Reconstructing the Regulatory Kinase Pathways of Myogenesis from Phosphopeptide Data

Multiple kinase activities are required for skeletal muscle differentiation. However, the mechanisms by which these kinase pathways converge to coordinate the myogenic process are unknown. Using multiple phosphoprotein and phosphopeptide enrichment techniques we obtained phosphopeptides from growing and differentiating C2C12 muscle cells and determined specific peptide sequences using LC-MS/MS. To place these phosphopeptides into a rational context, a bioinformatics approach was used. Phosphorylation sites were matched to known site-specific and to site non-specific kinase-substrate interactions, and then other substrates and upstream regulators of the implicated kinases were incorporated into a model network of protein-protein interactions. The model network implicated several kinases of known relevance to myogenesis including AKT, GSK3, CDK5, p38, DYRK, and MAPKAPK2 kinases. This combination of proteomics and bioinformatics technologies should offer great utility as the volume of protein-protein and kinase-substrate information continues to increase

Neutron scattering study of novel magnetic order in Na0.5CoO2

We report polarized and unpolarized neutron scattering measurements of the magnetic order in single crystals of Na0.5CoO2. Our data indicate that below T_N=88 K the spins form a novel antiferromagnetic pattern within the CoO2 planes, consisting of alternating rows of ordered and non-ordered Co ions. The domains of magnetic order are closely coupled to the domains of Na ion order, consistent with such a two-fold symmetric spin arrangement. Magnetoresistance and anisotropic susceptibility measurements further support this model for the electronic ground state.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Anatomic brain asymmetry in vervet monkeys.

Asymmetry is a prominent feature of human brains with important functional consequences. Many asymmetric traits show population bias, but little is known about the genetic and environmental sources contributing to inter-individual variance. Anatomic asymmetry has been observed in Old World monkeys, but the evidence for the direction and extent of asymmetry is equivocal and only one study has estimated the genetic contributions to inter-individual variance. In this study we characterize a range of qualitative and quantitative asymmetry measures in structural brain MRIs acquired from an extended pedigree of Old World vervet monkeys (n = 357), and implement variance component methods to estimate the proportion of trait variance attributable to genetic and environmental sources. Four of six asymmetry measures show pedigree-level bias and one of the traits has a significant heritability estimate of about 30%. We also found that environmental variables more significantly influence the width of the right compared to the left prefrontal lobe

Trajectory Mapping and Applications to Data from the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite

The problem of creating synoptic maps from asynoptically gathered trace gas data has prompted the development of a number of schemes. Most notable among these schemes are the Kalman filter, the Salby-Fourier technique, and constituent reconstruction. This paper explores a new technique called trajectory mapping. Trajectory mapping creates synoptic maps from asynoptically gathered data by advecting measurements backward or forward in time using analyzed wind fields. A significant portion of this work is devoted to an analysis of errors in synoptic trajectory maps associated with the calculation of individual parcel trajectories. In particular, we have considered (1) calculational errors; (2) uncertainties in the values and locations of constituent measurements, (3) errors incurred by neglecting diabatic effects, and (4) sensitivity to differences in wind field analyses. These studies reveal that the global fields derived from the advection of large numbers of measurements are relatively insensitive to the errors in the individual trajectories. The trajectory mapping technique has been successfully applied to a variety of problems. In this paper, the following two applications demonstrate the usefulness of the technique: an analysis of dynamical wave-breaking events and an examination of Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite data accuracy

Phenomenological Theory of Superconductivity and Magnetism in Ho1−x_{1-x}Dyx_xNi2_2B2_2C

The coexistence of the superconductivity and magnetism in the Ho$_{1-x}$Dy$_x$Ni$_2$B$_2$C is studied by using Ginzburg-Landau theory. This alloy shows the coexistence and complex interplay of superconducting and magnetic order. We propose a phenomenological model which includes two magnetic and two superconducting order parameters accounting for the multi-band structure of this material. We describe phenomenologically the magnetic fluctuations and order and demonstrate that they lead to anomalous behavior of the upper critical field. The doping dependence of $T_c$ in Ho$_{1-x}$Dy$_x$Ni$_2$B$_2$C showing a reentrance behavior are analyzed yielding a very good agreement with experimental data.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, REVTeX, submitted to PR

Consistent model of magnetism in ferropnictides

The discovery of superconductivity in LaFeAsO introduced the ferropnictides as a major new class of superconducting compounds with critical temperatures second only to cuprates. The presence of magnetic iron makes ferropnictides radically different from cuprates. Antiferromagnetism of the parent compounds strongly suggests that superconductivity and magnetism are closely related. However, the character of magnetic interactions and spin fluctuations in ferropnictides, in spite of vigorous efforts, has until now resisted understanding within any conventional model of magnetism. Here we show that the most puzzling features can be naturally reconciled within a rather simple effective spin model with biquadratic interactions, which is consistent with electronic structure calculations. By going beyond the Heisenberg model, this description explains numerous experimentally observed properties, including the peculiarities of the spin wave spectrum, thin domain walls, crossover from first to second order phase transition under doping in some compounds, and offers new insight in the occurrence of the nematic phase above the antiferromagnetic phase transition.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, revtex

Dorsal clitoral nerve injury following transobturator midurethral sling

Transobturator slings can be successfully used to treat stress urinary incontinence and improve quality of life through a minimally invasive vaginal approach. Persistent postoperative pain can occur and pose diagnostic and therapeutic dilemmas. Following a sling procedure, a patient complained of pinching clitoral and perineal pain. Her symptoms of localized clitoral pinching and pain became generalized over the ensuing years, eventually encompassing the entire left vulvovaginal region

Patient safety in dentistry: development of a candidate 'never event' list for primary care

Introduction The 'never event' concept is often used in secondary care and refers to an agreed list of patient safety incidents that 'should not happen if the necessary preventative measures are in place'. Such an intervention may raise awareness of patient safety issues and inform team learning and system improvements in primary care dentistry. Objective To identify and develop a candidate never event list for primary care dentistry. Methods A literature review, eight workshops with dental practitioners and a modified Delphi with 'expert' groups were used to identify and agree candidate never events. Results Two-hundred and fifty dental practitioners suggested 507 never events, reduced to 27 distinct possibilities grouped across seven themes. Most frequently occurring themes were: 'checking medical history and prescribing' (119, 23.5%) and 'infection control and decontamination' (71, 14%). 'Experts' endorsed nine candidate never event statements with one graded as 'extreme risk' (failure to check past medical history) and four as 'high risk' (for example, extracting wrong tooth). Conclusion Consensus on a preliminary list of never events was developed. This is the first known attempt to develop this approach and an important step in determining its value to patient safety. Further work is necessary to develop the utility of this method

Horizons Inside Classical Lumps

Hopefully tex-able version.Comment: 13 pages, UMHEP-37