The Yeast Mitochondrial Proteins Rcf1 And Rcf2 Support the Enzymology of The Cytochrome C Oxidase Complex and Generation of The Proton Motive Force

The yeast mitochondrial proteins Rcf1 and Rcf2 are associated with a subpopulation of the cytochrome bc1–cytochrome c oxidase supercomplex and have been proposed to play a role in the assembly and/or modulation of the activity of the cytochrome c oxidase (complex IV, CIV). Yeast mutants deficient in either Rcf1 or Rcf2 proteins can use aerobic respiration–based metabolism for growth, but the absence of both proteins results in a strong growth defect. In this study, using assorted biochemical and biophysical analyses of Rcf1/Rcf2 single and double null-mutant yeast cells and mitochondria, we further explored how Rcf1 and Rcf2 support aerobic respiration and growth. We show that the absence of Rcf1 physically reduces the levels of CIV and diminishes the ability of the CIV that is present to maintain a normal mitochondrial proton motive force (PMF). Although the absence of Rcf2 did not noticeably affect the physical content of CIV, the PMF generated by CIV was also lower than normal. Our results indicate that the detrimental effects of the absence of Rcf1 and Rcf2 proteins on the CIV complex are distinct in terms of CIV assembly/accumulation and additive in terms of the ability of CIV to generate PMF. Thus, the combined absence of Rcf1 and Rcf2 alters both CIV physiology and assembly. We conclude that the slow aerobic growth of the Rcf1/Rcf2 double null mutant results from diminished generation of mitochondrial PMF by CIV and limits the level of CIV activity required for maintenance of the PMF and growth under aerobic conditions

Humanising language testing

Test-takers' voices in relation to high-stakes language tests have received growing attention in recent years. While the perspectives of this stakeholder group can be utilised to improve test quality, test-taking experience, and test impact, we argue that this goal needs to be achieved by considering a fundamental shift in our conceptualisation of language tests based on test-takers' experiential and perceptual data. This is a shift towards humanising language testing in a globalised world which has witnessed growing expansion, commercialisation, and potential dehumanising of high-stakes tests such as IELTS (International English Language Testing System). Drawing on data from two larger studies, we illustrate the call for humanising the test in seven areas including test purpose, test policy, test-taking experience, test administration, test-taker background, test content and task, and feedback on test performance. Although humanisation has accumulated specific meanings and contentions in the past few decades, test-takers' call for a friendly, responsive, and closer-to-life test and a less stressful test-taking experience may appear more legitimate than controversial in a globalised world

Hypoxia-inducible Gene Domain 1 Proteins in Yeast Mitochondria Protect Against Proton Leak Through Complex IV

Hypoxia-inducible gene domain 1 (HIGD1) proteins are small integral membrane proteins, conserved from bacteria to humans, that associate with oxidative phosphorylation supercomplexes. Using yeast as a model organism, we have shown previously that its two HIGD1 proteins, Rcf1 and Rcf2, are required for the generation and maintenance of a normal membrane potential (ΔΨ) across the inner mitochondrial membrane (IMM). We postulated that the lower ΔΨ observed in the absence of the HIGD1 proteins may be due to decreased proton pumping by complex IV (CIV) or enhanced leak of protons across the IMM. Here we measured the ΔΨ generated by complex III (CIII) to discriminate between these possibilities. First, we found that the decreased ΔΨ observed in the absence of the HIGD1 proteins cannot be due to decreased proton pumping by CIV because CIII, operating alone, also exhibited a decreased ΔΨ when HIGD1 proteins were absent. Because CIII can neither lower its pumping stoichiometry nor transfer protons completely across the IMM, this result indicates that HIGD1 protein ablation enhances proton leak across the IMM. Second, we demonstrate that this proton leak occurs through CIV because ΔΨ generation by CIII is restored when CIV is removed from the cell. Third, the proton leak appeared to take place through an inactive population of CIV that accumulates when HIGD1 proteins are absent. We conclude that HIGD1 proteins in yeast prevent CIV inactivation, likely by preventing the loss of lipids bound within the Cox3 protein of CIV

On the solutions of universal differential equation by noncommutative Picard-Vessiot theory

Basing on Picard-Vessiot theory of noncommutative differential equations and algebraic combinatorics on noncommutative formal series with holomorphic coefficients, various recursive constructions of sequences of grouplike series converging to solutions of universal differential equation are proposed. Basing on monoidal factorizations, these constructions intensively use diagonal series and various pairs of bases in duality, in concatenation-shuffle bialgebra and in a Loday's generalized bialgebra. As applications, the unique solution, satisfying asymptotic conditions, of Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov equations is provided by d\'evissage

Families of eulerian functions involved in regularization of divergent polyzetas

Extending the Eulerian functions, we study their relationship with zeta function of several variables. In particular, starting with Weierstrass factorization theorem (and Newton-Girard identity) for the complex Gamma function, we are interested in the ratios of $\zeta(2k)/\pi^{2k}$ and their multiindexed generalization, we will obtain an analogue situation and draw some consequences about a structure of the algebra of polyzetas values, by means of some combinatorics of noncommutative rational series. The same combinatorial frameworks also allow to study the independence of a family of eulerian functions.Comment: preprin

On The Global Renormalization and Regularization of Several Complex Variable Zeta Functions by Computer

This review concerns the resolution of a special case of Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov equations ($KZ_3$) using our recent results on combinatorial aspects of zeta functions on several variables and software on noncommutative symbolic computations. In particular, we describe the actual solution of $(KZ_3)$ leading to the unique noncommutative series, $\Phi_{KZ}$, so-called Drinfel'd associator (or Drinfel'd series). Non-trivial expressions for series with rational coefficients, satisfying the same properties with $\Phi_{KZ}$, are also explicitly provided due to the algebraic structure and the singularity analysis of the polylogarithms and harmonic sums

Identifying Computer-Translated Paragraphs using Coherence Features

We have developed a method for extracting the coherence features from a paragraph by matching similar words in its sentences. We conducted an experiment with a parallel German corpus containing 2000 human-created and 2000 machine-translated paragraphs. The result showed that our method achieved the best performance (accuracy = 72.3%, equal error rate = 29.8%) when it is compared with previous methods on various computer-generated text including translation and paper generation (best accuracy = 67.9%, equal error rate = 32.0%). Experiments on Dutch, another rich resource language, and a low resource one (Japanese) attained similar performances. It demonstrated the efficiency of the coherence features at distinguishing computer-translated from human-created paragraphs on diverse languages.Comment: 9 pages, PACLIC 201