The Interstellar Rubidium Isotope Ratio toward Rho Ophiuchi A

The isotope ratio, 85Rb/87Rb, places constraints on models of the nucleosynthesis of heavy elements, but there is no precise determination of the ratio for material beyond the Solar System. We report the first measurement of the interstellar Rb isotope ratio. Our measurement of the Rb I line at 7800 A for the diffuse gas toward rho Oph A yields a value of 1.21 +/- 0.30 (1-sigma) that differs significantly from the meteoritic value of 2.59. The Rb/K elemental abundance ratio for the cloud also is lower than that seen in meteorites. Comparison of the 85Rb/K and 87Rb/K ratios with meteoritic values indicates that the interstellar 85Rb abundance in this direction is lower than the Solar System abundance. We attribute the lower abundance to a reduced contribution from the r-process. Interstellar abundances for Kr, Cd, and Sn are consistent with much less r-process synthesis for the solar neighborhood compared to the amount inferred for the Solar System.Comment: 12 pages with 2 figures and 1 table; will appear in ApJ Letter

Regulation of Fas-Mediated Apoptosis by N-ras in Melanoma

Oncogenic ras has been shown to downregulate Fas receptor expression and increase Fas ligand expression and thus contribute to resistance to Fas-mediated cell death in several cell types. The effects of ras on Fas-mediated apoptosis have not been studied in melanoma. We studied the effects of activated N-ras by measuring Fas, Fas ligand, and FLIP expression as well as susceptibility to Fas-ligand-induced cell death in transfectants of WM35, a radial growth phase human melanoma cell line. Based on quantitative polymerase chain reaction and fluorescence-activated cell sorter analysis, we found that the ras transfectants expressed less Fas mRNA and surface Fas receptor. Cr51 release cytotoxicity assays demonstrated less susceptibility to Fas-mediated apoptosis in ras transfectants, correlating with the Fas mRNA and protein expression results. Ras inhibition with the specific inhibitor FTI-277 showed that downregulation of Fas in the ras transfectants could be reversed. This correlates with cytotoxicity experiments showing that ras inhibition increases susceptibility to Fas-mediated apoptosis. The control transfectants expressed FLIP but ras did not affect FLIP expression. The control and ras transfectants did not express Fas ligand as demonstrated by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and fluorescence-activated cell sorter analysis. Cytotoxicity assays further confirmed that these melanoma ras transfectants do not express functional Fas ligand. These results suggest that ras contributes to tumor progression by decreasing susceptibility to Fas-mediated cell death at least in part through downregulation of Fas receptor at the transcriptional level

Host strain specific sex pheromone variation in Spodoptera frugiperda

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The fall armyworm <it>Spodoptera frugiperda </it>(Lepidoptera; Noctuidae) consists of two distinct strains with different host plant preferences for corn and rice. To assess whether pheromonal-mediated behavioral isolation accompanies the habitat isolation on different host plants, we compared the sex pheromone composition among females of the two strains. Pheromone glands were extracted with or without injection of pheromone biosynthesis activating neuropeptide (PBAN). To assess the mode of inheritance of this variation, we also analyzed the pheromone composition of F₁hybrid females.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Relative to intra-strain variation, the pheromone composition of the two strains differed significantly. Corn strain females contained significantly more of the second most abundant pheromone compound Z11-16:Ac (m), and significantly less of most other compounds, than rice strain females. When females were injected with PBAN before their glands were extracted, the differences between the strains were less pronounced but still statistically significant. The pheromone composition of hybrid females showed a maternal inheritance of the major component Z9-14:Ac (M) as well as of Z11-16:Ac (m). Most other compounds showed an inheritance indicating genetic dominance of the corn strain. The within-strain phenotypic correlations among the various components were consistent with their hypothesized biosynthetic pathway, and between-strain differences in the correlation structure suggested candidate genes that may explain the pheromone differences between the two strains. These include Δ9- and Δ11 desaturases, and possibly also a Δ7-desaturase, although the latter has not been identified in insects so far.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The two host strains of <it>S. frugiperda </it>produce systematically differing female sex pheromone blends. Previously-documented geographic variation in the sexual communication of this species did not take strain identity into account, and thus may be partly explained by different strain occurrence in different regions. The finding of pheromone differences reinforces the possibility of incipient reproductive isolation among these strains, previously shown to differ in the timing of nocturnal mating activity and host plant use. Finding the genetic basis of the pheromone differences, as well as these other biological traits, will help to elucidate the role of premating isolation in the continuing differentiation of these two strains that may eventually lead to speciation.</p

Chemoenzymatic Labeling of Proteins for Imaging in Bacterial Cells

Reliable methods to determine the subcellular localization of bacterial proteins are needed for the study of prokaryotic cell biology. We describe here a simple and general technique for imaging of bacterial proteins in situ by fluorescence microscopy. The method uses the eukaryotic enzyme N-myristoyltransferase to modify the N-terminus of the protein of interest with an azido fatty acid. Subsequent strain-promoted azide–alkyne cycloaddition allows conjugation of dyes and imaging of tagged proteins by confocal fluorescence microscopy. We demonstrate the method by labeling the chemotaxis proteins Tar and CheA and the cell division proteins FtsZ and FtsA in Escherichia coli. We observe distinct spatial patterns for each of these proteins in both fixed and live cells. The method should prove broadly useful for protein imaging in bacteria

An Ultra-High-Resolution Survey of the Interstellar ^7Li-to-^6Li Isotope Ratio in the Solar Neighborhood

In an effort to probe the extent of variations in the interstellar ^7Li/^6Li ratio seen previously, ultra-high-resolution (R ~ 360,000), high signal-to-noise spectra of stars in the Perseus OB2 and Scorpius OB2 Associations were obtained. These measurements confirm our earlier findings of an interstellar ^7Li/^6Li ratio of about 2 toward o Per, the value predicted from models of Galactic cosmic ray spallation reactions. Observations of other nearby stars yield limits consistent with the isotopic ratio ~ 12 seen in carbonaceous chondrite meteorites. If this ratio originally represented the gas toward o Per, then to decrease the original isotope ratio to its current value an order of magnitude increase in the Li abundance is expected, but is not seen. The elemental K/Li ratio is not unusual, although Li and K are formed via different nucleosynthetic pathways. Several proposals to account for the low ^7Li/^6Li ratio were considered, but none seems satisfactory. Analysis of the Li and K abundances from our survey highlighted two sight lines where depletion effects are prevalent. There is evidence for enhanced depletion toward X Per, since both abundances are lower by a factor of 4 when compared to other sight lines. Moreover, a smaller Li/H abundance is observed toward 20 Aql, but the K/H abundance is normal, suggesting enhanced Li depletion (relative to K) in this direction. Our results suggest that the ^7Li/^6Li ratio has not changed significantly during the last 4.5 billion years and that a ratio ~ 12 represents most gas in the solar neighborhood. In addition, there appears to be a constant stellar contribution of ^7Li, indicating that one or two processes dominate its production in the Galaxy.Comment: 54 pages, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Advanced Colloids Experiment (Temperature Controlled) - ACE-T9

Increment 53 - 54 Science Symposium presentation of Advanced Colloids Experiment (ACE-T9) to RPO. The purpose of this event is for Principal Investigators to present their science objectives, testing approach, and measurement methods to agency scientists, managers, and other investigators

Coordinated Sampling of Microorganisms Over Freshwater and Saltwater Environments Using an Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) and a Small Unmanned Aircraft System (sUAS)

Biological aerosols (bioaerosols) are ubiquitous in terrestrial and aquatic environments and may influence cloud formation and precipitation processes. Little is known about the aerosolization and transport of bioaerosols from aquatic environments. We designed and deployed a bioaerosol-sampling system onboard an unmanned surface vehicle (USV; a remotely operated boat) to collect microbes and monitor particle sizes in the atmosphere above a salt pond in Falmouth, MA, United States and a freshwater lake in Dublin, VA, United States. The bioaerosol-sampling system included a series of 3D-printed impingers, two different optical particle counters, and a weather station. A small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS; a remotely operated airplane) was used in a coordinated effort with the USV to collect microorganisms on agar media 50 m above the surface of the water. Samples from the USV and sUAS were cultured on selective media to estimate concentrations of culturable microorganisms (bacteria and fungi). Concentrations of microbes from the sUAS ranged from 6 to 9 CFU/m3 over saltwater, and 12 to 16 CFU/m3 over freshwater (over 10-min sampling intervals) at 50 m above ground level (AGL). Concentrations from the USV ranged from 0 (LOD) to 42,411 CFU/m3 over saltwater, and 0 (LOD) to 56,809 CFU/m3 over freshwater (over 30-min sampling intervals) in air near the water surface. Particle concentrations recorded onboard the USV ranged from 0 (LOD) to 288 μg/m3 for PM1, 1 to 290 μg/m3 for PM2.5, and 1 to 290 μg/m3 for PM10. A general trend of increasing concentration with an increase in particle size was recorded by each sensor. Through laboratory testing, the collection efficiency of the 3D-printed impingers was determined to be 75% for 1 μm beads and 99% for 3 μm beads. Additional laboratory tests were conducted to determine the accuracy of the miniaturized optical particle counters used onboard the USV. Future work aims to understand the distribution of bioaerosols above aquatic environments and their potential association with cloud formation and precipitation processes

Warrington and Taylor’s 1978 paper

One of the most fundamental questions in cognitive neuroscience is to understand how the brain constructs our three-dimensional visual world from two-dimensional retinal signals of light and dark intensity. At the time this paper was written, the seminal work of Sperry and his colleagues studying patients who had undergone sections of the corpus callosum was most influential (Gazzaniga et al 1962; Sperry et al 1969). They reported that visual object recognition up to the level of functional significance or meaning was intact in the disconnected right hemisphere, merely the verbal label could not be retrieved. Consequently, at that time current theorising tended to conflate perceptual processing and semantic processing to a single post-sensory categorical stage such that object recognition was achieved by a single system (eg Sutherland 1968, 1973; Tenenbaum and Barrow 1976)

Vietnam's withdrawal from Cambodia: regional issues and realignments

Vietnamese armed forces invaded Cambodia in December 1978. A decade of Vietnamese occupation had important political and security consequences for Cambodians, for Vietnam, for the ASEAN states, for China and the superpowers and, indirectly, for Australia. Vietnam was condemned in UN General Assembly Resolutions passed annually since 1979. Most Vietnamese armed forces have now been withdrawn from Cambodia. The significance of the withdrawal and the regional impact of the end of possibly the last major war in the Western Pacific were examined at a symposium arranged by Professor Nancy Viviani of the ANU's Department of Political Science in October 1989. These papers are a product of that symposium. Generally, there was a strong view that the governments of Vietnam and Cambodia would eventually experience a less hostile attitude from China, the US and several of the key ASEAN states as the fact of the Vietnamese withdrawal was accepted. The Hun Sen government in Phnom Penh, or some variant of it, would also probably be recognised, provided it could survive renewed attacks by an increasingly isolated Khmer Rouge and if a suitably graceful exit was found for China. An alternative more pessimistic view was that most governments would continue to defer to Beijing, that the Khmer Rouge were a potent and ruthless force and that the Hun Sen government would be fighting for its life. While there was scepticism about the viability of the Hun Sen government and doubts about China's agenda, as well as expressions of opposition to recognition of what was described as a puppet regime established by the use of force, the symposium overall leaned towards cautious optimism about Cambodia's future and, notwithstanding some uncertainties in a period of change, improvements to regional security