The iron abundance of the Magellanic Bridge

High-resolution Hubble Space Telescope ultraviolet spectra for five B-type stars in the Magellanic Bridge and in the Large (LMC) and Small (SMC) Magellanic Clouds have been analysed to estimate their iron abundances. Those for the Clouds are lower than estimates obtained from late-type stars or the optical lines in B-type stars by approximately 0.5 dex. This may be due to systematic errors possibly arising from non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (non-LTE) effects or from errors in the atomic data, as similar low Fe abundances have previously been reported from the analysis of the ultraviolet spectra of Galactic early-type stars. The iron abundance estimates for all three Bridge targets appear to be significantly lower than those found for the SMC and LMC by approximately -0.5 and -0.8 dex, respectively, and these differential results should not be affected by any systematic errors present in the absolute abundance estimates. These differential iron abundance estimates are consistent with the underabundances for C, N, O, Mg and Si of approximately -1.1 dex relative to our Galaxy previously found in our Bridge targets. The implications of these very low metal abundances for the Magellanic Bridge are discussed in terms of metal deficient material being stripped from the SMC.

FPGA-based minutia matching for biometric fingerprint image database retrieval

In this paper, a parallel-matching processor architecture with early jump-out (EJO) control is proposed to carry out high-speed biometric fingerprint database retrieval. The processor performs the fingerprint retrieval by using minutia point matching. An EJO method is applied to the proposed architecture to speed up the large database retrieval. The processor is implemented on a Xilinx Virtex-E, and occupies 6,825 slices and runs at up to 65 MHz. The software/hardware co-simulation benchmark with a database of 10,000 fingerprints verifies that the matching speed can achieve the rate of up to 1.22 million fingerprints per second. EJO results in about a 22% gain in computing efficiency.

The mouse and human IGSF6 (DORA) genes map to the inflammatory bowel disease 1 locus and are embedded in an intron of a gene of unknown function.

We have previously characterized IGSF6 (DORA), a novel member of the immunoglobulin superfamily (IGSF) from human and rat expressed in dendritic and myeloid cells. Using a probe from the open reading frame of the rat cDNA, we isolated a cosmid which contains the entire mouse gene. By comparative analysis and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, we defined the intron/exon structure and the mRNA of the mouse gene and, with respect to human BAC clones, the human gene. The genes span 10 kb (mouse) and 12 kb (human), with six exons arranged in a manner similar to other members of the IGSF. All intron/exon boundaries follow the GT-AG rule. Expression of the mouse Igsf6 gene is restricted to cells of the immune system, particularly macrophages. Northern blot revealed a single mRNA of 2.5 kb, in contrast to the human gene which is expressed as two mRNAs of 1 and 2.5 kb. The human and mouse genes were localized to a locus associated with inflammatory bowel disease. Analysis of the flanking regions of the Igsf6 gene revealed the presence of an unrelated gene, transcribed from the opposite strand of the DNA and oriented such that the Igsf6 gene is encoded entirely within an intron. An identical organization is seen in human. This gene of unknown function is transcribed and processed, contains homologues in Caenorhabditis elegans and prokaryotes, and is expressed in most organs in the mouse.

Ultrasmall radio frequency driven microhollow cathode discharge

We have operated 25-100 mu m diameter radio frequency microhollow cathode discharges stably, for many hours, in neon and in argon. Electrical and spectroscopic measurements were used to explore three possible electron heating modes and obtain detail regarding the electron energy distribution. Analysis points to the possibility of pendular electron heating at low voltages.

Survival patterns among lymphoma patients with a family history of lymphoma

Purpose: Genetic factors are important in the etiology and pathogenesis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL), and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Only a few small studies have assessed clinical characteristics and prognosis for familial patients, with inconsistent findings. Methods: Using population-based registries from Sweden and Denmark, 7,749 patients with CLL, 7,476 patients with HL, and 25,801 patients with NHL with linkable first-degree relatives were identified. Kaplan-Meier curves were constructed to compare survival in patients with lymphoma with and without a family history of lymphoma. The risk of dying was assessed using adjusted Cox proportional hazard models. Results: We found 85 patients with CLL (1.10%), 95 patients with HL (1.28%), and 206 patients with NHL (0.80%) with a family history of any lymphoma. Five-year mortality was similar for patients with CLL (hazard ratio [HR], 1.28; 95% CI, 0.95 to 1.72), HL (HR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.49 to 1.25), and NHL (HR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.74 to 1.12) versus without a family history of any lymphoma. Mortality was also similar for patients with versus without a family history of the same lymphoma. T-cell/anaplastic lymphoma patients with a family history of NHL had poorer outcome 5-years after diagnosis (HR, 5.38; 95% CI, 1.65 to 17.52). Results were similar for 10 years of follow-up. Conclusion: With the exception of T-cell/anaplastic lymphoma, survival patterns for patients with CLL, HL, and NHL with a family history of lymphoma were similar to those for sporadic patients, suggesting that most familial lymphomas do not have an altered clinical course. Our findings provide no evidence to modify therapeutic strategies for patients with CLL, HL, or NHL based solely on family history. © 2008 by American Society of Clinical Oncology.


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