Short- and Long-Term Propagation of Spacecraft Orbits

The Planetary Observer Planning Software (POPS) comprises four computer programs for use in designing orbits of spacecraft about planets. These programs are the Planetary Observer High Precision Orbit Propagator (POHOP), the Planetary Observer Long-Term Orbit Predictor (POLOP), the Planetary Observer Post Processor (POPP), and the Planetary Observer Plotting (POPLOT) program. POHOP and POLOP integrate the equations of motion to propagate an initial set of classical orbit elements to a future epoch. POHOP models shortterm (one revolution) orbital motion; POLOP averages out the short-term behavior but requires far less processing time than do older programs that perform long-term orbit propagations. POPP postprocesses the spacecraft ephemeris created by POHOP or POLOP (or optionally can use a less accurate internal ephemeris) to search for trajectory-related geometric events including, for example, rising or setting of a spacecraft as observed from a ground site. For each such event, POPP puts out such user-specified data as the time, elevation, and azimuth. POPLOT is a graphics program that plots data generated by POPP. POPLOT can plot orbit ground tracks on a world map and can produce a variety of summaries and generic ordinate-vs.-abscissa plots of any POPP data

The dimer interface of the SARS coronavirus nucleocapsid protein adapts a porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome virus-like structure

AbstractWe have employed NMR to investigate the structure of SARS coronavirus nucleocapsid protein dimer. We found that the secondary structure of the dimerization domain consists of five α helices and a β-hairpin. The dimer interface consists of a continuous four-stranded β-sheet superposed by two long α helices, reminiscent of that found in the nucleocapsid protein of porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome virus. Extensive hydrogen bond formation between the two hairpins and hydrophobic interactions between the β-sheet and the α helices render the interface highly stable. Sequence alignment suggests that other coronavirus may share the same structural topology

Molecular signature of clinical severity in recovering patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV)

BACKGROUND: Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), a recent epidemic human disease, is caused by a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV). First reported in Asia, SARS quickly spread worldwide through international travelling. As of July 2003, the World Health Organization reported a total of 8,437 people afflicted with SARS with a 9.6% mortality rate. Although immunopathological damages may account for the severity of respiratory distress, little is known about how the genome-wide gene expression of the host changes under the attack of SARS-CoV. RESULTS: Based on changes in gene expression of peripheral blood, we identified 52 signature genes that accurately discriminated acute SARS patients from non-SARS controls. While a general suppression of gene expression predominated in SARS-infected blood, several genes including those involved in innate immunity, such as defensins and eosinophil-derived neurotoxin, were upregulated. Instead of employing clustering methods, we ranked the severity of recovering SARS patients by generalized associate plots (GAP) according to the expression profiles of 52 signature genes. Through this method, we discovered a smooth transition pattern of severity from normal controls to acute SARS patients. The rank of SARS severity was significantly correlated with the recovery period (in days) and with the clinical pulmonary infection score. CONCLUSION: The use of the GAP approach has proved useful in analyzing the complexity and continuity of biological systems. The severity rank derived from the global expression profile of significantly regulated genes in patients may be useful for further elucidating the pathophysiology of their disease

Clinical Features of Probable Cluster Headache: A Prospective, Cross-Sectional Multicenter Study

Background: Epidemiological data of probable cluster headaches (CH) are scarce in the relevant literature. Here, we sought to assess the prevalence and clinical characteristics of probable CH in comparison with definite CH.Methods: Data used in this study were obtained from the Korean Cluster Headache Registry (KCHR), a prospective, cross-sectional, multicenter headache registry that collected data from consecutive patients diagnosed with CH.Results: In total, 159 patients were enrolled in this study; 20 (12.6%) were diagnosed with probable CH. The most common unfulfilled criterion in patients with probable CH was the duration of attack, which was found in 40% of patients with probable CH. Among clinical characteristics, the number of autonomic symptoms tended to be lower in probable CH than in definite CH (1.7 ± 1.2 vs. 2.4 ± 1.5, p = 0.051) and conjunctival injection and lacrimation showed an increased odds ratio (OR) [OR = 3.03; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.03–8.33] in definite CH. The groups did not differ with regard to baseline demographic characteristics, disability, impact on life, or treatment response.Conclusions: Probable CH is relatively common among CH disorders, with a clinical impact similar to that of definite CH

APOE Promoter Polymorphism-219T/G is an Effect Modifier of the Influence of APOE ε4 on Alzheimer's Disease Risk in a Multiracial Sample

Variants in the APOE gene region may explain ethnic differences in the association of Alzheimer's disease (AD) with ε4. Ethnic differences in allele frequencies for three APOE region SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) were identified and tested for association in 19,398 East Asians (EastA), including Koreans and Japanese, 15,836 European ancestry (EuroA) individuals, and 4985 African Americans, and with brain imaging measures of cortical atrophy in sub-samples of Koreans and EuroAs. Among ε4/ε4 individuals, AD risk increased substantially in a dose-dependent manner with the number of APOE promoter SNP rs405509 T alleles in EastAs (TT: OR (odds ratio) = 27.02, p = 8.80 × 10-94; GT: OR = 15.87, p = 2.62 × 10-9) and EuroAs (TT: OR = 18.13, p = 2.69 × 10-108; GT: OR = 12.63, p = 3.44 × 10-64), and rs405509-T homozygotes had a younger onset and more severe cortical atrophy than those with G-allele. Functional experiments using APOE promoter fragments demonstrated that TT lowered APOE expression in human brain and serum. The modifying effect of rs405509 genotype explained much of the ethnic variability in the AD/ε4 association, and increasing APOE expression might lower AD risk among ε4 homozygotes

Trichostatin A Selectively Suppresses the Cold-Induced Transcription of the ZmDREB1 Gene in Maize

Post-translational modifications of histone proteins play a crucial role in responding to environmental stresses. Histone deacetylases (HDACs) catalyze the removal of an acetyl group from histones and are generally believed to be a transcriptional repressor. In this paper, we report that cold treatment highly induces the up-regulation of HDACs, leading to global deacetylation of histones H3 and H4. Treatment of maize with the HDAC inhibitor trichostatin A (TSA) under cold stress conditions strongly inhibits induction of the maize cold-responsive genes ZmDREB1 and ZmCOR413. However, up-regulation of the ZmICE1 gene in response to cold stress is less affected. The expression of drought and salt induced genes, ZmDBF1 and rab17, is almost unaffected by TSA treatment. Thus, these observations show that HDACs may selectively activate transcription. The time course of TSA effects on the expression of ZmDREB1 and ZmCOR413 genes indicates that HDACs appear to directly activate the ZmDREB1 gene, which in turn modulates ZmCOR413 expression. After cold treatment, histone hyperacetylation and DNA demethylation occurs in the ICE1 binding region, accompanied by an increase in accessibility to micrococcal nuclease (MNase). The two regions adjacent to the ICE1 binding site remain hypoacetylated and methylated. However, during cold acclimation, TSA treatment increases the acetylation status and accessibility of MNase and decreases DNA methylation at these two regions. However, TSA treatment does not affect histone hyperacetylation and DNA methylation levels at the ICE1 binding regions of the ZmDREB1 gene. Altogether, our findings indicate that HDACs positively regulate the expression of the cold-induced ZmDREB1 gene through histone modification and chromatin conformational changes and that this activation is both gene and site selective

Вихретоковый анизотропный термоэлектрический первичный преобразователь лучистого потока

Представлена оригинальная конструкция первичного преобразователя лучистого потока, который может служить основой для создания приемника неселективного излучения с повышенной чувствительностью

Effects of Combinatorial Treatment with Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase Activating Peptide and Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells on Spinal Cord Tissue Repair

The aim of this study is to understand if human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) and neuropeptide pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) have synergistic protective effect that promotes functional recovery in rats with severe spinal cord injury (SCI). To evaluate the effect of delayed combinatorial therapy of PACAP and hMSCs on spinal cord tissue repair, we used the immortalized hMSCs that retain their potential of neuronal differentiation under the stimulation of neurogenic factors and possess the properties for the production of several growth factors beneficial for neural cell survival. The results indicated that delayed treatment with PACAP and hMSCs at day 7 post SCI increased the remaining neuronal fibers in the injured spinal cord, leading to better locomotor functional recovery in SCI rats when compared to treatment only with PACAP or hMSCs. Western blotting also showed that the levels of antioxidant enzymes, Mn-superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) and peroxiredoxin-1/6 (Prx-1 and Prx-6), were increased at the lesion center 1 week after the delayed treatment with the combinatorial therapy when compared to that observed in the vehicle-treated control. Furthermore, in vitro studies showed that co-culture with hMSCs in the presence of PACAP not only increased a subpopulation of microglia expressing galectin-3, but also enhanced the ability of astrocytes to uptake extracellular glutamate. In summary, our in vivo and in vitro studies reveal that delayed transplantation of hMSCs combined with PACAP provides trophic molecules to promote neuronal cell survival, which also foster beneficial microenvironment for endogenous glia to increase their neuroprotective effect on the repair of injured spinal cord tissue

The 5p15.33 Locus Is Associated with Risk of Lung Adenocarcinoma in Never-Smoking Females in Asia

Genome-wide association studies of lung cancer reported in populations of European background have identified three regions on chromosomes 5p15.33, 6p21.33, and 15q25 that have achieved genome-wide significance with p-values of 10−7 or lower. These studies have been performed primarily in cigarette smokers, raising the possibility that the observed associations could be related to tobacco use, lung carcinogenesis, or both. Since most women in Asia do not smoke, we conducted a genome-wide association study of lung adenocarcinoma in never-smoking females (584 cases, 585 controls) among Han Chinese in Taiwan and found that the most significant association was for rs2736100 on chromosome 5p15.33 (p = 1.30×10−11). This finding was independently replicated in seven studies from East Asia totaling 1,164 lung adenocarcinomas and 1,736 controls (p = 5.38×10−11). A pooled analysis achieved genome-wide significance for rs2736100. This SNP marker localizes to the CLPTM1L-TERT locus on chromosome 5p15.33 (p = 2.60×10−20, allelic risk = 1.54, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.41–1.68). Risks for heterozygote and homozygote carriers of the minor allele were 1.62 (95% CI; 1.40–1.87), and 2.35 (95% CI: 1.95–2.83), respectively. In summary, our results show that genetic variation in the CLPTM1L-TERT locus of chromosome 5p15.33 is directly associated with the risk of lung cancer, most notably adenocarcinoma