Applied studies on immobilized titanium dioxide films ascatalysts for the photoelectrochemical detoxification of water

Preliminary results are presented on the photochemical and photoelectrochemical degradation of aqueous organic solutions by anodic, thermal and sol–gel TiO2 films. The films were tested in a photochemical falling film reactor, and a photochemical/photoelectrochemical vortex reactor, and preliminary results are presented on the degradation of a range of model organics using these reactors. The former showed the best mass transport characteristics and most efficient light usage, whilst the latter reactor clearly showed the efficacy of the electric field enhancement effect. The results on the vortex reactor effectively represent a proof-of-concept of the electric field enhancement approach in large scale photoelectrochemical reactors. From time to time it is necessary to recoat the substrates, and the importance of the procedure adopted to remove old TiO2 films prior to the fabrication of new films is highlighted, as well as the mode of operation of the sol–gel films, and problems encountered in reactor design.     

Sliding-banyan network performance analysis

The sliding-banyan (SB) network employs an interleaved multistage shuffle-exchange topology, implemented with a three-dimensional free-space interconnection architecture that connects a multichip backplane to itself. Surface-normal emitters and detectors, which compose the stages' input-output, are spatially multiplexed within the same chip location, along with electronic control and switching resources. A simple deflection self-routing scheme minimizes internal contention, providing efficient use of switching and interconnection resources. The blocking performance of the SB is quantified through simulations based on realistic nonuniform traffic patterns. Results show that the SB architecture requires significantly fewer resources than other self-routing banyan-based networks. The multistage-switching and interconnection-resource requirements are close to the theoretical minimum for nonblocking networks, and the SB's distributed self-routing control resources grow only approximately linearly with the number of nodes, providing good scalability.     

Current concepts in cardiopulmonary resuscitation

The "chain of survival" is important in the resuscitation of a patient who has had a cardiac arrest. The provision of Basic Life Support (BLS) and Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) is essential in this "chain of survival." Both BLS and ACLS have undergone several revisions since their initial inception. This article reviews (1) the current established and investigational issues of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, (2) the incidence and outcomes of anesthesia-related cardiac arrest, (3) the use of cardiopulmonary bypass in resuscitation, and (4) cerebral protection during and after resuscitation.     

Decompression in the surgical management of degenerative spondylolisthesis: advantages of a conservative approach in 290 patients

The management of degenerative spondylolisthesis with laminectomy alone or laminectomy with fusion remains controversial. From the early 1970s to 1996, 290 patients with degenerative spondylolisthesis were treated with 249 laminectomies and 41 fenestration procedures over an average of 3.2 levels. One level olisthesis was encountered in 250 patients, and two levels of slip in 40. Patients averaged 67 years of age, and were followed an average of 10 years. Using Prolo's outcome scale, 69% of patients exhibited excellent, 13% good, 12% fair, and 6% poor outcomes. Secondary decompressions with fusions for increased olisthy/instability (five patients) and recurrent stenosis/disc disease/instability (three patients) required one posterolateral "in situ" fusion and seven Texas Scottish Rite Hospital instrumented procedures. Decompression alone successfully managed degenerative spondylolisthesis in 290 patients treated over 3 decades, because only 8 (2.7%) required secondary fusion.     

p53 mutation spectrum in relation to GSTM1, CYP1A1 and CYP2E1 in surgically treated patients with non-small cell lung cancer

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of using a prototype split-specimen design to assess integrity of a portion of the total testing process in medical clinics and laboratories. DESIGN: Two or three tubes of venous blood were collected from 177 patients for analysis of one of three analytes (serum potassium, serum total cholesterol, and whole-blood hemoglobin). Patients were seen at one of the nine clinics participating in this study. In all cases, one tube of blood from each patient was sent to a commercial referral laboratory, and the other tube(s) forwarded to the laboratory that routinely tested specimens for the clinic (participating laboratory) for analysis. Each participating laboratory removed a preanalysis and sometimes a post-analysis aliquot from each specimen and forwarded these to the referral laboratory for analysis. SETTING: The study was conducted in six physician office laboratories (three serving 1 to 4 [mean, 2.7] internists and three serving 3 to 24 [mean, 12] family physicians) and three hospital laboratories (serving hospitals with 100 to more than 700 beds). PATIENTS: Study patients were voluntary participants and provided informed consent. Patient age ranged from 18 to 80 years, and for all the laboratory test was specifically ordered for clinical reasons. Patients who were unable or unwilling to provide informed consent, those for whom testing would require that they provide more than 100 mL of blood, those whose blood was being collected by fingerstick, and those with results that were part of a laboratory test profile were excluded. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Two main outcome measures were assessed: (1) percent differences between split-specimen results exceeding the maximum allowable imprecision level, which was based on published biological variation data (defined as one-half of the intraindividual percent coefficient of variation), for each analyte (result discrepancies); and (2) all "problems" (defined as departures from standard operating procedures) that could be documented by retrospective review of all relevant medical and laboratory records. RESULTS: The rate of result discrepancies was 1 in 20 (5%) for patients in whom hemoglobin was analyzed, 12 in 57 (21%) for patients in whom potassium was analyzed, and 1 in 60 (2%) for patients in whom total cholesterol was analyzed. Results of samples obtained during the aliquoting and storage phases of the total testing process were subject to study-induced problems and were generally not useful in tracing problems to specific stages of the testing process. A total of 28 problems (involving 26 patients) were documented, but only 6 problems were due to routine testing processes. CONCLUSIONS: The feasibility and limitations of a split-specimen design to detect result discrepancies were demonstrated. Most documented problems (22 of 28, or 79%) were study induced. To assess integrity of the total testing process, such problems need to be avoided.     

Ubiquitination is required for the retro-translocation of a short-lived luminal endoplasmic reticulum glycoprotein to the cytosol for degradation by the proteasome

In the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), an efficient "quality control system" operates to ensure that mutated and incorrectly folded proteins are selectively degraded. We are studying ER-associated degradation using a truncated variant of the rough ER-specific type I transmembrane glycoprotein, ribophorin I. The truncated polypeptide (RI332) consists of only the 332 amino-terminal amino acids of the protein corresponding to most of its luminal domain and, in contrast to the long-lived endogenous ribophorin I, is rapidly degraded. Here we show that the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway is involved in the destruction of the truncated ribophorin I. Thus, when RI332 that itself appears to be a substrate for ubiquitination was expressed in a mutant hamster cell line harboring a temperature-sensitive mutation in the ubiquitin-activating enzyme E1 affecting ubiquitin-dependent proteolysis, the protein is dramatically stabilized at the restrictive temperature. Moreover, inhibitors of proteasome function effectively block the degradation of RI332. Cell fractionation experiments indicate that RI332 accumulates in the cytosol when degradation is prevented by proteasome inhibitors but remains associated with the lumen of the ER under ubiquitination-deficient conditions, suggesting that the release of the protein into the cytosol is ubiquitination-dependent. Accordingly, when ubiquitination is impaired, a considerable amount of RI332 binds to the ER chaperone calnexin and to the Sec61 complex that could effect retro-translocation of the polypeptide to the cytosol. Before proteolysis of RI332, its N-linked oligosaccharide is cleaved in two distinct steps, the first of which might occur when the protein is still associated with the ER, as the trimmed glycoprotein intermediate efficiently interacts with calnexin and Sec61. From our data we conclude that the steps that lead a newly synthesized luminal ER glycoprotein to degradation by the proteasome are tightly coupled and that especially ubiquitination plays a crucial role in the retro-translocation of the substrate protein for proteolysis to the cytosol.     

Performance scaling comparison for free-space optical and electrical interconnection approaches

Projected performance metrics of free-space optical and electrical interconnections are estimated and compared in terms of smart-pixel input-output bandwidth density and practical geometric packaging constraints. The results suggest that three-dimensional optical interconnects based on smart pixels provide the highest volume, latency, and power-consumption benefits for applications in which globally interconnected networks are required to implement links across many integrated-circuit chips. It is further shown that interconnection approaches based on macro-optical elements achieve better scaling than those based on micro-optical elements. The scaling limits of micro-optical-based architectures stem from the need for repeaters to overcome diffraction losses in multichip architectures with high bisection bandwidth. The overall results provide guidance in determining whether and how strongly a free-space optical interconnection approach can be applied to a given multiprocessor problem.     

Sequence-specific DNA binding by EcoKI, a type IA DNA restriction enzyme

The type I DNA restriction and modification enzymes of prokaryotes are multimeric enzymes that cleave unmethylated, foreign DNA in a complex process involving recognition of the methylation status of a DNA target sequence, extensive translocation of DNA in both directions towards the enzyme bound at the target sequence, ATP hydrolysis, which is believed to drive the translocation possibly via a helicase mechanism, and eventual endonucleolytic cleavage of the DNA. We have examined the DNA binding affinity and exonuclease III footprint of the EcoKI type IA restriction enzyme on oligonucleotide duplexes that either contain or lack the target sequence. The influence of the cofactors, S-adenosyl methionine and ATP, on binding to DNA of different methylation states has been assessed. EcoKI in the absence of ATP, with or without S-adenosyl methionine, binds tightly even to DNA lacking the target site and the exonuclease footprint is large, approximately 45 base-pairs. The protection is weaker on DNA lacking the target site. Partially assembled EcoKI lacking one or both of the subunits essential for DNA cleavage, is unable to bind tightly to DNA lacking the target site but can bind tightly to the recognition site. The addition of ATP to EcoKI, in the presence of AdoMet, allows tight binding only to the target site and the footprint shrinks to 30 base-pairs, almost identical to that of the modification enzyme which makes up the core of EcoKI. The same effect occurs when S-adenosyl homocysteine or sinefungin are substituted for S-adenosyl methionine, and ADP or ATPgammaS are substituted for ATP. It is proposed that the DNA binding surface of EcoKI comprises three regions: a "core" region which recognises the target sequence and which is present on the modification enzyme, and a region on each DNA cleavage subunit. The cleavage subunits make tight contacts to any DNA molecule in the absence of cofactors, but this contact is weakened in the presence of cofactors to allow the protein conformational changes required for DNA translocation when a target site is recognised by the core modification enzyme. This weakening of the interaction between the DNA cleavage subunits and the DNA could allow more access of exonuclease III to the DNA and account for the shorter footprint.     

Progressive Multi‐Jittered Sample Sequences

We introduce three new families of stochastic algorithms to generate progressive 2D sample point sequences. This opens a general framework that researchers and practitioners may find useful when developing future sample sequences. Our best sequences have the same low sampling error as the best known sequence (a particular randomization of the Sobol’ (0,2) sequence). The sample points are generated using a simple, diagonally alternating strategy that progressively fills in holes in increasingly fine stratifications. The sequences are progressive (hierarchical): any prefix is well distributed, making them suitable for incremental rendering and adaptive sampling. The first sample family is only jittered in 2D; we call it progressive jittered. It is nearly identical to existing sample sequences. The second family is multi‐jittered: the samples are stratified in both 1D and 2D; we call it progressive multi‐jittered. The third family is stratified in all elementary intervals in base 2, hence we call it progressive multi‐jittered (0,2). We compare sampling error and convergence of our sequences with uniform random, best candidates, randomized quasi‐random sequences (Halton and Sobol'), Ahmed's ART sequences, and Perrier's LDBN sequences. We test the sequences on function integration and in two settings that are typical for computer graphics: pixel sampling and area light sampling. Within this new framework we present variations that generate visually pleasing samples with blue noise spectra, and well‐stratified interleaved multi‐class samples; we also suggest possible future variations.