Relationship between achievement goal constructs and physical self-perceptions in a physical activity setting.

The relations of achievement goal theory constructs and physical self-perceptions were explored with 225 students (91 men, 109 women, and 25 nonindicators; M age=23.5 yr., SD=9.

Oxidation/reduction kinetics of supported Rh/Rh2O3 nanoparticles in plug flow conditions using dispersive EXAFS.

The kinetics of oxidation and reduction of Al(2)O(3) supported Rh nanoparticles have been determined on a 50 millisecond timescale using energy dispersive EXAFS (EDE).

Synchronous, time resolved, diffuse reflectance FT-IR, energy dispersive EXAFS (EDE) and mass spectrometric investigation of the behaviour of Rh catalysts during NO reduction by CO.

Synchronous, time resolved, infra-red, XAFS, and mass spectroscopies are simultaneously applied in situ to the investigation of the dynamic behaviour of Rh/Al2O3 catalysts during NO reduction by CO; NO conversion, and its kinetic character are closely correlated to the conversion of Rh(I)(predominantly RhI(CO)2) to Rh(0).

The two-minute walk test as a measure of functional capacity in cardiac surgery patients.

Objective: To examine construct validity and sensitivity of the two-minute walk test (2MWT) in cardiac surgery patients.

Design: Measurements were made in patients preoperatively, during the postoperative in-hospital stay, and 6 to 8 weeks after discharge from hospital.

Setting: Ambulatory and hospitalized care.

Targeted mutagenesis of the Mycobacterium smegmatis mca gene, encoding a mycothiol-dependent detoxification protein.

Mycothiol (MSH), a functional analogue of glutathione (GSH) that is found exclusively in actinomycetes, reacts with electrophiles and toxins to form MSH-toxin conjugates. Mycothiol S-conjugate amidase (Mca) then catalyzes the hydrolysis of an amide bond in the S conjugates, producing a mercapturic acid of the toxin, which is excreted from the bacterium, and glucosaminyl inositol, which is recycled back to MSH. In this study, we have generated and characterized an allelic exchange mutant of the mca gene of Mycobacterium smegmatis.

Fractalkine/CX3CL1 production by human airway smooth muscle cells: induction by IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha and regulation by TGF-beta and corticosteroids.

Chemokine synthesis by airway smooth muscle cells (ASMC) may be an important process underlying inflammatory cell recruitment in airway inflammatory diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Fractalkine (FKN) is a recently described CX(3)C chemokine that has dual functions, serving as both a cell adhesion molecule and a chemoattractant for monocytes and T cells, expressing its unique receptor, CX(3)CR1. We investigated FKN expression by human ASMC in response to the proinflammatory cytokines IL-1beta, TNF-alpha, and IFN-gamma, the T helper 2-type cytokines IL-4, IL-10, and IL-13, and the fibrogenic cytokine transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta.

Increased prevalence of epilepsy associated with severe falciparum malaria in children.

Purpose: Multiple, prolonged, generalized, or focal seizures are common in children with severe malaria, with or without coma. In other contexts, such seizures have been associated with the development of epilepsy. The relation between falciparum malaria and epilepsy is undetermined; thus we measured the prevalence and characteristics of epilepsy in children with a history of severe malaria.

Auger energy shifts in fcc AgPd random alloys from complete screening picture and experiment.

We extend the complete screening picture to ab initio calculations of Auger kinetic energy and Auger parameter shifts in metallic alloys. Experimental measurements of the L(3)M(4,5)M(4,5) Auger transition in fcc AgPd random alloys are compared with first-principles calculations and the results are in excellent agreement for both the Ag and Pd Auger shifts over the whole concentration range. We discuss the Auger kinetic energy shifts in terms of single-hole states for the 2p(3/2) core level and double-hole states for the 3d(5/2) level.

Lectin receptors for endometrial H-type 1 antigen on goat conceptuses.

Problem: The goal of this study was to determine if caprine conceptuses express lectin-like receptors for endometrial H-type 1 (HT1) antigen.

Method Of Study: Conceptus tissues were collected during the apposition, adhesion and attachment phases of placentation and evaluated using immunofluorescence microscopy.

Results: Conceptus staining for the trisaccharide lacto-N-fucopentaose-1 was strong and uniform during apposition of fetal and maternal tissues but changed by day 25 of pregnancy when large aggregates of intense staining were observed.

Relationship between balance and gait stability in healthy older adults.

Age-related adaptations during walking create a more stable walking pattern, which is less effective for forward progression and might be related to balance deficiencies. This study determined the relationship between walking stability and measures of balance in older adults. Seventeen older and 20 young adults performed the Berg Balance Test (BBT) and walked 10 m.

Regulated gene expression by glucocorticoids in cultured Virginia pine (Pinus virginiana Mill.) cells.

The effects of six glucocorticoids (dexamethasone, hydrocortisone, 6-methylprednisolone, prednisolone, prednisone, and triamcinolone) on inducible gene expression, based on the chimaeric transcriptional activator GVG and carried by the binary expression vector pINDEX3-m-gfp5-ER, were evaluated in transgenic Virginia pine cell cultures. The concentration that activated GVG transcription factor activity, the level of inducible m-gfp5-ER expression, and the kinetics of inducible m-gfp5-ER expression were determined for each glucocorticoid. Transgenic cells produced green fluorescence upon blue light excitation after treatment with prednisolone, prednisone, 6-methylprednisolone, dexamethasone, triamcinolone, and hydrocortisone.

Determination of paraldehyde by gas chromatography in whole blood from children.

A rapid, sensitive and selective gas chromatographic method with flame ionization detection was developed for the determination of paraldehyde in small blood samples taken from children. Whole blood samples (300 microl) collected in a 3 ml Wheaton glass sample vial were spiked with acetone (internal standard: 15 ng) followed by addition of concentrated hydrochloric acid. The mixture was heated in the sealed airtight sample vial in a water bath (96 Celsius; 5 min) to depolymerize paraldehyde to acetaldehyde.

Exercise echocardiography reflects cumulative anthracycline exposure during childhood.

Background: Low and moderate dose anthracycline therapy used in current treatment protocols, may be associated with subclinical abnormalities of cardiac function and late presentation with congestive heart failure. Exercise echocardiography is a useful and non-invasive means of uncovering latent cardiac dysfunction in other settings. The purpose of this study is to determine whether exercise echocardiography has the potential to detect subclinical abnormalities of cardiac function in children treated with anthracyclines.

Generation and manipulation of sodium cationized peptides in the gas phase.

Sodiated peptides are often generated by electrospray ionization (ESI) of solutions containing peptides and a sodium salt. Fragmentation of singly sodiated, singly charged peptide ions commonly provides specific sequence information. However, these ions may be difficult to form by directly electrospraying a mixture.

Chromatic detection and discrimination in the periphery: a postreceptoral loss of color sensitivity.

The peripheral visual field is marked by a deterioration in color sensitivity, sometimes attributed to the random wiring of midget bipolar cells to cone photoreceptors in the peripheral retina (Mullen, 1991; Mullen & Kingdom, 1996). Using psychophysical methods, we explored differences in the sensitivity of peripheral color mechanisms with detection and discrimination of 2-deg spots at 18-deg eccentricity, and find evidence for a postreceptoral locus for the observed loss in sensitivity. As shown before, observers' sensitivity to green was lower than to red in the periphery, although the magnitude of this effect differed across observers.

Inhibitors of protein kinase C (PKC) prevent activated transcription: role of events downstream of NF-kappaB DNA binding.

In pulmonary A549 cells, the protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor, Ro 31-8220, and the phosphotidylcholine-specific phospholipase C inhibitor, D609, prevent NF-kappaB-dependent transcription, yet NF-kappaB DNA binding is unaffected (Bergmann, M., Hart, L., Lindsay, M.

Human biokinetics of inhaled terbium oxide.

Four healthy men inhaled a monodisperse aerosol of 160Tb-labelled terbium oxide particles. The behaviour of the tracer was studied through measurements of body radioactivity and of its urinary and faecal excretion. Estimated early faecal losses in the four subjects ranged from 3% to 31% of the initial respiratory-tract deposit; most of the residue had become systemic within a year, with the principal deposit apparently in bone.

Training-specific muscle architecture adaptation after 5-wk training in athletes.

Purpose: This study examined changes in the muscle size, muscle architecture, strength, and sprint/jump performances of concurrently training athletes during 5 wk of "altered" resistance training (RT).

Methods: Eight female and 15 male athletes performed 4 wk of sprint, jump, and resistance training in addition to their sports training (standardization) before adopting one of three different programs for 5 wk: 1) squat lift training (SQ, N = 8) with sprint/jump training; 2) forward hack squat training (FHS, N = 7) with sprint/jump training; or 3) sprint/jump training only (SJ, N = 8). Muscle size, fascicle angle, and fascicle length of the vastus lateralis (VL) and rectus femoris (RF) muscles (using ultrasound procedures) as well as 20-m sprint run, vertical jump, and strength performance changes were examined.

Mycothiol is essential for growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Erdman.

Mycothiol (MSH) is the major low-molecular-mass thiol in mycobacteria and is associated with the protection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from toxic oxidants and antibiotics. The biosynthesis of MSH is a multistep process, with the enzymatic reaction designated MshC being the ligase step in MSH production. A targeted disruption of the native mshC gene in M.

Pharmacokinetics and clinical effect of phenobarbital in children with severe falciparum malaria and convulsions.

Aims: Phenobarbital is commonly used to treat status epilepticus in resource-poor countries. Although a dose of 20 mg kg(-1) is recommended, this dose, administered intramuscularly (i.m.

The crystal structure of 1-D-myo-inosityl 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-alpha-D-glucopyranoside deacetylase (MshB) from Mycobacterium tuberculosis reveals a zinc hydrolase with a lactate dehydrogenase fold.

Mycothiol (1-D-myo-inosityl 2-(N-acetyl-L-cysteinyl)amido-2-deoxy-alpha-D-glucopyranoside, MSH or AcCys-GlcN-inositol (Ins)) is the major reducing agent in actinomycetes, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The biosynthesis of MSH involves a deacetylase that removes the acetyl group from the precursor GlcNAc-Ins to yield GlcN-Ins. The deacetylase (MshB) corresponds to Rv1170 of M.

Contrasting dynamic responses of supported Rh nanoparticles to H2S and SO2 and subsequent poisoning of NO reduction by H2.

H2S induces rapid sulfidation of the Rh nanoparticles at room temperature and completely poisons NO reduction by H2; SO2 elicits an equally rapid but subtle modification of nanoparticle structure but has little effect upon NO reduction at 523 K.

Non-destructive analysis of pigments and other organic compounds in lichens using Fourier-transform Raman spectroscopy: a study of Antarctic epilithic lichens.

Lichens in Antarctic habitats are subjected to environmental extremes, including UVB radiation, desiccation and low temperatures, as well as to rapid fluctuations in these. Lichens synthesise a variety of chemical compounds in response to their environmental conditions which contribute towards their colour, and which act as protectants against physiological stresses. The fluorescence generated by the lichens at 532 nm can be used in epifluorescence microscopy to identify their presence on substrata but this can severely affect the Raman spectra using visible excitation.

Raman spectroscopic detection of biomolecular markers from Antarctic materials: evaluation for putative Martian habitats.

The vital UV-protective and photosynthetic pigments of cyanobacteria and lichens (microbial symbioses) that dominate primary production in Antarctic desert ecosystems auto-fluoresce at short-wavelengths. A long wavelength (1064 nm) near infra-red laser has been used for non-intrusive Raman spectroscopic analysis of their ecologically significant compounds. There is now much interest in the construction of portable Raman systems for the analysis of cyanobacterial and lichen communities in the field; to this extent, Raman spectra obtained with laboratory-based systems operating at wavelengths of 852 and 1064 nm have been evaluated for potential fieldwork applications of miniaturised units.

Evaluation of a lower-body compression garment.

The aims of this study were to determine how custom-fit compression shorts affect athletic performance and to examine the mechanical properties of the shorts. Ten male and 10 female track athletes on a university's nationally competitive track team, specializing in sprint or jump events, participated in the study. Testing utilized the compression shorts with loose-fitting gym shorts as the control garment.