Chapter Markets and Merchants: Commercial and Cultural Integration in Northwest Europe, 1300-1700

Between the thirteenth and seventeenth centuries commerce in northern Europe expanded and contracted. The long term net effect of the trade increase was an overall substantial impact on the economy and on the culture of the lands around the North and Baltic Seas. The development of interdependent markets can be indicated by examining the tendency of prices to converge in different places. Relying on previous research and novel ways of constructing indices using price data from a number of ports in northern Europe it is possible to confirm both the long term direction, with ups and downs, toward market integration as well as the emergence in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries of regional markets in certain food grains

Resin Flow in Loblolly and Shortleaf Pines Used by Red-Cockaded Woodpeckers

We measured resin flow in loblolly (Pinus taeda L.) and shortleaf (Pinus echinata Mill.) pines in stands used by red-cockaded woodpecker, Picoides borealis (Vieillot), in the Angelina and Davy Crockett National Forests in eastern Texas. We also measured resin flow in a mature loblolly pine stand not used by the woodpeckers. Resin flow varied by study area, species, and stand position. In woodpecker stands, pines experiencing low levels of competition seemed better able to tolerate the continual resin drainage associated with red-cockaded woodpecker resin well pecking. In the Angelina National Forest, all new cavity trees excavated during the study were on forest edges. In the non-woodpecker stand, edge trees had significantly better resin flow. These results indicate that the woodpeckers choose trees most likely to be good resin producers. They also indicate that silviculture in loblolly and shortleaf pine stands should favor edge and an open stand habit when red-cockaded woodpeckers are a major management consideration and that potential resin production can be measured in both cavity pines, and pines being considered for red-cockaded woodpecker introduction

Parsec-scale radio structures in the nuclei of four Seyfert galaxies

We present 18-cm radio maps of four Seyfert nuclei, Mrk 1, Mrk 3, Mrk 231 and Mrk 463E, made with the European VLBI Network (EVN). Linear radio structures are present in three out of four sources on scales of ~100 pc to ~1 kpc, and the 20-mas beam of the EVN enables us to resolve details within the radio structures on scales of <10 pc. Mrk 3 was also imaged using MERLIN and the data combined with the EVN data to improve the sensitivity to extended emission. We find an unresolved flat-spectrum core in Mrk 3, which we identify with the hidden Seyfert 1 nucleus in this object, and we also see marked differences between the two highly-collimated radio jets emanating from the core. The western jet terminates in a bright hotspot and resembles an FRII radio structure, whilst the eastern jet has more in common with an FRI source. In Mrk 463E, we use the radio and optical structure of the source to argue that the true nucleus lies approximately 1 arcsec south of the position of the radio and optical brightness peaks, which probably represent a hotspot at the working surface of a radio jet. The EVN data also provide new evidence for a 100-pc radio jet powering the radio source in the Type 1 nucleus of Mrk 231. However, the Seyfert 2 galaxy Mrk 1 shows no evidence for radio jets down to the limits of resolution (~10 pc). We discuss the range of radio source size and morphology which can occur in the nuclei of Seyfert galaxies and the implications for Seyfert unification schemes and for radio surveys of large samples of objects.Comment: 23 pages, 7 postscript figures (supplied as separate files), uses AAS aaspp4 LaTeX style file, to appear in the 10 June 1999 issue of The Astrophysical Journa

RXTE Discovery of Multiple Cyclotron Lines during the 2004 December Outburst of V0332+53

We present an analysis of the 2-150 keV spectrum of the transient X-ray pulsar V0332+53 taken with the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) in 2004 December. We report on the detection of three cyclotron resonance features at 27, 51, and 74 keV in the phase-averaged data, corresponding to a polar magnetic field of 2.7 x 10^12 G. After 4U0115+63, this makes V0332+53 the second accreting neutron star in which more than two cyclotron lines have been detected; this has now also been confirmed by INTEGRAL. Pulse-phase spectroscopy reveals remarkably little variability of the cyclotron line through the 4.4 s X-ray pulse.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

A purine metabolic checkpoint that prevents autoimmunity and autoinflammation.

Still's disease, the paradigm of autoinflammation-cum-autoimmunity, predisposes for a cytokine storm with excessive T lymphocyte activation upon viral infection. Loss of function of the purine nucleoside enzyme FAMIN is the sole known cause for monogenic Still's disease. Here we discovered that a FAMIN-enabled purine metabolon in dendritic cells (DCs) restrains CD4+ and CD8+ T cell priming. DCs with absent FAMIN activity prime for enhanced antigen-specific cytotoxicity, IFNγ secretion, and T cell expansion, resulting in excessive influenza A virus-specific responses. Enhanced priming is already manifest with hypomorphic FAMIN-I254V, for which ∼6% of mankind is homozygous. FAMIN controls membrane trafficking and restrains antigen presentation in an NADH/NAD+-dependent manner by balancing flux through adenine-guanine nucleotide interconversion cycles. FAMIN additionally converts hypoxanthine into inosine, which DCs release to dampen T cell activation. Compromised FAMIN consequently enhances immunosurveillance of syngeneic tumors. FAMIN is a biochemical checkpoint that protects against excessive antiviral T cell responses, autoimmunity, and autoinflammation

Device Performance of Emerging Photovoltaic Materials (Version 3)

Following the 2nd release of the “Emerging PV reports,” the best achievements in the performance of emerging photovoltaic devices in diverse emerging photovoltaic research subjects are summarized, as reported in peer-reviewed articles in academic journals since August 2021. Updated graphs, tables, and analyses are provided with several performance parameters, e.g., power conversion efficiency, open-circuit voltage, short-circuit current density, fill factor, light utilization efficiency, and stability test energy yield. These parameters are presented as a function of the photovoltaic bandgap energy and the average visible transmittance for each technology and application, and are put into perspective using, e.g., the detailed balance efficiency limit. The 3rd installment of the “Emerging PV reports” extends the scope toward triple junction solar cells

Nuclear receptors PPARβ/δ and PPARα direct distinct metabolic regulatory programs in the mouse heart

In the diabetic heart, chronic activation of the PPARα pathway drives excessive fatty acid (FA) oxidation, lipid accumulation, reduced glucose utilization, and cardiomyopathy. The related nuclear receptor, PPARβ/δ, is also highly expressed in the heart, yet its function has not been fully delineated. To address its role in myocardial metabolism, we generated transgenic mice with cardiac-specific expression of PPARβ/δ, driven by the myosin heavy chain (MHC-PPARβ/δ mice). In striking contrast to MHC-PPARα mice, MHC-PPARβ/δ mice had increased myocardial glucose utilization, did not accumulate myocardial lipid, and had normal cardiac function. Consistent with these observed metabolic phenotypes, we found that expression of genes involved in cellular FA transport were activated by PPARα but not by PPARβ/δ. Conversely, cardiac glucose transport and glycolytic genes were activated in MHC-PPARβ/δ mice, but repressed in MHC-PPARα mice. In reporter assays, we showed that PPARβ/δ and PPARα exerted differential transcriptional control of the GLUT4 promoter, which may explain the observed isotype-specific effects on glucose uptake. Furthermore, myocardial injury due to ischemia/reperfusion injury was significantly reduced in the MHC-PPARβ/δ mice compared with control or MHC-PPARα mice, consistent with an increased capacity for myocardial glucose utilization. These results demonstrate that PPARα and PPARβ/δ drive distinct cardiac metabolic regulatory programs and identify PPARβ/δ as a potential target for metabolic modulation therapy aimed at cardiac dysfunction caused by diabetes and ischemia

Lens intracellular hydrostatic pressure is generated by the circulation of sodium and modulated by gap junction coupling

We recently modeled fluid flow through gap junction channels coupling the pigmented and nonpigmented layers of the ciliary body. The model suggested the channels could transport the secretion of aqueous humor, but flow would be driven by hydrostatic pressure rather than osmosis. The pressure required to drive fluid through a single layer of gap junctions might be just a few mmHg and difficult to measure. In the lens, however, there is a circulation of Na+ that may be coupled to intracellular fluid flow. Based on this hypothesis, the fluid would cross hundreds of layers of gap junctions, and this might require a large hydrostatic gradient. Therefore, we measured hydrostatic pressure as a function of distance from the center of the lens using an intracellular microelectrode-based pressure-sensing system. In wild-type mouse lenses, intracellular pressure varied from ∼330 mmHg at the center to zero at the surface. We have several knockout/knock-in mouse models with differing levels of expression of gap junction channels coupling lens fiber cells. Intracellular hydrostatic pressure in lenses from these mouse models varied inversely with the number of channels. When the lens’ circulation of Na+ was either blocked or reduced, intracellular hydrostatic pressure in central fiber cells was either eliminated or reduced proportionally. These data are consistent with our hypotheses: fluid circulates through the lens; the intracellular leg of fluid circulation is through gap junction channels and is driven by hydrostatic pressure; and the fluid flow is generated by membrane transport of sodium