Maestros of Ministry: Their Legacy in the Department of Music and Worship

This book presents a brief history of the Cedarville University Department of Music and Worship through the lens of the lives of six current or retired faculty members from 1965 to 2019. The featured Maestros are David Matson, Lyle Anderson, Charles Pagnard, Michael DiCuirci, Sr., Charles Clevenger, and Steven Winteregg. The biographies and history focus on the Maestros’ contributions to the Department and University in their devotion to service and ministry to students. The story reveals the sovereign hand of God in bringing each faculty member to the Department at just the right time to meet particular needs for critical growth. The book is a result of archival studies in the Centennial Library Special Collections and personal interviews with each Maestro.https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/cedrus_press_publications/1021/thumbnail.jp

Helicase on DNA: A Phase coexistence based mechanism

We propose a phase coexistence based mechanism for activity of helicases, ubiquitous enzymes that unwind double stranded DNA. The helicase-DNA complex constitutes a fixed-stretch ensemble that entails a coexistence of domains of zipped and unzipped phases of DNA, separated by a domain wall. The motor action of the helicase leads to a change in the position of the fixed constraint thereby shifting the domain wall on dsDNA. We associate this off-equilibrium domain wall motion with the unzipping activity of helicase. We show that this proposal gives a clear and consistent explanation of the main observed features of helicases.Comment: Revtex4. 5 pages. 4 figures. Published versio

LcrG secretion is not required for blocking of Yops secretion in Yersinia pestis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>LcrG, a negative regulator of the <it>Yersinia </it>type III secretion apparatus has been shown to be primarily a cytoplasmic protein, but is secreted at least in <it>Y. pestis</it>. LcrG secretion has not been functionally analyzed and the relevance of LcrG secretion on LcrG function is unknown.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>An LcrG-GAL4AD chimera, originally constructed for two-hybrid analyses to analyze LcrG protein interactions, appeared to be not secreted but the LcrG-GAL4AD chimera retained the ability to regulate Yops secretion. This result led to further investigation to determine the significance of LcrG secretion on LcrG function. Additional analyses including deletion and substitution mutations of amino acids 2–6 in the N-terminus of LcrG were constructed to analyze LcrG secretion and LcrG's ability to control secretion. Some changes to the N-terminus of LcrG were found to not affect LcrG's secretion or LcrG's secretion-controlling activity. However, substitution of poly-isoleucine in the N-terminus of LcrG did eliminate LcrG secretion but did not affect LcrG's secretion controlling activity.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results indicate that secretion of LcrG, while observable and T3SS mediated, is not relevant for LcrG's ability to control secretion.</p

Associations between purine metabolites and clinical symptoms in schizophrenia

Background: The antioxidant defense system, which is known to be dysregulated in schizophrenia, is closely linked to the dynamics of purine pathway. Thus, alterations in the homeostatic balance in the purine pathway may be involved in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Methodology/Principal Findings: Breakdown products in purine pathway were measured using high-pressure liquid chromatography coupled with a coulometric multi-electrode array system for 25 first-episode neuroleptic-naïve patients with schizophrenia at baseline and at 4-weeks following initiation of treatment with antipsychotic medication. Associations between these metabolites and clinical and neurological symptoms were examined at both time points. The ratio of uric acid and guanine measured at baseline predicted clinical improvement following four weeks of treatment with antipsychotic medication. Baseline levels of purine metabolites also predicted clinical and neurological symtpoms recorded at baseline; level of guanosine was associated with degree of clinical thought disturbance, and the ratio of xanthosine to guanosine at baseline predicted degree of impairment in the repetition and sequencing of actions. Conclusions/Significance: Findings suggest an association between optimal levels of purine byproducts and dynamics in clinical symptoms and adjustment, as well as in the integrity of sensory and motor processing. Taken together, alterations in purine catabolism may have clinical relevance in schizophrenia pathology

Are autistic traits measured equivalently in individuals with and without an Autism Spectrum Disorder?:An invariance analysis of the Autism Spectrum Quotient Short Form

It is common to administer measures of autistic traits to those without autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) with, for example, the aim of understanding autistic personality characteristics in non-autistic individuals. Little research has examined the extent to which measures of autistic traits actually measure the same traits in the same way across those with and without an ASD. We addressed this question using a multi-group confirmatory factor invariance analysis of the Autism Quotient Short Form (AQ-S: Hoekstra et al. in J Autism Dev Disord 41(5):589-596, 2011) across those with (n = 148) and without (n = 168) ASD. Metric variance (equality of factor loadings), but not scalar invariance (equality of thresholds), held suggesting that the AQ-S measures the same latent traits in both groups, but with a bias in the manner in which trait levels are estimated. We, therefore, argue that the AQ-S can be used to investigate possible causes and consequences of autistic traits in both groups separately, but caution is due when combining or comparing levels of autistic traits across the two group

Thin Plate Spline Regression Model Used at Early Stages of Soybean Breeding to Control Field Spatial Variation

Yield variation observed in Soybean (Glycine max) progeny‐row yield trial (PRYT) is the final result of line genotypic merit, field spatial pattern, and experimental error. The spatial variation in field tests could confound the estimates of genetic merits. The objectives of this research were to: i) quantify non‐genetic yield variation in a soybean breeding PRYT; and ii) determine efficiency of the Thin Plate Spline Regression (TPSR) model in adjusting yield because of variation caused by field spatial pattern. The 3rd objective was to evaluate if the use of the TPSR model could improve the selection accuracy of PRYT unreplicated yield tests. Uniformity Study, Early Generation Test, and Confirmation Study were conducted. Our results indicated that large spatial variations in soybean PRYT field could be present as evaluated by the Uniformity Study conducted with two commercial lines. In this experiment, the use of the TPSR proved to be effective in reducing the error variance and the coefficient of variability, with an improvement in relative efficiency (IRE) of 37.9%. In Early Generation Tests, 2565 lines were evaluated within test‐sets along with three checks. The TPSR model also was effective in the Early Generation Tests, the IRE was 40.4%. The correlation coefficients calculated between yield estimates obtained in two-year Early Generation Tests and Confirmation Study improved by 0.21 points compared with results from the non‐TPSR experiments. The results indicated that the use of TPSR model was effective in accounting for some of the spatial variation in field tests

The OSIRIS-REx Visible and InfraRed Spectrometer (OVIRS): Spectral Maps of the Asteroid Bennu

The OSIRIS-REx Visible and Infrared Spectrometer (OVIRS) is a point spectrometer covering the spectral range of 0.4 to 4.3 microns (25,000-2300 cm-1). Its primary purpose is to map the surface composition of the asteroid Bennu, the target asteroid of the OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission. The information it returns will help guide the selection of the sample site. It will also provide global context for the sample and high spatial resolution spectra that can be related to spatially unresolved terrestrial observations of asteroids. It is a compact, low-mass (17.8 kg), power efficient (8.8 W average), and robust instrument with the sensitivity needed to detect a 5% spectral absorption feature on a very dark surface (3% reflectance) in the inner solar system (0.89-1.35 AU). It, in combination with the other instruments on the OSIRIS-REx Mission, will provide an unprecedented view of an asteroid's surface.Comment: 14 figures, 3 tables, Space Science Reviews, submitte