cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
Convergence of Nonlinear Observers on R^n with a Riemannian Metric (Part I)
Creators: name: Sanfelice, Ricardo G.
name: Praly, Laurent
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Optimization and Control (math.OC)
subject: Systems and Control (eess.SY)
subject: Differential Geometry (math.DG)
subject: FOS: Mathematics
subject: FOS: Electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering

description: We study how convergence of an observer whose state lives in a copy of the given system's space can be established using a Riemannian metric. We show that the existence of an observer guaranteeing the property that a Riemannian distance between system and observer solutions is nonincreasing implies that the Lie derivative of the Riemannian metric along the system vector field is conditionally negative. Moreover, we establish that the existence of this metric is related to the observability of the system's linearization along its solutions. Moreover, if the observer has an infinite gain margin then the level sets of the output function are geodesically convex. Conversely, we establish that, if a complete Riemannian metric has a Lie derivative along the system vector field that is conditionally negative and is such that the output function has a monotonicity property, then there exists an observer with an infinite gain margin.
description: 30 pages, Version published in IEEE Transactions in Automatic Control, 2012
Understanding the relationship between features associated with pain-related disability in people with painful temporomandibular disorder: an exploratory structural equation modeling approach
Creators: name: Poole, C.
name: Greenspan, J.D.
name: Slade, G.D.
name: Sanders, A.E.
name: Miller, V.E.
name: Golightly, Y.M.
name: Barrett, D.
name: Fillingim, R.B.
name: Ohrbach, R.
name: Chen, D.-G.
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2020

description: Pain-related disability is a multifaceted construct that refers to the impact of pain on an individual's capacity to fulfill their self-defined and social roles. This research examined the relationship between clinical, psychological, and pain sensitivity factors and pain-related disability among adults with chronic temporomandibular disorder (TMD). We analyzed data from a cross-sectional community-based sample of 1088 men and women with chronic TMD. We first constructed and tested a measure of pain-related disability (ie, pain impact), including a variable assessing presenteeism, created measurement models of jaw limitation, psychological unease (negative affect, somatic symptoms, and catastrophizing), and experimental pain sensitivity (eg, pressure pain threshold, thermal tolerance, and mechanical pressure pain threshold). Subsequently, latent variables were combined in a structural equation model. Participants (n = 1088) were 18 to 44 years old (mean 29.2, SD ± 7.8) whose chronic TMD had persisted, on average, for 6.9 years (SD ± 6.4). A model of pain-related disability, jaw limitation, and psychological unease was created and refined with exploratory model revisions to account for correlation among variables. Estimation of the final model indicated excellent fit with the data (root-mean-square error of approximation = 0.048, root-mean-square error of approximation 90% confidence interval [CI] 0.043-0.053, comparative fit index = 0.956, standardized root-mean-square residual = 0.040). Jaw functional limitation and psychological unease was strongly related to pain-related disability. Experimental pain sensitivity was removed from our model because of weak direct effect and the burden of performing experimental pain sensitivity testing in a clinical setting. The final model explained 78% of the variance in pain-related disability.
Purification and Characterization of a Type III Photolyase from Caulobacter crescentus †
Creators: name: Zhong, Dongping
name: Öztürk, Nuri
name: Kavaklı, I. Halil
name: Partch, Carrie L.
name: Sancar, Aziz
name: Selby, Christopher P.
name: Kao, Ya-Ting
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2008

description: Photolyase/cryptochrome family is a large family of flavoproteins that encompasses DNA repair proteins, photolyases; and cryptochromes that regulate blue-light dependent growth and development in plants, and light-dependent and light-independent circadian clock-setting in animals. Phylogenetic analysis has revealed a new branch of the family which co-segregates with plant cryptochromes. Here we describe the isolation and characterization of a member of this family named Type III photolyase, from Caulobacter crescentus. Spectroscopic analysis shows that the enzyme contains both the methenyl-tetrahydrofolate photoantenna and the FAD catalytic cofactor. Biochemical analysis shows that it is a bona fide photolyase that repairs cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers. Mutation of an active site Trp to Arg disrupts FAD binding with no measurable effect on MTHF binding. Using enzyme preparations that contain either or both chromophores we were able to determine the efficiency and rate of energy transfer from MTHF to FAD. Photolyase/cryptochrome family is a large family of flavoproteins that encompasses DNA repair proteins, photolyases; and cryptochromes that regulate blue-light dependent growth and development in plants, and light-dependent and light-independent circadian clock-setting in animals. Phylogenetic analysis has revealed a new branch of the family which co-segregates with plant cryptochromes. Here we describe the isolation and characterization of a member of this family named Type III photolyase, from Caulobacter crescentus. Spectroscopic analysis shows that the enzyme contains both the methenyl-tetrahydrofolate photoantenna and the FAD catalytic cofactor. Biochemical analysis shows that it is a bona fide photolyase that repairs cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers. Mutation of an active site Trp to Arg disrupts FAD binding with no measurable effect on MTHF binding. Using enzyme preparations that contain either or both chromophores we were able to determine the efficiency and rate of energy transfer from MTHF to FAD.
Some of semileptonic and nonleptonic decays of $B_c$ meson in a Bethe-Salpeter relativistic quark model
Creators: name: Chang, Chao-Hsi
name: Fu, Hui-Feng
name: Wang, Guo-Li
name: Zhang, Jin-Mei
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph)
subject: High Energy Physics - Experiment (hep-ex)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: The semileptonic decays $B_c^+\rightarrow P(V) +\ell^++\barν_\ell$ and the nonleptonic decays $B_c^+\rightarrow P(V)+L$, where $P(V)$ denotes a pseudoscalar (vector) charmonium or ($\bar{b}s$)-meson, and $L$ denotes a light meson, are studied in the framework of improved instantaneous Bethe-Salpeter (BS) equation and the Mandelstam formula. The numerical results (width and branching ratio of the decays) are presented in tables, and in order to compare conveniently, those obtained by other approaches are also put in the relevant tables. Based on the fact that the ratio $\frac{\mathcal{BR}(B_c^+\rightarrowψ(2S)π^+)}{\mathcal{BR}(B_c^+\rightarrow J/ψπ^+)}=0.24^{+0.023}_{-0.040}$ estimated here is in good agreement with the observation by the LHCb $\frac{\mathcal{BR}(B_c^+\rightarrow ψ(2S)π^+)}{\mathcal{BR}(B_c^+\rightarrow J/ψπ^+)}=0.250\pm0.068(\mathrm{stat})\pm0.014(\mathrm{syst})\pm0.006(\mathcal{B})$, one may conclude that with respect to the decays the present framework works quite well.
description: 13 pages, 3 figures
Regulation of the Cardiac Muscle Ryanodine Receptor by O 2 Tension and S -Nitrosoglutathione †
Creators: name: Eu, Jerry P.
name: Stamler, Jonathan S.
name: Xu, Le
name: Meissner, Gerhard
name: Sun, Junhui
name: Yamaguchi, Naohiro
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2008

description: The cardiac and skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum ryanodine receptor Ca2+ release channels contain thiols that are potential targets of endogenously produced reactive oxygen and nitrogen intermediates. Previously, we showed that the skeletal muscle ryanodine receptor (RyR1) has O2-sensitive thiols; only when these thiols are in the reduced state (pO2 ~ 10 mmHg) can physiological concentrations of NO (nanomolar) activate RyR1. Here, we report that cardiac muscle ryanodine receptor (RyR2) activity also depends on pO2, but unlike RyR1, RyR2 was not activated or S-nitrosylated directly by NO. Rather, activation and S-nitrosylation of RyR2 required S-nitrosoglutathione. The effects of peroxynitrite were indiscriminate on RyR1 and RyR2. Our results indicate that both RyR1 and RyR2 are pO2-responsive yet point to different mechanisms by which NO and S-nitrosoglutathione influence cardiac and skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ release.
Role of the C-Terminal SH3 Domain and N-Terminal Tyrosine Phosphorylation in Regulation of Tim and Related Dbl-Family Proteins †
Creators: name: Rossman, Kent
name: Yohe, Marielle E.
name: Sondek, John
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2008

description: Dbl-related oncoproteins are guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) specific for Rho-family GTPases and typically possess tandem Dbl (DH) and pleckstrin homology (PH) domains that act in concert to catalyze exchange. Although the exchange potential of many Dbl-family proteins is constitutively activated by truncation, the precise mechanisms of regulation for many Dbl-family proteins are unknown. Tim and Vav are distantly related Dbl-family proteins that are similarly regulated; their Dbl homology (DH) domains interact with N-terminal helices to exclude and prevent activation of Rho GTPases. Phosphorylation, substitution, or deletion of the blocking helices relieves this autoinhibition. Here we show that two other Dbl-family proteins, Ngef and Wgef, which like Tim contain a C-terminal SH3 domain, are also activated by tyrosine phosphorylation of a blocking helix. Consequently, basal autoinhibition of DH domains by direct steric exclusion using short N-terminal helices likely represents a conserved mechanism of regulation for the large family of Dbl-related proteins. N-Terminal truncation or phosphorylation of many other Dbl-family GEFs leads to their activation; similar autoinhibition mechanisms could explain some of these events. In addition, we show that the C-terminal SH3 domain binding to a polyproline region N-terminal to the DH domain of the Tim subgroup of Dbl-family proteins provides a unique mechanism of regulated autoinhibition of exchange activity that is functionally linked to the interactions between the autoinhibitory helix and the DH domain.
Reasonable fermionic quantum information theories require relativity
Creators: name: Friis, Nicolai
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2015
Subjects: subject: Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We show that any quantum information theory based on anticommuting operators must be supplemented by a superselection rule deeply rooted in relativity to establish a reasonable notion of entanglement. While quantum information may be encoded in the fermionic Fock space, the unrestricted theory has a peculiar feature: The marginals of bipartite pure states need not have identical entropies, which leads to an ambiguous definition of entanglement. We solve this problem, by proving that it is removed by relativity, i.e., by the parity superselection rule that arises from Lorentz invariance via the spin-statistics connection. Our results hence unveil a fundamental conceptual inseparability of quantum information and the causal structure of relativistic field theory.
description: v2: 9 pages, 1 figure, expanded reference list and modified discussion, to appear in the New Journal of Physics
Genome-wide meta-analysis identified novel variant associated with hallux valgus in Caucasians
Creators: name: Jackson, R.D.
name: Yau, M.
name: Golightly, Y.M.
name: Jordan, J.M.
name: Mitchell, B.D.
name: Hannan, M.T.
name: Hochberg, M.C.
name: Arbeeva, L.
name: Nelson, A.
name: Ryan, K.
Publisher: name: BioMed Central Ltd.
Year: 2020

description: Background: Hallux valgus, one of the most common structural foot deformities, is highly heritable. However, previous efforts to elucidate the genetic underpinnings of hallux valgus through a genome-wide association study (GWAS) conducted in 4409 Caucasians did not identify genome-wide significant associations with hallux valgus in both gender-specific and sex-combined GWAS meta-analyses. In this analysis, we add newly available data and more densely imputed genotypes to identify novel genetic variants associated with hallux valgus. Methods: A total of 5925 individuals of European Ancestry were categorized into two groups: 'hallux valgus present' (n = 2314) or 'no deformity' (n = 3611) as determined by trained examiners or using the Manchester grading scale. Genotyping was performed using commercially available arrays followed by imputation to the Haplotype Reference Consortium (HRC) reference panel version 1.1. We conducted both sex-specific and sex-combined association analyses using logistic regression and generalized estimating equations as appropriate in each cohort. Results were then combined in a fixed-effects inverse-variance meta-analyses. Functional Mapping and Annotation web-based platform (FUMA) was used for positional mapping, gene and gene-set analyses. Results: We identified a novel locus in the intronic region of CLCA2 on chromosome 1, rs55807512 (OR = 0.48, p = 2.96E-09), an expression quantitative trait locus for COL24A1, a member of the collagen gene family. Conclusion: In this report of the largest GWAS of hallux valgus to date, we identified a novel genome-wide significant locus for hallux valgus. Additional replication and functional follow-up will be needed to determine the functional role of this locus in hallux valgus biology.
Effects of comorbid cardiovascular disease and diabetes on hand osteoarthritis, pain, and functional state transitions: The Johnston county osteoarthritis project
Creators: name: Renner, J.B.
name: Murphy, L.B.
name: Scherzer, Z.A.
name: Alvarez, C.
name: Golightly, Y.M.
name: Nelson, A.E.
name: Jordan, J.M.
name: Schwartz, T.A.
Publisher: name: Journal of Rheumatology
Year: 2020

description: Objective. The purpose of this study is to examine the course of hand osteoarthritis (HOA) and its relationship with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes (DM). Methods. Data were collected at 3 timepoints from 845 Johnston County Osteoarthritis Project participants (two-thirds women, one-third African Americans, mean age 60 yrs) with and without HOA, CVD, or DM. A diagnosis of radiographic HOA (rHOA) required a Kellgren-Lawrence severity grade of ≥ 2 in at least 3 joints in each hand. A 4-state progressive model included transitions based on rHOA and pain or function as defined using the Australian/Canadian HOA Index (AUSCAN). Markov multistate models estimated HR (aHR) and 95% CI for associations between DM or CVD and specific state transitions, adjusting for baseline and time-varying covariates. Results. Participants with DM (vs those without DM) were more likely to experience worsening pain with rHOA. Individuals who had or developed CVD (vs those who did not) were significantly less likely to experience symptomatic improvement, regardless of rHOA status. Those with DM or CVD (vs those without these comorbidities) were less likely to experience improvement in function, although this was statistically significant only for those with DM and no rHOA. Conclusion. Overall, having or developing DM and/or CVD reduced the likelihood of symptomatic and functional improvement over time, suggesting an effect of comorbid CVD and DM on the clinical and radiographic course of HOA. Additional studies are needed to confirm these findings.
SHAPE Analysis of Long-Range Interactions Reveals Extensive and Thermodynamically Preferred Misfolding in a Fragile Group I Intron RNA †
Creators: name: Duncan, Caia D. S.
name: Weeks, Kevin M.
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2008

description: Most functional RNAs require proteins to facilitate formation of their active structures. In the case of the yeast bI3 group I intron, splicing requires binding by two proteins, the intron-encoded bI3 maturase and the nuclear encoded Mrs1. Here, we use selective 2'-hydroxyl acylation analyzed by primer extension (SHAPE) chemistry coupled with analysis of point mutants to map long-range interactions in this RNA. This analysis reveals two critical features of the free RNA state. First, the catalytic intron is separated from the flanking exons via a stable anchoring helix. This anchoring helix creates an autonomous structural domain for the intron and functions to prevent misfolding with the flanking exons. Second, the thermodynamically most stable structure for the free RNA is not consistent with the catalytically active conformation as phylogenetically conserved elements form stable, non-native structures. These results highlight a fragile bI3 RNA for which binding by protein cofactors functions to promote extensive secondary structure rearrangements that are an obligatory prerequisite for forming the catalytically active tertiary structure.
Dynamic phase coexistence in glass-forming liquids
Creators: name: Pastore, R.
name: Coniglio, A.
name: Ciamarra, M. Pica
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)
subject: Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: One of the most controversial hypotheses for explaining the heterogeneous dynamics of glasses postulates the temporary coexistence of two phases characterized by a high and by a low diffusivity. In this scenario, two phases with different diffusivities coexist for a time of the order of the relaxation time and mix afterwards. Unfortunately, it is difficult to measure the single-particle diffusivities to test this hypothesis. Indeed, although the non-Gaussian shape of the van-Hove distribution suggests the transient existence of a diffusivity distribution, it is not possible to infer from this quantity whether two or more dynamical phases coexist. Here we provide the first direct observation of the dynamical coexistence of two phases with different diffusivities, by showing that in the deeply supercooled regime the distribution of the single-particle diffusivities acquires a transient bimodal shape. We relate this distribution to the heterogeneity of the dynamics and to the breakdown of the Stokes-Einstein relation, and we show that the coexistence of two dynamical phases occurs up to a timescale growing faster than the relaxation time on cooling, for some of the considered models. Our work offers a basis for rationalizing the dynamics of supercooled liquids and for relating their structural and dynamical properties.
description: 12 pages, 7 figures
Racial Differences in Performance-Based Function and Potential Explanatory Factors Among Individuals With Knee Osteoarthritis
Creators: name: Schwartz, T.A.
name: Golightly, Y.M.
name: Corsi, M.
name: Cooke, J.
name: Callahan, L.F.
name: Gupta, J.J.
name: Goode, A.P.
name: Huffman, K.M.
name: Allen, K.D.
name: Flowers, P.P.E.
name: Arbeeva, L.
name: Pathak, A.
Publisher: name: John Wiley and Sons Inc
Year: 2020

description: Objective: In individuals with knee osteoarthritis (OA), self-reported physical function is poorer in African Americans than in whites, but whether this difference holds true for objective assessments is unclear. The purpose of this study was to examine racial differences in performance-based physical function as well as potential underlying factors contributing to these racial differences. Methods: Participants with knee OA from a randomized controlled trial completed the 2-minute step test (2MST), timed-up-and-go (TUG), and 30-second chair stand (30s-CST) at baseline. Race differences in performance-based function were assessed by logistic regression. Separate models were adjusted for sets of demographic, socioeconomic, psychological health, and physical health variables. Results: In individuals with knee OA (n = 322; 72% women, 22% African American, mean ± SD age 66 ± 11 years, mean ± SD body mass index 31 ± 8 kg/m2), African Americans (versus whites) had greater unadjusted odds of poorer function (30s-CST odds ratio [OR] 2.79 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.65–4.72], 2MST OR 2.37 [95% CI 1.40–4.03], and TUG OR 3.71 [95% CI 2.16–6.36]). Relationships were maintained when adjusted for demographic and psychological health covariates, but they were either partially attenuated or nonsignificant when adjusted for physical health and socioeconomic covariates. Conclusion: African American adults with knee OA had poorer unadjusted performance-based function than whites. Physical health and socioeconomic characteristics diminished these differences, emphasizing the fact that these factors may be important to consider in mitigating racial disparities in function.
Application of Traditional and Emerging Methods for the Joint Analysis of Repeated Measurements With Time-to-Event Outcomes in Rheumatology
Creators: name: Schwartz, T.A.
name: Golightly, Y.M.
name: Jordan, J.M.
name: Arbeeva, L.
name: Callahan, L.F.
name: Nelson, A.E.
name: Alvarez, C.
name: Cleveland, R.J.
name: Allen, K.D.
Publisher: name: John Wiley and Sons Inc
Year: 2020

description: Objective: The goal of this paper is to describe approaches for the joint analysis of repeatedly measured data with time-to-event end points, first separately and then in the framework of a single comprehensive model, emphasizing the efficiency of the latter approach. Data from the Johnston County Osteoarthritis (JoCo OA) Project will be used as an example to investigate the relationship between the change in repeatedly measured body mass index (BMI) and the time-to-event end point of incident worsening of radiographic knee OA that was defined as an increased Kellgren/Lawrence grade in at least 1 knee over time. Methods: First, we provide an overview of the methods for analyzing repeated measurements and time-to-event end points separately. Then, we describe traditional (Cox proportional hazards model [CoxPH]) and emerging (joint model [JM]) approaches, both of which allow combined analysis of repeated measures with a time-to-event end point in the framework of a single statistical model. Finally, we apply the models to JoCo OA data and interpret and compare the results from the different approaches. Results: Applications of the JM (but not the CoxPH) showed that the risk of worsening radiographic OA is higher when BMI is higher or increasing, thus illustrating the advantages of the JM for analyzing such dynamic measures in a longitudinal study. Conclusion: Joint models are preferable for simultaneous analyses of repeated measurement and time-to-event outcomes, particularly in the context of chronic disease, where dependency between the time-to-event end point and the longitudinal trajectory of repeated measurements is inherent.
Protzia indica Cook 1967
Creators: name: Pešić, Vladimir
name: Chatterjee, Tapas
name: Bordoloi, Sabitry
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2010
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Trombidiformes
Protziidae
Protzia
Protzia indica

description: Protzia indica Cook, 1967
Records from the study area: Tamil Nadu—Cook (1967); Prasad (1974).
Habitat: Mountain streams.
Distribution: India.
description: Published as part of Pešić, Vladimir, Chatterjee, Tapas & Bordoloi, Sabitry, 2010, A checklist of the water mites (Acari: Hydrachnidia) of India, with new records and description of one new species, pp. 1-54 in Zootaxa 2617 (1) on page 7, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.2617.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/197964
Similarities between UDP-Glucose and Adenine Nucleotide Release in Yeast: Involvement of the Secretory Pathway
Creators: name: Ault, Addison D.
name: Esther, Charles R.
name: Boucher, Richard C.
name: Lazarowski, Eduardo R.
name: Clas, Marién L.
name: Dohlman, Henrik G.
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2008

description: Extracellular UDP-glucose is a natural purinergic receptor agonist, but its mechanisms of cellular release remain unclear. We studied these mechanisms in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a simple model organism that releases ATP, another purinergic agonist. Similar to ATP, UDP-glucose was released by S. cerevisiae at a rate that was linear over time. However, unlike ATP release, UDP-glucose release was not dependent on glucose stimulation. This discrepancy was resolved by demonstrating the apparent glucose stimulation of ATP release reflected glucose-dependent changes in the intracellular pattern of adenine nucleotides, with AMP release dominating in the absence of glucose. Indeed, total adenine nucleotide release, like UDP-glucose release, did not vary with glucose concentration over the short term. The genetic basis of UDP-glucose release was explored through analysis of deletion mutants, aided by development of a novel bioassay for UDP-glucose based on signaling through heterologously expressed human P2Y14 receptors. Using this assay, an elevated rate of UDP-glucose release was demonstrated in mutants lacking the putative Golgi nucleotide sugar transporter YMD8. An increased rate of UDP-glucose release in ymd8Δ was reduced by deletion of the YEA4 UDP-N-acetylglucosamine or the HUT1 UDP-galactose transporters, and overexpression of YEA4 or HUT1 increased the rate of UDP-glucose release. These findings suggest an exocytotic release mechanism similar to that of ATP, a conclusion supported by decreased rates of ATP, AMP, and UDP-glucose release in response to the secretory inhibitor Brefeldin A. These studies demonstrate the involvement of the secretory pathway in nucleotide and nucleotide sugar efflux in yeast and offer a powerful model system for further investigation.
Confirmatory Factor Analyses in Psychological Test Adaptation and Development
Creators: name: Brauer, Kay
name: Ranger, Jochen
name: Ziegler, Matthias
Publisher: name: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: 150 Psychologie

description: The importance of providing structural validity evidence for test score(s) derived from psychometric test instruments is highlighted by several institutions; for example, the American Psychological Association (2014) demands that evidence for the validity of an instruments’ internal structure and its underlying measurement model must be provided before it is applied in psychological assessment. The knowledge about the latent structure of data obtained with tests addressing the major question “What is/are the construct[s] being measured” by psychological tests under investigation (Ziegler, 2014, 2020). The study of structural validity is typically addressed with factor analyses when the test scores reflect continuous latent traits. As most submissions to Psychological Test Adaptation and Development (PTAD) deal with the adaptation and further development of existing measures, authors typically test a measurement model that is based on theoretical considerations and prior findings on original versions (or adaptations) of the test under investigation. Our literature review of PTAD’s publications showed that more than 90% of the articles contain at least one confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). As editor and reviewers of PTAD, we appreciate that authors are rigorous in providing evidence on the structural validity of their tests’ data. However, since PTAD’s inception in 2019, we experience that one comment is frequently communicated to authors during the review process, namely, the request to adjust the analytic approach in CFA from maximum likelihood (ML) estimation toward using the mean- and variance-adjusted weighted least squares (WLSMV; Muthén et al., 1997) estimator to account for the ordinal nature of the data that psychological instruments typically generate on the item level. In this editorial, we discuss the rationale behind choosing the WLSMV estimator when analyzing test adaptations and developments that are based on ordinal categorical data and concisely illustrate the problems associated with using the ML estimator (potentially in combination with robust tests of model fit) for such data.
Classes of Bivariate Orthogonal Polynomials
Creators: name: Ismail, Mourad E. H.
name: Zhang, Ruiming
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2015
Subjects: subject: Classical Analysis and ODEs (math.CA)
subject: FOS: Mathematics
subject: 33C50, 33D50 (Primary), 33C45, 33D45 (Secondary)

description: We introduce a class of orthogonal polynomials in two variables which generalizes the disc polynomials and the 2-$D$ Hermite polynomials. We identify certain interesting members of this class including a one variable generalization of the 2-$D$ Hermite polynomials and a two variable extension of the Zernike or disc polynomials. We also give $q$-analogues of all these extensions. In each case in addition to generating functions and three term recursions we provide raising and lowering operators and show that the polynomials are eigenfunctions of second-order partial differential or $q$-difference operators.
Transmembrane Domain Interactions and Residue Proline 378 Are Essential for Proper Structure, Especially Disulfide Bond Formation, in the Human Vitamin K-Dependent γ-Glutamyl Carboxylase †
Creators: name: Zheng, Mei-Yan
name: Hsiao, Kuang-Ling N.
name: Perera, Lalith
name: Stafford, Darrel W.
name: Tie, Jian-Ke
name: Straight, David L.
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2008

description: We used recombinant techniques to create a two-chain form (residues 1–345 and residues 346–758) of the vitamin K-dependent γ-glutamyl carboxylase, a glycoprotein located in the endoplasmic reticulum containing five transmembrane domains. The two-chain carboxylase had carboxylase and epoxidase activities similar to those of one-chain carboxylase. In addition, it had normal affinity for the propeptide of factor IX. We employed this molecule to investigate formation of the one disulfide bond in carboxylase, the transmembrane structure of carboxylase, and the potential interactions among the carboxylase’s transmembrane domains. Our results indicate that the two peptides of the two-chain carboxylase are joined by a disulfide bond. Proline 378 is important for the structure necessary for disulfide formation. Results with the P378L carboxylase indicate that noncovalent bonds maintain the two-chain structure even when the disulfide bond is disrupted. As we had previously proposed, the fifth transmembrane domain of carboxylase is the last and only transmembrane domain in the C-terminal peptide of the two-chain carboxylase. We show that the noncovalent association between the two chains of carboxylase involves an interaction between the fifth transmembrane domain and the second transmembrane domain. Results of a homology model of transmembrane domains 2 and 5 suggest that not only do these two domains associate but that transmembrane domain 2 may interact with another transmembrane domain. This latter interaction may be mediated at least in part by a motif of glycine residues in the second transmembrane domain.
Time-varying associations between loneliness and physical activity: Evidence from repeated daily life assessments in an adult lifespan sample
Creators: name: Broen, Tiana
name: Choi, Yoonseok
name: Zambrano Garza, Elizabeth
name: Pauly, Theresa
name: Gerstorf, Denis
name: Hoppmann, Christiane A.
Publisher: name: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: physical activity
subject: loneliness
subject: repeated daily assessments
subject: lifespan
subject: moderate-to-vigorous physical activity
subject: number of steps
subject: COVID-19
subject: time sampling
subject: 150 Psychologie

description: Physical activity is a behavior that promotes physical and mental health; yet physical activity has decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic. To promote health during times of challenge, it is important to identify potential barriers to this key health behavior, such as loneliness. This brief report extends previous research on physical activity and loneliness that mainly focused on between-person differences to examine their time-varying associations at the within-person level using repeated daily life assessments. From April 2020 to August 2020, data were collected from a sample of 139 community-dwelling Canadian adults (Mage = 40.65 years, SD = 18.37; range = 18–83 years). Each evening for 10 consecutive days, participants reported their loneliness, number of steps, and minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Results revealed that, in line with our hypotheses, on days when participants reported more loneliness they also engaged in less moderate-to-vigorous physical activity than on less lonely days (estimate = −0.24, p = 0.007); there was a significant negative association between loneliness and daily number of steps (estimate = −18.42, p = 0.041). In contrast, at the between-person level, overall loneliness was not associated with overall physical activity engagement after accounting for within-person differences and control variables (age, sex, day in study). From an intervention perspective, our findings suggest that it is promising to tackle loneliness on a day-to-day basis to increase physical activity one day at a time. This may be especially relevant during times mandating social-distancing, but also at other times when individuals experience greater feelings of loneliness.
Using a 3- O -Sulfated Heparin Octasaccharide To Inhibit the Entry of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 †
Creators: name: Zhang, Fuming
name: Bridges, Arlene
name: Copeland, Ronald
name: Linhardt, Robert J.
name: Liu, Jian
name: Balasubramaniam, Arun
name: Shukla, Deepak
name: Tiwari, Vaibhav
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2008

description: Heparan sulfate (HS) is a highly sulfated polysaccharide and is present in large quantities on the cell surface and in the extracellular matrix. Herpes simplex virus type 1(HSV-1) utilizes a specialized cell surface HS, known as 3-O-sulfated HS, as an entry receptor to establish infection. Here, we exploit an approach to inhibit HSV-1 infection by using a 3-O-sulfated octasaccharide, mimicking the active domain of the entry receptor. The 3-O-sulfated octasaccharide was synthesized by incubating a heparin octasaccharide (3-OH octasaccharide) with HS 3-O-sulfotransferase isoform 3. The resultant 3-O-sulfated octasaccharide has a structure of ΔUA2S-GlcNS6S-IdoUA2S-GlcNS6S-IdoUA2S-GlcNS3S6S-IdoUA2S-GlcNS6S (where ΔUA is 4-deoxy-α-l-threo-hex-4-enopyranosyluronic acid, GlcN is d-glucosamine and IdoUA is l-iduronic acid). Results from cell based assays revealed that the 3-O-sulfated octasaccharide has stronger activity in blocking HSV-1 infection than that of the 3-OH octasaccharide, suggesting that the inhibition of HSV-1 infection requires a unique sulfation moiety. Our results suggest the feasibility of inhibiting HSV-1 infection by blocking viral entry with a specific oligosaccharide.
Polypharmacy and Incident Frailty in a Longitudinal Community-Based Cohort Study
Creators: name: Alvarez, C.
name: Lund, J.L.
name: Golightly, Y.M.
name: Nelson, A.E.
name: Shmuel, S.
name: Kucharska-Newton, A.
name: Hsu, C.D.
name: Jordan, J.M.
name: Palta, P.
Publisher: name: Blackwell Publishing Inc.
Year: 2019

description: OBJECTIVES: Polypharmacy may affect frailty, a common and costly condition among older adults. Frailty prevalence is elevated among racial/ethnic minorities and persons living in the US South, and research is needed to inform future pharmacologic interventions in these populations. Our aim was to quantify the prevalence of frailty and polypharmacy, and to estimate the association between polypharmacy and incident frailty. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: A community-based cohort study of adults residing in Johnston County, North Carolina. PARTICIPANTS: White and African American adults aged 50 to 95 years (n=1697). MEASUREMENTS: At each study visit, all prescription and over-the-counter medications were recorded. We calculated annual polypharmacy (5-9 medications) and excessive polypharmacy (≥10 medications) prevalence at the 2006-2010 visit (n = 1697) and operationalized the Fried frailty phenotype to describe prevalent and incident frailty at two consecutive visits (2006-2010 and 2013-2015). We estimated risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association between polypharmacy and incident frailty using weighted log-binomial regression to account for measured confounding and attrition using inverse probability of treatment and attrition weights, respectively. RESULTS: At the 2006-2010 visit, 678 (41%) and 260 (16%) participants were exposed to polypharmacy and excessive polypharmacy, respectively. Overall, 353 (21%) participants and 180 (21%) participants were frail at the 2006-2010 and 2013-2015 visits, respectively. Frailty was more common among participants identifying as white, women, and having less educational attainment relative to those without these characteristics. Incident frailty at the 2013-2015 visit was 15% (mean follow-up = 5.5 years). Our results suggest that polypharmacy is positively associated with incident frailty (weighted RR = 1.4; 95% CI =.9-2.0), yet estimates are imprecise and should be interpreted with caution. CONCLUSION: Consistent with the current weight of evidence, our results suggest an association between polypharmacy and incident frailty. Prospective studies evaluating deprescribing interventions are needed to clarify whether reducing polypharmacy decreases frailty incidence.
Werner Protein Cooperates with the XRCC4-DNA Ligase IV Complex in End-Processing †
Creators: name: Ramsden, Dale
name: Dawut, Lala
name: Vindigni, Alessandro
name: Wan Lee, Jae
name: Marchetti, Caterina
name: Bohr, Vilhelm A.
name: Kusumoto, Rika
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2008

description: Werner syndrome is a rare human disease characterized by the premature onset of aging-associated pathologies, cancer predisposition, and genomic instability. The Werner protein (WRN), which is defective in Werner syndrome (WS) patients, belongs to the RecQ family helicases and interacts with several DNA metabolic proteins, including DNA repair factors and telomere associated proteins. Nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) is an important pathway in the repair of DNA double strand breaks (DSBs), and the DNA-PK complex, composed of the heterodimer Ku 70/86 and the DNA-PK catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs), together with the XRCC4-DNA ligase IV complex (X4L4), are major factors. One of the most prominent protein interactions of WRN is with Ku 70/86, and it is possible that WRN is involved in NHEJ via its associations with Ku 70/86 and DNA-PKcs. This study demonstrates that WRN physically interacts with the major NHEJ factor, X4L4, which stimulates WRN exonuclease but not its helicase activity. The human RecQ helicase, BLM, which possesses only helicase activity, does not bind to X4L4, and its helicase activity is not affected by X4L4. In a DNA end-joining assay, we find that a substrate, which is processed by WRN, is ligated by X4L4, thus further supporting the significance of their functional interaction.
Confined-exotic-matter wormholes with no gluing effects -- Imaging supermassive wormholes and black holes
Creators: name: Azreg-Aïnou, Mustapha
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We classify wormholes endowed with redshift effects and finite mass into three types. Type I wormholes have their radial pressure dying out faster, as one moves away from the throat, than any other component of the stress-energy and thus violate the least the local energy conditions. In type II (resp. III) wormholes the radial and transverse pressures are asymptotically proportional and die out faster (resp. slower) than the energy density. We introduce a novel and generalizable method for deriving, with no cutoff in the stress-energy or gluing, a class of each of the three wormhole types. We focus on type I wormholes and construct different asymptotically flat solutions with finite, upper- and lower-bounded, mass $M$. It is observed that the radial pressure is negative, and the null energy condition is violated, only inside a narrow layer, adjacent to the throat, of relative spacial extent $ε$. Reducing the relative size of the layer, without harming the condition of traversability, yields an inverse square law of $ε$ versus $M$ for supermassive wormholes. We show that the diameter of the shadow of this type I supermassive wormhole overlaps with that of the black hole candidate at the center of the Milky Way and that the recent derivation, using the up-to-date millimeter-wavelength very long baseline interferometry made in Astrophys. J. \textbf{795} 134 (2014) [arXiv:1409.4690], remains inconclusive. We show that redshift-free wormholes, with positive energy density, have one of their barotropic equations of state in the phantom regime (at least in the region adjacent to the throat), have their stress energy tensor traceless, and are anisotropic. They are all type III wormholes having their variable equations of state approaching 1 and $-1$ at spatial infinity. We also introduce a new approach for deriving new redshift-free wormholes.
description: 14 pages, 7 figures. Extended version. To appear in JCAP
Exploiting Low-confidence Pseudo-labels for Source-free Object Detection
Creators: name: Chen, Zhihong
name: Wang, Zilei
name: Zhang, Yixin
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (cs.CV)
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences

description: Source-free object detection (SFOD) aims to adapt a source-trained detector to an unlabeled target domain without access to the labeled source data. Current SFOD methods utilize a threshold-based pseudo-label approach in the adaptation phase, which is typically limited to high-confidence pseudo-labels and results in a loss of information. To address this issue, we propose a new approach to take full advantage of pseudo-labels by introducing high and low confidence thresholds. Specifically, the pseudo-labels with confidence scores above the high threshold are used conventionally, while those between the low and high thresholds are exploited using the Low-confidence Pseudo-labels Utilization (LPU) module. The LPU module consists of Proposal Soft Training (PST) and Local Spatial Contrastive Learning (LSCL). PST generates soft labels of proposals for soft training, which can mitigate the label mismatch problem. LSCL exploits the local spatial relationship of proposals to improve the model's ability to differentiate between spatially adjacent proposals, thereby optimizing representational features further. Combining the two components overcomes the challenges faced by traditional methods in utilizing low-confidence pseudo-labels. Extensive experiments on five cross-domain object detection benchmarks demonstrate that our proposed method outperforms the previous SFOD methods, achieving state-of-the-art performance.
Polish Models and Sofic Entropy
Creators: name: Hayes, Ben
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Dynamical Systems (math.DS)
subject: Group Theory (math.GR)
subject: Operator Algebras (math.OA)
subject: FOS: Mathematics

description: For actions of a sofic group on probability spaces, the entropy has been defined by Bowen, with an extension by Kerr-Li. In particular, when the action is by homeomorphisms of a compact space preserving a given measure, Kerr-Li show one can compute the measure-theoretic entropy in a manner which uses the topology of the space. We show how to compute the entropy of a an action of homeomorphisms of a Polish space preserving a given measure, also in a manner which uses the topology of the space. We give applications to spectral properties of actions with positive entropy, as well as for actions of completely positive entropy.
description: 26 pages. Removed the section on distal actions as we will prove more general results in "Mixing and Spectral Gap Relative to Pinsker Factors for Sofic Groups". This is the final version to appear in Journal of Institute of Mathematics of Jussieu
Can we talk? A correspondence study to examine responsiveness of physical educators to requests for a phone call from parents of children with disabilities
Creators: name: Healy, Sean
name: Haegele, Justin A
name: K. Holland, Steven
Publisher: name: University of Limerick
Year: 2024
Subjects: classificationCode: 520107
subject: Sport and exercise psychology

description: The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (2004) mandates that parental input be considered when making educational decisions for children with disabilities, including in physical education. However, parents of children with disabilities often report suboptimal communication experiences with physical educators. The purpose of the current study was to examine if the initiation of a parent–physical educator relationship is influenced by whether students have a disability or not. An online message correspondence study methodology was used to detect potential disparities in the responsiveness of a sample of 320 physical educators to electronic message requests for a phone call to discuss physical education service from hypothetical parents of a child with a visual impairment (VI), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), Down syndrome (DS), or no disability. Parents of children with ASD had reduced odds of receiving a positive response as compared to parents of children without disabilities (15.8% vs 26.9% RR = .57). Similarly, parents of children with DS had reduced odds of receiving a positive response as compared to parents of children without disabilities (15.2% vs 26.9%, RR = .59). Strategies to promote parent–physical educator relationships are urgently needed, especially for parents of children with ASD and DS.
α-Synuclein Conformation Affects Its Tyrosine-Dependent Oxidative Aggregation †
Creators: name: Pielak, Gary J.
name: Zigoneanu, Imola G.
name: Ruf, Rebecca A. S.
name: Lutz, Evan A.
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2008

description: Oxidative stress and aggregation of the protein α-synuclein are thought to be key factors in Parkinson’s disease. Previous work shows that cytochrome c plus H2O2 causes tyrosine-dependent in vitro peroxidative aggregation of proteins, including α-synuclein. Here, we examine the role of each of α-synuclein’s four tyrosine residues and how the protein’s conformation affects covalent oxidative aggregation. When α-synuclein adopts a collapsed conformation, tyrosine 39 is essential for wild-type-like covalent aggregation. This lone N-terminal tyrosine, however, is not required for wild type-like covalent aggregation in the presence of a denaturant or when α-synuclein is present in non-covalent fibrils. We also show that pre-formed oxidative aggregates are not incorporated into non-covalent fibrils. These data provide insight as to how dityrosine may be formed in Lewy bodies seen in Parkinson’s disease.