Rotating mandrel for assembly of inflatable devices Patent

Rotating, multisided mandrel for fabricating gored inflatable spacecraf

<chemically milled aluminum-polypropylene laminates as suitable materials for use in communication satellites< final report

Mylar and polypropylene laminates with aluminum as materials for communication satellite

Traveling sealer for contoured table Patent

Sealing apparatus for joining two pieces of frangible material

Rotating mandrel speeds assembly of plastic inflatables

Rotating mandrel permits the accurate cutting, forming, and sealing of plastic gores for assembly of an inflatable surface of revolution. The gores remain on the mandrel until the final seam is reached. Tolerances are tightly controlled by the mandrel configuration

PHENIX measurement of jet properties and their modification in heavy-ion collisions

The properties of jets produced in p+p, d+Au and Au+Au collisions at sqrt{s_NN}=200 GeV are studied using the method of two particle correlations. The trigger particle is assumed to be a leading particle from a high p_T jet while the associated particle is assumed to come from either the same jet or the away jet. From the angular width and yield of the same and away side correlation peaks, the parameters characterizing the jet properties are extracted.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, contribution to the proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Ultra-Relativistic Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions (Quark Matter, Oakland, January 11-17, 2004). To appear in the proceedings (Journal of Physics G

Specific recognition nucleotides and their DNA context determine the affinity of E2 protein for 17 binding sites in the BPV-1 genome

The DNA context of nucleotides that a protein recognizes can influence the strength of the protein-DNA interaction. Moreover, in prokaryotes, understanding the quantitative differences in binding affinities that result in part from the DNA context is often important in describing regulatory mechanisms. Nevertheless, these issues have not been a major focus yet for the investigation of protein-DNA interactions in eukaryotes. In this study, we explored the binding specificity and the range of affinities that the BPV-1 E2 transcriptional activator has for DNA. Because E2 binding sites are positioned near several different BPV-1 promoters, such quantitative information may be important to understand transcriptional regulatory mechanisms in BPV-1. Gel retardation assays and DNA footprinting were used to quantitate the affinities of the E2 binding sites in the viral genome. In the process, five sites were discovered, which, on the basis of sequence, had not been predicted previously to interact with the E2 protein. Equilibrium and kinetic studies show that the range of E2 affinities of the 17 sites varied over 300-fold. The sequence elements responsible for E2 recognition of DNA were determined by missing contact analysis of several sites and a point mutation analysis of one site. The results presented show that the affinity of an E2 binding site is to a large extent determined by the availability of specific contacts, but the data also strongly suggest that DNA structure plays an important role

Dynamic look at DNA unwinding by a replicative helicase

A prerequisite for DNA replication is the unwinding of duplex DNA catalyzed by a replicative hexameric helicase. Despite a growing body of research, key elements of helicase mechanism remain under substantial debate. In particular, the number of DNA strands encircled by the helicase ring during unwinding and the ring orientation at the replication fork completely contrast in contemporary mechanistic models. Here we use single-molecule and ensemble assays to address these questions for the papillomavirus E1 helicase. We find that E1 unwinds DNA with a strand-exclusion mechanism, with the N-terminal side of the helicase ring facing the replication fork. We show that E1 generates strikingly heterogeneous unwinding patterns stemming from varying degrees of repetitive movements, which is modulated by the DNA-binding domain. Together, our studies reveal previously unrecognized dynamic facets of replicative helicase unwinding mechanisms

Non-stationary compositions of Anosov diffeomorphisms

Motivated by non-equilibrium phenomena in nature, we study dynamical systems whose time-evolution is determined by non-stationary compositions of chaotic maps. The constituent maps are topologically transitive Anosov diffeomorphisms on a 2-dimensional compact Riemannian manifold, which are allowed to change with time - slowly, but in a rather arbitrary fashion. In particular, such systems admit no invariant measure. By constructing a coupling, we prove that any two sufficiently regular distributions of the initial state converge exponentially with time. Thus, a system of the kind loses memory of its statistical history rapidly

Correlation measurements in high-multiplicity events

Requirements for correlation measurements in high--multiplicity events are discussed. Attention is focussed on detection of so--called hot spots, two--particle rapidity correlations, two--particle momentum correlations (for quantum interferometry) and higher--order correlations. The signal--to--noise ratio may become large in the high--multiplicity limit, allowing meaningful single--event measurements, only if the correlations are due to collective behavior.Comment: MN 55455, 20 pages, KSUCNR-011-92 and TPI-MINN-92/47-T (revised). Revised to correct typo in equation (30), and to fill in a few steps in calculations. Now published as Phys. Rev. C 47 (1993) 232

A combination of autoantibodies to cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP) and HLA-DRB1 locus antigens is strongly associated with future onset of rheumatoid arthritis

Antibodies against cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP) and rheumatoid factors (RFs) have been demonstrated to predate the onset of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by years. A nested case–control study was performed within the Northern Sweden Health and Disease study cohort to analyse the presence of shared epitope (SE) genes, defined as HLA-DRB1*0404 or DRB1*0401, and of anti-CCP antibodies and RFs in individuals who subsequently developed RA. Patients with RA were identified from among blood donors whose samples had been collected years before the onset of symptoms. Controls matched for age, sex, and date of sampling were selected randomly from the same cohort. The SE genes were identified by polymerase chain reaction sequence-specific primers. Anti-CCP2 antibodies and RFs were determined using enzyme immunoassays. Fifty-nine individuals with RA were identified as blood donors, with a median antedating time of 2.0 years (interquartile range 0.9–3.9 years) before presenting with symptoms of RA. The sensitivity for SE as a diagnostic indicator for RA was 60% and the specificity was 64%. The corresponding figures for anti-CCP antibodies were 37% and 98%, and for RFs, 17–42% and 94%, respectively. In a logistic regression analysis, SE (odds ratio [OR] = 2.35), anti-CCP antibodies (OR = 15.9), and IgA-RF (OR = 6.8) significantly predicted RA. In a combination model analysis, anti-CCP antibodies combined with SE had the highest OR (66.8, 95% confidence interval 8.3–539.4) in predicting RA, compared with anti-CCP antibodies without SE (OR = 25.01, 95% confidence interval 2.8–222.2) or SE without anti-CCP antibodies (OR = 1.9, 95% confidence interval 0.9–4.2). This study showed that the presence of anti-CCP antibodies together with SE gene carriage is associated with a very high relative risk for future development of RA