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PubMedDate not supplied

Evidence of weaning stress and catch-up growth in the long bones of a central California Amerindian sample.

Diaphyseal growth patterns are described and analysed for a cross-sectional sample of immature Central California Amerindian skeletal remains. This collection is housed at the Lowie Museum of Anthropology, Berkeley, California, and comprises the largest immature skeletal sample of prehistoric Amerindians from the West Coast of North America examined to date. Mean long bone length values and estimates of growth velocity are compared to data reported for the Indian Knoll and Arikara skeletal samples. The Central California long bone growth curves are very similar to the Indian Knoll and Arikara from birth through dental age 2. A period of growth retardation is evident in the Central California sample at dental age 3, both in comparison to the Central California 2-year-olds and the Indian Knoll and Arikara 3-year-olds. However, estimated growth velocity indicates a comparable decline in growth rates for all three groups between ages 2 and 3. Catch-up growth is exhibited in the Central California long bones at dental ages 4 and 5. The departure from the expected cross-sectional growth curve between ages 3 and 5 is suggested to be correlated with the onset of weaning and a subsequent slow-down in skeletal growth. A method of quantitatively testing for the presence of poor growth performance in archaeological skeletal collections is applied to the Central California data.

Age Determination by Teeth↗
PubMed2004

Plasma C-reactive protein concentrations in active and passive smokers: influence of antioxidant supplementation.

OBJECTIVE: C-reactive protein (CRP) may directly affect the progression of atherosclerosis, and therefore, may be a target for reducing disease risk. The objective was to determine whether antioxidant supplementation reduces plasma CRP in active and passive smokers. DESIGN: Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group trial with 2 months exposure to study supplements. SETTING: Berkeley and Oakland, California. SUBJECTS: Healthy adult men and women, consuming <4 daily servings of fruits and vegetables, and who were actively or passively exposed to cigarette smoke. Analysis was limited to participants with detectable baseline CRP concentrations and no evidence of inflammation associated with acute illness at baseline or follow-up as reflected in CRP elevations (> or =10.0 mg/L). A total of 1393 individuals were screened, 216 randomized, 203 completed the study, and 160 were included in the analysis. INTERVENTIONS: Participants were randomized to receive a placebo or vitamin C (515 mg/day) or antioxidant mixture (per day: 515 mg vitamin C, 371 mg alpha-tocopherol, 171 mg gamma-tocopherol, 252 mg mixed tocotrienols, and 95 mg alpha-lipoic acid). MEASURES OF OUTCOME: Change in plasma CRP concentration. RESULTS: Vitamin C supplementation yielded a 24.0% reduction (95% confidence interval, -38.9% to -5.5%, p = 0.036 compared to control) in plasma CRP, whereas the antioxidant mixture and placebo produced a nonsignificant 4.7% reduction (-23.9% to 19.3%) and 4.3% increase (-15.1% to 28.2%), respectively. Results were adjusted for baseline body mass index and CRP concentrations. CONCLUSIONS: Plasma CRP itself may serve as a potential target for reducing the risk of atherosclerosis, and antioxidants, including vitamin C, should be investigated further to confirm their CRP-lowering and anti-inflammatory effects.

Antioxidants↗
PubMed1975

Survival of synchronized Chinese hamster cells exposed to radiation of different linear-energy transfer.

Chinese hamster V79 cells were exposed to ionizing radiations of a wide range of linear-energy transfer (LET), including 145kV x-rays and six different heavy ions accelerated in the Berkeley heavy-ion linear accelerator. The LET of the ions ranged from 19 keV/um to 2000 keV/um. Survival curves were determined for both synchronized and asynchronous cells, using survival of colony-forming capacity as the end-point. Results with asynchronous cultures were similar to results reported previously for mammalian cells. There was increased effectiveness of killing per dose with increased LET until a change in shape of the single-cell survival curves resulted, from sigmoidal to exponential, with carbon ions (LET of 190 keV/um). With heavier ions, exponential curves were obtained, but with decreased effectiveness per unit dose. Synchronized cultures were obtained by mitotic selection. The expected Chinese hamster cell-cycle survival curve variation was found for X-rays, mainly reflecting the variation in the single-cell extrapolation number, with late S-phase cells the most resistant to radiation. When synchronized cultures were irradiated with the heavy ions that produce exponential survival curves; the survival curves were independent of the cell-cycle time of irradiation. With radiations of LET values between the low and high extremes, a reduced cell-cycle survival curve variation was found, indicating a gradual reduction in the cell-cycle survival curve variation as a function of increased LET.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Effects of high-LET particles (40A) on the brain of Drosophila melanogaster.

To investigate the effects of galactic heavy particles on nervous tissue, Drosophila melanogaster flies were exposed to 40A from the Super-HILAC accelerator at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. The energy of the particles reaching the Drosophila neurons was 4-8 MeV/nucleon, and the fluence ranged from 6 X 10(4) to 8 X 10(7) particles/cm2. Thirty-five days after irrdiation at the higher fluences, extensive tissue fragmentation and cysts were found. At fluences as low as one hit/two cell bodies (about 5 X 10(6)) and one hit/90 cell bodies (about 9 X 10(4) particles/cm2 or 21 rad average dose) swelling of neuronal cytoplasm and focally fragmented membranes were noted; at fluences ranging from one hit/six to one hit/135 cell bodies, there was frequently a marked increase in glial lamellae around nerve-cell processes, which often had degenerative features. These findings support the view that single hits by heavy particles may injure nervous tissue.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

David Hartley's psychobiological associationism and the legacy of Aristotle.

The idea that there are certain "laws" of learning (similarity, contrast, contiguity) can be traced to Aristotle. He maintained that external stimuli cause small movements in the vessels to the dominant heart, the vestiges of which can be linked to one another. Aristotle's laws of learning were incorporated into the writings of Hobbes, Locke, and Berkeley, men who said nothing about the physiological correlates of mental associations. This left the door open for David Hartley to combine mental associationism with the Newtonian idea that sensations can cause minute particle vibrations in the nerves. Hartley's amalgam of psychology, philosophy, and neurology was first presented in 1746, as a "trial balloon" at the end a little-known monograph on a treatment for kidney stones. It was repeated three years later in his better-known Observations on Man. In many ways, modern psychobiological connectionism can be traced back to Hartley's Conjectures of 1746, in which Aristotle's original thoughts were modified with then current ideas about functions of the mind and the nervous system.

Greece↗
PubMed2006

An inexpensive dual-chamber particle monitor: laboratory characterization.

In developing countries, high levels of particle pollution from the use of coal and biomass fuels for household cooking and heating are a major cause of ill health and premature mortality. The cost and complexity of existing monitoring equipment, combined with the need to sample many locations, make routine quantification of household particle pollution levels difficult. Recent advances in technology, however, have enabled the development of a small, portable, data-logging particle monitor modified from commercial smoke alarm technology that can meet the needs of surveys in the developing world at reasonable cost. Laboratory comparisons of a prototype particle monitor developed at the University of California at Berkeley (UCB) with gravimetric filters, a tapered element oscillating microbalance, and a TSI DustTrak to quantify the UCB particle monitor response as a function of both concentration and particle size and to examine sensor response in relation to changes in temperature, relative humidity, and elevation are presented here. UCB particle monitors showed good linearity in response to different concentrations of laboratory-generated oleic acid aerosols with a coarse (mass median diameter, 2.1 microm) and fine (mass median diameter, 0.27-0.42 microm) size distributions (average r2 = 0.997 +/- 0.005). The photoelectric and ionization chamber showed a wide range of responses based on particle size and, thus, require calibration with the aerosol of interest. The ionization chamber was five times more sensitive to fine rather than coarse particles, whereas the photoelectric chamber was five times more sensitive to coarse than fine. The ratio of the response between the two sensors has the potential for mass calibration of individual data points based on estimated parameters of the size distribution. The results demonstrate the significant potential of this monitor, which will facilitate the evaluation of interventions (improved fuels, stoves, and ventilation) on indoor air pollution levels and research on the impacts of indoor particle levels on health in developing countries.

Aerosols↗
PubMed2006

Catalytic oxidation of mixed wastes containing high organic content--emission reduction and the effect of steam.

To resolve mixed organic and radioactive waste disposal problems, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) initiated a treatability study using the catalytic chemical oxidation (CCO) system to oxidize a mixed-waste stream and to confine tritium as part of LBNL's pollution prevention program. LBNL has also adopted a legal approach by seeking an equivalent waste-treatment determination for the CCO process, and by petitioning the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to delist F-coded treatment residues. The results of this study demonstrate that (1) the CCO process can treat aqueous wastes containing a broad range of organic chemicals and achieve more than 99.999% destruction efficiency; (2) greater than 99.9% trapping efficiency for tritiated water can be achieved using an emission-reduction system that also confines the vapor of hydrochloric acid or nitric acid to the liquid residue; and (3) neutralized treatment residues can be disposed of as low-level radioactive waste at a permitted facility after EPA has approved LBNL's petitions, or the tritium in the residues can be recycled. The high oxidation efficiency of the CCO process is mainly due to the optimized operating conditions of the CCO process and the combined effect of steam reforming in the oxidation cell and the catalytic oxidation of organic mixtures and CO in the Pt/Al2O3 catalyst bed.

Catalysis↗
PubMed2006

Multi-center study: the biochemical efficacy, safety and tolerability of a new alpha1-proteinase inhibitor, Zemaira.

Augmentation therapy with a plasma derived alpha l-Proteinase Inhibitor (alpha1 -PI) has been demonstrated to be effective in restoring serum Alpha1 -antitrypsin (AAT)* levels in individuals with AAT Deficiency (note: alpha1 PI and AAT are synonymous). The objective of this study was to demonstrate that the steady-state trough serum alphal-PI levels, achieved by a new plasma derived alpha,-PI (Zemaira, study drug, ZLB Behring LLC, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, USA), were bioequivalent to those achieved by the currently available alpha-PI therapy, Prolastin (control drug, Bayer Corporation, Berkeley, California, USA), and maintained weekly trough serum antigenic alpha1-PI levels above the protective threshold of 11 microM. This multi-center, controlled study randomized a total of 44 subjects to receive either study or control drug for a 10-week double-blind phase. The control group was then crossed over to receive the study drug for the remainder of the study (14 weeks). The difference in mean trough serum antigenic alpha1-PI level between the treatment groups was 1.45 microM (90% CI-2.77, -0.13), signifying bioequivalence. The mean trough serum antigenic alpha1-PI level in the study drug group was greater than the therapeutic threshold of 11 microM, achieving a level of 17.7 microM during the steady-state period. Treatment-related adverse events (AEs) were seen in 7% and 21% of study and control drug treated subjects, respectively. No documented viral transmission occurred. These results demonstrate that the new plasma derived alpha1-PI (Zemaira) is bioequivalent to the currently available product Prolastin, is well tolerated, and safe with respect to the risk of viral transmission.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

The Gcs1 and Age2 ArfGAP proteins provide overlapping essential function for transport from the yeast trans-Golgi network.

Many intracellular vesicle transport pathways involve GTP hydrolysis by the ADP-ribosylation factor (ARF) type of monomeric G proteins, under the control of ArfGAP proteins. Here we show that the structurally related yeast proteins Gcs1 and Age2 form an essential ArfGAP pair that provides overlapping function for TGN transport. Mutant cells lacking the Age2 and Gcs1 proteins cease proliferation, accumulate membranous structures resembling Berkeley bodies, and are unable to properly process and localize the vacuolar hydrolase carboxypeptidase (CPY) and the vacuolar membrane protein alkaline phosphatase (ALP), which are transported from the TGN to the vacuole by distinct transport routes. Immunofluorescence studies localizing the proteins ALP, Kex2 (a TGN resident protein), and Vps10 (the CPY receptor for transport from the TGN to the vacuole) suggest that inadequate function of this ArfGAP pair leads to a fragmentation of TGN, with effects on secretion and endosomal transport. Our results demonstrate that the Gcs1 + Age2 ArfGAP pair provides overlapping function for transport from the TGN, and also indicate that multiple activities at the TGN can be maintained with the aid of a single ArfGAP.

ADP-Ribosylation Factors↗
PubMed2005

Mutants in trs120 disrupt traffic from the early endosome to the late Golgi.

Transport protein particle (TRAPP), a large complex that mediates membrane traffic, is found in two forms (TRAPPI and -II). Both complexes share seven subunits, whereas three subunits (Trs130p, -120p, and -65p) are specific to TRAPPII. Previous studies have shown that mutations in the TRAPPII-specific gene trs130 block traffic through or from the Golgi. Surprisingly, we report that mutations in trs120 do not block general secretion. Instead, trs120 mutants accumulate aberrant membrane structures that resemble Berkeley bodies and disrupt the traffic of proteins that recycle through the early endosome. Mutants defective in recycling also display a defect in the localization of coat protein I (COPI) subunits, implying that Trs120p may participate in a COPI-dependent trafficking step on the early endosomal pathway. Furthermore, we demonstrate that Trs120p largely colocalizes with the late Golgi marker Sec7p. Our findings imply that Trs120p is required for vesicle traffic from the early endosome to the late Golgi.

Coat Protein Complex I↗
PubMed1984

A cytological approach to the ordering of events in gene activation using the Sgs-4 locus of Drosophila melanogaster.

The polytene chromosomes of Drosophila strains that differ in the synthesis of the major salivary gland glue protein sgs-4 were examined by indirect immunofluorescence using antisera to several nonhistone chromosomal proteins. The Oregon-R X chromosome, which produces sgs-4 messenger RNA, showed a strong fluorescent band at locus 3C11-12 when stained with anti-RNA polymerase II, whereas the null mutant Berkeley 1 failed to exhibit fluorescence at that locus. The presence of another antigen (Band 2), normally associated with developmentally active loci, was clearly evident at locus 3C11-12 of both transcriptionally competent and null strains, indicating that the association of Band 2 antigen with the chromatin is an event independent of RNA polymerase II binding. Antibodies directed against Drosophila topoisomerase I stained 3C11-12 in the Sgs-4+ (wild-type) strain brightly, but gave significantly less staining in the null strain. This indicates that the high concentrations of topoisomerase I seen at active loci are closely associated with the transcriptional event. In some of these analyses, we have made use of flies heterozygous for the wild-type and null alleles in order to make internally controlled comparisons. The results suggest that this type of analysis will enable conclusions to be drawn concerning the interdependence and order of action of chromosomal proteins involved in developmental gene activation.

Alleles↗
PubMed1991

The albedo and scattering phase function of interstellar dust and the diffuse background at far-ultraviolet wavelengths.

We have determined the scattering parameters of dust in the interstellar medium at far-ultraviolet (FUV) wavelengths (1415-1835 angstroms). Our results are based on spectra of the diffuse background taken with the Berkeley UVX spectrometer. The unique design of this instrument makes possible for the first time accurate determination of the background both at high Galactic latitude, where the signal is intrinsically faint, and at low Galactic latitude, where direct starlight has heretofore compromised measurements of the diffuse emission. Because the data are spectroscopic, the continuum can be distinguished from the atomic and molecular transition features which also contribute to the background. We find the continuum intensity to be well correlated with the Galactic neutral hydrogen column density until saturation at about 1200 photons cm-2 s-1 sr-1 angstrom-1 is reached where tau FUV approximately 1. Our measurement of the intensity where tau FUV > or = 1 is crucial to the determination of the scattering properties of the grains. We interpret the data with a detailed radiative transfer model and conclude that the FUV albedo of the grains is low (<25%) and that the grains scatter fairly isotropically. We evaluate models of dust composition and grain-size distribution and compare their predictions with these new results. We present evidence that, as the Galactic neutral hydrogen column density approaches zero, the FUV continuum background arises primarily from scattering by dust, which implies that dust may be present in virtually all view directions. A non-dust-scattering continuum component has also been identified, with an intensity (external to the foreground Galactic dust) of about 115 photons cm-2 s-1 angstrom-1. With about half this intensity accounted for by two-photon emission from Galactic ionized gas, we identify roughly 50 photons cm-2 s-1 sr-1 angstrom-1 as a true extragalactic component.

Astronomy↗
PubMed1999

Toward the development of antibacterial vaccines: report of a symposium and workshop. Organizing Committee.

On 26 and 27 October 1998, the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), hosted a symposium and workshop on bacterial vaccines. The symposium featured invited speakers who are internationally recognized authorities in their fields and who discussed selected topics related to specific pathogens or specific principles of bacterial vaccine development. The workshop, held on the day following the symposium, brought together the invited speakers and members of the organizing committee, who came from UCSF and the University of California, Berkeley, to discuss 4 specific topics and to define priorities for future vaccine development. Considerable knowledge has been gained from successful and unsuccessful vaccine development efforts, and large gains in knowledge relevant to vaccine development have resulted from studies of basic immunology and microbial pathogenesis. This report summarizes the presentations at the symposium and the discussions of the workshop sessions.

Bacterial Vaccines↗
PubMed2002

Nuclear democracy. Political engagement, pedagogical reform, and particle physics in postwar America.

The influential Berkeley theoretical physicist Geoffrey Chew renounced the reigning approach to the study of subatomic particles in the early 1960s. The standard approach relied on a rigid division between elementary and composite particles. Partly on the basis of his new interpretation of Feynman diagrams, Chew called instead for a "nuclear democracy" that would erase this division, treating all nuclear particles on an equal footing. In developing his rival approach, which came to dominate studies of the strong nuclear force throughout the 1960s, Chew drew on intellectual resources culled from his own political activities and his attempts to reform how graduate students in physics would be trained.

History↗
PubMed2003

Rethinking Big Science. Modest, mezzo, grand science and the development of the Bevalac, 1971-1993.

Historians of science have tended to focus exclusively on scale in investigations of largescale research, perhaps because it has been easy to assume that comprehending a phenomenon dubbed "Big Science" hinges on an understanding of bigness. A close look at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory's Bevalac, a medium-scale "mezzo science" project formed by uniting two preexisting machines--the modest SuperHILAC and the grand Bevatron--shows what can be gained by overcoming this preoccupation with bigness. The Bevalac story reveals how interconnections, connections, and disconnections ultimately led to the development of a new kind of science that transformed the landscape of large-scale research in the United States. Important lessons in historiography also emerge: the value of framing discussions in terms of networks, the necessity of constantly expanding and refining methodology, and the importance of avoiding the rhetoric of participants and instead finding words to tell our own stories.

California↗
PubMed1997

Seroprevalence of and risk factors for hepatitis A infection among young homosexual and bisexual men.

To evaluate hepatitis A infection among young homosexual and bisexual men, 411 men aged 17-22 years were surveyed at 26 public venues in San Francisco and Berkeley. Seroprevalence of hepatitis A infection was 28.0% (95% confidence interval [CI], 23.7%-32.6%). Recent infection was evident in 3.3% of susceptible men (95% CI, 1.6%-5.9%). Independent predictors of hepatitis A infection were Latino ethnicity (odds ratio [OR] = 5.3; 95% CI, 3.1-8.9), having > or = 50 lifetime male sex partners (OR = 1.8; 95% CI, 1.1-3.0), less than high school education (OR = 2.2; 95% CI, 1.2-4.1), and being a high school graduate (OR = 1.7; 95% CI, 1.0-2.9). Independent predictors of recent infection were less than high school graduate (OR = 7.6; 95% CI, 1.9-30.5), insertive anal intercourse (OR = 5.6; 95% CI, 1.0-32.8), and sharing needles without cleaning them (OR = 32.1; 95% CI, 3.0-346). Hepatitis A is a common infection in young homosexual men and is associated with sexual and drug-using behaviors.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Organization of the ferritin genes in Drosophila melanogaster.

The organization of two closely clustered genes, Fer1HCH and Fer2LCH, encoding the heavy-chain homolog (HCH) and the light-chain homolog (LCH) subunits of Drosophila melanogaster ferritin are reported here. The 5019-bp sequence of the cluster was assembled from genomic fragments obtained by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of genomic DNA and from sequences obtained from the Berkeley Drosophila Genome Project (BDGP) (http://www.fruitfly.org). These genes, located at position 99F1, have different exon-intron structures (Fer1HCH has three introns and Fer2LCH has two introns) and are divergently transcribed. Computer analysis of the possibly shared promoter regions revealed the presence of putative metal regulatory elements (MREs), a finding consistent with the upregulation of these genes by iron, and putative NF-kappaB-like binding sites. The structure of two other invertebrate ferritin genes, from the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (located on chromosomes I and V), was also analyzed. Both nematode genes have two introns, lack iron-responsive elements (IREs), and encode ferritin subunits similar to vertebrate H chains. These findings, along with comparisons of ferritin genes from invertebrates, vertebrates, and plants, suggest that the specialization of ferritin H and L type chains, the complex exon-intron organization of plant and vertebrate genes, and the use of the IRE/iron regulatory protein (IRP) mechanism for regulation of ferritin synthesis are recent evolutionary acquisitions.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

A Drosophila clathrin light-chain gene: sequence, mapping, and absence of neuronal specialization.

Because mammalian light chains have been implicated in the regulation of clathrin coat assembly and neuronal specialization of clathrin-mediated vesicle trafficking, a clathrin light-chain gene of Drosophila has been sought as a genetically tractable model for these developmental membrane-trafficking systems. A light-chain gene has been identified and its expression examined in various developmental stages and tissues by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). A cDNA clone, originally identified from a partial sequence in the Berkeley Drosophila Genome Project EST database, has been sequenced completely and shown to encode a polypeptide with extensive sequence similarity to vertebrate and invertebrate clathrin light chains. Secondary structure algorithms predict an extensive coiled-coil over a region extending from amino acid residues 100 to 170, in excellent agreement with previous analyses of mammalian light chains. By in situ hybridization to larval polytene chromosomes, the gene has been mapped to cytologic position 77A on the left arm of chromosome 3. An RT-PCR analysis, coupled with PCR analysis of genomic DNA, showed that there is no neural specialization of the Drosophila clathrin light chain corresponding to that observed in mammalian neuronal light chains. The neuron-specific alternative splicing of clathrin light chains thus appears to be restricted to vertebrates, where it may contribute to the more complex information-processing capacity of higher nervous systems.

Alternative Splicing↗