Alloy Design Workbench-Surface Modeling Package Developed

NASA Glenn Research Center's Computational Materials Group has integrated a graphical user interface with in-house-developed surface modeling capabilities, with the goal of using computationally efficient atomistic simulations to aid the development of advanced aerospace materials, through the modeling of alloy surfaces, surface alloys, and segregation. The software is also ideal for modeling nanomaterials, since surface and interfacial effects can dominate material behavior and properties at this level. Through the combination of an accurate atomistic surface modeling methodology and an efficient computational engine, it is now possible to directly model these types of surface phenomenon and metallic nanostructures without a supercomputer. Fulfilling a High Operating Temperature Propulsion Components (HOTPC) project level-I milestone, a graphical user interface was created for a suite of quantum approximate atomistic materials modeling Fortran programs developed at Glenn. The resulting "Alloy Design Workbench-Surface Modeling Package" (ADW-SMP) is the combination of proven quantum approximate Bozzolo-Ferrante-Smith (BFS) algorithms (refs. 1 and 2) with a productivity-enhancing graphical front end. Written in the portable, platform independent Java programming language, the graphical user interface calls on extensively tested Fortran programs running in the background for the detailed computational tasks. Designed to run on desktop computers, the package has been deployed on PC, Mac, and SGI computer systems. The graphical user interface integrates two modes of computational materials exploration. One mode uses Monte Carlo simulations to determine lowest energy equilibrium configurations. The second approach is an interactive "what if" comparison of atomic configuration energies, designed to provide real-time insight into the underlying drivers of alloying processes

Novel Drosophila Viruses Encode Host-Specific Suppressors of RNAi

Contains fulltext : 136405.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)The ongoing conflict between viruses and their hosts can drive the co-evolution between host immune genes and viral suppressors of immunity. It has been suggested that an evolutionary 'arms race' may occur between rapidly evolving components of the antiviral RNAi pathway of Drosophila and viral genes that antagonize it. We have recently shown that viral protein 1 (VP1) of Drosophila melanogaster Nora virus (DmelNV) suppresses Argonaute-2 (AGO2)-mediated target RNA cleavage (slicer activity) to antagonize antiviral RNAi. Here we show that viral AGO2 antagonists of divergent Nora-like viruses can have host specific activities. We have identified novel Nora-like viruses in wild-caught populations of D. immigrans (DimmNV) and D. subobscura (DsubNV) that are 36% and 26% divergent from DmelNV at the amino acid level. We show that DimmNV and DsubNV VP1 are unable to suppress RNAi in D. melanogaster S2 cells, whereas DmelNV VP1 potently suppresses RNAi in this host species. Moreover, we show that the RNAi suppressor activity of DimmNV VP1 is restricted to its natural host species, D. immigrans. Specifically, we find that DimmNV VP1 interacts with D. immigrans AGO2, but not with D. melanogaster AGO2, and that it suppresses slicer activity in embryo lysates from D. immigrans, but not in lysates from D. melanogaster. This species-specific interaction is reflected in the ability of DimmNV VP1 to enhance RNA production by a recombinant Sindbis virus in a host-specific manner. Our results emphasize the importance of analyzing viral RNAi suppressor activity in the relevant host species. We suggest that rapid co-evolution between RNA viruses and their hosts may result in host species-specific activities of RNAi suppressor proteins, and therefore that viral RNAi suppressors could be host-specificity factors

Expansion of vocational-technical school programs to accommodate highway safety manpower requirements. Volume II. Resource material.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.Mode of access: Internet.Author corporate affiliation: Ohio State University, Columbus, Center for Vocational and Technical EducationSubject code: DEBSubject code: FJCSubject code: QG*EOSubject code: QGOSubject code: RCBDSubject code: QG*DEBSubject code: RCGB*DESubject code: RCGC*DESubject code: RCGC*EOSubject code: RCGEFSubject code: SC

Replacement of fish meal by a novel non-GM variety of soybean meal in cobia, Rachycentron canadum: Ingredient nutrient digestibility and growth performance

A constraint for the expansion of cobia aquaculture is the availability of high quality formulated diets which reduce or eliminate fish meal (FM) protein. Therefore, the nutritive value of a novel soybean cultivar, Navita™ (Navita, non-genetically modified and selectively bred soy), and regular, commodity soybean meal (SBM, de-hulled, defatted, roasted and solvent-extracted) was evaluated for cobia, Rachycentron canadum via separate digestibility and growth trials. In the first experiment Navita's apparent digestibility coefficients (ADC) were higher than those of SBM for nearly every nutrient evaluated. Crude protein ADCs were 82 and 69% for Navita and SBM, respectively. Apparent DC for amino acids ranged from 68 to 109% for Navita whereas, amino acid ADCs for SBM varied from 42 to 98%. The feeding trial utilized fish of a size that more closely resembles commercial cobia stocking (1.8kg), and was conducted over a 91-day period. Experimental diets (iso-nitrogenous and iso-energetic) were formulated such that 67% of the FM protein in the reference diet was replaced by either a combination of SBM+soy protein concentrate (SPC, Solae Profine®) labeled MXSB-diet, or by a combination of SPC+Navita; Navita-diet, hereafter. A fourth experimental diet had 80% of the FM protein replaced by a combination of Navita+SPC and was identified as Navita-high. No significant differences (P>0.05) were observed in fish fed the experimental diets for feed conversion ratio, protein efficiency ratio, feed efficiency, mean daily intake, gross protein intake, gross energy intake, visceral somatic index, muscle ratio, and hepatosomatic index. Fish fed the Navita-high diet had the lowest fish in:fish out ratio (FIFO) at 0.9±0.16. These results indicate that Navita meal can be incorporated at very high levels in the diet of marine carnivorous fish such as cobia with no detriment to performance, making it a prime candidate for FM replacement in aquafeeds.•Effects of fish meal replacement on Cobia diets were examined.•Navita's ADCs were higher than those of SBM for nearly every nutrient evaluated.•Crude protein ADCs were 82 and 69% for Navita and SBM, respectively.•Fish fed the Navita-high diet had the lowest FIFO ratio at 0.9±0.16.•Results indicate that Navita meal can be incorporated at very high levels in cobia

Biallelic loss of function variants in COASY cause prenatal onset pontocerebellar hypoplasia, microcephaly, and arthrogryposis

Pontocerebellar hypoplasia (PCH) is a heterogeneous neurodegenerative disorder with a prenatal onset. Using whole-exome sequencing, we identified variants in the gene Coenzyme A (CoA) synthase (COASY) gene, an enzyme essential in CoA synthesis, in four individuals from two families with PCH, prenatal onset microcephaly, and arthrogryposis. In family 1, compound heterozygous variants were identified in COASY: c.[1549_1550delAG]; [1486-3 C>G]. In family 2, all three affected siblings were homozygous for the c.1486-3 C>G variant. In both families, the variants segregated with the phenotype. RNA analysis showed that the c.1486-3 C>G variant leads to skipping of exon 7 with partial retention of intron 7, disturbing the reading frame and resulting in a premature stop codon (p.(Ala496Ilefs*20)). No CoA synthase protein was detected in patient cells by immunoblot analysis and CoA synthase activity was virtually absent. Partial CoA synthase defects were previously described as a cause of COASY Protein-Associated Neurodegeneration (CoPAN), a type of Neurodegeneration and Brain Iron Accumulation (NBIA). Here we demonstrate that near complete loss of function variants in COASY are associated with lethal PCH and arthrogryposis

Physician Underutilization of Effective Medications for Resistant Hypertension at Office Visits in the United States: NAMCS 2006–2010

BACKGROUND: The American Heart Association (AHA) published guidelines for treatment of resistant hypertension in 2008 recommending use of thiazide diuretics (particularly chlorthalidone), aldosterone antagonists, and fixed-dose combination medications, but it is unclear the extent to which these guidelines are being followed. OBJECTIVE: To describe trends in physician use of recommended medications for resistant hypertension and assess variations in medication use based on geography, physician specialty and patient characteristics. DESIGN: Cross-sectional analysis using the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey from 2006 to 2010. STUDY SAMPLE: We analyzed visits of hypertension patients to family physicians, general internists, and cardiologists. Resistant hypertension was defined as concurrent use of ≥ 4 classes of blood pressure (BP) medications or elevated BP despite the use of ≥ 3 medications. Pregnant patients and visits with diagnosed heart failure or end-stage renal disease were excluded. MAIN OUTCOME: Use of AHA-recommended medications for management of resistant hypertension. RESULTS: Of 19,500 patient visits with hypertension, 1,567 or 7.1 % CI (6.6–7.7 %) met criteria for resistant hypertension. Thiazide diuretic use was reported in 58.9 % of visits pre-guidelines vs. 54.8 % post-guidelines (p = 0.37). Use of aldosterone antagonists was low and also did not change significantly after guideline publication (3.1 % vs. 4.5 %, p = 0.27). Fixed-dose combinations use was 42.0 % before and 37 % after guideline publication (p = 0.29). Each 10-year increase in patient age was associated with lower thiazide use (OR 0.87, CI 0.77–0.97), as was presence of comorbid ischemic heart disease (OR 0.62, CI 0.41–0.94). Medication use did not vary by geography or physician specialty. CONCLUSION: Use of AHA-recommended medications for resistant hypertension remains low after publication of guidelines. Healthcare systems should encourage more frequent prescribing of these medications to improve care in this high-risk population. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11606-013-2683-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users