UCP1 is an essential mediator of the effects of methionine restriction on energy balance but not insulin sensitivity

© FASEB. Dietary methionine restriction (MR) by 80%increases energy expenditure (EE), reduces adiposity, and improves insulin sensitivity. We propose that the MRinduced increase in EE limits fat deposition by increasing sympathetic nervous system-dependent remodeling of white adipose tissue and increasing uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) expression in both white and brown adipose tissue. In independent assessments of the role of UCP1 as a mediator of MR\u27s effects on EE and insulin sensitivity, EE did not differ between wild-type (WT) and Ucp1-/- mice on the control diet, butMR increased EE by 31%and reduced adiposity by 25% in WT mice. In contrast, MR failed to increase EE or reduce adiposity in Ucp1-/- mice. However, MR was able to increase overall insulin sensitivity by 2.2-fold in both genotypes. Housing temperatures used to minimize (28°C) or increase (23°C) sympathetic nervous system activity revealed temperature-independent effects of the diet on EE. Metabolomics analysis showed that genotypic and dietary effects on white adipose tissue remodeling resulted in profound increases in fatty acid metabolism within this tissue. These findings establish that UCP1 is required for the MR-induced increase in EE but not insulin sensitivity and suggest that diet-induced improvements in insulin sensitivity are not strictly derived from dietary effects on energy balance

International Coercion, Emulation and Policy Diffusion: Market-Oriented Infrastructure Reforms, 1977-1999

Why do some countries adopt market-oriented reforms such as deregulation, privatization and liberalization of competition in their infrastructure industries while others do not? Why did the pace of adoption accelerate in the 1990s? Building on neo-institutional theory in sociology, we argue that the domestic adoption of market-oriented reforms is strongly influenced by international pressures of coercion and emulation. We find robust support for these arguments with an event-history analysis of the determinants of reform in the telecommunications and electricity sectors of as many as 205 countries and territories between 1977 and 1999. Our results also suggest that the coercive effect of multilateral lending from the IMF, the World Bank or Regional Development Banks is increasing over time, a finding that is consistent with anecdotal evidence that multilateral organizations have broadened the scope of the “conditionality” terms specifying market-oriented reforms imposed on borrowing countries. We discuss the possibility that, by pressuring countries into policy reform, cross-national coercion and emulation may not produce ideal outcomes.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/40099/3/wp713.pd

The Chandra Source Catalog

The Chandra Source Catalog (CSC) is a general purpose virtual X-ray astrophysics facility that provides access to a carefully selected set of generally useful quantities for individual X-ray sources, and is designed to satisfy the needs of a broad-based group of scientists, including those who may be less familiar with astronomical data analysis in the X-ray regime. The first release of the CSC includes information about 94,676 distinct X-ray sources detected in a subset of public ACIS imaging observations from roughly the first eight years of the Chandra mission. This release of the catalog includes point and compact sources with observed spatial extents <~ 30''. The catalog (1) provides access to the best estimates of the X-ray source properties for detected sources, with good scientific fidelity, and directly supports scientific analysis using the individual source data; (2) facilitates analysis of a wide range of statistical properties for classes of X-ray sources; and (3) provides efficient access to calibrated observational data and ancillary data products for individual X-ray sources, so that users can perform detailed further analysis using existing tools. The catalog includes real X-ray sources detected with flux estimates that are at least 3 times their estimated 1 sigma uncertainties in at least one energy band, while maintaining the number of spurious sources at a level of <~ 1 false source per field for a 100 ks observation. For each detected source, the CSC provides commonly tabulated quantities, including source position, extent, multi-band fluxes, hardness ratios, and variability statistics, derived from the observations in which the source is detected. In addition to these traditional catalog elements, for each X-ray source the CSC includes an extensive set of file-based data products that can be manipulated interactively.Comment: To appear in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, 53 pages, 27 figure

The velocity distribution of nearby stars from Hipparcos data II. The nature of the low-velocity moving groups

The velocity distribution of nearby stars contains many "moving groups" that are inconsistent with the standard assumption of an axisymmetric, time-independent, and steady-state Galaxy. We study the age and metallicity properties of the low-velocity moving groups based on the reconstruction of the local velocity distribution in Paper I of this series. We perform stringent, conservative hypothesis testing to establish for each of these moving groups whether it could conceivably consist of a coeval population of stars. We conclude that they do not: the moving groups are not trivially associated with their eponymous open clusters nor with any other inhomogeneous star formation event. Concerning a possible dynamical origin of the moving groups, we test whether any of the moving groups has a higher or lower metallicity than the background population of thin disk stars, as would generically be the case if the moving groups are associated with resonances of the bar or spiral structure. We find clear evidence that the Hyades moving group has higher than average metallicity and weak evidence that the Sirius moving group has lower than average metallicity, which could indicate that these two groups are related to the inner Lindblad resonance of the spiral structure. Further we find weak evidence that the Hercules moving group has higher than average metallicity, as would be the case if it is associated with the bar's outer Lindblad resonance. The Pleiades moving group shows no clear metallicity anomaly, arguing against a common dynamical origin for the Hyades and Pleiades groups. Overall, however, the moving groups are barely distinguishable from the background population of stars, raising the likelihood that the moving groups are associated with transient perturbations. [abridged

Statistical Characterization of the Chandra Source Catalog

The first release of the Chandra Source Catalog (CSC) contains ~95,000 X-ray sources in a total area of ~0.75% of the entire sky, using data from ~3,900 separate ACIS observations of a multitude of different types of X-ray sources. In order to maximize the scientific benefit of such a large, heterogeneous data-set, careful characterization of the statistical properties of the catalog, i.e., completeness, sensitivity, false source rate, and accuracy of source properties, is required. Characterization efforts of other, large Chandra catalogs, such as the ChaMP Point Source Catalog (Kim et al. 2007) or the 2 Mega-second Deep Field Surveys (Alexander et al. 2003), while informative, cannot serve this purpose, since the CSC analysis procedures are significantly different and the range of allowable data is much less restrictive. We describe here the characterization process for the CSC. This process includes both a comparison of real CSC results with those of other, deeper Chandra catalogs of the same targets and extensive simulations of blank-sky and point source populations.Comment: To be published in the Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series (Fig. 52 replaced with a version which astro-ph can convert to PDF without issues.

The search for proton decay

Following a very brief description of the theoretical developments which motivated the search for proton decay, I shall describe one of these experiments (the IMB experiment) in some detail. Then I shall compare recent results from that experiment with those from other detectors.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/87399/2/321_1.pd

Structural Characterization of a Novel Chlamydia pneumoniae Type III Secretion-Associated Protein, Cpn0803

Type III secretion (T3S) is an essential virulence factor used by Gram-negative pathogenic bacteria to deliver effector proteins into the host cell to establish and maintain an intracellular infection. Chlamydia is known to use T3S to facilitate invasion of host cells but many proteins in the system remain uncharacterized. The C. trachomatis protein CT584 has previously been implicated in T3S. Thus, we analyzed the CT584 ortholog in C. pneumoniae (Cpn0803) and found that it associates with known T3S proteins including the needle-filament protein (CdsF), the ATPase (CdsN), and the C-ring protein (CdsQ). Using membrane lipid strips, Cpn0803 interacted with phosphatidic acid and phosphatidylinositol, suggesting that Cpn0803 may associate with host cells. Crystallographic analysis revealed a unique structure of Cpn0803 with a hydrophobic pocket buried within the dimerization interface that may be important for binding small molecules. Also, the binding domains on Cpn0803 for CdsN, CdsQ, and CdsF were identified using Pepscan epitope mapping. Collectively, these data suggest that Cpn0803 plays a role in T3S

Crop Updates 2009 - Farming Systems

This session covers nineteen papers from different authors: Decision support technology 1. The use of high resolution imagery in broad acre cropping, Derk Bakker and Grey Poulish, Department of Agriculture and Food 2. Spraywise decisions – online spray applicatiors planning tool, Steve Lacy, Nufarm Australia Ltd 3. Testing for redlegged earthmite resistance in Western Australia, Svetlana Micic, Peter Mangano, Tony Dore and Alan Lord, Department of Agriculture and Food 4. Screening cereal, canola and pasture cultivars for Root Lesion Nematode (Pratylenchus neglectus), Vivien Vanstone, Helen Hunter and Sean Kelly,Department of Agriculture and Food Farming Systems Research 5. Lessons from five years of cropping systems research, WK Anderson, Department of Agriculture and Food 6. Facey Group rotations for profit: Five years on and where to next? Gary Lang and David McCarthy, Facey Group, Wickepin, WA Mixed Farming 7. Saline groundwater use by Lucerne and its biomass production in relation to groundwater salinity, Ruhi Ferdowsian, Ian Roseand Andrew Van Burgel, Department of Agriculture and Food 8. Autumn cleaning yellow serradella pastures with broad spectrum herbicides – a novel weed control strategy that exploits delayed germination, Dr David Ferris, Department of Agriculture and Food 9. Decimating weed seed banks within non-crop phases for the benefit of subsequent crops, Dr David Ferris, Department of Agriculture and Food 10. Making seasonal variability easier to deal with in a mixed farming enterprise! Rob Grima,Department of Agriculture and Food 11. How widely have new annual legume pastures been adopted in the low to medium rainfall zones of Western Australia? Natalie Hogg, Department of Agriculture and Food, John Davis, Institute for Sustainability and Technology Policy, Murdoch University 12. Economic evaluation of dual purpose cereal in the Central wheatbelt of Western Australia, Jarrad Martin, Pippa Michael and Robert Belford, School of Agriculture and Environment, CurtinUniversity of Technology, Muresk Campus 13. A system for improving the fit of annual pasture legumes under Western Australian farming systems, Kawsar P Salam1,2, Roy Murray-Prior1, David Bowran2and Moin U. Salam2, 1Curtin University of Technology; 2Department of Agriculture and Food 14. Perception versus reality: why we should measure our pasture, Tim Scanlon, Department of Agriculture and Food, Len Wade, Charles Sturt University, Megan Ryan, University of Western Australia Modelling 15. Potential impact of climate changes on the profitability of cropping systems in the medium and high rainfall areas of the northern wheatbelt, Megan Abrahams, Chad Reynolds, Caroline Peek, Dennis van Gool, Kari-Lee Falconer and Daniel Gardiner, Department of Agriculture and Food 16. Prediction of wheat grain yield using Yield Prophet®, Geoff Anderson and Siva Sivapalan, Department of Agriculture and Food 17. Using Yield Prophet® to determine the likely impacts of climate change on wheat production, Tim McClelland1, James Hunt1, Zvi Hochman2, Bill Long3, Dean Holzworth4, Anthony Whitbread5, Stephen van Rees1and Peter DeVoil6 1 Birchip Cropping Group, Birchip, Vic, 2Agricultural Production Systems Research Unit (APSRU), CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Climate Adaptation Flagship, Qld, 3 AgConsulting, SA 4 Agricultural Production Systems Research Unit (APSRU), CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Toowoomba Qld, 5 CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, SA, 6 Agricultural Production Systems Research Unit (APSRU), Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Queensland 18. Simple methods to predict yield potential: Improvements to the French and Schultz formula to account for soil type and within-season rainfall, Yvette Oliver, Michael Robertson and Peter Stone, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems 19. Ability of various yield forecasting models to estimate soil water at the start of the growing season, Siva Sivapalan, Kari-Lee Falconer and Geoff Anderson, Department of Agriculture and Foo

Giving up the Single Life: Leadership Motivations for Interorganizational Restructuring in Nonprofit Organizations

This paper addresses a gap in our understanding of why leaders of nonprofit organizations pursue interorganizational restructuring (defined as mergers and similar arrangements). It draws on several theories that explain interorganizational relations as adaptive responses to environmental conditions. The study analyzes four examples of interorganizational restructuring involving 11 nonprofit human service organizations. The research finds that theories emphasizing single-factor motivations (such as the need for resources, power, legitimacy, or greater efficiency) are incomplete; a multiple-factors approach suggested by Oliver\u27s (1991) integrated theory of interorganizational relations provides a more satisfactory basis for theory development. Researchers can use this work to develop a more complete understanding of interorganizational restructuring as a phenomenon; practitioners can use it to inform strategy development

The Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer consensus statement on immunotherapy for the treatment of hematologic malignancies: multiple myeloma, lymphoma, and acute leukemia

Increasing knowledge concerning the biology of hematologic malignancies as well as the role of the immune system in the control of these diseases has led to the development and approval of immunotherapies that are resulting in impressive clinical responses. Therefore, the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) convened a hematologic malignancy Cancer Immunotherapy Guidelines panel consisting of physicians, nurses, patient advocates, and patients to develop consensus recommendations for the clinical application of immunotherapy for patients with multiple myeloma, lymphoma, and acute leukemia. These recommendations were developed following the previously established process based on the Institute of Medicine’s clinical practice guidelines. In doing so, a systematic literature search was performed for high-impact studies from 2004 to 2014 and was supplemented with further literature as identified by the panel. The consensus panel met in December of 2014 with the goal to generate consensus recommendations for the clinical use of immunotherapy in patients with hematologic malignancies. During this meeting, consensus panel voting along with discussion were used to rate and review the strength of the supporting evidence from the literature search. These consensus recommendations focus on issues related to patient selection, toxicity management, clinical endpoints, and the sequencing or combination of therapies. Overall, immunotherapy is rapidly emerging as an effective therapeutic strategy for the management of hematologic malignances. Evidence-based consensus recommendations for its clinical application are provided and will be updated as the field evolves