Splenomegaly is frequently found in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) patients. This study evaluated the implications of splenic volume change in response to radioimmunotherapy (RIT). Twenty-nine NHL patients treated with radiolabeled-Lym-1 and 9 breast cancer patients (reference group) treated with radiolabeled-ChL6, BrE-3 or m170 were analyzed using CT splenic images obtained before and after RIT. Patient-specific radiation doses to spleen were determined using actual splenic volume determined by CT and body weight. In 13 of 29 NHL patients who had splenic volume {le} 310 ml, there was no or small change (-23 to 15 mL) in splenic volume, despite splenic doses as high as 14.4 Gy. Similarly, in a reference group of 9 breast cancer patients, there was no or small change (-5 to 13 mL), despite splenic doses as high as 11.4 Gy. In contrast, 13 of 29 NHL patients who had splenic volume 380-1400 mL, splenic volume decreased by 68 to 548 mL despite splenic doses as low as 1.40 Gy. Ten of 29 NHL patients with greater than a 15% decrease in splenic volume after RIT had nodal tumor regression (5 CR, 5 PR). In the remaining 19 NHL patients with less than a 15% decrease in splenic volume …

An indirect method for determining cross sections for reactions proceeding through a compound nucleus is presented. Exploring indirect approaches for obtaining reaction cross sections is important since a large number of reactions relevant to astrophysics cannot be measured with currently available techniques. Of particular importance are reactions involving unstable nuclei. Some applications of the Surrogate nuclear reactions method are considered and challenges that need to be addressed are outlined.

John Cowley and his group at Arizona State University pioneered the use of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) for high-resolution imaging. Images were achieved three decades ago showing the crystal unit cell content at better than 4 Angstrom resolution. This achievement enabled researchers to pinpoint the positions of heavy atom columns within the unit cell. Lighter atoms appear as resolution is improved to sub-Angstrom levels. Currently, advanced microscopes can image the columns of the light atoms (carbon, oxygen, nitrogen) that are present in many complex structures, and even the lithium atoms present in some battery materials. Sub-Angstrom imaging, initially achieved by focal-series reconstruction of the specimen exit surface wave, will become common place for next-generation electron microscopes with CS-corrected lenses and monochromated electron beams. Resolution can be quantified in terms of peak separation and inter-peak minimum, but the limits imposed on the attainable resolution by the properties of the micro-scope specimen need to be considered. At extreme resolution the ''size'' of atoms can mean that they will not be resolved even when spaced farther apart than the resolution of the microscope.

SAC (also known as SAC2000) is a signal processing and analysis code that has been developed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) over the past 20+ years for a variety of seismic and geophysical research projects. SAC has evolved into a general purpose interactive program designed for the study of sequential signals, especially time-series data. Emphasis has been placed on analysis tools used by research seismologists in the detailed study of seismic events. Analysis capabilities include general arithmetic operations, Fourier transforms, three spectral estimation techniques, IIR and FIR filtering, signal stacking, decimation, interpolation, correlation, and seismic phase picking. SAC also contains an extensive graphics capability. SAC is used extensively by the seismic community because: (1) it has a broad range of well-tested, efficient data analysis capabilities (examples include: data inspection, phase picking, signal correction, quality control, unary and binary data operations, travel-time analysis, spectral analysis including high-resolution spectral estimation, spectrograms and binary sonograms, and array and three-component analysis), (2) it is easy to use and reliable, (3) it has a macro programming language that allows users to develop innovative new analysis techniques, (4) it has interfaces to the Unix operating system, Matlab (www.mathworks.com), and the Generic Mapping Tools (GMT) software …

Enucleation, a rare feature of mammalian differentiation, occurs in three cell types: erythroblasts, lens epithelium and keratinocytes. Previous investigations suggest that caspase activation functions in lens epithelial and keratinocyte enucleation, as well as in early erythropoiesis encompassing BFU-E differentiation to proerythroblast. To determine whether caspase activation contributes to later erythropoiesis and whether nuclear substructures other than chromatin reorganize, we analyzed distributions of nuclear subcompartment proteins and assayed for caspase-induced cleavage of subcompartmental target proteins in mouse erythroblasts. We found that patterns of lamin B in the filamentous network interacting with both the nuclear envelope and DNA, nuclear matrix protein NuMA, and splicing factors Sm and SC35 persisted during nuclear condensation, consistent with effective transcription of genes expressed late in differentiation. Thus nuclear reorganization prior to enucleation is selective, allowing maintenance of critical transcriptional processes independent of extensive chromosomal reorganization. Consistent with these data, we found no evidence for caspase-induced cleavage of major nuclear subcompartment proteins during late erythropoiesis, in contrast to what has been observed in early erythropoiesis and in lens epithelial and keratinocyte differentiation. These findings imply that nuclear condensation and extrusion during terminal erythroid differentiation involve novel mechanisms that do not entail major activation of apoptotic machinery.

{gamma}-secretase is a membrane protein complex that cleaves the {beta}-amyloid precursor protein (APP) within the transmembrane region, following prior processing by {beta}-secretase, producing amyloid {beta}-peptides (A{beta}{sub 40} and A{beta}{sub 42}). Errant production of A{beta}-peptides that substantially increases A{beta}{sub 42} production has been associated with the formation of amyloid plaques in Alzheimer's disease patients. Biophysical and genetic studies indicate that presenilin-1 (Psn-1), which contains the proteolytic active site, and three other membrane proteins, nicastrin (Nct), APH-1, and PEN-2 are required to form the core of the active {gamma}-secretase complex. Here, we report the purification of the native {gamma}-secretase complexes from HeLa cell membranes and the identification of an additional {gamma}-secretase complex subunit, CD147, a transmembrane glycoprotein with two immunoglobulin-like domains. The presence of this subunit as an integral part of the complex itself was confirmed through co-immunoprecipitation studies of the purified protein from HeLa cells and solubilized complexes from other cell lines such as neural cell HCN-1A and HEK293. Depletion of CD147 by RNA interference was found to increase the production of A{beta} peptides without changing the expression level of the other {gamma}-secretase components or APP substrates while CD147 overexpression had no statistically significant effect on amyloid {beta}-peptide production, other {gamma}-secretase …

Human chromosome 16 features one of the highest levels of segmentally duplicated sequence among the human autosomes. We report here the 78,884,754 base pairs of finished chromosome 16 sequence, representing over 99.9% of its euchromatin. Manual annotation revealed 880 protein-coding genes confirmed by 1,637 aligned transcripts, 19 tRNA genes, 341 pseudogenes, and 3 RNA pseudogenes. These genes include metallothionein, cadherin, and iroquois gene families, as well as the disease genes for polycystic kidney disease and acute myelomonocytic leukemia. Several large-scale structural polymorphisms spanning hundreds of kilobase pairs were identified and result in gene content differences among humans. While the segmental duplications of chromosome 16 are enriched in the relatively gene poor pericentromere of the p-arm, some are involved in recent gene duplication and conversion events likely to have had an impact on the evolution of primates and human disease susceptibility.

Due to the exothermic reaction of lithium hydride (LiH) salt with water during transportation and handling, there is always a thin film of lithium hydroxide (LiOH) present on the LiH surface. In dry or vacuum storage, this thin LiOH film slowly decomposes. We have used temperature-programmed reaction/decomposition (TPR) in combination with the isoconversion method of thermal analysis to determine the outgassing kinetics of H{sub 2}O from pure LiOH and H{sub 2} and H{sub 2}O from this thin LiOH film. H{sub 2} production via the reaction of LiH with LiOH, forming a lithium oxide (Li{sub 2}O) interlayer, is thermodynamically favored, with the rate of further reaction limited by diffusion through the Li{sub 2}O and the stability of the decomposing LiOH. Lithium hydroxide at the LiOH/vacuum interface also decomposes easily to Li{sub 2}O, releasing H{sub 2}O which subsequently reacts with LiH in a closed system to form H{sub 2}. At the onset of dry decomposition, where H{sub 2} is the predominant product, the activation energy for outgassing from a thin LiOH film is lower than that for bulk LiOH. However, as the reactions at the LiH/Li{sub 2}O/LiOH and at the LiOH/vacuum interfaces proceed, the overall activation energy barrier for the outgassing approaches …