Polymerase chain reactions using Saccharomyces, Drosophila and human DNA predict a large family of protein serine/threonine phosphatases

AbstractUsing the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to examine the protein serine/threonine phosphatase (PP) family which includes PP1, PP2A and PP2B, we have identified two, seven, and four novel protein phosphate genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Drosophila melanogaster and Homo sapiens, respectively. Consequently, the genes in the PP1/PP2A/PP2B family now number 11, 15 and 12 in these species respectively, and the data predicts still more unidentified phosphatases in higher eukaryotes. The PCR analyses also point to the presence in Drosophila and mammals of three or more different genes encoding PP2B, the enzyme recently identified as the target of certain immunosuppressant drugs

Recent Developments and Future Challenges in Medical Mixed Reality

As AR technology matures, we have seen many applicationsemerge in entertainment, education and training. However, the useof AR is not yet common in medical practice, despite the great po-tential of this technology to help not only learning and training inmedicine, but also in assisting diagnosis and surgical guidance. Inthis paper, we present recent trends in the use of AR across all med-ical specialties and identify challenges that must be overcome tonarrow the gap between academic research and practical use of ARin medicine. A database of 1403 relevant research papers publishedover the last two decades has been reviewed by using a novel re-search trend analysis method based on text mining algorithm. Wesemantically identified 10 topics including varies of technologiesand applications based on the non-biased and in-personal cluster-ing results from the Latent Dirichlet Allocatio (LDA) model andanalysed the trend of each topic from 1995 to 2015. The statisticresults reveal a taxonomy that can best describes the developmentof the medical AR research during the two decades. And the trendanalysis provide a higher level of view of how the taxonomy haschanged and where the focus will goes. Finally, based on the valu-able results, we provide a insightful discussion to the current limi-tations, challenges and future directions in the field. Our objectiveis to aid researchers to focus on the application areas in medicalAR that are most needed, as well as providing medical practitioners with latest technology advancements

Impression Creep Behavior of Sn-3.5Ag-0.7Cu/Cu Brazed

AbstractBrazing, as one of the major connection technology, has been widely used in different areas such as aviation, aerospace, electronics and chemical industries etc. Sometimes creep fracture can be found in the brazed joints when they are used at high temperature. The conventional characterized method for creep properties cannot be used to study the brazed joints due to their small size. The impression technology has the potential to be used to study the creep properties of brazed joints, since no special requirements are needed for the size and shape of to-be-measured materials. In this investigation, Sn-3.5Ag-0.7Cu/Cu brazed joint is created and its creep properties is measured by impression creep testing. The effect of punching stress and temperature is studied on the impressing depth, which change from 70 to 100MPa and 80-130 oC, respectively. The microstructure of Sn-3.5Ag-0.7Cu/Cu is examined by Optical Microscope (OM), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Energy Dispersive Spectra (EDS). The results show that the impressing creep depth increases with the rise of temperature and punching stress. Creep resistance of the diffusion region has obvious effect on the creep resistance of the weld. The experimental results can provide the basis for the structural integrity analysis of brazed joints

POSTURAL EFFECTS ON COMPARTMENTAL VOLUME CHANGES OF BREATHING BY OPTOELECTRONIC PLETHYSMOGRAPHY IN HEALTHY SUBJECTS

Breathing pattern was an important factor to affect the performance of sports for athletes. Optoelectronic plethysmography (OEP) was a new method to evaluate breathing pattern by measuring compartmental volume (upper thorax (UT), lower thorax (LT), and abdomen (AB)) freely without limitation. Previous study already investigated the swimmers had better breathing pattern measured by OEP (Karine et al., 2008) in sitting posture. Swimming, such as backstroke, is perfromed in supine posture, but previous study did not consider the postural effect on breathing pattern. This study explored the compartmental volume changes of healthy subjects in different postures

Variational Approximations in a Path-Integral Description of Potential Scattering

Using a recent path integral representation for the T-matrix in nonrelativistic potential scattering we investigate new variational approximations in this framework. By means of the Feynman-Jensen variational principle and the most general ansatz quadratic in the velocity variables -- over which one has to integrate functionally -- we obtain variational equations which contain classical elements (trajectories) as well as quantum-mechanical ones (wave spreading).We analyse these equations and solve them numerically by iteration, a procedure best suited at high energy. The first correction to the variational result arising from a cumulant expansion is also evaluated. Comparison is made with exact partial-wave results for scattering from a Gaussian potential and better agreement is found at large scattering angles where the standard eikonal-type approximations fail.Comment: 35 pages, 3 figures, 6 tables, Latex with amsmath, amssymb; v2: 28 pages, EPJ style, misprints corrected, note added about correct treatment of complex Gaussian integrals with the theory of "pencils", matches published versio

Broccoli sprout beverage is safe for thyroid hormonal and autoimmune status: Results of a 12-week randomized trial.

Sulforaphane is a redox-active natural product present in cruciferous vegetables like broccoli. Broccoli sprout-derived products are promising agents for the prevention of oxidative stress-related diseases, but some have long been suspected of thyroidal toxicity. Recent findings also raise the possibility that long-term exposure to sulforaphane, or to other natural substances or drugs that modulate the activity of the transcription factor Nrf2 (NFE2-related factor 2) may lead to thyroid dysfunction or thyroid autoimmune disease, questioning the safety of trials with sulforaphane-containing products. Previous studies addressing possible effects of sulforaphane-related compounds from natural product extracts on the thyroid were quite short and/or inconsistent. To investigate whether long-term exposure to a beverage enriched with sulforaphane and its precursor glucoraphanin may affect thyroid function, we analyzed biochemical measures of thyroid function and thyroid autoimmunity in 45 female participants in a randomized clinical trial at baseline and after 84 days of beverage administration. Serum levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone, free thyroxine and thyroglobulin were not affected by the treatment, and neither was the thyroid autoimmunity status of participants. These results provide evidence in favor of the safety of chemoprevention strategies that target the activation of Nrf2 to protect against environmental exposures and other oxidative stress-related pathologies

Harmonically confined, semiflexible polymer in a channel: response to a stretching force and spatial distribution of the endpoints

We consider an inextensible, semiflexible polymer or worm-like chain which is confined in the transverse direction by a parabolic potential and subject to a longitudinal force at the ends, so that the polymer is stretched out and backfolding is negligible. Simple analytic expressions for the partition function, valid in this regime, are obtained for chains of arbitrary length with a variety of boundary conditions at the ends. The spatial distribution of the end points or radial distribution function is also analyzed.Comment: 14 pages including figure

How to determine linear complexity and kk-error linear complexity in some classes of linear recurring sequences

Several fast algorithms for the determination of the linear complexity of $d$-periodic sequences over a finite field \F_q, i.e. sequences with characteristic polynomial $f(x) = x^d-1$, have been proposed in the literature. In this contribution fast algorithms for determining the linear complexity of binary sequences with characteristic polynomial $f(x) = (x-1)^d$ for an arbitrary positive integer $d$, and $f(x) = (x^2+x+1)^{2^v}$ are presented. The result is then utilized to establish a fast algorithm for determining the $k$-error linear complexity of binary sequences with characteristic polynomial $(x^2+x+1)^{2^v}$

Compensated Row-Column Ultrasound Imaging System Using Edge-Guided Three Dimensional Random Fields

The row-column method is a simplification technique used to reducethe complexity of a fully addressed 2-D array. Although itgreatly reduces the number of physical connections required aswell as the amount of data to be handled, it still has limitations; itsimaging data output is sparse, it suffers from speckle noise, and itsspatially-dependant point spread function is riddled with edge artifacts.In this work, we propose a row-column ultrasound imagingsystem, termed CRUIS3D, that uses a 3-D edge-guided randomfield approach to compensate for the limitations of the row-columnmethod. Tests on CRUIS3D and previously published row-columnsystems show the effectiveness of our proposed system as a toolfor enhancing 3-D row-column ultrasound imaging

Denying Leniency to Cartel Instigators: Costs and Benefits

A large number of countries have introduced successful leniency programs into their competition law enforcement to encourage colluding firms to come forward with evidence that will help detect cartels and punish price-fixers. This paper studies a feature of some of these programs that has received relatively little attention in the literature: the inclusion of “No Immunity for Instigators Clauses” (NIICs). These provisions deny leniency benefits to parties that instigate cartel behavior or function as cartel ringleaders. Our results show that NIICs can lead to increased or decreased levels of cartel conduct. By removing the instigator’s benefit from cooperating with the authorities, a NIIC undoes some of the destabilizing benefit the leniency program was intended to generate and thereby furthers cartel stability. On the other hand, the instigator faces an asymmetrically severe punishment under a NIIC and this can reduce the incentive to instigate in the first place