and lower levels of TCA intermediates are characteristic of HM, as compared with FM and BM. The content of non-esterified fatty acids may reflect the hydrolysis of triglycerides in different milk types. PMID:27999311

Enabling the sharing of neuroimaging data through well-defined intermediate levels of visibility.

PubMed

Smith, Kenneth; Jajodia, Sushil; Swarup, Vipin; Hoyt, Jeffrey; Hamilton, Gail; Faatz, Donald; Cornett, Todd

2004-08-01

The sharing of neuroimagery data offers great benefits to science, however, data owners sharing their data face substantial custodial responsibilities, such as ensuring data sets are correctly interpreted in their new shared context, protecting the identity and privacy of human research participants, and safeguarding the understood order of use. Given choices of sharing widely or not at all, the result will often be no sharing, due to the inability of data owners to control their exposure to the risks associated with data sharing. In this context, data sharing is enabled by providing data owners with well-defined intermediate levels of data visibility, progressing incrementally toward public visibility. In this paper, we define a novel and general data sharing model, Structured Sharing Communities (SSC), meeting this requirement. Arbitrary visibility levels representing collaborative agreements, consortium memberships, research organizations, and other affiliations are structured into a policy space through explicit paths of permissible information flow. Operations enable users and applications to manage the visibility of data and enforce access permissions and restrictions. We show how a policy space can be implemented in realistic neuroinformatic architectures with acceptable assurance of correctness, and briefly describe an open source implementation effort.

The Use of a Computer-Based Reading Rate Development Program on Pre-University Intermediate Level ESL Learners' Reading Speeds

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haupt, John

2015-01-01

Improving L2 learners reading fluency has been identified by leading L2 reading researchers as an important aspect of L2 reading instruction (Grabe, 2004, 2009; Nation, 2009). A number of studies have been conducted on the use of paper-based fluency development methods on ESL and EFL students reading speeds and showed positive results (Al-Homoud…

Cotranslocational processing of the protein substrate calmodulin by an AAA+ unfoldase occurs via unfolding and refolding intermediates.

PubMed

Augustyniak, Rafal; Kay, Lewis E

2018-05-22

Protein remodeling by AAA+ enzymes is central for maintaining proteostasis in a living cell. However, a detailed structural description of how this is accomplished at the level of the substrate molecules that are acted upon is lacking. Here, we combine chemical cross-linking and methyl transverse relaxation-optimized NMR spectroscopy to study, at atomic resolution, the stepwise unfolding and subsequent refolding of the two-domain substrate calmodulin by the VAT AAA+ unfoldase from Thermoplasma acidophilum By engineering intermolecular disulphide bridges between the substrate and VAT we trap the substrate at different stages of translocation, allowing structural studies throughout the translocation process. Our results show that VAT initiates substrate translocation by pulling on intrinsically unstructured N or C termini of substrate molecules without showing specificity for a particular amino acid sequence. Although the B1 domain of protein G is shown to unfold cooperatively, translocation of calmodulin leads to the formation of intermediates, and these differ on an individual domain level in a manner that depends on whether pulling is from the N or C terminus. The approach presented generates an atomic resolution picture of substrate unfolding and subsequent refolding by unfoldases that can be quite different from results obtained via in vitro denaturation experiments.

Promotion of cooperation induced by appropriate payoff aspirations in a small-world networked game

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Xiaojie; Wang, Long

2008-01-01

Based on learning theory, we adopt a stochastic learning updating rule to investigate the evolution of cooperation in the Prisoner’s Dilemma game on Newman-Watts small-world networks with different payoff aspiration levels. Interestingly, simulation results show that the mechanism of intermediate aspiration promoting cooperation resembles a resonancelike behavior, and there exists a ping-pong vibration of cooperation for large payoff aspiration. To explain the nontrivial dependence of the cooperation level on the aspiration level, we investigate the fractions of links, provide analytical results of the cooperation level, and find that the simulation results are in close agreement with analytical ones. Our work may be helpful in understanding the cooperative behavior induced by the aspiration level in society.

Control of nonenzymatic browning in intermediate-moisture foods

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Buckle, K. A.; Labruza, T. P.; Warmbier, H. C.

1975-01-01

Series of compounds called humectants were found to decrease rate of browning when added to intermediate-moisture foods. Twenty percent level of humectant can increase shelf life of foods by factor of 5 or 6.

Mining the human phenome using allelic scores that index biological intermediates.

PubMed

Evans, David M; Brion, Marie Jo A; Paternoster, Lavinia; Kemp, John P; McMahon, George; Munafò, Marcus; Whitfield, John B; Medland, Sarah E; Montgomery, Grant W; Timpson, Nicholas J; St Pourcain, Beate; Lawlor, Debbie A; Martin, Nicholas G; Dehghan, Abbas; Hirschhorn, Joel; Smith, George Davey

2013-10-01

It is common practice in genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to focus on the relationship between disease risk and genetic variants one marker at a time. When relevant genes are identified it is often possible to implicate biological intermediates and pathways likely to be involved in disease aetiology. However, single genetic variants typically explain small amounts of disease risk. Our idea is to construct allelic scores that explain greater proportions of the variance in biological intermediates, and subsequently use these scores to data mine GWAS. To investigate the approach's properties, we indexed three biological intermediates where the results of large GWAS meta-analyses were available: body mass index, C-reactive protein and low density lipoprotein levels. We generated allelic scores in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, and in publicly available data from the first Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium. We compared the explanatory ability of allelic scores in terms of their capacity to proxy for the intermediate of interest, and the extent to which they associated with disease. We found that allelic scores derived from known variants and allelic scores derived from hundreds of thousands of genetic markers explained significant portions of the variance in biological intermediates of interest, and many of these scores showed expected correlations with disease. Genome-wide allelic scores however tended to lack specificity suggesting that they should be used with caution and perhaps only to proxy biological intermediates for which there are no known individual variants. Power calculations confirm the feasibility of extending our strategy to the analysis of tens of thousands of molecular phenotypes in large genome-wide meta-analyses. We conclude that our method represents a simple way in which potentially tens of thousands of molecular phenotypes could be screened for causal relationships with disease without having to expensively measure these variables in individual disease collections.

Surrogate and Intermediate Endpoints in Randomized Trials: What's the Goal?

PubMed

Korn, Edward L; Freidlin, Boris

2018-05-15

Establishing trial-level surrogacy of an intermediate endpoint for predicting survival benefit in future trials is extremely challenging because of the extrapolations required, but there are other useful drug development and patient management applications of intermediate endpoints. Clin Cancer Res; 24(10); 2239-40. ©2018 AACR See related article by Mushti et al., p. 2268 . ©2018 American Association for Cancer Research.

High-fidelity, low-cost, automated method to assess laparoscopic skills objectively.

PubMed

Gray, Richard J; Kahol, Kanav; Islam, Gazi; Smith, Marshall; Chapital, Alyssa; Ferrara, John

2012-01-01

We sought to define the extent to which a motion analysis-based assessment system constructed with simple equipment could measure technical skill objectively and quantitatively. An "off-the-shelf" digital video system was used to capture the hand and instrument movement of surgical trainees (beginner level = PGY-1, intermediate level = PGY-3, and advanced level = PGY-5/fellows) while they performed a peg transfer exercise. The video data were passed through a custom computer vision algorithm that analyzed incoming pixels to measure movement smoothness objectively. The beginner-level group had the poorest performance, whereas those in the advanced group generated the highest scores. Intermediate-level trainees scored significantly (p < 0.04) better than beginner trainees. Advanced-level trainees scored significantly better than intermediate-level trainees and beginner-level trainees (p < 0.04 and p < 0.03, respectively). A computer vision-based analysis of surgical movements provides an objective basis for technical expertise-level analysis with construct validity. The technology to capture the data is simple, low cost, and readily available, and it obviates the need for expert human assessment in this setting. Copyright © 2012 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The association between quality of care and the intensity of diabetes disease management programs.

PubMed

Mangione, Carol M; Gerzoff, Robert B; Williamson, David F; Steers, W Neil; Kerr, Eve A; Brown, Arleen F; Waitzfelder, Beth E; Marrero, David G; Dudley, R Adams; Kim, Catherine; Herman, William; Thompson, Theodore J; Safford, Monika M; Selby, Joe V

2006-07-18

Although disease management programs are widely implemented, little is known about their effectiveness. To determine whether disease management by physician groups is associated with diabetes care processes, control of intermediate outcomes, or the amount of medication used when intermediate outcomes are above target levels. Cross-sectional study. Patients were randomly sampled from 63 physician groups nested in 7 health plans sponsored by Translating Research into Action for Diabetes (87%) and from 4 health plans with individual physician contracts (13%). 8661 adults with diabetes who completed a survey (2000-2001) and had medical record data. Physician group and health plan directors described their organizations' use of physician reminders, performance feedback, and structured care management on a survey; their responses were used to determine measures of intensity of disease management. The current study measured 8 processes of care, including most recent hemoglobin A1c level, systolic blood pressure, serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level, and several measures of medication use. Increased use of any of 3 disease management strategies was significantly associated with higher adjusted rates of retinal screening, nephropathy screening, foot examinations, and measurement of hemoglobin A1c levels. Serum lipid level testing and influenza vaccine administration were associated with greater use of structured care management and performance feedback. Greater use of performance feedback correlated with an increased rate of foot examinations (difference, 5 percentage points [95% CI, 1 to 8 percentage points]), and greater use of physician reminders was associated with an increased rate of nephropathy screening (difference, 15 percentage points [CI, 6 to 23 percentage points]). No strategies were associated with intermediate outcome levels or level of medication management. Physician groups were not randomly sampled from population-based listings, and disease management strategies were not randomly allocated across groups. Disease management strategies were associated with better processes of diabetes care but not with improved intermediate outcomes or level of medication management. A greater focus on direct measurement, feedback, and reporting of intermediate outcome levels or of level of medication management may enhance the effectiveness of these programs.

Two-level noncontiguous versus three-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion: a biomechanical comparison.

PubMed

Finn, Michael A; Samuelson, Mical M; Bishop, Frank; Bachus, Kent N; Brodke, Darrel S

2011-03-15

Biomechanical study. To determine biomechanical forces exerted on intermediate and adjacent segments after two- or three-level fusion for treatment of noncontiguous levels. Increased motion adjacent to fused spinal segments is postulated to be a driving force in adjacent segment degeneration. Occasionally, a patient requires treatment of noncontiguous levels on either side of a normal level. The biomechanical forces exerted on the intermediate and adjacent levels are unknown. Seven intact human cadaveric cervical spines (C3-T1) were mounted in a custom seven-axis spine simulator equipped with a follower load apparatus and OptoTRAK three-dimensional tracking system. Each intact specimen underwent five cycles each of flexion/extension, lateral bending, and axial rotation under a ± 1.5 Nm moment and a 100-Nm axial follower load. Applied torque and motion data in each axis of motion and level were recorded. Testing was repeated under the same parameters after C4-C5 and C6-C7 diskectomies were performed and fused with rigid cervical plates and interbody spacers and again after a three-level fusion from C4 to C7. Range of motion was modestly increased (35%) in the intermediate and adjacent levels in the skip fusion construct. A significant or nearly significant difference was reached in seven of nine moments. With the three-level fusion construct, motion at the infra- and supra-adjacent levels was significantly or nearly significantly increased in all applied moments over the intact and the two-level noncontiguous construct. The magnitude of this change was substantial (72%). Infra- and supra-adjacent levels experienced a marked increase in strain in all moments with a three-level fusion, whereas the intermediate, supra-, and infra-adjacent segments of a two-level fusion experienced modest strain moments relative to intact. It would be appropriate to consider noncontiguous fusions instead of a three-level fusion when confronted with nonadjacent disease.

Test Bias in the Intermediate Mental Alertness, Mechanical Comprehension, Blox and High Level Figure Classification Tests. An NTB/HSRC Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holburn, P. T.

Research is reported on four tests commonly used in South Africa to select apprentices, the Intermediate Mental Alertness Test, the High Level Figure Classification Test, the Blox Test, and the Mechanical Comprehension Test. Samples were as follows: (1) 206 Asian, 208 Black, 102 Coloured, and 99 White mostly male applicants for sugar industry…

Probing the Natural World, Level III, Record Book, Student Guide: What's Up? Intermediate Science Curriculum Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bonar, John R., Ed.; Hathway, James A., Ed.

This is the student's edition of the Record Book for the unit "What's Up" of the Intermediate Science Curriculum Study (ISCS) for level III students (grade 9). Space is provided for answers to the questions from the student text as well as for the optional excursions and the self evaluation. An introductory note to the student explains…

Probing the Natural World, Level III, Record Book, Teacher's Guide: What's Up? Intermediate Science Curriculum Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bonar, John R., Ed.; Hathway, James A., Ed.

This is the teacher's edition of the Record Book for the unit "What's Up" of the Intermediate Science Curriculum Study (ISCS) for level III students (grade 9). The correct answers to the questions from the student text are recorded. An introductory note to the teacher explains how to use the book. Answers are included for the activities…

Probing the Natural World, Level III, Teacher's Edition: Well-Being. Intermediate Science Curriculum Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bonar, John R., Ed.; Hathway, James A., Ed.

This is the teacher's edition of one of the eight units of the Intermediate Science Curriculum Study (ISCS) for level III students (grade 9). This unit focuses on hazards to the body from drug use. Activities are given that relate to the topic. Optional excursions are suggested for students who wish to study an area in greater depth. An…

Minimal residual disease evaluation by flow cytometry is a complementary tool to cytogenetics for treatment decisions in acute myeloid leukaemia.

PubMed

Vidriales, María-Belén; Pérez-López, Estefanía; Pegenaute, Carlota; Castellanos, Marta; Pérez, José-Juan; Chandía, Mauricio; Díaz-Mediavilla, Joaquín; Rayón, Consuelo; de Las Heras, Natalia; Fernández-Abellán, Pascual; Cabezudo, Miguel; de Coca, Alfonso García; Alonso, Jose M; Olivier, Carmen; Hernández-Rivas, Jesús M; Montesinos, Pau; Fernández, Rosa; García-Suárez, Julio; García, Magdalena; Sayas, María-José; Paiva, Bruno; González, Marcos; Orfao, Alberto; San Miguel, Jesús F

2016-01-01

The clinical utility of minimal residual disease (MRD) analysis in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) is not yet defined. We analysed the prognostic impact of MRD level at complete remision after induction therapy using multiparameter flow cytometry in 306 non-APL AML patients. First, we validated the prognostic value of MRD-thresholds we have previously proposed (≥ 0.1%; ≥ 0.01-0.1%; and <0.01), with a 5-year RFS of 38%, 50% and 71%, respectively (p=0.002). Cytogenetics is the most relevant prognosis factor in AML, however intermediate risk cytogenetics represent a grey zone that require other biomarkers for risk stratification, and we show that MRD evaluation discriminate three prognostic subgroups (p=0.03). Also, MRD assessments yielded relevant information on favourable and adverse cytogenetics, since patients with favourable cytogenetics and high MRD levels have poor prognosis and patients with adverse cytogenetics but undetectable MRD overcomes the adverse prognosis. Interestingly, in patients with intermediate or high MRD levels, intensification with transplant improved the outcome as compared with chemotherapy, while the type of intensification therapy did not influenced the outcome of patients with low MRD levels. Multivariate analysis revealed age, MRD and cytogenetics as independent variables. Moreover, a scoring system, easy in clinical practice, was generated based on MRD level and cytogenetics. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Natural concepts in a juvenile gorilla (gorilla gorilla gorilla) at three levels of abstraction.

PubMed Central

Vonk, Jennifer; MacDonald, Suzanne E

2002-01-01

The extent to which nonhumans are able to form conceptual versus perceptual discriminations remains a matter of debate. Among the great apes, only chimpanzees have been tested for conceptual understanding, defined as the ability to form discriminations not based solely on simple perceptual features of stimuli, and to transfer this learning to novel stimuli. In the present investigation, a young captive female gorilla was trained at three levels of abstraction (concrete, intermediate, and abstract) involving sets of photographs representing natural categories (e.g., orangutans vs. humans, primates vs. nonprimate animals, animals vs. foods). Within each level of abstraction, when the gorilla had learned to discriminate positive from negative exemplars in one set of photographs, a novel set was introduced. Transfer was defined in terms of high accuracy during the first two sessions with the new stimuli. The gorilla acquired discriminations at all three levels of abstraction but showed unambiguous transfer only with the concrete and abstract stimulus sets. Detailed analyses of response patterns revealed little evidence of control by simple stimulus features. Acquisition and transfer involving abstract stimulus sets suggest a conceptual basis for gorilla categorization. The gorilla's relatively poor performance with intermediate-level discriminations parallels findings with pigeons, and suggests a need to reconsider the role of perceptual information in discriminations thought to indicate conceptual behavior in nonhumans. PMID:12507006

The stability of monomeric intermediates controls amyloid formation: Abeta25-35 and its N27Q mutant.

PubMed

Ma, Buyong; Nussinov, Ruth

2006-05-15

The structure and stabilities of the intermediates affect protein folding as well as misfolding and amyloid formation. By applying Kramer's theory of barrier crossing and a Morse-function-like energy landscape, we show that intermediates with medium stability dramatically increase the rate of amyloid formation; on the other hand, very stable and very unstable intermediates sharply decrease amyloid formation. Remarkably, extensive molecular dynamics simulations and conformational energy landscape analysis of Abeta25-35 and its N27Q mutant corroborate the mathematical description. Both experimental and current simulation results indicate that the core of the amyloid structure of Abeta25-35 formed from residues 28-35. A single mutation of N27Q of Abeta25-35 makes the Abeta25-35 N27Q amyloid-free. Energy landscape calculations show that Abeta25-35 has extended intermediates with medium stability that are prone to form amyloids, whereas the extended intermediates for Abeta25-35 N27Q split into stable and very unstable species that are not disposed to form amyloids. The results explain the contribution of both alpha-helical and beta-strand intermediates to amyloid formation. The results also indicate that the structure and stability of the intermediates, as well as of the native folded and the amyloid states can be targeted in drug design. One conceivable approach is to stabilize the intermediates to deter amyloid formation.

Formation of RNA Granule-Derived Capsid Assembly Intermediates Appears To Be Conserved between Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 and the Nonprimate Lentivirus Feline Immunodeficiency Virus.

PubMed

Reed, Jonathan C; Westergreen, Nick; Barajas, Brook C; Ressler, Dylan T B; Phuong, Daryl J; Swain, John V; Lingappa, Vishwanath R; Lingappa, Jaisri R

2018-05-01

During immature capsid assembly in cells, human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) Gag co-opts a host RNA granule, forming a pathway of intracellular assembly intermediates containing host components, including two cellular facilitators of assembly, ABCE1 and DDX6. A similar assembly pathway has been observed for other primate lentiviruses. Here we asked whether feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), a nonprimate lentivirus, also forms RNA granule-derived capsid assembly intermediates. First, we showed that the released FIV immature capsid and a large FIV Gag-containing intracellular complex are unstable during analysis, unlike for HIV-1. We identified harvest conditions, including in situ cross-linking, that overcame this problem, revealing a series of FIV Gag-containing complexes corresponding in size to HIV-1 assembly intermediates. Previously, we showed that assembly-defective HIV-1 Gag mutants are arrested at specific assembly intermediates; here we identified four assembly-defective FIV Gag mutants, including three not previously studied, and demonstrated that they appear to be arrested at the same intermediate as the cognate HIV-1 mutants. Further evidence that these FIV Gag-containing complexes correspond to assembly intermediates came from coimmunoprecipitations demonstrating that endogenous ABCE1 and the RNA granule protein DDX6 are associated with FIV Gag, as shown previously for HIV-1 Gag, but are not associated with a ribosomal protein, at steady state. Additionally, we showed that FIV Gag associates with another RNA granule protein, DCP2. Finally, we validated the FIV Gag-ABCE1 and FIV Gag-DCP2 interactions with proximity ligation assays demonstrating colocalization in situ Together, these data support a model in which primate and nonprimate lentiviruses form intracellular capsid assembly intermediates derived from nontranslating host RNA granules. IMPORTANCE Like HIV-1 Gag, FIV Gag assembles into immature capsids; however, it is not known whether FIV Gag progresses through a pathway of immature capsid assembly intermediates derived from host RNA granules, as shown for HIV-1 Gag. Here we showed that FIV Gag forms complexes that resemble HIV-1 capsid assembly intermediates in size and in their association with ABCE1 and DDX6, two host facilitators of HIV-1 immature capsid assembly that are found in HIV-1 assembly intermediates. Our studies also showed that known and novel assembly-defective FIV Gag mutants fail to progress past putative intermediates in a pattern resembling that observed for HIV-1 Gag mutants. Finally, we used imaging to demonstrate colocalization of FIV Gag with ABCE1 and with the RNA granule protein DCP2. Thus, we conclude that formation of assembly intermediates derived from host RNA granules is likely conserved between primate and nonprimate lentiviruses and could provide targets for future antiviral strategies. Copyright © 2018 American Society for Microbiology.

Body size, trophic level, and the use of fish as transmission routes by parasites.

PubMed

Poulin, R; Leung, T L F

2011-07-01

Within food webs, trophically transmitted helminth parasites use predator-prey links for their own transfer from intermediate prey hosts, in which they occur as larval or juvenile stages, to predatory definitive hosts, in which they reach maturity. In large taxa that can be used as intermediate and/or definitive hosts, such as fish, a host species' position within a trophic network should determine whether its parasite fauna consists mostly of adult or larval helminths, since vulnerability to predation determines an animal's role in predator-prey links. Using a large database on the helminth parasites of 303 fish species, we tested whether the proportion of parasite species in a host that occur as larval or juvenile stages is best explained by their trophic level or by their body size. Independent of fish phylogeny or habitat, only fish body length emerged as a significant predictor of the proportion of parasites in a host that occur as larval stages from our multivariate analyses. On average, the proportion of larval helminth taxa in fish shorter than 20 cm was twice as high as that for fish over 100 cm in length. This is consistent with the prediction that small fishes, being more vulnerable to predation, make better hosts for larval parasites. However, trophic level and body length are strongly correlated among fish species, and they may have separate though confounded effects on the parasite fauna exploiting a given species. Helminths show varying levels of host specificity toward their intermediate host when the latter is the downstream host involved in trophic transmission toward an upstream definitive host. Given this broad physiological compatibility of many helminths with fish hosts, our results indicate that fish body length, as a proxy for vulnerability to predators, is a better predictor of their use by helminth larvae than their trophic level based on diet content.

Fracture experience among participants from the FROCAT study: what thresholding is appropriate using the FRAX tool?

PubMed

Azagra, R; Zwart, M; Aguyé, A; Martín-Sánchez, J C; Casado, E; Díaz-Herrera, M A; Moriña, D; Cooper, C; Díez-Pérez, A; Dennison, E M

2016-01-01

To perform an external validation of FRAX algorithm thresholds for reporting level of risk of fracture in Spanish women (low < 5%; intermediate ≥ 5% and < 7.5%; high ≥ 7.5%) taken from a prospective cohort "FRIDEX". A retrospective study of 1090 women aged ≥ 40 and ≤ 90 years old obtained from the general population (FROCAT cohort). FRAX was calculated with data registered in 2002. All fractures were validated in 2012. Sensitivity analysis was performed. When analyzing the cohort (884) excluding current or past anti osteoporotic medication (AOM), using our nominated thresholds, among the 621 (70.2%) women at low risk of fracture, 5.2% [CI95%: 3.4-7.6] sustained a fragility fracture; among the 99 at intermediate risk, 12.1% [6.4-20.2]; and among the 164 defined as high risk, 15.9% [10.6-24.2]. Sensitivity analysis against model risk stratification FRIDEX of FRAX Spain shows no significant difference. By including 206 women with AOM, the sensitivity analysis shows no difference in the group of intermediate and high risk and minimal differences in the low risk group. Our findings support and validate the use of FRIDEX thresholds of FRAX when discussing the risk of fracture and the initiation of therapy with patients. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Using research to enhance student learning in intermediate mechanics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ambrose, Bradley

2011-03-01

For many undergraduate physics majors the sophomore/junior level course in intermediate mechanics represents their first step beyond the introductory sequence. Over the past several years research has shown that intermediate mechanics students often encounter conceptual and reasoning difficulties similar to those that arise at the introductory level. Many difficulties suggest deeply-seated alternate conceptions, while others suggest loosely or spontaneously connected intuitions. Furthermore, students often do not connect the physics to the more sophisticated mathematics they are expected to use. This presentation will highlight results from research conducted at Grand Valley State University, the University of Maine (by co-PI Michael Wittmann) and pilot sites in the Intermediate Mechanics Tutorials project. These results, taken from the analysis of pretests (ungraded quizzes), written exams, and classroom observations, will illustrate specific student difficulties as well as examples of guided-inquiry teaching strategies that appear to address these difficulties. (Supported by NSF grants DUE-0441426 and DUE-0442388.)

Spatial heterogeneity in parasite infections at different spatial scales in an intertidal bivalve.

PubMed

Thieltges, David W; Reise, Karsten

2007-01-01

Spatial heterogeneities in the abundance of free-living organisms as well as in infection levels of their parasites are a common phenomenon, but knowledge on parasitism in invertebrate intermediate hosts in this respect is scarce. We investigated the spatial pattern of four dominant trematode species which utilize a common intertidal bivalve, the cockle Cerastoderma edule, as second intermediate host in their life cycles. Sampling of cockles from the same cohort at 15 sites in the northern Wadden Sea (North Sea) over a distance of 50 km revealed a conspicuous spatial heterogeneity in infection levels in all four species over the total sample as well as among and within sampling sites. Whereas multiple regression analyses indicated the density of first intermediate upstream hosts to be the strongest determinant of infection levels in cockles, the situation within sites was more complex with no single strong predictor variable. However, host size was positively and host density negatively correlated with infection levels and there was an indication of differential susceptibility of cockle hosts. Small-scale differences in physical properties of the habitat in the form of residual water at low tide resulted in increased infection levels of cockles which we experimentally transferred into pools. A complex interplay of these factors may be responsible for within-site heterogeneities. At larger spatial scales, these factors may be overridden by the strong effect of upstream hosts. In contrast to first intermediate trematode hosts, there was no indication for inter-specific interactions. In other terms, the recruitment of trematodes in second intermediate hosts seems to be largely controlled by pre-settlement processes both among and within host populations.

The effects of health care-based violence intervention programs on injury recidivism and costs: A systematic review.

PubMed

Strong, Bethany L; Shipper, Andrea G; Downton, Katherine D; Lane, Wendy G

2016-11-01

Youth violence affects thousands annually, with homicide being the third leading cause of death for those aged 10 to 24 years. This systematic review aims to evaluate the published evidence for the effects of health care-based violence intervention programs (VIPs), which focus on reducing recurrent presentations for injury due to youth violence ("recidivism"). Health literature databases were searched. Studies were retained if peer reviewed and if programs were health care based, focused on intentional injury, addressed secondary or tertiary prevention (i.e., preventing recidivism and reducing complications), included participants aged 14 to 25 years, had greater than 1-month follow-up, and evaluated outcomes. Studies of child and sexual abuse and workplace, intimate partner, and self-inflicted violence were excluded. Extracted data subject to qualitative analysis included enrollment and retention, duration of follow-up, services provided, statistical analysis, and primary and intermediate outcomes. Of the 2,144 citations identified, 22 studies were included in the final sample. Twelve studies were randomized controlled trials representing eight VIPs. Injury recidivism was assessed in six (75%) of eight programs with a significant reduction in one (17%) of six programs. Of the randomized controlled trials showing no difference in recidivism, all were either underpowered or did not include a power analysis. Two observational studies also showed significant reduction in recidivism. Significant intermediate outcomes included increased service use, attitude change, and decreases in violence-related behavior. Reductions in injury recidivism led to reductions in health care and criminal justice system costs. Three studies showing reduced injury recidivism and several studies showing positive intermediate outcomes identify VIPs as a promising practice. Many studies were limited by poor methodological quality, including high losses to follow-up. Systematic review, level III.

Subsequent Success in a Mathematics Course by Students Who Received a Grade in Intermediate Algebra (Math 253) for the Fall, 2002 Semester at Saddleback College

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sworder, Steve

2006-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a typical California community college Intermediate Algebra course in preparing students for success in the transfer level mathematics courses for which Intermediate Algebra was the prerequisite. The subsequent mathematics course taken by each of the 986 students who received a grade…

Cost accounting, management control, and planning in health care.

PubMed

Siegrist, R B; Blish, C S

1988-02-01

Advantages and pharmacy applications of computerized hospital management-control and planning systems are described. Hospitals must define their product lines; patient cases, not tests or procedures, are the end product. Management involves operational control, management control, and strategic planning. Operational control deals with day-to-day management on the task level. Management control involves ensuring that managers use resources effectively and efficiently to accomplish the organization's objectives. Management control includes both control of unit costs of intermediate products, which are procedures and services used to treat patients and are managed by hospital department heads, and control of intermediate product use per case (managed by the clinician). Information from the operation and management levels feeds into the strategic plan; conversely, the management level controls the plan and the operational level carries it out. In the system developed at New England Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, the intermediate product-management system enables managers to identify intermediate products, develop standard costs, simulate changes in departmental costs, and perform variance analysis. The end-product management system creates a patient-level data-base, identifies end products (patient-care groupings), develops standard resource protocols, models alternative assumptions, performs variance analysis, and provides concurrent reporting. Examples are given of pharmacy managers' use of such systems to answer questions in the areas of product costing, product pricing, variance analysis, productivity monitoring, flexible budgeting, modeling and planning, and comparative analysis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Special Analysis for Disposal of High-Concentration I-129 Waste in the Intermediate-Level Vaults at the E-Area Low-Level Waste Facility

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

Collard, L.B.

2000-09-26

This revision was prepared to address comments from DOE-SR that arose following publication of revision 0. This Special Analysis (SA) addresses disposal of wastes with high concentrations of I-129 in the Intermediate-Level (IL) Vaults at the operating, low-level radioactive waste disposal facility (the E-Area Low-Level Waste Facility or LLWF) on the Savannah River Site (SRS). This SA provides limits for disposal in the IL Vaults of high-concentration I-129 wastes, including activated carbon beds from the Effluent Treatment Facility (ETF), based on their measured, waste-specific Kds.

Biting off More than They Can Chew? The Impact of Pedagogical Application of Corpus on Vocabulary Ability of Intermediate-Level ESL Learners in Mainland China: A Quasi-Experimental Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shi, Jing

2017-01-01

The pedagogical values of corpora for ELT have been widely acknowledged and exploited, but their direct application in classroom teaching has entailed many difficulties. This project aims to investigate the impact of the pedagogical application of corpora on the vocabulary ability of intermediate-level ESL learners in mainland China. This…

An Analysis of Student Outcomes Using Audio Tapes to Supplement Reading in the Level One Course of the Intermediate Science Curriculum Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gates, Richard Wade

Analyzed was the effectiveness of audio tapes used as a supplement to reading the Intermediate Science Curriculum Study (ISCS) first level materials. The instruments used on a pretest and posttest basis to compare the growth as a result of using audio tapes were: (1) Prouse Subject Preference Survey, (2) Test on Understanding Science, Form W, (3)…

Master Curriculum Guide in Economics for the Nation's Schools. Part II, Strategies for Teaching Economics. Intermediate Level (Grades 4-6).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Joint Council on Economic Education, New York, NY.

This guide contains concept based lessons and activities in economics for use with students in grades 4-6. One component of a two-part publication, the guide demonstrates how the conceptual structure of the economics discipline presented in the first publication (ED 148 648) can be used to help students at the intermediate grade level make more…

Number Frequency in L1 Differentially Affects Immediate Serial Recall of Numbers in L2 between Beginning and Intermediate Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sumioka, Norihiko; Williams, Atsuko; Yamada, Jun

2016-01-01

A list number recall test in English (L2) was administered to both Japanese (L1) students with beginning-level English proficiency who attended evening high school and Japanese college students with intermediate-level English proficiency. The major findings were that, only for the high school group, the small numbers 1 and 2 in middle positions of…

A Comparison Study of the Effects of a Story-based Video Instructional Package Versus a Text-based Instructional Package in the Intermediate-level Foreign Language Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Herron, Carol; York, Holly; Corrie, Cathleen; Cole, Steven P.

2006-01-01

This study compared a story-based video instructional package, with a feature-length film as its focus, to a text-based program. It explored the effectiveness of each approach to enhance the listening and grammar performances of intermediate-level college French students. Twenty-seven students at two institutions participated. A pretest-posttest…

Direct single-molecule dynamic detection of chemical reactions.

PubMed

Guan, Jianxin; Jia, Chuancheng; Li, Yanwei; Liu, Zitong; Wang, Jinying; Yang, Zhongyue; Gu, Chunhui; Su, Dingkai; Houk, Kendall N; Zhang, Deqing; Guo, Xuefeng

2018-02-01

Single-molecule detection can reveal time trajectories and reaction pathways of individual intermediates/transition states in chemical reactions and biological processes, which is of fundamental importance to elucidate their intrinsic mechanisms. We present a reliable, label-free single-molecule approach that allows us to directly explore the dynamic process of basic chemical reactions at the single-event level by using stable graphene-molecule single-molecule junctions. These junctions are constructed by covalently connecting a single molecule with a 9-fluorenone center to nanogapped graphene electrodes. For the first time, real-time single-molecule electrical measurements unambiguously show reproducible large-amplitude two-level fluctuations that are highly dependent on solvent environments in a nucleophilic addition reaction of hydroxylamine to a carbonyl group. Both theoretical simulations and ensemble experiments prove that this observation originates from the reversible transition between the reactant and a new intermediate state within a time scale of a few microseconds. These investigations open up a new route that is able to be immediately applied to probe fast single-molecule physics or biophysics with high time resolution, making an important contribution to broad fields beyond reaction chemistry.

The effects of Ni, Mo, Ti and Si on the mechanical properties of Cr free Mn steel (Fe-25Mn-5Al-2C)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schuon, S. R.

1982-01-01

The FeMnAlC alloys may hold potential as Cr-free replacements for high strategic material iron base superalloys, but little is known about their intermediate temperature (650 C to 870 C) mechanical properties. The effects of alloying elements on the mechanical properties of model FeMnAlC alloys were studied. Results showed that modified FeMnAlC alloys had promising short term, intermediate temperature properties but had relatively poor stress rupture lives at 172 MPa and 788 C. Room temperature and 788 C tensile strength of FeMnAlC alloys were better than common cast stainless steels. Changes in room temperature tensile and 788 C tensile strength and ductility, and 788 C stress rupture life were correlated with changes in Ni, Mo, Ti, and Si levels due to alloying effects on interstitial carbon levels and carbide morphology. Fe-25Mn-5Al-2C had a very poor stress rupture life at 172 MPa and 788 C. Addition of carbide-forming elements improved the stress rupture life.

Direct single-molecule dynamic detection of chemical reactions

PubMed Central

Guan, Jianxin; Jia, Chuancheng; Li, Yanwei; Liu, Zitong; Wang, Jinying; Yang, Zhongyue; Gu, Chunhui; Su, Dingkai; Houk, Kendall N.; Zhang, Deqing; Guo, Xuefeng

2018-01-01

Single-molecule detection can reveal time trajectories and reaction pathways of individual intermediates/transition states in chemical reactions and biological processes, which is of fundamental importance to elucidate their intrinsic mechanisms. We present a reliable, label-free single-molecule approach that allows us to directly explore the dynamic process of basic chemical reactions at the single-event level by using stable graphene-molecule single-molecule junctions. These junctions are constructed by covalently connecting a single molecule with a 9-fluorenone center to nanogapped graphene electrodes. For the first time, real-time single-molecule electrical measurements unambiguously show reproducible large-amplitude two-level fluctuations that are highly dependent on solvent environments in a nucleophilic addition reaction of hydroxylamine to a carbonyl group. Both theoretical simulations and ensemble experiments prove that this observation originates from the reversible transition between the reactant and a new intermediate state within a time scale of a few microseconds. These investigations open up a new route that is able to be immediately applied to probe fast single-molecule physics or biophysics with high time resolution, making an important contribution to broad fields beyond reaction chemistry. PMID:29487914

Red cell metabolism studies on Skylab

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mengel, C. E.

1977-01-01

Blood samples from Spacelab crewmembers were studied for possible environment effects on red cell components. Analysis involved peroxidation of red cell lipids, enzymes of red cell metabolism, and levels of 2,3-diphosphoglyceric acid and adenosine triphosphate. Results show that there is no evidence of lipid peroxidation, that biochemical effect known to be associated with irreversible red cell damage. Changes observed in glycolytic intermediates and enzymes cannot be directly implicated as indicating evidence of red cell damage.

Sensitivity of Amoxicillin-Resistant Helicobacter pylori to Other Penicillins

PubMed Central

Dore, Maria P.; Graham, David Y.; Sepulveda, Antonia R.; Realdi, Giuseppe; Osato, Michael S.

1999-01-01

The sensitivities to penicillins and to a penicillin and β-lactamase inhibitor combination agent were determined for Helicobacter pylori strains that were sensitive, moderately resistant, or highly resistant to amoxicillin. All strains were resistant to nafcillin and oxacillin. Moderately resistant strains showed an intermediate zone of inhibition to ticarcillin, mezlocillin, piperacillin, and amoxicillin-clavulanic acid. High-level resistance was associated with the smallest zone size for all penicillins tested. PMID:10390249

The effect of drinking water contaminated with perfluoroalkyl substances on a 10-year longitudinal trend of plasma levels in an elderly Uppsala cohort.

PubMed

Stubleski, Jordan; Salihovic, Samira; Lind, P Monica; Lind, Lars; Dunder, Linda; McCleaf, Philip; Eurén, Karin; Ahrens, Lutz; Svartengren, Magnus; van Bavel, Bert; Kärrman, Anna

2017-11-01

In 2012, drinking water contaminated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), foremost perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS) at levels over 20ng/L and 40ng/L, respectively, was confirmed in Uppsala, Sweden. We assessed how a longitudinally sampled cohort's temporal trend in PFAS plasma concentration was influenced by their residential location and determined the plausible association or disparity between the PFASs detected in the drinking water and the trend in the study cohort. The Prospective Investigation of the Vasculature in Uppsala Seniors (PIVUS) cohort provided plasma samples three times from 2001 to 2014. Individuals maintaining the same zip code throughout the study (n = 399) were divided into a reference (no known PFAS exposure), low, intermediate and high exposure area depending on the proportion of contaminated drinking water received. Eight PFASs detected in the majority (75%) of the cohort's plasma samples were evaluated for significant changes in temporal PFAS concentrations using a random effects (mixed) model. PFHxS plasma concentrations continued to significantly increase in individuals living in areas receiving the largest percentage of contaminated drinking water (p < 0.0001), while PFOS showed an overall decrease. The temporal trend of other PFAS plasma concentrations did not show an association to the quality of drinking water received. The distribution of contaminated drinking water had a direct effect on the trend in PFHxS plasma levels among the different exposure groups, resulting in increased concentrations over time, especially in the intermediate and high exposure areas. PFOS and the remaining PFASs did not show the same relationship, suggesting other sources of exposure influenced these PFAS plasma trends. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Ventral cervical fusion at multiple levels using free vascularized double-islanded fibula - a technical report and review of the relevant literature.

PubMed

Krishnan, Kartik G; Müller, Adolf

2002-04-01

Reconstruction of the cervical spine using free vascularized bone flaps has been described in the literature. The reports involve either one level or, when multiple levels, they describe en bloc resection and reconstruction. Stabilization of different levels with a preserved intermediate segment with a single vascularized flap has not been described. We report on the case of a 55-year-old man, who had been operated several times using conventional techniques for cervical myelopathy and instability, who presented to us with severe neck pain. Diagnostic procedures showed pseudarthrosis of C3/4 and stress-overload of the C3/4 and C5/6 segments. The C4/5 fusion was adequately rigid, but avascular. We performed anterior cervical fusion at the C3/4 and C5/6 levels with a vascularized fibula flap modified as a double island. The rigidly fused C4/5 block was preserved and vascularized with the periosteum bridging the two fibular islands. The method and technique are described in detail. Fusion was adequate. Donor site morbidity was minimal and temporary. The patient is symptom free to date (25 months). The suggested method provides the possibility of vertebral fusion at different levels using a single vascularized flap. The indications for this procedure are (1) repeated failure of conventional methods, (2) established poor bone healing and bone non-union with avascular grafts and (3) a well-fused or preserved intermediate segment. The relevant literature is reviewed.

A locally initiated and executed measles outbreak response immunization campaign in the nylon health district, Douala Cameroon 2011.

PubMed

Sume, Gerald Etapelong; Fouda, André Arsène Bita; Kobela, Marie; Nguelé, Salomé; Emah, Irène; Atem, Peter

2013-03-16

The Cameroon health system is divided into central, intermediate and peripheral levels. Of the 43 health districts with a measles outbreak in Cameroon in 2011, only the Nylon Health District organized a documented outbreak response immunization. We present the methods and results of the response campaign solely shouldered by the district and intermediate level. The risk group, targets and neighborhoods to be vaccinated were identified after a detailed analysis of initial cases. The intermediate level defined strategies, provided logistics, capacity building and 41% of the operational budget while 59% was completed by the peripheral level. Microsoft Office Excel 2007 was used to estimate coverage rates and to draw an epidemic curve. The response immunization campaign was organized on the 14th epidemiological week, 10 weeks after the onset of the outbreak which ended 11 weeks thereafter. A total of 15867(108.5%) children aged 9-59 months were vaccinated in five health areas at a direct cost (vaccines excluded) of 71.34FCFA ($0.143) per vaccinated child. An additional 824 children aged 9-59 months were vaccinated around the residence of notified cases in neighborhoods which were not involved in the response campaign. The number of cases after the response campaign was lower than before. Once vaccines are available, prompt outbreak response campaigns can be organized at operational level to obtain commendable results instead of depending solely on international organizations or central levels. Decision makers at the intermediate and operational levels should redeploy available funds during emergencies to prevent the development of extreme public health conditions.

Shear Bond Strength of Superficial, Intermediate and Deep Dentin In Vitro with Recent Generation Self-etching Primers and Single Nano Composite Resin.

PubMed

Singh, Kulshrest; Naik, Rajaram; Hegde, Srinidhi; Damda, Aftab

2015-01-01

This in vitro study is intended to compare the shear bond strength of recent self-etching primers to superficial, intermediate, and deep dentin levels. All teeth were sectioned at various levels and grouped randomly into two experimental groups and two control groups having three subgroups. The experimental groups consisted of two different dentin bonding system. The positive control group consisted of All Bond 2 and the negative control group was without the bonding agent. Finally, the specimens were subjected to shear bond strength study under Instron machine. The maximum shear bond strengths were noted at the time of fracture. The results were statistically analyzed. Comparing the shear bond strength values, All Bond 2 (Group III) demonstrated fairly higher bond strength values at different levels of dentin. Generally comparing All Bond 2 with the other two experimental groups revealed highly significant statistical results. In the present investigation with the fourth generation, higher mean shear bond strength values were recorded compared with the self-etching primers. When intermediate dentin shear bond strength was compared with deep dentin shear bond strength statistically significant results were found with Clearfil Liner Bond 2V, All Bond 2 and the negative control. There was a statistically significant difference in shear bond strength values both with self-etching primers and control groups (fourth generation bonding system and without bonding system) at superficial, intermediate, and deep dentin. There was a significant fall in bond strength values as one reaches deeper levels of dentin from superficial to intermediate to deep.

Method of making metal oxide ceramic powders by using a combustible amino acid compound

DOEpatents

Pederson, L.R.; Chick, L.A.; Exarhos, G.J.

1992-05-19

This invention is directed to the formation of homogeneous, aqueous precursor mixtures of at least one substantially soluble metal salt and a substantially soluble, combustible co-reactant compound, typically an amino acid. This produces, upon evaporation, a substantially homogeneous intermediate material having a total solids level which would support combustion. The homogeneous intermediate material essentially comprises highly dispersed or solvated metal constituents and the co-reactant compound. The intermediate material is quite flammable. A metal oxide powder results on ignition of the intermediate product which combusts same to produce the product powder.

Method of making metal oxide ceramic powders by using a combustible amino acid compound

DOEpatents

Pederson, Larry R.; Chick, Lawrence A.; Exarhos, Gregory J.

1992-01-01

This invention is directed to the formation of homogeneous, aqueous precursor mixtures of at least one substantially soluble metal salt and a substantially soluble, combustible co-reactant compound, typically an amino acid. This produces, upon evaporation, a substantially homogeneous intermediate material having a total solids level which would support combustion. The homogeneous intermediate material essentially comprises highly dispersed or solvated metal constituents and the co-reactant compound. The intermediate material is quite flammable. A metal oxide powder results on ignition of the intermediate product which combusts same to produce the product powder.

Water levels shape fishing participation in flood-control reservoirs

USGS Publications Warehouse

Miranda, Leandro E.; Meals, K. O.

2013-01-01

We examined the relationship between fishing effort (hours fished) and average March–May water level in 3 flood control reservoirs in Mississippi. Fishing effort increased as water level rose, peaked at intermediate water levels, and decreased at high water levels. We suggest that the observed arched-shaped relationship is driven by the shifting influence of fishability (adequacy of the fishing circumstances from an angler's perspective) and catch rate along a water level continuum. Fishability reduces fishing effort during low water, despite the potential for higher catch rates. Conversely, reduced catch rates and fishability at high water also curtail effort. Thus, both high and low water levels seem to discourage fishing effort, whereas anglers seem to favor intermediate water levels. Our results have implications for water level management in reservoirs with large water level fluctuations.

Birth experience in women with low, intermediate or high levels of fear. Findings from the First Baby Study

PubMed Central

Elvander, Charlotte; Cnattingius, Sven; Kjerulff, Kristen H.

2013-01-01

Background Fear of childbirth and mode of delivery are two known factors that affect birth experience. The interactions between these two factors are unknown. The aim of this study was to estimate the effects of different levels of fear of birth and mode of delivery on birth experience 1 month after birth. Methods As part of an ongoing prospective study, we interviewed 3006 women in their third trimester and 1 month after first childbirth to assess fear of birth and birth experience. Logistic regression was performed to examine the interactions and associations between fear of birth, mode of delivery and birth experience. Results Compared to women with low levels of fear of birth, women with intermediate levels of fear and women with high levels of fear had a more negative birth experience and were more affected by an unplanned cesarean section or instrumental vaginal delivery. Compared to women with low levels of fears with a non-instrumental vaginal delivery, women with high levels of fear who were delivered by unplanned cesarean section had a 12-fold increased risk of reporting a negative birth experience (odds ratio 12.25; 95% confidence intervals 7.19-20.86). A non-instrumental vaginal delivery was associated with the most positive birth experience among the women in this study. Conclusions This study shows that both levels of prenatal fear of childbirth and mode of delivery are important for birth experience. Women with low fear of childbirth who had a non-instrumental vaginal delivery reported the most positive birth experience. PMID:24344710

Birth experience in women with low, intermediate or high levels of fear: findings from the first baby study.

PubMed

Elvander, Charlotte; Cnattingius, Sven; Kjerulff, Kristen H

2013-12-01

Fear of childbirth and mode of delivery are two known factors that affect birth experience. The interactions between these two factors are unknown. The aim of this study was to estimate the effects of different levels of fear of birth and mode of delivery on birth experience 1 month after birth. As part of an ongoing prospective study, we interviewed 3,006 women in their third trimester and 1 month after first childbirth to assess fear of birth and birth experience. Logistic regression was performed to examine the interactions and associations between fear of birth, mode of delivery and birth experience. Compared with women with low levels of fear of birth, women with intermediate levels of fear, and women with high levels of fear had a more negative birth experience and were more affected by an unplanned cesarean section or instrumental vaginal delivery. Compared with women with low levels of fears with a noninstrumental vaginal delivery, women with high levels of fear who were delivered by unplanned cesarean section had a 12-fold increased risk of reporting a negative birth experience (OR 12.25; 95% CI 7.19-20.86). A noninstrumental vaginal delivery was associated with the most positive birth experience among the women in this study. This study shows that both levels of prenatal fear of childbirth and mode of delivery are important for birth experience. Women with low fear of childbirth who had a noninstrumental vaginal delivery reported the most positive birth experience. © 2013, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2013, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of food hygiene among schools students' in Majmaah city, Saudi Arabia.

PubMed

Almansour, Mohammed; Sami, Waqas; Al-Rashedy, Oliyan Shoqer; Alsaab, Rayan Saad; Alfayez, Abdulrahman Saad; Almarri, Nawaf Rashed

2016-04-01

To determine the level of knowledge, attitude, and practice of food hygiene among primary, intermediate and high school students and explore association, if any, with socio-demographic differences. The observational cross-sectional study was conducted at boy's schools in Majmaah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, from February to May 2014. Data was collected using stratified random sampling technique from students aged 8-25 year. Two schools from each level (primary, intermediate and high school) were randomly selected and data was collected from the selected schools using simple random sampling method. A self-administered modified Sharif and Al-Malki questionnaire for knowledge, attitude and practice of food hygiene was used with Arabic translation. The mean age of 377 male students in the study was 14.53±2.647 years. Knowledge levels was less in primary school students compared to high school students (p=0.026). Attitude level was high in primary school students compared to intermediate school students (p< 0.001). No significant difference was observed between groups with regard to practice levels (p=0.152). The students exhibited good practice levels, despite fair knowledge and attitude levels.

Vitamin D Replacement in Children, Adolescents and Pregnant Women in the Middle East and North Africa

PubMed Central

Chakhtoura, M; El Ghandour, S; Shawwa, K; Akl, EA; Arabi, A; Mahfoud, Z; Habib, RH; Hoballah, H; El Hajj Fuleihan, G

2017-01-01

Introduction Hypovitaminosis D affects one-third to two-thirds of children and pregnant women from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Objective To evaluate in infants, children, adolescents and pregnant women, from the MENA region, the effect of supplementation with different vitamin D doses on the change in 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] level reached, and other skeletal and non-skeletal outcomes. Methods This is a systematic review of randomized controlled trials of vitamin D supplementation conducted in the MENA region. We conducted a comprehensive literature search in 7 databases, without language or time restriction, until November 2016. Two reviewers abstracted data from the included studies, independently and in duplicate. We calculated the mean difference (MD) and 95% CI of 25(OH)D level reached when at least 2 studies were eligible in each comparison (low (< 800 IU), intermediate (800–2,000 IU) or high (> 2,000 IU) daily dose of vitamin D, or placebo). We pooled data using RevMan version 5.3. Results We identified a total of 15 eligible trials: one in infants, 4 in children and adolescents and 10 in pregnant women. In children and adolescents, an intermediate vitamin D dose (1,901 IU/d), resulted in a mean difference in 25(OH)D level of 13.5 (95% Confidence Interval (CI) 8.1;18.8) ng/ml, compared to placebo, favoring the intermediate dose (p < 0.001). The proportion of children and adolescents reaching a 25(OH)D level ≥ 20 ng/ml was 74% in the intermediate dose group. In pregnant women, four trials started supplementation at 12–16 weeks of gestation and continued until delivery, and six trials started supplementation at 20–28 weeks gestation and stopped it at delivery. The MD in 25(OH)D level reached was 8.6 (95% CI 5.3–11.9) ng/ml (p <0.001) comparing the high dose (3,662 IU/d) to the intermediate dose (1,836 IU/d), and 12.3 (95% CI 6.4–18.2) ng/ml (p <0.001), comparing the high dose (3,399 IU/d) to the low dose (375 IU/d). Comparing the intermediate (1,832 IU/d) to the low dose (301 IU/d), the MD in 25(OH)D level achieved was 7.8 (95% CI 4.5–10.8) ng/ml (p < 0.001). The proportion of pregnant women reaching a 25(OH)D level ≥ 20 ng/ml was 80–90%, 73% and 27–43% in the high, intermediate, and low dose groups, respectively. The risk of bias in the included studies, for children, adolescents and pregnant women, ranged from low to high. Conclusion In children, adolescents and pregnant women from the MENA, an intermediate vitamin D dose of 1,000–2,000 IU seems necessary to allow for the majority of the population to reach a desirable 25(OH)D level of 20 ng/ml. Further high quality RCTs are required to confirm/refute the beneficial impact of vitamin D supplementation on various clinically important outcomes. PMID:28403940

Projecting the Hydrologic Impacts of Climate Change on Montane Wetlands.

PubMed

Lee, Se-Yeun; Ryan, Maureen E; Hamlet, Alan F; Palen, Wendy J; Lawler, Joshua J; Halabisky, Meghan

2015-01-01

Wetlands are globally important ecosystems that provide critical services for natural communities and human society. Montane wetland ecosystems are expected to be among the most sensitive to changing climate, as their persistence depends on factors directly influenced by climate (e.g. precipitation, snowpack, evaporation). Despite their importance and climate sensitivity, wetlands tend to be understudied due to a lack of tools and data relative to what is available for other ecosystem types. Here, we develop and demonstrate a new method for projecting climate-induced hydrologic changes in montane wetlands. Using observed wetland water levels and soil moisture simulated by the physically based Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) hydrologic model, we developed site-specific regression models relating soil moisture to observed wetland water levels to simulate the hydrologic behavior of four types of montane wetlands (ephemeral, intermediate, perennial, permanent wetlands) in the U. S. Pacific Northwest. The hybrid models captured observed wetland dynamics in many cases, though were less robust in others. We then used these models to a) hindcast historical wetland behavior in response to observed climate variability (1916-2010 or later) and classify wetland types, and b) project the impacts of climate change on montane wetlands using global climate model scenarios for the 2040s and 2080s (A1B emissions scenario). These future projections show that climate-induced changes to key driving variables (reduced snowpack, higher evapotranspiration, extended summer drought) will result in earlier and faster drawdown in Pacific Northwest montane wetlands, leading to systematic reductions in water levels, shortened wetland hydroperiods, and increased probability of drying. Intermediate hydroperiod wetlands are projected to experience the greatest changes. For the 2080s scenario, widespread conversion of intermediate wetlands to fast-drying ephemeral wetlands will likely reduce wetland habitat availability for many species.

Continuous magma recharge at Mt. Etna during the 2011-2013 period controls the style of volcanic activity and compositions of erupted lavas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Viccaro, Marco; Calcagno, Rosario; Garozzo, Ileana; Giuffrida, Marisa; Nicotra, Eugenio

2015-02-01

Volcanic rocks erupted during the January 2011 - April 2013 paroxysmal sequence at Mt. Etna volcano have been investigated through in situ microanalysis of mineral phases and whole rock geochemistry. These products have been also considered within the framework of the post-2001 record, evidencing that magmas feeding the 2011-2013 paroxysmal activity inherited deep signature comparable to that of the 2007-2009 volcanic rocks for what concerns their trace element concentration. Analysis performed on plagioclase, clinopyroxene and olivine, which are sensitive to differentiation processes, show respectively fluctuations of the An, Mg# and Fo contents during the considered period. Also major and trace elements measured on the whole rock provide evidence of the evolutionary degree variations through time. Simulations by MELTS at fixed chemical-physical parameters allowed the definition of feeding system dynamics controlling the geochemical variability of magmas during the 2011-2013 period. Specifically, compositional changes have been interpreted as due to superimposition of fractional crystallization and mixing in variable proportions with more basic magma ascending from intermediate to shallower levels of the plumbing system. Composition of the recharging end-member is compatible with that of the most basic magmas emitted during the 2007 and the early paroxysmal eruptions of 2012. Analysis of the erupted volumes of magma combined with its petrologic evolution through time support the idea that large volumes of magma are continuously intruded and stored in the intermediate plumbing system after major recharging phases in the deepest levels of it. Transient recharge from the intermediate to the shallow levels is then responsible for the paroxysmal eruptions.

Projecting the Hydrologic Impacts of Climate Change on Montane Wetlands

PubMed Central

Hamlet, Alan F.; Palen, Wendy J.; Lawler, Joshua J.; Halabisky, Meghan

2015-01-01

Wetlands are globally important ecosystems that provide critical services for natural communities and human society. Montane wetland ecosystems are expected to be among the most sensitive to changing climate, as their persistence depends on factors directly influenced by climate (e.g. precipitation, snowpack, evaporation). Despite their importance and climate sensitivity, wetlands tend to be understudied due to a lack of tools and data relative to what is available for other ecosystem types. Here, we develop and demonstrate a new method for projecting climate-induced hydrologic changes in montane wetlands. Using observed wetland water levels and soil moisture simulated by the physically based Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) hydrologic model, we developed site-specific regression models relating soil moisture to observed wetland water levels to simulate the hydrologic behavior of four types of montane wetlands (ephemeral, intermediate, perennial, permanent wetlands) in the U. S. Pacific Northwest. The hybrid models captured observed wetland dynamics in many cases, though were less robust in others. We then used these models to a) hindcast historical wetland behavior in response to observed climate variability (1916–2010 or later) and classify wetland types, and b) project the impacts of climate change on montane wetlands using global climate model scenarios for the 2040s and 2080s (A1B emissions scenario). These future projections show that climate-induced changes to key driving variables (reduced snowpack, higher evapotranspiration, extended summer drought) will result in earlier and faster drawdown in Pacific Northwest montane wetlands, leading to systematic reductions in water levels, shortened wetland hydroperiods, and increased probability of drying. Intermediate hydroperiod wetlands are projected to experience the greatest changes. For the 2080s scenario, widespread conversion of intermediate wetlands to fast-drying ephemeral wetlands will likely reduce wetland habitat availability for many species. PMID:26331850

Self-Repair in Oral Production by Intermediate Chinese Learners of English

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Jiangtao

2009-01-01

For various reasons, second language learners modify their speech by means of self-repair. This study, based on a small-scale corpus, shows the patterns and features of self-repairs by intermediate Chinese learners of English. The results suggest that intermediate Chinese learners of English more frequently make repairs than advanced Chinese…

Analysis of Serine Codon Conservation Reveals Diverse Phenotypic Constraints on Hepatitis C Virus Glycoprotein Evolution

PubMed Central

Koutsoudakis, George; Urbanowicz, Richard A.; Mirza, Deeman; Ginkel, Corinne; Riebesehl, Nina; Calland, Noémie; Albecka, Anna; Price, Louisa; Hudson, Natalia; Descamps, Véronique; Backx, Matthijs; McClure, C. Patrick; Duverlie, Gilles; Pecheur, Eve-Isabelle; Dubuisson, Jean; Perez-del-Pulgar, Sofia; Forns, Xavier; Steinmann, Eike; Tarr, Alexander W.; Pietschmann, Thomas

2014-01-01

Serine is encoded by two divergent codon types, UCN and AGY, which are not interchangeable by a single nucleotide substitution. Switching between codon types therefore occurs via intermediates (threonine or cysteine) or via simultaneous tandem substitutions. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) chronically infects 2 to 3% of the global population. The highly variable glycoproteins E1 and E2 decorate the surface of the viral envelope, facilitate cellular entry, and are targets for host immunity. Comparative sequence analysis of globally sampled E1E2 genes, coupled with phylogenetic analysis, reveals the signatures of multiple archaic codon-switching events at seven highly conserved serine residues. Limited detection of intermediate phenotypes indicates that associated fitness costs restrict their fixation in divergent HCV lineages. Mutational pathways underlying codon switching were probed via reverse genetics, assessing glycoprotein functionality using multiple in vitro systems. These data demonstrate selection against intermediate phenotypes can act at the structural/functional level, with some intermediates displaying impaired virion assembly and/or decreased capacity for target cell entry. These effects act in residue/isolate-specific manner. Selection against intermediates is also provided by humoral targeting, with some intermediates exhibiting increased epitope exposure and enhanced neutralization sensitivity, despite maintaining a capacity for target cell entry. Thus, purifying selection against intermediates limits their frequencies in globally sampled strains, with divergent functional constraints at the protein level restricting the fixation of deleterious mutations. Overall our study provides an experimental framework for identification of barriers limiting viral substitutional evolution and indicates that serine codon-switching represents a genomic “fossil record” of historical purifying selection against E1E2 intermediate phenotypes. PMID:24173227

Corrosion behaviour of steel rebars embedded in a concrete designed for the construction of an intermediate-level radioactive waste disposal facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duffó, G. S.; Arva, E. A.; Schulz, F. M.; Vazquez, D. R.

2013-07-01

The National Atomic Energy Commission of the Argentine Republic is developing a nuclear waste disposal management programme that contemplates the design and construction of a facility for the final disposal of intermediate-level radioactive wastes. The repository is based on the use of multiple, independent and redundant barriers. The major components are made in reinforced concrete so, the durability of these structures is an important aspect for the facility integrity. This work presents an investigation performed on an instrumented reinforced concrete prototype specifically designed for this purpose, to study the behaviour of an intermediate level radioactive waste disposal facility from the rebar corrosion point of view. The information obtained will be used for the final design of the facility in order to guarantee a service life more or equal than the foreseen durability for this type of facilities.

[Supporting the intermediate level of health care in urban health areas in Kinshasa (1995-2005), DR Congo].

PubMed

Mbeva, Jean-Bosco Kahindo; Schirvel, Carole; Karemere, Hermès; Porignon, Denis

2012-06-08

As a result of the decentralization of health systems, some countries have introduced intermediate (provincial) levels in their public health system. This paper presents the results of a case study conducted in Kinshasa on health system decentralization. The study identified a shift from a focus on regulation compliance assessment to an emphasis on health system coordination and health district support. It also highlighted the emergence of a?managerial (as opposed to a bureaucratic) approach to health district support. The performance of health districts in terms of health care coverage and health service use were also found to have improved. The results highlight the importance of intermediate levels in?the health care system and the value of a more organic and managerial rationality in supporting health districts faced with the complexity of urban environments and the integration of specialized multi-partner programs and interventions.

Durability of a reinforced concrete designed for the construction of an intermediate-level radioactive waste disposal facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duffó, G. S.; Arva, E. A.; Schulz, F. M.; Vazquez, D. R.

2012-01-01

The National Atomic Energy Commission of the Argentine Republic is developing a nuclear waste disposal management programme that contemplates the design and construction of a facility for the final disposal of intermediate-level radioactive wastes. The repository is based on the use of multiple, independent and redundant barriers. The major components are made in reinforced concrete so, the durability of these structures is an important aspect for the facility integrity. This work presents an investigation performed on a reinforced concrete specifically designed for this purpose, to predict the service life of the intermediate level radioactive waste disposal facility from data obtained with several techniques. Results obtained with corrosion sensors embedded in a concrete prototype are also included. The information obtained will be used for the final design of the facility in order to guarantee a service life more or equal than the foreseen durability for this type of facilities.

PIC-container for containment and disposal of low and intermediate level radioactive wastes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Araki, K.; Shinji, Y.; Maki, Y.; Ishizaki, K.; Minegishi, K.; Sudoh, G.

1981-03-01

Steel fiber reinforced polymer impregnated concrete (SFPIC) was investigated for low and intermediate level radioactive waste containers. The 60 L and 200 L containers were designed as pressure container (without equalizer) for 500 kg/square cm and 700 kg/square cm. Polymerization of impregnated methylmethacrylate monomer was performed by 60 Co-gamma ray radiation and thermal catalytic polymerization respectively. Under the loading of 500 kg/square cm and 700 kg/square cm-outside hydraulic pressure, these containers were kept in their good condition. The observed maximum strains were about .001380 and .003950 at the outside central position of container body for circumferential direction of the 60 L and 200 L container, respectively. The containers were immersed in deionized water for 400 days, nuclides were not leached from the container. The SFPIC container was suitable for containment and disposal of low and intermediate level radioactive wastes.

Providing effective and preferred care closer to home: a realist review of intermediate care.

PubMed

Pearson, Mark; Hunt, Harriet; Cooper, Chris; Shepperd, Sasha; Pawson, Ray; Anderson, Rob

2015-11-01

Intermediate care is one of the number of service delivery models intended to integrate care and provide enhanced health and social care services closer to home, especially to reduce reliance on acute care hospital beds. In order for health and social care practitioners, service managers and commissioners to make informed decisions, it is vital to understand how to implement the admission avoidance and early supported discharge components of intermediate care within the context of local care systems. This paper reports the findings of a theory-driven (realist) review conducted in 2011-2012. A broad range of evidence contained in 193 sources was used to construct a conceptual framework for intermediate care. This framework forms the basis for exploring factors at service user, professional and organisational levels that should be considered when designing and delivering intermediate care services within a particular local context. Our synthesis found that involving service users and their carers in collaborative decision-making about the objectives of care and the place of care is central to achieving the aims of intermediate care. This pivotal involvement of the service user relies on practitioners, service managers and commissioners being aware of the impact that organisational structures at the local level can have on enabling or inhibiting collaborative decision-making and care co-ordination. Through all interactions with service users and their care networks, health and social care professionals should establish the meaning which alternative care environments have for different service users. Doing so means decisions about the best place of care will be better informed and gives service users choice. This in turn is likely to support psychological and social stability, and the attainment of functional goals. At an organisational level, integrated working can facilitate the delivery of intermediate care, but there is not a straightforward relationship between integrated organisational processes and integrated professional practice. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Spectroscopy of the simplest Criegee intermediate CH2OO: simulation of the first bands in its electronic and photoelectron spectra.

PubMed

Lee, Edmond P F; Mok, Daniel K W; Shallcross, Dudley E; Percival, Carl J; Osborn, David L; Taatjes, Craig A; Dyke, John M

2012-09-24

CH(2)OO, the simplest Criegee intermediate, and ozone are isoelectronic. They both play very important roles in atmospheric chemistry. Whilst extensive experimental studies have been made on ozone, there were no direct gas-phase studies on CH(2)OO until very recently when its photoionization spectrum was recorded and kinetics studies were made of some reactions of CH(2)OO with a number of molecules of atmospheric importance, using photoionization mass spectrometry to monitor CH(2)OO. In order to encourage more direct studies on CH(2)OO and other Criegee intermediates, the electronic and photoelectron spectra of CH(2)OO have been simulated using high level electronic structure calculations and Franck-Condon factor calculations, and the results are presented here. Adiabatic and vertical excitation energies of CH(2)OO were calculated with TDDFT, EOM-CCSD, and CASSCF methods. Also, DFT, QCISD and CASSCF calculations were performed on neutral and low-lying ionic states, with single energy calculations being carried out at higher levels to obtain more reliable ionization energies. The results show that the most intense band in the electronic spectrum of CH(2) OO corresponds to the B(1)A' ← X(1)A' absorption. It is a broad band in the region 250-450 nm showing extensive structure in vibrational modes involving O-O stretching and C-O-O bending. Evidence is presented to show that the electronic absorption spectrum of CH(2)OO has probably been recorded in earlier work, albeit at low resolution. We suggest that CH(2)OO was prepared in this earlier work from the reaction of CH(2)I with O(2) and that the assignment of the observed spectrum solely to CH(2)IOO is incorrect. The low ionization energy region of the photoelectron spectrum of CH(2)OO consists of two overlapping vibrationally structured bands corresponding to one-electron ionizations from the highest two occupied molecular orbitals of the neutral molecule. In each case, the adiabatic component is the most intense and the adiabatic ionization energies of these bands are expected to be very close, at 9.971 and 9.974 eV at the highest level of theory used. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Kinetically trapped metastable intermediate of a disulfide-deficient mutant of the starch-binding domain of glucoamylase.

PubMed

Sugimoto, Hayuki; Nakaura, Miho; Nishimura, Shigenori; Karita, Shuichi; Miyake, Hideo; Tanaka, Akiyoshi

2009-08-01

Refolding of a thermally unfolded disulfide-deficient mutant of the starch-binding domain of glucoamylase was investigated using differential scanning calorimetry, isothermal titration calorimetry, CD, and (1)H NMR. When the protein solution was rapidly cooled from a higher temperature, a kinetic intermediate was formed during refolding. The intermediate was unexpectedly stable compared with typical folding intermediates that have short half-lives. It was shown that this intermediate contained substantial secondary structure and tertiary packing and had the same binding ability with beta-cyclodextrin as the native state, suggesting that the intermediate is highly-ordered and native-like on the whole. These characteristics differ from those of partially folded intermediates such as molten globule states. Far-UV CD spectra showed that the secondary structure was once disrupted during the transition from the intermediate to the native state. These results suggest that the intermediate could be an off-pathway type, possibly a misfolded state, that has to undergo unfolding on its way to the native state.

A Multiomics Approach to Identify Genes Associated with Childhood Asthma Risk and Morbidity.

PubMed

Forno, Erick; Wang, Ting; Yan, Qi; Brehm, John; Acosta-Perez, Edna; Colon-Semidey, Angel; Alvarez, Maria; Boutaoui, Nadia; Cloutier, Michelle M; Alcorn, John F; Canino, Glorisa; Chen, Wei; Celedón, Juan C

2017-10-01

Childhood asthma is a complex disease. In this study, we aim to identify genes associated with childhood asthma through a multiomics "vertical" approach that integrates multiple analytical steps using linear and logistic regression models. In a case-control study of childhood asthma in Puerto Ricans (n = 1,127), we used adjusted linear or logistic regression models to evaluate associations between several analytical steps of omics data, including genome-wide (GW) genotype data, GW methylation, GW expression profiling, cytokine levels, asthma-intermediate phenotypes, and asthma status. At each point, only the top genes/single-nucleotide polymorphisms/probes/cytokines were carried forward for subsequent analysis. In step 1, asthma modified the gene expression-protein level association for 1,645 genes; pathway analysis showed an enrichment of these genes in the cytokine signaling system (n = 269 genes). In steps 2-3, expression levels of 40 genes were associated with intermediate phenotypes (asthma onset age, forced expiratory volume in 1 second, exacerbations, eosinophil counts, and skin test reactivity); of those, methylation of seven genes was also associated with asthma. Of these seven candidate genes, IL5RA was also significant in analytical steps 4-8. We then measured plasma IL-5 receptor α levels, which were associated with asthma age of onset and moderate-severe exacerbations. In addition, in silico database analysis showed that several of our identified IL5RA single-nucleotide polymorphisms are associated with transcription factors related to asthma and atopy. This approach integrates several analytical steps and is able to identify biologically relevant asthma-related genes, such as IL5RA. It differs from other methods that rely on complex statistical models with various assumptions.

Relationship of Rice Grain Amylose, Gelatinization Temperature and Pasting Properties for Breeding Better Eating and Cooking Quality of Rice Varieties

PubMed Central

Wang, Xiaoqian; Franje, Neil Johann; Revilleza, Jastin Edrian; Xu, Jianlong; Li, Zhikang

2016-01-01

A total of 787 non-waxy rice lines– 116 hybrids and 671 inbreds–were used to study the apparent amylose content (AAC), gelatinization temperature (GT), and rapid visco analyzer (RVA) pasting viscosity properties of rice starch to understand their importance in breeding better rice varieties. The investigated traits showed a wide range of diversity for both hybrid (HG) and inbred (IG) groups. The combinations of the different categories of AAC and GT were random in HG but were non-random in IG. For inbred lines, the high level of AAC tended to combine with the low level of GT, the intermediate level of AAC tended to have high or intermediate GT, and the low level of AAC tended to have high or low GT. Some stable correlations of the AAC, GT, and RVA properties may be the results derived from the physicochemical relationships among these traits, which rice breeders could utilize for selection in advanced breeding generations. Through cluster analysis, IG and HG were divided into 52 and 31 sub-clusters, respectively. Identifying the cultivars having AAC, GT, and RVA properties similar to that of popular high-quality rice varieties seems to be an interesting strategy and could be directly used for adaptation trials to breed high-quality rice varieties in targeted areas in a more customized manner. PMID:27992591

Lip-reading aids word recognition most in moderate noise: a Bayesian explanation using high-dimensional feature space.

PubMed

Ma, Wei Ji; Zhou, Xiang; Ross, Lars A; Foxe, John J; Parra, Lucas C

2009-01-01

Watching a speaker's facial movements can dramatically enhance our ability to comprehend words, especially in noisy environments. From a general doctrine of combining information from different sensory modalities (the principle of inverse effectiveness), one would expect that the visual signals would be most effective at the highest levels of auditory noise. In contrast, we find, in accord with a recent paper, that visual information improves performance more at intermediate levels of auditory noise than at the highest levels, and we show that a novel visual stimulus containing only temporal information does the same. We present a Bayesian model of optimal cue integration that can explain these conflicts. In this model, words are regarded as points in a multidimensional space and word recognition is a probabilistic inference process. When the dimensionality of the feature space is low, the Bayesian model predicts inverse effectiveness; when the dimensionality is high, the enhancement is maximal at intermediate auditory noise levels. When the auditory and visual stimuli differ slightly in high noise, the model makes a counterintuitive prediction: as sound quality increases, the proportion of reported words corresponding to the visual stimulus should first increase and then decrease. We confirm this prediction in a behavioral experiment. We conclude that auditory-visual speech perception obeys the same notion of optimality previously observed only for simple multisensory stimuli.

Assessing predation risks for small fish in a large river ecosystem between contrasting habitats and turbidity conditions

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dodrill, Michael J.; Yard, Mike; Pine, William E.

2016-01-01

This study examined predation risk for juvenile native fish between two riverine shoreline habitats, backwater and debris fan, across three discrete turbidity levels (low, intermediate, high) to understand environmental risks associated with habitat use in a section of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon, AZ. Inferences are particularly important to juvenile native fish, including the federally endangered humpback chub Gila cypha. This species uses a variety of habitats including backwaters which are often considered important rearing areas. Densities of two likely predators, adult rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss and adult humpback chub, were estimated between habitats using binomial mixture models to examine whether higher predator density was associated with patterns of predation risk. Tethering experiments were used to quantify relative predation risk between habitats and turbidity conditions. Under low and intermediate turbidity conditions, debris fan habitat showed higher relative predation risk compared to backwaters. In both habitats the highest predation risk was observed during intermediate turbidity conditions. Density of likely predators did not significantly differ between these habitats. This information can help managers in Grand Canyon weigh flow policy options designed to increase backwater availability or extant turbidity conditions.

Infrared identification of the Criegee intermediates syn- and anti-CH3CHOO, and their distinct conformation-dependent reactivity

PubMed Central

Lin, Hui-Yu; Huang, Yu-Hsuan; Wang, Xiaohong; Bowman, Joel M.; Nishimura, Yoshifumi; Witek, Henryk A.; Lee, Yuan-Pern

2015-01-01

The Criegee intermediates are carbonyl oxides that play critical roles in ozonolysis of alkenes in the atmosphere. So far, the mid-infrared spectrum of only the simplest Criegee intermediate CH2OO has been reported. Methyl substitution of CH2OO produces two conformers of CH3CHOO and consequently complicates the infrared spectrum. Here we report the transient infrared spectrum of syn- and anti-CH3CHOO, produced from CH3CHI + O2 in a flow reactor, using a step-scan Fourier-transform spectrometer. Guided and supported by high-level full-dimensional quantum calculations, rotational contours of the four observed bands are simulated successfully and provide definitive identification of both conformers. Furthermore, anti-CH3CHOO shows a reactivity greater than syn-CH3CHOO towards NO/NO2; at the later period of reaction, the spectrum can be simulated with only syn-CH3CHOO. Without NO/NO2, anti-CH3CHOO also decays much faster than syn-CH3CHOO. The direct infrared detection of syn- and anti-CH3CHOO should prove useful for field measurements and laboratory investigations of the Criegee mechanism. PMID:25959902

Clinical Outcomes after Binocular Implantation of a New Trifocal Diffractive Intraocular Lens

PubMed Central

Kretz, Florian T. A.; Breyer, Detlev; Diakonis, Vasilios F.; Klabe, Karsten; Henke, Franziska; Auffarth, Gerd U.; Kaymak, Hakan

2015-01-01

Purpose. To evaluate visual, refractive, and contrast sensitivity outcomes, as well as the incidence of pseudophakic photic phenomena and patient satisfaction after bilateral diffractive trifocal intraocular lens (IOL) implantation. Methods. This prospective nonrandomized study included consecutive patients undergoing cataract surgery with bilateral implantation of a diffractive trifocal IOL (AT LISA tri 839MP, Carl Zeiss Meditec). Distance, intermediate, and near visual outcomes were evaluated as well as the defocus curve and the refractive outcomes 3 months after surgery. Photopic and mesopic contrast sensitivity, patient satisfaction, and halo perception were also evaluated. Results. Seventy-six eyes of 38 patients were included; 90% of eyes showed a spherical equivalent within ±0.50 diopters 3 months after surgery. All patients had a binocular uncorrected distance visual acuity of 0.00 LogMAR or better and a binocular uncorrected intermediate visual acuity of 0.10 LogMAR or better, 3 months after surgery. Furthermore, 85% of patients achieved a binocular uncorrected near visual acuity of 0.10 LogMAR or better. Conclusions. Trifocal diffractive IOL implantation seems to provide an effective restoration of visual function for far, intermediate, and near distances, providing high levels of visual quality and patient satisfaction. PMID:26301104

Interfacial Bonding Energy on the Interface between ZChSnSb/Sn Alloy Layer and Steel Body at Microscale.

PubMed

Wang, Jianmei; Xia, Quanzhi; Ma, Yang; Meng, Fanning; Liang, Yinan; Li, Zhixiong

2017-09-25

To investigate the performance of bonding on the interface between ZChSnSb/Sn and steel body, the interfacial bonding energy on the interface of a ZChSnSb/Sn alloy layer and the steel body with or without Sn as an intermediate layer was calculated under the same loadcase using the molecular dynamics simulation software Materials Studio by ACCELRYS, and the interfacial bonding energy under different Babbitt thicknesses was compared. The results show that the bonding energy of the interface with Sn as an intermediate layer is 10% larger than that of the interface without a Sn layer. The interfacial bonding performances of Babbitt and the steel body with Sn as an intermediate layer are better than those of an interface without a Sn layer. When the thickness of the Babbitt layer of bushing is 17.143 Å, the interfacial bonding energy reaches the maximum, and the interfacial bonding performance is optimum. These findings illustrate the bonding mechanism of the interfacial structure from the molecular level so as to ensure the good bonding properties of the interface, which provides a reference for the improvement of the bush manufacturing process from the microscopic point of view.

Antigenic characterization of intermediate adenovirus 14-11 strains associated with upper respiratory illness in a military camp.

PubMed Central

Hierholzer, J C; Pumarola, A

1976-01-01

An unusual variant of adenovirus (AV) 11 was isolated from throat and rectal swabs from six persons with upper respiratory illness in a Spanish military camp in March 1969. The same strain was serologically related to the upper respiratory illness of seven other men among 25 sample cases studied in detail. After strain purification, the virus was grouped as an AV by standard biological tests; it possessed the usual titers of group-specific hexon antigen but only low hemagglutinin titers (1:4 to 1:8) with erythrocytes from selected rhesus monkeys. The virus gave little reaction in hemagglutination inhibition (HI) tests with antisera to AV 1 through 35, but was neutralized to homologous titers by AV 11 antiserum. Reciprocally, rabbit and guinea pig antisera to the isolates possessed high HI antibody titers to prototype AV 14 and high serum neutralization (SN) antibody titers to prototype AV 11. On this basis, the variants were classified as AV 14-11 intermediates. Sequential serum specimens from the patients with and without positive cultures showed diagnostic rises in HI and SN antibody levels to the AV 14-11 intermediate and to prototype AV 11, but little response to AV 14. PMID:177365

Two-photon excitation cross section in light and intermediate atoms in frozen-core LS-coupling approximation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Omidvar, K.

1980-01-01

Using the method of explicit summation over the intermediate states two-photon absorption cross sections in light and intermediate atoms based on the simplistic frozen-core approximation and LS coupling have been formulated. Formulas for the cross section in terms of integrals over radial wave functions are given. Two selection rules, one exact and one approximate, valid within the stated approximations are derived. The formulas are applied to two-photon absorptions in nitrogen, oxygen, and chlorine. In evaluating the radial integrals, for low-lying levels, the Hartree-Fock wave functions, and for high-lying levels, hydrogenic wave functions obtained by the quantum-defect method have been used. A relationship between the cross section and the oscillator strengths is derived.

Effects of the impurity-host interactions on the nonradiative processes in ZnS:Cr

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tablero, C.

2010-11-01

There is a great deal of controversy about whether the behavior of an intermediate band in the gap of semiconductors is similar or not to the deep-gap levels. It can have significant consequences, for example, on the nonradiative recombination. In order to analyze the behavior of an intermediate band, we have considered the effect of the inward and outward displacements corresponding to breathing and longitudinal modes of Cr-doped ZnS and on the charge density for different processes involved in the nonradiative recombination using first-principles. This metal-doped zinc chalcogenide has a partially filled band within the host semiconductor gap. In contrast to the properties exhibited by deep-gap levels in other systems, we find small variations in the equilibrium configurations, forces, and electronic density around the Cr when the nonradiative recombination mechanisms modify the intermediate band charge. The charge density around the impurity is equilibrated in response to the perturbations in the equilibrium nuclear configuration and the charge of the intermediate band. The equilibration follows a Le Chatelier principle through the modification of the contribution from the impurity to the intermediate band and to the valence band. The intermediate band introduced by Cr in ZnS for the concentrations analyzed makes the electronic capture difficult and later multiphonon emission in the charge-transfer processes, in accordance with experimental results.

View-tolerant face recognition and Hebbian learning imply mirror-symmetric neural tuning to head orientation

PubMed Central

Leibo, Joel Z.; Liao, Qianli; Freiwald, Winrich A.; Anselmi, Fabio; Poggio, Tomaso

2017-01-01

SUMMARY The primate brain contains a hierarchy of visual areas, dubbed the ventral stream, which rapidly computes object representations that are both specific for object identity and robust against identity-preserving transformations like depth-rotations [1, 2]. Current computational models of object recognition, including recent deep learning networks, generate these properties through a hierarchy of alternating selectivity-increasing filtering and tolerance-increasing pooling operations, similar to simple-complex cells operations [3, 4, 5, 6]. Here we prove that a class of hierarchical architectures and a broad set of biologically plausible learning rules generate approximate invariance to identity-preserving transformations at the top level of the processing hierarchy. However, all past models tested failed to reproduce the most salient property of an intermediate representation of a three-level face-processing hierarchy in the brain: mirror-symmetric tuning to head orientation [7]. Here we demonstrate that one specific biologically-plausible Hebb-type learning rule generates mirror-symmetric tuning to bilaterally symmetric stimuli like faces at intermediate levels of the architecture and show why it does so. Thus the tuning properties of individual cells inside the visual stream appear to result from group properties of the stimuli they encode and to reflect the learning rules that sculpted the information-processing system within which they reside. PMID:27916522

Atheroprotective Properties of Serum IGF-1 in the Carotid and Coronary Territories and Beneficial Role on the Physical Fitness of the Oldest Old.

PubMed

Córdova, Claudio; Boullosa, Daniel A; Custódio, Misael R M; Quaglia, Luiz A; Santos, Simone N; Freitas, Wladimir M; Sposito, Andrei C; Nóbrega, Otávio T

2016-10-01

Our aim was to investigate whether physiological levels of soluble insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) associate with coronary and carotid atherosclerotic burden and physical fitness in the oldest old by means of a cross-sectional study including 100 community-dwelling individuals with no previous cardiovascular events. Linear correlation was found between IGF-1 and intima-media thickness, number of carotid plaques, and walking speed. Individuals in the upper IGF-1 tertile had smaller right and left intima-media thickness compared with the intermediate and lower tertiles, along with reduced atherosclerotic plaques. Also, walking speed was greater in the upper IGF-1 tertile. On the other hand, a nonlinear correlation was observed between IGF-1 and coronary calcification scores, with the intermediate IGF-1 tertile associated to the lowest scores of calcification and participants with lower circulating levels of IGF-1 showing higher frequency of high-risk morphology plaques. All in all, our report supports a territory-dependent, atherorefractory phenotype in the oldest old carrying middle and/or higher serum levels of IGF-1. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Habitat heterogeneity hypothesis and edge effects in model metacommunities.

PubMed

Hamm, Michaela; Drossel, Barbara

2017-08-07

Spatial heterogeneity is an inherent property of any living environment and is expected to favour biodiversity due to a broader niche space. Furthermore, edges between different habitats can provide additional possibilities for species coexistence. Using computer simulations, this study examines metacommunities consisting of several trophic levels in heterogeneous environments in order to explore the above hypotheses on a community level. We model heterogeneous landscapes by using two different sized resource pools and evaluate the combined effect of dispersal and heterogeneity on local and regional species diversity. This diversity is obtained by running population dynamics and evaluating the robustness (i.e., the fraction of surviving species). The main results for regional robustness are in agreement with the habitat heterogeneity hypothesis, as the largest robustness is found in heterogeneous systems with intermediate dispersal rates. This robustness is larger than in homogeneous systems with the same total amount of resources. We study the edge effect by arranging the two types of resources in two homogeneous blocks. Different edge responses in diversity are observed, depending on dispersal strength. Local robustness is highest for edge habitats that contain the smaller amount of resource in combination with intermediate dispersal. The results show that dispersal is relevant to correctly identify edge responses on community level. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessing Intermediate Outcomes of a Faith-Based Residential Prisoner Reentry Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roman, Caterina G.; Wolff, Ashley; Correa, Vanessa; Buck, Janeen

2007-01-01

Objective: This study examined intermediate outcomes of a faith-based prisoner reentry program by assessing how client spirituality related to client- and program-level characteristics, investigating differences between completers and terminators, and examining how religious preference, religiosity/spirituality, religious salience, and…

Impact of down-regulation of starch branching enzyme IIb in rice by artificial microRNA- and hairpin RNA-mediated RNA silencing

PubMed Central

Butardo, Vito M.; Fitzgerald, Melissa A.; Bird, Anthony R.; Gidley, Michael J.; Flanagan, Bernadine M.; Larroque, Oscar; Resurreccion, Adoracion P.; Laidlaw, Hunter K. C.; Jobling, Stephen A.; Morell, Matthew K.; Rahman, Sadequr

2011-01-01

The inactivation of starch branching IIb (SBEIIb) in rice is traditionally associated with elevated apparent amylose content, increased peak gelatinization temperature, and a decreased proportion of short amylopectin branches. To elucidate further the structural and functional role of this enzyme, the phenotypic effects of down-regulating SBEIIb expression in rice endosperm were characterized by artificial microRNA (amiRNA) and hairpin RNA (hp-RNA) gene silencing. The results showed that RNA silencing of SBEIIb expression in rice grains did not affect the expression of other major isoforms of starch branching enzymes or starch synthases. Structural analyses of debranched starch showed that the doubling of apparent amylose content was not due to an increase in the relative proportion of amylose chains but instead was due to significantly elevated levels of long amylopectin and intermediate chains. Rices altered by the amiRNA technique produced a more extreme starch phenotype than those modified using the hp-RNA technique, with a greater increase in the proportion of long amylopectin and intermediate chains. The more pronounced starch structural modifications produced in the amiRNA lines led to more severe alterations in starch granule morphology and crystallinity as well as digestibility of freshly cooked grains. The potential role of attenuating SBEIIb expression in generating starch with elevated levels of resistant starch and lower glycaemic index is discussed. PMID:21791436

Crystal structures of different substrates of bacteriorhodopsin's M intermediate at various pH levels.

PubMed

Yamamoto, Masataka; Hayakawa, Naoki; Murakami, Midori; Kouyama, Tsutomu

2009-10-30

The hexagonal P622 crystal of bacteriorhodopsin, which is made up of stacked membranes, is stable provided that the precipitant concentration in the soaking solution is higher than a critical value (i.e., 1.5 M ammonium sulfate). Diffraction data showed that the crystal lattice shrank linearly with increasing precipitant concentration, due primarily to narrowing of intermembrane spaces. Although the crystal shrinkage did not affect the rate of formation of the photoreaction M intermediate, its lifetime increased exponentially with the precipitant concentration. It was suggested that the energetic barrier of the M-to-N transition becomes higher when the motional freedom of the EF loop is reduced by crystal lattice force. As a result of this property, the M state accumulated predominantly when the crystal that was soaked at a high precipitant concentration was illuminated at room temperature. Structural data obtained at various pH levels showed that the overall structure of M is not strongly dependent on pH, except that Glu194 and Glu204 in the proton release complex are more separated at pH 7 than at pH 4.4. This result suggests that light-induced disruption of the paired structure of Glu194 and Glu204 is incomplete when external pH is lower than the pK(a) value of the proton release group in the M state.

Elastic all-optical multi-hop interconnection in data centers with adaptive spectrum allocation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hong, Yuanyuan; Hong, Xuezhi; Chen, Jiajia; He, Sailing

2017-01-01

In this paper, a novel flex-grid all-optical interconnect scheme that supports transparent multi-hop connections in data centers is proposed. An inter-rack all-optical multi-hop connection is realized with an optical loop employed at flex-grid wavelength selective switches (WSSs) in an intermediate rack rather than by relaying through optical-electric-optical (O-E-O) conversions. Compared with the conventional O-E-O based approach, the proposed all-optical scheme is able to off-load the traffic at intermediate racks, leading to a reduction of the power consumption and cost. The transmission performance of the proposed flex-grid multi-hop all-optical interconnect scheme with various modulation formats, including both coherently detected and directly detected approaches, are investigated by Monte-Carlo simulations. To enhance the spectrum efficiency (SE), number-of-hop adaptive bandwidth allocation is introduced. Numerical results show that the SE can be improved by up to 33.3% at 40 Gbps, and by up to 25% at 100 Gbps. The impact of parameters, such as targeted bit error rate (BER) level and insertion loss of components, on the transmission performance of the proposed approach are also explored. The results show that the maximum SE improvement of the adaptive approach over the non-adaptive one is enhanced with the decrease of the targeted BER levels and the component insertion loss.

Reactions of Criegee Intermediates with Non-Water Greenhouse Gases: Implications for Metal Free Chemical Fixation of Carbon Dioxide.

PubMed

Kumar, Manoj; Francisco, Joseph S

2017-09-07

High-level theoretical calculations suggest that a Criegee intermediate preferably interacts with carbon dioxide compared to two other greenhouse gases, nitrous oxide and methane. The results also suggest that the interaction between Criegee intermediates and carbon dioxide involves a cycloaddition reaction, which results in the formation of a cyclic carbonate-type adduct with a barrier of 6.0-14.0 kcal/mol. These results are in contrast to a previous assumption that the reaction occurs barrierlessly. The subsequent decomposition of the cyclic adduct into formic acid and carbon dioxide follows both concerted and stepwise mechanisms. The latter mechanism has been overlooked previously. Under formic acid catalysis, the concerted decomposition of the cyclic carbonate may be favored under tropospheric conditions. Considering that there is a strong nexus between carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere and global warming, the high reactivity of Criegee intermediates could be utilized for designing efficient carbon capture technologies.

Life-history responses of insects to water-deficit stress: a case study with the aphid Sitobion avenae.

PubMed

Liu, Deguang; Dai, Peng; Li, Shirong; Ahmed, Syed Suhail; Shang, Zheming; Shi, Xiaoqin

2018-05-29

Drought may become one of the greatest challenges for cereal production under future warming scenarios, and its impact on insect pest outbreaks is still controversial. To address this issue, life-history responses of the English grain aphid, Sitobion avenae (Fabricius), from three areas of different drought levels were compared under three water treatments. Significant differences were identified in developmental time, fecundity and adult weight among S. avenae clones from moist, semiarid and arid areas under all the three water treatments. Semiarid and arid area clones tended to have higher heritability for test life-history traits than moist area clones. We identified significant selection of water-deficit on the developmental time of 1st instar nymphs and adult weight for both semiarid and arid area clones. The impact of intermediate and severe water-stress on S. avenae's fitness was neutral and negative (e.g., decreased fecundity and weight), respectively. Compared with arid-area clones, moist- and semiarid-area clones showed higher extents of adaptation to the water-deficit level of their respective source environment. Adult weight was identified as a good indicator for S. avenae's adaptation potential under different water-stress conditions. After their exposure to intermediate water-deficit stress for only five generations, adult weight and fecundity tended to decrease for moist- and semiarid-area clones, but increase for arid-area clones. It is evident from our study that S. avenae clones from moist, semiarid and arid areas have diverged under different water-deficit stress, and such divergence could have a genetic basis. The impact of drought on S. avenae's fitness showed a water-level dependent pattern. Clones of S. avenae were more likely to become adapted to intermediate water-deficit stress than severe water-deficit stress. After continuous water-deficit stress of only five generations, the adaptation potential of S. avenae tended to decrease for moist and semiarid area clones, but increase for arid area clones. The rapid shift of aphids' life-history traits and adaptation potential under drought could have significant implications for their evolutionary dynamics and outbreak risks in future climate change scenarios.

Prevalence and Distribution of Atherosclerosis in a Low- to Intermediate-Risk Population: Assessment with Whole-Body MR Angiography

PubMed Central

Lambert, Matthew A.; Weir-McCall, Jonathan R.; Gandy, Stephen J.; Levin, Daniel; Cavin, Ian; Littleford, Roberta; MacFarlane, Jennifer A.; Matthew, Shona Z.; Nicholas, Richard S.; Struthers, Allan D.; Sullivan, Frank; Henderson, Shelley A.; White, Richard D.; Belch, Jill J. F.

2018-01-01

Purpose To quantify the burden and distribution of asymptomatic atherosclerosis in a population with a low to intermediate risk of cardiovascular disease. Materials and Methods Between June 2008 and February 2013, 1528 participants with 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease less than 20% were prospectively enrolled. They underwent whole-body magnetic resonance (MR) angiography at 3.0 T by using a two-injection, four-station acquisition technique. Thirty-one arterial segments were scored according to maximum stenosis. Scores were summed and normalized for the number of assessable arterial segments to provide a standardized atheroma score (SAS). Multiple linear regression was performed to assess effects of risk factors on atheroma burden. Results A total of 1513 participants (577 [37.9%] men; median age, 53.5 years; range, 40–83 years) completed the study protocol. Among 46 903 potentially analyzable segments, 46 601 (99.4%) were interpretable. Among these, 2468 segments (5%) demonstrated stenoses, of which 1649 (3.5%) showed stenosis less than 50% and 484 (1.0%) showed stenosis greater than or equal to 50%. Vascular stenoses were distributed throughout the body with no localized distribution. Seven hundred forty-seven (49.4%) participants had at least one stenotic vessel, and 408 (27.0%) participants had multiple stenotic vessels. At multivariable linear regression, SAS correlated with age (B = 3.4; 95% confidence interval: 2.61, 4.20), heart rate (B = 1.23; 95% confidence interval: 0.51, 1.95), systolic blood pressure (B = 0.02; 95% confidence interval: 0.01, 0.03), smoking status (B = 0.79; 95% confidence interval: 0.44, 1.15), and socioeconomic status (B = −0.06; 95% confidence interval: −0.10, −0.02) (P < .01 for all). Conclusion Whole-body MR angiography identifies early vascular disease at a population level. Although disease prevalence is low on a per-vessel level, vascular disease is common on a per-participant level, even in this low- to intermediate-risk cohort. © RSNA, 2018 Online supplemental material is available for this article. PMID:29714681

Production of photocurrent due to intermediate-to-conduction-band transitions: a demonstration of a key operating principle of the intermediate-band solar cell.

PubMed

Martí, A; Antolín, E; Stanley, C R; Farmer, C D; López, N; Díaz, P; Cánovas, E; Linares, P G; Luque, A

2006-12-15

We present intermediate-band solar cells manufactured using quantum dot technology that show for the first time the production of photocurrent when two sub-band-gap energy photons are absorbed simultaneously. One photon produces an optical transition from the intermediate-band to the conduction band while the second pumps an electron from the valence band to the intermediate-band. The detection of this two-photon absorption process is essential to verify the principles of operation of the intermediate-band solar cell. The phenomenon is the cornerstone physical principle that ultimately allows the production of photocurrent in a solar cell by below band gap photon absorption, without degradation of its output voltage.

A locally initiated and executed measles outbreak response immunization campaign in the nylon health district, Douala Cameroon 2011

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

The Cameroon health system is divided into central, intermediate and peripheral levels. Of the 43 health districts with a measles outbreak in Cameroon in 2011, only the Nylon Health District organized a documented outbreak response immunization. We present the methods and results of the response campaign solely shouldered by the district and intermediate level. The risk group, targets and neighborhoods to be vaccinated were identified after a detailed analysis of initial cases. The intermediate level defined strategies, provided logistics, capacity building and 41% of the operational budget while 59% was completed by the peripheral level. Microsoft Office Excel 2007 was used to estimate coverage rates and to draw an epidemic curve. The response immunization campaign was organized on the 14th epidemiological week, 10 weeks after the onset of the outbreak which ended 11 weeks thereafter. A total of 15867(108.5%) children aged 9-59 months were vaccinated in five health areas at a direct cost (vaccines excluded) of 71.34FCFA ($0.143) per vaccinated child. An additional 824 children aged 9-59 months were vaccinated around the residence of notified cases in neighborhoods which were not involved in the response campaign. The number of cases after the response campaign was lower than before. Once vaccines are available, prompt outbreak response campaigns can be organized at operational level to obtain commendable results instead of depending solely on international organizations or central levels. Decision makers at the intermediate and operational levels should redeploy available funds during emergencies to prevent the development of extreme public health conditions. PMID:23497712

The Role of Oxygen in the Formation of TNT Product Ions in Ion Mobility Spectrometry

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

Daum, Keith Alvin; Atkinson, David Alan; Ewing, Robert Gordon

2002-03-01

The atmospheric pressure ionization of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) in air yields the (TNT-H)- product ion. It is generally accepted that this product ion is formed by the direct proton abstraction of neutral TNT by O2- reactant ions. Data presented here demonstrate the reaction involves the formation of an intermediate (TNT·O2)-, from the association of either TNT+O2- or TNT-+O2. This intermediate has two subsequent reaction branches. One of these branches involves simple dissociation of the intermediate to TNT-; the other branch is a terminal reaction that forms the typically observed (TNT-H)- ion via proton abstraction. The dissociation reaction involving electron transfer tomore » TNT- appeared to be kinetically favored and prevailed at low concentrations of oxygen (less than 2%). The presence of significant amounts of oxygen, however, resulted in the predominant formation of the (TNT-H)- ion by the terminal reaction branch. With TNT- in the system, either from direct electron attachment or by simple dissociation of the intermediate, increasing levels of oxygen in the system will continue to reform the intermediate, allowing the cycle to continue until proton abstraction occurs. Key to understanding this complex reaction pathway is that O2- was observed to transfer an electron directly to neutral TNT to form the TNT-. At oxygen levels of less than 2%, the TNT- ion intensity increased with increasing levels of oxygen (and O2-) and was larger than the (TNT-H)- ion intensity. As the oxygen level increased from 2 to 10%, the (TNT-H)- product ion became predominant. The potential reaction mechanisms were investigated with an ion mobility spectrometer, which was configured to independently evaluate the ionization pathways.« less

The VATES-Diamond as a Verifier's Best Friend

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Glesner, Sabine; Bartels, Björn; Göthel, Thomas; Kleine, Moritz

Within a model-based software engineering process it needs to be ensured that properties of abstract specifications are preserved by transformations down to executable code. This is even more important in the area of safety-critical real-time systems where additionally non-functional properties are crucial. In the VATES project, we develop formal methods for the construction and verification of embedded systems. We follow a novel approach that allows us to formally relate abstract process algebraic specifications to their implementation in a compiler intermediate representation. The idea is to extract a low-level process algebraic description from the intermediate code and to formally relate it to previously developed abstract specifications. We apply this approach to a case study from the area of real-time operating systems and show that this approach has the potential to seamlessly integrate modeling, implementation, transformation and verification stages of embedded system development.

The genome sequence of the emerging common midwife toad virus identifies an evolutionary intermediate within ranaviruses.

PubMed

Mavian, Carla; López-Bueno, Alberto; Balseiro, Ana; Casais, Rosa; Alcamí, Antonio; Alejo, Alí

2012-04-01

Worldwide amphibian population declines have been ascribed to global warming, increasing pollution levels, and other factors directly related to human activities. These factors may additionally be favoring the emergence of novel pathogens. In this report, we have determined the complete genome sequence of the emerging common midwife toad ranavirus (CMTV), which has caused fatal disease in several amphibian species across Europe. Phylogenetic and gene content analyses of the first complete genomic sequence from a ranavirus isolated in Europe show that CMTV is an amphibian-like ranavirus (ALRV). However, the CMTV genome structure is novel and represents an intermediate evolutionary stage between the two previously described ALRV groups. We find that CMTV clusters with several other ranaviruses isolated from different hosts and locations which might also be included in this novel ranavirus group. This work sheds light on the phylogenetic relationships within this complex group of emerging, disease-causing viruses.

Reaction of iminopropadienones with amines--formation of zwitterionic intermediates, ketenes, and ketenimines.

PubMed

Veedu, Rakesh Naduvile; Kokas, Okanya J; Couturier-Tamburelli, Isabelle; Koch, Rainer; Aycard, Jean-Pierre; Borget, Fabien; Wentrup, Curt

2008-10-09

Five aryliminopropadienones 4a- d have been synthesized by flash vacuum thermolysis (FVT) by using two different precursors in each case. These compounds were deposited at 50 K at a pressure of ca. 10(-6) mbar together with three different nucleophiles, namely, trimethylamine (TMA), dimethylamine (DMA), and diethylamine (DEA), in order to study their reactions as neat solids during warm-up by FTIR spectroscopy. The reaction with TMA showed that a zwitterionic species (5 and/or 6) was formed in all the cases. With DMA and DEA, an alpha-oxoketenimine and/or an imidoylketene (7 and 8 or 9 and 10) was formed as the final product. In addition, several bands were observed, which can be assigned to zwitterionic intermediates (11 or 12). Optimized structures and vibrational spectra for all products were calculated at the B3LYP/6-31G(d) level of theory by using the polarizable continuum model (epsilon = 5).

Nutrient enrichment modifies temperature-biodiversity relationships in large-scale field experiments

PubMed Central

Wang, Jianjun; Pan, Feiyan; Soininen, Janne; Heino, Jani; Shen, Ji

2016-01-01

Climate effects and human impacts, that is, nutrient enrichment, simultaneously drive spatial biodiversity patterns. However, there is little consensus about their independent effects on biodiversity. Here we manipulate nutrient enrichment in aquatic microcosms in subtropical and subarctic regions (China and Norway, respectively) to show clear segregation of bacterial species along temperature gradients, and decreasing alpha and gamma diversity toward higher nutrients. The temperature dependence of species richness is greatest at extreme nutrient levels, whereas the nutrient dependence of species richness is strongest at intermediate temperatures. For species turnover rates, temperature effects are strongest at intermediate and two extreme ends of nutrient gradients in subtropical and subarctic regions, respectively. Species turnover rates caused by nutrients do not increase toward higher temperatures. These findings illustrate direct effects of temperature and nutrients on biodiversity, and indirect effects via primary productivity, thus providing insights into how nutrient enrichment could alter biodiversity under future climate scenarios. PMID:28000677

Nutrient enrichment modifies temperature-biodiversity relationships in large-scale field experiments.

PubMed

Wang, Jianjun; Pan, Feiyan; Soininen, Janne; Heino, Jani; Shen, Ji

2016-12-21

Climate effects and human impacts, that is, nutrient enrichment, simultaneously drive spatial biodiversity patterns. However, there is little consensus about their independent effects on biodiversity. Here we manipulate nutrient enrichment in aquatic microcosms in subtropical and subarctic regions (China and Norway, respectively) to show clear segregation of bacterial species along temperature gradients, and decreasing alpha and gamma diversity toward higher nutrients. The temperature dependence of species richness is greatest at extreme nutrient levels, whereas the nutrient dependence of species richness is strongest at intermediate temperatures. For species turnover rates, temperature effects are strongest at intermediate and two extreme ends of nutrient gradients in subtropical and subarctic regions, respectively. Species turnover rates caused by nutrients do not increase toward higher temperatures. These findings illustrate direct effects of temperature and nutrients on biodiversity, and indirect effects via primary productivity, thus providing insights into how nutrient enrichment could alter biodiversity under future climate scenarios.

Storage Stability and Improvement of Intermediate Moisture Foods

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Labuza, T. P.

1976-01-01

Shelf life tests are used to estimate the rate of nonenzymatic browning; however, controlling the reducing sugar levels below 23:1 molar ratio to amines, slows the rate. In addition, liquid glycols surpress browning. The protozoan Tetrahymena pyriformis W can be used to estimate nutrition losses during browning. At high temperatures (80 to 120 C) used in processing intermediate moisture foods (IMF), vitamin C destruction shifts to a zero order mechanism. BHA and BHT are the most effective antioxidants against rancidity. In shelf life testing however, 45 C should be the maximum temperature used. Water binding agents are studied. The five isotherms of thirteen humectants were determined. The results show that neither the method of addition nor sequence of addition affects the a sub u lowering ability of these humectants. Results were used to formulate shelf stable IMF processed cheese foods with at least four months shelf life.

Nutrient enrichment modifies temperature-biodiversity relationships in large-scale field experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Jianjun; Pan, Feiyan; Soininen, Janne; Heino, Jani; Shen, Ji

2016-12-01

Climate effects and human impacts, that is, nutrient enrichment, simultaneously drive spatial biodiversity patterns. However, there is little consensus about their independent effects on biodiversity. Here we manipulate nutrient enrichment in aquatic microcosms in subtropical and subarctic regions (China and Norway, respectively) to show clear segregation of bacterial species along temperature gradients, and decreasing alpha and gamma diversity toward higher nutrients. The temperature dependence of species richness is greatest at extreme nutrient levels, whereas the nutrient dependence of species richness is strongest at intermediate temperatures. For species turnover rates, temperature effects are strongest at intermediate and two extreme ends of nutrient gradients in subtropical and subarctic regions, respectively. Species turnover rates caused by nutrients do not increase toward higher temperatures. These findings illustrate direct effects of temperature and nutrients on biodiversity, and indirect effects via primary productivity, thus providing insights into how nutrient enrichment could alter biodiversity under future climate scenarios.

Local Generation and Propagation of Ripples along the Septotemporal Axis of the Hippocampus

PubMed Central

Patel, Jagdish; Schomburg, Erik W.; Berényi, Antal; Fujisawa, Shigeyoshi

2013-01-01

A topographical relationship exists between the septotemporal segments of the hippocampus and their entorhinal–neocortical targets, but the physiological organization of activity along the septotemporal axis is poorly understood. We recorded sharp-wave ripple patterns in rats during sleep from the entire septotemporal axis of the CA1 pyramidal layer. Qualitatively similar ripples emerged at all levels. From the local seed, ripples traveled septally or temporally at a speed of ∼0.35 m/s, and the spatial spread depended on ripple magnitude. Ripples propagated smoothly across the septal and intermediate segments of the hippocampus, but ripples in the temporal segment often remained isolated. These findings show that ripples can combine information from the septal and intermediate hippocampus and transfer integrated signals downstream. In contrast, ripples that emerged in the temporal pole broadcast largely independent information to their cortical and subcortical targets. PMID:24155307

Inheritance of resistance to anti-microtubule dinitroaniline herbicides in an "intermediate" resistant biotype of Eleusine indica (Poaceae).

PubMed

Zeng, L; Baird, W V

1999-07-01

Inheritance of resistance to the anti-microtubule dinitroaniline herbicides was investigated in a goosegrass biotype displaying an intermediate level of resistance (I). Reciprocal crosses were made between the I biotype and previously characterized susceptible (S) or resistant (R) biotypes. Eight F(1) hybrids were identified, and F(2) populations were produced by selfing. The dinitroaniline-herbicide response phenotype (DRP) of F(1) plants, and F(2) seedlings was determined using a root-growth bioassay. The DRP of F(1) plants of S × I was "susceptible" (i.e., identical to the S parental plants), and the DRP of F(1) plants of I × R was "intermediate" (i.e., identical to the I parental plants). Nonparental phenotypes were not observed in F(1) plants. Results indicated susceptibility to be dominant over intermediate resistance and intermediate resistance to be dominant over high resistance. Analysis of reciprocal crosses ruled out any role for cytoplasmic inheritance. When treated at the discriminating concentration (e.g., 0.28 ppm oryzalin), F(2) seedlings of S × I were classified as either S or I phenotype, and F(2) seedlings of I × R were classified as either I or R phenotype. Again, nonparental phenotypes were not observed. The 3:1 (S:I or I:R) segregation ratios in F(2) seedlings were consistent across all eight F(2) families. The results show that dinitroaniline herbicide resistance in the I biotype of goosegrass is inherited as a single, nuclear gene. Furthermore, it suggests that dinitroaniline resistance in goosegrass is controlled by three alleles at a single locus (i.e., Drp-S, Drp-i, and Drp-r).

Tyrosyl-DNA Phosphodiesterase I Catalytic Mutants Reveal an Alternative Nucleophile That Can Catalyze Substrate Cleavage*

PubMed Central

Comeaux, Evan Q.; Cuya, Selma M.; Kojima, Kyoko; Jafari, Nauzanene; Wanzeck, Keith C.; Mobley, James A.; Bjornsti, Mary-Ann; van Waardenburg, Robert C. A. M.

2015-01-01

Tyrosyl-DNA phosphodiesterase I (Tdp1) catalyzes the repair of 3′-DNA adducts, such as the 3′-phosphotyrosyl linkage of DNA topoisomerase I to DNA. Tdp1 contains two conserved catalytic histidines: a nucleophilic His (Hisnuc) that attacks DNA adducts to form a covalent 3′-phosphohistidyl intermediate and a general acid/base His (Hisgab), which resolves the Tdp1-DNA linkage. A Hisnuc to Ala mutant protein is reportedly inactive, whereas the autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disease SCAN1 has been attributed to the enhanced stability of the Tdp1-DNA intermediate induced by mutation of Hisgab to Arg. However, here we report that expression of the yeast HisnucAla (H182A) mutant actually induced topoisomerase I-dependent cytotoxicity and further enhanced the cytotoxicity of Tdp1 Hisgab mutants, including H432N and the SCAN1-related H432R. Moreover, the HisnucAla mutant was catalytically active in vitro, albeit at levels 85-fold less than that observed with wild type Tdp1. In contrast, the HisnucPhe mutant was catalytically inactive and suppressed Hisgab mutant-induced toxicity. These data suggest that the activity of another nucleophile when Hisnuc is replaced with residues containing a small side chain (Ala, Asn, and Gln), but not with a bulky side chain. Indeed, genetic, biochemical, and mass spectrometry analyses show that a highly conserved His, immediately N-terminal to Hisnuc, can act as a nucleophile to catalyze the formation of a covalent Tdp1-DNA intermediate. These findings suggest that the flexibility of Tdp1 active site residues may impair the resolution of mutant Tdp1 covalent phosphohistidyl intermediates and provide the rationale for developing chemotherapeutics that stabilize the covalent Tdp1-DNA intermediate. PMID:25609251

Understanding Selectivity for the Electrochemical Reduction of Carbon Dioxide to Formic Acid and Carbon Monoxide on Metal Electrodes

DOE PAGES

Feaster, Jeremy T.; Shi, Chuan; Cave, Etosha R.; ...

2017-06-22

Increases in energy demand and in chemical production, together with the rise in CO 2 levels in the atmosphere, motivate the development of renewable energy sources. Electrochemical CO 2 reduction to fuels and chemicals is an appealing alternative to traditional pathways to fuels and chemicals due to its intrinsic ability to couple to solar and wind energy sources. Formate (HCOO –) is a key chemical for many industries; however, greater understanding is needed regarding the mechanism and key intermediates for HCOO – production. This work reports a joint experimental and theoretical investigation of the electrochemical reduction of CO 2 tomore » HCOO – on polycrystalline Sn surfaces, which have been identified as promising catalysts for selectively producing HCOO –. Our results show that Sn electrodes produce HCOO –, carbon monoxide (CO), and hydrogen (H 2) across a range of potentials and that HCOO – production becomes favored at potentials more negative than –0.8 V vs RHE, reaching a maximum Faradaic efficiency of 70% at –0.9 V vs RHE. Scaling relations for Sn and other transition metals are examined using experimental current densities and density functional theory (DFT) binding energies. While *COOH was determined to be the key intermediate for CO production on metal surfaces, we suggest that it is unlikely to be the primary intermediate for HCOO – production. Instead, *OCHO is suggested to be the key intermediate for the CO 2RR to HCOO – transformation, and Sn’s optimal *OCHO binding energy supports its high selectivity for HCOO –. Lastly, these results suggest that oxygen-bound intermediates are critical to understand the mechanism of CO 2 reduction to HCOO – on metal surfaces.« less

Understanding Selectivity for the Electrochemical Reduction of Carbon Dioxide to Formic Acid and Carbon Monoxide on Metal Electrodes

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

Feaster, Jeremy T.; Shi, Chuan; Cave, Etosha R.

Increases in energy demand and in chemical production, together with the rise in CO 2 levels in the atmosphere, motivate the development of renewable energy sources. Electrochemical CO 2 reduction to fuels and chemicals is an appealing alternative to traditional pathways to fuels and chemicals due to its intrinsic ability to couple to solar and wind energy sources. Formate (HCOO –) is a key chemical for many industries; however, greater understanding is needed regarding the mechanism and key intermediates for HCOO – production. This work reports a joint experimental and theoretical investigation of the electrochemical reduction of CO 2 tomore » HCOO – on polycrystalline Sn surfaces, which have been identified as promising catalysts for selectively producing HCOO –. Our results show that Sn electrodes produce HCOO –, carbon monoxide (CO), and hydrogen (H 2) across a range of potentials and that HCOO – production becomes favored at potentials more negative than –0.8 V vs RHE, reaching a maximum Faradaic efficiency of 70% at –0.9 V vs RHE. Scaling relations for Sn and other transition metals are examined using experimental current densities and density functional theory (DFT) binding energies. While *COOH was determined to be the key intermediate for CO production on metal surfaces, we suggest that it is unlikely to be the primary intermediate for HCOO – production. Instead, *OCHO is suggested to be the key intermediate for the CO 2RR to HCOO – transformation, and Sn’s optimal *OCHO binding energy supports its high selectivity for HCOO –. Lastly, these results suggest that oxygen-bound intermediates are critical to understand the mechanism of CO 2 reduction to HCOO – on metal surfaces.« less

Medical physics: the perfect intermediate level physics class

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Christensen, Nelson

2001-07-01

Medical physics is currently a rapidly growing field of physics. Numerous academic, clinical and industrial opportunities are open to physicists in the medical world. I report on an intermediate level physics course on medical physics taught at Carleton College. The topics covered in this course cover all areas of physics, but with examples drawn from medical applications. In addition to physics majors, this course appeals to biology, chemistry and pre-medical students who have a keen interest in physics.

Potentiometric surfaces of the intermediate aquifer system, west-central Florida, May, 1993

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mularoni, R.A.

1994-01-01

The intermediate aquifer system underlies a 5000-sq-mi area including De Soto, Sarasota, Hardee, Manatee, and parts of Charlotte, Hillsborough, Highlands, and Polk Counties, Florida. It is overlain by the surf@cial aquifer system and underlain by the Floridan aquifer system. The potentiometric surface of the intermediate aquifer system was mapped by determining the altitude of water levels in a network of wells and represented on a map by contours that connect points of equal altitude. This map represents water-level conditions near the end of the spring dry season when ground- water withdrawals for agricultural use were high. The cumulative rainfall for the study area was 4.84 inches above normal for the period from June 1992 to May 1993. Hydrographs for selected wells indicated that the annual and seasonal fluctuations of the water levels were generally large (greater than 15 feet) in the central interior region where water demand for irrigation is high during the fall and spring. Seasonal fluctuations were smaller in the northern recharge area where water use is predominantly for public supply. Water levels measured in May 1993 for the composite intermediate aquifer potentiometric surface were lower than those measured in May or September 1992. A cone of depression exists in the potentiometric surface for the composite aquifer system at Warm Mineral Springs, which is a natural discharge point from this system.

[FAP Expression and Its Association with the Prognosis of Gastric Stromal Tumors].

PubMed

Tang, Su-Min; Shen, Chao-Yong; Yin, Yuan; Yin, Xiao-Nan; Cai, Zhao-Lun; Chen, Zhi-Xin; Zhang, Bo

2017-03-01

To determine the association of FAP expression with the prognosis of gastric stromal tumors (GSTs). Paraffin-embedded GSTs samples were collected from January 2010 to December 2013 in the department of pathology of our hospital. FAP expression was examined by immunohistochemistry staining. Its correlations with clinical pathological characteristics and prognosis of GSTs were analyzed. A total of 98 cases were included in this study. FAP was expressed in the cytoplasm of GSTs cells, with a positive rate of 42.9%. No FAP expression was found in normal gastric tissues. No differences of FAP expression were found in patients with different gender, age and tumor mitotic counts ( P >0.05). Tumor diameter and risk classification were associated with FAP expression ( P <0.05). Higher levels of FAP expression were found in larger and higher risk tumors. No significant correlations between FAP expression and routine immunohistochemical markers were found. Log-rank univariate survival analysis showed that mitotic counts, tumor size, postoperative IM and FAP expression were associated with recurrence free survival of GSTs patients with intermediate-high risks ( P <0.05). Cox multivariate survival analysis showed that mitotic counts, tumor size, postoperative IM and FAP were independent predictors for the prognosis of GSTs patients with intermediate-high risks ( P <0.05). FAP is expressed in the cytoplasm of gastric GIST cells, but not in normal gastric tissues. FAP is a predictor for the prognosis of GSTs patients with intermediate-high risks.

Technology consumption and cognitive control: Contrasting action video game experience with media multitasking.

PubMed

Cardoso-Leite, Pedro; Kludt, Rachel; Vignola, Gianluca; Ma, Wei Ji; Green, C Shawn; Bavelier, Daphne

2016-01-01

Technology has the potential to impact cognition in many ways. Here we contrast two forms of technology usage: (1) media multitasking (i.e., the simultaneous consumption of multiple streams of media, such a texting while watching TV) and (2) playing action video games (a particular subtype of video games). Previous work has outlined an association between high levels of media multitasking and specific deficits in handling distracting information, whereas playing action video games has been associated with enhanced attentional control. Because these two factors are linked with reasonably opposing effects, failing to take them jointly into account may result in inappropriate conclusions as to the impacts of technology use on attention. Across four tasks (AX-continuous performance, N-back, task-switching, and filter tasks), testing different aspects of attention and cognition, we showed that heavy media multitaskers perform worse than light media multitaskers. Contrary to previous reports, though, the performance deficit was not specifically tied to distractors, but was instead more global in nature. Interestingly, participants with intermediate levels of media multitasking sometimes performed better than both light and heavy media multitaskers, suggesting that the effects of increasing media multitasking are not monotonic. Action video game players, as expected, outperformed non-video-game players on all tasks. However, surprisingly, this was true only for participants with intermediate levels of media multitasking, suggesting that playing action video games does not protect against the deleterious effect of heavy media multitasking. Taken together, these findings show that media consumption can have complex and counterintuitive effects on attentional control.

Technology consumption and cognitive control: Contrasting action video game experience with media multitasking

PubMed Central

Cardoso-Leite, Pedro; Kludt, Rachel; Vignola, Gianluca; Ma, Wei Ji; Green, C. Shawn; Bavelier, Daphne

2015-01-01

Technology has the potential to impact cognition in many ways. Here we contrast two forms of technology usage: 1) media multitasking (i.e., the simultaneous consumption of multiple streams of media, such a texting while watching TV) and 2) playing action video games (a particular sub-type of video game). Previous work has outlined an association between high levels of media multitasking and specific deficits in handling distracting information, while playing action video games has been associated with enhanced attentional control. As these two factors are linked with reasonably opposing effects, failing to take them jointly into account may result in inappropriate conclusions as to the impact of technology use on attention. Across four experiments (AX-CPT, N-back, Task-switching and Filter task), testing different aspects of attention and cognition, we show that heavy media multitaskers perform worse than light media multitaskers. Contrary to previous reports though, the performance deficit was not specifically tied to distractors, but was instead more global in nature. Interestingly, participants with intermediate levels of media multitasking occasionally performed better than both light and heavy media multitaskers suggesting that the effects of increasing media multitasking are not monotonic. Action video game players, as expected, outperformed non-video game players on all tasks. However, surprisingly this was true only for participants with intermediate levels of media multitasking, suggesting that playing action video games does not protect against the deleterious effect of heavy media multitasking. Taken together this study shows that media consumption can have complex and counter-intuitive effects on attentional control. PMID:26474982

Comparisons of tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte levels and the 21-gene recurrence score in ER-positive/HER2-negative breast cancer.

PubMed

Ahn, Sung Gwe; Cha, Yoon Jin; Bae, Soon June; Yoon, Chanik; Lee, Hak Woo; Jeong, Joon

2018-03-24

Recent studies have shown that tumors with extensive tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) have a higher probability of pathologic complete response, even in luminal/human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2)-negative breast cancer. We compared TIL levels and the 21-gene recurrence score (RS) in estrogen receptor (ER)-positive/HER2-negative breast cancer. We evaluated the percentage of stromal TILs in 198 ER-positive/HER2-negative patients in whom RS was obtained by examining slides of surgical specimens by standardized methodology proposed by the international TIL Working Group. TIL levels were categorized as high (≥ 60%), intermediate (11-59%), or low (≤ 10%). All tumors were treatment-naïve. Ninety-seven (49.0%), 88 (44.4%), and 13 patients (6.6%) had low, intermediate, and high TIL levels, respectively. There was a significant but weak correlation between continuous RS and continuous TIL levels (Pearson's R = 0.201, p = 0.004). The mean RS was significantly highest in high TIL tumors (17.8 ± 10.7 in low TIL tumors, 19.4 ± 8.7 in intermediate TIL tumors, and 26.2 ± 8.2 in high TIL tumors; p = 0.014). However, when we compared categorized RS and TIL levels, we found that tumors with high TIL levels tended to have higher RS (≥ 26) but it was not significant (p = 0.155). Furthermore, multivariate analysis revealed that high RS was not an independent factor associated with high TIL levels. Chemo-endocrine therapy was more frequently performed among patients with high TILs and less frequently among those with low or intermediate TILs (p <  0.001). Despite of a weak correlation between continuous TIL levels and RS, we found that tumors with high TIL levels tended to have a higher RS in ER-positive/HER2-negative breast cancer. Further study is warranted considering the clinical outcomes.

Assessments on landslide susceptibility in the Tseng-wen reservoir watershed, Taiwan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Yu-Chin; Chen, Yung-Chau; Chen, Wen-Fu

2014-05-01

Typhoon Morakot under the strong influence of southwestern monsoon wind struck Taiwan on 8 August 2009, and dumped record-breaking rains in southern Taiwan. It triggered enormous landslides in mountains and severe flooding in low-lying areas. In addition, it destroyed or damaged houses, agricultural fields, roads, bridges, and other infrastructure facilities, causing massive economic loss and, more tragically, human casualties. In order to evaluate landslide hazard and risk assessment, it is important to understand the potential sites of landslide and their spatial distribution. Multi-temporal satellite images and geo-spatial data are used to build landslide susceptibility map for the post-disaster in the Tseng-wen reservoir watershed in this research. Elevation, slope, aspect, NDVI (normalized differential vegetation index), relief, roughness, distance to river, and distance to road are the considered factors for estimating landslide susceptibility. Maximum hourly rainfall and total rainfall, accompanied with typhoon event, are selected as the trigger factors of landslide events. Logistic regression analysis is adopted as the statistical method to model landslide susceptibility. The assessed susceptibility is represented in 4 levels which are high, high-intermediate, intermediate, and low level, respectively. Landslide spatial distribution can be depicted as a landslide susceptibility map with respect to each considered influence factors for a specified susceptible level. The landslide areas are about 358 ha and 1,485 ha before and after typhoon Morakot. The new landslide area, induced by typhoon Morakot, is as almost 4 times as the landslide area before typhoon Morakot. In addition, there is about 44.56% landslide area elevation ranging from 500m to 1000m and about 57.22% average slope ranging from 30° to 45° of landslide area. Furthermore, the devastating landslides were happened at those sites close to rivers, exposed area, and area with big land cover change (high human development). Among considered factors, slope, distance to river, NDVI, and maximum hourly rainfall are the major influence factors for landslide susceptibility. The results show that the accuracy of predicted landslide area is 74.74% and AUC is 0.82 corresponding to typhoon Morakot. Comparing model predicted with actual landslide areas, it shows that the predicted accuracy is 93% for high or high-intermediate level landslide area. It suggests that a landslide susceptibility map, depicted by this assessment model, is applicable on landslide prediction.

Activity Guide for Career Education. Intermediate.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Festus School District R-6, MO.

The suggestions for learning activities in career education at the intermediate level (Grades 4-5) are presented with the aim of establishing career awareness related to four occupational clusters: marketing and distribution, construction, communication and media, and hospitality-recreation. The activities are presented under the headings of four…

Applying Literature in the Elementary School: Shakespeare in the Intermediate Grades.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Halkitis, Perry N.; Hoffman, Mala

1992-01-01

This program, which applies William Shakespeare's works for gifted intermediate level students, involves student reading of plays, students and teachers reading together and discussing scenes, individual students rereading the plays, student projects applying their knowledge of the play, and evaluation of play productions. (JDD)

40 CFR 141.66 - Maximum contaminant levels for radionuclides.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... quality range andconsiderations. 1 1. Ion exchange (IE) (a) Intermediate All ground waters. 2. Point of.... Lime softening (d) Advanced All waters. 6. Green sand filtration (e) Basic. 7. Co-precipitation with Barium sulfate (f) Intermediate to Advanced Ground waters with suitable water quality. 8. Electrodialysis...

Degradation of triclosan and its main intermediates during the combined irradiation and biological treatment.

PubMed

Wang, Shizong; Wang, Jianlong

2018-05-01

Triclosan is an extensively applied antimicrobial agent which has been frequently detected in the environment. In this paper, the degradation of triclosan and its main intermediates was investigated during the combined irradiation and biological treatment. The results showed that triclosan degradation increased with increase of absorbed dose, the removal efficiency of triclosan was 62%, 77%, 87%, 91% and 94%, respectively at 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 kGy. The final removal efficiency of triclosan after the combined irradiation and biological process was 81%, 86%, 90%, 92% and 95%, respectively. During the irradiation process, two main intermediates, that is, 4,4'-2'-phenoxyphenol (Intermediate 1) and 4-chloro-2'-phenoxyphenol (Intermediate 2) were detected, in which Intermediate 1 dominated during the irradiation process. In the following biological treatment process, Intermediates 1 and 2 could be further degraded. In single biological treatment process, the final removal efficiency of triclosan was 54%, and Intermediates 1 and 2 were detected. Intermediate 1 could be biodegraded while Intermediate 2 could not. The concentration of Intermediate 2 increased during biological treatment process. In conclusion, irradiation as pre-treatment process can enhance the degradation of triclosan and improve the biodegradability of Intermediate 2. Combined irradiation and biological process can be promising for treating antibiotic-containing wastewater.

Geochronology and geochemistry of deep-seated crustal xenoliths in the northern North China Craton: Implications for the evolution and structure of the lower crust

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Su, Yuping; Zheng, Jianping; Griffin, William L.; Huang, Yan; Wei, Ying; Ping, Xianquan

2017-11-01

The age and composition of the lower crust are critical in understanding the processes of continental formation and evolution, and deep-seated granulite xenoliths can offer direct information on the lower crust. Here, we report mineral chemistry, whole-rock major and trace elements, Sr-Nd isotopes and zircon U-Pb-Hf results for a suite of deep-seated crustal xenoliths, recently discovered in the Cenozoic basalts of the Nangaoya area in the northern part of the North China Craton (NCC). Based on the P-T estimates, these xenoliths including mafic, intermediate and felsic granulites and hornblendites were sampled from different levels of the lower crust. While a hornblendite has a flat REE pattern, all other xenoliths display LREE enrichment and depletion of Nb, Ta, Th and Ti. The mafic granulite xenolith has relatively high whole-rock εNd(t) value of - 13.37, and yields Mesozoic (188-59 Ma) zircons ages with high εHf(t) values from - 15.3 to - 9.2. The garnet-bearing intermediate granulite-facies rocks show low εNd(t) values from - 16.92 to - 17.48, and reveal both Paleoproterozoic (1948 Ma) and Mesozoic (222-63 Ma) zircon U-Pb ages. Their Mesozoic zircons have lower εHf(t) values (from - 18.4 to - 13.8) than those from the mafic xenolith. The remaining intermediate to felsic xenoliths show Paleoproterozoic zircon ages, and the lowest εNd(t) values (from - 20.78 to - 24.03). The mafic-intermediate granulites with Mesozoic zircons originated from the interaction of lower crust-derived magmas with mantle melts, with higher proportions of mantle magmas involved in the generation of mafic granulite, whereas intermediate to felsic xenoliths without Mesozoic zircons represent ancient Paleoproterozoic to Neoarchean deep crust. These deep-seated xenoliths reveal complicated crustal evolution processes, including crustal growth during Neoarchean (2.5-2.7 Ga), middle Paleoproterozoic (2.2-2.1 Ga) and Mesozoic, and reworking during early Paleoproterozoic, late Paleoproterozoic and Mesozoic related to magmatic underplating. The integrated analyses of lithological, geochemical and age data for a suite of deep-seated xenoliths show that the lower crust in the Nangaoya area is temporally and compositionally zoned. The upper part of the lower crust mainly comprises Neoarchean to Paleoproterozoic intermediate-felsic rocks with intercalated hornblendites, the majority of which record 1950 and 1850 Ma metamorphism; the middle part is dominated by a Paleoproterozoic and Mesozoic intermediate garnet-bearing granulite-facies hybrid layer; and the lowermost crust is represented by a Mesozoic mafic granulite layer, which was significantly modified by episodic magmatic underplating. Such a modification induced by crust-mantle interaction can result in Mesozoic ages and more mafic components for xenolith granulites, and thus is an effective mechanism to explain the differences between exposed and xenolithic granulites.

Increasing water use efficiency along the C3 to C4 evolutionary pathway: a stomatal optimization perspective.

PubMed

Way, Danielle A; Katul, Gabriel G; Manzoni, Stefano; Vico, Giulia

2014-07-01

C4 photosynthesis evolved independently numerous times, probably in response to declining atmospheric CO2 concentrations, but also to high temperatures and aridity, which enhance water losses through transpiration. Here, the environmental factors controlling stomatal behaviour of leaf-level carbon and water exchange were examined across the evolutionary continuum from C3 to C4 photosynthesis at current (400 μmol mol(-1)) and low (280 μmol mol(-1)) atmospheric CO2 conditions. To this aim, a stomatal optimization model was further developed to describe the evolutionary continuum from C3 to C4 species within a unified framework. Data on C3, three categories of C3-C4 intermediates, and C4 Flaveria species were used to parameterize the stomatal model, including parameters for the marginal water use efficiency and the efficiency of the CO2-concentrating mechanism (or C4 pump); these two parameters are interpreted as traits reflecting the stomatal and photosynthetic adjustments during the C3 to C4 transformation. Neither the marginal water use efficiency nor the C4 pump strength changed significantly from C3 to early C3-C4 intermediate stages, but both traits significantly increased between early C3-C4 intermediates and the C4-like intermediates with an operational C4 cycle. At low CO2, net photosynthetic rates showed continuous increases from a C3 state, across the intermediates and towards C4 photosynthesis, but only C4-like intermediates and C4 species (with an operational C4 cycle) had higher water use efficiencies than C3 Flaveria. The results demonstrate that both the marginal water use efficiency and the C4 pump strength increase in C4 Flaveria to improve their photosynthesis and water use efficiency compared with C3 species. These findings emphasize that the advantage of the early intermediate stages is predominantly carbon based, not water related. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology.

Region based route planning - Multi-abstraction route planning based on intermediate level vision processing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Doshi, Rajkumar S.; Lam, Raymond; White, James E.

1989-01-01

Intermediate and high level processing operations are performed on vision data for the organization of images into more meaningful, higher-level topological representations by means of a region-based route planner (RBRP). The RBRP operates in terrain scenarios where some or most of the terrain is occluded, proceeding without a priori maps on the basis of two-dimensional representations and gradient-and-roughness information. Route planning is accomplished by three successive abstractions and yields a detailed point-by-point path by searching only within the boundaries of relatively small regions.

Herd-level relationship between antimicrobial use and presence or absence of antimicrobial resistance in gram-negative bovine mastitis pathogens on Canadian dairy farms.

PubMed

Saini, Vineet; McClure, J T; Scholl, Daniel T; DeVries, Trevor J; Barkema, Herman W

2013-08-01

Concurrent data on antimicrobial use (AMU) and resistance are needed to contain antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in bacteria. The present study examined a herd-level association between AMU and AMR in Escherichia coli (n=394) and Klebsiella species (n=139) isolated from bovine intramammary infections and mastitis cases on 89 dairy farms in 4 regions of Canada [Alberta, Ontario, Québec, and Maritime Provinces (Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick)]. Antimicrobial use data were collected using inventory of empty antimicrobial containers and antimicrobial drug use rate was calculated to quantify herd-level AMU. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) were determined using Sensititre National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) gram-negative MIC plate (Trek Diagnostic Systems Inc., Cleveland, OH). Isolates were classified as susceptible, intermediate, or resistant. Intermediate and resistant category isolates were combined to form an AMR category, and multivariable logistic regression models were built to determine herd-level odds of AMR to tetracycline, ampicillin, cefoxitin, chloramphenicol, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole combination, sulfisoxazole, streptomycin and kanamycin in E. coli isolates. In the case of Klebsiella species isolates, logistic regression models were built for tetracycline and sulfisoxazole; however, no associations between AMU and AMR in Klebsiella species were observed. Ampicillin-intermediate or -resistant E. coli isolates were associated with herds that used intramammarily administered cloxacillin, penicillin-novobiocin combination, and cephapirin used for dry cow therapy [odds ratios (OR)=26, 32, and 189, respectively], and intramammary ceftiofur administered for lactating cow therapy and systemically administered penicillin (OR=162 and 2.7, respectively). Use of systemically administered penicillin on a dairy farm was associated with tetracycline and streptomycin-intermediate or -resistant E. coli isolates (OR=5.6 and 2.8, respectively). Use of cephapirin and cloxacillin administered intramammarily for dry cow therapy was associated with increasing odds of having at least 1 kanamycin-intermediate or -resistant E. coli isolate at a farm (OR=8.7 and 9.3, respectively). Use of systemically administered tetracycline and ceftiofur was associated with cefoxitin-intermediate or -resistant E. coli (OR=0.13 and 0.16, respectively); however, the odds of a dairy herd having at least 1 cefoxitin-intermediate or -resistant E. coli isolate due to systemically administered ceftiofur increased with increasing average herd parity (OR=3.1). Association between herd-level AMU and AMR in bovine mastitis coliforms was observed for certain antimicrobials. Differences in AMR between different barn types and geographical regions were not observed. Copyright © 2013 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Congenital erythropoietic porphyria in an African hedgehog (Atelerix albiventris).

PubMed

Wolff, Carlos; Corradini, Paulina; Cortés, Galaxia

2005-06-01

A 6-mo-old, male African hedgehog (Atelerix albiventris) presented with a history of pink urine and demonstrating pink-colored teeth and mild hepatomegaly on examination. Urinalysis revealed no physical, chemical, or cellular abnormalities other than a pink color and fluorescence under ultraviolet light (UV). Also under UV, intense fluorescence of teeth, feet, and spines was noted. Porphyria was suspected. Spectrophotometric evaluation of urine showed extremely elevated levels of copro- and uroporphyrins. Analysis of the urine by thin-layer chromatography showed an abnormal pattern of excreted porphyrin intermediates. Urine high-performance thin-layer chromatography showed that excreted porphyrins were 90-95% of the type-I isomeric form, suggestive of congenital erythropoietic porphyria.

AISLE: an automatic volumetric segmentation method for the study of lung allometry.

PubMed

Ren, Hongliang; Kazanzides, Peter

2011-01-01

We developed a fully automatic segmentation method for volumetric CT (computer tomography) datasets to support construction of a statistical atlas for the study of allometric laws of the lung. The proposed segmentation method, AISLE (Automated ITK-Snap based on Level-set), is based on the level-set implementation from an existing semi-automatic segmentation program, ITK-Snap. AISLE can segment the lung field without human interaction and provide intermediate graphical results as desired. The preliminary experimental results show that the proposed method can achieve accurate segmentation, in terms of volumetric overlap metric, by comparing with the ground-truth segmentation performed by a radiologist.

A Genetic and Pharmacological Analysis of Isoprenoid Pathway by LC-MS/MS in Fission Yeast

PubMed Central

Takami, Tomonori; Fang, Yue; Zhou, Xin; Jaiseng, Wurentuya; Ma, Yan; Kuno, Takayoshi

2012-01-01

Currently, statins are the only drugs acting on the mammalian isoprenoid pathway. The mammalian genes in this pathway are not easily amenable to genetic manipulation. Thus, it is difficult to study the effects of the inhibition of various enzymes on the intermediate and final products in the isoprenoid pathway. In fission yeast, antifungal compounds such as azoles and terbinafine are available as inhibitors of the pathway in addition to statins, and various isoprenoid pathway mutants are also available. Here in these mutants, treated with statins or antifungals, we quantified the final and intermediate products of the fission yeast isoprenoid pathway using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry. In hmg1-1, a mutant of the gene encoding 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMGR), ergosterol (a final sterol product), and squalene (an intermediate pathway product), were decreased to approximately 80% and 10%, respectively, compared with that of wild-type cells. Consistently in wild-type cells, pravastatin, an HMGR inhibitor decreased ergosterol and squalene, and the effect was more pronounced on squalene. In hmg1-1 mutant and in wild-type cells treated with pravastatin, the decrease in the levels of farnesyl pyrophosphate and geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate respectively was larger than that of ergosterol but was smaller than that of squalene. In Δerg6 or Δsts1 cells, mutants of the genes involved in the last step of the pathway, ergosterol was not detected, and the changes of intermediate product levels were distinct from that of hmg1-1 mutant. Notably, in wild-type cells miconazole and terbinafine only slightly decreased ergosterol level. Altogether, these studies suggest that the pleiotropic phenotypes caused by the hmg1-1 mutation and pravastatin might be due to decreased levels of isoprenoid pyrophosphates or other isoprenoid pathway intermediate products rather than due to a decreased ergosterol level. PMID:23145048

Single-molecule studies highlight conformational heterogeneity in the early folding steps of a large ribozyme

PubMed Central

Xie, Zheng; Srividya, Narayanan; Sosnick, Tobin R.; Pan, Tao; Scherer, Norbert F.

2004-01-01

The equilibrium folding of the catalytic domain of Bacillus subtilis RNase P RNA is investigated by single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). Previous ensemble studies of this 255-nucleotide ribozyme described the equilibrium folding with two transitions, U-to-Ieq-to-N, and focused on the Ieq-to-N transition. The present study focuses on the U-to-Ieq transition. Comparative ensemble measurements of the ribozyme construct labeled with fluorescein at the 5′ end and Cy3 at the 3′ end show that modifications required for labeling do not interfere with folding and help to define the Mg2+ concentration range for the U-to-Ieq transition. Histogram analysis of the Mg2+-dependent single-molecule FRET efficiency reveals two previously undetermined folding intermediates. The single-molecule FRET trajectories exhibit non-two-state and nonergodic behaviors at intermediate Mg2+ concentrations on the time scale of seconds. The trajectories at intermediate Mg2+ concentrations are classified into five classes based on three FRET levels and their dynamics of interconversion within the measured time range. This heterogeneity, together with the observation of “nonsudden jump” FRET transitions, indicates that the early folding steps of this ribozyme involve a series of intermediates with different degrees of kinetic isolation and that folding occurs under kinetic control and involves many “local” conformational switches. A free energy contour is constructed to illustrate the complex folding surface. PMID:14704266

Arctic Intermediate Water in the Nordic Seas, 1991-2009

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeansson, Emil; Olsen, Are; Jutterström, Sara

2017-10-01

The evolution of the different types of Arctic Intermediate Water (AIW) in the Nordic Seas is evaluated and compared utilising hydro-chemical data from 1991 to 2009. It has been suggested that these waters are important components of the Norwegian Sea Arctic Intermediate Water (NSAIW), and of the dense overflows to the North Atlantic. Thus, it is important to understand how their properties and distribution vary with time. The AIWs from the Greenland and Iceland Seas, show different degrees of variability during the studied period; however, only the Greenland Sea Arctic Intermediate Water (GSAIW) shows an increasing temperature and salinity throughout the 2000s, which considerably changed the properties of this water mass. Optimum multiparameter (OMP) analysis was conducted to assess the sources of the NSAIW. The analysis shows that the Iceland Sea Arctic Intermediate Water (ISAIW) and the GSAIW both contribute to NSAIW, at different densities corresponding to their respective density range. This illustrates that they flow largely isopycnally from their source regions to the Norwegian Sea. The main source of the NSAIW, however, is the upper Polar Deep Water, which explains the lower concentrations of oxygen and chlorofluorocarbons, and higher salinity and nutrient concentrations of the NSAIW layer compared with the ISAIW and GSAIW. This shows how vital it is to include chemical tracers in any water mass analysis to correctly assess the sources of the water mass being studied.

Moroccan Arabic Intermediate Reader. Part I.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alami, Wali A.; Hodge, Carlton T., Ed.

This intermediate-level reader in Moroccan Arabic is designed to provide (1) a text which will be articulatable with a basic course, (2) natural language in "advanced colloquial" rather than a literary style, and (3) material which is culturally insightful. The cultural aspects represented are those of inter-personal relationships,…

Le francais fonde sur la competence, Intermediare (Competency Based French, Intermediate).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dimanche, Maurice

This instructional guide in French is intended for training Peace Corps volunteers serving in the Central African Republic. It includes 35 topical lessons at the intermediate level, each consisting of briefly stated competency objectives and a number of brief, related situational dialogues. Lesson topics include: introducing oneself; introducing…

TLC for Growing Minds. Microcomputer Projects. Elementary Intermediate Microcomputer Projects.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buxton, Marilyn

Designed to improve students' thinking, learning, and creative skills while they learn to program a microcomputer in BASIC programing language, this book for intermediate learners at the elementary school level provides a variety of microcomputer activities designed to extend the concepts learned in accompanying instructional manuals (Volumes 3…

OER Use in Intermediate Language Instruction: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Godwin-Jones, Robert

2017-01-01

This paper reports on a case study in the experimental use of Open Educational Resources (OERs) in intermediate level language instruction. The resources come from three sources: the instructor, the students, and open content repositories. The objective of this action research project was to provide student-centered learning materials, enhance…

Project Earth, A Curriculum Guide, Kindergarten-Primary-Intermediate.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rogers, Arnold R., Ed.

This conservation curriculum guide contains units on the air, water, soil, plants, and animals. The guide is organized by grade levels--kindergarten, primary, intermediate. Objectives and concepts are listed and suggested activities are complete with a statement of procedure and necessary materials. A resource appendix includes books, films, and…

The Finance of Non Government Schools in Bangladesh.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Puttick, Edwin B.; And Others

The educational system in Bangladesh is unique in its finance and management structure. Elementary and higher education are mostly publicly financed, while secondary and intermediate education are mainly private organized. This study concentrates on private schools at the secondary, intermediate, and college level; and the difference in access…

Business Machine Maintenance. Performance Objectives. Basic Course.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McMinn, Robert

Several intermediate performance objectives and corresponding criterion measures are listed for each of 25 terminal objectives presented in this guide for a basic business machine maintenance course at the secondary level. (For the intermediate course guide see CE 010 948.) The materials were developed for a two-semester (2 hour daily) course…

Synthesis, characterization and optical properties of ATiO{sub 3}–Pr thin films prepared by a photochemical method (where A = Ba and Ca)

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

Cabello, G., E-mail: gerardocabelloguzman@hotmail.com; Lillo, L.; Caro, C.

2015-10-15

Highlights: • A method of photochemical deposition has been used to the preparation of (Ba,Ca)TiO{sub 3} thin films doped Pr(III). • The (Ba,Ca)TiO{sub 3}/Pr(III) films under 375 nm excitation shows emissions attributable to {sup 1}D{sub 2} → {sup 3}H{sub 4} transition of Pr ion. • These PL signals decreased above 10 mol% of Pr(III). • Analysis suggests the presence of intermediate energy levels in the band gap influences in the PL processes. - Abstract: This article reports the characterization and optical properties of (Ba,Ca)TiO{sub 3} thin films doped with Pr at different proportions (0–15 mol%). The films were deposited onmore » Si (1 0 0) and quartz substrates using a photochemical method and post-annealed at 900 °C. The evaluation of photo-reactivity of the precursor complexes was monitored by UV–vis and FT-IR spectroscopy. The obtained films were characterized by X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results indicate that Ba, Ca, Ti, O and Pr are present in the form of perovskite. Under UV light excitation (375 nm) the (Ba,Ca)TiO{sub 3}–Pr films show the characteristic emissions ascribed to {sup 1}D{sub 2} → {sup 3}H{sub 4} transition of Pr{sup 3+} ion. The optical measurements show the presence of intermediate energy levels in the band gap which influence the emission processes.« less

α-Methylprednisolone conjugated cyclodextrin polymer-based nanoparticles for rheumatoid arthritis therapy

PubMed Central

Hwang, Jungyeon; Rodgers, Kathleen; Oliver, James C; Schluep, Thomas

2008-01-01

A glycinate derivative of α-methylprednisolone (MP) was prepared and conjugated to a linear cyclodextrin polymer (CDP) with a loading of 12.4% w/w. The polymer conjugate (CDP-MP) self-assembled into nanoparticles with a size of 27 nm. Release kinetics of MP from the polymer conjugate showed a half-life (t1/2) of 50 h in phosphate buffer solution (PBS) and 19 h in human plasma. In vitro, the proliferation of human lymphocytes was suppressed to a similar extent but with a delayed effect when CDP-MP was compared with free MP. In vivo, CDP-MP was administered intravenously to mice with collagen-induced arthritis and compared with free MP. CDP-MP was administered weekly for six weeks (0.07, 0.7, and 7 mg/kg/week) and MP was administered daily for six weeks (0.01, 0.1, and 1 mg/kg/day). Body weight changes were minimal in all animals. After 28 days, a significant decrease in arthritis score was observed in animals treated weekly with an intermediate or high dose of CDP-MP. Additionally, dorsoplantar swelling was reduced to baseline in animals treated with CDP-MP at the intermediate and high dose level. Histological evaluation showed a reduction in synovitis, pannus formation and disruption of architecture at the highest dose level of CDP-MP. MP administered daily at equivalent cumulative doses showed minimal efficacy in this model. This study demonstrates that conjugation of MP to a cyclodextrin-polymer may improve its efficacy, leading to lower doses and less frequent administration for a safer and more convenient management of rheumatoid arthritis. PMID:18990945

Influence of crop rotation, intermediate crops, and organic fertilizers on the soil enzymatic activity and humus content in organic farming systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marcinkeviciene, A.; Boguzas, V.; Balnyte, S.; Pupaliene, R.; Velicka, R.

2013-02-01

The influence of crop rotation systems with different portions of nitrogen-fixing crops, intermediate crops, and organic fertilizers on the enzymatic activity and humus content of soils in organic farming was studied. The highest activity of the urease and invertase enzymes was determined in the soil under the crop rotation with 43% nitrogen-fixing crops and with perennial grasses applied twice per rotation. The application of manure and the growing of intermediate crops for green fertilizers did not provide any significant increase in the content of humus. The activity of urease slightly correlated with the humus content ( r = 0.30 at the significance level of 0.05 and r = 0.39 at the significance level of 0.01).

Coarse mesh and one-cell block inversion based diffusion synthetic acceleration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Kang-Seog

DSA (Diffusion Synthetic Acceleration) has been developed to accelerate the SN transport iteration. We have developed solution techniques for the diffusion equations of FLBLD (Fully Lumped Bilinear Discontinuous), SCB (Simple Comer Balance) and UCB (Upstream Corner Balance) modified 4-step DSA in x-y geometry. Our first multi-level method includes a block Gauss-Seidel iteration for the discontinuous diffusion equation, uses the continuous diffusion equation derived from the asymptotic analysis, and avoids void cell calculation. We implemented this multi-level procedure and performed model problem calculations. The results showed that the FLBLD, SCB and UCB modified 4-step DSA schemes with this multi-level technique are unconditionally stable and rapidly convergent. We suggested a simplified multi-level technique for FLBLD, SCB and UCB modified 4-step DSA. This new procedure does not include iterations on the diffusion calculation or the residual calculation. Fourier analysis results showed that this new procedure was as rapidly convergent as conventional modified 4-step DSA. We developed new DSA procedures coupled with 1-CI (Cell Block Inversion) transport which can be easily parallelized. We showed that 1-CI based DSA schemes preceded by SI (Source Iteration) are efficient and rapidly convergent for LD (Linear Discontinuous) and LLD (Lumped Linear Discontinuous) in slab geometry and for BLD (Bilinear Discontinuous) and FLBLD in x-y geometry. For 1-CI based DSA without SI in slab geometry, the results showed that this procedure is very efficient and effective for all cases. We also showed that 1-CI based DSA in x-y geometry was not effective for thin mesh spacings, but is effective and rapidly convergent for intermediate and thick mesh spacings. We demonstrated that the diffusion equation discretized on a coarse mesh could be employed to accelerate the transport equation. Our results showed that coarse mesh DSA is unconditionally stable and is as rapidly convergent as fine mesh DSA in slab geometry. For x-y geometry our coarse mesh DSA is very effective for thin and intermediate mesh spacings independent of the scattering ratio, but is not effective for purely scattering problems and high aspect ratio zoning. However, if the scattering ratio is less than about 0.95, this procedure is very effective for all mesh spacing.

Mathematics understanding and anxiety in collaborative teaching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ansari, B. I.; Wahyu, N.

2017-12-01

This study aims to examine students’ mathematical understanding and anxiety using collaborative teaching. The sample consists of 51 students in the 7th-grade of MTs N Jeureula, one of the Islamic public junior high schools in Jeureula, Aceh, Indonesia. A test of mathematics understanding was administered to the students twice during the period of two months. The result suggests that there is a significant increase in mathematical understanding in the pre-test and post-test. We categorized the students into the high, intermediate, and low level of prior mathematics knowledge. In the high-level prior knowledge, there is no difference of mathematical understanding between the experiment and control group. Meanwhile, in the intermediate and low level of prior knowledge, there is a significant difference of mathematical understanding between the experiment and control group. The mathematics anxiety is at an intermediate level in the experiment class and at a high level in the control group. There is no interaction between the learning model and the students’ prior knowledge towards the mathematical understanding, but there are interactions towards the mathematics anxiety. It indicates that the collaborative teaching model and the students’ prior knowledge do not simultaneously impacts on the mathematics understanding but the mathematics anxiety.

Towards a drift-free multi-level Phase Change Memory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cinar, Ibrahim; Ozdemir, Servet; Cogulu, Egecan; Gokce, Aisha; Stipe, Barry; Katine, Jordan; Aktas, Gulen; Ozatay, Ozhan

For ultra-high density data storage applications, Phase Change Memory (PCM) is considered a potentially disruptive technology. Yet, the long-term reliability of the logic levels corresponding to the resistance states of a PCM device is an important issue for a stable device operation since the resistance levels drift uncontrollably in time. The underlying mechanism for the resistance drift is considered as the structural relaxation and spontaneous crystallization at elevated temperatures. We fabricated a nanoscale single active layer-phase change memory cell with three resistance levels corresponding to crystalline, amorphous and intermediate states by controlling the current injection site geometry. For the intermediate state and the reset state, the activation energies and the trap distances have been found to be 0.021 eV and 0.235 eV, 1.31 nm and 7.56 nm, respectively. We attribute the ultra-low and weakly temperature dependent drift coefficient of the intermediate state (ν = 0.0016) as opposed to that of the reset state (ν = 0.077) as being due to the dominant contribution of the interfacial defects in electrical transport in the case of the mixed phase. Our results indicate that the engineering of interfacial defects will enable a drift-free multi-level PCM device design.

HIV-1 Env trimer opens through an asymmetric intermediate in which individual protomers adopt distinct conformations.

PubMed

Ma, Xiaochu; Lu, Maolin; Gorman, Jason; Terry, Daniel S; Hong, Xinyu; Zhou, Zhou; Zhao, Hong; Altman, Roger B; Arthos, James; Blanchard, Scott C; Kwong, Peter D; Munro, James B; Mothes, Walther

2018-03-21

HIV-1 entry into cells requires binding of the viral envelope glycoprotein (Env) to receptor CD4 and coreceptor. Imaging of individual Env molecules on native virions shows Env trimers to be dynamic, spontaneously transitioning between three distinct well-populated conformational states: a pre-triggered Env (State 1), a default intermediate (State 2) and a three-CD4-bound conformation (State 3), which can be stabilized by binding of CD4 and coreceptor-surrogate antibody 17b. Here, using single-molecule Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (smFRET), we show the default intermediate configuration to be asymmetric, with individual protomers adopting distinct conformations. During entry, this asymmetric intermediate forms when a single CD4 molecule engages the trimer. The trimer can then transition to State 3 by binding additional CD4 molecules and coreceptor.

NMR analysis of a kinetically trapped intermediate of a disulfide-deficient mutant of the starch-binding domain of glucoamylase.

PubMed

Sugimoto, Hayuki; Noda, Yasuo; Segawa, Shin-ichi

2011-09-16

A thermally unfolded disulfide-deficient mutant of the starch-binding domain of glucoamylase refolds into a kinetically trapped metastable intermediate when subjected to a rapid lowering of temperature. We attempted to characterise this intermediate using multidimensional NMR spectroscopy. The (1)H-(15)N heteronuclear single quantum coherence spectrum after a rapid temperature decrease (the spectrum of the intermediate) showed good chemical shift dispersion but was significantly different from that of the native state, suggesting that the intermediate adopts a nonnative but well-structured conformation. Large chemical shift changes for the backbone amide protons between the native and the intermediate states were observed for residues in the β-sheet consisting of strands 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7 as well as in the C-terminal region. These residues were found to be in close proximity to aromatic residues, suggesting that the chemical shift changes are mainly due to ring current shifts caused by the aromatic residues. The two-dimensional nuclear Overhauser enhancement (NOE) spectroscopy experiments showed that the intermediate contained substantial, native-like NOE connectivities, although there were fewer cross peaks in the spectrum of the intermediate compared with that of the native state. It was also shown that there were native-like interresidue NOEs for residues buried in the protein, whereas many of the NOE cross peaks were lost for the residues involved in a surface-exposed aromatic cluster. These results suggest that, in the intermediate, the aromatic cluster at the surface is structurally less organised, whereas the interior of the protein has relatively rigid, native-like side-chain packing. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of exogenous xylanase on rumen in vitro gas production and degradability of wheat straw.

PubMed

Togtokhbayar, Norovsambuu; Cerrillo, María A; Rodríguez, Germán Buendía; Elghandour, Mona M M Y; Salem, Abdelfattah Z M; Urankhaich, Chuluunbaatar; Jigjidpurev, Sukhbaatar; Odongo, Nicholas E; Kholif, Ahmed E

2015-08-01

The objective of this study was to determine effects of xylanase on in vitro gas production (GP) and in sacco degradability of wheat straw. Rumen fluid was obtained from three Mongolian native goats fitted with permanent rumen cannulas. The trial consisted of five doses (0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 μL/g of substrate) of a commercial xylanase (Dyadic® xylanase PLUS, Dyadic International, Inc., Jupiter, FL, USA). For the in sacco degradability, different levels of xylanase enzyme were added directly onto 2 g of wheat straw in nylon bags and incubated in the rumen for 3, 6, 12, 24 and 48 h to estimate degradability of wheat straw. Total GP increased (P < 0.001) at all times of incubation at intermediate levels of xylanase. Methane production had a similar pattern at 3 and 12 h of incubation; increased linearly at 24 h of incubation, and was unaffected at 6 and 48 h of incubation. Rumen NH3 -N concentration increased linearly at 3 h and the highest values were observed with intermediate enzyme levels. All ruminal volatile fatty acids increased linearly with intermediate levels of the fibrolytic enzyme. The in sacco rate of dry matter degradation decreased linearly (P = 0.020) with increasing enzymes. Intermediate levels of xylanase improved rumen kinetic fermentation and degradability. The outcome of this research indicated that the application of xylanase enzyme could improve in vitro GP fermentation of wheat straw. © 2015 Japanese Society of Animal Science.

Changes in IL12A methylation pattern in livers from mice fed DDC.

PubMed

Oliva, J; French, S W

2012-04-01

Mallory-Denk body (MDB) formation is a component of alcoholic and non alcoholic hepatitis. Proteins of the TLR pathway were shown to be involved in the formation of MDBs, in mice fed DDC. TLR genes are upregulated and SAMe supplementation prevents this up regulation and prevented the formation of MDBs. DNA of livers from control mice, from mice fed DDC 10weeks, refed 1week with DDC and with DDC+SAMe were extracted and used to study the methylation pattern of genes involves in the TLR pathway. A PCR array was used to analyze it. Using PCR arrays for the mouse TLR pathway,24 genes were found whose expression of IL12A was regulated by the methylation of its gene. DDC fed for 10weeks reduced the methylation of the IL12A gene expression. This expression was also reduced when DDC was refed. However, when SAMe was fed, the intermediate level methylation of IL12A was up regulated to the intermediate level and the methylation of the promoter decreased compared to DDC refeeding or DDC 10weeks. IL12A is known to induce the production of IFNg by NK and L(T). We showed in a previous publication that IFNg is one of the major cytokines involved in the induction of MDB formation. The low expression of IL12A associated with the intermediate methylation of its promoter could explain one step in the mechanism which leads to the formation of MDBs. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Pathways and intermediates in forced unfolding of spectrin repeats.

PubMed

Altmann, Stephan M; Grünberg, Raik G; Lenne, Pierre-François; Ylänne, Jari; Raae, Arnt; Herbert, Kristina; Saraste, Matti; Nilges, Michael; Hörber, J K Heinrich

2002-08-01

Spectrin repeats are triple-helical coiled-coil domains found in many proteins that are regularly subjected to mechanical stress. We used atomic force microscopy technique and steered molecular dynamics simulations to study the behavior of a wild-type spectrin repeat and two mutants. The experiments indicate that spectrin repeats can form stable unfolding intermediates when subjected to external forces. In the simulations the unfolding proceeded via a variety of pathways. Stable intermediates were associated to kinking of the central helix close to a proline residue. A mutant stabilizing the central helix showed no intermediates in experiments, in agreement with simulation. Spectrin repeats may thus function as elastic elements, extendable to intermediate states at various lengths.

Intermediate band solar cell with extreme broadband spectrum quantum efficiency.

PubMed

Datas, A; López, E; Ramiro, I; Antolín, E; Martí, A; Luque, A; Tamaki, R; Shoji, Y; Sogabe, T; Okada, Y

2015-04-17

We report, for the first time, about an intermediate band solar cell implemented with InAs/AlGaAs quantum dots whose photoresponse expands from 250 to ∼6000  nm. To our knowledge, this is the broadest quantum efficiency reported to date for a solar cell and demonstrates that the intermediate band solar cell is capable of producing photocurrent when illuminated with photons whose energy equals the energy of the lowest band gap. We show experimental evidence indicating that this result is in agreement with the theory of the intermediate band solar cell, according to which the generation recombination between the intermediate band and the valence band makes this photocurrent detectable.

Pronounced within-individual plasticity in sperm morphometry across social environments.

PubMed

Immler, Simone; Pryke, Sarah R; Birkhead, Tim R; Griffith, Simon C

2010-06-01

Sperm morphometry (i.e., size and shape) and function are important determinants of male reproductive success and are thought to be under stabilizing selection. However, recent studies suggest that sperm morphometry can be a phenotypically plastic trait, which can be adjusted to varying conditions. We tested whether different behavioral strategies in aggression between aggressive red and nonaggressive black males of the color polymorphic Gouldian finch (Erythrura gouldiae) can influence sperm morphometry. We show pronounced within-individual phenotypic plasticity in sperm morphometry of male Gouldian finches in three different social environments. Both red and black males placed in intermediate to high competitive environments (high frequency of red males) increased the relative length of their sperm midpiece. By contrast, red males placed in low to intermediate competitive environments (higher frequency of black males) increased the length of the sperm flagellum. Significant changes in stress and sex steroid hormone levels (in response to the competitive environment) appear to influence sperm traits in red but not in black males, suggesting that changes in hormonal levels are not solely responsible for the observed changes in sperm morphometry. These findings imply that males can adjust sperm morphometry across social environments.

Stephanoprora chasanensis n. sp. (Digenea: Echinochasmidae): Morphology, life cycle, and molecular data.

PubMed

Besprozvannykh, Vladimir V; Rozhkovan, Konstantin V; Ermolenko, Alexey V

2017-02-01

Echinostomatoidea is a large, globally distributed and heterogeneous group of hermaphroditic digeneans that parasite, as adults, vertebrate hosts of all classes. Species of this group have received attention from researchers as they can cause diseases in wildlife and humans. Here we describe the biological and molecular phylogenetic characteristics of Stephanoprora chasanensis n. sp. (Digenea: Echinochasmidae). The life cycle of this fluke was experimentally completed by the use of hosts, i.e. Stenothyra recondite Lindholm, 1929 snail (the 1st intermediate), Rhynchocypris percnurus mantschuricus (Berg, 1907) freshwater fish (the 2nd intermediate) and Gallus gallus chicken (the definitive host). In the adult worms, vitelline follicles were distributed anteriorly to the mid-level of the ventral sucker in our specimens whereas they did not reach the level of anterior testis in other species of Stephanoprora previously reported. Phylogenetic analysis based on 28S rDNA revealed that Stephanoprora and Echinochasmus with 20-22 collar spines grouped together in a single cluster. In addition, we showed that Stephanoprora chasanensis n. sp. was closely related to Echinochasmus milvi Yamaguti, 1939. Cercariae of these two echinostomes commonly have a long tail. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Direct observation of pure pentavalent uranium in U2O5 thin films by high resolution photoemission spectroscopy.

PubMed

Gouder, T; Eloirdi, R; Caciuffo, R

2018-05-29

Thin films of the elusive intermediate uranium oxide U 2 O 5 have been prepared by exposing UO 3 precursor multilayers to atomic hydrogen. Electron photoemission spectra measured about the uranium 4f core-level doublet contain sharp satellites separated by 7.9(1) eV from the 4f main lines, whilst satellites characteristics of the U(IV) and U(VI) oxidation states, expected respectively at 6.9(1) and 9.7(1) eV from the main 4f lines, are absent. This shows that uranium ions in the films are in a pure pentavalent oxidation state, in contrast to previous investigations of binary oxides claiming that U(V) occurs only as a metastable intermediate state coexisting with U(IV) and U(VI) species. The ratio between the 5f valence band and 4f core-level uranium photoemission intensities decreases by about 50% from UO 2 to U 2 O 5 , which is consistent with the 5f  2 (UO 2 ) and 5f  1 (U 2 O 5 ) electronic configurations of the initial state. Our studies conclusively establish the stability of uranium pentoxide.

Exhaust emissions survey of a turbofan engine for flame holder swirl type augmentors at simulated altitude flight conditions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moss, J. E., Jr.

1981-01-01

Emissions of carbon dioxide, total oxides of nitrogen, unburned hydrocarbons, and carbon monoxide from an F100 afterburning two spool turbofan engine at simulated flight conditions are reported. Tests were run at Mach 0.8 at altitudes of 10.97 and 13.71 km (36,000 and 45,000 ft), and at Mach 1.2 at 13.71 km (45,000 ft). Emission measurements were made from intermediate power (nonafterburning) through maximum afterburning, using a single point gas sample probe traversed across the horizontal diameter of the exhaust nozzle. The data show that emissions vary with flight speed, altitude, power level, and radial position across the nozzle. Carbon monoxide emissions were low for intermediate and partial afterburning power. Unburned hydrocarbons were near zero for most of the simulated flight conditions. At maximum afterburning, there were regions of NOx deficiency in regions of high CO. The results suggest that the low NOx levels observed in the tests are a result of interaction with high CO in the thermal converter. CO2 emissions were proportional to local fuel air ratio for all test conditions.

Rab14 and Its Exchange Factor FAM116 Link Endocytic Recycling and Adherens Junction Stability in Migrating Cells

PubMed Central

Linford, Andrea; Yoshimura, Shin-ichiro; Bastos, Ricardo Nunes; Langemeyer, Lars; Gerondopoulos, Andreas; Rigden, Daniel J.; Barr, Francis A.

2012-01-01

Summary Rab GTPases define the vesicle trafficking pathways underpinning cell polarization and migration. Here, we find that Rab4, Rab11, and Rab14 and the candidate Rab GDP-GTP exchange factors (GEFs) FAM116A and AVL9 are required for cell migration. Rab14 and its GEF FAM116A localize to and act on an intermediate compartment of the transferrin-recycling pathway prior to Rab11 and after Rab5 and Rab4. This Rab14 intermediate recycling compartment has specific functions in migrating cells discrete from early and recycling endosomes. Rab14-depleted cells show increased N-cadherin levels at junctional complexes and cannot resolve cell-cell junctions. This is due to decreased shedding of cell-surface N-cadherin by the ADAM family protease ADAM10/Kuzbanian. In FAM116A- and Rab14-depleted cells, ADAM10 accumulates in a transferrin-positive endocytic compartment, and the cell-surface level of ADAM10 is correspondingly reduced. FAM116 and Rab14 therefore define an endocytic recycling pathway needed for ADAM protease trafficking and regulation of cell-cell junctions. PMID:22595670

Corrosion susceptibility of steel drums containing cemented intermediate level nuclear wastes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duffó, Gustavo S.; Farina, Silvia B.; Schulz, Fátima M.; Marotta, Francesca

2010-10-01

Cementation processes are used as immobilization techniques for low or intermediate level radioactive waste for economical and safety reasons and for being a simple operation. In particular, ion-exchange resins commonly used for purification of radioactive liquid waste from nuclear reactors are immobilized before being stored to improve the leach resistance of the waste matrix and to maintain mechanical stability. Combustible solid radioactive waste can be incinerated and the resulting ashes can also be immobilized before storage. The immobilized resins and ashes are then contained in steel drums that may undergo corrosion depending on the presence of certain contaminants. The work described in this paper was aimed at evaluating the corrosion susceptibility of steel drums in contact with cemented ion-exchange resins and incineration ashes containing different concentrations of aggressive species (mostly chloride and sulphate ions). A special type of specimen was designed to simulate the cemented waste in the drum. The evolution of the corrosion potential and the corrosion current density of the steel, as well as the electrical resistivity of the matrix were monitored over a time period of 1 year. The results show the deleterious effect of chloride on the expected lifespan of the waste containers.

Induction and Maintenance of CX3CR1-Intermediate Peripheral Memory CD8+ T Cells by Persistent Viruses and Vaccines.

PubMed

Gordon, Claire Louse; Lee, Lian Ni; Swadling, Leo; Hutchings, Claire; Zinser, Madeleine; Highton, Andrew John; Capone, Stefania; Folgori, Antonella; Barnes, Eleanor; Klenerman, Paul

2018-04-17

The induction and maintenance of T cell memory is critical to the success of vaccines. A recently described subset of memory CD8 + T cells defined by intermediate expression of the chemokine receptor CX3CR1 was shown to have self-renewal, proliferative, and tissue-surveillance properties relevant to vaccine-induced memory. We tracked these cells when memory is sustained at high levels: memory inflation induced by cytomegalovirus (CMV) and adenovirus-vectored vaccines. In mice, both CMV and vaccine-induced inflationary T cells showed sustained high levels of CX3R1 int cells exhibiting an effector-memory phenotype, characteristic of inflationary pools, in early memory. In humans, CX3CR1 int CD8 + T cells were strongly induced following adenovirus-vectored vaccination for hepatitis C virus (HCV) (ChAd3-NSmut) and during natural CMV infection and were associated with a memory phenotype similar to that in mice. These data indicate that CX3CR1 int cells form an important component of the memory pool in response to persistent viruses and vaccines in both mice and humans. Copyright © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Which visual functions depend on intermediate visual regions? Insights from a case of developmental visual form agnosia.

PubMed

Gilaie-Dotan, Sharon

2016-03-01

A key question in visual neuroscience is the causal link between specific brain areas and perceptual functions; which regions are necessary for which visual functions? While the contribution of primary visual cortex and high-level visual regions to visual perception has been extensively investigated, the contribution of intermediate visual areas (e.g. V2/V3) to visual processes remains unclear. Here I review more than 20 visual functions (early, mid, and high-level) of LG, a developmental visual agnosic and prosopagnosic young adult, whose intermediate visual regions function in a significantly abnormal fashion as revealed through extensive fMRI and ERP investigations. While expectedly, some of LG's visual functions are significantly impaired, some of his visual functions are surprisingly normal (e.g. stereopsis, color, reading, biological motion). During the period of eight-year testing described here, LG trained on a perceptual learning paradigm that was successful in improving some but not all of his visual functions. Following LG's visual performance and taking into account additional findings in the field, I propose a framework for how different visual areas contribute to different visual functions, with an emphasis on intermediate visual regions. Thus, although rewiring and plasticity in the brain can occur during development to overcome and compensate for hindering developmental factors, LG's case seems to indicate that some visual functions are much less dependent on strict hierarchical flow than others, and can develop normally in spite of abnormal mid-level visual areas, thereby probably less dependent on intermediate visual regions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Glucose and Fructose to Platform Chemicals: Understanding the Thermodynamic Landscapes of Acid-Catalysed Reactions Using High-Level ab Initio Methods

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

Assary, Rajeev S.; Kim, Taijin; Low, John

Molecular level understanding of acid-catalysed conversion of sugar molecules to platform chemicals such as hydroxy-methyl furfural (HMF), furfuryl alcohol (FAL), and levulinic acid (LA) is essential for efficient biomass conversion. In this paper, the high-level G4MP2 method along with the SMD solvation model is employed to understand detailed reaction energetics of the acid-catalysed decomposition of glucose and fructose to HMF. Based on protonation free energies of various hydroxyl groups of the sugar molecule, the relative reactivity of gluco-pyranose, fructo-pyranose and fructo-furanose are predicted. Calculations suggest that, in addition to the protonated intermediates, a solvent assisted dehydration of one of themore » fructo-furanosyl intermediates is a competing mechanism, indicating the possibility of multiple reaction pathways for fructose to HMF conversion in aqueous acidic medium. Two reaction pathways were explored to understand the thermodynamics of glucose to HMF; the first one is initiated by the protonation of a C2–OH group and the second one through an enolate intermediate involving acyclic intermediates. Additionally, a pathway is proposed for the formation of furfuryl alcohol from glucose initiated by the protonation of a C2–OH position, which includes a C–C bond cleavage, and the formation of formic acid. The detailed free energy landscapes predicted in this study can be used as benchmarks for further exploring the sugar decomposition reactions, prediction of possible intermediates, and finally designing improved catalysts for biomass conversion chemistry in the future.« less

Glucose and fructose to platform chemicals: understanding the thermodynamic landscapes of acid-catalysed reactions using high-level ab initio methods.

PubMed

Assary, Rajeev S; Kim, Taejin; Low, John J; Greeley, Jeff; Curtiss, Larry A

2012-12-28

Molecular level understanding of acid-catalysed conversion of sugar molecules to platform chemicals such as hydroxy-methyl furfural (HMF), furfuryl alcohol (FAL), and levulinic acid (LA) is essential for efficient biomass conversion. In this paper, the high-level G4MP2 method along with the SMD solvation model is employed to understand detailed reaction energetics of the acid-catalysed decomposition of glucose and fructose to HMF. Based on protonation free energies of various hydroxyl groups of the sugar molecule, the relative reactivity of gluco-pyranose, fructo-pyranose and fructo-furanose are predicted. Calculations suggest that, in addition to the protonated intermediates, a solvent assisted dehydration of one of the fructo-furanosyl intermediates is a competing mechanism, indicating the possibility of multiple reaction pathways for fructose to HMF conversion in aqueous acidic medium. Two reaction pathways were explored to understand the thermodynamics of glucose to HMF; the first one is initiated by the protonation of a C2-OH group and the second one through an enolate intermediate involving acyclic intermediates. Additionally, a pathway is proposed for the formation of furfuryl alcohol from glucose initiated by the protonation of a C2-OH position, which includes a C-C bond cleavage, and the formation of formic acid. The detailed free energy landscapes predicted in this study can be used as benchmarks for further exploring the sugar decomposition reactions, prediction of possible intermediates, and finally designing improved catalysts for biomass conversion chemistry in the future.

Ex Vivo Pharmacodynamics of Amoxicillin-Clavulanate against β-Lactamase-Producing Escherichia coli in a Yucatan Miniature Pig Model That Mimics Human Pharmacokinetics

PubMed Central

Bronner, Stéphane; Murbach, Valérie; Peter, Jean-Daniel; Levêque, Dominique; Elkhaïli, Hassan; Salmon, Yves; Dhoyen, Nathalie; Monteil, Henri; Woodnutt, Gary; Jehl, François

2002-01-01

The objective of the present study was to investigate the potential bactericidal activity of amoxicillin-clavulanate against β-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli strains and to elucidate the extent to which enzyme production affects the activity. Six adult Yucatan miniature pigs received a single intravenous dose of 1.1 g of amoxicillin-clavulanate as an intravenous infusion over 30 min. The pharmacokinetic parameters were determined for the serum samples and compared to the published data for humans (2.2-g intravenous dose). The parameters were comparable for the two species, and therefore, the miniature pig constitutes a good model for pharmacodynamic study of amoxicillin-clavulanate. Therefore, the model was used in an ex vivo pharmacodynamic study of amoxicillin-clavulanate against four strains of Escherichia coli producing β-lactamases at different levels. The E. coli strains were cultured with serial dilutions (1:2 to 1:256) of the serum samples from the pharmacokinetic study, and the number of surviving bacteria was determined after 1, 3, and 6 h of exposure. Amoxicillin-clavulanate at concentrations less than the MIC and the minimal bactericidal concentration had marked bactericidal potency against the strain that produced low levels of penicillinase. For high-level or intermediate-level β-lactamase-producing strains, the existence of a clavulanate concentration threshold of 1.5 to 2 μg/ml, below which there was no bactericidal activity, was demonstrated. The index of surviving bacteria showed the existence of mixed concentration- and time-dependent actions of amoxicillin (in the presence of clavulanate) which varied as a function of the magnitude of β-lactamase production by the test strains. This study shows the effectiveness of amoxicillin-clavulanate against low- and intermediate-level penicillinase-producing strains of E. coli. These findings are to be confirmed in a miniature pig experimental infection model. PMID:12435677

Heme-Oxygenase-1 Expression Contributes to the Immunoregulation Induced by Fasciola hepatica and Promotes Infection

PubMed Central

Carasi, Paula; Rodríguez, Ernesto; da Costa, Valeria; Frigerio, Sofía; Brossard, Natalie; Noya, Verónica; Robello, Carlos; Anegón, Ignacio; Freire, Teresa

2017-01-01

Fasciola hepatica, also known as the liver fluke, is a trematode that infects livestock and humans causing fasciolosis, a zoonotic disease of increasing importance due to its worldwide distribution and high economic losses. This parasite immunoregulates the host immune system by inducing a strong Th2 and regulatory T immune response by immunomodulating dendritic cell (DC) maturation and alternative activation of macrophages. In this paper, we show that F. hepatica infection in mice induces the upregulation of heme-oxygenase-1 (HO-1), the rate-limiting enzyme in the catabolism of free heme that regulates the host inflammatory response. We show and characterize two different populations of antigen presenting cells that express HO-1 during infection in the peritoneum of infected animals. Cells that expressed high levels of HO-1 expressed intermediate levels of F4/80 but high expression of CD11c, CD38, TGFβ, and IL-10 suggesting that they correspond to regulatory DCs. On the other hand, cells expressing intermediate levels of HO-1 expressed high levels of F4/80, CD68, Ly6C, and FIZZ-1, indicating that they might correspond to alternatively activated macrophages. Furthermore, the pharmacological induction of HO-1 with the synthetic metalloporphyrin CoPP promoted F. hepatica infection increasing the clinical signs associated with the disease. In contrast, treatment with the HO-1 inhibitor SnPP protected mice from parasite infection, indicating that HO-1 plays an essential role during F. hepatica infection. Finally, HO-1 expression during F. hepatica infection was associated with TGFβ and IL-10 levels in liver and peritoneum, suggesting that HO-1 controls the expression of these immunoregulatory cytokines during infection favoring parasite survival in the host. These results contribute to the elucidation of the immunoregulatory mechanisms induced by F. hepatica in the host and provide alternative checkpoints to control fasciolosis. PMID:28798750

Heme-Oxygenase-1 Expression Contributes to the Immunoregulation Induced by Fasciola hepatica and Promotes Infection.

PubMed

Carasi, Paula; Rodríguez, Ernesto; da Costa, Valeria; Frigerio, Sofía; Brossard, Natalie; Noya, Verónica; Robello, Carlos; Anegón, Ignacio; Freire, Teresa

2017-01-01

Fasciola hepatica , also known as the liver fluke, is a trematode that infects livestock and humans causing fasciolosis, a zoonotic disease of increasing importance due to its worldwide distribution and high economic losses. This parasite immunoregulates the host immune system by inducing a strong Th2 and regulatory T immune response by immunomodulating dendritic cell (DC) maturation and alternative activation of macrophages. In this paper, we show that F. hepatica infection in mice induces the upregulation of heme-oxygenase-1 (HO-1), the rate-limiting enzyme in the catabolism of free heme that regulates the host inflammatory response. We show and characterize two different populations of antigen presenting cells that express HO-1 during infection in the peritoneum of infected animals. Cells that expressed high levels of HO-1 expressed intermediate levels of F4/80 but high expression of CD11c, CD38, TGFβ, and IL-10 suggesting that they correspond to regulatory DCs. On the other hand, cells expressing intermediate levels of HO-1 expressed high levels of F4/80, CD68, Ly6C, and FIZZ-1, indicating that they might correspond to alternatively activated macrophages. Furthermore, the pharmacological induction of HO-1 with the synthetic metalloporphyrin CoPP promoted F. hepatica infection increasing the clinical signs associated with the disease. In contrast, treatment with the HO-1 inhibitor SnPP protected mice from parasite infection, indicating that HO-1 plays an essential role during F. hepatica infection. Finally, HO-1 expression during F. hepatica infection was associated with TGFβ and IL-10 levels in liver and peritoneum, suggesting that HO-1 controls the expression of these immunoregulatory cytokines during infection favoring parasite survival in the host. These results contribute to the elucidation of the immunoregulatory mechanisms induced by F. hepatica in the host and provide alternative checkpoints to control fasciolosis.

E-cadherin: A determinant molecule associated with ovarian cancer progression, dissemination and aggressiveness

PubMed Central

Devis, Laura; Lapyckyj, Lara; Besso, María José; Llauradó, Marta; Abascal, María Florencia; Matos, María Laura; Lanau, Lucia; Castellví, Josep; Sánchez, José Luis; Pérez Benavente, Asunción; Gil-Moreno, Antonio; Reventós, Jaume; Santamaria Margalef, Anna; Rigau, Marina; Vazquez-Levin, Mónica Hebe

2017-01-01

Ovarian cancer (OC) is the fifth cancer death cause in women worldwide. The malignant nature of this disease stems from its unique dissemination pattern. Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) has been reported in OC and downregulation of Epithelial cadherin (E-cadherin) is a hallmark of this process. However, findings on the relationship between E-cadherin levels and OC progression, dissemination and aggressiveness are controversial. In this study, the evaluation of E-cadherin expression in an OC tissue microarray revealed its prognostic value to discriminate between advanced- and early-stage tumors, as well as serous tumors from other histologies. Moreover, E-cadherin, Neural cadherin (N-cadherin), cytokeratins and vimentin expression was assessed in TOV-112, SKOV-3, OAW-42 and OV-90 OC cell lines grown in monolayers and under anchorage-independent conditions to mimic ovarian tumor cell dissemination, and results were associated with cell aggressiveness. According to these EMT-related markers, cell lines were classified as mesenchymal (M; TOV-112), intermediate mesenchymal (IM; SKOV-3), intermediate epithelial (IE; OAW-42) and epithelial (E; OV-90). M- and IM-cells depicted the highest migration capacity when grown in monolayers, and aggregates derived from M- and IM-cell lines showed lower cell death, higher adhesion to extracellular matrices and higher invasion capacity than E- and IE-aggregates. The analysis of E-cadherin, N-cadherin, cytokeratin 19 and vimentin mRNA levels in 20 advanced-stage high-grade serous human OC ascites showed an IM phenotype in all cases, characterized by higher proportions of N- to E-cadherin and vimentin to cytokeratin 19. In particular, higher E-cadherin mRNA levels were associated with cancer antigen 125 levels more than 500 U/mL and platinum-free intervals less than 6 months. Altogether, E-cadherin expression levels were found relevant for the assessment of OC progression and aggressiveness. PMID:28934230

Intermediates detected by visible spectroscopy during the reaction of nitrite with deoxyhemoglobin: the effect of nitrite concentration and diphosphoglycerate.

PubMed

Nagababu, Enika; Ramasamy, Somasundaram; Rifkind, Joseph M

2007-10-16

The reaction of nitrite with deoxyhemoglobin (deoxyHb) results in the reduction of nitrite to NO, which binds unreacted deoxyHb forming Fe(II)-nitrosylhemoglobin (Hb(II)NO). The tight binding of NO to deoxyHb is, however, inconsistent with reports implicating this reaction with hypoxic vasodilation. This dilemma is resolved by the demonstration that metastable intermediates are formed in the course of the reaction of nitrite with deoxyHb. The level of intermediates is quantitated by the excess deoxyHb consumed over the concentrations of the final products formed. The dominant intermediate has a spectrum that does not correspond to that of Hb(III)NO formed when NO reacts with methemoglobin (MetHb), but is similar to metHb resulting in the spectroscopic determinations of elevated levels of metHb. It is a delocalized species involving the heme iron, the NO, and perhaps the beta-93 thiol. The putative role for red cell reacted nitrite on vasodilation is associated with reactions involving the intermediate. (1) The intermediate is less stable with a 10-fold excess of nitrite and is not detected with a 100-fold excess of nitrite. This observation is attributed to the reaction of nitrite with the intermediate producing N2O3. (2) The release of NO quantitated by the formation of Hb(II)NO is regulated by changes in the distal heme pocket as shown by the 4.5-fold decrease in the rate constant in the presence of 2,3-diphosphoglycerate. The regulated release of NO or N2O3 as well as the formation of the S-nitroso derivative of hemoglobin, which has also been reported to be formed from the intermediates generated during nitrite reduction, should be associated with any hypoxic vasodilation attributed to the RBC.

Genotoxicity Biomonitoring Along a Coastal Zone Under Influence of Offshore Petroleum Exploration (Southeastern Brazil).

PubMed

Gutiérrez, Juan Manuel; da Conceição, Moisés Basilio; Molisani, Mauricio Mussi; Weber, Laura Isabel

2018-03-01

Offshore oil exploration creates threats to coastal ecosystems, including increasing urbanization and associated effluent releases. Genotoxicity biomarkers in mussels were determined across a gradient of coastal zone influences of offshore petroleum exploration in southeastern Brazil. Coastal ecosystems such as estuaries, beaches and islands were seasonally monitored for genotoxicity evaluation using the brown mussel Perna perna. The greatest DNA damage (5.2% ± 1.9% tail DNA and 1.5‰  ± 0.8‰ MN) were observed in urban estuaries, while Santana Archipelago showed levels of genotoxicity near zero and is considered a reference site. Mussels from urban and pristine beaches showed intermediate damage levels, but were also influenced by urbanization. Thus, mussel genotoxicity biomarkers greatly indicated the proposed oil exploration and urbanization scenarios that consequently are genetically affecting coastal organisms.

Multidimensional free energy surface of unfolding of HP-36: Microscopic origin of ruggedness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghosh, Rikhia; Roy, Susmita; Bagchi, Biman

2014-10-01

The protein folding funnel paradigm suggests that folding and unfolding proceed as directed diffusion in a multidimensional free energy surface where a multitude of pathways can be traversed during the protein's sojourn from initial to final state. However, finding even a single pathway, with the detail chronicling of intermediates, is an arduous task. In this work we explore the free energy surface of unfolding pathway through umbrella sampling, for a small globular α-helical protein chicken-villin headpiece (HP-36) when the melting of secondary structures is induced by adding DMSO in aqueous solution. We find that the unfolding proceeds through the initial separation or melting of aggregated hydrophobic core that comprises of three phenylalanine residues (Phe7, Phe11, and Phe18). This separation is accompanied by simultaneous melting of the second helix. Unfolding is found to be a multistage process involving crossing of three consecutive minima and two barriers at the initial stage. At a molecular level, Phe18 is observed to reorient itself towards other hydrophobic grooves to stabilize the intermediate states. We identify the configuration of the intermediates and correlate the intermediates with those obtained in our previous works. We also give an estimate of the barriers for different transition states and observe the softening of the barriers with increasing DMSO concentration. We show that higher concentration of DMSO tunes the unfolding pathway by destabilizing the third minimum and stabilizing the second one, indicating the development of a solvent modified, less rugged pathway. The prime outcome of this work is the demonstration that mixed solvents can profoundly transform the nature of the energy landscape and induce unfolding via a modified route. A successful application of Kramer's rate equation correlating the free energy simulation results shows faster rate of unfolding with increasing DMSO concentration. This work perhaps presents the first systematic theoretical study of the effect of a chemical denaturant on the microscopic free energy surface and rates of unfolding of HP-36.

Examining LGBTQ-Based Literature Intended for Primary and Intermediate Elementary Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bickford, John H., III

2018-01-01

This content analysis research examined how lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) individuals and issues are represented in elementary-level trade books. The data pool included every LGBTQ-based trade book with intended audiences of primary (grades K-2) and intermediate (grades 3-5) elementary students. Trade books…

Using Open Educational Resources to Help Students Understand the Sub-Prime Lending Crisis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McDowell, Evelyn A.

2010-01-01

In this paper, I describe an assignment designed to give students an intermediate level of understanding of the causes of the crisis using online educational resources widely available on the internet. I implemented the assignment in an undergraduate intermediate accounting course. Feedback from students indicate the assignment enhanced their…

Teacher's Manual Level Two [French and German]; An Assessment of Three Foreign Language Teaching Strategies. Cooperative Research Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pennsylvania State Dept. of Public Instruction, Harrisburg.

Teaching practices appropriate to 15 different treatments of secondary school intermediate French instruction and to 13 different treatments of secondary school intermediate German instruction are outlined and discussed. Treatments vary by (1) strategy (traditional; audiolingual or functional skills; and modified audiolingual or functional skills…

Gasoline Engine Mechanics. Performance Objectives. Basic Course.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Marion

Several intermediate performance objectives and corresponding criterion measures are listed for each of five terminal objectives presented in this curriculum guide for a basic gasoline engine mechanics course at the secondary level. (For the intermediate course guide see CE 010 946.) The materials were developed for a two semester (2 hours daily)…

On the Use of Writing Assignments in Intermediate Microeconomic Theory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Neill, Patrick B.

2009-01-01

A typical writing assignment in upper level required courses is a term paper. However many economics majors, particularly those in business schools, need to develop skill at writing shorter pieces. In this paper I describe numerous examples of shorter writing assignments that I have incorporated into an Intermediate Microeconomic Theory course.…

Teaching New Keynesian Open Economy Macroeconomics at the Intermediate Level

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bofinger, Peter; Mayer, Eric; Wollmershauser, Timo

2009-01-01

For the open economy, the workhorse model in intermediate textbooks still is the Mundell-Fleming model, which basically extends the investment and savings, liquidity preference and money supply (IS-LM) model to open economy problems. The authors present a simple New Keynesian model of the open economy that introduces open economy considerations…

Promising and Successful Programs and practices in Schools with Intermediate Grade Levels: Programs, Projects & Activities. Information & Dissemination Series 18.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hawaii State Dept. of Education, Honolulu. Office of Instructional Services.

Outlined are the following 11 successful programs, projects, and activities functioning in Hawaii's intermediate schools: Alternative Learning Center (Waipahu and Pearl City Highlands); Career Awareness Exploring through Basic Practical Arts; Career Education Guidance (Kailua); Creating a Positive School Climate; Learning through the Arts;…

An On-Line Program for Intermediate Level Latin Readings.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raia, Ann

2001-01-01

Introduces an on-line intermediate Latin program to potential users by describing the goals and elements of the site (www.iona.edu/latin). Operation of the program is described, as well as the benefits for language education, its current uses, and suggestions for more creative uses in the classroom. (Author/VWL)

TLC for Growing Minds. Microcomputer Projects. Adult Intermediate Microcomputer Projects.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taitt, Henry A.

Designed to improve students' thinking, learning, and creative skills while they learn to program a microcomputer in BASIC programing language, this book for intermediate learners at the high school/adult level provides a variety of microcomputer activities designed to extend the concepts taught in the accompanying instructional manuals (Volumes 3…

Industrial Arts--Metals Technology: A Curriculum Guide for Intermediate and Secondary Level Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Missouri Council for Industrial Arts Education.

The curriculum outline is designed to aid the instructor in developing a more complete course of study, for intermediate and secondary school students, to give the student an understanding of some of the tools, materials, processes, products, occupational opportunities, requirements, and working conditions associated with the metal and metal…

40 CFR 142.65 - Variances and exemptions from the maximum contaminant levels for radionuclides.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Raw water quality range &considerations 1 1. Ion exchange (IE) (a) Intermediate All ground waters. 2...-filtration. 5. Lime softening (d) Advanced All waters. 6. Green sand filtration (e) Basic. 7. Co-precipitation with barium sulfate (f) Intermediate to Advanced Ground waters with suitable water quality. 8...

Control of Synchronization Regimes in Networks of Mobile Interacting Agents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perez-Diaz, Fernando; Zillmer, Ruediger; Groß, Roderich

2017-05-01

We investigate synchronization in a population of mobile pulse-coupled agents with a view towards implementations in swarm-robotics systems and mobile sensor networks. Previous theoretical approaches dealt with range and nearest-neighbor interactions. In the latter case, a synchronization-hindering regime for intermediate agent mobility is found. We investigate the robustness of this intermediate regime under practical scenarios. We show that synchronization in the intermediate regime can be predicted by means of a suitable metric of the phase response curve. Furthermore, we study more-realistic K -nearest-neighbor and cone-of-vision interactions, showing that it is possible to control the extent of the synchronization-hindering region by appropriately tuning the size of the neighborhood. To assess the effect of noise, we analyze the propagation of perturbations over the network and draw an analogy between the response in the hindering regime and stable chaos. Our findings reveal the conditions for the control of clock or activity synchronization of agents with intermediate mobility. In addition, the emergence of the intermediate regime is validated experimentally using a swarm of physical robots interacting with cone-of-vision interactions.

Structure of a low-population intermediate state in the release of an enzyme product.

PubMed

De Simone, Alfonso; Aprile, Francesco A; Dhulesia, Anne; Dobson, Christopher M; Vendruscolo, Michele

2015-01-09

Enzymes can increase the rate of biomolecular reactions by several orders of magnitude. Although the steps of substrate capture and product release are essential in the enzymatic process, complete atomic-level descriptions of these steps are difficult to obtain because of the transient nature of the intermediate conformations, which makes them largely inaccessible to standard structure determination methods. We describe here the determination of the structure of a low-population intermediate in the product release process by human lysozyme through a combination of NMR spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulations. We validate this structure by rationally designing two mutations, the first engineered to destabilise the intermediate and the second to stabilise it, thus slowing down or speeding up, respectively, product release. These results illustrate how product release by an enzyme can be facilitated by the presence of a metastable intermediate with transient weak interactions between the enzyme and product.

Differential relationships between D1 and D2 dopamine receptor expression in the medial preoptic nucleus and sexually-motivated song in male European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris)

PubMed Central

DeVries, M. S.; Cordes, M.A.; Stevenson, S.A.; Riters, L.V.

2015-01-01

Converging data in songbirds support a central role for the medial preoptic nucleus (POM) in motivational aspects of vocal production. Recent data suggest that dopamine in the POM plays a complex modulatory role in the production of sexually-motivated song and that an optimal level of dopamine D1 receptor stimulation is required to facilitate singing behavior. To further explore this possibility, we used quantitative real time PCR to examine relationships between mRNA expression of D1 as well as D2 receptors in the POM (and also the lateral septum and Area X) and sexually-motivated singing behavior in male European starlings. Results showed that both males with the highest and lowest D1 expression in the POM sang significantly less than males with intermediate levels of expression. Furthermore, singing behavior rose linearly in association with increasing levels of D1 expression in POM but dropped abruptly, such that individuals with D1 expression values higher than the mean sang very little. Analysis of birds with low and intermediate levels of D1 expression in POM revealed strong positive correlations between D1 expression and song but negative relationships between D2 receptor expression and song. These findings support prior work suggesting an optimal level of POM D1 receptor stimulation best facilitates sexually-motivated singing behavior. Results also suggest that D2 receptors may work in opposition to D1 receptors in POM to modify vocal production. PMID:26079111

Evidence for heterogeneity of astrocyte de-differentiation in vitro: astrocytes transform into intermediate precursor cells following induction of ACM from scratch-insulted astrocytes.

PubMed

Yang, Hao; Qian, Xin-Hong; Cong, Rui; Li, Jing-wen; Yao, Qin; Jiao, Xi-Ying; Ju, Gong; You, Si-Wei

2010-04-01

Our previous study definitely demonstrated that the mature astrocytes could undergo a de-differentiation process and further transform into pluripotential neural stem cells (NSCs), which might well arise from the effect of diffusible factors released from scratch-insulted astrocytes. However, these neurospheres passaged from one neurosphere-derived from de-differentiated astrocytes possessed a completely distinct characteristic in the differentiation behavior, namely heterogeneity of differentiation. The heterogeneity in cell differentiation has become a crucial but elusive issue. In this study, we show that purified astrocytes could de-differentiate into intermediate precursor cells (IPCs) with addition of scratch-insulted astrocyte-conditioned medium (ACM) to the culture, which can express NG2 and A2B5, the IPCs markers. Apart from the number of NG2(+) and A2B5(+) cells, the percentage of proliferative cells as labeled with BrdU progressively increased with prolonged culture period ranging from 1 to 10 days. Meanwhile, the protein level of A2B5 in cells also increased significantly. These results revealed that not all astrocytes could de-differentiate fully into NSCs directly when induced by ACM, rather they generated intermediate or more restricted precursor cells that might undergo progressive de-differentiation to generate NSCs.

Lagrangian water mass tracing from pseudo-Argo, model-derived salinity, tracer and velocity data: An application to Antarctic Intermediate Water in the South Atlantic Ocean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blanke, Bruno; Speich, Sabrina; Rusciano, Emanuela

2015-01-01

We use the tracer and velocity fields of a climatological ocean model to investigate the ability of Argo-like data to estimate accurately water mass movements and transformations, in the style of analyses commonly applied to the output of ocean general circulation model. To this end, we introduce an algorithm for the reconstruction of a fully non-divergent three-dimensional velocity field from the simple knowledge of the model vertical density profiles and 1000-m horizontal velocity components. The validation of the technique consists in comparing the resulting pathways for Antarctic Intermediate Water in the South Atlantic Ocean to equivalent reference results based on the full model information available for velocity and tracers. We show that the inclusion of a wind-induced Ekman pumping and of a well-thought-out expression for vertical velocity at the level of the intermediate waters is essential for the reliable reproduction of quantitative Lagrangian analyses. Neglecting the seasonal variability of the velocity and tracer fields is not a significant source of errors, at least well below the permanent thermocline. These results give us confidence in the success of the adaptation of the algorithm to true gridded Argo data for investigating the dynamics of flows in the ocean interior.

Interfacial Bonding Energy on the Interface between ZChSnSb/Sn Alloy Layer and Steel Body at Microscale

PubMed Central

Xia, Quanzhi; Ma, Yang; Meng, Fanning; Liang, Yinan; Li, Zhixiong

2017-01-01

To investigate the performance of bonding on the interface between ZChSnSb/Sn and steel body, the interfacial bonding energy on the interface of a ZChSnSb/Sn alloy layer and the steel body with or without Sn as an intermediate layer was calculated under the same loadcase using the molecular dynamics simulation software Materials Studio by ACCELRYS, and the interfacial bonding energy under different Babbitt thicknesses was compared. The results show that the bonding energy of the interface with Sn as an intermediate layer is 10% larger than that of the interface without a Sn layer. The interfacial bonding performances of Babbitt and the steel body with Sn as an intermediate layer are better than those of an interface without a Sn layer. When the thickness of the Babbitt layer of bushing is 17.143 Å, the interfacial bonding energy reaches the maximum, and the interfacial bonding performance is optimum. These findings illustrate the bonding mechanism of the interfacial structure from the molecular level so as to ensure the good bonding properties of the interface, which provides a reference for the improvement of the bush manufacturing process from the microscopic point of view. PMID:28946690

Glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase enables anaplerotic refilling of TCA cycle intermediates in stroke-affected brain

PubMed Central

Rink, Cameron; Gnyawali, Surya; Stewart, Richard; Teplitsky, Seth; Harris, Hallie; Roy, Sashwati; Sen, Chandan K.; Khanna, Savita

2017-01-01

Ischemic stroke results in excessive release of glutamate, which contributes to neuronal cell death. Here, we test the hypothesis that otherwise neurotoxic glutamate can be productively metabolized by glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT) to maintain cellular energetics and protect the brain from ischemic stroke injury. The GOT-dependent metabolism of glutamate was studied in primary neural cells and in stroke-affected C57-BL6 mice using magnetic resonance spectroscopy and GC-MS. Extracellular Glu sustained cell viability under hypoglycemic conditions and increased GOT-mediated metabolism in vitro. Correction of stroke-induced hypoxia using supplemental oxygen in vivo lowered Glu levels as measured by 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy. GOT knockdown abrogated this effect and caused ATP loss in the stroke-affected brain. GOT overexpression increased anaplerotic refilling of tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates in mouse brain during ischemic stroke. Furthermore, GOT overexpression not only reduced ischemic stroke lesion volume but also attenuated neurodegeneration and improved poststroke sensorimotor function. Taken together, our results show that GOT enables metabolism of otherwise neurotoxic extracellular Glu through a truncated tricarboxylic acid cycle under hypoglycemic conditions.—Rink, C., Gnyawali, S., Stewart, R., Teplitsky, S., Harris, H., Roy, S., Sen, C. K., Khanna, S. Glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase enables anaplerotic refilling of TCA cycle intermediates in stroke-affected brain. PMID:28096234

Shaving Bridges and Tuning Kitaraa: The Effect of Language Switching on Semantic Processing

PubMed Central

Hut, Suzanne C. A.; Leminen, Alina

2017-01-01

Language switching has been repeatedly found to be costly. Yet, there are reasons to believe that switches in language might benefit language comprehension in some groups of people, such as less proficient language learners. This study therefore investigated the interplay between language switching and semantic processing in groups with varying language proficiency. EEG was recorded while L2 learners of English with intermediate and high proficiency levels read semantically congruent or incongruent sentences in L2. Translations of congruent and incongruent target words were additionally presented in L1 to create intrasentential language switches. A control group of English native speakers was tested in order to compare responses to non-switched stimuli with those of L2 learners. An omnibus ANOVA including all groups revealed larger N400 responses for non-switched incongruent stimuli compared to congruent stimuli. Additionally, despite switches to L1 at target word position, semantic N400 responses were still elicited in both L2 learner groups. Further switching effects were reflected by an N400-like effect and a late positivity complex, pointing to possible parsing efforts after language switches. Our results therefore show that although language switches are associated with increased mental effort, switches may not necessarily be costly on the semantic level. This finding contributes to the ongoing discussion on language inhibition processes, and shows that, in these intermediate and high proficient L2 learners, semantic processes look similar to those of native speakers of English. PMID:28900402

Crystallographic and spectroscopic snapshots reveal a dehydrogenase in action

DOE PAGES

Huo, Lu; Davis, Ian; Liu, Fange; ...

2015-01-07

Aldehydes are ubiquitous intermediates in metabolic pathways and their innate reactivity can often make them quite unstable. There are several aldehydic intermediates in the metabolic pathway for tryptophan degradation that can decay into neuroactive compounds that have been associated with numerous neurological diseases. An enzyme of this pathway, 2-aminomuconate-6-semialdehyde dehydrogenase, is responsible for ‘disarming’ the final aldehydic intermediate. Here we show the crystal structures of a bacterial analogue enzyme in five catalytically relevant forms: resting state, one binary and two ternary complexes, and a covalent, thioacyl intermediate. We also report the crystal structures of a tetrahedral, thiohemiacetal intermediate, a thioacylmore » intermediate and an NAD +-bound complex from an active site mutant. These covalent intermediates are characterized by single-crystal and solution-state electronic absorption spectroscopy. The crystal structures reveal that the substrate undergoes an E/Z isomerization at the enzyme active site before an sp 3-to-sp 2 transition during enzyme-mediated oxidation.« less

View-Tolerant Face Recognition and Hebbian Learning Imply Mirror-Symmetric Neural Tuning to Head Orientation.

PubMed

Leibo, Joel Z; Liao, Qianli; Anselmi, Fabio; Freiwald, Winrich A; Poggio, Tomaso

2017-01-09

The primate brain contains a hierarchy of visual areas, dubbed the ventral stream, which rapidly computes object representations that are both specific for object identity and robust against identity-preserving transformations, like depth rotations [1, 2]. Current computational models of object recognition, including recent deep-learning networks, generate these properties through a hierarchy of alternating selectivity-increasing filtering and tolerance-increasing pooling operations, similar to simple-complex cells operations [3-6]. Here, we prove that a class of hierarchical architectures and a broad set of biologically plausible learning rules generate approximate invariance to identity-preserving transformations at the top level of the processing hierarchy. However, all past models tested failed to reproduce the most salient property of an intermediate representation of a three-level face-processing hierarchy in the brain: mirror-symmetric tuning to head orientation [7]. Here, we demonstrate that one specific biologically plausible Hebb-type learning rule generates mirror-symmetric tuning to bilaterally symmetric stimuli, like faces, at intermediate levels of the architecture and show why it does so. Thus, the tuning properties of individual cells inside the visual stream appear to result from group properties of the stimuli they encode and to reflect the learning rules that sculpted the information-processing system within which they reside. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Aberrant intermediate filament and synaptophysin expression is a frequent event in malignant melanoma: an immunohistochemical study of 73 cases.

PubMed

Romano, Ryan C; Carter, Jodi M; Folpe, Andrew L

2015-08-01

Malignant melanomas are known to express vimentin, among other intermediate filaments. Though anomalous keratin expression by malignant melanoma has been reported, its frequency is not well-established and this phenomenon is not well-known. We have seen in consultation a number of malignant melanomas with anomalous expression of keratin, other intermediate filaments, or synaptophysin, and therefore studied a large group of primary and metastatic melanomas to determine the frequency of these events. About 73 cases of malignant melanoma (22 primaries and 51 metastases) from 71 patients (51 male, 20 female; mean 59 years, range 17-87 years) were retrieved from our archives. Prior diagnoses were confirmed by re-review of hematoxylin and eosin sections and relevant (e.g., S100 protein, HMB45, Melan-A, and tyrosinase) immunohistochemical studies. Available sections were immunostained for keratin (OSCAR and AE1/AE3 antibodies), desmin, neurofilament protein, glial fibrillary acidic protein, synaptophysin, and chromogranin A. Not all cases could be tested for all markers. Cases were predominantly epithelioid (48/73, 66%) or spindle cell/desmoplastic (25/73, 34%). S100 protein, Melan-A, HMB45, and tyrosinase were positive in 60/65 (92%), 34/64 (53%), 30/60 (50%), 25/48 (52%) of cases, respectively. All five S100-protein-negative cases expressed at least one of the other melanocytic markers: Melan-A (two of four, 50%), HMB45 (two of three, 67%), and tyrosinase (one of two, 50%). All cases expressed at least one melanocytic marker. Cases were positive for keratin (OSCAR, 17/61, 28%; AE1/AE3, 16/40, 40%), desmin (11/47, 24%), neurofilament protein (5/31, 16%), glial fibrillary acidic protein (3/32, 9%), and synaptophysin (10/34, 29%), typically only in a minority of cells. Chromogranin was negative (0/32, 0%). Altogether 9/73 cases (12%) showed expression of >1 intermediate filament. All S100-protein-negative melanomas showed anomalous intermediate filament expression (keratin--one case, desmin--three cases, neurofilament protein--one case). Anomalous intermediate filament or synaptophysin expression was more common in epithelioid (intermediate filament, 27/48, 56%; synaptophysin, 7/22, 32%) as compared with spindle cell/desmoplastic (intermediate filament, 8/25, 32%; synaptophysin, 3/12, 25%) melanomas. Overall, 48% (35/73) of cases showed anomalous expression of at least one intermediate filament. Anomalous expression of all intermediate filaments and synaptophysin was found in significant subsets of malignant melanoma, representing potentially serious diagnostic pitfalls. While the inclusion of consultation cases may inflate the frequency of these findings in this series, similar findings were also seen in institutional cases. Malignant melanoma showing anomalous intermediate filament and synaptophysin expression may easily be mistaken for carcinomas, rhabdomyosarcomas, and neuroendocrine tumors. Awareness of this phenomenon, careful histopathological evaluation, and an appropriate melanocytic immunohistochemical panel should facilitate the diagnosis of malignant melanoma with unusual immunophenotypes.

Characterization of multiple SPS knockout mutants reveals redundant functions of the four Arabidopsis sucrose phosphate synthase isoforms in plant viability, and strongly indicates that enhanced respiration and accelerated starch turnover can alleviate the blockage of sucrose biosynthesis.

PubMed

Bahaji, Abdellatif; Baroja-Fernández, Edurne; Ricarte-Bermejo, Adriana; Sánchez-López, Ángela María; Muñoz, Francisco José; Romero, Jose M; Ruiz, María Teresa; Baslam, Marouane; Almagro, Goizeder; Sesma, María Teresa; Pozueta-Romero, Javier

2015-09-01

We characterized multiple knock-out mutants of the four Arabidopsis sucrose phosphate synthase (SPSA1, SPSA2, SPSB and SPSC) isoforms. Despite their reduced SPS activity, spsa1/spsa2, spsa1/spsb, spsa2/spsb, spsa2/spsc, spsb/spsc, spsa1/spsa2/spsb and spsa2/spsb/spsc mutants displayed wild type (WT) vegetative and reproductive morphology, and showed WT photosynthetic capacity and respiration. In contrast, growth of rosettes, flowers and siliques of the spsa1/spsc and spsa1/spsa2/spsc mutants was reduced compared with WT plants. Furthermore, these plants displayed a high dark respiration phenotype. spsa1/spsb/spsc and spsa1/spsa2/spsb/spsc seeds poorly germinated and produced aberrant and sterile plants. Leaves of all viable sps mutants, except spsa1/spsc and spsa1/spsa2/spsc, accumulated WT levels of nonstructural carbohydrates. spsa1/spsc leaves possessed high levels of metabolic intermediates and activities of enzymes of the glycolytic and tricarboxylic acid cycle pathways, and accumulated high levels of metabolic intermediates of the nocturnal starch-to-sucrose conversion process, even under continuous light conditions. Results presented in this work show that SPS is essential for plant viability, reveal redundant functions of the four SPS isoforms in processes that are important for plant growth and nonstructural carbohydrate metabolism, and strongly indicate that accelerated starch turnover and enhanced respiration can alleviate the blockage of sucrose biosynthesis in spsa1/spsc leaves. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Deep and intermediate mediterranean water in the western Alboran Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parrilla, Gregorio; Kinder, Thomas H.; Preller, Ruth H.

1986-01-01

Hydrographic and current meter data, obtained during June to October 1982, and numerical model experiments are used to study the distribution and flow of Mediterranean waters in the western Alboran Sea. The Intermediate Water is more pronounced in the northern three-fourths of the sea, but its distribution is patchy as manifested by variability of the temperature and salinity maxima at scales ≤10 km. Current meters in the lower Intermediate Water showed mean flow toward the Strait at 2 cm s -1. A reversal of this flow lasted about 2 weeks. A rough estimate of the mean westward Intermediate Water transport was 0.4 × 10 6 m 3 s -1, about one-third of the total outflow, so that the best estimates of the contributions of traditionally defined Intermediate Water and Deep Water account for only about one-half of the total outflow. The Deep Water was uplifted against the southern continental slope from Alboran Island (3°W) to the Strait. There was also a similar but much weaker banking against the Spanish slope, but a deep current record showed that the eastward recirculation implied by this banking is probably intermittent. Two-layer numerical model experiments simulated the Intermediate Water flow with a flat bottom and the Deep Water with realistic bottom topography. Both experiments replicated the major circulation features, and the Intermediate Water flow was concentrated in the north because of rotation and the Deep Water flow in the south because of topographic control.

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

Salinas, R.; Pajkos, M. A.; Strader, J.

Intermediate-age star clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud show extended main sequence turnoffs (MSTOs) that are not consistent with a canonical single stellar population. These broad turnoffs have been interpreted as evidence for extended star formation and/or stellar rotation. Since most of these studies use single frames per filter to do the photometry, the presence of variable stars near the MSTO in these clusters has remained unnoticed and their impact has been totally ignored. We model the influence of Delta Scuti using synthetic CMDs, adding variable stars following different levels of incidence and amplitude distributions. We show that Delta Scutimore » observed at a single phase will produce a broadening of the MSTO without affecting other areas of a CMD such as the upper MS or the red clump; furthermore, the amount of spread introduced correlates with cluster age, as observed. This broadening is constrained to ages ∼1–3 Gyr when the MSTO area crosses the instability strip, which is also consistent with observations. Variable stars cannot explain bifurcarted MSTOs or the extended MSTOs seen in some young clusters, but they can make an important contribution to the extended MSTOs in intermediate-age clusters.« less

The trophic vacuum and the evolution of complex life cycles in trophically transmitted helminths

PubMed Central

Benesh, Daniel P.; Chubb, James C.; Parker, Geoff A.

2014-01-01

Parasitic worms (helminths) frequently have complex life cycles in which they are transmitted trophically between two or more successive hosts. Sexual reproduction often takes place in high trophic-level (TL) vertebrates, where parasites can grow to large sizes with high fecundity. Direct infection of high TL hosts, while advantageous, may be unachievable for parasites constrained to transmit trophically, because helminth propagules are unlikely to be ingested by large predators. Lack of niche overlap between propagule and definitive host (the trophic transmission vacuum) may explain the origin and/or maintenance of intermediate hosts, which overcome this transmission barrier. We show that nematodes infecting high TL definitive hosts tend to have more successive hosts in their life cycles. This relationship was modest, though, driven mainly by the minimum TL of hosts, suggesting that the shortest trophic chains leading to a host define the boundaries of the transmission vacuum. We also show that alternative modes of transmission, like host penetration, allow nematodes to reach high TLs without intermediate hosts. We suggest that widespread omnivory as well as parasite adaptations to increase transmission probably reduce, but do not eliminate, the barriers to the transmission of helminths through the food web. PMID:25209937

The organizational commitment of emergency physicians in Spanish public hospitals

PubMed

Noval de la Torre, A; Bulchand Gidumal, J; Melián González, S

2016-12-30

Background. There are not too many studies that deal with the organizational commitment of emergency physicians. This commitment has been shown to impact organizational performance. The aim of this paper is to analyse the degree of commitment of the emergency physicians in Spanish public hospitals and the factors that may influence it. Method. Online survey using SurveyMonkey to emergency physicians in Spanish public hospitals. Results. Two hundred and five questionnaires were received, 162 from physicians and 43 from heads of the emergency service. Results show an intermediate level of commitment, with affective commitment showing the lowest level and continuance commitment showing the highest level. The capabilities of the physician have an influence on their affective commitment; specific training in emergency procedures and seniority has an influence on their continuance commitment; and the opinion they hold about the organization of their service influences affective commitment. Conclusions. Emergency physicians show an average involvement in the hospital in which they work (average 3.8 on a range of 1 to 5), feel an average affection for it (3.4), and have a high intention to keep working there (4.0). The resources the hospital has due to its level do not have an influence on this commitment, while the training and perceptions of the service do have an influence.

One-year follow-up of persons discharged from a locked intermediate care facility.

PubMed

Lamb, H Richard; Weinberger, Linda E

2005-02-01

This study examined outcomes during a one-year follow-up for persons who were discharged from a locked intermediate care facility in an urban area in California. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which persons with severe mental illness can be successfully transferred from an intermediate care facility to lower levels of care. A total of 101 persons consecutively discharged were studied by record review and by obtaining information from facility staff members, therapists, case managers, and other community caretakers. During the follow-up period 56 percent of the patients who were discharged from the intermediate care facility were not able to demonstrate even minimal functioning in the community. These persons spent 90 or more days in locked or highly structured institutions that provided 24-hour care (including jail) or had five or more acute hospitalizations. However, 44 percent spent less than 90 days in these institutions and had fewer than five acute hospitalizations. Thirty-three percent were not known to have spent any time in an institution or hospital. The high rate of recidivism shown in this cohort suggests that the current emphasis on transferring patients from more structured, intermediate inpatient services to lower levels of care is not effective for a majority of patients. Furthermore, the poor clinical outcomes found in this cohort did not seem to be offset by any reduction in overall governmental costs because of the high use of acute and intermediate hospitalization and the costs of the criminal justice system.

Time-resolved resonance Raman spectroscopy of intermediates of bacteriorhodopsin: The bK(590) intermediate.

PubMed

Terner, J; Hsieh, C L; Burns, A R; El-Sayed, M A

1979-07-01

We have combined microbeam and flow techniques with computer subtraction methods to obtain the resonance Raman spectrum of the short lived batho-intermediate (bK(590)) of bacteriorhodopsin. Comparison of the spectra obtained in (1)H(2)O and (2)H(2)O, as well as the fact that the bK(590) intermediate shows large optical red shifts, suggests that the Schiff base linkage of this intermediate is protonated. The fingerprint region of the spectrum of bK(590), sensitive to the isomeric configuration of the retinal chromophore, does not resemble the corresponding region of the parent bR(570) form. The resonance Raman spectrum of bK(590) as well as the spectra of all of the other main intermediates in the photoreaction cycle of bacteriorhodopsin are discussed and compared with resonance Raman spectra of published model compounds.

Identifying the heterogeneity of young adult rhinitis through cluster analysis in the Isle of Wight birth cohort.

PubMed

Kurukulaaratchy, Ramesh J; Zhang, Hongmei; Patil, Veeresh; Raza, Abid; Karmaus, Wilfried; Ewart, Susan; Arshad, S Hasan

2015-01-01

Rhinitis affects many young adults and often shows comorbidity with asthma. We hypothesized that young adult rhinitis, like asthma, exhibits clinical heterogeneity identifiable by means of cluster analysis. Participants in the Isle of Wight birth cohort (n = 1456) were assessed at 1, 2, 4, 10, and 18 years of age. Cluster analysis was performed on those with rhinitis at age 18 years (n = 468) by using 13 variables defining clinical characteristics. Four clusters were identified. Patients in cluster 1 (n = 128 [27.4%]; ie, moderate childhood-onset rhinitis) had high atopy and eczema prevalence and high total IgE levels but low asthma prevalence. They showed the best lung function at 18 years of age, with normal fraction of exhaled nitric oxide (Feno), low bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR), and low bronchodilator reversibility (BDR) but high rhinitis symptoms and treatment. Patients in cluster 2 (n = 199 [42.5%]; ie, mild-adolescence-onset female rhinitis) had the lowest prevalence of comorbid atopy, asthma, and eczema. They had normal lung function and low BHR, BDR, Feno values, and total IgE levels plus low rhinitis symptoms, severity, and treatment. Patients in cluster 3 (n = 59 [12.6%]; ie, severe earliest-onset rhinitis with asthma) had the youngest rhinitis onset plus the highest comorbid asthma (of simultaneous onset) and atopy. They showed the most obstructed lung function with high BHR, BDR, and Feno values plus high rhinitis symptoms, severity, and treatment. Patient 4 in cluster 4 (n = 82 [17.5%]; ie, moderate childhood-onset male rhinitis with asthma) had high atopy, intermediate asthma, and low eczema. They had impaired lung function with high Feno values and total IgE levels but intermediate BHR and BDR. They had moderate rhinitis symptoms. Clinically distinctive adolescent rhinitis clusters are apparent with varying sex and asthma associations plus differing rhinitis severity and treatment needs. Copyright © 2014 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Impacts of Emotional Intelligence Enhancement on Iranian Intermediate EFL Learners' Writing Skill

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ebrahimi, Mohammad Reza; Khoshsima, Hooshang; Zare-Behtash, Esmail

2018-01-01

The current study tried to empirically examine the influence of enhancing Emotional Intelligence on writing skill. The method of doing the study was giving an "Interchange Placement Test" to the university students who majored in English (EFL learners) in Iran. After selecting intermediate level students for participating in the study,…

Career Education: Some Essential Learner Outcomes. Intermediate Grades 4, 5, 6.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tennyson, W. Wesley; And Others

This guide, one of a series for various grade levels, contains Some Essential Learner Outcomes (SELOs) for career education in the intermediate grades in Minnesota. (The SELOs are selected samples of knowledge statements considered as essential learning outcomes for students in each of the subject areas taught in schools.) These SELOs for the…

Toward a Taxonomy of Errors in Iranian EFL Learners' Basic-Level Writing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Salmani Nodoushan, Mohammad Ali

2018-01-01

This study attempted at classifying common errors found in the written performance of lower- and upper-intermediate Iranian EFL learners. It engaged a rich corpus of EFL writing samples collected over a course of 20 years (between 1992 and 2011) from lower- and upper-intermediate EFL learners studying at various Iranian universities to provide a…

Bridge: Intelligent Tutoring with Intermediate Representations

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-05-01

Research and Development Center and Psychology Department University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA. 15260 The Artificial Intelligence and Psychology...problem never introduces more than one unfamiliar plan. Inteligent Tutoring With Intermediate Representations - Bonar and Cunniigbam 4 You must have a... Inteligent Tutoring With ntermediate Representations - Bonar and Cunningham 7 The requirements are specified at four differcnt levels, corresponding to

The Role of Morphological and Contextual Information in L2 Lexical Inference

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hamada, Megumi

2014-01-01

This study investigated the role of morphological and contextual information in inferring the meaning of unknown L2 words during reading. Four groups of college-level ESL students, beginning (n?=?34), intermediate (n?=?27), high-intermediate (n?=?21), and advanced (n?=?25), chose the inferred meanings of 20 pseudo compounds (e.g.,…

Supplementing Assertive Discipline with Conflict Resolution To Develop Social Skills at the Intermediate Level.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parkhurst, Kathleen J.

A middle school principal with 17 years of experience as a classroom teacher implemented a practicum designed to develop positive, long-lasting social skills among elementary school students in the intermediate grades. The primary goal of the intervention was to decrease the number of instances in which students used verbal or physical aggression…

Intermediate SCDC Spanish Curricula Units. Science/Health, Unit 1, Kits 1-4, Teacher's Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spanish Curricula Development Center, Miami Beach, FL.

Unified by the theme "our community", this unit, part of nine basic instructional units for intermediate level, reflects the observations of Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Cubans in various regions of the United States. Comprised of Kits 1-4, the unit extends the following basic and interpreted science processes: observing, communicating,…

Shakespeare in the Classroom: Plays for the Intermediate Grades. Fearon Teacher Aids, Grades 4-8.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cullum, Albert

This resource presents scripts for eight Shakespearean plays. The scripts are adapted for classroom presentation by intermediate level students. Each play includes introductory materials, instructions for staging and costumes, a vocabulary list, and a cast of characters. Enough roles are provided for participation by every child in the class. Many…

A Preliminary Report on a New Grammar Checker to Help Students of English as a Foreign Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lawley, Jim

2004-01-01

Whereas many pre-intermediate and intermediate level students of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) might benefit from receiving detailed feedback on mistakes in their written compositions, there are obvious practical limits to the amount of corrective feedback that teachers in schools and universities can provide. This article briefly describes…

The Influence of English Language and Spanish Language Captions on Foreign Language Listening/Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Markham, Paul; Peter, Lizette

2003-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of using Spanish captions, English captions, or no captions with a Spanish language soundtrack on intermediate university-level Spanish as a Foreign Language students' listening/reading comprehension. A total of 213 intermediate (fourth semester) students participated as intact groups in the…

Comparison of Chinese and Turkish EFL Learners on the Use of Compliment Responses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Istifci, Ilknur

2017-01-01

This study aims at investigating compliment responses of Turkish and Chinese EFL learners by collecting data via a Discourse Completion Test. The participants of the study are Lower-Intermediate and Intermediate Level Chinese and Turkish EFL learners and native English speakers. The first purpose of the study is to compare Turkish and Chinese EFL…

Greek and Roman Plays: For the Intermediate Grades. Fearson Teacher Aids, Grades 4-8.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cullum, Albert

This resource presents scripts for 15 classical plays from ancient Greece and Rome. The scripts are adapted for classroom presentation by intermediate level students. Each play includes an introduction, instructions for staging and costumes, a vocabulary list, and a cast of characters. Enough roles are provided for participation by every child in…

Cognitive skills assessment during robot-assisted surgery: separating the wheat from the chaff.

PubMed

Guru, Khurshid A; Esfahani, Ehsan T; Raza, Syed J; Bhat, Rohit; Wang, Katy; Hammond, Yana; Wilding, Gregory; Peabody, James O; Chowriappa, Ashirwad J

2015-01-01

To investigate the utility of cognitive assessment during robot-assisted surgery (RAS) to define skills in terms of cognitive engagement, mental workload, and mental state; while objectively differentiating between novice and expert surgeons. In all, 10 surgeons with varying operative experience were assigned to beginner (BG), combined competent and proficient (CPG), and expert (EG) groups based on the Dreyfus model. The participants performed tasks for basic, intermediate and advanced skills on the da Vinci Surgical System. Participant performance was assessed using both tool-based and cognitive metrics. Tool-based metrics showed significant differences between the BG vs CPG and the BG vs EG, in basic skills. While performing intermediate skills, there were significant differences only on the instrument-to-instrument collisions between the BG vs CPG (2.0 vs 0.2, P = 0.028), and the BG vs EG (2.0 vs 0.1, P = 0.018). There were no significant differences between the CPG and EG for both basic and intermediate skills. However, using cognitive metrics, there were significant differences between all groups for the basic and intermediate skills. In advanced skills, there were no significant differences between the CPG and the EG except time (1116 vs 599.6 s), using tool-based metrics. However, cognitive metrics revealed significant differences between both groups. Cognitive assessment of surgeons may aid in defining levels of expertise performing complex surgical tasks once competence is achieved. Cognitive assessment may be used as an adjunct to the traditional methods for skill assessment during RAS. © 2014 The Authors. BJU International © 2014 BJU International.

Thermal energy storage for power generation applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drost, M. K.; Antoniak, Zen I.; Brown, D. R.

1990-03-01

Studies strongly indicate that the United States will face widespread electrical power constraints in the 1990s. In many cases, the demand for increased power will occur during peak and intermediate demand periods. While natural gas is currently plentiful and economically attractive for meeting peak and intermediate loads, the development of a coal-fired peaking option would give utilities insurance against unexpected supply shortages or cost increases. This paper discusses a conceptual evaluation of using thermal energy storage (TES) to improve the economics of coal-fired peak and intermediate load power generation. The use of TES can substantially improve the economic attractiveness of meeting peak and intermediate loads with coal-fired power generation. In this case, conventional pulverized coal combustion equipment is continuously operated to heat molten nitrate salt, which is then stored. During peak demand periods, hot salt is withdrawn from storage and used to generate steam for a Rankine steam power cycle. This allows the coal-fired salt heater to be approximately one-third the size of a coal-fired boiler in a conventional cycling plant. The general impact is to decouple the generation of thermal energy from its conversion to electricity. The present study compares a conventional cycling pulverized coal-fired power plant to a pulverized coal-fired plant using nitrate salt TES. The study demonstrates that a coal-fired salt heater is technically feasible and should be less expensive than a similar coal-fired boiler. The results show the use of nitrate salt TES reduced the levelized cost of power by between 5 and 24 percent, depending on the operating schedule.

Gelatin promotes murine fibrosarcoma L929 cell detachment and protects the cells from TNFα-induced cytotoxicity.

PubMed

Wang, Hong-Ju; Li, Meng-Qi; Liu, Wei; Yao, Guo-Dong; Xia, Ming-Yu; Hayashi, Toshihiko; Fujisaki, Hitomi; Hattori, Shunji; Tashiro, Shin-Ichi; Onodera, Satoshi; Ikejima, Takashi

2016-07-01

Gelatin has been considered to exist as intermediate substance of collagen catabolism in tissue remodeling or under inflammatory conditions. We have initiated the study on possible biological functions of gelatin that can exist temporally and locally under the conditions of remodeling and inflammation Materials and methods: To this purpose, we investigated cell proliferation and survival on gelatin-coated dishes and the response to tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα)-induced cytotoxicity in L929 cells. Autophagy level, ATP level, and ROS generation are examined. L929 cells detached from the gelatin-coated dishes and formed multicellular aggregates. TNFα-induced cytotoxicity in L929 cells was inhibited by gelatin-coating culture. The cells on gelatin-coated dishes showed reduced cellular ATP levels and increased adenosine 5'-monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase (AMPK) phosphorylation, leading to increased ROS generation and autophagy. This study showed that gelatin-coated culture protected L929 cells from TNFα-induced cytotoxicity and suggested for a possible pathophysiological function of gelatin in regulating cellular functions.

Factors Affecting Discharge to Home of Geriatric Intermediate Care Facility Residents in Japan.

PubMed

Morita, Kojiro; Ono, Sachiko; Ishimaru, Miho; Matsui, Hiroki; Naruse, Takashi; Yasunaga, Hideo

2018-04-01

To investigate factors associated with lower likelihood of discharge to home from geriatric intermediate care facilities in Japan. Retrospective cohort study. We used data from the nationwide long-term care (LTC) insurance claims database (April 2012-March 2014). Study participants were 342,758 individuals newly admitted to 3,459 geriatric intermediate care facilities during the study period. The primary outcome was discharge to home. We performed a multivariable competing-risk Cox regression with adjustment for resident-, facility-, and region-level characteristics. Resident level of care needs and several medical conditions were included as time-varying covariates. Death, admission to a hospital, and admission to another LTC facility were treated as competing risks. During the 2-year follow-up period, 19% of participants were discharged to home. In the multivariable competing-risk Cox regression, the following factors were significantly associated with lower likelihood of discharge to home: older age, higher level of care need, having several medical conditions, private ownership of the facility, more beds in the facility, and more LTC facility beds per 1,000 adults aged 65 and older in the region. Only 19% of residents were discharged to home. Our results are useful for policy-makers to promote discharge to home of older adults in geriatric intermediate care facilities. © 2018, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2018, The American Geriatrics Society.

Effects of Vegetation Composition and Trophic Structure on Pathways of Mercury Methylation in Alaskan Peatlands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hines, M. E.; Zhang, L.; Barkay, T.; Krabbenhoft, D. P.; Liu, X.

2016-12-01

Methyl mercury (MeHg) can be produced by diverse microbes including syntrophs, methanogens, and fermenters, besides sulfate (SO42-, SRB) and iron- reducing bacteria. Many freshwater wetlands are deficient in electron acceptors that support the traditional respiratory pathways of methylation, yet high levels of MeHg can accumulate. To investigate methylation pathways in these wetlands and to connect these pathways with surface vegetation and microbial communities, experiments were conducted using peats from 28 sites in Alaska collected during the summer of 2015. The sites were clustered using multiple factor analysis based on pH, temp, CH4 and volatile fatty acids production rates, and surface vegetation composition. Three clusters were generated and corresponded to three trophic levels that were manifested by three pH levels (4.2, 5.3, and 5.8). Hg methylation activity in laboratory incubations was determined using the short-lived radioisotope 197Hg. In the low pH, Sphagnum fuscum dominated cluster, methylation rates were less than 0.1% day-1. Conversely, the high pH trophic cluster dominated by Carex aquatilis, Carex tenuiflora, and active syntrophy, exhibited Hg methylation rates as high as 10% day-1. In intermediate sites, rich in Sphagnum magellanicum with less Carex, a gradient in syntrophy and Hg methylation paths was observed. Amendments with SO42- showed very active sulfate reduction but no stimulation of methylation; another set of amendments with methanogenic inhibitors greatly reduced methylation rates at intermediate and high trophic clusters. These results suggested that SRB, metabolizing either syntrophically with methanogens and/or by fermentation, likely methylated Hg. While metatranscriptomics studies are being conducted to verify the role of syntrophs, fermenters, and methanogens as methylators, these incubation results revealed that Hg methylation pathways change greatly along trophic gradients with a dominance of respiratory pathways in rich fens, syntrophy dominance in intermediate sites, and fermentation dominance in poor bogs.

Computational study on the aminolysis of beta-hydroxy-alpha,beta-unsaturated ester via the favorable path including the formation of alpha-oxo ketene intermediate.

PubMed

Jin, Lu; Xue, Ying; Zhang, Hui; Kim, Chan Kyung; Xie, Dai Qian; Yan, Guo Sen

2008-05-15

The possible mechanisms of the aminolysis of N-methyl-3-(methoxycarbonyl)-4-hydroxy-2-pyridone (beta-hydroxy-alpha,beta-unsaturated ester) with dimethylamine are investigated at the hybrid density functional theory B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) level in the gas phase. Single-point computations at the B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) and the Becke88-Becke95 1-parameter model BB1K/6-311++G(d,p) levels are performed for more precise energy predictions. Solvent effects are also assessed by single-point calculations at the integral equation formalism polarized continuum model IEFPCM-B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) and IEFPCM-BB1K/6-311++G(d,p) levels on the gas-phase optimized geometries. Three possible pathways, the concerted pathway (path A), the stepwise pathway involving tetrahedral intermediates (path B), and the stepwise pathway via alpha-oxo ketene intermediate due to the participation of beta-hydroxy (path C), are taken into account for the title reaction. Moreover, path C includes two sequential processes. The first process is to generate alpha-oxo ketene intermediate via the decomposition of N-methyl-3-(methoxycarbonyl)-4-hydroxy-2-pyridone; the second process is the addition of dimethylamine to alpha-oxo ketene intermediate. Our results indicate that path C is more favorable than paths A and B both in the gas phase and in solvent (heptane). In path C, the first process is the rate-determining step, and the second process is revealed to be a [4+2] pseudopericyclic reaction without the energy barrier. Being independent of the concentration of amine, the first process obeys the first-order rate law.

Psychological detachment from work during non-work time: linear or curvilinear relations with mental health and work engagement?

PubMed

Shimazu, Akihito; Matsudaira, Ko; Jonge, Jan DE; Tosaka, Naoya; Watanabe, Kazuhiro; Takahashi, Masaya

2016-06-10

This study examined whether a higher level of psychological detachment during non-work time is associated with better employee mental health (Hypothesis 1), and examined whether psychological detachment has a curvilinear relation (inverted U-shaped pattern) with work engagement (Hypothesis 2). A large cross-sectional Internet survey was conducted among registered monitors of an Internet survey company in Japan. The questionnaire included scales for psychological detachment, employee mental health, and work engagement as well as for job characteristics and demographic variables as potential confounders. The hypothesized model was tested with moderated structural equation modeling techniques among 2,234 respondents working in the tertiary industries with regular employment. Results showed that psychological detachment had curvilinear relations with mental health as well as with work engagement. Mental health improved when psychological detachment increased from a low to higher levels but did not benefit any further from extremely high levels of psychological detachment. Work engagement showed the highest level at an intermediate level of detachment (inverted U-shaped pattern). Although high psychological detachment may enhance employee mental health, moderate levels of psychological detachment are most beneficial for his or her work engagement.

Psychological detachment from work during non-work time: linear or curvilinear relations with mental health and work engagement?

PubMed Central

SHIMAZU, Akihito; MATSUDAIRA, Ko; DE JONGE, Jan; TOSAKA, Naoya; WATANABE, Kazuhiro; TAKAHASHI, Masaya

2016-01-01

This study examined whether a higher level of psychological detachment during non-work time is associated with better employee mental health (Hypothesis 1), and examined whether psychological detachment has a curvilinear relation (inverted U-shaped pattern) with work engagement (Hypothesis 2). A large cross-sectional Internet survey was conducted among registered monitors of an Internet survey company in Japan. The questionnaire included scales for psychological detachment, employee mental health, and work engagement as well as for job characteristics and demographic variables as potential confounders. The hypothesized model was tested with moderated structural equation modeling techniques among 2,234 respondents working in the tertiary industries with regular employment. Results showed that psychological detachment had curvilinear relations with mental health as well as with work engagement. Mental health improved when psychological detachment increased from a low to higher levels but did not benefit any further from extremely high levels of psychological detachment. Work engagement showed the highest level at an intermediate level of detachment (inverted U-shaped pattern). Although high psychological detachment may enhance employee mental health, moderate levels of psychological detachment are most beneficial for his or her work engagement. PMID:26829972

The impact of intermediate care services on job satisfaction, skills and career development opportunities.

PubMed

Nancarrow, Susan

2007-07-01

The purpose of this study was to examine, in depth, the impact of intermediate care services on staff job satisfaction, skills development and career development opportunities. Recruitment and retention difficulties present a major barrier to the effective delivery of intermediate care services in the UK. The limited existing literature is contradictory, but points to the possibility of staff deskilling and suggests that intermediate care is poorly understood and may be seen by other practitioners as being of lower status than hospital work. These factors have the potential to reduce staff morale and limit the possibilities of recruiting staff. The research is based on interviews with 26 staff from case studies of two intermediate care services in South Yorkshire. Participants reported high levels of job satisfaction, which was because of the enabling philosophy of care, increased autonomy, the setting of care and the actual teams within which the workers were employed. For most disciplines, intermediate care facilitated the application of existing skills in a different way; enhancing some skills, while restricting the use of others. Barriers to career development opportunities were attributed to the relative recency of intermediate care services, small size of the services and lack of clear career structures. Career development opportunities in intermediate care could be improved through staff rotations through acute, community and intermediate care to increase their awareness of the roles of intermediate care staff. The non-hierarchical management structures limits management career development opportunities, instead, there is a need to enhance professional growth opportunities through the use of consultant posts and specialization within intermediate care. This study provides insight into the impact of an increasingly popular model of care on the roles and job satisfaction of workers and highlights the importance of this learning for recruitment and retention of staff.

Origin of the anomalies in light and middle REE in sediments of an estuary affected by phosphogypsum wastes (south-western Spain).

PubMed

Borrego, J; López-González, N; Carro, B; Lozano-Soria, O

2004-12-01

Sc, Y, Th, Cu and rare earth elements (REE) concentrations have been analyzed in 14 samples of surface sediments and in two gravity cores by means of ICP-MS. Mean concentrations of Sc, Y and Th in surface sediments are 6.23, 4.76 and 16.30 ppm, respectively, lower than those present in the Upper Continental Crust (UCC). Cu concentration in these sediments is very high, 1466 ppm, and is caused by inputs from the Odiel and Tinto rivers, affected by acid mine drainage. SigmaREE mean concentration is 106.8 ppm, lower than that observed in other rivers and estuaries. In the cores, Sc, Y and Th concentrations show a significant increase in the intermediate levels, between 10 and 40 cm depth. The same pattern exists with Cu, where concentrations of 4440 ppm can be reached. Vertical evolution patterns for Sc, Y, Cu and heavy REE (HREE) are similar, and contrary to those shown by Th, light REE (LREE) and middle REE (MREE). Plots of North American Shale Composite (NASC)-normalized REE data of surface sediments show a slight depletion in REE concentrations. Most samples present with middle REE enrichment relative to light REE and heavy REE. Conversely, samples of the intermediate levels of the cores show significant enrichment of REE relative to NASC and high values in the (La/Gd)NASC and (La/Yb)NASC ratios. These anomalies in the fractionation patterns caused by enrichments in LREE and MREE concentrations is related to the presence of high concentrations of Th. They were generated by effluents from fertilizer factories between 1968 and 1998 which used phosphorite as source material.

Mechanistic and kinetic study on the reaction of ozone and trans-2-chlorovinyldichloroarsine.

PubMed

Zhang, Wanqiao; Sun, Hao; Chen, Wei; Zhang, Yunju; Wang, Fengdi; Tang, Shuwei; Zhang, Jingping; Wang, Haitao; Wang, Rongshun

2016-05-01

Singlet and triplet potential energy surfaces for the atmospheric ozonation of trans-2-chlorovnyldichloroarsine (lewisite) are investigated theoretically. Optimizations of the reactants, products, intermediates and transition states are carried out at the BHandHLYP/6-311+G(d,p) level. Single point energy calculations are performed at the CCSD(T)/6-311+G(d,p) level based on the optimized structures. The detailed mechanism is presented and discussed. Various possible H (or Cl)-abstraction and C (or As)-addition/elimination pathways are considered. The results show that the As-addition/elimination is more energetically favorable than the other mechanisms. Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus (RRKM) theory is used to compute the rate constants over the possible atmospheric temperature range of 200-3000 K and the pressure range of 10(-8)-10(9) Torr. The calculated rate constant is in good agreement with the available experimental data. The total rate coefficient shows positive temperature dependence and pressure independence. The modified three-parameter Arrhenius expressions for the total rate coefficient and individual rate coefficients are represented. Calculation results show that major product is CHClCHAs(OOO)Cl2 (s-IM3) at the temperature below 600 K and O2 + CHClCHAsOCl2 (s-P9) play an important role at the temperature between 600 and 3000 K. Time-dependent DFT (TD-DFT) calculations indicate that CHCl(OOO)CHAsCl2 (s-IM3) and CHOAsCl2 (s-P5) can take photolysis easily in the sunlight. Due to the absence of spectral information for arsenide, computational vibrational spectra of the important intermediates and products are also analyzed to provide valuable evidence for subsequent experimental identification. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

42 CFR 456.654 - Requirements for content of showings and procedures for submittal.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... provider number; (7) For each on-site review in a mental hospital, intermediate care facility that... one team member who is a physician; and (8) For each on-site review in an intermediate care facility...

42 CFR 456.654 - Requirements for content of showings and procedures for submittal.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... provider number; (7) For each on-site review in a mental hospital, intermediate care facility that... one team member who is a physician; and (8) For each on-site review in an intermediate care facility...

42 CFR 456.654 - Requirements for content of showings and procedures for submittal.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... provider number; (7) For each on-site review in a mental hospital, intermediate care facility that... one team member who is a physician; and (8) For each on-site review in an intermediate care facility...

Social networks, personal values, and creativity: evidence for curvilinear and interaction effects.

PubMed

Zhou, Jing; Shin, Shung Jae; Brass, Daniel J; Choi, Jaepil; Zhang, Zhi-Xue

2009-11-01

Taking an interactional perspective on creativity, the authors examined the influence of social networks and conformity value on employees' creativity. They theorized and found a curvilinear relationship between number of weak ties and creativity such that employees exhibited greater creativity when their number of weak ties was at intermediate levels rather than at lower or higher levels. In addition, employees' conformity value moderated the curvilinear relationship between number of weak ties and creativity such that employees exhibited greater creativity at intermediate levels of number of weak ties when conformity was low than when it was high. A proper match between personal values and network ties is critical for understanding creativity.

Physical Model for the Evolution of the Genetic Code

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamashita, Tatsuro; Narikiyo, Osamu

2011-12-01

Using the shape space of codons and tRNAs we give a physical description of the genetic code evolution on the basis of the codon capture and ambiguous intermediate scenarios in a consistent manner. In the lowest dimensional version of our description, a physical quantity, codon level is introduced. In terms of the codon levels two scenarios are typically classified into two different routes of the evolutional process. In the case of the ambiguous intermediate scenario we perform an evolutional simulation implemented cost selection of amino acids and confirm a rapid transition of the code change. Such rapidness reduces uncomfortableness of the non-unique translation of the code at intermediate state that is the weakness of the scenario. In the case of the codon capture scenario the survival against mutations under the mutational pressure minimizing GC content in genomes is simulated and it is demonstrated that cells which experience only neutral mutations survive.

48 CFR 2801.601 - General.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... directly to specific persons without regard for intermediate organizational levels only establishes... organizational relationship between the contracting officers and higher administrative and supervisory levels in the performance of their duties. ...

48 CFR 2801.601 - General.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... directly to specific persons without regard for intermediate organizational levels only establishes... organizational relationship between the contracting officers and higher administrative and supervisory levels in the performance of their duties. ...

The effect of intermediate altitude on the Army Physical Fitness Test.

PubMed

Perry, M E; Browning, R J; Jackson, R; Meyer, J

1992-10-01

Official physical training records of personnel stationed at intermediate altitude (elevation 5,280 feet) for at least 1 year were reviewed to gauge the effect of altitude on 2-mile running performance. An average of 48 additional seconds (a 5% increase in time) was required to complete the run compared to sea-level values in the same subjects. Run times gradually diminished during the first 9 months of assignment to altitude before stability was established. These data indicate that acclimatization occurs over several months. Even with acclimatization, substantial loss of performance is associated with habitation at intermediate altitude.

Provider and Patient Directed Financial Incentives to Improve Care and Outcomes for Patients with Diabetes

PubMed Central

Lorincz, Ilona S.; Lawson, Brittany C. T.

2012-01-01

Incentive programs directed at both providers and patients have become increasingly widespread. Pay-for-performance (P4P) where providers receive financial incentives to carry out specific care or improve clinical outcomes has been widely implemented. The existing literature indicates they probably spur initial gains which then level off or partially revert if incentives are withdrawn. The literature also indicates that process measures are easier to influence through P4P programs but that intermediate outcomes such as glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol control are harder to influence, and the long term impact of P4P programs on health is largely unknown. Programs directed at patients show greater promise as a means to influence patient behavior and intermediate outcomes such as weight loss; however, the evidence for long term effects are lacking. In combination, both patient and provider incentives are potentially powerful tools but whether they are cost-effective has yet to be determined. PMID:23225214

Solvent-driven reductive activation of carbon dioxide by gold anions.

PubMed

Knurr, Benjamin J; Weber, J Mathias

2012-11-14

Catalytic activation and electrochemical reduction of CO(2) for the formation of chemically usable feedstock and fuel are central goals for establishing a carbon neutral fuel cycle. The role of solvent molecules in catalytic processes is little understood, although solvent-solute interactions can strongly influence activated intermediate species. We use vibrational spectroscopy of mass-selected Au(CO(2))(n)(-) cluster ions to probe the solvation of AuCO(2)(-) as a model for a reactive intermediate in the reductive activation of a CO(2) ligand by a single-atom catalyst. For the first few solvent molecules, solvation of the complex preferentially occurs at the CO(2) moiety, enhancing reductive activation through polarization of the excess charge onto the partially reduced ligand. At higher levels of solvation, direct interaction of additional solvent molecules with the Au atom diminishes reduction. The results show how the solvation environment can enhance or diminish the effects of a catalyst, offering design criteria for single-atom catalyst engineering.

Design and Performance Analysis of an Intrinsically Safe Ultrasonic Ranging Sensor

PubMed Central

Zhang, Hongjuan; Wang, Yu; Zhang, Xu; Wang, Dong; Jin, Baoquan

2016-01-01

In flammable or explosive environments, an ultrasonic sensor for distance measurement poses an important engineering safety challenge, because the driving circuit uses an intermediate frequency transformer as an impedance transformation element, in which the produced heat or spark is available for ignition. In this paper, an intrinsically safe ultrasonic ranging sensor is designed and implemented. The waterproof piezoelectric transducer with integrated transceiver is chosen as an energy transducing element. Then a novel transducer driving circuit is designed based on an impedance matching method considering safety spark parameters to replace an intermediate frequency transformer. Then, an energy limiting circuit is developed to achieve dual levels of over-voltage and over-current protection. The detail calculation and evaluation are executed and the electrical characteristics are analyzed to verify the intrinsic safety of the driving circuit. Finally, an experimental platform of the ultrasonic ranging sensor system is constructed, which involves short-circuit protection. Experimental results show that the proposed ultrasonic ranging sensor is excellent in both ranging performance and intrinsic safety. PMID:27304958

Design and Performance Analysis of an Intrinsically Safe Ultrasonic Ranging Sensor.

PubMed

Zhang, Hongjuan; Wang, Yu; Zhang, Xu; Wang, Dong; Jin, Baoquan

2016-06-13

In flammable or explosive environments, an ultrasonic sensor for distance measurement poses an important engineering safety challenge, because the driving circuit uses an intermediate frequency transformer as an impedance transformation element, in which the produced heat or spark is available for ignition. In this paper, an intrinsically safe ultrasonic ranging sensor is designed and implemented. The waterproof piezoelectric transducer with integrated transceiver is chosen as an energy transducing element. Then a novel transducer driving circuit is designed based on an impedance matching method considering safety spark parameters to replace an intermediate frequency transformer. Then, an energy limiting circuit is developed to achieve dual levels of over-voltage and over-current protection. The detail calculation and evaluation are executed and the electrical characteristics are analyzed to verify the intrinsic safety of the driving circuit. Finally, an experimental platform of the ultrasonic ranging sensor system is constructed, which involves short-circuit protection. Experimental results show that the proposed ultrasonic ranging sensor is excellent in both ranging performance and intrinsic safety.

Kinetics and thermochemistry of 2,5-dimethyltetrahydrofuran and related oxolanes: next next-generation biofuels.

PubMed

Simmie, John M

2012-05-10

The enthalpies of formation, entropies, specific heats at constant pressure, enthalpy functions, and all carbon-hydrogen and carbon-methyl bond dissociation energies have been computed using high-level methods for the cyclic ethers (oxolanes) tetrahydrofuran, 2-methyltetrahydrofuran, and 2,5-dimethyltetrahydrofuran. Barrier heights for hydrogen-abstraction reactions by hydrogen atoms and the methyl radical are also computed and shown to correlate with reaction energy change. The results show a pleasing consistency and considerably expands the available data for these important compounds. Abstraction by ȮH is accompanied by formation of both pre- and postreaction weakly bound complexes. The resulting radicals formed after abstraction undergo ring-opening reactions leading to readily recognizable intermediates, while competitive H-elimination reactions result in formation of dihydrofurans. Formation enthalpies of all 2,3- and 2,5-dihydrofurans and associated radicals are also reported. It is probable that the compounds at the center of this study will be relatively clean-burning biofuels, although formation of intermediate aldehydes might be problematic.

Cognition, dopamine and bioactive lipids in schizophrenia

PubMed Central

Condray, Ruth; Yao, Jeffrey K.

2011-01-01

Schizophrenia is a remarkably complex disorder with a multitude of behavioral and biological perturbations. Cognitive deficits are a core feature of this disorder, and involve abnormalities across multiple domains, including memory, attention, and perception. The complexity of this debilitating illness has led to a view that the key to unraveling its pathophysiology lies in deconstructing the clinically-defined syndrome into pathophysiologically distinct intermediate phenotypes. Accumulating evidence suggests that one of these intermediate phenotypes may involve phospholipid signaling abnormalities, particularly in relation to arachidonic acid (AA). Our data show relationships between levels of AA and performance on tests of cognition for schizophrenia patients, with defects in AA signaling associated with deficits in cognition. Moreover, dopamine may moderate these relationships between AA and cognition. Taken together, cognitive deficits, dopaminergic neurotransmission, and bioactive lipids have emerged as related features of schizophrenia. Existing treatment options for cognitive deficits in schizophrenia do not specifically target lipid-derived signaling pathways; understanding these processes could inform efforts to identify novel targets for treatment innovation. PMID:21196378

Impact of the Hydration States of Polymers on Their Hemocompatibility for Medical Applications: A Review

PubMed Central

Bag, Min A.

2017-01-01

Water has a key role in the functioning of all biological systems, it mediates many biochemical reactions, as well as other biological activities such as material biocompatibility. Water is often considered as an inert solvent, however at the molecular level, it shows different behavior when sorbed onto surfaces like polymeric implants. Three states of water have been recognized: non-freezable water, which does not freeze even at −100 °C; intermediate water, which freezes below 0 °C; and, free water, which freezes at 0 °C like bulk water. This review describes the different states of water and the techniques for their identification and quantification, and analyzes their relationship with hemocompatibility in polymer surfaces. Intermediate water content higher than 3 wt % is related to better hemocompatibility for poly(ethylene glycol), poly(meth)acrylates, aliphatic carbonyls, and poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) surfaces. Therefore, characterizing water states in addition to water content is key for polymer selection and material design for medical applications. PMID:28771174

Genomic microsatellites identify shared Jewish ancestry intermediate between Middle Eastern and European populations.

PubMed

Kopelman, Naama M; Stone, Lewi; Wang, Chaolong; Gefel, Dov; Feldman, Marcus W; Hillel, Jossi; Rosenberg, Noah A

2009-12-08

Genetic studies have often produced conflicting results on the question of whether distant Jewish populations in different geographic locations share greater genetic similarity to each other or instead, to nearby non-Jewish populations. We perform a genome-wide population-genetic study of Jewish populations, analyzing 678 autosomal microsatellite loci in 78 individuals from four Jewish groups together with similar data on 321 individuals from 12 non-Jewish Middle Eastern and European populations. We find that the Jewish populations show a high level of genetic similarity to each other, clustering together in several types of analysis of population structure. Further, Bayesian clustering, neighbor-joining trees, and multidimensional scaling place the Jewish populations as intermediate between the non-Jewish Middle Eastern and European populations. These results support the view that the Jewish populations largely share a common Middle Eastern ancestry and that over their history they have undergone varying degrees of admixture with non-Jewish populations of European descent.

Genomic microsatellites identify shared Jewish ancestry intermediate between Middle Eastern and European populations

PubMed Central

2009-01-01

Background Genetic studies have often produced conflicting results on the question of whether distant Jewish populations in different geographic locations share greater genetic similarity to each other or instead, to nearby non-Jewish populations. We perform a genome-wide population-genetic study of Jewish populations, analyzing 678 autosomal microsatellite loci in 78 individuals from four Jewish groups together with similar data on 321 individuals from 12 non-Jewish Middle Eastern and European populations. Results We find that the Jewish populations show a high level of genetic similarity to each other, clustering together in several types of analysis of population structure. Further, Bayesian clustering, neighbor-joining trees, and multidimensional scaling place the Jewish populations as intermediate between the non-Jewish Middle Eastern and European populations. Conclusion These results support the view that the Jewish populations largely share a common Middle Eastern ancestry and that over their history they have undergone varying degrees of admixture with non-Jewish populations of European descent. PMID:19995433

Volatility dependence of Henry's law constants of condensable organics: Application to estimate depositional loss of secondary organic aerosols

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hodzic, A.; Aumont, B.; Knote, C.; Lee-Taylor, J.; Madronich, S.; Tyndall, G.

2014-07-01

The water solubility of oxidation intermediates of volatile organic compounds that can condense to form secondary organic aerosol (SOA) is largely unconstrained in current chemistry-climate models. We apply the Generator of Explicit Chemistry and Kinetics of Organics in the Atmosphere to calculate Henry's law constants for these intermediate species. Results show a strong negative correlation between Henry's law constants and saturation vapor pressures. Details depend on precursor species, extent of photochemical processing, and NOx levels. Henry's law constants as a function of volatility are made available over a wide range of vapor pressures for use in 3-D models. In an application using the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) over the U.S. in summer, we find that dry (and wet) deposition of condensable organic vapors leads to major reductions in SOA, decreasing surface concentrations by ~50% (10%) for biogenic and ~40% (6%) for short chain anthropogenic precursors under the considered volatility conditions.

Access to Sterile Injecting Equipment is More Important Than Awareness of HCV Status for Injection Risk Behaviors Among Drug Users

PubMed Central

COX, JOSEPH; MORISSETTE, CAROLE; DE, PRITHWISH; TREMBLAY, CLAUDE; ALLARD, ROBERT; GRAVES, LISA; STEPHENSON, RANDOLPH; ROY, ÉLISE

2010-01-01

Awareness of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection status is expected to influence risk behaviors. In 2004–2005, injection drug users (IDUs) recruited from syringe exchange programs (SEPs) and methadone clinics in Montreal, Canada, were interviewed on drug use behaviors (past 6 months) and HCV testing. Subjects (n = 230) were classified as low/intermediate risk (20.4% borrowed drug preparation equipment only) and high risk (19.6% borrowed syringes), and 54.5% reported being HCV positive. Logistic regression modeling showed that compared to no risk (60% borrowed nothing), low/intermediate risk was associated with fewer noninjecting social network members, poor physical health, and problems obtaining sterile injecting equipment. High risk was associated with all of these factors except social networks. HCV status was not associated with any level of risk. Improved access to sterile injecting equipment may be more important than knowledge of HCV status in reducing injection risks among this IDU population. The study limitations are noted and recommendations discussed. PMID:19242863

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

Kersten, Roland D.; Diedrich, Jolene K.; Yates, III, John R.

Terpenes are ubiquitous natural chemicals with diverse biological functions spanning all three domains of life. In specialized metabolism, the active sites of terpene synthases (TPSs) evolve in shape and reactivity to direct the biosynthesis of a myriad of chemotypes for organismal fitness. As most terpene biosynthesis mechanistically involves highly reactive carbocationic intermediates, the protein surfaces catalyzing these cascade reactions possess reactive regions possibly prone to premature carbocation capture and potentially enzyme inactivation. Here, we show using proteomic and X-ray crystallographic analyses that cationic intermediates undergo capture by conserved active site residues leading to inhibitory self-alkylation. Furthermore, the level of cation-mediatedmore » inactivation increases with mutation of the active site, upon changes in the size and structure of isoprenoid diphosphate substrates, and alongside increases in reaction temperatures. TPSs that individually synthesize multiple products are less prone to self-alkylation then TPSs possessing relatively high product specificity. In total, the results presented suggest that mechanism-based alkylation represents an overlooked mechanistic pressure during the evolution of cation-derived terpene biosynthesis.« less

Calcium, phosphorus and protein levels as factors in the distribution of the pheasant

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dale, F.H.; DeWitt, J.B.

1958-01-01

Summary of work on pheasant nutrition conducted since 1949 at the Patuxent Research Refuge. Pheasant chicks fed experimental diets failed to develop normally on protein levels of 15 and 18%. With 22% protein they grew at a reduced rate as compared to those on 28%. Protein level of the reproductive diet was shown to be important; low production of eggs and young resulted from levels below 25%. Calcium was found to be even more critical than protein level for reproduction; birds on a winter diet that furnished 145 mg./kg. per day had poor reproductive success the following spring. About 600 mg./kg. of Ca per day was necessary in the reproduction diet. Birds on an intermediate level of Ca (about 0.5% of diet) showed evidence of cumulative deficiency. It was concluded that pheasants receiving levels of Ca no higher than 0.5% in nature might display 'straggling failure' such as has been observed in several midwestern areas.

Quantum Chemical Mass Spectrometry: Verification and Extension of the Mobile Proton Model for Histidine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cautereels, Julie; Blockhuys, Frank

2017-06-01

The quantum chemical mass spectrometry for materials science (QCMS2) method is used to verify the proposed mechanism for proton transfer - the Mobile Proton Model (MPM) - by histidine for ten XHS tripeptides, based on quantum chemical calculations at the DFT/B3LYP/6-311+G* level of theory. The fragmentations of the different intermediate structures in the MPM mechanism are studied within the QCMS2 framework, and the energetics of the proposed mechanism itself and those of the fragmentations of the intermediate structures are compared, leading to the computational confirmation of the MPM. In addition, the calculations suggest that the mechanism should be extended from considering only the formation of five-membered ring intermediates to include larger-ring intermediates. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Pathways and key intermediates required for obligate aerobic ammonia-dependent chemolithotrophy in bacteria and Thaumarchaeota

PubMed Central

Kozlowski, Jessica A; Stieglmeier, Michaela; Schleper, Christa; Klotz, Martin G; Stein, Lisa Y

2016-01-01

Chemolithotrophic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and Thaumarchaeota are central players in the global nitrogen cycle. Obligate ammonia chemolithotrophy has been characterized for bacteria; however, large gaps remain in the Thaumarchaeotal pathway. Using batch growth experiments and instantaneous microrespirometry measurements of resting biomass, we show that the terrestrial Thaumarchaeon Nitrososphaera viennensis EN76T exhibits tight control over production and consumption of nitric oxide (NO) during ammonia catabolism, unlike the ammonia-oxidizing bacterium Nitrosospira multiformis ATCC 25196T. In particular, pulses of hydroxylamine into a microelectrode chamber as the sole substrate for N. viennensis resulted in iterative production and consumption of NO followed by conversion of hydroxylamine to nitrite. In support of these observations, oxidation of ammonia in growing cultures of N. viennensis, but not of N. multiformis, was inhibited by the NO-scavenger PTIO. When based on the marginal nitrous oxide (N2O) levels detected in cell-free media controls, the higher levels produced by N. multiformis were explained by enzyme activity, whereas N2O in N. viennensis cultures was attributed to abiotic reactions of released N-oxide intermediates with media components. Our results are conceptualized in a pathway for ammonia-dependent chemolithotrophy in Thaumarchaea, which identifies NO as an essential intermediate in the pathway and implements known biochemistry to be executed by a proposed but still elusive copper enzyme. Taken together, this work identifies differences in ammonia-dependent chemolithotrophy between bacteria and the Thaumarchaeota, advances a central catabolic role of NO only in the Thaumarchaeotal pathway and reveals stark differences in how the two microbial cohorts contribute to N2O emissions. PMID:26882267

The expression of intermediate filament protein nestin and its association with cyclin-dependent kinase 5 in the glomeruli of rats with diabetic nephropathy.

PubMed

Liu, Wei; Zhang, Yue; Liu, Shuxia; Liu, Qingjuan; Hao, Jun; Shi, Yonghong; Zhao, Song; Duan, Huijun

2013-06-01

Podocyte injury plays a crucial role in the development of diabetic nephropathy (DN), but its underlying mechanism remains poorly understood. Emerging evidences suggest that the cytoskeleton disruption is related to podocyte injury. The aim of this study was to investigate whether nestin, a cytoskeleton-associated intermediate filament protein, is involved in the development of DN. Rat diabetes was induced by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin. The renal histological changes were investigated by light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The location of nestin and vimentin in renal tissues was observed by immunohistochemistry. The protein or messenger RNA levels of nestin and cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) were detected by Western blot and real-time polymerase chain reaction. The relationship between nestin and vimentin was detected by co-immunoprecipitation. Compared with controls, diabetic rats showed significant characteristics of renal damage. The expression of nestin and vimentin in the glomeruli was increased at the early stage of diabetes, which then gradually decreased. Co-immunoprecipitation assays demonstrated that nestin disassembled with vimentin in diabetic rats. The expression of Cdk5 was increased in a time-dependent manner in diabetic rats. The degree of albuminuria in diabetic rats was negatively correlated with nestin and positively correlated with Cdk5. Roscovitine, a Cdk5 inhibitor, reduced the degradation of nestin. Moreover, podocyte injuries were significantly ameliorated by treatment with roscovitine. The intermediate filament protein nestin is associated with development of DN. Blockage of Cdk5 increases the level of nestin and attenuates renal damage, which would provide a useful target for DN therapy.

Transformation efficiency and formation of transformation products during photochemical degradation of TCE and PCE at micromolar concentrations

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Trichloroethene and tetrachloroethene are the most common pollutants in groundwater and two of the priority pollutants listed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In previous studies on TCE and PCE photolysis and photochemical degradation, concentration ranges exceeding environmental levels by far with millimolar concentrations of TCE and PCE have been used, and it is not clear if the obtained results can be used to explain the degradation of these contaminants at more realistic environmental concentration levels. Methods Experiments with micromolar concentrations of TCE and PCE in aqueous solution using direct photolysis and UV/H2O2 have been conducted and product formation as well as transformation efficiency have been investigated. SPME/GC/MS, HPLC/UV and ion chromatography with conductivity detection have been used to determine intermediates of degradation. Results The results showed that chloride was a major end product in both TCE and PCE photodegradation. Several intermediates such as formic acid, dichloroacetic acid, dichloroacetaldehyede, chloroform, formaldehyde and glyoxylic acid were formed during both, UV and UV/H2O2 treatment of TCE. However chloroacetaldehyde and chloroacetic acid were only detected during direct UV photolysis of TCE and oxalic acid was only formed during the UV/H2O2 process. For PCE photodegradation, formic acid, di- and trichloroacetic acids were detected in both UV and UV/H2O2 systems, but formaldehyde and glyoxylic acid were only detected during direct UV photolysis. Conclusions For water treatment UV/H2O2 seems to be favorable over direct UV photolysis because of its higher degradation efficiency and lower risk for the formation of harmful intermediates. PMID:24401763

Transformation efficiency and formation of transformation products during photochemical degradation of TCE and PCE at micromolar concentrations.

PubMed

Dobaradaran, Sina; Lutze, Holger; Mahvi, Amir Hossein; Schmidt, Torsten C

2014-01-08

Trichloroethene and tetrachloroethene are the most common pollutants in groundwater and two of the priority pollutants listed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In previous studies on TCE and PCE photolysis and photochemical degradation, concentration ranges exceeding environmental levels by far with millimolar concentrations of TCE and PCE have been used, and it is not clear if the obtained results can be used to explain the degradation of these contaminants at more realistic environmental concentration levels. Experiments with micromolar concentrations of TCE and PCE in aqueous solution using direct photolysis and UV/H2O2 have been conducted and product formation as well as transformation efficiency have been investigated. SPME/GC/MS, HPLC/UV and ion chromatography with conductivity detection have been used to determine intermediates of degradation. The results showed that chloride was a major end product in both TCE and PCE photodegradation. Several intermediates such as formic acid, dichloroacetic acid, dichloroacetaldehyede, chloroform, formaldehyde and glyoxylic acid were formed during both, UV and UV/H2O2 treatment of TCE. However chloroacetaldehyde and chloroacetic acid were only detected during direct UV photolysis of TCE and oxalic acid was only formed during the UV/H2O2 process. For PCE photodegradation, formic acid, di- and trichloroacetic acids were detected in both UV and UV/H2O2 systems, but formaldehyde and glyoxylic acid were only detected during direct UV photolysis. For water treatment UV/H2O2 seems to be favorable over direct UV photolysis because of its higher degradation efficiency and lower risk for the formation of harmful intermediates.

How much drinking water can be saved by using rainwater harvesting on a large urban area? application to Paris agglomeration.

PubMed

Belmeziti, Ali; Coutard, Olivier; de Gouvello, Bernard

2014-01-01

This paper is based on a prospective scenario of development of rainwater harvesting (RWH) on a given large urban area (such as metropolitan area or region). In such a perspective, a new method is proposed to quantify the related potential of potable water savings (PPWS) indicator on this type of area by adapting the reference model usually used on the building level. The method is based on four setting-up principles: gathering (definition of buildings-types and municipalities-types), progressing (use of an intermediate level), increasing (choice of an upper estimation) and prioritizing (ranking the stakes of RWH). Its application to the Paris agglomeration shows that is possible to save up to 11% of the total current potable water through the use of RWH. It also shows that the residential sector offers the most important part because it holds two-thirds of the agglomeration PPWS.

Physiological comparison of rat muscle in body suspension and weightlessness

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Musacchia, X. J.; Steffen, J. M.; Fell, R. D.; Dombrovski, J.

1987-01-01

Hind limb unloading is achieved with whole body suspension (WBS) and with tail suspension (TS). Comparable levels of muscle mass loss and decreases in protein levels result during one to three weeks of exposure to microgravity (microG), WBS, and TS. Losses are most apparent in soleus (S), intermediate in gastrocnemius (G) and least in extensor digigorum longus (EDL). Comparison of S and EDL type I and II fiber changes (numbers and area) after seven days of microG flight and WBS showed, in S, an increase in Type I and Type II fiber density and a decrease in area. Except for a decrease in Type I fiber density in EDL, all other parameters remained comparable. The general conclusions were that the S under microG and WBS responds in a similar manner. The EDL, for the most part, shows little change under both conditions.

Reductive Elimination of H2 Activates Nitrogenase to Reduce the N≡N Triple Bond: Characterization of the E4(4H) Janus Intermediate in Wild-Type Enzyme.

PubMed

Lukoyanov, Dmitriy; Khadka, Nimesh; Yang, Zhi-Yong; Dean, Dennis R; Seefeldt, Lance C; Hoffman, Brian M

2016-08-24

We proposed a reductive elimination/oxidative addition (re/oa) mechanism for reduction of N2 to 2NH3 by nitrogenase, based on identification of a freeze-trapped intermediate of the α-70(Val→Ile) MoFe protein as the Janus intermediate that stores four reducing equivalents on FeMo-co as two [Fe-H-Fe] bridging hydrides (denoted E4(4H)). The mechanism postulates that obligatory re of the hydrides as H2 drives reduction of N2 to a state (denoted E4(2N2H)) with a moiety at the diazene (HN═NH) reduction level bound to the catalytic FeMo-co. EPR/ENDOR/photophysical measurements on wild type (WT) MoFe protein now establish this mechanism. They show that a state freeze-trapped during N2 reduction by WT MoFe is the same Janus intermediate, thereby establishing the α-70(Val→Ile) intermediate as a reliable guide to mechanism. Monitoring the Janus state in WT MoFe during N2 reduction under mixed-isotope condition, H2O buffer/D2, and the converse, establishes that the bridging hydrides/deuterides do not exchange with solvent during enzymatic turnover, thereby solving longstanding puzzles. Relaxation of E4(2N2H) to the WT resting-state is shown to occur via oa of H2 and release of N2 to form Janus, followed by sequential release of two H2, demonstrating the kinetic reversibility of the re/oa equilibrium. Relative populations of E4(2N2H)/E4(4H) freeze-trapped during WT turnover furthermore show that the reversible re/oa equilibrium between [E4(4H) + N2] and [E4(2N2H) + H2] is ∼ thermoneutral (ΔreG(0) ∼ -2 kcal/mol), whereas, by itself, hydrogenation of N2(g) is highly endergonic. These findings demonstrate that (i) re/oa accounts for the historical Key Constraints on mechanism, (ii) that Janus is central to N2 reduction by WT enzyme, which (iii) indeed occurs via the re/oa mechanism. Thus, emerges a picture of the central mechanistic steps by which nitrogenase carries out one of the most challenging chemical transformations in biology.

Shell-Dependent Photoluminescence Studies Provide Mechanistic Insights into the Off-Grey-On Transitions of Blinking Quantum Dots.

PubMed

Gao, Feng; Bajwa, Pooja; Nguyen, Anh; Heyes, Colin D

2017-03-28

The majority of quantum dot (QD) blinking studies have used a model of switching between two distinct fluorescence intensity levels, "on" and "off". However, a distinct intermediate intensity level has been identified in some recent reports, a so-called "grey" or "dim" state, which has brought this binary model into question. While this grey state has been proposed to result from the formation of a trion, it is still unclear under which conditions it is present in a QD. By performing shell-dependent blinking studies on CdSe QDs, we report that the populations of the grey state and the on state are strongly dependent on both the shell material and its thickness. We found that adding a ZnS shell did not result in a significant population of the grey state. Using ZnSe as the shell material resulted in a slightly higher population of the grey state, although it was still poorly resolved. However, adding a CdS shell resulted in the population of a grey state, which depended strongly on its thickness up to 5 ML. Interestingly, while the frequency of transitions to and from the grey state showed a very strong dependence on CdS shell thickness, the brightness of and the dwell time in the grey state did not. Moreover, we found that the grey state acts as an on-pathway intermediate state between on and off states, with the thickness of the shell determining the transition probability between them. We also identified two types of blinking behavior in QDs, one that showed long-lived but lower intensity on states and another that showed short-lived but brighter on states that also depended on the shell thickness. Intensity-resolved single QD fluorescence lifetime analysis was used to identify the relationship between the various exciton decay pathways and the resulting intensity levels. We used this data to propose a model in which multiple on, grey, and off states exist whose equilibrium populations vary with time that give rise to the various intensity levels of single QDs and which depends on shell composition and thickness.

Numerical study of blow-up and stability of line solitons for the Novikov-Veselov equation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kazeykina, Anna; Klein, Christian

2017-07-01

We study numerically the evolution of perturbed Korteweg-de Vries solitons and of well localized initial data by the Novikov-Veselov (NV) equation at different levels of the ‘energy’ parameter E. We show that as \\vert E\\vert \\to ∞ , NV behaves, as expected, similarly to its formal limit, the Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equation. However at intermediate regimes, i.e. when \\vert E \\vert is not very large, more varied scenarios are possible, in particular, blow-ups are observed. The mechanism of the blow-up is studied.

Removal behaviors of sulfamonomethoxine and its degradation intermediates in fresh aquaculture wastewater using zeolite/TiO2 composites.

PubMed

Nomura, Youhei; Fukahori, Shuji; Fukada, Haruhisa; Fujiwara, Taku

2017-10-15

Removal efficiencies of sulfamonomethoxine (SMM) and its degradation intermediates formed by treatment with zeolite/TiO 2 composites through adsorption and photocatalysis were investigated in fresh aquaculture wastewater (FAWW). Coexistent substances in the FAWW showed no inhibitory effects against SMM adsorption. Although coexistent substances in the FAWW inhibited the photocatalytic decomposition of SMM, the composites mitigated the inhibition, possibly because of concentration of SMM on their surface by adsorption. LC/MS/MS analyses revealed that hydroxylation of amino phenyl and pyrimidinyl portions, transformation of the amino group in the amino phenyl portion into a nitroso group, and substitution of the methoxy group with a hydroxyl group occurring in the initial reaction resulted in the formation of various intermediates during the photocatalysis of SMM. All detected intermediates had a ring structure, and almost all intermediates disappeared at the same time SMM was completely decomposed. Ph-OH formed by hydroxylation of the phenyl portion was detected upon decomposition of SMM during photocatalysis. The removal of Ph-OH by the composites proceeded more rapidly than that by TiO 2 alone under ultraviolet irradiation. The SMM and Ph-OH were completely degraded by the composites within 30min, showing that the zeolite/TiO 2 composites were effective in removing SMM and its intermediates from FAWW. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Intermediate inflation from a non-canonical scalar field

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

Rezazadeh, K.; Karami, K.; Karimi, P., E-mail: rezazadeh86@gmail.com, E-mail: KKarami@uok.ac.ir, E-mail: parvin.karimi67@yahoo.com

2015-09-01

We study the intermediate inflation in a non-canonical scalar field framework with a power-like Lagrangian. We show that in contrast with the standard canonical intermediate inflation, our non-canonical model is compatible with the observational results of Planck 2015. Also, we estimate the equilateral non-Gaussianity parameter which is in well agreement with the prediction of Planck 2015. Then, we obtain an approximation for the energy scale at the initial time of inflation and show that it can be of order of the Planck energy scale, i.e. M{sub P} ∼ 10{sup 18}GeV. We will see that after a short period of time, inflation entersmore » in the slow-roll regime that its energy scale is of order M{sub P}/100 ∼ 10{sup 16}GeV and the horizon exit takes place in this energy scale. We also examine an idea in our non-canonical model to overcome the central drawback of intermediate inflation which is the fact that inflation never ends. We solve this problem without disturbing significantly the nature of the intermediate inflation until the time of horizon exit.« less

Earthquakes initiation and thermal shear instability in the Hindu Kush intermediate depth nest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poli, Piero; Prieto, German; Rivera, Efrain; Ruiz, Sergio

2016-02-01

Intermediate depth earthquakes often occur along subducting lithosphere, but despite their ubiquity the physical mechanism responsible for promoting brittle or brittle-like failure is not well constrained. Large concentrations of intermediate depth earthquakes have been found to be related to slab break-off, slab drip, and slab tears. The intermediate depth Hindu Kush nest is one of the most seismically active regions in the world and shows the correlation of a weak region associated with ongoing slab detachment process. Here we study relocated seismicity in the nest to constraint the geometry of the shear zone at the top of the detached slab. The analysis of the rupture process of the Mw 7.5 Afghanistan 2015 earthquake and other several well-recorded events over the past 25 years shows an initially slow, highly dissipative rupture, followed by a dramatic dynamic frictional stress reduction and corresponding large energy radiation. These properties are typical of thermal driven rupture processes. We infer that thermal shear instabilities are a leading mechanism for the generation of intermediated-depth earthquakes especially in presence of weak zone subjected to large strain accumulation, due to ongoing detachment process.

Industrial Arts--Woods and Wood Technology: A Curriculum Guide for Intermediate and Secondary Level Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Missouri Council for Industrial Arts Education.

The curriculum outline is designed to aid the instructor in developing a more complete course of study in woods and wood technology for intermediate and secondary school students. The guide is introduced by a discussion of objectives fundamental to a sound program of industrial arts education, followed by an outline and objectives for the content…

Intermediate SCDC Spanish Curricula Units. Science/Health, Unit 1, Kits 1-4, Supplement & Ditto Packet.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spanish Curricula Development Center, Miami Beach, FL.

Visual aids and ditto masters for the first unit of a science/health curriculum for the intermediate level are included in this supplement and ditto packet. The visual aids are designed to help stimulate oral language and conceptual development through group activities and individual seatwork. Intended to help the teacher successfully carry out…

The Effect of Video-Based Tasks in Listening Comprehension of Iranian Pre-Intermediate EFL Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sarani, Abdullah; Behtash, Esmail Zare; Nezhad Arani, Saieed Moslemi

2014-01-01

This study aims at finding the effect of video-based tasks in improving the listening comprehension ability of Iranian pre-intermediate EFL (English Foreign Language) learners. After determining the level of learners, an experimental and control group, each of 20 participants, were nominated to contribute to the study. From the time the pre-test…

Simulation of ground-water flow in the Intermediate and Floridan aquifer systems in Peninsular Florida

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sepúlveda, Nicasio

2002-01-01

A numerical model of the intermediate and Floridan aquifer systems in peninsular Florida was used to (1) test and refine the conceptual understanding of the regional ground-water flow system; (2) develop a data base to support subregional ground-water flow modeling; and (3) evaluate effects of projected 2020 ground-water withdrawals on ground-water levels. The four-layer model was based on the computer code MODFLOW-96, developed by the U.S. Geological Survey. The top layer consists of specified-head cells simulating the surficial aquifer system as a source-sink layer. The second layer simulates the intermediate aquifer system in southwest Florida and the intermediate confining unit where it is present. The third and fourth layers simulate the Upper and Lower Floridan aquifers, respectively. Steady-state ground-water flow conditions were approximated for time-averaged hydrologic conditions from August 1993 through July 1994 (1993-94). This period was selected based on data from Upper Floridan a quifer wells equipped with continuous water-level recorders. The grid used for the ground-water flow model was uniform and composed of square 5,000-foot cells, with 210 columns and 300 rows.

Reactivity of Criegee Intermediates toward Carbon Dioxide.

PubMed

Lin, Yen-Hsiu; Takahashi, Kaito; Lin, Jim Jr-Min

2018-01-04

Recent theoretical work by Kumar and Francisco suggested that the high reactivity of Criegee intermediates (CIs) could be utilized for designing efficient carbon capture technologies. Because the anti-CH 3 CHOO + CO 2 reaction has the lowest barrier in their study, we chose to investigate it experimentally. We probed anti-CH 3 CHOO with its strong UV absorption at 365 nm and measured the rate coefficient to be ≤2 × 10 -17 cm 3 molecule -1 s -1 at 298 K, which is consistent with our theoretical value of 2.1 × 10 -17 cm 3  molecule -1 s -1 at the QCISD(T)/CBS//B3LYP/6-311+G(2d,2p) level but inconsistent with their results obtained at the M06-2X/aug-cc-pVTZ level, which tends to underestimate the barrier heights. The experimental result indicates that the reaction of a Criegee intermediate with atmospheric CO 2 (400 ppmv) would be inefficient (k eff < 0.2 s -1 ) and cannot compete with other decay processes of Criegee intermediates like reactions with water vapor (∼10 3 s -1 ) or thermal decomposition (∼10 2 s -1 ).

Measurement of phenols dearomatization via electrolysis: the UV-Vis solid phase extraction method.

PubMed

Vargas, Ronald; Borrás, Carlos; Mostany, Jorge; Scharifker, Benjamin R

2010-02-01

Dearomatization levels during electrochemical oxidation of p-methoxyphenol (PMP) and p-nitrophenol (PNP) have been determined through UV-Vis spectroscopy using solid phase extraction (UV-Vis/SPE). The results show that the method is satisfactory to determine the ratio between aromatic compounds and aliphatic acids and reaction kinetics parameters during treatment of wastewater, in agreement with results obtained from numerical deconvolution of UV-Vis spectra. Analysis of solutions obtained from electrolysis of substituted phenols on antimony-doped tin oxide (SnO(2)--Sb) showed that an electron acceptor substituting group favored the aromatic ring opening reaction, preventing formation of intermediate quinone during oxidation. (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Predictors of Prostate Cancer-Specific Mortality in Elderly Men With Intermediate-Risk Prostate Cancer Treated With Brachytherapy With or Without External Beam Radiation Therapy

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

Nanda, Akash, E-mail: ananda@partners.or; Chen, M.-H.; Moran, Brian J.

2010-05-01

Purpose: To identify clinical factors associated with prostate cancer-specific mortality (PCSM), adjusting for comorbidity, in elderly men with intermediate-risk prostate cancer treated with brachytherapy alone or in conjunction with external beam radiation therapy. Methods and Materials: The study cohort comprised 1,978 men of median age 71 (interquartile range, 66-75) years with intermediate-risk disease (Gleason score 7, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) 20 ng/mL or less, tumor category T2c or less). Fine and Gray's multivariable competing risks regression was used to assess whether prevalent cardiovascular disease (CVD), age, treatment, year of brachytherapy, PSA level, or tumor category was associated with the risk ofmore » PCSM. Results: After a median follow-up of 3.2 (interquartile range, 1.7-5.4) years, the presence of CVD was significantly associated with a decreased risk of PCSM (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.20; 95% CI 0.04-0.99; p = 0.05), whereas an increasing PSA level was significantly associated with an increased risk of PCSM (adjusted hazard ratio 1.14; 95% CI 1.02-1.27; p = 0.02). In the absence of CVD, cumulative incidence estimates of PCSM were higher (p = 0.03) in men with PSA levels above as compared with the median PSA level (7.3 ng/mL) or less; however, in the setting of CVD there was no difference (p = 0.27) in these estimates stratified by the median PSA level (6.9 ng/mL). Conclusions: In elderly men with intermediate-risk prostate cancer, CVD status is a negative predictor of PCSM and affects the prognostic capacity of pretreatment PSA level. These observations support the potential utility of prerandomization stratification by comorbidity to more accurately assess prognostic factors and treatment effects within this population.« less

The second national audit of intermediate care.

PubMed

Young, John; Gladman, John R F; Forsyth, Duncan R; Holditch, Claire

2015-03-01

Intermediate care services have developed internationally to expedite discharge from hospital and to provide an alternative to an emergency hospital admission. Inconsistencies in the evidence base and under-developed governance structures led to concerns about the care quality, outcomes and provision of intermediate care in the NHS. The National Audit of Intermediate Care was therefore established by an interdisciplinary group. The second national audit reported in 2013 and included crisis response teams, home-based and bed-based services in approximately a half of the NHS. The main findings were evidence of weak local strategic planning, considerable under-provision, delays in accessing the services and lack of mental health involvement in care. There was a very high level of positive patient experience reported across all types of intermediate care, though reported involvement with care decisions was less satisfactory. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Geriatrics Society. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Hydrogeology of the surficial and intermediate aquifers of central Sarasota County, Florida

USGS Publications Warehouse

Duerr, A.D.; Wolansky, R.M.

1986-01-01

The geohydrologic units underlying a 300 sq mi area in central Sarasota County, Florida, consist of the surficial aquifer, intermediate aquifers (Tamiami-upper Hawthorn and lower Hawthorn-upper Tampa aquifers) and confining units, the Floridan aquifer system, and the sub-Floridan confining unit. The saturated thickness of the surficial aquifer ranges from about 40 to 75 ft and the water table is generally within 5 ft of land surface. The Tamiami-upper Hawthorn is the uppermost intermediate aquifer. The top of the aquifer ranges from about 50 ft to about 75 below sea level and has an average thickness of about 100 ft. The lower Hawthorne-upper Tampa aquifer is the lowermost intermediate aquifer. The top of the aquifer ranges from about 190 to about 220 ft below sea level and its thickness ranges from about 200 to 250 ft. The quality of water in the surficial and the two intermediate aquifers is acceptable for potable use except near the coast. Water from the Floridan aquifer system is used primarily for agricultural purposes because it is too mineralized for most other uses; therefore, the surficial and intermediate aquifers are developed for water supply. The artesian pressure of the various aquifers generally increases with depth. A more detailed geohydrologic description is presented for the Ringling-MacArthur Reserve, a 51 sq mi area in the central part of the county that may be used by Sarasota County as a future water supply. Average annual rainfall is 56 inches and evapotranspiration is about 42 in at the Reserve. The area has a high water table, many sloughs and swamps, and undeveloped land, making it an attractive site as a potential source of water. (Author 's abstract)

Towards the Redefinition of the Global Stratigraphy of Mercury: The Case of Intermediate Plains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galluzzi, V.; Rothery, D. A.; Massironi, M.; Ferranti, L.; Mercury Mapping Team

2018-05-01

Observations based on an average mapping scale of 1:400k provide context for the redefinition of the global stratigraphy of Mercury. Results show that the Intermediate Plains unit should be re-introduced as an official mappable terrain.

Spatial distribution of Echinococcus multilocularis, Svalbard, Norway.

PubMed

Fuglei, Eva; Stien, Audun; Yoccoz, Nigel G; Ims, Rolf A; Eide, Nina E; Prestrud, Pål; Deplazes, Peter; Oksanen, Antti

2008-01-01

In Svalbard, Norway, the only intermediate host for Echinococcus multilocularis, the sibling vole, has restricted spatial distribution. A survey of feces from the main host, the arctic fox, showed that only the area occupied by the intermediate host is associated with increased risk for human infection.

Coupling of oceanic carbon and nitrogen facilitates spatially resolved quantitative reconstruction of nitrate inventories.

PubMed

Glock, Nicolaas; Erdem, Zeynep; Wallmann, Klaus; Somes, Christopher J; Liebetrau, Volker; Schönfeld, Joachim; Gorb, Stanislav; Eisenhauer, Anton

2018-03-23

Anthropogenic impacts are perturbing the global nitrogen cycle via warming effects and pollutant sources such as chemical fertilizers and burning of fossil fuels. Understanding controls on past nitrogen inventories might improve predictions for future global biogeochemical cycling. Here we show the quantitative reconstruction of deglacial bottom water nitrate concentrations from intermediate depths of the Peruvian upwelling region, using foraminiferal pore density. Deglacial nitrate concentrations correlate strongly with downcore δ 13 C, consistent with modern water column observations in the intermediate Pacific, facilitating the use of δ 13 C records as a paleo-nitrate-proxy at intermediate depths and suggesting that the carbon and nitrogen cycles were closely coupled throughout the last deglaciation in the Peruvian upwelling region. Combining the pore density and intermediate Pacific δ 13 C records shows an elevated nitrate inventory of >10% during the Last Glacial Maximum relative to the Holocene, consistent with a δ 13 C-based and δ 15 N-based 3D ocean biogeochemical model and previous box modeling studies.

Sex-chromosome differentiation parallels postglacial range expansion in European tree frogs (Hyla arborea).

PubMed

Dufresnes, Christophe; Bertholet, Youna; Wassef, Jérôme; Ghali, Karim; Savary, Romain; Pasteur, Baptiste; Brelsford, Alan; Rozenblut-Kościsty, Beata; Ogielska, Maria; Stöck, Matthias; Perrin, Nicolas

2014-12-01

Occasional XY recombination is a proposed explanation for the sex-chromosome homomorphy in European tree frogs. Numerous laboratory crosses, however, failed to detect any event of male recombination, and a detailed survey of NW-European Hyla arborea populations identified male-specific alleles at sex-linked loci, pointing to the absence of XY recombination in their recent history. Here, we address this paradox in a phylogeographic framework by genotyping sex-linked microsatellite markers in populations and sibships from the entire species range. Contrasting with postglacial populations of NW Europe, which display complete absence of XY recombination and strong sex-chromosome differentiation, refugial populations of the southern Balkans and Adriatic coast show limited XY recombination and large overlaps in allele frequencies. Geographically and historically intermediate populations of the Pannonian Basin show intermediate patterns of XY differentiation. Even in populations where X and Y occasionally recombine, the genetic diversity of Y haplotypes is reduced below the levels expected from the fourfold drop in copy numbers. This study is the first in which X and Y haplotypes could be phased over the distribution range in a species with homomorphic sex chromosomes; it shows that XY-recombination patterns may differ strikingly between conspecific populations, and that recombination arrest may evolve rapidly (<5000 generations). © 2014 The Author(s). Evolution © 2014 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

Genetic admixture and lineage separation in a southern Andean plant

PubMed Central

Morello, Santiago; Sede, Silvana M.

2016-01-01

Mountain uplifts have generated new ecologic opportunities for plants, and triggered evolutionary processes, favouring an increase on the speciation rate in all continents. Moreover, mountain ranges may act as corridors or barriers for plant lineages and populations. In South America a high rate of diversification has been linked to Andean orogeny during Pliocene/Miocene. More recently, Pleistocene glacial cycles have also shaped species distribution and demography. The endemic genus Escallonia is known to have diversified in the Andes. Species with similar morphology obscure species delimitation and plants with intermediate characters occur naturally. The aim of this study is to characterize genetic variation and structure of two widespread species of Escallonia: E. alpina and E. rubra. We analyzed the genetic variation of populations of the entire distribution range of the species and we also included those with intermediate morphological characters; a total of 94 accessions from 14 populations were used for the Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) analysis. Plastid DNA sequences (trnS-trnG, 3′trnV-ndhC intergenic spacers and the ndhF gene) from sixteen accessions of Escallonia species were used to construct a Statistical Parsimony network. Additionally, we performed a geometric morphometrics analysis on 88 leaves from 35 individuals of the two E. alpina varieties to further study their differences. Wright’s Fst and analysis of molecular variance tests performed on AFLP data showed a significant level of genetic structure at the species and population levels. Intermediate morphology populations showed a mixed genetic contribution from E. alpina var. alpina and E. rubra both in the Principal Coordinates Analysis (PCoA) and STRUCTURE. On the other hand, E. rubra and the two varieties of E. alpina are well differentiated and assigned to different genetic clusters. Moreover, the Statistical Parsimony network showed a high degree of divergence between the varieties of E. alpina: var. alpina is more closely related to E. rubra and other species than to its own counterpart E. alpina var. carmelitana. Geometric morphometrics analysis (Elliptic Fourier descriptors) revealed significant differences in leaf shape between varieties. We found that diversity in Escallonia species analyzed here is geographically structured and deep divergence between varieties of E. alpina could be associated to ancient evolutionary events like orogeny. Admixture in southern populations could be the result of hybridization at the margins of the parental species’ distribution range. PMID:27179539

Theoretical study on the mechanism of the gas-phase elimination kinetics of alkyl chloroformates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alcázar, Jackson J.; Marquez, Edgar; Mora, José R.; Cordova-Sintjago, Tania; Chuchani, Gabriel

2016-03-01

The theoretical calculations on the mechanism of the homogeneous and unimolecular gas-phase elimination kinetics of alkyl chloroformates- ethyl chloroformate (ECF), isopropyl chloroformate (ICF), and sec-butyl chloroformate (SCF) - have been carried out by using CBS-QB3 level of theory and density functional theory (DFT) functionals CAM-B3LYP, M06, MPW1PW91, and PBE1PBE with the basis sets 6-311++G(d,p) and 6-311++G(2d,2p). The chlorofomate compounds with alkyl ester Cβ-H bond undergo thermal decomposition producing the corresponding olefin, HCl and CO2. These homogeneous eliminations are proposed to undergo two different types of mechanisms: a concerted process, or via the formation of an unstable intermediate chloroformic acid (ClCOOH), which rapidly decomposes to HCl and CO2 gas. Since both elimination mechanisms may occur through a six-membered cyclic transition state structure, it is difficult to elucidate experimentally which is the most reasonable reaction mechanism. Theoretical calculations show that the stepwise mechanism with the formation of the unstable intermediate chloroformic acid from ECF, ICF, and SCF is favoured over one-step elimination. Reasonable agreements were found between theoretical and experimental values at the CAM-B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) level.

Decoding the cortical transformations for visually guided reaching in 3D space.

PubMed

Blohm, Gunnar; Keith, Gerald P; Crawford, J Douglas

2009-06-01

To explore the possible cortical mechanisms underlying the 3-dimensional (3D) visuomotor transformation for reaching, we trained a 4-layer feed-forward artificial neural network to compute a reach vector (output) from the visual positions of both the hand and target viewed from different eye and head orientations (inputs). The emergent properties of the intermediate layers reflected several known neurophysiological findings, for example, gain field-like modulations and position-dependent shifting of receptive fields (RFs). We performed a reference frame analysis for each individual network unit, simulating standard electrophysiological experiments, that is, RF mapping (unit input), motor field mapping, and microstimulation effects (unit outputs). At the level of individual units (in both intermediate layers), the 3 different electrophysiological approaches identified different reference frames, demonstrating that these techniques reveal different neuronal properties and suggesting that a comparison across these techniques is required to understand the neural code of physiological networks. This analysis showed fixed input-output relationships within each layer and, more importantly, within each unit. These local reference frame transformation modules provide the basic elements for the global transformation; their parallel contributions are combined in a gain field-like fashion at the population level to implement both the linear and nonlinear elements of the 3D visuomotor transformation.

Forecasting Crude Oil Spot Price Using OECD Petroleum Inventory Levels

EIA Publications

2003-01-01

This paper presents a short-term monthly forecasting model of West Texas Intermediate crude oil spot price using Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) petroleum inventory levels.

Folding of apomyoglobin: Analysis of transient intermediate structure during refolding using quick hydrogen deuterium exchange and NMR

PubMed Central

NISHIMURA, Chiaki

2017-01-01

The structures of apomyoglobin folding intermediates have been widely analyzed using physical chemistry methods including fluorescence, circular dichroism, small angle X-ray scattering, NMR, mass spectrometry, and rapid mixing. So far, at least two intermediates (on sub-millisecond- and millisecond-scales) have been demonstrated for apomyoglobin folding. The combination of pH-pulse labeling and NMR is a useful tool for analyzing the kinetic intermediates at the atomic level. Its use has revealed that the latter-phase kinetic intermediate of apomyoglobin (6 ms) was composed of helices A, B, G and H, whereas the equilibrium intermediate, called the pH 4 molten-globule intermediate, was composed mainly of helices A, G and H. The improved strategy for the analysis of the kinetic intermediate was developed to include (1) the dimethyl sulfoxide method, (2) data processing with the various labeling times, and (3) a new in-house mixer. Particularly, the rapid mixing revealed that helices A and G were significantly more protected at the earlier stage (400 µs) of the intermediate (former-phase intermediate) than the other helices. Mutation studies, where each hydrophobic residue was replaced with an alanine in helices A, B, E, F, G and H, indicated that both non-native and native-like structures exist in the latter-phase folding intermediate. The N-terminal part of helix B is a weak point in the intermediate, and the docking of helix E residues to the core of the A, B, G and H helices was interrupted by a premature helix B, resulting in the accumulation of the intermediate composed of helices A, B, G and H. The prediction-based protein engineering produced important mutants: Helix F in a P88K/A90L/S92K/A94L mutant folded in the latter-phase intermediate, although helix F in the wild type does not fold even at the native state. Furthermore, in the L11G/W14G/A70L/G73W mutant, helix A did not fold but helix E did, which is similar to what was observed in the kinetic intermediate of apoleghemoglobin. Thus, this protein engineering resulted in a changed structure for the apomyoglobin folding intermediate. PMID:28077807

Folding of apomyoglobin: Analysis of transient intermediate structure during refolding using quick hydrogen deuterium exchange and NMR.

PubMed

Nishimura, Chiaki

2017-01-01

The structures of apomyoglobin folding intermediates have been widely analyzed using physical chemistry methods including fluorescence, circular dichroism, small angle X-ray scattering, NMR, mass spectrometry, and rapid mixing. So far, at least two intermediates (on sub-millisecond- and millisecond-scales) have been demonstrated for apomyoglobin folding. The combination of pH-pulse labeling and NMR is a useful tool for analyzing the kinetic intermediates at the atomic level. Its use has revealed that the latter-phase kinetic intermediate of apomyoglobin (6 ms) was composed of helices A, B, G and H, whereas the equilibrium intermediate, called the pH 4 molten-globule intermediate, was composed mainly of helices A, G and H. The improved strategy for the analysis of the kinetic intermediate was developed to include (1) the dimethyl sulfoxide method, (2) data processing with the various labeling times, and (3) a new in-house mixer. Particularly, the rapid mixing revealed that helices A and G were significantly more protected at the earlier stage (400 µs) of the intermediate (former-phase intermediate) than the other helices. Mutation studies, where each hydrophobic residue was replaced with an alanine in helices A, B, E, F, G and H, indicated that both non-native and native-like structures exist in the latter-phase folding intermediate. The N-terminal part of helix B is a weak point in the intermediate, and the docking of helix E residues to the core of the A, B, G and H helices was interrupted by a premature helix B, resulting in the accumulation of the intermediate composed of helices A, B, G and H. The prediction-based protein engineering produced important mutants: Helix F in a P88K/A90L/S92K/A94L mutant folded in the latter-phase intermediate, although helix F in the wild type does not fold even at the native state. Furthermore, in the L11G/W14G/A70L/G73W mutant, helix A did not fold but helix E did, which is similar to what was observed in the kinetic intermediate of apoleghemoglobin. Thus, this protein engineering resulted in a changed structure for the apomyoglobin folding intermediate.

Storage Stability and Improvement of Intermediate Moisture Foods, Phase 3

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Labuza, T. P.

1975-01-01

Methods were determined for the improvement of shelf-life stability of intermediate moisture foods (IMF). Microbial challenge studies showed that protection against molds and Staphylococcus aureus could be achieved by a combination of antimicrobial agents, humectants and food acids. Potassium sorbate and propylene glycol gave the best results. It was also confirmed that the maximum in heat resistance shown by vegetative pathogens at intermediate water activities also occurred in a solid food. Glycols and sorbitol both achieve browning inhibition because of their action as a medium for reaction and effect on viscosity of the adsorbed phase. Chemical availability results showed rapid lysine loss before visual discoloration occurred. This is being confirmed with a biological test using Tetrahymena pyriformis W. Accelerated temperature tests show that effectiveness of food antioxidants against rancidity development can be predicted; however, the protection factor changes with temperature. BHA was found to be the best antioxidant for iron catalyzed oxidation.

The Impact of Educational Attainment on Observed Race/Ethnic Disparities in Inflammatory Risk in the 2001–2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

PubMed Central

Dinwiddie, Gniesha Y.; Zambrana, Ruth E.; Doamekpor, Lauren A.; Lopez, Lenny

2015-01-01

Inflammation has shown to be an independent predictor of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and growing evidence suggests Non-Hispanic Blacks (NHBs) and certain Hispanic subgroups have higher inflammation burden compared to Non-Hispanic Whites (NHWs). Socioeconomic status (SES) is a hypothesized pathway that may account for the higher inflammation burden for race/ethnic groups yet little is known about the biological processes by which SES “gets under the skin” to affect health and whether income and education have similar or distinct influences on elevated inflammation levels. The current study examines SES (income and education) associations with multiple levels of C-Reactive Protein (CRP), an important biomarker of inflammation, in a sample of 13,362 NHWs, 7696 NHBs and 4545 Mexican Americans (MAs) in the United States from the 2001 to 2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. After adjusting for age, sex, and statin use, NHBs and MAs had higher intermediate and high CRP levels compared to NHWs. Income lessened the magnitude of the association for both race/ethnic groups. The greater intermediate and high CRP burden for NHBs and MAs was strongly explained by educational attainment. MAs were more vulnerable to high CRP levels for the lowest (i.e., less than nine years) and post high school (i.e., associates degree) educational levels. After additional adjustment for smoking, heavy drinking, high waist circumference, high blood pressure, diabetes and statin use, the strength of the association between race/ethnicity and inflammation was reduced for NHBs with elevated intermediate (RR = 1.31; p ≤ 0.001) and high CRP levels (RR = 1.14; p ≤ 0.001) compared to NHWs but the effect attenuated for MAs for both intermediate (RR = 0.74; p ≤ 0.001) and high CRP levels (RR = 0.38; p ≤ 0.001). These findings suggest educational attainment is a powerful predictor of elevated CRP levels in race/ethnic populations and challenges studies to move beyond examining income as a better predictor in the SES-inflammation pathway. PMID:26703686

The Impact of Educational Attainment on Observed Race/Ethnic Disparities in Inflammatory Risk in the 2001-2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

PubMed

Dinwiddie, Gniesha Y; Zambrana, Ruth E; Doamekpor, Lauren A; Lopez, Lenny

2015-12-22

Inflammation has shown to be an independent predictor of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and growing evidence suggests Non-Hispanic Blacks (NHBs) and certain Hispanic subgroups have higher inflammation burden compared to Non-Hispanic Whites (NHWs). Socioeconomic status (SES) is a hypothesized pathway that may account for the higher inflammation burden for race/ethnic groups yet little is known about the biological processes by which SES "gets under the skin" to affect health and whether income and education have similar or distinct influences on elevated inflammation levels. The current study examines SES (income and education) associations with multiple levels of C-Reactive Protein (CRP), an important biomarker of inflammation, in a sample of 13,362 NHWs, 7696 NHBs and 4545 Mexican Americans (MAs) in the United States from the 2001 to 2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. After adjusting for age, sex, and statin use, NHBs and MAs had higher intermediate and high CRP levels compared to NHWs. Income lessened the magnitude of the association for both race/ethnic groups. The greater intermediate and high CRP burden for NHBs and MAs was strongly explained by educational attainment. MAs were more vulnerable to high CRP levels for the lowest (i.e., less than nine years) and post high school (i.e., associates degree) educational levels. After additional adjustment for smoking, heavy drinking, high waist circumference, high blood pressure, diabetes and statin use, the strength of the association between race/ethnicity and inflammation was reduced for NHBs with elevated intermediate (RR = 1.31; p ≤ 0.001) and high CRP levels (RR = 1.14; p ≤ 0.001) compared to NHWs but the effect attenuated for MAs for both intermediate (RR = 0.74; p ≤ 0.001) and high CRP levels (RR = 0.38; p ≤ 0.001). These findings suggest educational attainment is a powerful predictor of elevated CRP levels in race/ethnic populations and challenges studies to move beyond examining income as a better predictor in the SES-inflammation pathway.

Hydrogeology of the surficial and intermediate aquifer systems in Sarasota and adjacent counties, Florida

USGS Publications Warehouse

Barr, G.L.

1996-01-01

From 1991 to 1995, the hydrogeology of the surficial aquifer system and the major permeable zones and confining units of the intermediate aquifer system in southwest Florida was studied. The study area is a 1,400-square-mile area that includes Sarasota County and parts of Manatee, De Soto, Charlotte, and Lee Counties. Lithologic, geophysical, hydraulic property, and water-level data were used to correlate the hydrogeology and map the extent of the aquifer systems. Water chemistry was evaluated in southwest Sarasota County to determine salinity of the surficial and intermediate aquifer systems. The surficial aquifer is an unconfined aquifer system that overlies the intermediate aquifer system and ranges from a few feet to over 60 feet in thickness in the study area. Hydraulic properties of the surficial aquifer system determined from aquifer and laboratory tests, and model simulations vary considerably across the study area. The intermediate aquifer system, a confined aquifer system that lies between the surficial and the Upper Floridan aquifers, is composed of alternating confining units and permeable zones. The intermediate aquifer system has three major permeable zones that exhibit a wide range of hydraulic properties. Horizontal flow in the intermediate aquifer system is northeast to southwest. Most of the study area is in a discharge area of the intermediate aquifer system. Water ranges naturally from fresh in the surficial aquifer system and upper permeable zones of the intermediate aquifer system to moderately saline in the lower permeable zone. Water-quality data collected in coastal southwest Sarasota County indicate that ground-water withdrawals from major pumping centers have resulted in lateral seawater intrusion and upconing into the surficial and intermediate aquifer systems.

Crystallization in diblock copolymer thin films at different degrees of supercooling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Darko, C.; Botiz, I.; Reiter, G.; Breiby, D. W.; Andreasen, J. W.; Roth, S. V.; Smilgies, D.-M.; Metwalli, E.; Papadakis, C. M.

2009-04-01

The crystalline structures in thin films of polystyrene- b -poly(ethylene oxide) (PS- b -PEO) diblock copolymers were studied in dependence on the degree of supercooling. Atomic force microscopy showed that the crystalline domains (lamellae) consist of grains, which are macroscopic at low and intermediate degrees of supercooling, but of submicrometer size for strong supercooling. Using grazing-incidence wide-angle x-ray scattering, we could determine the grain orientation distribution function which shows that the chain stems are perpendicular to the lamellae at low supercooling, but tilted at intermediate and strong supercooling. These results suggest that, at intermediate and strong supercooling, the crystalline PEO lamellae do not grow homogeneously, but by the formation of small crystallites at the growth front.

Evolution of Slow to Intermediate-Spreading Oceanic Crust in the South Atlantic: The Effects of Age, Sediment Thickness, and Spreading Rate on the Heterogeneity of Upper Crustal Velocities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kardell, D. A.; Christeson, G. L.; Reece, R.; Carlson, R. L.

2017-12-01

The upper section of oceanic crust (layer 2A) commonly exhibits relatively low seismic velocities due to abundant pore and crack space created by the extrusive emplacement of magma and extensional faulting at the spreading ridge. While this is generally true for all spreading rates, previous studies have shown that slow seafloor spreading can yield much higher levels of upper crustal heterogeneity than observed for faster spreading rates. We use a recent multichannel seismic dataset collected with a 12.5 km streamer during the CREST cruise (Crustal Reflectivity Experiment Southern Transect) to build eleven 60-80 km-long tomographic velocity models. These two-dimensional models include both ridge-normal and ridge-parallel orientations and cover oceanic crust produced at slow to intermediate spreading rates. Crustal ages range between 0 and 70 m.y., spreading rates range between slow-spreading and intermediate-spreading, and sedimentary cover thickness ranges from 0 m close to the spreading center to 500 m proximal to the Rio Grande Rise. Our results show a trend of increasing layer 2A velocities with age out to the midpoint of the seismic transect. There is a rapid increase in velocities from 2.8 km/s near the ridge to 4.3 km/s around 10 Ma, and a slower increase to velocities around 5 km/s in 37 m.y. old crust. While this indicates an ongoing evolution in oceanic crust older than expected, the velocities do level off in the older half of the transect, averaging 5 km/s. Crust covered by a thicker sedimentary section can exhibit velocities up to 1 km/s faster than adjacent non-sedimented crust, accounting for much of the local variations. This is possibly due to the effects of a sealed hydrothermal system. We also observe a more heterogeneous velocity structure parallel to the ridge than in the ridge-normal orientation, and more velocity heterogeneity for slow-spreading crust compared to intermediate-spreading crust.

Context-dependent planktivory: interacting effects of turbidity and predation risk on adaptive foraging

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pangle, Kevin L.; Malinich, Timothy D.; Bunnell, David B.; DeVries, Dennis R.; Ludsin, Stuart A.

2012-01-01

By shaping species interactions, adaptive phenotypic plasticity can profoundly influence ecosystems. Predicting such outcomes has proven difficult, however, owing in part to the dependence of plasticity on the environmental context. Of particular relevance are environmental factors that affect sensory performance in organisms in ways that alter the tradeoffs associated with adaptive phenotypic responses. We explored the influence of turbidity, which simultaneously and differentially affects the sensory performance of consumers at multiple trophic levels, on the indirect effect of a top predator (piscivorous fish) on a basal prey resource (zooplankton) that is mediated through changes in the plastic foraging behavior of an intermediate consumer (zooplanktivorous fish). We first generated theoretical predictions of the adaptive foraging response of a zooplanktivore across wide gradients of turbidity and predation risk by a piscivore. Our model predicted that predation risk can change the negative relationship between intermediate consumer foraging and turbidity into a humped-shaped (unimodal) one in which foraging is low in both clear and highly turbid conditions due to foraging-related risk and visual constraints, respectively. Consequently, the positive trait-mediated indirect effect (TMIE) of the top predator on the basal resource is predicted to peak at low turbidity and decline thereafter until it reaches an asymptote of zero at intermediate turbidity levels (when foraging equals that which is predicted when the top predator is absent). We used field observations and a laboratory experiment to test our model predictions. In support, we found humped-shaped relationships between planktivory and turbidity for several zooplanktivorous fishes from diverse freshwater ecosystems with predation risk. Further, our experiment demonstrated that predation risk reduced zooplanktivory by yellow perch (Perca flavescens) at a low turbidity, but had no effect on consumption at an intermediate turbidity. Together, our theoretical and empirical findings show how the environmental context can govern the strength of TMIEs by influencing consumer sensory performance and how these effects can become realized in nature over wide environmental gradients. Additionally, our hump-shaped foraging curve represents an important departure from the conventional view of turbidity's effect on planktivorous fishes, thus potentially requiring a reconceptualization of turbidity's impact on aquatic food-web interactions.

Breeding system and demography shape population genetic structure across ecological and climatic zones in the African freshwater snail, Bulinus forskalii (Gastropoda, Pulmonata), intermediate host for schistosomes.

PubMed

Gow, J L; Noble, L R; Rollinson, D; Mimpfoundi, R; Jones, C S

2004-11-01

The role of breeding system and population bottlenecks in shaping the distribution of neutral genetic variation among populations inhabiting patchily distributed, ephemeral water bodies was examined for the hermaphroditic freshwater snail Bulinus forskalii, intermediate host for the medically important trematode Schistosoma guineensis. Levels of genetic variation at 11 microsatellite loci were assessed for 600 individuals sampled from 19 populations that span three ecological and climatic zones (ecozones) in Cameroon, West Africa. Significant heterozygote deficiencies and linkage disequilibria indicated very high selfing rates in these populations. Despite this and the large genetic differentiation detected between populations, high levels of genetic variation were harboured within these populations. The high level of gene flow inferred from assignment tests may be responsible for this pattern. Indeed, metapopulation dynamics, including high levels of gene flow as well as extinction/contraction and recolonization events, are invoked to account for the observed population structuring, which was not a consequence of isolation-by-distance. Because B. forskalii populations inhabiting the northern, Sahelian area are subject to more pronounced annual cycles of drought and flood than the southern equatorial ones, they were expected to be subject to population bottlenecks of increased frequency and severity and, therefore, show reduced genetic variability and elevated population differentiation. Contrary to predictions, the populations inhabiting the most northerly ecozone exhibited higher genetic diversity and lower genetic differentiation than those in the most southerly one, suggesting that elevated gene flow in this region is counteracting genetic drift.

Nuclear magnetic resonance relaxation characterisation of water status of developing grains of maize (Zea mays L.) grown at different nitrogen levels.

PubMed

Krishnan, Prameela; Chopra, Usha Kiran; Verma, Ajay Pal Singh; Joshi, Devendra Kumar; Chand, Ishwar

2014-04-01

Changes in water status of developing grains of maize (Zea mays L.) grown under different nitrogen levels were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. There were distinct changes in water status of grains due to the application of different levels of nitrogen (0, 120 and 180 kg N ha(-1)). A comparison of the grain developmental characteristics, composition and physical properties indicated that, not only the developmental characteristics like grain weight, grain number/ear, and rate of grain filling increased, but also bound water characterized by the T2 component of NMR relaxation increased with nitrogen application (50-70%) and developmental stages leading to maturation (10-60%). The consistency in the patterns of responses to free water and intermediate water to increasing levels of nitrogen application and grain maturity suggested that nitrogen application resulted in more proportion of water to both bound- and intermediate states and less in free state. These changes are further corroborated by the concomitant increases in protein and starch contents in grains from higher nitrogen treatments as macromolecules like protein and starch retain more amount of water in the bound state. The results of the changes in T2 showed that water status during grain development was not only affected by developmental processes but also by nitrogen supply to plants. This study strongly indicated a clear nutrient and developmental stage dependence of grain tissue water status in maize. Copyright © 2013 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Experience of the creative Space-Astrophysics Education in Israeli Science-Educational Center "Blossoms of Science" - creative activity from mini-projects in basic school to ASTROTOP-projects for graduates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pustil'Nik, L.; Pundak, D.

We present 12 year experience of educational project in Space Astrophysics Environment field realized on the base of National Science-Educational Center Blossoms of Science of the Jordan Valley College Our approach is based on the natural curiosity of children as driver of their self-development from the first minutes of their life and even in adult state This approach shift center of the weight in educational process from direct lectures sermons explanation from teacher to children on own attempts of children to investigate problem what is interesting for them by themselves individually or in group Our approach includes four levels of the projects nano-projects for children garden and basic school up to 10-12 years micro-projects for intermediate school 12-16 years mini-projects for high school 16-18 years and macro-projects for the best graduates high schools and students of colleges 17-22 years These levels and projects are interconnected one with another and sometimes participants started on the micro-projects level in intermediate school continue their activity up to macro-projects of the graduate s diploma level For each level we organize courses for preparation of the teachers and instructors interested in the using of our receipts and published books and brochures for them The content of our activity for different levels a Level of kinder gardens-basic schools -- special software with interactive movie - - nano-projects b Level of intermediate school Days of Science in tens schools of Israel--

Molecular beam study of the a 3Σ+ state of NaK up to the dissociation limit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Temelkov, I.; Knöckel, H.; Pashov, A.; Tiemann, E.

2015-03-01

We provide spectroscopic data for the a 3Σ+ state of the 23Na39K molecule. The experiment is done in an ultrasonic beam apparatus, starting from the ground state X 1Σ+and driving the population to the a 3Σ+ state, using a Λ scheme with fixed pump and scanning dump laser. The signals are observed as dips of the total fluorescence. The intermediate level is chosen to be strongly perturbed by the B 1Π/c 3Σ+ states mixing to overcome the singlet-triplet transfer prohibition. We observed highly resolved hyperfine spectra of various rovibrational levels of the a 3Σ+state from va=2 up to the highest vibrational levels for rotational quantum numbers Na=4 ,6 ,8 . By the typical experimental linewidth of 17 MHz, the vibrational dependence of the hyperfine splitting is clearly revealed for NaK. The absolute frequency measurements of the vibrational levels are used for improvement of the a 3Σ+ potential curve and of the derived scattering length of all natural isotope combinations. Applying the Λ scheme in the reverse direction can provide a pathway for efficient transfer of ultracold 23Na39K molecules from the Na(3 s )+K(4 s ) asymptote to the lowest levels of the ground state. We show spectra that couple the absolute ground state vX=0 ,J =0 with an appropriate intermediate state for direct realization of the reverse path. The refined theoretical model of the coupled excited states of the Na(3 s )+K(4 p ) asymptote allows predictions of efficient paths for 23Na40K ; one example is calculated.

B-type natriuretic peptide levels in patients with pericardial effusion undergoing pericardiocentesis.

PubMed

Lauri, Gianfranco; Rossi, Chiara; Rubino, Mara; Cosentino, Nicola; Milazzo, Valentina; Marana, Ivana; Cabiati, Angelo; Moltrasio, Marco; De Metrio, Monica; Grazi, Marco; Campodonico, Jeness; Assanelli, Emilio; Riggio, Daniela; Sandri, Maria Teresa; Bonomi, Alice; Veglia, Fabrizio; Marenzi, Giancarlo

2016-06-01

Pericardial effusion is characterized by progressive accumulation of fluid within the pericardial space, resulting in increased intra-pericardial pressure and compression of the heart. As B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is secreted by the ventricles in response to increased myocardial stretch, we hypothesized that pericardial effusion, as well as its resolution, might influence BNP plasma levels. We prospectively measured, in 146 consecutive patients with pericardial effusion, BNP plasma levels at baseline, soon after, and 24h after pericardiocentesis. A scoring system based on 7 clinical and echocardiographic parameters was developed, and patients were classified according to the number of variables as having low (0-2), intermediate (3-4), or high (5-7) severity score. Out of the 146 patients, 42 (29%) had normal values (<100pg/ml), whereas 104 (71%) had high BNP values at baseline. In the whole population, baseline BNP levels significantly decreased as the severity score increased (r=-0.21; P=0.01). 24h after pericardiocentesis, a significant increase in BNP was observed in patients with intermediate (P=0.004) score and with high (P<0.001) severity score; no increase occurred in low score patients (P=0.56). The higher was the severity score, the steeper was the increase in BNP through the three time-points considered (P=0.04). The results of the present study show that BNP plasma levels are suppressed in the presence of severe pericardial effusion, and that they rise after pericardiocentesis. Future studies should investigate the role of BNP in assisting clinicians in the decision-making process of pericardial fluid drainage. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Using Lymphocyte and Plasma Hsp70 as Biomarkers for Assessing Coke Oven Exposure among Steel Workers

PubMed Central

Yang, Xiaobo; Zheng, Jinping; Bai, Yun; Tian, Fengjie; Yuan, Jing; Sun, Jianya; Liang, Huashan; Guo, Liang; Tan, Hao; Chen, Weihong; Tanguay, Robert M.; Wu, Tangchun

2007-01-01

Background Hsp70, an early-response protein induced when organisms are confronted with simple or complicated environmental stresses, can act as either a cellular protector or a danger signal. Objectives The goal of this study was to evaluate levels of lymphocyte and/or plasma Hsp70 as biomarkers for assessing exposure response to complex coke oven emissions (COEs). Methods We recruited 101 coke oven workers and determined levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) exposure, urinary 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP), genotoxic damage by comet assay and micronuclei test, and other markers of damage, including plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). These were compared to levels of lymphocyte (intra-cellular) and plasma (extracellular) Hsp70 using Western blots and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), respectively. Results We observed a COEs-related dose-dependent increase in levels of DNA damage, micronuclei rate, MDA concentration, and LDH activity. Lymphocyte Hsp70 levels increased in the intermediate-exposure group (1.39 ± 0.88) but decreased in the high-exposure group (1.10 ± 0.55), compared with the low-exposure group. In contrast, plasma Hsp70 levels progressively increased as the dose of exposure increased. Negative correlations were seen between lymphocyte Hsp70 levels and olive tail moment and LDH activity in the intermediate- and high-exposure groups. However, we observed positive correlations between plasma Hsp70 levels and LDH activity in the low and intermediate groups. Conclusions In workers exposed to COEs, high lymphocyte Hsp70 levels may provide protection and high plasma Hsp70 levels may serve as a danger marker. Larger validation studies are needed to establish the utility of Hsp70 as a response marker. PMID:18007987

Hot Topics in School Public Relations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lange, Lois, Ed.; Young, Jay, Ed.

This document examines the public relations activities occurring in K-12 and intermediate school districts, needs for other activities, and how Michigan School Public Relations Association (MSPRA) can assist. Written surveys were mailed to 394 K-12 and Intermediate School District (ISD) superintendents. Analysis showed that very few school…

Fundamentals of Geophysics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frohlich, Cliff

Choosing an intermediate-level geophysics text is always problematic: What should we teach students after they have had introductory courses in geology, math, and physics, but little else? Fundamentals of Geophysics is aimed specifically at these intermediate-level students, and the author's stated approach is to construct a text “using abundant diagrams, a simplified mathematical treatment, and equations in which the student can follow each derivation step-by-step.” Moreover, for Lowrie, the Earth is round, not flat—the “fundamentals of geophysics” here are the essential properties of our Earth the planet, rather than useful techniques for finding oil and minerals. Thus this book is comparable in both level and approach to C. M. R. Fowler's The Solid Earth (Cambridge University Press, 1990).

Quantum correlations and violation of the Bell inequality induced by an external field in a two-photon radiative cascade

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

Yuan Luqi; Das, Sumanta

2011-06-15

We study the polarization-dependent second-order correlation of a pair of photons emitted in a four-level radiative cascade driven by an external field. It is found that the quantum correlations of the emitted photons, degraded by the energy splitting of the intermediate levels in the radiative cascade, can be efficiently revived by a far-detuned external field. The physics of this revival is linked to an induced Stark shift and the formation of dressed states in the system by the nonresonant external field. Furthermore, we investigated the competition between the effect of the coherent external field and incoherent dephasing of the intermediatemore » levels. We find that the degradation of quantum correlations due to the incoherent dephasing can be contained for small dephasing with the external field. We also studied the nonlocality of the correlations by evaluating the Bell inequality in the linear polarization basis for the radiative cascade. We find that the Bell parameter decreases rapidly with increase in the intermediate-level energy splitting or incoherent dephasing rate to the extent that there is no violation. However, the presence of an external field leads to control over the degrading mechanisms and preservation of nonlocal correlation among the photons. This in turn can induce a violation of Bell's inequality in the radiative cascade for arbitrary intermediate-level splitting and small incoherent dephasing.« less

El Transportador de las Particulas. Explorando el Mundo Natural-Nivel 3 (The Transporter of the Particles. Exploring the Natural World--Level 3.)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

California State Polytechnic Univ., Pomona.

The Intermediate Science Curriculum Study Spanish language science instruction manual for the intermediate grades focuses on energy of many types. The soft bound volume uses self-pacing and individualized learning to guide the students through a series of experiments. Basically, the students are asked to think about what they do and see, evaluate…

LANGUAGE LEARNING--THE INTERMEDIATE PHASE. REPORTS OF THE WORKING COMMITTEES OF THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE ON THE TEACHING OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES, 1963.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

BOTTIGLIA, WILLIAM F.

THESE REPORTS OF THE WORKING COMMITTEES OF THE 1963 NORTHEAST CONFERENCE ON THE TEACHING OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES ANALYZE PROBLEMS CONFRONTING LANGUAGE TEACHERS AS THEY PROGRESS FROM THE AUDIOLINGUAL ORIENTATION OF THE ELEMENTARY LEVELS TO THE INTERMEDIATE PHASE IN A CONTINUUM OF LANGUAGE STUDY. IN AN ATTEMPT TO DISCOVER WHETHER BILINGUALISM CAN BE…

Realization of Speech Acts of Refusals and Pragmatic Competence by Turkish EFL Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Han, Turgay; Burgucu-Tazegül, Assiye

2016-01-01

The purpose of the present study is to examine a) how lower-intermediate and upper-intermediate level Turkish learners of English-as-a-foreign language (EFL) realize refusals in English, b) the differences between native and non-native speakers of English in the use of refusals, and c) if L2 proficiency affects possible pragmatic transfer or not.…

Environmental factors affecting benthic macrofauna along a gradient of intermediate sandy beaches in northern Spain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodil, I. F.; Lastra, M.

2004-09-01

Ten sandy beaches along the north coast of Spain were studied during September 1999 to analyse the number of species, abundance and biomass of macroinfauna along a gradient of intermediate beach types and exposure range. Faunal samples were collected with metallic cylinders (25 cm diameter, 15 cm depth) at 10 equally spaced shore levels along six replicated transects separated randomly and extending from above the drift line to the low tide swash zone. Exposure rate, Dean's parameter ( Ω), beach state index (BSI) and relative tidal range (RTR) were estimated at each beach. Length and width of the beach, intertidal slope, sorting and median grain size and also swash amplitude and wave characteristics were measured. The number of species was between 10 and 29. Macrofaunal abundances ranged between 4962 and 71,228 ind. linear m -1 and between 31 and 329 ind. m -2, while biomass (ash free dry weight) ranged between 0.027 and 0.278 g m -2 and between 3 and 61 g linear m -1. The results show some significant trends: the number of species is the biotic variable most affected by physical and morphodynamic factors, increasing linearly with relative tidal range and decreasing with increasing average grain size. The same trend was observed from exposed to very exposed beaches and the biomass decreased exponentially with increasing average grain size. These trends agree with previous studies in different coasts in the world where coarse sands limit the benthic macrofauna. The morphodynamic parameters as Dean's parameter or Beach State Index did not show a predictive value. The results suggest that different characteristics of benthic macrofauna communities in intermediate beaches can be affected in different ways by the physical processes involved in beach morphodynamics.

Cross-coupling effects in circuit-QED stimulated Raman adiabatic passage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vepsäläinen, A.; Paraoanu, G. S.

2018-03-01

Stimulated Raman adiabatic passage is a quantum protocol that can be used for robust state preparation in a three-level system. It has been commonly employed in quantum optics, but recently this technique has drawn attention also in circuit quantum electrodynamics. The protocol relies on two slowly varying drive pulses that couple the initial and the target state via an intermediate state, which remains unpopulated. Here we study the detrimental effect of the parasitic couplings of the drives into transitions other than those required by the protocol. The effect is most prominent in systems with almost harmonic energy level structure, such as the transmon. We show that under these conditions in the presence of decoherence there exists an optimal STIRAP amplitude for population transfer.