985 research outputs found
Sovereign debt restructuring : the judge, the vultures and creditor rights
What role did the US courts play in the Argentine debt swap of 2005? What implications does this have for the future of creditor rights in sovereign bond markets?
The judge in the Argentine case has, it appears, deftly exploited creditor heterogeneity – between holdouts seeking capital gains and institutional investors wanting a settlement – to promote a swap with a supermajority of creditors. Our analysis of Argentine debt litigation reveals a ‘judge-mediated’ sovereign debt restructuring, which resolves the key issues of Transition and Aggregation - two of the tasks envisaged for the IMF’s still-born Sovereign Debt Restructuring Mechanism.
For the future, we discuss how judge-mediated sovereign debt restructuring (together with creditor committees) could complement the alternative promoted by the US Treasury, namely collective action clauses in sovereign bond contracts
The hierarchical response of human corneal collagen to load
Fibrillar collagen in the human cornea is integral to its function as a transparent lens of precise curvature, and its arrangement is now well-characterised in the literature. While there has been considerable effort to incorporate fibrillar architecture into mechanical models of the cornea, the mechanical response of corneal collagen to small applied loads is not well understood. In this study the fibrillar and molecular response to tensile load was quantified using small and wide angle X-ray scattering (SAXS/WAXS), and digital image correlation (DIC) photography was used to calculate the local strain field that gave rise to the hierarchical changes. A molecular scattering model was used to calculate the tropocollagen tilt relative to the fibril axis and changes associated with applied strain. Changes were measured in the D-period, molecular tilt and the orientation and spacing of the fibrillar and molecular networks. These measurements were summarised into hierarchical deformation mechanisms, which were found to contribute at varying strains. The change in molecular tilt is indicative of a sub-fibrillar “spring-like” deformation mechanism, which was found to account for most of the applied strain under physiological and near-physiological loads. This deformation mechanism may play an important functional role in tissues rich in fibrils of high helical tilt, such as skin and cartilage
Crowding Promotes the Switch from Hairpin to Pseudoknot Conformation in Human Telomerase RNA
Formation of a pseudoknot in the conserved RNA core domain in the
ribonucleoprotein human telomerase is required for function. In vitro
experiments show that the pseudoknot (PK) is in equilibrium with an extended
hairpin (HP) structure. We use molecular simulations of a coarse-grained model,
which reproduces most of the salient features of the experimental melting
profiles of PK and HP, to show that crowding enhances the stability of PK
relative to HP in the wild type and in a mutant associated with dyskeratosis
congenita. In monodisperse suspensions, small crowding particles increase the
stability of compact structures to a greater extent than larger crowders. If
the sizes of crowders in a binary mixture are smaller than the unfolded RNA,
the increase in melting temperature due to the two components is additive. In a
ternary mixture of crowders that are larger than the unfolded RNA, which mimics
the composition of ribosome, large enzyme complexes and proteins in E. coli,
the marginal increase in stability is entirely determined by the smallest
component. We predict that crowding can restore partially telomerase activity
in mutants, which dramatically decrease the PK stability.Comment: File "JACS_MAIN_archive_PDF_from_DOC.pdf" (PDF created from DOC)
contains the main text of the paper File JACS_SI_archive.tex + 7 figures are
the supplementary inf
Extended morphometric analysis of neuronal cells with Minkowski valuations
Minkowski valuations provide a systematic framework for quantifying different
aspects of morphology. In this paper we apply vector- and tensor-valued
Minkowski valuations to neuronal cells from the cat's retina in order to
describe their morphological structure in a comprehensive way. We introduce the
framework of Minkowski valuations, discuss their implementation for neuronal
cells and show how they can discriminate between cells of different types.Comment: 14 pages, 18 postscript figure
The Acid Test of Fluoride: How pH Modulates Toxicity
Background: It is not known why the ameloblasts responsible for dental enamel formation are uniquely sensitive to fluoride (). Herein, we present a novel theory with supporting data to show that the low pH environment of maturating stage ameloblasts enhances their sensitivity to a given dose of . Enamel formation is initiated in a neutral pH environment (secretory stage); however, the pH can fall to below 6.0 as most of the mineral precipitates (maturation stage). Low pH can facilitate entry of into cells. Here, we asked if was more toxic at low pH, as measured by increased cell stress and decreased cell function. Methodology/Principal Findings: Treatment of ameloblast-derived LS8 cells with at low pH reduced the threshold dose of required to phosphorylate stress-related proteins, PERK, eIF2α, JNK and c-jun. To assess protein secretion, LS8 cells were stably transduced with a secreted reporter, Gaussia luciferase, and secretion was quantified as a function of dose and pH. Luciferase secretion significantly decreased within 2 hr of treatment at low pH versus neutral pH, indicating increased functional toxicity. Rats given 100 ppm in their drinking water exhibited increased stress-mediated phosphorylation of eIF2α in maturation stage ameloblasts (pH<6.0) as compared to secretory stage ameloblasts (pH∼7.2). Intriguingly, -treated rats demonstrated a striking decrease in transcripts expressed during the maturation stage of enamel development (Klk4 and Amtn). In contrast, the expression of secretory stage genes, AmelX, Ambn, Enam and Mmp20, was unaffected. Conclusions: The low pH environment of maturation stage ameloblasts facilitates the uptake of , causing increased cell stress that compromises ameloblast function, resulting in dental fluorosis
IRAS F02044+0957: radio source in interacting system of galaxies
The steep spectrum of IRAS F02044+0957 was obtained with the RATAN-600 radio
telescope at four frequencies. Optical spectroscopy of the system components,
was carried out with the 2.1m telescope of the Guillermo Haro Observatory.
Observational data allow us to conclude that this object is a pair of
interacting galaxies, a LINER and a HII galaxy, at .Comment: 2 pages, 2 EPS-figures, uses newpasp.sty. To appear in Proc. IAU
Colloq. 184, AGN Surveys, ed. R. F. Green, E. Ye. Khachikian, & D. B. Sanders
(San Francisco: ASP
Structure and play: rethinking regulation in the higher education sector
This paper explores possible tactics for academics working within a context of increasing regulation and constraint. One suggested tactic is to move outside of a creativity-conformity binary. Rather than understanding creativity and conformity as separable, where one is seen as excluding the other, the authors consider the potential of examining the relationships between them. The theme of 'structure and play' illustrates the argument. In the first part of the paper, using various examples from art and design - fields generally associated with creativity - the authors explore the interrelatedness of creativity and conformity. For example, how might design styles, which are generally understood as creative outcomes, constrain creativity and lead to conformity within the design field? Is fashion producing creativity or conformity? Conversely, the ways in which conformity provides the conditions for creativity are also examined. For example, the conformity imposed by the state on artists in the former communist bloc contributed to a thriving underground arts movement which challenged conformity and state regulation. Continuing the theme of 'structure and play', the authors recount a story from an Australian university which foregrounds the ongoing renegotiation of power relations in the academy. This account illustrates how programmatic government in a university, with its aim of regulating conduct, can contribute to unanticipated outcomes. The authors propose that a Foucauldian view of distributed power is useful for academics operating in a context of increasing regulation, as it brings into view sites where power might begin to be renegotiated
Capturing the essence of folding and functions of biomolecules using Coarse-Grained Models
The distances over which biological molecules and their complexes can
function range from a few nanometres, in the case of folded structures, to
millimetres, for example during chromosome organization. Describing phenomena
that cover such diverse length, and also time scales, requires models that
capture the underlying physics for the particular length scale of interest.
Theoretical ideas, in particular, concepts from polymer physics, have guided
the development of coarse-grained models to study folding of DNA, RNA, and
proteins. More recently, such models and their variants have been applied to
the functions of biological nanomachines. Simulations using coarse-grained
models are now poised to address a wide range of problems in biology.Comment: 37 pages, 8 figure
Tradeoffs in jet inlet design: a historical perspective
The design of the inlet(s) is one of the most demanding tasks of the development process of any gas turbine-powered aircraft. This is mainly due to the multi-objective and multidisciplinary nature of the exercise. The solution is generally a compromise between a number of conflicting goals and these conflicts are the subject of the present paper. We look into how these design tradeoffs have been reflected in the actual inlet designs over the years and how the emphasis has shifted from one driver to another. We also review some of the relevant developments of the jet age in aerodynamics and design and manufacturing technology and we examine how they have influenced and informed inlet design decision
Variation in abundances of common bird species associated with roads
1. The global road network, currently over 45 million lane-km in length, is expected to reach 70 million lane-km by 2050, while the number of vehicles utilising it is expected to double. Roads have been shown to affect a range of wildlife, including birds, but most studies have been relatively small scale.
2. We use data from across Great Britain to analyse the relationships between roads and the spatial distributions of bird populations. We model counts of 51 common and widespread species from the U.K. Breeding Bird Survey in relation to road exposure, which we calculated for each count site using the density, distance and traffic volume of all roads within a 5 km radius. In these models, we incorporate other factors known to affect bird populations, including agricultural intensity, human population, habitat and climate. Importantly, we also account for differences in detectability of birds near to roads.
3. The abundances of 30 species were strongly significantly related to exposure to either major or minor roads. Species were generally in higher abundances with increasing exposure to minor roads (20/28). In contrast, most significant associations between major road exposure and bird abundance were negative (7/8).
4. For species with significant effects of road exposure, we assessed how estimated abundance changed across the central 50% of road exposure experienced for each species. The mean decrease in abundance was 19% and the mean increase was 47%. These changes in bird abundance were up to half as large as those associated with increasing agricultural intensity, a factor often cited as a major cause of bird population changes.
5. Synthesis and applications. Our research shows many species to vary in abundance with increasing road exposure. This suggests that roads may modify bird populations on a national scale and that their potential as drivers of biodiversity change should not be overlooked. Our work highlights the need for appropriate mitigation of roads, particularly in areas important for avian biodiversity. This could include efforts to reduce impacts of road noise and/or collisions, such as reduced speed limits or quieter road surfaces in sensitive areas
- …