Conjoint Analysis of Breaded Catfish Nuggets: Consumer Preferences for Price, Product Color, Cooking Method and Country of Origin

A new product, marinated, breaded catfish nuggets, was developed. This conjoint study was designed to evaluate consumers’ preferences for certain attributes of the nuggets. An in-store survey was conducted to collect data. The data collected will be used to determine the market potential for the catfish nuggets.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Uncovering the Relationship between Sulphation Patterns and Conformation of Iduronic Acid in Heparan Sulphate

The L-iduronic acid (IdoA) residue is a critically important structural component in heparan sulphate polysaccharide for the biological functions. The pyranose ring of IdoA is present in 1C4-chair, 2SO-skew boat, and less frequently, in 4C1-chair conformations. Here, we analyzed the conformation of IdoA residue in eight hexasaccharides by NMR. The data demonstrate a correlation between the conformation of IdoA and sulphations in the surrounding saccharide residues. For the 2-O-sulpho IdoA residue, a high degree of sulphation on neighboring residues drives ring dynamics towards the 2SO-skew boat conformer. In contrast, the nonsulphated IdoA residue is pushed towards the 1C4-chair conformer when the neighboring residues are highly sulphated. Our data suggest that the conformation of IdoA is regulated by the sulphation pattern of nearby saccharides that is genetically controlled by the heparan sulphate biosynthetic pathway

Fibroblast growth factors 1 and 2 in cerebrospinal fluid are associated with HIV disease, methamphetamine use, and neurocognitive functioning.

BackgroundHuman immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and methamphetamine use commonly affect neurocognitive (NC) functioning. We evaluated the relationships between NC functioning and two fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) in volunteers who differed in HIV serostatus and methamphetamine dependence (MAD).MethodsA total of 100 volunteers were categorized into four groups based on HIV serostatus and MAD in the prior year. FGF-1 and FGF-2 were measured in cerebrospinal fluid by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays along with two reference biomarkers (monocyte chemotactic protein [MCP]-1 and neopterin). Comprehensive NC testing was summarized by global and domain impairment ratings.ResultsSixty-three volunteers were HIV+ and 59 had a history of MAD. FGF-1, FGF-2, and both reference biomarkers differed by HIV and MAD status. For example, FGF-1 levels were lower in subjects who had either HIV or MAD than in HIV- and MAD- controls (P=0.003). Multivariable regression identified that global NC impairment was associated with an interaction between FGF-1 and FGF-2 (model R(2)=0.09, P=0.01): higher FGF-2 levels were only associated with neurocognitive impairment among subjects who had lower FGF-1 levels. Including other covariates in the model (including antidepressant use) strengthened the model (model R(2)=0.18, P=0.004) but did not weaken the association with FGF-1 and FGF-2. Lower FGF-1 levels were associated with impairment in five of seven cognitive domains, more than FGF-2, MCP-1, or neopterin.ConclusionThese findings provide in vivo support that HIV and MAD alter expression of FGFs, which may contribute to the NC abnormalities associated with these conditions. These cross-sectional findings cannot establish causality and the therapeutic benefits of recombinant FGF-1 need to be investigated

Point-Mass Aircraft Trajectory Prediction Using a Hierarchical, Highly-Adaptable Software Design

A highly adaptable and extensible method for predicting four-dimensional trajectories of civil aircraft has been developed. This method, Behavior-Based Trajectory Prediction, is based on taxonomic concepts developed for the description and comparison of trajectory prediction software. A hierarchical approach to the "behavioral" layer of a point-mass model of aircraft flight, a clear separation between the "behavioral" and "mathematical" layers of the model, and an abstraction of the methods of integrating differential equations in the "mathematical" layer have been demonstrated to support aircraft models of different types (in particular, turbojet vs. turboprop aircraft) using performance models at different levels of detail and in different formats, and promise to be easily extensible to other aircraft types and sources of data. The resulting trajectories predict location, altitude, lateral and vertical speeds, and fuel consumption along the flight path of the subject aircraft accurately and quickly, accounting for local conditions of wind and outside air temperature. The Behavior-Based Trajectory Prediction concept was implemented in NASA's Traffic Aware Planner (TAP) flight-optimizing cockpit software application

Traffic Aware Planner for Cockpit-Based Trajectory Optimization

The Traffic Aware Planner (TAP) software application is a cockpit-based advisory tool designed to be hosted on an Electronic Flight Bag and to enable and test the NASA concept of Traffic Aware Strategic Aircrew Requests (TASAR). The TASAR concept provides pilots with optimized route changes (including altitude) that reduce fuel burn and/or flight time, avoid interactions with known traffic, weather and restricted airspace, and may be used by the pilots to request a route and/or altitude change from Air Traffic Control. Developed using an iterative process, TAP's latest improvements include human-machine interface design upgrades and added functionality based on the results of human-in-the-loop simulation experiments and flight trials. Architectural improvements have been implemented to prepare the system for operational-use trials with partner commercial airlines. Future iterations will enhance coordination with airline dispatch and add functionality to improve the acceptability of TAP-generated route-change requests to pilots, dispatchers, and air traffic controllers

Energy Level Statistics of Quantum Dots

We investigate the charging energy level statistics of disordered interacting electrons in quantum dots by numerical calculations using the Hartree approximation. The aim is to obtain a global picture of the statistics as a function of disorder and interaction strengths. We find Poisson statistics at very strong disorder, Wigner- Dyson statistics for weak disorder and interactions, and a Gaussian intermediate regime. These regimes are as expected from previous studies and fundamental considerations, but we also find interesting and rather broad crossover regimes. In particular, intermediate between the Gaussian and Poisson regimes we find a two-sided exponential distribution for the energy level spacings. In comparing with experiment, we find that this distribution may be realized in some quantum dots.Comment: 21 pages 10 figure

A combined computational-experimental approach to define the structural origin of antibody recognition of sialyl-Tn, a tumor-associated carbohydrate antigen.

Anti-carbohydrate monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) hold great promise as cancer therapeutics and diagnostics. However, their specificity can be mixed, and detailed characterization is problematic, because antibody-glycan complexes are challenging to crystallize. Here, we developed a generalizable approach employing high-throughput techniques for characterizing the structure and specificity of such mAbs, and applied it to the mAb TKH2 developed against the tumor-associated carbohydrate antigen sialyl-Tn (STn). The mAb specificity was defined by apparent KD values determined by quantitative glycan microarray screening. Key residues in the antibody combining site were identified by site-directed mutagenesis, and the glycan-antigen contact surface was defined using saturation transfer difference NMR (STD-NMR). These features were then employed as metrics for selecting the optimal 3D-model of the antibody-glycan complex, out of thousands plausible options generated by automated docking and molecular dynamics simulation. STn-specificity was further validated by computationally screening of the selected antibody 3D-model against the human sialyl-Tn-glycome. This computational-experimental approach would allow rational design of potent antibodies targeting carbohydrates

Ferrichrome: Surprising stability of a cyclic peptide-FeIII complex revealed by mass spectrometry

Ferrichrome, a fungal siderophore that is also utilized by some bacterial species, was studied with liquid secondary ion mass spectrometry (LSIMS) and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionixation (MALDI) mass spectrometry. A strong ionic signal corresponding to a FeIII complex was observed with LSIMS in the positive ion mode. Switching the polarity of the mass spectrometer did not necessarily result in reduction of ferric ion, although certain conditions led to appearance of a FeII complex signal as well. The results of the structural studies of the metal ion-cyclic peptide complex with collisionally induced dissociation allowed unambiguous identification of the chelation sites. The action of the siderophore on FeIII was studied by in vitro chelation of ferric ion (from ferric citrate) by the iron-free ferrichrome. Effective chelation of ferric ion was compared to actions of the iron-free ferrichrome on other metal ions. Unlike LSIMS, desorption with MALDI did not form selectively molecular ions of intact ferrichrome: the spectra contained abundant peaks corresponding to the cyclic peptide itself and its nonspecific association with alkali metal ions