Czechoslovakian Stutters

In the May 1980 Colloquy, Sam Edelson noted the Haverford College chemistry professor VicTOR TORTORelli, and the editor speculated whether he was inclined toward brINGING IN GINGer snaps for snacks between lectures. No doubt there are other examples in English, but the following article demonstrates that the Czech language is especially rich in such stutters

Czech Words with Diacritical Marks

This article lists words in Czech having a diacritical mark over every letter -- that is, the little line, the little hook, or the little circle. There are fifteen different letters that can be used

Czech Words Containing Numbers

Many English number-names can be imbedded in words or split between two words; Martin Gardner exploited the latter idea in a Kickshaws quiz. Alternatively, the sounds of number-names can be embedded. Similar games can be played in Czech; in fact, writing short stories with numbers substituted in appropriate words is a common logological pastime. The following summary of Czech number-words was translated by Harry Partridge of Manhattan Beach, CA

Embedding Paths and Circuits into the Hypercube

Article信州大学工学部紀要 65: 1-16 (1989)departmental bulletin pape

Gene targeting in the mouse nervous system

pre-printOur understanding of the development, connectivity and function of the nervous system has been facilitated by gene targeting technology. Here we summarize the historic background and the current state of this experimental approach with specific regard to neuroscience research. I. The Pioneering Experiments. Random mutagenesis is a very powerful method for elucidating gene function in simpler model organisms. Given the size of the genome and slow reproductive cycles, however, a more direct approach is required for mammalian models. This need was met in the early 1980's by establishing gene targeting in embryonic stem cells, later nicknamed mouse knockout. This technology was born at the confluence of two lines of experimentation: Firstly, the capacity of most mammalian somatic cells to carry out homologous recombination between endogenous loci and exogenous DNA was discovered. Secondly, pluripotent embryonic stem cell lines have been established that maintained the ability to intermingle with the early mouse embryo and contribute to the germline, thereby conferring heritability, even after extensive culturing in vitro

Novel mutation in CCBE 1 as a cause of recurrent hydrops fetalis from Hennekam lymphangiectasia-lymphedema syndrome-1.

Whole exome sequencing (WES) was used to determine the etiology of recurrent hydrops fetalis in this case of Hennekam lymphangiectasia-lymphedema syndrome-1. WES is a useful approach for diagnosing rare single-gene conditions with nonspecific phenotypes and should be considered early in the diagnostic process of investigating fetal abnormalities

Nature-Inspired Algorithms in Real-World Optimization Problems

Eight popular nature inspired algorithms are compared with the blind random search and three advanced adaptive variants of differential evolution (DE) on real-world problems benchmark collected for CEC 2011 algorithms competition. The results show the good performance of the adaptive DE variants and their superiority over the other algorithms in the test problems. Some of the nature-inspired algorithms perform even worse that the blind random search in some problems. This is a strong argument for recommendation for application, where well-verified algorithm successful in competitions should be preferred instead of developing some new algorithms

Competition between neighbouring topogenic signals during membrane protein insertion into the ER membrane

To better define the mechanism of membrane protein insertion into the membrane of the endoplasmic reticulum, we measured the kinetics of translocation across microsomal membranes of the N-terminal lumenal tail and the lumenal domain following the second transmembrane segment (TM2) in the multispanning mouse protein Cig30. In the wild-type protein, the N-terminal tail translocates across the membrane before the downstream lumenal domain. Addition of positively charged residues to the N-terminal tail dramatically slows down its translocation and allows the downstream lumenal domain to translocate at the same time as or even before the N-tail. When TM2 is deleted, or when the loop between TM1 and TM2 is lengthened, addition of positively charged residues to the N-terminal tail causes TM1 to adopt an orientation with its N-terminal end in the cytoplasm. We suggest that the topology of the TM1-TM2 region of Cig30 depends on a competition between TM1 and TM2 such that the transmembrane segment that inserts first into the ER membrane determines the final topology

Preclinical models of middle cerebral artery occlusion: new imaging approaches to a classic technique

Stroke remains a major burden on patients, families, and healthcare professionals, despite major advances in prevention, acute treatment, and rehabilitation. Preclinical basic research can help to better define mechanisms contributing to stroke pathology, and identify therapeutic interventions that can decrease ischemic injury and improve outcomes. Animal models play an essential role in this process, and mouse models are particularly well-suited due to their genetic accessibility and relatively low cost. Here, we review the focal cerebral ischemia models with an emphasis on the middle cerebral artery occlusion technique, a “gold standard” in surgical ischemic stroke models. Also, we highlight several histologic, genetic, and in vivo imaging approaches, including mouse stroke MRI techniques, that have the potential to enhance the rigor of preclinical stroke evaluation. Together, these efforts will pave the way for clinical interventions that can mitigate the negative impact of this devastating disease