bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Innocent Infants or Abusive Patriarchs? Spousal Homicides, the Punishment of Indians and the Law in Colonial Mexico, 1740s–1820s
Authors: URIBE-URAN VICTOR M.
Published: October 2006

This article examines numerous spousal homicides occurring all over New Spain (colonial Mexico) during the last seven decades of the colonial period. After killing their spouses, sometimes in an extremely brutal manner, a considerable number of the defendants managed to get away with little more than a slap on the wrist. I argue here that this was not due to the fact that written laws were dead letters. After examining general patterns of spousal homicides, I focus on the legal treatment and punishment afforded to indigenous criminals, several of who were drunk at the time of their crimes. Being an ‘Indian’ or committing a crime while drunk – both characteristics of many defendants in the records – were treated as a mitigating circumstance under law and led to the acquittal of several of the accused. Royal graces, an important legal mechanism, also played a significant role in easing the severity of the treatment of these and other domestic criminals. The judicial treatment of spousal murders thus did not reflect a considerable gap between law and practice at the time. Punishment derived from a complex combination of socio-cultural factors and longstanding legal prescriptions, doctrines and traditions.
Process Technology for Production and Recovery of Heterologous Proteins with Pichia pastoris
Authors: Jahic Mehmedalija , Veide Andres , Charoenrat Theppanya , Teeri Tuula , Enfors Sven‐Olof
Published: October 2006

Developments in process techniques for production and recovery of heterologous proteins with Pichia pastoris are presented. Limitations for the standard techniques are described, and alternative techniques that solve the limitations problems are reviewed together with the methods that resulted in higher productivity of the P. pastoris processes. The main limitations are proteolysis of the secreted products and cell death in the high cell density bioreactor cultures. As a consequence, both low productivity and lower quality of the feedstock for downstream processing are achieved in processes hampered with these problems. Methods for exploring proteolysis and cell death are also presented. Solving the problems makes the conditions for downstream processing superior for the P. pastoris expression systems compared to other systems, which either need complex media or rely on intracellular production. These improved conditions allow for interfacing of cultivation with downstream processing in an integrated fashion.
Elastic‐decohesive constitutive model for sea ice
Authors: Schreyer H. L. , Sulsky D. L. , Munday L. B. , Coon M. D. , Kwok R.
Published: October 2006

One of the dominant characteristics of Arctic ice is the development and persistence of leads. Leads are critically important for climate modeling since they are a source for new ice and an avenue for heat exchange between the atmosphere and ocean. Therefore a specific representation for leads in a constitutive model for pack ice is considered essential. Presented here is an elastic‐decohesive constitutive model whose purpose is to specifically indicate when a lead is initiated, to provide the orientation of the lead, to give the mode of failure, and to allow for the numerical determination of the width of leads. Both laboratory and in situ data of sea ice provide the motivation for the basic structure of the model. Sample paths in stress and strain space are used to illustrate how the model can simulate failure. The model can predict multiple failure planes, a feature that is necessary to simulate crack branching. Preexisting planes of weakness such as those formed from previous leads can also be accommodated.
Quasiparticle band structures of BaO and BaS
Authors: Lv Tieyu , Chen Deyan , Huang Meichun
Published: October 2006

We calculate the band structures of BaO and BaS using the local density approximation and the GW approximation (GWA). The Ba 4d states are treated as valence states. We find that BaO is an indirect band-gap semiconductor and BaS is a direct band-gap semiconductor. The results show that the band gaps of GWA agree excellently with the experimental results.
Multispecies nitrogen diffusion in silicon
Authors: Voronkov V. V. , Falster R.
Published: October 2006

Outdiffusion profiles of nitrogen, produced by 900°C annealing and monitored by secondary ion mass spectroscopy, clearly show that the nitrogen community consists of three noninteracting components. The A component (dominant at higher nitrogen concentration) is represented by a species that outdiffuses by the dissociation mechanism. The B component (the only one at lower nitrogen content) exists mostly in a precipitated form. The C component is an independent outdiffusing species. The A component can be assigned to one of the even-sized species: N2, N4, or N6. The most likely assignment, free of controversies, is to hexamers N6 transported by dissociation into minor fast-diffusing trimers N3. The B component, in its dissolved form, is then assigned to the N2∕N1 subsystem of immobile dominant dimers and fast-diffusing minor monomers. For the C component, a tentative assignment is to N4 or N5.
Effects of partial self-ordering of Si dots formed by chemical vapor deposition on the threshold voltage window distribution of Si nanocrystal memories
Authors: Puglisi R. A. , Lombardo S. , Corso D. , Crupi I. , Nicotra G. , Perniola L. , De Salvo B. , Gerardi C.
Published: October 2006

We study the role that the denuded zone around Si nanocrystals obtained by chemical vapor deposition plays on the fluctuations of the dot surface coverage. In fact, the capture mechanism of the silicon adatoms in the proximity of existing dots restricts the number of possible nucleation sites, the final dot size, and the dot position, thus driving the process toward partial self-order. We numerically evaluate the relative dispersion of surface coverage for several gate areas and compare the results to the fully random case. The coverage dispersion is related to the fluctuations from bit to bit of the threshold voltage window (ΔVth) distribution of nanocrystal memories. The evaluations, compared to experimental data on ΔVth extrapolated to small gate areas, provide very favorable projections on the scalability of these memories.
Composition and stress fields in undulated Si0.7Ge0.3∕Si(100) thin films
Authors: Wu Chi-Chin , Hull Robert
Published: October 2006

We describe a quantitative correlation between lateral segregation of the composition field and local compressive stresses within low mismatch Si0.7Ge0.3∕Si(100) undulated epitaxial films. By controlled chemical wet etching, the Ge concentration in the film was determined to be 0.24±0.02 at undulation troughs and 0.36±0.02 at peaks. Analysis of the resultant local stress fields was investigated via the finite element method with anisotropic models. Without surface roughening, a 50nm planar Si0.7Ge0.3∕Si(100) epitaxial film would have 2.39GPa average compressive stress. After surface roughening, the average film stress is reduced to 2.33GPa if there is no composition variation within the undulated film. With composition segregation, the average stress within the undulated film further is reduced to 2.30GPa with locally redistributed stresses of 2.5GPa at troughs and 2.1GPa at peaks.
Structural and magnetic properties of V-doped AlN thin films
Authors: Ko K. Y. , Barber Z. H. , Blamire M. G.
Published: October 2006

We report on the structural and magnetic properties of V-doped AlN thin films deposited on c-plane (001) sapphire by reactive cosputtering. The AlN crystal structure was maintained, with decreasing c lattice parameter, as V content increased to 1.58at.%. No secondary phase was found. Films exhibited ferromagnetism at room temperature with Hc=21.0Oe. The magnetization corresponded to ∼0.14μB per V atom and the Curie point was near 300K. The substitutional solubility of V in AlN is estimated to be ∼1.5at.% at the growth temperature of 1060K. The temperature dependence of resistance in the temperature range of 300–400K corresponded to a highly resistive insulator.
Differential requirement for Lck during primary and memory CD8
+
T cell responses
Authors: Tewari Kavita , Walent Jane , Svaren John , Zamoyska Rose , Suresh M.
Published: October 2006

T cell receptor (TCR) signaling mediates cell fate decisions throughout the life of a T cell. The earliest biochemical events during antigen-stimulated TCR signaling include activation of the Src-family protein tyrosine kinase, p56
Lck
(Lck), which is an integral component of the TCR signaling complex by its association with the cytoplasmic tails of CD8 or CD4. CD8 and Lck are obligatory during thymic selection of CD8
+
T cells. What remain unknown are when and with what stringency Lck is required for effective TCR-mediated activation and function throughout the life of a mature CD8
+
T cell. Using mice that express an inducible Lck transgene in T cells, we have investigated the temporal importance of Lck-mediated TCR signaling in antigen-specific CD8
+
T cell responses during acute viral infections. We show that Lck deficiency induced in naive mice abrogated the antigen-specific activation and clonal expansion of CD8
+
T cells during a primary response to acute viral infections. Moreover, the magnitude of primary CD8 T cell expansion depended on the duration of Lck-dependent TCR signaling. Quite unexpectedly, however, Lck was dispensable for enhanced functional avidity, maintenance, and reactivation of memory CD8
+
T cells
in vitro
and
in vivo
. These observations suggest that the TCR signaling apparatus is rewired from an Lck-dependent state in naive CD8
+
T cells to an Lck-independent state in memory CD8
+
T cells. Less stringent requirements for antigen-specific TCR signaling to activate memory CD8
+
T cells could, in part, account for their unique hyperreactivity to antigen, which contributes to accelerated immune control during secondary infections.
The limitations on organic detection in Mars-like soils by thermal volatilization–gas chromatography–MS and their implications for the Viking results
Authors: Navarro-González Rafael , Navarro Karina F. , Rosa José de la , Iñiguez Enrique , Molina Paola , Miranda Luis D. , Morales Pedro , Cienfuegos Edith , Coll Patrice , Raulin François , Amils Ricardo , McKay Christopher P.
Published: October 2006

The failure of Viking Lander thermal volatilization (TV) (without or with thermal degradation)–gas chromatography (GC)–MS experiments to detect organics suggests chemical rather than biological interpretations for the reactivity of the martian soil. Here, we report that TV–GC–MS may be blind to low levels of organics on Mars. A comparison between TV–GC–MS and total organics has been conducted for a variety of Mars analog soils. In the Antarctic Dry Valleys and the Atacama and Libyan Deserts we find 10–90 μg of refractory or graphitic carbon per gram of soil, which would have been undetectable by the Viking TV–GC–MS. In iron-containing soils (jarosites from Rio Tinto and Panoche Valley) and the Mars simulant (palogonite), oxidation of the organic material to carbon dioxide (CO
2
) by iron oxides and/or their salts drastically attenuates the detection of organics. The release of 50–700 ppm of CO
2
by TV–GC–MS in the Viking analysis may indicate that an oxidation of organic material took place. Therefore, the martian surface could have several orders of magnitude more organics than the stated Viking detection limit. Because of the simplicity of sample handling, TV–GC–MS is still considered the standard method for organic detection on future Mars missions. We suggest that the design of future organic instruments for Mars should include other methods to be able to detect extinct and/or extant life.
Membrane-dependent oligomeric structure and pore formation of a β-hairpin antimicrobial peptide in lipid bilayers from solid-state NMR
Authors: Mani Rajeswari , Cady Sarah D. , Tang Ming , Waring Alan J. , Lehrer Robert I. , Hong Mei
Published: October 2006

We used solid-state NMR spectroscopy to investigate the oligomeric structure and insertion of protegrin-1 (PG-1), a β-hairpin antimicrobial peptide, in lipid bilayers that mimic either the bacterial inner membrane [palmitoyloleoylphosphatidyl ethanolamine and palmitoyloleoylphosphatidylglycerol (POPE/POPG) bilayers] or the red blood cell membrane [neutral palmitoyloleoylphosphatidylcholine (POPC)/cholesterol bilayers].
1
H spin diffusion from lipids to the peptide indicates that PG-1 contacts both the lipid acyl chains and the headgroups in the anionic membrane but resides far from the lipid chains in the POPC/cholesterol bilayer.
19
F spin diffusion data indicates that 75% of the β-hairpins have homodimerized N strands and C strands in the anionic membrane. The resulting (NCCN)

n

multimer suggests a membrane-inserted β-barrel enclosing a water pore. The lipids surrounding the β-barrel have high orientational disorder and chain upturns, thus they may act as fillers for the pore. These results revise several features of the toroidal pore model, first proposed for magainin and subsequently applied to PG-1. In the POPC/cholesterol membrane, the N and C strands of PG-1 cluster into tetramers, suggesting the formation of β-sheets on the membrane surface. Thus, the membrane composition plays a decisive role in defining the assembly and insertion of PG-1. The different oligomeric structures of PG-1 help to explain its greater toxicity for bacteria than for eukaryotic cells.
Cryo-EM visualization of transfer messenger RNA with two SmpBs in a stalled ribosome
Authors: Kaur Sukhjit , Gillet Reynald , Li Wen , Gursky Richard , Frank Joachim
Published: October 2006

In eubacterial translation, lack of a stop codon on the mRNA results in a defective, potentially toxic polypeptide stalled on the ribosome. Bacteria possess a specialized mRNA, called transfer messenger RNA (tmRNA), to rescue such a stalled system. tmRNA contains a transfer RNA (tRNA)-like domain (TLD), which enters the ribosome as a tRNA and places an ORF into the mRNA channel. This ORF codes for a signal marking the polypeptide for degradation and ends in a stop codon, leading to release of the faulty polypeptide and recycling of the ribosome. The binding of tmRNA to the stalled ribosome is mediated by small protein B (SmpB). By means of cryo-EM, we obtained a density map for the preaccommodated state of the tmRNA·SmpB·EF-Tu·70S ribosome complex with much improved definition for the tmRNA–SmpB complex, showing two SmpB molecules bound per ribosome, one toward the A site on the 30S subunit side and the other bound to the 50S subunit near the GTPase-associated center. tmRNA is strongly attached to the 30S subunit head by multiple contact sites, involving most of its pseudoknots and helices. The map clarifies that the TLD is located near helix 34 and protein S19 of the 30S subunit, rather than in the A site as tRNA for normal translation, so that the TLD is oriented toward the ORF.
Breaking resolution limits in ultrafast electron diffraction and microscopy
Authors: Baum Peter , Zewail Ahmed H.
Published: October 2006

Ultrafast electron microscopy and diffraction are powerful techniques for the study of the time-resolved structures of molecules, materials, and biological systems. Central to these approaches is the use of ultrafast coherent electron packets. The electron pulses typically have an energy of 30 keV for diffraction and 100–200 keV for microscopy, corresponding to speeds of 33–70% of the speed of light. Although the spatial resolution can reach the atomic scale, the temporal resolution is limited by the pulse width and by the difference in group velocities of electrons and the light used to initiate the dynamical change. In this contribution, we introduce the concept of tilted optical pulses into diffraction and imaging techniques and demonstrate the methodology experimentally. These advances allow us to reach limits of time resolution down to regimes of a few femtoseconds and, possibly, attoseconds. With tilted pulses, every part of the sample is excited at precisely the same time as when the electrons arrive at the specimen. Here, this approach is demonstrated for the most unfavorable case of ultrafast crystallography. We also present a method for measuring the duration of electron packets by autocorrelating electron pulses in free space and without streaking, and we discuss the potential of tilting the electron pulses themselves for applications in domains involving nuclear and electron motions.
Yeast mitochondrial ADP/ATP carriers are monomeric in detergents
Authors: Bamber Lisa , Harding Marilyn , Butler P. Jonathan G. , Kunji Edmund R. S.
Published: October 2006

Mitochondrial carriers are believed widely to be homodimers both in the inner membrane of the organelle and in detergents. The dimensions and molecular masses of the detergent and protein–detergent micelles were measured for yeast ADP/ATP carriers in a range of different detergents. The radius of the carrier at the midpoint of the membrane, its average radius, its Stokes' radius, its molecular mass, and its excluded volume were determined. These parameters are consistent with the known structural model of the bovine ADP/ATP carrier and they demonstrate that the yeast mitochondrial ADP/ATP carriers are monomeric in detergents. Therefore, models of substrate transport have to be considered in which the carrier operates as a monomer rather than as a dimer.
Stimulatory effect of voluntary exercise or fat removal (partial lipectomy) on apoptosis in the skin of UVB light-irradiated mice
Authors: Lu Yao-Ping , Lou You-Rong , Nolan Bonnie , Peng Qing-Yun , Xie Jian-Guo , Wagner George C. , Conney Allan H.
Published: October 2006

Earlier studies indicated that high dietary fat and obesity are associated with an increased risk of cancer at several organ sites in experimental animals and in humans. In a recent study we found that voluntary running wheel exercise decreased body fat and inhibited ultraviolet B light (UVB)-induced carcinogenesis in the epidermis of SKH-1 mice. In the present study we demonstrate that voluntary running wheel exercise stimulated UVB-induced apoptosis in the epidermis by a p53-independent mechanism, and voluntary exercise also stimulated apoptosis in UVB-induced tumors in tumor-bearing mice. Exercise had no effect in non-UVB-treated epidermis or in areas of the epidermis away from tumors in tumor-bearing mice. In addition, we found that removal of the parametrial fat pads (partial lipectomy) 2 weeks before UVB irradiation enhanced UVB-induced apoptosis. The results of our studies suggest that fat cells secrete substances that inhibit apoptosis in cells with DNA damage and possibly also in tumors. Our results help explain why exercise or various dietary regimens that decrease tissue fat inhibit carcinogenesis.
General structural motifs of amyloid protofilaments
Authors: Ferguson Neil , Becker Johanna , Tidow Henning , Tremmel Sandra , Sharpe Timothy D. , Krause Gerd , Flinders Jeremy , Petrovich Miriana , Berriman John , Oschkinat Hartmut , Fersht Alan R.
Published: October 2006

Human CA150, a transcriptional activator, binds to and is co-deposited with huntingtin during Huntington's disease. The second WW domain of CA150 is a three-stranded β-sheet that folds
in vitro
in microseconds and forms amyloid fibers under physiological conditions. We found from exhaustive alanine scanning studies that fibrillation of this WW domain begins from its denatured conformations, and we identified a subset of residues critical for fibril formation. We used high-resolution magic-angle-spinning NMR studies on site-specific isotopically labeled fibrils to identify abundant long-range interactions between side chains. The distribution of critical residues identified by the alanine scanning and NMR spectroscopy, along with the electron microscopy data, revealed the protofilament repeat unit: a 26-residue nonnative β-hairpin. The structure we report has similarities to the hairpin formed by the A
β
(1–40)
protofilament, yet also contains closely packed side-chains in a “steric zipper” arrangement found in the cross-β spine formed from small peptides from the Sup35 prion protein. Fibrillation of unrelated amyloidogenic sequences shows the common feature of zippered repeat units that act as templates for fiber elongation.
Ubiquitin-associated domain of Mex67 synchronizes recruitment of the mRNA export machinery with transcription
Authors: Gwizdek Carole , Iglesias Nahid , Rodriguez Manuel S. , Ossareh-Nazari Batool , Hobeika Maria , Divita Gilles , Stutz Françoise , Dargemont Catherine
Published: October 2006

The mRNA nuclear export receptor Mex67/Mtr2 is recruited to mRNAs through RNA-binding adaptors, including components of the THO/TREX complex that couple transcription to mRNA export. Here we show that the ubiquitin-associated (UBA) domain of Mex67 is not only required for proper nuclear export of mRNA but also contributes to recruitment of Mex67 to transcribing genes. Our results reveal that the UBA domain of Mex67 directly interacts with polyubiquitin chains and with Hpr1, a component of the THO/TREX complex, which is regulated by ubiquitylation in a transcription-dependent manner. This interaction transiently protects Hpr1 from ubiquitin/proteasome-mediated degradation and thereby coordinates recruitment of the mRNA export machinery with transcription and early messenger ribonucleoproteins assembly.
Rapid actin monomer–insensitive depolymerization of Listeria actin comet tails by cofilin, coronin, and Aip1
Authors: Brieher William M. , Kueh Hao Yuan , Ballif Bryan A. , Mitchison Timothy J.
Published: October 2006

Actin filaments in cells depolymerize rapidly despite the presence of high concentrations of polymerizable G actin. Cofilin is recognized as a key regulator that promotes actin depolymerization. In this study, we show that although pure cofilin can disassemble Listeria monocytogenes actin comet tails, it cannot efficiently disassemble comet tails in the presence of polymerizable actin. Thymus extracts also rapidly disassemble comet tails, and this reaction is more efficient than pure cofilin when normalized to cofilin concentration. By biochemical fractionation, we identify Aip1 and coronin as two proteins present in thymus extract that facilitate the cofilin-mediated disassembly of Listeria comet tails. Together, coronin and Aip1 lower the amount of cofilin required to disassemble the comet tail and permit even low concentrations of cofilin to depolymerize actin in the presence of polymerizable G actin. The cooperative activities of cofilin, coronin, and Aip1 should provide a biochemical basis for understanding how actin filaments can grow in some places in the cell while shrinking in others.
Reconstitution of protein targeting to the inner envelope membrane of chloroplasts
Authors: Li Ming , Schnell Danny J.
Published: October 2006

The chloroplast envelope plays critical roles in the synthesis and regulated transport of key metabolites, including intermediates in photosynthesis and lipid metabolism. Despite this importance, the biogenesis of the envelope membranes has not been investigated in detail. To identify the determinants of protein targeting to the inner envelope membrane (IM), we investigated the targeting of the nucleus-encoded integral IM protein, atTic40. We found that pre-atTic40 is imported into chloroplasts and processed to an intermediate size (int-atTic40) before insertion into the IM. Int-atTic40 is soluble and inserts into the IM from the internal stromal compartment. We also show that atTic40 and a second IM protein, atTic110, can target and insert into isolated IM vesicles in vitro. Collectively, our experiments are consistent with a “postimport” mechanism in which the IM proteins are first imported from the cytoplasm and subsequently inserted into the IM from the stroma.
Combining functional and linkage disequilibrium information in the selection of tag SNPs
Authors: Sham P. C. , Ao S. I. , Kwan J. S. H. , Kao P. , Cheung F. , Fong P. Y. , Ng M. K.
Published: October 2006

Summary: We have developed an online program, WCLUSTAG, for tag SNP selection that allows the user to specify variable tagging thresholds for different SNPs. Tag SNPs are selected such that a SNP with user-specified tagging threshold C will have a minimum R2 of C with at least one tag SNP. This flexible feature is useful for researchers who wish to prioritize genomic regions or SNPs in an association study.

Availability: The online WCLUSTAG program is available at

Contact:  mng@math.hkbu.edu.hk
Carbohydrate-Binding Module of a Rice Endo-β-1,4-glycanase, OsCel9A , Expressed in Auxin-Induced Lateral Root Primordia, is Post-Translationally Truncated
Authors: Yoshida Kouki , Imaizumi Nobuyuki , Kaneko Satoshi , Kawagoe Yasushi , Tagiri Akemi , Tanaka Hiroshi , Nishitani Kazuhiko , Komae Kozo
Published: October 2006

We report the cloning of a glycoside hydrolase family (GHF) 9 gene of rice ( Oryza sativa L. cv. Sasanishiki), OsCel9A , corresponding to the auxin-induced 51 kDa endo-1,4-β-glucanase (EGase). This enzyme reveals a broad substrate specificity with respect to sugar backbones (glucose and xylose) in β-1,4-glycans of type II cell wall. OsCel9A encodes a 640 amino acid polypeptide and is an ortholog of TomCel8 , a tomato EGase containing a carbohydrate-binding module (CBM) 2 sequence at its C-terminus. The expression of four rice EGase genes including OsCel9A showed different patterns of organ specificity and responses to auxin. OsCel9A was preferentially expressed during the initiation of lateral roots or subcultured root calli, but was hardly expressed during auxin-induced coleoptile elongation or in seed calli, in contrast to OsCel9D , a KORRIGAN ( KOR ) homolog. In situ localization of OsCel9A transcripts demonstrated that its expression was specifically up-regulated in lateral root primordia (LRP). Northern blotting analysis showed the presence of a single product of OsCel9A . In contrast, both mass spectrometric analyses of peptide fragments from purified 51 kDa EGase proteins and immunogel blot analysis of EGase proteins in root extracts using two antibodies against internal peptide sequences of OsCel9A revealed that the entire CBM2 region was post-translationally truncated from the 67 kDa nascent protein to generate 51 kDa EGase isoforms. Analyses of auxin concentration and time course dependence of accumulation of two EGase isoforms suggested that the translation and post-translational CBM2 truncation of the OsCel9A gene may participate in lateral root development.
FRIGIDA LIKE 2Is a Functional Allele in Landsbergerectaand Compensates for a Nonsense Allele ofFRIGIDA LIKE 1
Authors: Schläppi Michael R.
Published: October 2006

The Landsberg erecta (Ler) accession of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) has a weak allele of the floral inhibitor FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC). FLC-Ler is weakly up-regulated by the active San Feliu-2 (Sf2) allele of FRIGIDA (FRI-Sf2), resulting in a moderately late-flowering phenotype. By contrast, the Columbia (Col) allele of FLC is strongly up-regulated by FRI-Sf2, resulting in a very late-flowering phenotype. In Col, the FRI-related gene FRI LIKE 1 (FRL1) is required for FRI-mediated up-regulation of FLC. It is shown here that in Ler, the FRL1-related gene FRI LIKE 2 (FRL2), but not FRL1, is required for FRI-mediated up-regulation of FLC. FRL1-Ler is shown to be a nonsense allele of FRL1 due to a naturally occurring premature stop codon in the middle of the conceptual protein sequence, suggesting that FRL1-Ler is nonfunctional. Compared to FRL2-Col, FRL2-Ler has two amino acid changes in the conceptual protein sequence. Plants homozygous for FRI-Sf2, FLC-Ler, FRL1-Ler, and FRL2-Col have no detectable FLC expression, resulting in an extremely early flowering phenotype. Transformation of a genomic fragment of FRL2-Ler, but not of FRL2-Col, into a recombinant inbred line derived from these plants restores both FRI-mediated up-regulation of FLC expression and a late-flowering phenotype, indicating that FRL2-Ler is the functional allele of FRL2. Taken together, these results suggest that in the two different Arabidopsis accessions Col and Ler, either FRL1 or FRL2, but not both, is functional and required for FRI-mediated up-regulation of FLC.
Environment or Development? Lifetime Net CO2 Exchange and Control of the Expression of Crassulacean Acid Metabolism inMesembryanthemum crystallinum
Authors: Winter Klaus , Holtum Joseph A.M.
Published: October 2006

The relative influence of plant age and environmental stress signals in triggering a shift from C3 photosynthesis to Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) in the annual halophytic C3-CAM species Mesembryanthemum crystallinum was explored by continuously monitoring net CO2 exchange of whole shoots from the seedling stage until seed set. Plants exposed to high salinity (400 mm NaCl) in hydroponic culture solution or grown in saline-droughted soil acquired between 11% and 24% of their carbon via net dark CO2 uptake involving CAM. In contrast, plants grown under nonsaline, well-watered conditions were capable of completing their life cycle by operating in the C3 mode without ever exhibiting net CO2 uptake at night. These observations are not consistent with the widely expressed view that the induction of CAM by high salinity in M. crystallinum represents an acceleration of preprogrammed developmental processes. Rather, our study demonstrates that the induction of the CAM pathway for carbon acquisition in M. crystallinum is under environmental control.
Multiple Upstream Signals Converge on the Adaptor Protein Mst50 in Magnaporthe grisea
Authors: Park Gyungsoon , Xue Chaoyang , Zhao Xinhua , Kim Yangseon , Orbach Marc , Xu Jin-Rong
Published: October 2006

Rice blast fungus (Magnaporthe grisea) forms a highly specialized infection structure for plant penetration, the appressorium, the formation and growth of which are regulated by the Mst11-Mst7-Pmk1 mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade. We characterized the MST50 gene that directly interacts with both MST11 and MST7. Similar to the mst11 mutant, the mst50 mutant was defective in appressorium formation, sensitive to osmotic stresses, and nonpathogenic. Expressing a dominant active MST7 allele in mst50 complemented its defects in appressorium but not lesion formation. The sterile α-motif (SAM) domain of Mst50 was essential for its interaction with Mst11 and for appressorium formation. Although the SAM and Ras-association domain (RAD) of Mst50 were dispensable for its interaction with Mst7, deletion of RAD reduced appressorium formation and virulence on rice (Oryza sativa) seedlings. The interaction between Mst50 and Mst7 or Mst11 was detected by coimmunoprecipitation assays in developing appressoria. Mst50 also interacts with Ras1, Ras2, Cdc42, and Mgb1 in yeast two-hybrid assays. Expressing a dominant active RAS2 allele in the wild-type strain but not in mst50 stimulated abnormal appressorium formation. These results indicate that MST50 functions as an adaptor protein interacting with multiple upstream components and plays critical roles in activating the Pmk1 cascade for appressorium formation and plant infection in M. grisea.
BRANCHED-CHAIN AMINOTRANSFERASE4 Is Part of the Chain Elongation Pathway in the Biosynthesis of Methionine-Derived Glucosinolates inArabidopsis
Authors: Schuster Joachim , Knill Tanja , Reichelt Michael , Gershenzon Jonathan , Binder Stefan
Published: October 2006

As part of our analysis of branched-chain amino acid metabolism in plants, we analyzed the function of Arabidopsis thaliana BRANCHED-CHAIN AMINOTRANSFERASE4 (BCAT4). Recombinant BCAT4 showed high efficiency with Met and its derivatives and the corresponding 2-oxo acids, suggesting its participation in the chain elongation pathway of Met-derived glucosinolate biosynthesis. This was substantiated by in vivo analysis of two BCAT4 T-DNA knockout mutants, in which Met-derived aliphatic glucosinolate accumulation is reduced by ∼50%. The increase in free Met and S-methylmethionine levels in these mutants, together with in vitro substrate specificity, strongly implicate BCAT4 in catalysis of the initial deamination of Met to 4-methylthio-2-oxobutyrate. BCAT4 transcription is induced by wounding and is predominantly observed in the phloem. BCAT4 transcript accumulation also follows a diurnal rhythm, and green fluorescent protein tagging experiments and subcellular protein fractions show that BCAT4 is located in the cytosol. The assignment of BCAT4 to the Met chain elongation pathway documents the close evolutionary relationship of this pathway to Leu biosynthesis. In addition to BCAT4, the enzyme methylthioalkylmalate synthase 1 has been recruited for the Met chain elongation pathway from a gene family involved in Leu formation. This suggests that the two pathways have a common evolutionary origin.
Persistence of Allegheny woodrats Neotoma magister across the mid‐Atlantic Appalachian Highlands landscape, USA
Authors: Mark Ford W. , Castleberry Steven B. , Mengak Michael T. , Rodrigue Jane L , Feller Daniel J. , Russell Kevin R.
Published: October 2006

We examined a suite of macro‐habitat and landscape variables around active and inactive Allegheny woodrat Neotoma magister colony sites in the Appalachian Mountains of the mid‐Atlantic Highlands of Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia using an information‐theoretic modeling approach. Logistic regression analyses suggested that Allegheny woodrat presence was related positively to distance to the nearest occupied colony site and was influenced by location within physiographic subprovince. Colony sites were more likely to be active to the west (Allegheny Plateau) than the east (Blue Ridge/Piedmont), and colony sites were less likely to be active north of the Potomac River where land use and human disturbance patterns in the region were more intensive. Support also was generated for a presence‐absence model that included forest cover within a 1‐km radius of colony sites, although its importance was equivocal in this heavily forested region. Allegheny woodrats rely on emergent rock habitats for denning, and mast‐bearing forest communities for foraging, and appear to display a metapopulation structure that is sensitive to a combination of natural and anthropogenically‐induced isolation pressures that are recognizable but difficult to manage or mitigate.
Stage specific gene expression of serpins and their cognate proteases during myeloid differentiation
Authors: Missen Melinda A. , Haylock David , Whitty Genevieve , Medcalf Robert L. , Coughlin Paul B.
Published: October 2006

Proteases and their serpin inhibitors are abundantly expressed in haemopoietic and peripheral blood cells. There is, however, relatively little information about the role played by serpins in the control of protease activity within these cells and in the pericellular region. The observation that mutations in the neutrophil elastase gene, which cause cyclic and severe congenital neutropenia, are associated with protease maldistribution gives some clue as to the potential importance of inhibitor proteins. To begin to address the role of protease/inhibitor balance in blood cells we used reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction to examine protease and serpin gene expression in mature peripheral blood cells, differentiating haemopoietic progenitors, leukaemic blasts and haemopoietic cell lines. The results demonstrate stage‐specific expression of proteases together with widespread expression of intra‐ and extra‐cellular serpins. The elastase inhibitors monocyte neutrophil elastase inhibitor (MNEI) and antitrypsin (AT) showed overlapping expression. MNEI is predominantly expressed in early haemopoietic progenitors while antitrypsin is mainly expressed in more mature myeloid precursors, peripheral blood granulocytes and mononuclear cells. Our results give an overall picture of serpin and protease gene expression and draws attention to the potential importance of elastase regulators at all stages of myelopoiesis.
Bortezomib disrupts tumour–dendritic cell interactions in myeloma and lymphoma: therapeutic implications
Authors: Kukreja Anjli , Hutchinson Aisha , Mazumder Amitabha , Vesole David , Angitapalli Revathi , Jagannath Sundar , O'Connor Owen A. , Dhodapkar Madhav V.
Published: October 2006

Recent studies have shown that the interactions between tumour and dendritic cells (DCs) promote clonogenic growth of lymphoproliferative tumours, particularly myeloma. The present study showed that the proteasome inhibitor, bortezomib, disrupts this interaction. Targeting the drug to DCs was required for optimal suppression of tumour growth, including primary myeloma tumour progenitors in clonogenic assays. Bortezomib lead to dose‐dependent induction of apoptosis in both myeloid and plasmacytoid DCs, and the sensitivity of DCs to bortezomib was comparable with that of tumour cells. These data suggest that disruption of tumour–DC interactions may contribute to the clinical effects of bortezomib.
Multi‐agency working: implications for an early‐intervention social work team
Authors: Moran Patricia , Jacobs Catherine , Bunn Amanda , Bifulco Antonia
Published: October 2006

The adoption of multi‐agency working is a key component of the government’s agenda for the reconfiguration of children’s services. This study examined multi‐agency working from the perspective of social workers within an early‐intervention family support team. Qualitative methods were used, involving individual interviews as well as focus groups with a total of 29 professionals within the early‐intervention social work team and its partner agencies. Thematic analysis of transcripts showed a number of challenges to multi‐agency working, which included issues focused on differences in partner agencies’ protocols, as well as issues concerning professional status and identity. Messages for best practice that emerged stress the need for clear protocols and methods of negotiating and reviewing protocols; opportunities for informal as well as formal communication between workers; and adequate financial support and timetabling of service developments. Benefits of multi‐agency working involved enhanced inter‐agency respect and communication, greater understanding of child protection thresholds among partner agencies and fast‐track referrals. Areas requiring further investigation include the blurring of professional boundaries for social workers delivering early‐intervention services in community settings and the outcomes for children of multi‐agency working in early‐intervention services.
Validity and reliability of Infant Neurological International Battery for detection of gross motor developmental delay in Iran
Authors: Soleimani F. , Dadkhah A.
Published: October 2006

Background  Child development screening is important issue for early detection of developmental delay and disability. Children in different environment acquire developmental abilities at different age. In this paper we report the examination of Infant Neurological International Battery (INFANIB) as a screening tool for early detection of gross motor developmental delay in Iran.

Methods  In this study, we reported the result of a study which was conducted on 6150 consecutive 4‐ to 18‐month infants who were referred form Karaj Health Network (Tehran Province) over a 12‐month period. A questionnaire was filled for each child, and an evaluation was carried out with INFANIB by occupational therapists. Assessed infants had been classified in three categories: normal, transiently abnormal and abnormal neuro‐development. The transient group infants were divided to normal and abnormal group after 3 months’ follow‐up. The abnormal group was referred to developmental centre for neuro‐developmental examination. For depicting validity of the test, some of the normal, transient and abnormal group was evaluated randomly by paediatrician for neuro‐developmental exam and for reliability of test between paediatrician and occupational therapist 54 infants scored randomly by both of them.

Results  The INFANIB was valid for normal and abnormal group with 90% sensitivity, 83% specificity, 79% positive predictive value and 93% negative predictive value (NPV). Also the reliability coefficient between the examiners (paediatrician and occupational therapists) was calculated, and the intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.90.

Conclusions  Results indicate that INFANIB is proposed as an appropriate screening test in developing countries such as Iran as a reliable measurement of gross motor developmental delay and short time of performing.
Population genetic structure of a rare high‐elevation black fly,Metacnephia coloradensis, occupying Colorado lake outlet streams
Authors: FINN DEBRA S. , ADLER PETER H.
Published: October 2006

1. Using a portion of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I gene, we evaluated the population genetic structure of a geographically rare black fly (Metacnephia coloradensis) that is a habitat specialist in outlet streams of large, productive, alpine lakes in Colorado, U.S.A. Given its rarity and life history traits that restrict dispersal, we hypothesised that genetic structure would show a signature of allopatric fragmentation associated with climatic warming since Pleistocene glaciations.

2. We tested for genetic isolation by distance (IBD) and applied nested clade analysis (NCA) to ask whether current genetic structure is primarily a consequence of historic fragmentation or if there is evidence of ongoing gene flow.

3. Only four populations were located despite a thorough search of potential sites, and they demonstrated a significant degree of genetic structure (FST = 0.17). However, there was some evidence of IBD in a plot of genetic versus geographic distance, and NCA further supported IBD and restricted ongoing gene flow in clades at all nested levels. Compared with a more widespread alpine black fly (Prosimulium neomacropyga) in the same region,M. coloradensisdemonstrated significantly less population genetic structure.

4. Although these results counterintuitively implicate limited ongoing gene flow driving current population structure, significant IBD may be a signature of historic gene flow, especially if migration–drift equilibrium has not yet been reached since a late‐Pleistocene fragmentation event. Extraordinarily dense local populations probably allowedM. coloradensisto maintain large effective population sizes and minimise genetic drift rates.

5. Despite large local populations,M. coloradensisis vulnerable to continued rapid environmental change because of its limited geographic distribution and high habitat specificity.
Spatial patterns of litter decomposition in the littoral zone of boreal lakes
Authors: LARMOLA TUULA , ALM JUKKA , JUUTINEN SARI , KOPPISCH DOROTHEA , AUGUSTIN JÜRGEN , MARTIKAINEN PERTTI J. , SILVOLA JOUKO
Published: October 2006

1. We studied the patterns of litter decomposition in lake littoral habitats and investigated whether decay rates, as an integrating proxy for environmental conditions in the sediment, would co‐vary with net carbon dioxide (CO2) exchange and methane (CH4) efflux. These gas fluxes are known to be sensitive to environmental conditions. Losses in the mass of cellulose, root, rhizome and moss litter were measured during 2 years in boreal littoral wetlands in Finland and compared with published data on concurrently measured gas fluxes. Four study sites covered a range of sediment types and hydrological conditions.

2. Decomposition was not linearly related to the duration of flooding but depended on sediment type. Readily decomposable litter fractions, such as cellulose and rhizome litter, lost mass at a faster rate in marshes with a longer period of flooding but wide water level fluctuations that hinder establishment of a Sphagnum cover, than in peat‐forming fens. In marshes, the mean first‐year mass losses were 83–99% and 19–62% for cellulose and rhizomes, respectively. In fens, the respective losses were 40–53% and 33%. In the first year, the loss in the mass of the more recalcitrant root litter did not differ between sites (mean 19–30%) and moss litter lost no mass.

3. The estimated first‐year carbon loss from belowground litter was about 0.1–0.3 times ecosystem respiration and roughly similar to net carbon gas (CO2, CH4) efflux, suggesting that vascular plants and recent plant residues contribute substantially to ecosystem release of carbon gases. On the other hand, at least 40% of the mass of the belowground litter remained on a littoral site after the first 2 years of decomposition. Slow decomposition may indicate the accumulation of organic‐rich sediments. The accumulated carbon could explain the excess CO2 release found in most littoral sites. In continuously inundated sites decomposition rates were similar to those in periodically flooded sites, but ecosystem‐atmosphere CO2 exchange fell to close to zero. This discrepancy implies that the released CO2 is dissolved in water and may be exported into the pelagic zone of the lake.
Pressure Ulcer: prevention protocols and prevalence
Authors: Wilborn Doris , Halfens Ruud , Dassen Theo
Published: October 2006

Aims and objectives  The aim of this paper is to analyse the protocols used in German hospitals and nursing homes for the prevention of pressure ulcers with regard to their contents and accordance with the national standard of the Deutsches Netzwerk für Qualitätsentwicklung in der Pflege (DNQP) and the European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (EPUAP) and Royal College of Nursing (RCN) guidelines. Additionally, it is to show the relation between the existence and contents of the protocols of pressure ulcer prevention and pressure ulcer prevalence in the institutions.

Methods  On a fixed date trained nursing staff gathers data regarding the frequency of pressure ulcers during a prevalence survey. The existence of a pressure ulcer is established by physical examination after the risk assessment with the Braden‐Scale. The patient’s or resident’s informed consent is a precondition for his or her participation in the survey. The protocols are available as hard copies on paper or electronic files.

Results  Only two out of the 21 protocols developed in‐house are completely concurrent with the expert standard. The EPUAP and RCN guidelines include the aspect of training and further education that is missing in the in‐house protocols and the DNQP expert standard. Evaluation of the data reveals that there is no relation between the availability of protocols and pressure ulcer prevalence. Neither is there any relation between the contents and pressure ulcer prevalence. The institutions currently developing protocols have the lowest prevalence rates.

Conclusion  It is obvious that, while developing in‐house protocols, the discussion about pressure ulcer prevention has led to a higher problem awareness in nurses and thus to an increased attentiveness in daily nursing practice which then results in improved outcomes. Two years after its publication, the expert standard is still not very well known, therefore this concentrated form of the most up‐to‐date knowledge is not available to all nursing staff as a basis for evidence‐based practice. In addition, the sometimes outdated knowledge of nursing staff impedes the implementation of evidence‐based practice guidelines. A systematic implementation strategy that assists guidelines being applied in practice is therefore required.