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We report measurements of single-particle inclusive spectra and two-particle azimuthal distributions of charged hadrons at high transverse momentum (high pT) in minimum bias and central d+Au collisions at sqrt[sNN]=200 GeV. The inclusive yield is enhanced in d+Au collisions relative to binary-scaled p+p collisions, while the two-particle azimuthal distributions are very similar to those observed in p+p collisions. These results demonstrate that the strong suppression of the inclusive yield and back-to-back correlations at high pT previously observed in central Au+Au collisions are due to final-state interactions with the dense medium generated in such collisions.
Pion-kaon correlation functions are constructed from central Au+Au STAR data taken at sqrt[sNN]=130 GeV by the STAR detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The results suggest that pions and kaons are not emitted at the same average space-time point. Space-momentum correlations, i.e., transverse flow, lead to a space-time emission asymmetry of pions and kaons that is consistent with the data. This result provides new independent evidence that the system created at RHIC undergoes a collective transverse expansion.
We report high statistics measurements of inclusive charged hadron production in Au+Au and p+p collisions at sqrt[sNN]=200 GeV. A large, approximately constant hadron suppression is observed in central Au+Au collisions for 5<pT<12 GeV/c. The collision energy dependence of the yields and the centrality and pT dependence of the suppression provide stringent constraints on theoretical models of suppression. Models incorporating initial-state gluon saturation or partonic energy loss in dense matter are largely consistent with observations. We observe no evidence of pT-dependent suppression, which may be expected from models incorporating jet attenuation in cold nuclear matter or scattering of fragmentation hadrons.
We present the results of charged particle fluctuations measurements in Au+Au collisions at sqrt[sNN ]=130 GeV using the STAR detector. Dynamical fluctuations measurements are presented for inclusive charged particle multiplicities as well as for identified charged pions, kaons, and protons. The net charge dynamical fluctuations are found to be large and negative providing clear evidence that positive and negative charged particle production is correlated within the pseudorapidity range investigated. Correlations are smaller than expected based on model-dependent predictions for a resonance gas or a quark-gluon gas which undergoes fast hadronization and freeze-out. Qualitative agreement is found with comparable scaled p+p measurements and a heavy ion jet interaction generation model calculation based on independent particle collisions, although a small deviation from the 1/N scaling dependence expected from this model is observed.
Data from the first physics run at the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory, Au+Au collisions at sqrt[sNN]=130 GeV, have been analyzed by the STAR Collaboration using three-pion correlations with charged pions to study whether pions are emitted independently at freeze-out. We have made a high-statistics measurement of the three-pion correlation function and calculated the normalized three-particle correlator to obtain a quantitative measurement of the degree of chaoticity of the pion source. It is found that the degree of chaoticity seems to increase with increasing particle multiplicity.
The balance function is a new observable based on the principle that charge is locally conserved when particles are pair produced. Balance functions have been measured for charged particle pairs and identified charged pion pairs in Au+Au collisions at sqrt[sNN]=130 GeV at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider using STAR. Balance functions for peripheral collisions have widths consistent with model predictions based on a superposition of nucleon-nucleon scattering. Widths in central collisions are smaller, consistent with trends predicted by models incorporating late hadronization.
Azimuthal anisotropy (v2) and two-particle angular correlations of high pT charged hadrons have been measured in Au+Au collisions at sqrt[sNN]=130 GeV for transverse momenta up to 6 GeV/c, where hard processes are expected to contribute significantly. The two-particle angular correlations exhibit elliptic flow and a structure suggestive of fragmentation of high pT partons. The monotonic rise of v2(pT) for pT<2 GeV/c is consistent with collective hydrodynamical flow calculations. At pT>3 GeV/c, a saturation of v2 is observed which persists up to pT=6 GeV/c.
Azimuthal anisotropy (v2) and two-particle angular correlations of high pT charged hadrons have been measured in Au+Au collisions at sqrt[sNN]=130 GeV for transverse momenta up to 6 GeV/c, where hard processes are expected to contribute significantly. The two-particle angular correlations exhibit elliptic flow and a structure suggestive of fragmentation of high pT partons. The monotonic rise of v2(pT) for pT<2 GeV/c is consistent with collective hydrodynamical flow calculations. At pT>3 GeV/c, a saturation of v2 is observed which persists up to pT=6 GeV/c.
Abstract Geant4 is a toolkit for simulating the passage of particles through matter. It includes a complete range of functionality including tracking, geometry, physics models and hits. The physics processes offered cover a comprehensive range, including electromagnetic, hadronic and optical processes, a large set of long-lived particles, materials and elements, over a wide energy range starting, in some cases, from 250 eV and extending in others to the TeV energy range. It has been designed and constructed to expose the physics models utilised, to handle complex geometries, and to enable its easy adaptation for optimal use in different sets of applications. The toolkit is the result of a worldwide collaboration of physicists and software engineers. It has been created exploiting software engineering and object-oriented technology and implemented in the C++ programming language. It has been used in applications in particle physics, nuclear physics, accelerator design, space engineering and medical physics. PACS: 07.05.Tp; 13; 23
Pentatomidae (Heteroptera) of Honduras : a checklist with description of a new ochlerine genus
(2003)
Through collecting, surveys of museum collections, and search of the literature, we are able to list 181 species of Pentatomidae as occurring within the boundaries of the Republic of Honduras. Most of these, 129, around 70%, are widespread in the American tropics. Twenty-nine species are new country records, reported for Honduras for the first time. Four species of pentatomids are endemic to Honduras including a new genus and species of ochlerine (Discocephalinae) herein described. Although a few species extend from South America into Honduras (the Gondwanan element), and a few from North America extend into Honduras (the Nearctic element), the most important faunal element is one which is native to nuclear Central America.
Japan and south eastern Australia have a large exotic flora in common, in spite of contrasting histories, physiographies and land-use patterns. There are some 187 common invading species and at least 71 of these are widespread in both locations. Some 15 widespread exotic invaders in Japan have not been recorded in Australia and a number of native Japanese plants that could be introduced as ornamentals and escape cultivation are noted. The incursion of most exotic species to Japan has been historically recent. The lack of quarantine for plants (apart from parasitic plants and plants infected with disease) coupled with large importations of wheat and soybeans from north America and contaminated grain and fodder for farm animals has led to an exponential rate of plant invasion in Japan. The apparent lack of impact of woody invading species in Japanese forests and forests margins may be due simply to the relatively short time invading species (some with long juvenile periods) have been naturalised.
We study the production of transversely polarized Λ hyperons in high-energy collisions of protons with large nuclei. The large gluon density of the target at saturation provides an intrinsic semi-hard scale which should naturally allow for a weak-coupling QCD description of the process in terms of a convolution of the quark distribution of the proton with the elementary quark–nucleus scattering cross section (resummed to all twists) and a fragmentation function. In this case of transversely polarized Λ production we employ a so-called polarizing fragmentation function, which is an odd function of the transverse momentum of the Λ relative to the fragmenting quark. Due to this kt-odd nature, the resulting Λ polarization is essentially proportional to the derivative of the quark–nucleus cross section with respect to transverse momentum, which peaks near the saturation momentum scale. Such processes might therefore provide generic signatures for high parton density effects and for the approach to the “black-body” (unitarity) limit of hadronic scattering.
We use a simple hard-core gas model to study the dynamics of small exploding systems. The system is initially prepared in a thermalized state in a spherical container and then allowed to expand freely into the vacuum. We follow the expansion dynamics by recording the coordinates and velocities of all particles until their last collision points (freeze-out). We have found that the entropy per particle calculated for the ensemble of freeze-out points is very close to the initial value. This is in apparent contradiction with the Joule experiment in which the entropy grows when the gas expands irreversibly into a larger volume.
In bioinformatics, biochemical pathways can be modeled by many differential equations. It is still an open problem how to fit the huge amount of parameters of the equations to the available data. Here, the approach of systematically learning the parameters is necessary. In this paper, for the small, important example of inflammation modeling a network is constructed and different learning algorithms are proposed. It turned out that due to the nonlinear dynamics evolutionary approaches are necessary to fit the parameters for sparse, given data. Proceedings of the 15th IEEE International Conference on Tools with Artificial Intelligence - ICTAI 2003
Introduction: This open label, multicentre study was conducted to assess the times to offset of the pharmacodynamic effects and the safety of remifentanil in patients with varying degrees of renal impairment requiring intensive care.
Methods: A total of 40 patients, who were aged 18 years or older and had normal/mildly impaired renal function (estimated creatinine clearance ≥ 50 ml/min; n = 10) or moderate/severe renal impairment (estimated creatinine clearance <50 ml/min; n = 30), were entered into the study. Remifentanil was infused for up to 72 hours (initial rate 6–9 μg/kg per hour), with propofol administered if required, to achieve a target Sedation–Agitation Scale score of 2–4, with no or mild pain.
Results: There was no evidence of increased offset time with increased duration of exposure to remifentanil in either group. The time to offset of the effects of remifentanil (at 8, 24, 48 and 72 hours during scheduled down-titrations of the infusion) were more variable and were statistically significantly longer in the moderate/severe group than in the normal/mild group at 24 hours and 72 hours. These observed differences were not clinically significant (the difference in mean offset at 72 hours was only 16.5 min). Propofol consumption was lower with the remifentanil based technique than with hypnotic based sedative techniques. There were no statistically significant differences between the renal function groups in the incidence of adverse events, and no deaths were attributable to remifentanil use.
Conclusion: Remifentanil was well tolerated, and the offset of pharmacodynamic effects was not prolonged either as a result of renal dysfunction or prolonged infusion up to 72 hours.
Sand mining has been responsible for much of the degradation of the indigenous flora of sand dunes in New South Wales, to the extent that authentic foredune plant communities are now uncommon in much of NSW and southern Queensland. Dune heaths are very susceptible to invasion and infestation by the weed, bitou bush (Chrysanthemoides monilifera subsp. rotunda). This paper compares the floristic composition of dunes in 1941 (before sand mining) and 1997 & 1999 (after sand mining and invasion by bitou bush), at Bennetts Beach, Hawks Nest, on the lower north coast of NSW. The 1941 data provide a unique example of authentic foredune vegetation and is the first quantitative analysis of coastal dune vegetation in NSW. In 1941, 25 native species were recorded in the 0.5 ha site. Nine of these were considered to be characteristic of dune communities and eight of these nine were also recorded in a 1939 survey at Myall Lakes. Four other studies in the intervening 60 years contain species lists of dune vegetation in this general area (1986, 1995, 1997 and 1999). Of a total of 17 species considered to be strongly associated with dune habitats, five were reported in all of six surveys and 15 occurred in one or more of the more recent surveys (1986 and later); the two exceptions were Austrofestuca littoralis and Senecio spathulatus. Only one introduced weed was recorded in 1941 (Cakile edentula) and the only weeds recorded in 1939 were Cakile edentula and Oxalis corniculata, both cosmopolitan species. Thirteen additional weed species, the most abundant being Chrysanthemoides monilifera, were recorded in the more recent surveys. A set of 14 native species that are more typical of heath and eucalypt forest and woodland communities than of the dunes were absent in the 1939 and 1941 surveys but occurred in one or more of the post-mining surveys of 1995, 1997 and 1999. Detailed plant distribution and abundance were assessed in the same part of Bennetts Beach in 1941, 1997 and 1999. All show some patterns of zonation across the sand dune. However, clear phytosociological patterns of the dominant species that were obvious in 1941 were lacking in the 1997 and 1999 analyses. These contrasts suggest that post-mining revegetation has resulted in weed invasion, addition of native species from other communities, and a disruption of the distributions of typical dune species of species across the sand dunes that has been only partially recovered since sand mining and invasion of bitou bush.
Receptor tyrosine kinases of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor family regulate essential cellular functions such as proliferation, survival, migration, and differentiation but also play central roles in the etiology and progression of tumors. We have identified short peptide sequences from a random peptide library integrated into the thioredoxin scaffold protein, which specifically bind to the intracellular domain of the EGF receptor (EGFR). These molecules have the potential to selectively inhibit specific aspects of EGF receptor signaling and might become valuable as anticancer agents. Intracellular expression of the aptamer encoding gene construct KDI1 or introduction of bacterially expressed KDI1 via a protein transduction domain into EGFR-expressing cells results in KDI1·EGF receptor complex formation, a slower proliferation, and reduced soft agar colony formation. Aptamer KDI1 did not summarily block the EGF receptor tyrosine kinase activity but selectively interfered with the EGF-induced phosphorylation of the tyrosine residues 845, 1068, and 1148 as well as the phosphorylation of tyrosine 317 of p46 Shc. EGF-induced phosphorylation of Stat3 at tyrosine 705 and Stat3-dependent transactivation were also impaired. Transduction of a short synthetic peptide aptamer sequence not embedded into the scaffold protein resulted in the same impairment of EGF-induced Stat3 activation.
Recently, we reported that in crude enzyme preparations, a monocyte-derived soluble protein (M-DSP) renders 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) activity Ca2+-dependent. Here we provide evidence that this M-DSP is glutathione peroxidase (GPx)-1. Thus, the inhibitory effect of the M-DSP on 5-LO could be overcome by the GPx-1 inhibitor mercaptosuccinate and by the broad spectrum GPx inhibitor iodoacetate, as well as by addition of 13(S)-hydroperoxy-9Z,11E-octadecadienoic acid (13(S)-HPODE). Also, the chromatographic characteristics and the estimated molecular mass (80-100 kDa) of the M-DSP fit to GPx-1 (87 kDa), and GPx-1, isolated from bovine erythrocytes, mimicked the effects of the M-DSP. Intriguingly, only a trace amount of thiol (10 micro M GSH) was required for reduction of 5-LO activity by GPx-1 or the M-DSP. Moreover, the requirement of Ca2+ allowing 5-LO product synthesis in various leukocytes correlated with the respective GPx-1 activities. Mutation of the Ca2+ binding sites within the C2-like domain of 5-LO resulted in strong reduction of 5-LO activity by M-DSP and GPx-1, also in the presence of Ca2+. In summary, our data suggest that interaction of Ca2+ at the C2-like domain of 5-LO protects the enzyme against the effect of GPx-1. Apparently, in the presence of Ca2+, a low lipid hydroperoxide level is sufficient for 5-LO activation.
A total of thirteen mosses are reported as new for Chile: Aloinella andina Delgad., Coscinodontella bryanii R.S. Williams, Didymodon acutus (Brid.) K. Saito, Erythrophyllopsis fuscula (Müll. Hal.) Hilp., Fissidens excurrentinervis R.S. Williams, Grimmia molesta J. Muñoz, Grimmia pseudoanodon Deguchi, Jaffueliobryum williamsii (Deguchi) Delgad., Leptopteriginandrum austroalpinum Müll. Hal., Pseudocrossidium elatum (R.S. Williams) Delgad., Rhexophyllum subnigrum (Mitt.) Hilp., Saitobryum lorentzii (Müll. Hal.) Ochyra, and Syntrichia fragilis (Taylor) Ochyra. In addition, Grimmia plagiopodia Hedw., which was previosly known from Southern Chile, is reported ca. 3500 km more to the north, near the Bolivian border.
The transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP) plays a key role in the adaptive immune response by pumping antigenic peptides into the endoplasmic reticulum for subsequent loading of major histocompatibility complex class I molecules. TAP is a heterodimer consisting of TAP1 and TAP2. Each subunit is composed of a transmembrane domain and a nucleotide-binding domain, which energizes the peptide transport. To analyze ATP hydrolysis of each subunit we developed a method of trapping 8-azido-nucleotides to TAP in the presence of phosphate transition state analogs followed by photocross-linking, immunoprecipitation, and high resolution SDS-PAGE. Strikingly, trapping of both TAP subunits by beryllium fluoride is peptide-specific. The peptide concentration required for half-maximal trapping is identical for TAP1 and TAP2 and directly correlates with the peptide binding affinity. Only a background level of trapping was observed for low affinity peptides or in the presence of the herpes simplex viral protein ICP47, which specifically blocks peptide binding to TAP. Importantly, the peptide-induced trapped state is reached after ATP hydrolysis and not in a backward reaction of ADP binding and trapping. In the trapped state, TAP can neither bind nor exchange nucleotides, whereas peptide binding is not affected. In summary, these data support the model that peptide binding induces a conformation that triggers ATP hydrolysis in both subunits of the TAP complex within the catalytic cycle.
Sensitivity of output of a linear operator to its input can be quantified in various ways. In Control Theory, the input is usually interpreted as disturbance and the output is to be minimized in some sense. In stochastic worst-case design settings, the disturbance is considered random with imprecisely known probability distribution. The prior set of probability measures can be chosen so as to quantify how far the disturbance deviates from the white-noise hypothesis of Linear Quadratic Gaussian control. Such deviation can be measured by the minimal Kullback-Leibler informational divergence from the Gaussian distributions with zero mean and scalar covariance matrices. The resulting anisotropy functional is defined for finite power random vectors. Originally, anisotropy was introduced for directionally generic random vectors as the relative entropy of the normalized vector with respect to the uniform distribution on the unit sphere. The associated a-anisotropic norm of a matrix is then its maximum root mean square or average energy gain with respect to finite power or directionally generic inputs whose anisotropy is bounded above by a >= 0. We give a systematic comparison of the anisotropy functionals and the associated norms. These are considered for unboundedly growing fragments of homogeneous Gaussian random fields on multidimensional integer lattice to yield mean anisotropy. Correspondingly, the anisotropic norms of finite matrices are extended to bounded linear translation invariant operators over such fields.
Tetratheca juncea Smith (family Tremandraceae) is a terrestrial herbaceous plant now mainly found in the Lake Macquarie area of coastal NSW and listed as Vulnerable under Schedule 2 of the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995. This study carried out from July 2001 to June 2002 records the observation and identification of two species of native bee buzz-pollinating its flowers and describes a direct relationship between the first appearance of a pollinator and the commencement of seed set. Findings from this study with respect to the pollination ecology of Tetratheca juncea are:
• There is a strong flowering period from September to January, though a number of flowers can be found on some plants across the geographic range of the plant in all months of the year;
• Two species of native bee Lasioglossum convexum and Exoneura sp, were confirmed collecting pollen from the flowers by way of buzz pollination;
• Fruiting only occurred in coincidence with flower pollination by these bees;
• Flowering, seed set and seed release was a concurrent process while ever the bees were active;
• The bees are polylectic and the sexual reproductive process in Tetratheca juncea appears to be pollinator-limited.
As major sources of reactive oxygen species (ROS), mitochondrial structures are exposed to high concentrations of ROS and may therefore be particularly susceptible to oxidative damage. Mitochondrial damage could play a pivotal role in the cell death decision. A decrease in mitochondrial energy charge and redox state, loss of transmembrane potential (depolarization), mitochondrial respiratory chain impairment, and release of substances such as calcium and cytochrome c all contribute to apoptosis. These mitochondrial abnormalities may constitute a part of the spectrum of chronic oxidative stress in Alzheimer's disease. Accumulation of amyloid beta (Abeta) in form of senile plaques is also thought to play a central role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease mediated by oxidative stress. In addition, increasing evidence shows that Abeta generates free radicals in vitro, which mediate the toxicity of this peptide. In our study, PC12 cells were used to examine the protective features of EGb 761(definition see editorial) on mitochondria stressed with hydrogen peroxide and antimycin, an inhibitor of complex III. In addition, we investigated the efficacy of EGb 761 in Abeta-induced MTT reduction in PC12 cells. Moreover, we examined the effects of EGb 761 on ROS levels and ROS-induced apoptosis in lymphocytes from aged mice after in vivo administration. Here, we will report that EGb 761 was able to protect mitochondria from the attack of hydrogen peroxide, antimycin and Abeta. Furthermore, EGb 761 reduced ROS levels and ROS-induced apoptosis in lymphocytes from aged mice treated orally with EGb 761 for 2 weeks. Our data further emphasize neuroprotective properties of EGb 761, such as protection against Abeta-toxicity, and antiapoptotic properties, which are probably due to its preventive effects on mitochondria.
Obstacle detection is an important part of Video Processing because it is indispensable for a collision prevention of autonomously navigating moving objects. For example, vehicles driving without human guidance need a robust prediction of potential obstacles, like other vehicles or pedestrians. Most of the common approaches of obstacle detection so far use analytical and statistical methods like motion estimation or generation of maps. In the first part of this contribution a statistical algorithm for obstacle detection in monocular video sequences is presented. The proposed procedure is based on a motion estimation and a planar world model which is appropriate to traffic scenes. The different processing steps of the statistical procedure are a feature extraction, a subsequent displacement vector estimation and a robust estimation of the motion parameters. Since the proposed procedure is composed of several processing steps, the error propagation of the successive steps often leads to inaccurate results. In the second part of this contribution it is demonstrated, that the above mentioned problems can be efficiently overcome by using Cellular Neural Networks (CNN). It will be shown, that a direct obstacle detection algorithm can be easily performed, based only on CNN processing of the input images. Beside the enormous computing power of programmable CNN based devices, the proposed method is also very robust in comparison to the statistical method, because is shows much less sensibility to noisy inputs. Using the proposed approach of obstacle detection in planar worlds, a real time processing of large input images has been made possible.
The proton-pumping NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase (complex I) couples the transfer of electrons from NADH to ubiquinone with the translocation of protons across the membrane. Electron transfer is accomplished by FMN and a series of iron-sulfur clusters. Its coupling with proton translocation is not yet understood. Here, we report that the redox reaction of the FeS cluster N2 located on subunit NuoB of the Escherichia coli complex I induces a protonation/deprotonation of tyrosine side chains. Electrochemically induced FT-IR difference spectra revealed characteristic tyrosine signals at 1,515 and 1,498 cm−1 for the protonated and deprotonated form, respectively. Mutants of three conserved tyrosines on NuoB were generated by complementing a chromosomal in-frame deletion strain with nuoB on a plasmid. Though the single mutations did not alter the electron transport activity of complex I, the EPR signal of cluster N2 was slightly shifted. The tyrosine signals detected by FT-IR spectroscopy were roughly halved in the mutants Y114C and Y139C while only minor changes were detected in the Y154H mutant. The enzymatic activity of the Y114C/Y139F double mutant was 80% reduced, and FT-IR difference spectra of the double mutant revealed a complete loss the modes characteristic for protonation reactions of tyrosines. Therefore, we propose that tyrosines 114 and 139 on NuoB were protonated upon reduction of cluster N2 and were thus involved in the proton-transfer reaction coupled with its redox reaction.
By establishing the date of its first publication, Noserus Foerster, 1863 (Hymenoptera, Braconidae) is shown to be a junior primary homonym of Noserus LeConte, 1862 (Coleoptera, Zopheridae). The substitute name for Noserus Foerster is that of its subjective synonym, Pachystigmus Hellén, 1927 [type species: Pachystigmus nitidulus Hellén, 1927]. Other described species in the genus are: Pachystigmus facialis (Foerster, 1863) New Combination; P. similis (Szépligeti, 1896) New Combination, P. nitidulus Hellén, 1927, P. gigas (Tobias, 1964)New Combination, P. occipitalis (Belokobylskij, 1986) New Combination, P. olgensis (Belokobylskij, 1994) New Combination, and P. sculpturator (Belokobylskij, 1999) New Combination.
Manual of tropical bryology
(2003)
Bryophytes belong to the oldest land plants. They existed already in the Palaeozoic 300 mio years ago in forms which were hardly different from the extant species. They remained relatively unchanged with relatively low evolution rates (and are thus often called a „conservative“ plant group), but could successfully establish themselves in an always varying environment from Devonian swamps to Permian forests, Mesozoic deserts and as epiphytes in Tertiary rainforests. They are not eaten by snails or insects, and are resistant against fungi and bacteria.
Women’s Megilla Reading
(2003)
The renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system plays a pivotal role in the regulation of salt and water homeostasis. Here, we demonstrate the expression and functional role of cGMP-dependent protein kinases (PKGs) in rat adrenal cortex. Expression of PKG II is restricted to adrenal zona glomerulosa (ZG) cells, whereas PKG I is localized to the adrenal capsule and blood vessels. Activation of the aldosterone system by a low sodium diet up-regulated the expression of PKG II, however, it did not change PKG I expression in adrenal cortex. Both, activation of PKG II in isolated ZG cell and adenoviral gene transfer of wild type PKG II into ZG cells enhanced aldosterone production. In contrast, inhibition of PKG II as well as infection with a PKG II catalytically inactive mutant had an inhibitory effect on aldosterone production. Steroidogenic acute regulatory (StAR) protein that regulates the rate-limiting step in steroidogenesis is a new substrate for PKG II and can be phosphorylated by PKG II in vitro at serine 55/56 and serine 99. Stimulation of aldosterone production by PKG II in contrast to stimulation by PKA did not activate StAR gene expression in ZG cells. The results presented indicate that PKG II activity in ZG cells is important for maintaining basal aldosterone production.
Mitochondrial proton-translocating NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase (complex I) couples the transfer of two electrons from NADH to ubiquinone to the translocation of four protons across the mitochondrial inner membrane. Subunit PSST is the most likely carrier of iron-sulfur cluster N2, which has been proposed to play a crucial role in ubiquinone reduction and proton pumping. To explore the function of this subunit we have generated site-directed mutants of all eight highly conserved acidic residues in the Yarrowia lipolytica homologue, the NUKM protein. Mutants D99N and D115N had only 5 and 8% of the wild type catalytic activity, respectively. In both cases complex I was stably assembled but electron paramagnetic resonance spectra of the purified enzyme showed a reduced N2 signal (about 50%). In terms of complex I catalytic activity, almost identical results were obtained when the aspartates were individually changed to glutamates or to glycines. Mutations of other conserved acidic residues had less dramatic effects on catalytic activity and did not prevent assembly of iron-sulfur cluster N2. This excludes all conserved acidic residues in the PSST subunit as fourth ligands of this redox center. The results are discussed in the light of the structural similarities to the homologous small subunit of water-soluble [NiFe] hydrogenases.
Tetrahydrobiopterin, a critical factor in the production and role of nitric oxide in mast cells
(2003)
Mast cells (MC) are biologically potent, ubiquitously distributed immune cells with fundamental roles in host integrity and disease. MC diversity and function is regulated by exogenous nitric oxide; however, the production and function of endogenously produced NO in MC is enigmatic. We used rat peritoneal MC (PMC) as an in vivo model to examine intracellular NO production. Live cell confocal analysis of PMC using the NO-sensitive probe diaminofluorescein showed distinct patterns of intracellular NO formation with either antigen (Ag)/IgE (short term) or interferon-γ (IFN-γ) (long term). Ag/IgE-induced NO production is preceded by increased intracellular Ca2+, implying constitutive nitric-oxide synthase (NOS) activity. NO formation inhibits MC degranulation. NOS has obligate requirements for tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4), a product of GTP-cyclohydrolase I (CHI), IFN-γ-stimulated PMC increased CHI mRNA, protein, and enzymatic activity, while decreasing CHI feedback regulatory protein mRNA, causing sustained NO production. Treatment with the CHI inhibitor, 2,4-diamino-6-hydroxypyrimidine, inhibited NO in both IFN-γ and Ag/IgE systems, increasing MC degranulation. Reconstitution with the exogenous BH4 substrate, sepiapterin, restored NO formation and inhibited exocytosis. Thus, Ag/IgE and IFN-γ induced intracellular NO plays a key role in MC mediator release, and alterations in NOS activity via BH4 availability may be critical to the heterogeneous responsiveness of MC.
The breeding systems of the rainforest shrubs Hicksbeachia pinnatifolia and Triunia youngiana were studied in north-east New South Wales, where the former is listed as a vulnerable species. Hicksbeachia pinnatifolia flowered in winter and spring, and produced an average of 36 inflorescences per plant with 155 flowers per inflorescence (5580 flowers per plant). Inflorescences initiated and matured only a small number of fruits (c. 1–2 per inflorescence) in self-pollinated and open-pollinated treatments. This compared to about 17 fruits initiated and 4 fruits matured per inflorescence when cross-pollinated. Triunia youngiana flowered in spring and produced an average of 3 inflorescences per plant containing 23 flowers per inflorescence (69 flowers per plant). Plants were unable to initiate any fruit in autogamy and self-pollinated treatments. Plants in a cross-pollination treatment produced over three times as many fruit (3.5 matured per plant) compared to a control treatment (0.8 per plant), suggesting that plants were pollen-limited. Both treatments experienced substantial (80%) fruit abortion. These results indicate that Triunia youngiana is self-incompatible whereas Hicksbeachia pinnatifolia appears to be partially self-compatible.
Transverse activity of kaons and deconfinement phase transition in nucleus–nucleus collisions
(2003)
We found that the experimental results on transverse mass spectrum of kaons produced in central Pb+Pb (Au+Au) collisions show an anomalous dependence on the colliding energy. The inverse slope of the spectrum increases with the energy in the low (AGS) and high (RHIC) energy domains, whereas it remains constant in the intermediate (SPS) energy range. We argue that this anomaly is probably caused by the modification of the equation of state in the transition region between confined and deconfined matter. This observation may be considered as a new signal, in addition to the previously reported anomalies in the pion and strangeness production, of the onset of deconfinement located in the low SPS energy domain.
We investigate unary regular languages and compare deterministic finite automata (DFA’s), nondeterministic finite automata (NFA’s) and probabilistic finite automata (PFA’s) with respect to their size. Given a unary PFA with n states and an e-isolated cutpoint, we show that the minimal equivalent DFA has at most n exp 1/2e states in its cycle. This result is almost optimal, since for any alpha < 1 a family of PFA’s can be constructed such that every equivalent DFA has at least n exp alpha/2e states. Thus we show that for the model of probabilistic automata with a constant error bound, there is only a polynomial blowup for cyclic languages. Given a unary NFA with n states, we show that efficiently approximating the size of a minimal equivalent NFA within the factor sqrt(n)/ln n is impossible unless P = NP. This result even holds under the promise that the accepted language is cyclic. On the other hand we show that we can approximate a minimal NFA within the factor ln n, if we are given a cyclic unary n-state DFA.
Wallum and related vegetation on the NSW North Coast : description and phytosociological analysis
(2003)
Wallum is the regionally distinct vegetation on coastal dunefields, beach ridge plains and sandy backbarrier flats in subtropical northern NSW and southern Queensland (22°S to 33°S). This study examined floristic patterns in the wallum and allied vegetation along 400 km of coastline in north-eastern NSW. Floristic and environmental data were compiled for 494 quadrats allocated on the basis of air photo pattern and latitude. A phytosociological classification displayed strong congruence with an initial classification based upon photo pattern, especially for single stratum vegetation, thereby suggesting that API (air photo interpretation) is a valuable technique for the recognition of floristic assemblages. The utility of API for depicting the spatial distribution of tallest stratum species in multi-stratum vegetation was also confirmed. Nonetheless, photo signatures of the tallest stratum are less satisfactory as surrogates for identifying noda for the full complement of species in multi-stratum vegetation. Ordination supported the numerical classification, and reinforced the value of API for capturing meaningful biological and environmental data. Plant – environment relationships were examined for a range of variables. The consistent trend to emerge was a comparatively strong correlation between floristic composition and topographic position, and in some instances also between floristic composition and geology. Mean species richness at the 25 m2 scale was lower in wetter habitats, although differences were not consistently significant.
After the introduction of the pottery tradition of La Hoguette and contemporaneous research on Earliest LBK about 10 to 15 years ago, research onthe spread of farming in Central Europe had somewhat stagnated; there were hardly any major advances in factual knowledge, nor could theoretical models be refined. In the last few years, however, an abundance of new data has appeared, partly deriving from botanical and anthropological analyses. Furthermore, newly available results from excavations in European Russia widenour understanding of the manifold and complex changes occurring during the latter 7th and 6th millennium cal BC.
"Back to basics" : a cognitive analysis of conversion de-adjectival nominalisation in English
(2003)
Quest and query: interpreting a biographical interview with a turkish woman laborer in Germany
(2003)
Hülya, a young woman who came to Germany from Turkey at the age of 17 in pursuit of a better life looks back at the age of 31. In her biographical query she relates her experiences to a social commentary on the hard and inhuman conditions of contract labor. At the same time she is critical of the common sense notions that suffering and social problems are the main consequences of labor migration. In our analytical query of "doing biographical analysis" we discuss how we interpreted Hülya's narrative and commentary in socio-historical context and also in relation to the discourse on migration from Turkey. We looked for terms to analyze agency and suffering within biographical accounts without giving priority to either of them. Referring to the analysis of another case and to the concept of "twofold perspectivity" we describe how both suffering and also pursuing one's potential are negotiated in biographical quests and queries.
In this article we propose that there are two universal properties for phonological stop assibilations, namely (i) assibilations cannot be triggered by /i/ unless they are also triggered by /j/, and (ii) voiced stops cannot undergo assibilations unless voiceless ones do. The article presents typological evidence from assibilations in 45 languages supporting both (i) and (ii). It is argued that assibilations are to be captured in the Optimality Theoretic framework by ranking markedness constraints grounded in perception which penalize sequences like [ti] ahead of a faith constraint which militates against the change from /t/ to some sibilant sound. The occurring language types predicted by (i) and (ii) will be shown to involve permutations of the rankings between several different markedness constraints and the one faith constraint. The article demonstrates that there exist several logically possible assibilation types which are ruled out because they would involve illicit rankings.
Glide formation, a process whereby an underlying high front vowel is realized as a palatal glide, is shown to occur only in unstressed prevocalic position in German, and to be blocked by specific surface restrictions such as *ji and *“j. Traditional descriptions of glide formation (including derivational as well as Optimality theoretic approaches) refer to the syllable in order to capture its conditions. The present study illustrates that glide formation (plus the distribution of long and short tense /i/) in German can better be captured in a Functional Phonology account (Boersma 1998) which makes reference to stress instead of the syllable and thus overcomes problems of former approaches.
Measurements of OH, total peroxy radicals, non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) and various other trace gases were made at the Meteorological Observatory Hohenpeissenberg in June 2000. The data from an intensive measurement period characterised by high solar insolation (18-21 June) are analysed. The maximum midday OH concentration ranged between 4.5x106 molecules cm-3 and 7.4x106 molecules cm-3. The maximum total ROx (ROx =OH+RO+HO2+RO2) mixing ratio increased from about 55 pptv on 18 June to nearly 70 pptv on 20 and 21 June. A total of 64 NMHCs, including isoprene and monoterpenes, were measured every 1 to 6 hours. The oxidation rate of the NMHCs by OH was calculated and reached a total of over 14x106 molecules cm-3 s-1 on two days. A simple photostationary state balance model was used to simulate the ambient OH and peroxy radical concentrations with the measured data as input. This approach was able to reproduce the main features of the diurnal profiles of both OH and peroxy radicals. The balance equations were used to test the effect of the assumptions made in this model. The results proved to be most sensitive to assumptions about the impact of unmeasured volatile organic compounds (VOC), e.g. formaldehyde (HCHO), and about the partitioning between HO2 and RO2. The measured OH concentration and peroxy radical mixing ratios were reproduced well by assuming the presence of 3 ppbv HCHO as a proxy for oxygenated hydrocarbons, and a HO2/ RO2 ratio between 1:1 and 1:2. The most important source of OH, and conversely the greatest sink for peroxy radicals, was the recycling of HO2 radicals to OH. This reaction was responsible for the recycling of more than 45x106 molecules cm-3 s-1 on two days. The most important sink for OH, and the largest source of peroxy radicals, was the oxidation of NMHCs, in particular, of isoprene and the monoterpenes.
U.S. investors hold much less international stock than is optimal according to mean–variance portfolio theory applied to historical data. We investigated whether this home bias can be explained by Bayesian approaches to international asset allocation. In comparison with mean–variance analysis, Bayesian approaches use different techniques for obtaining the set of expected returns by shrinking the sample means toward a reference point that is inferred from economic theory. Applying the Bayesian approaches to the field of international diversification, we found that a substantial home bias can be explained when a U.S. investor has a strong belief in the global mean–variance efficiency of the U.S. market portfolio, and in this article, we show how to quantify the strength of this belief. We also found that one of the Bayesian approaches leads to the same implications for asset allocation as the mean–variance/tracking-error criterion. In both cases, the optimal portfolio is a combination of the U.S. market portfolio and the mean–variance-efficient portfolio with the highest Sharpe ratio.
Information is provided on the taxonomy and distribution of 40 species of naturalised or naturalising plants newly recorded for New South Wales during the period 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2001. These species are: Abrus precatorius subsp. precatorius, Acacia pulchella var. pulchella, Agave vivipara, Alnus glutinosa, Berberis thunbergii, Bryophyllum daigremontianum x Bryophyllum delagoense, Callisia fragrans, Celtis sinensis, Chamaesyce ophthalmica, Cotoneaster ?horizontalis, Cupressus arizonica, Cylindropuntia arbuscula, Cylindropuntia leptocaulis, Cylindropuntia spinosior, Cylindropuntia tunicata, Cyperus teneristolon, Deutzia crenata, Erica arborea, Erica glandulosa, Geranium robertianum, Hieracium murorum species group, Hippeastrum puniceum hybrid, Hyacinthoides non-scripta, Hypericum kouytchense, Hypericum patulum, Jacaranda mimosifolia, Jasminum polyanthum, Juglans regia, Justicia betonica, Koelreuteria formosana, Myagrum perfoliatum, Oenothera biennis, Pinus durangensis (naturalising), Pinus nigra var. corsicana, Schinus terebinthifolius, Scorpiurus muricatus, Tillandsia usneoides, Triadica sebifera, Viola riviniana and Vitis vinifera s. lat.
String theory suggests the existence of a minimum length scale. An exciting quantum mechanical implication of this feature is a modification of the uncertainty principle. In contrast to the conventional approach, this generalised uncertainty principle does not allow to resolve space–time distances below the Planck length. In models with extra dimensions, which are also motivated by string theory, the Planck scale can be lowered to values accessible by ultra high energetic cosmic rays (UHECRs) and by future colliders, i.e., Mf≈ 1 TeV. It is demonstrated that in this novel scenario, short distance physics below 1/Mf is completely cloaked by the uncertainty principle. Therefore, Planckian effects could be the final physics discovery at future colliders and in UHECRs. As an application, we predict the modifications to the e+e−→f+f− cross-sections.
Recent calculations applying statistical mechanics indicate that in a setting with compactified large extra dimensions a black hole might evolve into a (quasi-)stable state with mass close to the new fundamental scale Mf. Black holes and therefore their relics might be produced at the LHC in the case of extra-dimensional topologies. In this energy regime, Hawking's evaporation scenario is modified due to energy conservation and quantum effects. We reanalyse the evaporation of small black holes including the quantisation of the emitted radiation due to the finite surface of the black hole. It is found that observable stable black hole relics with masses ∼1–3Mf would form which could be identified by a delayed single jet with a corresponding hard momentum kick to the relic and by ionisation, e.g., in a TPC.
During the past two centuries massive land use changes in Australia have altered fire regimes, changed hydrology, increased soil salinity and nutrient levels, and altered abundance and distributions of animals with which native plants interact. Such changes to plant habitats may induce changes in range of indigenous plant species. We need to consider very carefully how to treat native species that naturalise outside their previous ranges. The spread of Pittosporum undulatum in the Sydney region provides a case study for considering approaches to this question.
The vegetation of Arakoola Nature Reserve (3189 ha), 29°17’S, 150°48’E, 100 km north-west of Inverell, in north western New South Wales is described. Seven vegetation communities are defined based on flexible UPGMA analysis of cover-abundance scores of all vascular plant taxa. These communities are mapped based on ground-truthing, air photo interpretation and geological substrate. They are: Community 1: Eucalyptus albens (White Box) – Eucalyptus melanophloia (Silver-leaved Ironbark) Basalt Woodland, Community 2: Angophora leiocarpa (Smooth-barked Apple) – Corymbia dolichocarpa (Long-fruited Bloodwood) Sandstone Woodland, Community 3: Angophora leiocarpa (Smoothbarked Apple) – Eucalyptus macrorhyncha (Red Stringybark) Woodland, Community 4: Chloris truncata (Windmill Grass) Grassland, Community 5: Herbfield/Sedgeland, Community 6: Eucalyptus camaldulensis (Red Gum) – Eucalyptus melliodora (Yellow Box) Riparian Woodland, Community 7: Angophora floribunda (Rough-barked Apple) – Callistemon viminalis (Weeping Bottlebrush) Riparian Woodland.
There are 23 taxa considered significant within Arakoola Nature Reserve including the twining herb Desmodium campylocaulon and the shrub Pomaderris queenslandica (listed as Endangered under the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act), and the grasses Dichantheum setosum and Bothriochloa biloba, and the perennial herbs Goodenia macbarroni and Thesium australe (all listed as Vulnerable under the TSC Act). A comprehensive species list of about 450 plant species is given for the Nature Reserve.
The vegetation of Ironbark Nature Reserve (1603 ha) and Bornhardtia Voluntary Conservation Agreement (704 ha), 75 km north west of Armidale, 30 km north east of Barraba (30°19’S, 150°53’E) in the Barraba Shire, in the Northern Tablelands Bioregion NSW, is described. Eleven communities are defined based on flexible UPGMA analysis of coverabundance scores of all vascular plant taxa. These communities are mapped based on ground truthing, air photo interpretation and substrate. All communities are simple in structure being primarily of woodlands or shrublands.
Communities described are: (1) Eucalyptus macrorhyncha (Red Stringybark) – Eucalyptus blakelyi (Red Gum) Woodlands, (2) Eucalyptus caleyi (Caley’s Ironbark) – Eucalyptus andrewsii (Western New England Blackbutt) Woodlands, (3) Eucalyptus prava (Orange Gum) – Eucalyptus andrewsii (Western New England Blackbutt) Woodlands, (4) Eucalyptus dealbata (Tumbledown Gum) – Eucalyptus caleyi (Caley’s Ironbark) Woodlands, (5) Eucalyptus prava (Orange Gum) – Eucalyptus blakelyi (Red Gum) Woodlands, (6) Eucalyptus quinniorum (Quinn’s Gum) – Eucalyptus prava (Orange Gum) Forests, (7) Angophora floribunda (Rough-barked Apple) – Eucalyptus blakelyi (Red Gum) Woodlands, (8) Casuarina cunninghamiana (River Oak) – Eucalyptus blakelyi (Red Gum) – Angophora floribunda (Apple) Forests, (9) Calytrix tetragona (Fringe Myrtle) – Ozothamnus obcordatus (Daisy Bush) Open Shrublands, (10) Homoranthus bornhardtiensis Open Shrublands and (11) Leptospermum polygalifolium (Tea-tree) Wetland.
All communities described here are inadequately represented in the conservation network with one (White-Box – Yellow-Box – Blakely's Red Gum Woodland) listed as endangered on the NSW TSC Act. Both conservation areas and neighbouring parcels of land contain extensive areas of little disturbed high quality "old growth". 38 species are of conservation significance of which one is listed as Vulnerable and one Endangered on the NSW TSC Act. The broader remnant is under increasing pressure for clearing for grazing production and the combined area of both reserves is considered to be inadequate to protect the significant features of the local region.
Renal mesangial cells express high levels of matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) in response to inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-1β. We demonstrate here that the stable ATP analog adenosine 5′-O-(thiotriphosphate) (ATPγS) potently amplifies the cytokine-induced gelatinolytic content of mesangial cells mainly by an increase in the MMP-9 steady-state mRNA level. A Luciferase reporter gene containing 1.3 kb of the MMP-9 5′-promoter region showed weak responses to ATPγS but confered a strong ATP-dependent increase in Luciferase activity when under the additional control of the 3′-untranslated region of MMP-9. By in vitro degradation assay and actinomycin D experiments we found that ATPγS potently delayed the decay of MMP-9 mRNA. Gel-shift and supershift assays demonstrated that three AU-rich elements (AREs) present in the 3′-untranslated region of MMP-9 are constitutively bound by complexes containing the mRNA stabilizing factor HuR. The RNA binding of these complexes was markedly increased by ATPγS. Mutation of each ARE element strongly impaired the RNA binding of the HuR containing complexes. Reporter gene assays revealed that mutation of one ARE did not affect the stimulatory effects by ATPγS, but mutation of all three ARE motifs caused a loss of ATP-dependent increase in luciferase activity without affecting IL-1β-inducibility. By confocal microscopy we demonstrate that ATPγS increased the nucleo cytoplasmic shuttling of HuR and caused an increase in the cytosolic HuR level as shown by cell fractionation experiments. Together, our results indicate that the amplification of MMP-9 expression by extracellular ATP is triggered through mechanisms that likely involve a HuR-dependent rise in MMP-9 mRNA stability.
Pin1 is a peptidyl-prolyl cis/trans isomerase (PPIase) essential for cell cycle regulation. Pin1-catalyzed peptidyl-prolyl isomerization provides a key conformational switch to activate phosphorylation sites with the common phospho-Ser/Thr-Pro sequence motif. This motif is ubiquitously exploited in cellular response to a variety of signals. Pin1 is able to bind phospho-Ser/Thr-Pro-containing sequences at two different sites that compete for the same substrate. One binding site is located within the N-terminal WW domain, which is essential for protein targeting and localization. The other binding site is located in the C-terminal catalytic domain, which is structural homologous to the FK506-binding protein (FKBP) class of PPIases. A flexible linker of 12 residues connects the WW and catalytic domain. To characterize the structure and dynamics of full-length Pin1 in solution, high resolution NMR methods have been used to map the nature of interactions between the two domains of Pin1. In addition, the influence of target peptides on domain interactions has been investigated. The studies reveal a dynamic picture of the domain interactions. 15N spin relaxation data, differential chemical shift mapping, and residual dipolar coupling data indicate that Pin1 can either behave as two independent domains connected by the flexible linker or as a single intact domain with some amount of hinge bending motion depending on the sequence of the bound peptide. The functional importance of the modulation of relative domain flexibility in light of the multitude of interaction partners of Pin1 is discussed.
The ABC transporter Mdl1p, a structural and functional homologue of the transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP) plays an important role in intracellular peptide transport from the mitochondrial matrix of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. To characterize the ATP hydrolysis cycle of Mdl1p, the nucleotide-binding domain (NBD) was overexpressed in Escherichia coli and purified to homogeneity. The isolated NBD was active in ATP binding and hydrolysis with a turnover of 25 ATP per minute and a Km of 0.6 mm and did not show cooperativity in ATPase activity. However, the ATPase activity was non-linearly dependent on protein concentration (Hill coefficient of 1.7), indicating that the functional state is a dimer. Dimeric catalytic transition states could be trapped either by incubation with orthovanadate or beryllium fluoride, or by mutagenesis of the NBD. The nucleotide composition of trapped intermediate states was determined using [alpha-32P]ATP and [gamma-32P]ATP. Three different dimeric intermediate states were isolated, containing either two ATPs, one ATP and one ADP, or two ADPs. Based on these experiments, it was shown that: (i) ATP binding to two NBDs induces dimerization, (ii) in all isolated dimeric states, two nucleotides are present, (iii) phosphate can dissociate from the dimer, (iv) both nucleotides are hydrolyzed, and (v) hydrolysis occurs in a sequential mode. Based on these data, we propose a processive-clamp model for the catalytic cycle in which association and dissociation of the NBDs depends on the status of bound nucleotides.
This short overview reviews, in the first part, some of the most important fields of investigation where studies on Galician have contributed to variational linguistics, including macro- and micro-sociolinguistic studies (sections 1-3). The second part (sections 4-7) postulates some possible theoretical and empirical areas which we recommend to be included in future research. We propose a critical application of new models of linguistic variation, including recent frameworks such as studies on grammaticalisation, OT, intonational phonology, etc., but also call for the inclusion of established insights into language variation common in the European tradition. The high concentration of research institutions and the strongly dynamic situation of contemporary Galician could serve as an empirical touchstone for these theoretical frameworks, and Galician linguistics should apply them in a critical, flexible and creative way. This means that research on Galician will not only learn from theory but also contribute to it. We also briefly mention some of the areas where the studies of Galician have already contributed some important results to an overall perspective on linguistic variation.
In this paper we propose a compositional semantics for lexicalized tree-adjoining grammar (LTAG). Tree-local multicomponent derivations allow separation of the semantic contribution of a lexical item into one component contributing to the predicate argument structure and a second component contributing to scope semantics. Based on this idea a syntax-semantics interface is presented where the compositional semantics depends only on the derivation structure. It is shown that the derivation structure (and indirectly the locality of derivations) allows an appropriate amount of underspecification. This is illustrated by investigating underspecified representations for quantifier scope ambiguities and related phenomena such as adjunct scope and island constraints.
Atovaquone is a substituted 2-hydroxynaphthoquinone that is used therapeutically to treat Plasmodium falciparum malaria, Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, and Toxoplasma gondii toxoplasmosis. It is thought to act on these organisms by inhibiting the cytochrome bc1 complex. We have examined the interaction of atovaquone with the bc1 complex isolated from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a surrogate, nonpathogenic fungus. Atovaquone inhibits the bc1 complex competitively with apparent Ki = 9 nm, raises the midpoint potential of the Rieske iron-sulfur protein from 285 to 385 mV, and shifts the g values in the EPR spectrum of the Rieske center. These results indicate that atovaquone binds to the ubiquinol oxidation pocket of the bc1 complex, where it interacts with the Rieske iron-sulfur protein. A computed energy-minimized structure for atovaquone liganded to the yeast bc1 complex suggests that a phenylalanine at position 275 of cytochrome b in the bovine bc1 complex, as opposed to leucine at the equivalent position in the yeast enzyme, is responsible for the decreased sensitivity of the bovine bc1 complex (Ki = 80 nm) to atovaquone. When a L275F mutation was introduced into the yeast cytochrome b, the sensitivity of the yeast enzyme to atovaquone decreased (Ki = 100 nm) with no loss in activity, confirming that the L275F exchange contributes to the differential sensitivity of these two species to atovaquone. These results provide the first molecular description of how atovaquone binds to the bc1 complex and explain the differential inhibition of the fungal versus mammalian enzymes.
Old masters and new frameworks : a pilot analysis of selected semantic changes in the field economy
(2003)
Na,K-ATPase mediates net electrogenic transport by extruding three Na+ ions and importing two K+ ions across the plasma membrane during each reaction cycle. We mutated putative cation coordinating amino acids in transmembrane hairpin M5-M6 of rat Na,K-ATPase: Asp776 (Gln, Asp, Ala), Glu779 (Asp, Gln, Ala), Asp804 (Glu, Asn, Ala), and Asp808 (Glu, Asn, Ala). Electrogenic cation transport properties of these 12 mutants were analyzed in two-electrode voltage-clamp experiments on Xenopus laevis oocytes by measuring the voltage dependence of K+-stimulated stationary currents and pre-steady-state currents under electrogenic Na+/Na+ exchange conditions. Whereas mutants D804N, D804A, and D808A hardly showed any Na+/K+ pump currents, the other constructs could be classified according to the [K+] and voltage dependence of their stationary currents; mutants N776A and E779Q behaved similarly to the wild-type enzyme. Mutants E779D, E779A, D808E, and D808N had in common a decreased apparent affinity for extracellular K+. Mutants N776Q, N776D, and D804E showed large deviations from the wild-type behavior; the currents generated by mutant N776D showed weaker voltage dependence, and the current-voltage curves of mutants N776Q and D804E exhibited a negative slope. The apparent rate constants determined from transient Na+/Na+ exchange currents are rather voltage-independent and at potentials above -60 mV faster than the wild type. Thus, the characteristic voltage-dependent increase of the rate constants at hyperpolarizing potentials is almost absent in these mutants. Accordingly, dislocating the carboxamide or carboxyl group of Asn776 and Asp804, respectively, decreases the extracellular Na+ affinity.
The large majority of the isoglosses which can be established in the South Slavic dialectal area date from the time of the disintegration of Common Slavic and from more recent periods (e.g., Ivi´c 1958: 25ff). The isoglosses have often shifted in the course of the centuries, so that their original position cannot always be determined. In this study I shall concentrate upon the dialectal differences which originated before the 10th century. At that time, Slavic was still a largely uniform language, though it was certainly not completely homogeneous.
In her discussion of the Japanese adversative passive, Anna Wierzbicka writes (1988: 260): “The problem is extremely interesting and important both for intrinsic reasons and because of its wider methodological implications. It can be formulated like this: if one form can be used in a number of different ways, are we entitled to postulate for it a number of different meanings or should we rather search for one semantic common denominator (regarded as the MEANING of the form in question) and attribute the variety of uses to the interaction between this meaning and the linguistic or extralinguistic context?” Though it “may seem obvious” that the second stand is “methodologically preferable” (261), she takes the first position and concludes that “the Japanese passive has to be recognized as multiply ambiguous” (286). In the following I intend to show that this view is both wrong and fruitful.
S.R. Ramsey writes (1979: 162): "The patterning of tone marks in Old Kyoto texts divides the vocabulary into virtually the same classes as those arrived at by comparing the accent distinctions found in the modern dialects. This means that the Old Kyoto dialect had a pitch system similar to that of proto-Japanese. The standard language of the Heian period may not actually be the ancestor of all the dialects of Japan, but at least as far as the accent system is concerned, it is close enough to the proto system to be used as a working model. The significance of this fact is important: It means that each of the dialects included in the comparison has as much to tell, at least potentially, as any other dialect about Old Kyoto accent."
The first and second instars of Lecanodiaspis tingtunensis are described and illustrated. First instars are distinguished from other species of Lecanodiaspis by the arrangement of dorsal 8-shaped pores in six complete longitudinal rows and a partial row in the thoracic region and the number of labial, anal plate, and spiracular setae. Second instars are dimorphic with males possessing well developed 5-segmented legs, dorsal tubular ducts, and long hair-like setae on the venter between the antennae and on the abdominal segments. Females have fewer 8-shaped pores in transverse rows on the dorsum, as well as legs reduced to stubs and only one pair of hair-like medial setae on the venter.
The main purpose of the paper is to explain the divergent paths of development of ethno-territorial protest movements in modern democratic political systems. By focusing on the interaction between these movements and the state, the different systems of accommodation between the relevant regional and central elites will be analyzed. The study concentrates on the case studies of Québec (Canada) and Corsica (France). The paper is divided into three parts. The first part describes the traditional systems of accommodation in France and Canada. The second part is focused on the process of socio-economic modernization in the 1950s and 1960s in those countries that threatened the established patterns of elite accommodation. The third part deals with the consequences for the established patterns of elite-accommodation and new concepts of territorial management that the central states tried to establish. By looking at the different degrees of centralization and decentralization in the mentioned political systems, the question of access to the political system by new social and political actors will be discussed in detail.
Qiang
(2003)
Abrasion-ablation models and the empirical EPAX parametrization of projectile fragmentation are described. Their cross section predictions are compared to recent data of the fragmentation of secondary beams of neutron-rich, unstable 19,20,21O isotopes at beam energies near 600 MeV/nucleon as well as data for stable 17,18O beams.
There is evidence that endothelial nitric-oxide synthase (eNOS) is regulated by reciprocal dephosphorylation of Thr497 and phosphorylation of Ser1179. To examine the interrelationship between these sites, cells were transfected with wild-type (WT), T497A, T497D, S1179D, and T497A/S1179D eNOS and activity, NO release and eNOS localization were assessed. Although eNOS T497A, S1179D and T497A/S1179D eNOS had greater enzymatic activity than did WT eNOS in lysates, basal production of NO from cells was markedly reduced in cells transfected with T497A and T497A/S1179D eNOS but augmented in cells transfected with S1179D eNOS. Stimulating cells with ATP or ionophore normalized the loss of function seen with T497A and T497A/S1179D eNOS to levels observed with WT and S1179D eNOS, respectively. Despite these functional differences, the localization of eNOS mutants were similar to WT. Because both T497A and T497A/S1179D eNOS exhibited higher enzyme activity but reduced production of NO, we examined whether these mutations were “uncoupling” NO synthesis. T497A and T497A/S1179D eNOS generated 2-3 times more superoxide anion than WT eNOS, and both basal and stimulated interactions of T497A/S1179D eNOS with hsp90 were reduced in co-immunoprecipitation experiments. Thus, the phosphorylation/dephosphorylation of Thr497 may be an intrinsic switch mechanism that determines whether eNOS generates NO versus superoxide in cells.
In an attempt to more consistently apply generic concepts, 13 species of Mordellidae are transferred to different genera. Mordellistena bihamata (Melsheimer) and Mordellistena discolor (Melsheimer) are transferred to Falsomordellistena Ermisch, 1941, while 11 species (Mordellistena ancilla LeConte, Mordellistena floridensis Smith, Mordellistena guttulata Helmuth, Mordellistena impatiens LeConte, Mordellistena infima LeConte, Mordellistena lecontei Ermisch, Mordellistena minutalis Liljeblad, Mordellistena nigricans Melsheimer, Mordellistena parva Liljeblad, Mordellistena semiusta LeConte, and Mordellistena testacea Blatchley) are transferred to Mordellina Schilsky, 1908. Two species, Mordellistena rufa Liljeblad and Mordellina ustulata (LeConte), are proposed as junior synonyms of Mordellina ancilla (LeConte).
A three-year survey of Wisconsin Mordellidae (Coleoptera) encompassing a compilation of data from literature records and local collections as well as field work including trapping, hand-collecting, and rearing yielded 68 species comprising 14 genera in three tribes. Sixty-three species (92% of Wisconsin fauna) represent new state species records, not previously recorded from the state in the literature. Plant-associations and state-specific temporal and spatial distribution data for larvae and adults are noted as available. Distributional records suggest 16 additional species and one additional genus are likely to occur in Wisconsin.
Signal transducer and activator of transcription 5 (STAT5) is a transcription factor that activates prolactin (PRL)-dependent gene expression in the mammary gland. For the activation of its target genes, STAT5 recruits coactivators like p300 and the CREB-binding protein (CBP). In this study we analyzed the function of p300/CBP-associated members of the p160/SRC/NCoA-family in STAT5-mediated transactivation of β-casein expression. We found that only one of them, NCoA-1, acts as a coactivator for both STAT5a and STAT5b. The two coactivators p300/CBP and NCoA-1 cooperatively enhance STAT5a-mediated transactivation. For NCoA-1-dependent coactivation of STAT5, both the activation domain 1 and the amino-terminal bHLH/PAS domain are required. The amino-terminal region mediates the interaction with STAT5a in cells. A motif of three amino acids in an α-helical region of the STAT5a-transactivation domain is essential for the binding of NCoA-1 and for the transcriptional activity of STAT5a. Moreover we observed that NCoA-1 is involved in the synergistic action of the glucocorticoid receptor and STAT5a on the β-casein promoter. These findings support a model in which STAT5, in concert with the glucocorticoid receptor, recruits a multifunctional coactivator complex to initiate the PRL-dependent transcription.
Mapping interactions between the Ca2+-ATPase and its substrate ATP with infrared spectroscopy
(2003)
Infrared spectroscopy has been used to map substrate-protein interactions: the conformational changes of the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPase upon nucleotide binding and ATPase phosphorylation were monitored using the substrate ATP and ATP analogues (2'-deoxy-ATP, 3'-deoxy-ATP, and inosine 5'-triphosphate), which were modified at specific functional groups of the substrate. Modifications to the 2'-OH, the 3'-OH, and the amino group of adenine reduce the extent of binding-induced conformational change of the ATPase, with particularly strong effects observed for the latter two. This demonstrates the structural sensitivity of the nucleotide-ATPase complex to individual interactions between nucleotide and ATPase. All groups studied are important for binding and interactions of a given ligand group with the ATPase depend on interactions of other ligand groups. Phosphorylation of the ATPase was observed for ITP and 2'-deoxy-ATP, but not for 3'-deoxy-ATP. There is no direct link between the extent of conformational change upon nucleotide binding and the rate of phosphorylation showing that the full extent of the ATP-induced conformational change is not mandatory for phosphorylation. As observed for the nucleotide-ATPase complex, the conformation of the first phosphorylated ATPase intermediate E1PCa(2) also depends on the nucleotide, indicating that ATPase states have a less uniform conformation than previously anticipated.
Mechanisms by which subvisible cirrus clouds (SVCs) might contribute to dehydration close to the tropical tropopause are not well understood. Recently Ultrathin Tropical Tropopause Clouds (UTTCs) with optical depths around 10-4 have been detected in the western Indian ocean. These clouds cover thousands of square kilometers as 200-300 m thick distinct and homogeneous layer just below the tropical tropopause. In their condensed phase UTTCs contain only 1-5% of the total water, and essentially no nitric acid. A new cloud stabilization mechanism is required to explain this small fraction of the condensed water content in the clouds and their small vertical thickness. This work suggests a mechanism, which forces the particles into a thin layer, based on upwelling of the air of some mm/s to balance the ice particles, supersaturation with respect to ice above and subsaturation below the UTTC. In situ measurements suggest that these requirements are fulfilled. The basic physical properties of this mechanism are explored by means of a single particle model. Comprehensive 1-D cloud simulations demonstrate this stabilization mechanism to be robust against rapid temperature fluctuations of +/- 0.5 K. However, rapid warming (Delta T > 2 K) leads to evaporation of the UTTC, while rapid cooling (Delta T < -2 K) leads to destabilization of the particles with the potential for significant dehydration below the cloud
Mechanisms by which subvisible cirrus clouds (SVCs) might contribute to dehydration close to the tropical tropopause are not well understood. Recently Ultrathin Tropical Tropopause Clouds (UTTCs) with optical depths around 10−4 have been detected in the western Indian ocean. These clouds cover thousands of square kilometers as 200–300 m thick distinct and homogeneous layer just below the tropical tropopause. In their condensed phase UTTCs contain only 1–5% of the total water, and essentially no nitric acid. A new cloud stabilization mechanism is required to explain this small fraction of the condensed water content in the clouds and their small vertical thickness. This work suggests a mechanism, which forces the particles into a thin layer, based on upwelling of the air of some mm/s to balance the ice particles, supersaturation with respect to ice above and subsaturation below the UTTC. In situ measurements suggest that these requirements are fulfilled. The basic physical properties of this mechanism are explored by means of a single particle model. Comprehensive 1-D cloud simulations demonstrate this stabilization mechanism to be robust against rapid temperature fluctuations of +/−0.5 K. However, rapid warming (ΔT>2 K) leads to evaporation of the UTTC, while rapid cooling (ΔT<−2 K) leads to destabilization of the particles with the potential for significant dehydration below the cloud.
Different interaction modes of two cytochrome-c oxidase soluble CuA fragments with their substrates
(2003)
Cytochrome-c oxidase is the terminal enzyme in the respiratory chains of mitochondria and many bacteria and catalyzes the formation of water by reduction of dioxygen. The first step in the cytochrome oxidase reaction is the bimolecular electron transfer from cytochrome c to the homobinuclear mixed-valence CuA center of subunit II. In Thermus thermophilus a soluble cytochrome c552 acts as the electron donor to ba3 cytochrome-c oxidase, an interaction believed to be mainly hydrophobic. In Paracoccus denitrificans, electrostatic interactions appear to play a major role in the electron transfer process from the membrane-spanning cytochrome c552. In the present study, soluble fragments of the CuA domains and their respective cytochrome c electron donors were analyzed by stopped-flow spectroscopy to further characterize the interaction modes. The forward and the reverse electron transfer reactions were studied as a function of ionic strength and temperature, in all cases yielding monoexponential time-dependent reaction profiles in either direction. From the apparent second-order rate constants, equilibrium constants were calculated, with values of 4.8 and of 0.19, for the T. thermophilus and P. denitrificans c552 and CuA couples, respectively. Ionic strength strongly affects the electron transfer reaction in P. denitrificans indicating that about five charges on the protein interfaces control the interaction, when analyzed according to the Brønsted equation, whereas in the T. thermophilus only 0.5 charges are involved. Overall the results indicate that the soluble CuA domains are excellent models for the initial electron transfer processes in cytochrome-c oxidases.
The reproduction of culture in dictionaries constitutes one of the fundamental prob-lems of lexicographers today. What is the nature of cultural data in dictionaries? To what extent should cultural aspects be transferred from one language to another? How should this transfer take place? This article attempts to discuss the relevance of the reproduction of Gabonese cultural aspects in dictionaries in French and the Gabonese languages. One of the main problems the compilers of these dictionaries encountered was the transfer and the translation of some cultural aspects. In order to discuss the nature and extent of cultural information in Gabonese dictionaries, this article will restrict itself to the following points: — The translation of different realities — The role of culture in the change of meaning — Dictionaries and cultural activities — Dictionaries and cultural ethics — Dictionaries and language registers — Dictionaries and culture maintenance — Dictionaries and the standardization of culture Prior to a discussion of the above-mentioned points, a brief description of the dictionaries investi-gated will be given. After a description of the influence of cultural contexts on lexicographers in the choice of macrostructural elements and their treatment, cultural differences between source and target languages in the dictionaries of Gabonese languages are discussed. The article concludes with the observation that the majority of existing lexicographic works tend to survey the full vocabulary of the language. The lexicographic treatment of some words is satisfactory because an account of the underlying worldview of the people is given. For example, in this article, the fol-lowing themes are considered: dietary practices, sexuality, mythology, traditional pharmacopoeia, the kinship system, hospitality, and respect for traditional authority and elders. However, to be used in the most efficient way, these lexicographic publications need to be revised.
Nomenclatorial corrections are proposed for 9 cases of homonymy and 5 cases of synonymy in the Dasytidae and Malachiidae. For the homonyms, the following new names are proposed: Aplocnemus montbabor Mayor, new name, for A. baborensis Pic 1922; Dasytes loboensis Mayor, new name, for D. nevadensis Pic 1954; Dasyte sminor Mayor, new name, for D. minutus Casey 1895; Amalthocuspici Mayor, new name, for A. metallicus (Pic 1955); Attalus tribandipennis Mayor, new name, for A. tricoloripennis Pic 1927; Attalus ulkei Mayor, new name, for A. laevicollis (Horn 1872); Laiuscephalus Mayor, new name, for L. verticalis Fairmaire; Sphinginopalpus mpumalangaensis Mayor, new name, for S. nigriceps Wittmer 1994; Sphinginopalpus rufinotus Mayor, new name, for S. rufithorax Wittmer 1994. Scelopristis Mayor new genus, is proposed for the species of Pristocelis LeConte 1862, a junior synonym of Trichochrous Motschulsky 1860; the available name Hadrocnemus Kraatz 1895 is proposed for the species of Apalochrus Erichson 1840 a senior objective synonym of Paritinus Abeille de Perrin 1891. The following new subjective synonyms are proposed: Pristoscelis Le Conte 1862 is a junior synonym of Trichochrous Motschulsky 1860; Anthocomus (Paremballus) Abeille de Perrin 1891 is a junior synonym of Anthocomus (Anthocomus) Erichson 1840; Anthocomus (Neotrotus) Abeille de Perrin 1891 is a juniorsynonym of Anthocomus (Celidus) Mulsant and Rey 1867; Amanicollops Pic 1908 is a junior synonym of Hadrocnemus Kraatz 1895. Paratinus Abeille de Perrin 1891 is a junior objective synonym of Apalochrus Erichson 1840). New combinations for North American species from Attalus Erichson, Anthocomus Erichson, Microlipus LeConte and Tanaops LeConte formalized here were suggested by Mayor (2002). The Characters indicating the close relationship of Neadasytes Hatch 1962 to Dasytastes Casey 1895, and of Paradasytes Hatch 1962 to Dasytellus Casey 1895 are discussed. Afrocolotes Wittmer 1960 and Olistherarthrus Champion 1922, listed as synonyms of Temnopsophus Horn 1872 by Evers (1989: 6), are here considered distinct genera. These changes are proposed here so that they can be included in a world catalog in preparation.
The vegetation of the Central Division of New South Wales (lat. 31°–33° S, long. 146° 30’–149° E) was classified and mapped (Cobar–Nyngan–Gilgandra, Nymagee–Narromine–Dubbo 1:250 000 mapsheets) as part of the NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service wheat-belt mapping series. The vegetation classification was derived using traditional air photo interpretation and quantitative analysis of data from 428 field sites. Analyses included hierarchical classification in PATN to define floristic groups, then Fidel and ANOSIM to elucidate the characteristic species of the groups and explore the consistency of these relationships at various levels of similarity. Maps and descriptions show the floristic composition and structure, the geographic distribution of assemblages, the current extent, and shape and degree of connectivity of vegetation and changes in native woody vegetation cover over time.
22 vegetation units were defined, 19 were woodlands and forests dominated by eucalypts including Eucalyptus populnea subsp. bimbil — P4 Poplar Box Woodlands and P16 Simple Poplar Box Woodlands; Eucalyptus largiflorens — R3 Black Box Woodlands; Eucalyptus microcarpa — P12 Woodlands on Jurassic Sandstone and P13 Grey Box Woodlands; Eucalyptus camaldulensis — R1 River Red Gum Forests and Woodlands; Eucalyptus intertexta — P14 Red Box, Poplar Box and Pine Woodlands, U1 Red Box, Poplar Box, Pine and Green Mallee Woodlands and U2 Red Box, Poplar Box and Pine Woodlands on Granite Hillslopes; Eucalyptus dwyeri — U3 Dwyer’s Red Gum Low Open Woodland on Granite Crests, H1 Dwyer’s Red Gum, Ironbark and Green Mallee Woodlands and H9 Dwyer’s Red Gum Open Woodlands on Granite Hills; Eucalyptus viridis — H2 Green Mallee Woodlands; Eucalyptus morrisii — H6 Grey Mallee Open Woodlands; Mallee — H7 Mallee Woodlands on Rolling Hills and P1 Mallee Woodlands on Plains; Eucalyptus dealbata — H8 Tumble-down Red Gum Woodlands on Basalt Hills; and Eucalyptus chloroclada — P15 Dirty Red Gum, Pine and Poplar Box Woodlands. These eucalypt woodlands exhibit diversity in structure and associated species composition. Two tall open shrublands of Acacia pendula — R5 Myall Woodlands and Flindersia maculosa — P11 Leopardwood Open Shrublands and a woodland dominated by Callitris glaucophylla — P6 White Cypress Pine Woodlands are included in the mapping.
The current extent of native woody vegetation is 1.2 million ha (29%) of the total 4.1 million ha study area. Over a period of 15 years approximately 130 000 ha or 10% of the extant vegetation was cleared. Only four of the 22 vegetation units are represented in conservation reserves. These reserves are not considered to adequately represent the diversity of the vegetation units they contain nor do they comprehensively represent the diversity of the vegetation. Threatening processes including; continued clearing, changing water regimes, habitat fragmentation, over-grazing by domestic, feral and native animals, nutrient enrichment, compaction of soil, firewood collection and weed invasion operate in this predominantly agricultural landscape, all of which have implications for the long-term persistence of the vegetation of the area.
First results on the production of Xi- and Anti-xi hyperons in Pb+Pb interactions at 40 A GeV are presented. The Anti-xi/Xi- ratio at midrapidity is studied as a function of collision centrality. The ratio shows no significant centrality dependence within statistical errors; it ranges from 0.07 to 0.15. The Anti-xi/Xi- ratio for central Pb+Pb collisions increases strongly with the collision energy.
The Great Spotted Woodpecker is the most common and best-known woodpecker species in the W Palearctic. The sections Habitat, Distribution, Population, Movements, Food, Social pattern and behaviour, Voice, Breeding, Plumages, Bare parts, Moults, Measurements, Weights, and Geographical variation have been updated or completely rewritten, and a new section has been added on Conservation. High flexibility enables the Great Spotted Woodpecker to utilize a great variety of habitats, from Arctic taiga through boreal and temperate to Mediterranean (N Africa and Canary Islands) and Alpine forest zones, wherever there are mature trees of any sort with sufficient growth to accommodate nest-holes and with a supply of available food. The Distribution and Population sections include new data of population tendencies, with stable or positive trends in most European countries and fluctuating populations in N Europe. Recent negative range trends with small decreases only in S Europe, apparently due to loss of wooded habitats. The Conservation section presents literature on the Great Spotted Woodpecker as the key or umbrella species for secondary cavity-nesting species. This section also demonstrates the importance of woodpeckers as indicators for naturally dynamic forests with tree species diversity, forest management, and sustainable forestry. Woodpeckers can be part of a monitoring system of e.g. sustainable forestry, but species from other organism groups are also required. The section on Movements has been updated with new data on dispersal and summer/autumn and spring migration. The Great Spotted Woodpecker uses a very wide and varied diet and is characterized as a 'universalist' in food-gathering; pecking and hammering are most important in autumn and winter, gleaning and probing are important at times of high food availability at the tree surface in spring and summer. It takes arthropods and insect larvae, coniferous seeds and various nuts mainly in autumn and winter, and drills holes for sap-sucking in spring, takes surface dwelling arthropods and caterpillars, bird eggs and nestlings, and fruits and berries in spring and summer. The Social pattern and behaviour section presents new data on the mating system, parental effort, pair-bond, divorce rate, survival rate, and mortality. Great Spotted Woodpeckers are socially and genetically monogamous with a potential to polyandry, which was recorded in Japan. Changes of partner between seasons common. Males usually invest more in nesthole construction and guarding than the females and contribute the same amount or more to brood care. Males usually incubate and brood at night, as with all studied woodpeckers, and defend territories, which seem to be important for female choice. Females compete intensely for access to males and perform male-like courtship behaviours such as drumming. Great Spotted Woodpeckers are intelligent and currently doing damage to house facades. The Voice section presents mainly new data on calls and instrumental signals of the young. The Breeding section has been updated with new information about nest-sites, breeding behaviour, and breeding success. New data on age determination are shown in the Bare parts and Moults sections. Additional data are provided on size and weight.
We study properties of compact stars with the deconfinement phase transition in their interiors. The equation of state of cold baryon-rich matter is constructed by combining a relativistic mean-field model for the hadronic phase and the MIT Bag model for the deconfined phase. In a narrow parameter range two sequences of compact stars (twin stars), which differ by the size of the quark core, have been found. We demonstrate the possibility of a rapid transition between the twin stars with the energy release of about 1052 ergs. This transition should be accompanied by the prompt neutrino burst and the delayed gamma-ray burst.
Collections of mosses have been made from the 911 metre high Gunung (Mount) Serapi in Sarawak. A total of 77 species in 37 genera within 17 families were discovered and are enumerated below. Five species are reported for the first time for Borneo: Aerobryidium aureonitens (Hook. ex Schwägr.)Broth., Distichophyllum schmidtii Broth., Mitthyridium fasciculatum subsp obtusifolium (Lindb.) M.Menzel, Papillidiopsis complanata (Dixon) W.R.Buck & B.C.Tan and Trichosteleum stigmosum Mitt. Seventeen species are new records for Sarawak. One family, Bartramiaceae, and 3 genera, Aerobryidium, Leucoloma, Philonotis, are new to Sarawak. The largest family is Calymperaceae, with 6 genera and 21 species, followed by Sematophyllaceae, with 10 genera and 19 species.
Three species of Anastrepha from upper Amazonia are described or redescribed and illustrated. They are considered closely related and are placed in the A. caudata species group. Anastrepha caudata Stone 1942 is redescribed based on the holotype, the only known specimen. Its type locality is probably São Paulo de Olivença in Amazonas, Brazil, not the state or city of São Paulo as previously assumed. Anastrepha hendeliana Lima 1934, new status, is removed from synonymy with A. longicauda Lima 1934 based on specimens from Brazil (Amazonas and Rondonia) and Colombia (Caquetá). The female is described for the first time. Anastrepha brunnealata, n. sp., is described from specimens from Venezuela (Amazonas) and probably Peru (Loreto). Anastrepha longicauda Lima is placed in the dentata species group.
Fresh seeds of the endangered Hakea dohertyi Haegi (Proteaceae) germinated at 15°C (with 12 hour light) within 14 days. At higher temperatures (20°, 25°C) seeds were slower to germinate. After 28 days only 5% of seeds germinated at 30°C, but when moved to 15°C, close to 100% of seeds germinated within 14 days. Having established optimum germination conditions, the effects of ex situ storage conditions and duration were examined. Storage at low moisture content appeared to have little effect on the germinability of Hakea dohertyi seeds and this species can be considered orthodox in that respect. Seeds stored at 4.5 or 9% moisture content, 5 or -20°C and tested after 1 and 7 years of storage achieved close to 100% germination. Issues relating to the in situ and ex situ conservation of Hakea dohertyi are discussed.
Gammiella ceylonensis (Broth. in Herzog) W.R.Buck & B.C.Tan is the only species of the genus in Africa. Clastobryella pusilla (Thér.) Wijk & Margad., recorded from Madagascar, the only member of the genus still recorded on the moss checklist for Africa, is a synonym of Gammiella ceylonensis. Clastobryella foliicola P.de la Varde is not a synonym of Gammiella ceylonensis but probably an Ectropothecium, thus removing the only west African record for Gammiella. An extension of range into South Africa is also noted, so Gammiella is now known from east and southern Africa and Madagascar.
The nine species and two varieties of Schoenobryum reported for Africa were investigated, and no characters were found that uniquely identified any of the taxa to be other than the pantropical Schoenobryum concavifolium. The following nine names become new synonyms of S. concavifolium: Cryphaea madagassa, C. subintegra, Acrocryphaea robusta, A. latifolia, A. subrobusta, A. tisserantii, A. latifolia var. microspora, A. plicatula and A. subintegra var. idanreense; a lectotype is selected for Acrocryphaea latifolia var. microspora P.de la Varde.
12 hepatics and 32 mosses are reported new to Uganda, 1 moss being also new to Africa, and 1 liverwort new to mainland Africa. Ectropothecium plumigerum (Broth.) Hedenäs is a new combination (basionym: Isopterygium plumigerum Broth.) with a new synonym Taxicaulis plumirameus Müll.Hal. nom. nud., and Taxiphyllum maniae (Renauld & Paris) M. Fleisch. is a new synonym of Taxiphyllum taxirameum (Mitt.) M.Fleisch. Three mosses are removed from the Uganda list.
A taxonomic study of the Staphylinid subfamily Aleocharinae of the Australian Region is presented, including a critical revision of 14 typical series, the lectotype of which is designated when necessary. 10 new genera are deseribed (3 in Athetini, 2 in Thamiaraeini, and 5 in Oxypodini) and 38 species (3 in Gyrophaenini, 2 in Bolitocharini, 4 in Diestotini, 21 in Athetini, 5 in Thamiaraeini, and 3 in Oxypodini). New combinations are proposed for 12 species (l in Homalotini, 1 in Diestotini, 3 in Athetini, 6 in Oxypodini, and 1 in Aleocharini). The genus Correa Fauvel is considered junior synonym of the genus Aleochara. Every new genus and species is described and illustrated.
In this paper we provide an account of the historical development of Polish and Russian sibilants. The arguments provided here are of theoretical interest because they show that (i) certain allophonic rules are driven by the need to keep contrasts perceptually distinct, (ii) (unconditioned) sound changes result from needs of perceptual distinctiveness, and (iii) perceptual distinctiveness can be extended to a dass of consonants, i.e. the sibilants. The analysis is cast within Dispersion Theory by providing phonetic and typological data supporting the perceptual distinctiveness claims we make.