Interactions among a group of related proteins in the cellular slime mold 'Dictyostelium discoideum'

In previous work, the Dictyostelium discoideum gene encoding the cAMP-binding protein CABP1 was isolated and cloned. Subsequent studies revealed that certain polypeptides are related in their amino acid sequence to CABP1. Each of these polypeptides possesses a region of high glycine, tyrosine, proline, glutamine, and alanine (GYPAQ) content which forms the basis for their similarity. In the present study, the genes encoding seven of these related D. discoideum polypeptides were cloned into the two-hybrid system vectors and subjected to the yeast two-hybrid assay. The p34, p31, CABP1A, CABP1B, and 6C proteins each homodimerized in the assay. Furthermore, interactions were observed between the following pairs of proteins: p34 and p31, CABP1A and CABP1B, CABP1A and 6C, CABP1B and 6C, p34 and 6C, p31 and 6C, and p24 and 6C. Some of the interactions were also verified using a blot overlay assay. Dictyostelium annexin did not interact with any of the other related proteins, nor did it homodimerize. To determine whether the GYPAQ-rich regions are mediating the interactions, portions of the gene encoding the 6C protein were isolated and cloned into the two-hybrid vectors and the assay was performed again. Genetically deleting the GYPAQ-rich region of 6C had the effect of abolishing or diminishing all the interactions that were observed with the intact 6C. Conversely, the GYPAQ-rich region behaved like the intact 6C. The GYPAQ-rich region therefore appears to be playing a role in the mediation of interactions with 6

Immigrants' educational attainment: A mixed picture, but often higher than the average in their country of origin

The immigrants living in France and the refugees who arrived in Austria are more educated than most of the population in their country of origin. By comparison with the population in the host country, the picture is more mixed: some groups, such as immigrants from Portugal living in France, are relatively low educated, while others, such as Romanians, have more frequently completed higher education than people born in France

Crop Prices, Agricultural Revenues, and the Rural Economy

U.S. policy makers often justify agricultural subsidies by stressing that agriculture is the engine of the rural economy. We use the increase in crop prices in the late 2000s to estimate the marginal effect of increased agricultural revenues on local economies in the U.S. Heartland. We find that $1 more in crop revenue generated 64 cents in personal income, with most going to farm proprietors and workers (59 percent) or nonfarmers who own farm assets (36 percent). The evidence suggests a weak link between revenues and nonfarm income or employment, or on population

Religions in Vienna in the Past, Present and Future - Key Findings from the WIREL Project

The role of religion is currently a topic of considerable public interest in Vienna as well as across Europe. Over the course of the last half-century, Vienna has witnessed rapidly changing religious composition accompanied by consistently increasing religious diversity. The various aspects of research conducted by WIREL facilitate the global assessment of both quantitative and qualitative aspects of religious diversity in Vienna. A short report – Religions in Vienna in the Past, Present and Future –summarises the research findings with the aim of making the trends, drivers, and socio-demographic consequences of the changing religious landscape of Vienna more accessible and understandable

Why are the Effects of Recent Oil Price Shocks so Small?

Recent oil price shocks have relatively small effects on real economic activity and inflation compared to the experiences of the seventies and the early eighties. In this paper we analyse possible reasons for these phenomena using the example of the German economy. At first, by estimating a VAR-model and calculating impulse responses to an oil price shock it is confirmed that the macroeconomic effects have become much smaller. Moreover, our simulations show that oil price hikes are more closely related to global economic activity since the early nineties.Then, to get a deeper understanding of the structural changes which are responsible for these results we utilize a new Keynesian open economy model. It becomes obvious that the small effects of the recent oil price shocks on the German economy can be explained by a combination of a reduced energy cost share and good luck in terms of a strong growing global economy. Hence, if global economic growth decreases, pure oil price shocks may still have substantial effects on the German economy, even if the energy pricevulnerability has been reduced.These results should be valid also for other oil importing countries, at least from a qualitative point of view

Trends, Persistence, and Volatility in Energy Markets

This paper makes a threefold contribution to the underlying dynamic properties and causal effects of energy prices. Firstly, the paper makes a study of the underlying trends to help identify the time series path of nonrenewable energy resources, which can have far reaching consequences for economists and policy makers alike. The analysis is extended to also determine the persistence of oil price shocks. Secondly, the study examines the causal relation between oil prices and the macroeconomy allowing for nonlinear models that have been recently advocated in the literature. Finally, this study describes the relation between oil prices and agricultural commodities. From a policy perspective, these interrelationships of agricultural and oil prices warrant careful consideration in the context of the recent energy crisis, which may very well continue in the future