Septomarginal trabecula and anterior papillary muscle in primate hearts: developmental issues

The septomarginal trabecula is present in all human hearts as well as in thehearts of other primates. It usually connects the interventricular septum withthe anterior papillary muscle, although there are many variations in how this isachieved. The object of the analyses was to estimate the bilateral topography ofthe septomarginal trabecula and the anterior papillary muscle in the context ofthe ontogeny and phylogeny of primates. A total of 138 hearts were examinedfrom number of different non-human primates. The presence of the septomarginaltrabecula was confirmed in 94.9% of cases, although not in the hearts ofLemur varius. Four configurations could be distinguished by defining the locationof the septomarginal trabecula and its relation to the anterior papillary muscle.For the hearts of the Strepsirrhini and the majority of Platyrrhini neither structurewas related, whereas in all examined representatives of Hominoidea they hadfused and created morphologically varying forms. On the basis of these results,a concept was developed for the sequence of changes which the topography ofthe septomarginal trabecula and the anterior papillary muscle undergo duringontogeny and phylogeny

Precision mass measurements on neutron-rich rare-earth isotopes at JYFLTRAP - reduced neutron pairing and implications for the rr-process calculations

The rare-earth peak in the $r$-process abundance pattern depends sensitively on both the astrophysical conditions and subtle changes in nuclear structure in the region. This work takes an important step elucidating the nuclear structure and reducing the uncertainties in $r$-process calculations via precise atomic mass measurements at the JYFLTRAP double Penning trap. $^{158}$Nd, $^{160}$Pm, $^{162}$Sm, and $^{164-166}$Gd have been measured for the first time and the precisions for $^{156}$Nd, $^{158}$Pm, $^{162,163}$Eu, $^{163}$Gd, and $^{164}$Tb have been improved considerably. Nuclear structure has been probed via two-neutron separation energies $S_{2n}$ and neutron pairing energy metrics $D_n$. The data do not support the existence of a subshell closure at $N=100$. Neutron pairing has been found to be weaker than predicted by theoretical mass models. The impact on the calculated $r$-process abundances has been studied. Substantial changes resulting in a smoother abundance distribution and a better agreement with the solar $r$-process abundances are observed.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Physical Review Letter

Florida\u27s Mystery Coral-Killer Identified

An unusual coral disease appeared on the Florida Reef Tract in June 1995. It was distinct in its microbiology, its pattern of tissue degradation, the species susceptible to it, and its regional distribution. Symptoms included a sharp line between healthy and diseased tissue, as occurs with other coral diseases, but the pathogen responsible for the new outbreak seemed more virulent, affected a wider variety of species, and destroyed tissue much more rapidly than these other \u27line\u27 or \u27band\u27 diseases. We have identified the pathogen responsible for this new disease as a new species of Sphingomonas

Spatio-Temporal Transmission Patterns of Black-Band Disease in a Coral Community

Transmission mechanisms of black-band disease (BBD) in coral reefs are poorly understood, although this disease is considered to be one of the most widespread and destructive coral infectious diseases. The major objective of this study was to assess transmission mechanisms of BBD in the field based on the spatio-temporal patterns of the disease

Global profiling of co- and post-translationally N-myristoylated proteomes in human cells

Protein N-myristoylation is a ubiquitous co- and post-translational modification that has been implicated in the development and progression of a range of human diseases. Here, we report the global N-myristoylated proteome in human cells determined using quantitative chemical proteomics combined with potent and specific human N-myristoyltransferase (NMT) inhibition. Global quantification of N-myristoylation during normal growth or apoptosis allowed the identification of >100 N-myristoylated proteins, >95% of which are identified for the first time at endogenous levels. Furthermore, quantitative dose response for inhibition of N-myristoylation is determined for >70 substrates simultaneously across the proteome. Small-molecule inhibition through a conserved substrate-binding pocket is also demonstrated by solving the crystal structures of inhibitor-bound NMT1 and NMT2. The presented data substantially expand the known repertoire of co- and post-translational N-myristoylation in addition to validating tools for the pharmacological inhibition of NMT in living cells

Lov-Voltage Analog Functional Blocks Based on CMOS Inverters

W artykule opisano wybrane rozwiązania układowe liniowych i nieliniowych niskonapięciowych analogowych bloków funkcjonalnych zrealizowanych w oparciu o inwertery CMOS (lub ich niewielkie modyfikacje). Rozwiązania te charakteryzują się tym, że w obwodzie zasilania występuje zawsze stos dwóch komplementarnych tranzystorów MOS, zatem są to układy pozwalające na stosowanie najniższych z możliwych napięć zasilających - takich samych jak układy cyfrowe. Podano przykłady syntezy filtrów czasu ciągłego w trybie prądowym (C-Gm) o dowolnych transmitancjach, wzmacniaczy operacyjnych ze sprzężeniem prądowym, konwejerów prądowych drugiej i trzeciej generacji oraz przedstawiono najbardziej reprezentatywny i uniwersalny układ nieliniowy - czteroćwiartkowy układ mnożący. Symulacje przeprowadzono w programie SPICE dla modelu BSIM3v3 w technologii 0,35um z AMS.The paper describes the CMOS implementation of low-voltage linear and non-linear elementary analog circuit blocks realized on inverters (eventually their very small modifications). The characteristic feature of presented circuit solutions is only two transistor stacks in-between supply rails, therefore the circuits in question are suited for the lowest possible supply and are simultaneously fully compatibile with digital part. A synthesis procedure for continuous time analog filters with arbitrary characteristics, current feedback amplifiers as well as second and third generation current conveyors is presented. The most representative and versatile nonlinear circuit block - a four-quadrant multiplier has also been constructed using inverter-like circuit elements. SPICE simulation results for 0.35 um process parameters from AMS are presented

Hybrid Linearized Class-BD Double Sided (LBDD) Digital Pulse Width Modulator (DPWM) for Class-BD audio amplifiers

The paper presents an original architecture and implementation of 9-bit LBDD hybrid DPWM circuit for Class-BD digital audio amplifier. The input PCM signals are directly transformed into 24-bit LBDD DPWM signals and then are requanized to the 9-bit digital outputs using noise-shaping process to support high fidelity with practical values of time resolution, and finally are converted by the DTCs into the two physical trains of 1-bit PWM signals. The architecture of the proposed Class-BD hybrid DPWM circuit is composed of two Class-AD ones. The hybrid quantizer converts 6 MSB bits using counter method, based on the STM32F407xx microcontroller, while the remaining 3 LSB bits - using a method based on the Programmable Tapped Delay Line (PTDL). All necessary time waveforms are generated on the base of the internal microcontroller oscillator 168 MHz. The proposed 9-bit Class-DB DPWM circuit allows to attain SNR of 110 dB and THD about 0,2% within the audio baseband, at switching frequency of 328.1 kHz, clock frequency of 42 MHz and modulation index M = 0.95. Basic verification of algorithm and circuit operation as well as simulation and preliminary experimental results have been performed

Niskonapięciowy szybki czteroćwiartkowy trans-konduktancyjny układ mnożący w technologii cmos

The paper presents an analog four-quadrant transconductance multiplier designed in CMOS technology, suitable for low voltage and operating at high-speed. The transconductance multiplier with Gilbert-like architecture uses a cascade of a combination of two linear current dividers implemented by means of the differential pairs to produce a linear dependence between the tail current and the two output currents. To adopt the circuit for low voltage, simple current mirrors have been applied to couple the first- and the second stage of the current dividers cascade. High-speed operation is possible thanks to simple architecture of building blocks using RF CMOS transistors with sufficiently large biasing currents. A complete circuits schematic with input driving peripherials, as well as simulation results of entire multiplier have also been presented.W artykule zaprezentowano szybki niskonapięciowy czteroćwiartkowy układ mnożący zaprojektowany w technologii CMOS. Architektura układu oparta jest o strukturę typu Gilberta. W układzie zastosowano kaskadowe połączenie dwóch stopni transkonduktancyjnych zrealizowanych w oparciu o pary różnicowe. Aby układ mógł pracować w zakresie niskich napięć zasilających poszczególne stopnie zostały sprzęgnięte przy pomocy prostych luster prądowych. Duża szybkość działania została osiągnięta dzięki prostej architekturze układu oraz zastosowaniu tranzystorów RF pracujących przy odpowiednio dużych wartościach prądów. W pracy zaprezentowano również wejściowe niskonapięciowe bloki pomocnicze oraz wyniki symulacji kompletnego układu mnożącego