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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

AAA+: A class of chaperone-like ATPases associated with the assembly, operation, and disassembly of protein complexes.

Using a combination of computer methods for iterative database searches and multiple sequence alignment, we show that protein sequences related to the AAA family of ATPases are far more prevalent than reported previously. Among these are regulatory components of Lon and Clp proteases, proteins involved in DNA replication, recombination, and restriction (including subunits of the origin recognition complex, replication factor C proteins, MCM DNA-licensing factors and the bacterial DnaA, RuvB, and McrB proteins), prokaryotic NtrC-related transcription regulators, the Bacillus sporulation protein SpoVJ, Mg2+, and Co2+ chelatases, the Halobacterium GvpN gas vesicle synthesis protein, dynein motor proteins, TorsinA, and Rubisco activase. Alignment of these sequences, in light of the structures of the clamp loader delta' subunit of Escherichia coli DNA polymerase III and the hexamerization component of N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive fusion protein, provides structural and mechanistic insights into these proteins, collectively designated the AAA+ class. Whole-genome analysis indicates that this class is ancient and has undergone considerable functional divergence prior to the emergence of the major divisions of life. These proteins often perform chaperone-like functions that assist in the assembly, operation, or disassembly of protein complexes. The hexameric architecture often associated with this class can provide a hole through which DNA or RNA can be thread; this may be important for assembly or remodeling of DNA-protein complexes.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗

Modeling the Lac repressor-operator assembly: the influence of DNA looping on Lac repressor conformation.

Repression of transcription of the Escherichia coli Lac operon by the Lac repressor (LacR) is accompanied by the simultaneous binding of LacR to two operators and the formation of a DNA loop. A recently developed theory of sequence-dependent DNA elasticity enables one to relate the fine structure of the LacR-DNA complex to a wide range of heretofore-unconnected experimental observations. Here, that theory is used to calculate the configuration and free energy of the DNA loop as a function of its length and base-pair sequence, its linking number, and the end conditions imposed by the LacR tetramer. The tetramer can assume two types of conformations. Whereas a rigid V-shaped structure is observed in the crystal, EM images show extended forms in which two dimer subunits are flexibly joined. Upon comparing our computed loop configurations with published experimental observations of permanganate sensitivities, DNase I cutting patterns, and loop stabilities, we conclude that linear DNA segments of short-to-medium chain length (50-180 bp) give rise to loops with the extended form of LacR and that loops formed within negatively supercoiled plasmids induce the V-shaped structure.

Bacterial Proteins↗

A simulation of T4 bacteriophage assembly and operation.

A model is presented for the self-assembly and operation of a bacteriophage comparable with the T4 bacteriophage that infects Escherichia coli. The model treats protein molecules as simple units obeying the principle free energy minimization, and exhibiting the properties of quasi-equivalence and conformational switching. A computer program incorporating the model has been developed. The results of simulation using this program are presented.

Adsorption↗

Movable Finite Automata (MFA) models for biological systems. I: Bacteriophage assembly and operation.

A new class of models, called Movable Finite Automata (MFA) models, is introduced. MFA models are physically realistic, but still share some of the features of cellular automata that make the latter easy to handle mathematically and computationally. They are found to be quite versatile in modeling the self-organization of biological systems. Their use in simulating the interaction of protein molecules in the self-assembly and operation of the T4 bacteriophage is described. The results of these simulations carried out on a microcomputer, are given.

Bacteriophages↗

Human productivity in space and systems costs.

Human productivity during assembly operations in-orbit is dependent on limits set by fatigue, metabolic rates, learning, and assembly techniques. In order to quantify these effects, tests were conducted in the NASA MSFC Neutral Buoyancy Simulator, in the NASA KC-135 in parabolic flight, and in space with the EASE program during the Shuttle Atlantis mission 61-B . A separate program attempted to relate productivity to system costs. Because of the surprisingly high productivity which had been demonstrated in orbit, it was shown that assembly operations would have only a small effect on system costs at the present level of launch costs. The results of these continuing studies have been reported in a recent paper. They will be briefly summarized here and the results updated to include additional cost elements and to examine the effects of reductions in transportation costs, resulting from advances in technology and from increased demand, on system costs. It is shown that, as launch costs are reduced, the assembly costs could become an increasingly important component of the total system costs.

Cost Allocation↗

Flexible regions of RNA structure facilitate co-operative Rev assembly on the Rev-response element.

The oligomerisation of Rev on the Rev-response element (RRE) was studied using a series of model substrates. Only a monomer of Rev is able to bind efficiently to a high affinity site that is flanked by perfect duplex RNA. Addition of a bulge or a second stem structure adjacent to the high affinity site permits the co-operative incorporation of a second Rev molecule to the RNA. Model RREs carrying bulges can bind Rev with a higher degree of co-operativity than the native structure. Oligomerisation was efficient when the bulge was moved to the opposite strand of the duplex, but was severely impaired when the distance between the bulge and the high affinity site was increased by more than 8 bp. Rev can oligomerise at either end of the RNA-protein complex formed at the high affinity site; when the duplex flanking a high affinity site is disrupted by a bulge or a stem, oligomerisation proceeds in the direction of the disruption regardless of the orientation of the high affinity site. The results are consistent with the "molecular rheostat" model for RRE function, which suggests that Rev binding to the RRE is highly distributive and provides a sensitive measurement of intracellular Rev concentrations.

Base Sequence↗

Quantitative model of Ras-phosphoinositide 3-kinase signalling cross-talk based on co-operative molecular assembly.

In growth-factor-stimulated signal transduction, cell-surface receptors recruit PI3Ks (phosphoinositide 3-kinases) and Ras-specific GEFs (guanine nucleotide-exchange factors) to the plasma membrane, where they produce 3'-phosphorylated phosphoinositide lipids and Ras-GTP respectively. As a direct example of pathway networking, Ras-GTP also recruits and activates PI3Ks. To refine the mechanism of Ras-PI3K cross-talk and analyse its quantitative implications, we offer a theoretical model describing the assembly of complexes involving receptors, PI3K and Ras-GTP. While the model poses the possibility that a ternary receptor-PI3K-Ras complex forms in two steps, it also encompasses the possibility that receptor-PI3K and Ras-PI3K interactions are competitive. In support of this analysis, experiments with platelet-derived growth factor-stimulated fibroblasts revealed that Ras apparently enhances the affinity of PI3K for receptors; in the context of the model, this suggests that a ternary complex does indeed form, with the second step greatly enhanced through membrane localization and possibly allosteric effects. The apparent contribution of Ras to PI3K activation depends strongly on the quantities and binding affinities of the interacting molecules, which vary across different cell types and stimuli, and thus the model could be used to predict conditions under which PI3K signalling is sensitive to interventions targeting Ras.

Animals↗

Applying concepts of visual perception to formats of hospital menus.

Standardized printed menu formats for all diets utilizing concepts of visual perception were evaluated in a machine-paced hospital tray-assembly process. Formats of existing menus differed among the various diets. On the redesigned menus, all menu items were arranged in basic groups which were assigned specific positions; groups were accentuated by white strips across the various color-coded selective menus; and accessory items were placed in specific, standard positions on all menus. Criteria for evaluating the effect of using the redesigned menu in tray assembly operations were: overall productivity, individual productivity, and error rate per tray. Data were charted (a) during a control period when the existing menu formats were used to provide baseline data and (b) during an experimental period when the redesigned menu formats were used. Overall productivity was measured by man-minutes per tray. Video tapes of five station operators servicing selected trays were made to study individual productivity. Station operator and checker accuracy were measured in terms of ratio of error-free trays, errors per tray, and errors to possibility of errors per tray. Man-minutes per tray decreased significantly in the experimental period from 2.44 to 2.17--a productivity increase of 11.1 per cent. The individual productivity analysis revealed no significant changes from control to experimental periods. Accuracy of the tray assembly station operators improved significantly. Decreases in ratio of mean number of errors to possibility of errors per tray were recorded in the experimental period. The error rate per tray decreased 44.9 per cent from 0.48 to 0.26, and the ratio of errors to possibility of errors per tray decreased from 6.3 to 3.5 per cent. The percentage of error-free trays rose from 69.9 to 80.9 per cent. Checkers' errors per tray did not change significantly from control to experimental period when data for the two periods were compared. This study provides a practical means of increasing productivity and improving accuracy of the machine-paced tray assembly process.

Audiovisual Aids↗

Job Redesign Needs for Aged Workers.

The aim of this paper is to explore and present a proposal for redesigning elements of the workplace for agech workers. The method of research was to observe, record, and measure the actions of sitting workers performing assembly operations on electrical products in the Kani Plant Nagoya Works of Mitsubishi Electric Co. (Japan). The evaluation index used in the experiment was obtained by measuring time motion elements, cycle time per product, and motion velocity waves of elderly workers. Those motion characteristics were then compared to the motion characteristics of young workers. The results led to job redesign elements being identified to reduce handling factors of high difficulty for aged workers and to the necessity to consider a coefficient of correction in Method Time Measurement (MTM) according to differences in the manufactured object's weight.

aged workers↗

Worksite and personal factors associated with carpal tunnel syndrome in an Egyptian electronics assembly factory.

The study objective was to identify personal and work-related risk factors associated with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) in electronics assembly, operators relative to clerical workers in the same factory. Of 422 workers in a television assembly factory located in Ismailia, Suez Canal Area, Egypt, 198 (46.9%) participated. The electronics assembly workers were more likely to report CTS (odds ratio = 11.41, 95% CI = 3.6 -40.26) than were the clerical workers. The significant risk factors were longer work years (odds ratio = 1.11, 95% CI = 1.03-1.20) and precision-type hand grip (odds ratio = 6.5, 95% CI = 1.08-39.23). The results suggest an association between electronics assembly and CTS. Work years and precision grip are possible risk factors for CTS and should be studied more thoroughly. Tools to reduce the need for precision grip may help reduce CTS.

Adult↗

Common principles in clathrin-mediated sorting at the Golgi and the plasma membrane.

Clathrin-mediated vesicular trafficking events underpin the vectorial transfer of macromolecules between several eukaryotic membrane-bound compartments. Classical models for coat operation, focused principally on interactions between clathrin, the heterotetrameric adaptor complexes, and cargo molecules, fail to account for the full complexity of the coat assembly and sorting process. New data reveal that targeting of clathrin adaptor complexes is generally supported by phosphoinositides, that cargo recognition by heterotetrameric adaptors depends on phosphorylation-driven conformational alterations, and that dedicated clathrin-associated sorting proteins (CLASPs) exist to promote the selective trafficking of specific categories of cargo. A host of accessory factors also participate in coat polymerization events, and the independently folded appendage domains that project off the heterotetrameric adaptor core function as recruitment platforms that appear to oversee assembly operations. It is also now clear that focal polymerization of branched actin microfilaments contributes to clathrin-coated vesicle assembly and movement at both plasma membrane and Golgi sites. This improved appreciation of the complex mechanisms governing clathrin-dependent sorting events reveals several common principles of clathrin operation at the Golgi and the plasma membrane.

Adaptor Proteins, Vesicular Transport↗

Monitoring industrial injuries: a case study.

This paper presents a new statistical approach for actively using information commonly available in medical surveillance systems to monitor the incidence and severity of industrial injuries on particular operations. The procedures require the practitioner to track the exposure time between injuries. An "out of control" situation is detected when the test statistic exceeds an optimal decision limit, which is determined by minimizing the total injury costs per exposure hour on each operation. The use of this test is presented in the context of a case example from an industrial assembly operation.

Accidents, Occupational↗

Interaction of ribosomal proteins, S6, S8, S15 and S18 with the central domain of 16 S ribosomal RNA.

We have constructed complexes of ribosomal proteins S8, S15, S8 + S15 and S8 + S15 + S6 + S18 with 16 S ribosomal RNA, and probed the RNA moiety with a set of structure-specific chemical and enzymatic probes. Our results show the following effects of assembly of proteins on the reactivity of specific nucleotides in 16 S rRNA. (1) In agreement with earlier work, S8 protects nucleotides in and around the 588-606/632-651 stem from attack by chemical probes; this is supported by protection in and around these same regions from nucleases. In addition, we observe protection of positions 573-575, 583, 812, 858-861 and 865. Several S8-dependent enhancements of reactivity are found, indicating that assembly of this protein is accompanied by conformational changes in 16 S rRNA. These results imply that protein S8 influences a much larger region of the central domain than was previously suspected. (2) Protein S15 protects nucleotides in the 655-672/734-751 stem, in agreement with previous findings. We also find S15-dependent protection of nucleotides in the 724-730 region. Assembly of S15 causes several enhancements of reactivity, the most striking of which are found at G664, A665, G674, and A718. (3) The effects of proteins S6 and S18 are dependent on the simultaneous presence of both proteins, and on the presence of protein S15. S6 + S18-dependent protections are located in the 673-730 and 777-803 regions. We observed some variability in our results with these proteins, depending on the ratio of protein to RNA used, and in different trials using enzymatic probes, possibly due to the limited solubility of protein S18. Consistently reproducible was protection of nucleotides in the 664-676 and 715-729 regions. Among the latter are three of the nucleotides (G664, G674 and A718) that are strongly enhanced by assembly of protein S15. This result suggests that an S15-induced conformational change involving these nucleotides may play a role in the co-operative assembly of proteins S6 and S18.

Aldehydes↗