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I review the origins of gamma-decay isomers starting within a spherical shell-model basis. Some isomers can be directly connected to the attractive proton–neutron interaction that gives rise to low-lying aligned states with a large J min - J max gap. These two-particle isomers give rise multi-particle configurations with large J-gaps. The attractive T = 1 paring-type interactions between two protons or two neutron give rise to a close spacing between the high-lying states with J max and J max - 2 . The multi-particle configurations obtained with a pairing-type interaction can be classified by the seniority quantum number. Seniority selection rules for reduced matrix elements provide another source for isomers. Isomers can also be traced to the j-gaps in the single-particle energies obtained by realistic single-particle potentials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phospholipase D (PLD) is an important signaling enzyme implicated in the control of many biological processes, including cell proliferation and survival. Despite the importance of the duration and amplitude of PLD signaling in carcinogenesis, mechanisms that regulate PLD expression remain poorly understood. In our study, we define the regulatory components of the machinery that specifies selective PLD1 induction via signals propagated through PLD activity. We demonstrate for the first time that establishment of a positive feedback loop that is dependent on enzymatic activity originating from both PLD1 and PLD2 isozymes enhances selective expression of PLD1, but not PLD2. Phosphatidic acid, the product of PLD activity, leads to an increase in the Ras-ERK/PI3K-NFκB signaling cascade and enhances binding of NFκB to the PLD1 promoter, consequently inducing selective PLD1 expression in SK-BR3 breast cancer cells. Moreover, selective PLD inhibitor suppressed epidermal growth factor-induced matrix metalloproteinase upregulation and invasion by inhibiting PLD1 expression. In conclusion, we propose that autoregulation of PLD activity might be coupled to induction of PLD1 expression, and thereby play a role in carcinogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This three-phased study examines corporate blog use, specifically the impact and value of blogs on organizational social capital and knowledge sharing at Dell Inc., a global computer manufacturer. The impact of social-mediated Web 2.0 technologies on organizational social capital has received limited attention in scholarship, possibly because of the inevident connection to measurable economic value and newness of the technology. Our findings indicate the corporate blog can be used as a sustainable forum leading to a shared understanding of organizational roles, increased sense of group cohesiveness, improved work processes, and improved professional and personal ties among employees in the organization. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We show that highly efficient depletion of sphingolipids in two different cell lines does not abrogate the ability to isolate Lubrol-based DRMs (detergent-resistant membranes) or detergent-free lipid rafts from these cells. Compared with control, DRM/detergent-free lipid raft fractions contain equal amounts of protein, cholesterol and phospholipid, whereas the classical DRM/lipid raft markers Src, caveolin-1 and flotillin display the same gradient distribution. DRMs/detergent-free lipid rafts themselves are severely depleted of sphingolipids. The fatty acid profile of the remaining sphingolipids as well as that of the glycerophospholipids shows several differences compared with control, most prominently an increase in highly saturated C16 species. The glycerophospholipid headgroup composition is unchanged in sphingolipid-depleted cells and cell-derived detergent-free lipid rafts. Sphingolipid depletion does not alter the localization of MRP1 (multidrug-resistance-related protein 1) in DRMs/detergent-free lipid rafts or MRP1-mediated efflux of carboxyfluorescein. We conclude that extensive sphingolipid depletion does not affect lipid raft integrity in two cell lines and does not affect the function of the lipid-raft-associated protein MRP1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract  This paper considers the contribution of pollen analysis to conservation strategies aimed at restoring planted ancient woodland. Pollen and charcoal data are presented from organic deposits located adjacent to the Wentwood, a large planted ancient woodland in southeast Wales. Knowledge of the ecosystems preceding conifer planting can assist in restoring ancient woodlands by placing fragmented surviving ancient woodland habitats in a broader ecological, historical and cultural context. These habitats derive largely from secondary woodland that regenerated in the 3rd–5th centuries a.d. following large-scale clearance of Quercus-Corylus woodland during the Romano-British period. Woodland regeneration favoured Fraxinus and Betula. Wood pasture and common land dominated the Wentwood during the medieval period until the enclosures of the 17th century. Surviving ancient woodland habitats contain an important Fagus component that probably reflects an earlier phase of planting preceding conifer planting in the 1880s. It is recommended that restoration measures should not aim to recreate static landscapes or woodland that existed under natural conditions. Very few habitats within the Wentwood can be considered wholly natural because of the long history of human impact. In these circumstances, restoration should focus on restoring those elements of the cultural landscape that are of most benefit to a range of flora and fauna, whilst taking into account factors that present significant issues for future conservation management, such as the adverse effects from projected climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have extended a previously implemented algorithm for using optimal control theory within the multi-configurational time-dependent Hartree (MCTDH) software. The new implementation allows the use of arbitrary dipole operators for generating the optimal laser field. A variant that does not require saving the time-dependent wave function has been developed, where simultaneous forward and backward propagations are performed. Input parameters are concentrated in a single input file analogous to the input files used elsewhere in MCTDH. We use here two simple examples to demonstrate the use of OCT-MCTDH: the modified Henon–Heiles potential and a two-dimensional model of acetylene. For both systems, a controlled transition between two vibrational states is tested. Results obtained with MCTDH and exact calculations are compared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract  The Juramento deposit in northwestern Argentina exhibits several readily visible general characteristics of sediment-hosted stratiform copper (SSC) mineralization. It consists of fine-grained disseminated base-metal sulfides within marine to lacustrine graybeds (the basal whitish Late Cretaceous Lecho Sandstone and shallow-water carbonates of the overlying Maastrichtian Yacoraite Formation) that overlie a thick sequence of redbeds (the Pirgua Subgroup). The property has been examined and drilled in three successive exploration programs as a possible analog of world-class mineralization in the copperbelts of central Africa and the Kupferschiefer. The present report provides specific field and laboratory results that confirm the classification as SSC-type mineralization. The host graybeds are the basal sandstone and overlying oolitic and stromatolitic units of the Yacoraite Formation, which are shown from textural studies to be carbonaceous and to have initially contained very fine-grained, disseminated, syndiagenetic pyrite. These sediments would have been sufficiently porous and permeable in early diagenetic time to allow an infiltration of metalliferous fluids from the underlying redbeds, resulting in the observed progressive replacement of in situ pyrite by common base-metal sulfides (sphalerite, galena, argentiferous tetrahedrite, and copper-rich sulfides: first chalcopyrite, then bornite, and finally chalcocite). Sulfur isotope analyses indicate that a portion of the sulfur of ore-stage sulfides is isotopically heavier than that of pyrite, possibly due to a contribution from associated gypsum. Ore-stage sulfides are zoned vertically and obliquely through the mineralized zones, from cupriferous sulfides at low stratigraphic levels to lead- and zinc-rich mineralization above, with unreplaced pyrite remaining within upper Yacoraite strata. The zoned sulfides and their replacement textures, the peneconformable configuration of the mineralized zones, and the position of ore-stage mineralization adjacent to a stratigraphically defined redox transition from redbeds upward into graybeds indicate an overprint of copper (and accompanying ore-stage metals) on originally pyritic graybeds. The influx of ore-stage metals, presumably in an oxidized low-temperature brine, terminated with a silicification event that effectively sealed the host carbonates. These observations and the overall genetic interpretation are consistent with the general deposit-scale genetic model for early diagenetic SSC mineralization. The regional geologic context is also consistent with its classification as a SSC deposit: It is hosted by post-oxyatmoversion sediments and was formed in association with evaporites at a low paleolatitude in a major intracontinental rift system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Journal production was one of the first commercial arenas in which markup technologies took hold, and today most major (and many minor) journal publishers have journal content in SGML or XML data formats. However, over the past few years the introduction of XML and its many adjunctive technologies has reshaped the markup landscape. With many publishers having digital workflows that were established before the flowering of XML, and some publishers looking to move to digital workflows for the first time, this article attempts to tour those parts of the XML technology family, and those XML-related activities, that are of most relevance to journal production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Measurements of extinction curves toward young stars are essential for calculating the intrinsic stellar spectrophotometric radiation. This flux determines the chemical properties and evolution of the circumstellar region, including the environment in which planets form. We develop a new technique using H2 emission lines pumped by stellar Lyα photons to characterize the extinction curve by comparing the measured far-ultraviolet H2 line fluxes with model H2 line fluxes. The difference between model and observed fluxes can be attributed to the dust attenuation along the line of sight through both the interstellar and circumstellar material. The extinction curves are fit by a Cardelli et al. (1989) model and the AV(H2) for the 10 targets studied with good extinction fits range from 0.5 to 1.5 mag, with RV values ranging from 2.0 to 4.7. AV and RV are found to be highly degenerate, suggesting that one or the other needs to be calculated independently. Column densities and temperatures for the fluorescent H2 populations are also determined, with averages of log10(N(H2)) = 19.0 and T = 1500 K. This paper explores the strengths and limitations of the newly developed extinction curve technique in order to assess the reliability of the results and improve the method in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]