The meiosis-specific Cdc20 family-member Ama1 promotes binding of the Ssp2 activator to the Smk1 MAP kinase.

Smk1 is a meiosis-specific MAP kinase (MAPK) in budding yeast that is required for spore formation. It is localized to prospore membranes (PSMs), the structures that engulf haploid cells during meiosis II (MII). Similar to canonically activated MAPKs, Smk1 is controlled by phosphorylation of its activation-loop threonine (T) and tyrosine (Y). However, activation loop phosphorylation occurs via a noncanonical two-step mechanism in which 1) the cyclin-dependent kinase activating kinase Cak1 phosphorylaytes T207 during MI, and 2) Smk1 autophosphorylates Y209 as MII draws to a close. Autophosphorylation of Y209 and catalytic activity for substrates require Ssp2, a meiosis-specific protein that is translationally repressed until anaphase of MII. Ama1 is a meiosis-specific targeting subunit of the anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome that regulates multiple steps in meiotic development, including exit from MII. Here, we show that Ama1 activates autophosphorylation of Smk1 on Y209 by promoting formation of the Ssp2/Smk1 complex at PSMs. These findings link meiotic exit to Smk1 activation and spore wall assembly

Free-for benefit: A stragety to improve the quality of health care and control costs through reimbursement incentives

AbstractObjectives. The purpose of this study was to determine whether reimbursement in direct proportion to expected therapeutic benefit is capable of improving the utilization and cost of health care.Background. The benefit associated with a particular medical or surgical treatment varies widely from patient to patient. Nevertheless, payment to the provider of the treatment is essentially invariant under the current fee-for-service system. Under an alternative fee-for-benefit strategy, empiric data are used to construct a multivariable model to predict the exprcted benefit to an individual patient from a particular health care service on the basis of conventional clinical descriptors. The payers and the providers of the service then openly negotiate an explicit economic relation between expected benefit and monetary payment such that payment is directly proportional to benefit.Methods. Computer simulations were performed to determine the potential impact of this fee-for-benefit strategy with respect to medical versus surgical treatment of coronary artery disease.Results. Compared with conventional fee-for-service, fee-for-benefit resulted in a 12% improvement in patient benefit (quality-adjusted survival), a 22% reduction in provider payments and a 55% increase in cost/benefit (the ratio of benefit to payment).Conclusions. The incentives embodied in a fee-for-benefit strategy can be an effective mechanism for encouraging more appropriate health care utilization while simultaneously controlling health care costs

Demonstrating the performance of a real-time optical colorimetric sensing device for monitoring the marine environment

The research objective is to develop a cost-effective event detection sensing system to inform targeted sampling by traditional means and act as a decision support tool. The Optical Colorimetric Sensor (OCS) uses an array of LEDs to detect change in water coloration and alert to events. A prototype comprises the following features: an LED array light source, photodiode detectors, robust deployable design, GSM communication and antifouling measures. The system has been evaluated using laboratory and field measurements. The system is robust and deployable in the aquatic environment. The OCS shows potential to detect events in the environment due to a pollution

Development of a real-time, continuous, optical turbidity and colorimetric sensing device for the marine environment

Our aquatic heritage is a vital resource. Anthropogenic activities and industrialisation, however, have led to increased pressures on our natural waters, and consequently, careful management is required to ensure their sustainability and health for future generations. It is important to acknowledge that one can only manage what one can measure, and therefore, environmental sensing of riverine, estuarine and marine waters is becoming increasingly important to ensure that European directives such as the Water Framework Directive [1], the Bathing Water Directive [2] and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive [3] can be met. Traditional approaches have typically involved the intermittent collection of samples at the relevant monitoring location (grab sampling), the transportation of the samples to the laboratory, the analysis of samples using various lab-based analytical techniques and the evaluation of results. In relation to aquatic environmental monitoring, this approach is not always ideal due a number of factors, for example, (1) the possibility of missing events due to insufficient sampling frequencies, (2) the potential for sample contamination from the point of collection to the laboratory, and (3) the inherent lead time from sample collection to analytical results can be problematic with regards to delayed reaction protocols and cause traceability. This research seeks to resolve some of these outstanding issues through the development of a prototype, real-time, continuous turbidity and colorimetric sensing device for the marine environment. The new device seeks to improve upon our existing Multi-Channel Optical Device (MOD) [4], see Figure 1, in terms of robustness and data transmittance capabilities. Potential applications are the detection of harmful algal bloom (HABs), for example cyanobacteria, which are toxic to both humans and animal species. The sensing device uses an array of coloured LEDs to not only detect and quantify changes in turbidity but also to signal changes in colour intensity. Significant challenges exist to ensure the robustness of sensing systems in the aforementioned aquatic environments, and these issues vary in significance depending on the classification and remoteness of the monitoring location. Of these challenges, biofouling is one of the key limiting factors. One important aspect of this research is that it also incorporates the testing and assessment of recently developed biofouling mitigation techniques. This device is based on a generic platform, which will potentially result in a plug and play approach for various other sensor elements. Figure 1: Multi-Channel Optical device (MOD). Acknowledgements: This research is funded by a Beaufort Marine Research Award, which is carried out under the Sea Change Strategy and the Strategy for Science Technology and Innovation (2006-2013), with the support of the Marine Institute, funded under the Marine Research Sub-Programme of the National Development Plan 2007–2013. [1] EU website, Water Framework Directive, [on-line], http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2000:327:0001:0072:EN:PDF, Accessed 2012(November). [2] EU Website, Bathing Water Directive, [on-line], http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2006:064:0037:0051:EN:PDF, Accessed 2012(November). [3] EU Website, Marine Strategy Framework Directive, [on-line], http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2008:164:0019:0040:EN:PDF, Accessed 2012(November). [4] Lau, K. T., Kim, J., O’Sullivan, T. et al, "Sensing technologies for monitoring the marine environment", MARTECH Conference, Cadiz, Spain, (2011)

Monitoring the marine environment using a low-cost colorimetric optical sensor

Anthropogenic activities have led to increased stress on our marine and other aquatic environments. There is a pressing need to monitor, measure, understand and mitigate the causes of these pressures. This paper presents the development and preliminary testing of a low-cost colorimetric optical sensor to detect colour-linked events in the marine environment. Potential applications may include the detection of Harmful Algal Blooms (HAB), which due to the production of toxins have deleterious effects on marine ecosystems and can ultimately lead to human, fish, bird and mammal deaths. Preliminary results indicate the capability of the sensor to differentiate between the colour signatures of several environmental samples

No evidence for high atmospheric oxygen levels 1,400 million years ago

Zhang et al. (1) recently proposed atmospheric oxygen levels of ∼4% present atmospheric levels (PAL) based on modeling a paleoenvironment reconstructed from trace metal and biomarker data from the 1,400 Ma Xiamaling Formation in China. Intriguingly, this pO2 level is above the threshold oxygen requirements of basal animals and clashes with evidence for atmospheric oxygen levels <<1% PAL in the mid-Proterozoic (2). However, there are fundamental problems with the inorganic and organic geochemical work presented by Zhang et al. (1)