Relaxed and active thin filament structures; a new structural basis for the regulatory mechanism

The structures of muscle thin filaments reconstituted using skeletal actin and cardiac troponin and tropomyosin have been determined with and without bound Ca2+ using electron microscopy and reference-free single particle analysis. The resulting density maps have been fitted with atomic models of actin, tropomyosin and troponin showing that: (i) the polarity of the troponin complex is consistent with our 2009 findings, with large shape changes in troponin between the two states; (ii) without Ca2+ the tropomyosin pseudo-repeats all lie at almost equivalent positions in the 'blocked' position on actin (over subdomains 1 and 2); (iii) in the active state the tropomyosin pseudo-repeats are all displaced towards subdomains 3 and 4 of actin, but the extent of displacement varies within the regulatory unit depending upon the axial location of the pseudo-repeats with respect to troponin. Individual pseudo-repeats with Ca2+ bound to troponin can be assigned either to the 'closed' state, a partly activated conformation, or the 'M-state', a fully activated conformation which has previously been thought to occur only when myosin heads bind. These results lead to a modified view of the steric blocking model of thin filament regulation in which cooperative activation is governed by troponin-mediated local interactions of the pseudo-repeats of tropomyosin with actin

Analysis of Transportation Modes by Evaluating SWOT Factors and Pairwise Comparisons: A Case Study

Cape Breton Island is one of the most beautiful islands in the World. The island itself has a unique geography and is located in Nova Scotia, Canada. This chapter introduces and summarizes the current transportation modes in Cape Breton Island. The transportation modes discussed include air, rail, water, truck, and intermodal modes. A SWOT matrix is applied to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats related to the different transportation modes in Cape Breton Island. Then, the factors are evaluated and ranked based on pairwise comparisons in analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method, and the best strategies are defined. This research provides a unique and multidisciplinary overview of transportation modes in the region that is necessary for future quantitative investigations. Furthermore, it introduces the steps to analyze transportation modes of other areas and regions

Bring Me the Wind

2017 Jan Rehner Writing Prize Finalists, 1st Year WinnerWRIT 100

Economic feasibility of ethanol production from sweet sorghum juice in Texas

Environmental and political concerns centered on energy use from gasoline have led to a great deal of research on ethanol production. The goal of this thesis is to determine if it is profitable to produce ethanol in Texas using sweet sorghum juice. Four different areas, Moore, Hill, Willacy, and Wharton Counties, using two feedstock alternatives, sweet sorghum only and sweet sorghum and corn, will be analyzed using Monte Carlo simulation to determine the probability of economic success. Economic returns to the farmers in the form of a contract price for the average sweet sorghum yield per acre in each study area and to the ethanol plant buying sweet sorghum at the contract price will be simulated and ranked. The calculated sweet sorghum contract prices offered to farmers are $9.94,$11.44, $29.98, and$36.21 per ton in Wharton, Willacy, Moore, and Hill Counties, respectively. The contract prices are equal to the next most profitable crop returns or ten percent more than the total cost to produce sweet sorghum in the study area. The wide variation in the price is due to competing crop returns and the sweet sorghum growing season. Ethanol production using sweet sorghum and corn is the most profitable alternative analyzed for an ethanol plant. A Moore County ethanol plant has the highest average net present value of $492.39 million and is most preferred overall when using sweet sorghum and corn to produce ethanol. Sweet sorghum ethanol production is most profitable in Willacy County but is not economically successful with an average net present value of$-11.06 million. Ethanol production in Hill County is least preferred with an average net present value of $-712.00 and$48.40 million when using sweet sorghum only and sweet sorghum and corn, respectively. Producing unsubsidized ethanol from sweet sorghum juice alone is not profitable in Texas. Sweet sorghum ethanol supplemented by grain is more economical but would not be as profitable as producing ethanol from only grain in the Texas Panhandle. Farmers profit on average from contract prices for sweet sorghum when prices cover total production costs for the crop

Upgrades to the International Space Station Urine Processor Assembly

The ISS Urine Processor Assembly (UPA) began operations in November 2008. Though the UPA has successfully generated distillate from crew urine, several modifications and upgrades have been implemented to improve overall system performance throughout the years. Current and future upgrades to the UPA will continue to focus on improved system performance and reliability, focusing primarily on the Distillation Assembly and upgrades to the UPA vacuum pump. Work towards a flight demonstration experiment of a vacuum pump utilizing scroll pump technologies has also continued forward. The following paper discusses progress on these various concepts, including the implementation of a more reliable drive belt, improved methods for managing condensate in the stationary bowl of the Distillation Assembly, installation of improved centrifuge bearings, implementation of a liquid level sensor, and upgrades to the UPA vacuum pump

A Comparative Analysis of Biomarker Expression and Molecular Subtypes of Pure Ductal Carcinoma In Situ and Invasive Breast Carcinoma by Image Analysis: Relationship of the Subtypes with Histologic Grade, Ki67, p53 Overexpression, and DNA Ploidy

There is a paucity of data regarding molecular subtypes of pure ductal carcinoma in situ (pDCIS). We evaluated the expression of ER, PR, HER2, Ki67, and p53 and DNA ploidy in 118 pDCIS and 100 invasive breast carcinomas (IBCAs) by routine IHC and classified them according to molecular subtypes. Quantification of biomarkers and DNA ploidy was performed by image analysis. Expression of ER, PR, and high ki67 was more frequent in pDCIS compared to IBCA. High-grade tumors had lower ER and PR expression, high Ki67, overexpression of HER2 and p53, and DNA aneuploidy. Luminal A and HER2 subtypes were more common in pDCIS, and triple negative was more prevalent in IBCA. In both groups, HER2 and triple negative subtypes were characterized by high ki67, overexpression of p53, and DNA aneuploidy compared to luminal subtypes. Molecular subtypes of IBCA are distinct from those of pDCIS. Invasion is characterized by change in phenotype in some tumors

Correction:Physical activity and mental health experiences of people living with long term conditions during COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study

Notice of republication This article was republished on March 14 th, 2024, to correct the author list and add Danielle Lambrick and James Faulkner as the third and fourth authors respectively. Please download this article again to view the correct version. The originally published, uncorrected article and the republished, corrected articles are provided here for reference. (PLoS ONE (2023) 18: 7 (e0285785) DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0285785)</p

Correction:Physical activity and mental health experiences of people living with long term conditions during COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study

Notice of republication This article was republished on March 14 th, 2024, to correct the author list and add Danielle Lambrick and James Faulkner as the third and fourth authors respectively. Please download this article again to view the correct version. The originally published, uncorrected article and the republished, corrected articles are provided here for reference. (PLoS ONE (2023) 18: 7 (e0285785) DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0285785)</p

TEAMwork: Testing Emotional Attunement and Mutuality During Parent-Adolescent fMRI.

The parent-child relationship and family context influence the development of emotion regulation (ER) brain circuitry and related skills in children and adolescents. Although both parents' and children's ER neurocircuitry simultaneously affect how they interact with one another, neuroimaging studies of parent-child relationships typically include only one member of the dyad in brain imaging procedures. The current study examined brain activation related to parenting and ER in parent-adolescent dyads during concurrent fMRI scanning with a novel task - the Testing Emotional Attunement and Mutuality (TEAM) task. The TEAM task includes feedback trials indicating the other dyad member made an error, resulting in a monetary loss for both participants. Results indicate that positive parenting practices as reported by the adolescent were positively correlated with parents' hemodynamic activation of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, a region related to empathy, during these error trials. Additionally, during feedback conditions both parents and adolescents exhibited fMRI activation in ER-related regions, including the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, anterior insula, fusiform gyrus, thalamus, caudate, precuneus, and superior parietal lobule. Adolescents had higher left amygdala activation than parents during the feedback condition. These findings demonstrate the utility of dyadic fMRI scanning for investigating relational processes, particularly in the parent-child relationship