Analysis of U1snRNP-specific A protein cross-linked complexes

AbstractThe organization of the UlsnRNP-specific A protein (34 kDa) has been analyzed by 12 and 16 Å thiol-reversible chemical cross-linking and Western blotting. A-containing cross-linked complexes had molecular masses of 43, 47, 56, 62, 67, 105 and 125 kDa. None of these complexes could be cross-linked following ribonuclease digestion, suggesting that UsnRNA may play important roles in the spatial organization of A and other proteins. Moreover, the data suggest that A is proximal to, and may have interactions with, UsnRNP-specific proteins C and 70 kDa as well as with UsnRNP-common proteins B, E and G

Nuclear Structure Studies of Light-Mass Radon Isotopes Using the 209-Bi(6-Li,xnγ) Reactions

This work was supported by National Science Foundation Grant PHY 75-00289 and Indiana Universit

High-Dose Chemotherapy Followed by Peripheral and/or Bone Marrow Stem Cell Transplant in Patients With Advanced Sarcoma: Experience of a Canadian Centre

Purpose: Few reports have been published on the evaluation of stem cell auto transplantation for chemosensitive sarcomas. Some suggest benefit, others do not. We present results of 24 patients with sarcoma undergoing autotransplantation at a Canadian institution

Study on the Effect of Post Weld Heat Treatment Parameters on the Relaxation of Welding Residual Stresses in Electron Beam Welded P91 Steel Plates

AbstractResidual stresses are created by localised heating effects that occur during the welding process. Post weld heat treatment (PWHT) is the most convenient method for stress relief of welds. But PWHT cannot completely eliminate the residual stresses. So, it is essential to determine the influence of PWHT parameters like holding temperature and time on the stress relaxation for optimising the process. The selected material is modified 9Cr-1Mo (Grade 91) steel in the form of plates welded together using a high intensity electron beam. To facilitate the study, a numerical thermo-elastic-plastic model has been developed to simulate the welding of the plates. As P91 steels undergo phase transformations, the corresponding volumetric change and transformation plasticity are taken into consideration during the analysis and welding residual stresses are predicted. PWHT is implemented using Norton creep law and the residual stresses after relaxation are determined. The developed model and the predictions are validated using neutron diffraction measurements on as welded and post weld heat treated plates. A good agreement has been achieved between the measurements and predictions. The validated model has been used to study the effect of variation of heat treatment parameters like holding temperature and time on the relaxation of welding stresses

Maternal Smoking During Pregnancy and Offspring Birth Weight: A Genetically-Informed Approach Comparing Multiple Raters

Maternal smoking during pregnancy (SDP) is a significant public health concern with adverse consequences to the health and well-being of the fetus. There is considerable debate about the best method of assessing SDP, including birth/medical records, timeline follow-back approaches, multiple reporters, and biological verification (e.g., cotinine). This is particularly salient for genetically-informed approaches where it is not always possible or practical to do a prospective study starting during the prenatal period when concurrent biological specimen samples can be collected with ease. In a sample of families (N = 173) specifically selected for sibling pairs discordant for prenatal smoking exposure, we: (1) compare rates of agreement across different types of report—maternal report of SDP, paternal report of maternal SDP, and SDP contained on birth records from the Department of Vital Statistics; (2) examine whether SDP is predictive of birth weight outcomes using our best SDP report as identified via step (1); and (3) use a sibling-comparison approach that controls for genetic and familial influences that siblings share in order to assess the effects of SDP on birth weight. Results show high agreement between reporters and support the utility of retrospective report of SDP. Further, we replicate a causal association between SDP and birth weight, wherein SDP results in reduced birth weight even when accounting for genetic and familial confounding factors via a sibling comparison approac

Passive \u3cem\u3er\u3c/em\u3eGE or Developmental Gene-Environment Cascade? An Investigation of the Role of Xenobiotic Metabolism Genes in the Association Between Smoke Exposure During Pregnancy and Child Birth Weight

There is considerable evidence that smoke exposure during pregnancy (SDP) environmentally influences birth weight after controlling for genetic influences and maternal characteristics. However, maternal smoking during pregnancy—the behavior that leads to smoke exposure during pregnancy—is also genetically-influenced, indicating the potential role of passive gene-environment correlation. An alternative to passive gene-SDP correlation is a cascading effect whereby maternal and child genetic influences are causally linked to prenatal exposures, which then have an ‘environmental’ effect on the development of the child’s biology and behavior. We describe and demonstrate a conceptual framework for disentangling passive rGE from this cascading GE effect using a systems-based polygenic scoring approach comprised of genes shown to be important in the xenobiotic (substances foreign to the body) metabolism pathway. Data were drawn from 5044 families from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children with information on maternal SDP, birth weight, and genetic polymorphisms in the xenobiotic pathway. Within a k-fold cross-validation approach (k = 5), we created weighted maternal and child polygenic scores using 18 polymorphisms from 10 genes that have been implicated in the xenobiotic metabolism pathway. Mothers and children shared variation in xenobiotic metabolism genes. Amongst mothers who smoked during pregnancy, neither maternal nor child xenobiotic metabolism polygenic scores were associated with a higher likelihood of smoke exposure during pregnancy, or the severity of smoke exposure during pregnancy (and therefore, neither proposed mechanism was supported), or with child birth weight. SDP was consistently associated with lower child birth weight controlling for the polygenic scores, maternal educational attainment, social class, psychiatric problems, and age. Limitations of the study design and the potential of the framework using other designs are discussed

Simple model for scanning tunneling spectroscopy of noble metal surfaces with adsorbed Kondo impurities

A simple model is introduced to describe conductance measurements between a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) tip and a noble metal surface with adsorbed transition metal atoms which display the Kondo effect. The model assumes a realistic parameterization of the potential created by the surface and a d3z2-r2 orbital for the description of the adsorbate. Fano lineshapes associated with the Kondo resonance are found to be sensitive to details of the adsorbate-substrate interaction. For instance, bringing the adsorbate closer to the surface leads to more asymmetric lineshapes while their dependence on the tip distance is weak. We find that it is important to use a realistic surface potential, to properly include the tunnelling matrix elements to the tip and to use substrate states which are orthogonal to the adsorbate and tip states. An application of our model to Co adsorbed on Cu explains the difference in the lineshapes observed between Cu(100) and Cu(111) surfaces.Comment: 11 pages, 8 eps figure

A thermal fluid dynamics framework applied to multi-component substrates experiencing fusion and vaporisation state transitions

The fluid dynamics of multi-component alloy systems subjected to high energy density sources of heat largely determines the local composition, microstructure, and material properties. In this work a multi-component thermal fluid dynamics framework is presented for the prediction of alloy system development due to melting, vaporisation, condensation and solidification phenomena. A volume dilation term is introduced into the continuity equation to account for the density jump between liquid and vapour species, conserving mass through vaporisation and condensation state changes. Mass diffusion, surface tension, the temperature dependence of surface tension, buoyancy terms and latent heat effects are incorporated. The framework is applied to describe binary vapour collapse into a heterogeneous binary liquid, and a high energy density power beam joining application; where a rigorous mathematical description of preferential element evaporation is presented