Phosphorylation of tobacco eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4A upon pollen tube germination

Eukaryotic translation initiation factor eIF-4A is a member of the DEAD box family of RNA helicases and RNA-dependent ATPases. In tobacco, eIF-4A is encoded by a gene family with one isoform, eIF-4A8, being exclusively expressed in pollen. This pollen-specific isoform is a candidate for mediating translational control in the developing gametophyte. Here we show that eIF-4A is barely phosphorylated in mature pollen, but during pollen tube germination, two isoforms of eIF-4A become phosphorylated. Phosphoamino acid analysis indicated phosphorylation of threonine. In order to determine whether pollen-specific eIF-4A8 is among the phosphorylated isoforms, we raised transgenic tobacco plants overexpressing eIF-4A8 containing a histidine tag. Hereby, we could show that indeed eIF-4A8 is modified through phosphorylation. The biological relevance of the phosphorylation of eIF-4A is discussed.     

Intracardiac thrombi associated with antiphospholipid antibodies

Two cases of intracardiac thrombi associated with antiphospholipid antibodies are presented, one in the right atrium and the other in the left ventricle, the latter occurring in the presence of normal left ventricular function. In each, the diagnosis was made by transthoracic echocardiography. Both patients had contraindications to thrombolytic therapy and underwent successful surgical thrombectomy. We suggest that serial transthoracic echocardiography may be warranted in the follow-up of patients with primary hypercoagulable states.     

A power-efficient channel coder/decoder chip for GSM terminals

A compact power- and computing-delay-efficient channel codec chip for the Pan-European digital cellular radio (GSM) system is presented. This key component for the hand-portable mobile station, mainly implementing GSM Recommendation 5.03 on a full duplex basis, is accomplished through a dedicated architecture and application tailored memories. An important effort was made to increase the testability of the design; the sequentiality, the low pin count, and the presence of embedded macro functions implied the need for internal scan and BIST techniques. Full scan design and self-test facilities, supported by automatic test pattern generating software, resulted in time- and coverage-efficient testing. The chip is fabricated in a double-metal 1.2-μm CMOS technology, using a cell-based design approach incorporating memory and programmable array macro blocks. A full-rate speech channel block is decoded in less than 1.8 ms and typical average in-system power consumption does not exceed 10 mW     

The relationship between body weight concerns and adolescent smoking.

Although a number of factors have been found to predict smoking status among adolescents, few researchers have examined how belief in smoking as a weight-control strategy may be related to smoking in this high-risk population. With the goal of discovering whether belief in smoking as a weight-control strategy predicted smoking status, the present investigation surveyed 659 Black and White high school students. Analyses showed that among regular smokers, 39% of White female and 12% of White male smokers reported using smoking to control their appetite and weight. Although belief in smoking as a weight-control strategy did not predict regular smokers versus never smokers, the weight-belief item reliably separated experimental smokers from regular smokers. The survey also revealed that White female restrained eaters were the most likely to actually use smoking as a weight-control strategy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Constructing subsurface profiles using GIS

A geographic information system (GIS) macro procedure for creating subsurface profiles from well log data is developed. The well log data base is constructed from interpretation of a series of borehole geophysical logs. The GIS procedure targets a modelling area and interpolates the well data base to create a three-dimentional representation of the subsurface environment. Any number of cross-sectional profiles or three-dimensional images of well log data may be created and viewed interactively. The resulting profiles provide basic geometric data for ground water flow and contaminant transport models. A brief introduction to the ARC/INFO system, emphasizing the attributes of the data structure and the macro language, is given. Several subsurface profiles of Shelby County, Tennessee are developed using the GIS profile procedure.     

The community continuity experience: generalist training for preclinical medical students

Many medical schools are planning community-based experiences for preclinical students. In August 1994, The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston began placing all 200 first-year medical students in generalists' offices in a new course called the Community Continuity Experience. The office nurse served as site facilitator. Activities during the second term provided more opportunities for students to interview patients as well as to observe the site physicians. The course committee used feedback from student evaluations and focus groups to change the implementation of the curriculum. We found that nurses as site facilitators effectively managed the students' activities, that continuity of site was more important to students than breadth of exposure, that the optimum focus of activities was the examination room, that training in actual skill development (e.g., methods of patient education) was desired before site activities, and that careful integration of preclinical patient-oriented courses was important to expose students to a coherent approach to learning skills for patient assessment.