Substrate selection in endoplasmic reticulum protein quality control

Protein folding and maturation is a complex and error-prone process. Errors in this process may lead to deleterious effects ranging from non-functional single proteins to large-scale protein aggregation leading to cell death. It is essential for cellular function that protein misfolding does not occur unchecked, and therefore numerous chaperone systems exist within the cell. For the thousands of proteins which traffic through the secretory pathway, the primary site of folding and maturation is the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Multiple chaperone pathways within the ER, generally termed ER protein quality control, must support the proper maturation process of these thousands of substrates. While some simple secretory pathway proteins may be able to fold with minimal chaperone engagement, more complex proteins may commonly misfold even under native conditions, which is especially important for multi-cellular organisms which have larger and more complex secretory pathway proteomes. The chaperone pathways within the ER engage substrates based generally on features those substrates possess. These include hydrophobic regions, free cysteines, and N-glycans. However, which substrates are selected by each of these pathways is not well understood on a systematic level. The work presented here examines the chaperone selection process for a substrate which possess all features and demonstrates that substrate features do not dictate chaperone pathway engagement. As such, an understanding of which substrates are engaged by which pathway under endogenous conditions requires experimental determination. The N-glycan based chaperone pathway was next examined, and the substrates which heavily engage this process under endogenous conditions were described. This information allows for a previously lacking understanding of the folding and maturation process of many proteins and therefore presents possible interventions for the diseases and cellular functions associated with these proteins

Inheritability of the Right of Publicity Upon the Death of the Famous

After tracing the evolution of the right of publicity, this Recent Development focuses on these recent decisions confronting the issue of descendibility. This Recent Development then concludes that the right of publicity should be inheritable for a designated period of time and that inheritability should not depend upon previous exploitation of the right

The Role of Genomics in Tracking the Evolution of Influenza A Virus

Influenza A virus causes annual epidemics and occasional pandemics of short-term respiratory infections associated with considerable morbidity and mortality. The pandemics occur when new human-transmissible viruses that have the major surface protein of influenza A viruses from other host species are introduced into the human population. Between such rare events, the evolution of influenza is shaped by antigenic drift: the accumulation of mutations that result in changes in exposed regions of the viral surface proteins. Antigenic drift makes the virus less susceptible to immediate neutralization by the immune system in individuals who have had a previous influenza infection or vaccination. A biannual reevaluation of the vaccine composition is essential to maintain its effectiveness due to this immune escape. The study of influenza genomes is key to this endeavor, increasing our understanding of antigenic drift and enhancing the accuracy of vaccine strain selection. Recent large-scale genome sequencing and antigenic typing has considerably improved our understanding of influenza evolution: epidemics around the globe are seeded from a reservoir in East-Southeast Asia with year-round prevalence of influenza viruses; antigenically similar strains predominate in epidemics worldwide for several years before being replaced by a new antigenic cluster of strains. Future in-depth studies of the influenza reservoir, along with large-scale data mining of genomic resources and the integration of epidemiological, genomic, and antigenic data, should enhance our understanding of antigenic drift and improve the detection and control of antigenically novel emerging strains

Theoretical analysis for the apparent discrepancy between pbarp and pp data in charged particle forward-backward multiplicity correlations

The strength of charged particle forward-backward multiplicity correlation in pbar+p and p+p collisions at s^1/2 = 200 GeV is studied by PYTHIA 6.4 and compared to the UA5 and STAR data correspondingly. It is turned out that a factor of 3-4 apparent discrepancy between UA5 and STAR data can be attributed to the differences in detector acceptances and observing bin interval in both experiments. A mixed event method is introduced and used to calculate the statistical correlation strength and the dynamical correlation strengths stemming from the charge conservation, four- momentum conservation, and decay, respectively. It seems that the statistical correlation is much larger than dynamical one and the charge conservation, four-momentum conservation and decay may account for most part of the dynamical correlation. In addition, we have also calculated the correlation strength by fitting the charged particle multiplicity distribution from PYTHIA to the Negative Binomial Distribution and found that the result agrees well with the correlation strength calculated by mixed events.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Functionalised Microscale Nanoband Edge Electrode (MNEE) Arrays; the systematic quantitative study of hydrogels grown on nanoelectrode biosensor arrays for enhanced sensing in biological media

We demonstrate a hydrogel-coated nanoelectrode array biosensor that is resistant to biofouling.</p

Red-Cockaded Woodpecker Cavity Tree Damage by Hurricane Rita: An Evaluation of Contributing Factors

Picoides borealis (Red-cockaded Woodpecker) is an endangered species inhabiting pine savannas of the southeastern United States. Because the intensity of hurricanes striking the southeastern United States is likely to increase as global temperatures rise, it is important to identify factors contributing to hurricane damage to Red-cockaded Woodpecker cavity-trees. Our objectives were to examine the effects of landscape-level factors on wind damage to cavity-trees and assess the relative risk of wind damage for different tree species and trees with different types of cavities. We evaluated wind damage to cavity-trees from Hurricane Rita on the Angelina, Sabine, and Davy Crockett national forests in eastern Texas. Basal area and number of cavity-trees in a cluster were identified as factors influencing the likelihood of damage to a cavity-tree. The likelihood of damage increased with decreasing basal area and an increasing number of cavity trees in a cluster. The increase in damage associated with an increase in the number of cavity trees in a cluster likely reflects an increase in cluster area with more cavity-trees and the maintenance of lower basal areas in clusters to meet the habitat requirements of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers. Therefore, increasing basal area is not a reasonable management option because clusters will become unsuitable for Red-cockaded Woodpeckers. A higher proportion of trees with natural cavities were damaged than trees with artificial cavities in all three forests. A higher proportion of Pinus echinata (Shortleaf Pine) cavity-trees were damaged than Pinus palustris (Longleaf Pine) or Pinus taeda (Loblolly Pine) cavitytrees. Longleaf Pine cavity-trees were more likely to snap at the cavity, compared to a higher likelihood of wind throw for Shortleaf and Loblolly Pine cavity-trees. Restoring Longleaf Pine habitat and allowing stands to develop under lower tree densities could decrease the likelihood of damage to cavity-trees and the impact of hurricanes on Red-cockaded Woodpeckers