Bus Travel Time Deviation Analysis Using Automatic Vehicle Location Data and Structural Equation Modeling

To investigate the influences of causes of unreliability and bus schedule recovery phenomenon on microscopic segment-level travel time variance, this study adopts Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to specify, estimate, and measure the theoretical proposed models. The SEM model establishes and verifies hypotheses for interrelationships among travel time deviations, departure delays, segment lengths, dwell times, and number of traffic signals and access connections. The finally accepted model demonstrates excellent fitness. Most of the hypotheses are supported by the sample dataset from bus Automatic Vehicle Location system. The SEM model confirms the bus schedule recovery phenomenon. The departure delays at bus terminals and upstream travel time deviations indeed have negative impacts on travel time fluctuation of buses en route. Meanwhile, the segment length directly and negatively impacts travel time variability and inversely positively contributes to the schedule recovery process; this exogenous variable also indirectly and positively influences travel times through the existence of signalized intersections and access connections. This study offers a rational approach to analyzing travel time deviation feature. The SEM model structure and estimation results facilitate the understanding of bus service performance characteristics and provide several implications for bus service planning, management, and operation

Effect of passive finger exercises on grip strength and the ability to perform activities of daily living for older people with dementia: a 12-week randomized controlled trial

Background: Dementia adds burden to society. As it is not curable, physical exercise activities are optimal to improve the physical strength and quality-of-life of people with dementia. Aim: Design, implementation, and examination of a set of passive finger exercises and their effects on improving grip strength and activities of daily living (ADL) for older people with dementia. Methods: Forty older people with dementia were recruited and randomly allocated into an experimental group and a control group, each with 20 people. The control group received routine nursing care. In addition to this, the experimental group received 25-minutes of passive finger exercises every day for 12 weeks. The health outcomes measured were grip strength and ADL, before and after the intervention. Grip strength was assessed by electrical hand muscle dynamometer. ADL were assessed with Barthel index. Results: Although there was no effect on grip strength, passive finger exercises led to significant improvements in urinary control, defecation function, and overall ADL in comparison with the control group. Implications for practice: Passive finger exercises can be integrated into physical exercise programs for older people with dementia to improve their urinary control, defecation function, and ADL

Comparative Component Analysis of Exons with Different Splicing Frequencies

Transcriptional isoforms are not just random combinations of exons. What has caused exons to be differentially spliced and whether exons with different splicing frequencies are subjected to divergent regulation by potential elements or splicing signals? Beyond the conventional classification for alternatively spliced exons (ASEs) and constitutively spliced exons (CSEs), we have classified exons from alternatively spliced human genes and their mouse orthologs (12,314 and 5,464, respectively) into four types based on their splicing frequencies. Analysis has indicated that different groups of exons presented divergent compositional and regulatory properties. Interestingly, with the decrease of splicing frequency, exons tend to have greater lengths, higher GC content, and contain more splicing elements and repetitive elements, which seem to imply that the splicing frequency is influenced by such factors. Comparison of non-alternatively spliced (NAS) mouse genes with alternatively spliced human orthologs also suggested that exons with lower splicing frequencies may be newly evolved ones which gained functions with splicing frequencies altered through the evolution. Our findings have revealed for the first time that certain factors may have critical influence on the splicing frequency, suggesting that exons with lower splicing frequencies may originate from old repetitive sequences, with splicing sites altered by mutation, gaining novel functions and become more frequently spliced

Preparation and characterization of magnesium coating deposited by cold spraying

Magnesium (Mg) and its alloys have a great potential as structural materials due to their beneficial combination of high strength to weight ratio, high thermal conductivity and good machinability. However, few literatures about Mg coatings fabricated by cold spraying can be found. In this study, Mg coatings were fabricated by cold spraying, and the microstructure, phase structure, oxygen content and microhardness of the coating prepared under different main gas temperatures were investigated. The critical velocity of the particle was evaluated through numerical simulations. The particle deformation behavior and bonding mechanism were discussed. The result of the oxygen content test shows that the oxygen contents of the coatings did not increase comparing with that of the feedstock powder. The simulation results show that the critical velocity of Mg particles was in a range of 653 m/s to 677 m/s. The observation of the coating fracture morphology shows that the formation of the coating was due to the intensive plastic deformation and mechanical interlocking. The microhardness of the coating increased with the increase of the main gas temperature from 350oC to 450oC due to the decrease of the coating porosity.Comment: 20 pages, 9 figur

Characterization of Small Interfering RNAs Derived from the Geminivirus/Betasatellite Complex Using Deep Sequencing

BACKGROUND: Small RNA (sRNA)-guided RNA silencing is a critical antiviral defense mechanism employed by a variety of eukaryotic organisms. Although the induction of RNA silencing by bipartite and monopartite begomoviruses has been described in plants, the nature of begomovirus/betasatellite complexes remains undefined. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Solanum lycopersicum plant leaves systemically infected with Tomato yellow leaf curl China virus (TYLCCNV) alone or together with its associated betasatellite (TYLCCNB), and Nicotiana benthamiana plant leaves systemically infected with TYLCCNV alone, or together with TYLCCNB or with mutant TYLCCNB were harvested for RNA extraction; sRNA cDNA libraries were then constructed and submitted to Solexa-based deep sequencing. Both sense and anti-sense TYLCCNV and TYLCCNB-derived sRNAs (V-sRNAs and S-sRNAs) accumulated preferentially as 22 nucleotide species in infected S. lycopersicum and N. benthamiana plants. High resolution mapping of V-sRNAs and S-sRNAs revealed heterogeneous distribution of V-sRNA and S-sRNA sequences across the TYLCCNV and TYLCCNB genomes. In TYLCCNV-infected S. lycopersicum or N. benthamiana and TYLCCNV and βC1-mutant TYLCCNB co-infected N. benthamiana plants, the primary TYLCCNV targets were AV2 and the 5' terminus of AV1. In TYLCCNV and betasatellite-infected plants, the number of V-sRNAs targeting this region decreased and the production of V-sRNAs increased corresponding to the overlapping regions of AC2 and AC3, as well as the 3' terminal of AC1. βC1 is the primary determinant mediating symptom induction and also the primary silencing target of the TYLCCNB genome even in its mutated form. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We report the first high-resolution sRNA map for a monopartite begomovirus and its associated betasatellite using Solexa-based deep sequencing. Our results suggest that viral transcript might act as RDR substrates resulting in dsRNA and secondary siRNA production. In addition, the betasatellite affected the amount of V-sRNAs detected in S. lycopersicum and N. benthamiana plants

Involvement of C4 Protein of Beet Severe Curly Top Virus (Family Geminiviridae) in Virus Movement

Background: Beet severe curly top virus (BSCTV) is a leafhopper transmitted geminivirus with a monopartite genome. C4 proteins encoded by geminivirus play an important role in virus/plant interaction. Methods and Findings: To understand the function of C4 encoded by BSCTV, two BSCTV mutants were constructed by introducing termination codons in ORF C4 without affecting the amino acids encoded by overlapping ORF Rep. BSCTV mutants containing disrupted ORF C4 retained the ability to replicate in Arabidopsis protoplasts and in the agro-inoculated leaf discs of N. benthamiana, suggesting C4 is not required for virus DNA replication. However, both mutants did not accumulate viral DNA in newly emerged leaves of inoculated N. benthamiana and Arabidopsis, and the inoculated plants were asymptomatic. We also showed that C4 expression in plant could help C4 deficient BSCTV mutants to move systemically. C4 was localized in the cytosol and the nucleus in both Arabidopsis protoplasts and N. benthamiana leaves and the protein appeared to bind viral DNA and ds/ssDNA nonspecifically, displaying novel DNA binding properties. Conclusions: Our results suggest that C4 protein in BSCTV is involved in symptom production and may facilitate virus movement instead of virus replication

Proteomic Analysis of Ubiquitinated Proteins in Rice (\u3ci\u3eOryza sativa\u3c/i\u3e) After Treatment With Pathogen-Associated Molecular Pattern (PAMP) Elicitors

Reversible protein ubiquitination plays essential roles in regulating cellular processes. Although many reports have described the functions of ubiquitination in plant defense responses, few have focused on global changes in the ubiquitome. To better understand the regulatory roles of ubiquitination in rice pattern-triggered immunity (PTI), we investigated the ubiquitome of rice seedlings after treatment with two pathogen-associated molecular patterns, the fungal-derived chitin or the bacterialderived flg22, using label-free quantitative proteomics. In chitin-treated samples, 144 and 167 lysine-ubiquitination sites in 121 and 162 proteins showed increased and decreased ubiquitination, respectively. In flg22-treated samples, 151 and 179 lysine-ubiquitination sites in 118 and 166 proteins showed increased and decreased ubiquitination, respectively. Bioinformatic analyses indicated diverse regulatory roles of these proteins. The ubiquitination levels of many proteins involved in the ubiquitination system, protein transportation, ligand recognition, membrane trafficking, and redox reactions were significantly changed in response to the elicitor treatments. Notably, the ubiquitination levels of many enzymes in the phenylpropanoid metabolic pathway were up-regulated, indicating that this pathway is tightly regulated by ubiquitination during rice PTI. Additionally, the ubiquitination levels of some key components in plant hormone signaling pathways were up- or down-regulated, suggesting that ubiquitination may fine-tune hormone pathways for defense responses. Our results demonstrated that ubiquitination, by targeting a wide range of proteins for degradation or stabilization, has a widespread role in modulating PTI in rice. The large pool of ubiquitination targets will serve as a valuable resource for understanding how the ubiquitination system regulates defense responses to pathogen attack

Clay mineralogy indicates a mildly warm and humid living environment for the Miocene hominoid from the Zhaotong Basin, Yunnan, China

Global and regional environmental changes have influenced the evolutionary processes of hominoid primates, particularly during the Miocene. Recently, a new Lufengpithecus cf. lufengensis hominoid fossil with a late Miocene age of ~6.2 Ma was discovered in the Shuitangba (STB) section of the Zhaotong Basin in Yunnan on the southeast margin of the Tibetan Plateau. To understand the relationship between paleoclimate and hominoid evolution, we have studied sedimentary, clay mineralogy and geochemical proxies for the late Miocene STB section (~16 m thick; ca. 6.7–6.0 Ma). Our results show that Lufengpithecus cf. lufengensis lived in a mildly warm and humid climate in a lacustrine or swamp environment. Comparing mid to late Miocene records from hominoid sites in Yunnan, Siwalik in Pakistan, and tropical Africa we find that ecological shifts from forest to grassland in Siwalik are much later than in tropical Africa, consistent with the disappearance of hominoid fossils. However, no significant vegetation changes are found in Yunnan during the late Miocene, which we suggest is the result of uplift of the Tibetan plateau combined with the Asian monsoon geographically and climatically isolating these regions. The resultant warm and humid conditions in southeastern China offered an important refuge for Miocene hominoids