Crustal strain field in central japan, based on the wavelet analyzed GPS time-series data

In order to estimate the secular crustal deformation in central Japan, we adopted the wavelet technique to find and remove the data discontinuities associated with earthquakes and artificial errors, and also remove seasonal variations and white noises in the GPS time series data of daily co-ordinates obtained from the continuous GPS network, GEONET of GSI. The strain components were computed based on least-squares prediction method by using improved time series data.The motion velocities of GPS sites at uniform 7 km × 7 km grids were interpolated by adopting the empirical covariance function and then differentiated with respect to space to estimate strain rates.The estimated strain field shows that there existed a compressive regime in the entire region. Higher maximum shear strain rates of about 0.2 microstrain/a are shown in and around the Izu and Boso peninsulas, and Tokyo Bay. Relatively high maximum shear strain rates are also shown in the southern Tohoku district and another notable area along the coast of the Japan Sea,which nearly corresponds to the Shinanogawa seismic zone.     

Impact of localized badger culling on tuberculosis incidence in British cattle

Pathogens that are transmitted between wildlife, livestock and humans present major challenges for the protection of human and animal health, the economic sustainability of agriculture, and the conservation of wildlife. Mycobacterium bovis, the aetiological agent of bovine tuberculosis (TB), is one such pathogen. The incidence of TB in cattle has increased substantially in parts of Great Britain in the past two decades, adversely affecting the livelihoods of cattle farmers and potentially increasing the risks of human exposure. The control of bovine TB in Great Britain is complicated by the involvement of wildlife, particularly badgers (Meles meles), which appear to sustain endemic infection and can transmit TB to cattle. Between 1975 and 1997 over 20,000 badgers were culled as part of British TB control policy, generating conflict between conservation and farming interest groups. Here we present results from a large-scale field trial that indicate that localized badger culling not only fails to control but also seems to increase TB incidence in cattle.     

The DNA sequence and analysis of human chromosome 14

Chromosome 14 is one of five acrocentric chromosomes in the human genome. These chromosomes are characterized by a heterochromatic short arm that contains essentially ribosomal RNA genes, and a euchromatic long arm in which most, if not all, of the protein-coding genes are located. The finished sequence of human chromosome 14 comprises 87,410,661 base pairs, representing 100% of its euchromatic portion, in a single continuous segment covering the entire long arm with no gaps. Two loci of crucial importance for the immune system, as well as more than 60 disease genes, have been localized so far on chromosome 14. We identified 1,050 genes and gene fragments, and 393 pseudogenes. On the basis of comparisons with other vertebrate genomes, we estimate that more than 96% of the chromosome 14 genes have been annotated. From an analysis of the CpG island occurrences, we estimate that 70% of these annotated genes are complete at their 5' end.     

Cbl signaling networks in the regulation of cell function

Cbl proteins control multiple cellular processes by acting as ubiquitin ligases and multifunctional adaptor molecules. They are involved in the control of cell proliferation, differentiation and cell morphology, as well as in pathologies such as autoimmune diseases, inflammation and cancer. Here we review recent advances in understanding the role of Cbl and the importance of a growing repertoire of Cbl-interacting proteins in the regulation of signaling pathways triggered by growth factors, antigens, cell adhesion, cytokines and hormones. We also address key issues of the nature of proteins that bind Cbl in particular cells, where they are located, and how they are altered or traffic within cells upon stimulation. It is becoming obvious that temporal and spatial changes in Cbl signaling networks are essential for the control of physiological processes in a variety of cells and organs and that their deregulation can result in the development of human diseases.Received 22 January 2003; received after revision 11 March 2003; accepted 26 March 2003     

Blindness and auditory impairment caused by loss of the sodium bicarbonate cotransporter NBC3

Normal sensory transduction requires the efficient disposal of acid (H+) generated by neuronal and sensory receptor activity. Multiple highly sensitive transport mechanisms have evolved in prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms to maintain acidity within strict limits. It is currently assumed that the multiplicity of these processes provides a biological robustness. Here we report that the visual and auditory systems have a specific requirement for H+ disposal mediated by the sodium bicarbonate cotransporter NBC3 (refs. 7,8). Mice lacking NBC3 develop blindness and auditory impairment because of degeneration of sensory receptors in the eye and inner ear as in Usher syndrome. Our results indicate that in certain sensory organs, in which the requirement to transduce specific environmental signals with speed, sensitivity and reliability is paramount, the choice of the H+ disposal mechanism used is limited.     

Mechanotransduction through growth-factor shedding into the extracellular space

Physical forces elicit biochemical signalling in a diverse array of cells, tissues and organisms, helping to govern fundamental biological processes. Several hypotheses have been advanced that link physical forces to intracellular signalling pathways, but in many cases the molecular mechanisms of mechanotransduction remain elusive. Here we find that compressive stress shrinks the lateral intercellular space surrounding epithelial cells, and triggers cellular signalling via autocrine binding of epidermal growth factor family ligands to the epidermal growth factor receptor. Mathematical analysis predicts that constant rate shedding of autocrine ligands into a collapsing lateral intercellular space leads to increased local ligand concentrations that are sufficient to account for the observed receptor signalling; direct experimental comparison of signalling stimulated by compressive stress versus exogenous soluble ligand supports this prediction. These findings establish a mechanism by which mechanotransduction arises from an autocrine ligand-receptor circuit operating in a dynamically regulated extracellular volume, not requiring induction of force-dependent biochemical processes within the cell or cell membrane.     

Constructing dystopian experience: A Neurath-Cartwrightian approach to the philosophy of social technology

Social situations, the object of the social sciences, are complex and unique: they contain so many variable aspects that they cannot be reproduced, and it is even difficult to experience two situations that are alike in many respects. The social scientists' past experiences that serve as their background knowledge to intervene in an existent situation is poor compared to what a traditional epistemologist would consider ideal. A way of dealing with the variable and insufficient background of social scientists is by means of models. But, then, how should we characterize social scientific models? This paper examines Otto Neurath's scientific utopianism as an attempt to deal with this problem. Neurath proposes that social scientists work with utopias: broad imaginative plans that coordinate a multitude of features of a social situation. This notion can be used in current debates in philosophy of science because we notice that utopias, in Neurath's sense, are comparable to models and nomological machines in Nancy Cartwright's conception. A model-based view of science lays emphasis on the fact that scientists learn from the repeated operation of such abstract entities, just as they learn from the repetition of experiments in a laboratory. Hence this approach suggests an approximation between the natural and the social sciences, as well as between science and utopian literature. This is exemplified by analyzing the literary dystopia We, written by Yevgeny Zamyatin, to show that reasoning from and debating about utopian writings, even if fictional and pessimistic, creates phenomena of valuation, which are fundamental for constituting a background of experiences in the social sciences.