RAD1 Controls the Meiotic Expansion of the Human HRAS1 Minisatellite in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Minisatellite DNA is repetitive DNA with a repeat unit length from 15 to 100 bp. While stable during mitosis, it destabilizes during meiosis, altering both in length and in sequence composition. The basis for this instability is unknown. To investigate the factors controlling minisatellite stability, a minisatellite sequence 3′ of the human HRAS1 gene was introduced into the Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome, replacing the wild-type HIS4 promoter. The minisatellite tract exhibited the same phenotypes in yeast that it exhibited in mammalian systems. The insertion stimulated transcription of the HIS4 gene; mRNA production was detected at levels above those seen with the wild-type promoter. The insertion stimulated meiotic recombination and created a hot spot for initiation of double-strand breaks during meiosis in the regions immediately flanking the repetitive DNA. The tract length altered at a high frequency during meiosis, and both expansions and contractions in length were detected. Tract expansion, but not contraction, was controlled by the product of the RAD1 gene. RAD1 is the first gene identified that controls specifically the expansion of minisatellite tracts. A model for tract length alteration based on these results is presented

Different standards: engineers’ expectations and listener adoption of digital and FM radio broadcasting

As digital radio broadcasting enters its third decade of operation, few would argue that it has met all expectations expressed at the time of its launch in the mid-1990s. Observers are now more circumspect, with views divided on the pace of transition to an all-digital future. In exploring this mismatch between expectation and actuality, this article considers the introduction of FM radio from the 1950s. It too was expected to replace its forebear (AM) but, like digital radio, its adoption by listeners was slower than anticipated. An examination of published literature, in particular engineering and technical documents, reveals a number of similarities in the development of digital radio and FM. Assumptions about listeners’ needs and preferences appear to have been based on little actual audience research and, with continual reference in the literature to the supposed deficiencies of the predecessor technology, suggest an emphasis in decision making on the technical qualities of radio broadcasting over an appreciation of actual audience preferences

The Yeast Pif1 Helicase Prevents Genomic Instability Caused by G-Quadruplex-Forming CEB1 Sequences In Vivo

In budding yeast, the Pif1 DNA helicase is involved in the maintenance of both nuclear and mitochondrial genomes, but its role in these processes is still poorly understood. Here, we provide evidence for a new Pif1 function by demonstrating that its absence promotes genetic instability of alleles of the G-rich human minisatellite CEB1 inserted in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome, but not of other tandem repeats. Inactivation of other DNA helicases, including Sgs1, had no effect on CEB1 stability. In vitro, we show that CEB1 repeats formed stable G-quadruplex (G4) secondary structures and the Pif1 protein unwinds these structures more efficiently than regular B-DNA. Finally, synthetic CEB1 arrays in which we mutated the potential G4-forming sequences were no longer destabilized in pif1Δ cells. Hence, we conclude that CEB1 instability in pif1Δ cells depends on the potential to form G-quadruplex structures, suggesting that Pif1 could play a role in the metabolism of G4-forming sequences

DAB, the future of radio? The development of digital radio in four European countries

In common with most media and consumer technologies, radio is migrating from analogue to digital operation. Europe was the first region of the world to develop a digital replacement for traditional analogue broadcast radio. The Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) project began in 1987 and the first domestic DAB broadcasts began in 1995. However, DAB has made less progress than originally anticipated: some countries are at a relatively advanced level of development while others have not begun significant DAB services. This paper examines the development of the DAB service in four European countries, illustrating the variability in modes of development. The different digital policies adopted by each country is a key factor in these developments and we show how the existing state of analogue radio and the limitations of the technical system have shaped these policies

Maailmankauppa Mangon tuotetietokansion uudistaminen

Tämän toiminnallisen opinnäytetyön tavoite oli uudistaa Maailmankauppa Mangon tuotetietokansio. Maailmankauppa Mango on Jyväskylän kehitysmaayhdistys ry:n ylläpitämä Reilun kaupan erikoismyymälä ja toimii työn toimeksiantajana. Maailmankauppa Mango toimii pääasiallisesti vapaaehtoisvoimin ja se sijaitsee Jyväskylässä Kauppakatu 5:ssä. Tuotetietokansion uudistamisella on pyritty tekemään siitä käytännöllinen työväline vapaaehtoisille. Vapaaehtoisille ei välttämättä kerry tuotetietoa tuotteista ja asiakkaiden palvelu voi olla näin hankalaa. Uudistaminen pyrkii siihen, että vapaaehtoisilla olisi tuotetietokansio, joka on selkeä ja helppo käyttää. Opinnäytetyö jakaantuu teoria osaan ja toiminnalliseen osaan. Teoriaosa käsittelee Reilua kauppaa ja vapaaehtoistoimintaa liittyen Maailmankauppa Mangon toimintaan sekä sisäistä markkinointia, josta tuotetietokansion kannalta oleellisina käsitteinä olen nostanut esiin visuaalisen viestinnän ja perehdytyksen. Toiminnallinen osa sisältää selvityksen, kuvauksen tuotetietokansion suunnittelusta ja lopputulok-sesta. Selvityksellä halusin saada vapaaehtoisten mielipiteitä tuotetietokansiosta ja ideoita uudistamiseen. Tein selvityksen teemahaastattelun avulla. Haastattelut suoritin maaliskuussa 2013. Vastauksista selvisi, että tuotetietokansio on tarpeellinen Maailmankauppa Mangolla ja uudistamiselle on tarvetta. Sain vastauksista myös apua tuotetietokansion käytännön uudistamiseen. Tuotetietokansio on suunniteltu vapaaehtoisten toiveiden mukaisesti ja se on muuten valmis, vain tuotetiedot puuttuvat. Tuotetietojen täyttäminen on kaikkien vapaaehtoisten työ. Jatkotutkimuksina voisi tutkia onko uudistamisesta ollut hyötyä sekä selvittää vapaaehtoisten asiakaspalvelutaitoja ja asiakastyytyväisyyttä.The aim of this bachelor’s thesis was to reform an old product information file for Worldshop Mango. Worldshop Mango is a shop specialized in selling Fairtrade products and it is run by Jyväskylän kehitysmaayhdistys – association which I got the assignment from. Worldshop Mango works mainly with volunteer workers and it is located in Kauppakatu 5 in Jyväskylä. The product information file’s reforming aims to make a usable tool of it to the volunteers. The volunteers don’t necessarily get enough information of the products so serving customers can be difficult. The endeavour of the reforming is that the volunteers would have a clear and easy-to-use product information file. The thesis is divided in theory part and functional part. The theory part processes about Fair trade and volunteer work relating to Worldshop Mango and also internal marketing with visual communication and introduction been raised as important aspects to the product information file. The functional part includes the study, description of the planning of the reforming and of the final result. With the study I wanted to get the volunteers opinions about the product information file and also their ideas for the reforming. I used theme interview for this. The interviews I made in March 2013. The study showed that the product information file is considered to be important at Worldshop Mango and the reforming is needed. The answers also gave me help for the practical planning of the reforming. The final result has been planned with the wishes from the volunteers and it is ready to be used; only the product information is missing. Filling in the product information is every volunteer’s job. In the future it would be good to investigate if the reforming has been as helpful as hoped and perhaps make a research of the customer service abilities of the volunteers and make a customer satisfaction survey

Wild Listening: Ecology of a Science Podcast

In recent years, there has been a growing area of research focused on points of convergence between scientific and humanities discourses, with methods of interpreting cultural products drawing increasingly on other disciplines and vice versa. Ecological readings of cultural materials would be included here, ecological not in the traditional sense of environmental criticism, but rather focused on the elements of network relations as they play out within the living systems of cultural works. This chapter will examine the ways in which podcasts can share structural and epistemological affinities with ecological processes, engaging the conversational science podcast Stuff to Blow Your Mind (STBYM) as a case study. I will argue that STBYM, known for its elegantly produced discourse around complex material, with episodes like ‘Meet Your Bacterial Masters’ and ‘The Habitable Epoch’, exemplifies a growing trend toward epistemologically complex methods of approach to cultural processes

Ixr1 is required for the expression of the ribonucleotide reductase Rnr1 and maintenance of dNTP pools

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae Dun1 protein kinase is a downstream target of the conserved Mec1-Rad53 checkpoint pathway. Dun1 regulates dNTP pools during an unperturbed cell cycle and after DNA damage by modulating the activity of ribonucleotide reductase (RNR) by multiple mechanisms, including phosphorylation of RNR inhibitors Sml1 and Dif1. Dun1 also activates DNA-damage-inducible genes by inhibiting the Crt1 transcriptional repressor. Among the genes repressed by Crt1 are three out of four RNR genes: RNR2, RNR3, and RNR4. The fourth RNR gene, RNR1, is also DNA damage-inducible, but is not controlled by Crt1. It has been shown that the deletion of DUN1 is synthetic lethal with the deletion of IXR1, encoding an HMG-box-containing DNA binding protein, but the reason for this lethality is not known. Here we demonstrate that the dun1 ixr1 synthetic lethality is caused by an inadequate RNR activity. The deletion of IXR1 results in decreased dNTP levels due to a reduced RNR1 expression. The ixr1 single mutants compensate for the reduced Rnr1 levels by the Mec1-Rad53-Dun1-Crt1-dependent elevation of Rnr3 and Rnr4 levels and downregulation of Sml1 levels, explaining why DUN1 is indispensible in ixr1 mutants. The dun1 ixr1 synthetic lethality is rescued by an artificial elevation of the dNTP pools. We show that Ixr1 is phosphorylated at several residues and that Ser366, a residue important for the interaction of HMG boxes with DNA, is required for Ixr1 phosphorylation. Ixr1 interacts with DNA at multiple loci, including the RNR1 promoter. Ixr1 levels are decreased in Rad53-deficient cells, which are known to have excessive histone levels. A reduction of the histone gene dosage in the rad53 mutant restores Ixr1 levels. Our results demonstrate that Ixr1, but not Dun1, is required for the proper RNR1 expression both during an unperturbed cell cycle and after DNA damage