Melanosomes, the pigment granules that provide tissues with colour and photoprotection, are the cellular site of synthesis, storage and transport of melanin pigments. They are synthesised in mammalian skin melanocytes, in choroidal melanocytes and retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells in the eye, and in melanophores (a class of pigment-containing cells) in lower vertebrates. The precise fate a...

of [Nemo97]: Single-event upset (SEU) tolerance for commercial 1Mbit SRAMs, 4Mbit SRAMs, 16Mbit DRAMs and 64Mbit DRAMs was evaluated by irradiation tests using high-energy heavy ions with an LET range between 4.0 and 60.6 MeV/(mg/cm2). The threshold LET and the saturated cross-section were determined for each device from the LET dependence of the SEU cross-section. We show these test results an...

Non-melanoma skin cancers are the most commonly diagnosed forms of cancer in Canada (approximately 72,000 cases across the country in 2002). After this type of skin cancer, prostate, breast, colorectal, and lung cancers are the most frequently diagnosed and account for 56% (57% provincially) of total reported cancer cases in Waterloo Region within the past five years. They are also the leading ...

This article presents a systematic review of outcomes associated with the use of microprocessorcontrolled prosthetic knees (MPKs) compared with non–microprocessor-controlled prosthetic knees (NMPKs) among individuals with unilateral transfemoral limb loss (TFLL). A comprehensive review of 27 publications revealed that MPKs may be indicated in cases where improved ambulatory safety and the abili...

Functional testing has advantages for testing more than one component of the motor system at once and can indicate the effects of aging. Timed stair tests provide a reliable, stable measure of function to give medical and rehabilitation professionals information about patient’s progress, comparison to a healthy population, and further practical goals. Because a timed stair test measures a great...

This article is part of a Minifocus on invadopodia and podosomes. For further reading, please see related articles: ‘Matrix invasion by tumour cells: a focus on MT1-MMP trafficking to invadopodia’ by Renaud Poincloux et al. (J. Cell Sci. 122, 3015-3024), ‘Mechanisms for transcellular diapedesis: probing and pathfinding by ‘invadosome-like protrusions’’ by Christopher V. Carman (J. Cell Sci. 122...

This study looked at factors that would predict weight loss success for obese people with osteoarthritis (OA). Factors such as having confidence in one’ s abilit y to lose weight, changing eating habits, receiving nutrition counseling, being married, or being depressed we re exam ined as potential predictors of weight loss. Receiving nutrition counseling and no t being depressed were the strong...

The prosthetic socket remains the number one priority for persons with lower-limb amputation because a user’s comfort depends on the socket fit. This review analyzes the effect of current prosthetic socket designs, focusing on patient-reported outcomes measures, with the aim to provide a basis for socket prescription. Results from the 19 included studies show that total surface bearing sockets ...

We determined whether directed rehabilitation affected the survival, pain, depression, independence, and satisfaction with life of veterans who were nonambulatory after spinal epidural metastasis (SEM) treatment. Specialized rehabilitation is usually provided to patients with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) but not to patients who develop SCI due to systemic cancer. Patients who received 2 w...

Sirtuins are NAD-dependent deacetylases that are highly conserved from bacteria to human and SIR2 was originally shown to extend lifespan in budding yeast (Imai et al., 2000; Kaeberlein et al., 1999). Since then, sirtuins have been shown to also regulate longevity in other lower organisms, such as flies and worms (Tissenbaum and Guarente, 2001; Rogina and Helfand, 2004). In mammals, there are s...