THE INTRACELLULAR DISTRIBUTION OF GAMMA GLOBULIN IN A MOUSE PLASMA CELL TUMOR (X5563) AS REVEALED BY FLUORESCENCE AND ELECTRON MICROSCOPY

Ferritin- and fluorescein-conjugated antibody staining has been applied to a study of a mouse plasma cell tumor. The presence of myeloma globulin within cisternae of the endoplasmic reticulum was observed at a stage of the secretory process when the remainder of the cytoplasm was essentially free of labeled globulin. The distribution of ferritin suggested a functional heterogeneity among units of the endoplasmic reticulum. Apparently, progressive accumulation of globulin results in distension of the endoplasmic reticulum and, occasionally, in the appearance of considerable quantities of this secretory protein in the extracisternal cytoplasmic matrix. Participation of the Golgi apparatus in the packaging and release of small quantitites of globulin seems likely. In addition, however, fragmentation of the peripheral cytoplasm with rupture of distended ergastoplasmic vesicles appeared to be another pathway whereby globulin is secreted

Методи оцінки ризиків в інформаційній системі аналізу екологічного стану басейну малої ріки

В інформаційній системі аналізу стану басейну малої ріки запропоновано методи оцінки ризиків на основі імовірнісних та статистичних оцінок, формалізації моделі гри з природою, прогнозування процесів підтоплення земель з використанням ланцюгів Маркова, розглянуто багато критеріальні моделі ризиків.In informational and analytical system of the small rivers’ ecological condition estimation the methods of risks modelling on the basis of likelihood and statistical estimations, formalization of models of game with nature, risk modelling and forecasting processes flooded lands using Markov chains are offered, multicriteria models of risks are considered

Accretion-ejection instability and QPO in black hole binaries. I. Observations

This is the first of two papers in which we address the physics of the low-frequency Quasi-Periodic Oscillation (QPO) of X-ray binaries, in particular those hosting a black hole. We discuss and repeat the recent analysis and spectral modelling of the micro-quasar GRO J1655 by Sobczak et al (2000, hereafter SMR), and compare it with GRS 1915; this leads us to confirm and analyze in more detail the different behavior noted by SMR, between GRO J1655 and other sources, when comparing the correlation between the QPO frequency and the disk inner radius. In a companion paper (Varniere et al., 2002, hereafter Paper II) we will show that these opposite behaviors can be explained in the context of the Accretion-Ejection Instability recently presented by Tagger and Pellat (1999). We thus propose that the difference between GRO J1655 and other sources comes from the fact that in the former, observed in a very high state, the disk inner radius always stays close to the Last Stable Orbit. In the course of this analysis, we also indicate interesting differences between the source properties, when the spectral fits give an anomalously low inner disk radius. This might indicate the presence of a spiral shock or a hot point in the disk.Comment: accepted by A&

Energy Dependence of a Low Frequency QPO in GRS 1915+105

We analyze a set of three RXTE Target of Opportunity observations of the Galactic microquasar GRS 1915+105, observed on April 2000, during a multi-wavelength campaign. During the three observations, a strong, variable low frequency (2-9 Hz) quasi periodic oscillation (hereafter QPO), often referred to as the ubiquitous QPO, is detected together with its first harmonic. We study the spectral properties of both features, and show that : 1) their frequency variations are better correlated with the soft X-ray flux (2-5 keV), favoring thus the location of the QPO in the accretion disk; 2) the QPO affects more the hard X-rays, usually taken as the signature of an inverse compton scattering of the soft photons in a corona; 3) the fundamental and its harmonic do not behave in the same manner: the fundamental sees its power increase with the energy up to 40 keV, whereas the harmonic increases up to $\sim 10$ keV. The results presented here could find an explanation in the context of the Accretion-Ejection Instability, which could appear as a rotating spiral or hot point located in the disk, between its innermost edge and the corotation radius. The presence of the harmonic could then be a signature of the non-linear behavior of the instability. The high-energy (>40 keV) decrease of the fundamental would favor an interpretation where most or all of the quasi-periodic modulation at high energies comes, not from the comptonized corona as usually assumed, but from a hot point in the optically thick diskComment: 8 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic

Characterizing a new class of variability in GRS 1915+105 with simultaneous INTEGRAL/RXTE observations

We report on the analysis of 100 ks INTEGRAL observations of the Galactic microquasar GRS 1915+105. We focus on INTEGRAL Revolution number 48 when the source was found to exhibit a new type of variability as preliminarily reported in Hannikainen et al. (2003). The variability pattern, which we name $\xi$, is characterized by a pulsing behaviour, consisting of a main pulse and a shorter, softer, and smaller amplitude precursor pulse, on a timescale of 5 minutes in the JEM-X 3-35 keV lightcurve. We also present simultaneous RXTE data. From a study of the individual RXTE/PCA pulse profiles we find that the rising phase is shorter and harder than the declining phase, which is opposite to what has been observed in other otherwise similar variability classes in this source. The position in the colour-colour diagram throughout the revolution corresponds to State A (Belloni et al. 2000) but not to any previously known variability class. We separated the INTEGRAL data into two subsets covering the maxima and minima of the pulses and fitted the resulting two broadband spectra with a hybrid thermal--non-thermal Comptonization model. The fits show the source to be in a soft state characterized by a strong disc component below ~6 keV and Comptonization by both thermal and non-thermal electrons at higher energies.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A. 11 pages, 10 figures, 4 in colour. Original figures can be found at http://www.astro.helsinki.fi/~diana/grs1915_rev48. Author affiliations correcte

Assessing cognitive insight in nonpsychiatric individuals and outpatients with schizophrenia in Taiwan: an investigation using the Beck Cognitive Insight Scale

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The Beck Cognitive Insight Scale (BCIS) was designed for the assessment of the cognitive processes involved in self-reflection and the ability to modify erroneous beliefs and misinterpretations. Studies investigating the factor structure of the BCIS have indicated a two-factor model in the psychotic population. The factor structure of the BCIS, however, has not received much consideration in the nonpsychiatric population. The present study examined the factor structure and validity of the BCIS and compared its scores between nonpsychiatric individuals and outpatients with psychosis.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>The Taiwanese version of the BCIS was administered to 507 nonpsychiatric individuals and 118 outpatients with schizophrenia. The psychometric properties of the BCIS were examined through the following analyses: exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, reliability, correlation analyses, and discriminative validity.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The BCIS showed adequate internal consistency and stability over time. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses on the 15-item measure indicated a two-factor solution that supported the two dimensions of the Taiwanese BCIS, which was also observed with the original BCIS. Following the construct validation, we obtained a composite index (self-reflectiveness minus self-certainty) of the Taiwanese BCIS that reflected cognitive insight. Consistent with previous studies, our results indicated that psychosis is associated with low self-reflectiveness and high self-certainty, which possibly reflect lower cognitive insight. Our results also showed that better cognitive insight is related to worse depression in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders, but not in nonpsychiatric individuals. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses revealed that the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.731. A composite index of 3 was a good limit, with a sensitivity of 87% and a specificity of 51%.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The BCIS proved to be useful for measuring cognitive insight in Taiwanese nonpsychiatric and psychotic populations.</p

Regularizing Portfolio Optimization

The optimization of large portfolios displays an inherent instability to estimation error. This poses a fundamental problem, because solutions that are not stable under sample fluctuations may look optimal for a given sample, but are, in effect, very far from optimal with respect to the average risk. In this paper, we approach the problem from the point of view of statistical learning theory. The occurrence of the instability is intimately related to over-fitting which can be avoided using known regularization methods. We show how regularized portfolio optimization with the expected shortfall as a risk measure is related to support vector regression. The budget constraint dictates a modification. We present the resulting optimization problem and discuss the solution. The L2 norm of the weight vector is used as a regularizer, which corresponds to a diversification "pressure". This means that diversification, besides counteracting downward fluctuations in some assets by upward fluctuations in others, is also crucial because it improves the stability of the solution. The approach we provide here allows for the simultaneous treatment of optimization and diversification in one framework that enables the investor to trade-off between the two, depending on the size of the available data set

Quality of life, functional outcome, and voice handicap index in partial laryngectomy patients for early glottic cancer

BACKGROUND: In this study, we aim to gather information about the quality of life issues, functional outcomes and voice problems facing early glottic cancer patients treated with the surgical techniques such as laryngofissure cordectomy, fronto-lateral laryngectomy, or cricohyoidopexi. In particular, consistency of life and voice quality issues with the laryngeal tissue excised during surgery is examined. In addition, the effects of arytenoidectomy to the life and voice quality are also studied. METHODS: 29 male patients were enrolled voluntarily in the study. The average age was 53.9 years. Three out of 10 patients with laryngofissure cordectomy also had arytenoidectomy. 11 patients had fronto-lateral laryngectomy with Tucker reconstruction, two of which also had arytenoidectomy. There were eight patients with cricohyoidopexi and bilateral functional neck dissection. Three of these patients also had arytenoidectomy. In bilateral functional neck dissection cases, spinal accessory nerve was preserved and level V of the neck was not dissected. None of the patients had neither radiotherapy nor voice therapy. Cordectomy patients never had a temporary tracheotomy or were connected to a feeding tube. Data was collected for 13 months for the cordectomy group, 14 months for fronto-lateral laryngectomy and cricohyoidopexi groups on average post-operatively. Statistical analysis in this study was carried out using the one-way analysis of variance, and the Post-Hoc group comparisons were made after Bonferroni and Scheffé-procedures. In order to determine the effects of arytenoidectomy, a regression analysis is carried out to see if there are statistical differences in answers given to the survey questions among patients who were arytenoidectomized during their surgeries. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant difference between cordectomy and cricohyoidopexi group in answers to the University of Washington- Quality of Life- Revised survey part 1. (p = 0). A statistically significant difference was also established between cordectomy and fronto-lateral laryngectomy groups, as well as between cordectomy and cricohyoidopexi groups in answers to the University of Washington- Quality of Life- Revised survey part 2. (p = 0,036 and p = 0.009, respectively). Cricohyoidopexi group has given the lowest scores and the cordectomy group has given the highest scores in three survey questions representing the quality of life, performances and new voices. These ranges are also consistent with the laryngeal tissue excised during surgery (cricohyoidopexi > fronto-lateral laryngectomy > cordectomy). There was no statistically significant difference between groups in Performance Status Scale for Head and Neck cancer patients instrument. The difference between the Voice Handicap Index and Voice Handicap Index (functional); Voice Handicap Index (physical) and Voice Handicap Index (emotional) scores in three patient groups was not significant either. All of the patients evaluated that their new voices have similar functional, physical and emotional impact on their life. Decanulation and oral feeding times of cricohyoidopexi and fronto-lateral laryngectomy patients are found to be significantly longer than cordectomy patients. Lastly, the removal of arytenoid does not have any significant adverse effects on the quality of life, the functional outcomes, or the quality of voice. CONCLUSION: In the present study, all patients with early glottic cancer, treated with different surgical technics reported fairly good quality of life outcomes, functional results and voice qualities. This study also finds that the removal of arytenoid does not have any adverse effects on the quality of life and voice from the patients' point of view

Dynamics of trimming the content of face representations for categorization in the brain

To understand visual cognition, it is imperative to determine when, how and with what information the human brain categorizes the visual input. Visual categorization consistently involves at least an early and a late stage: the occipito-temporal N170 event related potential related to stimulus encoding and the parietal P300 involved in perceptual decisions. Here we sought to understand how the brain globally transforms its representations of face categories from their early encoding to the later decision stage over the 400 ms time window encompassing the N170 and P300 brain events. We applied classification image techniques to the behavioral and electroencephalographic data of three observers who categorized seven facial expressions of emotion and report two main findings: (1) Over the 400 ms time course, processing of facial features initially spreads bilaterally across the left and right occipito-temporal regions to dynamically converge onto the centro-parietal region; (2) Concurrently, information processing gradually shifts from encoding common face features across all spatial scales (e.g. the eyes) to representing only the finer scales of the diagnostic features that are richer in useful information for behavior (e.g. the wide opened eyes in 'fear'; the detailed mouth in 'happy'). Our findings suggest that the brain refines its diagnostic representations of visual categories over the first 400 ms of processing by trimming a thorough encoding of features over the N170, to leave only the detailed information important for perceptual decisions over the P300

Structure of the TPR Domain of AIP: Lack of Client Protein Interaction with the C-Terminal alpha-7 Helix of the TPR Domain of AIP Is Sufficient for Pituitary Adenoma Predisposition

PMCID: PMC3534021This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited