MUSTANG: 90 GHz Science with the Green Bank Telescope

MUSTANG is a 90 GHz bolometer camera built for use as a facility instrument on the 100 m Robert C. Byrd Green Bank radio telescope (GBT). MUSTANG has an 8 by 8 focal plane array of transition edge sensor bolometers read out using time-domain multiplexed SQUID electronics. As a continuum instrument on a large single dish MUSTANG has a combination of high resolution (8") and good sensitivity to extended emission which make it very competitive for a wide range of galactic and extragalactic science. Commissioning finished in January 2008 and some of the first science data have been collected.Comment: 9 Pages, 5 figures, Presented at the SPIE conference on astronomical instrumentation in 200

Investigating knowledge management factors affecting Chinese ICT firms performance: An integrated KM framework

This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in the Journal of Information Systems Management, 28(1), 19 - 29, 2011, copyright Taylor & Francis, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/10580530.2011.536107.This article sets out to investigate the critical factors of Knowledge Management (KM) which are considered to have an impact on the performance of Chinese information and communication technology (ICT) firms. This study confirms that the cultural environment of an enterprise is central to its success in the context of China. It shows that a collaborated, trusted, and learning environment within ICT firms will have a positive impact on their KM performance

Observations of sound-speed fluctuations on the New Jersey continental shelf in the summer of 2006

Author Posting. © Acoustical Society of America, 2012. This article is posted here by permission of Acoustical Society of America for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 131 (2012): 1733-1748, doi:10.1121/1.3666014.Environmental sensors moored on the New Jersey continental shelf tracked constant density surfaces (isopycnals) for 35 days in the summer of 2006. Sound-speed fluctuations from internal-wave vertical isopycnal displacements and from temperature/salinity variability along isopycnals (spiciness) are analyzed using frequency spectra and vertical covariance functions. Three varieties of internal waves are studied: Diffuse broadband internal waves (akin to waves fitting the deep water Garrett/Munk spectrum), internal tides, and, to a lesser extent, nonlinear internal waves. These internal-wave contributions are approximately distinct in the frequency domain. It is found that in the main thermocline spicy thermohaline structure dominates the root mean square sound-speed variability, with smaller contributions coming from (in order) nonlinear internal waves, diffuse internal waves, and internal tides. The frequency spectra of internal-wave displacements and of spiciness have similar form, likely due to the advection of variable-spiciness water masses by horizontal internal-wave currents, although there are technical limitations to the observations at high frequency. In the low-frequency, internal-wave band the internal-wave spectrum follows frequency to the −1.81 power, whereas the spice spectrum shows a −1.73 power. Mode spectra estimated via covariance methods show that the diffuse internal-wave spectrum has a smaller mode bandwidth than Garrett/Munk and that the internal tide has significant energy in modes one through three.This work was supported by the Office of Naval Research, and Professor Colosi gratefully acknowledges his additional support from the Naval Postgraduate School’s Undersea Warfare Chair that he holds

Istraživanja 3,4-diaril-1,2,5-oksadiazola i njihovih N-oksida: Potraga za boljim COX-2 inhibitorima

A series of 3,4-diaryl-1,2,5-oxadiazoles and 3,4-diaryl-1,2,5-oxadiazole N-oxides were prepared and evaluated for COX-2 and COX-1 binding affinity in vitro and for anti-inflammatory activity by the rat paw edema method. p-Methoxy (p-OMe) substituted compounds 9, 21, 34, 41, 42 showed COX-2 enzyme inhibition higher than that showed by compounds with other substituents. 3,4-Di(4-methoxyphenyl)-1,2,5-oxadiazole N-oxide (42) showed COX-2 enzyme inhibition of 54% at 22 µmol L-1 and COX-1 enzyme inhibition of 44% at 88 µmol L-1 concentrations, but showed very low in vivo anti-inflammatory activity. Its deoxygenated derivative (21) showed lower COX-2 enzyme inhibition (26% at 22 µmol L-1) and higher COX-1 enzyme inhibition (53% at 88 µmol L-1) but marked in vivo anti-inflammatory activity (71% at 25 mg kg-1) vs. celecoxib (48% at 12.5 mg kg-1). Molecular modeling (docking) studies showed that the methoxy group is positioned in the vicinity of the COX-2 secondary pocket and it also participates in hydrogen bonding interactions in the COX-2 active site. These preliminary studies suggest that the p-methoxy (p-OMe) group in one of benzene rings may give potentially active leads in this series of oxadiazole/N-oxides.Sintetizirana je serija 3,4-diaril-1,2,5-oksadiazola i 3,4-diaril-1,2,5-oksadiazol N-oksida i ocijenjena njihova sposobnost vezivanja na COX-2 i COX-1 in vitro i protuupalno djelovanje na edem šape štakora. Spojevi sa p-metoksi (p-OMe) supstituentom 9, 21, 34, 41, 42 bolje su inhibirali COX-2 nego ostali spojevi. 3,4-Di(4-metoksifenil)-1,2,5-oksadiazol N-oksid (42) inhibirao je COX-2 za 54% u koncentraciji od 22 µmol L-1, a COX-1 za 44% u koncentraciji 88 µmol L-1, ali je in vivo slabo djelovao protuupalno. Njegov deoksigenirani derivat 21 pokazao je slabiju inhibiciju COX-2 enzima (26% u koncentraciji 22 µmol L-1) i jaču inhibiciju COX-1 (71% u koncentraciji 25 mg kg-1) što je bolje od standarda celekoksiba (48% u koncentraciji 12,5 mg kg-1). Molekularno je modeliranje pokazalo da je metoksi skupina smještena u blizini sekundarnog džepa na enzimu COX-2 i da utječe na vodikove veze interakcija na aktivnom mjestu COX-2. Ova preliminarna istraživanja sugeriraju da bi se u seriji oksadiazol/N-oksida mogao naći predvodni spoj s p-metoksi skupinom na benzenskom prstenu

Evaluating a Measure of Social Health Derived from Two Mental Health Recovery Measures: The California Quality of Life (CA-QOL) and Mental Health Statistics Improvement Program Consumer Survey (MHSIP)

Social health is important to measure when assessing outcomes in community mental health. Our objective was to validate social health scales using items from two broader commonly used measures that assess mental health outcomes. Participants were 609 adults receiving psychological treatment services. Items were identified from the California Quality of Life (CA-QOL) and Mental Health Statistics Improvement Program (MHSIP) outcome measures by their conceptual correspondence with social health and compared to the Social Functioning Questionnaire (SFQ) using correlational analyses. Pearson correlations for the identified CA-QOL and MSHIP items with the SFQ ranged from .42 to .62, and the identified scale scores produced Pearson correlation coefficients of .56, .70, and, .70 with the SFQ. Concurrent validity with social health was supported for the identified scales. The current inclusion of these assessment tools allows community mental health programs to include social health in their assessments

Detailed Analysis of ITPR1 Missense Variants Guides Diagnostics and Therapeutic Design

BACKGROUND: The ITPR1 gene encodes the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3 ) receptor type 1 (IP3 R1), a critical player in cerebellar intracellular calcium signaling. Pathogenic missense variants in ITPR1 cause congenital spinocerebellar ataxia type 29 (SCA29), Gillespie syndrome (GLSP), and severe pontine/cerebellar hypoplasia. The pathophysiological basis of the different phenotypes is poorly understood. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to identify novel SCA29 and GLSP cases to define core phenotypes, describe the spectrum of missense variation across ITPR1, standardize the ITPR1 variant nomenclature, and investigate disease progression in relation to cerebellar atrophy. METHODS: Cases were identified using next-generation sequencing through the Deciphering Developmental Disorders study, the 100,000 Genomes project, and clinical collaborations. ITPR1 alternative splicing in the human cerebellum was investigated by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: We report the largest, multinational case series of 46 patients with 28 unique ITPR1 missense variants. Variants clustered in functional domains of the protein, especially in the N-terminal IP3 -binding domain, the carbonic anhydrase 8 (CA8)-binding region, and the C-terminal transmembrane channel domain. Variants outside these domains were of questionable clinical significance. Standardized transcript annotation, based on our ITPR1 transcript expression data, greatly facilitated analysis. Genotype-phenotype associations were highly variable. Importantly, while cerebellar atrophy was common, cerebellar volume loss did not correlate with symptom progression. CONCLUSIONS: This dataset represents the largest cohort of patients with ITPR1 missense variants, expanding the clinical spectrum of SCA29 and GLSP. Standardized transcript annotation is essential for future reporting. Our findings will aid in diagnostic interpretation in the clinic and guide selection of variants for preclinical studies. © 2023 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society

Potential therapeutic applications of microbial surface-activecompounds

Numerous investigations of microbial surface-active compounds or biosurfactants over the past two decades have led to the discovery of many interesting physicochemical and biological properties including antimicrobial, anti-biofilm and therapeutic among many other pharmaceutical and medical applications. Microbial control and inhibition strategies involving the use of antibiotics are becoming continually challenged due to the emergence of resistant strains mostly embedded within biofilm formations that are difficult to eradicate. Different aspects of antimicrobial and anti-biofilm control are becoming issues of increasing importance in clinical, hygiene, therapeutic and other applications. Biosurfactants research has resulted in increasing interest into their ability to inhibit microbial activity and disperse microbial biofilms in addition to being mostly nontoxic and stable at extremes conditions. Some biosurfactants are now in use in clinical, food and environmental fields, whilst others remain under investigation and development. The dispersal properties of biosurfactants have been shown to rival that of conventional inhibitory agents against bacterial, fungal and yeast biofilms as well as viral membrane structures. This presents them as potential candidates for future uses in new generations of antimicrobial agents or as adjuvants to other antibiotics and use as preservatives for microbial suppression and eradication strategies