Molecular cloning and characterization of an insulin-regulatable glucose transporter

A major mechanism by which insulin stimulates glucose transport in muscle and fat is the translocation of glucose transporters from an intracellular membrane pool to the cell surface. The existence of a distinct insulin-regulatable glucose transporter was suggested by the poor cross-reactivity between antibodies specific for either the HepG2 or rat brain glucose transporters and the rat adipocyte glucose transporter. More direct evidence was provided by the production of a monoclonal antibody (mAb 1F8) specific for the rat adipocyte glucose transporter that immunolabels a species of relative molecular mass 43,000 (43K) present only in tissues that exhibit insulin-dependent glucose transport, suggesting that this protein may be encoded by a different gene from the previously described mammalian glucose transporters. This antibody has been used to immunoprecipitate a 43K protein that was photoaffinity-labelled with cytochalasin B in a glucose displaceable way, and to immunolabel a protein in the plasma membrane of rat adipocytes, whose concentration was increased at least fivefold after cellular insulin exposure. Here we describe the cloning and sequencing of cDNAs isolated from both rat adipocyte and heart libraries that encode a protein recognized by mAb 1F8, and which has 65% sequence identity to the human HepG2 glucose transporter. This cDNA hybridizes to an mRNA present only in skeletal muscle, heart and adipose tissue. Our data indicate that this cDNA encodes a membrane protein with the characteristics of the translocatable glucose transporter expressed in insulin-responsive tissues.     

A comparison of temperature density forecasts from GARCH and atmospheric models

Density forecasts for weather variables are useful for the many industries exposed to weather risk. Weather ensemble predictions are generated from atmospheric models and consist of multiple future scenarios for a weather variable. The distribution of the scenarios can be used as a density forecast, which is needed for pricing weather derivatives. We consider one to 10‐day‐ahead density forecasts provided by temperature ensemble predictions. More specifically, we evaluate forecasts of the mean and quantiles of the density. The mean of the ensemble scenarios is the most accurate forecast for the mean of the density. We use quantile regression to debias the quantiles of the distribution of the ensemble scenarios. The resultant quantile forecasts compare favourably with those from a GARCH model. These results indicate the strong potential for the use of ensemble prediction in temperature density forecasting. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ultrastructure of muscle spindles in C57BL/6J dy2J/dy2J dystrophic mice.

The sensory organs of skeletal muscles, the muscle spindles, were examined using electron microscopy in dy2J/dy2J dystrophic mice. Despite widespread damage to the extrafusal (skeletomotor) fibres the intrafusal (spindle) fibres appeared normal and seemed resistant to the aetiological factors for murine dystrophy.     

Applying Interactive Planning at DuPont: The Case of Transforming a Safety,Health, and Environmental Function to Deliver Business Value

Organizational transformation is a dynamic process that astounds those who attempt to create better work environments. Corporations often use transformations to downsize and/or outsource functions. Although the Safety, Health, and Environmental (SHE) function has experienced little change in the past 25 years, pressure is increasing to reduce costs and deliver business value. Often, cost reduction means downsizing and memory loss. Delivering business value means moving the SHE function into the business, with modest attention given to integrating the work. Four major findings resulted in the transformation of a SHE function in DuPont using Interactive Planning: (1) SHE professionals transformed from independent to interdependent knowledge workers, (2) SHE performance improved by almost 50%, (3) enabling factors were participation and personal commitment and disabling factors were organizational turbulence and lack of recognition, and (4) organizational learning flourished among SHE professionals and tacit SHE knowledge became explicit on the factory floor.     

Combination forecasts of output growth in a seven‐country data set

This paper uses forecast combination methods to forecast output growth in a seven‐country quarterly economic data set covering 1959–1999, with up to 73 predictors per country. Although the forecasts based on individual predictors are unstable over time and across countries, and on average perform worse than an autoregressive benchmark, the combination forecasts often improve upon autoregressive forecasts. Despite the unstable performance of the constituent forecasts, the most successful combination forecasts, like the mean, are the least sensitive to the recent performance of the individual forecasts. While consistent with other evidence on the success of simple combination forecasts, this finding is difficult to explain using the theory of combination forecasting in a stationary environment. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

TOWARDS REAL-TIME CUSTOMIZED MANAGEMENT OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND CHAINS

Our focus herein is on developing an effective taxonomy for the simultaneous and real-timemanagement of supply and demand chains.More specifically,the taxonomy is developed in terms ofits underpinning components and its research foci.From a components perspective,we first considerthe value chain of supplier,manufacturer,assembler,retailer,and customer,and then develop aconsistent set of definitions for supply and demand chains based on the location of the customer orderpenetration point.From a research perspective,we classify the methods that are employed in themanagement of these chains,based on whether supply and/or demand are flexible or fixed.Interestingly,our taxonomy highlights a very critical research area at which both supply and demandare flexible,thus manageable.Simultaneous management of supply and demand chains sets the stagefor mass customization which is concerned with meeting the needs of an individualized customermarket.Simultaneous and real-time management of supply and demand chains set     

Generation of functional multipotent adult stem cells from GPR125+ germline progenitors

Adult mammalian testis is a source of pluripotent stem cells. However, the lack of specific surface markers has hampered identification and tracking of the unrecognized subset of germ cells that gives rise to multipotent cells. Although embryonic-like cells can be derived from adult testis cultures after only several weeks in vitro, it is not known whether adult self-renewing spermatogonia in long-term culture can generate such stem cells as well. Here, we show that highly proliferative adult spermatogonial progenitor cells (SPCs) can be efficiently obtained by cultivation on mitotically inactivated testicular feeders containing CD34+ stromal cells. SPCs exhibit testicular repopulating activity in vivo and maintain the ability in long-term culture to give rise to multipotent adult spermatogonial-derived stem cells (MASCs). Furthermore, both SPCs and MASCs express GPR125, an orphan adhesion-type G-protein-coupled receptor. In knock-in mice bearing a GPR125-beta-galactosidase (LacZ) fusion protein under control of the native Gpr125 promoter (GPR125-LacZ), expression in the testis was detected exclusively in spermatogonia and not in differentiated germ cells. Primary GPR125-LacZ SPC lines retained GPR125 expression, underwent clonal expansion, maintained the phenotype of germline stem cells, and reconstituted spermatogenesis in busulphan-treated mice. Long-term cultures of GPR125+ SPCs (GSPCs) also converted into GPR125+ MASC colonies. GPR125+ MASCs generated derivatives of the three germ layers and contributed to chimaeric embryos, with concomitant downregulation of GPR125 during differentiation into GPR125- cells. MASCs also differentiated into contractile cardiac tissue in vitro and formed functional blood vessels in vivo. Molecular bookmarking by GPR125 in the adult mouse and, ultimately, in the human testis could enrich for a population of SPCs for derivation of GPR125+ MASCs, which may be employed for genetic manipulation, tissue regeneration and revascularization of ischaemic organs.     

Egalitarian motives in humans

Participants in laboratory games are often willing to alter others' incomes at a cost to themselves, and this behaviour has the effect of promoting cooperation. What motivates this action is unclear: punishment and reward aimed at promoting cooperation cannot be distinguished from attempts to produce equality. To understand costly taking and costly giving, we create an experimental game that isolates egalitarian motives. The results show that subjects reduce and augment others' incomes, at a personal cost, even when there is no cooperative behaviour to be reinforced. Furthermore, the size and frequency of income alterations are strongly influenced by inequality. Emotions towards top earners become increasingly negative as inequality increases, and those who express these emotions spend more to reduce above-average earners' incomes and to increase below-average earners' incomes. The results suggest that egalitarian motives affect income-altering behaviours, and may therefore be an important factor underlying the evolution of strong reciprocity and, hence, cooperation in humans.