Towards Independent Particle Reconstruction from Cryogenic Transmission Electron Microscopy

Coronary heart disease is the single largest killer of Americans so improved means of detecting risk factors before arterial obstructions appear are expected to lead to a improvement in quality of life with a reduced cost. This paper introduces a new approach to 3-D reconstruction of individual particles based on statistical modeling from a sparse set of 2-D projection images. This paper introduces a new approach to 3-D reconstruction of individual particles based on statistical modeling from a sparse set of 2-D projection images. The method is in contrast to the current state of practice where reconstruction is performed via signal processing or Bayesian methods that use averaged images acquired from an ensemble of particles. As such, this new approach has its impetus in use for novel diagnostic tests such as LDL and HDL particle shape characterization. The approach is also expected to have uses in areas such as quality assurance for drug delivery nano-technologies and for general proteomic studies. The individual particle reconstruction algorithm is based on a hidden Markov model. Higher order Markov chain statistics, which are generated from the a priori model of the target of interest, can be derived from traditional methods such as single particle reconstruction and/or the underlying physical properties of the particle. By placing the reconstruction voxel space at a 45° angle to the projection image, 4-passes of the HMM processing can be performed from a single image. Reconstruction results from a simple model and a single projection image resulted in better than 98% reconstruction accuracy as compared to the original target

Effects of hyperoxia and cardiovascular risk factors on myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury: a randomized, sham and placebo controlled parallel study

peer reviewedRecent studies on O2 supplementation in acute coronary syndrome patients are equivocal. We tested the hypothesis that oxidative stress (OS) is increased in rodents with cardiovascular risk factors and enhances ischemia reperfusion injury in the presence of hyperoxia. Forty-three Wistar rats (WR), 30 spontaneous hypertensive rats (SHR) and 33 obese Zucker rats (ZR) were randomized in a sham procedure (1/3rd) or a left anterior descending ligation for 60 minutes (2/3rd). This was followed by 3 hours of reperfusion while animals were randomised either in a hyperoxic (HR) or a normoxic reperfusion group (NR). Baseline troponin (cTnT) was larger in SHR and ZR than WR (both p < 0.001). HR was associated with a lesser troponin rise in SHR and ZR than in NR (both p < 0.001); while the reverse occurred in WR (p < 0.001). In SHR, HR limited total MPO (myeloperoxydase) increase as compared to NR (p = 0.0056) to the contrary of total MPO in WR (p = 0.013). NR was associated with a drastic reduction of total thiols as compared to HR both in SHR and in ZR (both p < 0.001). Despite a heightened baseline OS, HR rather restrained myocardial necrosis and anti/pro-oxidant imbalance in SHR and ZR, to the reverse of healthy WR

Mastication Dyspraxia: A Neurodevelopmental Disorder Reflecting Disruption of the Cerebellocerebral Network Involved in Planned Actions

This paper reports the longitudinal clinical, neurocognitive, and neuroradiological findings in an adolescent patient with nonprogressive motor and cognitive disturbances consistent with a diagnosis of developmental coordination disorder (DCD). In addition to prototypical DCD, the development of mastication was severely impaired, while no evidence of swallowing apraxia, dysphagia, sensorimotor disturbances, abnormal tone, or impaired general cognition was found. He suffered from bronchopulmonary dysplasia and was ventilated as a newborn for 1.5 months. At the age of 3 months, a ventriculoperitoneal shunt was surgically installed because of obstructive hydrocephalus secondary to perinatal intraventricular bleeding. At the age of 5 years, the patient’s attempts to masticate were characterized by rough, effortful, and laborious biting movements confined to the vertical plane. Solid food particles had a tendency to get struck in his mouth and there was constant spillage. As a substitute for mastication, he moved the unground food with his fingers in a lateral direction to the mandibular and maxillary vestibule to externally manipulate and squeeze the food between cheek and teeth with the palm of his hand. Once the food was sufficiently soft, the bolus was correctly transported by the tongue in posterior direction and normal deglutition took place. Repeat magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) during follow-up disclosed mild structural abnormalities as the sequelae of the perinatal intraventricular bleeding, but this could not explain impaired mastication behavior. Quantified Tc-99m-ethylcysteinate dimer single-photon emission computed tomography (Tc-99m-ECD SPECT), however, revealed decreased perfusion in the left cerebellar hemisphere, as well as in both inferior lateral frontal regions, both motor cortices, and the right anterior and lateral temporal areas. Anatomoclinical findings in this patient with DCD not only indicate that the functional integrity of the cerebellocerebral network is crucially important in the planning and execution of skilled actions, but also seem to show for the first time that mastication deficits may be of true apraxic origin. As a result, it is hypothesized that “mastication dyspraxia” may have to be considered as a distinct nosological entity within the group of the developmental dyspraxias following a disruption of the cerebellocerebral network involved in planned actions

Temporal Dissociation between Myeloperoxidase (MPO)-Modified LDL and MPO Elevations during Chronic Sleep Restriction and Recovery in Healthy Young Men

OBJECTIVES: Many studies have evaluated the ways in which sleep disturbances may influence inflammation and the possible links of this effect to cardiovascular risk. Our objective was to investigate the effects of chronic sleep restriction and recovery on several blood cardiovascular biomarkers. METHODS AND RESULTS: Nine healthy male non-smokers, aged 22-29 years, were admitted to the Sleep Laboratory for 11 days and nights under continuous electroencephalogram polysomnography. The study consisted of three baseline nights of 8 hours sleep (from 11 pm to 7 am), five sleep-restricted nights, during which sleep was allowed only between 1 am and 6 am, and three recovery nights of 8 hours sleep (11 pm to 7 am). Myeloperoxidase-modified low-density lipoprotein levels increased during the sleep-restricted period indicating an oxidative stress. A significant increase in the quantity of slow-wave sleep was measured during the first recovery night. After this first recovery night, insulin-like growth factor-1 levels increased and myeloperoxidase concentration peaked. CONCLUSIONS: We observed for the first time that sleep restriction and the recovery process are associated with differential changes in blood biomarkers of cardiovascular disease

Solution of the Bethe-Salpeter equation for pion-nucleon scattering

A relativistic description of pion-nucleon scattering based on the four-dimensional Bethe-Salpeter equation is presented. The kernel of the equation consists of s- and u-channel nucleon and delta pole diagrams, as well as rho and sigma exchange in the t-channel. The Bethe-Salpeter equation is solved by means of a Wick rotation, and good fits are obtained to the s- and p-wave phase shifts up to 360 MeV pion laboratory energy. The coupling constants determined by the fits are consistent with the commonly accepted values in the literature.Comment: 34 pages, RevTeX; 7 figures. Several references added, a few typos corrected. Accepted for publication in Physical Review

Meson-exchange Model for πN\pi N scattering and γN−>πN\gamma N -> \pi N reaction

An effective Hamiltonian consisting of bare $\Delta \leftrightarrow\pi N$, $\gamma N$ vertex interactions and energy-independent meson-exchange $\pi N \leftrightarrow \pi N, \gamma N$ transition operators is derived by applying a unitary transformation to a model Lagrangian with $N,\Delta,\pi$, $\rho$, $\omega$, and $\gamma$ fields. With appropraite phenomenological form factors and coupling constants for $\rho$ and $\Delta$, the model can give a good description of $\pi N$ scattering phase shifts up to the $\Delta$ excitation energy region. It is shown that the best reproduction of the recent LEGS data of the photon-asymmetry ratios in $\gamma p \rightarrow \pi ^0 p$ reactions provides rather restricted constraints on the coupling strengths $G_E$ of the electric $E2$ and $G_M$ of the magnetic $M1$ transitions of the bare $\Delta \leftrightarrow \gamma N$ vertex and the less well-determined coupling constant $g_{\omega NN}$ of $\omega$ meson. Within the ranges that $G_M = 1.9 \pm 0.05$, $G_E = 0.0 \pm 0.025$, and $7 \leq g_{\omega NN}\leq 10.5$, the predicted differential cross sections and photon-asymmetry ratios are in an overall good agreement with the data of $\gamma p \rightarrow \pi ^0 p$, $\gamma p \rightarrow \pi ^+ n$, and $\gamma n\rightarrow \pi ^- p$ reactions from 180 MeV to the $\Delta$ excitation region. The predicted $M_{1^+}$ and $E_{1^+}$ multipole amplitudes are also in good agreement with the empirical values determined by the amplitude analyses. The constructed effective Hamiltonian is free of the nucleon renormlization problem and hence is suitable for nuclear many-body calculations. We have also shown that the assumptions made in the $K$-matrix method, commonly used in extracting empirically the $\gamma N \rightarrow \Delta$ transition amplitudes from the data, are consistent withComment: 49 pages + 23 Figures, Revte

Dynamical Study of the Delta Excitation in N(e,e' pi) Reactions

The dynamical model developed in [Phys. Rev. C 54, 2660 (1996)] has been applied to investigate the pion electroproduction reactions on the nucleon. It is found that the model can describe to a very large extent the recent data of p(e,e' pi^0) reaction from Jefferson Laboratory and MIT-Bates. The extracted magnetic dipole(M1), electric dipole(E2), and Coulomb(C2) strengths of the gamma N -> Delta transition are presented. It is found that the C2/M1 ratio drops significantly with Q^2 and reaches about -13% at Q^2=4 (GeV/c)^2, while the E2/M1 ratio remains close to the value \sim -3 % at the Q^2=0 photon point. The determined M1 transition form factor drops faster than the usual dipole form factor of the proton. We also find that the non-resonant interactions can dress the gamma N -> Delta vertex to enhance strongly its strength at low Q^2, but much less at high Q^2. Predictions are presented for future experimental tests. Possible developments of the model are discussed.Comment: 39 pages,17 figures, with RevTeX, to be submitted Phys. Rev.