Coral symbiodinium community composition across the Belize Mesoamerican barrier reef system is influenced by host species and thermal variability

Accepted manuscrip

N terminus is key to the dominant negative suppression of CaV2 calcium channels: implications for episodic ataxia type 2

Expression of the calcium channels CaV2.1 and CaV2.2 is markedly suppressed by co-expression with truncated constructs containing Domain I. This is the basis for the phenomenon of dominant negative suppression observed for many of the episodic ataxia type 2 mutations in CaV2.1 that predict truncated channels. The process of dominant negative suppression has been shown previously to stem from interaction between the full-length and truncated channels and to result in downstream consequences of the unfolded protein response and endoplasmic reticulum-associated protein degradation. We have now identified the specific domain that triggers this effect. For both CaV2.1 and CaV2.2, the minimum construct producing suppression was the cytoplasmic N terminus. Suppression was enhanced by tethering the N terminus to the membrane with a CAAX motif. The 11-amino acid motif (including Arg52 and Arg54) within the N terminus, which we have previously shown to be required for G protein modulation, is also essential for dominant negative suppression. Suppression is prevented by addition of an N-terminal tag (XFP) to the full-length and truncated constructs. We further show that suppression of CaV2.2 currents by the N terminus-CAAX construct is accompanied by a reduction in CaV2.2 protein level, and this is also prevented by mutation of Arg52 and Arg54 to Ala in the truncated construct. Taken together, our evidence indicates that both the extreme N terminus and the Arg52, Arg54 motif are involved in the processes underlying dominant negative suppression

Effect of high-K dielectrics on charge transport in graphene

The effect of various dielectrics on charge mobility in single layer graphene is investigated. By calculating the remote optical phonon scattering arising from the polar substrates, and combining it with their effect on Coulombic impurity scattering, a comprehensive picture of the effect of dielectrics on charge transport in graphene emerges. It is found that though high-$\kappa$ dielectrics can strongly reduce Coulombic scattering by dielectric screening, scattering from surface phonon modes arising from them wash out this advantage. By comparing the room-temperature transport properties with narrow-bandgap III-V semiconductors, strategies to improve the mobility in single layer graphene are outlined.Comment: 6 pages, 4 Figure

Feedback through student essay competitions: what makes a good engineering lecturer?

The Engineering Subject Centre of the HE Academy has run student essay competitions for some years. In 2008 the title was ‘What makes a good engineering lecturer?’. This paper presents an analysis of the 43 submissions, carried out to identify the most commonly cited attributes and to present quotes that convey the spirit of the essays. The same title had been used for the first competition in 2004, and the outcomes of the 2008 competition are compared with those previously published for the 2004 award. The attributes most commonly identified across both sets of essays are use of real-world examples, approachability, enthusiasm, diversity of media, and good communication

Spectral gap of segments of periodic waveguides

We consider a periodic strip in the plane and the associated quantum waveguide with Dirichlet boundary conditions. We analyse finite segments of the waveguide consisting of $L$ periodicity cells, equipped with periodic boundary conditions at the ``new'' boundaries. Our main result is that the distance between the first and second eigenvalue of such a finite segment behaves like $L^{-2}$.Comment: 3 page

Method of complex paths and general covariance of Hawking radiation

We apply the technique of complex paths to obtain Hawking radiation in different coordinate representations of the Schwarzschild space-time. The coordinate representations we consider do not possess a singularity at the horizon unlike the standard Schwarzschild coordinate. However, the event horizon manifests itself as a singularity in the expression for the semi-classical action. This singularity is regularized by using the method of complex paths and we find that Hawking radiation is recovered in these coordinates indicating the covariance of Hawking radiation. This also shows that there is no correspondence between the particles detected by the model detector and the particle spectrum obtained by the quantum field theoretic analysis -- a result known in other contexts as well.Comment: 9 pages, uses MPLA Style file, Accepted for publication in Mod. Phys. Letts.

Progress in materials and structures at Lewis Research Center

The development of power and propulsion system technology is discussed. Specific emphasis is placed on the following: high temperature materials; composite materials; advanced design and life prediction; and nondestructive evaluation. Future areas of research are also discussed