Destruction of Contingent Interests by Termination of a Trust

Destruction of Contingent Interests by Termination of a Trus

Mars oxygen production system design

The design and construction phase is summarized of the Mars oxygen demonstration project. The basic hardware required to produce oxygen from simulated Mars atmosphere was assembled and tested. Some design problems still remain with the sample collection and storage system. In addition, design and development of computer compatible data acquisition and control instrumentation is ongoing

Evaluation of sense-strand mRNA amplification by comparative quantitative PCR

BACKGROUND: RNA amplification is required for incorporating laser-capture microdissection techniques into microarray assays. However, standard oligonucleotide microarrays contain sense-strand probes, so traditional T7 amplification schemes producing anti-sense RNA are not appropriate for hybridization when combined with conventional reverse transcription labeling methods. We wished to assess the accuracy of a new sense-strand RNA amplification method by comparing ratios between two samples using quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR), mimicking a two-color microarray assay. RESULTS: We performed our validation using qPCR. Three samples of rat brain RNA and three samples of rat liver RNA were amplified using several kits (Ambion messageAmp, NuGen Ovation, and several versions of Genisphere SenseAmp). Results were assessed by comparing the liver/brain ratio for 192 mRNAs before and after amplification. In general, all kits produced strong correlations with unamplified RNAs. The SenseAmp kit produced the highest correlation, and was also able to amplify a partially degraded sample accurately. CONCLUSION: We have validated an optimized sense-strand RNA amplification method for use in comparative studies such as two-color microarrays

Classical simulation of measurement-based quantum computation on higher-genus surface-code states

We consider the efficiency of classically simulating measurement-based quantum computation on surface-code states. We devise a method for calculating the elements of the probability distribution for the classical output of the quantum computation. The operational cost of this method is polynomial in the size of the surface-code state, but in the worst case scales as $2^{2g}$ in the genus $g$ of the surface embedding the code. However, there are states in the code space for which the simulation becomes efficient. In general, the simulation cost is exponential in the entanglement contained in a certain effective state, capturing the encoded state, the encoding and the local post-measurement states. The same efficiencies hold, with additional assumptions on the temporal order of measurements and on the tessellations of the code surfaces, for the harder task of sampling from the distribution of the computational output.Comment: 21 pages, 13 figure

The characteristics of cognitive neuroscience tests in a schizophrenia cognition clinical trial: Psychometric properties and correlations with standard measures.

In comparison to batteries of standard neuropsychological tests, cognitive neuroscience tests may offer a more specific assessment of discrete neurobiological processes that may be aberrant in schizophrenia. However, more information regarding psychometric properties and correlations with standard neuropsychological tests and functional measures is warranted to establish their validity as treatment outcome measures. The N-back and AX-Continuous Performance Task (AX-CPT) are two promising cognitive neuroscience tests designed to measure specific components of working memory and contextual processing respectively. In the current study, we report the psychometric properties of multiple outcome measures from these two tests as well as their correlations with standard neuropsychological measures and functional capacity measures. The results suggest that while the AX-CPT and N-back display favorable psychometric properties, they do not exhibit greater sensitivity or specificity with functional measures than standard neurocognitive tests

Mosquitoes and malaria transmission in irrigated rice-fields in the Benoue valley of northern Cameroon

International audienc

Structural basis of suppression of host translation termination by Moloney Murine Leukemia Virus

Retroviral reverse transcriptase (RT) of Moloney murine leukemia virus (MoMLV) is expressed in the form of a large Gag–Pol precursor protein by suppression of translational termination in which the maximal efficiency of stop codon read-through depends on the interaction between MoMLV RT and peptidyl release factor 1 (eRF1). Here, we report the crystal structure of MoMLV RT in complex with eRF1. The MoMLV RT interacts with the C-terminal domain of eRF1 via its RNase H domain to sterically occlude the binding of peptidyl release factor 3 (eRF3) to eRF1. Promotion of read-through by MoMLV RNase H prevents nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) of mRNAs. Comparison of our structure with that of HIV RT explains why HIV RT cannot interact with eRF1. Our results provide a mechanistic view of how MoMLV manipulates the host translation termination machinery for the synthesis of its own proteins

Worldwide Prevalence of Lentivirus Infection in Wild Feline Species: Epidemiologic and Phylogenetic Aspects

The natural occurrence of lentiviruses closely related to feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) in nondomestic felid species is shown here to be worldwide. Cross-reactive antibodies to FIV were common in several free-ranging populations of large cats, including East African lions and cheetahs of the Serengeti ecosystem and in puma (also called cougar or mountain lion) populations throughout North America. Infectious puma lentivirus (PLV) was isolated from several Florida panthers, a severely endangered relict puma subspecies inhabiting the Big Cypress Swamp and Everglades ecosystems in southern Florida. Phylogenetic analysis of PLV genomic sequences from disparate geographic isolates revealed appreciable divergence from domestic cat FIV sequences as well as between PLV sequences found in different North American locales. The level of sequence divergence between PLV and FIV was greater than the level of divergence between human and certain simian immunodeficiency viruses, suggesting that the transmission of FIV between feline species is infrequent and parallels in time the emergence of HIV from simian ancestors

The Antarctic Submillimeter Telescope and Remote Observatory (AST/RO)

AST/RO, a 1.7 m diameter telescope for astronomy and aeronomy studies at wavelengths between 200 and 2000 microns, was installed at the South Pole during the 1994-1995 Austral summer. The telescope operates continuously through the Austral winter, and is being used primarily for spectroscopic studies of neutral atomic carbon and carbon monoxide in the interstellar medium of the Milky Way and the Magellanic Clouds. The South Pole environment is unique among observatory sites for unusually low wind speeds, low absolute humidity, and the consistent clarity of the submillimeter sky. Four heterodyne receivers, an array receiver, three acousto-optical spectrometers, and an array spectrometer are installed. A Fabry-Perot spectrometer using a bolometric array and a Terahertz receiver are in development. Telescope pointing, focus, and calibration methods as well as the unique working environment and logistical requirements of the South Pole are described.Comment: 57 pages, 15 figures. Submitted to PAS