Loneliness among children and young adolescents.

Investigated differences in loneliness involving parents and peers and the relations between loneliness, choices of a "first comfort figure" (FCF), and social sensitivity as perceived by peers. 60 female and 52 male 5th graders, 97 female and 45 male 7th graders, and 66 female and 73 male 9th graders were given a loneliness scale and a sociometric measure of perceived social sensitivity. Results indicate that age differences in parent-related loneliness were marginally significant. Seventh graders seemed to have fewer loneliness experiences in their relationships with parents than 5th and 9th graders. Boys more frequently reported those feelings than girls. Ss who indicated both parents as their FCFs had the lowest scores for parent-related loneliness, whereas those who indicated friends as their FCFs had the highest scores for parent-related loneliness. With respect to peer-related loneliness, no age or sex differences were found. However, girls who chose both parents as their FCFs were more lonely than boys who did the same, and boys who chose their fathers as their FCFs mentioned more peer-related loneliness feelings than the girls who made this choice. Ss perceived as socially sensitive by their classmates less frequently mentioned peer-related loneliness feelings. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reducing the mean squared error of quantile-based estimators by smoothing

Many univariate robust estimators are based on quantiles. As already theoretically pointed out by Fernholz (in J. Stat. Plan. Inference 57(1), 29–38, 1997), smoothing the empirical distribution function with an appropriate kernel and bandwidth can reduce the variance and mean squared error (MSE) of some quantile-based estimators in small data sets. In this paper we apply this idea on several robust estimators of location, scale and skewness. We propose a robust bandwidth selection and bias reduction procedure. We show that the use of this smoothing method indeed leads to smaller MSEs, also at contaminated data sets. In particular, we obtain better performances for the medcouple which is a robust measure of skewness that can be used for outlier detection in skewed distributions.     

The mycobiota of three dry-cured meat products from Slovenia

The surface mycobiota of three types of Slovenian dry-cured meat products were isolated from a total of 75 items of product that were sampled periodically during the drying/ripening stage of processing. The predominant filamentous fungal genus isolated was Penicillium. Eurotium spp., Aspergillus versicolor and Cladosporium spp. were isolated from only two of the products. Eight Penicillium species were identified. Penicillium nordicum was recovered frequently. Penicillium nalgiovense was recovered less frequently, from one product only (a salami), while a yet-to-be described species Penicillium “milanense” was isolated from 21 items. The other penicillia were rarely isolated. Of the isolated and identified species, those that can produce mycotoxins are: A. versicolor, Penicillium brevicompactum, Penicillium chrysogenum, P. nordicum, and Penicillium polonicum. Their growth on dry-cured meat products is undesirable.     

Public Perceptions of High-rise Building Emergency Evacuation Preparedness

In light of the events of September 11, 2001, a concern in the fire safety community is that the public attitudes toward emergency evacuation procedures and preparedness may have changed and that current assumptions about occupant behavior may no longer be valid. In 2006, a survey of high-rise building occupants was conducted to explore their knowledge of high-rise building safety and emergency evacuation procedures and their attitudes and perceptions about high-rise safety and emergency evacuation procedures. Some 244 residential building occupants in Chicago, New York City and San Francisco and 228 commercial building occupants in Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, and Philadelphia were surveyed. The study revealed that the events of September 11, 2001 have heightened occupants concerns about safety in high-rise buildings. Eight in ten commercial building respondents participated in a fire drill in the last year, compared to 18% of residential building respondents. Among both survey respondents, the most frequent top-of-mind suggestion to building management to improve safety was “more fire drills.” Almost all occupants know where the fire exits are. And, keeping with conventional wisdom, most occupants believe using elevators is unsafe during a fire, however, 28% also believe that going to the roof is a possible alternative to using the stairs. These findings support the need for continued public education about emergency evacuations procedures in high-rise buildings.

New Pyrrole Derivatives as Promising Biological Agents: Design,Synthesis, Characterization,In Silico,and Cytotoxicity Evaluation

The current study describes the synthesis, physicochemical characterization and cytotoxicity evaluation of a new series of pyrrole derivatives in order to identify new bioactive molecules. The new pyrroles were obtained by reaction of benzimidazolium bromide derivatives with asymmetrical acetylenes in 1,2-epoxybutane under reflux through the Huisgen [3 + 2] cycloaddition of several ylide intermediates to the corresponding dipolarophiles. The intermediates salts were obtained from corresponding benzimidazole with bromoacetonitrile. The structures of the newly synthesized compounds were confirmed by elemental analysis, spectral techniques (i.e., IR, ¹H-NMR and ¹³C-NMR) and single-crystal X-ray analysis. The cytotoxicity of the synthesized compounds was evaluated on plant cells (i.e., Triticum aestivum L.) and animal cells using aquatic crustaceans (i.e., Artemia franciscana Kellogg and Daphnia magna Straus). The potential antitumor activity of several of the pyrrole derivatives was studied by performing in vitro cytotoxicity assays on human adenocarcinoma-derived cell lines (i.e., LoVo (colon), MCF-7 (breast), and SK-OV-3 (ovary)) and normal human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). The obtained results of the cytotoxicity assessment indicated that the tested compounds had nontoxic activity on Triticum aestivum L., while on Artemia franciscana Kellogg nauplii, only compounds 2c and 4c had moderate toxicity. On Daphnia magna, 4b and 4c showed high toxicity; 2a, 2b, and 2c moderate to high toxicity; only 4a and 4d were nontoxic. The compound-mediated cytotoxicity assays showed that several pyrrole compounds demonstrated dose- and time-dependent cytotoxic activity against all tested tumor cell lines, the highest antitumor properties being achieved by 4a and its homologue 4d, especially against LoVo colon cells.     

Residual Interactions of LL-37 with POPC and POPE:POPG Bilayer Model Studied by All-Atom Molecular Dynamics Simulation

LL-37 is a membrane-active antimicrobial peptide (AMP) that could disrupt the integrity of bacterial membranes due to its inherent cationic and amphipathic nature. Developing a shorter derivative of a long peptide such as LL-37 is of great interest, as it can reduce production costs and cytotoxicity. However, more detailed information about the residual interaction between LL-37 and the membrane is required for further optimization. Previously, molecular dynamics simulation using mixed all-atom and united-atom force fields showed that LL-37 could penetrate the bilayer membrane. This study aimed to perform all-atom molecular dynamics simulations, highlighting the residual interaction of LL-37 with the simplest model of the bacterial membrane, POPE:POPG (2:1), and compare its interaction with the POPC, which represents the eukaryotic membrane. The result showed leucine–leucine as the leading residues of LL-37 that first contact the membrane surface. Then, the cationic peptide of LL-37 started to penetrate the membrane by developing salt bridges between positively charged amino acids, Lys–Arg, and the exposed phosphate group of POPE:POPG, which is shielded in POPC. Residues 18 to 29 are suggested as the core region of LL-37, as they actively interact with the POPE:POPG membrane, not POPC. These results could provide a basis for modifying the amino acid sequence of LL-37 and developing a more efficient design for LL-37 derivatives.     

Site Disorder as a Predictor for Compositionally Complex 5RE2Zr2O7 Ceramic Phase Stability

Phase formation and stability of five component compositionally complex rare earth zirconates (5RE₂Zr₂O₇) were investigated by X-ray diffraction and electron microprobe analysis. Zirconates with different rare earth compositions (LaNdSmEuDy, LaNdSmEuYb, LaNdEuErYb, LaNdDyErYb, SmEuDyYHo, LaYHoErYb, and DyYHoErYb) were synthesized at 1700°C and 2000°C by the solid-state method to investigate the effect of A-site site disorder (δ_A) on phase stability. Increased site disorder results from mixed cation occupancy with localized crystallographic strain and bond disorder. Compositions LaNdSmEuDy (δ_A = 4.6) and LaNdSmEuYb (δ_A = 6.0) produced a single pyrochlore phase and compositions SmDyYHoErYb (δ_A = 2.8), LaYHoErYb (δ_A = 6.2), and DyYHoErYb (δ_A = 1.7) produced a single fluorite phase. High δ_A compositions LaNdEuErYb (δ_A = 6.9) and LaNdDyErYb (δ_A = 7.2) produced a pyrochlore and fluorite phase mixture at 1700°C. Single phase was obtained for the latter composition at 2000°C. Of the single phase compositions calcined at 1700°C, LaNdSmEuYb and LaYHoErYb (both with largest δ_A) showed decomposition to mixed fluorite and pyrochlore phases during lower temperature anneals, indicating entropic stabilization. Comparison with prior work shows a temperature dependence of the critical δ_A for phase stability, and compositions near it are expected to be entropy stabilized.     

Surfaceome Profiling Identifies Basigin-Chaperoned Protein Clients

The surface proteome or “surfaceome” is a critical mediator of cellular biology, facilitating cell-to-cell interactions and communication with extracellular biomolecules. Constituents of the surfaceome can serve as biomarkers for changing cell states and as targets for pharmacological intervention. While some pathways of cell surface trafficking are well characterized to allow prediction of surface localization, some non-canonical trafficking mechanisms do not. Basigin (Bsg), a cell surface glycoprotein, has been shown to chaperone protein clients to the cell surface. However, understanding which proteins are served by Bsg is not always straightforward. To accelerate such identification, we applied a surfaceome proximity labeling method that is integrated with quantitative mass spectrometry-based proteomics to discern changes in the surfaceome of hepatic stellate cells that occur in response to the genetic loss of Bsg. Using this strategy, we observed that the loss of Bsg leads to corresponding reductions in the cell surface expression of monocarboxylate transporters MCT1 and MCT4. We also found that these relationships were unique to Bsg and not found in neuroplastin (Nptn), a related family member. These results establish the utility of the surfaceome proximity labeling method to determine clients of cell surface chaperone proteins.     

Phase relations of the MgO–SiO2–CrOx system at 1600°C in air and reducing atmospheres

The equilibrium phase relations of the MgO–SiO₂–CrO_x system were investigated at 1600°C in air and at pO₂ of 10^–10 to 10^–11 atm using a high-temperature isothermal equilibration technique followed by rapid quenching and direct phase composition analyses with electron probe X-ray microanalysis. Two-phase equilibria (liquid–cristobalite, liquid–spinel, liquid–corundum, and liquid–olivine) and three-phase equilibria (liquid–cristobalite–spinel, liquid–olivine–spinel, liquid–spinel–corundum, and cristobalite–spinel–corundum) were observed. The 1600°C isothermal sections at various oxygen partial pressures were constructed for the MgO–SiO₂–CrO_x system based on the experimentally determined liquid and solid compositions. Data from the literature and the predictions by FactSage and MTDATA software were compared with the present experimental results.