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Computer-aided, resistance gene-guided genome mining for proteasome and HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors
No full textA new computer-assisted approach to resistance gene-directed genome mining is reported along with its use to identify fungal biosynthetic gene clusters that putatively produce proteasome and HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors
Partner-seeking and limbic dopamine system are enhanced following social loss in male prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster)
No full textDeath of a loved one is recognized as one of life's greatest stresses, and 10%-20% of bereaved individuals will experience a complicated or prolonged grieving period that is characterized by intense yearning for the deceased. The monogamous prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster) is a rodent species that forms pair bonds between breeding partners and has been used to study the neurobiology of social behaviors and isolation. Male prairie voles do not display distress after isolation from a familiar, same-sex conspecific; however, separation from a bonded female partner increases emotional, stress-related, and proximity-seeking behaviors. Here, we tested the investigatory response of male voles to partner odor during a period of social loss. We found that males who lost their partner spent significantly more time investigating partner odor but not non-partner social odor or food odor. Bachelor males and males in intact pairings did not respond uniquely to any odor. Furthermore, we examined dopamine (DA) receptor mRNA expression in the anterior insula cortex (aIC), nucleus accumbens (NAc), and anterior cingulate (ACC), regions with higher activation in grieving humans. While we found some effects of relationship type on DRD1 and DRD2 expression in some of these regions, loss of a high-quality opposite-sex relationship had a significant effect on DA receptor expression, with pair-bonded/loss males having higher expression in the aIC and ACC compared with pair-bonded/intact and nonbonded/loss males. Together, these data suggest that both relationship type and relationship quality affect reunion-seeking behavior and motivational neurocircuits following social loss of a bonded partner
Acute influence of resistance exercise on basketball shooting mechanics and accuracy
No full textThe purpose of the present study was to examine the acute impact of resistance exercise on basketball shooting mechanics and accuracy. Ten resistance-trained recreationally active men with previous basketball playing experience (
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± SD; height = 182.6 ± 9.7 cm; body mass = 79.2 ± 13.9 kg; age = 25.6 ± 5.5 years) performed control, upper-body, and lower-body training sessions in randomized order followed by 5 sets of stationary free-throw (4.57 m), two-point (5.18 m) and three-point (6.75 m) basketball shooting drills in 30 min time increments. Each testing session was separated 3–7 days apart. Kinematic variables during both the preparatory and release phases of the shooting motion were derived from a high-definition camera recording at 120 fps positioned 10 m away perpendicular to the participant's shooting plane of motion. Restricted maximum likelihood linear mixed-effects model analysis revealed that a combination of all fixed effects could account for <1% of the total variance in each dependent variable pertaining to basketball shooting mechanics. A 9.9–11.8% decrease in two-point and three-point shooting accuracy was observed immediately following an upper-body training session. However, the observed performance suppression disappeared 30 min post-exercise completion. Overall, the findings suggest that performing upper-body or lower-body resistance training prior to on-court practice sessions has no impact on free-throw, two-point, and three-point biomechanical parameters examined in the present study and a minor acute impact on mid-range and long-range shooting accuracy in male basketball players
Strangers helping strangers in a strange land: Vietnamese immigrant (expectant) mothers in the US use social media to navigate health issues in acculturation
No full textA grant from the One-University Open Access Fund at the University of Kansas was used to defray the author's publication fees in this Open Access journal. The Open Access Fund, administered by librarians from the KU, KU Law, and KUMC libraries, is made possible by contributions from the offices of KU Provost, KU Vice Chancellor for Research & Graduate Studies, and KUMC Vice Chancellor for Research. For more information about the Open Access Fund, please see http://library.kumc.edu/authors-fund.xml.Trying to adapt to a new culture, Vietnamese (expectant) mothers in the USA gathered in few Facebook groups with thousands of members discussing pregnancy, health, and child caring issues. However, there is little research exploring how social support was given/taken among these (expectant) mothers. This empirical research aims at shedding light on how such mothers use social media groups for social support seeking/providing regarding health utilization during their acculturation process.
Methods
Drawing from Andersen's Behavioral Model of Health Utilization, acculturation, and online social support conceptual frameworks, this study analyzes 18 in-depth interviews with immigrant Vietnamese (expectant) mothers in the United States on the use of social media in navigating health acculturation during their pregnancy and motherhood.
Results
Results show that these mothers give and take all forms of social support including informational, emotional, relational, and instrumental ones. Facebook groups do not provide the best environment for improving “bonding” social capital for its members. However, these groups provide a platform where “strangers help strangers” overcome various barriers to sufficiently understand and independently access and use the official healthcare system. The groups, hence, aid these women's pregnancy and their child(ren)'s health. The informational and emotional support provided by Facebook groups among (soon-to-be) mothers helped them tremendously in overcoming acculturative stress. Moreover, with better language skills, knowledge, and experience in using health and social security systems, help-seekers tend to be transformed into help providers to deliver support for those “newcomers.”
Conclusions
This research provides insights into personal experience on the uses of social media in navigating health behavior in the process of acculturation among Vietnamese immigrant (expectant) mothers in the United States. The research seeks to contribute to the conceptual frameworks and practical experience of behavioral model of health utitlization among immigrant Vietnamese ethnic immigrant pregnant women and mothers of babies and toddlers in navigating health during acculturation process in the United States. The limitations and future research suggestions are also discussed
Biomechanical characteristics of proficient free-throw shooters—markerless motion capture analysis
No full textThe winning game outcome in basketball is partially contingent on the team's ability to secure and make more free-throw shooting attempts, especially close to the end of the game. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to perform a comprehensive biomechanical analysis of the free-throw shooting motion to examine differences between (a) proficient (≥70%) and non-proficient shooters (<70%) and (b) made and missed free-throw shoots within the proficient group of shooters. Thirty-four recreationally active males with previous basketball playing experience attempted ten consecutive free-throw shots (4.57 m), with a 10–15 s rest interval between each shot. An innovative three-dimensional markerless motion capture system (SwRI Enable, San Antonio, TX, USA) composed of nine high-definition cameras recording at 120 Hz was used to capture and analyze the biomechanical parameters of interest. Independent t-tests and Mann–Whitney U tests were used to examine a presence of statistically significant differences. The findings of the present study reveal that proficient free-throw shooters performed the shooting motion in a more controlled manner by having significantly lower knee and center of mass peak and mean angular velocities. Also, proficient shooters attained a significantly greater release height and had less forward trunk lean when compared to non-proficient shooters at the time point of the ball release. Moreover, despite being beneficial for improvements in shooting accuracy, our findings suggest that overemphasizing the release height may be in certain instances counterproductive, as it may lead to more missed than made free-throw shots within the proficient group of shooters
Generalized Quantum Convolution for Multidimensional Data
No full textThe convolution operation plays a vital role in a wide range of critical algorithms across various domains, such as digital image processing, convolutional neural networks, and quantum machine learning. In existing implementations, particularly in quantum neural networks, convolution operations are usually approximated by the application of filters with data strides that are equal to the filter window sizes. One challenge with these implementations is preserving the spatial and temporal localities of the input features, specifically for data with higher dimensions. In addition, the deep circuits required to perform quantum convolution with a unity stride, especially for multidimensional data, increase the risk of violating decoherence constraints. In this work, we propose depth-optimized circuits for performing generalized multidimensional quantum convolution operations with unity stride targeting applications that process data with high dimensions, such as hyperspectral imagery and remote sensing. We experimentally evaluate and demonstrate the applicability of the proposed techniques by using real-world, high-resolution, multidimensional image data on a state-of-the-art quantum simulator from IBM Quantum
Bond Strength of Textured Epoxy-Coated Bars
No full textTextured epoxy-coated reinforcement (TECR) was developed to provide comparable corrosion resistance to conventional epoxy-coated reinforcement (ECR) while also reducing the impact of conventional epoxy coatings on bond strength. The bond performance of TECR bars was compared to that of uncoated and ECR bars using beam-end and lap splice tests. Thirty-six beam-end specimens, consisting of 14 uncoated, 8 ECR, and 14 TECR specimens, and 26 lap splice specimens consisting of 5 uncoated, 3 ECR, and 5 TECR specimens each for No. 6 and No. 11 [19 and 36 mm] bars were tested. The lap splice test parameters also included nominal concrete compressive strength (5 and 10 ksi [34.5 and 69.9 MPa]), quantity of transverse confining reinforcement, splice length (16 to 69 in. [406 to 1753 mm]), and nominal bar stress at failure (60 to 90 ksi [413.7 to 620.5 MPa]).
In the beam-end tests, the bond strength of textured epoxy-coated reinforcement (TECR) ranged from 0.97 to 1.00 times that of uncoated reinforcement and exhibited better bond strength than epoxy-coated reinforcement (ECR). In the lap splice tests, the splice strength of TECR bars averaged 1.05 times that of uncoated bars indicating TECR bars have a comparable bond strength to uncoated bars. The splice strength of ECR bars averaged 0.83 times that of uncoated bars. In comparisons of the largest crack widths in the constant moment regions of the lap splice specimens away from the splices, specimens containing TECR and uncoated bars exhibited no distinct differences in crack widths. ECR specimens, however, had wider cracks than the specimens containing TECR and uncoated bars. The results suggest that TECR coating can be qualified in terms of bond strength if it can provide a relative bond strength of at least 96% to that of uncoated bar specimens in the beam-end test and that the development length for uncoated bars can be used for TECR bars without a coating modification factor.Sherwin WilliamsDayton-Superio
Mentor is a Verb: Mapping your professional support network
No full textThese slides were presented as the closing reflection at the 2023 Midwest Data Librarian Symposium, held at the University of Cincinnati and hosted by the University of Cincinnati, Miami University, and The Ohio State University on October 9-11, 2023. For more information about the symposium, see https://mwdatalibrariansymposium.wordpress.com/.The traditional idea of a one-to-one mentor/mentee relationship is a holdover from the centuries-old apprenticeship model of professional development. Yet, decades of research describe other effective mentoring relationships. In this interactive closing session, we examine modes of mentoring, reflect on our professional needs, and map our current and desired mentoring networks
Differences in countermovement vertical jump force-time metrics between starting and non-starting professional male basketball players
No full textWith force plates being widely implemented for neuromuscular performance assessment in sport-specific settings and various force-time metrics being able to differentiate athletes based on their performance capabilities, the purpose of the present study was to examine the differences in countermovement vertical jump (CVJ) characteristics between starting and non-starting professional male basketball players (e.g., ABA League). Twenty-three athletes (height = 199.2 ± 7.7 kg, body mass = 94.2 ± 8.2 kg, age = 23.8 ± 4.9 years) volunteered to participate in the present investigation. Upon completion of a standardized warm-up protocol, each athlete performed three maximal-effort CVJs without an arm swing while standing on a uni-axial force plate system sampling at 1,000 Hz. Independent -tests were used to examine statistically significant differences (< 0.05) in each force-time metric between starters ( = 10) and non-starters ( = 13). No significant differences in any of the CVJ force-time metrics of interest were observed between the two groups, during both the eccentric and concentric phases of the movement (i.e., impulse, duration, peak velocity, and mean and peak force and power). Moreover, starters and non-starters demonstrated similar performance on CVJ outcome (e.g., jump height) and strategy metrics (e.g., countermovement depth). Overall, these findings suggest that at the professional level of play, the ability to secure a spot in the starting lineup is not primarily determined by the players' CVJ performance characteristics
An Update on the Current State of SARS-CoV-2 Mac1 Inhibitors
No full textNon-structural protein 3 (nsp3) from all coronaviruses (CoVs) contains a conserved macrodomain, known as Mac1, that has been proposed as a potential therapeutic target for CoVs due to its critical role in viral pathogenesis. Mac1 is an ADP-ribose binding protein and ADP-ribosylhydrolase that promotes replication and blocks IFN responses, though the precise mechanisms it uses to carry out these functions remain unknown. Over the past 3 years following the onset of COVID-19, several groups have used high-throughput screening with multiple assays and chemical modifications to create unique chemical inhibitors of the SARS-CoV-2 Mac1 protein. Here, we summarize the current efforts to identify selective and potent inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 Mac1