42 research outputs found
The Nocturnal Heat Island Formation and Rural Lapse Rates Based on Steep Slope Soundings in Nagano Basin, Japan
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Comparative evaluation of catalyst materials using a binary choice model
Advances in algorithms and hardware have enabled computers to design new
materials atom-by-atom. However, in order for these computer-generated
materials to truly address problems of societal importance, such as clean
energy generation, it is not enough for them to have superior physical
properties. It is also important for them to be adopted by as many users as
possible. In this paper, we present a simple binary choice model for comparing
catalyst materials on the basis of consumer preferences. This model considers a
population of utility maximisers who select one of two materials by comparing
catalytic turnover rates with sales prices. Through a mixture of numerical
simulation and analytic theorems, we characterise the predictions of the model
in a variety of regimes of consumer behavior. We also show how the model can be
used as a guide for crafting policies for lowering catalyst prices in order to
improve their market shares. This work represents a first step towards
understanding how material properties should be balanced against production
costs and consumer demand when designing new materials, an intellectual advance
which may facilitate the spread of green materials in society.Comment: 23 pages, 6 figures, 1 table. Re-write and expansion of a previous
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The Nocturnal Heat Island Formation and Rural Lapse Rates Based on Steep Slope Soundings in Nagano Basin, Japan
The Nocturnal Heat Island Formation and Rural Lapse Rates Based on Steep Slope Soundings in Nagano Basin, Japan
Effect of room acoustics on timbral brightness of clarinet tones: Experimental investigation with two binaural room impulse responses
Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus (Human Herpesvirus 8) Replication and Transcription Factor Activates the K9 (vIRF) Gene through Two Distinct cis Elements by a Non-DNA-Binding Mechanism
The replication and transcription activator (RTA) of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), or human herpesvirus 8, a homologue of Epstein-Barr virus BRLF1 or Rta, is a strong transactivator and inducer of lytic replication. RTA acting alone can induce lytic replication of KSHV in infected cell lines that originated from primary effusion lymphomas, leading to virus production. During the lytic replication process, RTA activates many kinds of genes, including polyadenylated nuclear RNA, K8, K9 (vIRF), ORF57, and so on. We focused here on the mechanism of how RTA upregulates the K9 (vIRF) promoter and identified two independent cis-acting elements in the K9 (vIRF) promoter that responded to RTA. These elements were finally confined to the sequence 5′-TCTGGGACAGTC-3′ in responsive element (RE) I-2B and the sequence 5′-GTACTTAAAATA-3′ in RE IIC-2, both of which did not share sequence homology. Multiple factors bound specifically with these elements, and their binding was correlated with the RTA-responsive activity. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay with nuclear extract from infected cells and the N-terminal part of RTA expressed in Escherichia coli, however, did not show that RTA interacted directly with these elements, in contrast to the RTA responsive elements in the PAN/K12 promoter region, the ORF57/K8 promoter region. Thus, it was likely that RTA could transactivate several kinds of unique cis elements without directly binding to the responsive elements, probably through cooperation with other DNA-binding factors
Accumulation of Heterochromatin Components on the Terminal Repeat Sequence of Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus Mediated by the Latency-Associated Nuclear Antigen
In the latent infection of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), its 160-kb circularized episomal DNA is replicated and maintained in the host nucleus. KSHV latency-associated nuclear antigen (LANA) is a key factor for maintaining viral latency. LANA binds to the terminal repeat (TR) DNA of the viral genome, leading to its localization to specific dot structures in the nucleus. In such an infected cell, the expression of the viral genes is restricted by a mechanism that is still unclear. Here, we found that LANA interacts with SUV39H1 histone methyltransferase, a key component of heterochromatin formation, as determined by use of a DNA pull-down assay with a biotinylated DNA fragment that contained a LANA-specific binding sequence and a maltose-binding protein pull-down assay. The diffuse localization of LANA on the chromosomes of uninfected cells changed to a punctate one with the introduction of a bacterial artificial chromosome containing most of the TR region, and SUV39H1 clearly colocalized with the LANA-associated dots. Thus, the LANA foci in KSHV-infected cells seemed to include SUV39H1 as well as heterochromatin protein 1. Furthermore, a chromatin immunoprecipitation assay revealed that the TR and the open reading frame (ORF) K1 and ORF50/RTA genes, but not the ORF73/LANA gene, lay within the heterochromatin during KSHV latency. Taken together, these observations indicate that LANA recruits heterochromatin components to the viral genome, which may lead to the establishment of viral latency and govern the transcription program