Track and capture of the orbiter with the space station remote manipulator system

Results of the first study using the real-time, man-in-the-loop Systems Engineering Simulator (SES) for track and capture of the Space Shuttle Orbiter with the space station manipulator are presented. The objectives include evaluation of the operational coordination required between the orbiter pilot and the space station manipulator operator, evaluation of the locations and required number of closed-circuit television cameras, and evaluation of the orbiter grapple fixture clearance geometry. The SES is a premium quality real-time facility with full fidelity orbiter and space station crew workstations and cockpits

Salt tolerant wheat landraces and Gly II transformed lines show distinct biochemical mechanisms of stress tolerance

The present investigation was carried out to study the distinct salt tolerance mechanism in two sets of material, Gly II transgenics and Kharchia landraces. The Gly II transgenics were developed for glyoxalase II (osglyII) gene (GenBank accession no. AY054407) from Oryza sativa through Agrobacterium mediated method in the background of wheat cultivar PBW 621. Kharchia 65 is a salt tolerant landrace derivative developed from Kharchia local which is native to saline soils of Rajasthan. The six wheat genotypes, viz. Kharchia local, Kharchia 65, PBW 621, G-2-2, G-3-4 and G-1-13 were evaluated for growth parameters, antioxidant enzymes and contents of glutathione, ascorbic acid, malondialdehyde (MDA), H2O2, sugars, chlorophyll, carotenoid, electrolyte leakage (EL) and Na+, K+ under control and two salt treatments (150 mM and 250 mM NaCl). The activities of antioxidant enzymes, glutathione, sugar content increased in both GlyII and Kharchia genotypes as compared to PBW 621. The GlyII activity increased (77–84%) in GlyII genotypes alongwith content of reduced glutathione (GSH) to maintain redox homeostasis. Apparently, GlyII and Kharchia genotypes exhibited minimum oxidative stress due to low content of MDA, H2O2, diminished EL and thereby causing less growth reduction and maintaining high chlorophyll and carotenoid level as compared to PBW 621. In addition, Gly II transgenic material and Kharchia lines showed less Na+ accumulation, greater seedling biomass and sugar content due to its salt tolerance mechanism. We infer that GlyII activity enhances GSH which play significant role in detoxifying ROS to establish stress homeostasis. The route for generation of GSH is via ascorbate-glutathione pathway mediated by glutathione reductase. Hence, GlyII transgenics and Kharchia genotypes can diminish salt stress following above mechanism

Mutational and Biochemical Analysis of Isoprenylcysteine Carboxyl Methyltransferase

Ninety percent of pancreatic cancers are attributed to mutations in the Ras protein, making it paramount to concentrate on Ras activity. This study focuses on Ras activity by targeting a post-translational modifying enzyme of Ras called Isoprenylcysteine carboxyl methyltransferase (Icmt). Elucidation of the binding site of Icmt will allow the development of therapeutics that effectively inhibit Icmt causing the mislocalization of Ras, and in turn, aid in the treatment of Ras driven cancers. Currently, the hydrophobic substrate binding site of Icmt is unknown. In order to characterize the substrate binding site of Icmt, site-directed mutagenesis was used to design mutations in the yeast homolog of Icmt, Ste14p, and these mutants were tested on substrate specificity. Residues L33, L34, L40, L176, L190, and L195 were mutated to alanine and residue F80 was mutated to tyrosine. When tested with a methyltransferase assay, all of the mutants lost activity as compared to wild type (WT). Noticeably, L190A had only 44% WT activity. This suggests that L190A is important for either substrate binding or the overall structural integrity of Ste14p. The results from trypsin digestion show that all mutants have cleavage patterns similar to WT. This indicates that the structural integrity of Ste14p remains intact regardless of these mutations. Substrate specificity and photolabeling experiments should be conducted in the future to elucidate if these residues are vital for the substrate binding site of Icmt. These results could be utilized to design more potent and effective drug therapies to minimize Ras signaling in cancer cells

Patients' and healthcare professionals' views on a specialist smoking cessation service delivered in a United Kingdom hospital: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND: Hospital admission provides a powerful opportunity to promote smoking cessation. We explored patients' and healthcare professionals' (HCP) views of a specialist smoking cessation service comprising systematic smoking ascertainment, default provision of pharmacotherapy and behavioural counselling at the bedside, and post-discharge follow-up, in a clinical trial in a United Kingdom teaching hospital. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews with 30 patients who were offered the intervention, and 27 HCPs working on intervention wards, were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: The shock of being admitted, and awareness that smoking may have contributed to the need for hospital admission, caused many patients to reassess their quit intentions. Most patients felt the service was too good an opportunity to pass up, because having long-term support and progress monitored was more likely to result in abstinence than trying alone. Had they not been approached, many patients reported that they would have attempted to quit alone, though some would have been discouraged from doing so by pharmacotherapy costs. Service delivery by a specialist advisor was favoured by patients and HCPs, largely because HCPs lacked time and expertise to intervene. HCPs reported that in usual practice, discussions about smoking were usually limited to ascertainment of smoking status. Timing of service delivery and improved co-ordination between service staff and inpatient ward staff were matters to address. CONCLUSIONS: A hospital-based specialist smoking cessation service designed to identify smokers and initiate cessation support at the bedside was deemed appropriate by patients and HCPs. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Trial registration: ISRCTN25441641

Radio continuum properties of young planetary nebulae

We have selected a small sample of post-AGB stars in transition towards the planetary nebula and present new Very Large Array multi-frequency high-angular resolution radio observations of them. The multi-frequency data are used to create and model the targets' radio continuum spectra, proving that these stars started their evolution as very young planetary nebulae. In the optically thin range, the slopes are compatible with the expected spectral index (-0.1). Two targets (IRAS 18062+2410 and 17423-1755) seem to be optically thick even at high frequency, as observed in a handful of other post-AGB stars in the literature, while a third one (IRAS 20462+3416) shows a possible contribution from cold dust. In IRAS 18062+2410, where we have three observations spanning a period of four years, we detect an increase in its flux density, similar to that observed in CRL 618. High-angular resolution imaging shows bipolar structures that may be due to circumstellar tori, although a different hypothesis (i.e., jets) could also explain the observations. Further observations and monitoring of these sources will enable us to test the current evolutionary models of planetary nebulae.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Analysis of MAGSAT data of the Indian region

Progress in the development of software for reading MAGSAT data tapes and for the reduction of anomaly data, and in the preparation of data for magnetic anomaly maps is reported

Interleukin 7 from Maternal Milk Crosses the Intestinal Barrier and Modulates T- Cell Development in Offspring

Background Breastfeeding protects against illnesses and death in hazardous environments, an effect partly mediated by improved immune function. One hypothesis suggests that factors within milk supplement the inadequate immune response of the offspring, but this has not been able to account for a series of observations showing that factors within maternally derived milk may supplement the development of the immune system through a direct effect on the primary lymphoid organs. In a previous human study we reported evidence suggesting a link between IL-7 in breast milk and the thymic output of infants. Here we report evidence in mice of direct action of maternally-derived IL-7 on T cell development in the offspring. Methods and Findings  We have used recombinant IL-7 labelled with a fluorescent dye to trace the movement in live mice of IL-7 from the stomach across the gut and into the lymphoid tissues. To validate the functional ability of maternally derived IL- 7 we cross fostered IL-7 knock-out mice onto normal wild type mothers. Subsets of thymocytes and populations of peripheral T cells were significantly higher than those found in knock-out mice receiving milk from IL-7 knock-out mothers. Conclusions/Significance Our study provides direct evidence that interleukin 7, a factor which is critical in the development of T lymphocytes, when maternally derived can transfer across the intestine of the offspring, increase T cell production in the thymus and support the survival of T cells in the peripheral secondary lymphoid tissue