821 research outputs found
The effects of hypoxic conditions on Dictyostelium mucoroides.
Previously a transcript corresponding to a gene in Dictyostelium mucoroides designated A-11 was found in amoebae during vegetative growth and macrocyst formation. The derived amino acid sequence of A-11 was used to search Genbank to find homologous proteins. The highest degree of homology was found with a hemoglobin from the bacterium Vitreoscilla. The Vitreoscilla hemoglobin protein showed greater than 65% similarity and 50% identity with the A-11 amino acid sequence. It was reported that hypoxic conditions could stimulate the expression of the gene corresponding to the Vitreoscilla hemoglobin when cloned in E. coli cells
Complete Norm Preserving Extensions of Holomorphic Functions
We show that for every connected analytic subvariety there is a
pseudoconvex set such that every bounded matrix-valued holomorphic
function on extends isometrically to . We prove that if is two
analytic disks intersecting at one point, if every bounded scalar valued
holomorphic function extends isometrically to , then so does every
matrix-valued function. In the special case that is the symmetrized
bidisk, we show that this cannot be done by finding a linear isometric
extension from the functions that vanish at one point
Projective representation of k-Galilei group
The projective representations of k-Galilei group G_k are found by
contracting the relevant representations of k-Poincare group. The projective
multiplier is found. It is shown that it is not possible to replace the
projective representations of G_k by vector representations of some its
extension.Comment: 15 pages Latex fil
Psychometric evaluation of the SF-36 health survey in Medicare managed care
Data quality and scoring assumptions for the SF-36 Health Survey were evaluated among the elderly and disabled, using 1998 Cohort I baseline Medicare HOS data (n=177,714). Missing data rates were low, and scoring assumptions were met. Internal consistency reliability was 0.83 to 0.93 for the eight scales and 0.94 and 0.89, respectively, for the physical (PCS) and mental (MCS) component summary measures. Results declined with increased risk factors (e.g., older age, more chronic conditions), but were well above accepted standards for all subgroups. These findings support using standard algorithms for scoring the SF-36 in the HOS and subgroup analyses of HOS data
Impossibility of spontaneously breaking local symmetries and the sign problem
Elitzur's theorem stating the impossibility of spontaneous breaking of local
symmetries in a gauge theory is reexamined. The existing proofs of this theorem
rely on gauge invariance as well as positivity of the weight in the Euclidean
partition function. We examine the validity of Elitzur's theorem in gauge
theories for which the Euclidean measure of the partition function is not
positive definite. We find that Elitzur's theorem does not follow from gauge
invariance alone. We formulate a general criterion under which spontaneous
breaking of local symmetries in a gauge theory is excluded. Finally we
illustrate the results in an exactly solvable two dimensional abelian gauge
theory.Comment: Latex 6 page
Longitudinal borehole functionality in 15 rural Ghanaian towns from three groundwater quality clusters
OBJECTIVE: In sub-Saharan Africa, 45% of the rural population uses boreholes (BHs). Despite recent gains in improved water access and coverage, parallel use of unimproved sources persists. Periodic infrastructure disrepair contributes to non-exclusive use of BHs. Our study describes functionality of BHs in 2014, 2015, and 2016 in 15 rural towns in the Eastern Region of Ghana sourced from three groundwater quality clusters (high iron, high salinity, and control). We also assess factors affecting cross-sectional and longitudinal functionality using logistic regression. RESULTS: BH functionality rates ranged between 81 and 87% and were similar across groundwater quality clusters. Of 51 BHs assessed in all three years, 34 (67%) were consistently functional and only 3 (6%) were consistently broken. There was a shift toward proactive payment for water over the course of the study in the control and high-salinity clusters. Payment mechanism, population served, presence of nearby alternative water sources, and groundwater quality cluster were not significant predictors of cross-sectional or longitudinal BH functionality. However, even in the high iron cluster, where water quality is poor and no structured payment mechanism for water exists, BHs are maintained, showing that they are important community resources
A human colonic crypt culture system to study regulation of stem cell-driven tissue renewal and physiological function
The intestinal epithelium is one of the most rapidly renewing tissues in the human body and fulfils vital physiological roles such as barrier function and transport of nutrients and fluid. Investigation of gut epithelial physiology in health and disease has been hampered by the lack of ex vivo models of the native human intestinal epithelium. Recently, remarkable progress has been made in defining intestinal stem cells and in generating intestinal organoid cultures. In parallel, we have developed a 3D culture system of the native human colonic epithelium that recapitulates the topological hierarchy of stem cell-driven tissue renewal and permits the physiological study of native polarized epithelial cells. Here we describe methods to establish 3D cultures of intact human colonic crypts and conduct real-time imaging of intestinal tissue renewal, cellular signalling, and physiological function, in conjunction with manipulation of gene expression by lentiviral or adenoviral transduction. Visualization of mRNA- and protein-expression patterns in cultured human colonic crypts, and cross-validation with crypts derived from fixed mucosal biopsies, is also described. Alongside studies using intestinal organoids, the near-native human colonic crypt culture model will help to bridge the gap that exists between investigation of colon cancer cell lines and/or animal (tissue) studies, and progression to clinical trials. To this end, the near native human colonic crypt model provides a platform to aid the development of novel strategies for the prevention of inflammatory bowel disease and cancer
A Path Integral Approach To Noncommutative Superspace
A path integral formula for the associative star-product of two superfields
is proposed. It is a generalization of the Kontsevich-Cattaneo-Felder's formula
for the star-product of functions of bosonic coordinates. The associativity of
the star-product imposes certain conditions on the background of our sigma
model. For generic background the action is not supersymmetric. The
supersymmetry invariance of the action constrains the background and leads to a
simple formula for the star-product.Comment: Latex 13 pages. v2: references and footnotes adde
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