76 research outputs found
Comparison of the outcomes of the sling technique using a commercial and hand-made polypropylene sling
Search for Strange Quark Matter Produced in Relativistic Heavy Ion Collisions
We present the final results from Experiment 864 of a search for charged and
neutral strange quark matter produced in interactions of 11.5 GeV/c per nucleon
Au beams with Pt or Pb targets. Searches were made for strange quark matter
with A>4. Approximately 30 billion 10% most central collisions were sampled and
no strangelet states with A<100 were observed. We find 90% confidence level
upper limits of approximately 10^{-8} per central collision for both charged
and neutral strangelets. These limits are for strangelets with proper lifetimes
greater than 50 ns. Also limits for H^{0}-d and pineut production are given.
The above limits are compared with the predictions of various models. The
yields of light nuclei from coalescence are measured and a penalty factor for
the addition of one nucleon to the coalescing nucleus is determined. This is
useful in gauging the significance of our upper limits and also in planning
future searches for strange quark matter.Comment: 35 pages, 18 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Helping women to good health: breast cancer, omega-3/omega-6 lipids, and related lifestyle factors
SARS Coronavirus nsp1 Protein Induces Template-Dependent Endonucleolytic Cleavage of mRNAs: Viral mRNAs Are Resistant to nsp1-Induced RNA Cleavage
SARS coronavirus (SCoV) nonstructural protein (nsp) 1, a potent inhibitor of host gene expression, possesses a unique mode of action: it binds to 40S ribosomes to inactivate their translation functions and induces host mRNA degradation. Our previous study demonstrated that nsp1 induces RNA modification near the 5′-end of a reporter mRNA having a short 5′ untranslated region and RNA cleavage in the encephalomyocarditis virus internal ribosome entry site (IRES) region of a dicistronic RNA template, but not in those IRES elements from hepatitis C or cricket paralysis viruses. By using primarily cell-free, in vitro translation systems, the present study revealed that the nsp1 induced endonucleolytic RNA cleavage mainly near the 5′ untranslated region of capped mRNA templates. Experiments using dicistronic mRNAs carrying different IRESes showed that nsp1 induced endonucleolytic RNA cleavage within the ribosome loading region of type I and type II picornavirus IRES elements, but not that of classical swine fever virus IRES, which is characterized as a hepatitis C virus-like IRES. The nsp1-induced RNA cleavage of template mRNAs exhibited no apparent preference for a specific nucleotide sequence at the RNA cleavage sites. Remarkably, SCoV mRNAs, which have a 5′ cap structure and 3′ poly A tail like those of typical host mRNAs, were not susceptible to nsp1-mediated RNA cleavage and importantly, the presence of the 5′-end leader sequence protected the SCoV mRNAs from nsp1-induced endonucleolytic RNA cleavage. The escape of viral mRNAs from nsp1-induced RNA cleavage may be an important strategy by which the virus circumvents the action of nsp1 leading to the efficient accumulation of viral mRNAs and viral proteins during infection
Brf1 loss and not overexpression disrupts tissues homeostasis in the intestine, liver and pancreas
RNA polymerase III (Pol-III) transcribes tRNAs and other small RNAs essential for protein synthesis and cell growth. Pol-III is deregulated during carcinogenesis; however, its role in vivo has not been studied. To address this issue, we manipulated levels of Brf1, a Pol-III transcription factor that is essential for recruitment of Pol-III holoenzyme at tRNA genes in vivo. Knockout of Brf1 led to embryonic lethality at blastocyst stage. In contrast, heterozygous Brf1 mice were viable, fertile and of a normal size. Conditional deletion of Brf1 in gastrointestinal epithelial tissues, intestine, liver and pancreas, was incompatible with organ homeostasis. Deletion of Brf1 in adult intestine and liver induced apoptosis. However, Brf1 heterozygosity neither had gross effects in these epithelia nor did it modify tumorigenesis in the intestine or pancreas. Overexpression of BRF1 rescued the phenotypes of Brf1 deletion in intestine and liver but was unable to initiate tumorigenesis. Thus, Brf1 and Pol-III activity are absolutely essential for normal homeostasis during development and in adult epithelia. However, Brf1 overexpression or heterozygosity are unable to modify tumorigenesis, suggesting a permissive, but not driving role for Brf1 in the development of epithelial cancers of the pancreas and gut
Effects of Quillaja saponaria extract alone or in combination with Yucca schidigera extract on ruminal fermentation and methanogenesis in vitro
Acculturation, Food Insecurity, Diet Quality, and Body Mass Index Among Pre-Conception-Aged Latino Women in Eastern North Carolina
Racial disparities in healthy behaviors and cancer screening among breast cancer survivors and women without cancer: National Health Interview Survey 2005
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