Platelet-derived growth factor-specific regulation of the JE promoter in rat aortic smooth muscle cells

JE is a member of the family of "immediate early" genes induced by growth factors and cytokines. JE encodes a low molecular weight secretory glycoprotein analogous to the human monocyte chemoattractant protein, MCP-1. JE and MCP-1 proteins are thought to play an important role in inflammation and in the recruitment of monocyte/macrophages to the vessel wall during the development of atherosclerosis. We have previously reported that the induction of JE in rat aortic smooth muscle cells (SMC) was specific to platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) and was not seen with other growth agonists. Using a luciferase reporter system and transient transfection assays of rat aortic SMC, we now report the identification of a region in the proximal rat JE promoter that is responsive to PDGF but not to other growth factors (angiotensin II and alpha-thrombin) or cytokines (interleukin 1-beta and tumor necrosis factor-alpha). The full response to PDGF (approximately 6-fold) requires the cooperative activity of two potentially novel cis-acting elements, at positions -146 to -128 and -84 to -59. While each element produces a different pattern in electrophoretic mobility shift assays, they appear to bind the same PDGF-responsive species. Further analysis of these regions should provide important insights into PDGF-specific responses in vascular SMC.     

Young drivers’ attitudes toward accompanied driving: A new multidimensional measure

Four studies were conducted in order to develop and validate a multidimensional instrument to assess attitudes toward accompanied driving among young drivers. Study 1 (n = 841) focused on developing the Attitudes Toward Accompanied Driving Scale (ATADS), a self-report scale based on five previously conceptualized domains of attitudes. Factor analysis revealed the five hypothesized factors: Tension, Relatedness, Disapproval, Avoidance, and Anxiety. In addition, significant associations were found between these factors and gender, age, and the assessment of reckless driving as risky. Study 2 (n = 651) adopted a developmental approach, comparing the attitudes of participants in various stages of licensure. Disapproval and Tension were found to be higher, and Relatedness lower, among participants who had not yet begun driving instruction than among those who were taking driving lessons or had already obtained a license. Study 3 (n = 160) revealed associations between the five ATADS factors and perceived driving costs and benefits. In Study 4 (n = 193), associations were found between these factors and driver's self-image, with a combination of ATADS factors, self-image, and gender contributing to the explained variance of two outcome variables: driving self-efficacy, and reported frequency of reckless driving. The discussion focuses on the validity and utility of the new measure of young drivers’ attitudes toward accompanied driving, stressing its practical implications for road safety.     

Highly scalable video compression with scalable motion coding

A scalable video coder cannot be equally efficient over a wide range of bit rates unless both the video data and the motion information are scalable. We propose a wavelet-based, highly scalable video compression scheme with rate-scalable motion coding. The proposed method involves the construction of quality layers for the coded sample data and a separate set of quality layers for the coded motion parameters. When the motion layers are truncated, the decoder receives a quantized version of the motion parameters used to code the sample data. The effect of motion parameter quantization on the reconstructed video distortion is described by a linear model. The optimal tradeoff between the motion and subband bit rates is determined after compression. We propose two methods to determine the optimal tradeoff, one of which explicitly utilizes the linear model. This method performs comparably to a brute force search method, reinforcing the validity of the linear model itself. Experimental results indicate that the cost of scalability is small. In addition, considerable performance improvements are observed at low bit rates, relative to lossless coding of the motion information.     

Tissue factor in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis

The Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rat is an animal model for obese NIDDM. We performed a genome wide scan in F2 progenies obtained by crossing OLETF rats with two control strains, Long-Evans Tokushima Otsuka (LETO) and Fisher-344(F-344) rats. Since diabetes develops only in male progenies, we used only male F2 rats for the linkage studies.Highly significant linkage was observed between the phenotype, postprandial hyperglycemia and P-450ald locus on chromosome 1 and D7Mit 11 locus on chromosome 7. In addition, suggestive linkage was found between fasting glucose level and body weight and these two loci. Four other regions (D1Mit12, D2Mit11, D5Mgh14, and D17Arb1) on chromosome 1, 2, 5, and 17 were detected to influence body weight, fasting glucose level or postprandial hyperglycemia independently. We concluded that non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus(NIDDM) in OLETF rats is regulated by multiple genes which affect fasting, postprandial hyperglycemia, and obesity differently.     

Improving the power efficiency of air refrigeration turbomachines

One way of improving the power efficiency of air refrigerating turbo-machines (RTM) is to combine low temperature production with mechanical power generation, sea water desalination or in the processing of some technological products. A study has shown that refrigeration and electrical power generation via the combined application of RTM and gas turbine units will decrease refrigeration costs by 15–20%. In the case of regenerative systems utilizing waste heat from the RTM for sea water demineralization, the cost of low temperature production can be reduced by 15–20%. In addition, a high quality distillate is produced at the rate of 10–15 kg for every 1000 kJ of refrigeration.     

Transform and embedded coding techniques for maximum efficiency and random accessibility in 3-D scalable compression.

This study investigates random accessibility and efficiency enhancements in highly scalable video and volumetric compression. With the advent of interactive multimedia technology, random accessibility has emerged as an increasingly important consideration in the design and optimization process. In this paper, we assess the impact that the transform, embedded coding components, and code-block configurations have on the compression efficiency and accessibility of a scalable codestream. We develop performance bounds on techniques which exploit temporal redundancy within the confines of a feed-forward compression system. We also examine their random access properties to argue the significance of motion-adaptive subband transforms. When information-theoretic measures are used to determine the potential benefits of three-dimensional (3-D) context coding, we find that most of the coding gain is attributed to code-block extension, rather than interslice context modeling itself. To gain further insight into the tradeoffs that the coding part has to offer, we run a series of simulations to determine code-block partitioning strategies which maximize reconstruction quality and space-time localization. The LIMAT framework and EBCOT coding paradigm have laid a solid foundation for further progress in the development of highly scalable 3-D compression systems.     

An efficient content-adaptive motion-compensated 3-D DWT with enhanced spatial and temporal scalability.

We propose a novel, content adaptive method for motion-compensated three-dimensional wavelet transformation (MC 3-D DWT) of video. The proposed method overcomes problems of ghosting and nonaligned aliasing artifacts which can arise in regions of motion model failure, when the video is reconstructed at reduced temporal or spatial resolutions. Previous MC 3-D DWT structures either take the form of MC temporal DWT followed by a spatial transform ("t+2D"), or perform the spatial transform first ("2D + t"), limiting the spatial frequencies which can be jointly compensated in the temporal transform, and hence limiting the compression efficiency. When the motion model fails, the "t + 2D" structure causes nonaligned aliasing artifacts in reduced spatial resolution sequences. Essentially, the proposed transform continuously adapts itself between the "t + 2D" and "2D + t" structures, based on information available within the compressed bit stream. Ghosting artifacts may also appear in reduced frame-rate sequences due to temporal low-pass filtering along invalid motion trajectories. To avoid the ghosting artifacts, we continuously select between different low-pass temporal filters, based on the estimated accuracy of the motion model. Experimental results indicate that the proposed adaptive transform preserves high compression efficiency while substantially improving the quality of reduced spatial and temporal resolution sequences.     

In situ localization of tissue factor in human atherosclerotic plaques by binding of digoxigenin-labeled factors VIIa and X

The mechanism responsible for the thrombotic complications of atherosclerotic plaques is not well understood. Although a role for tissue factor (TF) has been hypothesized, there are scant data on the presence, location, quantity, and activity of TF in atherosclerotic plaques. The purpose of this study was to show the localization of TF in human atherosclerotic plaques. Digoxigenin-labeled factors VIIa and X were used to demonstrate their specific binding sites in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded human arteries by incubation of sections with the labeled factor and localization of TF:factor(s) complexes by immunohistochemical staining for digoxigenin. In sections of atherosclerotic plaques, diffuse staining was most intense in the relatively acellular, lipid-rich core but was also present intracellularly in macrophages and smooth muscle cells and, to a lesser extent, in the relatively acellular fibrous tissue of the plaque. Endothelial cells overlying plaques and occasional medial smooth muscle cells stained positively as well. The adventitia routinely stained for TF in both normal and diseased artery segments. Staining for labeled factor VIIa was blocked when sections were preincubated with a 10-fold excess of unlabeled factor VIIa or with a polyclonal antihuman TF antibody. Binding of labeled factors VIIa and X was Ca(2+)-dependent. In conclusion, binding of digoxigenin-labeled factors VIIa and X shows that the lipid rich core of atherosclerotic plaques contains high levels of extracellular TF. This location may be responsible for the rapid initiation of thrombosis when lipid rich atherosclerotic plaques rupture and the core contents are exposed to flowing blood.     

The contribution of parents’ driving behavior,family climate for road safety,and parent-targeted intervention to young male driving behavior

One of the prominent issues in contemporary research on young drivers deals with the mechanisms underlying parents’ influences on their offspring's driving behavior. The present study combines two sets of data: the first gathered from in-vehicle data recorders tracking the driving of parents and their teenage sons, and the second derived from self-report questionnaires completed by the young drivers. The aim was to evaluate the contribution of parents’ driving behavior, participation in a parent-targeted intervention, and the teen drivers’ perception of the family climate for road safety, to the driving behavior of young drivers during solo driving. The data was collected over the course of 12 months, beginning with the licensure of the teen driver, and examined a sample of 166 families who were randomly assigned to one of three intervention groups (receiving different forms of feedback) or a control group (with no feedback). Findings indicate that young male drivers’ risky driving events rate was positively associated with that of their parents. In addition, any type of intervention led to a lower rate of risky driving events among young drivers compared to the control group. Finally, a higher perception of parents as not committed to safety and lower perceived parental monitoring were related to a higher risky driving events rate among young drivers. The results highlight the need to consider a complex set of antecedents in parents’ attitudes and behavior, as well as the family's safety atmosphere, in order to better understand young drivers’ risky driving. The practical implications refer to the effective use of the family as a lever in the attempt to promote safety awareness among young drivers.