One-step isolation and biochemical characterization of a highlyactive plant PSII monomeric core

We describe a one-step detergent solubilization protocol for isolating a highly active form of Photosystem II (PSII) from Pisum sativum L. Detailed characterization of the preparation showed that the complex was a monomer having no light harvesting proteins attached. This core reaction centre complex had, however, a range of low molecular mass intrinsic proteins as well as the chlorophyll binding proteins CP43 and CP47 and the reaction centre proteins D1 and D2. Of particular note was the presence of a stoichiometric level of PsbW, a low molecular weight protein not present in PSII of cyanobacteria. Despite the high oxygen evolution rate, the core complex did not retain the PsbQ extrinsic protein although there was close to a full complement of PsbO and PsbR and partial level of PsbP. However, reconstitution of PsbP and PsbPQ was possible. The presence of PsbP in absence of LHCII and other chlorophyll a/b binding proteins confirms that LHCII proteins are not a strict requirement for the assembly of this extrinsic polypeptide to the PSII core in contrast with the conclusion of Caffarri et al. (2009)

Investing in urban underground space: maximising the social benefits

With increasing pressure on space in cities, we are seeing greater development underground. Despite the multiple benefits of underground space, its social value is underappreciated and no market for underground space utilisation exists. The result is that underground space is not planned, engineered or managed in a way to realise its potential value. This paper presents findings from a Think Deep UK initiative which explored the social value of underground space and evaluated the UK’s Social Value Act which embraces social, economic and environmental benefits. It was found that the main drivers to evaluate social value for infrastructure projects are cost and risk which are intimately linked with the scheme’s design life. As such, only tractable, evidence-based benefits are easily accounted for. It is suggested that social value frameworks should be flexible and incorporate qualitative measures of value across different timescales so that long-term benefits for future generations are planned

Theoretical studies of the historical development of the accounting discipline: a review and evidence

Many existing studies of the development of accounting thought have either been atheoretical or have adopted Kuhn's model of scientific growth. The limitations of this 35-year-old model are discussed. Four different general neo-Kuhnian models of scholarly knowledge development are reviewed and compared with reference to an analytical matrix. The models are found to be mutually consistent, with each focusing on a different aspect of development. A composite model is proposed. Based on a hand-crafted database, author co-citation analysis is used to map empirically the entire literature structure of the accounting discipline during two consecutive time periods, 1972–81 and 1982–90. The changing structure of the accounting literature is interpreted using the proposed composite model of scholarly knowledge development

Search for Light Gluinos via the Spontaneous Appearance of pi+pi- Pairs with an 800 GeV/c Proton Beam at Fermilab

We searched for the appearance of pi+pi- pairs with invariant mass greater than 648 MeV in a neutral beam. Such an observation could signify the decay of a long-lived light neutral particle. We find no evidence for this decay. Our null result severely constrains the existence of an R0 hadron, which is the lightest bound state of a gluon and a light gluino, and thereby also the possibility of a light gluino. Depending on the photino mass, we exclude the R0 in the mass and lifetime ranges of 1.2 -- 4.6 GeV and 2E-10 -- 7E-4 seconds, respectively. (To Appear in Phys. Rev. Lett.)Comment: Documentstyle aps,epsfig,prl (revtex), 6 pages, 7 figure

Zeroing the Stellar Isochrone Scale: The Red Giant Clump Luminosity at Intermediate Metallicity

The color-magnitude diagrams of the open clusters NGC 2420 and NGC 2506 have been investigated as intermediate links between the solar neighborhood and the Magellanic Clouds. Two sets of theoretical isochrones which include convective overshoot are zeroed to the sun at solar abundance and to the unevolved main sequence dwarfs of the Hipparcos catalog at [Fe/H] = -0.4, requiring a differential of 0.4 mag between the unevolved main sequences at a given color. Adopting E(B-V) = 0.04 and [Fe/H] = -0.39 for NGC 2506 and 0.04 and -0.29 for NGC 2420,the respective apparent moduli are 12.70 and 12.15, while the ages of both clusters are approximately 1.9 +/- 0.2 or 2.2 +/- 0.2 Gyr, depending on the choice of isochrones. From the composite giant branch of the two clusters, the mean clump magnitudes in V and I are found to be 0.47 and -0.48 (-0.17,+0.14). Applying a metallicity correction to the M_I values, the cluster sample of Udalski (1998) leads to (m-M)_0 = 18.42 (+0.17,--0.15) and 18.91 (+0.18,--0.16) for the LMC and SMC, respectively. A caveat to this discussion and to the claim that clusters of the same abundance and age are identical is the observation that the (V-I) colors of the red giants in NGC 2506 are significantly redder at a given (B-V) than the giants in clusters of comparable age and/or metallicity. If the CCD photometry for NGC 2506 is tied to the standard system rather than using a general cluster relation between (B-V) and (V-I), the M_I for the clump will decrease by 0.1 mag.Comment: 1 table, 12 figures. Replaced 20-jan-99 by version with all figures. Accepted for April 1999 Astronomical Journa

Light Gluino Search for Decays Containing pi+pi- or pi0 from a Neutral Hadron Beam at Fermilab

We report on two null searches, one for the spontaneous appearance of $\pi^+\pi^-$ pairs, another for a single $\pi^0$, consistent with the decay of a long-lived neutral particle into hadrons and an unseen neutral particle. For the lowest level gluon-gluino bound state, known as the $R^0$, we exclude the decays $R^0\to \pi^+\pi^-\tilde{\gamma}$ and $R^0\to \pi^0\tilde{\gamma}$ for the masses of $R^0$ and $\tilde{\gamma}$ in the theoretically allowed range. In the most interesting $R^0$ mass range, $\leq 3 GeV/c^2$, we exclude $R^0$ lifetimes from $3\times 10^{-10}$ seconds to as high as $10^{-3}$ seconds, assuming perturbative QCD production for the $R^0$.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figure

Control of intestinal stem cell function and proliferation by mitochondrial pyruvate metabolism.

Most differentiated cells convert glucose to pyruvate in the cytosol through glycolysis, followed by pyruvate oxidation in the mitochondria. These processes are linked by the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier (MPC), which is required for efficient mitochondrial pyruvate uptake. In contrast, proliferative cells, including many cancer and stem cells, perform glycolysis robustly but limit fractional mitochondrial pyruvate oxidation. We sought to understand the role this transition from glycolysis to pyruvate oxidation plays in stem cell maintenance and differentiation. Loss of the MPC in Lgr5-EGFP-positive stem cells, or treatment of intestinal organoids with an MPC inhibitor, increases proliferation and expands the stem cell compartment. Similarly, genetic deletion of the MPC in Drosophila intestinal stem cells also increases proliferation, whereas MPC overexpression suppresses stem cell proliferation. These data demonstrate that limiting mitochondrial pyruvate metabolism is necessary and sufficient to maintain the proliferation of intestinal stem cells

Coupled biogeochemical cycles : eutrophication and hypoxia in temperate estuaries and coastal marine ecosystems

Author Posting. © Ecological Society of America, 2011. This article is posted here by permission of Ecological Society of America for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 9 (2011): 18–26, doi:10.1890/100008.Nutrient fluxes to coastal areas have risen in recent decades, leading to widespread hypoxia and other ecological damage, particularly from nitrogen (N). Several factors make N more limiting in estuaries and coastal waters than in lakes: desorption (release) of phosphorus (P) bound to clay as salinity increases, lack of planktonic N fixation in most coastal ecosystems, and flux of relatively P-rich, N-poor waters from coastal oceans into estuaries. During eutrophication, biogeochemical feedbacks further increase the supply of N and P, but decrease availability of silica – conditions that can favor the formation and persistence of harmful algal blooms. Given sufficient N inputs, estuaries and coastal marine ecosystems can be driven to P limitation. This switch contributes to greater far-field N pollution; that is, the N moves further and contributes to eutrophication at greater distances. The physical oceanography (extent of stratification, residence time, and so forth) of coastal systems determines their sensitivity to hypoxia, and recent changes in physics have made some ecosystems more sensitive to hypoxia. Coastal hypoxia contributes to ocean acidification, which harms calcifying organisms such as mollusks and some crustaceans.Funding was supplied in part by NOAA through the Coastal Hypoxia Research Program, by the NSF through the Biocomplexity Coupled Biogeochemical Cycles competition, and by DR Atkinson through an endowment given to Cornell University

The IDvIP Trial: A two-centre randomised double-blind controlled trial comparing intramuscular diamorphine and intramuscular pethidine for labour analgesia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Intramuscular pethidine is routinely used throughout the UK for labour analgesia. Studies have suggested that pethidine provides little pain relief in labour and has a number of side effects affecting mother and neonate. It can cause nausea, vomiting and dysphoria in mothers and can cause reduced fetal heart rate variability and accelerations. Neonatal effects include respiratory depression and impaired feeding. There are few large studies comparing the relative side effects and efficacy of different opioids in labour. A small trial comparing intramuscular pethidine with diamorphine, showed diamorphine to have some benefits over pethidine when used for labour analgesia but the study did not investigate the adverse effects of either opioid.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The Intramuscular Diamorphine versus Intramuscular Pethidine (IDvIP) trial is a randomised double-blind two centre controlled trial comparing intramuscular diamorphine and pethidine regarding their analgesic efficacy in labour and their side effects in mother, fetus and neonate. Information about the trial will be provided to women in the antenatal period or in early labour. Consent and recruitment to the trial will be obtained when the mother requests opioid analgesia. The sample size requirement is 406 women with data on primary outcomes. The maternal primary outcomes are pain relief during the first 3 hours after trial analgesia and specifically pain relief after 60 minutes. The neonatal primary outcomes are need for resuscitation and Apgar Score <7 at 1 minute. The secondary outcomes are an additional measure of pain relief, maternal sedation, nausea and vomiting, maternal oxygen saturation, satisfaction with analgesia, whether method of analgesia would be used again, use of Entonox, umbilical arterial and venous pH, fetal heart rate, meconium staining, time from delivery to first breath, Apgar scores at 5 mins, naloxone requirement, transfer to neonatal intensive care unit, neonatal haemoglobin oxygen saturation at 30, 60, 90, and 120 mins after delivery, and neonatal sedation and feeding behaviour during first 2 hours.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>If the trial demonstrates that diamorphine provides better analgesia with fewer side effects in mother and neonate this could lead to a change in national practice and result in diamorphine becoming the preferred intramuscular opioid for analgesia in labour.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p><a href="http://www.controlled-trials.com/ISRCTN14898678">ISRCTN14898678</a></p> <p>Eudra No: 2006-003250-18, REC Reference No: 06/Q1702/95, MHRA Authorisation No: 1443/0001/001-0001, NIHR UKCRN reference 6895, RfPB grant PB-PG-0407-13170_IR5</p

EIFiso4G augments the synthesis of specific plant proteins involved in normal chloroplast function

Copyright © 2019 American Society of Plant Biologists. All rights reserved. The plant-specific translation initiation complex eIFiso4F is encoded by three genes in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana)-genes encoding the cap binding protein eIFiso4E (eifiso4e) and two isoforms of the large subunit scaffolding protein eIFiso4G (i4g1 and i4g2). To quantitate phenotypic changes, a phenomics platform was used to grow wild-type and mutant plants (i4g1, i4g2, i4e, i4g1 × i4g2, and i4g1 × i4g2 × i4e [i4f]) under various light conditions. Mutants lacking both eIFiso4G isoforms showed the most obvious phenotypic differences from the wild type. Two-dimensional differential gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry were used to identify changes in protein levels in plants lacking eIFiso4G. Four of the proteins identified as measurably decreased and validated by immunoblot analysis were two light harvesting complex binding proteins 1 and 3, Rubisco activase, and carbonic anhydrase. The observed decreased levels for these proteins were not the direct result of decreased transcription or protein instability. Chlorophyll fluorescence induction experiments indicated altered quinone reduction kinetics for the double and triple mutant plants with significant differences observed for absorbance, trapping, and electron transport. Transmission electron microscopy analysis of the chloroplasts in mutant plants showed impaired grana stacking and increased accumulation of starch granules consistent with some chloroplast proteins being decreased. Rescue of the i4g1 × i4g2 plant growth phenotype and increased expression of the validated proteins to wild-type levels was obtained by overexpression of eIFiso4G1. These data suggest a direct and specialized role for eIFiso4G in the synthesis of a subset of plant proteins