The Q theory of investment, the capital asset pricing model,and asset valuation： a synthesis

The paper combines Tobin‘s Q theory of real investment with the capital asset pricing model to produce a new and relatively simple procedure for the valuation of real assets using the income approach. Applications of the new method are provided.     

Absence of aluminium in neuritic plaque cores in Alzheimer's disease.

Controversy exists over whether aluminium has a role in the aetiology of Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's disease is neuropathologically characterized by the occurrence of a minimum density of neurofibrillary tangles and neuritic plaques in the hippocampus and the association cortex of the brain. The purported association of aluminium with Alzheimer's disease is based on: (1) the experimental induction of fibrillary changes in the neurons of animals by the injection of aluminium salts into brain tissue; (2) reported detection of aluminium in neuritic plaques and tangle-bearing neurons; (3) epidemiological studies linking aluminium levels in the environment, notably water supplies, with an increased prevalence of dementia; and (4) a reported decrease in the rate of disease progression following the administration of desferroxamine, an aluminium chelator, to clinically diagnosed sufferers of Alzheimer's disease. Here we use nuclear microscopy, a new analytical technique involving million-volt nuclear particles, to identify and analyse plaques in postmortem tissue from patients with Alzheimer's disease without using chemical staining techniques and fail to demonstrate the presence of aluminium in plaque cores in untreated tissue.     

Anaphase initiation is regulated by antagonistic ubiquitination and deubiquitination activities

The spindle checkpoint prevents chromosome mis-segregation by delaying sister chromatid separation until all chromosomes have achieved bipolar attachment to the mitotic spindle. Its operation is essential for accurate chromosome segregation, whereas its dysregulation can contribute to birth defects and tumorigenesis. The target of the spindle checkpoint is the anaphase-promoting complex (APC), a ubiquitin ligase that promotes sister chromatid separation and progression to anaphase. Using a short hairpin RNA screen targeting components of the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway in human cells, we identified the deubiquitinating enzyme USP44 (ubiquitin-specific protease 44) as a critical regulator of the spindle checkpoint. USP44 is not required for the initial recognition of unattached kinetochores and the subsequent recruitment of checkpoint components. Instead, it prevents the premature activation of the APC by stabilizing the APC-inhibitory Mad2-Cdc20 complex. USP44 deubiquitinates the APC coactivator Cdc20 both in vitro and in vivo, and thereby directly counteracts the APC-driven disassembly of Mad2-Cdc20 complexes (discussed in an accompanying paper). Our findings suggest that a dynamic balance of ubiquitination by the APC and deubiquitination by USP44 contributes to the generation of the switch-like transition controlling anaphase entry, analogous to the way that phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of Cdk1 by Wee1 and Cdc25 controls entry into mitosis.     

Emergence of a new disease as a result of interspecific virulence gene transfer

New diseases of humans, animals and plants emerge regularly. Enhanced virulence on a new host can be facilitated by the acquisition of novel virulence factors. Interspecific gene transfer is known to be a source of such virulence factors in bacterial pathogens (often manifested as pathogenicity islands in the recipient organism) and it has been speculated that interspecific transfer of virulence factors may occur in fungal pathogens. Until now, no direct support has been available for this hypothesis. Here we present evidence that a gene encoding a critical virulence factor was transferred from one species of fungal pathogen to another. This gene transfer probably occurred just before 1941, creating a pathogen population with significantly enhanced virulence and leading to the emergence of a new damaging disease of wheat.     

Mutations in WDR62, encoding a centrosome-associated protein, cause microcephaly with simplified gyri and abnormal cortical architecture

Genes associated with human microcephaly, a condition characterized by a small brain, include critical regulators of proliferation, cell fate and DNA repair. We describe a syndrome of congenital microcephaly and diverse defects in cerebral cortical architecture. Genome-wide linkage analysis in two families identified a 7.5-Mb locus on chromosome 19q13.12 containing 148 genes. Targeted high throughput sequence analysis of linked genes in each family yielded > 4,000 DNA variants and implicated a single gene, WDR62, as harboring potentially deleterious changes. We subsequently identified additional WDR62 mutations in four other families. Magnetic resonance imaging and postmortem brain analysis supports important roles for WDR62 in the proliferation and migration of neuronal precursors. WDR62 is a WD40 repeat-containing protein expressed in neuronal precursors as well as in postmitotic neurons in the developing brain and localizes to the spindle poles of dividing cells. The diverse phenotypes of WDR62 suggest it has central roles in many aspects of cerebral cortical development.     

The DNA sequence and biological annotation of human chromosome 1

The reference sequence for each human chromosome provides the framework for understanding genome function, variation and evolution. Here we report the finished sequence and biological annotation of human chromosome 1. Chromosome 1 is gene-dense, with 3,141 genes and 991 pseudogenes, and many coding sequences overlap. Rearrangements and mutations of chromosome 1 are prevalent in cancer and many other diseases. Patterns of sequence variation reveal signals of recent selection in specific genes that may contribute to human fitness, and also in regions where no function is evident. Fine-scale recombination occurs in hotspots of varying intensity along the sequence, and is enriched near genes. These and other studies of human biology and disease encoded within chromosome 1 are made possible with the highly accurate annotated sequence, as part of the completed set of chromosome sequences that comprise the reference human genome.