2H and 13C NMR studies on the temperature-dependent water and protein dynamics in hydrated elastin, myoglobin and collagen

2H NMR spin-lattice relaxation and line-shape analyses are performed to study the temperature-dependent dynamics of water in the hydration shells of myoglobin, elastin, and collagen

Impact of parasite sympatry on the geographic mosaic of coevolution

Slave-making ants are specialized social parasites that steal the young from colonies of their host species to augment their slave supply. The degree of parasite–host specialization has been shown to shape the trajectory along which parasites and hosts coevolve and is a prime contributor to the geographic mosaic of coevolution. However, virtually nothing is known about extrinsic influences on parasite–host dynamics, although the simple addition of a competing slave-maker may significantly alter selection pressures. Here we report the effect of two sympatric slave-makers on a single host. We measured temporal and spatial changes in colonies of the primary host Temnothorax curvispinosus that had been placed in field enclosures along with a single colony of either one or both species of the North American slave-making ants Protomognathus americanus and Temnothorax duloticus. Each slave-maker species alone had a negative impact on its hosts, although one slave-maker species more frequently decimated its host assemblage and then went extinct. Nevertheless, the combined effect in mixed-parasite enclosures was, surprisingly, greatly attenuated. Virulent slave-maker growth and prudent slave-maker decay in these shared enclosures, together with field data showing an inverse proportional relationship between the two slave-makers in natural populations, suggest that their checkered distribution is a consequence of direct asymmetrical antagonism between parasites. Thus, our results imply a tripartite coevolutionary arms race, whereby intraguild interactions among social parasites strongly affect the realized selection pressures on hosts and contribute to the geographic mosaic of coevolution

Evaluation Findings: School and Workplace Strategies 2005-2007

This report is an evaluation developed to provide updates on the progress of the Missouri Foundation for Health’s Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Initiative (TPCI). The report provides an overview of the activities and outcomes regarding school and workplace strategies that occurred between 2005 and 2007.https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/cphss/1099/thumbnail.jp

Xe⋯OCS: Relatively straightforward?

We report a benchmark-quality equilibrium-like structure of the Xe⋯OCS complex, obtained from microwave spectroscopy. The experiments are supported by a wide array of highly accurate calculations, expanding the analysis to the complexes of He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe, and Hg with OCS. We investigate the trends in the structures and binding energies of the complexes. The assumption that the structure of the monomers does not change significantly upon forming a weakly bound complex is also tested. An attempt at reproducing the r(2)m structure of the Xe⋯OCS complex with correlated wavefunction theory is made, highlighting the importance of relativistic effects, large basis sets, and inclusion of diffuse functions in extrapolation recipes

Modelling molecule-surface interactions-an automated quantum-classical approach using a genetic algorithm

We present an automated and efficient method to develop force fields for molecule-surface interactions. A genetic algorithm (GA) is used to parameterise a classical force field so that the classical adsorption energy landscape of a molecule on a surface matches the corresponding landscape from density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The procedure performs a sophisticated search in the parameter phase space and converges very quickly. The method is capable of fitting a significant number of structures and corresponding adsorption energies. Water on a ZnO(0001) surface was chosen as a benchmark system but the method is implemented in a flexible way and can be applied to any system of interest. In the present case, pairwise Lennard Jones (LJ) and Coulomb potentials are used to describe the molecule-surface interactions. In the course of the fitting procedure, the LJ parameters are refined in order to reproduce the adsorption energy landscape. The classical model is capable of describing a wide range of energies, which is essential for a realistic description of a fluid-solid interface

Public health program capacity for sustainability: A new framework

Abstract Background Public health programs can only deliver benefits if they are able to sustain activities over time. There is a broad literature on program sustainability in public health, but it is fragmented and there is a lack of consensus on core constructs. The purpose of this paper is to present a new conceptual framework for program sustainability in public health. Methods This developmental study uses a comprehensive literature review, input from an expert panel, and the results of concept-mapping to identify the core domains of a conceptual framework for public health program capacity for sustainability. The concept-mapping process included three types of participants (scientists, funders, and practitioners) from several public health areas (e.g., tobacco control, heart disease and stroke, physical activity and nutrition, and injury prevention). Results The literature review identified 85 relevant studies focusing on program sustainability in public health. Most of the papers described empirical studies of prevention-oriented programs aimed at the community level. The concept-mapping process identified nine core domains that affect a program’s capacity for sustainability: Political Support, Funding Stability, Partnerships, Organizational Capacity, Program Evaluation, Program Adaptation, Communications, Public Health Impacts, and Strategic Planning. Concept-mapping participants further identified 93 items across these domains that have strong face validity—89% of the individual items composing the framework had specific support in the sustainability literature. Conclusions The sustainability framework presented here suggests that a number of selected factors may be related to a program’s ability to sustain its activities and benefits over time. These factors have been discussed in the literature, but this framework synthesizes and combines the factors and suggests how they may be interrelated with one another. The framework presents domains for public health decision makers to consider when developing and implementing prevention and intervention programs. The sustainability framework will be useful for public health decision makers, program managers, program evaluators, and dissemination and implementation researchers

Wave modelling - the state of the art

This paper is the product of the wave modelling community and it tries to make a picture of the present situation in this branch of science, exploring the previous and the most recent results and looking ahead towards the solution of the problems we presently face. Both theory and applications are considered. The many faces of the subject imply separate discussions. This is reflected into the single sections, seven of them, each dealing with a specific topic, the whole providing a broad and solid overview of the present state of the art. After an introduction framing the problem and the approach we followed, we deal in sequence with the following subjects: (Section) 2, generation by wind; 3, nonlinear interactions in deep water; 4, white-capping dissipation; 5, nonlinear interactions in shallow water; 6, dissipation at the sea bottom; 7, wave propagation; 8, numerics. The two final sections, 9 and 10, summarize the present situation from a general point of view and try to look at the future developments

Evolution of surface gravity waves over a submarine canyon

The effects of a submarine canyon on the propagation of ocean surface waves are examined with a three-dimensional coupled-mode model for wave propagation over steep topography. Whereas the classical geometrical optics approximation predicts an abrupt transition from complete transmission at small incidence angles to no transmission at large angles, the full model predicts a more gradual transition with partial reflection/transmission that is sensitive to the canyon geometry and controlled by evanescent modes for small incidence angles and relatively short waves. Model results for large incidence angles are compared with data from directional wave buoys deployed around the rim and over Scripps Canyon, near San Diego, California, during the Nearshore Canyon Experiment (NCEX). Wave heights are observed to decay across the canyon by about a factor 5 over a distance shorter than a wavelength. Yet, a spectral refraction model predicts an even larger reduction by about a factor 10, because low frequency components cannot cross the canyon in the geometrical optics approximation. The coupled-mode model yields accurate results over and behind the canyon. These results show that although most of the wave energy is refractively trapped on the offshore rim of the canyon, a small fraction of the wave energy 'tunnels' across the canyon. Simplifications of the model that reduce it to the standard and modified mild slope equations also yield good results, indicating that evanescent modes and high order bottom slope effects are of minor importance for the energy transformation of waves propagating across depth contours at large oblique angles