Computerized morphometry analysis of epithelial fimbriae nuclear symmetry in BRCA carriers may identify patients at risk for developing ovarian cancer

Serous ovarian tumors may originate in epithelial cells of the fallopian tubes. Computerized morphometry was able to find significant alterations in the fallopian tube epithelium of healthy BRCA carriers. The purpose of this study was to identify a subgroup of BRCA carriers that may be at risk of developing serous ovarian cancer by evaluation of the epithelial nuclear symmetry in the fallopian tubes. Four groups of patients were analyzed; healthy patients, ovarian cancer patients, BRCA carriers, and BRCA noncarriers. All fallopian tubes appeared normal by H&E examination. The ImageProPlus software was used to assess the nuclear symmetry of 65 fimbriae epithelium cells and an artificial neural network algorithm aided in detecting a subpopulation among fimbriae of healthy BRCA carriers at risk for ovarian cancer. Significant differences were found between healthy patients and ovarian cancer patients, and between BRCA carriers and noncarriers. The algorithm was able to accurately predict BRCA carriers with associated ovarian cancer based on fallopian tube nuclear symmetry characteristics. These results reinforce the hypothesis that fimbriae epithelial cells of BRCA carriers may undergo early-stage changes that could predict the risk of progression toward malignancy.     

Role of Long-Range Protein Dynamics in Different Thymidylate Synthase Catalyzed Reactions

Recent studies of Escherichia coli thymidylate synthase (ecTSase) showed that a highly conserved residue, Y209, that is located 8 Å away from the reaction site, plays a key role in the protein’s dynamics. Those crystallographic studies indicated that Y209W mutant is a structurally identical but dynamically altered relative to the wild type (WT) enzyme, and that its turnover catalytic rate governed by a slow hydride-transfer has been affected. The most challenging test of an examination of a fast chemical conversion that precedes the rate-limiting step has been achieved here. The physical nature of both fast and slow C-H bond activations have been compared between the WT and mutant by means of observed and intrinsic kinetic isotope effects (KIEs) and their temperature dependence. The findings indicate that the proton abstraction step has not been altered as much as the hydride transfer step. Additionally, the comparison indicated that other kinetic steps in the TSase catalyzed reaction were substantially affected, including the order of the substrate binding. Enigmatically, although Y209 is H-bonded to 3''-OH of 2''-deoxyuridine-5''-mono­phosphate (dUMP), its altered dynamics is more pronounced on the binding of the remote cofactor, (6R)-N⁵,N¹⁰-methylene-5,6,7,8-tetrahydrofolate (CH₂H₄folate), revealing the importance of long-range dynamics of the enzymatic complex and its catalytic function.     

MRI-based Sensors for In Vivo Imaging of Metal Ions in Biology

Although much is known about the diverse roles of metal ions in biology, most of the acquired knowledge was obtained with fluorescent dyes or electrophysiological approaches. However, the ability to non-invasively monitor variation in metal ions and to assess their physiological distribution in health and disease is very limited. Recent advances in the field of molecular magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have offered new capabilities through the design and development of MRI-responsive sensors for a wide range of applications, including the ability to sense and spatially map metal ions. Here, we briefly summarize the recent progress in the development and performance of MRI sensors designed to monitor metal ions in biology while emphasizing their in vivo uses, their limitations, and remaining challenges. Among the proposed MRI-sensors, Zn²⁺ and Ca²⁺ responsive agents are those that have already been used in live intact subjects, and therefore, these will be emphasized here.     

Experiments with solid fuel for a pulsed co2 gas dynamic laser

Experiments with solid fuel for a pulsed CO₂ gas dynamic laser are reported. The oxidation of solid cyanurictriazide, C₃N₁₂, was carried out by solid hexanitroethane under vacuum or in nitrogen atmosphere, and by the gaseous oxidants N₂O diluted in N₂ or in air. The best results are achieved by combustion of cyanurictriazide in air. The laser output energy from this solid fuel is equivalent to that achieved by gaseous fuel, at the same experimental lasing conditions.     

On Photometric Issues in 3D Visual Recognition from a Single 2D Image

We describe the problem of recognition under changing illumination conditions and changing viewing positions from a computational and human vision perspective. On the computational side we focus on the mathematical problems of creating an equivalence class for images of the same 3D object undergoing certain groups of transformations—mostly those due to changing illumination, and briefly discuss those due to changing viewing positions. The computational treatment culminates in proposing a simple scheme for recognizing, via alignment, an image of a familiar object taken from a novel viewing position and a novel illumination condition. On the human vision aspect, the paper is motivated by empirical evidence inspired by Mooney images of faces that suggest a relatively high level of visual processing is involved in compensating for photometric sources of variability, and furthermore, that certain limitations on the admissible representations of image information may exist. The psychophysical observations and the computational results that follow agree in several important respects, such as the same (apparent) limitations on image representations.     

Randomization in individual choice behavior.

There is ample evidence that people cannot generate random series when instructed to do so. Rather, they produce sequences with too few symmetries and long runs and too many alternations among events. The authors propose a psychological theory to account for these findings, which assumes that subjects generate nonrandom sequences that locally represent theoretical random series subject to a constraint on their short-term memory. Closed-form expressions are then derived for the major statistics that have been used to test for deviations from randomness. Results from 3 experiments with 2 and 3 equiprobable alternatives support the model on both the individual and group levels. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)