1. The growth inhibitory factor (GIF) is a 68-amino acid protein which is capable of inhibiting the growth of neuronal cells in vitro. 2. We have cloned and sequenced the 5'-flanking region of the mouse GIF gene, which spans from the transcriptional initiation site to the -1854 nucleotide. 3. This region contains sequences homologous to hgcs, SPE, and the JCV silencer domain that functions in a glial cell specific manner. This region also contains two metal responding elements and putative binding sites for AP-1, AP-2, Sp-1, SP-2, NF-1, and CREB. 4. An analysis of the reporter plasmids containing the various regions of the 5'-flanking sequence revealed that the region indeed functioned in a tissue-specific manner in glial cells and that the region between -328 and 175 is responsible for suppression, while the region between -175 and -49 is involved in the activation of gene expression.

The IgE-potentiating and IgE-suppressive factors share a common structural gene and therefore a common polypeptide chain, and their biologic activities are decided by a post-translational glycosylation process. Under physiological conditions, this process is controlled by two T cell factors, i.e., the glycosylation-enhancing factor (GEF) and glycosylation-inhibiting factor (GIF). GIF is a fragment of phosphorylated lipocortin and has immunosuppressive effects. Repeated injections of this lymphokine into antigen-primed mice switched their T cells from the formation of IgE-potentiating factor to the formation of IgE-suppressive factor and facilitated the generation of antigen-specific suppressor T cells, which form antigen-specific GIF upon antigenic stimulation. The antigen-specific GIF suppressed the antibody response in a carrier-specific manner and has properties similar to antigen-specific suppressor T cell factors.

Binary tree predictive coding uses a noncausal, shape-adaptive predictor to decompose an image into a binary tree of prediction errors and zero blocks. Fast compression performance is comparable with Joint Photographers Expert Group (JPEG) for photographs, with Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) for graphics, and superior to the state of the art for composite images.

Working memory is critical for learning but has a limited capacity for processing new information in real time. Cognitive load theory is an evidence-based approach to education that seeks to minimize the extraneous (unnecessary) load on working memory to avoid overloading it. The "seductive details effect" postulates that extraneous load can come from instructional design materials that attract interest but are unrelated to, and impair, learning. Presentation packages, such as Microsoft PowerPoint, have built-in decorative animated "GIFs" that are designed to make presentations more visually appealing. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of such "decorative" animations on learning and working memory performance. We found that students were less able to recall content presented in the presence of a decorative but relevant animation compared with a still image. This effect was found with two different topics (human physiology and enzyme kinetics). Compared with still images, students also found it harder to remember animations themselves, and the self-reported mental workload required to remember them was higher. These results show that decorative animations are seductive details and are thus a source of extraneous cognitive load.

Keywords: cognitive load theory; extraneous load; learning; seductive details; working memory.

As a tribute to the scientific work of Professor Gareth Thomas in the field of structure-property relationships this paper delineates a new possibility of Lorentz transmission electron microscopy (LTEM) to study the magnetic properties of soft magnetic films. We show that in contrast to the traditional point of view, not only does the direction of the magnetization vector in nano-crystalline films make a correlated small-angle wiggling, but also the magnitude of the magnetization modulus fluctuates. This fluctuation produces a rapid modulation in the LTEM image. A novel analysis of the ripple structure in nano-crystalline Fe-Zr-N film corresponds to an amplitude of the transversal component of the magnetization deltaMy of 23 mT and a longitudinal fluctuation of the magnetization of the order of deltaMx = 30 mT. The nano-crystalline (Fe99Zr1)1-xNx films have been prepared by DC magnetron reactive sputtering with a thickness between 50 and 1000 nm. The grain size decreased monotonically with N content from typically 100 nm in the case of N-free films to less than 10 nm for films containing 8 at%. The specimens were examined with a JEOL 2010F 200 kV transmission electron microscope equipped with a post column energy filter (GIF 2000 Gatan Imaging Filter). For holography, the microscope is mounted with a biprism (JEOL biprism with a 0.6 microm diameter platinum wire).

Based on the assumption that somatostatin may inhibit peptide release through junctional complexes or through local circulation, an immunfluorescent technique for somatostatin and GLI in the gut was applied in order to investigate whether suppression of GLI release by i.v. administration of somatostatin was a physiological effect of somatostatin or not. Somatostatin-immunoreactive cells (GIF-cells) in the human and canine intestine had no direct cellular contacts with GLI-immunoreactive cells (GLI-cells). This finding suggests that somatostatin in the intestine does not inhibit GLI release through junctional complexes between GIF- and GLI-cells. As to the local circulation, most of GIF-cells in the canine intestine were distributed in the deeper portion of the intestinal gland which corresponds to the upstream sides of the local blood supply of the intestinal gland, as reported by REYNOLD et al. The ratio of GIF-cells to total cells (GIF-cells + GLI-cells) was 68% in the duodenum and 25% in the ileum. In contrast a limited number of GIF-cells was found in the human duodenum where a few GLI-cells were distributed and a few GIF-cells were seen in the human ileum where a large number of GLI-cells were located. Findings in the dog suggest the possibility that somatostatin inhibits GLI release from GLI-cells through the local circulation system of intestinal glands. However, findings in humans suggest that the same possibility does not apply to the human gut. Differences of population density of intestinal GIF-cells between humans and dogs indicate that the functional meaning of GIF-cells may vary from one species to another.

In practical computed tomography (CT) applications, projections with low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) are often encountered due to the reduction of radiation dose or device limitations. In these situations, classical reconstruction algorithms, like simultaneous algebraic reconstruction technique (SART), cannot reconstruct high-quality CT images. Block-matching and 3D filtering (BM3D)-based iterative reconstruction algorithm (POCS-BM3D) has remarkable effect in dealing with CT reconstruction from noisy projections. However, BM3D may restrain noise with excessive loss of details in the case of low-SNR CT reconstruction. In order to achieve a preferable trade-off between noise suppression and edge preservation, we introduce guided image filtering (GIF) into low-SNR CT reconstruction, and propose noise suppression-guided image filtering reconstruction (NSGIFR) algorithm. In each iteration of NSGIFR, the output image of SART reserves more details and is used as input image of GIF, while the image denoised by BM3D serves as guidance image of GIF. Experimental results indicate that the proposed algorithm displays outstanding performance on preserving structures and suppressing noise for low-SNR CT reconstruction. NSGIFR can achieve more superior image quality than SART, POCS-TV and POCS-BM3D in terms of visual effect and quantitative analysis. Graphical abstract Block-matching and 3D filtering (BM3D)-based iterative reconstruction algorithm (POCS-BM3D) has remarkable effect in dealing with CT reconstruction from noisy projections. However, BM3D may restrain noise with excessive loss of details in the case of low-SNR CT reconstruction. In order to achieve a preferable trade-off between noise suppression and edge preservation, we introduce guided image filtering (GIF) into low-SNR CT reconstruction, and propose noise suppression-guided image filtering reconstruction (NSGIFR) algorithm.

Keywords: Computed tomography (CT); Guided image filtering; Image reconstruction; Low-SNR.

Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin) deficiency, due to improper internalization of cobalamin, is a metabolic disorder prevalent in impoverished and elderly populations and is associated with megaloblastic anemia and dementia. It has been suggested that mutations in transcobalamin II ( TCN2) or gastric intrinsic factor (GIF) proteins can alter their binding efficiency to cobalamin or reduce the ability of their receptors to internalize them. In this case-control study, the correlation between vitamin B12 deficiency and alternative alleles of TCN2 and GIF was investigated in a Jordanian population. One hundred individuals with vitamin B12 deficiency (B12 < 200 mg/mL) were enrolled in our study to evaluate the TCN2 and GIF polymorphisms. The control group (B12 > 200 mg/mL) included 100 individuals. Our results indicated a significant association between the homologous variant of the TCN2 gene (G776G) and vitamin B12 deficiency, and an intermediate phenotype in heterozygous individuals ( p < 0.001, OR = 5.6, 95% CI = 2.95 to 10.63). The GIF gene, however, showed no correlation between the A68G variant and vitamin B12 deficiency ( p = 0.2). This study expounds the association of TCN2 polymorphism with cobalamin levels in a Jordanian population and highlights the necessity of further studies to elucidate the molecular basis and impact of TCN2 and GIF genes polymorphisms on vitamin B12 deficiency and associated disorders.

The study investigated the unbiodegradable fraction of particulate chemical oxygen demand (PCOD) in thickened waste activated sludge (TWAS) using semicontinuous-flow completely-mixed anaerobic digesters. A laboratory-scale semicontinuous stirred tank reactor was used to investigate TWAS anaerobic biodegradability at hydraulic retention time of 16.7 d to 33.3 d and organic loading rate (OLR) of 1.21 kg COD/m3•d to 3.47 kg COD/m3•d. The COD and volatile suspended solids (VSS) removal for TWAS were 37% to 44% and 39% to 42% at an OLR of 1.27 and 3.47 kg COD/m3•d, respectively. Using a biomass yield (>) of 0.29 g COD biomass/g COD substrate, decay rate (>of 0.015 d-1; and a solids retention time (SRT) of 16.7 d; two linear fits correlating the difference between effluent biomass; and effluent particulate COD with influent total COD, the unbiodegradable fractions of PCOD and VSS were estimated from the slopes of the linear fits to be in the range of 0.26 to 0.28.

Purpose: An area of interest to health policymakers is the effect of interventions aimed at risk factors on decreasing the number of new cardiovascular disease (CVD) cases. The aim of this study was to estimate the generalized impact fraction (GIF) and population attributable fraction (PAF) of hypertension (HTN) for CVD in Tehran.

Patients and methods: In this population-based cohort study, 8071 participants aged ≥30 years were followed for a median of 16 years. A survival model was used to estimate the 10- and 18-year risk of CVD. JNC-IV and 2017 ACC/AHA guidelines were used to categorize blood pressure (BP). PAF and GIF were estimated in different scenarios using the parametric G-formula.

Results: Of 7378 participants included in analyses, 22.7% and 52.3% were classified as hypertensive according to the JNC-IV and 2017 ACC/AHA guidelines, respectively. According to the 2017 ACC/AHA, the 10-year risk of CVD was 5.1% (4.3-6.0%), 8.9% (6.7-12.0%), and 7.1% (6.1-8.4%) for normal BP, elevated BP, and stage 1 HTN, respectively, and 20.8% (18.8-23.0%) for stage 2 of the 2017 ACC/AHA and JNC-IV. The PAF of stage 2 vs stage 1 and vs normal BP for CVD was 17.4% (11.5-21.8%) and 20.4% (14.6-26.4%), respectively. The GIF of 30% reduction in the prevalence of stage 2 HTN to stage 1 and to normal BP for CVD was 5.1% (3.4-6.6%) and 6.1% (4.4-8.0%), respectively. Based on JNC-IV, the PAF and GIF of 30% for CVD were 17.8% (12.7-22.9%) and 5.4% (4.0-6.9%), respectively.

Conclusion: By reducing the prevalence of HTN by 30%, a remarkable number of new CVD cases would be prevented. In an Iranian population, the comparison of HTN cases with normal BP showed no association between stage 1 HTN and CVD, whereas elevated BP was a significant risk factor for the incidence of CVD.

Keywords: 2017 ACC/AHA guidelines; GIF; PAF; cardiovascular diseases; generalized impact fraction; hypertension; parametric G-formula; population attributable fraction.

In this study, a laboratory-scale anammox process in a membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) was used to startup the anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) process from conventional activated sludge. Stable operation was achieved after 125 days. From that time, nitrogen load was gradually increased. After six months, the average nitrogen removal efficiency exceeded 80%. The highest obtained special anammox activity (SAA) achieved was 0.17 g (>-N +>-N) (g VSS × d)-1. Fluorescent in situ hybridization also proved the presence of the anammox bacteria, typically a genus of Brocadia anammoxidans and Kuenenia stuttgartiensis.

The single-stage deammonification moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) is a process for treating high strength nitrogen waste streams. In this process, partial nitritation and anaerobic ammonia oxidation (anammox) occur simultaneously within a biofilm attached to plastic carriers. An existing tank at the James River Treatment Plant (76 ML/d) in Newport News, Virginia was modified to install a sidestream deammonification MBBR process. This was the second sidestream deammonification process in North America and the first MBBR type installation. After 4 months the process achieved greater than 85% ammonia removal at the design loading rate of 2.4 g>/m2·d (256 kg>/d) signaling the end of startup. Based on observations during startup and process optimization phases, a novel pH-based control system was developed that maximizes ammonium removal and results in stable aeration and effluent alkalinity.

OBJECTIVE

Our objective is to present a simple method for converting movie clips to animated GIFs (graphics interchange format) using Photoshop.

CONCLUSIONS

Although animated GIF is a more reliable format than movie clips (e.g., AVI and QuickTime) for presenting dynamic data sets in PowerPoint presentations, this output format is not available on most radiology workstations. Therefore, many academic radiologists still experience the problem of incompatible codecs and missing file links when trying to show movie clips in their PowerPoint presentations. One way to resolve this issue is to convert the movie clips to animated GIFs. In this article, we provide a simple method for this conversion using Photoshop--a common software application used by radiologists.