Nitric oxide synthase-immunoreactive neurons in human and porcine respiratory tract

The presence of nitric oxide synthase (NO-synthase), the enzyme responsible for the production of nitric oxide (NO) from L-arginine, is shown immunocytochemically in the intrinsic neurons of the human and porcine respiratory tract. NO-synthase immunoreactivity is demonstrated in a subpopulation of neurons of the microganglia present in the wall of the extra- and intrapulmonary bronchi as well as in the hilar region of the lung in relation to blood vessels. The immunostaining was also found in some nerve fibers of the respiratory nervous system. Human and porcine lung gave similar results. The possible involvement of NO in the nonadrenergic noncholinergic (NANC) nervous regulation of the lung is discussed.     

The entry of antiviral and antiretroviral drugs into the central nervous system

The ability of antiviral and antiretroviral drugs to enter the brain is a critical issue in the treatment of many viral brain diseases, including HIV-related neurologic disease. Much of the literature concerning nucleoside analog entry into the nervous system focuses on drug levels in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), equating these with drug levels in the brain extracellular fluid (ECF) as though the two compartments intermix freely. We review the anatomic and physiologic aspects of drug entry into CSF and into brain ECF, as well as the exchange processes between these two compartments. In most instances drug concentrations in the CSF and ECF compartments bear little relationship to one another and using CSF concentrations to extrapolate brain ECF concentrations may significantly overestimate the latter. Accepted terminology and methodology for making measurements of blood-brain barrier function are discussed. Studies of brain uptake that express results as brain:plasma ratios, or that have used microdialysis, may overestimate the amount of drug reaching the brain. Using published data, we present an estimate of the time course of Zidovudine (AZT) concentrations in brain ECF and show that brain concentrations of AZT will likely be below that necessary to inhibit HIV-1 replication when AZT is administered systemically. Antiviral nucleosides and oligonucleotides appear to have limited entry into the brain when given systemically, which may hinder therapy of viral brain diseases, while some of the protease inhibitors may enter the brain more readily. Alternative methods for increasing antiviral and antiretroviral drug delivery to brain are discussed.     

Mental health supplement to the Ontario Health Survey: methodology

OBJECTIVE: To describe the methodology of a province-wide, cross-sectional, epidemiologic study of psychiatric disorder among those aged 15 years and over living in household dwellings in Ontario. METHOD: Respondents for the survey were drawn from households (N = 13002) participating in a province-wide health survey. One person per household was selected, and 9953 (76.5%) participated. RESULTS: Participants and nonparticipants were similar to each other. An extensive array of data, including measures of psychiatric disorder classified using a revised version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI), are available for all respondents. CONCLUSIONS: The Ontario Health Supplement is contained in a public-use data file at the Ontario Ministry of Health and is available to investigators for study. A strong survey design, careful measurement, and acceptable levels of response provide the rationale for our inviting researchers to access and use the Ontario Health Supplement data base.     

Dynamic programming implementation on array processor architectures

Dynamic Programming (DP) applies to many signal and image processing applications including boundary following, the Viterbi algorithm, dynamic time warping, etc. This paper presents an array processor implementation of generic dynamic programming. Our architecture is a SIMD array attached to a host computer. The processing element of the architecture is based on an ASIC design opting for maximum speed-up. By adopting a torus interconnection network, a dual buffer structure, and a multilevel pipeline, the performance of the DP chip is expected to reach the order of several GOPS. The paper discusses both the dedicated hardware design and the data flow control of the DP chip and the total array.This work was supported in part by the NATO, Scientific and Environmental Affairs Division, Collaborative Research Grant SA.5-2-05(CRG.960201)424/96/JARC-501.     

Structural plasticity in RNA and its role in the regulation of protein translation in coliphage Q beta

We have analyzed both conformational and functional changes caused by two large cis-acting deletions (delta 159 and delta 549) located within the read-through domain, a 850 nucleotide hairpin, in coliphage Q beta genomic RNA. Studies in vivo show that co-translational regulation of the viral coat and replicase genes has been uncoupled in viral genomes carrying deletion delta 159. Translational regulation is restored in deletion delta 549, a naturally evolved pseudorevertant. Structural analysis by computer modeling shows that structural features within the read-through domain of delta 159 RNA are less well determined than they are in the read-through domain of wild-type RNA, whereas predicted structure in the read-through domain of evolved pseudorevertant delta 549 is unusually well determined. Structural analysis by electron microscopy of the genomic RNAs shows that several long range helices at the base of the read-through domain, that suppress translational initiation of the viral replicase gene in the wild-type genome, have been destabilized in delta 159 RNA. In addition, the structure of local hairpins within the read-through region is more variable in delta 159 RNA than in wild-type RNA. Stable RNA secondary structure is restored in the read-through domain of delta 549 RNA. Our analyses suggest that structure throughout the read-through domain affects the regulation of viral replicase expression by altering the likelihood that long-range interactions at the base of the domain will form. We discuss possible kinetic and equilibrium models that can explain this effect, and argue that observed changes in structural plasticity within the read-through domain of the mutant genomes are key in understanding the process. During the course of these studies, we became aware of the importance of the information contained in the energy dot plot produced by the RNA secondary structure prediction program mfold. As a result, we have improved the graphical representation of this information through the use of color annotation in the predicted optimal folding. The method is presented here for the first time.     

Scanning the controls: genomics and nanotechnology

We outline some of the possible applications of nanotechnology to modern molecular biology and discuss several technologies that can be used to make nanoscale confining environments (channels or post arrays) for long polymers such as DNA. A particular emphasis is placed on making large arrays using non-electron beam lithography methods. We then discuss how focused ion beam (FIB) milling can be used to construct nearfield slits for examining molecules     

Hydriding and Dehydriding Characteristics of Mechanically Alloyed LaMg_(17) Ni Composite Material

Magnesiumandmagnesiumalloyshavebeenin vestigatedashydrogenstoragematerialsforseveralde cadesbecausefarmorehydrogenbyweightcanbestoredinthemthaninmostoftheothercurrentlyknownhydrogenstoragealloys .Moreover ,thehighnaturalabundanceofMg ,itslightmassandenviron mentalcompatibilitypotentiallymakemagnesiumoneofthemostprospectivecandidatesforfuturehydrogenstoragematerials .Unfortunately ,thepracticalappli cationofMganditsalloyshasbeenlimitedonlytocertainstoragedevicebecauseoftheirpoorhydriding dehydr…     

Formation and Characterization of 1.5-Monolayer Self-Assembled InAs/GaAs Quantum Dots Using Postgrowth Annealing

In this paper, we report that low-density InAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) can be formed by postgrowth annealing the samples with 1.5-monolayer (ML) InAs coverage, which is thinner than the critical layer thickness for the Stranski-Krastanov growth. The annealing procedure was performed immediately after the deposition of the InAs layer. The effects of annealing time and annealing temperature on the dot density, dot size, and optical characteristics of the QDs were investigated. The optimum annealing conditions to obtain low-density QDs are longer than 60 s and higher than 500degC . Meanwhile, no luminescence can be observed for the wetting-layer, which may suggest that the postgrowth annealing will make the wetting layer thinner and thus reduce the effects of wetting layer on carrier relaxation and recombination. On the other hand, we observe that a decrease of the PL intensity at the annealing conditions of 60 s and 515degC , which is possibly due to the increasing surface dislocations resulted from the In adatom desorption at higher annealing temperature.     

Rolling and Lifting Probabilities for Sediment Entrainment

This study addresses the rolling and lifting probabilities for sediment entrainment by incorporating the probabilistic features of the turbulent fluctuation and bed grain geometry. The lognormally distributed instantaneous velocity and uniformly distributed initial grain position, along with a relation between lift coefficient and particle Reynolds number, are used to extend the theoretical formulation of the entrainment probabilities in smooth-bed flows. The two threshold conditions identified herein enable us to precisely define the probabilities of entrainment in the rolling and lifting modes. The results obtained in this study coincide well with the published data. The lifting probability increases monotonously with the dimensionless shear stress θ, which is consistent with the earlier results yet displays improved agreement with the experimental data. The maximum value of rolling probability, with a magnitude of 0.25, occurs at θ ≈ 0.15. For θ<0.05 (or θ>0.6), the rolling (or lifting) probability makes up more than 90% of the total entrainment probability and thus can be used as an approximation to the total probability of entrainment. The proposed rolling and lifting probabilities are further linked to the two separate criteria for incipient motion to explore the critical entrainment probabilities. The results reveal that a consistent probability corresponding to the critical state of sediment entrainment cannot be found.     

Hermetic Packaging Using Eutectic SnPb Solder and Cr/Ni/Cu Metallurgy Layer

We have developed an easy, low-cost, and low-temperature optoelectronic hermetic packaging technology utilizing the eutectic SnPb solder and the Cr/Ni/Cu bonding pad. Bonding characteristics of the design were investigated in three different setups: silicon-silicon, silicon-glass, and glass-glass samples. Hermeticity was achieved at 200 degC without flux for all samples during the final bonding process. The bonding pads did not dewet during or after the reflow process. By utilizing the eutectic SnPb solder, the self-alignment process can be achieved. Because the bonding process was conducted through visual alignment, original misalignment was estimated to be more than 100 mum. The surface tension of melting solder during the reflow process allowed the samples to self-align and obtain a misalignment of less than 20 mum after solidification, which was 4% of the entire solder width. The bonding strength of the three setups ranged from 3 to 10 MPa. Among the three setups, glass-glass samples appear to have the strongest bonding strength. This low-temperature and cost-effective soldering process has demonstrated its feasibility and potential utilization in optoelectronic packaging