Pbp1p, a factor interacting with Saccharomyces cerevisiae poly(A)-binding protein, regulates polyadenylation

The poly(A) tail of an mRNA is believed to influence the initiation of translation, and the rate at which the poly(A) tail is removed is thought to determine how fast an mRNA is degraded. One key factor associated with this 3'-end structure is the poly(A)-binding protein (Pab1p) encoded by the PAB1 gene in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In an effort to learn more about the functional role of this protein, we used a two-hybrid screen to determine the factor(s) with which it interacts. We identified five genes encoding factors that specifically interact with the carboxy terminus of Pab1p. Of a total of 44 specific clones identified, PBP1 (for Pab1p-binding protein) was isolated 38 times. Of the putative interacting genes examined, PBP1 promoted the highest level of resistance to 3-aminotriazole (>100 mM) in constructs in which HIS3 was used as a reporter. We determined that a fraction of Pbp1p cosediments with polysomes in sucrose gradients and that its distribution is very similar to that of Pab1p. Disruption of PBP1 showed that it is not essential for viability but can suppress the lethality associated with a PAB1 deletion. The suppression of pab1Delta by pbp1Delta appears to be different from that mediated by other pab1 suppressors, since disruption of PBP1 does not alter translation rates, affect accumulation of ribosomal subunits, change mRNA poly(A) tail lengths, or result in a defect in mRNA decay. Rather, Pbp1p appears to function in the nucleus to promote proper polyadenylation. In the absence of Pbp1p, 3' termini of pre-mRNAs are properly cleaved but lack full-length poly(A) tails. These effects suggest that Pbp1p may act to repress the ability of Pab1p to negatively regulate polyadenylation.     

Tumor necrosis factor alpha potentiates the increase in cytosolic free calcium induced by bradykinin in guinea-pig tracheal smooth muscle cells

The ability to respond to bradykinin (BK) by a bronchospasm is one of the most intriguing characteristics observed in asthmatic patients but not in healthy subjects. The molecular basis of this sensitivity is not yet known. Therefore, we studied the effect of BK, and its putative modulation by tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha), on cytosolic free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) in fura-2-loaded tracheal smooth muscle cells in culture. BK induced a concentration-dependent rise in [Ca2+]i at concentrations between 10(-13) and 10(-11) M which was mediated via BK receptors of the B2 subtype. The net increase in [Ca2+]i induced by 10(-12)M BK was 478 +/- 52 nM. Pre-treatment of the cells with TNF alpha (10 ng/ml) for 24 h significantly potentiated this net increase in [Ca2+]i to 956 +/- 154 nM. The presence of anti-TNF alpha antibodies inhibited this potentiation. These results show that TNF alpha is able to interact with airway smooth muscle cells which suggests the existence of receptors for TNF alpha on these cells. The study, in vivo, of such interaction should help to further elucidate the mechanisms involved in airway hyperresponsiveness.     

The recovery of uranium and lanthanides during the production of nitrophosphate fertilisers using tertiary amyl alcohol

When phosphate rock is dissolved in nitric acid, phosphoric acid and uranium can be selectively extracted by tertiary amyl alcohol; other impurities including the lanthanides remain in the aqueous phase. Uranium can be recovered from the alcohol phase by selective stripping and the lanthanides from the raffinate by extraction with tributyl phosphate.     

DWT-based joint antenna selection for correlated MIMO channels

This paper proposes a new discrete wavelet transform (DWT)-based joint antenna selection scheme for spatially correlated multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) channels. To reduce the severe performance degradation of the traditional antenna selection schemes in correlated channels, a new scheme which employ joint antenna selection (JAS) at both link ends algorithm and embed DWT operations in the receiver-end RF chains is proposed. Through extensive simulations it is demonstrated that the proposed DWT-based joint antenna selection has significant improvement of the capacity for both i.i.d and correlated MIMO channels, while requiring only a minor hardware overhead and low computational complexity for the DWT operations. Moreover, it is shown that the capacity associated with DWT-based JAS is higher than the system employing DWT-based receive antenna selection (RAS) only. This is achieved in i.i.d. and correlated MIMO channels.     

Economical evaluation of the fluoride removal by nanofiltration

Economic evaluation was carried out for a plant of fluoride removal by nanofiltration having a capacity of 2400 m³/d (100 m³/h) corresponding to a water consumption for 50.000 capita following the Moroccan considerations in rural medium. The design of this plant was carried out for the predetermined optimized conditions corresponding to a recovery rate of 84%, a fluoride rejection of 97.8% and a pressure pump of 10 bar. The capital cost was estimated to 748,003 € and the calculated operating cost to 0.212 €/m³. These costs were briefly compared to other ones.     

Materials based on maize biopolymers: Effect of flour components on mechanical and thermal behavior

The present study describes the effects of glycerol, relative humidity (RH) and the minor components of corn flour on mechanical and thermal properties of native flour, defatted flour, and starch‐based materials. The kinetic of retrogradation for these different materials were dissimilar. For all samples, strain at break shows a maximum value as a function of RH followed by a decrease, explained by the appearance of water and glycerol clusters. Starch controls the mechanical properties of corn flour‐based material and their variations with temperature and humidity. Lipid and protein have negative effect on mechanical properties of thermoplastic flour toward starch but they did not have a plasticizing effect on the physicochemical behavior of the matrix. T_gs decreased as a result of water content increase.     

海尔兹山纪念堂

正海尔兹山纪念堂是一个独特的纪念场所。为了纪念耶路撒冷所有阵亡的士兵,设计中包含了他们名字。这是和平年代期冀希望的象征。尽管临近耶路撒冷繁华路段,纪念堂设计为一个平静的圣经式场地,整个空间孤隐而静谧。建筑主体空间通过挖掘山体而成,形成个人或集体纪念活动的私密空间。纪念堂上方的山体,以耶路撒冷石塑造出新的曲线。纪念堂形成一个波形漏斗状结构,缓缓通向天际。这种不规则的涡旋状结构为纪念堂营造出不断变化的自然光。     

Reliability of fine-pitch through-vias in glass interposers and packages for high-bandwidth computing and communications

Glass is an ideal substrate material to enable 2.5D and 3D packaging of ICs at low cost and high performance. However, it is a brittle material and is prone to failures during fabrication and operation. Large coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) mismatch between copper and glass leads to thermomechanical stresses that can lead to glass cracking and delamination from glass interfaces. This paper focuses on modeling and reliability characterization of copper-plated through-package-vias (TPV) in glass packages. Thermomechanical simulations were carried out to obtain design guidelines for reliable TPVs in glass. Test-vehicles with different glass thicknesses and copper TPV fabrication conditions were fabricated for thermal cycling tests, resistance monitoring and failure analysis. The reliability characterization results showed good thermomechanical reliability of TPVs in ultra-thin glass panels.