University of New Mexico

About: University of New Mexico is a education organization based out in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 28870 authors who have published 64767 publications receiving 2578371 citations. The organization is also known as: UNM & Universitatis Novus Mexico.

A Compact Supermassive Binary Black Hole System

Abstract: We report on the discovery of a supermassive binary black hole system in the radio galaxy 0402+379, with a projected separation between the two black holes of just 7.3 pc. This is the closest black hole pair yet found by more than 2 orders of magnitude. These results are based on recent multifrequency observations using the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA), which reveal two compact, variable, flat-spectrum, active nuclei within the elliptical host galaxy of 0402+379. Multiepoch observations from the VLBA also provide constraints on the total mass and dynamics of the system. Low spectral resolution spectroscopy using the Hobby-Eberly Telescope indicates two velocity systems with a combined mass of the two black holes of ~1.5 × 108 M☉. The two nuclei appear stationary, while the jets emanating from the weaker of the two nuclei appear to move out and terminate in bright hot spots. The discovery of this system has implications for the number of close binary black holes that might be sources of gravitational radiation. Green Bank Telescope observations at 22 GHz to search for water masers in this interesting system are also presented.

Use of tissue water as a concentration reference for proton spectroscopic imaging.

Abstract: A strategy for using tissue water as a concentration standard in (1)H magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging studies on the brain is presented, and the potential errors that may arise when the method is used are examined. The sensitivity of the method to errors in estimates of the different water compartment relaxation times is shown to be small at short echo times (TEs). Using data from healthy human subjects, it is shown that different image segmentation approaches that are commonly used to account for partial volume effects (SPM2, FSL's FAST, and K-means) lead to different estimates of metabolite levels, particularly in gray matter (GM), owing primarily to variability in the estimates of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) fraction. While consistency does not necessarily validate a method, a multispectral segmentation approach using FAST yielded the lowest intersubject variability in the estimates of GM metabolites. The mean GM and white matter (WM) levels of N-acetyl groups (NAc, primarily N-acetylaspartate), choline (Ch), and creatine (Cr) obtained in these subjects using the described method with FAST multispectral segmentation are reported: GM [NAc] = 17.16 +/- 1.19 mM; WM [NAc] = 14.26 +/- 1.38 mM; GM [Ch] = 3.27 +/- 0.47 mM; WM [Ch] = 2.65 +/- 0.25 mM; GM [Cr] = 13.98 +/- 1.20 mM; and WM [Cr] = 7.10 +/- 0.67 mM.

Glatiramer acetate in primary progressive multiple sclerosis: Results of a multinational, multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Abstract: Objective To determine whether glatiramer acetate (GA) slows accumulation of disability in primary progressive multiple sclerosis. Methods A total of 943 patients with primary progressive multiple sclerosis were randomized to GA or placebo (PBO) in this 3-year, double-blind trial. The primary end point was an intention-to-treat analysis of time to 1- (entry expanded disability status scale, 3.0–5.0) or 0.5-point expanded disability status scale change (entry expanded disability status scale, 5.5–6.5) sustained for 3 months. The trial was stopped after an interim analysis by an independent data safety monitoring board indicated no discernible treatment effect on the primary outcome. Intention-to-treat analyses of disability and magnetic resonance imaging end points were performed. Results There was a nonsignificant delay in time to sustained accumulated disability in GA- versus PBO-treated patients (hazard ratio, 0.87 [95% confidence interval, 0.71–1.07]; p = 0.1753), with significant decreases in enhancing lesions in year 1 and smaller increases in T2 lesion volumes in years 2 and 3 versus PBO. Post hoc analysis showed that survival curves for GA-treated male patients diverged early from PBO-treated male subjects (hazard ratio, 0.71 [95% confidence interval, 0.53–0.95]; p = 0.0193). Interpretation The trial failed to demonstrate a treatment effect of GA on primary progressive multiple sclerosis. Both the unanticipated low event rate and premature discontinuation of study medication decreased the power to detect a treatment effect. Post hoc analysis suggests GA may have slowed clinical progression in male patients who showed more rapid progression when untreated. Ann Neurol 2007;61:14–24

Tobacco aquaporin NtAQP1 is involved in mesophyll conductance to CO2 in vivo

Abstract: *† These authors contributed equally to this work. Summary Leaf mesophyll conductance to CO 2 (gm) has been recognized to be finite and variable, rapidly adapting to environmental conditions. The physiological basis for fast changes in g m is poorly understood, but current reports suggest the involvement of protein-facilitated CO 2 diffusion across cell membranes. A good candidate for this could be the Nicotiana tabacum L. aquaporin NtAQP1, which was shown to increase membrane permeability to CO 2 in Xenopus oocytes. The objective of the present work was to evaluate its effect on the in vivo mesophyll conductance to CO 2, using plants either deficient in or overexpressing NtAQP1. Antisense plants deficient in NtAQP1 (AS) and NtAQP1 overexpressing tobacco plants (O) were compared with their respective wild-type (WT) genotypes (CAS and CO). Plants grown under optimum conditions showed different photosynthetic rates at saturating light, with a decrease of 13% in AS and an increase of 20% in O, compared with their respective controls. CO 2 response curves of photosynthesis also showed significant differences among genotypes. However, in vitro analysis demonstrated that these differences could not be attributed to alterations in Rubisco activity or ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate content. Analyses of chlorophyll fluorescence and on-line 13 C discrimination indicated that the observed differences in net photosynthesis (AN) among genotypes were due to different leaf mesophyll conductances to CO2, which was estimated to be 30% lower in AS and 20% higher in O compared with their respective WT. These results provide evidence for the in vivo involvement of aquaporin NtAQP1 in mesophyll conductance to CO 2.

Face Concerns in Interpersonal Conflict A Cross-Cultural Empirical Test of the Face Negotiation Theory

Abstract: This study sought to test the underlying assumption of the face-negotiation theory that face is an explanatory mechanism for culture’s influence on conflict behavior. A questionnaire was administered to 768 participants in 4 national cultures (China, Germany, Japan, and the United States) asking them to describe interpersonal conflict. The major findings of this study are as follows: (a) cultural individualism-collectivism had direct and indirect effects on conflict styles, (b) independent self-construal related positively with self-face and interdependent self-construal related positively with other-face, (c) self-face related positively with dominating conflict styles and other-face related positively with avoiding and integrating styles, and (d) face accounted for all of the total variance explained (100% of 19% total explained) in dominating, most of the total variance explained in integrating (70% of 20% total explained), and some of the total variance explained in avoiding (38% of 21% total explaine...