Gem: an induced, immediate early protein belonging to the Ras family

A gene encoding a 35-kilodalton guanosine triphosphate (GTP)-binding protein, Gem, was cloned from mitogen-induced human peripheral blood T cells. Gem and Rad, the product of a gene overexpressed in skeletal muscle in individuals with Type II diabetes, constitute a new family of Ras-related GTP-binding proteins. The distinct structural features of this family include the G3 GTP-binding motif, extensive amino- and carboxyl-terminal extensions beyond the Ras-related domain, and a motif that determines membrane association. Gem was transiently expressed in human peripheral blood T cells in response to mitogenic stimulation; the protein was phosphorylated on tyrosine residues and localized to the cytosolic face of the plasma membrane. Deregulated Gem expression prevented proliferation of normal and transformed 3T3 cells. These results suggest that Gem is a regulatory protein, possibly participating in receptor-mediated signal transduction at the plasma membrane.     

Differentiation of Coxiella burnetii by sequence analysis of the gene (com1) encoding a 27-kDa outer membrane protein

Classification of brain infarcts based on the location, size and shape of parenchymal damage alone can be difficult and misleading. This is particularly true in subcortical infarctions and infarcts in so-called watershed areas between neighboring territories of the main hemispheric arteries. Pathogenetic mechanisms, signs and symptoms, lesion patterns in CT and MRI are discussed as well as angiomorphological conditions. Hemodynamically induced low-flow infarcts are rare and show typical, but not pathognomic lesion patterns on CT and MRI. Characteristic subcortical chainlike and confluent lesions are located in the supra- and paraventricular white matter, representing the core of a hemodynamically induced infarction. Definite diagnosis of low-flow infarcts requires information on the underlying complex vascular compromise of the extra- and intracranial arterial circulation. A noncompetent circle of Willis is the main predisposing condition in hemispheric low-flow infarcts even in severe occlusive disease of the internal carotid arteries.     

Analytical considerations in the use of capture-recapture to estimate prevalence: case studies of the estimation of opiate use in the metropolitan area of Barcelona, Spain

Capture-recapture, an indirect method widely used to estimate undetected populations, has been criticized because it causes problems due to a lack of compliance with several important assumptions and model selection strategies. This paper expands on the problems encountered when applying this methodology to drug abuse estimations, specifically the prevalence of opiate use in the metropolitan area of Barcelona, Spain, in 1993. Three samples of opiate users (from hospital emergency rooms, treatment centers, and prisons) were available in the area studied; an additional sample (mortality data) was analyzed for the city of Barcelona. Log-linear models that provided a good fit were considered, to which further model selection strategies were applied. A total of 3,207 unique individuals aged 15-44 years were identified in the three samples from the greater Barcelona area; the mortality sample from the city of Barcelona contained an additional 83 individuals. Heterogeneity was observed in different age, sex, and residence area subgroups. Population estimates differed widely according to the log-linear model chosen. Minimum Akaike's information criterion model and saturated model estimates were used to produce population prevalence rates. The main problems the authors encountered in this study were related to population definition, source heterogeneity, and assessment of an adequate model, a problem associated with sample size.     

Affective variables and school achievement: A study of possible causal influences.

Studied the predictive and causal relationship of affective variables and academic achievement (376 Ss in Grades 3–6), both concurrently and 1 yr later. Affective characteristics studied were general and academic self-concept, academic locus of control, and expectations for future academic achievement (Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale, Student's Perception of Ability Scale, Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Questionnaire, and the Projected Academic Performance Scale) whereas levels of achievement were ascertained by end-of-year grades. The findings indicate that affective variables, especially academic self-concept, made a small but significant contribution to school grades. The data suggest a possible reciprocal interaction between affective characteristics and school achievement. Implications for children experiencing learning difficulties are discussed. (French abstract) (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A mobile virtual-distributed system architecture for supporting wireless mobile computing and communications

This paper describes a novel mobile virtual-distrubuted system architecture for supporting global mobile computing and communications. the principal contribution of this paper is to innovatively apply virtual memory concepts to mobile systems by deploying mobile-floating agents to de-couple services and resources from the underlying network and allow them to move around following their mobile users. The mobile-floating agents maintain data structures associated with a mobile user. By combining the mobile-floating agent functions with a predictive mobility management algorithm and location-aware caching and prefetching, services and user data structure are pre-connected and pre-assigned at the locations to which the user is moving. Thus, the users can maintain their data structures or immediately receive service with virtually the same efficiency as at the previous location.     

Disentangling causal relationships of a manufacturing process using genetic algorithms and six-sigma techniques

The manufacturing of hard disk drive storage is a highly competitive industry due to ever changing technology and the introduction of solid-state storage. Therefore manufacturers have introduced business improvement techniques to help leverage manufacturing advantages over competitors. This paper aims to investigate the integration of business improvement methodologies with intelligent techniques for the improvement of manufacturing efficiency. The authors use a case study based on the disentangling of causal relationships during the manufacturing of hard disk drive components. This paper reports on the application of intelligent system techniques to aid implementation of business improvement methodologies within this manufacturing environment. The results reported highlight that significant gains may be made when utilizing such a hybrid approach. The approach is validated by determining the secondary effects that degraded a previously implemented six-sigma project and also by identifying areas of investigation that enabled engineers to improve process yield.