Systemically low levels of survival motor neuron-1 (SMN1) protein cause spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). α-Motor neurons of the spinal cord are considered particularly vulnerable in this genetic disorder and their dysfunction and loss cause progressive muscle weakness, paralysis and eventually premature death of afflicted individuals. Historically, SMA was therefore considered a motor neuron-auto...

In C. elegans, the TGFβ-like type II receptor daf-4 is required for two distinct signaling pathways. In association with the type I receptor daf-1, it functions in the dauer pathway. In addition, it is also required for body size determination and male tail patterning, roles which do not require daf-1. In an effort to determine how two different signals are transmitted through daf-4, we looked ...

We describe a method for determining uric acid in serum by reversed-phase liquid chromatography with spectrophotometric detection at 280 nm. Serum, 100 ul is mixed with 100 u1 of a solution containing, per liter, 70 ml of acetonitrile in sodium acetate (20 mmol/Iiter, pH 4.0) and 500 mg of the internal standard, adenine. The mixture is allowed to stand in an ice bath for 3 mm, then centrifuged....

We have analyzed the sma-5(n678) mutant in C. elegans to elucidate mechanisms controlling body size. The sma-5 mutant is very small, grows slowly and its intestinal granules look abnormal. We found a 15 kb deletion in the mutant that includes a 226 bp deletion of the 3' end of the W06B3.2-coding sequence. Based on this result, rescue experiments, RNAi experiments and a newly isolated deletion m...

This paper presents the development of an Intelligent Mini Robot Fingers by using the Shape Memory Alloy (SMA). Taking into consideration the advantages of the SMA, a prototype of mini robot fingers is developed which will be actuated by the SMA. The mini robot fingers has 4 fingers with 3 degrees of freedom (DOF) in each finger. Hence, 12 DOFs of robot fingers are developed to allow a greater ...

Studies in non-human primates have shown that medial premotor projections to the striatum are characterized as a set of distinct circuits conveying different type of information. This study assesses the anatomical projections from the supplementary motor area (SMA), pre-SMA and motor cortex (MC) to the human striatum using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) axonal tracking. Eight right-handed volun...

For active and sterile neutrinos, we present the globally allowed solutions for two neutrino oscillations. We include the SNO CC measurement and all other relevant solar neutrino and reactor data. Five active neutrino oscillation solutions (LMA, LOW, SMA, VAC, and Just So) are currently allowed at 3σ; three sterile neutrino solutions (Just So, SMA, and VAC) are allowed at 3σ. The goodness of fi...

This research studied the optimal design of Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) muscle wire bundle actuators. Current literature describes the use of multiple muscle wires placed in parallel to increase the lifting capabilities of an SMA actuator, which however, is limited to wires of like-diameter. A constrained optimization problem was formulated, with constraints on the maximum number of wires, voltage...

Superior mesenteric artery (SMA) aneurysms and pseudoaneurysms are uncommonly encountered in vascular surgery practice, but they typically require repair. Historically, they have been repaired with open aneurysmorrhaphy, bypass and exclusion, or simple ligation. More recently, endovascular repair with coil embolization and stent graft exclusion have been advocated. We present a repair of an SMA...

a-Smooth muscle actin (SMA), an actin isoform that contributes to cell-generated mechanical tension, is normally restricted to cells of vascular smooth muscle, but SMA can also be expressed in certain non-muscle cells, most notably myofibroblasts. These cells are present in healing wounds, scars, and fibrocontractive lesions where they contribute to fibrosis. In myofibroblasts, cell-generated t...