Digital Commons Network^™

Chemical Basis Of Traditional Medicines And New Potential Applications, Chunlin Long, Shi-Biao Wu, William C. S. Cho

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

A Western-Fed Diet Increases Plasma Hdl And Ldl-Cholesterol Levels In Apod–/– Mice, Kamilah Ali, Ehab M. Abo-Ali, M. D. Kabir, Bethany Riggins, Susanna Nguy, Lisa Li, Ujala Srivastava, Su Mya Mya Thinn

Publications and Research

Objective Plasma apolipoprotein (apo)D, a ubiquitously expressed protein that binds small hydrophobic ligands, is found mainly on HDL particles. According to studies of human genetics and lipid disorders, plasma apoD levels positively correlate with HDL-cholesterol and apoAI levels. Thus, we tested the hypothesis that apoD was a regulator of HDL metabolism. Methods & Results We compared the plasma lipid and lipoprotein profiles of wild-type (WT) C57BL/6 mice with apoD−/− mice on a C57BL/6 background after receiving a high fat-high cholesterol diet for 12 weeks. ApoD−/− mice had higher HDL-cholesterol levels (61±13-apoD−/− vs. 52±10-WT-males; 37±11-apoD−/− vs. 22±2 WT-female) than WT mice …

Light Dulls And Darkens Bird Eggs, Johanna Y. Navarro, David C. Lahti

Publications and Research

Although egg color is generally consistent within individual birds and robust to environmental variation, recent evidence suggests a degree of susceptibility to environmental perturbation or modulation of egg color. Most of this variation manifests via the physiology of the laying female, but some direct impacts of the environment on laid eggs have also been discovered. Here we test whether light changes bird egg color and we quantify its effect, by subjecting variable blue-green eggs of Rüppell's weaver (Ploceus galbula) to a broad-spectrum light source under laboratory conditions, and measuring egg reflectance every few hours. Eggshells gradually decreased in reflectance across …

The Future Of Public Health Informatics: Alternative Scenarios And Recommended Strategies, Margo Edmunds, Lorna Thorpe, Martin Sepulveda, Clem Bezold, David A. Ross

Publications and Research

Background: In October 2013, the Public Health Informatics Institute (PHII) and Institute for Alternative Futures (IAF) convened a multidisciplinary group of experts to evaluate forces shaping public health informatics (PHI) in the United States, with the aim of identifying upcoming challenges and opportunities. The PHI workshop was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation as part of its larger strategic planning process for public health and primary care. Workshop Context: During the two-day workshop, nine experts from the public and private sectors analyzed and discussed the implications of four scenarios regarding the United States economy, health care system, information technology …

Nuclear Structure Aspects Of Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay, B. Alex Brown, Mihai Horoi, Roman A. Sen′Kov

Publications and Research

We decompose the neutrinoless double-beta decay matrix elements into sums of products over the intermediate nucleus with two less nucleons. We find that the sum is dominated by the J^pi=0^+ ground state of this intermediate nucleus for both the light and heavy neutrino decay processes. This provides a new theoretical tool for comparing and improving nuclear structure models. It also provides the connection to two-nucleon transfer experiments.

Challenges In Lifestyle And Community Interventions Research; A Call For Innovation, Tommy Ls Visscher, Colin Bell, Jessica S. Gubbels, Terry T-K Huang, Maria J. Bryant, Anna Peeters, Genevieve Horne, Simone A. French

Publications and Research

Earlier this year the BMC portfolio was enriched by a new journal BMC Obesity. Here, we present the aims and objectives of the section on Lifestyle and Community Interventions. Innovative research is needed. Preventing or managing obesity requires addressing different determinants across multiple levels where diverse levers and stakeholders can play a critical role. Interactions of these determinants within and between systems need to be studied. How to leverage, manage and measure this complexity underlies the innovation that is needed in the next generation of obesity interventions. The ambition of the Lifestyle and Community Interventions section is to provide a …

High Intralocus Variability And Interlocus Recombination Promote Immunological Diversity In A Minimal Major Histocompatibility System, Anthony B. Wilson, Camilla M. Whittington, Angela Bahr

Publications and Research

Background: The genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC/MH) have attracted considerable scientific interest due to their exceptional levels of variability and important function as part of the adaptive immune system. Despite a large number of studies on MH class II diversity of both model and non-model organisms, most research has focused on patterns of genetic variability at individual loci, failing to capture the functional diversity of the biologically active dimeric molecule. Here, we take a systematic approach to the study of MH variation, analyzing patterns of genetic variation at MH class IIα and IIβ loci of the seahorse, which …

Mixed Aggregates Of 1-Methoxyallenyllithium With Lithium Chloride, Lawrence M. Pratt, Darryl D. Dixon, Marcus A. Tius

Publications and Research

A combined computational and 13C NMR study was used to investigate the formation of mixed aggregates of 1-methoxyallenyllithium and lithium chloride in tetrahydrofuran (THF) solution. The observed and calculated chemical shifts, as well as the calculated free energies of mixed aggregate formation (MP2/6-31+G(d)), are consistent with the formation of a mixed dimer as the major species in solution. Free energies of mixed dimer, trimer, and tetramer formation were calculated by using the B3LYP and MP2 methods and the 6-31+G(d) basis set. The two methods generated different predictions of which mixed aggregates will be formed, with B3LYP/6-31+G(d) favoring mixed trimers and …

Methamphetamine-Induced Short-Term Increase And Long-Term Decrease In Spatial Working Memory Affects Protein Kinase M Zeta (Pkmζ), Dopamine, And Glutamate Receptors, Stephen H. Braren, Damian Drapala, Ingrid K. Tulloch, Peter A. Serrano

Publications and Research

Methamphetamine (MA) is a toxic, addictive drug shown to modulate learning and memory, yet the neural mechanisms are not fully understood. We investigated the effects of 2 weekly injections of MA (30 mg/kg) on working memory using the radial 8-arm maze (RAM) across 5 weeks in adolescent-age mice. MA-treated mice show a significant improvement in working memory performance 1 week following the first MA injection compared to saline-injected controls. Following 5 weeks of MA abstinence mice were re-trained on a reference and working memory version of the RAM to assess cognitive flexibility. MA-treated mice show significantly more working memory errors …

Green Tea Polyphenol Treatment Is Chondroprotective, Anti-Inflammatory And Palliative In A Mouse Posttraumatic Osteoarthritis Model, Daniel J. Leong, Marwa Choudhury, Regina Hanstein, David M. Hirsh, Sun Jin Kim, Robert Majeska, Mitchell B. Schaffler, John A. Hardin, David C. Spray, Mary B. Goldring, Neil J. Cobelli, Hui B. Sun

Publications and Research

Introduction Epigallocatechin 3-gallate (EGCG), a polyphenol present in green tea, was shown to exert chondroprotective effects in vitro. In this study, we used a posttraumatic osteoarthritis (OA) mouse model to test whether EGCG could slow the progression of OA and relieve OA-associated pain. Methods C57BL/6 mice were subjected to surgical destabilization of the medial meniscus (DMM) or sham surgery. EGCG (25 mg/kg) or vehicle control was administered daily for 4 or 8 weeks by intraperitoneal injection starting on the day of surgery. OA severity was evaluated using Safranin O staining and Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) scores, as well as …

Molecular-Like Hierarchical Self-Assembly Of Monolayers Of Mixtures Of Particles, P. Singh, Md. Shahadat Hossain, S. K. Gurupatham, K. Shah, E. Amah, D. Ju, M. Janjua, S. Nudurupati, I. Fischer

Publications and Research

We present a technique that uses an externally applied electric field to self-assemble monolayers of mixtures of particles into molecular-like hierarchical arrangements on fluid-liquid interfaces. The arrangements consist of composite particles (analogous to molecules) which are arranged in a pattern. The structure of a composite particle depends on factors such as the relative sizes of the particles and their polarizabilities, and the electric field intensity. If the particles sizes differ by a factor of two or more, the composite particle has a larger particle at its core and several smaller particles form a ring around it. The number of particles …

Dynamics Of Propagation Of Premature Impulses In Structurally Remodeled Infarcted Myocardium: A Computational Analysis, Candido Cabo

Publications and Research

Initiation of cardiac arrhythmias typically follows one or more premature impulses either occurring spontaneously or applied externally. In this study, we characterize the dynamics of propagation of single (S2) and double premature impulses (S3), and the mechanisms of block of premature impulses at structural heterogeneities caused by remodeling of gap junctional conductance (Gj) in infarcted myocardium. Using a sub-cellular computer model of infarcted tissue, we found that |INa,max|, prematurity (coupling interval with the previous impulse), and conduction velocity (CV) of premature impulses change dynamically as they propagate away from the site of initiation. There are fundamental differences between the dynamics …

Characteristics And Comprehensiveness Of Adult Hiv Care And Treatment Programmes In Asia-Pacific, Sub-Saharan Africa And The Americas: Results Of A Site Assessment Conducted By The International Epidemiologic Databases To Evaluate Aids (Iedea) Collaboration, Stephany N. Duda, Amanda M. Farr, Mary Lou Lindegren, Meridith Blevins, C William Wester, Kara Wools-Kaloustian, Didier K. Ekouevi, Matthias Egger, Jennifer Hemingway-Foday, David A. Cooper, Richard D. Moore, Catherine C. Mcgowan, Denis Nash

Publications and Research

Introduction HIV care and treatment programmes worldwide are transforming as they push to deliver universal access to essential prevention, care and treatment services to persons living with HIV and their communities. The characteristics and capacity of these HIV programmes affect patient outcomes and quality of care. Despite the importance of ensuring optimal outcomes, few studies have addressed the capacity of HIV programmes to deliver comprehensive care. We sought to describe such capacity in HIV programmes in seven regions worldwide. Methods Staff from 128 sites in 41 countries participating in the International epidemiologic Databases to Evaluate AIDS completed a site survey …

Transceptors At The Boundary Of Nutrient Transporters And Receptors: A New Role For Arabidopsis Sultr1;2 In Sulfur Sensing, Zheng Zhiliang, Bo Zheng, Thomsa Leustek

Publications and Research

Plants have evolved a sophisticated mechanism to sense the extracellular sulfur (S) status so that sulfate transport and S assimilation/metabolism can be coordinated. Genetic, biochemical, and molecular studies in Arabidopsis over the past 10 years have started to shed some light on the regulatory mechanism of the S response. Key advances in transcriptional regulation (SLIM1, MYB, and miR395), involvement of hormones (auxin, cytokinin, and abscisic acid) and identification of putative sensors (OASTL and SULTR1;2) are highlighted here. Although our current view of S nutrient sensing and signaling remains fragmented, it is anticipated that through further studies a sensing and signaling …

C-Metrics In Gauged Stu Supergravity And Beyond, H. Lu, Justin F. Vázquez-Poritz

Publications and Research

We construct charged generalizations of the dilaton C-metric in various fourdimensional theories, including STU gauged supergravity as well as a one-parameter family of Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton theories whose scalar potential can be expressed in terms of a superpotential. In addition, we present time-dependent generalizations of the dilaton C-metric and dilaton Ernst solutions, for which the time evolution is driven by the dilaton. These C-metric solutions provide holographic descriptions of a strongly-coupled three-dimensional field theory on the background of a black hole, a gravitational soliton, and a black hole undergoing time evolution.

Petrography, Stable Isotope Compositions, Microraman Spectroscopy, And Presolar Components Of Roberts Massif 04133: A Reduced Cv3 Carbonaceous Chondrite, Jemma Davidson, Devin L. Schrader, Conel M O'D Alexander, Dante S. Lauretta, Henner Busemann, Ian A. Franchi, Richard C. Greenwood, Harold C. Connolly, Kenneth J. Domanik, Alexander Verchovsky

Publications and Research

Here, we report the mineralogy, petrography, C-N-O-stable isotope compositions, degree of disorder of organic matter, and abundances of presolar components of the chondrite Roberts Massif (RBT) 04133 using a coordinated, multitechnique approach. The results of this study are inconsistent with its initial classification as a Renazzo-like carbonaceous chondrite, and strongly support RBT 04133 being a brecciated, reduced petrologic type >3.3 Vigarano-like carbonaceous (CV) chondrite. RBT 04133 shows no evidence for aqueous alteration. However, it is mildly thermally altered (up to approximately 440 °C); which is apparent in its whole-rock C and N isotopic compositions, the degree of disorder of C …

Sensory Abnormalities In Focal Hand Dystonia And Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation, Angelo Quartarone, Vincenzo Rizzo, Carmen Terranova, Demetrio Milardi, Daniele Bruschetta, Maria Felice Ghilardi, Paolo Girlanda

Publications and Research

It has been proposed that synchronous and convergent afferent input arising from repetitive motor tasks may play an important role in driving the maladaptive cortical plasticity seen in focal hand dystonia (FHD).This hypothesis receives support from several sources. First, it has been reported that in subjects with FHD, paired associative stimulation produces an abnormal increase in corticospinal excitability, which was not confined to stimulated muscles. These findings provide support for the role of excessive plasticity in FHD. Second, the genetic contribution to the dystonias is increasingly recognized indicating that repetitive, stereotyped afferent inputs may lead to late-onset dystonia, such as …

Sampling Strategies For Frequency Spectrum-Based Population Genomic Inference, John D. Robinson, Alec J. Coffman, Michael J. Hickerson, Ryan N. Gutenkunst

Publications and Research

Background The allele frequency spectrum (AFS) consists of counts of the number of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) loci with derived variants present at each given frequency in a sample. Multiple approaches have recently been developed for parameter estimation and calculation of model likelihoods based on the joint AFS from two or more populations. We conducted a simulation study of one of these approaches, implemented in the Python module δaδi, to compare parameter estimation and model selection accuracy given different sample sizes under one- and two-population models. Results Our simulations included a variety of demographic models and two parameterizations that differed …

Consciousness Doesn't Overflow Cognition, Richard Brown

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Facilitating Of Emotions In Sales Interactions May Hinder Performance, Selma Kadić -Maglajlić, Adriana Espinosa

Publications and Research

This article analyzes the relationship between facilitating of emotions, a branch of emotional intelligence, and salesperson performance. We employ an ability-based measure of facilitating of emotions on a sample of salespeople from Croatia (N = 245), and use structural equation modelling to test a linear versus non-linear relationship. We find that facilitating of emotions and salesperson performance share a relation that is modeled by a downward turning parabola. These findings contradict a linear relationship assumed in the conventional literature, and suggest that too little or too much facilitating of emotions may be detrimental to salesperson performance. These results provide new …

A Partner-Matching Framework For Social Activity Communities, Chunyu Ai, Wei Zhong, Mingyuan Yan, Feng Gu

Publications and Research

A lot of daily activities require more than one person to participate and collaborate with each other; however, for many people, it is not easy to find good partners to engage in activities with one another. With the rapid growth of social network applications, more and more people get used to creating connections with people on the social network. Therefore, designing social network framework for partner-matching is significant in helping people to easily find good partners. In this paper, we proposed a framework which can match partners for an active community. In order to improve the matching performance, all users …

Pregnancy Intent Among A Sample Of Recently Diagnosed Hiv-Positive Women And Men Practicing Unprotected Sex In Cape Town, South Africa, Joanne E. Mantell, Theresa M. Exner, Diane Cooper, Dan Bai, Cheng-Shiun Leu, Susie Hoffman, Landon Myer, Jennifer Moodley, Elizabeth A. Kelvin, Debbie Constant, Karen Jennings, Virginia Zweigenthal, Zena A. Stein

Publications and Research

Background: Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services for HIV-positive women and men often neglect their fertility desires. We examined factors associated with pregnancy intent among recently diagnosed HIV-positive women (N = 106) and men (N = 91) who reported inconsistent condom use and were enrolled in an SRH intervention conducted in public sector HIV care clinics in Cape Town. Methods: Participants were recruited when receiving their first CD4+ results at the clinic. All reported unprotected sex in the previous 3 months. Logistic regression identified predictors of pregnancy intent for the total sample and by gender. Results: About three fifths of …

Voys Lessons: Whirling Words In Chaucer’S “House Of Rumour", Nicola Blake

Publications and Research

“Voys Lessons: Whirling Words in Chaucer’s ‘House of Rumour’” examines the lability of sound and its use in the dissemination, transposition, and authorship of stories within The House of Fame, a text exemplifying the mobility and flexibility of misused or unhinged words, as expressed through sound as opposed to text. By engaging the use and interpretation of sound in contrast to words, this new reading concentrates on the idea of narrative as material artifact with limited stasis. Geffrey’s pseudo-authorship, through his voyeuristic stance, engages the textuality of sounds and shows the related subtlety, elasticity, and democratic sociohistorical aspect of …

Performance Analysis Of A Hybrid Raman Optical Parametric Amplifier In The O- And E-Bands For Cwdm Pons, Sasanthi Peiris, Nicolas Madamopoulos, Neophytos A. Antoniades, Dwight Richards, Roger Dorsinville

Publications and Research

We describe a hybrid Raman-optical parametric amplifier (HROPA) operating at the O- and E-bands and designed for coarse wavelength division multiplexed (CWDM) passive optical networks (PONs). We present the mathematical model and simulation results for the optimization of this HROPA design. Our analysis shows that separating the two amplification processes allows for optimization of each one separately, e.g., proper selection of pump optical powers and wavelengths to achieve maximum gain bandwidth and low gain ripple. Furthermore, we show that the proper design of optical filters incorporated in the HROPA architecture can suppress idlers generated during the OPA process, as well …

Nnlo Hard Functions In Massless Qcd, Alessandro Broggio, Andrea Ferroglia, Ben D. Pecjak, Zhibai Zhang

Publications and Research

We derive the hard functions for all 2 → 2 processes in massless QCD up to next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) in the strong coupling constant. By employing the known one- and two-loop helicity amplitudes for these processes, we obtain analytic expressions for the ultraviolet and infrared finite, minimally subtracted hard functions, which are matrices in color space. These hard functions will be useful in carrying out higher-order resummations in processes such as dijet and highly energetic top-quark pair production by means of soft-collinear effective theory methods.

Inhibition Of Osteoclastogenesis And Inflammatory Bone Resorption By Targeting Bet Proteins And Epigenetic Regulation, Kyung-Hyun Park-Min, Elisha Lim, Min Joon Lee, Sung Ho Park, Eugenia Giannopoulos, Anna Yarilina, Marjolein Van Der Meulen, Baohong Zhao, Nicholas Smithers, Jason Witherington, Kevin Lee, Paul P. Tak, Rab K. Prinjha, Lionel B. Ivashkiv

Publications and Research

Emerging evidence suggests that RANKL-induced changes in chromatin state are important for osteoclastogenesis, but these epigenetic mechanisms are not well understood and have not been therapeutically targeted. In this study we find that the small molecule I-BET151 that targets bromo and extra-terminal (BET) proteins that “read” chromatin states by binding to acetylated histones strongly suppresses osteoclastogenesis. I-BET151 suppresses pathologic bone loss in TNF-induced inflammatory osteolysis, inflammatory arthritis, and post-ovariectomy models. Transcriptome analysis identifies a MYC-NFAT axis important for osteoclastogenesis. Mechanistically, I-BET151 inhibits expression of the master osteoclast regulator NFATC1 by suppressing expression and recruitment of its newly identified upstream regulator …

Chocolate-Candy Consumption And Three-Year Weight Gain Among Postmenopausal U.S. Women, James A. Greenberg, Joann E. Manson, Brian Buijsse, Lu Wang, Matthew A. Allison, Marian L. Neuhouser, Lesley Tinker, Molly E. Waring, Carmen R. Isasi, Lisa W. Martin, Cynthia A. Thomson

Publications and Research

OBJECTIVE To test the hypothesis that greater chocolate-candy intake is associated with more weight gain in postmenopausal women. DESIGN AND METHODS Prospective cohort study involving 107,243 post-menopausal American women aged 50–79 years (mean=60.7) at enrolment in the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI), with three-year follow up. Chocolate-candy consumption was assessed by food frequency questionnaire and body weight was measured. Linear mixed models, adjusted for demographic, socio-economic, anthropomorphic and behavioral variables, were used to test our main hypotheses. RESULTS Compared to women who ate a 1 oz (~28 g) serving of chocolate candy <1 per month, those who ate this amount 1 per month to <1 per week, 1 per week to < 3 per week and ≥3 per week showed greater three-year prospective weight gains (kg) of 0.76 (95% CI: 0.66, 0.85), 0.95 (0.84, 1.06) and 1.40 (1.27, 1.53), respectively, (p for linear trend<0.0001). Each additional 1 oz/day was associated with a greater three-year weight gain (kg) of 0.92 (0.80, 1.05). The weight gain in each chocolate-candy intake level increased as BMI increased above the normal range (18.5–25 kg/m2), and as age decreased. CONCLUSIONS Greater chocolate-candy intake was associated with greater prospective weight gain in this cohort of post-menopausal women.

The Insulin/Igf Signaling Regulators Cytohesin/Grp-1 And Pip5k/Ppk-1 Modulate Susceptibility To Excitotoxicity In C. Elegans, Nazila Tehrani, John Del Rosario, Moises Dominguez, Robert Kalb, Itzhak Mano

Publications and Research

During ischemic stroke, malfunction of excitatory amino acid transporters and reduced synaptic clearance causes accumulation of Glutamate (Glu) and excessive stimulation of postsynaptic neurons, which can lead to their degeneration by excitotoxicity. The balance between cell death-promoting (neurotoxic) and survival-promoting (neuroprotective) signaling cascades determines the fate of neurons exposed to the excitotoxic insult. The evolutionary conserved Insulin/IGF Signaling (IIS) cascade can participate in this balance, as it controls cell stress resistance in nematodes and mammals. Blocking the IIS cascade allows the transcription factor FoxO3/DAF-16 to accumulate in the nucleus and activate a transcriptional program that protects cells from a range …

“Fu Hao”, “Fu Hao”, “Fuhao” Or “Fu Hao”? A Cataloger’S Navigation Of An Ancient Chinese Woman’S Name, Junli Diao

Publications and Research

Chinese language catalogers’ work is not only challenged by the revolution in cataloging standards and principles, but also by ancient Chinese names that emerged in archaeological discoveries and Chinese classic texts, which create a significant impact on records description and retrieval in terms of consistency and accuracy. This article takes an example of an ancient Chinese lady’s name that is inconsistently romanized and described in OCLC and attempts to explore the appropriate form in an authority record through the consulting both Western and Eastern scholarly practices. This article has a further investigation of the evolving history of pre-Qin Chinese names …

Braincheck - A Very Brief Tool To Detect Incipient Cognitive Decline: Optimized Case-Finding Combining Patient- And Informant-Based Data, Michael M. Ehrensperger, Kirstein I. Taylor, Manfred Berres, Nancy S. Foldi, Myriam Dellenbach, Irene Bopp, Gabriel Gold, Armin Von Gunten, Daniel Inglin, René Müri, Reto W. Kressig, Andreas U. Monsch

Publications and Research

Introduction Optimal identification of subtle cognitive impairment in the primary care setting requires a very brief tool combining (a) patients- subjective impairments, (b) cognitive testing, and (c) information from informants. The present study developed a new, very quick and easily administered case-finding tool combining these assessments ('BrainCheck') and tested the feasibility and validity of this instrument in two independent studies.

Methods We developed a case-finding tool comprised of patient-directed (a) questions about memory and depression and (b) clock drawing, and (c) the informant-directed 7-item version of the Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE). Feasibility study: 52 general …