Light Scattering Study of an Important Eye Lens Protein: Beta Crystallin

Light scattering experiments were performed on bovine βH crystallin, an important protein component of the mammalian eye lens. Light scattering results are compared to simplified models for the free energy of mixing of β crystallins with water. The static light scattering data are well-represented by hard convex body equations of state having dimensionless non-sphericity coefficients of close to 2, compatible with prolate spherocylinders, and weight-average molecular weights ranging between 2−5×105 g/mole. Additionally, quasi-elastic light scattering data was obtained which shows that βH has a hydrodynamic radius near 7.3 nm. These experiments extend light scattering work on β crystallins well into the realm of concentrations in which short-range order between proteins dramatically reduces light scattering efficiency, as occurs in the eye lens cytoplasm

TRIBAL CONSULTATION: A CRITICAL REMINDER OF CULTURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT LAWS AND OBLIGATIONS

By categorizing the National Historic Preservation Act and National Environmental Policy Act as red tape hindering infrastructure, the current Presidential administration is attempting to streamline processes to approve federal undertakings. In doing so, it threatens the government-to-government relationship between federal agencies and tribal governments. This relationship is a work-in-progress that needs to be nurtured rather than reverting to assertion of plenary powers over tribal affairs. The purpose of this research is to remind federal agencies that there are legal obligations to include tribal entities in the decision-making processes for federal undertakings. Furthermore, this research can serve as a reference for tribal entities and citizens to help reinforce their right to be included on these types of projects

The STAR MAPS-based PiXeL detector

The PiXeL detector (PXL) for the Heavy Flavor Tracker (HFT) of the STAR experiment at RHIC is the first application of the state-of-the-art thin Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors (MAPS) technology in a collider environment. Custom built pixel sensors, their readout electronics and the detector mechanical structure are described in detail. Selected detector design aspects and production steps are presented. The detector operations during the three years of data taking (2014-2016) and the overall performance exceeding the design specifications are discussed in the conclusive sections of this paper

The Personal Genome Project-UK, an open access resource of human multi-omics data

Integrative analysis of multi-omics data is a powerful approach for gaining functional insights into biological and medical processes. Conducting these multifaceted analyses on human samples is often complicated by the fact that the raw sequencing output is rarely available under open access. The Personal Genome Project UK (PGP-UK) is one of few resources that recruits its participants under open consent and makes the resulting multi-omics data freely and openly available. As part of this resource, we describe the PGP-UK multi-omics reference panel consisting of ten genomic, methylomic and transcriptomic data. Specifically, we outline the data processing, quality control and validation procedures which were implemented to ensure data integrity and exclude sample mix-ups. In addition, we provide a REST API to facilitate the download of the entire PGP-UK dataset. The data are also available from two cloud-based environments, providing platforms for free integrated analysis. In conclusion, the genotype-validated PGP-UK multi-omics human reference panel described here provides a valuable new open access resource for integrated analyses in support of personal and medical genomics

Recruitment of young adults for weight gain prevention: randomized comparison of direct mail strategies

Abstract Background Recruiting young adults (ages 18–35 years) into weight gain prevention intervention studies is challenging and men are particularly difficult to reach. This paper describes two studies designed to improve recruitment for a randomized trial of weight gain prevention interventions. Study 1 used a quasi-experimental design to test the effect of two types of direct mailings on their overall reach. Study 2 used a randomized design to test the effect of using targeted messages to increase recruitment of men into the trial. Methods For Study 1, 60,000 male and female young-adult households were randomly assigned to receive either a recruitment brochure or postcard. Visits to recruitment websites during each mailing period were used to assess response to each mailing. Study 2 focused on postcard recruitment only. These households received either a targeted or generic recruitment postcard, where targeted postcards included the word “Men” in the headline text. Response rates to each type of card were categorized based on participant report of mailing received. Results The reach of the postcards and brochures were similar (421 and 386 website visits, respectively; P = 0.22). Individuals who received the brochure were more likely to initiate the online screener than those who received a postcard (P = 0.01). In Study 2, of those who completed the telephone screening, 60.9 % of men (n = 23) had received the targeted postcard as compared to the generic postcard (39.1 %, P = 0.30). The reverse was true for women (n = 62, 38.7 vs. 61.3 %, P = 0.08). Conclusions These studies suggest there was little difference in the reach of postcards versus brochures. However, recipients of brochures were more likely to continue to the next stage of study participation. As expected, men’s response to the weight gain prevention messages was lower than women’s response; but using targeted messages appears to have modestly increased the proportion of male respondents. These studies add to the limited experimental literature on recruitment messaging and provide further indication for using targeted messages to reach underrepresented populations while providing initial evidence on the effect of mailing type on message reach. Trial registration The Study of Novel Approaches to Weight Gain Prevention was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (identifier: NCT01183689) on 13 August 2010

Effect of Tuned Parameters on a LSA MCQ Answering Model

This paper presents the current state of a work in progress, whose objective is to better understand the effects of factors that significantly influence the performance of Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA). A difficult task, which consists in answering (French) biology Multiple Choice Questions, is used to test the semantic properties of the truncated singular space and to study the relative influence of main parameters. A dedicated software has been designed to fine tune the LSA semantic space for the Multiple Choice Questions task. With optimal parameters, the performances of our simple model are quite surprisingly equal or superior to those of 7th and 8th grades students. This indicates that semantic spaces were quite good despite their low dimensions and the small sizes of training data sets. Besides, we present an original entropy global weighting of answers' terms of each question of the Multiple Choice Questions which was necessary to achieve the model's success.Comment: 9 page

Distinguishing developmental from chronic career indecision: Self-efficacy, autonomy, and social support

Career indecision can be divided into two categories: developmental and chronic indecision. The former is generally viewed as a developmentally normal problem resulting from a lack of information on the self and on the world of work, whereas the latter is defined as a pervasive inability to make a decision about one's career. The goals of the present study were to test the validity of this typology of career indecision and to explain these types of indecision as a function of self-efficacy, autonomy, and support from parents and friends. Based on a 3-year longitudinal design with college students (N = 325), results provided validity for this typology by revealing the presence of two indecision groups (chronically undecided and developmentally undecided) and a group of students who are decided. In addition, results indicated that self-efficacy and autonomy are important dimensions that make it possible to distinguish between these three groups

Preventing Weight Gain in Young Adults. A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study

Weight gain in young adults is an important public health problem and few interventions have been successful

Innovative Self-Regulation Strategies to Reduce Weight Gain in Young Adults: The Study of Novel Approaches to Weight Gain Prevention (SNAP) Randomized Clinical Trial

Weight gain occurs commonly in young adults and has adverse effects on health. Reducing weight gain in young adults would have significant public health impact