Probing met repressor-operator recognition in solution.

The three-dimensional crystal structure of the Escherichia coli methionine repressor, MetJ, complexed with a DNA operator fragment is described in an accompanying article. The complex exhibits several novel features of DNA-protein interaction. DNA sequence recognition is achieved largely by hydrogen-bond contacts between the bases and amino-acid side chains located on a beta-ribbon, a mode of recognition previously hypothesized on the basis of modelling of idealized beta-strands and DNA, and mutagenesis of the Salmonella phage P22 repressors Arc and Mnt. The complex comprises a pair of MetJ repressor dimers which bind to adjacent met-box sites on the DNA, and contact each other by means of a pair of antiparallel alpha-helices. Here we assess the importance of these contacts, and also of contacts that would be made between the C-helices of the protein and DNA in a previous model of the complex, by studying mutations aimed at disrupting them. The role of the carboxy-terminal helix face in operator binding was unclear, but we demonstrate that recognition of operator sequences occurs through side chains in the beta-strand motif and that dimer-dimer interactions are required for effective repression.     

Overcompensation and population cycles in an ungulate.

Although theoretical studies show that overcompensatory density-dependent mechanisms can potentially generate regular or chaotic fluctuations in animal numbers, the majority of realistic single-species models of invertebrate populations are not overcompensatory enough to cause sustained population cycles. The possibility that overcompensation may generate cycles or chaos in vertebrate populations has seldom been considered. Here we show that highly overcompensatng density-dependent mortality can generate recurrent population crashes consistent with those observed in a naturally limited population of Soay sheep. The observed interval of three or more years between crashes points to sharp 'focusing' of mortality over a narrow range of population density.     

On the limitations of comparing mean square forecast errors

Linear models are invariant under non-singular, scale-preserving linear transformations, whereas mean square forecast errors (MSFEs) are not. Different rankings may result across models or methods from choosing alternative yet isomorphic representations of a process. One approach can dominate others for comparisons in levels, yet lose to another for differences, to a second for cointegrating vectors and to a third for combinations of variables. The potential for switches in ranking is related to criticisms of the inadequacy of MSFE against encompassing criteria, which are invariant under linear transforms and entail MSFE dominance. An invariant evaluation criterion which avoids misleading outcomes is examined in a Monte Carlo study of forecasting methods.     

灰铸铁的应力屈服曲面及其三维热弹塑性应力解析

对原有的灰铸铁件应力屈服曲面进行了合理的简化,使其在理论上合理,工程应用上更为方便。建立了灰铸铁件三维非稳态热弹塑性应力场的有限元方法。以灰铸铁哑铃件为对象,用新屈服曲面对其应力发展过程进行了模拟,且比较了用新旧屈服面计算得到的结果。     

Choroidal and iris angioarchitecture of the newt: A scanning electron-microscopic study of vascular corrosion casts

The corrosion cast technique provided for the first time an excellent three-dimensional visualization of the vascular pattern of the choroid and iris in the newt eye. The results show the presence of a single arterial afference to the choroidal and iris capillaries: the ophthalmic artery is the origin fo both ciliary arteries and the long posterior ciliary artery. Slightly behind the equatorial circumference of the eyeball the venous drainage consists of a single vessel on the dorsal side and two distinct vessels on the ventral one. It receives blood from both iris and choroid. The surface of the plastic endocasts shows some details of fine luminal structures of the endothelial cells. Shallow depressions may be regarded as imprints of endothelial cell nuclei, and they are distinctly different for arteries and capillaries. The angioarchitecture of the newt eye differs from that of brain in that hairpin-shaped capillary loops are not observed at all.     

Phenological studies of selected savanna mosses of south-western Nigeria

It was established that there is little diversity of bryophytes in the derived savanna. Mosses were found in the sampling sites, whereas liverworts were rarely observed. The reproductive methods of four dominant sexually reproducing savanna mosses —Archidium ohioense, Bryum coronatum, Fissidens minutifolius andTrachycarpidium tisserantii were monitored over two consecutive rainy seasons. Protonemal and gametophyte production were noticed in the field in March/April, and capsule dehiscence and spore dispersal occurred in September/October. The sequential stages of development, starting with gametangial production and ending with the falling of the dehisced capsules, occurred within the rainy season. However,A. ohioense andT. tisserantii did not discharge their spores easily (cleistocarpous), unlike the stegocarpous speciesB. coronatum andF. minutifolius. Water availability and possibly high humidity may have contributed to growth. The short period between sex organ formation and dehiscence of capsule seen in these studies, compared with the longer period in some temperate mosses, may be an advantage for bryophytes in a savanna environment.     

Are you growing systems thinking managers? Use a systems model to teach and practice organizational analysis and planning,management policy,and organizational development

This paper discusses the use of the Kast and Rosenzweig systems and contingency model for teaching and practice in organizational analysis and planning, management policy, and organizational development. The need for an organizational model for graduate students and field-based managers and executives is identified. The model is presented beginning with the Kast and Rosenzweig work, with integration of research by Daft, Schein, Trist, Deal and Kennedy, Ackoff, Delbecq, and Mintzberg. The teaching and practice uses of the model in four areas are presented, including organizational analysis and planning, management policy making, and organizational development. In each area case examples of the use of the model in teaching and practice are presented. Needs for future research and implications for the use of the model are discussed.     

Resistant orthogonal procrustes analysis

In this paper two alternative loss criteria for the least squares Procrustes problem are studied. These alternative criteria are based on the Huber function and on the more radical biweight function, which are designed to be resistant to outliers. Using iterative majorization it is shown how a convergent reweighted least squares algorithm can be developed. In asimulation study it turns out that the proposed methods perform well over a specific range of contamination. When a uniform dilation factor is included, mixed results are obtained. The methods also yield a set of weights that can be used for diagnostic purposes.     

Retrograde transport of endocytosed Shiga toxin to the endoplasmic reticulum.

Shiga toxin and some other protein toxins that act on targets in the cytosol have previously been shown to enter the trans-Golgi network. Transport by this route may be necessary for translocation of the toxin to the cytosol and for intoxication, but it is not known whether the enzymatically active part of the toxins actually enters the cytosol from the trans-Golgi network. It has been suggested that such toxins are transported in a retrograde manner to the endoplasmic reticulum and that translocation occurs in this organelle, but retrograde transport of endocytosed material beyond the trans-Golgi network has never been demonstrated. Here we show that in butyric acid-treated A431 cells endocytosed Shiga toxin is not only transported to the trans-Golgi network, but also to all Golgi stacks, to the endoplasmic reticulum and to the nuclear envelope. Furthermore, butyric acid sensitizes the cells to Shiga toxin, which is consistent with the possibility that retrograde transport is required for translocation of the toxin to the cytosol.