2,893 research outputs found
Uplift histories of Africa and Australia from linear inverse modeling of drainage inventories
We describe and apply a linear inverse model which calculates
spatial and temporal patterns of uplift rate by minimizing the misfit between
inventories of observed and predicted longitudinal river profiles. Our approach
builds upon a more general, non-linear, optimization model, which suggests
that shapes of river profiles are dominantly controlled by upstream advec-
tion of kinematic waves of incision produced by spatial and temporal changes
in regional uplift rate. Here, we use the method of characteristics to solve
a version of this problem. A damped, non-negative, least squares approach
is developed that permits river profiles to be inverted as a function of up-
lift rate. An important benefit of a linearized treatment is low computational
cost. We have tested our algorithm by inverting 957 river profiles from both
Africa and Australia. For each continent, the drainage network was constructed
from a digital elevation model. The fidelity of river profiles extracted from
this network was carefully checked using satellite imagery. River profiles were
inverted many times to systematically investigate the trade-off between model
misfit and smoothness. Spatial and temporal patterns of both uplift rate and
cumulative uplift were calibrated using independent geologic and geophys-
ical observations. Uplift patterns suggest that the topography of Africa and
Australia grew in Cenozoic times. Inverse modeling of large inventories of
river profiles demonstrates that drainage networks contain coherent signals
that record the regional growth of elevation.This is the final version. It first appeared at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/wol1/doi/10.1002/2014JF003297/abstract
Evaluating Active U: an Internet-mediated physical activity program.
Background:
Engaging in regular physical activity can be challenging, particularly during the winter months. To promote physical activity at the University of Michigan during the winter months, an eight-week Internet-mediated program (Active U) was developed providing participants with an online physical activity log, goal setting, motivational emails, and optional team participation and competition.
Methods:
This study is a program evaluation of Active U. Approximately 47,000 faculty, staff, and graduate students were invited to participate in the online Active U intervention in the winter of 2007. Participants were assigned a physical activity goal and were asked to record each physical activity episode into the activity log for eight weeks. Statistics for program reach, effectiveness, adoption, and implementation were calculated using the Re-Aim framework. Multilevel regression analyses were used to assess the decline in rates of data entry and goal attainment during the program, to assess the likelihood of joining a team by demographic characteristics, to test the association between various predictors and the number of weeks an individual met his or her goal, and to analyze server load.
Results:
Overall, 7,483 individuals registered with the Active U website (â16% of eligible), and 79% participated in the program by logging valid data at least once. Staff members, older participants, and those with a BMI < 25 were more likely to meet their weekly physical activity goals, and average rate of meeting goals was higher among participants who joined a competitive team compared to those who participated individually (IRR = 1.28, P < .001).
Conclusion:
Internet-mediated physical activity interventions that focus on physical activity logging and goal setting while incorporating team competition may help a significant percentage of the target population maintain their physical activity during the winter months
The re-emergence of natural products for drug discovery in the genomics era
Natural products have been a rich source of compounds for drug discovery. However, their use has diminished in the past two decades, in part because of technical barriers to screening natural products in high-throughput assays against molecular targets. Here, we review strategies for natural product screening that harness the recent technical advances that have reduced these barriers. We also assess the use of genomic and metabolomic approaches to augment traditional methods of studying natural products, and highlight recent examples of natural products in antimicrobial drug discovery and as inhibitors of protein-protein interactions. The growing appreciation of functional assays and phenotypic screens may further contribute to a revival of interest in natural products for drug discovery
Characterization of Shewanella oneidensis MtrC: a cell-surface decaheme cytochrome involved in respiratory electron transport to extracellular electron acceptors
MtrC is a decaheme c-type cytochrome associated with the outer cell membrane of Fe(III)-respiring species of the Shewanella genus. It is proposed to play a role in anaerobic respiration by mediating electron transfer to extracellular mineral oxides that can serve as terminal electron acceptors. The present work presents the first spectropotentiometric and voltammetric characterization of MtrC, using protein purified from Shewanella oneidensis MR-1. Potentiometric titrations, monitored by UVâvis absorption and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, reveal that the hemes within MtrC titrate over a broad potential range spanning between approximately +100 and approximately -500 mV (vs. the standard hydrogen electrode). Across this potential window the UVâvis absorption spectra are characteristic of low-spin c-type hemes and the EPR spectra reveal broad, complex features that suggest the presence of magnetically spin-coupled low-spin c-hemes. Non-catalytic protein film voltammetry of MtrC demonstrates reversible electrochemistry over a potential window similar to that disclosed spectroscopically. The voltammetry also allows definition of kinetic properties of MtrC in direct electron exchange with a solid electrode surface and during reduction of a model Fe(III) substrate. Taken together, the data provide quantitative information on the potential domain in which MtrC can operate
Psychometric analysis of the scale for the predisposition to the occurrence of adverse events in nursing care provided in ICUS
OBJECTIVE: to present the result of the validity and reliability studies concerning the Scale for the Predisposition to the Occurrence of Adverse Events (EPEA).
METHOD: construct validity was based on Principal Components Analysis.
RESULTS: reliability verified through Cronbach's alpha indicated good reliability (structure α=0.80; process α=0.92).
CONCLUSION: based on its psychometric indicators, the EPEA can be considered a valid measure to assess the attitudes of nurses in relation to factors that potentially lead to the occurrence of adverse events in ICUs
Membranes by the Numbers
Many of the most important processes in cells take place on and across
membranes. With the rise of an impressive array of powerful quantitative
methods for characterizing these membranes, it is an opportune time to reflect
on the structure and function of membranes from the point of view of biological
numeracy. To that end, in this article, I review the quantitative parameters
that characterize the mechanical, electrical and transport properties of
membranes and carry out a number of corresponding order of magnitude estimates
that help us understand the values of those parameters.Comment: 27 pages, 12 figure
Assessment right atrial thrombus by real-time three dimensional transthoracic echocardiography in patient with dilated cardiomyopathy
We report a case of a 52-year-old patient with dilated cardiomyopathy who presented with worsening heart failure. Two-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography and real-time three dimensional transthoracic echocardiography showed severe dilated cardiac chambers, impaired ejection fraction and a mobile right atrial thrombus 2.6 Ă 1.0 cm in size, traversing the right atrial cavity during the whole cardiac cycle. After one week therapeutic anticoagulation, echocardiography confirmed no evidence of residual thrombus
Interaction and filling induced quantum phases of dual Mott insulators of bosons and fermions
Many-body effects are at the very heart of diverse phenomena found in
condensed-matter physics. One striking example is the Mott insulator phase
where conductivity is suppressed as a result of a strong repulsive interaction.
Advances in cold atom physics have led to the realization of the Mott
insulating phases of atoms in an optical lattice, mimicking the corresponding
condensed matter systems. Here, we explore an exotic strongly-correlated system
of Interacting Dual Mott Insulators of bosons and fermions. We reveal that an
inter-species interaction between bosons and fermions drastically modifies each
Mott insulator, causing effects that include melting, generation of composite
particles, an anti-correlated phase, and complete phase-separation. Comparisons
between the experimental results and numerical simulations indicate intrinsic
adiabatic heating and cooling for the attractively and repulsively interacting
dual Mott Insulators, respectively
- âŠ