The 1999 Center for Simulation of Dynamic Response in Materials Annual Technical Report

Introduction: This annual report describes research accomplishments for FY 99 of the Center for Simulation of Dynamic Response of Materials. The Center is constructing a virtual shock physics facility in which the full three dimensional response of a variety of target materials can be computed for a wide range of compressive, ten- sional, and shear loadings, including those produced by detonation of energetic materials. The goals are to facilitate computation of a variety of experiments in which strong shock and detonation waves are made to impinge on targets consisting of various combinations of materials, compute the subsequent dy- namic response of the target materials, and validate these computations against experimental data

New maverick coset theories

We present new examples of maverick coset conformal field theories. They are closely related to conformal embeddings and exceptional modular invariants.Comment: 6 pages, LaTeX2

Performance of Quality Assurance Procedures for an Applied Climate Information System

Valid data are required to make climate assessments and to make climate-related decisions. The objective of this paper is threefold: to introduce an explicit treatment of Type I and Type II errors in evaluating the performance of quality assurance procedures, to illustrate a quality control approach that allows tailoring to regions and subregions, and to introduce a new spatial regression test. Threshold testing, step change, persistence, and spatial regression were included in a test of three decades of temperature and precipitation data at six weather stations representing different climate regimes. The magnitude of thresholds was addressed in terms of the climatic variability, and multiple thresholds were tested to determine the number of Type I errors generated. In a separate test, random errors were seeded into the data and the performance of the tests was such that most Type II errors were made in the range of 1C for temperature, not too different from the sensor field accuracy. The study underscores the fact that precipitation is more difficult to quality control than temperature. The new spatial regression test presented in this document outperformed all the other tests, which together identified only a few errors beyond those identified by the spatial regression test

Reviews

The following publications have been reviewed by the mentioned authors;Technology Education - A World Wide Concern - reviewed by Dr Thomas GinnerLiving Materials - Practical Activities in Science and Technology - reviewed by David FosterSTEP Design and Technology: Resistant Materials - reviewed by Les PorterSTEP Design and Technology: Food - reviewed by Jenny JupeTERU Diagnostic Tests in Design and Technology - reviewed by Bill GoddardUnderstanding Practice in Design and Technology - reviewed by Melanie FasciatoTeaching Design and Technology - reviewed by John HillD&T Alive at Alton Towers Key Stage 3 - reviewed by John DurrellSucceeding with Autocad - reviewed by P WhittakerTIckle the Senses! - reviewed by Ali FarrellThe Fast Food Diner - reviewed by Margaret Jepso

Reviews

The following publications have been reviewed by the mentioned authors;Technology Education for Teachers - reviewed by Bill GoddardUnderstanding Design and Technology Key Stage 2 & 3 - reviewed by Melanie FasciatoElectronics Tasks and Assignments - reviewed by Trevor TaylorOutline Scheme of Work 'Working towards Capability' - reviewed by Bill GoddardCADpius - reviewed by Les PorterTechnology 1 - reviewed by Richard AgerDigital Electronics - reviewed by David FosterAn Introduction to Usability - reviewed by Anne RiggsHow do they do that? - reviewed by Jonty KinsellaD & T Routes: Graphic Products - reviewed by George AsquithD & T Routes: Textiles - reviewed by Jillian MellorD & T Routes: Resistant Materials - reviewed by Chris SnellD & T Routes: Food - reviewed by Margaret JepsonD & T Routes: Control Products - reviewed by Chris WoodD & T Routes: Core Book - reviewed by Jenny JupeD & T Routes: Teacher's Resource - reviewed by Jenny Jup

Expression of eukaryotic membrane proteins in eukaryotic and prokaryotic hosts

The production of membrane proteins of high purity and in satisfactory yields is crucial for biomedical research. Due to their involvement in various cellular processes, membrane proteins have increasingly become some of the most important drug targets in modern times. Therefore, their structural and functional characterization is a high priority. However, protein expression has always been more challenging for membrane proteins than for soluble proteins. In this review, we present four of the most commonly-used expression systems for eukaryotic membrane proteins. We describe the benefits and drawbacks of bacterial, yeast, insect and mammalian cells. In addition, we describe the different features (growth rate, yield, post-translational modifications) of each expression system, and how they are influenced by the construct design and modifications of the target gene. Cost-effective and fast-growing E. coli is mostly selected for the production of small, simple membrane proteins that, if possible, do not require post-translational modifications but has the potential for the production of bigger proteins as well. Yeast hosts are advantageous for larger and more complex proteins but for the most complex ones, insect or mammalian cells are used as they are the only hosts able to perform all the post-translational modifications found in human cells. A combination of rational construct design and host cell choice can dramatically improve membrane protein production processes