Separate populations of microtubules (MTs) distinguishable by their level of posttranslationally modified tubulin subunits and by their stability in vivo have been described. In polarized 3T3 cells at the edge of an in vitro wound, we have found a striking preferential coalignment of vimentin intermediate filaments (IFs) with detyrosinated MTs (Glu MTs) rather than with the bulk of the MTs, whi...

Alzheimer disease (AD) is a clinicopathologic syndrome of unknown etiology with numerous abnormalities in neuronal and nonneuronal cells. A review of the literature suggests that a common basic intracellular defect may underlie many of the reported abnormalities. We hypothesize impairment of the microtubule (MT) system as one explanation for the pathogenesis of AD. Evidence in support of the hy...

To quantify the emission rate of monoterpenes (MTs) from diverse natural sources, the sorbent tube (ST)-thermal desorption (TD) method was employed to conduct the collection and subsequent detection of MTs by gas chromatography. The calibration of MTs, when made by both mass spectrometric (MS) and flame ionization detector (FID), consistently exhibited high coefficient of determination values (...

This paper deals with the multiple ellipse fitting problem based on a given set of data points in a plane. The presumption is that all data points are derived from k ellipses that should be fitted. The problem is solved by means of center-based clustering, where cluster centers are ellipses. If the Mahalanobis distance-like function is introduced in each cluster, then the cluster center is repr...

This paper contains three contributions to the problem of learning a Mahalanobis distance. First, a general framework for kernelizing Mahalanobis distance learners is presented. The framework allows existing algorithms to learn a Mahalanobis distance in a feature space associated with a pre-specified kernel function. The framework is then used for kernelizing three well-known learners, namely, ...

This paper proposes a procedure for process parameters design by combining both modeling and optimization methods. The proposed procedure integrates the Taguchi method, the artificial neural network (ANN), and the genetic algorithm (GA). First, the Taguchi method is applied to minimize experimental numbers and to collect experimental data representing the quality performances of a system. Next,...

In this paper, a new evolutionary learning algorithm is proposed by hybridizing the Taguchi method and chaos artificial bee colony (CABC). The algorithm is thus called HTCABC. First, the chaos search algorithm and adaptive bound method is adopted to improve the ABC performance and convergence rate. Then, the Taguchi method and crossover operation are incorporated into the CABC to produce good f...

Purpose – To solve the trade-offs between marketing and R&D domains and to minimize information loss in new product development (NPD), this study proposes an integrated design process as a new solution to the interface system between the two domains. Design/methodology/approach – House of Quality integrated with multivariate statistical analysis is used for determining important design features...

Spindle microtubules (MTs) in PtK1 cells, fixed at stages from metaphase to telophase, have been reconstructed using serial sections, electron microscopy, and computer image processing. We have studied the class of MTs that form an interdigitating system connecting the two spindle poles (interpolar MTs or ipMTs) and their relationship to the spindle MTs that attach to kinetochores (kMTs). Viewe...

The formation of intracellular nitrogen-based oxidants has important physiological and pathological consequences. CK (creatine kinase), which plays a key role in intracellular energy metabolism, is a main target of low concentrations of oxidative and nitrative stresses. In the present study, the interaction between cytosolic CKs [MM-CK (muscle-type CK) and BB-CK (brain-type CK)] and MTs [metall...