Quantum Mechanics and other Fields of Science

In recent times, a particular attention has been devoted to thesignificance of Quantum Theory for other disciplines. The articlescollected in this issue discuss some interesting cases,characterized by an interaction between Quantum Theory andother fields. Some basic notrons of the mathematical formalismof the theory are here summarized.     

Variation in FTO contributes to childhood obesity and severe adult obesity

We identified a set of SNPs in the first intron of the FTO (fat mass and obesity associated) gene on chromosome 16q12.2 that is consistently strongly associated with early-onset and severe obesity in both adults and children of European ancestry with an experiment-wise P value of 1.67 x 10(-26) in 2,900 affected individuals and 5,100 controls. The at-risk haplotype yields a proportion of attributable risk of 22% for common obesity. We conclude that FTO contributes to human obesity and hence may be a target for subsequent functional analyses.     

Natural variation for sulfate content in Arabidopsis thaliana is highly controlled by APR2

Most agronomic traits of importance, whether physiological (such as nutrient use efficiency) or developmental (such as flowering time), are controlled simultaneously by multiple genes and their interactions with the environment. Here, we show that variation in sulfate content between wild Arabidopsis thaliana accessions Bay-0 and Shahdara is controlled by a major quantitative trait locus that results in a strong interaction with nitrogen availability in the soil. Combining genetic and biochemical results and using a candidate gene approach, we have cloned the underlying gene, showing how a single-amino acid substitution in a key enzyme of the assimilatory sulfate reduction pathway, adenosine 5'-phosphosulfate reductase, is responsible for a decrease in enzyme activity, leading to sulfate accumulation in the plant. This work illustrates the potential of natural variation as a source of new alleles of known genes, which can aid in the study of gene function and metabolic pathway regulation. Our new insights on sulfate assimilation may have an impact on sulfur fertilizer use and stress defense improvement.     

Unit roots versus other types of time heterogeneity,parameter time dependence and superexogeneity

This paper stresses the restrictive nature of the standard unit root/cointegration assumptions and examines a more general type of time heterogeneity, which might characterize a number of economic variables, and which results in parameter time dependence and misleading statistical inference. We show that in such cases ‘operational’ models cannot be obtained, and the estimation of time‐varying parameter models becomes necessary. For instance, economic processes subject to endemic change can only be adequately modelled in a state space form. This is a very important point, because unstable models will break down when used for forecasting purposes. We also discuss a new test for the null of cointegration developed by Quintos and Phillips (1993), which is based on parameter constancy in cointegrating regressions. Finally, we point out that, if it is possible to condition on a subset of superexogenous variables, parameter instability can be handled by estimating a restricted system. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Alpha- and beta-adrenergic receptors in rat myocardium membranes after prolonged ethanol inhalation

Summary After 3 weeks of continuous ethanol intoxication by inhalation, the maximal number and affinity of the -and -receptors of rat heart were unchanged. These data indicate that adrenergic receptor disturbances are not involved in the mechanism of chronic ethanol-induced triglyceride deposition in the heart.Acknowledgments. This work was supported by grants from the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale. We wish to thank Mr M. Clément for skilled technical assistance in performing chronic ethanol inhalation treatments.     

Some properties of the goat placental lactogen

Summary Goat placental lactogen was partially purified from a medium collected after placental tissue incubation. The data obtained by disc electrophoresis and isoelectric focusing experiments, as well as by means of radioreceptor assay methods, provide evidence of the similarity between the goat and ovine placental lactogen.The careful technical assistance of L. Tichovská is gratefuly acknowledged.     

In vitro inactivation of corpora allata of the bugOncopeltus fasciatus by precocene II

Summary Corpora allata fromOncopeltus fasciatus incubated in vitro in medium containing 10^–5.35 M (1 g/ml) of precocene II lose their ability to secrete juvenile hormone when reimplanted into last instar larvae.Acknowledgments. We thank Mr K. Dorn, Mrs L. Dolezal, Mrs V. Nötzli-Graf, Mr K.H. Trautmann and Mr A. Schuler for technical help, Dr W. Vogel and Dr A. Dübendorfer for valuable discussions.     

Development of Diamond-like Carbon Fibre Wheel

Introduction Diamond likecarbon(DLC)coatingshavebeen increasinglyappliedtomechanicalcomponentsandpartsduetotheirveryattractivemechanical,chemical, physical,electricalandopticalpropertiessuchashighdegreeofhardness,extremelylowfrictionalcoefficient, highwear resistance,highthermalconductivity,highmodulus,chemicalinertnessandlowdeposition temperature[1].AsshowninFig.1,DLCismadeofcarbon andhydrogenanditsstructureisamorphousorquasi amorphous,whereasdiamondandgraphitearemadeof carbonbuttheirstru…     

Overreaction in Survey Exchange Rate Forecasts

We use survey data on five bilateral exchange rates to provide empirical evidence of the fact that professional forecasters of foreign exchange rates behave irrationally, in the specific sense that they respond inaccurately to available information in the market when forming their predictions. In particular, we find systematic biases in the forecasts resulting in the overreaction of analysts to past information contained in the exchange rate dynamics: forecasters change their prediction more than it would be rational on the basis of past realized changes. In addition, forecasters are heterogeneous in their irrationality: low performers in previous periods show a more pronounced overreaction effect. This can be read as an indication of perpetration of past errors and continued inability to learn from the past. In the second part of the paper, we exploit the novel structure of our dataset, which consists of survey data extracted from the Bloomberg platform and readily available to anyone. This feature allows us to consider their own and others' past forecasts as part of the information set that analysts use in making their predictions. By using past forecasts as proxies for relevant macroeconomic variables, we find evidence that analysts fail to correctly process not only the information contained in the spot rate past dynamics but also the information in this broader set. We see this as confirmation of the existence of inefficiency and heterogeneity between low and high performers also when full information is available. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.