Research investigation of electrical discharge fragmentation for protein structure identification Final report

Electrical discharge fragmentation device for determination of bacteria fragmentation pattern

Homologous and unique G protein alpha subunits in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

A cDNA corresponding to a known G protein alpha subunit, the alpha subunit of Go (Go alpha), was isolated and sequenced. The predicted amino acid sequence of C. elegans Go alpha is 80-87% identical to other Go alpha sequences. An mRNA that hybridizes to the C. elegans Go alpha cDNA can be detected on Northern blots. A C. elegans protein that crossreacts with antibovine Go alpha antibody can be detected on immunoblots. A cosmid clone containing the C. elegans Go alpha gene (goa-1) was isolated and mapped to chromosome I. The genomic fragments of three other C. elegans G protein alpha subunit genes (gpa-1, gpa-2, and gpa-3) have been isolated using the polymerase chain reaction. The corresponding cosmid clones were isolated and mapped to disperse locations on chromosome V. The sequences of two of the genes, gpa-1 and gpa-3, were determined. The predicted amino acid sequences of gpa-1 and gpa-3 are only 48% identical to each other. Therefore, they are likely to have distinct functions. In addition they are not homologous enough to G protein alpha subunits in other organisms to be classified. Thus C. elegans has G proteins that are identifiable homologues of mammalian G proteins as well as G proteins that appear to be unique to C. elegans. Study of identifiable G proteins in C. elegans may result in a further understanding of their function in other organisms, whereas study of the novel G proteins may provide an understanding of unique aspects of nematode physiology

Timing the Brain: Mental Chronometry as a Tool in Neuroscience

Mental chronometry, which has origins dating back over a century, seeks to measure the time course of mental operations in the human nervous syste

How to realize Lie algebras by vector fields

An algorithm for embedding finite dimensional Lie algebras into Lie algebras of vector fields (and Lie superalgebras into Lie superalgebras of vector fields) is offered in a way applicable over ground fields of any characteristic. The algorithm is illustrated by reproducing Cartan's interpretations of the Lie algebra of G(2) as the Lie algebra that preserves certain non-integrable distributions. Similar algorithm and interpretation are applicable to other exceptional simple Lie algebras, as well as to all non-exceptional simple ones and many non-simple ones, and to many Lie superalgebras.Comment: 17 pages, LaTe

On pseudo-hyperk\"ahler prepotentials

An explicit surjection from a set of (locally defined) unconstrained holomorphic functions on a certain submanifold of (Sp_1(C) \times C^{4n}) onto the set HK_{p,q} of local isometry classes of real analytic pseudo-hyperk\"ahler metrics of signature (4p,4q) in dimension 4n is constructed. The holomorphic functions, called prepotentials, are analogues of K\"ahler potentials for K\"ahler metrics and provide a complete parameterisation of HK_{p,q}. In particular, there exists a bijection between HK_{p,q} and the set of equivalence classes of prepotentials. This affords the explicit construction of pseudo-hyperk\"ahler metrics from specified prepotentials. The construction generalises one due to Galperin, Ivanov, Ogievetsky and Sokatchev. Their work is given a coordinate-free formulation and complete, self-contained proofs are provided. An appendix provides a vital tool for this construction: a reformulation of real analytic G-structures in terms of holomorphic frame fields on complex manifolds.Comment: 53 pages; v2: minor amendments to Def.4.1 and Theorem 4.5; a paragraph inserted in the proof of the latter; V3: minor changes; V4: minor changes/ typos corrected for journal versio

The Glucocorticoid Receptor: A Revisited Target for Toxins

The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activation and glucocorticoid responses are critical for survival from a number of bacterial, viral and toxic insults, demonstrated by the fact that removal of the HPA axis or GR blockade enhances mortality rates. Replacement with synthetic glucocorticoids reverses these effects by providing protection against lethal effects. Glucocorticoid resistance/insensitivity is a common problem in the treatment of many diseases. Much research has focused on the molecular mechanism behind this resistance, but an area that has been neglected is the role of infectious agents and toxins. We have recently shown that the anthrax lethal toxin is able to repress glucocorticoid receptor function. Data suggesting that the glucocorticoid receptor may be a target for a variety of toxins is reviewed here. These studies have important implications for glucocorticoid therapy

Exploring the cellular basis of human disease through a large-scale mapping of deleterious genes to cell types

Table S5. Disease–cell-type association P values computed using the GSC method. (XLS 686 kb

Policies for the acquisition of printed books at the British Museum Library, 1837-1960: with particular attention to the procurement of works from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Latin America

Using Panizzi's 1837 declaration to the Trustees of the British Museum as the model, the acquisitions policy for a national library is a statement of the need to acquire the national printed archive followed by an indication of the desirable coverage of foreign publishing. Minimum requirements to achieve this are adequate finance, a knowledgeable staff, sufficient space for both the staff and the collections and the ability to make resources available. The role of Panizzi in ensuring the status of the British Museum Library as the national collection has been well documented. Less well known is the part played by his subordinates and successors in helping him and in ensuring that his ideals were implemented and amplified. The more notable of these have been neglected by library history, the more pedestrian completely forgotten. The period from the later 1850s through the 1880s were years of liberal funding and acquisitions growth matched only by that of the first decade of the British Library. It seems possible that even the recent halcyon days will not match the extraordinary development of the collections during the earlier period. Legal deposit, even though difficult to enforce overseas, and a system of international exchanges played an important role when government was forced to curtail the generous grant. It is not feasible to draw firm conclusions about the percentage of world publishing acquired by the British Museum Library as most countries do not yet have accurate figures for their printed output, nor is it possible to be definite about the quantities procured by the Library since the basis for reporting additions changed frequently. In order to gain a picture of what and how material was obtained it was necessary to make lists of registers and receipt books now in the departmental archives. These lists are reproduced in tables and appendices