Simple and Specific Dual-Wavelength Excitable Dye Staining for Glycoprotein Detection in Polyacrylamide Gels and Its Application in Glycoproteomics

In this study, a commercially available fluorescent dye, Lissamine rhodamine B sulfonyl hydrazine (LRSH), was designed to specifically stain the glycoproteins in polyacrylamide gels. Through the periodate/Schiff base mechanism, the fluorescent dye readily attaches to glycoproteins and the fluorescence can be simultaneously observed under either 305 nm or 532 nm excitation therefore, the dye-stained glycoproteins can be detected under a regular UV transilluminator or a more elegant laser-based gel scanner. The specificity and detection limit were examined using a standard protein mixture in polyacrylamide gels in this study. The application of this glycoprotein stain dye was further demonstrated using pregnancy urine samples. The fluorescent spots were further digested in gel and their identities confirmed through LC-MS/MS analysis and database searching. In addition, the N-glycosylation sites of LRSH-labeled uromodulin were readily mapped via in-gel PNGaseF deglycosylation and LC-MS/MS analysis, which indicated that this fluorescent dye labeling does not interfere with enzymatic deglycosylation. Hence, the application of this simple and specific dual-wavelength excitable dye staining in current glycoproteome research is promising

Coseismic thrusting and folding in the 1999 M_w 7.6 Chi-Chi earthquake: A high-resolution approach by aerial photos taken from Tsaotun, central Taiwan

We used aerial photos taken before and after the 21 September 1999, M_w 7.6, Chi-Chi earthquake in central Taiwan to measure the near-field ground deformation. A total of 12 pairs of images were processed with Co-registration of Optically Sensed Images and Correlation to produce a horizontal displacement map of a 10 km × 10 km area near Tsaotun. Using pairs of images with different viewing angles, both the horizontal and vertical slip across the fault zone can be measured. Our measurements when resampled into lower resolution are consistent with lower resolution measurements of horizontal displacements obtained from SPOT images, as well as with vertical displacements obtained from repeated leveling measurements and field observations. Horizontal strain is strongly localized along the Chelungpu fault (CLPF) and along a secondary scarp that runs parallel to the CLPF about 2 km to the east, the Ailiao fold scarp (ALF). This pattern closely matches the surface ruptures mapped in the field. Horizontal strain across CLPF correlates remarkably well with the topographic features produced by long-term deformation. The cumulative horizontal shortening across the CLPF and ALF amounts to 4.9 ± 0.4 and 6.1 ± 0.6 m, respectively, and fault-parallel displacement is 3.4 ± 0.4 m. The pattern of surface strain is consistent with the interpretation of the ALF as a fold scarp formed over an active axial hinge zone. This study shows that, even in this compressional setting, most surface deformation is localized within narrow fault zones or active axial hinges

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor of the lung- a case report

A 45-year-old man presented with a six-month history of progressive dyspnea with productive cough and wheezing. The patient was a heavy smoker and had a history of tongue cancer, hypertension, and asthma. Chest X-ray and computed tomography showed a mass lesion in the left hilar region and total collapse of the upper left lobe of the lung. Bronchoscopy revealed a whitish solid tumor obstructing the left upper lobe bronchus. Positron emission tomography showed increased tracer uptake in the lesion. A thoracoscopic lobectomy of the left upper lobe of the lung was performed. The final pathologic diagnosis was inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor

First principles theory of inelastic currents in a scanning tunneling microscope

A first principles theory of inelastic tunneling between a model probe tip and an atom adsorbed on a surface is presented, extending the elastic tunneling theory of Tersoff and Hamann. The inelastic current is proportional to the change in the local density of states at the center of the tip due to the addition of the adsorbate. We use the theory to investigate the vibrational heating of an adsorbate below an STM tip. We calculate the desorption rate of H from Si(100)-H(2$\times$1) as function of the sample bias and tunnel current, and find excellent agreement with recent experimental data.Comment: 5 pages, RevTeX, epsf file

On The Spin-Dependent Potential Between Heavy Quark And Antiquark

A new formula for the heavy quark-antiquark spin dependent potential is given by using the techniques developed in the heavy quark effective theory. The leading logarithmic quark mass terms emerging from the loop contributions are explicitly extracted and summed up. There is no renormalization scale ambiguity in this new formula. The spin-dependent potential in the new formula is expressed in terms of three independent color-electric and color-magnetic field correlation functions, and it includes both the Eichten-Feinberg's formula and the one-loop QCD result as special cases.Comment: 12 pages, REVTEX; NSF-ITP-94-49, TUIMP-TH-94/59, NUHEP-TH-94-1

Ratio of Hadronic Decay Rates of J\psi and \psi(2S) and the \rho\pi Puzzle

The so-called \rho\pi puzzle of J\psi and \psi(2S) decays is examined using the experimental data available to date. Two different approaches were taken to estimate the ratio of J\psi and \psi(2S) hadronic decay rates. While one of the estimates could not yield the exact ratio of \psi(2S) to J\psi inclusive hadronic decay rates, the other, based on a computation of the inclusive ggg decay rate for \psi(2S) (J\psi) by subtracting other decay rates from the total decay rate, differs by two standard deviations from the naive prediction of perturbative QCD, even though its central value is nearly twice as large as what was naively expected. A comparison between this ratio, upon making corrections for specific exclusive two-body decay modes, and the corresponding experimental data confirms the puzzles in J\psi and \psi(2S) decays. We find from our analysis that the exclusively reconstructed hadronic decays of the \psi(2S) account for only a small fraction of its total decays, and a ratio exceeding the above estimate should be expected to occur for a considerable number of the remaining decay channels. We also show that the recent new results from the BES experiment provide crucial tests of various theoretical models proposed to explain the puzzle.Comment: 8 pages, no figure, 4 table

Serological Evidence of Subclinical Transmission of the 2009 Pandemic H1N1 Influenza Virus Outside of Mexico

Background: Relying on surveillance of clinical cases limits the ability to understand the full impact and severity of an epidemic, especially when subclinical cases are more likely to be present in the early stages. Little is known of the infection and transmissibility of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic influenza (pH1N1) virus outside of Mexico prior to clinical cases being reported, and of the knowledge pertaining to immunity and incidence of infection during April-June, which is essential for understanding the nature of viral transmissibility as well as for planning surveillance and intervention of future pandemics. Methodology/Principal Findings: Starting in the fall of 2008, 306 persons from households with schoolchildren in central Taiwan were followed sequentially and serum samples were taken in three sampling periods for haemagglutination inhibition (HI) assay. Age-specific incidence rates were calculated based on seroconversion of antibodies to the pH1N1 virus with an HI titre of 1: 40 or more during two periods: April-June and September-October in 2009. The earliest time period with HI titer greater than 40, as well as a four-fold increase of the neutralization titer, was during April 26-May 3. The incidence rates during the pre-epidemic phase (April-June) and the first wave (July-October) of the pandemic were 14.1% and 29.7%, respectively. The transmissibility of the pH1N1 virus during the early phase of the epidemic, as measured by the effective reproductive number R(0), was 1.16 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.98-1.34). Conclusions: Approximately one in every ten persons was infected with the 2009 pH1N1 virus during the pre-epidemic phase in April-June. The lack of age-pattern in seropositivity is unexpected, perhaps highlighting the importance of children as asymptomatic transmitters of influenza in households. Although without virological confirmation, our data raise the question of whether there was substantial pH1N1 transmission in Taiwan before June, when clinical cases were first detected by the surveillance network

\psi(2S) Decays into \J plus Two Photons

Using \gamma \gamma J/\psi, J/\psi \ra e^+ e^- and $\mu^+ \mu^-$ events from a sample of $14.0\times 10^6$ \psip decays collected with the BESII detector, the branching fractions for \psip\ra \pi^0\J, \eta\J, and \psi(2S)\ar\gamma\chi_{c1},\gamma\chi_{c2}\ar\gamma\gamma\jpsi are measured to be B(\psip\ra \pi^0\J) = (1.43\pm0.14\pm0.13)\times 10^{-3}, B(\psip\ra \eta\J) = (2.98\pm0.09\pm0.23)%, B(\psi(2S)\ar\gamma\chi_{c1}\ar\gamma\gamma\jpsi) = (2.81\pm0.05\pm 0.23)%, and B(\psi(2S)\ar\gamma\chi_{c2}\ar\gamma\gamma\jpsi) = (1.62\pm0.04\pm 0.12)%.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures. submitted to Phys. Rev.

Hypermethylation of the TGF-β target, ABCA1 is associated with poor prognosis in ovarian cancer patients

Background The dysregulation of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signaling plays a crucial role in ovarian carcinogenesis and in maintaining cancer stem cell properties. Classified as a member of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) family, ABCA1 was previously identified by methylated DNA immunoprecipitation microarray (mDIP-Chip) to be methylated in ovarian cancer cell lines, A2780 and CP70. By microarray, it was also found to be upregulated in immortalized ovarian surface epithelial (IOSE) cells following TGF-β treatment. Thus, we hypothesized that ABCA1 may be involved in ovarian cancer and its initiation. Results We first compared the expression level of ABCA1 in IOSE cells and a panel of ovarian cancer cell lines and found that ABCA1 was expressed in HeyC2, SKOV3, MCP3, and MCP2 ovarian cancer cell lines but downregulated in A2780 and CP70 ovarian cancer cell lines. The reduced expression of ABCA1 in A2780 and CP70 cells was associated with promoter hypermethylation, as demonstrated by bisulfite pyro-sequencing. We also found that knockdown of ABCA1 increased the cholesterol level and promoted cell growth in vitro and in vivo. Further analysis of ABCA1 methylation in 76 ovarian cancer patient samples demonstrated that patients with higher ABCA1 methylation are associated with high stage (P = 0.0131) and grade (P = 0.0137). Kaplan-Meier analysis also found that patients with higher levels of methylation of ABCA1 have shorter overall survival (P = 0.019). Furthermore, tissue microarray using 55 ovarian cancer patient samples revealed that patients with a lower level of ABCA1 expression are associated with shorter progress-free survival (P = 0.038). Conclusions ABCA1 may be a tumor suppressor and is hypermethylated in a subset of ovarian cancer patients. Hypermethylation of ABCA1 is associated with poor prognosis in these patients

Differential relationships of family drinking with alcohol expectancy among urban school children

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Positive alcohol outcome expectancy has consistently been linked with problematic drinking, but there is little population-based evidence on its role on early stages of drinking in childhood. The present study seeks to understand the extent to which drinking of family members is differentially associated with the endorsement of alcohol expectancy in late childhood.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A representative sample of 4th and 6th graders (N = 2455) drawn from 28 public schools in an urban region of Taiwan completed a self-administered paper-and-pencil questionnaire. Each student provided information on alcohol expectancy, drinking experiences, and individual and family attributes. Complex survey analyses were performed to evaluate the relationship, with stratification by children's alcohol drinking history.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>An estimated 29% of the 4^thgraders and 43% of the 6^thgraders had initiated alcohol consumption (over 40% of them had drank on three or more occasions). Alcohol drinking-related differences appear in both the endorsement and the correlates of alcohol expectancy. Positive alcohol expectancy was strongly associated with family drinking, particularly the dimension of "enhanced social behaviors"; negative alcohol expectancy was inversely associated with drinking frequency. Among alcohol naïve children, significant connections appear between paternal drinking and three dimensions of positive alcohol expectancy (i.e., enhanced social behaviors:β_wt= 0.15, promoting relaxation or tension reduction:β_wt= 0.18, and global positive transformation:β_wt= 0.22).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Individual tailored strategies that address family influences on alcohol expectancy may be needed in prevention programs targeting drinking behaviors in children.</p