Excitation transfer spectroscopy with two metastable 138Ba+ ions in same trap.

In the absence of lasers approaching trapped ion clock transitions in sharpness we propose to replace the 12.49 m laser field exciting the D3/2-D5/2 transition of the single Ba+ ion A in D3/2 with the near-field of a close by identical ion B in the excited D5/2 state. We tune the frequency of the near-field by the differential Stark shift generated when the center of mass of the tuned ions is slightly moved out of the trap center by a small bias voltage. We demonstrate that the resultant resonant energy exchange can be made considerably faster than the natural lifetime of either metastable level and show how it might be detected.

Detection of sub-8-nm movements of kinesin by high-resolution optical-trap microscopy.

Kinesin is a molecular motor that transports organelles along microtubules. This enzyme has two identical 7-nm-long motor domains, which it uses to move between consecutive tubulin binding sites spaced 8 nm apart along a microtubular protofilament. The molecular mechanism of this movement, which remains to be elucidated, may be common to all families of motor proteins. In this study, a high-resolution optical-trap microscope was used to measure directly the magnitude of abrupt displacements produced by a single kinesin molecule transporting a microscopic bead. The distribution of magnitudes reveals that kinesin not only undergoes discrete 8-nm movements, in agreement with previous work [Svoboda, K., Schmidt, C. F., Schnapp, B. J. & Block, S.M. (1993) Nature (London) 365, 721-727], but also frequently exhibits smaller movements of about 5 nm. A possible explanation for these unexpected smaller movements is that kinesin's movement from one dimer to the next along a protofilament involves at least two distinct events in the mechanical cycle.

An induction gene trap screen in embryonic stem cells: Identification of genes that respond to retinoic acid in vitro.

We have developed a novel induction gene trap approach that preselects in vitro for integrations into genes that lie downstream of receptor/ligand-mediated signaling pathways. Using this approach, we have identified 20 gene trap integrations in embryonic stem cells, 9 of which were induced and 11 of which were repressed after exposure to exogenous retinoic acid (RA). All but one of these integrations showed unique spatially restricted or tissue-specific patterns of expression between 8.5 and 11.5 days of embryogenesis. Interestingly, expression was observed in tissues that are affected by alterations in RA levels during embryogenesis. Sequence analysis of fusion transcripts from six integrations revealed five novel gene sequences and the previously identified protooncogene c-fyn. To date, germ-line transmission and breeding has uncovered one homozygous embryonic lethal and three homozygous viable insertions. These studies demonstrate the potential of this induction gene trap approach for identifying and mutating genes downstream of signal transduction pathways.

TRAP, the trp RNA-binding attenuation protein of Bacillus subtilis, is a toroid-shaped molecule that binds transcripts containing GAG or UAG repeats separated by two nucleotides.

The trp RNA-binding attenuation protein of Bacillus subtilis, TRAP, regulates both transcription and translation by binding to specific transcript sequences. The optimal transcript sequences required for TRAP binding were determined by measuring complex formation between purified TRAP protein and synthetic RNAs. RNAs were tested that contained repeats of different trinucleotide sequences, with differing spacing between the repeats. A transcript containing GAG repeats separated by two-nucleotide spacers was bound most tightly. In addition, transmission electron microscopy was used to examine the structure of TRAP and the TRAP-transcript complex. TRAP was observed to be a toroid-shaped oligomer when free or when bound to either a natural or a synthetic RNA.

CuH-ZSM-5 as Hydrocarbon Trap under Cold Start Conditions

Cold start tests are carried out to evaluate the performance of copper-exchanged zeolites as hydrocarbon traps under simulated gasoline car exhaust gases, paying special attention to the role of copper in the performance of these zeolites. It is concluded that the partial substitution of the protons in the parent H-ZSM-5 zeolite is highly beneficial for hydrocarbon trapping due to the formation of selective adsorption sites with specific affinity for the different exhaust components. However, it is also observed that uncontrolled exchanging process conditions could lead to the presence of CuO nanoparticles in the zeolite surface, which seem to block the pore structure of the zeolite, decreasing the hydrocarbon trap efficiency. Among all the zeolites studied, the results point out that a CuH-ZSM-5 with a partial substitution of extra-framework protons by copper cations and without any detectable surface CuO nanoparticles is the zeolite that showed the best performance under simulated cold start conditions due to both the high stability and the hydrocarbon retaining capacity of this sample during the consecutive cycles.

Advances in camera trap data management tools: Towards collaborative development and integration with GIS

Camera traps have become a widely used technique for conducting biological inventories, generating a large number of database records of great interest. The main aim of this paper is to describe a new free and open source software (FOSS), developed to facilitate the management of camera-trapped data which originated from a protected Mediterranean area (SE Spain). In the last decade, some other useful alternatives have been proposed, but ours focuses especially on a collaborative undertaking and on the importance of spatial information underpinning common camera trap studies. This FOSS application, namely, “Camera Trap Manager” (CTM), has been designed to expedite the processing of pictures on the .NET platform. CTM has a very intuitive user interface, automatic extraction of some image metadata (date, time, moon phase, location, temperature, atmospheric pressure, among others), analytical (Geographical Information Systems, statistics, charts, among others), and reporting capabilities (ESRI Shapefiles, Microsoft Excel Spreadsheets, PDF reports, among others). Using this application, we have achieved a very simple management, fast analysis, and a significant reduction of costs. While we were able to classify an average of 55 pictures per hour manually, CTM has made it possible to process over 1000 photographs per hour, consequently retrieving a greater amount of data.

Will income inequality cause a middle-income trap in Asia? Bruegel Working Paper 2013/06, 10 October 2013

The Asian economy is expected to realise favourable growth during the first half of this century, but there is no guarantee. There is a discussion about a ‘middle-income trap’, which refers to a country that has realised rapid growth to become a middle-income country but is unable to grow further. A middle-income trap could occur not only if there is a delay in shifting the economy toward a productivity-driven structure, but also if there is a worsening of income distribution.We consider this in line with the theories of development economics and through a quantitative analysis. The relationship between income inequality and the trap can be explained by the Kuznets hypothesis and the basic-needs approach. Our quantitative analysis supports the Kuznets hypothesis, and indicates that,although a low-income country can accelerate its economic growth with the worsening of income distribution as an engine, a middle income country would experience a decreasing growth rate if it fails to narrow the income gap between the top and bottom income groups. The results also show that the basic-needs approach is also applicable in practice, and imply that the improvement of access to secondary education is important. A sensitivity analysis for three Asian upper-middle-income countries(China, Malaysia and Thailand) also shows that the situation related to a middle-income trap is worse than average in China and Malaysia. These two countries, according to the result of the sensitivity analysis, should urgently improve access to secondary education and should implement income redistribution measures to develop high-tech industries, before their demographic dividends expire. Income redistribution includes the narrowing of rural urban income disparities, benefits to low-income individuals, direct income transfers, vouchers or free provision of education and health-care, and so on, but none of these are simple to implement.

Dialogue with the Eurasian Union on Ukraine – an opportunity or a trap? OSW COMMENTARY No. 154, 2014-12-01

The Eurasian Union (or, to give it its full name, the Eurasian Economic Union, EEU) is Russia's flagship project, by use of which it aims to institutionally subordinate the post-Soviet states to itself using political ties and the projected common economic space. The Kremlin has so far managed to persuade Belarus and Kazakhstan, and tentatively also Armenia, to join this integration project, which on the surface looks like a multilateral initiative but in reality conceals a network of bilateral relations centred on Russia. However, in order for Russia to reconstruct its influence in its neighbourhood permanently and without change, it is of key importance that Ukraine is incorporated into the EEU. That still seemed feasible even in 2013, but the Maidan and the Russian-Ukrainian war have undone this possibility. However, they also opened up an alternative scenario for Russia, one in which the Western states recognise the Eurasian Union as a legitimate partner in discussions about a new order in Europe with a view to restoring peace in Ukraine. It is worth taking into account the strategic consequences of that scenario. We need to consider if the idea which Moscow has been lobbying for – and which has found some supporters in Brussels and Berlin – threatens to take us back to the Cold War system of geopolitical blocs and implies recognition of Russia's dominance over Ukraine and the other Eastern Partnership countries?

Antitrust, Regulation and the Neutrality Trap: A plea for a smart, evidence-based internet policy. CEPS Special Report No. 104/April 2015

When they look at Internet policy, EU policymakers seem mesmerised, if not bewitched, by the word ‘neutrality’. Originally confined to the infrastructure layer, today the neutrality rhetoric is being expanded to multi-sided platforms such as search engines and more generally online intermediaries. Policies for search neutrality and platform neutrality are invoked to pursue a variety of policy objectives, encompassing competition, consumer protection, privacy and media pluralism. This paper analyses this emerging debate and comes to a number of conclusions. First, mandating net neutrality at the infrastructure layer might have some merit, but it certainly would not make the Internet neutral. Second, since most of the objectives initially associated with network neutrality cannot be realistically achieved by such a rule, the case for network neutrality legislation would have to stand on different grounds. Third, the fact that the Internet is not neutral is mostly a good thing for end users, who benefit from intermediaries that provide them with a selection of the over-abundant information available on the Web. Fourth, search neutrality and platform neutrality are fundamentally flawed principles that contradict the economics of the Internet. Fifth, neutrality is a very poor and ineffective recipe for media pluralism, and as such should not be invoked as the basis of future media policy. All these conclusions have important consequences for the debate on the future EU policy for the Digital Single Market.

Planktonic foraminifera of sediment trap samples

Biweekly sediment trap samples and concurrent hydrographic measurements collected between March 2005 and October 2008 from the Cariaco Basin, Venezuela, are used to assess the relationship between [CO3]2- and the area densities (ho A) of two species of planktonic foraminifera (Globigerinoides ruber (pink) and Globigerinoides sacculifer). Calcification temperatures were calculated for each sample using species-appropriate oxygen isotope (d18O) temperature equations that were then compared to monthly temperature profiles taken at the study site in order to determine calcification depth. Ambient [CO3]2- was determined for these calcification depths using alkalinity, pH, temperature, salinity, and nutrient concentration measurements taken during monthly hydrographic cruises. The rho A, which is representative of calcification efficiency, is determined by dividing individual foraminiferal shell weights (±0.43 µg) by their associated silhouette areas and taking the sample average. The results of this study show a strong correlation between rho A and ambient [CO3]2- for both G. ruber and G. sacculifer (R**2 = 0.89 and 0.86, respectively), confirming that [CO3]2- has a pronounced effect on the calcification of these species. Though the rho A for both species reveal a highly significant (p < 0.001) relationship with ambient [CO3]2-, linear regression reveals that the extent to which [CO3]2- influences foraminiferal calcification is species specific. Hierarchical regression analyses indicate that other environmental parameters (temperature and [PO4]3-) do not confound the use of G. ruber and G. sacculifer rho A as a predictor for [CO3]2-. This study suggests that G. ruber and G. sacculifer rho A can be used as reliable proxies for past surface ocean [CO3]2?-