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DYF-13, originally identified in C. elegans within a collection of dye-filling chemosensory mutants, is one of several proteins that have been classified as putatively involved...Full Text Available

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Abstract The Hippo pathway is an evolutionally conserved protein kinase cascade involved in regulating organ size in vivo and cell contact inhibition in vitro by governing cell proliferation and apoptosis. Deregulation of the Hippo pathway is linked to cancer development. Its first core kinase Warts was identified in Drosophila more than 15 years ago, but it gained much attention when other core components of the pathway were identified 8 years later. Major discoveries of the pathway were made during past several years. The core kinase components Hippo, Salvador, Warts, and Mats in the fly and Mst1/2, WW45, Lats1/2, and Mob1 in mammals phosphorylate and inactivate downstream transcriptional co-activators Yorkie in the fly, Yes-associated protein (YAP) and transcriptional co-activator with ...

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Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is the main intermediate filament protein in mature astrocytes, but also an important component of the cytoskeleton in astrocytes during development. Major recent developments in astrocyte biology and the discovery of novel intermediate filament functions enticed the interest in the function of GFAP. The discovery of various GFAP splice variants gave an additional boost to explore this protein in more detail.The structural role of GFAP in astrocytes has been widely accepted for a long time, but over the years, GFAP has been shown to be involved in astrocyte functions, which are important during regeneration, synaptic plasticity and reactive gliosis. Moreover, different subpopulations of astrocytes have been identified, which are likely to have distinc...

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We identify new organelles associated with the vacuolar system in plant cells. These organelles are defined biochemically by their internal content of three integral membrane proteins: a chimeric reporter...Full Text Available

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End binding proteins (EBs) are highly conserved core components of microtubule plus-end tracking protein networks. Here we investigated the roles of the three mammalian EBs in controlling microtubule...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundSeveral proteins are known to be markedly expressed in the brain during cerebral ischemia; however, the changes in protein profiles within the ischemic brain after an ischemic...Full Text Available

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Genes of the S100 fused-type protein (SFTP) family are clustered within the epidermal differentiation complex and encode essential components that maintain epithelial homeostasis and barrier functions....Full Text Available

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Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophies are caused by defects of dystrophin, which forms a part of the membrane cytoskeleton of specialized cells such as muscle. It has been previously shown that the dystrophin-associated protein A1 (59-kDa DAP) is actually a heterogeneous group of phosphorylated proteins consisting of an acidic ({alpha}-A1) and a distinct basic ({beta}-A1) component. Partial peptide sequence of the A1 complex purified from rabbit muscle permitted the design of oligonucleotide probes that were used to isolate a cDNA for one human isoform of A1. This cDNA encodes a basic A1 isoform that is distinct from the recently described syntrophins in Torpedo and mouse and is expressed in many tissues with at least five distinct mRNA species of 5.9, 4.8, 4.3, 3.1, and 1.5 kb. A comparison of the human cDNA sequence with the GenBank expressed sequence tag (EST) data base has identified a relative ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Alpha-toxin, the major cytotoxic agent elaborated by Staphylococcus aureus, was the first bacterial exotoxin to be identified as a pore former. The protein is secreted as a single-chain, water-soluble...Full Text Available

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Contractile vacuole complexes are critical components of cell volume regulation and have been shown to have other functional roles in several free-living protists....Full Text Available

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Cocoon sericin plays an important role in the reeling of silk and serves as a valuable biomaterial in the field of biomedicine, skincare, and food industries; however, knowledge about cocoon sericin proteins has been limited. For a comprehensive study on sericin, cocoons of eight varieties of silkworm of different geographic origin and with varied cocoon color were analyzed utilizing proteomics and bioinformatics approaches. The electrophoresis pattern demonstrated some common protein bands for all silkworm varieties and distinctive protein bands for some of those examined in the present study. The Ser2 protein, a new Ser3 protein, and four other novel sericin proteins were identified in cocoons for the first time. Products of both Ser1 and Ser3 genes appear to be ubiquitous in the cocoon ...

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Using a genetic screen we have identified two chromosomal genes, cusRS (ylcA ybcZ), from Escherichia coli K-12 that encode a two-component, signal...Full Text Available

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The green fluorescent protein (GFP) asFP499 from Anemonia sulcata is a distant homologue of the GFP from Aequorea victoria. We cloned the asFP499 gene into a mammalian expression vector and showed that this protein was expressed in the human lymphoblast cell line Ramos RA1 and in the embryonic kidney 293T cell line (HEK 293T). In HEK 293T cells, asFP499 was localized mainly in the cytoplasm, suggesting that the protein was excluded from the nucleus. We identified _1_9_4LRMEKLNI_2_0_1 as a candidate nuclear export signal in asFP499 and mutated the isoleucine at position 201 to an alanine. Unlike the wildtype form, the mutant protein was distributed throughout the cytoplasm and nucleus. This is First report of a GFP that contains a functional NES.

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Receptor interacting protein 140 (RIP140) is a coregulator for numerous nuclear receptors and transcription factors and primarily exerts gene-repressive activities on various target genes. We previously identified a spectrum of posttranslational modifications on RIP140 that augment its property and biological activity. In T(3)-triggered biphasic regulation of cellular retinoic acid binding protein 1 (Crabp1) gene along the course of fibroblast-adipocyte differentiation, we found TRAP220(MED1) critical for T(3)-activated chromatin remodeling whereas RIP140 essential for T(3)-repressive chromatin remodeling of this gene promoter. In this current study, we aim to examine whether and how RIP140 replaces TRAP220(MED1) on the CrabpI promoter in differentiating adipocyte cultures. We find increasing recruitment of RIP140 to this promoter, with corresponding reduction in TRAP220(MED1) recruitment during the T(3)-repressive phase. ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Receptor protein tyrosine phosphatase T (PTPRT/PTPρ) is frequently mutated in human cancers including colon, lung, gastric and skin cancers. More than half of the identified tumor-derived...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

SummaryBody condition affects the timing and magnitude of life history transitions. Therefore, identifying proximate mechanisms...Full Text Available

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The ETS proteins are a family of transcription factors (TFs) that regulate a variety of biological processes. We made genome-wide analyses to explore the classification of the ETS gene family. We identified...Full Text Available

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The protein databank (PDB) contains high quality structural data for computational structural biology investigations. We have earlier described a fast tool (the decomp_pdb tool) for identifying and...Full Text Available

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The CD1 family of proteins binds self and foreign glycolipids for presentation to CD1-restricted T cells. To identify previously uncharacterized active CD1 ligands, especially those of microbial origin,...Full Text Available

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The DUR3 gene, which encodes a component required for active transport of urea in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, has been isolated, and its sequence has been determined. The deduced DUR3 protein profile...Full Text Available

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Expressed sequence tags (ESTs) of the maxillary galea of the silkworm were analyzed to identify proteins involved in food selection systems. From the 1251 redundant genes of the ESTs, we identified 7 odorant-binding protein-like genes (bmObpL), 6 takeout-like genes (bmToL), and 6 chemosensory protein genes (bmCsp). Quantitative RT-PCR analysis indicated that bmObpL1, bmObpL2, bmObpL3, bmObpL5, bmToL1, bmToL3, and bmorCsp15 were predominantly expressed in the larval oral appendages, such as the maxilla, labrum, labium and antenna. Immunocytochemical analysis indicated that the proteins of bmObpL1, bmObpL3, and bmToL1 were localized in the gustatory chemosensilla on the maxillary galea and olfactory sensilla in the antenna. The proteins encoded by bmObpL1 and bmObpL3 were detected in the gus...

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Peculiar DNA sequences made up by the tandem repetition of a 5 bp unit have been identified within or upstream from three avian protein-coding genes. One sequence is located within an intron of the...Full Text Available

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We have used intramolecular cross-linking, MS, and sequence threading to rapidly identify the fold of a model protein, bovine basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-2. Its tertiary structure was probed...Full Text Available

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The response regulator protein is a core element of two-component signaling pathway. In this study, we investigated functions of BRRG-1 of Botrytis cinerea, a gene that encodes a putative response regulator protein, which is homologous to Rrg-1 in Neurospora crassa. The BRRG-1 gene deletion mutant ?Brrg1-62 was unable to produce conidia. The mutant showed increased sensitivity to osmotic stress mediated by NaCl and KCl, and to oxidative stress generated by H2O2. Additionally, the mutant was more sensitive to the fungicides iprodione, fludioxonil, and triadimefon than the parental strain. Western-blot analysis showed that the Bos-2 protein, the putative downstream component of Brrg-1, was not phosphorylated in the ?Brrg1-62. Real-time polymerase chain reaction assays showed that expression ...

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The cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) is a highly conserved transcription factor that integrates signaling through the cAMP-dependent protein kinase A (PKA) in many eukaryotes. PKA plays a critical role in Dictyostelium development but no CREB homologue has been identified in this system. Here we show that Dictyostelium utilizes a CREB-like protein, BzpF, to integrate PKA signaling during late development. bzpF^- mutants produce compromised spores, which are extremely unstable and germination defective. Previously, we have found that BzpF binds the canonical CRE motif in vitro. In this paper, we determined the DNA binding specificity of BzpF using protein binding microarray (PBM) and showed that the motif with the highest specificity is a CRE-like sequence. BzpF is necessary to ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The subjects covered in this Symposium range through almost every clinical medical specialty. From an average of one paper in each of the past three Symposiums, the explosive interest in cerebral amyloidosis has led to the presentation of 12 papers on this subject in the present volume. The genetically predisposed familial amyloidotic processes, such as the polyneuropathies and familial Mediterranean fever have also stimulated extensive and intriguing investigations which have revealed the striking effect of a single amino acid substitution in transforming a normal protein into a lethal ''amyloidogenic'' one. This Symposium clearly depicts the advances since the first amyloid fibril protein was definitively identified and defined 14 years ago. Since all amyloid fibril proteins so far described are variants of normal proteins, attention to gene abnormalities now becomes a significant ...

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The DNA sequence motif ATTTGCAT (octamer) or its inverse complement has been identified as an evolutionarily conserved element in the promoter region of immunoglobulin genes. Two major DNA-binding proteins that bind in a sequence-specific manner to the octamer DNA sequence have been identified in mammalian species--a ubiquitously expressed protein (Oct-1) and a lymphoid-specific protein (Oct-2). During characterization of the promoter region of the chicken immunoglobulin light chain gene, the authors identified two homologous octamer-binding proteins in chicken B cells. when the cloning of the human gene for Oct-2 revealed it to be a member of a distinct family of homeobox genes, they sought to determine if the human Oct-2 cDNA could be used to identify homologous chicken homeobox genes. Using a human Oct-2 ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

In an earlier report, we used differential cloning to identify genes that might be critical in controlling arterial neointima formation (Giachelli, C., N. Bae, D. Lombardi, M. Majesky, and S. Schwartz....Full Text Available

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Despite the recent success of genome-wide association studies (GWASs) in identifying loci consistently associated with coronary artery disease (CAD), a large proportion of the genetic components of...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

In-vitro experiments using 203Pb were performed to identify the lead binding components in human peripheral blood. The distribution of lead in plasma, in the red cell membrane, and within the red cell...Full Text Available

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Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are leading causes of morbidity across all populations, with heritability estimates of ∼80% indicating a substantial genetic component. Population genetics...Full Text Available

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The PbII binding characteristics of the previously reported PbII binding proteins of rat kidney cytosol were investigated further. Saturation and Scatchard analysis of "2"0"3Pb binding in whole cytosol and in 40% saturated ammonium sulfate precipitated fractions disclosed a class of relatively high-affinity sites with an apparent Kd of approximately 50 nM and binding capacities of approximately 41 and 9 pmol/mg of protein, respectively. Two "2"0"3Pb binding proteins with approximate molecular masses of 63K and 11.5K daltons and a high molecular weight component (greater than 200K) were isolated by Sepharose-6B column chromatography. The time course of association of "2"0"3Pb with cytosol and the 63K protein showed maximum binding at 18 hr which was stable up to 25 hr at 4 degrees C. The approximate half-time dissociation rate (T 1/2) of specifically bound "2"0"3Pb to the 63K ...

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Summary Background The incidence of food allergy to wheat is increasing. Its diagnosis depends on the purity of major allergens and their inclusion in tests. Isolation and characterization of wheat allergens are therefore of utmost importance. Objective To purify and identify wheat flour allergens most frequently recognized by patients' IgE antibodies and to study their allergenicity. Methods Water/salt-soluble extracts from wheat flour were prepared and separated using a combination of ultrafiltration, isoelectric focusing and liquid chromatography. Purified proteins were analysed by immunoblotting using pooled sera from patients with atopic dermatitis who possessed IgE specific to wheat. Wheat proteins found to bind IgE were subsequently identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ion...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Two methods were used to label pig kidney microvillar membrane proteins from the luminal and cytoplasmic surfaces of closed membrane vesicles. The first method was lactoperoxidase-catalysed radioiodination. Lactoperoxidase and glucose oxidase were positioned inside or outside the vesicles, iodination being initiated by adding glucose and "1"2"5I. After electrophoresis of the proteins, asymmetric labelling patterns on radioautographs were observed. However the major disadvantage of this method was the high degree of intramembrane labelling of the fatty acid chains of membrane lipids. The second method overcame this disadvantage. A new hydophilic photoreagent, 3,5-di("1"2"5I)iodo-4-azidobenzenesulphonate, was transported by a Na"+-dependent system into microvillar vesicles, thus permitting labelling from either side of the membrane when the vesicles were photolysed. The activity of several microvillar peptidases survived the labelling reaction ...

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Protein kinase C activity has been identified in the rat brown adipocyte. About 60% of this activity is found in the cytosolic fraction under basal conditions, and 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA) causes a rapid shift from the cytosol to the particulate fraction. Norepinephrine and phenylephrine causes a similar redistribution that can be blocked by prazosin but not by alprenolol. {alpha}{sub 1}-Adrenergic agonists cause three- to fivefold stimulation of type 2 iodothyronine 5{prime}-deiodinase activity in brown adipocytes. TPA has no effect on basal deiodinase activity and reduces the response of the enzyme to {alpha}{sub 1}-adrenergic agonists. These results suggest that the translocation of protein kinase C from cytosol to particulate fraction is not sufficient to increase deiodinase activity but can modulate the {alpha}{sub 1}-adrenergic agonist-mediated responses in these cells.

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Soybean is one of the most economical and nutritious food packed with basic nutrients that combat diseases stemming from mal- and under-nutrition. Despite its rich nutritional profile, use of soybean in food has been limited because soybean proteins are often associated with compounds, which could exert a negative impact on the nutritional quality of the protein. Trypsin inhibitor (TI) is one of the important anti-nutritional factors that exert negative effect by causing growth inhibition. Soybean cultivar VLS-2 was irradiated with 250 Gy gamma rays in a gamma cell (200) with 60Co source installed at BARC to induce mutations for low trypsin inhibitor content. Three mutants with lower levels of TI content were identified and can be utilized for developing elite varieties of soybean. (author)

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Objective: Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease, modulated by plaque stabilizing and de-stabilizing cell populations such as infiltrating monocytes and vascular smooth muscle cells (vSMCs). Transcription factors regulating proliferation and differentiation of atherosclerosis relevant cell types are of interest in this context. The forkhead box transcription factor FoxP1 modulates monocyte differentiation. We studied FoxP1 expression in atherosclerotic tissue, correlated FoxP1 expression with plaque characteristics and identified associations between FoxP1 and plaque proteins. Methods: 116 Atherosclerotic plaques from carotid endarterectomy samples were histologically classified (fibrous, fibroatheromatous, atheromatous) and subjected to semi-quantitative protein analysis. Macrophage,...

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The real thermodynamic inefficiencies in a thermal system are related to exergy destruction and exergy loss. An exergy analysis identifies the system components with the highest exergy destruction and the processes that cause them. However, only a part of the exergy destruction in a component can be avoided. A minimum exergy destruction rate for each system component is imposed by physical, technological, and economic constraints. The difference between the total and the unavoidable exergy destruction rate represents the avoidable exergy destruction rate, which provides a realistic measure of the potential for improving the thermodynamic efficiency of a component. The calculation of avoidable cost rates associated with both exergy destruction and capital investment is described in the paper and is applied to the exergoeconomic evaluation of an externally fired combined cycle power ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The Myc oncoprotein is a potent inducer of cell growth, cell cycle progression, and apoptosis. While many direct Myc target genes have been identified, the molecular determinants of Myc’s transcriptional...Full Text Available

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To understand how DEXD/H-box proteins recognize and interact with their cellular substrates, we have been studying Prp28p, a DEXD/H-box splicing factor required for switching the U1 snRNP with the U6...Full Text Available

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A {lambda}gt11 cDNA library was constructed from poly(U)-Spharose-selected Entamoeba histolytica trophozoite RNA in order to clone and identify surface antigens. The library was screened with rabbit polyclonal anti-E. histolytica serum. A 700-base-pair cDNA insert was isolated and the nucleotide sequence was determined. The deduced amino acid sequence of the cDNA revealed a cysteine-rich protein. DNA hybridizations showed that the gene was specific to E. histolytica since the cDNA probe reacted with DNA from four axenic strains of E. histolytica but did not react with DNA from Entamoeba invadens, Acanthamoeba castellanii, or Trichomonas vaginalis. The insert was subcloned into the expression vector pGEX-1 and the protein was expressed as a fusion with the C terminus of glutathione S-transferase. Purified fusion protein was used to generate 22 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and a mouse polyclonal antiserum ...

CERN Document Server

We report the results of mapping observations of the bipolar nebula with SiO maser emission, IRAS 19312+1950, in the CO (J=1-0 and J=2-1), 13CO (J=1-0 and J=2-1), C18O (J=1-0), CS (J=2-1), SO (J_K=3_2-2_1) and HCO+ (J=3-2) lines with the Berkeley-Illinois-Maryland Association array. Evolutional status of this source has been evoking a controversy since its discovery, though SiO maser sources are usually identified as late-type stars with active mass loss. In line profiles, two kinematical components are found as reported in previous single-dish observations: a broad pedestal component and a narrow component. Spatio-kinetic properties of a broad component region traced by 12CO lines are roughly explained by a simple spherical outflow model with a typical expanding velocity of an AGB star, though some properties of the broad component region still conflict with ...

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The Drosophila melanogaster tissue-specific transcription factor NTF-1 was originally identified in vitro as a protein that could bind to and activate transcription from the Dopa decarboxylase (Ddc) gene. A structure-function analysis of NTF-1 led to the identification of a discrete amino-terminal activation domain. Here, we report that an NTF-1 mutant lacking the activation domain acts as a trans-dominant inhibitor of NTF-1 activation in tissue culture cells by forming inactive heterodimers with the full-length protein. Ectopically expressing this dominant-negative protein or the full-length protein in developing Drosophila embryos leads to dire developmental consequences. Overexpressing the trans-dominant NTF-1 leads to lethality, while overexpressing full-length NTF-1 results in both lethality and morphogenetic defects. Our results suggest that both the activity and the ...

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The ability to feed on vertebrate blood has evolved many times in various arthropod clades. Each time this trait evolves, novel solutions to the problem posed by vertebrate hemostasis are generated. Consequently, saliva of blood-feeding arthropods has proven to be a rich source of antihemostatic molecules. Vasodilators include nitrophorins (nitric oxide storage and transport heme proteins), a variety of peptides that mimic endogenous vasodilatory neuropeptides, and proteins that catabolize or sequester endogenous vasoconstrictors. A variety of platelet aggregation inhibitors antagonize platelet responses to wound-generated signals, including ADP, thrombin, and collagen. Anticoagulants disrupt elements of both the intrinsic and extrinsic pathways. Molecular approaches (termed 'sialomics') to characterize the full inventory of mRNAs transcribed in salivary glands have revealed a surprising level of complexity within a single species. Multiple ...

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Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent assay systems for the identification of irradiated egg, pork and chicken was developed. Eggs were irradiated in their shells to 0.5{approx}7kGy. Pork was irradiated to 0.5{approx}3kGy and chicken irradiated to 0.5kGy{approx}5kGy. The most sensitive proteins to irradiation were screened by SDS-PAGE and purified. Ovalbumin from egg, salt soluble protein(p) from pork, and salt soluble protein(c) from chicken showed the most sensitivity to irradiation. To investigate for a practical use in identifying of irradiated egg, pork and chicken, competitive ELISA was performed. The binding activity of ovalbumin to anti-ovalbumin IgG was reduced in a dose-dependent manner by irradiating up to 7kGy, and considerably lowered after irradiating at 7kGy. The concentration of 50% inhibition of ovalbumin to IgG was increased to 1.5(0.5kGy){approx}3.7(7kGy) times in an dose-dependent ...

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pT181 is a naturally-occurring 4437 basepair (bp) plasmid isolated from Staphylococcus aureus which encodes inducible resistance to tetracycline (Tc). The DNA sequence data has identified three open reading frames (ORFs). The largest ORF B, has been found to be responsible for the Tc resistance phenotype of pT181. Since most Tc resistance systems appear to be regulated by an effector protein and a repressor protein, several Bal 31 deletion mutants of pT181 were constructed and analyzed in an effort to identify the elements involved in Tc resistance. Two transcomplementing groups of mutants were identified within the tet gene. The mechanism of Tc resistance was studied by assaying the accumulation of (7-/sup 3/H) Tc by Tc sensitive cells, and uninduced and induced pT181-containing cells. A sharp decrease in accumulation of the drug after an initial increase was observed in Tc induced ...

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Introduction: Tumor-derived heat shock protein (HSP)-peptide complexes (HSPPCs) induced immunity against malignancies in preclinical trials, working across tumor types and bypassing the need to identify single immunogenic peptides. These results paved the way for the use of human gp96 obtained from autologous tumor samples as an anti-cancer vaccine. Areas covered: Autologous tumor-derived HSP gp96 peptide complex (HSPPC-96) vaccine is emerging as a tumor- and patient-specific cancer vaccine, with confirmed activity in several malignancies. It has been tested in Phase III clinical trials in advanced melanoma and kidney cancer with evidence for efficacy in patients with earlier stage disease. HSPPC-96-based vaccine demonstrated an excellent safety profile, thus emerging as a novel therapeuti...

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The herbicide atrazine is a known immunotoxicant and an inhibitor of human natural killer (NK) cell lytic function. The precise changes in NK cell lytic function following atrazine exposure have not been fully elucidated. The current study identifies the point at which atrazine exerts its affect on the stepwise process of human NK cell-mediated lyses of the K562 target cell line. Using intracellular staining of human peripheral blood lymphocytes, it was determined that a 24-h in vitro exposure to atrazine did not decrease the level of NK cell lytic proteins granzyme A, granzyme B or perforin. Thus, it was hypothesized that atrazine exposure was inhibiting the ability of the NK cells to bind to the target cell and subsequently inhibit the release of lytic protein from the NK cell. To test t...

Scientific Electronic Library Online (English)

Abstract in english Functional properties of soy proteins for food are closely related to the composition of their storage protein subunits. Using base excision sequence scanning (BESS), we show that the absence of the A4 peptide in the G4 glycinin subunit of the soybean (Glycine max L.) cultivar Enrei was caused by the same point mutation in the Gy4 gene as previously reported in the soybean cultivar Raiden. Although the genetic relationship between Raiden and Enrei is not known, the same p (more) oint mutation in their Gy4 genes may indicate that they probably share a related origin. The application of BESS to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) as co-dominant markers for marker-assisted selection (MAS) of a recessive null allele is also discussed.

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The response of Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough (DvH),a sulphate-reducing bacterium, to nitrate stress was examined usingquantitative proteomic analysis. DvH was stressed with 105 m M sodiumnitrate(NaNO3), a level that caused a 50 percent inhibition in growth.The protein profile of stressed cells was compared with that of cellsgrown in the absence of nitrate using the iTRAQ peptide labellingstrategy and tandem liquid chromatography separation coupled with massspectrometry (quadrupoletime-of-flight) detection. A total of 737 uniqueproteins were identified by two or more peptides, representing 22 percentof the total DvH proteome and spanning every functional category. Theresults indicate that this was a mild stress, as proteins involved incentral metabolism and the sulphate reduction pathway were unperturbed.Proteins involved in the nitrate reduction pathway increased. Increasesseen in transport ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

A unique feature of cyanobacteria genomes is the abundance of genes that code for hypothetical proteins containing tandem pentapeptide repeats approximately described by the consensus motif A(N/D)LXX. To date, the structures of two pentapeptide-repeat proteins (PRPs) have been determined, with the tandem pentapeptide-repeat sequences observed to adopt a novel type of right-handed quadrilateral ?-helix, or Rfr-fold, in both structures. One structure, Mycobacterium tuberculosis MfpA, is a 183-residue protein that contains 30 consecutive pentapeptide repeats and appears to offer antibiotic resistance by acting as a DNA mimic. The other structure, Cyanothece 51142 Rfr32, is a 167-residue protein that contains 21 consecutive pentapeptide repeats. The function of Rfr32, like the other 35 hypothetical PRPs identified in the genome of Cyanothece, is unknown. In an effort to understand the ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Constitutive activation of the oncogenic transcription factor STAT3 frequently occurs in various human malignancies. STAT3 activation involves dimerization via intermolecular pTyr-SH2 interaction. Thus, antagonizing this interaction is a feasible approach to inhibit STAT3 activation for cancer therapy. In order to identify selective STAT3 inhibitors, we developed a biochemical HTS system based on AlphaScreen technology, which measures the abilities of test compounds to antagonize pTyr-SH2 interactions. We screened our chemical libraries using this system and identified 5,15-diphenylporphyrin (5,15-DPP) as a selective STAT3-SH2 antagonist. Selective inhibition of STAT3 nuclear translocation and DNA biding activity was observed in cells treated with 5,15-DPP. IL-6-dependent dimerization of STAT3, c-myc promoter binding and c-myc protein expression were all suppressed by 5,15-DPP, whereas no decrement in either expression or ...

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Phosphate/chromate and accelerated chromate coatings were produced on commercially available aluminium. The Cr, P and Fe components of the conversion coatings were determined by radioactive tracer technique. The tracer technique was combined with ion-exchange and film-sectioning methods to determine the chromium(III)/total chromium ratio in the accelerated chromate coating. It was found that during the acidic dissolution of the conversion coating the chromium(III)/total chromium ratio may suffer changes. The film-forming components in the metal/bath interface are supersaturated and deposited onto the aluminium. The identified components of the accelerated chromate coatings are Cr(OH)sub(3), Cr(OH)CrOsub(4) and Crsub(4)(Fe(CN)sub(6))sub(3) and the chromium(III)/total chromium ratio was found to be cca. 2/3. (author). 11 refs.; 5 figs.

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Experimental investigations are presented which demonstrate that the weak ferromagnets are special materials of a larger group of magnets which exhibit two magnetic ordering structures. In weak ferromagnets the main order is antiferromagnetic with a small ferromagnetic component existing in addition. On the other hand, materials in which other combinations of the two basic ordering structures coexist are also known. Common to all these non-collinear spin structures is that the moment components of the two magnetic structures are orthogonal. In the weak ferromagnets this orthogonality manifests already in the paramagnetic phase as a crossover from an isotropic to an anisotropic susceptibility with respect to the applied magnetic field: at high temperatures the antiferromagnetic Curie-Weiss law of the total moment is observed while for T->Tc crossover to a second Curie-Weiss law due to the weak ferromagnetic component ...

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Homology analyses of the protein sequences of chicken liver and rat mammary gland fatty acid synthases were carried out. The amino acid sequences of the chicken and rat enzymes are 67% identical. If conservative substitutions are allowed, 78% of the amino acids are matched. A region of low homologies exists between the functional domains, in particular around amino acid residues 1059-1264 of the chicken enzyme. Homologies between the active sites of chicken and rat and of chicken and yeast enzymes have been analyzed by an alignment method. A high degree of homology exists between the active sites of the chicken and rat enzymes. However, the chicken and yeast enzymes show a lower degree of homology. The DADPH-binding dinucleotide folds of the {beta}-ketoacyl reductase and the enoyl reductase sites were identified by comparison with a known consensus sequence for the DADP- and FAD-binding dinucleotide folds. The active sites of all of the enzymes ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

A central feature of the endocrine pathophysiology of septic shock is thought to be the existence of adrenal dysfunction. Based on changes in glucocorticoid secretion and responsiveness, protein binding, and activity. These changes have been described by the terms "Relative Adrenal Insufficiency" (RAI), or "Critical Illness Related Corticosteroid Insufficiency" (CIRCI), and form part of the rationale for trials of glucocorticoid treatment in septic shock. Diagnostic criteria for these conditions have been based on plasma cortisol profiles and have proven notoriously difficult to establish. The uncertainty in this area arises from the inability of current tests to clearly identify who is truly glucocorticoid "deficient" at a cellular level, and hence who requires supplemental glucocorticoid...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Three major monomeric hemoglobins have been isolated from the erythrocytes of Glycera dibranchiata. Their importance to structure-function studies of heme proteins lies in the fact that they have been shown to possess an exceptional amino acid substitution. In these proteins, the E-7 position is occupied by leucine rather than the more common distal histidine. This substitution alters the polarity of the heme ligand binding environment compared to myoglobin. Due to this, the G. dibranchiata monomer hemoglobins are attracting much attention. However, until now no purity criterion has been developed. Here the authors demonstrate that, for all of the Glycera momomer hemoglobins, multiple line patterns are shown on high-voltage isoelectric focusing (IEF) gels. Most of these lines are shown to be a consequence of heme-related phenomena and can be understood on the basis of changes in oxidation and ligation state of the heme iron. The multiple line ...

Science.gov (United States)

The GntR-like protein NorG has been shown to affect Staphylococcus aureus genes involved in the resistance to quinolones and ?-lactams, such as those encoding the NorB and AbcA transporters. To identify the target genes regulated by NorG, we carried out transcriptional profiling assays using S. aureus RN6390 and its isogenic norG::cat mutant. Our data showed that NorG positively affected the transcription of global regulators mgrA, arlS, and sarZ. The three putative drug efflux pump genes most positively affected by NorG were the NorB efflux pump (5.1-fold), the MmpL-like protein SACOL2566 (5.2-fold), and the BcrA-like drug transporter SACOL2525 (5.7-fold). The S. aureus predicted MmpL protein showed 53% homology with the MmpL lipid transporter of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and the putative SACOL2525 protein showed 87% homology with the bacitracin drug transporter BcrA of ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Chaperones (stress proteins) are essential proteins to help the formation and maintenance of the proper conformation of other proteins and to promote cell survival after a large variety of environmental...Full Text Available

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cockayne syndrome (CS) is a rare autosomal recessive disease, which shows diverse clinical symptoms such as photosensitivity, severe mental retardation and developmental defects. CS cells are hypersensitive to killing by ultraviolet (UV)-irradiation and defective in transcription-coupled repair. Two genetic complementation groups in CS (CS-A and CS-B) have been identified. We analyzed mutations of the CSA gene in 5 CS-A patients and identified 3 types of mutations. Four unrelated CS-A patients (CS2OS, CS2AW, Nps2 and CS2SE) had a deletion including exon 4, suggesting that there is a founder effect on the CSA mutation in Japanese CS-A patients. Patient CS2SE was a compound heterozygote for this deletion and an amino acid substitution at the 106th glutamine to proline (Q106P) in the WD-40 repeat motif of the CSA protein, which resulted in a defective nucleotide excision repair. Patient Mps1 had a large deletion in the ...

Science.gov (United States)

An explanation is given of what a loop heat pipe (LHP) is, and how it works. It is then shown that neutron imaging (both real time neutron radioscopy and single exposure neutron radiography) is an effective experimental tool for the study of LHPs. Specifically, neutron imaging has helped to identify and correct a cooling water distribution problem in the condenser, and has enabled visualization of two-phase flow (liquid and vapor) in various components of the LHP. In addition, partial wick dry-out, a phenomenon of great importance in the effective operation of LHPs, is potentially identifiable with neutron imaging. It is anticipated that neutron radioscopy and radiography will greatly contribute to our understanding of LHP operation, and will lead to improvement of LHP modeling and design. PMID:15246420

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An explanation is given of what a loop heat pipe (LHP) is, and how it works. It is then shown that neutron imaging (both real time neutron radioscopy and single exposure neutron radiography) is an effective experimental tool for the study of LHPs. Specifically, neutron imaging has helped to identify and correct a cooling water distribution problem in the condenser, and has enabled visualization of two-phase flow (liquid and vapor) in various components of the LHP. In addition, partial wick dry-out, a phenomenon of great importance in the effective operation of LHPs, has been identified with neutron imaging. It is anticipated that neutron radioscopy and radiography will greatly contribute to our understanding of LHP operation, and will lead to improvement of LHP modeling and design.

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Hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) need long-lived high-power batteries as energy storage devices. Batteries based on lithium-ion technology can meet the high-power goals but have been unable to meet HEV calendar-life requirements. As part of the US Department of Energy's Advanced Technology Development (ATD) Program, diagnostic studies are being conducted on 18650-type lithium-ion cells that were subjected to accelerated aging tests at temperatures ranging from 40 to 70 C. This article summarizes data obtained by gas chromatography, liquid chromatography, electron microscopy, X-ray spectroscopy and electrochemical techniques, and identifies cell components that are responsible for the observed impedance rise and power fade.

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This document, which is prepared as directed by the Compliance Order on Consent (COOC) issued by the New Mexico Environment Department, identifies and outlines a process to evaluate remedial alternatives to identify a corrective measure for the Sandia National Laboratories New Mexico Technical Area (TA)-V Groundwater. The COOC provides guidance for implementation of a Corrective Measures Evaluation (CME) for the TA-V Groundwater. This Work Plan documents an initial screening of remedial technologies and presents a list of possible remedial alternatives for those technologies that passed the screening. This Work Plan outlines the methods for evaluating these remedial alternatives and describes possible site-specific evaluation activities necessary to estimate remedy effectiveness and cost. These methods will be reported in the CME Report. This Work Plan outlines the CME Report, including key components and a description of ...

CERN Document Server

We study contact structures compatible with genus one open book decompositions with one boundary component. Any monodromy for such an open book can be written as a product of Dehn twists around dual non-separating curves in the once-punctured torus. Given such a product, we supply an algorithm to determine whether the corresponding contact structure is tight or overtwisted when the monodromy is pseudo-Anosov. We rely on Ozsv{\\'a}th-Szab{\\'o} Heegaard Floer homology in our construction and, in particular, we completely identify the $L$-spaces with genus one, one boundary component, pseudo-Anosov open book decompositions. Lastly, we reveal a new infinite family of hyperbolic three-manifolds with no co-orientable taut foliations, extending the family discovered in \\cite{RSS}.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Individuals who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) depend on technology to meet their daily needs and form relationships. Speech generating devices (SGDs) are integral components of communication systems. Reliability of SGDs is critical for effective use in everyday life. This study examined the reliability of new SGDs and found that mean time to first failure was 42.7 (SD = 41.2) weeks and at least 40% required repairs within the first year of use. The components that most frequently broke down were touch screens, wiring, main boards, batteries, memory cards, and AC adaptors. The costs of repairing SGDs were analyzed. The clinical implications of device breakdown are identified for key stakeholders, including clients, families, service providers, funding agencies, and ma...

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Petrographical analysis is a microscopical analytical tool which allows definition of the exact nature of the components of different concrete mixes, as well as definition of internal structures and alteration processes. In order to improve the precision and the swiftness of the petrographical analysis, an automated image analysis system has been developed. In the next stage of this study, which consisted in the testing of new concrete mixes containing fluidised bed ashes, petrography has been used, not only to identify the nature of the mix components, but also assess the behaviour of these new concrete mixes when exposed to aggressive conditions.

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The aim of this study is to develop the methodology which enables to identify the mechanical properties of element such as stress intensity factor by using the AE parameters. Considering the multivariate and nonlinear properties of AE parameters such as ringdown count, rise time, energy, event duration and peak amplitude from fatigue cracks of machine element the principal component regression(PCR) and artificial neural network(ANN) models for the estimation of stress intensity factor were developed and validated. The AE parameters were found to be very significant to estimate the stress intensity factor. Since the statistical values including correlation coefficients, standard mr of calibration, standard error of prediction and bias were stable, the PCR and ANN models for stress intensity factor were very robust. The performance of ANN model for unknown data of stress intensity factor was better than that of PCR model

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Reversion-induced LIM protein (RIL) is a member of the ALP (actinin-associated LIM protein) subfamily of the PDZ/LIM protein family. RIL serves as an adaptor protein and seems to regulate cytoskeletons....Full Text Available

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Peroxisome proliferating agents (PPAs) are a structurally diverse group of chemicals that include environmental chemical contaminants such as certain chlorinated herbicides, solvents and plasticizers. PPAs have previously been shown to induce anti-trout laruci acid hydroxylase immunoreactive proteins in bluegill and catfish. In this investigation, induction of lauric acid hydroxylase activity and immunoreactive proteins was confirmed, and the mass spectral analysis of specific hydroxylation products was performed in order to identify possible species-specific differences in fatty acid metabolism. Male bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) and channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) were administered clofibrate or ciprofibrate 48 hr prior to hepatic or trunk kidney (catfish only) microsome preparation. While no significant differences were observed in male catfish, male bluegill had significant decreases in hematocrit and plasma ...

Science.gov (United States)

The natriuretic peptides are considered to be cardioprotective; however, their receptors have not been identified in human myocardium using radiolabeled analogs. Dendroaspis natriuretic peptide (DNP) has been recently identified as a new member of this peptide family and is thought to be less susceptible to enzymatic degradation. Therefore, we have developed the novel radiolabeled analog [125I]-DNP and used this to localize high-affinity (K(D)=0.2 nmol/L), saturable, specific binding sites in adult human heart (n=6) and coronary artery (n=8). In competition binding experiments, atrial natriuretic peptide and brain type natriuretic peptide had greater affinity for [125I]-DNP binding sites than C-type natriuretic peptide and the natriuretic peptide receptor (NPR)-C ligand, cANF. This rank order of potency suggested binding of [125I]-DNP was specific to NPR-A. Messenger RNA encoding NPR-A was identified in left ventricle and ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The levels of General Transcription Factor (TF) IIA were examined during mammalian brain development and in rat embryo fibroblasts and transformed cell lines. The large TFIIA subunit paralogues ab and t are largely produced in unsynchronized cell lines, yet only TFIIA ab is observed in a number of differentiated tissue extracts. Steady-state protein levels of the TFIIA t, ab, and g subunits were significantly reduced when human embryonal (ec) and hepatic carcinoma cell lines were stimulated to differentiate with either all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) or sodium butyrate. ATRA-treated NT2-ec cells required replating to induce a neuronal phenotype and loss of detectable TFIIA t and g proteins. High levels of TFIIA t, ab, and g and Sp factors were identified in extracts from human fetal and rat...

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Previous work showed that (TH)p-azidopuromycin photoaffinity labeled 70 S Escherichia coli ribosomes and that photoincorporation into 50 S subunit proteins was in the order L23 greater than L18/22 greater than L15. In the present work the authors report on immunoelectron microscopic studies of the complexes formed by p-azidopuromycin-modified 50 S subunits with antibodies to the N6,N6-dimethyladenosine moiety of the antibiotic. The p-azidopuromycin-modified 50 S subunits appear to be identical to unmodified control subunits in electron micrographs. Complexes of modified subunits with antibodies to the N6,N6-dimethyladenosine moiety of p-azidopuromycin were visualized in micrographs. Two regions of p-azidopuromycin photoincorporation were identified. The primary site, seen in about 75% of the complexes, is between the central protuberance and small projection, on the side away from the L7/L12 arm, in a region thought to contain the ...

Science.gov (United States)

Cytosine methylation in DNA is a major epigenetic signal, and plays a central role in propagating chromatin status during cell division. However the mechanistic links between DNA methylation and histone methylation are poorly understood. A multi-domain protein UHRF1 (ubiquitin-like, containing PHD and RING finger domains 1) is required for DNA CpG maintenance methylation at replication forks, and mouse UHRF1-null cells show enhanced susceptibility to DNA replication arrest and DNA damaging agents. Recent data demonstrated that the SET and RING associated (SRA) domain of UHRF1 binds hemimethylated CpG and flips 5-methylcytosine out of the DNA helix, whereas its tandom tudor domain and PHD domain bind the tail of histone H3 in a highly methylation sensitive manner. We hypothesize that UHRF1 brings the two components (histones and DNA) carrying appropriate markers (on the tails of H3 and hemimethylated CpG sites) ready to be assembled into a ...

Science.gov (United States)

Escherichia coli spheroplast protein y (EcSpy) is a small periplasmic protein that is homologous with CpxP, an inhibitor of the extracytoplasmic stress response. Stress conditions such as spheroplast formation induce the expression of Spy via the Cpx or the Bae two-component systems in E. coli, though the function of Spy is unknown. Here, we report the crystal structure of EcSpy, which reveals a long kinked hairpin-like structure of four ?-helices that form an antiparallel dimer. The dimer contains a curved oval shape with a highly positively charged concave surface that may function as a ligand binding site. Sequence analysis reveals that Spy is highly conserved over the Enterobacteriaceae family. Notably, three conserved regions that contain identical residues and two LTxxQ motifs are placed at the horizontal end of the dimer structure, stabilizing the overall fold. CpxP also contains the conserved sequence motifs and has ...

Science.gov (United States)

Although the mechanism is unknown, Calculus Bovis and its active components, cholic acid analogs (CAAs), have been used in China to treat a wide range of diseases. Based on the previous finding that the potency of CAA is strongly dependent on the intrinsic surface activity, this paper aimed to investigate the role of the plasma membrane in the pharmacological activity of CAAs. First, CAAs (0.1 mM) caused a surface activity-dependent depression on ATPase activity in the cell membrane extract, but it had no effects on other cellular extracts, suggesting an indispensable role of the membrane environment for pharmacological activity. Second, CAAs lowered the membrane fluidity of cultured Caco-2 cells with the same rank-order of potency sequence. Third, the hypothesis that any functional protein located on the membrane is influenced by changes in cellular membrane fluidity was supported by: ileal contraction that was induced by acetylcholine and ...

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Purified protein kinase C (C-kinase) from guinea pig pancreas and rat brain stimulated adenylate cyclase activity in purified rat adipocyte membranes. Cyclase stimulation occurred over 100 to 1000 mU/ml of C-kinase activity, required greater than 10 ..mu..M calcium, proceeded without a lag, was not readily reversible, and required no exogenous phospholipid. Moreover, C-kinase inhibitors, such as chlorpromazine and palmitoyl carnitine, inhibited selectively adenylate cyclase which was activated by C-kinase and calcium. Depending on assay conditions, 10 nM 12-0-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) either enhanced or was required for kinase action on cyclase. Also, TPA plus calcium promoted the quantitative association of C-kinase with membranes. Adenylate cyclase activation by C-kinase was seen both in the presence and absence of exogenous GTP, indicating that the kinase effect does not result from an action on the GTP-binding, inhibitory regulatory ...

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This safety design guide for pipe rupture protection identifies high-energy systems in which pipe ruptures must be postulated to occur, as well as systems that must be protected from the dynamic effects of such ruptures. Dynamic effects considered in this SDG consist of pipe whip (including missiles generated by pipe ruptures, if any) and jet impingement, Requirements for protection against the dynamic effects of a postulated pipe rupture and method of protection of essential structures, systems and components are specified for these effects. The change status for the regulatory requirements, code and standards should be traced and this safety design guide shall be updated accordingly. 2 tabs., 5 refs. (Author) .new.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The Joint Work Session of the ITER CDA (Conceptual Design Activities) by four parties, (eg. Japan, USA, USSR and EC), which has continued during 3 years from May 1988 to December 1990 was completed successfully. During the CDA, overall diagnostic systems for the next generation machine was performed for the first time and the principal tasks of Diagnostic research and development (R and D) are identified. In this paper, radiation hardening problems, which should be solved for the period 1991 through 1996 of the ITER EDA (Engineering Design Activities), are described. (author).

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The investigation of the petroleum contamination in marine organisms requires the trace level quantitative determination of indicative substances to be identified by a fingerprint of petroleum. Polymethylnaphthalene (PMN) and polymethylphenanthrene (PMP) were chosen because of their simple separation from a crude oil by means of an activated charcoal chromatography, their relatively high existence in aromatic compounds, and their persistence relative to other petroleum components in the tissue of oil contaminated marine organisms. The purpose of this paper is to present an activated charcoal chromatographic separation procedure of PMN and PMP in a crude oil and a trace level quantitative analytical method of them in marine organisms by mass fragmentography (MF).

Science.gov (United States)

Event-based biosurveillance is a scientific discipline in which diverse sources of data, many of which are available from the Internet, are characterized prospectively to provide information on infectious disease events. Biosurveillance complements traditional public health surveillance to provide both early warning of infectious disease events and situational awareness. The Global Health Security Action Group of the Global Health Security Initiative is developing a biosurveillance capability that integrates and leverages component systems from member nations. This work discusses these biosurveillance systems and identifies needed future studies.

Science.gov (United States)

The generalized demodulation time-frequency analysis is a novel signal processing method, which is particularly suitable for the processing of multi-component amplitude-modulated and frequency-modulated (AM-FM) signals as it can decompose a multi-component signal into a set of single-component signals whose instantaneous frequencies own physical meaning. While fault occurs in gear, the vibration signals measured from gearbox would exactly display AM-FM characteristics. Therefore, targeting the modulation feature of gear vibration signal in run-ups and run-downs, a fault diagnosis method in which generalized demodulation time-frequency analysis and envelope order spectrum technique are combined is put forward and applied to the transient analysis of gear vibration signal. Firstly the multi-component vibration signal of gear is decomposed into some mono-component signals using the ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Unlike the well-characterized nuclear function of the Notch intracellular domain, it has been difficult to identify a nuclear role for the ligands of Notch. Here we provide evidence for the nuclear function of the Notch ligand Delta-like 1 in colon cancer (CC) cells exposed to butyrate. We demonstrate that the intracellular domain of Delta-like 1 (Dll1icd) augments the activity of Wnt signaling-dependent reporters and that of the promoter of the connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) gene. Data suggest that Dll1icd upregulates CTGF promoter activity through both direct and indirect mechanisms. The direct mechanism is supported by co-immunoprecipitation of endogenous Smad2/3 proteins and Dll1 and by chromatin immunoprecipitation analyses that revealed the occupancy of Dll1icd on CTGF promot...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Spindle cell sarcomas consist of tumors with different biological features, of which distant metastasis is the most ominous sign for a poor prognosis. However, metastasis is difficult to predict on the basis of current histopathological analyses. We have identified actin filament-associated protein 1-like 1 (AFAP1L1) as a candidate for a metastasis-predicting marker from the gene expression profiles of 65 spindle cell sarcomas. A multivariate analysis determined that AFAP1L1 was an independent factor for predicting the occurrence of distant metastasis (P=0.0001), which was further confirmed in another set of 41 tumors by a quantitative mRNA expression analysis. Immunohistochemical staining using paraffin-embedded tumor tissues revealed that the metastasis-free rate was significantly better...

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Mammary glands are special tissue characterized by proliferation of the epithelium, during puberty and pregnancy and by programmed cell death, during involution. In this study, apoptosis was identified by TUNEL staining and then related to cell proliferation, as determined by Ki-67 staining. The apoptotic index was at its highest at 8 days of involution, whereas the proliferation index was at its highest during lactation. Caspase-3 was immunolocalised only in mast cells and along the basal membrane in the mammary tissue at -10 days from lambing, 150 days of lactation and at 8 days of involution. This finding could indicate that caspase-3 is not involved in sheep mammary gland apoptosis, but that other proteins - such as apoptosis inducing factor (AIF) - can trigger apoptosis, through the m...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Abstract Plant pathogenic bacteria of the genus Xanthomonas cause a variety of diseases in economically important monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous crop plants worldwide. Successful infection and bacterial multiplication in the host tissue often depend on the virulence factors secreted including adhesins, polysaccharides, LPS and degradative enzymes. One of the key pathogenicity factors is the type III secretion system, which injects effector proteins into the host cell cytosol to manipulate plant cellular processes such as basal defense to the benefit of the pathogen. The coordinated expression of bacterial virulence factors is orchestrated by quorum-sensing pathways, multiple two-component systems and transcriptional regulators such as Clp, Zur, FhrR, HrpX and HpaR. Furthermore, virule...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Abstract Microbial cells are routinely dried and ground before they are used in metal biosorption studies. In this work, a metal biosorbent was prepared by drying biomass of the yeast Rhodotorula glutinis in an oven at 70C for 24-h followed by grinding. Two forms of the prepared biosorbent particles, washed and unwashed, were examined for their ability to remove lead from solution. It was found that the unwashed biosorbent exhibited higher lead uptake than the washed biosorbent. Analysis of the supernatant of washed cells incubated in water and that of unwashed cells incubated in lead solution revealed the presence of protein, carbohydrates, organic acids and inorganic phosphate. Overall, the washed and unwashed cells leached, respectively, 14.5 and 13.4% of their initial dry weight (100-m...

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Two lines of mouse tumor cells were shown to be capable of aggregating mouse and rabbit platelets in vitro. This process required higher Mg/sup 2 +/ concentrations than were needed by other commonly used platelet-aggregating agents. Platelet-aggregating activity was also found in tumor cell membrane fragments. This membrane-bound platelet-aggregating material contained protein, lipid, and carbohydrate moieties. The presence of all three appeared to be essential for stimulating platelet aggregation. Destruction of any component abolished its activity. Platelet aggregation induced by tumor cell membrane fragments was associated with a secretory release reaction. In this process, growth-promoting activity for tumor cells was also released from platelets. These results underline the importance of platelets in establishing tumor metastases.

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The presence of residual stresses in engineering components can significantly affect their load carrying capacity and resistance to fracture. In order to quantify their effect it is necessary to know their magnitude and distribution. Neutron diffraction is the most suitable method of obtaining these stresses non-destructively in the interior of components. In this paper the principles of the technique are described. A monochromatic beam of neutrons, or time of flight measurements, can be employed. In each case, components of strain are determined directly from changes in the lattice spacings between crystals. Residual stresses can then be calculated from these strains. The experimental procedures for making the measurements are described and precautions for achieving reliable results discussed. These include choice of crystal planes on which to make measurements, extent of masking needed to identify a ...

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One of the issues identified in the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission`s Nuclear Plant Aging Research program plan is the need to understand the state of ``mothballed`` or other out-of-service equipment to ensure subsequent safe operation. Programs for proper storage and preservation of materials and components are required by NRC regulations (10 CFR 50, Appendix B). However, materials and components have been seriously degraded due to improper storage, protection, or layup, at facilities under construction as well as those with operating licenses. Pacific Northwest Laboratory has evaluated management of aging for unstarted or mothballed nuclear power plants. The investigations revealed that no uniform guidance in the industry addresses reactor layup. In each case investigated, layup was not initiated in a timely manner, primarily because of schedule uncertainty. Hence, it is reasonable to assume that this delay resulted in ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The product of the human GRO gene is a cytokine with inflammatory and growth-regulatory properties; GRO is also called MGSA for melanoma growth-stimulatory activity. The authors have identified two additional genes, GRO#beta# and GRO#gamma#, that share 90% and 86% identity at the deduced amino acid level with the original GRO#alpha# isolate. One amino acid substitution of proline in GRO#alpha# by leucine in GRO#beta# and GRO#gamma# leads to a large predicted change in protein conformation. Significant differences also exist in the 3' untranslated region, including different numbers of ATTTA repeats associated with mRNA instability. A 122-base-pair region in the 3' region is conserved among the three GRO genes, and a part of it is also conserved in the Chinese hamster genome, suggesting a role in regulation. DNA hybridization with oligonucleotide probes and partial sequence analysis of the genomic clones confirm that the three forms are derived ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

A large group of diseases, termed protein misfolding disorders, share the common feature of the accumulation of misfolded proteins. The possibility of a common mechanism underlying either the pathogenesis...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

CAAX proteins are widely involved in global cellular functions such as proliferation, differentiation, and carcinogenesis. As an important modulator of biological activity, signal transduction via protein...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Resistance (R) protein mediated recognition of pathogen avirulence effectors triggers signaling that induces a very robust form of species-specific immunity in plants. The soybean Rpg1-b protein mediates...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Membrane protein structural biology is still a largely unconquered area, given that approximately 25% of all proteins are membrane proteins and yet less than 150 unique structures are available. Membrane...Full Text Available

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Network security is a discipline that focuses on securing networks from unauthorized access. Given the Escalating threats of malicious cyber attacks, modern enterprises employ multiple lines of defense. A comprehensive defense strategy against such attacks should include (I) an attack detection component that deter- mines the fact that a program is compromised, (2) an attack identification and prevention component that identifies attack packets so that one can block such packets in the future and prevents the attack from further propagation. Over the last decade, a significant amount of research has been vested in the systems that can detect cyber attacks either statically at compile time or dynamically at run time, However, not much effort is spent on automated attack packet identification or attack prevention. In this paper we present a unified solution to the problems mentioned above. We implemented this solution after ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Recognizing the importance of energy as a vital component in economic development, the Taiwanese government has been continuously revising its energy policy, seeking to balance economic development, energy supply, and environmental protection (3E). Some measures, in an attempt to achieve the 3E balance, were previously implemented in Taiwan; nevertheless, some unresolved issues departing from certain core principles of Taiwan's sustainable energy policy and an international initiative for a low carbon society remain. The aim of this paper is to examine the energy supply and demand structure of Taiwan and the present status of individual energy carriers (including coal, petroleum, natural gas and electricity). In addition, it investigates the current energy policy framework and its implementation in Taiwan, identifies unresolved issues regarding sustainable energy development, and formulates key policy solutions for certain ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

An attempt to determine lysozyme hydration by employing a proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spin-echo technique and to correlated such measurements with the 20 "0C sorption equilibrium data is made. Determinations of specific site hydration for lysozyme, as well as proton NMR transverse relaxation rates for five different types of water populations in the lysozyme-water system, are presented over the whole range of lysozyme concentrations. The proton spin-echo NMR results are consistent with a three-component analysis of the sorption isotherm up to 70% water content, above which two additional water populations are identified by 360-MHz proton NMR spin-echoes. On the basis of the proton NMR results, a major component (III) of the lysozyme sorption isotherm is assigned to the water trapped between lysozyem molecules, whose relaxation rate is increased by diffusion barriers. The trapped water population dominates the ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The application of robotics for repair, refurbishing or dismantling of nuclear installations implies eventually severe radiation resistance requirements on embarked components and subsystems. This is particularly critical when optical sensing is considered. Optoelectronic components and optical fibers are indeed quite sensitive to radiation, and without special design are rapidly out-of-operation in such an environment. This paper reports the results of a series of #gamma# irradiation experiments on such devices, and identify their behavior under radiation. Test results show that carefully selected optical fibers can keep their radiation induced attenuation lower than 0.3 dB/m even up to a total dose of 10 MGy. Temperature annealing can even lower this attenuation down to 0.1 dB/m. On the other hand, commercially available light emitting diodes and photodiodes present attenuations figures up to 15 dB, even after a gamma ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

An expert system was developed which helps maintenance personnel diagnose the condition of rotor and stator windings and their cores, in motors and generators rated 2300 V and above. The expert system, called MICAA[TM], used an approach which has been found to be effective for diagnosing medical problems. The program required the user to input machine nameplate information, operating status, and any past test data available. In addition, the program would suggest tests that may be useful, as well as provide guidance to maintenance personnel on what to look for in visual inspections of the machine. The expert system stored and correlated all this information, calculated the overall condition of the component in question, and identified the most likely specific causes of any deterioration. The basic methodology of motor and generator condition assessment, and the architecture and processing performed by MICAA to obtain these capabilities were ...

CERN Document Server

We present physical properties of two submillimeter selected gravitationally lensed sources, identified in the Herschel Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey. These submillimeter galaxies (SMGs) have flux densities > 100 mJy at 500 um, but are not visible in existing optical imaging. We fit light profiles to each component of the lensing systems in Spitzer IRAC 3.6 and 4.5 um data and successfully disentangle the foreground lens from the background source in each case, providing important constraints on the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of the background SMG at rest-frame optical-near-infrared wavelengths. The SED fits show that these two SMGs have high dust obscuration with Av ~4 to 5 and star formation rates of ~100 M_sun/yr. They have low gas fractions and low dynamical masses compared to 850 um selected galaxies.

Science.gov (United States)

In this article, we propose a model selection method, the Bayesian composite model space approach, to map quantitative trait loci (QTL) in a half-sib population for continuous and binary traits. In our method, the identity-by-descent-based variance component model is used. To demonstrate the performance of this model, the method was applied to map QTL underlying production traits on BTA6 in a Chinese half-sib dairy cattle population. A total of four QTLs were detected, whereas only one QTL was identified using the traditional least square (LS) method. We also conducted two simulation experiments to validate the efficiency of our method. The results suggest that the proposed method based on a multiple-QTL model is efficient in mapping multiple QTL for an outbred half-sib population and is more powerful than the LS method based on a single-QTL model. PMID:21487433

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The effect of sugar on plant metabolism, which is known to be similar to hormone-like signaling, was metabolomically studied using Melissa officinalis (lemon balm). The metabolite profiles of M. officinalis treated with sucrose were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and principal component analysis (PCA). A total of 64 metabolites from various chemical classes including alcohols, amines, amino acids, fatty acids, inorganic acids, organic acids, phosphates, and sugars were identified by GC-MS. Three groups treated with different sucrose concentrations were clearly separated by PCA of their metabolite profiles, indicating changes in the levels of many metabolites depending on the sucrose concentration. Metabolite profiling revealed that treatment with a higher sucrose ...

CERN Document Server

This paper investigates the dynamics of excitonic transport in photocomplex LHCII, the primary component of the photosynthetic apparatus in green plants. The dynamics exhibits a strong interplay between coherent processes mediated by the excitonic Hamiltonian, and incoherent processes due to interactions with the environment. The spreading of the exciton over a single monomer is well described by a proper measure of delocalization that allows one to identify two relevant time scales. An exciton initially localized in one chromophore first spreads coherently to neighboring chromophores. During this initial coherent spreading, quantum effects such as entanglement play a role. As the effects of a decohering environment come into play, coherence and decoherence interact to give rise to efficient and robust excitonic transport, reaching a maximum efficiency at the levels of decoherence found in physiological conditions. We analyze the efficiency for ...

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This Safety Analysis Report (SAR) is prepared in compliance with the requirements of DOE Order 5480.23, Nuclear Safety Analysis Reports, and has been written to the format and content guide of DOE-STD-3009-94 Preparation Guide for U. S. Department of Energy Nonreactor Nuclear Safety Analysis Reports. The Hot Cell Facility is a Hazard Category 2 nonreactor nuclear facility, and is operated by Sandia National Laboratories for the Department of Energy. This SAR provides a description of the HCF and its operations, an assessment of the hazards and potential accidents which may occur in the facility. The potential consequences and likelihood of these accidents are analyzed and described. Using the process and criteria described in DOE-STD-3009-94, safety-related structures, systems and components are identified, and the important safety functions of each SSC are described. Additionally, information which describes the safety management programs at ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sizewell B is Nuclear Electric's latest power station, and the Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR) design on which it is based represents a ''first'' for the UK. One of the integral components of the plant is the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system, which performs a contamination control and gaseous waste management function for the site. During the commissioning of Sizewell B Power Station the extract systems of the HVAC plant underwent a procedure known as ''fingerprinting''. This entailed the characterisation of the facilities provided to test the filtration plant during its lifetime. The assessment of their adequacy was then used to identify necessary modifications and/or to propose the manner in which future in situ performance testing would be carried out. The paper outlines the basic principles and procedure that was used to ''fingerprint'' test systems during the commissioning of Sizewell B. A specific example is ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The mass asymmetry of fragments from nuclear fission of heavy nuclei is reviewed. While mass asymmetry is a common and well-known phenomenon for low-energy fission of the lighter actinides, more recent experiments have demonstrated that, for the heaviest actinides, the mass distribution switches to a symmetric one. On the other hand, it has been discovered that, though for fissioning nuclei with mass numbers A< or #approx#225 the mass distribution is basically symmetric, an asymmetric component is clearly to be identified for nuclei down to the Pb-region. In the absence of a generally accepted dynamical theory of fission, the above experimental findings are discussed in terms of static energy considerations. Triggered from the outset by the structure of the potential energy surface at the saddlepoint, the energy balance at the scission point between the available energy (Q-value) of the reaction and the Coulomb and deformation energy of the ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Background Little is known about the role of diet in the development of venous thromboembolism (VTE). We explored the prospective relation of dietary patterns, food groups, and nutrients to incident VTE in older women. Methods In 1986, Iowa women aged 55 to 69 years completed a mailed survey, including a 127-item food frequency questionnaire. These data were linked to Medicare data from 1986 to 2004, and International Classification of Diseases discharge codes were used to identify hospitalized VTE cases. Cox regression analyses evaluated relations of 2 principal components?derived dietary patterns, 11 food groups, and 6 nutrients to VTE, adjusted for age, education, smoking status, physical activity, and energy intake. Results Over 19 years of follow-up, 1,950 of the 37,393 women develope...

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Accelerated aging tests on gold bridgewired detonator assemblies to determine compatibility of the Au and Pd-In-Sn solder with the organic explosive, PENT, have revealed an unusual corrosion process. These tests, conducted at 74/sup 0/C and 54/sup 0/C indicated a preferential attack of the gold. A matrix of corrosion test units was established to study this corrosion problem with accelerating temperatures up to 100/sup 0/C. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive x-ray (EDX), and x-ray diffraction techniques were used to determine the extent of the corrosion and identify the corrosion products. Results indicate the preferential attack of the gold was due to HCN formed by decomposition of the explosive powder (PETN) at high temperatures. Other associated reactions were also observed including subsequent attack of the solder by the gold corrosion product and degradation of the plastic header.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

North American design codes are now committed to the development of load and resistance factor design (LRFD) for reinforced soil structures including internal stability limit states. Reliability-based analysis is required to carry out these calibrations. A framework for LRFD calibration has been proposed by the writers that requires bias statistics for load and resistance terms for each limit state function. In this paper the formulation of the limit state for reinforcement tensile rupture is developed and the component strength-reduction bias statistics identified. The paper describes how to compute bias statistics from project-specific installation damage trials for use in reliability-based design for the reinforcement rupture limit state or using data from multiple sources for LRFD cali...

Science.gov (United States)

In this paper, we propose a method based on the Laplacian in the frequency domain for video text detection. Unlike many other approaches which assume that text is horizontally-oriented, our method is able to handle text of arbitrary orientation. The input image is first filtered with Fourier-Laplacian. K-means clustering is then used to identify candidate text regions based on the maximum difference. The skeleton of each connected component helps to separate the different text strings from each other. Finally, text string straightness and edge density are used for false positive elimination. Experimental results show that the proposed method is able to handle graphics text and scene text of both horizontal and nonhorizontal orientation. PMID:20733217

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In order to predict thermal hazards of high-energy materials, accurate kinetics constants must be determined. Predictions of thermal hazards for mixtures of high-energy materials require measurements on the mixtures, because interactions among components are common. A differential-scanning calorimeter (DSC) can be used to observe rate processes directly, and isothermal methods enable detection of mechanism changes. Rate-controlling processes will change as components of a mixture are depleted, and the correct depletion function must be identified for each specific stage of a complex process. A method for kinetics measurements on mixed explosives can be demonstrated with Composition B is an approximately 60/40 mixture of RDX and TNT, and is an important military explosive. Kinetics results indicate that the mator process is the decomposition of RDX in solution in TNT with a perturbation caused by interaction between the two ...

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Irradiation-assisted stress corrosion cracking (IASCC) of several types of BWR field components fabricated from solution-annealed austenitic stainless steels (SSs), including a core internal weld, were investigated by means of slow-strain-rate test (SSRT), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), and field-emission-gun advanced analytical electron microscopy (FEG-AAEM). Based on the results of the tests and analyses, separate effects of neutron fluence, tensile properties, alloying elements and major impurities identified in the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) specifications, minor impurities, water chemistry, and fabrication-related variables were determined. The results indicate strongly that minor impurities not specified by the ASTM-specifications play important roles, probably through a complex synergism with grain-boundary Cr depletion. These impurities, typically associated with steelmaking ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Single-crystal neutron diffraction has been used to observe the interactions between deuterated ethanol (CD3CD2OH) and lysozyme in triclinic crystals of hen egg white lysozyme soaked in 25% (v/v) ethanol solutions. A total of 6047 observed reflections to a resolution of 2 A were used, and 13 possible ethanol sites were identified. The three highest occupied sites are close to locations for bromoethanol found in an earlier study by Yonath et al. [Yonath, A., Podjarny, A., Honig, B., Traub, W., Sielecki, A., Herzberg, O., and Moult, J. (1978) Biophys. Struct. Mech. 4, 27-36]. Structure refinements including a model for the flat solvent lead to a final crystallographic agreement factor of 0.097. Comparison with earlier neutron studies on triclinic lysozyme showed that neither the molecular structure nor the thermal motions were affected significantly by the ethanol. A detailed analysis of the ethanol-lysozyme contacts showed 61% of these to be with hydrophobic sites, ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Attacks by herbivorous insects reduce biomass production in willow plantations. The long-term goal of our research is to develop sustainable plant protection against these insect pests. Two lines of research are pursued. The first concentrates on identifying factors involved in the regulation of leaf-eating beetles. These insects vary in density among plantations, sometimes reaching outbreak levels resulting in complete defoliation. Mortality factors of eggs and larvae in plantations with low and high beetle densities have been investigated. The importance of plant resistance has also been investigated. The second line of research considers the mechanisms behind an earlier demonstrated resistance in certain willow clones against a gall midge. By using molecular techniques we have searched for markers of resistance. Promising results have been found concerning so called PR proteins; in particular chitinase seems to be present in high activities ...

Science.gov (United States)

Endoreduplication represents a cell cycle variant during which multiple rounds of DNA replication occur without subsequent chromosome separation and cytokinesis, resulting into a cellular increase of the DNA content. Although the DNA ploidy level of cells is controlled by external stimuli such as light, currently limited knowledge is available on how environmental signals regulate the endoreduplication cycle at the molecular level. Previously, we have demonstrated that the conversion from the mitotic cell cycle into an endoreduplication cycle is mediated by the atypical E2F transcription factor DEL1 that operates as a repressor of endocycle onset. Here, we identified DEL1 as a transcriptional target of the classical E2Fb and E2Fc transcription factors that antagonistically control DEL1 transcript levels through competition for a single E2F cis-acting binding site. Correspondingly with the reported opposite effect of light on the E2Fb and E2Fc ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

An assay for the microsomal hydroxylation of lauric acid (LA), based on HPLC with flow-through radiochemical detection, has been developed. Conditions were optimized for resolution and quantitation of three microsomal metabolites of "1"4C-LA, one of which has not been reported previously as a metabolite of LA in mammalian microsomal incubations. These products, 12-(omega)-hydroxy-LA, 11-(omega-1)-hydroxy-LA, and a novel metabolite, 10-(omega-2)-hydroxy-LA, were isolated by HPLC and identified by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. In the presence of NADPH, the formation of all three metabolites was linear with time and microsomal protein concentration. Hydrogen peroxide also supported the microsomal metabolism of LA, although the ratio of metabolites was substantially different than that produced by NADPH-supported microsomes. Several biochemical probes (metyrapone, #alpha#-naphthoflavone, 2-diethylaminoethyl-2,2-diphenylvalerate ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Thymic epithelial cells (TECs) constitute a major component of the thymic stroma which provides a microenvironment critical for developing thymocytes. We have previously demonstrated that doxycycline (Dox), a tetracycline derivative, enhances the proliferation of the mouse thymic epithelial cell line 1 (MTEC1) via MAPK/ERK signal pathway. Herein we provide evidence that Dox also has profound impact on the cytokine production by MTEC1. Specifically, the expression of IL-6 and GM-CSF, both at mRNA and protein levels, was found to be increased in a time- and dose-dependent manner with the addition of Dox. Western blotting analysis revealed that treatment with Dox-induced phosphorylation of the p65 subunit of NF-kB and ERK. Notably, Dox-induced up-regulation of IL-6 and GM-CSF was largely abol...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

High-resolution neutron capture cross section measurements of 55Mn were recently performed at GELINA by Schillebeeckx et al. (2005) and at ORELA by Guber et al. (2007). The analysis of the experimental data was performed with the computer code SAMMY using the Bayesian approach in the resonance parameters representation of the cross sections. The neutron transmission data taken in 1988 by Harvey et al. (2007) and not analyzed before were added to the SAMMY experimental data base. More than 95% of the s-wave resonances and more than 85% of the p-wave resonances were identified in the energy range up to 125 keV, leading to the neutron strength functions S0 = (3.90 0.78) x 10-4 and S1 = (0.45 0.08) x 10-4. About 25% of the d-wave resonances were identified with a possible strength function of S2 = 1.0 x 10-4. The capture cross section calculated at 0.0253 eV is 13.27 b, and the capture resonance integral is 13.52 0.30 b. In the energy range 15 to ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This paper will review code and standard and the safety related features of major components of Monju: Components of the Reactor Coolant Boundary; Components of the Reactor Shurdown Systems; Components of the Decay Heat Removal Systems; Components of the Engineered Safety Features; Other Safety Related Components. Their relationship to the system or plant function is emphasized, in reviewing these components.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2-Azido[#alpha#-"3"2P]adenosine diphosphate (2-azido[#alpha#-"3"2P]ADP) has been used to photolabel the ADP/ATP carrier in beef heart mitochondria. In reversible binding assays carried out in the dark, this photoprobe was found to inhibit ADP/ATP transport in beef heart mitochondria and to bind to two types of specific sites of the ADP/ATP carrier characterized by high-affinity binding (K/sub d/ = 20 #mu#M) and low-affinity binding (K/sub d/ = 400 #mu#M). In contrast, it was unable to bind to specific carrier sites in inverted submitochondrial particles. Upon photoirradiation of beef heart mitochondria in the presence of 2-azido[#alpha#-"3"2P]ADP, the ADP/ATP carrier was covalently labeled. After purification, the photolabeled carrier protein was cleaved chemically by acidolysis or cyanogen bromide and enzymatically with the Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease. In the ADP/ATP carrier protein, which is 297 amino acid residues in length, two ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Microdamage naturally occurs in bone tissue as a result of cyclic loading placed on the body from normal daily activities. While it is usually repaired through the bone turnover process, accumulation of microdamage may result in reduced bone quality and increased fracture risk. It is unclear whether certain areas of bone are more susceptible to microdamage than others due to compositional differences. This study examines whether areas of microdamaged bone are chemically different than undamaged areas of bone. Bone samples (L3 vertebrae) were harvested from 15 dogs. Samples were stained with basic fuchsin, embedded in poly-methylmethacrylate, and cut into 5-(micro)m-thick sections. Fuchsin staining was used to identify regions of microdamage, and synchrotron infrared microspectroscopic imaging was used to determine the local bone composition. Results showed that microdamaged areas of bone were chemically different than the surrounding undamaged areas. Specifically, ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV) program intends to develop new designs for automobiles that will reduce fuel consumption by two thirds but otherwise have price, comfort, safety, and other measures of performance similar to the typical automobile now on the market. PNGV vehicle designs are expected to substitute lightweight materials, such as aluminum, magnesium, carbon-reinforced polymer composites, glass-reinforced polymer composites, and ultra- light steel, for heavier materials such as steel and iron in automobile components. The target mass of a PNGV vehicle is 1,960 pounds, as compared to the average current vehicle that weights 3,240 pounds. Other changes could include the use of different ferrous alloys, engineering changes, or incorporation of advanced ceramic components. Widespread adoption of these vehicle designs would affect materials markets and require concurrent development and adoption of supporting ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Known vertebrate GATA proteins contain two zinc fingers and are required in development, whereas invertebrates express a class of essential proteins containing one GATA-type zinc finger. We isolated...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Storage proteins are deposited into protein storage vacuoles (PSVs) during plant seed development and maturation and stably accumulate to high levels; subsequently, during germination the storage...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The homologous sequences observed for many calcium binding proteins such as parvalbumin, troponin C, the myosin light chains, and calmodulin has lead to the hypothesis that these proteins have homologous...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Serum protein and lipid concentrations as well as the serum protein binding of propranolol, diazepam and phenytoin were measured in normal weight and obese volunteers. Concentrations of alpha 1-acid...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Filamin and Cortexillin are F-actin crosslinking proteins in Dictyostelium discoideum allowing actin filaments to form three-dimensional networks. GAPA, an IQGAP related protein, is...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The characterization of the single-chain protein in Chinese-cobra (Naja naja atra) blood serum, which yields strong specific protection against the venom of the same snake, is reported. The protein,...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

It has been sixty years since the Millers first described the covalent binding of carcinogens to tissue proteins. Protein covalent binding was gradually overshadowed by the emergence of DNA...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Cd-binding protein was extracted from tomato roots and purified on QAE-Sephadex A-25 and on Sephadex G-75 in 1 molar KCl buffer. The protein preparation was light brown and contained predominantly Cd...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The nucleocapsid protein (NC) of retroviruses plays a major role in genomic RNA packaging, and some evidence has implicated the matrix protein (MA) of certain retroviruses in viral RNA binding. To further...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Large quantity of reliable protein interaction data are available for model organisms in public depositories (e.g., MINT, DIP, HPRD, INTERACT). Most data correspond to experiments with the proteins...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Many genetic processes depend on proteins interacting with specific sequences on DNA. Despite the large excess of nonspecific DNA in the cell, proteins can locate their targets rapidly. After initial...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Ethylene rapidly and transiently up-regulates the activity of several monomeric GTP-binding proteins (monomeric G proteins) in leaves of Arabidopsis as determined by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Computer-assisted analysis revealed a striking sequence similarity between the putative 24-kDa protein (p24) encoded by open reading frame (ORF) 5 of beet yellows closterovirus and the coat protein...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Tooth enamel biomineralization is mediated by enamel proteins synthesized by ameloblast cells. Two classes of proteins have been described: enamelins and amelogenins. In lower vertebrates the absence...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundThe fast growing Protein Data Bank contains the three-dimensional description of more than 45000 protein- and nucleic-acid structures today. The large majority of the data...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Alpha-hemoglobin-stabilizing protein (AHSP) is an erythroid-specific protein that acts as a molecular chaperone for the free α chains of hemoglobin. Evidence strongly suggests...Full Text Available

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Photographic surface photometry in the BV system was carried out two Southern SO's galaxies, NGC 2855 and NGC 6771. B and V isophote maps were obtained as well as geometric and integrated parameters as position angles, inclination, diameters, magnitudes and integrated colors. Each luminosity profile was decomposed into bulge and disk contributions, each component being fitted to convenient laws. For NGC 2855 de Vaucouleurs law described well the bulge whereas the disk showed an exponential distribution. For NGC 6771 the barred nuclear bulge as well as the disk was best fitted by exponential laws. Additional luminosity components due to an inner fragmented ring were identified in NGC 2855 and due to both a quite prominent lens and well defined ring in NGC 6771. In this galaxy the minor axis, oriented almost edge-on, present clues of another luminosity component besides the bulge and the thin disk. For ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Probabilistic assessment methods can be used to identify specific plant vulnerabilities. Application of such methods can also facilitate selection among system design alternatives available for safety enhancements. The quality of assessment results is however strongly dependent on realistic and accurate input data for modelling of system component behaviour and failure modes during conditions to be assessed. Use of conservative input data may not lead to results providing guidance on safety upgrades. Adequate input data for probabilistic assessments seems to be lacking for at least failure modes of some electrical components when exposed to a fire. This report presents an attempt to improve the situation with respect to such input data. In order to take advantage of information in existing documentation of fire incident occurrences some of the lessons learned from the fire at Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant on March 22, ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The receptor-associated protein (RAP) is a molecular chaperone that binds tightly to certain newly synthesized LDL receptor family members in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and facilitates their delivery...Full Text Available

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Summary: Protein features are often displayed along the linear sequence of amino acids that make up that protein, but in reality these features occupy a position in the folded proteins 3D space. Mapping sequence features to known or predicted protein structures is useful when trying to deduce the function of those features and when evaluating sequence or structural predictions. To facilitate this goal, we developed PDBpaint, a simple tool that displays protein sequence features gathered from bioinformatics resources on top of protein structures, which are displayed in an interactive window (using the Jmol Java viewer). PDBpaint can be used either with existing protein structures or with novel structures provided by the user. The current version of PDBpaint allows the visualization of annot...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundFunction exertion of specific proteins are key factors in disease progression, thus the systematical identification of those specific proteins is a prerequisite to understand...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This short survey focuses on the main radiation-induced base lesions that have been identified within cellular DNA. For this purpose, sensitive assays that are aimed at measuring a few modifications per 10{sup 7} normal bases were set-up. In that respect high performance liquid chromatography - tandem mass spectrometry (CLHP-MS/MS) was found to be able to single out the formation of 9 oxidized nucleosides and two modified nucleo-bases out of the 70 oxidative base lesions that have been identified in model systems. As a striking result, it was found that in the DNA of {gamma}-irradiated human monocytes, the formamide-pyrimidine derivative of guanine is produced in a higher yield than the ubiquitous 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-guanine damage, both arising from the same radical precursor. However, relatively high doses of ionizing radiation (> 20 Gy) have to be applied in order to detect an increase in the level of the damage. This is due to the low ...

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The three main objectives of this study were: (1) to determine if depletion of proteoglycans from the cartilage matrix that occurs during osteoarthritis causes a measurable increase of cartilage proteoglycan components in the synovial fluid and sera, (2) to observe what effect intracellular cAMP has on the expression of matrix components by chondrocytes, and (3) to determine if freshly isolated chondrocytes contain detectable levels of mRNA for fibronectin. Canine serum keratan sulfate and hyaluronate were measured to determine if there was an elevation of these serum glycosaminoglycans in a canine model of osteoarthritis. A single intra-articular injection of chymopapain into a shoulder joint increased serum keratan sulfate 10 fold and hyaluronate less than 2 fold in 24 hours. Keratan sulfate concentrations in synovial fluids of dogs about one year old were unrelated to the presence of spontaneous cartilage degeneration in the joints. High ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Pseudomonas syringae is a gram-negative bacterial plant pathogen that is dependent on a type III protein secretion system (TTSS) and the effector proteins it translocates into plant...Full Text Available

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Biological cells of the nitrogen fixating bacteria Xanthobacter autotrophicus GZ 29 have been cultivated with 57-Fe, and from the nitrogenase of these cells the 57-Fe marked molybdenum-iron-protein is extracted. The Moessbauer spectra of this enzyme show that the structure of the iron cluster is similar to the structure in the molybdenum-iron-proteins of Azotobacter vinelandii, Klebsiella pneumoniae or Clostridium pasteurianum.

KoreaScience (Korea)

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UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Protein bodies within the endosperm of castor bean (Ricinus communis L. cv. Hale) seeds arise from numerous small vacuoles which progressively become filled with storage protein, of...Full Text Available

KoreaScience (Korea)

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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

In a series of experiments carried out on young and adult rabbits the effect of isocaloric low protein diets containing 4% or 8% protein compared with a diet containing 21% protein on Obeliscoides cuniculi infection was studied. The pathogenesis, resistance and local immunity were assessed after single infections with 10,000 larvae or reinfection with 5000 larvae. Live weight gain was reduced in young and adult rabbits fed the low protein diets, but the establishment of parasites was not substantially influenced by protein deprivation. However, development of worms in the histotrophic phase and parasite fecundity were impaired in association with the low protein diet. Moreover, mild anaemia as well as changes in the mucosal immune response as a result of infection were related to the level of dietary protein. (author). 30 refs, 6 figs, 5 ...

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TC inhibits protein synthesis in E. coli by interfering with aminoacyl-tRNA binding to the ribosomal A site, and there is strong evidence that such inhibition results from TC binding to a high affinity site on the 30S subunit. The SPORE approach has been used to define those 30S proteins that are potentially important for high affinity TC binding, measured as the (/sup 3/H)-TC co-sedimenting with the reconstitution particle through a sucrose density gradient. Reverse phase-HPLC has been used both to prepare ribosomal proteins and to analyze the protein content of reconstituted particles. The results obtained so far show that protein S7, as well as some proteins linked to S7 in the 30S assembly map, are important for TC binding, whereas other ribosomal proteins are not. These results are in very good accord with their earlier photoaffinity ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Biological monitoring has been conducted in industrially impacted streams near US Department of Energy facilities in Tennessee and Kentucky for almost ten years. A comprehensive Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program, which was developed to meet National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit requirements, includes tasks on (1 ) toxicity testing; (2) bioaccumulation in aquatic and terrestrial biota; (3) bioindicators of fish health; and (4) fish, macroinvertebrate, and periphyton community surveys. These studies have been used successfully to characterize spatial trends and demonstrate temporal recovery resulting from remedial actions and pollution abatement activities, identify contaminant sources, and provide data for conducting ecological risk assessments. The program uses multiple lines of evidence to evaluate stream recovery and illustrates the importance of using an integrated approach when determining stream health. An overview of data collected ...

CERN Document Server

We examine star clusters in the irregular, starburst galaxy NGC 1569 from HST images. In addition to the two known super star clusters, we identify 45 other clusters that are compact but resolved. Integrated UVI colors of the clusters span a large range, and suggest that ages range from 3 Myrs to 1 Gyr. However, most of the clusters were formed at the tail end of the recent starburst. Numerous clusters in addition to the know super star clusters are similar in luminosity to a small globular cluster. We examined the radial surface brightness of four of the clusters. Their half-light radii and core radii are in the range observed in present-day globular clusters. Therefore, conditions that produced the recent starburst have also been those necessary for producing compact, bright star clusters. We examine resolved stars in the outer parts of the two super star clusters. Cluster A is dominated by bright blue stars with a small population of red supergiants. ...

Science.gov (United States)

The Wind Energy Research Division of Sandia National Laboratories has been funded by the Wind/Ocean Technology Division of the Department of Energy (DOE) to design and build a 34-meter diameter Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT). The turbine design incorporates the results of recent VAWT research in aerodynamics and structural dynamics. Initial system concept studies identified several blade options that met the required power rating of 500 kW. The final blade and rotor configurations were chosen based on finite element calculations that determined the turbine modes of response, their frequency of vibration, and stress levels. For parked survival turbine components were designed to with stand the loading of a 150 mph (67.0 m/s) wind coupled with maximum cable tensions. Specific areas of design discussed include the rotor, cables, bearings, brakes, and foundations. Construction of the turbine is in progress at this time and anticipated completion ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Entropy generation is equivalent to destruction of available work (exergy). The useful energy is destroyed due to the intrinsic irreversibility associated within thermodynamic systems. Exergy analysis can be used as an effective basis for the development and improvement of systems design not only in the overall perspective but also in the individual component level. Second law analysis provides a useful tool to identify the irreversibility in any thermal system. This study presents the investigation of local and total entropy generation in compressible flow through a diffuser. Air is used as the fluid. Uniform heat flux boundary condition is applied at the wall. Two dimensional solution of velocity and temperature fields are obtained using the CFD code FLUENT. Distribution of entropy generation rate is investigated throughout the volume of the fluid as it flows through the diffuser. Regions of high entropy generation in the diffuser have been ...

CERN Document Server

We consider the physics and collider phenomenology of quirks that transform nontrivially under QCD color, SU(2)_W as well as an SU(N)_{ic} infracolor group. Our main motivation is to show that the recent Wjj excess observed by CDF naturally arises in quirky models. The basic pattern is that several different quirky states can be produced, some of which beta-decay during or after spin-down, leaving the lightest electrically neutral quirks to hadronize into a meson that subsequently decays into gluon jets. We analyze LEP II, Tevatron, UA2, and electroweak precision constraints, identifying the simplest viable models: scalar quirks ("squirks") transforming as color triplets, SU(2)_W triplets and singlets, all with vanishing hypercharge. We calculate production cross sections, weak decay, spin-down, meson decay rates, and estimate efficiencies. The novel features of our quirky model includes: quirkonium decay proceeds into a pair of gluon jets, without a b-jet ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

There are many sources of population exposures to power-frequency (50/60 Hz) electric and magnetic fields including household appliances and wiring, neighborhood distribution circuits, and high-voltage transmission lines. Bioeffects studies were unable to demonstrate that exposures to power-frequency fields can affect public health. Researcher have likewise been unable to show that the health effects of such exposures are negligible. State and federal regulatory agencies are, therefore, grappling with questions of whether and how to regulate the sitting or design of new extra high-voltage transmission lines so as to control the ground-level fields to which people are exposed. The purpose of this dissertation is to illuminate some of the exposure-related aspects of these question. A taxonomy of the relationship between field encounter and effect is developed to clarify the meaning of terms such as exposure and dose in the power-frequency context. The major inputs to models of population ...

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A permeable reactive mixture has been developed using low cost, readily available materials that is capable of providing effective, long-term phosphorous treatment in areas impacted by on-land wastewater disposal. The reactive mixture creates a geochemical environment suitable for P-attenuation by both adsorption and precipitation reactions. Potential benefits include significant reductions in phosphorous loading to receiving groundwater and surface water systems, and the accumulation of P-mass in a finite and accessible volume of material. The mixture may be applied as a component within surface treatment systems or in subsurface applications such as horizontal or vertical permeable reactive walls. The mixture averaged > 90% treatment efficiency over 3.6 years of continuous-flow laboratory column experiments. The mixture was further evaluated at the pilot-scale to treat municipal wastewater, and the field-scale to treat a well-characterized septic system plume ...

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The objectives of the project were (i) to develop a combination iron oxide production and carbon sequestration plant that will use serpentine ores as the source of iron and the extraction tailings as the storage element for CO2 disposal, (ii) the identification of locations within the US where this process may be implemented and (iii) to create a standardized process to characterize the serpentine deposits in terms of carbon disposal capacity and iron and steel production capacity. The first objective was not accomplished. The research failed to identify a technique to accelerate direct aqueous mineral carbonation, the limiting step in the integration of steel production and carbon sequestration. Objective (ii) was accomplished. It was found that the sequestration potential of the ultramafic resource surfaces in the US and Puerto Rico is approximately 4,647 Gt of CO2 or over 500 years of current US production of CO2. Lastly, a computer model was developed to ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aiming at the non-stationary characteristics of differential pressure fluctuation signals of gas-liquid two-phase flow, and the slow convergence of learning and liability of dropping into local minima for BP neural networks, flow regime identification method based on Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) and Least Square Support Vector Machine (LS-SVM) is presented. First of all, the Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) method is used to decompose the differential pressure fluctuation signals of gas-liquid two-phase flow into a number of stationary Intrinsic Mode Functions (IMFs) components from which the initial feature vector matrix is formed. By applying the singular vale decomposition technique to the initial feature vector matrixes, the singular values are obtained. Finally, the singular values serve as the flow regime characteristic vector to be LS-SVM classifier and flow regimes are identified by the output of the classifier. The ...

CERN Document Server

Context: The colliding-wind binary Eta Car exhibits soft X-ray thermal emission that varies strongly around periastron, and non-thermal emission seen in hard X-rays and gamma-rays. Aims: To definitively identify Eta Car as the source of the hard X-ray emission, to examine how changes in the 2-10 keV band influence changes in the hard X-ray band, and to understand more clearly the mechanisms producing the non-thermal emission using new INTEGRAL observations obtained close to periastron. Methods: A Chandra observation encompassing the ISGRI error circle was analysed, and all other soft X-ray sources (including the outer shell of Eta Car itself) were discarded as likely counter-parts. New hard X-ray images of Eta Car were studied close to periastron, and compared to previous observations far from periastron. Results: The INTEGRAL component, when represented by a power law (with a photon index of 1.8), would produce more emission in the Chandra ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A model-base expert system is presented for the processing of alarm messages in power networks' control centers. This alarm processor, called GESTAL, generates concise diagnoses identifying the causes(s) of network disturbances and describing the operation of the protection and alarm systems which operate to isolate faulty components. Essentially, the alarm processor is an agenda driven expert system which is composed of a model of the power network's alarm and protection systems as well as several sets of rules. Based on the nextwork model, graph structures are constructed which represent relationships between alarms as they are received. These graph structures are then analysed in order to diagnose the disturbances(s). The alarm processor has been developed using the ART 3.0 programming language in a Symbolics Lisp-machine environment. Background material on expert systems, electric power networks, and alarm processing ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The X-band EPR spectra of unirradiated and "6"0 Co gamma ray irradiated cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum L. Maton, Zingiberaceae), ginger ((Zingiber officinale Rosc., Zingiberaceae), saffron (Crocus sativus L., Iridaceae), and curry have been investigated at room temperature. All unirradiated spices presented a weak resonance line with g-factors around free-electron ones, most probably due to the presence of semiquinones, previously reported to have paramagnetic properties. After gamma ray irradiation at absorbed dose up to 11.3 kGy we have noticed in all spices the presence of complex EPR spectra consisting of a superposition of at last two different paramagnetic species whose amplitude increase monotonously with the absorbed dose. A 100 deg. C isothermal annealing of 11.3 kGy irradiated samples has shown a differential reduction of amplitude of various components that form the initial spectra, but even after 5 h of thermal treatment, the remaining amplitude ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In searching modulators of immunity and hematopoiesis among natural products, being used as foods, six herbs exhibited lymphocyte proliferation in vitro, and six exhibited augmentation of hematopoietic cell growth. The combined treatments showed synergistic effects of lymphocyte proliferation and of hematopoietic cell growth. On the other hand, we found four effective oriental medicinal prescriptions, used as energy tonic or blood-building decoctions, for survival and regeneration of hematopoietic cells and for protection of stem cells of intestinal crypt in irradiated mice. On the basis of these results, extracts from combinations of herbs were made in expectation of higher effects in the three respects. In immuno modulation activity by the two combinations of herbs was confirmed in mice. In culture of bone narrow cells, growth improvement of non-adherent precursor and induction of cytokine expression by herb mixture extracts were observed. In evaluation of fractions, polysaccharide ...

Science.gov (United States)

Molecular genetic markers can be used to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) for thermal resistance and this has allowed characterization of a major QTL for knockdown resistance to high temperature in Drosophila melanogaster. The QTL showed trade-off associations with cold resistance under laboratory conditions. However, assays of thermal tolerance conducted in the laboratory may not necessarily reflect performance at varying temperatures in the field. Here we tested if lines with different genotypes in this QTL show different thermal performance under high and low temperatures in the field using a release recapture assay. We found that lines carrying the QTL genotype for high thermal tolerance were significantly better at locating resources in the field releases under hot temperatures while the QTL line carrying the contrasting genotype were superior at cold temperatures. Further, we studied copulatory success between the different QTL genotypes at different ...

CERN Document Server

The aim of this work was to study the possibility of producing a fast switching optical thin film device to react to laser radiation in the visible/near infrared region of the spectrum. The switching mechanism was to be thermally driven. A computer program was written to enable the effects of changes of the refractive index of a component of a multilayer thin film stack to be modelled. Attempts to use the phase transition in vanadium dioxide were unsuccessful because, in the spectral region of interest, the 'open-state' absorption was too great. A class of materials known as 'the bronzes' was identified as being potentially useful. Attempts were made to produce thin films of bronze compounds of vanadium, tungsten and molybdenum by the techniques of conventional thermal evaporation and laser ablation for further studies. The former technique appeared to suffer from problems of decomposition of the source material. The latter technique showed ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

INSAG has emphasized that safety culture has two general components: the organizational framework and the attitude of the staff. To develop a structured approach to the assessment of safety culture, we propose that the highly formalized nature of nuclear power plant organizations be exploited. The prime coordinating mechanism of NPP organizations is the standardization of work processes, where a work process is defined as a standardized sequence of tasks designed to achieve a specific goal (an example is the maintenance work process). The predictable nature of work processes is exploited by the Work Process Analysis Model (WPAM) to conduct a systematic analysis that identifies the desirable characteristics of work processes and develops performance measures for their strengths and weaknesses. These can provide a set of tangible characteristics of a good safety culture. It is argued in this paper that the analysis of normal power production and ...

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Udgivelsesdato: APR

Science.gov (United States)

White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) is the causative agent of the white spot disease of shrimp. Penaeus monodon were captured from Muttukadu Estuary in Chennai, India, transported to the laboratory and maintained in an aerated system with continuous water circulation-biofiltration. WSSV-free P. monodon were challenged by feeding them only once with WSSV-infected tissues of P. monodon. Cumulative mortality (100%) of the infected individuals was determined. Tissues from infected and uninfected shrimp such as muscles, hepatopancreas, heart, gills and eye tissues (100mg of each) and haemolymph (50 microl) were subjected to SDS-PAGE. In infected muscle tissue, six newly expressed proteins were detected. In infected haemolymph, four new proteins and three intensely expressed high molecular weight proteins were observed. Three intensely expressed high molecular weight proteins were detected in infected heart ...

J-STORE (Japan)

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Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heterochromatin constitutes a significant portion of the genome in higher eukaryotes; approximately 30% in Drosophila and human. Heterochromatin contains a high repeat DNA content and a low density of protein-encoding genes. In contrast, euchromatin is composed mostly of unique sequences and contains the majority of single-copy genes. Genetic and cytological studies demonstrated that heterochromatin exhibits regulatory roles in chromosome organization, centromere function and telomere protection. As an epigenetically regulated structure, heterochromatin formation is not defined by any DNA sequence consensus. Heterochromatin is characterized by its association with nucleosomes containing methylated-lysine 9 of histone H3 (H3K9me), heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1) that binds H3K9me, and Su(var)3-9, which methylates H3K9 and binds HP1. Heterochromatin formation and functions are influenced by HP1, Su(var)3-9, and the RNA interference (RNAi) ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Council for Automotive Research (composed of automakers Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler) announced in January 2002 a new cooperative research effort. Known as 'FreedomCAR' (derived from 'Freedom' and 'Cooperative Automotive Research'), it represents DOE's commitment to developing public/private partnerships to fund high-risk, high-payoff research into advanced automotive technologies. Efficient fuel cell technology, which uses hydrogen to power automobiles without air pollution, is a very promising pathway to achieving the ultimate vision. The new partnership replaces and builds upon the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles initiative that ran from 1993 through 2001. The Advanced Power Electronics and Electric Machines (APEEM) subprogram within the FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies Program provides support and guidance for many cutting-edge automotive ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) of the Department of Energy is designed to identify and evaluate the radiological conditions at sites formerly used by the Corps of Engineers Manhattan Engineer District and the US Atomic Energy Commission. Where required, remedial action will be instituted to remove potential restrictions on the use of the sites due to residual low-level radioactive contamination. A total of 31 sites that may require remedial action has been identified. The purpose of the Ocean FUSRAP Program, which began in March 1981, is to assess the technical, environmental, and institutional feasibility of disposing, in the ocean and on the ocean floor, of FUSRAP soil and rubble which contains traces of natural radioactive materials. The initial focus has been on the Middlesex, New Jersey, Sampling Plant site and surrounding properties, which contain on the order of 100,000 metric tons of material. The Belgian ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This report is the first of four volumes that identify and assess the environmental, health, and safety issues involved in using sodium-sulfur (Na/S) battery technology as the energy source in electric and hybrid vehicles that may affect the commercialization of Na/S batteries. This and the other reports on recycling, shipping, and vehicle safety are intended to help the Electric and Hybrid Propulsion Division of the Office of Transportation Technologies in the US Department of Energy (DOE/EHP) determine the direction of its research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) program for Na/S battery technology. The reports review the status of Na/S battery RD&D and identify potential hazards and risks that may require additional research or that may affect the design and use of Na/S batteries. This volume covers cell design and engineering as the basis of safety for Na/S batteries and describes and assesses the potential chemical, ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Because of the chaotic nature of the corrosion process and the complexity of the electrochemical noise signals that are generated, there is no generally accepted method of measuring and interpreting these signals that allows the consistent detection and identification of sustained localized pitting (SLP) as compared to general corrosion. We have reexamined electrochemical noise analysis (ENA) of localized corrosion using different hardware, signal collection, and signal processing designs than those used in conventional ENA techniques. The new data acquisition system was designed to identify and monitor the progress of SLP by analyzing the power spectral density (PSD) of the trend of the corrosion current noise level (CNL) and potential noise level (PNL). Each CNL and PNL data point was calculated from the root-mean- square value of the ac components of current and potential fluctuation signals, which were measured simultaneously during a short ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This study was designed to identify abnormalities in the hepatic-arterial/portal-venous scintiangiogram (SA) in alcoholic hepatitis (AH). SA's were performed in 35 patients with acute alcoholic hepatitis (AAH), 8; acute alcoholic hepatitis superimposed on cirrhosis (A/C), 14; and cirrhosis (C), 13. Posterior flows were done with a bolus of 10 mCi Tc-99m sulfur colloid with computer time-activity curves over the liver and left kidney. Curves were analyzed for per cent of hepatic arterial (HA) and portal venous contribution using the slope ratio method. Hepatic arterialization was estimated from the angle of the HA component of the curve. Reversal of the relative contribution of the hepatic and portal components of total flow were seen in all groups. Although quite severe in AH, the degree of reversal could not be used to differentiate among the groups. The average HA angle in AAH was 48.3 +- 8.1, in A/C 41.5 +- ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Conventional radiography has been the accepted nondestructive testing (NDT) method used for many years to either ''accent'' or ''reject'' a field weld in the pipeline industry. However, conventional radiography requires the expense of film, developing chemicals, and manpower for film development. It also normally has a delay of 2 hours or more between when the weld was radiographed and when the radiographic film of the weld is available for interpretation. Over the last few years, a newer approach to performing radiographic testing, called ''realtime'' radiography, has been used in several different types of field inspection operations. The realtime radiography system forms the image with optical imaging in lieu of photographic film. Objectives of this project were: (Task 1) Integration of realtime x-ray system components into a realtime-radiographic imaging ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This paper identifies the event sequences that require thermal-hydraulic analyses for the success criteria of probabilistic safety analysis (PSA). The selection of the sequences is performed based on the review of the NEI Peer Review Process Guidance and ASME PRA Standard. Success criteria are the important element of PSA quality. Success criteria decide the success or failure of the key function in the PSA event tree. It is defined as a minimum set of components/trains of system required to mitigate an accident. Thermal-hydraulic codes are generally used to derive time-related criteria in the PSA, such as operator action time used in human reliability analysis (HRA), event timing, and time to recover the component or the power. This paper suggests the use of the MARS code for the T-H analysis to obtain the success criteria and sequence timing, and operator action time. In the Kori Units 3 and 4 PSA report, the T-H analyses ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cell extracts of the thermophile Clostridium thermohydrosulfuricum catalyzed the phosphorylation by (..gamma..-/sup 32/P)ATP of several endogenous proteins with M/sub r/s between 13,000 and 100,000. Serine and tyrosine were the main acceptors. Distinct substrate proteins were found in the soluble (e.g., proteins p66, p63, and p53 of M/sub r/s 66,000, 63,000, and 53,000, respectively) and particulate (p76 and p30) fractions, both of which contained protein kinase and phosphatase activity. The soluble fraction suppressed the phosphorylation of particulate proteins and contained a protein kinase inhibitor. Phosphorylation of p53 was promoted by 10..mu..M fructose 1,6-bisphosphate or glucose 1,6-bisphosphate and suppressed by hexose monophosphates, whereas p30 and p13 were suppressed by 5 ..mu..M brain (but not spinach) calmodulin. Polyamines, including the odd ...