The history of the rossbank observatory,tasmania

Rossbank functioned from 1840 to 1854 as one of a chain of British Colonial Observatories which combined with European and Asian observatories in the study of terrestrial magnetism. It was established in Hobart, Tasmania, by the Governor of Van Diemen's Land, Sir John Franklin, and Captain James Clark Ross, R.N., commanding H.M. ships Erebus and Terror. The history and operation of the Rossbank Observatory is related, its instruments described, and the results discussed.

Biographical notes on the Observatory staff, with lists of its archives and instruments are provided. A number of previously unpublished pictures show the Observatory in use and the surviving buildings and instruments today.     

Basic Principles of SSM Modeling: An Examination of CATWOE from a Soft Perspective

This paper examines the SSM technique CATWOE, which focuses on defining necessary elements that together constitute a human activity system from a certain perspective. Despite its recognition within the literature and its numerous uses, there are few studies on how the technique can be improved. This research reflects on each of the elements both from a theoretical and a practical perspective. Findings point to the fact that some of the terms have a meaning in everyday language that differs from its definition within CATWOE. Other concepts are not well-defined. This is unfortunate and may both lead to misunderstandings and limit analysis. The paper points to a number of ways in which the use of CATWOE can be developed in order to further support the process of eliciting novel ideas for future actions. Hence, the overall conclusion is that the elements need to be rethought and some of them renamed.     

Light dependent mating inhibition in the white-eye mutant ofDrosophila pseudoobscura

Summary White-eyeDrosophila pseudoobscura males display a deficiency in their mating ability in the light, although they are able to mate readily in the dark. The present data suggest that the mating deficit is due to a neurobehavioral disruption produced by faulty visual input.     

The effect of kidney-bean leucoagglutinin on homograft rejection in mice

Zusammenfassung Nach der Wirkung auf die Überlebenszeit von Transplantaten bei Mäusen zu schliessen, besitzt Leucoagglutinin ausPhaseolus vulgaris extrahiert, eine nur schwache immunosuppressive Aktivität. Sie ist nicht deutlich mit der lymphozytenstimulierenden oder agglutinierenden Aktivität verknüpft. Eine starke akute Toxizität von Leukoagglutinin wurde festgestellt.

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Supported by grants from the Sigrid Jusélius Foundation, the Finnish Medical Research Council, the Åhlén Foundation and the Swedish Cancer Society.     

Integrated transcriptional profiling and linkage analysis for identification of genes underlying disease

Integration of genome-wide expression profiling with linkage analysis is a new approach to identifying genes underlying complex traits. We applied this approach to the regulation of gene expression in the BXH/HXB panel of rat recombinant inbred strains, one of the largest available rodent recombinant inbred panels and a leading resource for genetic analysis of the highly prevalent metabolic syndrome. In two tissues important to the pathogenesis of the metabolic syndrome, we mapped cis- and trans-regulatory control elements for expression of thousands of genes across the genome. Many of the most highly linked expression quantitative trait loci are regulated in cis, are inherited essentially as monogenic traits and are good candidate genes for previously mapped physiological quantitative trait loci in the rat. By comparative mapping we generated a data set of 73 candidate genes for hypertension that merit testing in human populations. Mining of this publicly available data set is expected to lead to new insights into the genes and regulatory pathways underlying the extensive range of metabolic and cardiovascular disease phenotypes that segregate in these recombinant inbred strains.     

Haem homeostasis is regulated by the conserved and concerted functions of HRG-1 proteins

Haems are metalloporphyrins that serve as prosthetic groups for various biological processes including respiration, gas sensing, xenobiotic detoxification, cell differentiation, circadian clock control, metabolic reprogramming and microRNA processing. With a few exceptions, haem is synthesized by a multistep biosynthetic pathway comprising defined intermediates that are highly conserved throughout evolution. Despite our extensive knowledge of haem biosynthesis and degradation, the cellular pathways and molecules that mediate intracellular haem trafficking are unknown. The experimental setback in identifying haem trafficking pathways has been the inability to dissociate the highly regulated cellular synthesis and degradation of haem from intracellular trafficking events. Caenorhabditis elegans and related helminths are natural haem auxotrophs that acquire environmental haem for incorporation into haemoproteins, which have vertebrate orthologues. Here we show, by exploiting this auxotrophy to identify HRG-1 proteins in C. elegans, that these proteins are essential for haem homeostasis and normal development in worms and vertebrates. Depletion of hrg-1, or its paralogue hrg-4, in worms results in the disruption of organismal haem sensing and an abnormal response to haem analogues. HRG-1 and HRG-4 are previously unknown transmembrane proteins, which reside in distinct intracellular compartments. Transient knockdown of hrg-1 in zebrafish leads to hydrocephalus, yolk tube malformations and, most strikingly, profound defects in erythropoiesis-phenotypes that are fully rescued by worm HRG-1. Human and worm proteins localize together, and bind and transport haem, thus establishing an evolutionarily conserved function for HRG-1. These findings reveal conserved pathways for cellular haem trafficking in animals that define the model for eukaryotic haem transport. Thus, uncovering the mechanisms of haem transport in C. elegans may provide insights into human disorders of haem metabolism and reveal new drug targets for developing anthelminthics to combat worm infestations.     

Common variants at 6q22 and 17q21 are associated with intracranial volume

During aging, intracranial volume remains unchanged and represents maximally attained brain size, while various interacting biological phenomena lead to brain volume loss. Consequently, intracranial volume and brain volume in late life reflect different genetic influences. Our genome-wide association study (GWAS) in 8,175 community-dwelling elderly persons did not reveal any associations at genome-wide significance (P < 5 × 10(-8)) for brain volume. In contrast, intracranial volume was significantly associated with two loci: rs4273712 (P = 3.4 × 10(-11)), a known height-associated locus on chromosome 6q22, and rs9915547 (P = 1.5 × 10(-12)), localized to the inversion on chromosome 17q21. We replicated the associations of these loci with intracranial volume in a separate sample of 1,752 elderly persons (P = 1.1 × 10(-3) for 6q22 and 1.2 × 10(-3) for 17q21). Furthermore, we also found suggestive associations of the 17q21 locus with head circumference in 10,768 children (mean age of 14.5 months). Our data identify two loci associated with head size, with the inversion at 17q21 also likely to be involved in attaining maximal brain size.