bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ultra bright AlGaInP light emitting diodes with pyramidally patterned GaP spreading layer
Authors: Zuo Zhiyuan , Wang Ruijun , Liu Duo , Yu Qian , Feng Zhaobin , Xu Xiangang
Published: September 2011

A mild photo-assisted chemical method is developed to fabricate pyramidally patterned GaP:Mg spreading layer to improve the light extraction efficiency of 625 nm AlGaInP red light emitting diodes. The pyramid patterns fabricated by using hydrofluoric acid and H2O2 mixed solution in combination with 532 nm laser radiation, are experimentally confirmed to be very efficient for light extraction. Angle resolved electroluminescent tests reveal that the patterned chips show an average 66.2% enhancement of the light emission intensity over the original chips. The output power measured on encapsulated samples exhibits an enhancement of 41.3%.
The texture related anisotropy of thermoelectric properties in bismuth telluride based polycrystalline alloys
Authors: Shen J. J. , Hu L. P. , Zhu T. J. , Zhao X. B.
Published: September 2011

Large size bismuth telluride based polycrystalline alloys have been prepared to investigate the texture-related anisotropy of thermoelectric properties. X-ray diffraction analysis indicated that the n-type alloy was more easily (001) oriented than the p-type one. Both the electrical and thermal conductivities showed strong anisotropy in the textured samples, while the Seebeck coefficient and the ZT were almost isotropic. However, as the electrical and thermal conductivities were measured along different directions, the ZT could be overestimated up to ∼60%. A relationship between the texture degree and the anisotropy of the thermal conductivity has been proposed.
Improvement in both mobility and bias stability of ZnSnO transistors by inserting ultra-thin InSnO layer at the gate insulator/channel interface
Authors: Kim Ji-In , Hwan Ji Kwang , Yoon Jung Hong , Yeob Park Se , Choi Rino , Jang Mi , Yang Hoichang , Kim Dae-Hwan , Bae Jong-Uk , Dong Kim Chang , Kyeong Jeong Jae
Published: September 2011

This study examined the effect of the thickness of interfacial indium-tin oxide (ITO) on the performance and bias reliability of zinc-tin oxide (ZTO) thin film transistors (TFTs). The 3.5-nm-thick ITO-inserted ZTO TFTs exhibited superior mobility (43.2 cm2/V s) to that of the ZTO only TFTs (31.6 cm2/V s). Furthermore, the threshold voltage shifts for the ZTO/ITO bi-layer device decreased from 1.43 and −0.88 V (ZTO only device) to 0.46 V and −0.41 V under positive and negative bias stress, respectively. This improvement can be attributed to a decrease in the interfacial trap density for the ITO-inserted ZTO device.
Observed climate change in Australian marine and freshwater environments
Authors: Lough Janice M. , Hobday Alistair J.
Published: September 2011

The consequences of human activities increasing concentrations of atmospheric greenhouse gases are already being felt in marine and terrestrial environments. More energy has been trapped in the global climate system, resulting in warming of land and sea temperatures. About 30% of the extra atmospheric carbon dioxide has been absorbed by the oceans, increasing their acidity. Thermal expansion and some melting of land-based ice have caused sea level to rise. Significant climate changes have now been observed across Australia and its coastal seas. The clearest signal is the warming of air and sea temperatures and the rates of warming have accelerated since the mid-20th century. Ocean warming has been higher than the global average around Australia, especially off south-eastern Australia. Changes in Australia’s hydrological regime are more difficult to differentiate from the high natural inter-annual variability. Recent trends towards drier winters in south-western Western Australia and part of southern Australia appear, however, to be largely attributable to human-induced climate change. Even without significant changes in average rainfall, warmer temperatures increase evaporative losses, enhance the intensity of recent droughts and reduce river flows. Sustained and coordinated monitoring of the physical environment, especially lacking for Australia’s freshwater ecosystems, is important to assess the magnitude and biological consequences of ongoing changes.
Contribution of climate change to degradation and loss of critical fish habitats in Australian marine and freshwater environments
Authors: Pratchett Morgan S. , Bay Line K. , Gehrke Peter C. , Koehn John D. , Osborne Kate , Pressey Robert L. , Sweatman Hugh P. A. , Wachenfeld David
Published: September 2011

Australia’s aquatic ecosystems are unique, supporting a high diversity of species and high levels of endemism; however, they are also extremely vulnerable to climate change. The present review assesses climate-induced changes to structural habitats that have occurred in different aquatic ecosystems. Climatic impacts are often difficult to discern against the background of habitat degradation caused by more direct anthropogenic impacts. However, climate impacts will become more pronounced with ongoing changes in temperature, water chemistry, sea level, rainfall patterns and ocean currents. Each of these factors is likely to have specific effects on ecosystems, communities or species, and their relative importance varies across different marine and freshwater habitats. In the Murray–Darling Basin, the greatest concern relates to declines in surface water availability and riverine flow, owing to declining rainfall and increased evaporative loss. On the Great Barrier Reef, increasing temperatures and ocean acidification contribute to sustained and ongoing loss of habitat-forming corals. Despite the marked differences in major drivers and consequences of climate change, the solution is always the same. Greenhouse-gas emissions need to be reduced as a matter of urgency, while also minimising non-climatic disturbances. Together, these actions will maximise opportunities for adaptation by species and increase ecosystem resilience.
Alexandre Bennigsen in the Eyes of the Soviet Press
Authors: Rywkin Michael
Published: September 2011

Soviet reactions to Western writings on the Soviet Union are as old as the Soviet regime itself. They are handled in an organized manner, with targets, delivery vehicles and gradation of response carefully coordinated and measured.

Soviet response is, moreover, not solely connected to the perceived degree of offensiveness of the given Western work; in addition, such considerations as general relations between the USSR and the country from where the publication came, as well as political opportunities of the moment, are given even more importance than the committed “offense.”
The 1986 Party Program and the National Minorities in the USSR
Authors: Birch Julian
Published: September 2011

Since Gorbachev's accession to power in March 1985, his rule has been marked by a very visible concern for economic reforms and developments in international relations. Nationality and minority affairs within the USSR, which played such a prominent part previously with the mass emigration movements and open dissent of the 1970s, have not been at the forefront of his interests, in either his speeches or his travels. However, the local Party congresses and the 27th Congress of the CPSU as a whole provide an opportunity for a review of current thinking on this enduring and contentious issue. The All-Union Congress in particular witnessed the appearance of the final draft of the Party's new Program for the future, with its relatively recently adopted longer-term perspective on the question of the advent of full communism and the withering away of conflicting and antagonistic national minority allegiances. The limited prospects for this long awaited moving together of nations are likely to have been significant features in the readjustment of the time scale of Communist development and the emergence of a more realistic assessment of the possibility of producing a fully “Soviet” man divested of his narrower ethnic loyalties.
Access to Advanced Education in the USSR
Authors: Ginaite Sara
Published: September 2011

The goals of social progress, as perceived by Marx and Engels, are the creation of conditions for the achievement of full social equality, and the development of the abilities of all members of society. They uphold the principle that when the means of production are socialized, then the condition of ending not only class contradiction but also class distinction is created. The full realization of equality is possible only given a complex set of conditions arising at the higher stage of communist society.

In 1921 Lenin admitted thet it had become apparent that the system formed in Russia after the revolution (October 1917) had suffered defeat in its attempt to introduce communist principles of production and distribution. Within this complex environment, Lenin put forward a new concept of socialism, very different from his earlier version, that allowed class distinctions and inequality to persist.
A Turning Point in the History of Bessarabia: Winter 1917–1918
Authors: Bruchis Michael
Published: September 2011

Soviet scholars basing themselves on the assertion in the Program of the CPSU that “peaceful coexistence of states with different social regimes does not means a diminution of the ideological struggle,” severely criticize those Western authors who in their works throw light upon the shadowy aspects of theory and practice of the ruling party in the USSR. Utterances of Western scholars which express doubt about the veracity of data contained in documents of the CPSU and the accuracy of theses and positions based on these data are rejected as totally unfounded inventions. Scholars of countries with the same social regime as in the Soviet Union are subject to no less severe attacks if they contest in their works, directly or indirectly, the theses and positions worked out by Soviet authors. While the Western scholars concerned are termed bourgeois falsifiers, the unfavored scholars (and political leaders of the socialist countries) are categorised as revisionists, a no less pejorative term in Soviet parlance: thus, for example, “the powers of international imperialism,… leaning on services of revisionists of various strains”; or “to expose contemporary bourgeois and other falsifiers of history.”
The Current Ethnic Situation in the USSR: Perennial Problems in the Period of “Restructuring”*
Authors: Khazanov A.M.
Published: September 2011

It has already been pointed out by many scholars that the supranational Soviet state meets many sociological criteria of an empire. Thus, it is populated by many different ethnic groups; they did not join the state voluntarily, having all been conquered in the past or incorporated into the state by force; and they are still forcefully kept together, even though force is far from being the only factor. Last but not least, the Soviet empire, like any other, has one dominating nation: the Russians. Thus, many regularities in other empires may also be applicable to the Soviet Union.
Jew and Peasant in Interwar Romania*
Authors: Fischer-Galati Stephen
Published: September 2011

Common historical wisdom has it that the Peasant Revolt of 1907 and the elections of December 1937 reflected the profound anti-Semitism of the Romanian peasantry. And since the events of 1907 and 1937 have also been looked upon as decisive in determining the course of the history of the peasantry, if not of Romania as such, it seems only proper to assess the accuracy of these contentions.

The revolt of 1907 was indeed a social movement directed against the exploitation of the impoverished Moldavian and Wallachian peasantry by Romanian landlords and Jewish “arendaşi” (Leaseholders). After 1907, and throughout the interwar years, Romanian historiography and political propaganda stressed the anti-Semitic character of the uprising in an effort to exonerate the absentee, and other, Romanian landowners and to emphasize the exploitative nature of Jews and Jewish capitalism. The Jewish question was organically connected with the peasant question in a variety of ways, all condemnatory of Jewish and Judaizing capitalism.

As none of the major political parties of pro-World War I Romania—or, for that matter, few of interwar Romania as well—paid more than lip service to the economic and social plight of the peasants, it was convenient to regard the Jew as the root cause of all the evils affecting the peasantry. Before World War I, populists and, paradoxically, socialists enunciated political theories regarding “neoserfdom,” which, however different in origin, converged in demands for radical land reform. The reform came not because of such demands but because of the Bolshevik Revolution and the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian and Russian empires. Officially, it was unrelated to any political ideology, certainly separated from the Jewish question which, in theory, was resolved concurrently with the peasant question through the granting of citizenship and extension of political rights to the Jews of Romania. Following the countrywide agrarian reform in Greater Romania the peasant and the Jewish questions were in fact severed as Jews and Jewish capitalism had virtually no connections with the land.
From the Soviet Union
Authors: HRH
Published: September 2011

Introduction

This article by Zenon Pozniak is the last of a two-part series on the question of bilingualism. Part one, an article by Maté Hint, appeared in Volume XVI, Number 1 (Spring 1988) pp. 94-105.
Part I: Morning Session: The View from Above
Authors: Motyl Alexander
Published: September 2011

Ladies and gentlemen, permit me to welcome you to the Nationality and Siberian Studies Program's first annual conference on “The Soviet Nationalities and Gorbachev.” With so distinguished a collection of experts, I am certain that our discussion will prove to be both a stimulating intellectual experience and a permanent addition to the debate on Soviet nationality policy.
Towards a New Soviet Party Program on the Nationalities?
Authors: Birch Julian
Published: September 2011

It has often been declared that the CPSU cannot cope with the problems of its national minorities because it cannot understand, or rather is not willing to understand, the very nature of the beast. There is much to be said for this proposition, mirrored as it is in the agricultural sphere where Professor Peter Wiles has long insisted that to put a Marxist in a field is to pave the way for famine in no time. The Party in power, from Lenin onwards, has constantly sought to analyze the complex ethnic structure of Russia and the USSR with a view to “solving” it as a problem once and for all. Quite apart from the question of whether there is in fact “a” solution (or even solutions) to such a complex melange of problems, much of what has resulted has been more concerned with the idealistic world as it could be, or should be, rather than with an acceptance of the world as it is.

The solutions adopted have variously involved planned economic development and redistribution to achieve a greater measure of equality and levels of development; temporary federation during the process of adjustment; uniform education and socialization programs; population mixing across boundaries; de facto Russification; and a measure of stick to go with the carrots, as and where necessary.
The Baltic States in Soviet-German Relations, 1939
Authors: Resis Albert
Published: September 2011

By 1920 nationalist forces had won independent statehood for Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. But they owed their victory to a propitious sequence of world-shaking events: first, the German defeat of Russia followed by the Entente defeat of Germany; second, the subsequent assistance the Entente rendered nationalist Estonians, Latvians, and Lithuanians in beating back the Red tide. Peter the Great's “window on Europe” was thereby reduced to a Soviet aperture on Europe. Only the narrow Gulf of Finland, flanked by a “White” Finland and a “White” Estonia, afforded the USSR direct access to the Baltic Sea.

The resurgence of Germany under Hitler and Soviet Russia under Stalin overturned the configuration of world power that had attended the birth of the Baltic Republics. In treating the fate that befell the Baltic States confronted by the resurgence of German and Soviet power in 1939, this article has three aims: first, to give due attention to German policy towards the Baltic States; second, to assess the efficacy and wisdom of the policies pursued by the Baltic States to avoid being ground between the Hitler and the Stalin millstones; and third, to incorporate pertinent new information published in the USSR since 1989. Even under the “Gorbachev Revolution,” publication of newly declassified diplomatic papers in the USSR has been conducted, so far, by dozirovka; i.e., the measuring out of information in small doses. This previously unpublished material, though exiguous, can at least begin to fill certain glaring “blank spots” in the history of the Baltic Question in 1939.
Conceptual Models and Task Representation in Using a Command Language
Authors: Pynte Joel
Published: September 2011

In most cases, there is no direct correspondence between the objectives that users of an interactive device may be led to formulate and the commands that enable them to attain those objectives. In order to set up what Young (1981) calls a “mapping” between the “task and action arenas”, users must (1) reorganize their objectives in order to adapt them to the capabilities of the device and (2) if necessary, combine several commands to reach a given objective. In doing so, they are assumed to rely on a “conceptual model” of the device, a notion whose cognitive status remains to be clarified. In this article, the editing keys of the MS/DOS operating system are taken as an example and described according to two different conceptual models. The links between the task and action arenas, in these two conceptual models and in a third one called the “mixed model”, are analysed in detail. Finally, the performance of three groups of subjects, while editing a line of text, are compared. All three of the dependent variables analysed are shown to vary according to how the objective is assumed to be formulated in the three conceptual models. Some hypotheses are presented concerning the cognitive mechanisms involved in such a situation.
Access to Identity-Specific Semantic Codes from Familiar Faces
Authors: Young Andrew W. , McWeeny Kathryn H. , Hay Dennis C. , Ellis Andrew W.
Published: September 2011

Information codes that can specify the surface form of a face are contrasted with semantic codes describing the properties of the person to whom the face belongs. Identity-specific semantic codes that specify characteristics of familiar people based on personal knowledge are in turn contrasted with the visually derived semantic codes and expression codes that can be derived even from unfamiliar faces. The idea that familiarity decisions (i.e., categorizing faces as belonging to known or unknown people) can be based on surface form, whereas certain types of semantic decision demand additional access to identity-specific semantic codes was investigated in four experiments. Experiments 1 and 3 showed that decisions based on identity-specific semantic codes (semantic decisions) usually take longer than decisions that do not demand access to an identity-specific semantic code (familiarity decisions). Experiment 2 showed that the use of familiar faces drawn from consistent or mixed categories affected reaction times for semantic decisions but not for familiarity decisions. Experiment 4 showed that semantic decisions to faces are taken more quickly (primed) when the faces have been recently seen, whereas there is no differential effect on semantic decisions to faces from previous semantic decisions involving the same people's names. These findings are consistent with the view that identity-specific semantic codes are accessed via face recognition units, and that outputs from face recognition units (which respond to the face's surface form) can be used as the basis for familiarity decisions.
Evaluations of Causal and Conditional Hypotheses
Authors: O'Brien David P. , Costa Gerard , Overton Willis F.
Published: September 2011

This study examined evaluations of causal and conditional hyptheses on the basis of individual exemplars. Subjects were presented scenes describing something that is malfunctioning and is taken to an expert. The expert makes a causal diagnosis and a prediction concerning an outcome following treatment. Four types of outcome evidence were provided: (1) treatment is provided and the problem is eliminated; (2) treatment is not provided and the problem is eliminated; (3) treatment is provided and the problem is not eliminated; and (4) treatment is not provided and the problem is not eliminated. Subjects were required to judge whether individual exemplars prove the diagnosis, disprove the diagnosis, or fail to test the diagnosis. A second form of problem presented the same scenes but required evaluation of the conditional prediction. A third form of problem did not present the causal scenes; the subject evaluated the conditional predication and no context. Three content domains were used: medical, mechanical, and arbitrary. There were three general results: (1) diagnoses were judged as less open to testing than predictive conditional hypotheses; (2) medical problems were judged differently from mechanical problems; and (3) problems lacking meaningful content or contexts led to more primitive response strategies.
The Cholinergic Neurotransmitter System in Human Memory and Dementia: A Review
Authors: Kopelman Michael D.
Published: September 2011

The present paper reviews three types of evidence implicating the role of acetylcholine in human memory and dementia: (1) neuropathological evidence that the cholinergic transmitter system is depleted in Alzheimer-type dementia; (2) psychopharmacological studies that have employed “cholinergic blockade” as a model of cholinergic depletion; and (3) clinical studies of cholinergic “replacement” therapy in Alzheimer-type dementia. The evidence that the cholinergic system is depleted in Alzheimer-type dementia has been complemented by the finding that cholinergic blockade in healthy subjects causes a substantial learning (or “acquisition”) deficit in episodic memory. The overall results of studies of replacement therapy have generally been disappointing, but a few have reported benefits in recall and recognition tests. The role of the cholinergic system in many aspects of memory remains to be elucidated; but it seems unlikely that cholinergic depletion accounts for all aspects of the memory disorder in Alzheimer-type dementia, and possibly the depletions of other neurotransmitters also contribute to the memory impairment.
Ethylene-Responsive Element-Binding Factor 5, ERF5, Is Involved in Chitin-Induced Innate Immunity Response
Authors: Son Geon Hui , Wan Jinrong , Kim Hye Jin , Nguyen Xuan Canh , Chung Woo Sik , Hong Jong Chan , Stacey Gary
Published: September 2011

Our recent work demonstrated that chitin treatment modulated the expression of 118 transcription factor (TF) genes in Arabidopsis. To investigate the potential roles of these TF in chitin signaling and plant defense, we initiated an interaction study among these TF proteins, as well as two chitin-activated mitogen-activated protein kinases (MPK3 and MPK6), using a yeast two-hybrid system. This study revealed interactions among the following proteins: three ethylene-responsive element-binding factors (ERF), five WRKY transcription factors, one scarecrow-like (SCL), and the two MPK, in addition to many other interactions, reflecting a complex TF interaction network. Most of these interactions were subsequently validated by other methods, such as pull-down and in planta bimolecular fluorescence complementation assays. The key node ERF5 was shown to interact with multiple proteins in the network, such as ERF6, ERF8, and SCL13, as well as MPK3 and MPK6. Interestingly, ERF5 appeared to negatively regulate chitin signaling and plant defense against the fungal pathogen Alternaria brassicicola and positively regulate salicylic acid signaling and plant defense against the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000. Therefore, ERF5 may play an important role in plant innate immunity, likely through coordinating chitin and other defense pathways in plants in response to different pathogens.
Genome-Wide Identification of Genes Regulated by the Rcs Phosphorelay System in Erwinia amylovora
Authors: Wang Dongping , Qi Mingsheng , Calla Bernarda , Korban Schuyler S. , Clough Steven J. , Cock Peter J. A. , Sundin George W. , Toth Ian , Zhao Youfu
Published: September 2011

The exopolysaccharide amylovoran is one of the major pathogenicity factors in Erwinia amylovora, the causal agent of fire blight of apples and pears. We have previously demonstrated that the RcsBCD phosphorelay system is essential for virulence by controlling amylovoran biosynthesis. We have also found that the hybrid sensor kinase RcsC differentially regulates amylovoran production in vitro and in vivo. To further understand how the Rcs system regulates E. amylovora virulence gene expression, we conducted genome-wide microarray analyses to determine the regulons of RcsB and RcsC in liquid medium and on immature pear fruit. Array analyses identified a total of 648 genes differentially regulated by RcsCB in vitro and in vivo. Consistent with our previous findings, RcsB acts as a positive regulator in both conditions, while RcsC positively controls expression of amylovoran biosynthetic genes in vivo but negatively controls expression in vitro. Besides amylovoran biosynthesis and regulatory genes, cell-wall and cell-envelope (membrane) as well as regulatory genes were identified as the major components of the RcsBC regulon, including many novel genes. We have also demonstrated that transcripts of rcsA, rcsC, and rcsD genes but not the rcsB gene were up-regulated when bacterial cells were grown in minimal medium or following infection of pear fruits compared with those grown in Luria Bertani medium. Furthermore, using the genome of E. amylovora ATCC 49946, a hidden Markov model predicted 60 genes with a candidate RcsB binding site in the intergenic region, 28 of which were identified in the microarray assay. Based on these findings as well as previous reported data, a working model has been proposed to illustrate how the Rcs phosphorelay system regulates virulence gene expression in E. amylovora.
Quantitative Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction Assay for Detection of Pectobacterium wasabiae Using YD Repeat Protein Gene-Based Primers
Authors: Kim Myeong Ho , Cho Min Seok , Kim Byoung Kyu , Choi Hyeon Jin , Hahn Jang Ho , Kim ChangKug , Kang Man Jung , Kim Seong Hwan , Park Dong Suk
Published: September 2011

The aim of this study was to develop a quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assay for specific detection of Pectobacterium wasabiae using a primer pair based on the YD repeat protein gene for amplification of a 140-bp DNA fragment from infected wasabi (Wasabia japonica), a member of the crucifer family. The soft rot caused by P. wasabiae is an emerging disease that is present in many wasabi-producing areas. However, specific and reliable methods for identifying the pathogen are not available. Therefore, a qPCR primer set for accurate diagnosis of P. wasabiae was developed from publically available genome sequences. A SYBR Green qPCR primer set was designed based on a YD repeat protein gene of P. wasabiae WPP163 because it is known that this gene is structurally diverse among species, pathovars, or subspecies. The specificity of the primer set was evaluated using genomic DNA from 5 isolates of P. wasabiae, 5 different species of Pectobacterium, and 16 other pathogenic reference bacteria. The primer set used in the PCR assay successfully amplified a 140-bp amplicon for all five P. wasabiae strains. No amplification was obtained from 29 other pathogenic bacteria. The assay was also able to detect at least two genomic DNA, or 3 CFU per reaction, when using calibrated cell suspension.
An operative method to obtain sharp nonlinear stability for systems with spatially dependent coefficients
Authors: Hill Antony A. , Malashetty M. S.
Published: September 2011

This paper explores an operative technique for deriving nonlinear stability by studying double-diffusive porous convection with a concentration-based internal heat source. Previous stability analyses on this problem have yielded regions of potential subcritical instabilities where the linear instability and nonlinear stability thresholds do not coincide. It is shown in this paper that the operative technique yields sharp conditional nonlinear stability in regions where the instability is found to be monotonic. This is the first instance, in the present literature, where this technique has been shown to generate sharp thresholds for a system with spatially dependent coefficients, which strongly advocates its wider use.
CUP promotes deadenylation and inhibits decapping of mRNA targets
Authors: Igreja Catia , Izaurralde Elisa
Published: September 2011

CUP is an eIF4E-binding protein (4E-BP) that represses the expression of specific maternal mRNAs prior to their posterior localization. Here, we show that CUP employs multiple mechanisms to repress the expression of target mRNAs. In addition to inducing translational repression, CUP maintains mRNA targets in a repressed state by promoting their deadenylation and protects deadenylated mRNAs from further degradation. Translational repression and deadenylation are independent of eIF4E binding and require both the middle and C-terminal regions of CUP, which collectively we termed the effector domain. This domain associates with the deadenylase complex CAF1–CCR4–NOT and decapping activators. Accordingly, in isolation, the effector domain is a potent trigger of mRNA degradation and promotes deadenylation, decapping and decay. However, in the context of the full-length CUP protein, the decapping and decay mediated by the effector domain are inhibited, and target mRNAs are maintained in a deadenylated, repressed form. Remarkably, an N-terminal regulatory domain containing a noncanonical eIF4E-binding motif is required to protect CUP-associated mRNAs from decapping and further degradation, suggesting that this domain counteracts the activity of the effector domain. Our findings indicate that the mode of action of CUP is more complex than previously thought and provide mechanistic insight into the regulation of mRNA expression by 4E-BPs.
Cdc15 integrates Tem1 GTPase-mediated spatial signals with Polo kinase-mediated temporal cues to activate mitotic exit
Authors: Rock Jeremy M. , Amon Angelika
Published: September 2011

In budding yeast, a Ras-like GTPase signaling cascade known as the mitotic exit network (MEN) promotes exit from mitosis. To ensure the accurate execution of mitosis, MEN activity is coordinated with other cellular events and restricted to anaphase. The MEN GTPase Tem1 has been assumed to be the central switch in MEN regulation. We show here that during an unperturbed cell cycle, restricting MEN activity to anaphase can occur in a Tem1 GTPase-independent manner. We found that the anaphase-specific activation of the MEN in the absence of Tem1 is controlled by the Polo kinase Cdc5. We further show that both Tem1 and Cdc5 are required to recruit the MEN kinase Cdc15 to spindle pole bodies, which is both necessary and sufficient to induce MEN signaling. Thus, Cdc15 functions as a coincidence detector of two essential cell cycle oscillators: the Polo kinase Cdc5 synthesis/degradation cycle and the Tem1 G-protein cycle. The Cdc15-dependent integration of these temporal (Cdc5 and Tem1 activity) and spatial (Tem1 activity) signals ensures that exit from mitosis occurs only after proper genome partitioning.
Nonessential Plastid-Encoded Ribosomal Proteins in Tobacco: A Developmental Role for Plastid Translation and Implications for Reductive Genome Evolution
Authors: Fleischmann Tobias T. , Scharff Lars B. , Alkatib Sibah , Hasdorf Sebastian , Schöttler Mark A. , Bock Ralph
Published: September 2011

Plastid genomes of higher plants contain a conserved set of ribosomal protein genes. Although plastid translational activity is essential for cell survival in tobacco (Nicotiana  tabacum), individual plastid ribosomal proteins can be nonessential. Candidates for nonessential plastid ribosomal proteins are ribosomal proteins identified as nonessential in bacteria and those whose genes were lost from the highly reduced plastid genomes of nonphotosynthetic plastid-bearing lineages (parasitic plants, apicomplexan protozoa). Here we report the reverse genetic analysis of seven plastid-encoded ribosomal proteins that meet these criteria. We have introduced knockout alleles for the corresponding genes into the tobacco plastid genome. Five of the targeted genes (ribosomal protein of the large subunit22 [rpl22], rpl23, rpl32, ribosomal protein of the small subunit3 [rps3], and rps16) were shown to be essential even under heterotrophic conditions, despite their loss in at least some parasitic plastid-bearing lineages. This suggests that nonphotosynthetic plastids show elevated rates of gene transfer to the nuclear genome. Knockout of two ribosomal protein genes, rps15 and rpl36, yielded homoplasmic transplastomic mutants, thus indicating nonessentiality. Whereas Δrps15 plants showed only a mild phenotype, Δrpl36 plants were severely impaired in photosynthesis and growth and, moreover, displayed greatly altered leaf morphology. This finding provides strong genetic evidence that chloroplast translational activity influences leaf development, presumably via a retrograde signaling pathway.
Eating patterns among heroin users: a qualitative study with implications for nutritional interventions
Authors: Neale Joanne , Nettleton Sarah , Pickering Lucy , Fischer Jan
Published: September 2011

Aim  To provide new insights into heroin users' eating patterns in order to inform nutritional interventions.

Design  Seventy‐seven audio‐recorded in‐depth interviews which elicited detailed data on eating patterns.

Setting  Community and residential drug services, pharmacies and peer support groups in Southern England, UK.

Participants  Forty current or ex‐heroin users (21 men and 19 women), of whom 37 (20 men and 17 women) were re‐interviewed after 3 months.

Measurements  Audio data transcribed verbatim, coded systematically and analysed inductively.

Findings  Heroin users' eating patterns were influenced by individual, social, cultural, economic and environmental factors. During active heroin use, participants consumed quick, convenient, cheap and sweet foods, ate infrequently and had little interest in food. Eating patterns often improved during stays in residential services and after heroin cessation. Ex‐heroin users began to take pleasure in food preparation and eating and identified therapeutic benefits to cooking. Initially, weight gain was experienced positively, but subsequently generated anxieties as participants, particularly women, struggled to control their appetite and worried about becoming overweight. Findings complement and add to previous research and sociological and anthropological literatures.

Conclusions  Heroin users have dysfunctional eating patterns that are amenable to change and community and residential services could enable them to experience the many health, psychological and social benefits of improved eating practices. Nutritional interventions need to be tailored to individual needs and circumstances, but also monitored and evaluated so that there is a future evidence base.
Risk assessment studies on succinate dehydrogenase inhibitors, the new weapons in the battle to control Septoria leaf blotch in wheat
Authors: FRAAIJE BART A. , BAYON CARLOS , ATKINS SARAH , COOLS HANS J. , LUCAS JOHN A. , FRAAIJE MARCO W.
Published: September 2011

Chemical control of Septoria leaf blotch, caused by Mycosphaerella graminicola, is essential to ensure wheat yield and food security in most European countries. Mycosphaerella graminicola has developed resistance to several classes of fungicide and, with the efficacy of azoles gradually declining over time, new modes of action and/or improvements in host varietal resistance are urgently needed to ensure future sustainable disease control. Several new‐generation carboxamide fungicides with broad‐spectrum activity have recently been introduced into the cereal market. Carboxamides inhibit succinate dehydrogenase (Sdh) of the mitochondrial respiratory chain (complex II) but, because of their single‐site specificity, these fungicides may be prone to resistance development. The objective of this study was to assess the risk of resistance development to different Sdh inhibitor (SDHI) fungicides in M. graminicola. UV mutagenesis was conducted to obtain a library of carboxin‐resistant mutants. A range of SDHI resistance‐conferring mutations was found in Sdh subunits B, C and D. Pathogenicity studies with a range of Sdh variants did not detect any fitness costs associated with these mutations. Most of the amino acid residues identified (e.g. B‐S221P/T, B‐H267F/L/N/Y, B‐I269V and D‐D129E/G/T) are directly involved in forming the cavity in which SDHI fungicides bind. Docking studies of SDHI fungicides in structural models of wild‐type and mutated Sdh complexes also indicated which residues were important for the binding of different SDHI fungicides and showed a different binding for fluopyram. The predictive power of the model was also shown. Further diagnostic development, enabling the detection of resistant alleles at low frequencies, and cross‐resistance studies will aid the implementation of anti‐resistance strategies to prolong the cost‐effectiveness and lifetime of SDHI fungicides.
Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in children with Down syndrome: an updated review
Authors: Maloney Kelly W.
Published: September 2011

Down syndrome (DS) is the most common chromosomal abnormality in children and also carries a marked increased incidence of acute leukaemia. Current therapy for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) in children with DS offers similar treatment outcome as compared to children without DS. However, in general, there is increased morbidity associated with chemotherapy in children with DS. In recent years, a better understanding of the biology of ALL has led to the elucidation of differences in DS ALL vs non‐DS ALL. Further research in these differences may provide a more targeted therapy for DS ALL, with the hopes of continuing good therapeutic outcome while decreasing the toxicities seen in these patients. This review provides an update on the current treatment outcomes and the biological differences seen in DS ALL.
Discontinuous epitopes on the C2 domain of coagulation Factor VIII mapped by computer‐designed synthetic peptides
Authors: Lebreton Aurélien , Moreau Violaine , Lapalud Priscilla , Cayzac Christopher , André Sébastien , Nguyen Christophe , Schved Jean‐François , Lavigne Géraldine , Granier Claude
Published: September 2011

The occurrence of alloantibodies against Factor VIII (FVIII) is the main iatrogenic complication in haemophilia A (HA). Anti‐FVIII autoantibodies may also spontaneously appear in non‐HA patients, leading to acquired haemophilia A. In both contexts, the antibody response against FVIII is complex and difficult to analyse due to the lack of suitable tools. Our purpose was to comprehensively map, at the amino acid level, discontinuous epitopes of the C2 domain of FVIII targeted by patients’ antibodies. We synthesized 33 synthetic peptides, which were predicted by the bioinformatic algorithm PEPOP to mimic C2 domain discontinuous epitopes. Using an inhibition assay based on the x‐MAP technology, we evaluated their ability to block the binding to the C2 domain of anti‐C2 domain antibodies from pooled plasma samples. Nine peptides were thus selected and tested again in individual plasma samples. Our results support the view that C2 domain epitopes are organized as an epitopic mosaic distributed around the molecule, showed that each patient displayed a specific anti‐C2 epitopic profile, and confirmed the complexity and variability of the immune response against the C2 domain of FVIII. This ability to finely map epitopes could be further used to follow the antibody specificity modifications over time.
Effective treatment of experimental ragweed‐induced asthma with STAT‐6‐IP, a topically delivered cell‐penetrating peptide
Authors: Wang Y. , Li Y. , Shan J. , Fixman E. , McCusker C.
Published: September 2011

Background

Treatment of allergic airways disease including asthma remains primarily local immunosuppression with topical corticosteroid and symptomatic management with antihistamines and anti‐leucotrienes. We have developed a novel topical therapy designed to specifically inhibit the events associated with Th2 cell activation.

Objective

We assessed the efficacy of our cell‐penetrating STAT‐6 inhibitory peptide (STAT‐6‐IP), a novel treatment for allergic airways disease, in a model of chronic ragweed‐induced asthma.

Methods

Six‐ to eight‐week‐old mice were sensitized over 5 weeks with intranasal (IN) exposures to whole ragweed allergen without adjuvant. Mice were then IN challenged with Amba 1 with and without treatment IN with STAT‐6‐IP and allergic responses assessed. Two weeks later, some animals were rechallenged with Amba 1 with or without STAT‐6‐IP.

Results

Animals exposed to IN ragweed developed significant airway hyperresponsiveness and airways inflammation upon challenge. Cell cultures showed increases in Th2 cytokines IL‐4 and IL‐13. Topical STAT‐6‐IP treatment reduced production of Th2 cytokines, demonstrated increased expression of IL‐10 and reduced frequency of cultured IL‐4 positive CD4+ T cells derived from treated mice, suggesting that STAT‐6‐IP treatment may be immunomodulatory. Airway responsiveness to methacholine challenge in the treatment group was similarly reduced to that of the non‐allergic PBS‐exposed animals. Importantly, STAT‐6‐IP‐treated mice remained hyporesponsive following second ragweed challenge 2 weeks after treatment.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance

These data suggest that topical application of the STAT‐6‐IP is sufficient to inhibit allergic airways responses in animals chronically sensitized and challenged with ragweed. Data show that a single topical treatment course is sufficient to block signs of allergic responses to ragweed in the airways for at least 2 weeks. STAT‐6‐IP is a novel potential treatment for chronic allergic asthma.
Annexin‐1‐deficient mice exhibit spontaneous airway hyperresponsiveness and exacerbated allergen‐specific antibody responses in a mouse model of asthma
Authors: Ng F. S. P. , Wong K. Y. , Guan S. P. , Mustafa F. B. , Kajiji T. S. , Bist P. , Biswas S. K. , Wong W. S. F. , Lim L. H. K.
Published: September 2011

Background

Glucocorticoids are the mainstream drugs used in the treatment and control of inflammatory diseases such as asthma. Annexin‐1 (ANXA1) is an anti‐inflammatory protein which has been described as an endogenous protein responsible for some anti‐inflammatory glucocorticoid effects. Previous studies have identified its importance in other immune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and cystic fibrosis. ANXA1‐deficient (−/−) mice are Th2 biased, and ANXA1 N‐terminus peptide exhibits anti‐inflammatory activity in a rat model of pulmonary inflammation.

Objective

ANXA1 protein is found in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from asthmatics. However, the function of ANXA1 in the pathological development of allergy or asthma is unclear. Thus, in this study we intended to examine the effect of ANXA1 deficiency on allergen‐specific antibody responses and airway responses to methacholine (Mch).

Methods

ANXA1−/− mice were sensitized with ovalbumin (OVA) and challenged with aerosolized OVA. Airway resistance, lung compliance and enhanced pause (PenH) were measured in naïve, sensitized and saline or allergen‐challenged wild‐type (WT) and ANXA1−/− mice. Total and allergen‐specific antibodies were measured in the serum.

Results

We show that allergen‐specific and total IgE, IgG2a and IgG2b levels were significantly higher in ANXA1−/− mice. Furthermore, naïve ANXA1−/− mice displayed higher airway hypersensitivity to inhaled Mch, and significant differences were also observed in allergen‐sensitized and allergen‐challenged ANXA1−/− mice compared with WT mice.

Conclusions

In conclusion, ANXA1−/− mice possess multiple features characteristic to allergic asthma, such as airway hyperresponsiveness and enhanced antibody responses, suggesting that ANXA1 plays a critical regulatory role in the development of asthma.

Clinical Relevance

We postulate that ANXA1 is an important regulatory factor in the development of allergic disease and dysregulation of its expression can lead to pathological changes which may affect disease progression.
Low neonatal Toll‐like receptor 4‐mediated interleukin‐10 production is associated with subsequent atopic dermatitis
Authors: Belderbos M. E. , Knol E. F. , Houben M. L. , van Bleek G. M. , Wilbrink B. , Kimpen J. L. L. , Rovers M. , Bont L.
Published: September 2011

Background

Atopic dermatitis (AD) and respiratory syncytial virus lower respiratory tract infection (RSV LRTI) are common diseases during early life. Impaired Th1‐cell polarizing Toll‐like receptor (TLR) responses play an important role in the pathogenesis of both diseases. Neonatal TLR‐mediated production of Th1‐type cytokines is decreased at birth, but rapidly increases during the first month of life.

Objective

To determine whether decreased TLR‐mediated production of Th1‐polarizing cytokines, at the age of 1 month is associated with subsequent AD or RSV LRTI.

Methods

A prospective healthy birth cohort study was performed. Whole blood concentrations of innate immune cells and TLR‐mediated cytokine responses were measured at the age of 1 month in 291 neonates. AD was determined by a physician questionnaire at the age of 1 year and RSV LRTI was defined as parent‐reported respiratory symptoms and presence of RSV RNA in a nose–throat specimen.

Results

Of participating neonates, 45 (15%) developed AD and 41 (14%) developed RSV LRTI. Risks of AD and RSV LRTI were not associated (χ2, P = 1.00). AD was associated with decreased concentrations of basophils (7.6 vs. 14.0 × 106/mL, P = 0.002) and plasmacytoid dendritic cells (17.0 vs. 20.5 × 106/mL, P = 0.04), increased concentrations of NK‐cells (79.7 vs. 45.1 × 106/mL, P = 0.03), and twofold lower TLR4‐mediated IL‐10 production (P = 0.001). In contrast, RSV LRTI was associated neither with neonatal concentrations of innate immune cells, nor with TLR‐mediated TNF‐α, IL‐12p70, IL‐10 or IFN‐αproduction.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance

Atopic dermatitis, but not RSV LRTI, is associated with distinct pre‐symptomatic differences in the innate immune system. We hypothesize that decreased neonatal IL‐10‐mediated immune regulation during early life might play a causal role in the initiation of AD.