E1A second exon requirements for induction of target cell susceptibility to lysis by natural killer cells: implications for the mechanism of action

Recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) at a dose of 1 to 300 micrograms/kg/day was administered intravenously to rats daily for 13 weeks. Serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity increased dose-dependently with leukocytosis. Most of the increased leukocytes were segmented neutrophils, and neutrophil alkaline phosphatase (NAP) scores were elevated markedly. Serum ALP activity correlated very well with the segmented neutrophil counts, and the coefficient of correlation was more than 0.97 in both sexes. Pathological examinations revealed splenomegaly and a marked increase in neutrophils in the red pulp of the spleen. In the spleen, phagocytosis of neutrophils by macrophages was observed. These data indicate that the increased ALP was of neutrophil origin. Serum ALP activity may be increased by the direct release of ALP from the high number of neutrophils into the blood, or by the leakage of ALP into the blood mainly from the spleen where many neutrophils are pooled and destroyed by the macrophage system.     

Fast and one-step folding of closely and distantly related homologous proteins of a four-helix bundle family

Bovine acyl-coenzyme A binding protein is a four-helix bundle protein belonging to a group of homologous eukaryote proteins that binds medium and long-chain acyl-coenzyme A esters with a very high affinity. The three-dimensional structure of both the free and the ligated protein together with the folding kinetics have been described in detail for the bovine protein and with four new sequences reported here, a total of 16 closely related sequences ranging from yeasts and plants to human are known. The kinetics of folding and unfolding in different concentrations of guanidine hydrochloride together with equilibrium unfolding have been measured for bovine, rat and yeast acyl-coenzyme A binding protein. The bovine and rat sequences are closely related whereas the yeast is more distantly related to these. In addition to the three natural variants, kinetics of a bovine mutant protein, Tyr31 --> Asn, have been studied. Both the folding and unfolding rates in water of the yeast protein are 15 times faster than those of bovine. The folding rates in water of the two mammalian forms, rat and bovine, are similar, though still significantly different. A faster unfolding rate both for rat and the bovine mutant protein results from a lower stability of the native states of these. These hydrophobic regions, mini cores, have been identified in the three-dimensional structure of the bovine protein and found to be formed primarily by residues that have been conserved throughout the entire eukaryote evolution from yeasts to both plants and mammals as seen in the sample of 16 sequences. The conserved residues are found to stabilize helix-helix interactions and serve specific functional purposes for ligand binding. The fast one-step folding mechanism of ACBP has been shown to be a feature that seems to be maintained throughout evolution despite numerous differences in sequence and even dramatic differences in folding kinetics and protein stability. The protein study raises the question to what extent does the conserved hydrophobic residues provide a scaffold for an efficient one-step folding mechanism.     

Design and characterization of asymetrical super-lattice Si/4H-SiC pin photo diode array: a potential opto-sensor for future applications in bio-medical domain

Microsystem Technologies - Photo-sensors are integral part of different bio-medical diagnostic equipment. Each type of bio-molecules possess unique spectral fingerprint in visible wavelength region...     

Favorable influence of ssDNA-functionalized SWCNT on the navigation pattern of C. elegans

Microsystem Technologies - Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (SWCNTs) are widely used as potential carriers in drug delivery systems. The objective of this work was to observe the effects of pristine,...     

Multivariability speaker recognition database in Indian scenario

In this paper we describe the collection and organization of the speaker recognition database in Indian scenario named as IITG Multivariability Speaker Recognition Database. The database contains speech from 451 speakers speaking English and other Indian languages both in conversational and read speech styles recorded using various sensors in parallel under different environmental conditions. The database is organized into four phases on the basis of different conditions employed for the recording. The results of the initial studies conducted on a speaker verification system exploring the impact of mismatch in training and test conditions using the collected data are also included. A copy of this database can be obtained from the authors by contacting them.     

Design of an Ultra-Compact and Highly-Sensitive Temperature Sensor Using Photonic Crystal Based Single Micro-Ring Resonator and Cascaded Micro-Ring Resonator

Silicon - In the present report, a photonic crystal based micro-ring resonator (MRR) structure is proposed which is very compact in size and has very fast response and is employed for temperature...     

Recovery and Recycling Silica Flux in Submerged Arc Welding – Acceptable Properties and Economical Correlation

Silicon - This research aims at optimum utilization of waste recycled submerged arc welding slag along with virgin flux in place of pure virgin flux without compromising the quality of welding and...     

Ubiquitin-Specific Protease 29 Regulates Cdc25A-Mediated Tumorigenesis

Cell division cycle 25A (Cdc25A) is a dual-specificity phosphatase that is overexpressed in several cancer cells and promotes tumorigenesis. In normal cells, Cdc25A expression is regulated tightly, but the changes in expression patterns in cancer cells that lead to tumorigenesis are unknown. In this study, we showed that ubiquitin-specific protease 29 (USP29) stabilized Cdc25A protein expression in cancer cell lines by protecting it from ubiquitin-mediated proteasomal degradation. The presence of USP29 effectively blocked polyubiquitination of Cdc25A and extended its half-life. CRISPR-Cas9-mediated knockdown of USP29 in HeLa cells resulted in cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase. We also showed that USP29 knockdown hampered Cdc25A-mediated cell proliferation, migration, and invasion of cancer cells in vitro. Moreover, NSG nude mice transplanted with USP29-depleted cells significantly reduced the size of the tumors, whereas the reconstitution of Cdc25A in USP29-depleted cells significantly increased the tumor size. Altogether, our results implied that USP29 promoted cell cycle progression and oncogenic transformation by regulating protein turnover of Cdc25A.     

Evaluation of wear of turning carbide inserts using neural networks

Recent trends, being towards mostly unmanned automated machining systems and consistent system operations, need reliable on-line monitoring processes. A proper on-line cutting tool condition monitoring system is essential for deciding when to change the tool. Many methods have been attempted in this connection.Recently, artificial neural networks have been tried for this purpose because of its inherent simplicity and reasonably quick data-processing capability. The present work uses the back propagation algorithm for training the neural network of 5-3-1 structure. The technique shows close matching of estimation of average flank wear and directly measured wear value. Thus the system developed demonstrates the possibility of successful tool wear monitoring on-line.