Panelism in Action: Labour’s 1999 European Parliamentary candidate selections

The 1999 European Assembly elections were fought under newly devised rules. The adoption of a more proportional electoral procedure in place of the traditional single member majoritarian system was designed to bring the UK into line with the other EU member states. This departure from 'first past the post' necessitated a change in the way prospective Members of the European Parliament were selected. In the event this proved controversial. Of further contention was the decision to adopt a closed list system whereby electors were not able to vote for a preferred candidate. Prospective MEPs were thus numerically ranked in multiple member constituencies. The selection of European parliamentary candidates attracted considerable media interest. Various newspapers covered, with relish, the purging of Europhiles from the already minimal compliment of Conservative MEPs. Aside from Tom Spencer, who resigned for personal reasons following revelations about his personal life, others such as Brendan Donnelly and John Stevens declined to serve as candidates following their effective demotion by the party's selection procedure. Donnelly and Stevens took their grievance further and formed a new organisation, the Pro Euro Conservatives, in order to (unsuccessfully) contest the forthcoming elections. Another Europhile, London MEP James Moorhouse, left the party for the Liberal Democrats in protest at William Hague's policy pronouncements. By contrast the new crop of prospective MEPs appeared to reflect the strong strain of Euroscepticism within the Conservative grassroots. The Hague leadership welcomed membership involvement in this matter. By contrast the Labour hierarchy proved more circumspect about its candidate selection procedure. This paper seeks to assess whether there is substance to the charge that the new system has in effect enabled officials from the Millbank headquarters to dictate who would and would not become MEPs

An investigation of the alkaline phosphatases for use in organic synthesis.

The synthesis of a series of 1-phenylalkyl-l-phosphate analogues is described as well as the preparation of 2-phenylpropyl-1-phosphate, 2,3-dimethylbutyl-1-phosphate, 3-methyl-2-butyl-2-phosphate, 1-(para-methoxyphenyl)ethyl-1-phosphate and l-(para-nitrophenyl)ethyl-1-phosphate. The enantioselectivities of bovine, rabbit and E.coli alkaline phosphatases with these various substrates were investigated. Bovine alkaline phosphatase showed the best enantioselectivity with 1-phenylethyl-1-phosphate showing an enantiomeric excess of 56% favouring the turnover of (R)-1-phenylethyl-1-phosphate enantiomer. Attempts to improve the enantioselectivity of bovine alkaline phosphatase with 1-phenylethyl-1-phosphate by varying the reaction conditions was undertaken. These included changes in pH and sodium chloride concentration. The addition of organic solvents to the buffer solutions as well as changes in the zinc and magnesium ion concentrations were studied. Detailed analyses of the kinetic parameters of the individual enantiomers (1R)-phenylethyl-1-phosphateand (1S)-phenylethyl-1-phosphate with bovine and E. coli alkaline phosphatase were carried out. The results of these investigations were used to try to enhance the enantioselectivities of the bovine and E. coli phosphatases with 1-phenylethyl-1-phosphate. Synthesis of a series of 2-alkylpropyl-1,3-bisphosphate from their 2-alkyl-1,3-propanediol derivatives is described. The prochiral selectivities of this series of 2-alkylpropyl-1,3-bisphosphates were evaluated with bovine alkaline phosphatase. Failure to isolate the desired monophosphate products prevented further use of the alkaline phosphatases to effect enantiotopic discrimination of the prochiral 1,3-bisphosphates. Inhibition studies of these materials with bovine and E. coli phosphatases were therefore carried out

E. coli paired alignments

Multiple sequence alignments used in E. coli gene pair analysis. Each fasta file begins with the E. coli amino acid sequence pair, with other homologous sequences trimmed to match its length. For an interactive list, please visit: http://gremlin.bakerlab.org/cplx.php?mode=ecol

PDB file for PFL Complex

Predicted complex of Pyruvate formate lyase-activating enzyme. Pyruvate formate-lyase (PFL) catalyzes the reaction of acetyl-CoA and formate from pyruvate and CoA in the Fermentation pathway. The PDB file was sampled using the E. coli sequences of PFLA_ECOLI and PFLB_ECOLI

PDB file for TRAP complex

The predicted complex of the tripartite ATP-independent periplasmic (TRAP) transporter. It is composed of three proteins: two integral membrane proteins YIAM and YIAN, and one periplasmic protein YIAO. The PDB file was sampled using UniProt E. coli sequences of YIAM_ECOLI, YIAN_ECOLI and YIAO_ECOLI

PDB benchmark alignments

Multiple sequence alignments used for the PDB benchmark set. Each fasta file begins with the PDB amino acid sequence pair, with other homologous sequences trimmed to match its length. For an interactive list, please visit: http://gremlin.bakerlab.org/cplx.php?mode=pd

PDB file for Tripartite efflux system

Predicted complex for the Tripartite efflux pump. This family of complexes spans both the inner and outer membrane, and are widely used in bacteria to pump toxic compounds out of the cell. The PDB file was modeled using E. coli sequences of MDTP_ECOLI and MDTN_ECOLI

PDB benchmark alignments NDX

Multiple sequence alignments used for the PDB benchmark set. This set is restricted to the NADH dehydrogenase complex. Each fasta file begins with the T. thermophilus amino acid sequence pair, with other homologous sequences trimmed to match its length. For an interactive list, please visit: http://gremlin.bakerlab.org/cplx.php?mode=nd

PDB file for D-methionine transport system

Predicted complex of the D-methionine transporter. It is an ATP-driven transport system that transports methionine. The PDB file was sampled using UniProt E. coli sequences of METI_ECOLI and METQ_ECOLI

Beyond Global Studies. An Introductory Lecture into a Big History Course

<p>Global studies can be made not only with respect to the humans who inhabit the Earth, they can well be done with respect to biological and abiotic systems of our planet. Such an approach opens wide horizons for the modern university education as it helps to form a global view of various processes. However, we can also ask ourselves whether the limits of our studies can be moved further.</p> <p>Would not it be useful for the students to understand the evolution of our planet within the context of the evolution of our Universe? The need to see this process of development holistically, in its origins and growing complexity, is fundamental to what drives not only science but the human imagination. This shared vision of the grand narrative is one of the most effective ways to conceptualize and integrate our growing knowledge of the Universe, society, and human thought. Note that the respective discipline already exists and it has been developing quite successfully for more than three decades; it is denotes as Big History.</p