DNA-Mediated Electron Transfer in Naphthalene-Modified Oligonucleotides

Naphthalene-modified oligonucleotides have been synthesized and characterized with respect to electron transfer chemistry. Using the Sonogashira coupling reaction, naphthalene can be covalently anchored onto a modified uridine through an ethynyl linkage. This tethering allows for effective electronic coupling with the DNA bases, resulting in a significant red shift of the absorption bands of the naphthalenic chromophore. Modification with this chromophore does not appear to affect the overall stability and structure of the DNA. Upon selective irradiation of the naphthalene moiety at 340 nm, photoreduction of a distal electron trap, 5-bromouridine, embedded in the DNA base stack occurs. This DNA-mediated reduction from a distance was found to be significantly more efficient with substitution of 5-bromouridine toward the 5′-end than toward the 3′-end. These results support a general preference for electron transfer through DNA toward the 5′-end, irrespective of the donor. In addition, differences in efficiency of photoreduction through intrastrand and interstrand pathways are observed. For DNA-mediated reduction, as with DNA-mediated oxidation, significant differences in the charge transfer reaction are apparent that depend upon subtle differences in coupling into the DNA base stack

Foreign aid, women in parliament and corruption: empirical evidence from the 2000s

Using data for the 2000s, this paper explores the impact of foreign aid and the percentage of women in parliament on corruption. In doing so, it combines the aid – corruption literature with the literature that addresses the impact of gender on corruption. We also inquire if aid is more effective in countries with a larger participation of women in parliament. We find that neither aid nor the percentage of women in parliament affects perceived corruption in a significant way. Moreover, the impact of aid on corruption does not seem to be affected by the share of women in parliament.On the other hand,a long-established democracy is consistently found to be significant in affecting corruption.Our results are robust to various specifications, alternative measures of corruption and use of estimation techniques.Foreign aid, women in parliament, corruption

Analysis of a spherical shell with a non-axisymmetric boundary

Spherical shell problem formulated in terms of stress functions, and applied to nonaxisymmetric boundar

Self-Gravitational Corrections to the Cardy-Verlinde Formula and the FRW Brane Cosmology in SdS_5 Bulk

The semiclassical corrections to the Cardy-Verlinde entropy of a five-dimensional Schwarzschild de-Sitter black hole (SdS_5) are explicitly evaluated. These corrections are considered within the context of KKW analysis and arise as a result of the self-gravitation effect. In addition, a four-dimensional spacelike brane is considered as the boundary of the SdS_5 bulk background. It is already known that the induced geometry of the brane is exactly given by that of a radiation-dominated FRW universe. By exploiting the CFT/FRW-cosmology relation, we derive the self-gravitational corrections to the first Friedmann-like equation which is the equation of the brane motion. The additional term that arises due to the semiclassical analysis can be viewed as stiff matter where the self-gravitational corrections act as the source for it. This result is contrary to standard analysis that regards the charge of SdS_5 bulk black hole as the source for stiff matter. Furthermore, we rewrite the Friedmann-like equation in a such way that it represents the conservation equation of energy of a point particle moving in a one-dimensional effective potential. The self-gravitational corrections to the effective potential and, consequently, to the point particle's motion are obtained. A short analysis on the asymptotic behavior of the 4-dimensional brane is presented.Comment: 16 pages, LaTeX; (v2) references added and correcte

Control of erythroid differentiation: asynchronous expression of the anion transporter and the peripheral components of the membrane skeleton in AEV- and S13-transformed cells

Chicken erythroblasts transformed with avian erythroblastosis virus or S13 virus provide suitable model systems with which to analyze the maturation of immature erythroblasts into erythrocytes. The transformed cells are blocked in differentiation at around the colony-forming unit- erythroid stage of development but can be induced to differentiate in vitro. Analysis of the expression and assembly of components of the membrane skeleton indicates that these cells simultaneously synthesize alpha-spectrin, beta-spectrin, ankyrin, and protein 4.1 at levels that are comparable to those of mature erythroblasts. However, they do not express any detectable amounts of anion transporter. The peripheral membrane skeleton components assemble transiently and are subsequently rapidly catabolized, resulting in 20-40-fold lower steady-state levels than are found in maturing erythrocytes. Upon spontaneous or chemically induced terminal differentiation of these cells expression of the anion transporter is initiated with a concommitant increase in the steady- state levels of the peripheral membrane-skeletal components. These results suggest that during erythropoiesis, expression of the peripheral components of the membrane skeleton is initiated earlier than that of the anion transporter. Furthermore, they point a key role for the anion transporter in conferring long-term stability to the assembled erythroid membrane skeleton during terminal differentiation

Local status and power in area-based health improvement partnerships

This is the authors' PDF version of an article published in Health© 2014. The definitive version is available at http://hea.sagepub.comArea-based initiatives (ABIs) have formed an important part of public policy towards more socio-economically deprived areas in many countries. Co-ordinating service provision within and across sectors has been a common feature of these initiatives. Despite sustained policy interest in ABIs, little empirical work has explored relations between ABI providers and partnership development within this context remains under-theorised. This paper addresses both of these gaps by exploring partnerships as a social and developmental process, drawing on concepts from figurational sociology to explain how provider relations develop within an ABI. Qualitative methods were used to explore, prospectively, the development of an ABI targeted at a town in the north west of England. A central finding was that, although effective delivery of ABIs is premised on a high level of coordination between service providers, the pattern of interdependencies between providers limits the frequency and effectiveness of cooperation. In particular, the interdependency of ABI providers with others in their organisation (what is termed here ‘organisational pull’) constrained the ways in which they worked with providers outside of their own organisations. ‘Local’ status, which could be earned over time, enabled some providers to exert greater control over the way in which provider relations developed during the course of the initiative. These findings demonstrate how historically constituted social networks, within which all providers are embedded, shape partnership development. The theoretical insight developed here suggests a need for more realistic expectations among policy makers about how and to what extent provider partnerships can be managed. Keywords: partnership, collaboration, community services, area-based initiatives, organisational pull, figurational sociologyNational Health Service (NHS