Anatomical basis of a congenital hearing impairment: basilar papilla dysplasia in the Belgian Waterslager canary

We studied the role of proteases in apoptosis using a cell-free system prepared from a human leukemia cell line. HL60 cells are p53 null and extremely sensitive to a variety of apoptotic stimuli including DNA damage induced by the topoisomerase I inhibitor, camptothecin. We measured DNA fragmentation induced in isolated nuclei by cytosolic extracts using a filter elution assay. Cytosol from camptothecin-treated HL60 cells induced internucleosomal DNA fragmentation in nuclei from untreated cells. This fragmentation was suppressed by serine protease inhibitors. Serine proteases (trypsin, endoproteinase Glu-C, chymotrypsin A, and proteinase K) and papain by themselves induced DNA fragmentation in naive nuclei. This effect was enhanced in the presence of cytosol from untreated cells. Cysteine protease inhibitors (E-64, leupeptin, Ac-YVAD-CHO [ICE inhibitor]) did not affect camptothecin-induced DNA fragmentation. The apopain/Yama inhibitor, Ac-DEVD-CHO, and the proteasome inhibitor, MG-132, were also inactive both in the cell-free system and in whole cells. Interleukin-1 beta converting enzyme (ICE) or human immunodeficiency virus protease failed to induce DNA fragmentation in naive nuclei. Together, these results suggest that DNA damage activates serine protease(s) which in turn activate(s) nuclear endonuclease(s) during apoptosis in HL60 cells.     

A new method of preform design in hot forging by using electric field theory

The preform design in metal forging plays a key role in improving product quality, such as ensuring defect-free property and proper metal flow. In industry, preforms are generally designed by the iterative trial-and-error approach. This approach, however, leads not only to the increase of significant tool cost but also to the extended down-time of the production equipment. It is thus necessary to reduce time and man power through an effective method of preform design. In this paper, the equi-potential lines designed in the electric field are introduced to find an appropriate preform shape. The equi-potential lines generated between two conductors of different voltages show similar trends for the minimum work paths between the undeformed shape and the deformed shape. Based on this similarity, the equi-potential lines obtained by the arrangement of the initial and final shapes are utilized for the design of the preform, and then the artificial neural network is used to find the range of initial volume and potential value of the electric field.     

Dynamic sectorization of microcells for balanced traffic in CDMA:genetic algorithms approach

With the increase of cellular users, traffic hot spots and unbalanced call distributions are common in wireless networks. As a solution to this problem, code-division multiple-access techniques enable a base transceiver station to connect microcells with optical fibers and to control the channels by sectorizing the microcells. To solve the load balancing among microcells, we dynamically sectorize the microcells depending on the time-varying traffic. The microcell sectorization problem is formulated as an integer linear programming that minimizes the blocked and handoff calls in the network. In the proposed sectorization, proper, connected, and compact sectors are considered to keep the handoffs as small as possible while satisfying the channel capacity at each sector. Three genetic algorithms (GAs) are proposed to solve the problem: standard GA, grouping GA, and parallel GA. Computational results show that the proposed GAs are highly effective. All three GAs illustrate outstanding performance for small size problems. The parallel GA, which is based on the operators used in grouping GA, demonstrates excellent solution quality in a reasonable time     

50 nm MOSFETs with side-gates for induced source/drain extension

50 nm long MOSFETs with side-gates were optimised in terms of the side-gate length and successfully fabricated with conventional MOS technology. The simulated and fabricated 50 nm long MOSFET shows a reasonable subthreshold swing of 81 mV/dec and a low drain induced barrier lowering of 77 mV     

Feature Reduction via Generalized Uncorrelated Linear Discriminant Analysis

High-dimensional data appear in many applications of data mining, machine learning, and bioinformatics. Feature reduction is commonly applied as a preprocessing step to overcome the curse of dimensionality. Uncorrelated Linear Discriminant Analysis (ULDA) was recently proposed for feature reduction. The extracted features via ULDA were shown to be statistically uncorrelated, which is desirable for many applications. In this paper, an algorithm called ULDA/QR is proposed to simplify the previous implementation of ULDA. Then, the ULDA/GSVD algorithm is proposed, based on a novel optimization criterion, to address the singularity problem which occurs in undersampled problems, where the data dimension is larger than the sample size. The criterion used is the regularized version of the one in ULDA/QR. Surprisingly, our theoretical result shows that the solution to ULDA/GSVD is independent of the value of the regularization parameter. Experimental results on various types of data sets are reported to show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm and to compare it with other commonly used feature reduction algorithms.     

Improvement of device performances by thin interlayer in conjugated polymers/methanofullerene plastic solar cell

Recent studies have reported that a thin interlayer between poly(3, 4-ethylene dioxythiophene)-poly(styrene sulfonic acid) (PEDOT: PSS) and an emissive polymer layer leads to a large increase in the performances of polymer light-emitting diodes (PLEDs) by preventing significant quenching of the radiative excitons at the PEDOT: PSS interface; therefore, acting as an efficient exciton-blocking layer. Using the similar idea, a thin interlayer was fabricated between PEDOT: PSS and the active layer of conjugated polymers/methanofullerene composites in a plastic solar cell. The interlayer consisted of a poly(fluorene)-based hole transporter spin-coated directly on top of the PEDOT: PSS layer. The devices with the interlayer exhibited a higher efficiency than in those without the interlayer.     

Central NO is involved in the antinociceptive action of intracisternal antidepressants in freely moving rats

The present study was performed to examine the central effects of antidepressants on nociceptive jaw opening reflex after intracisternal injection. we also investigated the mechanisms of central antinociceptive action of intracisternal antidepressants. We recorded the jaw opening reflex in freely moving rats and chose to administer antidepressants intracisternally in order to eliminate the effects of anesthetic agents on the pain assessment and evaluate the importance of the spinal site of action of antidepressants. After intracisternal injection of 15 microg imipramine, digastric electromyogram (dEMG) was decreased to 76+/-6% of the control. Intracisternal administration of 30 microg desipramine, nortriptyline or imipramine suppressed dEMG remarkably to 48+/-2, 27+/-8, or 25+/-5% of the control, respectively. The suppression of dEMG was maintained for 50 min. L-NG-Nitroarginine methyl ester (NAME) blocked the suppression of dEMG from 32+/-2 to 81+/-5% of the control. These results indicate that antidepressants produce antinociception through central mechanisms in the orofacial area. The central NO pathway seems to be involved in the antinociception of intracisternal antidepressants at supraspinal sites.     

Allelotype analysis of uterine leiomyoma: localization of a potential tumor suppressor gene to a 4-cM region of chromosome 7q

The degree and nature of patient involvement in consultations with health professionals influences problem and needs recognition and management, and public accountability. This paper suggests a framework for understanding the scope for patient involvement in such consultations. Patients are defined as co-producers of formal health services, whose potential for involvement in consultations depends on their personal rights, responsibilities and preferences. Patients' rights in consultations are poorly defined and, in the National Health Service (NHS), not legally enforceable. The responsibilities of patients are also undefined. I suggest that these are not to deny, of their own volition, the rights of others, which in consultations necessitate mutuality of involvement through information-exchange and shared decision-making. Preferences should be met insofar as they do not militate against responsibilities and rights.     

Vertical bridgman techniques to homogenize zinc composition of CdZnTe substrates

In order to improve the Zn homogeneity along the axial direction of CdZnTe boule, we have employed a modified Bridgman technique using a (Cd, Zn) alloy source in communication with the melt, whose temperature has been gradually changed from 800 to 840°C during growth. Electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) measurements of Zn composition in the boule shows an excellent homogeneity of Zn along the axis of the CdZnTe boule compared with results in a boule grown by using a fixed source temperature. We have performed a numerical simulation to obtain the approximate temperatures of additional heating and cooling needed to improve the radial Zn homogeneity. CdZnTe boule has been grown by seeded vertical Bridgman furnace with two zones of heater and cooler. Ultraviolet/visible spectroscopic measurements of Zn composition over the length of the boule indicate that the radial distribution of Zn composition is very homogeneous in the body region of the boule, where the radial variation of Zn composition is ±0.0005.     

Covering a string

We consider the problem of finding the repetitive structures of a given stringx. The periodu of the stringx grasps the repetitiveness ofx, sincex is a prefix of a string constructed by concatenations ofu. We generalize the concept of repetitiveness as follows: A stringw covers a stringx if there is a superstring ofx which is constructed by concatenations and superpositions ofw. A substringw ofx is called aseed ofx ifw coversx. We present anO(n logn)-time algorithm for finding all the seeds of a given string of lengthn.Partially supported by SERC Grants GR/F 00898 and GR/J 17844, NATO Grant CRG 900293, ESPRIT BRA Grant 7131 for ALCOMII, and MRC Grant G 9115730.Partially supported by MRC Grant G 9115730 and S.N.U. Posco Research Fund 94-15-1112.