Independent amylase gene copy number bursts correlate with dietary preferences in mammals.

The amylase gene (, which codes for a starch-digesting enzyme in animals, underwent several gene copy number gains in humans (Perry et al., 2007), dogs (Axelsson et al., 2013), and mice (Schibler et al.

Ozone Sensitivity and Catalase Activity in Pigmented and Non-Pigmented Strains of .

Background: Ozone exposure rapidly leads to bacterial death, making ozone an effective disinfectant in food industry and health care arena. However, microbial defenses may moderate this effect and play a role in the effective use of oxidizing agents for disinfection. is an opportunistic pathogen, expressing genes differentially during infection of a human host.

Psychometric Properties of the Kessler 10 Scale in Chinese Parents of Children With Cancer.

Background: The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) has been widely used in rating psychological distress in general and clinical populations. However, whether it can be used in parents of children with cancer is unknown. Still lacking is the evidence on its reliability and validity in culturally diverse groups.

The effectiveness of N-acetyl-L-cysteine (L-NAC) in the prevention of severe noise-induced hearing loss.

Three groups of chinchillas were exposed to a nonGaussian continuous broadband noise at an Leq=10 5dB SPL, 8h/d for 5d. One group (N=6) received only the noise. A second group (N=6) received the noise and was additionally treated with L-NAC (325 mg/kg, i.

Self-monitoring of physical activity: effects on self-efficacy and behavior in people with type 2 diabetes.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to test the effect of keeping daily activity records on physical activity levels and self-efficacy for physical activity in adults with type 2 diabetes, and to examine the feasibility and acceptability of this intervention from the perspective of the participants.

Methods: This intervention study included 58 individuals with type 2 diabetes aged 40 to 65 years. Participants were randomly assigned: individuals in the intervention group kept daily activity records for 6 weeks, mailed to the researcher every 2 weeks.

Category-specific naming effect in non-brain-damaged individuals.

A category effect (i.e., living vs.

Sensitivity of distortion product otoacoustic emissions in noise-exposed chinchillas.

The present study investigates the effect of small amounts of outer hair cell (OHC) loss on distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) levels and evoked potential permanent threshold shifts (PTS) in a population of 12 noise-exposed chinchillas. The group mean DPOAE level, which decreased by up to approximately 15 dB in the presence of less than 8 dB PTS and 15% OHC loss, indicates that DPOAEs can detect an underlying cochlear pathology (i,e., OHC damage/loss) despite the presence of normal to near normal thresholds.

Alseis yucatanensis: a natural product from Belize that exhibits multiple mechanisms of vasorelaxation.

An aqueous extract of the bark of Alseis yucatanensis was studied to determine its mechanism of action in the relaxation of endothelium-denuded rat aortic tissues. The extract relaxed both norepinephrine (NE) and KCl-contracted vessels, with ED(50)'s of 0.12 and 1.

Beyond the boundaries of the classroom: teaching about gender and sexuality at a drag show.

Like much of the general public, the vast majority of my students strongly hold dichotomous, essentialist outlooks about what the categories female and male/gay and straight are supposed to represent and be. One way that I have found to challenge these oppressive worldviews, and also to queer my classes in the process, is to take my course participants to drag shows and/or to use videotapes of drag queens and drag kings in my classes. As part of an ongoing ethnography of drag performers I am undertaking, I have taken over 300 students to drag shows over the past eight years.

The absolutely fabulous but flawlessly customary world of female impersonators.

Our editorial introduction to this volume on drag queens highlights what we believe are some of the most prominent and important themes of female impersonation in the past and today. Building on contributors' articles, a substantial body of literature on female impersonators/drag queens and the social construction of gender, and our own extensive ethnographic experiences in a multitude of drag settings, we first suggest that such individuals can be seen as symbolic representatives of the cultural ideals associated with the feminine and women and how they have changed over time. We next argue that the notion of the effeminate drag queen is more a myth than a reality with the contextual benefits many performers receive-status and power-being indicative of the hegemony of masculinity in male-dominated societies.

The effect of auditory feedback on phonation threshold pressure measurement.

The effect of auditory feedback on phonation threshold pressure (Pth) measurement was investigated in 14 females with normal, untrained voices. Two measurement systems (Glottal Enterprises MS 100--circumferentially vented mask and Kay Elemetrics Aerophone II--non-circumferentially vented mask) were examined under three conditions: (1) masked, (2) no mask, and (3) masked with enhanced auditory feedback-acoustic signal placed at ears through headphones. Masked with enhanced auditory feedback, in addition to subject training, significantly lowered Pth values regardless of mask design.

The use of distortion product otoacoustic emissions in the estimation of hearing and sensory cell loss in noise-damaged cochleas.

Distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE), permanent threshold shifts (PTS) and outer hair cell (OHC) losses were analyzed in a population of 187 noise-exposed chinchillas to determine the predictive accuracy (sensitivity and specificity) of the DPOAE for PTS and OHC loss. Auditory evoked potentials (AEP) recorded from the inferior colliculus of the brainstem were used to estimate hearing thresholds and surface preparation histology was used to determine sensory cell loss. The overlapping cumulative distributions and high variability in emission responses for both PTS and OHC loss made it difficult to predict AEP threshold and OHC loss from DPOAE level measurements alone.

G-protein modulators alter the swimming behavior and calcium influx of Paramecium tetraurelia.

To assess the potential role of G-proteins in chemokinesis, Paramecium tetraurelia was pre-incubated with the G-protein modulator pertussis toxin. Pertussis toxin pretreatment significantly reduced Paramecium chemoattraction to sodium acetate and ammonium chloride in T-maze behavioral assays and depressed the frequency of avoidance reactions, indicating that heterotrimeric G-proteins may be involved with the motility response. To determine whether G-proteins exert their effect via the ciliary voltage-sensitive calcium channel, we examined responses of P.

Lesbian drag kings and the feminine embodiment of the masculine.

Part of an ongoing ethnography of an imperial sovereign court I am undertaking, this chapter explores the world of the lesbian drag king and the gendered performance she undertakes in this realm. Taking a relational, situational approach to understanding gender, the lesbian drag queen of the court is also examined in terms of how "her" image and actions give gendered meaning and confer import to the lesbian drag king. Note is also made of lesbian court members' often contradictory gendered relationships with the gay men in this setting: gay drag kings and gay drag kings.

Illumination encoding in face recognition: effect of position shift.

Recognition of faces and objects is impaired when illumination direction varies. Three experiments explore whether this impairment can be explained by display changes (Biederman & Bar, 1999), and whether cast shadows help or hinder face recognition. Observers judged whether two sequentially-presented faces, shown with or without cast shadows, were the same person.

The catalytic effect of Mg2+ and imidazole on the decomposition of 5-phosphoribosyl-alpha-1-pyrophosphate in aqueous solution.

The rate of decomposition of aqueous solutions of 5-phosphoribosyl-alpha-1-pyrophosphate (PRPP) is greatly enhanced by the presence of certain divalent ions. High levels of Mg(2+) were shown to increase the rate of phosphate removal from PRPP by factors greater than 100-fold. The combined action of Mg(2+) and a nitrogenous compound (imidazole was employed in this study) increases the degradation rate constants by up to 1000-fold.

Crossed aphasia: an analysis of the symptoms, their frequency, and a comparison with left-hemisphere aphasia symptomatology.

This study presents a thorough analysis of published crossed aphasia (CA) cases, including for the first time the cases published in Japanese. The frequency of specific symptoms was determined, and symptomatology differences based on gender, familial sinistrality, and CA subtype were investigated. Results suggested that the CA population is comparable to the left-hemisphere patient population.

Diacylglycerol and protein kinase C activate cation channels involved in myogenic tone.

The smooth muscle cells of resistance arteries depolarize and contract when intravascular pressure is elevated. This is a central characteristic of myogenic tone, which plays an important role in regulation of blood flow in many vascular beds. Pressure-induced vascular smooth muscle depolarization depends in part on the activation of cation channels.

The role of social support in the self-management of diabetes mellitus among a Hispanic population.

The rising incidence of diabetes mellitus continues to be a major health concern among Hispanic Americans. Social support has been found to be a relevant factor in diabetes self-management, however, it has not been explored within a Hispanic community. This cross-sectional study was therefore conducted with 95 insulin-requiring Hispanic adults to explore the composition of the support network, the type of assistance needed, the degree of satisfaction with support received, and the relationship between social support and diabetes self-management.

Oxygen fluxes and ammonia removal efficiencies in constructed treatment wetlands.

Ammonia-removal efficiency in constructed wetlands is often limited by the amount of oxygen available in the system. In this study, the oxygen-transfer rates to laboratory-scale, subsurface-flow and free-water-surface constructed wetlands were quantified for two input concentrations of ammonia, 10 and 50 mg nitrogen/L, both with and without Typha latifolia. Rates of oxygen diffusion into the subsurface-flow constructed wetlands were 6.

The "Silent Springs" of Rachel Carson: mass media and the origins of modern environmentalism.

This essay explores the different meanings of the 1960s' pesticide controversy as conveyed by the multiple representations of Rachel Carsons's Silent Spring (1962). I argue that to understand the impact of Carson's work on a heterogeneous audience in the early '60s, we must move beyond an examination of the book, Silent Spring, to consider its other media manifestations, as a serialization for The New Yorker and as a television exposé for "CBS Reports." Each conveyed a unique message stylized for the audience of that particular media.

Correlations among evoked potential thresholds, distortion product otoacoustic emissions and hair cell loss following various noise exposures in the chinchilla.

Changes in cubic distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DeltaDPOAEs), evoked potential threshold shifts (TSs) and outer hair cell (OHC) losses were measured in a population of 95 noise-exposed chinchillas. Each animal was exposed to one of 23 different noises in an asymptotic threshold shift (ATS) producing paradigm or an interrupted noise paradigm which typically produced a toughening effect. Noises were narrow band (400 Hz) impacts with center frequencies of 0.

The formation of a 1-5 phosphodiester linkage in the spontaneous breakdown of 5-phosphoribosyl-alpha-1-pyrophosphate.

The decomposition of 5-phosphoribosyl-alpha-1-pyrophosphate (PRPP) in the presence of Mg2+ at pH=7.8 yields a combination of products including ribose 5-phosphate, ribose 1-phosphate, 5-phosphoribosyl 1,2 cyclic phosphate, inorganic phosphate, and pyrophosphate. Hydrogen decoupled 31P NMR analysis of the product mixture also exhibits a sharp peak (+2.

Invariant recognition of natural objects in the presence of shadows.

Shadows are frequently present when we recognize natural objects, but it is unclear whether they help or hinder recognition. Shadows could improve recognition by providing information about illumination and 3-D surface shape, or impair recognition by introducing spurious contours that are confused with object boundaries. In three experiments, we explored the effect of shadows on recognition of natural objects.