We introduced a probability of traffic light, PL, at an intersection when approaching cars in two roads are in same conditions. As a application, we proposed a modified Nagel-Schreckenberg cellularautomata model for describing a conflicting vehicular traffic flow at the intersection. The results show that the plateau region in the fundamental diagrams, caused by the effect of interaction, is dependent not only on the probability PL, but also on the adaptive schemes.
With a modelling approach based on cellularautomata, five observed types of plant development can be simulated. In addition, the proposed model shows a strong tendency towards the formation of patches and a high degree of dynamical and structural instability leading to limits of predictability for the asymptotic solution chosen by the system among several possible metastable patterns (multistability). Further, external fluctuations can be shown to have advantages for certain plant types. The presented model unifies the fundamental dichotomy in vegetation dynamics between determinism (understood as predictability) and disorder (chance effects) by showing the outcome of both classical theories as special cases. (author) 2 figs., 4 refs.
Effective small interfering RNA (siRNA)–mediated therapeutics require the siRNA to be delivered into the cellular RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC). Quantitative information of this essential...Full Text Available
To understand dynamic developmental processes, living tissues must be imaged frequently and for extended periods of time. Root development is extensively studied at cellular resolution to understand basic mechanisms underlying pattern formation and maintenance in plants. Unfortunately, ensuring continuous specimen access, while preserving physiological conditions and preventing photo-damage, poses major barriers to measurements of cellular dynamics in indeterminately growing organs such as plant roots. We present a system that integrates optical sectioning through light sheet fluorescence microscopy with hydroponic culture that enables us to image at cellular resolution a vertically growing Arabidopsis root every few minutes and for several consecutive days. We describe novel automated routines to track the root tip as it grows, track cellular nuclei and identify cell divisions. We demonstrate the ...
The long-term survival of certain patients after treatment with radiation or chemotherapeutic agents has allowed the realization that agents that effectively control cancer in the human subject may also possess an oncogenic potential, resulting in secondary malignancies in a significant proportion of surviving patients. A quantitative assessment of the oncogenic effects of these agents at a cellular level is important, as is information on conditions and agents that may effectively alter the development of the neoplastic state. Cell culture systems where the neoplastic transformation of cells can be scored after exposure to carcinogens offer powerful tools for evaluating the oncogenic potential of radiation and chemotherapeutic agents.
The paper reports extensive analyses of the fractal geometry of cellular dislocation structures observed in Cu deformed in multiple-slip orientation. Several methods presented for the determination of fractal dimensions are shown to give consistent results. Criteria are formulated which allow the distinguishing of fractal from non-fractal patterns, and implications of fractal dislocation patterning for quantitative metallography are discussed in detail. For an interpretation of the findings a theoretical model is outlined according to which dislocation cell formation is associated to a noise-induced structural transition far from equilibrium. This allows relating the observed fractal dimensions to the stochastic properties of deformation by collective dislocation glide.
An apparatus was designed and built for the purpose of exposing samples of solid polymers to varying temperatures, atmospheres and stress levels while quantitatively recording the resulting chemiluminescence. Preliminary data were acquired with this apparatus that show a correlation between an enhanced chemiluminescence signal at a low level of applied stress and a decrease in tensile strength for the most commonly used epoxy resin in high performance fiber composites, TGMDA DDS. The studies with cellular silicone cushions (which are used to accommodate thermal expansion and contraction) have defined the temperature regimes in which accelerated aging tests are valid for extrapolation to ambient temperature. Preliminary data on Kevlar fibers is also discussed.
Half a century is fast approaching since Hayflick and colleagues formally described the limited ability of normal human cells to proliferate in culture (Hayflick and Moorhead, 1961). This finding--that normal somatic cells, in contrast to cancer cells, cannot divide indefinitely--challenged the prevailing idea that cells from mortal multicellular organisms were intrinsically ''immortal'' (Carrell, 1912). It also spawned two hypotheses, essential elements of which persist today. The first held that the restricted proliferation of normal cells, now termed cellular senescence, suppresses cancer (Hayflick, 1965; Sager, 1991; Campisi, 2001). The second hypothesis, as explained in the article by Lorenzini et al., suggested that the limited proliferation of cells in culture recapitulated aspects of organismal aging (Hayflick, 1965; Martin, 1993). How well have these hypotheses weathered the ensuing decades? Before answering this ...
Motivated by recent experiments on KIF1A, a representative member of single-headed kinesin motor proteins family, we develop a theoretical model of intra-cellular transport by mutually interacting molecular motors. The model explicitly accounts not only for the hydrolysis of ATP, but also for the ratchet mechanism which is believed to drive each individual KIF1A motor. We study the model by a combination of analytical and numerical techniques. A remarkable feature of this model is that all the parameters in it can be completely evaluated from experimental data. Our results in the dilute limit are in excellent quantitative agreement with the empirical data from single molecule experiments. In the high density regime the predictions of the model also agree qualitatively with the corresponding experimental observations. We derive a phase diagram that shows the influence of hydrolysis and Langmuir kinetics on the collective spatio-temporal ...
Quantitative Real-Time PCR (qRT-PCR) is a widely used tool to study host responses against parasites. A crucial step in the gene quantification process is the normalization of the expression data against stable housekeeping genes (HKGs). However, in recent years, several reports have showed that the transcriptional levels of such HKGs can change dramatically, especially when cellular changes appear in the tissues investigated. The aim of the current study was to assess the variability of 11 putative HKGs in bovine abomasal tissue during an infection with the parasitic nematode Ostertagia ostertagi. Gene transcription levels of selected potential HKGs were measured by qRT-PCR and the expression stabilities evaluated using geNorm, NormFinder, and The Mann-Whitney-U test. The analysis showed ...
Culturing human prostate PC-3 cells for 4, 24, or 72 h in the presence of 5,8,11,14-eicosatetraynoic acid (ETYA), an inhibitor of arachidonic acid metabolism and cholesterol biosynthesis, markedly altered the morphology and reduced the number of mitochondria in the treated cells. Using quantitative electron microscopic morphometry, we documented changes in the number, form, area, matrix density, and integrity of the cristae and limiting membranes of mitochondria in cells cultured with ETYA. The inhibition of cholesterol synthesis or the substitution of ETYA for polyunsaturated fatty acids in the inner membrane may participate in the disruption of the mitochondria, which resembles the morphologic sequelae of oxidative stress. If sufficiently extensive, these changes could contribute to the inhibition of cellular proliferation by ETYA.
The overall objective of this project has been to develop immunochemical methods to quantitate unique DNA base damages in order to facilitate studies on radiation-induced damage production and repair. Specifically, we have been using antibodies raised to damaged bases to quantitate unique lesions in model systems in order to evaluate their potential biological consequences. Our approach has been to synthesize modified nucleotides or nucleosides, conjugate them to protein carriers, and use the conjugates as immunogens in rabbits or to prepare monoclonal antibodies. We have been studying damages that are stable radiolysis products found in X-irradiated DNA and thus of potential biological consequence. Our aim is to build an in vitro and in vivo data base on the interactions between model DNA lesions and such cellular enzymes as DNA polymerases and repair endonucleases. Initial studies have focused on pyrimidine ring ...
The overall objective of this project has been to develop immunochemical methods to quantitate unique DNA base damages in order to facilitate studies on radiation-induced damage production and repair. Specifically, we have been using antibodies raised to damaged bases to quantitate unique lesions in model systems in order to evaluate their potential biological consequences. Our approach has been to synthesize modified nucleotides or nucleosides, conjugate them to protein carriers, and use the conjugates as immunogens in rabbits or to prepare monoclonal antibodies. We have been studying damages that are stable radiolysis products found in X-irradiated DNA and thus of potential biological consequence. Our aim is to build an in vitro and in vivo data base on the interactions between model DNA lesions and such cellular enzymes as DNA polymerases and repair endonucleases. Initial studies have focused on pyrimidine ring ...
The mechanisms of brown adipocyte proliferation and differentiation during cold acclimation (and/or adaptation to hyperphagia) have been studied by quantitative photonic radioautography. (/sup 3/H)thymidine was injected to warm-acclimated (25/sup 0/C) rats and to animals exposed to 5/sup 0/C for 2 days. Samples of interscapular brown adipose tissue were collected for quantitative analysis of mitotic frequencies at various periods of time (4 h-15 days) after the injection of (/sup 3/H)thymidine, the rats being maintained at the temperatures to which they were initially exposed. It was found that cold exposure for 2 days markedly enhanced mitotic activity in endothelial cells, interstitial cells, and brown preadipocytes rather than in fully differentiated brown adipocytes. The total tissue labeling index (percent of labeled nuclei) increased approx.70 times over control values. The authors now report that cellular labeling ...
We present the formulation and testing of a mathematical model for the kinetics of homotypic cellular aggregation. The model considers cellular aggregation under no-flow conditions as a two-step process....Full Text Available
Regulatory genes called small RNAs (sRNAs) are known to play critical roles in cellular responses to changing environments. For several sRNAs, regulation is effected by coupled stoichiometric degradation with messenger RNAs (mRNAs). The nonlinearity inherent in this regulatory scheme indicates that exact analytical solutions for the corresponding stochastic models are intractable. Here, we present a variational approach to analyze a well-studied stochastic model for regulation by sRNAs via coupled degradation. The proposed approach is efficient and provides accurate estimates of mean mRNA levels as well as higher order terms. Results from the variational ansatz are in excellent agreement with data from stochastic simulations for a wide range of parameters, including regions of parameter space where mean-field approaches break down. The proposed approach can be applied to quantitatively model stochastic gene expression in complex regulatory ...
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are combustion products of organic materials, mixtures of which contain multiple known and probable human carcinogens. PAHs occur in indoor and outdoor air, as well as in char-broiled meats and fish. Human exposure to PAHs occurs by inhalation, ingestion and topical absorption, and subsequently formed metabolites are either rendered hydrophilic and excreted, or bioactivated and bound to cellular macromolecules. The formation of PAH-DNA adducts (DNA binding products), considered a necessary step in PAH-initiated carcinogenesis, has been widely studied in experimental models and has been documented in human tissues. This review describes immunohistochemistry (IHC) studies, which reveal localization of PAH-DNA adducts in human tissues, and semi-quantify PAH-DNA adduct levels using the Automated Cellular Imaging System (ACIS). These studies have shown that PAH-DNA adducts concentrate in: basal and supra-basal ...
Endothelial dysfunction is involved in radiation responses in many normal tissues, including intestine. Endothelium-directed interventions ameliorate intestinal radiation injury (radiation enteropathy) in animal models, and anecdotal reports also suggest a beneficial effect of heparin. This study assessed low molecular weight heparin as an intestinal radiation response modifier. Rats underwent localized small bowel irradiation. Groups of rats were treated with saline, nadroparin (3 mg/kg/d), or a non-anticoagulant heparin (SR80258, 3 mg/kg/d), from 3 days before to 2 weeks after irradiation. The intestinal radiation response was assessed 2 weeks and 6 weeks after irradiation using quantitative histology; morphometry, and cellular and molecular end-points. Compared to vehicle-treated controls, nadroparin significantly exacerbated structural radiation injury, neutrophil infiltration, and TGFbeta and collagen I immunoreactivity levels 2 weeks ...
Cellular senescence is an important mechanism for preventing the proliferation of potential cancer cells. Recently, however, it has become apparent that this process entails more than a simple cessation...Full Text Available
Emerging evidence indicates that impaired cellular energy metabolism is the defining characteristic of nearly all cancers regardless of cellular or tissue origin. In contrast to normal cells, which...Full Text Available
Since 1988, the Expertise group of Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB) is an important partner in the development of the Micro-Ecological Life Support System Alternative (MELiSSA). The MELiSSA was designed to allow a small crew to survive on an Antarctic, lunar or Mars outpost, and is a joint research project currently fostered by the European Space Agency, ESA. The MELiSSA functions through a series of five interconnected compartments, of which four are microbial bioreactors and was engineered to degrade organic waste, regenerate the outpost's atmosphere and water, and provide the crew with an additional vegetarian diet. The bioreactor of the third compartment provides the edible cyanobacteria and plants of the fourth compartment with nitrate instead of ammonium as a source of nitrogen. The two bacteria responsible for the biological transformation of ammonium to nitrate (nitrification) are Nitrosomonas europaea and Nitrobacter winogradskyi. Since all ...
There are several approaches to describe flows with particles e.g. Lattice-Gas Automata (LGA), Lattice-Boltzmann method (LBM) or smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH). These approaches do not use fixed grids on which the Navier-Stokes equations are solved via e.g. finite volume method. The flow is simulated using a multitude of particles or particle density distributions, which interacts and due to statistical laws and an even more fundamental approach than the Navier-Stokes equation, the averaged flow variables can be derived. After a short summary of the most popular particle methods the new DMPC (Dissipative Multiple Particles Collision) approach will be presented. The DMPC-model eliminates some of the weak points of the established particle methods and shows high potential for more accurate CFD solution especially in areas where standard CFD tools still have problems (e.g. aero-acoustics). The DMPC-model deals with discrete circular particles and calculates the ...
A technique for quantitative determination of cephalothin and desacetylcephalothin in serum using a method based on high-pressure liquid chromatography is described. Both compounds were quantitatively...Full Text Available
The three mammalian transforming growth factor (TGF)-? isoforms (TGF-?1, TGF-?2, and TGF-?3) differ in their putative roles in radiation-induced fibrosis in intestine and other organs. Furthermore, tissue specificity of TGF-? action may result from temporal or spatial changes in production and/or activation. The present study examined shifts in the cell types expressing TGF-? mRNA relative to TGF-? immunoreactivity and histopathological injury during radiation enteropathy development. A 4-cm loop of rat small intestine was locally exposed to 0, 12, or 21-Gy single doses of x-irradiation. Sham-irradiated and irradiated intestine were procured 2 and 26 weeks after irradiation. Cells expressing the TGF-?1, TGF-?2, or TGF-?3 transcripts were identified by in situ hybridization with digoxigenin-labeled riboprobes. Intestinal wall TGF-? immunoreactivity was measured using computerized image analysis, and structural radiation injury was assessed by quantitative ...
Cellular polarity is a fundamental property of every cell. Due to their extremely fast growth rate (≥1 μm/s) and their highly elongated form, filamentous fungi represent a prime example...Full Text Available
BackgroundSilica nanoparticles (SiNPs) are being formulated for cellular imaging and for nonviral gene delivery in the central nervous system (CNS), but it is unclear what potential...Full Text Available
The extensive membrane network of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is physically juxtaposed to and functionally entwined with essentially all other cellular compartments. Therefore, the ER must sense...Full Text Available
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA integration has been shown to occur frequently in human hepatocellular carcinomas. We have investigated whether common cellular DNA domains might be rearranged, possibly...Full Text Available
Oxidative stress occurs when the level of prooxidants exceeds the level of antioxidants in cells resulting in oxidation of cellular components and consequent loss of cellular function. Oxidative...Full Text Available
The influence of an immobilization stressor on lung cellular immune responses was studied. Delayed-type hypersensitivity to sheep erythrocytes was used to evaluate in vivo lung cellular immunity. Mice...Full Text Available
Optical coherence microscopy (OCM) is a promising technique or high resolution cellular imaging in human tissues. An OCM system for high-speed en face cellular resolution imaging...Full Text Available
BackgroundBlue nevi that arise from the Müllerian tract are rare melanocytic lesions. Several histopathologic variants of cellular blue nevi have been described. The angiomatoid...Full Text Available
Pestiviruses are positive-strand RNA viruses closely related to human hepatitis C virus. Gene expression of these viruses occurs via translation of a polyprotein, which is further processed by cellular...Full Text Available
In this paper, we extend the diversity and multiplexing tradeoff (DMT) analysis from point-to-point channels to cellular systems to evaluate the impact of inter-cell interference on the system reliability and efficiency. Fundamental tradeoff among diversity order, multiplexing gain and inter-cell interference intensity is characterized to reveal the capability of multiple antennas in cellular systems. And the detrimental effects of the inter-cell interference on the system performance of diversity and multiplexing is presented and analyzed.
Two cellular DNA regions representing common domains for proviral DNA integration ( Mlvi -1 and Mlvi -2) have been identified in Moloney murine leukemia virus-induced rat thymic lymphomas. Cellular...Full Text Available
This paper investigates the effects of the electric current pulse (ECP) on the interface stability of Al-4.5% Cu alloy during the directional solidification. Experimental results show both the cellular spacing and the mushy zone depth decrease with increasing current density, moreover, the solid-liquid interface morphology transforms from dendritic to cellular or even planar interface. The secondary dendrites are suppressed due to the homogeneous distribution of the solute and the increase of temperature gradient originated from ECP. The decrease of the cellular spacing results from branching of the cellular tip caused by Joule heat of the current exerting on cellular tip.
In vitro cytocompatibility and cellular interactions of lauric acid and dextran-coated magnetite nanoparticles were evaluated with two different cell lines (mouse fibroblast and human cervical carcinoma). Lauric acid-coated magnetite nanoparticles were less cytocompatible than dextran-coated magnetite nanoparticles and cellular uptake of lauric acid-coated magnetic nanoparticles was more than that of dextran-coated magnetite nanoparticles. Lesser cytocompatibility and higher uptake of lauric acid-coated magnetite nanoparticles as compared to dextran-coated magnetic nanoparticles may be due to different cellular interactions by coating material. Thus, coating plays an important role in modulation of biocompatibility and cellular interaction of magnetic nanoparticles.
In vitro cytocompatibility and cellular interactions of lauric acid and dextran-coated magnetite nanoparticles were evaluated with two different cell lines (mouse fibroblast and human cervical carcinoma). Lauric acid-coated magnetite nanoparticles were less cytocompatible than dextran-coated magnetite nanoparticles and cellular uptake of lauric acid-coated magnetic nanoparticles was more than that of dextran-coated magnetite nanoparticles. Lesser cytocompatibility and higher uptake of lauric acid-coated magnetite nanoparticles as compared to dextran-coated magnetic nanoparticles may be due to different cellular interactions by coating material. Thus, coating plays an important role in modulation of biocompatibility and cellular interaction of magnetic nanoparticles.
The evaluation of biological markers is recognized as necessary to the future of toxicology, epidemiology, and quantitative risk assessment. For biological markers to become widely accepted, their validity...Full Text Available
Quantitative microscopy has been extensively used in biomedical research and has provided significant insights into structure and dynamics at the cell and tissue level. The entire procedure...Full Text Available
Despite a complex cascade of cellular events to reconstruct the damaged extracellular matrix, ligament healing results in a mechanically inferior scarred ligament. During normal healing, granulation...Full Text Available
Telomere maintenance is essential for cellular immortality, and most cancer cells maintain their telomeres through the enzyme telomerase. Telomeres and telomerase represent promising anticancer...Full Text Available
In an effort to develop octahedral metal complexes as chemotherapeutic and diagnostic agents targeted to DNA, it is critical to optimize the properties of their cellular uptake. Appending d-octaarginine...Full Text Available
Prokaryotic genomes can be annotated based on their structural, operational, and functional properties. These annotations provide the pivotal scaffold for understanding cellular functions on a genome-scale,...Full Text Available
BackgroundTacrolimus (FK-506) is an immunosuppressant that binds to a specific immunophilin, resulting in the suppression of the cellular immune response during transplant rejection....Full Text Available
Age-related alterations in the cellular composition of the B lineage are a major cause of the poor antibody response to vaccination and to infectious agents among the elderly population. The mechanisms...Full Text Available
The steroidal regulation of vertebrate neuroanatomy and neurophysiology includes a seemingly unending list of brain areas, cellular structures and behaviors modulated by these hormones. Estrogens,...Full Text Available
Cellular actions of thyroid hormone may be initiated within the cell nucleus, at the plasma membrane, in cytoplasm, and at the mitochondrion. Thyroid hormone nuclear receptors (TRs) mediate the biological...Full Text Available
Although the initiating factor(s) is unknown, it is now accepted that pulmonary sarcoidosis develops as a result of an over-stimulated local cellular immune response. Starting as a lymphocytic alveolitis,...Full Text Available
Advances in modern neuroscience require the identification of principles that connect different levels of experimental analysis, from molecular mechanisms to explanations of cellular functions,...Full Text Available
Aggregatibacter (Actinobacillus) actinomycetemcomitans is a facultative anaerobic gram-negative bacterium associated with severe forms of periodontitis. A leukotoxin, which belongs...Full Text Available
Physiological bone remodeling is a highly coordinated process responsible for bone resorption and formation and is necessary to repair damaged bone and to maintain mineral homeostasis. In addition to...Full Text Available
AbstractWe propose a mechanism for the formation of membrane oscillations and traveling waves, which arise due to the coupling between the actin cytoskeleton and the calcium flux through...Full Text Available
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
A novel class of pyrrolidinyl-acetyleneic thieno[3,2-d]pyrimidines has been identified which potently inhibit the EGFR and ErbB-2 receptor tyrosine kinases. Synthetic modifications of the pyrrolidine carbamate moiety result in a range of effects on enzyme and cellular potency. In addition, the impact of the absolute stereochemical configuration on cellular potency and oral mouse pharmacokinetics is described.
...) Abstract: Fluorescence microscopic imaging is widely used in biomedical research to study molecular and cellular processes in cell culture or tissue samples. This is motivated by the high inherent sensitivity of fluorescence techniques, the spatial resolution that compares favorably with cellular dimensions, the stability of the fluorescent labels used and the sophisticated strategies that have been developed for selectively labeling target molecules. More recently, two and ...
Microfluidic systems and methods are disclosed which are adapted to transport and lyse cellular components of a test sample for analysis. The disclosed microfluidic systems and methods, which employ an electric field to rupture the cell membrane, cause unusually rapid lysis, thereby minimizing continued cellular activity and resulting in greater accuracy of analysis of cell processes.
Fifty-six tuberculosis patients and twenty-eight control subjects were evaluated in a comprehensive investigation of cellular and humoral immune function in pulmonary TB. The patient group showed significantly...Full Text Available
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA integration has been shown to occur frequently in human hepatocellular carcinomas. The authors have investigated whether common cellular DNA domains might be rearranged, possibly by HBV integration, in human primary liver tumors. Unique cellular DNA sequences adjacent to an HBV integration site were isolated from a patient with hepatitis B surface antigen-positive hepatocellular carcinoma. These probes detected rearrangement of this cellular region of chromosomal DNA in 3 of 50 additional primary liver tumors studied. Of these three tumor samples, two contained HBV DNA, without an apparent link between the viral DNA and the rearranged allele; HBV DNA sequences were not detected in the third tumor sample. By use of a panel of somatic cell hybrids, these unique cellular DNA sequences were shown to be located on chromosome 4. Therefore, this region of chromosomal DNA might be ...
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA integration has been shown to occur frequently in human hepatocellular carcinomas. The authors have investigated whether common cellular DNA domains might be rearranged, possibly by HBV integration, in human primary liver tumors. Unique cellular DNA sequences adjacent to an HBV integration site were isolated from a patient with hepatitis B surface antigen-positive hepatocellular carcinoma. These probes detected rearrangement of this cellular region of chromosomal DNA in 3 of 50 additional primary liver tumors studied. Of these three tumor samples, two contained HBV DNA, without an apparent link between the viral DNA and the rearranged allele; HBV DNA sequences were not detected in the third tumor sample. By use of a panel of somatic cell hybrids, these unique cellular DNA sequences were shown to be located on chromosome 4. Therefore, this region of chromosomal DNA might be ...
Electrospinning has gained much attention in the past decade as an effective means of generating nano- to micro-scale polymer fibers that resemble native extracellular matrix. High porosity, pore interconnectivity, and large surface area to volume ratio of electrospun scaffolds make them highly conducive to cellular adhesion and growth. However, inherently small pores of electrospun scaffolds do not promote adequate cellular infiltration and tissue ingrowth. Cellular infiltration into the scaffold is essential for a range of tissue engineering applications and is particularly important in skin and musculoskeletal engineering. Pore size, porosity, and pore interconnectivity dictate the extent of cellular infiltration and tissue ingrowth into the scaffold; influence a range of cellular processes; and are crucial for diffusion of nutrients, metabolites, and waste products. A number of ...
The infection of cultured human cells with baboon endogenous virus (BEV) frequently leads to an association of viral DNA with a specific genetic locus (termed BEVI, for baboon endogenous virus infection) on chromosome 6. Restriction endonuclease digestion of DNA from BEV-infected human cells and their derived somatic cell clones frequently revealed a common cellular DNA sequence in the proximity of one of the junctions between cellular DNA and the integrated virus. We propose that a short cellular DNA sequence, repeated on chromosome 6 and separated by unique DNA sequences, presents a high-affinity target for the integration of BEV in human cells. PMID:6401843
Over the decades, basic research in life sciences has profited greatly from the study of the small unicellular fungal species Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This yeast turned out to be key for the identification and understanding of molecular mechanisms that underlay the basic functions of all eukaryotic cells. These include, but are not limited to, the regulatory mechanisms behind cellular reproduction (cell cycle control), cellular morphogenesis (cell polarity, cytoskeleton and membrane trafficking) and the management of cellular information (chromosome biology, transcription and translation). Rapid access to genomic information of many yeast species, combined with bioinformatics analyses, provide information on the evolutionary history of yeasts and the molecular ancestry of their constituen...
The clinical use of "1"8F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography in monitoring anticancer treatment is expanding. At the same time a number of radiotracers aiming to image different aspects of tumour biology such as proliferation and apoptosis are being developed. However, the factors determining changes of radiotracer uptake parameters in response to treatment are not well understood. In many cases, cellularity may be the primary determinant of changes of FDG uptake and may confound the interpretation of metabolic changes. Early imaging assessments have in some cases showed transient increases of uptake parameters, commonly termed 'flares', which are likely to be unaffected by cellularity and directly reflect pharmacodynamics at a cellular level. In this review a number of settings where molecular imaging 'flares' have been described are discussed. Such changes may often be clinically informative and warrant ...
OBJECTIVETo assess the new quantitative bone scan parameters as markers of Charcot neuroosteoarthropathy (CNO) activity.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSForty-two...Full Text Available
Emphasis was put on the comparative quantitative structure-activity approaches to the exploration of action mechanisms of structurally different classes of compounds showing the same type of activity...Full Text Available
A single radial hemolysis test was developed for quantitation of specific antibody to non-hemagglutinating viruses. With the human coronaviruses as models, this test utilizes the binding properties...Full Text Available
We have exploited ``progeny testing'' to map quantitative trait loci (QTL) underlying the genetic variation of milk production in a selected dairy cattle population. A total of 1,518 sires, with progeny...Full Text Available
Gene expression data has been used in lieu of phenotype in both classical and quantitative genetic settings. These two disciplines have separate approaches to measuring and interpreting epistasis, which...Full Text Available
Deficits in prepulse inhibition (PPI) are a biological marker for schizophrenia. To unravel the mechanisms that control PPI, we performed quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis on 1,010 F2 mice derived...Full Text Available
The Electronic REference To access In vivo Concentrations (ERETIC) method was applied to 1H HR-MAS spectroscopy. The accuracy, precision, and stability of ERETIC as a quantitative...Full Text Available
Purpose/Objective: The role of programmed cell death (apoptosis) as a cellular response to cancer therapy such as radiation or chemotherapy is the subject of much study, and manipulation of the apoptotic response in tumor cells may be valuable in the treatment of a variety of cancers. Both p53 dependent and independent apoptotic pathways have been identified; p53 is mutated in at least 50 % of human cancers and a majority of radiation resistant tumors contain p53 mutations. This study is designed to examine the induction of programmed cell death in a human colon carcinoma cell line that possesses two mutated p53 alleles. Ionizing radiation alone, or in combination with the chemotherapeutic drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), were used to elicit the apoptotic response. This study will focus on whether these treatments can induce a significant apoptotic response in cells that have mutated p53 alleles. Materials and Methods: HT-29 cells were assessed for clonogenic survival ...
The quantitative imaging of a phase object using 16 keV x-rays is reported. The theoretical basis of the techniques is presented along with its implementation using a synchrotron x-ray source. It is found that the phase image is in quantitative agreement with independent measurements of the object. 13 refs., 5 figs.
The phosphatidylinositol pathway is implicated in the regulation of numerous cellular functions and responses to extracellular signals. An important branching point in the pathway is the phosphorylation...Full Text Available
Global acetylation of histone H4 is a mark of gene transcriptional activation. The c-Myc transcription factor binds to specific DNA sites in cellular chromatin and induces the acetylation of...Full Text Available
Synthetic gene networks can be used to control gene expression and cellular phenotypes in a variety of applications. In many instances, however, such networks can behave unreliably due to gene expression...Full Text Available
During germination and early growth of castor bean (Ricinus communis), all cellular constituents of the endosperm are eventually transferred to the growing embryo. The present results...Full Text Available
The interactions between biochemical processes and mechanical signaling play important roles during various cellular processes such as wound healing, embryogenesis, metastasis, and cell migration. While...Full Text Available
p53 is one of the most mutated tumor suppressors in human cancers and as such has been intensively studied for a long time. p53 is a major orchestrator of the cellular response to a broad array...Full Text Available
Altered structure, and hence function, of cellular macromolecules caused by oxidation can contribute to loss of physiological function with age. Here, we tested whether the lifespan of bats, which generally...Full Text Available
The target of rapamycin (TOR) pathway regulates cell growth and aging in various organisms. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, silent information regulator 2 (Sir2) modulates cellular senescence. Moreover,...Full Text Available
Post-transcriptional nucleoside modifications fine-tune the biophysical and biochemical properties of transfer RNA (tRNA) so that it is optimized for participation in cellular processes. Here we report...Full Text Available
The RNA-binding protein Hfq is recognized as an important regulatory factor in a variety of cellular processes, including stress resistance and pathogenesis. Hfq has been shown in several bacteria to...Full Text Available
ATP-binding cassette transporters (ABC transporters) utilize the energy of ATP hydrolysis to translocate an unusually diverse set of substrates across cellular membranes. ABCA4, also known as...Full Text Available
Interactions between presynaptic and postsynaptic cellular adhesion molecules (CAMs) drive synapse maturation during development. These trans-synaptic interactions are regulated by alternative splicing...Full Text Available
We have identified the nonreceptor tyrosine kinase syk as a marker of differentiation/tumor suppressor in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Syk expression is lost in poorly differentiated PDAC...Full Text Available
Somatic embryogenesis (SE) is the developmental restructuring of somatic cells towards the embryogenic pathway and forms the basis of cellular totipotency in angiosperms. With the availability of full-length...Full Text Available
Cilia are important cellular structures that have been implicated in a variety of signaling cascades. In this review, we discuss the current evidence for and against a link between cilia and both the...Full Text Available
In this work, we explore the potential of the metalloendopeptidase Lys-N for MALDI-MS/MS proteomics applications. Initially we digested a HEK293 cellular lysate with Lys-N and, for comparison, in parallel...Full Text Available
Cellular calcium transient alternans are beat-to-beat alternations in the peak cytosolic calcium concentration exhibited by cardiac cells during rapid electrical stimulation or under pathological conditions....Full Text Available
Taste cells use multiple signaling mechanisms to generate appropriate cellular responses to discrete taste stimuli. Some taste stimuli activate G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) that cause calcium...Full Text Available
It has become increasing clear that alterations in cellular metabolism have a key role in the generation and maintenance of cancer. Some of the metabolic changes can be attributed to the activation...Full Text Available
AbstractStudies performed to identify early events of ovarian cancer and to establish molecular markers to support early detection and development of chemopreventive regimens have been...Full Text Available
By pretreating simian virus 40-infected BSC-1 cells with glucosamine, [3H]uridine labeling of both cellular and viral RNA can be halted instantaneously by addition of cold uridine. We have...Full Text Available
A number of studies have indicated that plasma membrane calcium ATPases (PMCAs) are expressed in the brain and spinal cord and could play important roles not only in the maintenance of cellular calcium...Full Text Available
MicroRNAs (miRs) can regulate many cellular functions, but their roles in regulating responses of vascular endothelial cells (ECs) to mechanical stimuli remain unexplored. We hypothesize that the physiological...Full Text Available
Although cellular immunity has a crucial role during cryptococcosis, several in vitro studies have pointed out the importance of IgG anti-Cryptococcus neoformans antibodies and complement components...Full Text Available
PurposeNocturnal rhythms of gene expression in the retina are known to be both darkness- and circadian clock-dependent, but their role and cellular location are not well defined....Full Text Available
Totipotent stem cells have the potential to differentiate into every cell type. Renewal of totipotent stem cells in the germline and cellular differentiation during early embryogenesis rely upon posttranscriptional...Full Text Available
The ubiquitin–proteasome pathway is the principal system for extralysosomal protein degradation in eukaryotic cells, and is essential for the regulation and maintenance of basic cellular processes,...Full Text Available
Abstracts of research projects are presented in the following areas: measurements and special facilities; cellular and subcellular studies; physiology; behavior; environmental effects; modeling, scaling and dosimetry; and high voltage direct current. (ACR)
OBJECTIVENicotinamide adenine dinucleotides (NAD+ and NADH) play a crucial role in cellular energy metabolism, and a dysregulated NAD+-to-NADH ratio is implicated...Full Text Available
Allergic asthma is characterized by airway hyperresponsiveness, inflammation, and a cellular infiltrate dominated by eosinophils. Numerous epidemiological studies have related the exacerbation of allergic...Full Text Available
BackgroundStem cell characteristics are an important feature of human cancer cells and play a major role in the therapy resistance of tumours. Strategies to target cancer stem cells...Full Text Available
Microglia provide immune surveillance for the brain through both the removal of cellular debris and protection against infection by microorganisms and “foreign” molecules. Upon...Full Text Available
The integration sites for viral DNA in cells infected with Moloney murine leukemia virus (M-MuLV) were studied by restriction endonuclease cleavage of cellular DNA followed by electrophoresis in agarose...Full Text Available
Cardiovascular modelling has been a major research subject for the last decades. Different cardiac models have been developed at a cellular level as well as at the whole organ level. Most of...Full Text Available
Cancer immunotherapies can be guided by cellular imaging techniques, which can identify the presence or absence of immune-cell accumulation in the tumor tissue in-vivo and in real time. This...Full Text Available
Mitochondrial heat shock protein 70 (mtHSP70) is found to play a primary role in cellular defense against physiological stress like exposure to environmental contaminants and helpful in the maintenance...Full Text Available
Choline (Cho)-containing phospholipids are the most abundant phospholipids in cellular membranes and play fundamental structural as well as regulatory roles in cell metabolism and signaling. Although...Full Text Available
Friends and colleagues remember John N. Brady, Ph.D., Chief of the Virus Tumor Biology Section of the Laboratory of Cellular Oncology, who died much too young at the age of 57 on April 27, 2009 of colon...Full Text Available
Using the photopigment melanopsin, intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) respond directly to light to drive circadian clock resetting and pupillary constriction. We now...Full Text Available
The authors calculated the stress-strain relation for elastomeric foam from an ab initio theory, which shows that the plateau and densification regions should be described by a hyperbola. The theory seems to agree reasonably well with experiment.
IntroductionNormal and neoplastic breast tissues are comprised of heterogeneous populations of epithelial cells exhibiting various degrees of maturation and differentiation. While...Full Text Available
An optical flow gradient algorithm was applied to spontaneously forming networks of neurons and glia in culture imaged by fluorescence optical microscopy in order to map functional calcium signaling...Full Text Available
BackgroundLipocalin 2 (Lcn2) is a bacteriostatic factor that may also modulate cellular function, however, little is known concerning the expression or role of Lcn2 in CNS inflammation....Full Text Available
AMP-activated-protein-kinase (AMPK) is a key sensor and regulator of cellular and whole-body energy metabolism and plays a key role in regulation of lipid metabolism. Since lipid metabolism...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe Gene Ontology (GO) is a well known controlled vocabulary describing the biological process, molecular function and cellular...Full Text Available
The phenomenon of antibiotic resistance has created a need for the development of novel antibiotic classes with non-classical cellular targets. Unfortunately, target-based drug discovery against...Full Text Available
The human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) packages its genomic RNA as a dimer of homologous RNA molecules that has to be selected among a multitude of cellular and viral RNAs. Interestingly, spliced...Full Text Available
In this report we define the parameters of the human immune response after immunization with hepatitis B vaccine. 2 wk after booster immunization, there is significant spontaneous secretion of antibody...Full Text Available
The intramembrane aspartyl protease γ-secretase plays a fundamental role in several signaling pathways involved in cellular differentiation and has been linked with a variety of human diseases,...Full Text Available
The use of dendritic cells (DCs) as a cellular adjuvant is a promising approach to the immunotherapy of cancer. It has previously been demonstrated that DCs pulsed ex vivo with Toxoplasma gondii...Full Text Available
In addition to regulating acid secretion, the gastric antral hormone gastrin regulates several important cellular processes in the gastric epithelium including proliferation, apoptosis, migration, invasion,...Full Text Available
BackgroundGene regulation is a key mechanism in higher eukaryotic cellular processes. One of the major challenges in gene regulation studies is to identify regulators affecting the...Full Text Available
Telomerase, a ribonucleoprotein enzyme that maintains telomere length, is crucial for cellular immortalization and cancer progression. Telomerase activity is attributed primarily to the expression of...Full Text Available
The Moloney murine leukemia virus (MMLV) belongs to the Retroviridae family of enveloped viruses, which is known to acquire minute amounts of host cellular proteins both on the surface...Full Text Available
Cellular hypertrophy is regulated by coordinated pro- and antigrowth machineries. Foxo transcription factors initiate an atrophy-related gene program to counter hypertrophic growth. This study was designed...Full Text Available
Deficient wound healing in diabetic patients is very frequent, but the cellular and molecular causes are poorly defined. In this study, we evaluate the hypothesis that high glucose concentrations inhibit...Full Text Available
Accumulation of molecular damage and increased molecular heterogeneity are hallmarks of cellular aging. Mild stress-induced hormesis can be an effective way for reducing the accumulation of molecular...Full Text Available
BackgroundHuman Papillomavirus (HPV) E2 plays several important roles in the viral cycle, including the transcriptional regulation of the oncogenes E6 and E7, the regulation of the...Full Text Available
Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) results from mutations in the NF1 tumor suppressor gene, which encodes the protein neurofibromin. NF1 patients display diverse clinical manifestations,...Full Text Available
Human blinding disorders are often initiated by hereditary mutations that insult rod and/or cone photoreceptors and cause subsequent cellular death. Generally, the disease phenotype can be predicted...Full Text Available
Heterogeneous base stations (e.g. picocells, microcells, femtocells and distributed antennas) will become increasingly essential for cellular network capacity and coverage. Up until now, little basic research has been done on the fundamentals of managing so much infrastructure -- much of it unplanned -- together with the carefully planned macro-cellular network. Inter-cell coordination is in principle an effective way of ensuring different infrastructure components behave in a way that increases, rather than decreases, the key quality of service (QoS) metrics. The success of such coordination depends heavily on how the overhead is shared, and the rate and delay of the overhead sharing. We develop a novel framework to quantify overhead signaling for inter-cell coordination, which is usually ignored in traditional 1-tier networks, and assumes even more importance in multi-tier heterogeneous cellular networks (HCNs). We derive ...
Background:Stem cells can differentiate into multiple cell types, and therefore can be used for cellular therapies, including tissue repair. However, the participation of stem cells...Full Text Available
AIM: To identify a method for efficient large-scale purification of functional hepatitis B virus polymerase (HBV-Pol) without addition of cellular factors.METHODS: Full-length HBV-Pol (843 amino...Full Text Available
... were given daily i.p. injections of either sesame oil (2.5 ml/kg, vehicle control) or VCD dissolved in sesame oil (80 mg/kg, 0.57 mmol/kg) for ... ...
Lumbricus terrestris (Annelid, Oligocheta) is capable of cellular- and humoral-specific reactions against natural antigens. Is this earthworm able to elaborate a response of antibody type against a...Full Text Available
13C metabolic flux analysis (MFA) is the most comprehensive means of characterizing cellular metabolic states. Uniquely labeled isotopic tracers enable more focused analyses to probe...Full Text Available
Zygotes of fucoid algae have long been studied as a paradigm for cell polarity. Polarity is established early in the first cell cycle and is then expressed as localized growth and invariant cell division....Full Text Available
Objective: To evaluate effects of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) on the viability, membrane properties, and zinc distribution, with and without the presence of Zn2+, in human prostate...Full Text Available
The programming of cellular networks to achieve new biological functions depends on the development of genetic tools that link the presence of a molecular signal to gene-regulatory activity. Recently,...Full Text Available
Bistability plays a central role in the gene regulatory networks (GRNs) controlling many essential biological functions, including cellular differentiation and cell cycle control. However, establishing...Full Text Available
Mitogen Activated Protein Kinases (MAPKs) are a class of serine/threonine kinases that regulate a number of different cellular activities including cell proliferation, differentiation, survival and...Full Text Available
Drugs used for the inhibition of DNA viruses, such as iododeoxyuridine, adenine arabinoside, or trifluorothymidine, are not biochemically selective in their action and also interfere with normal cellular...Full Text Available
One of the most pervasive ideas regarding the causes of aging is that longevity is constrained in large measure by damage to macromolecules. An increasing body of cellular and molecular data, generated...Full Text Available
IntroductionTyrosine phosphorylated signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (pStat3) is expressed in numerous cancers and is required for mediating tumorigenesis. Autocrine...Full Text Available
The p21-activated kinases (PAKs), immediate downstream effectors of the small G-proteins of the Rac/cdc42 family, are critical mediators of signaling pathways regulating cellular behaviors and...Full Text Available
The dielectrophoretic (DEP) crossover method has been applied to the detection of cell responses to toxicants. Time and dose responses of the human cultured leukemia (HL-60) line were measured...Full Text Available
Reversible protein glutathionylation plays a key role in cellular regulation and cell signaling and protects protein thiols from hyperoxidation. Sulfiredoxin (Srx), an enzyme that catalyzes the reduction...Full Text Available
mRNA is sequestered and turned over in cytoplasmic processing bodies (PBs), which are induced by various cellular stresses. Unexpectedly, in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, mutants of the...Full Text Available
Background. It is currently recommended that diet of pregnant mothers contain 200–300 mg DHA/day. Aim. To determine whether DHA supplementation...Full Text Available
Activation of beta-adrenergic or muscarinic acetylcholine receptors expressed in transfected cells or epidermal growth factor receptors in human keratinocytes produces 15% to 200% changes in cellular...Full Text Available
The ability to adapt and respond to nutrients is an ancient cellular function, conserved from unicellular to the most complex multicellular organisms, including mammals. Mammals adapt to changes...Full Text Available
BackgroundPrimary hepatocytes are the best resource for in vitro studies directed at understanding hepatic processes at the cellular and molecular levels, necessary...Full Text Available
Phosphorus is an essential mineral that maintains cellular energy and mineralizes the skeleton. Because complex actions of ion transporters and regulatory hormones regulate serum phosphorus concentrations,...Full Text Available
The cellular properties of long-term potentiation (LTP) following pairing of pre- and postsynaptic activity were examined at a known glutamatergic synapse in the leech, specifically between the pressure...Full Text Available
The cellular receptor for murine coronavirus mouse hepatitis virus (MHV)-A59 is a member of the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) family of glycoproteins in the immunoglobulin superfamily. We isolated...Full Text Available
Cellular cholesterol homeostasis is controlled by sterol-regulated proteolysis of membrane-bound transcription factors called sterol-regulatory element binding proteins (SREBPs). CPP32, a cysteine protease,...Full Text Available
A compensatory response, viz. in vivo recovery from radiation damage to mitochondria, occurs in preclimacteric pear fruits (Pyrus communis L.) treated with ionizing...Full Text Available
The cell types involved in the cellular immune response were studied with the GVH in vitro as a test system. Comparison of the activities of cells of different lymphoid organs in the...Full Text Available
Species differences in lifespan have been attributed to cellular survival during various stressors, designated here as ‘cell resilience’. In primary fibroblast cultures, cell...Full Text Available
Store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE) is a ubiquitous Ca2+ influx pathway involved in control of multiple cellular and physiological processes including cell proliferation. Recent evidence...Full Text Available
SummarySpatial control of gene expression, at the level of both transcription and translation, is critical for cellular differentiation [1-Full Text Available
E-cadherins belong to a family of membrane-bound, cellular adhesion proteins. Their adhesive properties mainly involve the two N-terminal extracellular domains (EC1 and EC2). The junctions between these...Full Text Available
Motor function requires that motor axons extend from the spinal cord at regular intervals and that they are myelinated by Schwann cells. Little attention has been given to another cellular structure,...Full Text Available
Carbon dioxide is a waste product of aerobic cellular respiration in all aerobic life forms. PaCO2 represents the balance between the carbon dioxide produced and that eliminated. Hypocapnia...Full Text Available
CSV consists of a very complex of molecules and demonstrates significant cellular activities capable of stimulating immune functions in vivo. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of...Full Text Available
The free radical theory of ageing posits that accrual of oxidative damage underlies the increased cellular, tissue and organ dysfunction and failure associated with advanced age. In support of this...Full Text Available
Polyclonal antibodies were raised in rabbits by immunization with free peptides corresponding to positions 197-222 of the human beta 1-adrenergic receptor (beta 1 peptide) and the corresponding sequence...Full Text Available
In the cellular immune response, recognition by CTL-TCRs of viral antigens presented as peptides by HLA class I molecules, triggers destruction of the virally infected cell (Townsend, A.R.M., J. Rothbard,...Full Text Available
Transgenic mouse models have contributed considerably to our understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which androgens control spermatogenesis. Cell-selective ablation of the androgen...Full Text Available
Several efforts have been made to completely automate cephalometric analysis by automatic landmark search. However, accuracy obtained was worse than manual identification in every study. The analogue-to-digital...Full Text Available
Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory process leading to enhanced cellular proliferation, apoptosis, and vasa vasorum (VV) neovascularization. While both diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypercholesterolemia...Full Text Available
Calcium ions represent universal second messengers within neuronal cells integrating multiple cellular functions, such as release of neurotransmitters, gene expression, proliferation, excitability,...Full Text Available
The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is an essential cellular compartment responsible for Ca2+ sequestration, signaling, protein translation, folding as well as transport. Several acute...Full Text Available
BackgroundA fundamental requirement for the exploitation of embryonic stem (ES) cells in regenerative medicine is the ability to reproducibly derive sufficient numbers of cells of...Full Text Available
Abs facilitate humoral immunity via the classical mechanisms of opsonization, complement activation, Ab-dependent cellular cytotoxicity, and toxin/viral neutralization. There is also evidence that some...Full Text Available
The interaction of long-chain fatty acids with cells is important for their uptake and metabolism, as well as their involvement in signalling processes. The majority of long-chain fatty acids circulating...Full Text Available
Gamma interferon (IFN-γ) and the cellular responses induced by it are essential for controlling mycobacterial infections. Most patients bearing an IFN-γ receptor ligand-binding chain...Full Text Available
The effect of high-energy-density laser surface melting on the morphology and properties of a cast Ni-based superalloy containing 33 wt percent Mo and 17 wt percent W is investigated experimentally. Significant improvements in the hardness and the wear resistance in both dry and acid environments are atttributed to the elimination of segregation in the laser-treated zone, where solid solubility increases, crystalline structure becomes finer, and the fine dendritic, cellular dendritic, cellular, and plane-front solidification structures are evenly distributed.
The importance of cellular dosimetry in both diagnostic and therapeutic nuclear medicine is becoming increasingly recognized. Experimental range-energy relations for electrons and alpha particles, along with derived geometric reduction factors, are used to calculate cellular absorbed fractions for these radiations. The resulting absorbed fractions are employed to calculate cellular S-values for several radionuclides. Cellular absorbed fractions for monoenergetic electron sources with energies ranging from 0.1 keV to 1 MeV, distributed uniformly in the source region, are calculated for several target {l_arrow} source combinations including cell{l_arrow}cell, cell{l_arrow}cell surface, nucleus{l_arrow}nucleus, nucleus {l_arrow}cytoplasm and nucleus {l_arrow}cell surface. Similar data are also provided for monoenergetic alpha particle sources with energies ranging from 3 to 10 MeV. S-values are also ...
AFFF has fabricated the (U, Pu)O_2 mixed oxide fuels for PHWRs, BWRs, PFBRs and FBTRs. The quantitative dissolution of the fuel samples are required within time for accurate determination of uranium-plutonium in chemical quality control laboratory. This paper describes the use of microwave heating technique in quantitative dissolution of (U, Pu)O_2 MOX (from 0.4% to 44% PuO_2). (author)
... These assumptions are quantitatively investigated by calculating tie icldti\\e inportance of ... A modified lon-shore current model is used to study the ...
BackgroundDiscrepancies between the conclusions of different meta-analyses (quantitative syntheses of systematic reviews) are often ascribed to methodological differences. The objective...Full Text Available
A specific application of single photon emission tomography to the relative quantitation of the pituitary region is described together with the results obtained in 19 patients with pituitary adenoma...Full Text Available
Motivation: Automatic recognition of cell identities is critical for quantitative measurement, targeting and manipulation of cells of model animals at single-cell resolution. It has been...Full Text Available
Typing Workshop": [Introductions] [Intro, DNA Basics, and Historical Perspective] [DNA Extraction] [Validation and QA/QC] [DNA Quantitation] [PCR Amplification] [STR Loci and Kits]...
BACKGROUND: An approach to the study of the pharmacokinetics of drugs in the lung is to measure their concentrations in bronchial biopsy specimens. The main criticism of this technique is that bronchial...Full Text Available
This laboratory exercise demonstrates some basic principles in parasitology by using experimental studies of the relationship of Hymenolepis diminuta with its rodent host.
Abstract: The current financial crisis has now led most major central banks to rely on quantitative easing. The unique Japanese experience of quantitative easing is the only experience which enables us to judge this therapy's effectiveness and the timing of the exit strategy. In this paper, we provide a new empirical framework to examine the effectiveness of Japanese monetary policy during the ''lost'' decade and quantify the effect of quantitative easing on Japan's activity and prices. We combine advantages of Markov-switching VAR methodology with those of factor analysis to establish two major findings. First, we show that the decisive change in regime occurred in two steps: it crept out from late 1995 and established itself durably in February 1999. Second, we show for the first time th...
Absolute measurements of cerebral blood flow (CBF) are an important endpoint in studies of cerebral pathophysiology. Currently no accepted method exists for in vivo longitudinal...Full Text Available
... and high-quality photospheric-phase Type II SN spectra to constrain core- collapse SN explosions, massive star evolution, and distances in the Universe ...
OBJECTIVEEvaluate the qualitative and quantitative differences between moderated and unmoderated on-line social support groups focused on asthma.DESIGNA...Full Text Available
Computer-Aided Prediction of Chemical Ecotoxicity on the basis of Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationships with the Use of Physico-Chemical Descriptors, Including H-bond Parameters
AIM: To investigate the effects of gallbladder stones on motor functions of the gallbladder and the dynamics of bile flow in asymptomatic gallstone disease.METHODS: Quantitative hepatobiliary...Full Text Available
BackgroundSeveral fractal and non-fractal parameters have been considered for the quantitative assessment of the vascular architecture, using a variety of test specimens and of computational...Full Text Available
OBJECTIVE AND DESIGNThis study used qualitative and quantitative methods to examine the reasons primary care physicians and nurses offered for their inability to initiate guideline-concordant...Full Text Available
The concentration of apolipoproteins was measured by quantitative immunoelectrophoresis in rat serum, in the lipoprotein-free ultracentrifugal fraction (density greater than 1.21) of serum, and in renal...Full Text Available
In this model, without dark matter, the flat rotation curves of galaxies and the mass-to-light ratios of clusters of galaxies are described quantitatively. The hypothesis is that the agent of gravitational...Full Text Available
Two-tier networks, comprising a conventional cellular network overlaid with shorter range hotspots (e.g. femtocells, distributed antennas, or wired relays), offer an economically viable way to improve cellular system capacity. The capacity-limiting factor in such networks is interference. The cross-tier interference between macrocells and femtocells can suffocate the capacity due to the near-far problem, so in practice hotspots should use a different frequency channel than the potentially nearby high-power macrocell users. Centralized or coordinated frequency planning, which is difficult and inefficient even in conventional cellular networks, is all but impossible in a two-tier network. This paper proposes and analyzes an optimum decentralized spectrum allocation policy for two-tier networks that employ frequency division multiple access (including OFDMA). The proposed allocation is optimal in terms of Area Spectral ...
Femtocells are assuming an increasingly important role in the coverage and capacity of cellular networks. In contrast to existing cellular systems, femtocells are end-user deployed and controlled, randomly located, and rely on third party backhaul (e.g. DSL or cable modem). Femtocells can be configured to be either open access or closed access. Open access allows an arbitrary nearby cellular user to use the femtocell, whereas closed access restricts the use of the femtocell to users explicitly approved by the owner. Seemingly, the network operator would prefer an open access deployment since this provides an inexpensive way to expand their network capabilities, whereas the femtocell owner would prefer closed access, in order to keep the femtocell's capacity and backhaul to himself. We show mathematically and through simulations that the reality is more complicated for both parties, and that the best approach depends heavily ...
Cellular networks are in a major transition from a carefully planned set of large tower-mounted base-stations (BSs) to an irregular deployment of heterogeneous infrastructure elements that often additionally includes micro, pico, and femtocells, as well as distributed antennas. In this paper, we develop a tractable, flexible, and accurate model for a downlink heterogeneous cellular network (HCN) consisting of K tiers of randomly located BSs, where each tier may differ in terms of average transmit power, supported data rate and BS density. Assuming a mobile user connects to the strongest candidate BS, the resulting Signal-to-Interference-plus-Noise-Ratio (SINR) is greater than 1 when in coverage, Rayleigh fading, we derive an expression for the probability of coverage (equivalently outage) over the entire network under both open and closed access, which assumes a strikingly simple closed-form in the high SINR regime and is accurate down to -4 dB ...
A cellular membrane exchanges substances into and from the cell and protects the cell interior by maintaining semi-fluidity rather than be being solid. It is known that microorganisms maintain the fluidity in correspondence with varying environmental temperatures by changing and adjusting the composition of fatty acids which constitute the cellular membrane lipids. As part of the studies to elucidate the pressure withstanding mechanism in deep-sea bacteria, this paper investigates what variations the fatty acid composition, which constitutes cellular membranes of the DSS12 strain, a pressure withstanding bacterium growing well under either normal pressure or high pressures, will show under different culturing temperatures and pressures. Culture under low temperatures and culture under high pressures increase content of unsaturated fatty acids including icosapentanoic acid. Culture under high temperatures or normal pressure ...
The GTPases comprise a protein superfamily of highly conserved molecular switches adapted to many diverse functions. These proteins are found in all domains of life and often perform essential roles in fundamental cellular processes. Analysis of data from genome sequencing projects demonstrates that bacteria possess a core of 11 universally conserved GTPases (elongation factor G and Tu, initiation factor 2, LepA, Era, Obg, ThdF/TrmE, Ffh, FtsY, EngA and YchF). Investigations aimed at understanding the function of GTPases indicate that a second conserved feature of these proteins is that they elicit their function through interaction with RNA and/or ribosomes. An emerging concept suggests that the 11 universal GTPases are either necessary for ribosome function or transmitting information from the ribosome to downstream targets for the purpose of generating specific cellular responses. Furthermore, it is suggested that progenitor GTPases were ...
All organisms, from bacteria and yeast to humans, respond to physical and chemical stressors by increasing the synthesis of a small group of cellular stress proteins.'' The authors have developed a simple in vitro system for quickly screening environmentally relevant stressors to detect stress-induced proteins that are good candidates for biomarkers. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was used to detect stressor-induced, concentration-dependent changes in cellular stress protein levels in two fish cell culture systems, whereas simultaneous in vitro neutral red uptake cytotoxicity assays measured the stressors effect on cellular physiology. There was a direct concentration-dependent relationship between sublethal cytotoxic effects and the increases in stress protein levels. Increases of 50 to 200% were detected in stress proteins from desert topminnow, Poeciliopsis lucida, hepatoma-derived cell cultures ...
Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) are useful tools for the delivery of hydrophilic bioactive molecules, such as peptides, proteins, and oligonucleotides, across the cell membrane. To realize the delivery of therapeutic macromolecules by CPPs, the CPPs are required to show resistance to protease and no cytotoxicity. In order to produce potent non-toxic and protease-resistant CPPs with high cellular uptake, we designed an amphipathic helix peptide using ?-aminoisobutyric acid (Aib, U) and named it MAP(Aib). In the MAP(Aib) molecule, five Aib residues are aligned on the hydrophobic face of the helix and five lysine (K) residues are aligned on the hydrophilic face. MAP(Aib) showed potent resistance to trypsin and pronase compared with MAP, an amphipathic helix peptide formed by usual amino acids. Fluorescein-labeled MAP(Aib) efficiently traversed the A549 cell membrane, diffusing into the cytoplasm and slightly into the nucleus without exerting any cytotoxicity. In ...
Tungsten, in the form of tungstate, polymerizes with phosphate, and as extensive polymerization occurs, cellular phosphorylation and dephosphorylation reactions may be disrupted, resulting in negative effects on cellular functions. A series of studies were conducted to evaluate the effect of tungsten on several phosphate-dependent intracellular functions, including energy cycling (ATP), regulation of enzyme activity (cytosolic protein tyrosine kinase [cytPTK] and tyrosine phosphatase), and intracellular secondary messengers (cyclic adenosine monophosphate [cAMP]). Rat noncancerous hepatocyte (Clone-9), rat cancerous hepatocyte (H4IIE), and human cancerous hepatocyte (HepG2) cells were exposed to 1-1000 mg/l tungsten (in the form of sodium tungstate) for 24 h, lysed, and analyzed for the ab...
In Aldous and Shields (1988), a model for a rooted, growing random binary tree was presented. For some c>0, an external vertex splits at rate c^(-i) (and becomes internal) if its distance from the root (depth) is i. For c>1, we reanalyse the tree profile, i.e. the numbers of external vertices in depth i=1,2,.... Our main result are concrete formulas for the expectation and covariance-structure of the profile. In addition, we present the application of the model to cellular ageing. Here, we assume that nodes in depth h+1 are senescent, i.e. do not split. We obtain a limit result for the proportion of non-senescent vertices for large h.
Abstract Septins are highly conserved cytoskeletal GTP-binding proteins implicated in numerous cellular processes from apoptosis to vesicle trafficking. Septins have been associated with leukemia and solid tumor malignancies, including breast, ovarian, and prostate. We previously reported that high SEPT9_i1 expression in human mammary epithelial cell lines (HMECs) led to malignant cellular phenotypes such as increased cell proliferation, invasiveness, motility, and genomic instability. Our goal here was to better understand how SEPT9_i1 expression might contribute to genomic instability and malignant progression. First, we confirmed that even transient expression of SEPT9_i1 was sufficient to increase aneuploidy in HMECs. We then analyzed SEPT9_i1 by immunoprecipitation and immunofluoresce...
Cellular telephones emit a radiofrequency electromagnetic field, part of which is absorbed in the user's head. Many studies have been conducted to look for their possible health hazard to human, at the experimental, epidemiological or clinical level. After a short recall on dosimetry, the author describes the state-of-the art about harmful and irreversible effects, up to now not confirmed, and about some benign symptoms which look absolutely actual. A causal relationship of the electromagnetic field on these benign symptoms is however not proven; other, studies are running to evaluate their possible long-term consequences. Interferences with cardiac pacemakers can easily be avoided by holding the telephone handset farther than 10 cm. (author)
A wide variety of phytochemicals present in our diet, including fruits, vegetables, and spices, have been shown to possess a broad range of health-beneficial properties. The cytoprotective and restorative effects of dietary phytochemicals are likely to result from the modulation of several distinct cellular signal transduction pathways. Many dietary phytochemicals that are synthesized as secondary metabolites function as toxins, that is, -phytoalexins,- and hence protect plants against insects and other damaging organisms and stresses. However, at the relatively low doses consumed by humans and other mammals, these same toxic plant-derived chemicals, as mild stressors, activate adaptive cellular response signaling, conferring stress resistance and other health benefits. This phenomenon has...
To gain in efficiency, lightness and volume, the hybrid and electric-powered cars will certainly follow the cellular phone path. The key of success of todays hybrid cars is the Ni-MH battery developed by Matsushita (87.5% of the market in 2004). The lithium-ion batteries will be the next step and would allow to supply 80 to 100% of the energy of the vehicle, the thermal engine becoming just an auxiliary system for additional power, autonomy and air-conditioning. Prototypes can reach today 200 to 450 km of autonomy and 130 km/h speeds with batteries of about 200 kg. If most of the safety problems linked with the Li technology have been solved, the main drawback remains the cost of the Li-ion technology. Short paper. (J.S.)
The chemopreventive efficacy of turmeric has been established in experimental systems. However, its mechanism(s) of action are not fully elucidated in vivo. The present study investigates the mechanism of turmeric-mediated chemoprevention in 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA)-induced hamster buccal pouch (HBP) carcinogenesis at 2, 4, 6, 10 and 12?weeks. Dietary turmeric (1%) led to decrease in DMBA-induced tumor burden and multiplicity, and enhanced the latency period in parallel, to its modulatory effects on oncogene products and various cellular responses during HBP tumorigenesis. DMBA-induced expression of ras oncogene product, p21 and downstream target, the mitogen-activated protein kinases were significantly decreased by turmeric during HBP carcinogenesis. Turmeric also diminished ...
Transparency is essential for normal corneal function. Recent studies suggest that corneal cells express high levels of so-called corneal crystallins, such as aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) and transketolase (TKT) that contribute to maintaining cellular transparency. Stromal injury leads to the appearance of repair phenotype keratocytes, the corneal fibroblast and myofibroblast. Previous studies on keratocytes from species such as bovine and rabbit indicate that the transformation from the normal to repair phenotype is accompanied by a loss of corneal crystallin expression, which may be associated with loss of cellular transparency. Here we investigated if a similar loss occurs with human keratocyte repair phenotypes. Human corneal epithelial cells were collected by scraping and keratocytes...
Viral infections are still common causes of morbidity and mortality in immunosuppressed patients after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Infections caused by virus such as cytomegalovirus, adenovirus and Epstein-Barr virus are well-known. In addition, several other viruses such as polyomavirus and human herpesvirus 6 have been recently reported to be causes of significant complications. As the delay in recovery of virus-specific cellular immune response after transplant is associated with viral reactivation and viral disease, adoptive immunotherapy to restore virus-specific cellular immunity is an attractive option. Recent clinical trials showed the safety and effectiveness of adoptive immunotherapy against viral diseases. In this review, we summarize the current status o...
We characterized the absorption and short-term translocation of cadmium (Cd) in rice (Oryza sativa ‘Nipponbare’) quantitatively using serial images observed with a positron-emitting...Full Text Available
A method for the quantitative determination of atmospheric hydroperoxyl radical comprising: (a) contacting a liquid phase atmospheric sample with a chemiluminescent compound which luminesces on contact with hydroperoxyl radical; (b) determining luminescence intensity from the liquid phase atmospheric sample; and (c) comparing said luminescence intensity from the liquid phase atmospheric sample to a standard luminescence intensity for hydroperoxyl radical. An apparatus for automating the method is also included.
Gas chromatography-selected ion monitoring-mass spectral analysis using [13C6]indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) as an internal standard provides an effective means for quantitation of...Full Text Available
A quantitative description is proposed for the depletion-induced slip thickness and velocity profile of a polymer solution near the wall-fluid interface in simple shear flow. The inhomogeneous polymer density profile at a flat wall is inserted into the equations of motion for the flow of a polymer solution near the flat wall. The theory is in quantitative agreement with simulation results. (letter to the editor)
A quantitative description is presented of the non-linear current-voltage response in superconducting niobium cavities for accelerator application. It is based on a fit for a large sample of data from cavity tests of different kind. Trial functions for the surface resistance describing this non-linear relation are established by a least square data fit. Those trial functions yielding the best fit are quantitatively explained by basic physics.
An (Awassi × Merino) × Merino backcross family of 172 ewes was used to map quantitative trait loci (QTL) for different milk production traits on a framework map of 200 loci across all...Full Text Available
Studies have been performed with an anti-osteogenic sarcoma monoclonal antibody 791T/36 and human tumour xenografts to examine some of the quantitative and kinetic aspects of tumour localization. The influence of variations in tumour size and site and antibody dose on the extent and rate of specific antibody localization have been examined, together with the site of intratumoural deposition of the antibody. (UK).
The overall objective of this project is to produce antibodies to unique modified DNA bases and develop immunochemical assays to quantitate these lesions in damaged DNA. During this past year we have developed an antibody and chemical test to quantitate a basic sites in DNA and produced antibodies to the 8-oxopurines. This report discusses the detection of a basic sites in DNA and the preparation of antibodies to 8-hydroxyadenine and 8-hydroxyguanine.
The need for noninvasive sensitive techniques for the diagnosis and follow-up of metabolic bone disease in dialysis patients has stimulated the author's interest in the efficacy of more detailed quantitative bone scintigraphy. Using hemodialysis to reduce elevated soft-tissue activity at scintigraphy, an attempt was made to assess the diagnostic sensitivity of quantitative bone scintigraphy as compared to qualitative bone scintigraphic, biochemical, radiographic and bone histologic studies. The second aim of these studies was to determine if one of the two major components of renal osteodystrophy is a major determinant for skeletal radiotracer uptake. The clinical observations on the efficacy and possible specificity of quantitative bone scintigraphy in the diagnosis and follow-up during treatment of renal osteodystrophy are presented briefly in this chapter. Thus, the use of scintigraphy for the routine detection and ...
Although caloric restriction (CR) has been shown to increase lifespan in various animal models, the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon have not yet been revealed. We developed an in vitro...Full Text Available
γ-Hexachlorocyclohexane (γ-HCH) is one of several highly chlorinated insecticides that cause serious environmental problems. The cellular proteins of a γ-HCH-degrading bacterium,...Full Text Available
The Sin3-histone deacetylase (HDAC) corepressor complex is conserved from yeast to humans. Mammals possess two highly related Sin3 proteins, mSin3A and mSin3B, which serve as scaffolds tethering HDAC...Full Text Available
The Epstein-Barr virus protein, LMP1, is a functional mimic of the cellular receptor CD40, but signals to B lymphocytes in an amplified and sustained manner compared to CD40. LMP1 contributes...Full Text Available
The movement of cells and cell fragments in an electric field provided a means for determining the nature of cellular surface charges. We found that changes in ionic strength and particularly changes...Full Text Available
Conceptual and factual advances in understanding neuronal migration in the past two decades have provided new insight into the pathogenesis of brain malformations at the cellular, molecular, and functional levels. Some of these results may have direct implications in understanding the consequences of ionizing radiation on the fetal central nervous system in utero. (orig.).
To study the role in AIDS pathogenesis of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) Tat protein, a transactivator of viral and cellular genes, we generated transgenic mice with a recombinant DNA...Full Text Available
Epidemiological studies will not solve the shape of the dose effect curve for stochastic effects in the low dose range. Unicellular processes are necessary for the primary processes so that no threshold dose exists. This is evident for somatic and genetic mutations. Not clearly solved is this question for the complex carcinogenesis. These processes develop with manifold interacting molecular and cellular steps. (orig.).
Human parechovirus (HPEV) infections are very common in early childhood and can be severe in neonates. It has been shown that integrins are important for cellular infectivity of HPEV1 through experiments...Full Text Available
PtdIns4P is the major precursor for the synthesis of the multifunctional plasma membrane lipid, PtdIns(4,5)P2. Yet PtdIns4P also functions...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe Ras and Notch signaling pathways are frequently activated during development to control many diverse cellular processes and are often dysregulated during tumorigenesis....Full Text Available
The NSP5 protein is required for viroplasm formation during rotavirus infection and is hyperphosphorylated into 32- to 35-kDa isoforms. Earlier studies reported that NSP5 is not hyperphosphorylated...Full Text Available
Glossitis, known clinically as "redtongue," was studied in tissues from 34 military working dogs (MWD) in the Republic of Vietnam. This condition was manifested grossly by loss of lingual papillae on the dorsal margins of the rostral third of the tongue. Microscopically, the principal lesions consisted of loss of filiform papillae, hemorrhage and edema in the lamina propria, acanthosis, and cellular infiltration. The cause of glossitis remains unknown at this time. PMID:1137213
APP is a transmembrane precursor of beta-amyloid. In dominantly inherited familial Alzheimer's disease (FAD), point mutations V6421, V642F and V642G have been discovered in APP695. Here we show that...Full Text Available
Differential host-pathogen interactions direct viral replication in infected cells. In HIV-1 infected cells, nuclear export of viral RNA transcripts into cellular cytoplasm is governed by interaction...Full Text Available
Synthesis of the Streptococcus pneumoniae type 3 capsule requires the pathway glucose-6-phosphate (Glc-6-P) → Glc-1-P → UDP-Glc → UDP-glucuronic acid (UDP-GlcUA)...Full Text Available
AIM: To evaluate the biological and clinical characteristics of miR-622 in gastric cancer.METHODS: We analyzed the expression of miR-622 in 57 pair matched gastric neoplastic and adjacent non-neoplastic...Full Text Available
The three mammalian transforming growth factor (TGF)-β isoforms (TGF-β1, TGF-β2, and TGF-β3) differ in their putative roles in radiation-induced fibrosis in intestine...Full Text Available
A three-dimensional numerical simulation of mammatus-like clouds is presented. A portion of a cirrus outflow anvil cloud is simulated including cloud ice and snow microphysical representations. The simulated mammatus clouds appear in a cellular pattern and are compared with the few available previously published physical observations of mammatus. Copyright Copyright 2006 Royal Meteorological Society
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
The purpose was to identify human in vitro cell lines with a high relative cellular sensitivity to fast neutrons as compared to photons and to examine their relationship to intrinsic photon radiosensitivity and cellular proliferation kinetics. The clonogenic cell survival following exposure to low LET, 4 MeV photons or, high LET, 62.5 MeV (p #-># Be"+) fast neutrons and the cell survival following exposure to low LET, 4 MeV photons or, high LET, 62.5 MeV (p #-># Be"+) fast neutrons and the cell kinetic parameters of 30 human in vitro cell lines, covering a wide range of histologies, were analyzed alone and with previously published data of Fertil and Malaise. The relative survival at 1.6 Gy of neutrons (SF_1_._6) compared to 2 Gy of photons (SF_2) and the cell kinetic parameters of the 30 cell lines were also compared. The relative lethality of 62.5 MeV fast neutrons was assessed by comparing the ratio #alpha# neutrons/#alpha# photons or ...
Abstract Background: Aution Max AX-4030, a test strip analyzer recently introduced to the market, represents an upgrade of the Aution Max AX-4280 widely employed for urinalysis. This new instrument model can allocate two different test strips at the same time. In the present study the two instruments have been compared together with the usage of Uriflet 9UB and the recently produced Aution Sticks 10PA urine strips, the latter presenting an additional test area for the measurement of urinary creatinine. Methods: Imprecision and correlation between instruments and strips have been evaluated for chemical-physical parameters. Accuracy was evaluated for protein, glucose and creatinine by comparing the semi-quantitative results to those obtained by quantitative methods. The well-known interference effect of high ascorbic acid levels on urine glucose test strip determination was evaluated, ascorbic acid influence was also evaluated on protein and ...
This study assesses the current state of undergraduate instruction in empirical research methods in communication and offers recommendations for enhancing such instruction. Responses to an online questionnaire were received from 149 communication-related programs at four-year colleges and universities. Just over 85% of responding programs offered an empirical methods course. Although the course often covered both qualitative and quantitative methods, instruction was heavily slanted toward quantitative methods and topics common to both qualitative and quantitative inquiry. The empirical methods course was usually required for graduation, but it was typically not well integrated with the rest of the curriculum and taken late in students' undergraduate careers. Additional analyses examined st...
Fifteen quantitative bone scintigraphies were performed in an adolescent girl during the follow-up of a femoral osteogenic sarcoma treated by chemotherapy and massive allograft. Three hours after injection of the radiopharmaceutical (7.4 MBq/kg of 99mTc-MDP) bone activity was measured in the inferior limbs at several regions of interest centered on the hips, femurs (proximal, middle, distal) and proximal tibias. The variations of relative bone activities A/S (ratio of corresponding counting rates between two homologous regions in the affected A and in the healthy S limb) and of absolute bone activities (expressed in counts/pixel-second) are interpreted as a function of times during treatment. The quantitative results are discussed with regard to main phenomena influencing bone activity in this particular clinical case: bone growth, chemotherapy and neo-osteogenesis in allograft.
The Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei, is the most important shrimp species in volume in world aquaculture. However, in recent decades, outbreaks of diseases, especially viral diseases, have led to significant economic losses, threatening the sustainability of shrimp farming worldwide. In 2004, Brazilian shrimp farming was seriously affected by a new disease caused by the Infectious myonecrosis virus (IMNV). Thus, disease control based on rapid and sensitive pathogen detection methods has become a priority. In this study, a specific quantitation method for IMNV was developed using real-time PCR with SYBR Green chemistry and viral load of the principal target tissues of chronically infected animals was quantified. The quantitative analysis revealed that mean viral load ranged from ...
During the past three years the program has undergone a substantial revitalization. There has been no significant change in the scientific direction of this grant, in which emphasis continues to be placed on developing new or improved methods of obtaining quantitative data from radiotracer imaging studies. However, considerable scientific progress has been made in the three areas of interest: Radiochemistry, Quantitative Methodologies, and Experimental Methods and Feasibility Studies, resulting in a sharper focus of perspective and improved integration of the overall scientific effort. Changes in Faculty and staff, including development of new collaborations, have contributed to this, as has acquisition of additional and new equipment and renovations and expansion of the core facilities. 121 refs., 30 figs., 2 tabs.
To more accurately measure fluorescent signals from microarrays, we calibrated our acquisition and analysis systems by using groundtruth samples comprised of known quantities of red and green gene-specific DNA probes hybridized to cDNA targets. We imaged the slides with a full-field, white light CCD imager and analyzed them with our custom analysis software. Here we compare, for multiple genes, results obtained with and without preprocessing (alignment, color crosstalk compensation, dark field subtraction, and integration time). We also evaluate the accuracy of various image processing and analysis techniques (background subtraction, segmentation, quantitation and normalization). This methodology calibrates and validates our system for accurate quantitative measurement of microarrays. Specifically, we show that preprocessing the images produces results significantly closer to the known ground-truth for these samples.
Abstract Rationale, aims and objectives- Finding ways to incorporate disparate types of evidence into research syntheses has the potential to build a better evidence base for clinical practice and policy. Yet conducting such mixed research synthesis studies is challenging. Researchers have to determine whether and how to use adjusted and unadjusted quantitative findings in combination with each other and with qualitative findings. Methods- Among quantitative findings, adjustment for confounding, either via study design or statistical analysis, can be a considerable source of heterogeneity. Yet there is no consensus about the best way to synthesize findings resulting from different methods for addressing confounding. When synthesizing qualitative and quantitative findings, additional consid...
A clinical laboratory evaluation was conducted on the Clinitek Auto 2000, the Super Aution Analyzer and the Urotron RL9 for the determination of glucose, protein, pH, blood, ketone-bodies and bilirubin.Precision of the systems was tested using three commercial control urine materials, and reported as the percentage of times the instrument repeats a certain value. Good repeatability was obtained with all the instruments.Accuracy of the systems was evaluated by comparison with quantitative procedures, and to check agreement between methods yielding semi-quantitative and quantitative results, ranges of acceptability were defined, based on the criteria reported in a previous paper [2]. It was then found that 87.5 to 98.9% of results from the Urotron RL9 and the Clinitek Auto 2000 were acceptable. With the Super Aution Analyzer the level of agreement was apparently lower because of the higher number of concentration steps used ...
BackgroundA common approach to understanding the genetic basis of complex traits is through identification of associated quantitative trait loci (QTL). Fine mapping QTLs requires...Full Text Available
In proteomics, one-dimensional (1D) SDS-PAGE is widely used for protein fractionation prior to mass spectrometric analysis to enhance dynamic range of analysis and to improve identification...Full Text Available
A comparative and quantitative study of the tissue distribution of brain-thymus shared antigens was carried out using rabbit antisera to rat, dog and human brain homogenates, assayed on rat, dog and...Full Text Available
SummaryIn vivo tumor cell migration through integrin-dependent pathways is key to the metastatic behavior of malignant cells. Using quantitative in vivo...Full Text Available
Neuroblasts born in the adult subventricular zone (SVZ) migrate long distances in the rostral migratory stream (RMS) to the olfactory bulbs where they integrate into circuitry as functional interneurons....Full Text Available
In order to maintain a safe operation and availability of generating facilities, qualitative and quantitative assessment of piping vibration was performed vibration sources and damages of piping support was identified on the second piping system of Wolsun...
Neutron radiography (NR) is a useful non-destructive method for determination of hydrogen content in various building and technical materials. Monitoring of transport processes of moisture and hydrogenous liquids in porous building materials is enabled by fast, quasi-real-time NR methods based on novel imaging plate neutron detectors (IP-NDs). Hydrogen content in the samples is determined by quantitative analysis of measured profiles of neutron attenuation in the samples. Detailed description of quantitative NR method is presented by the authors in another accompanying contribution at this conference. Deterioration of building materials is originated by different processes that all require presence of water therefore it is essential to limit or prevent the transport of water through the porous material. In this presentation, results of a study of clay brick impregnation by silicone based hydrophobic agents will be presented. ...
The quantitative experimental uncertainty in the structure of fully hydrated, biologically relevant, fluid (Lα) phase lipid bilayers has been too large to...Full Text Available
An antigen-antibody system of polystyrene tubes coated with immunoglobulin antibody was used for quantitating immunoglobulins. A similar radioimmunoassay method was adapted for a viral antigen-antibody...Full Text Available
French ... Orig. Title Scintigraphie osseuse quantifiee chez l'enfant et l'adolescent - repartition selon l'age des taux de fixation de diverses pieces osseuses normales.
Thirty-four patients with prostatic carcinoma were studied with quantitative bone scintigraphy and whole-body counting (WBC) 1 and 24 h after injection of [sup 99m]Tc-MDP before as well as two weeks and two months after orchiectomy. Thirteen of the patients had normal bone scintigrams and WBR at the three different investigations; 21 had skeletal metastases. The latter showed throughout the study higher local gamma camera count rates as well as WBR values than the patiens with normal scintigrams. In these patients a ''flare phenomenon'', with an increase in count rate two weeks after orchiectomy followed by a decrease two months post-operatively, was seen with quantitative bone scintigraphy but not with WBC. However, WBC may be a valuable method indicating the total extent of skeletal metastases in the body, while quantitative bone scintigraphy is more accurate in the interpretation of ...
Thirty-four patients with prostatic carcinoma were studied with quantitative bone scintigraphy and whole-body counting (WBC) 1 and 24 h after injection of "9"9"mTc-MDP before as well as two weeks and two months after orchiectomy. Thirteen of the patients had normal bone scintigrams and WBR at the three different investigations; 21 had skeletal metastases. The latter showed throughout the study higher local gamma camera count rates as well as WBR values than the patiens with normal scintigrams. In these patients a ''flare phenomenon'', with an increase in count rate two weeks after orchiectomy followed by a decrease two months post-operatively, was seen with quantitative bone scintigraphy but not with WBC. However, WBC may be a valuable method indicating the total extent of skeletal metastases in the body, while quantitative bone scintigraphy is more accurate in the interpretation of individual skeletal metastases. (orig.).
Background In May 2000, AstraZeneca launched a Web service for asthma patients and health-care providers called LinkMedica, which includes an asthma diary for...Full Text Available
1. A combined pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic model has been used to analyse the relationship between QT prolongation and changes in plasma concentration which occurred after disopyramide was given...Full Text Available
Forty-six patients with end-stage renal failure were subjected to iliac crest biopsy before the initiation of a dialysis programme and regardless of the presence of skeletal symptoms....Full Text Available
Striped bass (Morone saxatilis) in the Chesapeake Bay are currently experiencing a very high prevalence of mycobacteriosis associated with newly described Mycobacterium...Full Text Available
Binding of epidermal growth factor (EGF) to the EGF receptor (EGFR) initiates signal transduction, ultimately leading to altered gene expression. Ligand-activated EGFR is also rapidly internalized...Full Text Available
In a Swedish community-based program for the treatment of dental phobic patients, a clinical trial was performed among 99 severely phobic individuals with long-standing avoidance of dental treatment....Full Text Available
A quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis designed for a multi-parent population was carried out and tested in oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.), which is a diploid cross-fertilising...Full Text Available
We report the first quantitative assessment of electrosprayed droplet/ion focusing enabled by the use of a voltage-assisted air amplifier between an electrospray ionization emitter and a hybrid...Full Text Available
How transcription factors interpret the cis-regulatory logic encoded within enhancers to mediate quantitative changes in spatiotemporally restricted expression patterns during animal...Full Text Available
Dissecting the genes involved in complex traits can be confounded by multiple factors, including extensive epistatic interactions among genes, the involvement of epigenetic regulators, and the variable...Full Text Available
The A(..pi../sup +/,/sup 3/He)B reaction near threshold is studied in a model where the pion is absorbed by an /sup 4/He constituent of the target nucleus. The predictions of this model using harmonic oscillator cluster wave functions agree semi-quantitatively with the experimental data on the inverse reaction.
This study investigated weathering effects on polyvinyl chloride (PVC) based wood plastic composites (WPC), with a focus on the color and structure that is attributed to the material composition. It is directed towards quantifying the main chemical modifi...
Recent experiments have provided new quantitative measurements of the rippling phenomenon in fields of developing myxobacteria cells. These measurements have enabled us to develop a mathematical model...Full Text Available
Aims:To Study the religious and ideological views and practice of Palliative Care physician towards Euthanasia.Materials and Methods:An...Full Text Available
Skeletal radiotracer (sup(99m)Tc-HEDP) uptake was quantitated with and without the aid of a computer in 30 chronic dialysis patients with histologic evidence of renal osteodystrophy. Before scintigraphy, elevated soft-tissue activity due to the absence of renal radiotracer excretion was reduced by hemodialysis. The results were compared with those of a normal group and with the results of the biochemical and the bone morphometric studies of these patients. In all patients the radiotracer uptake was elevated, often markedly. In several patients with minimal histologic bone disease, however, soft-tissue activity could not be normalized by hemodialysis although its influence on the quantitative data could be further reduced (but not excluded) by computer evaluation of skeletal radiotracer uptake. Since the latter technique clearly distinguished the majority of the patients from the normals, it appears that computerized ...
Skeletal radiotracer (sup(99m)Tc-HEDP) uptake was quantitated with and without the aid of a computer in 30 chronic dialysis patients with histologic evidence of renal osteodystrophy. Before scintigraphy, elevated soft-tissue activity due to the absence of renal radiotracer excretion was reduced by hemodialysis. The results were compared with those of a normal group and with the results of the biochemical and the bone morphometric studies of these patients. In all patients the radiotracer uptake was elevated, often markedly. In several patients with minimal histologic bone disease, however, soft-tissue activity could not be normalized by hemodialysis although its influence on the quantitative data could be further reduced (but not excluded) by computer evaluation of skeletal radiotracer uptake. Since the latter technique clearly distinguished the majority of the patients from the normals, it appears that computerized ...
Based on a generalized theory of perturbations and on non-linear programming an approach to the quantitative determination of necessary accuracies for nuclear data is described. It is used to calculate transactinide isotope build-up in reactors.
BackgroundPlant biologists have long speculated about the mechanisms that guide pollen tubes to ovules. Although there is now evidence that ovules emit a diffusible attractant, little...Full Text Available
BackgroundArtemisinin-based combination therapy, currently considered the therapy of choice for uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in endemic countries,...Full Text Available
The localization of gold in the synovial membrane of rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with sodium aurothiomalate was examined and quantitative analysis of epon-embedded sections was carried out...Full Text Available
A fluid-phase immunoradiometric assay has been developed which identifies an antigen on the Factor VIII (antihemophilic factor) procoagulant protein. This sensitive and quantitative assay is not influenced...Full Text Available
Purpose: Understanding the kinetics of tumor growth∕shrinkage represents a critical step in quantitative assessment of therapeutics and realization of adaptive radiation therapy....Full Text Available
A novel, quantitative method for detecting poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) amounts in viable cells was developed to allow for high-throughput screening of mutant libraries. The staining technique was demonstrated...Full Text Available
Our increasing capabilities for quantitative hormone analysis and automated high resolution growth studies have allowed a reassessment of the classical Cholodny-Went hypothesis of gravitropism. According...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe decline noticed in several fertility traits of dairy cattle over the past few decades is of major concern. Understanding of the genomic factors underlying fertility,...Full Text Available
Quantitative probing of heterogeneous regions in muscle is feasible with phosphorus-31 magnetic resonance spectroscopy because of the differentiation of metabolic patterns of glycolytic and oxidative...Full Text Available
The changes in conjugated indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) levels compared to the levels of free IAA have been analyzed during the development of bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) seed using quantitative...Full Text Available
Studies were conducted to quantitate the evolution of nitrogen oxides (NO(x)) from soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] leaves during in vivo nitrate reductase...Full Text Available
Pseudomonas mandelii liquid cultures were studied to determine the effect of pH and temperature on denitrification gene expression, which was quantified by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR....Full Text Available
A liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometric (LC/MS/MS) assay was developed for the quantitative determination of salirasib (S-trans, trans-farnesylthiosalicylic acid,...Full Text Available
Experimental and imaging studies in monkeys have outlined various long association fiber bundles within the temporoparietal region. In the present study the trajectory of the middle longitudinal fascicle...Full Text Available
Qualitative and quantitative aspects of the mechanisms involved in the regulation of cytoplasmic pH during an acid-load have been studied in Acer pseudoplatanus cells. Two main processes,...Full Text Available
Motivation: Cell tracking is an important method to quantitatively analyze time-lapse microscopy data. While numerous methods and tools exist for tracking cells in 2D time-lapse images,...Full Text Available
Quantitative metallography is often used to confirm the proper processing of aerospace metallic materials. A microstructural feature of great importance for titanium alloys processed in the alpha-beta phase field is the volume fraction of primary alpha. S...
Activatable or “smart” magnetic resonance contrast agents have relaxivities that depend on environmental factors such as pH or enzymatic activity, but the MR signal depends on...Full Text Available
A bedload trap in the riverbed provided direct quantitative measurement of debris-transport rate in the East Fork River, Wyoming, a basin of 466 km2 drainage area. Traction load moves only...Full Text Available
The purpose of the work was to quantitatively characterize temperature effects on the bacterial leaching of sulfide ore material containing several sulfide minerals. The leaching was tested at eight...Full Text Available
BackgroundKinematic and kinetic measurements used in laboratory settings can quantify upper extremity movement impairment following stroke, but their relationship...Full Text Available
We used tryptophan auxotrophs of the dicot Arabidopsis thaliana (wall cress) to determine whether tryptophan has the capacity to serve as a precursor to the auxin, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). Quantitative...Full Text Available
In nuclear fuel with a burn-up of 33 kg/t U and 52 kg/t U 15 transuranium nuclides /sup 237/Np to /sup 246/Cm have been determined by alpha and gamma spectroscopy after radiochemical separation.
BackgroundQuantitative sensory testing (QST) is applied to evaluate somatosensory nerve fiber function in the spinal system. This study uses QST in patients with sensory dysfunctions...Full Text Available
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are obligate biotrophs, known to play an important role in ecological processes. Conventional light microscopy is the most common method used to detect their presence...Full Text Available
Numbers of non-indigenous species--species introduced from elsewhere - are increasing rapidly worldwide, causing both environmental and economic damage. Rigorous quantitative risk-analysis frameworks,...Full Text Available
The 52 papers discuss the following subjects: 1. Preparation and structural development; 2. Structural constitution; 3. Structural formation and phase transition; 4. Structure and mechanical properties; 5. Structural formation of metallic and nonmetallic materials; 6. Quantitative metallography, and 7. Quality assurance.
DNA antoantibodies in serum will bind to antigen-coated polystyrene tubes and can be detected by radiolabelled anti-immunoglobulin. The method is quantitative, gives information on the antibody class...Full Text Available
BackgroundCerebral malaria (CM) is a neurological syndrome that includes coma and seizures following malaria parasite infection. The pathophysiology is not fully understood and cannot...Full Text Available
There has been increased theoretical and experimental research interest in autonomous mobile robots exhibiting cooperative behaviour. This paper provides consistent quantitative measures of organizational degree of a two-dimensional environment. We proved, by the way of numerical simulations, that the theoretically derived values of the feature are reliable measures of aggregation degree. The slope of the feature's dependence on memory radius leads to an optimization criterion for stochastic functional self-organization. We also described the intellectual heritages that have guided our research, as well as possible future developments. (author)
An advanced video system has been assembled from commercially available equipment to support the real-time neutron radiography facility established jointly by the University of Virginia Department of Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics, and the Philip Morris Research Center. A schematic diagram of the equipment used for real-time neutron radiography is presented. To obtain quantitative density measurements with this system, several modifications of both hardware and image processing software were required. After implementation of these changes, the system was capable of determining material densities by measuring the degree of neutron attenuation.
An advanced video system has been assembled from commercially available equipment to support the real-time neutron radiography facility established jointly by the University of Virginia Department of Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics, and the Philip Morris Research Center. A schematic diagram of the equipment used for real-time neutron radiography is presented. To obtain quantitative density measurements with this system, several modifications of both hardware and image processing software were required. After implementation of these changes, the system was capable of determining material densities by measuring the degree of neutron attenuation.
A technique for quantitative analysis of growth plates in varus or valgus deformity about the knee has been developed. Computer-generated regions of interest are placed on magnification scintigraphs to divide distal femoral and proximal tibial physes into four equal segments. The ratio of counts in the medial half to counts in the lateral half was studied in 31 children (22 normal, 9 with angular deformity). Normal ratios were 0.74 to 0.98 for femora and 0.98 to 1.20 for tibias. In eight of nine patients with deformity, the ratio was abnormal; in two patients the ratio returned to normal when the deformity ceased to progress.
The authors experimentally study the separate stages of the determination of iodine in thyroidin by the combustion method in a flask with oxygen. The monotypic, conventional procedures and the procedure of Kolii and Pakhomov were studied. With addition of potassium iodide, a sixfold amount (compared with the initial) of iodine is liberated. Further, the liberated iodine is titrated by sodium thiosulfate. The authors find the degree of influence of a high nitrogen content on the determination of iodine in organic compounds. The procedure developed for the quantitative determination of the iodine in thyroidin by the combustion method is simple, fairly rapid, and can be used for the reliable control of the quality of thyroidin preparations and its starting raw material.
The ultimate compressive strength of 36 thoracolumbar vertebrae was determined experimentally. In addition, the trabecular bone mineral content was measured by single energy quantitative computed tomography. The areas of fractured endplates were also determined by computed tomography. The results show that a linear relationship exists between the compressive strength and the product of bone density and endplate area. These data allow an in vivo prediction of vertebral body strength using a noninvasive method with a standard error of estimate amounting to less than 0.95 kN. PMID:3212488
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).
This paper is aimed to present a fuzzy decision making approach to deal with the performance measurement in supply chain systems. In the manufacturing environment, performance measurement is based on different quantitative and qualitative factors. Some of these factors may have a larger effect on the performance measure than others. Units of measure of the quantitative factors are different such as time, money, percentage, ratio, and counts. Thus, this paper presents a performance measurement approach based on fuzzy set theory and the pair-wise comparison of Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), which ensures the consistency of the designer's assignments of importance of one factor over another to find the weight of each of the manufacturing activity in the departmental organization. In the ...
Sixteen patients with PAGET's disease of bone underwent quantitative bone scintigraphy with "9"9"mTc-MDP before and after a long-term treatment with carbocalcitonin, a synthetic analogue of eel calcitonin. The radionuclide study consisted in the blood pool and bone uptake measurement and in the bone avidity calculation (bone uptake - blood pool ratio). In our patients, a significant decrease in bone uptake and bone avidity was found, whereas the blood pool remained statistically unchanged. This behaviour could be accounted for the shift of the compact bone to a lamellar pattern. (orig.).
Sixteen patients with PAGET's disease of bone underwent quantitative bone scintigraphy with /sup 99m/Tc-MDP before and after a long-term treatment with carbocalcitonin, a synthetic analogue of eel calcitonin. The radionuclide study consisted in the blood pool and bone uptake measurement and in the bone avidity calculation (bone uptake - blood pool ratio). In our patients, a significant decrease in bone uptake and bone avidity was found, whereas the blood pool remained statistically unchanged. This behaviour could be accounted for the shift of the compact bone to a lamellar pattern.
The objective of Configuration Risk Management Program(CRMP) is to maintain the safety level by assuring the defense-in-depth of nuclear power plant while the configurations are changed during plant operations, especially for the LP/SD. Such a safety purpose can be achieved by establishing the risk monitoring programs with both quantitative and qualitative features. Generally, the quantitative risk evaluation models, i.e., PRA models are used for the risk evaluation during full power operation, and the qualitative risk evaluation models such as safety function assessment trees are used. Through this study, safety function assessment trees were developed.
Iron is an essential micronutrient. As an integral part of hemoglobin, it is essential for the transport of oxygen in blood to the tissues. It is an important component of cytochromes and other tissue enzymes that are critical for cellular respiration and of myoglobin that helps maintain oxygen reserve in the muscle. It is also involved in the normal functioning of the immune function, and in the synthesis of steroid hormones and bile acids. There are serious functional consequences to iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia (IDA) in the human body. The deleterious effects include increased morbidity, preterm delivery, low birth weight, delayed cognitive development, lowered cellular immunity and reduced physical work capacity. However, iron deficiency and IDA remain the world's most common deficiency disease in the 21st century. Recent estimates of people affected with iron deficiency and IDA are 3.5 billion. Iron deficiency anemia is most ...
In this paper, we consider the downlink of large-scale multi-cellular OFDMA-based networks and study performance bounds of the system as a function of the number of users $K$, the number of base-stations $B$, and the number of resource-blocks $N$. Here, a resource block is a collection of subcarriers such that all such collections, that are disjoint have associated independently fading channels. We derive novel upper and lower bounds on the sum-utility for a general spatial geometry of base stations, a truncated path loss model, and a variety of fading models (Rayleigh, Nakagami-$m$, Weibull, and LogNormal). We also establish the associated scaling laws and show that, in the special case of fixed number of resource blocks, a grid-based network of base stations, and Rayleigh-fading channels, the sum information capacity of the system scales as $\\Theta(B \\log\\log K/B)$ for extended networks, and as $O(B \\log\\log K)$ and $\\Omega(\\log \\log K)$ for dense ...
Physiological functions are carried out by differentiated cells, with finite lifespans, which age and need to be replaced. In young individuals, tissue functions are sustained at optimal levels because cellular dysfunction and cell loss are balanced by the emergence of newly differentiated cells as stem cells and their partially differentiated descendants replicate. However, with the passage of time the mitotic rates of these cells diminish. Eventually, replications occur too infrequently to offset the loss. It is at this point that the tissue begins to show structural changes and declining function which, as they become pervasive, are identified as ageing. In this paper the theory is set forth that: (1) Diminishing mitotic activity in older tissues results from limited stem cell replicative capacity. (2) All stem cells, regardless of tissue, exhibit similar replicative patterns over time, progressing from the actively proliferating to the nonproliferating state. ...
We examined whether proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) could provide accurate information on histological grade and cell proliferation in astrocytomas. We studied 23 patients with astrocytomas: five grade II, 10 grade III and eight with grade IV (glioblastoma multiforme). We performed proton MRS and determined the Ki-67 labeling index (LI), a tumour proliferation marker, in the same areas of the astrocytomas, and examined the statistical relationship between proton MRS and Ki-67 LI. The N-acetylaspartate (NAA)/creatine-phosphocreatine (Cr) and NAA/choline (Cho)-containing compound ratios were always significantly lower and the Cho/Cr ratios significantly higher than those for normal brain. The Cho/Cr ratio correlated positively and the NAA/Cho ratio inversely with Ki-67 LI. These findings suggest that the Cho signal in proton MRS reflects cellular proliferation. In Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, there was no significant difference between high (> 2.0, ...
Site-specific recombination is an important cellular process that yields a variety of knotted and catenated DNA products on supercoiled circular DNA. Twist knots are some of the most common conformations of these products. They are also one of the simplest families of knots and catenanes. Yet, our systematic understanding of their implication in DNA and important cellular processes like site-specific recombination is very limited. Here we present a topological model of site-specific recombination characterising all possible products of site-specific recombination on twist knot substrates, extending previous work of Buck and Flapan. We illustrate how to use our model to examine previously uncharacterized experimental data. We show how our model can help determine the sequence of products in multiple rounds of processive recombination and distinguish between products of processive and distributive recombination. Companion paper (arXiv:1007.2115v1 ...
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 ...
Many assays for oncogenic transformation have been developed ranging from those in established rodent cell lines where morphological alteration is scored, to those in human cells growing in nude mice where tumor invasiveness is scored. In general, systems that are most quantitaive are also the least relevant in terms of human carcinogenesis and human risk estimation. The development of cell culture systems has made it possible to assess at the cellular level the oncogenic potential of a variety of chemical, physical and viral agents. Cell culture systems afford the opportunity to identify factors and conditions that may prevent or enhance cellular transformation by radiation and chemicals. Permissive and protective factors in radiation-induced transformation include thyroid hormone and the tumor promoter TPA that increase the transformation incidence for a given dose of radiation, and retinoids, selenium, vitamin E, and 5-aminobenzamide that ...
Many assays for oncogenic transformation have been developed ranging from those in established rodent cell lines where morphological alteration is scored, to those in human cells growing in nude mice where tumor invasiveness is scored. In general, systems that are most quantitaive are also the least relevant in terms of human carcinogenesis and human risk estimation. The development of cell culture systems has made it possible to assess at the cellular level the oncogenic potential of a variety of chemical, physical and viral agents. Cell culture systems afford the opportunity to identify factors and conditions that may prevent or enhance cellular transformation by radiation and chemicals. Permissive and protective factors in radiation-induced transformation include thyroid hormone and the tumor promoter TPA that increase the transformation incidence for a given dose of radiation, and retinoids, selenium, vitamin E, and 5-aminobenzamide that ...
We consider relay selection technique in a cooperative cellular network where user terminals act as mobile relays to help the communications between base station (BS) and mobile station (MS). A novel relay selection scheme, called Joint Uplink and Downlink Relay Selection (JUDRS), is proposed in this paper. Specifically, we generalize JUDRS in two key aspects: (i) relay is selected jointly for uplink and downlink, so that the relay selection overhead can be reduced, and (ii) we consider to minimize the weighted total energy consumption of MS, relay and BS by taking into account channel quality and traffic load condition of uplink and downlink. Information theoretic analysis of the diversity-multiplexing tradeoff demonstrates that the proposed scheme achieves full spatial diversity in the quantity of cooperating terminals in this network. And numerical results are provided to further confirm a significant energy efficiency gain of the proposed algorithm comparing to ...
Glycosaminoglycan synthesis by two subpopulations of a mouse mammary tumor cell line was compared. The two sublines express distinctly different growth characteristics in vitro and in vivo which indicate differences in growth regulation. Newly made glycosaminoglycans were recovered from the culture media, the cell surfaces, and residual cellular material. The cell population which grows more aggressively in vivo (+SA subline, a subline that grows in soft agarose) incorporated about 8 times more (/sup 14/C)glucosamine per cell into total glycosaminoglycans than did the slower-growing population (-SA subline, which does not grow in soft agarose). Appropriate control experiments indicated that the apparent difference in rates of synthesis was not due to discrepancies in glucosamine uptake. The main residual cellular molecule labeled was heparan sulfate, but the predominant molecule at the cell surface and in the culture fluid was hyaluronic acid. ...
Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) have remained at the forefront of stem cell research for the past 50 years, since the therapeutic potential of bone marrow transplantation was realized. Uniquely, among stem and progenitor cells, research progress has been made in parallel between the laboratory benchtop and hospital bedside during this period. Integral to this work has been the role of the transfusion medicine services in the collection, storage, and processing of HSCs. The next decade promises to bring further developments: with new fields of cellular therapies, stem cell vaccination, and stem cell drug testing opening up. This article summarizes exciting areas of research concerning the behavior and potential clinical applications of HSCs. For the purposes of clarity, we describe in turn the trafficking and transfer of HSCs; ex vivo expansion of HSC units from different sources; and finally, applications of specifically selected subsets of hematopoietic cells and ...
Acetylcholine and other neurotransmitters play unique trophic roles in brain development. Accordingly, drugs and environmental toxicants that promote or interfere with neurotransmitter function evoke neurodevelopmental abnormalities by disrupting the timing or intensity of neurotrophic actions. The current review discusses three exposure scenarios involving acetylcholine systems: nicotine from maternal smoking during pregnancy, exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), and exposure to the organophosphate insecticide, chlorpyrifos (CPF). All three have long-term, adverse effects on specific processes involved in brain cell replication and differentiation, synaptic development and function, and ultimately behavioral performance. Many of these effects can be traced to the sequence of cellular events surrounding the trophic role of acetylcholine acting on its specific cellular receptors and associated signaling cascades. However, for ...
Evolutionary theory holds that aging is a consequence of the declining force of natural selection with age. We discuss here the evidence that among the causes of aging in complex multicellular organisms, such as mammals, is the antagonistically pleiotropic effects of the cellular responses that protect the organism from cancer. Cancer is relatively rare in young mammals, owing in large measure to the activity of tumor suppressor mechanisms. These mechanisms either protect the genome from damage and/or mutations, or they elicit cellular responses--apoptosis or senescence--that eliminate or prevent the proliferation of somatic cells at risk for neoplastic transformation.We focus here on the senescence response, reviewing its causes, regulation and effects. In addition, we describe recent data that support the idea that both senescence and apoptosis may indeed be the double-edged swords predicted by the evolutionary hypothesis of antagonistic ...
Hyperphosphorylated and aggregated human protein tau constitutes a hallmark of a multitude of neurodegenerative diseases called tauopathies, exemplified by Alzheimer's disease. In spite of an enormous amount of research performed on tau biology, several crucial questions concerning the mechanisms of tau toxicity remain unanswered. In this paper we will highlight some of the processes involved in tau biology and pathology, focusing on tau phosphorylation and the interplay with oxidative stress. In addition, we will introduce the development of a human tau-expressing yeast model, and discuss some crucial results obtained in this model, highlighting its potential in the elucidation of cellular processes leading to tau toxicity.
Traffic jams have become very serious at multiforked road intersections, and conventional pre-timed controls are less effective in such situations. In this article, a new traffic signal control system for multi-forked roads is proposed. First, the cellular automaton (CA) model is used to develop a traffic simulator for multi-forked roads. Next, a stochastic model of a traffic jam is built up. In addition, a new traffic signal control algorithm is designed using the optimization technique and a genetic algorithm (GA). Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method is shown using actual traffic data with a traffic simulator.
The effect of UV radiation in the wavelength region 230 nm to 302 nm on the ability of an irradiated mammalian cell to reactivate UV-irradiated mammalian virus was tested. An action spectrum for radiation enhanced reactivation (RER) is presented. The shape of the action spectrum points to a combined nucleic acid-protein target for UV radiation effects on this cellular parameter. An analysis of the results of others involving the biochemical and photobiological events involved in RER does not allow us to distinguish which macromolecule is the major contributor to this effect. Studies involving an analogous phenomenon in bacteris (Weigle reactivation) imply that RER and WR amy involve similar mechanisms. (author).
The assumed linear relationship between exposure to radiation and cancer incidence is questioned in this article. The current research data on radiation effects at the cellular level is reviewed, as are epidemiological studies of background radiation effects and health effects of populations exposed to low levels of radiation exposure via employment or medical treatments. Statistics reveal that threshold levels currently in force need to be reviewed. Some evidence of beneficial effects of low level radiation exposure effects of low level radiation exposure is also presented, and so regulations should be reviewed at an international level. (UK).
Nano-materials in which a large fraction of atoms resides within a few atomic layers near the surface can be designed to have novel properties by manipulating their surface parameters. We show that the effective elastic constants of nano-porous/cellular materials can be made to exceed those of the parent materials provided the pore surface elastic parameters satisfy certain conditions. These stiff nano-porous materials herald a radical breakthrough in sandwich-type construction.
Nano-materials in which a large fraction of atoms resides within a few atomic layers near the surface can be designed to have novel properties by manipulating their surface parameters. We show that the effective elastic constants of nano-porous/cellular materials can be made to exceed those of the parent materials provided the pore surface elastic parameters satisfy certain conditions. These stiff nano-porous materials herald a radical breakthrough in sandwich-type construction.
The incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is increasing in developed countries and the general status of HCC patients is now by far better than a few years ago, allowing physicians to propose some different treatments of these patients. Among these treatments, intra-arterial injection of 131-iodine-labelled Lipiodol could be used in palliative, curative or adjuvant settings. After a brief summary of the modalities of this treatment, requiring the collaboration of Gastro-enterologists, Oncologists, Radiologists and Nuclear Medicine physicians, the different possibilities of therapeutic uses of this new approach are described and an outlook of these developments is proposed. (author)
Establishing germplasm of woody plants in microculture as shoot cultures has proved to be an effective method of overcoming many of the obstacles in working with these crops. Shoot cultures eliminate the changes associated with seasonal growth cycles and phase change and put large plants into a more manageable form. Well-established shoot cultures are central to successful clonal propagation systems for forest trees as well as to genetic improvement based on the use of cellular techniques such as protoplast manipulation. The physiological basis as to why tissues from shoot cultures are so readily manipulated is not well understood.
Injection of pregnant rats with monomeric "2"3"9Pu after 9 days of gestation decreased their leukocyte and reticulocyte counts at 5 and 10 days postexposure. Most of the fetal hematologic enumerative values were unaffected by injection of monomeric "2"3"9Pu. There was, however, a major change in the maturation of the cells of the erythroid series, as indicated by a difference in the distribution between cell types. The weight of the yolk sac and fetal liver, and the cellularity of the fetal spleen were decreased.
The compressive and bending strengths of a local tropical wood (Kapur-Dryobalanop sp.) were improved significantly by suitable impregnation of polymeric monomers (methylmethacrylate, methylmethacrylate - 5% dioxane and vinyl acetate) into the wood cellular structure and subsequent irradiation to form a wood-polymer composite. Statistical analysis revealed a linear relationship between increase in the strengths and the percentage of polymer impregnated. Fractographic analysis of the impact fractured surfaces under the scanning electron microscope showed the nature of the wood-polymer interface, which could account for the increase in the compressive and bending strengths. (author).
Background: We consider cells as biological systems that process information by means of molecular codes. Many studies analyze cellular information processing exclusively in syntactic terms (e.g., by measuring Shannon entropy of sets of macromolecules), and abstract completely from semantic aspects that are related to the meaning of molecular information. Methods: This mini-review focusses on semantic aspects of molecular information, particularly on codes that organize the semantic dimension of molecular information. First, a general conceptual framework for describing molecular information is proposed. Second, some examples of molecular codes are presented. Third, a mathematical approach that makes the identification of molecular codes in reaction networks possible, is developed. Results...
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...
Full text: It is known that the ion implantation of germanium single crystals at room temperature results in drastic alteration of the germanium surface and the formation of cellular relief. Voids were found into the near-surface damage layer. The intersection of these voids with the germanium surface, as result of sputter etching, forms cellular relief. However, exact mechanism responsible for formation of the voids is not known. A 10 and 30 keV Ga"+ irradiation of Ge #left brace#100#right brace# crystal at room temperature was carried out using a focused ion beam (FIB) system with a dose in the range 0.5x10"1"2 to 1.5x10"1"4 ion/cm"2. The topology of the modified germanium surface and the structure of the radiation damage was studied using imaging facilities of the FIB systems and transmission electron microscopy. The strong cellular structure of Ge was observed after an ion dose of 3x10"1"3 ion/cm"2. High-resolution TEM ...
Wood Plastic Composites (WPCs) have experienced a healthy growth during the last decade. However, improvement in properties is necessary to increase their utility for structural applications. The toughness of WPCs can be improved by creating a fine cellular structure while reducing the density. Extrusion processing is one of the most economical methods for profile formation. For our study, rectangular profiles were extruded using a twin-screw extrusion system with different grades of HDPE and with varying wood fibre and lubricant contents together with maleated polyethylene (MAPE) coupling agent to investigate their effects on WPC processing and mechanical properties. Work has been done to redesign the extrusion system setup to achieve smoother and stronger profiles. A guiding shaper, submerged in the water, has been designed to guide the material directly through water immediately after exiting the die; instead of passing it through a water cooled vacuum ...
A non-invasive diagnostic tool that could identify malignancy in situ and in real time would have a major impact on the detection and treatment of cancer. We have developed and are testing early prototypes of an optical biopsy system (OBS) for detection of cancer and other tissue pathologies. The OBS invokes a unique approach to optical diagnosis of tissue pathologies based on the elastic scattering properties, over a wide range of wavelengths, of the microscopic structure of the tissue. The use of elastic scattering as the key to optical tissue diagnostics in the OBS is based on the fact that many tissue pathologies, including a majority of cancer forms, manifest significant architectural changes at the cellular and sub-cellular level. Since the cellular components that cause elastic scattering have dimensions typically on the order of visible to near-IR wavelengths, the elastic (Mie) scattering properties will be strongly ...
Two hazard risk assessment matrices for the ranking of occupational health risks are described. The qualitative matrix uses qualitative measures of probability and consequence to determine risk assessment codes for hazard-disease combinations. A walk-through survey of an underground metalliferous mine and concentrator is used to demonstrate how the qualitative matrix can be applied to determine priorities for the control of occupational health hazards. The semi-quantitative matrix uses attributable risk as a quantitative measure of probability and uses qualitative measures of consequence. A practical application of this matrix is the determination of occupational health priorities using existing epidemiological studies. Calculated attributable risks from epidemiological studies of hazard-disease combinations in mining and minerals processing are used as examples. These historic response data do not reflect the risks associated with current ...
Quantitative bone scans were evaluated in 16 patients with osteoporosis and in a control group of 7 healthy subjects. Along with a detailed biochemical analysis of calcium-phosphorus metabolism and standartized reongenographs, a quantitative dynamic bone scintigraphy was performed according to the method proposed by the authors. The bone-accumulating factor K_b was determined on the base of mathematical analysis of the graph reflecting activity changes in bone tissue unit during the investigation, the blood-elimination factor K_h and kidney-elimination factor K_k. In addition the accumulation index AI (in %) was calculated as a relation between the activity in bone tissue unit, registered in 20 min interval, and the activity in soft tissues for the same time. Whereas the static gamma camera scintigraphy, made 3-4 hrs after injecting of the osteotrope radiopharmaceuticals, showed no specific changes in the patients examined, the method proposed ...
The effect of various forms of treatment of renal osteodystrophy was evaluated in 25 dialysis patients by quantitative bone scintigraphy, using 99m-Tc-HEDP. The results were compared with those of biochemical and bone morphometric studies. The total skeletal activity (TSA) decreased in 5 patients after transplantation, in 11 after parathyroidectomy and in 6 out of 9 treated conservatively, but did not normalize in any of the patients. Bone morphometric evaluation of treatment, which could be performed in 19 of the 20 patients who did not receive a transplant, demonstrated a reduction in the degree of hyperparathyroidism in 17 patients (89 percent). Osteoid excess was reduced in 13 patients (68 percent) but an evident reduction of osteomalacic osteoid, i.e. improvement of osteomalacia, occurred in only 4 patients (21 percent). Changes in the TSA correlated significantly with the changes in the biochemical and histological parameters of hyperparathyroidism, but not ...
The effect of various forms of treatment of renal osteodystrophy was evaluated in 25 dialysis patients by quantitative bone scintigraphy, using 99m-Tc-HEDP. The results were compared with those of biochemical and bone morphometric studies. The total skeletal activity (TSA) decreased in 5 patients after transplantation, in 11 after parathyroidectomy and in 6 out of 9 treated conservatively, but did not normalize in any of the patients. Bone morphometric evaluation of treatment, which could be performed in 19 of the 20 patients who did not receive a transplant, demonstrated a reduction in the degree of hyperparathyroidism in 17 patients (89 per cent). Osteoid excess was reduced in 13 patients (68 per cent) but an evident reduction of osteomalacic osteoid, i.e. improvement of osteomalacia, occurred in only 4 patients (21 per cent). Changes in the TSA correlated significantly with the changes in the biochemical and histological parameters of hyperparathyroidism, but ...
The diffusion of ion beam injected self-interstitials (I) and their interaction with impurities in crystalline Si has been investigated and modeled. In particular, the I-substitutional carbon (C) interactions have been studied, using a molecular-beam-epitaxy grown Si{sub 1-y}C{sub y} layer interposed between the shallow I-source and a deeper B-spike (marker for I-concentration). Substitutional C atoms are shown to trap I's, to be removed from their substitutional sites, and to form stable precipitates into the C-rich region. The I-trapping mechanism was quantitatively studied by a simulation code. The reactions causing trapping and deactivation are described. In addition, the boron markers approach was extended to the two dimensional (2D) diffusion. High resolution scanning capacitance microscopy was used for quantitative measurements of the 2D boron transient enhanced diffusion induced on a boron delta array by the I's ion ...
The diffusion of ion beam injected self-interstitials (I) and their interaction with impurities in crystalline Si has been investigated and modeled. In particular, the I-substitutional carbon (C) interactions have been studied, using a molecular-beam-epitaxy grown Si_1_-_yC_y layer interposed between the shallow I-source and a deeper B-spike (marker for I-concentration). Substitutional C atoms are shown to trap I's, to be removed from their substitutional sites, and to form stable precipitates into the C-rich region. The I-trapping mechanism was quantitatively studied by a simulation code. The reactions causing trapping and deactivation are described. In addition, the boron markers approach was extended to the two dimensional (2D) diffusion. High resolution scanning capacitance microscopy was used for quantitative measurements of the 2D boron transient enhanced diffusion induced on a boron delta array by the I's ion beam injected through a ...
The United States Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine (USAFSAM) tests the quantitative fit of masks which are worn by military personnel during nuclear, biological, and chemical warfare. Subjects are placed in a Dynatech-Frontier Fit Testing Chamber, salt air is fed into the chamber, and samples of air are drawn from the mask and the chamber. The ratio of salt air outside the mask to salt air inside the mask is called the quantitative fit factor. A motion-time study was conducted to evaluate the efficiency of the layout and work method presently used in the laboratory. A link analysis was done to determine equipment priorities, and the link data and design guidelines were used to develop three proposed laboratory designs. The proposals were evaluated by projecting the time and motion efficiency, and the energy expended working in each design. Also evaluated were the lengths of the equipment links for each proposal, and each ...
In 576 patients quantitative scintigraphy of the sacroiliac joints and the spinal cord with "9"9"mTc-pyrophosphate was performed. 328 were patients with proven ankylosing spondylitis according to the New York criteria. 120 were patients with a clinically and roentgenologically suspected ankylosing spondylitis and 128 persons formed a healthy control group. The count rate in small regions of interest (ROI) in the sacroiliac joints, the spinal cord and the os sacrum were compared on the basis of indexes. The scintigraphic data of patients with ankylosing spondylitis were compared with the healthy control group and with the radiographic findings and radiologic staging of the disease. In a longitudinal follow-up study during 1 to 6 years these investigations were continued together with clinical and roentgenological checks. Quantitative bone scintigraphy provides characteristic indexes for ankylosing spondylitis, indicating the increased mineral ...
In 620 patients quantitative bone scintigraphy with "9"9"mTc pyrophosphate of the sacroiliac joints and of the spine was performed: 365 patients with confirmed ankylosing spondylitis, 125 patients with clinical radiological suspicion for ankylosing spondylitis (probable Bechterev) and control group of 130 healthy individuals. By comparison of the activity in zones of interest of the sacroiliac joints, the spine and sacrum, the following indices were determined: sacroiliac (separately for the left and right sacroiliac joints), index D_1_0/sacrum, index L_4/sacrum and index C_7/sacrum. The scintigraphic finding was compared to the X-ray one and to the radiological stage of the disease. A long-term follow-up of the patients was carried out during 1-6 years with scintigraphic, X-ray and clinical investigations. Emphasis was laid upon the posibilities for quantitative scintigraphy for early diagnostics of ankylosing spondylitis. The combination of ...
Quantitative hepatic scintiangiography was previously used for evaluating the relative contribution of hepatic arterial and portal venous blood flows to the hepatic circulation. The present study compares 3 different procedures (automatic and manual integration, and slope fitting methods) for analyzing the hepatic time activity curves obtained after bolus i.v. injection of 370 MBq /sup 99m/Tc-diethylentriaminopentacetic acid. Twenty five subjects were studied: Five controls, ten cirrhotics, and ten portal hypertensive patients previously submitted to side to side portacaval anastomosis. The correspondence between results given by the different methods was satisfactory only in shunted patients, and the reproducibility of computed parameters was quite poor for all procedures. Accordingly, none of the methods can be considered as supporting reliable quantitative pathophysiological evaluations. However, the hepatic arterial/portal venous flow ratio ...
We report on a hard X-ray phase imaging microscopy (a phase-difference microscopy) that consists of an objective and a transmission grating. The simple optical system provides a quantitative phase image, and does not need a wave field mostly coherent on the objective. Our method has a spatial resolution almost same as that of the absorption contrast microscope image obtained by removing the grating. We demonstrate how our approach provides a phase image from experimentally obtained images. Our approach is attractive for easily appending a quantitative phase-sensitive mode to normal X-ray microscopes, and has potentially broad applications in biology and material sciences.
Methods for the synthesis and quantitation of the novel choline analogues, telluronium choline and acetyltelluronium choline, are described. An assay procedure utilizing pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS) with cold trapping was developed with [2H4]telluronium choline and [2H4]acetyltelluronium choline as internal standards. The telluronium compounds were ion-pair extracted from tissue with dipicrylamine, washed with 2-butanone, and pyrolyzed prior to GC-MS analysis. The compounds were monitored using selected ion monitoring at m/z 232 and m/z 190 for acetyltelluronium and telluronium choline, respectively, and at m/z 236 and m/z 194 for the analogous deuterated internal standards. The assay was linear over a range of 20 pmol-20 nmol of compound taken through the assay. PMID:8130881
Sustainable development of geothermal resources is the key to prolong the commercial life of geothermal fields. This paper uses two well-known geothermal fields in China, with long histories of production, to demonstrate how sustainability can be quantitatively evaluated, and to highlight the essential differences between sustainable and non-sustainable development schemes. After examining the complex nature of sustainability evaluation, fuzzy synthetic evaluation is applied as a tool for the quantitative sustainability rating of geothermal reservoirs. The evaluation procedures include systemic criteria selection, weighing, individual criterion evaluation and finally final multi-criterion decision analysis evaluation. The sustainability of a limestone reservoir in the urban sector of Tianj...
Quantitative determination of Broensted acid site concentrations in calcined H-mordenite and H-ZSM-5 by means of conductometric titration and infrared spectroscopy reveals that the concentration of Broensted acid sites present is lower than would be expected on the basis of the aluminum content. This discrepancy is attributed to dealumination and dehydroxylation processes occurring during calcination. A model is proposed according to which the degree of these processes strongly depends on the concentration of vicinal aluminum T sites in the zeolite: Broensted acid sites associated with these T sites are lost, and the remaining Broensted acidity is related to the concentration of the (remaining) isolated aluminum T sites. This model quantitatively correlates the experimentally determined concentration of Broensted acid sites with the concentration of isolated aluminum T sites. 33 refs., 4 figs., 2 tabs.
The Structural Aging (SAG) Program is carried out by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) under sponsorship of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC). The Program has evolved from preliminary studies conducted to evaluate the long-term environmental challenges to light-water reactor safety-related concrete civil structures. An important conclusion of these studies was that a damage methodology, which can provide a quantitative measure of a concrete structure's durability with respect to potential future requirements, needs to be developed. Under the SAG Program, this issue is being addressed through: establishment of a structural materials information center, evaluation of structural component assessment and repair technologies, and development of a quantitative methodology for structural aging determinations. Progress to date of each of these activities is presented as well as future plans. 7 refs., 5 figs.
Even though the currently intensive research efforts on high- temperature superconducting materials have not yet converged on a well specified practical material, the indications are that such a material may be quite brittle, anisotropic, and may contain many flaws such as microcracks and voids at grain boundaries. Consequently, practical applications of high temperature superconducting materials will require a very careful strength analysis based on fracture mechanics considerations. Because of the high sensitivity of the strength of such materials to the presence of defects, methods of quantitative non-destructive evaluation may be expected to play an important role in strength determinations. This proposal is concerned with the use of ultrasonic methods to detect and characterize isolated cracks, clusters of microcracks and microcracks distributed throughout the material. Particular attention has been, and will continue to be devoted to relating ultrasonic ...
Purpose: To evaluate a simple method for quantification of focal activity in bone scintigraphy (BS). Material and methods: The gamma camera was calibrated using a phantom. Quantitative bone scintigraphy (QBS) was performed on 11 men recently diagnosed with prostate cancer (PCa), for whom routine BS showed involvement of the skeleton. Following endocrine therapy for 4 to 8 months, a second QBS was performed. Changes in QBS values were then compared to changes in serum levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA). Results: PSA response indicating regression of PCa was accompanied by a decrease in the QBS value in 8 of the 11 patients. The overall mean error of the QBS values was 15%. conclusion: QBS according to this method is a relatively simple procedure that might contribute to objective evaluation of therapeutic effects in skeletal metastases, although its validity must be tested in a larger clinical material.
Purpose: To evaluate a simple method for quantification of focal activity in bone scintigraphy (BS). Material and methods: The gamma camera was calibrated using a phantom. Quantitative bone scintigraphy (QBS) was performed on 11 men recently diagnosed with prostate cancer (PCa), for whom routine BS showed involvement of the skeleton. Following endocrine therapy for 4 to 8 months, a second QBS was performed. Changes in QBS values were then compared to changes in serum levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA). Results: PSA response indicating regression of PCa was accompanied by a decrease in the QBS value in 8 of the 11 patients. The overall mean error of the QBS values was 15%. conclusion: QBS according to this method is a relatively simple procedure that might contribute to objective evaluation of therapeutic effects in skeletal metastases, although its validity must be tested in a larger clinical material
In situ X-Ray microtomography offers new opportunities for analysing sintering mechanisms since it allows 3D observation of the microstructural evolution of the powder all along a sintering cycle. With synchrotron radiation at ESRF, a 3D image with a resolution of 2 {mu}m can be obtained in about one minute. In addition to the visual examination of the images, relevant microstructural parameters can be measured through quantitative image analysis using recently developed tools. In this paper the results obtained with two materials, loose copper powder and compacted steel powder, are resumed. For copper powder, the dispersion of local parameters such as particle co-ordination number and porosity is investigated. Concerning steel compacts, data about pore morphology evolution and on local strains provides clues for understanding the anisotropic shrinkage of such compacts. (authors)
A Quantitative Computed Tomography (QCT) method, simplifying the well-known technique proposed by Genant (1982) and applied to a standard third generation whole body CT scanner is described. This technique was applied in the measurement of the trabecular bone which has high sensitivity for metabolic changes. The BMC (Bone Mineral Content) measured in different groups of subjects (healthy postmenopausal patients versus women with postmenopausal osteoporosis) showed a highly significant difference (p<0.001). The precision of repositioning (coefficient of variation 1.8% to 2.3%, obtained in healty male patients) and the good, linear relationship computed from the phantom values, minimize measurement errors. Since this method is quickly applied and involves low-dose radiation-exposure, it could be introduced in the clinical study of metabolic bone diseases.
In this paper we present the results of time series analysis for a coal mining region based on partial unmixing. We test the method also known as mixture tuned matched filtering on an eight image Landsat 5 TM and Landsat 7 ETM+ time series covering the period from 1987 to 2003. Common change detection methods often include the comparison of two interactively generated classification results, such as derived from Maximum Likelihood classification. These approaches often yield highly accurate results. However, disadvantages include a strong analyst bias and hardly repeatable results. For a quantitative monitoring of a single surface class' development over time they are often not recommendable. Our goal was to test an unbiased quantitative way to assess the development of coal surfaces, such...
We summarize recent developments in x-ray microscopy of polymers by focusing on the characterization of organic electronic devices. The quantitative compositions of model polymer blends have been mapped at a resolution of {approx}35 nm. Since it could be inferred that these devices have structures smaller than 35 nm, quantitative compositional mapping at length scales below the present resolution limit of x-ray microscopy is required. Organic devices thus serve to both highlight the success of NEXAFS microscopy to date, but to also outline the very real need for higher spatial resolution. New approaches to create improved optics or different acquisition modalities are required if x-ray microscopy is to make sustained contributions to such an important area of research as organic devices.
In this paper, a robust water level control system for the horizontal steam generator (SG) using the quantitative feedback theory (QFT) method is presented. To design a robust QFT controller for the nonlinear uncertain SG, control oriented linear models are identified. Then, the nonlinear system is modeled as an uncertain linear time invariant (LTI) system. The robust designed controller is applied to the nonlinear plant model. This nonlinear model is based on a locally linear neuro-fuzzy (LLNF) model. This model is trained using the locally linear model tree (LOLIMOT) algorithm. Finally, simulation results are employed to show the effectiveness of the designed QFT level controller. It is shown that it will ensure the entire designer's water level closed loop specifications.
In the process of backward Raman amplification (BRA), the leading layers of the seed laser pulse can shadow the rear layers, thus weakening the effective seeding power and affecting parameters of output pulses in BRA. We study this effect numerically and also analytically by approximating the pumped pulse by the ''*-pulse'' manifold of self-similar solutions. We determine how the pumped pulse projection moves within the *-pulse manifold, and describe quantitatively the effective seeding power evolution. Our results extend the quantitative theory of BRA to regimes where the effective seeding power varies substantially during the amplification. These results might be of broader interest, since the basic equations, are general equations for resonant 3-wave interactions.
To define the quantitative and qualitative effects of gossypol (GP) on deer (Cervus elaphus) semen, the animals were fed cottonseed (CS). Adult stags each received 350?g of CS for 109?days. Animals received 15?mg of gossypol per kilogram body weight per day. Quantitative and qualitative parameters of experimental ejaculates (n?=?182) were compared to ejaculates (n?=?571) of control animals (n?=?5) collected during three previous natural reproductive seasons. Ejaculate fractions were evaluated by classical methods used in domestic animals. In this paper, we show that mature male deer fed CS exhibited morphological changes and decreased motility of spermatozoa and abnormalities in spermatogenesis. Radioimmunoassay measured concentrations of various steroid hormones (T-testosterone, A4-andros...
We discuss some methods to quantitatively investigate the properties of correlation matrices. Correlation matrices play an important role in portfolio optimization and in several other quantitative descriptions of asset price dynamics in financial markets. Specifically, we discuss how to define and obtain hierarchical trees, correlation based trees and networks from a correlation matrix. The hierarchical clustering and other procedures performed on the correlation matrix to detect statistically reliable aspects of the correlation matrix are seen as filtering procedures of the correlation matrix. We also discuss a method to associate a hierarchically nested factor model to a hierarchical tree obtained from a correlation matrix. The information retained in filtering procedures and its stability with respect to statistical fluctuations is quantified by using the Kullback-Leibler distance.
Mechanobiological theories have been introduced to illustrate the interaction between biology and the local mechanical environment during bone healing. Although several theories have been proposed, a quantitative validation using histomorphometric data is still missing. In this study, in vivo histological data based on an ovine animal experiment was quantified and used to validate bone healing simulations focussing on the endochondral ossification process. The bone formation at different callus regions (periosteal and endosteal bone at the medial and lateral side) was analyzed from in vivo data and quantitatively compared with in silico results. A histomorphometric difference was found in medial and lateral hard callus formation 3 weeks after osteotomy. However, the same amount of new bone...
The author presents a detailed and quantitative description of all of the programs, systems, sensors and experiments associated with the next 30 years of space endeavors by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Derived from the fifth issue of the NASA Space Systems Technology Model, the missions and payloads are categorized by applications area: solar system exploration, astrophysics, earth sciences, communications, space transportation and utilization of the space environment. Far-term missions are described as opportunity missions and landmark missions, for the distant future. Technology requirements are collected by discipline: power, propulsion, materials, structures, information systems, navigation, guidance and control. Payload technology requirements are organized by instrument sensing range. This information defines in quantitative terms, the opportunities and limits for future civilian space system capabilities.
Calcaneus quantitative ultrasound (QUS) assessment is a safe and reliable method for evaluating skeletal status. Until now, considerable data have been accumulated on the distribution of QUS in Caucasian populations, whereas such data are still insufficient in Asian populations, especially in Chinese mainland. The present study aimed to obtain the distribution characteristic of calcaneus QUS in healthy Chinese women, and to further investigate the distribution of low bone mass by QUS stiffness index (SI). This study included 2,498 healthy Chinese females aged 10-87 yr. The QUS exhibited a characteristic mild rise and then fall pattern with increasing age. Age, body height, and weight were significant influencing factors on SI, especially age and weight. The prevalence of osteoporosis detec...
We have recently introduced several important improvements in the measurement of distillation curves for complex fluids. The modifications include a composition-explicit data channel for each distillate fraction (for both qualitative and quantitative analysis) and corrosivity assessment of each distillate fraction. The composition-explicit information is achieved with a new sampling approach that allows precise qualitative as well as quantitative analyses of each fraction, on the fly. We have applied the new method to a variety of fluids, including simple n-alkanes, rocket propellant, gasoline, jet fuels, and a hydrocarbon fluid made corrosive with dissolved hydrogen sulfide. In the current contribution, we present the application of the advanced distillation curve method to two samples of...
Ab initio lattice dynamics based on linear response method are performed for high pressure phase of yttrium to describe electron-phonon coupling and subsequent superconducting behavior. The critical temperature Tc in fcc-Y increases monotonically with pressure up to 9.25 K at 31 GPa, which is quantitatively in excellent agreement with two quasihydrostatic experiments and is qualitatively compatible with recent experiments. The excellent agreement with experiments gives us a better understanding of the effective pseudopotential ?* as well as spectral function ?2(?)F(?) in yttrium. These results demonstrate that there exists strong electron-phonon coupling in Y within the studied pressure regime, and for lower pressure electron correlation becomes stronger. Generally, it is found that superconductivity in yttrium under pressure can be described quantitatively within standard theory of phonon-mediated superconductivity.
Calibration-Free Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (CF-LIBS) has been proposed several years ago as an approach for quantitative analysis of Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy spectra. Recently developed refinement of the spectral processing method is described in the present work. Accurate quantitative results have been demonstrated for several metallic alloys. However, the degree of accuracy that can be achieved with Calibration-Free Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy analysis of generic samples still needs to be thoroughly investigated. The authors have undertaken a systematic study of errors and biasing factors affecting the calculation in the Calibration-Free Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy spectra processing. These factors may be classified in three main groups: 1) experi...
Nowadays there are many sun-protection cosmetics incorporating organic or inorganic UV filters as active ingredients. Chemically stable inorganic sunscreen agents, usually metal oxides, are widely employed in high-SPF (sun protection factor) products. Titanium dioxide is one of the most frequently used inorganic UV filters. It has been used as a pigment for a long period of cosmetic history. With the development of micronization techniques, it has become possible to incorporate titanium dioxide in sunscreen formulations without the previous whitening effect, and hence its use in cosmetics has become an important research topic. However, there are very few works related to quantitation of titanium dioxide in sunscreen products. In this research, we analysed the amounts of titanium dioxide i...
Because every cell within the body has the same genetic information, a significant problem in biology is to understand how cells within a tissue express genes selectively. A sophisticated network of physical and biochemical signals converge in a highly orchestrated manner to bring about the exquisite regulation that governs gene expression in diverse tissues. Thus, the ultimate decision of a cell to proliferate, express tissue-specific genes, or apoptose must be a coordinated response to its adhesive, growth factor, and hormonal milieu. The unifying hypothesis examined in this overview is that the unit of function in higher organisms is neither the genome nor the cell alone but the complex, three-dimensional tissue. This is because there are bidirectional connections between the components of the cellular microenvironment (growth factors, hormones, and extracellular matrix) and the nucl2048 These connections are made via membrane-bound receptors and transmitted to ...
Low temperature Nonphotochemical Hole Burning (NPHB) Spectroscopy of the dye rhodamine 800 (MF680) was applied for the purpose of discerning differences between cultured normal and carcinoma ovarian surface epithelial (OSE) cells. Both the cell lines were developed and characterized at the Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN), with the normal cell line having been transfected with a strain of temperature sensitive Simian Virus 40 Large T Antigen (SV40) for the purpose of extending the life of the cell culture without inducing permanent changes in the characteristics of the cell line. The cationic lipophilic fluorophore rhodamine 800 preferentially locates in in situ mitochondria due to the high lipid composition of mitochondria and the generation of a large negative membrane potential (relative to the cellular cytoplasm) for oxidative phosphorylation. Results presented for NPHB of MF680 located in the cells show significant differences between the two cell lines. The ...
Low temperature Nonphotochemical Hole Burning (NPHB) Spectroscopy of the dye rhodamine 800 (MF680) was applied for the purpose of discerning differences between cultured normal and carcinoma ovarian surface epithelial (OSE) cells. Both the cell lines were developed and characterized at the Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN), with the normal cell line having been transfected with a strain of temperature sensitive Simian Virus 40 Large T Antigen (SV40) for the purpose of extending the life of the cell culture without inducing permanent changes in the characteristics of the cell line. The cationic lipophilic fluorophore rhodamine 800 preferentially locates in in situ mitochondria due to the high lipid composition of mitochondria and the generation of a large negative membrane potential (relative to the cellular cytoplasm) for oxidative phosphorylation. Results presented for NPHB of MF680 located in the cells show significant differences between the two cell lines. The ...
Objective: To compare the histopathology of nodular fasciitis (NF) with the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in order to evaluate the basis of the MR signal characteristics. Design and patients: Ten patients with NF, nine females and 1 male, with an age ranging from 13 to 58 years (mean 26.8 years) were studied. MRI findings, available in all 10 patients, were compared with the histopathology in nine patients, and an area-to-area comparative study of the whole specimen section histopathology and MRI was performed in two patients. Results: On the basis of an excisional biopsy or resection specimen, the nine lesions were classified into myxoid (n=4), cellular (n=3) and fibrous (n=2) subtypes. Four myxoid lesions with a subcutaneous location showed a homogeneous SI comparable with muscle on T1-weighted images, high SI on T2-weighted images, and had homogeneous enhancement. One cellular lesion presented with homogeneous, slightly higher SI ...
Background: The difficulty of directly measuring cellular dose is a significant obstacle to application of target tissue dosimetry for nanoparticle and microparticle toxicity assessment. As a consequence, the target tissue paradigm for dosimetry and hazard assessment of nanoparticles has largely been ignored in favor of using metrics of exposure (e.g. ?g particle/mL culture medium, particle surface area/mL, particle number/mL). We have developed a computational model of solution particokinetics (sedimentation, diffusion) and dosimetry for non-interacting spherical particles and their agglomerates in monolayer cell culture systems. Particle transport to cells is calculated by simultaneous solution of Stokes Law (sedimentation) and the Stokes-Einstein equation (diffusion). Results: The In vitro Sedimentation, Diffusion and Dosimetry model (ISDD) was tested against measured transport rates or cellular doses for multiple sizes of polystyrene ...
Thyroid cancer is the most frequently diagnosed endocrine cancer and causes more deaths than all other endocrine cancers combined. Research findings support the concept that a subpopulation of thyroid cancer cells displays properties characteristic of stem cells. These putative cancer-forming entities drive tumorigenesis as a result of their dual ability to undergo self-renewal and to differentiate into various types of cancer cells; they also mediate metastasis and are resistant to the effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. This Review discusses the cellular origin of thyroid cancer and the properties of the thyroid cancer stem cell niche. The article critically evaluates the methods used to identify molecular markers expressed by thyroid-cancer-initiating cells and outlines prosp...
The design of solid breeder blankets is strongly affected by the low values of thermal conductivity and density of ceramic breeder pebble beds. A significant rise of both quantities would enhance the thermal performance and lead to an increased tritium breeding ratio. In order to improve these quantities pretreated lithium orthosilicate pebble material was dry pressed and subsequently sintered. The thermal conductivity of cylindrical pellets was determined by the heat pulse method using a laser flash device. A pebble bed characteristic sample was also investigated in order to check the measurement accuracy in comparison with previous results. Furthermore, two samples of low density cellular ceramics were also prepared by infiltration of polymer foams with a ceramic slurry. The thermal cond...
The type III secretion system among Gram-negative bacteria is known to deliver effectors into host cell to interfere with host cellular processes. The type III secretion system in Yersina, Pseudomonas and Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli have been well documented to be involved in the bacterial pathogenicity. The existence of type III secretion system has been demonstrated in neuropathogenic E. coli K1 strains. Here, it is observed that the deletion mutant of type III secretion system in E. coli strain EC10 exhibited defects in the invasion and intracellular survival in Acanthamoeba castellanii (a keratitis isolate) compared to its parent strain. Next, it was determined whether type III secretion system plays a role in E. coli K1 survival inside Acanthamoeba during the encystment process...
For the safety of astronauts and to ensure the stability and integrity of the genome of microorganisms and plants used in bioregenerative life support systems, it is important to improve our knowledge of the combined action of (space) radiation and microgravity. The SOS-LUX-TOXICITY test, as part of the TRIPLE-LUX project (accepted for flight at Biolab in Columbus on the International Space Station, (ISS)), will provide an estimation of the health risk resulting from exposure of astronauts to the radiation environment of space in microgravity. The project will: (i) increase our knowledge of biological/health threatening action of space radiation and enzymatic DNA repair; (ii) uncover cellular mechanisms of synergistic interaction of microgravity and space radiation; (iii) provide specified...
The age hardening behavior of Al-4.5%Cu alloy composite reinforced with zircon sand particulates and produced by stir casting route has been investigated in different quenching media viz, water, oil, and salt brine solution (7wt%). Optical microscopy of the as cast alloy composite indicates that the matrix of the composite has the cellular structure. Copper rich CuAl2 precipitates have been found near particle matrix interface. The results of ageing demonstrate that the microhardness of age hardenable Al-Cu based alloy composites depend on the quenching medium in which they are heat treated. Salt brine quenching is faster as compared to water and oil, even if higher strength is obtained but cannot be used for complex shapes and thin sections where oil quenching is the alternative due to mi...
Cu(II)-ATSM continues to be investigated, both in the laboratory and in the clinic, as a tumor hypoxia imaging agent. However, meaningful interpretation of these images requires a more complete understanding of the mechanism by which the tracer is trapped within the cell. Cu(II)-ATSM is a simple molecule and its biochemical interaction with cells is similarly simple, mainly based upon redox chemistry. Here we suggest that the trapping mechanism is biphasic. The first phase is a reduction/oxidation cycle involving thiols and molecular oxygen. This can be followed by interaction with proteins in the mitochondria leading to more permanent retention of the tracer. The uptake mechanism is complicated by this second step because of the changes in the cell resulting from hypoxia, such as an incre...
Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) content is increased in many types of tumor cells. We have investigated the mechanism by which resveratrol, a stilbene that is pro-apoptotic in many tumor cell lines, causes apoptosis in human head and neck squamous cell carcinoma UMSCC-22B cells by a mechanism involving cellular COX-2. UMSCC-22B cells treated with resveratrol for 24 h, with or without selected inhibitors, were examined: (1) for the presence of nuclear activated ERK1/2, p53 and COX-2, (2) for evidence of apoptosis, and (3) by chromatin immunoprecipitation to demonstrate p53 binding to the p21 promoter. Stilbene-induced apoptosis was concentration-dependent, and associated with ERK1/2 activation, serine-15 p53 phosphorylation and nuclear accumulation of these proteins. These effects were blocked by ...
Abstract The treatment of advanced colorectal cancer with 5-fluorouracil has two major problems: development of tumor resistance and toxicity toward normal tissues. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible advantages of combining 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) with resveratrol (trans-3, 4prime, 5-trihydroxystilbene) for treating HT-29 and SW-620 colorectal carcinoma cell lines. Since combined treatment using 5-FU with resveratrol resulted in a significant decrease in long-term cell survival, we investigated the possible basis of this synergistic interaction at a molecular level, focusing on oxidative stress as a possible mediator of cell death. Resveratrol established interactions with the mitochondria of cancer cells and induced an imbalance in cellular antioxidant activities, leading...
Aberrant amyloid-b peptide (Ab) accumulation along with altered expression and function of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) stand prominently in the etiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Since the discovery that Ab is bound to a7 nAChRs under many experimental settings, including post-mortem AD brain, much effort has been expended to understand the implications of this interaction in the disease milieu. This research update will review the current literature on the a7 nAChR-Ab interaction in vitro and in vivo, the functional consequences of this interaction from sub-cellular to cognitive levels, and discuss the implications these relationships might have for AD therapies.
The point at which the common final pathway for induction of cancer by chemical carcinogens and ionizing radiation has not been identified. Although common molecular targets are suggested by recent findings about the role of oncogenes, the mechanism by which the deposition of radiation energy and the formation of adducts or other DNA lesions induced by chemicals affects the changes in the relevant targets may be quite different. The damage to DNA that plays no part in the transformation events, but that influences the stability of the genome, and therefore, the probability of subsequent changes that influence tumorigenesis may be more readily induced by some agents than others. Similarly, the degree of cytotoxic effects that disrupt tissue integrity and increase the probability of expression of initiated cells may be dependent on the type of carcinogen. Also, evidence was presented that repair of the initial lesions could be demonstrated after exposure to low-LET radiation but not ...
Whilst unwashed preparations of biomass from a local brewery had an apparent maximum biosorption capacity for uranium of 360 mg/g (dry weight biomass) washing reduced this maximum to 150 mg/g. Homogenization of both biomass preparations and recovery of cellular debris had no significant effect on the maximum biosorption capacities although at lower equilibrium concentrations of uranium differences in the biosorption capacities were detected. When unwashed biomass was retained by a semi-permeable membrane 40% of uranium used in the experiments precipitated outside that membrane. Therefore a significant proportion of the uranium removed from solution, and previously attributed to biosorption by the yeast biomass, resulted from precipitation brought about by interaction with low molecular weight components loosely associated with the biomass. (Author).
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...
The authors summarize the significant dose-related effects on brain development which have emerged largely within the last six years of study of prenatally exposed A-bomb survivors. The results are described primarily in terms of the DS86 estimates and differences between these and the older T65DR dose estimates are discussed. The severe mental retardation sample was based on 1598 individuals taken from the PE-86 sample, and the intelligence test scores considered from the same sample involved 1673 children. The authors also discuss some of the recent neurobiological developments that appear relevant to an understanding of the biological bases of dose-related events observed, and suggest future research that may contribute either to further delineation of exposure consequences or to the explanation of the cellular and molecular origins of observed effects. (UK).
The biological effects of ionizing radiation exposure are the result of a complex sequence of physical, chemical, biochemical, and physiological interactions. One way to begin a search for an understanding of health effects of radiation is through the development of phenomenological models of the response. Many models have been presented and tested in the slowly evolving process of characterizing cellular response. A range of models covering different endpoints and phenomena has developed in parallel. Many of these models employ similar assumptions about some underlying processes while differing about the nature of others. An attempt is made to organize many of the models into groups with similar features and to compare the consequences of those features with the actual experimental observations. It is assumed that by showing that some assumptions are inconsistent with experimental observations, the job of devising and testing mechanistic models can be simplified. ...
Experiments were designed to elucidate whether or not the irradiated bone marrow cells receive any stimulation for the self-replication and differentiation from normal 'stromal' cell colonies in the bone marrow cell culture in vitro. When irradiated or unirradiated bone marrow cells were overlaid on the normal adherent cell colonies, the proliferation of haemopoietic stem cells was supported, the degree of the stimulation depending on the starting cellular concentration. There was, however, no significant changes in the concentration of either CFUs or CFUc regardless of the dose of irradiation on the bone marrow cells overlaid. This was a great contrast to the dose-dependent decrease of CFUs or CFUc within the culture in which both the stem cells and stromal cells were simultaneously irradiated. These results suggest that the balance of self-replication and differentiation of the haemopoietic stem cells is affected only when haemopoietic ...
Electric Fuel Ltd. is engaged in the design, development and commercialization of its proprietary zinc/air battery technology for electric vehicles, consumer electronic products and defence applications. To meet the challenging requirements for propelling an all-electric bus, the Vehicle Division sought a unique solution: an all electric battery-battery hybrid propulsion system. The high energy zinc/air battery is coupled with a high-power auxiliary battery. The combined system offers zero emission, high power and long range in an economically viable package. The consumer battery group has developed a high power primary zinc/air cell aimed at cellular phone users, offering extended use, convenience and low cost. (orig.)
Integrated femtocell/macrocell networks, comprising a conventional cellular network overlaid with femtocells, offer an economically appealing way to improve coverage, quality of service, and access network capacity. The key element to successful femtocells/macrocell integration lies in its self-organizing capability. Provisioning of quality of service is the main technical challenge of the femtocell/macrocell integrated networks, while the main administrative challenge is the choice of the proper evolutionary path from the existing macrocellular networks to the integrated network. In this article, we introduce three integrated network architectures which, while increasing the access capacity, they also reduce the deployment and operational costs. Then, we discuss a number of technical issues, which are key to making such integration a reality, and we offer possible approaches to their solution. These issues include efficient frequency and interference management, ...
Lebers hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON), the most frequent mitochondrial disorder, is mostly due to three mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations in respiratory chain complex I subunit genes: 3460/ND1, 11778/ND4 and 14484/ND6. Despite considerable clinical evidences, a genetic modifying role of the mtDNA haplogroup background in the clinical expression of LHON remains experimentally unproven. We investigated the effect of mtDNA haplogroups on the assembly of oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) complexes in transmitochondrial hybrids (cybrids) harboring the three common LHON mutations. The steady-state levels of respiratory chain complexes appeared normal in mutant cybrids. However, an accumulation of low molecular weight subcomplexes suggested a complex I assembly/stability defect, which was ...
AISI 316L stainless steel was welded by the electron beam (EB) and laser techniques. Microstructural characteristics, hardness profile, creep rupture properties and creep damage of the welds were investigated. Fully austenitic microstructure was obtained in the two welds. The solidification structure of the welds consisted of the cellular and equiaxed dendrites. The creep rupture lives of the two welds were almost the same, and they were reduced by a factor of about two compared to the base metal. Moreover, the rupture elongation of the welds was lower than that of the base metal. Creep damage was observed in the ``parting`` region of the welds and in the heat-affected zone (HAZ), respectively. Final creep fracture occurred in the ``parting`` region of the welds. (orig.).
AISI 316L stainless steel was welded by the electron beam (EB) and laser techniques. Microstructural characteristics, hardness profile, creep rupture properties and creep damage of the welds were investigated. Fully austenitic microstructure was obtained in the two welds. The solidification structure of the welds consisted of the cellular and equiaxed dendrites. The creep rupture lives of the two welds were almost the same, and they were reduced by a factor of about two compared to the base metal. Moreover, the rupture elongation of the welds was lower than that of the base metal. Creep damage was observed in the ''parting'' region of the welds and in the heat-affected zone (HAZ), respectively. Final creep fracture occurred in the ''parting'' region of the welds. (orig.).
Abstract Metastases to the thyroid gland diagnosed by means of fine needle cytology or by excision have been reported in the literature. To our knowledge, metastatic neoplasms to the parathyroid gland have never been described up to now. In this article, we introduce a rare case of metastatic breast carcinoma to a parathyroid adenoma in a 56-year-old woman, which clinically simulated a left thyroid nodule. The patient had a history of left breast carcinoma; the recent discovery of a palpable mass in the left thyroid area had elicited fine needle cytology sampling for its diagnostic evaluation. The obtained cytopathological sample was cellular but limited to a single Diff-Quik-stained smear; hence, no ancillary studies could be entertained. A cytopathological diagnosis of positive for malig...
Nitric oxide (NO) and related molecules such as peroxynitrite, S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO), and nitrotyrosine, among others, are involved in physiological processes as well in the mechanisms of response to stress conditions. In sunflower seedlings exposed to five different adverse environmental conditions (low temperature, mechanical wounding, high light intensity, continuous light, and continuous darkness), key components of the metabolism of reactive nitrogen species (RNS) and reactive oxygen species (ROS), including the enzyme activities L-arginine-dependent nitric oxide synthase (NOS), S-nitrosogluthathione reductase (GSNOR), nitrate reductase (NR), catalase, and superoxide dismutase, the content of lipid hydroperoxide, hydrogen peroxide, S-nitrosothiols (SNOs), the cellular level of N...
Summary Cell senescence is a permanent growth arrest following extended proliferation. Cultured cancer cells including metastatic melanoma cells often appear immortal (proliferate indefinitely), while uncultured benign nevi (moles) show senescence markers. Here, with new explantation methods, we investigated which classes of primary pigmented lesions are typically immortal. Nevi yielded a few proliferating cells, consistent with most nevus cells being senescent. No nevus culture (0/28) appeared immortal. Some thin and thick melanoma cultures proved immortal under these conditions, but surprisingly few (4/37). All arrested cultures displayed three senescence markers in some cells: -galactosidase, nuclear p16, and heterochromatic foci/aggregates. However, melanoma cultures also showed featur...
Strut lattice structures of reaction-bonded silicon infiltrated silicon carbide ceramics (RB-SiSiC) for air-fuel mixture formation and for nonstationary lean-burn under pressure applications were fabricated. The lattice design with a high porosity >80% was shaped by indirect three-dimensional printing. It was shown that pre-ignition processes in the porous reactor are much faster than in a free combustion, especially at lower temperatures. Interaction of high velocity diesel jets with cylindrical strut ligaments of the SiSiC lattice structure offers a new possibility for quick and efficient fuel distribution (multi-jet splitting) in space.
Iron, zinc, copper and manganese are essential metals for cellular enzyme functions while cadmium, mercury and the metalloid arsenic lack any biological function. Both, essential metals, at high concentrations, and non-essential metals and metalloids are extremely reactive and toxic. Therefore, plants have acquired specialized mechanisms to sense, transport and maintain essential metals within physiological concentrations and to detoxify non-essential metals and metalloids. This review focuses on the recent identification of transporters that sequester cadmium and arsenic in vacuoles and the mechanisms mediating the partitioning of these metal(loid)s between roots and shoots. We further discuss recent models of phloem-mediated long-distance transport, seed accumulation of Cd and As and rec...
The known biological functions of RNA have expanded in recent years and now include gene regulation, maintenance of sub-cellular structure, and catalysis, in addition to propagation of genetic information. As for proteins, RNA function is tightly correlated with structure. Unlike proteins, structural information for larger, biologically functional RNAs is relatively limited. NMR signal degeneracy, relaxation problems, and a paucity of long-range {sup 1}H-{sup 1}H dipolar contacts have limited the utility of traditional NMR approaches. Selective isotope labeling, including nucleotide-specific and segmental labeling strategies, may provide the best opportunities for obtaining structural information by NMR. Here we review methods that have been developed for preparing and purifying isotopically labeled RNAs, as well as NMR strategies that have been employed for signal assignment and structure determination.
Abstract The heterotetrameric K++-channel KCNQ1/KCNE1 is expressed in heart, skeletal muscle, liver and several epithelia including the renal proximal tubule. In the heart, it contributes to the repolarization of cardiomyocytes. The repolarization is impaired in ischemia. Ischemia stimulates the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), a serine/threonine kinase, sensing energy depletion and stimulating several cellular mechanisms to enhance energy production and to limit energy utilization. AMPK has previously been shown to downregulate the epithelial Na++ channel ENaC, an effect mediated by the ubiquitin ligase Nedd4-2. The present study explored whether AMPK regulates KCNQ1/KCNE1. To this end, cRNA encoding KCNQ1/KCNE1 was injected into Xenopus oocytes with and without additional injection o...
Health risks associated with inhalation of mineral dusts have been identified to a great extent through epidemiology studies, but also have been assessed by conducting subchronic and chronic inhalation studies typically on rodents. However, in vivo studies are softly, time-consuming, requiring complex technologies, and may not yield information on cellular and molecular mechanisms of response. As a result, the use of in vitro cell culture systems has played an important role in studying the toxicology of mineral dusts and providing insight into action mechanisms. This article reviews selected in vitro approaches that are used to investigate the cytotoxic and inflammatory properties of mineral particles and fibers. In addition key findings as they relate to understanding the toxicology of mineral dusts are presented. 165 refs., 1 fig., 5 tab.
Abstract Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) may be used for therapeutic applications. Culture conditions such as the serum source may impact on cell quality and the onset of replicative senescence. We have examined the effect of culturing hMSCs in autologous serum (AS) versus fetal bovine serum (FBS) on factors involved in in vitro replicative senescence. hMSCs from four donors were cultured in 10% FBS or 10% AS until they reached senescence. Cells were harvested at early passage and near senescence to study factors known to be involved in cellular senescence. The number of population doublings till senescence was similar for cells cultured in FBS, but varied greatly for hMSCs cultured in AS. FBS cells accumulated in S phase of cell cycle. This could not be explained by increased express...
Mutations in sclerostin function or expression cause sclerosing bone dysplasias, involving decreased antagonism of Wnt/Lrp5 signaling. Conversely, deletion of the VHL tumor suppressor in osteoblasts, which stabilize HIF-a isoforms and thereby enables HIF-a/b-driven gene transcription, increases bone mineral content and cross-sectional area compared to wild-type controls. We examined the influence of cellular hypoxia (1% oxygen) upon sclerostin expression and canonical Wnt signaling. Osteoblasts and osteocytes cultured under hypoxia revealed decreased sclerostin transcript and protein, and increased expression and nuclear localization of activated b-catenin. Similarly, both hypoxia and the hypoxia mimetic DFO increased b-catenin gene reporter activity. Hypoxia and its mimetics increased exp...
The main objectives of research in the field of health effects at the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre SCK-CEN are: (1) to study cancer mortality and morbidity in nuclear workers in Belgium; (2) to document the feasibility of retrospective cohort studies in Belgium; (3) to participate in the IARC study; (4) to elucidate the mechanisms of the effects of ionizing radiation on the mammalian embryo during the early phases of its development; (5) to assess the genetic risks of material exposure to ionizing radiation; (6) to elucidate the cellular mechanisms leading to brain damage after prenatal irradiation; (7) to advise authorities and to provide the general population with adequate information concerning the health risk arising from radiation exposure. Progress and major achievements in these topical areas for 1997 are reported.
By using the continuation theorem of coincidence degree theory and constructing suitable Lyapunov functions, we study the existence and stability of periodic solution for shunting inhibitory cellular neural networks (SICNNs) with delays x-bar {sub ij}(t)=-a{sub ij}(t)x{sub ij}(t)--bar B{sup kl}-bar Nr(i,j)B{sub ij}{sup kl}(t)f{sub ij}(x{sub kl}(t))x{sub ij}(t)--bar C{sup kl}-bar Nr(i,j)C{sub ij}{sup kl}(t)g{sub ij}(x{sub kl}(t-{tau}{sub kl}))x{sub ij}(t)+L{sub ij}(t)
By using the continuation theorem of coincidence degree theory and constructing suitable Lyapunov functions, we study the existence and stability of periodic solution for shunting inhibitory cellular neural networks (SICNNs) with delays x-bar _i_j(t)=-a_i_j(t)x_i_j(t)--bar B"k"l-bar Nr(i,j)B_i_j"k"l(t)f_i_j(x_k_l(t))x_i_j(t)--bar C"k"l-bar Nr(i,j)C_i_j"k"l(t)g_i_j(x_k_l(t-#tau#_k_l))x_i_j(t)+L_i_j(t).
Certain fluorocarbons, such as difluorodichloromethane (FC 12), depress the cardiovascular system by diminution of all the transmembrane ionic conductances in cardiac tissues. Does FC 12 also inhibit active transport and thus enzymatic activity and cellular energy. We measured phosphocreatine (PC), adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and cyclic adenosine monophosphate (AMPc) in rat hearts. Rats were randomly divided into 4 groups; 2 control groups: one breathing a mixture of oxygen (21%) and nitrogen (79%) (group C) and the other breathing the same mixture but simultaneously perfused with 1 microgram/kg/min. epinephrine (groupe E-C); 2 trial groups T and E-T where nitrogen was replaced by FC 12. The maximal FC 12 concentration of 720 micrograms/ml in arterial blood produced no significant difference in the concentrations of these three metabolites compared with controls.
Basal stem rot of oil palm (OP) by Ganoderma boninense is of major economic concern and it is the predominant disease of OP in SE Asia. Also, other plantation crops are affected by Ganoderma. The early detection of symptoms is crucial for control, although effective methods remain elusive. Ergosterol is the principal sterol of fungi and plays an essential role in the cell membrane and other cellular constituents. The analysis of ergosterol is useful for fungal detection in solid plant substrates. The present report compares ergosterol concentration in sound and decayed OP seedlings and mature plants using HPLC with diode array detection. The disease of OP requires to be considered as a white rot process where fungal biomass will increase from a low to high level as the infection progresses...
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE In spite of its widespread clinical application, there is little information on the cellular cardiac effects of the antidiabetic drug rosiglitazone in larger experimental animals. In the present study therefore concentration-dependent effects of rosiglitazone on action potential morphology and the underlying ion currents were studied in dog hearts. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH Standard microelectrode techniques, conventional whole cell patch clamp and action potential voltage clamp techniques were applied in enzymatically dispersed ventricular cells from dog hearts. KEY RESULTS At concentrations -10-M rosiglitazone decreased the amplitude of phase-1 repolarization, reduced the maximum velocity of depolarization and caused depression of the plateau potential. These effects d...
Ozone has in recent years been increasingly investigated for its potential use in the control of insect pests of stored cereals. Ozone is a powerful oxidizing agent that can react directly, or via production of reactive oxygen species, with proteins, DNA and double bonds of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). The aim of the present study was to investigate the mode of action in ozone toxicity using the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum (Herbst), as a relevant model. Transcription of focal genes thought to be involved in protection against ozone, and repair of cellular damage caused by ozone exposure, was studied together with the composition of storage lipid fatty acids and membrane phospholipid fatty acids in order to detect lipid peroxidation. Contrary to expectations, transcription ...
The effects of dietary plant and yeast cerebroside (glucosylceramide), a major sphingolipid in plants and yeast, on atopic dermatitis (AD) like symptoms were investigated in a mouse model. After 7 wk of feeding with a diet containing maize glucosylceramide, plasma IgE levels became significantly lower and in contrast, the levels of interleukin (IL)-12, which induces cellular immunity, became significantly higher in the AD mice than in the controls. However, the sphingolipid constituents of the skin fraction in the maize glucosylceramide fed group did not contain sphingoid bases of plant origin, such as 8-unsaturated sphingoid bases. The results of the present study indicated that dietary plant glucosylceramide prevented AD-like symptoms in AD model mice via regulation of Th1/Th2 balance. P...
According to empirical observations, some pattern formation phenomena in driven many-particle systems are more pronounced in the presence of a certain noise level. We investigate this phenomenon of fluctuation-driven ordering with a cellular automaton model of interactive motion in space and find an optimal noise strength, while order breaks down at high(er) fluctuation levels. Additionally, we discuss the phenomenon of noise- and drift-induced self-organization in systems that would show disorder in the absence of fluctuations. In the future, related studies may have applications to the control of many-particle systems such as the efficient separation of particles. The rather general formulation of our model in the spirit of game theory may allow to shed some light on several different kinds of noise-induced ordering phenomena observed in physical, chemical, biological, and socio-economic systems (e.g., attractive and repulsive agglomeration, or segregation).
We determined the chromosomal localization and structure of the gene encoding human type II inosine 5{prime}-monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH, EC 1.1.1.205), an enzyme associated with cellular proliferation, malignant transformation, and differentiation. Using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers specific for type II IMPDH, we screened a panel of human-Chinese hamster cell somatic hybrids and a separate deletion panel of chromosome 3 hybrids and localized the gene to 3p21.1{yields}p24.2. Two overlapping yeast artificial chromosome clones containing the full gene for type II IMPDH were isolated and a physical map of 117 kb of human genomic DNA in this region of chromosome 3 was constructed. The gene for type II IMPDH was localized and oriented on this map and found to span no more than 12.5 kb.
Data are presented to support the hypothesis that the initial step in the morphologic transformation of irradiated rodent (BALB/3T3) cells is a frequent cellular event involving a large fraction of the irradiated population. This process appears to involve DNA damage, but not to represent a targeted mutation in specific structural gene(s). Morphologic transformation and immortalization appear to be distinct steps in the overall process of transformation. In contradistinction to rodent cells, immortalization is a very rare event in human diploid cells which is induced at extremely low frequencies. The hypothesis is presented that immortality develops among clones of cells bearing stable chromosomal rearrangements which emerge during the proliferation of a population of radiation damaged cells.
Many aspects of cellular motility and mechanics are cyclic in nature such as the extension and retraction of lamellipodia or filopodia. Inherent to the cycles of extension and retraction that test the environment is the production of mechano-chemical signals that can alter long-term cell behavior, transcription patterns, and cell fate. We are just starting to define such cycles in several aspects of cell motility, including periodic contractions, integrin cycles of binding and release as well as the normal oscillations in motile activity. Cycles of local cell contraction and release are directly coupled to cycles of stressing and releasing extracellular contacts (matrix or cells) as well as cytoplasmic mechanotransducers. Stretching can alter external physical properties or sites exposed b...
Abstract This study reports the effects of varying concentrations of copper sulfate on the metabolic and gene transcriptional profile of a recombinant Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell line producing an immunoglobulin G (IgG)-fusion protein (B0). Addition of 50 M copper sulfate significantly decreased lactate accumulation in the cultures while increasing viable cell density and protein titer. These changes could be seen from day 6 and became increasingly evident with culture duration. Reducing the copper sulfate concentration to 5 M retained all the above beneficial effects, but with the added benefit of reduced levels of the aggregated form of the B0 protein. To profile the cellular changes due to copper sulfate addition at the transcriptional level, Affymetrix CHO microarrays were used to...
Circadian rhythms affect several processes in the body physiology. This commentary revisits the topic of `metabolic basis of diseases' with a view to shed light on how cellular energy requirements feed-forward to a sequential signaling of hormonal response, blood glucose metabolism, antioxidant activities, and pathophysiology. Attempt is made to explain how diseases that may not appear to be closely related, such as bone metabolism and vasculopathy, have an increase in oxidative damage as a common underlying biochemistry. Importantly, this article identifies oxidative damage as an outcome of sleep disturbance and hypothesize that sleep complaint is not merely one of many resulting symptoms of PTSD, but a core feature that arise from trauma and gives rise to the stress biochemistry, which i...
Several challenges currently exist for rational design of functional tissue engineering constructs within the host, which include appropriate cellular integration, avoidance of bacterial infections, and low inflammatory stimulation. This work describes a novel class of biodegradable, amphiphilic polyanhydrides with many desirable protein-material and cell-material attributes capable of confronting these challenges. The biocompatible amphiphilic polymer films were shown to release laminin in a stable and controlled manner, promote neural cell adhesion and differentiation, and evade inflammatory responses of the immune system. Using high-throughput approaches, it was shown that polymer chemistry plays an integral role in controlling cell?film interactions, which suggests that these polyanhyd...
Ionizing radiations that differ in number, size, and distribution of energy deposition events might be expected to cause different effects for the same absorbed dose. Furthermore, microdosimetry calculations suggest that large variations in biological effectiveness might be expected for internally deposited alpha-emitting radionuclides for the same absorbed dose, depending upon the specific activity and spatial distribution of the sources in tissue. The study described in this article was designed to demonstrate these phenomena in vitro. Cultured Chinese hamster ovary (CHO-K1 BH4) cells were exposed in vitro to inert, insoluble ceramic microspheres in zirconium dioxide labeled with "2"3"9Pu. The average exit energy of the 5.15 MeV alpha particle was calculated to be 4.3 MeV. Exposure times varied from four to seven hours to achieve the desired dose level.
Synchronized cultures of the green alga Scenedesmus quadricauda were grown in the absence (untreated cultures) or in the presence (FdUrd-treated cultures) of 5-fluorodeoxyuridine, the specific inhibitor of nuclear DNA replication. The attainment of commitment points, at which the cells become committed to nuclear DNA replication, mitosis and cellular division, and the course of committed processes themselves were determined for cell cycle characterization. FdUrd-treated cultures showed nearly unaffected growth and attainment of the commitment points, while DNA replication(s), nuclear division(s) and protoplast fission(s) were blocked. Interestingly, the FdUrd-treated cells possessed a very high mitotic histone H1 kinase activity in the absence of any nuclear division(s). Compared with the ...
It is shown that it is necessary to take into account locality of the analysis and to introduce additional corrections for partial capture of matrix and fluorescent subexcitation by matrix during quantitative X-ray spectral microanalysis of finely dispersed materials. Cast two-phase (#alpha#+#beta#) titanium alloy VT3-1 is chosen as an investigation object.
Efficient and economical utilization of wind power will require the ability to measure and ultimately predict the effects fluctuations in the incident wind will have on a wind turbine. In order to quantitatively assesss these effects, experimental techniques have been developed which allow analysis of full-scale performance of wind turbines with particular emphasis on the effects caused by turbulence in the incident wind. Examples of these techniques are presented using data from the DOE/Sandia Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) program.
I discuss several examples of critical phenomena in O(N) models where topological excitations play an important role at criticality. I focus particular attention on the O(2) model in 3D, where recent measurements of the vortex string length distribution in equilibrium suggest the existence of a quantitative picture of the critical behavior in terms of defects. The compatibility of this perspective with renormalization group predictions is examined.
A chemical equilibrium model is used, implemented in a compact FORTRAN package called HITEQ, to investigate possible mineral deposition related to prereinjection treatment of Cerro Prieto brines for silica removal. Large saturation ratios of the treated brines with respect to several minerals are indicated by these computations. As a remedy, an inexpensive CO/sub 2/ removal scheme aimed at inhibiting carbonate mineral precipitation is proposed. This scheme is quantitatively discussed with the aid of HITEQ. It is concluded that the proposed treatment is both technically and economically feasible.
... Risk (Adverse) for Endangered Species: Risk to aquatic species if anticipated pesticide residue levels equal one-fifth of LD10 or one-tenth of LC50; risk to ...terrestrial species if anticipated pesticide residue levels equal one-fifth of LC10 or one-tenth of LC50. Risk Assessment: Qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the ... Risk for Non-Endangered Species: Risk to species if anticipated pesticide residue levels are equal to or greater than LC50. Risk Management: The process ...
Spectrophotometric method, using a ratio-recording ultraviolet-absorption spectrophotometer, permits analysis of NaMBT in ethylene glycol-water solutions with high accuracy. It reduces analysis time, requires smaller samples, and is able to detect extremely small concentrations of mercaptobenzothiazole.
Geostatistical techniques make it possible to qualitatively and quantitatively analyze spatiotemporal inherent characteristics of environmental radiation or radioactivity. Spatial patterns and trend analysis of environmental radioactivity, e.g., {sup 137}Cs and {sup 40}K, in soil around nuclear facilities (Kori, Wolsung, Yeonggwang, Uljin, and Daejeon) will be investigated and discussed.
We discuss the Sundman-Weierstrass theorem of total collapse in its historical context. This remarkable and relatively simple result, a type of stability criterion, is at the crossroads of some interesting developments in the gravitation Newtonian N-body problem. We use it as motivation to explore the connections to such important concepts as integrability, singularities and tyipicality in order to gain some insight on the transition from a predominantly quantitative to a novel qualitative approach to dynamical problems that took place at the end of the 19th century.
BackgroundHIV infection causes a qualitative and quantitative loss of CD4+ T cell immunity. The institution of anti-retroviral therapy (ART) restores CD4+ T...Full Text Available
To make a quantitative comparison of risks between the SNR 300 and a modern PWR (Biblis B), the consequences of an accident or the extent of damage of a release of radionuclides to the environment due to an accident are estimated by computer programs for accident consequence models. The accident analysis includes an analysis of events for Bethe-Tait accidents with failure of the outer containment. The FGSB release rates are compared with those of the Society for Reactor Safety (GRS). (HP).
An assay method is described for measurement of absolute concentrations of the molybdenum cofactor, based on complementation of the defective nitrate reductase ('apo nitrate reductase') in extracts...Full Text Available
The method of spectral disentangling has now created the opportunity for studying the chemical composition in previously inaccessible components of binary and multiple stars. This in turn makes it possible to trace their chemical evolution, a vital aspect in understanding the evolution of stellar systems. We review different ways to reconstruct individual spectra from eclipsing and non-eclipsing systems, and then concentrate on some recent applications to detached binaries with high-mass and intermediate-mass stars, and Algol-type mass-transfer systems.
The authors have localized and characterized 2-125I-iodomelatonin binding sites in the chicken brain using in vitro quantitative autoradiography. Binding sites were widely distributed throughout the chicken brain, predominantly in regions associated with the visual system. The specific binding of 2-125I-iodomelatonin to discrete chicken brain areas was found to be saturable, reversible, and of high affinity. The specific binding of 2-125I-iodomelatonin (75 pm) was quantitated for 40 identifiable brain regions. Eight brain regions were chosen for binding characterization and pharmacological analysis: optic tectum, Edinger-Westphal nucleus, oculomotor nucleus, nucleus rotundus, ventral supraoptic decussation, ventrolateral geniculate nucleus, neostriatum, and ectostriatum. These regions showed no rostral-caudal gradient in 2-125I-iodomelatonin specific binding, and saturation analysis revealed a single class of high-affinity sites with KD values ...
Quantitative digital imaging, using planar laser light scattering techniques is being developed for the analysis of turbulent and reacting flows. Quantitative image data, implying both a direct relation to flowfield variables as well as sufficient signal and spatial dynamic range, can be readily processed to yield two-dimensional distributions of flowfield scalars and in turn two-dimensional images of gradients and turbulence scales. Much of the development of imaging techniques to date has concentrated on understanding the requisite molecular spectroscopy and collision dynamics to be able to determine how flowfield variable information is encoded into the measured signal. From this standpoint the image is seen as a collection of single point measurements. The present effort aims at realizing necessary improvements in signal and spatial dynamic range, signal-to-noise ratio and spatial resolution in the imaging system as well as developing ...
A model-based method has been previously developed to estimate and compensate for the crosstalk and downscatter contamination in simultaneous 123I∕99mTc dual-isotope SPECT...Full Text Available
An e.p.r. spectrum of the reduced form of the electron-transport component (X), thought to be the primary electron acceptor of Photosystem I, was obtained. By using line-shape simulations of this component...Full Text Available
Qualitative technetium Tc 99m bone scintigraphy using phosphate compounds and gallium 67 scintigraphy were described as a helpful means in diagnosing necrotizing external otitis (NEO). They were, however, claimed to be nonspecific. Quantitative Tc 99m methylene diphosphonate bone scintigraphy and gallium 67 scintigraphy were performed in eight patients with NEO and in 20 patients with severe external otitis, in order to prove usefulness of scintigraphy in the diagnosis of NEO. Ratios of lesion to nonlesion for bone scintigraphy were 1.67 {plus minus} 0.16 in patients with NEO and 1.08 {plus minus} 0.09 in patients with severe external otitis, and for gallium 67 scintigraphy they were 1.35 {plus minus} 0.24 in NEO patients and 1.05 {plus minus} 0.03 in patients with severe external otitis. There was no difference in uptake between diabetic patients with severe external otitis and nondiabetic patients. The scintigraphic studies were also evaluated using a qualitative ...
Qualitative technetium Tc 99m bone scintigraphy using phosphate compounds and gallium 67 scintigraphy were described as a helpful means in diagnosing necrotizing external otitis (NEO). They were, however, claimed to be nonspecific. Quantitative Tc 99m methylene diphosphonate bone scintigraphy and gallium 67 scintigraphy were performed in eight patients with NEO and in 20 patients with severe external otitis, in order to prove usefulness of scintigraphy in the diagnosis of NEO. Ratios of lesion to nonlesion for bone scintigraphy were 1.67 #+-# 0.16 in patients with NEO and 1.08 #+-# 0.09 in patients with severe external otitis, and for gallium 67 scintigraphy they were 1.35 #+-# 0.24 in NEO patients and 1.05 #+-# 0.03 in patients with severe external otitis. There was no difference in uptake between diabetic patients with severe external otitis and nondiabetic patients. The scintigraphic studies were also evaluated using a qualitative scoring method (scores 0 to ...
Grain yield is a major goal for the improvement of durum wheat, particularly in drought-prone areas. In this study, the genetic basis of grain yield (GY), heading date (HD), and plant height (PH) was...Full Text Available
This paper advances hypotheses on the chemistry of the interaction of thorium and yttrium with organic-inorganic salts of molybdenum polyacids. On the basis of an analysis of the data of an adsorption experiment and the quantitative relationships that follow from the law of mass action, it is shown that thorium is absorbed by the solid phase by coprecipitation with the participation of complex formation, while the coprecipitation of yttrium with salts of polyacids is due to a reaction of ion exchange chemisorption.
Proteins with a high propensity to aggregate can be largely prevented from doing so with surprisingly small changes to their primary structure. By using a combination of rational design and quantitative measurements of aggregation rates, we show that adding a single charge in specific "gatekeeper" regions is sufficient to change the timescale for amyloid fibril growth from minutes to weeks, thereby dramatically reducing the efficiency of this process.
A phenomenological model is presented for prediction of the combustion characteristics of a quiescent chamber diesel engine. Predictions with the model have shown acceptable agreement with a range of experimental data. The major physical processes controlling combustion have been characterized, and the dominant role of air entrainment and turbulent mixing confirmed quantitatively. 45 refs.
The irradiation of air produces some toxic gases such as ozone, nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen trioxide, nitrogen tetroxide, nitric anhydride and nitrous oxide. Of these gases, ozone is the most important because of its toxicity and may be produced in such quantities as to constitute a health hazard within the irradiation room. The toxicity, and explosive characteristics of ozone and quantitative aspects of ozone production are discussed and ventilation requirements considered. (U.K.).
We compute the potential for localized closed string tachyons in bosonic string theory on the orbifold C/Z{sub 4} using level-truncated closed string field theory. The critical points of the potential exhibit features which agree with their conjectured identification as lower-order orbifolds. However this case also raises some questions regarding the quantitative predictions associated with these conjectures. (author)
The authors study the nonuniformity of a-Si:H films obtained by the method of vacuum condensation, with the help of x-ray small-angle scattering (SLS) and transmission electron microscopy. Films of hydrogenated amorphous silicon are greatest interest, because the electronic properties of this material can be controlled by doping. As a result of the compensation of the ruptured bonds, and possibly, effects of melting, the properties of such films are analogous to those of singlecrystalline silicon. XLS enables a quantitative determination of the prameters of the regions of low electron density (RLD) in such objects.
The method and results of the quantitative gas chromatographic determination of volatile organic substances in an urban atmosphere are presented. The concentration of organic substances was determined by using a mixed adsorber consisting of graphitized thermal carbon black and activated charcoal modified by pyrocarbon. Average, maximum and minimum concentrations of constant organic components in the atmosphere of Leningrad as a typical large industrial city are reported.
A mathematical and physical model was constructed describing the hydrodynamics of the two-phase mixture in the horizontal steam generator. The HP 9830 A desk-top calculator was used for the computations. The output variable of the solution was the level shape. A quantitative and qualitative comparison was made of the results of computations and experimental data. (author).
The aim of this study was to qualitatively and quantitatively study MR artifacts of various stents on the basis of in vitro experiments. We were particularly interested whether sequence type and orientation of the stent with respect to the static magnetic field influences the artifact. We examined 18 stents of different material (nitinol, stainless steel, cobalt alloy), different design of the stent meshes (AccuLink, OmniLink, DynaLink, Xact, Protoge, Wallstent Monorail), different diameter (5-10 mm) and different length (18-58 mm) with a turbo spin echo (TSE), a 2D-fast low angle shot (FLASH) and a 3D-FLASH sequence. The MR images were examined qualitatively with respect to possible artifacts. Furthermore we examined the MR data quantitatively: The contrast-noise-ratio (CNR) was determined both within the stent and outside (within the tube); based on these values we calculated the transparency factor P, furthermore we calculated the apparent ...
The multidrug efflux transporter AcrAB-TolC is known to pump out a diverse range of antibiotics, including β-lactams. However, the kinetic constants of the efflux process, needed for the quantitative...Full Text Available
This paper identifies some of the issues which arise in the consideration of the derivation of new limits on exposure to internal emitters. Basic and secondary radiation protection limits are discussed. Terms are defined and applied to the limitation of risk from stochastic effects. Non-stochastic data for specific internal emitters (/sup 131/I and the radium isotopes) are presented. Emphasis is placed on the quantitative aspects of the limit setting problem. 65 references, 2 figures, 12 tables.
Bone radiotracer uptake in renal osteodystrophy was investigated in 35 dialysis patients by correlating the results of quantitative bone scintigraphy with those of biochemical and bone morphometric studies. There were highly significant correlations (P < 0.001) between the total skeletal activity and the biochemical (iPTH and alkaline phosphatase), and histologic parameters of hyperparathyroidism. These clinical results strongly suggest that increased bone turnover i.e. hyperparathyroidism, rather than osteomalacia is the major cause of increased skeletal uptake in renal osteodystrophy.
The first fully-documented study into the quantitative impact of errors in operational spreadsheets identified an interesting anomaly. One of the five participating organisations involved in the study contributed a set of five spreadsheets of such quality that they set the organisation apart in a statistical sense. This virtuoso performance gave rise to a simple sampling test - The Clean Sheet Test - which can be used to objectively evaluate if an organisation is in control of the spreadsheets it is using in important processes such as financial reporting.
Based on a literature study an actual summary of the risk-utility problems in X-ray diagnosis is outlined due to the Recommendations of the International Commission for Radiation Protection (ICRP publication 26/1977). Papers demonstrating quantitative assessment of the somatic and genetical risk in X-ray examination are preferably cited and evaluated. It is concluded that the somatic and genetical risk is low in diagnostic ratiology. However, it must not be neglected and has always to be compared to the utility of an examination as well as to other risks of the examination. (author).
Magnetic field, thickness and magnetic forming effect on general mode and quantitative parameters of the domain structure (DS) of ferrite-garnet (EuEr)/sub 3/(FeGa)/sub 5/O/sub 12/ monocrystalline plates (111) is investigated. Field interval of circle (cone) and ring domain stability is determined. It is shown that DS of ferrite-garnet crystals with uniaxial an6sotropy has some peculiarities, that can be explained by cubic anisotropy effect.
Free and conjugated indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) were measured by quantitative gas chromatography-selected ion monitoringmass spectrometry in the extraxylary region of the stem of large Pinus...Full Text Available
The report describes the studies carried out to design a non-destructive system for the radiological characterization of packages containing LLW and MLW. This technique is applied for quantitative and qualitative gamma emitters determination in packages with homogeneous and heterogeneous matrices as well as the development of a maximum activity points location system. Development involves also the automatization for its industrial use.
The applicability of the radionuclide X-ray fluorescence analysis (RXFA) for qualitative and quantitative evaluation of environmental plant samples is discussed and examples of determination of Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Pb in samples of apple trees are given. The instrumentation, the standard and sample preparation are also presented.
This paper investigates the spectral characteristics of three-dimensionally porous carbon dioxide indicators based on a porous silicate glass and phenolphthalein. The absorption spectra of the original solutions of phenolphthalein in alkaline and acid solutions are shown. The solutions were acidified by bubbling CO/sub 2/ through an alkaline phenolphthalein solution. The authors have succeeded in producing a reversible colorimetric adsorption indicator for carbon dioxide which after proper calibration enables the CO/sub 2/ content of an atmosphere to be estimated quantitatively.
... There is an evident, growing public discontent among supervisors and regulators with quantitative risk evaluation techniques, including Value-at-Risk and similar methods, so it is surprising to see the same authorities now advocating their use in more doubtful circumstances to risk weight bonuses. Deferrals and claw backs ...
Qualitative and quantitative techniques, including a telephone survey of 310 Taiwanese business owners, were used to study the unique features of Taiwanese immigrant businesses in Los Angeles (California). When provided with entrepreneurial capital, Taiwanese enterprises grow rapidly in the context of Los Angeles's economic restructuring. (SLD)
Design of a beam position monitor (BPM) which is sensitive to low velo charged particle beams is considered. Quantitative estimates are made for the corrections to the conventional approximations to solutions of the Laplace Equation in two-dimensions when a BPM is used to measure to position of low velocity (low-[beta]) beams. (AIP)
DescriptionRemote sensing of the sea surface from satellites in near-polar orbits has contributed greatly to our understanding of the links between physical and biological processes in marine systems. However most of this progress has been made in open oceanic waters or major upwelling areas, and many unresolved problems are encountered in coastal regions and shelf seas. In these optically complex waters, quantitative remote sensing requires a more sophisticated interpretation strategy than that implemente [continued...
Surveillance of a population, such as a weapon stockpile, is needed to discover manufacturing defects as well as deterioration as the population ages. This article considers the risks of sampling rates for surveillance from three perspectives: detection probability of defects in a proportion of a population with pass/fail data, detection of a trend in a defective proportion of the population with pass/fail data, and detection of a trend with quantitative degradation measurements. Understanding of these risks will help the decision maker choose a sampling rate to protect against such problems of a specified size at a tolerable risk.
Several computer assisted processing and display methods are evaluated using a series of 100 normal brain scintigrams, 50 of which have had single 'mathematical tumours' superimposed. Using a standard rating system, or in some cases quantitative estimation, LROC curves are generated for each method and compared. (author).
Electron microscopic observations of neutron irradiated Nb_3Sn revealed the presence of highly disordered regions of size approximately 35 A in a much less disordered matrix. This observation is shown to provide a means of explaining quantitatively many superconducting properties of irradiated A-15 compounds. In particular Tsub(c) of the irradiated materials could be easily predicted using the mathematical formulations developed for the proximity effect. (Auth.).