Synthesis of regional crust and upper-mantle structure from seismic and gravity data

Analyses of regional gravity and magnetic patterns, LANDSAT images and geological information revealed two major lineaments crossing western Pennsylvania and parts of surrounding states. These lineaments are inferred to be expressions of fracture zones which penetrare deeply into the crust and possibly the upper mantle. The extensions of the Tyron-Mt. Union and the Pittsburgh-Washington lineaments bound a distinct crustal block (Lake Erie-Maryland block) over 100 km wide and probably more than 600 km in length. Evidence exists for the lateral displacement of this block at least 60 km northwestward during late Precambrian to Lower Ordovician time. Subsequent movements have been mainly vertical with respect to neighboring blocks. A possible crustal block that passes through eastern Kentucky, proposed by a TVA study on tectonics in the southern Appalachians, was also investigated. Finally, the use of regional gravity and magnetic data in identifying major crustal structures beneath western Pennsylvania is discussed

Synthesis of regional crust and upper-mantle structure from seismic and gravity data

Available seismic and ground based gravity data are combined to infer the three dimensional crust and upper mantle structure in selected regions. This synthesis and interpretation proceeds from large-scale average models suitable for early comparison with high-altitude satellite potential field data to more detailed delineation of structural boundaries and other variations that may be significant in natural resource assessment. Seismic and ground based gravity data are the primary focal point, but other relevant information (e.g. magnetic field, heat flow, Landsat imagery, geodetic leveling, and natural resources maps) is used to constrain the structure inferred and to assist in defining structural domains and boundaries. The seismic data consists of regional refraction lines, limited reflection coverage, surface wave dispersion, teleseismic P and S wave delay times, anelastic absorption, and regional seismicity patterns. The gravity data base consists of available point gravity determinations for the areas considered

Radiosensitive melanoma cell line with mutation of the gene for ataxia telangiectasia.

The human melanoma cell lines MM96L, A2058 and HT144 were examined for sensitivity to ionizing radiation and UVB radiation. HT144 demonstrated a significant increase in sensitivity to ionizing and UVB radiation compared with the MM96L and A2058 cells. Sensitivity to both agents was associated with susceptibility to apoptosis. Using a protein truncation assay, a mutation for the gene for ataxia telangiectasia (ATM) was identified in HT144 cells. This was confirmed to be a homozygous mutation by subsequent sequencing of the abnormal region. Protein truncation assay of the other two cell lines showed no abnormality. The results suggest that somatic mutation of the A-T gene may be important in determining tumour radiosensitivity

The diversity of bioactive proteins in Australian snake venoms

Australian elapid snakes are among the most venomous in the world. Their venoms contain multiple components that target blood hemostasis, neuromuscular signaling, and the cardiovascular system. We describe here a comprehensive approach to separation and identification of the venom proteins from 18 of these snake species, representing nine genera. The venom protein components were separated by two-dimensional PAGE and identified using mass spectrometry and de novo peptide sequencing. The venoms are complex mixtures showing up to 200 protein spots varying in size from 10. These include many proteins identified previously in Australian snake venoms, homologs identified in other snake species, and some novel proteins. In many cases multiple trains of spots were typically observed in the higher molecular mass range (> 20 kDa) (indicative of post-translational modification). Venom proteins and their post-translational modifications were characterized using specific kantibodies, phosphoprotein- and glycoprotein-specific stains, enzymatic digestion, lectin binding, and antivenom reactivity. In the lower molecular weight range, several proteins were identified, but the predominant species were phospholipase A(2) and alpha-neurotoxins, both represented by different sequence variants. The higher molecular weight range contained proteases, nucleotidases, oxidases, and homologs of mammalian coagulation factors. This information together with the identification of several novel proteins (metalloproteinases, vespryns, phospholipase A(2) inhibitors, protein-disulfide isomerase, 5'-nucleotidases, cysteinerich secreted proteins, C-type lectins, and acetylcholinesterases) aids in understanding the lethal mechanisms of elapid snake venoms and represents a valuable resource for future development of novel human therapeutics

Genomic analysis of a novel antarctic bacterium, cryobacterium sp. SO2 provides insights into its genomic potential for production of antimicrobial compounds

A novel strain of Cryobacterium designated as SO2, was isolated from the Antarctic. Hence, this study was undertaken to gain further insight into the antimicrobial compounds and secondary metabolites produced by Cryobacterium sp. SO2. It was found that strain SO2 is a Gram-positive that exhibits an irregular rod shape, which formed yellow to orange pigmented colonies on semi-solid media. Strain SO2 grows at temperatures ranging from 4 to 25 ºC. It has a complete genomic size of 4.097 Mb. SO2 has a DNA G+C content of 68.43%, and genomic annotation showed that the genome contained 3,862 CDS, 10 rRNA, 55 tRNA and 1 tm-RNA. Phylogenetic and OrthoANI analysis suggested Cryobacterium sp. strains SO1, N22, TMB1-8, LW097, TMN39-1, C. zongtaii TMN-42, C. arcticum PAMC27867 and C. soli GCJ02 as its closest phylogenetic neighbour. Genome annotation shows that strain SO2 confers β-lactamase class A, cephalosporin-C deacetylases, and 27 drug-resistance or efflux coding genes, and allows resistance to ceftazidime. Functional annotation identifies 28.74% of predicted genes are of unknown functions. Genome mining indicates that there are six putative secondary metabolite gene clusters in strain SO2. They are made up of RRE-containing, terpene, beta-lactone, T3PKS, NAPAA, and 2dos. This finding shows strain SO2 harbours genes that may be involved in the production of compounds with antibacterial and antioxidant activities

Primary physical education, coaches and continuing professional development

This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in Sport, Education and Society, 16(4), 485 - 505, 2011, copyright @ Taylor & Francis, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/13573322.2011.589645.Physical education (PE) in primary schools has traditionally been taught by qualified primary teachers. More recently, some teaching of PE in primary schools has been undertaken by coaches (mostly football coaches). These coaches hold national governing body awards but do not hold teaching qualifications. Thus, coaches may not be adequately prepared to teach PE in curriculum time. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the perceptions of a group of community-based football coaches working in primary schools for the impact of a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme on their ability to undertake ‘specified work’ to cover PE in primary schools. The programme focused on four areas identified as important to enable coaches to cover specified work: short- and medium-term planning, pedagogy, knowledge of the curriculum and reflection. Results showed that for the majority of coaches the CPD programme had made them more aware of the importance of these four areas and had helped to develop their knowledge and ability to put this into practice in covering planning, preparation and assessment time. However, further input is still required to develop coaches’ knowledge and understanding in all four areas, but especially their curriculum knowledge, as well as their ability to put these into practice consistently. These findings are discussed in relation to the implications of employing coaches to cover the teaching of PE in primary schools and, if employed, what CPD coaches need to develop the necessary knowledge, skill and understanding for covering specified work in schools

Senataxin, defective in ataxia oculomotor apraxia type 2, is involved in the defense against oxidative DNA damage.

A defective response to DNA damage is observed in several human autosomal recessive ataxias with oculomotor apraxia, including ataxia-telangiectasia. We report that senataxin, defective in ataxia oculomotor apraxia (AOA) type 2, is a nuclear protein involved in the DNA damage response. AOA2 cells are sensitive to H2O2, camptothecin, and mitomycin C, but not to ionizing radiation, and sensitivity was rescued with full-length SETX cDNA. AOA2 cells exhibited constitutive oxidative DNA damage and enhanced chromosomal instability in response to H2O2. Rejoining of H2O2-induced DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) was significantly reduced in AOA2 cells compared to controls, and there was no evidence for a defect in DNA single-strand break repair. This defect in DSB repair was corrected by full-length SETX cDNA. These results provide evidence that an additional member of the autosomal recessive AOA is also characterized by a defective response to DNA damage, which may contribute to the neurodegeneration seen in this syndrome

Non-homologous end joining in class switch recombination: the beginning of the end

Immunoglobulin class switch recombination (CSR) is initiated by a B-cell-specific factor, activation-induced deaminase, probably through deamination of deoxycytidine residues within the switch (S) regions. The initial lesions in the S regions are subsequently processed, resulting in the production of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). These breaks will then be recognized, edited and repaired, finally leading to the recombination of the two S regions. Two major repair pathways have been implicated in CSR, the predominant non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) and the alternative end-joining (A-EJ) pathways. The former requires not only components of the ‘classical’ NHEJ machinery, i.e. Ku70/Ku80, DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit, DNA ligase IV and XRCC4, but also a number of DNA-damage sensors or adaptors, such as ataxia–telangiectasia mutated, γH2AX, 53BP1, MDC1, the Mre11–Rad50–NBS1 complex and the ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3-related protein (ATR). The latter pathway is not well characterized yet and probably requires microhomologies. In this review, we will focus on the current knowledge of the predominant NHEJ pathway in CSR and will also give a perspective on the A-EJ pathway

Influence of the oxidizing agent in the synthesis of graphite oxide

The oxidation capacity of several procedures described in the literature which use different oxidizing agents has been exhaustively studied in order to describe the best route for oxidation of this material. The oxidation capacities of different types of materials were evaluated in the synthesis of graphite oxide in an effort to obtain a product with similar characteristics to those provided by commonly employed methods. The results obtained show that graphite oxide structures are greatly influenced by the nature of the oxidizing agent used. It was concluded that it is possible not only to establish the number of oxygenated groups attached to the structure but also, and depending on the oxidizing agent used, to know the stability of graphite oxide. The different characteristics of each graphite oxide obtained could facilitate their use in multiple applications.La capacidad de oxidación de varios procedimientos descritos en la literatura que utilizan diferentes agentes oxidantes ha sido exhaustivamente estudiada con el fin de describir la mejor ruta de oxidación de este material. Se evaluaron las capacidades de oxidación de diferentes tipos de materiales en la síntesis de óxido de grafito en un esfuerzo por obtener un producto con características similares a las proporcionadas por los métodos comúnmente empleados. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que las estructuras del óxido de grafito están muy influenciadas por la naturaleza del agente oxidante utilizado. Se concluyó que es posible no solo establecer el número de grupos oxigenados adheridos a la estructura sino también, y dependiendo del agente oxidante utilizado, conocer la estabilidad del óxido de grafito