Identification of an interchromosomal compartment by polymerization of nuclear-targeted vimentin

A number of structural and functional subnuclear compartments have been described, including regions exclusive of chromosomes previously hypothesized to form a reactive nuclear space. We have now explored this accessible nuclear space and interchromosomal nucleoplasmic domains experimentally using Xenopus vimentin engineered to contain a nuclear localization signal (NLS-vimentin). In stably transfected human cells incubated at 37°C, the NLS-vimentin formed a restricted number of intranuclear speckles. At 28°C, the optimal temperature for assembly of the amphibian protein, NLSvimentin progressively extended with time out from the speckles into strictly orientated intranuclear filamentous arrays. This enabled us to observe the development of a system of interconnecting channel-like areas. Quantitative analysis based on 3-D imaging microscopy revealed that these arrays were localized almost exclusively outside of chromosome territories. During mitosis the filaments disassembled and dispersed throughout the cytoplasm, while in anaphase-telophase the vimentin was recruited back into the nucleus and reassembled into filaments at the chromosome surfaces, in distributions virtually identical to those observed in the previous interphase. The filaments also colocalized with specific nuclear RNAs, coiled bodies and PML bodies, all situated outside of chromosome territories, thereby interlinking these structures. This strongly implies that these nuclear entities coexist in the same interconnected nuclear compartment. The assembling NLS-vimentin is restricted to and can be used to delineate, at least in part, the formerly proposed reticular interchromosomal domain compartment (ICD). The properties of NLS-vimentin make it an excellent tool for performing structural and functional studies on this compartment

A meta-model for automatic modeling dynamic web applications

This paper proposes an approach to automatically transform source code of a web application into an abstraction model. A Web Application Program Dependency (WAPD) meta-model is being proposed to store dependency information based on a multi-tiered architecture, corresponding to web application’s behavior. A WebParseTree is used as an intermediate model for the transformation from the source code to the WAPD model. The WebParseTree is a DOM-like tree that consists of statements and dependencies stored information and behavior in the tree. To ensure that the resulting model is valid, it must conform to the defined web application rules. This validation step can be done automatically by a constraint validator using Object Constraint Language (OCL). The WAPD model will be represented as a generic model for web applications which can be used for many purposes such as automatic test case generation and automatic code transformation

The HLA System and Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66382/1/j.1399-0039.1978.tb01313.x.pd

Utilization of an Electron-Beam Tester for Determining Internal Electric Field Profiles in Micro-Structured Thin-Film Semiconductor Devices

An electron-beam tester was used to determine the depth profile of the internal potential distribution in an a-Si:H solar cell and hence the internal electric field profile. The a-Si:H solar cells were prepared for the measurements with the electron-beam tester by low-energy chemical plasma beam etching through a plasma-resistant mask structured by electron-beam lithography. In contrast to an earlier work, the solar cells were in situ illuminated and the electric field profiles were determined for new, degraded and in situ annealed solar cells at various cell temperatures. The measuring results demonstrate that the electron-beam testing technique in combination with a suitable micro-structure preparation method is appropriate to measure internal electric field profiles in semiconductor devices as, e.g., solar cells for arbitrarily chosen bias and illumination states

The Steady Boundary Layer due to a Fast Vortex

A point vortex located above and convected parallel to a wall is an important model of the process by which a boundary layer becomes unstable due to external disturbances. Often it has been assumed that the boundary layer due to the passage of the vortex is inherently unsteady. Here we show that for a vortex convected by a uniform shear flow, there is a steady solution when the speed of the vortex cv is sufficiently fast. The existence of the steady solution is demonstrated analytically in the limit of large vortex velocity (cv→∞) and numerically at more moderate speeds. This solution may provide a useful base state about which to investigate the stability of a boundary layer induced by external disturbances

Harnessing software development contexts to inform software process selection decisions

Software development is a complex process for which numerous approaches have been suggested. However, no single approach to software development has been met with universal acceptance, which is not surprising, as there are many different software development concerns. In addition, there are a multitude of other contextual factors that influence the choice of software development process and process management decisions. The authors believe it is important to develop a robust mechanism for relating software process decisions and software development contexts. Such an approach supports industry practitioners in their efforts to implement the software development processes vital for a particular set of contextual factors. In this paper, the authors outline a new tool-based framework for relating the complexity of software settings with the various aspects of software processes. This framework can extract the key software process concepts from process repositories, for example, from CMMI-DEV or ISO/IEC 15504-5 (a.k.a. SPICE – Software Process Improvement and Capability dEtermination). A team of software development experts then collaborates in order to identify and validate the strength and nature of the relationship between the key process concepts and the contextual factors that are known to affect the software development process. The result of this collaboration is a prototype of a flexible model, which can be extended over time into a broader process consideration, for example, where agile processes or further specific situational factors could be added to the framework. The authors contend that a model such as the one proposed in this paper can serve as a valuable tool, assisting software developers in making decisions regarding the selection of software best practices, as well as providing general guidance for process improvement initiatives

Indoor Inertial Waypoint Navigation for the Blind

Indoor navigation technology is needed to support seamless mobility for the visually impaired. This paper describes the construction and evaluation of an inertial dead reckoning navigation system that provides real-time auditory guidance along mapped routes. Inertial dead reckoning is a navigation technique coupling step counting together with heading estimation to compute changes in position at each step. The research described here outlines the development and evaluation of a novel navigation system that utilizes information from the mapped route to limit the problematic error accumulation inherent in traditional dead reckoning approaches. The prototype system consists of a wireless inertial sensor unit, placed at the users’ hip, which streams readings to a smartphone processing a navigation algorithm. Pilot human trials were conducted assessing system efficacy by studying route-following performance with blind and sighted subjects using the navigation system with real-time guidance, versus offline verbal directions

A strategy for the characterization of minute chromosome rearrangements using multiple color fluorescence in situ hybridization with chromosome-specific DNA libraries and YAC clones

The identification of marker chromosomes in clinical and tumor cytogenetics by chromosome banding analysis can create problems. In this study, we present a strategy to define minute chromosomal rearrangements by multicolor fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with whole chromosome painting probes derived from chromosome-specific DNA libraries and Alu-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products of various region-specific yeast artificial chromosome (YAC) clones. To demonstrate the usefulness of this strategy for the characterization of chromosome rearrangements unidentifiable by banding techniques, an 8p+ marker chromosome with two extra bands present in the karyotype of a child with multiple anomalies, malformations, and severe mental retardation was investigated. A series of seven-color FISH experiments with sets of fluorochrome-labeled DNA library probes from flow-sorted chromosomes demonstrated that the additional segment on 8p+ was derived from chromosome 6. For a more detailed characterization of the marker chromosome, three-color FISH experiments with library probes specific to chromosomes 6 and 8 were performed in combination with newly established telomeric and subtelomeric YAC clones from 6q25, 6p23, and 8p23. These experiments demonstrated a trisomy 6pter6p22 and a monosomy 8pter8p23 in the patient. The present limitations for a broad application of this strategy and its possible improvements are discusse

What influences the speed of prototyping? An empirical investigation of twenty software startups

It is essential for startups to quickly experiment business ideas by building tangible prototypes and collecting user feedback on them. As prototyping is an inevitable part of learning for early stage software startups, how fast startups can learn depends on how fast they can prototype. Despite of the importance, there is a lack of research about prototyping in software startups. In this study, we aimed at understanding what are factors influencing different types of prototyping activities. We conducted a multiple case study on twenty European software startups. The results are two folds, firstly we propose a prototype-centric learning model in early stage software startups. Secondly, we identify factors occur as barriers but also facilitators for prototyping in early stage software startups. The factors are grouped into (1) artifacts, (2) team competence, (3) collaboration, (4) customer and (5) process dimensions. To speed up a startups progress at the early stage, it is important to incorporate the learning objective into a well-defined collaborative approach of prototypingComment: This is the author's version of the work. Copyright owner's version can be accessed at doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57633-6_2, XP2017, Cologne, German

Detection of chromosome aberrations in metaphase and interphase tumor cells by in situ hybridization using chromosome-specific library probes

Chromosome aberrations in two glioma cell lines were analyzed using biotinylated DNA library probes that specifically decorate chromosomes 1, 4, 7, 18 and 22 from pter to qter. Numerical changes, deletions and rearrangements of these chromosomes were radily visualized in metaphase spreads, as well as in early prophase and interphase nuclei. Complete chromosomes, deleted chromosomes and segments of translocated chromosomes were rapidly delineated in very complex karyotypes. Simultaneous hybridizations with additional subregional probes were used to further define aberrant chromosomes. Digital image analysis was used to quantitate the total complement of specific chromosomal DNAs in individual metaphase and interphase cells of each cell line. In spite of the fact that both glioma lines have been passaged in vitro for many years, an under-representation of chromosome 22 and an over-representation of chromosome 7 (specifically 7p) were observed. These observations agree with previous studies on gliomas. In addition, sequences of chromosome 4 were also found to be under-represented, especially in TC 593. These analyses indicate the power of these methods for pinpointing chromosome segments that are altered in specific types of tumors