WHIM, the Window Handler and Input Manager

This article describes WHIM, the Window Handler and Input Manager, a window management system being developed as part of the QuickSilver operating system project at IBM's Almaden Research Center. Another version of WHIM runs under AIX on the IBM PC RT. This article contrasts and compares the overlapped window scheme used in WHIM with the tiled window scheme used in other systems. The advantages of the window management scheme used in WHIM are detailed, and the effect of display interfaces on the window manager is described.     

Modelling of solvent positions around polar groups in proteins

Previous analysis of the distribution of experimental solventmolecule positions around amino acid side chains showed thatdistinct clustering occurred close to polar or charged atomsin proteins. We have used those data to predict likely solventpositions around proteins not used in our initial analysis.We envisage that this algorithm, AQUARIUS, will be useful forfinding solvent positions in electron density maps generatedby protein crystallography and as useful starting positionsfor solvent molecules in computer simulation studies of macromolecules.     

Solvent interactions with n ring systems in proteins

The interaction of water molecules with apolar amino acids isan important aspect of the hydrophobic effect and hence of proteinfolding. Our distributed multipole electrostatic model for waterinteracting with phenylalanine dipeptides shows that minimumenergy sites exist above the aromatic ring such that a solventmolecule can interact with the electrons, but only when thissite is not blocked by mainchain atoms or disturbed by main-chainpolar atoms. This is consistent with the experimental evidenceof others that water can hydrogen bond to aromatic n electrons.In contrast, our analysis of solvent interactions with phenylalanineresidues based on 48 high-resolution, well-refined protein structuresshows that the dominant interaction of solvent molecules iswith the edge of the ring and not with the 7i electrons. Asthe faces of phenylalanine rings tend to be buried, and solventinteractions with neighbouring polar atoms are more favourable,the interaction of water molecules with the faces of aromatic rings appears not to occur frequently in proteins     

Nuclear renaissance,public perception and design criteria: An exploratory review

There is currently an international drive to build new nuclear power plants, bringing about what is being termed a “nuclear renaissance”. However, the public perception of nuclear energy has historically been, and continues to be, a key issue, particularly in light of the Fukushima nuclear incident. This paper discusses the disparity between perceived and calculated risks based on the last four decades of research into risk perception. The leading psychological and sociological theories, Psychometric Paradigm and Cultural Theory, respectively, are critically reviewed. The authors then argue that a new nuclear-build policy that promotes a broader approach to design incorporating a wider range of stakeholder inputs, including that of the lay public, may provide a means for reducing the perceived risk of a nuclear plant. Further research towards such a new approach to design is proposed, based on integrating expert and lay stakeholder inputs and taking into account broader socio-cultural factors whilst maintaining the necessary emphasis on safety, technological development, economics and environmental sustainability.     

Optical receiver array in silicon bipolar technology with selfaligned, low parasitic III/V detectors for DC-1 Gbit/s parallel links

A 1*8 element III-V photodetector/silicon bipolar circuit receiver array has been fabricated using a selfaligning, low parasitic, flipchip solder bond hybridisation process. Receiver elements operate at data rates up to 1 Gbit/s with an input sensitivity of -23 dBm at 1.3 mu m wavelength, and with negligible interchannel crosstalk. An overall delay of 1.5 ns was measured between optical input and digital output.<>     

Integrated radiation hybrid and yeast artificial chromosome map of chromosome 9p

OBJECTIVES: To determine concentrations of chondroitin sulphate (CS) and keratan sulphate (KS) epitopes, glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and hyaluronan (HA) in knee synovial fluid (SF) from normal subjects and patients with osteoarthritis (OA) or rheumatoid arthritis (RA), to test whether these variables may be used as markers of the OA process. METHODS: OA was subdivided into large joint OA (LJOA), nodal generalised OA (NGOA), and OA with calcium pyrophosphate crystal deposition (CPA). Clinical assessment of inflammation (0-6) was undertaken on OA and RA knees. Knee SF was examined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay for: CS epitopes, using monoclonal antibodies 3-B-3 and 7-D-4; KS epitope using monoclonal antibody 5-D-4; and HA, using biotinylated HA binding region of cartilage proteoglycan. Total sulphated GAGs were measured by dye binding with 1:9 dimethylmethylene blue. RESULTS: Increased SF 3-B-3 concentrations and 3-B-3/GAG ratio were found in OA, compared with RA or normal knees, with higher 3-B-3 and 3-B-3/GAG in LJOA and NGOA than in CPA. SF 7-D-4 and 7-D-4/GAG were reduced in RA, compared with normal and OA; SF 5-D-4 was reduced in OA compared with normal. GAG and HA concentrations were decreased in both OA and RA. No correlations with radiographic scores were observed, but SF 7-D-4 was lower in 'inflamed' compared with 'non-inflamed' RA and OA knees. In patients with bilateral samples there were strong correlations between right and left knees for all SF variables. CONCLUSIONS: Changed concentrations of SF CS and KS can be detected in OA with a profile that differs from that seen in RA. Clinical subgrouping and local joint inflammation may influence these measures, supporting different pathogenesis within OA subgroups and requirement for careful patient characterisation in SF studies.     

A psychological interpretation of the results of the Zenith Radio experiments in telepathy.

(This reprinted article originally appeared in Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1938, Vol 23, 601–632. The following abstract of the original article appeared in PA, Vol 13:1413.) An analysis of over a million responses from the radio audience reveals the operation of marked extra-chance factors. The 2 most important of these factors are (1) the pattern or sequence used by individuals in recording their guesses and (2) the set or predisposing influence of subtle suggestions found in the test instructions. When these factors are discounted, it becomes unnecessary to postulate telepathy to explain the results. The Zenith data resemble many of the data reported by telepathy exponents in that the results cannot be explained on the basis of chance. However, telepathy is not the only alternative even when such factors as sensory cues, errors due to recording methods, and the selection of favorable data are eliminated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential display in primary and metastatic medullary thyroid carcinoma

Platelet-activating factor (PAF) is a mediator produced in human airways during acute and chronic inflammatory lung diseases. The levels of PAF are regulated by acetylhydrolase (AH), the enzyme that converts PAF to lyso-PAF. To determine whether AH was present in human bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid, BAL was obtained from normal donors (n = 18) and from adult patients with mild bronchial asthma (n = 15) or with lung fibrosis (n = 15). AH activity was consistently found in the cell-free BAL fluid. BAL-AH is an enzyme different from secretory phospholipase A2 and from plasma AH and erythrocyte AH. Furthermore, BAL-AH is inhibited as much as 95% by exposure to an oxygen radical-generating system (xanthine/xanthine oxidase). BAL-AH is significantly correlated with the number of BAL macrophages (rs = 0.63; p < 0.02). In addition, BAL macrophages release AH both spontaneously and after stimulation with tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) (100 ng/ml). BAL-AH activity in patients with bronchial asthma (1.32 +/- 0.18 pmol of PAF converted to lyso-PAF/min) is significantly lower than that in normal donors (2.25 +/- 0.26 pmol/min; p < 0.001). In contrast, BAL-AH activity in patients with lung fibrosis (6.13 +/- 0.81 pmol/min) is higher than that found in normal donors (p < 0.01). The variations in BAL-AH activity in patients with bronchial asthma or lung fibrosis are due to a reduction and to an increase, respectively, in the number of active molecules rather than to changes in enzyme affinity. These data demonstrate that human BAL fluid contains an extracellular AH activity that inactivates PAF released in the airways. BAL-AH is secreted by alveolar macrophages and is highly sensitive to oxygen radical-induced damage. The secretion and inactivation of BAL-AH may influence the levels of this enzyme in BAL fluid during acute and chronic inflammatory lung diseases and, ultimately, regulate the proinflammatory activities of PAF in these disorders.