An attempt to observe economy globalization: the cross correlation distance evolution of the top 19 GDP's

Economy correlations between the 19 richest countries are investigated through their Gross Domestic Product increments. A distance is defined between increment correlation matrix elements and their evolution studied as a function of time and time window size. Unidirectional and Bidirectional Minimal Length Paths are generated and analyzed for different time windows. A sort of critical correlation time window is found indicating a transition for best observations. The mean length path decreases with time, indicating stronger correlations. A new method for estimating a realistic minimal time window to observe correlations and deduce macroeconomy conclusions from such features is thus suggested.Comment: to be published in the Dyses05 proceedings, in Int. J. Mod Phys C 15 pages, 5 figures, 1 tabl

Prion Protein Polymorphisms Affect Chronic Wasting Disease Progression

Analysis of the PRNP gene in cervids naturally infected with chronic wasting disease (CWD) suggested that PRNP polymorphisms affect the susceptibility of deer to infection. To test this effect, we orally inoculated 12 white-tailed deer with CWD agent. Three different PRNP alleles, wild-type (wt; glutamine at amino acid 95 and glycine at 96), Q95H (glutamine to histidine at amino acid position 95) and G96S (glycine to serine at position 96) were represented in the study cohort with 5 wt/wt, 3 wt/G96S, and 1 each wt/Q95H and Q95H/G96S. Two animals were lost to follow-up due to intercurrent disease. The inoculum was prepared from Wisconsin hunter-harvested homozygous wt/wt animals. All infected deer presented with clinical signs of CWD; the orally infected wt/wt had an average survival period of 693 days post inoculation (dpi) and G96S/wt deer had an average survival period of 956 dpi. The Q95H/wt and Q95H/G96S deer succumbed to CWD at 1,508 and 1,596 dpi respectively. These data show that polymorphisms in the PRNP gene affect CWD incubation period. Deer heterozygous for the PRNP alleles had extended incubation periods with the Q95H allele having the greatest effect

Shape modeling technique KOALA validated by ESA Rosetta at (21) Lutetia

We present a comparison of our results from ground-based observations of asteroid (21) Lutetia with imaging data acquired during the flyby of the asteroid by the ESA Rosetta mission. This flyby provided a unique opportunity to evaluate and calibrate our method of determination of size, 3-D shape, and spin of an asteroid from ground-based observations. We present our 3-D shape-modeling technique KOALA which is based on multi-dataset inversion. We compare the results we obtained with KOALA, prior to the flyby, on asteroid (21) Lutetia with the high-spatial resolution images of the asteroid taken with the OSIRIS camera on-board the ESA Rosetta spacecraft, during its encounter with Lutetia. The spin axis determined with KOALA was found to be accurate to within two degrees, while the KOALA diameter determinations were within 2% of the Rosetta-derived values. The 3-D shape of the KOALA model is also confirmed by the spectacular visual agreement between both 3-D shape models (KOALA pre- and OSIRIS post-flyby). We found a typical deviation of only 2 km at local scales between the profiles from KOALA predictions and OSIRIS images, resulting in a volume uncertainty provided by KOALA better than 10%. Radiometric techniques for the interpretation of thermal infrared data also benefit greatly from the KOALA shape model: the absolute size and geometric albedo can be derived with high accuracy, and thermal properties, for example the thermal inertia, can be determined unambiguously. We consider this to be a validation of the KOALA method. Because space exploration will remain limited to only a few objects, KOALA stands as a powerful technique to study a much larger set of small bodies using Earth-based observations.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in P&S

Just use it! Linguistic conversion and identities of resistance amongst Galician new speakers

In recent years there has been a focus in language policy research on understanding how national policies are interpreted and negotiated by social actors on the ground. This paper looks at the interplay between government and grassroots initiatives to create Galician-speaking spaces in predominantly Spanish-speaking urban settings. While official language policies in Galicia since the 1980s have increased the potential for language use through bilingual educational policies, these policies have failed to convert the large pool of potential speakers amongst a younger generation of Galicians into active language users. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork and in-depth interviews with Galician neofalantes (new speakers) this paper looks at instances where such policies seem to have worked and where the linguistic capacity created through the education system has been converted into active language use. The article examines how such speakers rationalise their practice of linguistic conversion not as success stories of language policy but as reactions to and dissatisfaction with what is perceived as ‘top-down’ governmentality through a reflexive process in which existing power structures are brought into question. The article looks specifically as the ideologies underpinning their decisions to become active speakers and the role they play as language planners in contemporary Galicia

Generalized cerebral atrophy seen on MRI in a naturally exposed animal model for creutzfeldt-jakob disease

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Magnetic resonance imaging has been used in the diagnosis of human prion diseases such as sCJD and vCJD, but patients are scanned only when clinical signs appear, often at the late stage of disease. This study attempts to answer the questions "Could MRI detect prion diseases before clinical symptoms appear?, and if so, with what confidence?"</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Scrapie, the prion disease of sheep, was chosen for the study because sheep can fit into a human sized MRI scanner (and there were no large animal MRI scanners at the time of this study), and because the USDA had, at the time of the study, a sizeable sample of scrapie exposed sheep, which we were able to use for this purpose. 111 genetically susceptible sheep that were naturally exposed to scrapie were used in this study.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our MRI findings revealed no clear, consistent hyperintense or hypointense signal changes in the brain on either clinically affected or asymptomatic positive animals on any sequence. However, in all 37 PrP^Scpositive sheep (28 asymptomatic and 9 symptomatic), there was a greater ventricle to cerebrum area ratio on MRI compared to 74 PrP^Scnegative sheep from the scrapie exposed flock and 6 control sheep from certified scrapie free flocks as defined by immunohistochemistry (IHC).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our findings indicate that MRI imaging can detect diffuse cerebral atrophy in asymptomatic and symptomatic sheep infected with scrapie. Nine of these 37 positive sheep, including 2 one-year old animals, were PrP^Scpositive only in lymph tissues but PrP^Scnegative in the brain. This suggests either 1) that the cerebral atrophy/neuronal loss is not directly related to the accumulation of PrP^Scwithin the brain or 2) that the amount of PrP^Scin the brain is below the detectable limits of the utilized immunohistochemistry assay. The significance of these findings remains to be confirmed in human subjects with CJD.</p

Novel Function of Phosphoinositide 3-Kinase in T Cell Ca\u3csup\u3e2+\u3c/sup\u3e Signaling

This study presents evidence that phosphoinositide (PI) 3-kinase is involved in T cell Ca2+ signaling via a phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate PI(3,4,5)P3-sensitive Ca2+entry pathway. First, exogenous PI(3,4,5)P3 at concentrations close to its physiological levels induces Ca2+ influx in T cells, whereas PI(3,4)P2, PI(4,5)P2, and PI(3)P have no effect on [Ca2+]i. This Ca2+ entry mechanism is cell type-specific as B cells and a number of cell lines examined do not respond to PI(3,4,5)P3 stimulation. Second, inhibition of PI 3-kinase by wortmannin and by overexpression of the dominant negative inhibitor Δp85 suppresses anti-CD3-induced Ca2+response, which could be reversed by subsequent exposure to PI(3,4,5)P3. Third, PI(3,4,5)P3 is capable of stimulating Ca2+ efflux from Ca2+-loaded plasma membrane vesicles prepared from Jurkat T cells, suggesting that PI(3,4,5)P3 interacts with a Ca2+ entry system directly or via a membrane-bound protein. Fourth, although D-myo-inositol 1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate (Ins(1,3,4,5)P4) mimics PI(3,4,5)P3 in many aspects of biochemical functions such as membrane binding and Ca2+ transport, we raise evidence that Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 does not play a role in anti-CD3- or PI(3,4,5)P3-mediated Ca2+ entry. This PI(3,4,5)P3-stimulated Ca2+ influx connotes physiological significance, considering the pivotal role of PI 3-kinase in the regulation of T cell function. Given that PI 3-kinase and phospholipase C-γ form multifunctional complexes downstream of many receptor signaling pathways, we hypothesize that PI(3,4,5)P3-induced Ca2+ entry acts concertedly with Ins(1,4,5)P3-induced Ca2+ release in initiating T cell Ca2+ signaling. By using a biotinylated analog of PI(3,4,5)P3 as the affinity probe, we have detected several putative PI(3,4,5)P3-binding proteins in T cell plasma membranes

Hsp90 orchestrates transcriptional regulation by Hsf1 and cell wall remodelling by MAPK signalling during thermal adaptation in a pathogenic yeast

Acknowledgments We thank Rebecca Shapiro for creating CaLC1819, CaLC1855 and CaLC1875, Gillian Milne for help with EM, Aaron Mitchell for generously providing the transposon insertion mutant library, Jesus Pla for generously providing the hog1 hst7 mutant, and Cathy Collins for technical assistance.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Multi-omics Analyses of Starvation Responses Reveal a Central Role for Lipoprotein Metabolism in Acute Starvation Survival in <i>C. elegans</i>

Starvationcauses comprehensivemetabolicchanges, which are still not fully understood. Here, we used quantitative proteomics and RNA sequencing to examine the temporal starvation responses in wildtype Caenorhabditis elegans and animals lacking the transcription factor HLH-30. Our findings show that starvation alters the abundance of hundreds of proteins and mRNAs in a temporal manner, many of which are involved in central metabolic pathways, including lipoprotein metabolism. We demonstrate that premature death of hlh-30 animals under starvation can be prevented by knockdown of either vit-1 or vit-5, encoding two different lipoproteins. We further showthat the size and number of intestinal lipid droplets under starvation are altered in hlh-30 animals, which can be rescued by knockdown of vit-1. Taken together, this indicates that survival of hlh-30 animals under starvation is closely linked to regulation of intestinal lipid stores. We provide the most detailed poly-omic analysis of starvation responses to date, which serves as a resource for further mechanistic studies of starvation

Internet-based medical education: a realist review of what works, for whom and in what circumstances

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