Application of the Electrically Scanning Microwave Radiometer (ESMR) to classification of the moisture condition of the ground

The ability of the Nimbus 5 ESMR to characterize the moisture condition of the uppermost portion of the soil was evaluated. In the absence of snow cover, ESMR-5 brightness temperatures were compared with computed upper soil zone moisture values from a soil moisture budgeting scheme. The study was conducted over the U.S. Great Plains for the late summer and early fall in 1974 and 1975. Favorable results were limited by the relatively high vegetative cover and infrequent substantial rainfalls at that time of year. Satisfactory characterization of the general moisture condition was deemed feasible in agricultural regions at times of the year when fields were nearly bare. An additional evaluation demonstrated that ESMR-6 data could delineate the active boundary of a snow pack

Changes in Estrogen Receptor Alpha (ERα) Phosphorylation in Human T Cells

Estrogen has two receptor proteins, estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) and estrogen receptor beta (ERβ). ERα can undergo multiple post-transcriptional modifications (PTMs); however, relatively little is known about the function and regulation of any of the PTMs that ERα can potentially undergo, especially in vivo. In total, 19 phosphorylation sites have been identified in ERα thus far, and most sites contain a Ser-Pro motif. Different pathways are responsible for the phosphorylation of different sites. These pathways include mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling, IkappaB kinase complex alpha (IKKα), cyclin-dependent kinase 7 (CDK7), a subunit of transcription factor II H, protein kinase B (PKB), glycogen synthesis kinase-3 beta (GSK3β), mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR/p70S6K), ribosomal s6 kinase (Rsk), and casein kinase II. Here, phosphorylation of three sites between resting and activated human T cells are compared. T cells were purified and total proteins were extracted from both resting and activated T cells. Changes in ERα were investigated via immunoprecipitation and Western blot. The amount of phosphorylation at each site was compared between resting and activated T cells, and the amount of phosphorylated receptor was adjusted to the total ERα in each sample. The results for a sample size of ten indicated that when ERα is at 100%, Ser 104/106 resting T cells are 89.30% and active are 92.00%, Ser 118 resting T cells are 80.08% and activated are 87.54%, and Ser 167 resting T cells are 86.44% and activated are 78.35%. Statistical analysis revealed the results were significant for both resting and activated T cell for ERα Ser 118 and Ser 167, but not for Ser 104/106 in those same conditions. These results provide a baseline for studying the phosphorylation changes in SLE patients. It is known that the MAPK-ERK1/2 pathway is abnormal in SLE; therefore, it is hypothesized there will be a decrease in phosphorylation in activated T cells compared with control

Constitutional Law - Fifth Amendment - Right to Counsel - Custodial Interrogation

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that once a suspect invokes his right to counsel, and he is allowed to consult with counsel, he may not be subsequently interrogated without his counsel present. Commonwealth v Santiago, 528 Pa 516, 599 A2d 200 (1991)

Recent Developments: Taylor v. State: Under Maryland Rule 5-806, a Party May Attack the Credibility of a Hearsay Declarant during the Cross-Examination of a Testifying Witness but May Not Present Proof of a Declarant\u27s Misconduct

Please note that the matter discussed in this article has been expunged from Mr. Taylor\u27s record

The Biochemistry of Siderophore Biosynthesis

Pathogenic bacteria are becoming increasingly antibiotic resistant. For this reason, the development of novel antibiotics is extremely important. A potential new target for antimicrobial drugs is the production of siderophores. Pseudomonas aeruginosa produces two siderophores under iron-limiting conditions, pyoverdin and pyochelin. Pyoverdin contains ornithine derivatives as part of the peptide backbone important for iron chelation. PvdA, an ornithine hydroxylase, performs the first step in derivation of the ornithine followed with formylation by PvdF, a formyl transferase. Biochemical characterization of PvdA reveals that PvdA is specific for the coenzymes, FAD and NADPH, as well as for the substrate, L-ornithine. The enzyme follows Michaelis-Menten kinetics measuring NADPH oxidation, but substrate inhibition is detected when measuring the formation of hydroxylated product. Lysine is determined as a nonsubstrate effector and mixed inhibitor of PvdA with respect to ornithine. Chloride is a competitive inhibitor of the enzyme in relation to NADPH while a mixed inhibitor with respect to substrate. A mercurial compound, p-chloromercuribenzoate, is also a mixed inhibitor in relation to substrate. Steady state experiments reveal a ternary complex of PvdA:FAD with NADPH and ornithine during catalysis. PvdA was further characterized with transient state kinetics to develop a catalytic mechanism. The flavin in complex with PvdA can be reduced in the absence of substrate. Oxidation of the reduced flavin in the presence of substrate indicates the formation of two transient intermediates, hydroperoxyflavin and hydroxyflavin. However, in the absence of substrate, only the hydroxyflavin intermediate is detected and oxidation of the flavin is not through the production of hydrogen peroxide. A biochemical comparison of PvdA to two homologues, para-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase (PHBH from Pseudomonas fluorescens) and flavin-containing monooxygenases (FMOs from Schizosaccharomyces pombe and hog liver microsomes) indicates that PvdA proceeds by a novel reaction mechanism. Structural characterization of PvdA and PvdF by x-ray crystallography is underway. Crystallization studies of the NADPH reductases involved in the synthesis of pyochelin from P. aeruginosa (PchG) and yersiniabactin from Yersinia enterocolitica (Irp3) are also being performed. The structures of these enzymes are a first step towards the rational design of new inhibitors for use as new antimicrobial agents

Application of the Nimbus 5 ESMR to rainfall detection over land surfaces

The ability of the Nimbus 5 Electrically Scanning Microwave Radiometer (ESMR) to detect rainfall over land surfaces was evaluated. The ESMR brightness temperatures (Tb sub B) were compared with rainfall reports from climatological stations for a limited number of rain events over portions of the U.S. The greatly varying emissivity of land surfaces precludes detection of actively raining areas. Theoretical calculations using a ten-layer atmospheric model showed this to be an expected result. Detection of rain which had fallen was deemed feasible over certain types of land surfaces by comparing the Tb sub B fields before and after the rain fell. This procedure is reliable only over relatively smooth terrain having a substantial fraction of bare soil, such as exists in major agricultural regions during the dormant or early growing seasons. Soil moisture budgets were computed at selected sites to show how the observed emissivity responded to changes in the moisture content of the upper soil zone