The ALTCRISS project on board the International Space Station

The Altcriss project aims to perform a long term survey of the radiation environment on board the International Space Station. Measurements are being performed with active and passive devices in different locations and orientations of the Russian segment of the station. The goal is to perform a detailed evaluation of the differences in particle fluence and nuclear composition due to different shielding material and attitude of the station. The Sileye-3/Alteino detector is used to identify nuclei up to Iron in the energy range above 60 MeV/n. Several passive dosimeters (TLDs, CR39) are also placed in the same location of Sileye-3 detector. Polyethylene shielding is periodically interposed in front of the detectors to evaluate the effectiveness of shielding on the nuclear component of the cosmic radiation. The project was submitted to ESA in reply to the AO in the Life and Physical Science of 2004 and data taking began in December 2005. Dosimeters and data cards are rotated every six months: up to now three launches of dosimeters and data cards have been performed and have been returned with the end of expedition 12 and 13.Comment: Accepted for publication on Advances in Space Research http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2007.04.03

Jämförande reklam - och dess utveckling i svensk rätt sedan EG-direktivets implementering

Med jämförande reklam avses bl. a. att en produkt ställs mot en konkurrent eller dennes produkt i syfte att jämföra pris eller egenskap. Tillåtligheten av jämförande reklam förespråkas med anledning av den konkurrensstimulerande och konsumentupplysande effekt, som den sägs medföra. Dock bör man ha i åtanke att jämförande reklam inte enbart kan få positiva effekter utan missbruk av denna reklamform kan förekomma. Därför ställs det höga krav på vederhäftighet och korrekthet i utformningen av sådan reklam. Det finns olika typer av jämförande reklam, nämligen produktjämförelser, vilket innefattar både direkta och indirekta jämförelser. Ett utpekande av en näringsidkare eller dennes produkt kan antingen ske genom namnangivelse eller göras anonymt. I princip innehåller alla utpekanden av en annan näringsidkare eller dennes produkt någon form av jämförelse. Vidare kan man göra systemjämförelser, som innebär jämförelser av egenskaper och skillnader i exempelvis material och funktion, prisjämförelser samt tester och undersökningar. Gemensamt för samtliga är vederhäftighetskravet, vilket innefattar krav på att jämförelsen skall vara representativ och ge en rättvis totalbild. Tidigare reglerades jämförande reklam med stöd av rättspraxis och generella lagregler, eftersom begreppet inte hade ett eget lagrum. Nu regleras dock jämförande reklam i 8 a § MFL, som tillkom genom en implementering av ett EG-direktiv våren 2000. Uppsatsen syftar till att redogöra för vissa förändringar som skett sedan lagens ikraftträdande. Direktivet ansågs vara nödvändigt, eftersom reklam är gränsöverskridande och ett behov av enhetliga regler på området var stort med tanke på de skilda inställningar till jämförande reklam, som rådde i de olika medlemsstaterna. Den rådande rättsuppfattningen i Sverige tycktes dock väl stämma överens med direktivets krav och införlivandet i marknadsföringslagen skedde med relativt stor exakthet. Den höga graden av precision saknar motsvarighet i den övriga marknadsföringslagsstiftningen. Dels ansåg man att det var tillfredsställande att jämförande reklam fick komma till uttryck i lagtext och dels strävade man i största mån efter harmonisering på området och då framstod en detaljerad implementering som det bästa alternativet. Dock har den höga detaljeringsgraden bidragit till att lagen har framstått som besvärlig och opraktisk och uppsatsen drar slutsatsen att lagen snarare hämmar användningen av jämförande reklam än uppmuntrar den. Denna utveckling hotar konsumentskyddet, som var ett av direktivets huvudsyften och därför verkar en lag, uttryckt i mer generella termer, som ett bättre alternativ. Med jämförande reklam avses enligt direktivet all reklam som uttryckligen eller indirekt pekar ut en konkurrent eller varor och tjänster som tillhandahålls av en konkurrent. Detta är en vid definition, vilket var önskvärt för att alla typer av jämförande reklam skulle kunna omfattas av begreppet. För att kunna tolkas som jämförande reklam gäller dock att ett konkurrensförhållande mellan jämförda objekt föreligger. En tydlig definition av vem som utgör en konkurrent har inte angetts mer än att produkterna i fråga skall svara mot samma behov eller vara avsedda för samma ändamål. Uppsatsen behandlar några oklarheter som har uppstått med anledning därav. Dels tas gränsdragningen mellan jämförelser av lågpris- och märkesvaror upp och dels diskuteras MD:s snäva tolkning av konkurrensbegreppet, som gjordes i det s.k. Champagnesmakfallet, där 8 a § MFL inte ens var tillämplig på en påstådd jämförelse mellan en yoghurt och drycken champagne. Detta har inte ansetts vara förenligt med direktivet. Att jämförelser mellan lågpris- och märkesvaror kan vara tillbörliga (något som tidigare har betraktats som otillbörligt) framgår av EG-domstolens praxis. I det s.k. Pippig-fallet Mål C-44-01 (Pippig) gjordes nämligen ett relativt vagt ställningstagande i frågan. Ett starkare ställningstagande än så hade möjligen varit önskvärt samtidigt som det kanske helt enkelt inte är särskilt vedertaget eller ens relevant för näringsidkare att göra sådana jämförelser. En snäv tolkning av konkurrensbegreppet medför även en snävare tolkning av begreppet jämförande reklam, vilket inte förespråkas av direktivet. Vid tolkningssvårigheter är det av högsta vikt att begära in ett förhandsavgörande av EG-domstolen för att harmoniseringssyftet skall kunna uppfyllas. En definition av jämförande reklam utelämnades i 8 a § MFL. I uppsatsen dras slutsatsen att en definition hade varit önskvärd för att undvika att svensk praxis riskerar att frångå direktivet

Venture Capital - En undersökning av svenska venture capital-bolags investeringskriterier

Det är venture capital-bolagets tro på entreprenörens förmåga som är avgörande för om de skall engagera sig i ett projekt eller inte. Svenska venture capital-bolag satsar hellre på en dokumenterat bra entreprenör med en svagare affärsidé än på en tydlig och bra affärsidé men med en svagare entreprenö

The aminopeptidase inhibitor CHR-2863 is an orally bioavailable inhibitor of murine malaria

Malaria remains a significant risk in many areas of the world, with resistance to the current antimalarial pharmacopeia an everincreasing problem. The M1 alanine aminopeptidase (PfM1AAP) and M17 leucine aminopeptidase (PfM17LAP) are believed to play a role in the terminal stages of digestion of host hemoglobin and thereby generate a pool of free amino acids that are essential for parasite growth and development. Here, we show that an orally bioavailable aminopeptidase inhibitor, CHR-2863, is efficacious against murine malaria

Historical RNA expression profiles from the extinct Tasmanian tiger

Paleogenomics continues to yield valuable insights into the evolution, population dynamics, and ecology of our ancestors and other extinct species. However, DNA sequencing cannot reveal tissue-specific gene expression, cellular identity, or gene regulation, which are only attainable at the transcriptional level. Pioneering studies have shown that useful RNA can be extracted from ancient specimens preserved in permafrost and historical skins from extant canids, but no attempts have been made so far on extinct species. We extract, sequence, and analyze historical RNA from muscle and skin tissue of a ∼130-year-old Tasmanian tiger (Thylacinus cynocephalus) preserved in desiccation at room temperature in a museum collection. The transcriptional profiles closely resemble those of extant species, revealing specific anatomical features such as slow muscle fibers or blood infiltration. Metatranscriptomic analysis, RNA damage, tissue-specific RNA profiles, and expression hotspots genome-wide further confirm the thylacine origin of the sequences. RNA sequences are used to improve proteincoding and noncoding annotations, evidencing missing exonic loci and the location of ribosomal RNA genes while increasing the number of annotated thylacine microRNAs from 62 to 325. We discover a thylacine-specific microRNA isoform that could not have been confirmed without RNA evidence. Finally, we detect traces of RNA viruses, suggesting the possibility of profiling viral evolution. Our results represent the first successful attempt to obtain transcriptional profiles from an extinct animal species, providing thought-to-be-lost information on gene expression dynamics. These findings hold promising implications for the study of RNA molecules across the vast collections of natural history museums and from well-preserved permafrost remains

Integrating multi-taxon palaeogenomes and sedimentary ancient DNA to study past ecosystem dynamics

Ancient DNA (aDNA) has played a major role in our understanding of the past. Important advances in the sequencing and analysis of aDNA from a range of organisms have enabled a detailed understanding of processes such as past demography, introgression, domestication, adaptation and speciation. However, to date and with the notable exception of microbiomes and sediments, most aDNA studies have focused on single taxa or taxonomic groups, making the study of changes at the community level challenging. This is rather surprising because current sequencing and analytical approaches allow us to obtain and analyse aDNA from multiple source materials. When combined, these data can enable the simultaneous study of multiple taxa through space and time, and could thus provide a more comprehensive understanding of ecosystem-wide changes. It is therefore timely to develop an integrative approach to aDNA studies by combining data from multiple taxa and substrates. In this review, we discuss the various applications, associated challenges and future prospects of such an approach

Spatial divergence in the proportions of genes encoding toxic peptide synthesis among populations of the cyanobacterium Planktothrix in European lakes

It has been frequently reported that seasonal changes in toxin production by cyanobacteria are due to changes in the proportion of toxic/nontoxic genotypes in parallel to increases or decreases in population density during the seasonal cycle of bloom formation. In order to find out whether there is a relationship between the proportion of genes encoding toxic peptide synthesis and population density of Planktothrix spp. we compared the proportion of three gene regions that are indicative of the synthesis of the toxic heptapeptide microcystin (mcyB), and the bioactive peptides aeruginoside (aerB) and anabaenopeptin (apnC) in samples from 23 lakes of five European countries (n=153). The mcyB, aerB, and apnC genes occurred in 99%, 99%, and 97% of the samples, respectively, and on average comprised 60 ± 3%, 22 ± 2%, and 54 ± 4% of the total population, respectively. Although the populations differed widely in abundance (10−3–103 mm3 L−1) no dependence of the proportion of the mcyB, aerB, and apnC genes on the density of the total population was found. In contrast populations differed significantly in their average mcyB, aerB, and apnC gene proportions, with no change between prebloom and bloom conditions. These results emphasize stable population-specific differences in mcyB, aerB, and apnC proportions that are independent from seasonal influences

A large and accurate collection of peptidase cleavages in the MEROPS database

Peptidases are enzymes that hydrolyse peptide bonds in proteins and peptides. Peptidases are important in pathological conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, tumour and parasite invasion, and for processing viral polyproteins. The MEROPS database is an Internet resource containing information on peptidases, their substrates and inhibitors. The database now includes details of cleavage positions in substrates, both physiological and non-physiological, natural and synthetic. There are 39 118 cleavages in the collection; including 34 606 from a total of 10 513 different proteins and 2677 cleavages in synthetic substrates. The number of cleavages designated as ‘physiological’ is 13 307. The data are derived from 6095 publications. At least one substrate cleavage is known for 45% of the 2415 different peptidases recognized in the MEROPS database. The website now has three new displays: two showing peptidase specificity as a logo and a frequency matrix, the third showing a dynamically generated alignment between each protein substrate and its most closely related homologues. Many of the proteins described in the literature as peptidase substrates have been studied only in vitro. On the assumption that a physiologically relevant cleavage site would be conserved between species, the conservation of every site in terms of peptidase preference has been examined and a number have been identified that are not conserved. There are a number of cogent reasons why a site might not be conserved. Each poorly conserved site has been examined and a reason postulated. Some sites are identified that are very poorly conserved where cleavage is more likely to be fortuitous than of physiological relevance. This data-set is freely available via the Internet and is a useful training set for algorithms to predict substrates for peptidases and cleavage positions within those substrates. The data may also be useful for the design of inhibitors and for engineering novel specificities into peptidases

Origins and genetic legacy of prehistoric dogs

Dogs were the first domestic animal, but little is known about their population history and to what extent it was linked to humans. We sequenced 27 ancient dog genomes and found that all dogs share a common ancestry distinct from present-day wolves, with limited gene flow from wolves since domestication but substantial dog-to-wolf gene flow. By 11,000 years ago, at least five major ancestry lineages had diversified, demonstrating a deep genetic history of dogs during the Paleolithic. Coanalysis with human genomes reveals aspects of dog population history that mirror humans, including Levant-related ancestry in Africa and early agricultural Europe. Other aspects differ, including the impacts of steppe pastoralist expansions in West and East Eurasia and a near-complete turnover of Neolithic European dog ancestry

Grey wolf genomic history reveals a dual ancestry of dogs

The grey wolf (Canis lupus) was the frst species to give rise to a domestic population, and they remained widespread throughout the last Ice Age when many other large mammal species went extinct. Little is known, however, about the history and possible extinction of past wolf populations or when and where the wolf progenitors of the present-day dog lineage (Canis familiaris) lived1–8 . Here we analysed 72 ancient wolf genomes spanning the last 100,000 years from Europe, Siberia and North America. We found that wolf populations were highly connected throughout the Late Pleistocene, with levels of diferentiation an order of magnitude lower than they are today. This population connectivity allowed us to detect natural selection across the time series, including rapid fxation of mutations in the gene IFT88 40,000–30,000 years ago. We show that dogs are overall more closely related to ancient wolves from eastern Eurasia than to those from western Eurasia, suggesting a domestication process in the east. However, we also found that dogs in the Near East and Africa derive up to half of their ancestry from a distinct population related to modern southwest Eurasian wolves, refecting either an independent domestication process or admixture from local wolves. None of the analysed ancient wolf genomes is a direct match for either of these dog ancestries, meaning that the exact progenitor populations remain to be located