Caracteristiques magnetiques et proprietes electriques de quelques oxydes d'europium de type “bronze de tungstene quadratique”

Electrical and magnetic properties of some europium “tungsten bronze” type compounds were investigated. Europium was confirmed to be in the + 2 oxydation state. Electrical conductivity in europium niobate Eu Nb₂O₆ was found to be much higher than in the tantalate Eu Ta₂O₆. The presence of electrons on niobium ions in Eu_0,60 NbO₃ compound considerably increased the electrical conductivity. Two band models derived from Goodenough's for tungsten bronze structure are discussed.     

Changes in the polypeptide assembly of guinea pig thyroglobulin induced by thyrotropin-regulated thyroid activity

We have previously reported that the relative proportion of three polypeptide chains in guinea pig thyroglobulin is closely related to the iodine content of the protein. The present work demonstrates that it is not the iodine content per se but, rather, TSH-regulated thyroid activity which modulates the substructure of thyroglobulin. In a first set of experiments, the impact of TSH stimulation on sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-induced dissociation of 19S thyroglobulin into 12S subunits was compared to that of iodination. While in control animals the ratio of 12S to 19S thyroglobulin was 48:52, it changed to 35:65 in glands strongly stimulated with TSH and blocked with MMI. This rise in the relative proportion of 19S thyroglobulin occurred despite a simultaneous drop of iodine content from 0.6% to 0.24%. It was only after TSH suppression that the well known inverse correlation between the level of iodination and dissociability reappeared. In a second set of experiments, SDS-treated thyroglobulin was fully reduced by splitting disulfide bonds with mercaptoethanol. In addition to the previously described three polypeptide chains, A, B, and C, a hitherto neglected nonreducible fraction comigrated with 19S thyroglobulin on polyacrylamide gels. Native thyroglobulin with widely varying iodine contents was obtained from unstimulated glands and from glands strongly stimulated with TSH. Drastic changes in the polypeptide chain assembly, depending on the degree of TSH stimulation but entirely independent of iodination, were observed. There was a strong negative correlation between the nonreducible 19S thyroglobulin fraction and both the B and C polypeptide chains with all experimental manipulations. We conclude that thyroglobulin substructure is highly dependent on the degree of TSH stimulation of the thyroid. TSH, through stimulation of unknown metabolic pathways, is a more important determinant of thyroglobulin substructure than the degree of iodination of the protein.     

Semantic Wikipedia

Wikipedia is the world’s largest collaboratively edited source of encyclopaedic knowledge. But in spite of its utility, its content is barely machine-interpretable and only weakly structured. With Semantic MediaWiki we provide an extension that enables wiki-users to semantically annotate wiki pages, based on which the wiki contents can be browsed, searched, and reused in novel ways. In this paper, we give an extended overview of Semantic MediaWiki and discuss experiences regarding performance and current applications.     

Hoxa1 and Hoxb1 synergize in patterning the hindbrain, cranial nerves and second pharyngeal arch

The analysis of Hoxa1 and Hoxb1 null mutants suggested that these genes are involved in distinct aspects of hindbrain segmentation and specification. Here we investigate the possible functional synergy of the two genes. The generation of Hoxa1(3'RARE)/Hoxb1(3'RARE) compound mutants resulted in mild facial motor nerve defects reminiscent of those present in the Hoxb1 null mutants. Strong genetic interactions between Hoxa1 and Hoxb1 were uncovered by introducing the Hoxb1(3'RARE) and Hoxb1 null mutations into the Hoxa1 null genetic background. Hoxa1(null)/Hoxb1(3'RARE) and Hoxa1(null)/Hoxb1(null )double homozygous embryos showed additional patterning defects in the r4-r6 region but maintained a molecularly distinct r4-like territory. Neurofilament staining and retrograde labelling of motor neurons indicated that Hoxa1 and Hoxb1 synergise in patterning the VIIth through XIth cranial nerves. The second arch expression of neural crest cell markers was abolished or dramatically reduced, suggesting a defect in this cell population. Strikingly, the second arch of the double mutant embryos involuted by 10.5 dpc and this resulted in loss of all second arch-derived elements and complete disruption of external and middle ear development. Additional defects, most notably the lack of tympanic ring, were found in first arch-derived elements, suggesting that interactions between first and second arch take place during development. Taken together, our results unveil an extensive functional synergy between Hoxa1 and Hoxb1 that was not anticipated from the phenotypes of the simple null mutants.