Expression of three UDP-N-acetyl-alpha-D-galactosamine:polypeptide GalNAc N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferases in adenocarcinoma cell lines

The levels of mRNA expression of three UDP-N-acetyl-alpha-D-galactosamine:polypeptide GalNAc N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferases (GalNAc-transferases) were quantified for human adenocarcinoma cell lines from pancreas, colon, stomach, and breast. Two of the GalNAc-transferases, GalNAc-T1 and GalNAc-T2, were expressed constitutively and at low levels in most or all cell lines examined. A third GalNAc-transferase, GalNAc-T3, was differentially expressed. Well-differentiated adenocarcinoma cell lines expressed high levels and moderately differentiated cell lines expressed lower levels of GalNAc-T3. Cell lines classified as poorly differentiated failed to express GalNAc-T3 mRNA at levels that could be detected by Northern blot analysis. Differential expression of the GalNAc-T3 protein was confirmed in these cell lines by Western blotting. We propose that glycosylation in tumor cell lines may be regulated in part by differential expression of GalNAc-transferases, and we suggest that GalNAc-T3 gene expression may be a molecular indicator of differentiated adenocarcinoma.     

Effects of manufacturing defects on the mechanical properties of carbon fibre reinforced polyethersulphone laminates

The effects of defects on the mechanical properties of carbon fibre reinforced polyethersulphone laminates have been measured. The defects studied were cut fibre plies, omission of polymer films and local delamination produced by the inclusion of foreign matter. Of these it was found that only cut plies had a significant detrimental effect on the strength of a laminate. For specimens with two cut plies, the failure stress, tensile, flexural and compressive in the remaining continuous plies was the same as in the defect-free material, provided that the cut plies were widely separated. However the failure stresses were 15–18% lower in the continuous plies in the specimens containing two cut plies which were more closely spaced and in specimens containing four cut plies.     

Elevated serum levels of soluble CD30 in patients with atopic dermatitis (AD)

The immunopathology of AD is still unclear, but evidence for an immune response polarized towards Th2 activity has been provided. The CD30 molecule belongs to the tumour necrosis factor (TNF) receptor family and is expressed on activated T cells with a sustained expression in Th2 cells. This molecule also exists in a soluble form (sCD30). Elevated serum levels of sCD30 have been found in patients with Hodgkin's disease, chronic hepatitis B infection and HIV infection. Studies were undertaken to compare the serum levels of sCD30 in patients with AD (n=49) and healthy non-atopic controls (n=94). The presence of sCD30 was analysed with ELISA. A significantly higher concentration of sCD30 was noted in AD patients, median sCD30 level 29 U/ml (range 1-708 U/ml), compared with healthy non-atopic controls (P<0.001), where the median level was 11 U/ml with a range of 1-1042 U/ml. No correlation was found between sCD30 levels and total serum IgE, or between the AD patients' SCORAD values and concentration of sCD30. sCD30 levels were also analysed in 20 AD patients, which during ketoconazole treatment had improved their clinical scores and reduced their serum IgE and eosinophil cationic protein levels. However, no significant decrease in sCD30 levels was noted after treatment. The results show that patients with AD have elevated levels of sCD30, but without correlation to total serum IgE or disease activity.     

A method for dynamic measurement of the resistance to dry heat exchange by footwear

Five different types of cold protective footwear have been tested with regard to their resistance to dry heat loss (i.e. the insulation) with a new electrically heated foot model. The model is able to simulate 'walking' movements in order to provide a more realistic simulation of wear conditions. Thermal insulation of shoes with and without a steel toe cap was the same. The insulating properties during simulated walking movements were 10-25% lower compared with static conditions. For two of the shoe models a significantly lower insulation value for the sole area was obtained when adding a weight of 30 kg. A significant difference could also be found between the insulation values of two different sizes of one of the models. Measurements with the standard method (EN 344) correlated well with the local insulation value of the sole part of the thermal foot. Correlation with the insulation value for the whole shoe was much less, variation was bigger and ranking in terms of cold protection differed between methods. The electrically heated foot model appears to provide a reproducible, accurate and more realistic method for measuring the insulation properties of shoes than EN 344.     

Static and Dynamic Spins in Superconducting La2−x Sr x CuO4: The Risø Years

One important area of modern condensed matter research is the investigation of the nature of the superconducting cuprates. Much progress in this field has been obtained with the technique of neutron scattering. We here present a review of neutron scattering studies of the high-temperature superconductor La_2?xSr_xCuO₄, performed at Risø National Laboratory. We review the work on the mapping of the incommensurate spin fluctuations, the investigation of the gap in the fluctuation spectrum, the magnetic properties of the vortices appearing in an applied field, and the quantum critical behaviour of the system. We discuss our findings in the light of results of neutron scattering from other groups, on other cuprate systems, and results from other experimental methods, e.g. NMR, μSR, STM, X-ray diffraction, and ARPES. We end with a discussion on the implications of the experimental results for the progress in the general understanding of high-temperature superconductivity. PACS numbers: 61.12.Ex, 74.20.Mn, 74.72.Dn, 75.25.+z, 78.70.Nx.     

Multivariate polynomials, standard tableaux, and representations of symmetric groups

This paper is concerned with structural and algorithmic aspects of certain R-bases in polynomial rings R[X_ij] over a commutative ring R with 1. These bases are related to standard tableaux. We shall examine the main tools in full detail: (symmetrized) bideterminants, Capelli operators, hyperdominance, and generalized Laplace's expansions. These tools are then applied to the representation theory of symmetric groups. In particular, we present an algorithm which efficiently computes for every skew module of a symmetric group an R-basis which is adapted to a Specht series. This result is a constructive, characteristic-free analogue of the celebrated Littlewood-Richardson rule. This paper will serve as the basis for a possible generalization of that rule to more general shapes.     

Hereditary spherocytosis: diagnostic and anaemia-associated aberrations of ghost proteins

Various disorders of the red cell skeleton and membrane have been described in hereditary spherocytosis. To elucidate which aberrations could be used for identification of HS patients in a Danish population, we examined ghosts from 17 HS patients and 20 normals by use of SDS-gel scanning, native spectrin extraction, and limited tryptic digestion. Compared to normals, HS patients had significantly lowered alpha-spectrin (p < 0.004), protein 4.2 (p < 0.025), and actin (p < 0.05), and significantly increased anion-transporter (p < 3 x 10(-6)) and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (G3PD, p < 0.04). Sixteen out of 17 HS patients could be identified by aberrations of the anion-transporter or protein 4.2 outside a 95% confidence interval for normals. Extraction of native spectrin and limited tryptic digest showed no difference between normals and HS patients. RBC separated into young and old fractions were used to examine the occurrence of protein aberrations associated with RBC age. Young RBC contained more G3PD (35%) and less protein 4.1 (6.5%) and actin (8.7%) than old. In male HS patients an increased G3PD content showed a linear correlation (p < 0.001) with a low concentration of blood haemoglobin. We conclude that aberrations of G3PD, and possibly protein 4.1, and actin, are associated with anaemia in HS. Increased anion-transporter or lowered protein 4.2 may be useful for diagnosis of HS, and were inherited in five out of six families where two generations were available.     

Efficient return algorithms for associated plasticity with multiple yield planes

A new return method for implicit integration of linear isotropic yield criteria is presented. The basic idea is to perform all the manipulations in the principal stress space and thereby achieve very simple formulae for calculating the plastic corrector stresses, based on the constant gradient of such criteria. The return formulae are in closed form and no iteration is required. The method accounts for three types of stress return: return to a single yield plane, to a discontinuity line at the intersection of two yield planes and to a discontinuity point at the intersection between three or more yield planes. The infinitesimal and the consistent elastoplastic constitutive matrix are calculated for each type of stress return, as are the conditions to ascertain which type of return is required. The method is exemplified with the Mohr–Coulomb yield criterion. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An efficient return algorithm for non-associated plasticity with linear yield criteria in principal stress space

An efficient return algorithm for stress update in numerical plasticity computations is presented. The yield criterion must be linear in principal stress space and can be composed of any number of yield planes. Each of these yield planes may have an associated or non-associated flow rule. The stress return and the formation of the constitutive matrix is carried out in principal stress space. Here the manipulations simplify and rely on geometrical arguments. The singularities arising at the intersection of yield planes are dealt with in a straightforward way also based on geometrical considerations. The method is exemplified on non-associated Mohr–Coulomb plasticity throughout the paper.