Exploring the Importance of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms of HSPA9 in DNA of Sarcoma Patients

The aim of this project was to identify genetic variants that may influence the risk and progression of sarcoma through targeted genotyping of HSPA9 gene. It is important to look at genetic variants in DNA samples because if a variant is determined to be more likely than another, a screening for the particular variant can be done to identify a patient’s risk of sarcoma. The study population was sarcoma patients from the International Sarcoma Kindred Study. These patients had no mutations in p53 or MDM2. Genotyping data from the HapMap project (hapmap.org) for HSPA9 was used to identify the polymorphisms needed to tag the entire region. In order to genotype the DNA sample, KASP reagents (KBioSciences, UK) were used. KASP uses a two-set PCR process. Allele specific primers are used to preferentially amplify each allele of a given SNP. The specific genetic variations of HSPA9 in sarcoma patient DNA samples with no mutations in p53 or MDM2 amplification are not more or less likely to occur than in DNA samples with the mutation or amplification. If continued research can show that MDM2 is not amplified, but activated through other mechanisms such as the interaction between polymorphisms of mitochondrial genes, p53, or MDM2, we can propose anti-MDM2 therapies to the patients with these polymorphisms

Effects of substrate and ambient gas on epitaxial growth indium oxide thin films

Indium oxide thin films were grown by pulsed electron beam deposition method at 500 °C on c-cut sapphire and (0 0 1) oriented LaAlO3 single crystal substrates in oxygen or argon gas. The effects of ambient gas and substrate symmetry on the growth of indium oxide thin films were studied. Stoichiometric In2O3 films are formed in oxygen, while oxygen deficient In2O2.5 films are grown in argon, with In metallic nanoclusters embedded in a In2O3 matrix (nanocomposite films). In both cases, epitaxial In2O3 films having the bixbyite phase were grown with various orientation relationships, depending upon the substrate symmetry and gas ambient (oxygen or argon). Domain matching epitaxy was used to describe the precise in-plane epitaxial film-substrate relationships. The differences in film texture were correlated to the differences in growth conditions, while the differences in the film properties were correlated to the film oxygen composition

A perception and manipulation system for collecting rock samples

An important part of a planetary exploration mission is to collect and analyze surface samples. As part of the Carnegie Mellon University Ambler Project, researchers are investigating techniques for collecting samples using a robot arm and a range sensor. The aim of this work is to make the sample collection operation fully autonomous. Described here are the components of the experimental system, including a perception module that extracts objects of interest from range images and produces models of their shapes, and a manipulation module that enables the system to pick up the objects identified by the perception module. The system was tested on a small testbed using natural terrain

A note on the convexity number for complementary prisms

In the geodetic convexity, a set of vertices $S$ of a graph $G$ is $\textit{convex}$ if all vertices belonging to any shortest path between two vertices of $S$ lie in $S$. The cardinality $con(G)$ of a maximum proper convex set $S$ of $G$ is the $\textit{convexity number}$ of $G$. The $\textit{complementary prism}$ $G\overline{G}$ of a graph $G$ arises from the disjoint union of the graph $G$ and $\overline{G}$ by adding the edges of a perfect matching between the corresponding vertices of $G$ and $\overline{G}$. In this work, we we prove that the decision problem related to the convexity number is NP-complete even restricted to complementary prisms, we determine $con(G\overline{G})$ when $G$ is disconnected or $G$ is a cograph, and we present a lower bound when $diam(G) \neq 3$.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure

Electronic Correlations in CoO2, the Parent Compound of Triangular Cobaltates

A 59Co NMR study of CoO2, the x=0 end member of AxCoO2 (A = Na, Li...) cobaltates, reveals a metallic ground state, though with clear signs of strong electron correlations: low-energy spin fluctuations develop at wave vectors q different from 0 and a crossover to a Fermi-liquid regime occurs below a characteristic temperature T*~7 K. Despite some uncertainty over the exact cobalt oxidation state n this material, the results show that electronic correlations are revealed as x is reduced below 0.3. The data are consistent with NaxCoO2 being close to the Mott transition in the x -> 0 limit.Comment: 4 pages, submitte

First results in terrain mapping for a roving planetary explorer

To perform planetary exploration without human supervision, a complete autonomous rover must be able to model its environment while exploring its surroundings. Researchers present a new algorithm to construct a geometric terrain representation from a single range image. The form of the representation is an elevation map that includes uncertainty, unknown areas, and local features. By virtue of working in spherical-polar space, the algorithm is independent of the desired map resolution and the orientation of the sensor, unlike other algorithms that work in Cartesian space. They also describe new methods to evaluate regions of the constructed elevation maps to support legged locomotion over rough terrain