Polyphosphoinositide synthesis in human neutrophils. Effects of a low metabolic energy state

Phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns) synthesis and polyphosphoinositide (PPI) formation were measured as the incorporation of [32P]orthophosphate ([32P]Pi) or [3H]inositol into non-stimulated intact human neutrophil membrane phospholipids. The rate of PtdIns "de novo" synthesis appeared to be a slow mechanism when compared to the rapid incorporation of [32P]Pi into PPIs. Of the "de novo" synthesized [3H]PtdIns, 70% was further phosphorylated to PPI. Nevertheless, this PPI pool represented less than 0.01% of the total nmols of PPIs formed evaluated as [32P]Pi labeling, indicating that PPI formation mainly involves a no "de novo" synthesized phosphatidylinositol pool. When evaluated at short incubation times, oscillations in the formation of PPIs were detected. A rapid phase was characterized after 30 s of incubation with [32P]Pi Phosphorylation levels returned to an equilibrium state within a minute, and the second phase peaked at 5 min., returning to equilibrium at 15 min. The fluctuant kinetics though not the equilibrium level of PPI formation, could be abolished by neomycin. On the other hand, a selective inhibition of the rapid phase of PPI synthesis occurred in the presence of the tyrosine kinase inhibitor genistein. When the incorporations of [gamma-32P]-adenosine triphosphate (ATP) or [32P]Pi into human neutrophil particulate fraction membranes were evaluated, PPIs synthesis showed fluctuations independently of the precursor used. Noticeably, [32P]from [32P]Pi was incorporated more efficiently into PPIs than that from [gamma-32P]ATP, when evaluated in parallel using equal specific activities for both radiolabeled precursors and under non-ATP synthesizing conditions. Moreover, the incorporation of [32P]Pi into particulate fraction PPIs was not abolished by high concentrations of non-radiolabeled ATP, and metabolically inhibited PMNs showed high rates of PPI synthesis. These data suggest that PPI formation is not necessarily a futile cycle in PMNs.     

Improvements of the ray trace through the generalized Luneburg lens

An analytical expression for the gradient of the generalized Luneburg lens is found and applied to the computation of the profile and the gradient of the refractive index.     

Succinct Representation of Labeled Graphs

In many applications, the properties of an object being modeled are stored as labels on vertices or edges of a graph. In this paper, we consider succinct representation of labeled graphs. Our main results are the succinct representations of labeled and multi-labeled graphs (we consider planar triangulations, planar graphs and k-page graphs) to support various label queries efficiently. The additional space cost to store the labels is essentially the information-theoretic minimum. As far as we know, our representations are the first succinct representations of labeled graphs. We also have two preliminary results to achieve the main contribution. First, we design a succinct representation of unlabeled planar triangulations to support the rank/select of edges in ccw (counter clockwise) order in addition to the other operations supported in previous work. Second, we design a succinct representation for a k-page graph when k is large to support various navigational operations more efficiently. In particular, we can test the adjacency of two vertices in O(lg?k) time, while previous work uses O(k) time.     

A nucleolus-associated coiled body

One or two healthy structures frequently have been observed attached to nucleoli in facial motor neurons of the golden hamster. These round-to-oval structures, called "coiled bodies", were seen at 15, 19, and 24 days postnatal and in the adult, both in normal neurons and in chromatolytic neurons which had been axotomized 4 days previously. With one exception, the coiled bodies were seen to be attached via fibrillar material to the nucleolar periphery. Although the numbers of coiled bodies may be altered during neuronal maturation and as a result of axon section, the bodies revealed no structural alterations that could be attributed to developmental age or to experimental trauma.     

Linear programming with imprecise data

Conventional linear programming requires the deterministic specification of all the relevant data but generally this is only known imprecisely. Several ways in which imprecision may be incorporated into the programs are discussed. These include proximate programming, inexact programming and fuzzy programming. A simple illustrative example concerned with water quality is reworked using some of the described techniques. Fuzzy programming is a particularly useful model which can handle imprecision with respect to all the parameters and can also incorporate multiple goals.     

Effective Medium Theory of the Porosity Dependence of Bulk Moduli

Effective medium theory is used to obtain a closed- form expression for the porosity dependence of the bulk moduli of ceramics. The theory is illustrated with an application to data for high-purity alumina that spans a volume fraction of porosity ranging from 0.5% to 90%.     

An Improved Algorithm for Identifying Objects in Code

The identification of abstractions within existing software systems is an important problem to be solved to facilitate program comprehension and the construction of a set of reusable artifacts. In particular, of interest is the identification of object-like features in procedural programs. Existing techniques and algorithms achieve some level of success but do not, in general, always precisely identify a coherent set of objects. The identified objects tend to contain spurious methods that are only tenuously related to the object and require a great deal of human effort and understanding to unravel. This paper presents an improved algorithm that overcomes these drawbacks and enables the precise identification of objects with less human intervention and understanding by exploiting simple statistical techniques. The algorithm is applied to several sample programs and the results are compared with existing algorithms. Finally, the application of the algorithm to a real medium-size system is described and discussed. The algorithm was developed as part of the RE² project in which the identification of object-like features in existing systems is the basis for a re-engineering process aimed at populating a repository of reusable assets.     

Some Textile Applications of Finite-element Analysis Part II: Finite Elements for Yarn Mechanics

The concepts of modal decomposition developed in an earlier paper are used to produce a three-dimensional element for aligned fibre assemblies. The element degrees of freedom are introduced and the chosen mode shapes of the element demonstrated. The finite element is tested by using simple material-property assumptions, and the element is verified against a theoretical model of the twisting of a single fibre about a solid core. The element is then verified qualitatively by modelling realistic yarn situations, and the resultant deformation plots are presented.     

Silicon and aluminium interactions in haemodialysis patients

BACKGROUND: Aluminium toxicity in dialysis patients is well described. Aluminium has a close chemical affinity with silicon. Silicon may have a role in protection against aluminium toxicity. METHODS: We measured serum aluminium and silicon levels from haemodialysis patients from four different centres. RESULTS: Though no relationship was seen across all centres combined, in one centre there was a reciprocal relationship in patients on home haemodialysis (who did not require reverse osmosis). Median (range) aluminium levels were higher, 2.2 (0.4-9.6) micromol/l when serum silicon was less than 150 micromol/l, and lower, 1.1 (0.2-2.8) micromol/l when serum silicon levels were greater than 150 micromol/l (P = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: In patients treated by haemodialysis without reverse osmosis high serum silicon concentrations were associated with lower serum aluminium concentrations than those with low serum silicon. Further work needs to confirm a preventative role for silicon in the accumulation and subsequent toxicity of aluminium in dialysis patients.