Vibrational and electronic spectra of 9,10-dihydrobenzo(a)pyren-7(8H)-one and 7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo(a)pyrene: an experimental and computational study.

The molecular geometries, vibrational and UV-vis spectra of 9,10-dihydrobenzo(a)pyrene-7(8H)-one (9,10-H(2)BaP) and 7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo(a)pyrene (7,8,9,10-H(4)BaP) were investigated using density functional theory (DFT-B3LYP), with the triple-ζ 6-311+G(d,p) and Dunning's cc-pVTZ basis sets. From the comparison of infrared experimental and calculated infrared, and Raman data comprehensive assignments are made. The calculated infrared frequencies below 1800 cm(-1) are in good agreement with experimental data, with an average deviation of <4 cm(-1).

Flavonoids from Lupinus texensis and their free radical scavenging activity.

Seventeen flavonoids including one new compound were isolated from Texas bluebonnet (Lupinus texensis), the state flower of Texas. Their structures were determined by extensive nuclear magnetic resonance and high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry analyses. High-performance liquid chromatography analytic method for simultaneous determination of the 17 compounds was established and validated.

A new eimeriid (Apicomplexa) species from endangered Attwater's prairie chickens (Tympanuchus cupido attwateri) in Texas.

The Attwater's prairie chicken (APC; Tympanuchus cupido attwateri Bendire, 1894) has been a federally listed endangered species since 1967. Several captive propagation programs consisting of small populations are being used to keep this species from extinction. Fecal samples were collected from APCs in April 2007 and again in August 2008 from 2 separate captive propagation facilities in Texas after clinical signs of coccidiosis were observed.

Physical and environmental considerations for first responders.

To prioritize the most common effects of a disaster, HCPs must decide in advance what is needed and how, when, and whom to provide the necessary support to deal with the posteffects of a disaster. During the rescue mission, the primary public health concern is clean drinking water, food, shelter, and medical care. Medical care is critical especially in areas where little or no medical care exists.

Latent effect of passive static stretching on driver clubhead speed, distance, accuracy, and consistent ball contact in young male competitive golfers.

This investigation was conducted to determine the effect of 2 different warm-up treatments over time on driver clubhead speed, distance, accuracy, and consistent ball contact in young male competitive golfers. Two supervised warm-up treatments, an active dynamic warm-up with golf clubs (AD) and a 20-minute total body passive static stretching routine plus an identical AD warm-up (PSS), were applied before each performance testing session using a counterbalanced design on nonconsecutive days. Immediately after the AD treatment, subjects were instructed to hit 3 full swing golf shots with their driver with 1-minute rest between trials.

Characterization of a prolyl endoprotease from Eurygaster integriceps Puton (Sunn pest) infested wheat.

Sunn pest, Eurygaster integriceps, Puton, infested and uninfested wheat seeds were obtained from the International Center for Agriculture Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Aleppo, Syria, with the primary objective to identify the type of enzyme deposited by the Sunn pest on the wheat responsible for the gluten degradation. Enzyme levels were extremely low due to the enzyme being secreted by the insect in localized areas on the seed. Only extract from the infested wheat contained glutenase activity.

New phenolic compounds from Liatris elegans.

Chemical investigation on the whole plants of Liatris elegans resulted in the isolation and identification of the new ferulic acid ester (1) and arylnaphthalene lignan (2), together with 13 known compounds. The structures of the new compounds were established as p-hydroxyphenylferulate (1) and 5,3'-dihydroxy-4,4'-dimethoxy-2,7'-cycloligna-7,7'-diene-9,9'-lactone (2) by extensive NMR and HRESIMS spectroscopic analyses.

Induced endogenous autotoxicity in Camptotheca.

Are plants always immune to their endogenous toxic secondary metabolites? Without disturbance, fast-growing Camptotheca plants can avoid poison by its endogenous camptothecin (DNA topoisomerase I inhibitor) at more than 10 times higher than the fatal concentration of exogenous application to the plant. Pruning has been long known to promote lateral growth; however, here we report that auxin-reducing pruning can induce endogenous autotoxicity in Camptotheca: dramatic deviations from normal morphogenesis, including serrated or lobed leaves, disturbed phyllotaxis, and fasciated stems. The abnormal morphogenesis appears correlatively with the elevated camptothecin contents following decapitation pruning.

Effects of metered versus bolus water consumption on urine production and rehydration.

This study compared the effects of a rapid bolus and a slower metered water-consumption rate on urine production and postexercise rehydration. Participants (n = 8) dehydrated by 2% body weight through moderate exercise in an environmentally controlled chamber (35 degrees C, 55% relative humidity). Breakfast and lunch were standardized for all participants during each 8-hr data-collection period.

Cytotoxicity and inhibition of DNA topoisomerase I of polyhydroxylated triterpenoids and triterpenoid glycosides.

Cytotoxicity and inhibition on human DNA topoisomerase I (TOP1) and II (TOP2) of 74 plant-originated triterpenoids and triterpenoid glycosides were investigated. The cytotoxic compounds are primarily polyhydroxylated oleananes (GI(50) of A549: 1.0-10.

Constructing and deriving reciprocal trigonometric relations: a functional analytic approach.

Participants were pretrained and tested on mutually entailed trigonometric relations and combinatorially entailed relations as they pertained to positive and negative forms of sine, cosine, secant, and cosecant. Experiment 1 focused on training and testing transformations of these mathematical functions in terms of amplitude and frequency followed by tests of novel relations. Experiment 2 addressed training in accordance with frames of coordination (same as) and frames of opposition (reciprocal of) followed by more tests of novel relations.

A DFT study of the vibrational spectra of 1-, and 2-nitrotriphenylene.

The infrared (IR) and Raman spectra, and intensities of triphenylene, 1-, and 2-nitrotriphenylene were investigated by the density functional theory (DFT, B3LYP method) with 6-311 +G** basis set. Normal mode assignments are proposed with particular emphasis on the nitro group vibrations. Compared to 2-nitrotriphenylene (2-NTRP) 1-nitrotriphenylene (1-NTRP) is predicted to show asymmetric nitro stretches at higher frequencies.

Flow-through integrating cavity absorption meter: experimental results.

We report experimental results from a flow-through integrating cavity absorption meter. The operating range of the device is from 0.004 m(-1) to over 80 m(-1) of absorption.

Acute effects of passive static stretching during warm-up on driver clubhead speed, distance, accuracy, and consistent ball contact in young male competitive golfers.

This investigation was conducted to determine the effect of 2 different warm-up treatments on clubhead speed, distance, accuracy, and consistent ball contact in 15 young male competitive golfers. Two supervised warm-up treatments, an active dynamic warm-up with golf clubs (AD) and a 20-minute total-body passive static stretching routine plus an identical AD warm-up (SS), were applied before each performance testing session using a counterbalanced design on nonconsecutive days. Immediately after each warm-up treatment, subjects were instructed to hit 10 full-swing golf shots with their driver after their normal preshot routine, with 1 minute of rest between trials.

Comparison of two lower-body modes of endurance training on lower-body strength development while concurrently training.

The most recent American College of Sports Medicine (1998) recommendations for quantity and quality of exercise includes both resistance and endurance exercise components. Skeletal muscle adaptations to resistance-only and endurance-only programs may be different and possibly antagonistic when both types of training are imposed concurrently. The present study examined the effect of two different modes of lower-body endurance exercise (i.

Ecdysteroids and a sucrose phenylpropanoid ester from Froelichia floridana.

Phytoecdysteroid glycosides (1-5) and a phenylpropanoid ester of sucrose (6) were isolated from the whole plant of Froelichia floridana, along with eight known compounds including three ecdysteroids (7-9), four flavonoids (10-13), and one phenolic compound (14). Structures were determined using a combination of spectroscopic techniques. Compounds 1, 2 and 6-14 were tested in vitro for their activity against human DNA topoisomerase I.

Cross-sectional area and muscular strength: a brief review.

A brief review is provided on the relationship of strength to muscle cross-sectional area (CSA). It is commonly believed that maximal force and CSA are strongly related. Studies examining varying levels of training status display discordant data suggesting complex relationships between training status, CSA and peak force.

Steroids, alkaloids, and coumarins from Gelsemium sempervirens.

The 95 % ethanol extract of Gelsemium sempervirens showed inhibitory activity against human DNA topoisomerase I (Topo I). Phytochemical investigations of this active extract resulted in the isolation and identification of three new steroids ( 1 - 3), together with eight known compounds 12 beta-hydroxy-5 alpha-pregn-16-ene-3,20-dione ( 4), gelsemine ( 5), sempervirine ( 6), scopoletin ( 7), 7- O- beta- D-glucopyranosylscopoletin ( 8), 7- O- beta- D-apiofuranosyl-(1-->6)- beta- D-glucopyranosylscopoletin ( 9), uvaol ( 10), and 2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)ethyl heptadecanoate ( 11). The structures of the new steroids were determined by extensive NMR and HR-ESI-MS analyses as 21-hydroxy-5 alpha-pregn-16-ene-3,20-dione ( 1), 3-oxoandrosta-16-ene-17-carboxylic acid ( 2), and 3-oxoandrosta-4,16-diene-17-carboxylic acid ( 3).

The role of faith in adoption: achieving positive adoption outcomes for African American children.

African American children are overrepresented in foster care by more than twice their proportion in the population (U.S. Government Accountability Office [USGAO], 2007).

Characterization of chemical ingredients and anticonvulsant activity of American skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora).

American skullcap (the aerial part of Scutellaria lateriflora L.) has been traditionally used by Native Americans and Europeans as a nerve tonic, sedative, and anticonvulsant. However, despite some previous studies, the quality and safety, the bioactive ingredients, and the pharmacological properties of American skullcap are not fully understood.

Rapid detection of avian Eimeria species using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis.

A denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) assay was developed to rapidly discriminate species of avian Eimeria. Amplification by PCR of the small subunit ribosomal RNA gene (approximately 1,600 nucleotides) with Eimeria genus-specific primers followed by cloning and sequencing allowed us to carry out phylogenetic analyses and identify clone sequences to species level in most cases. Clones were subsequently used to amplify a smaller fragment (approximately 120 nucleotides) suitable for DGGE.

Phenolic compounds and rare polyhydroxylated triterpenoid saponins from Eryngium yuccifolium.

Phytochemical investigation on the whole plant of Eryngium yuccifolium resulted in the isolation and identification of three phenolic compounds (1-3) and 12 polyhydroxylated triterpenoid saponins, named eryngiosides A-L (4-15), together with four known compounds kaempferol-3-O-(2,6-di-O-trans-p-coumaroyl)-beta-D-glucopyranoside (16), caffeic acid (17), 21beta-angeloyloxy-3beta-[beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-->2)]-[beta-d-xylopyranosyl-(1-->3)]-beta-D-glucuronopyranosyloxyolean-12-ene-15alpha,16alpha,22alpha,28-tetrol (18), and saniculasaponin III (19). This study reports the isolation of these compounds and their structural elucidation by extensive spectroscopic analyses and chemical degradation.

Predictors of phoneme and stress perception in undergraduate students of singing.

The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the relationship between undergraduate vocal music majors' diction acquisition abilities for singing in a nonnative language (as rated both by themselves and by their studio voice teachers) and their scores on an objective test of phonemic and stress perception. Ten students with varying levels of university voice training served as participants. The results showed significant negative correlations between each of the teachers' four ratings and the students' scores on the phonemic awareness subtest.