Analysis of protein-RNA and protein-peptide interactions in Equine Infectious Anemia Virus (EIAV) infection

Macromolecular interactions are essential for virtually all cellular functions including signal transduction processes, metabolic processes, regulation of gene expression and immune responses. This dissertation focuses on the characterization of two important macromolecular interactions involved in the relationship between Equine Infectious Anemia Virus (EIAV) and its host cell in horse: (i) the interaction between the EIAV Rev protein and its binding site, the Rev-responsive element (RRE) and (ii) interactions between equine MHC class I molecules and epitope peptides derived from EIAV proteins.;EIAV, one of the most divergent members of the lentivirus family, has a single-stranded RNA genome and carries several regulatory and structural proteins within its viral particle. Rev is an essential EIAV regulatory encoded protein that interacts with the viral RRE, a specific binding site in the viral mRNA. Using a combination of experimental and computational methods, the interactions between EIAV Rev and RRE were characterized in detail. EIAV Rev was shown to have a bipartite RNA binding domain containing two arginine rich motifs (ARMs). The RRE secondary structure was determined and specific structural motifs that act as cis-regulatory elements for EIAV Rev-RRE interaction were identified. Interestingly, a structural motif located in the high affinity Rev binding site is well conserved in several diverse lentiviral genomes, including HIV-1.;Macromolecular interactions involved in the immune response of the horse to EIAV infection were investigated by analyzing complexes between MHC class I proteins and epitope peptides derived from EIAV Rev, Env and Gag proteins. Computational modeling results provided a mechanistic explanation for the experimental finding that a single amino acid change in the peptide binding domain of the equine MHC class I molecule differentially affects the recognition of specific epitopes by EIAV-specific CTL. Together, the findings in this dissertation provide novel insights into the strategy used by EIAV to replicate itself, and provide new details about how the host cell responds to and defends against EIAV upon the infection. Moreover, they have contributed to our understanding of the macromolecular recognition events that regulate these processes

COMPETITION AND GROWTH: A TIME SERIES ANALYSIS FOR SOUTH KOREA

By utilising South Korea’s annual data from 1986 to 2004, the regression results are found to be consistent with the hypothesis that more intense competition makes a substantial contribution to real per capita income growth rate. It is also evident in the structural change analysis that competition has intensified due to the regulatory reform over the period 1999 to 2004, which in turn enhanced the real per capita income growth rate. It has been observed that competition is highly sensitive to real per capita income growth rate. Therefore, the choice of South Korea’s policy instruments should be based upon the intensity of competition through the market monitoring mechanism of large companies (e.g., private lawsuits for damage compensation in antitrust cases) as well as regulatory reform.Competition, Real Per Capita Income Growth Rate, Structural Break Analysis, Market Monitoring Mechanism

For the absent

When faced with trauma we often do not recognize the importance of taking time to heal. The purpose of my work is to heal myself from my past. The process of making pieces can ease agony and create hope in my mind. My design concept will be developed through the creation of my work, and I hope to begin healing from the trauma of my father\u27s death. I have reflected on the post-traumatic feelings that are associated with my father\u27s death eight years ago. I realize that I still feel anger, sadness and grief. To confront this reality and work to begin healing myself. I thought about how I could overcome the trauma positively. I decided to do so through the creation of this body of work. The beginning of this process of healing takes form with the making of four distinct pieces: a stool, a bench, a coat rack and sculptures specifically for him. Before my father\u27s death, I had promised I would create furniture for him. Unfortunately I was never able to fulfill this promise, and the guilt has remained with me to this day. Although it is too late to fulfill my promise, I realized that this body of work is the best way for me to honor my father for his dedication, and will in turn help me overcome the unresolved feelings that I still have surrounding his death. Each of the four pieces relates to the memory of my father, and has a specific connotation, implying self- reflection, self- complacency and/or recollection. It is important to maintain a balance between utilitarian concerns and sculptural form to communicate with him. The utility is a way to keep the promise with my father. Adopting sculptural forms allows me to explore and create a strong metaphor, which exposes the hidden meaning of my relationship with my father. This interaction of utility and sculptural metaphor makes the work more powerful through the balance of these two contributions. 1 The objects I create act as a medium to connect with my father. They may also possess another meaning beyond function. In my case, the role of symbolic function is very important, and determines how I see the form. As a result, this perspective continues to inform and develop my design sensibility for objects. I am convinced that everyone has the ability to overcome trauma, and must be guided by his or her own unique way. I intend to apply this process in an effort to heal myself. I want to use my design approach (for the absent person) to better understand my relationship with my father. The ambiguity in my work represents the irony of making a functional object for the absent. My process is to find the intersection between the two elements: my absent father, and the functionality of furniture. The goals for my design process goes beyond physical/functional concerns and seek to open furniture to more than a utilitarian experience. I hope to reconcile this unconscious relationship through the metaphorical function of furniture

The electron temperature of the inner halo of the Planetary Nebula NGC 6543

We investigate the electron temperature of the inner halo and nebular core regions of NGC 6543, using archival Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) images taken through narrow band [O III] filters. Balick et al. (2001) showed that the inner halo consists of a number of spherical shells. We find the temperature of this inner halo to be much higher (~15000 K) than that of the bright core nebula (~8500 K). Photo-ionization models indicate that hardening of the UV radiation from the central star cannot be the main source of the higher temperature in the halo region. Using a radiation hydrodynamic simulation, we show that mass loss and velocity variations in the AGB wind can explain the observed shells, as well as the higher electron temperature.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, to be published in A&

Nucleation Initiated Spinodal Decomposition in a Polymerizing System

Dynamics of phase separation in a polymerizing system, consisting of carboxyl terminated polybutadiene acrylonitrile/epoxy/methylene dianiline, was investigated by means of time-resolved light scattering. The initial length scale was found to decrease for some early periods of the reaction which has been explained in the context of nucleation initiated spinodal decomposition We have combined the Cahn-Hilliard kinetic equation and polymerization kinetics, and predicted the initial reduction of the length scale triggered by nucleation

Trajectory of test particle around a slowly rotating relativistic star emitting isotropic radiation

We explored the motion of test particles near slowly rotating relativistic star having a uniform luminosity. In order to derive the test particle's equations of motion, we made use of the radiation stress-energy tensor first constructed by Miller and Lamb \cite{ML96}. From the particle's trajectory obtained through the numerical integration of the equations of motion, it is found that for sufficiently high luminosity, "suspension orbit" exists, where the test particle hovers around at uniform angular velocity in the same direction as the star's spin. Interestingly, it turned out that the radial position of the "suspension orbit" was determined by the luminosity and the angular momentum of the star alone and was independent of the initial positions and the specific angular momentum of the particle. Also found is that there exist not only the radiation drag but also "radiation counter-drag" which depends on the stellar radius and the angular momentum and it is this radiation counter-drag that makes the test particle in the "suspension orbit" to hover around at uniform angular velocity which is greater than that induced by the Lense-Thirring effect (i.e., general relativistic dragging of inertial frame).Comment: 23 pages, 7 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. D