Sequence analysis of the cupin gene family in Synechocystis PCC6803

The recently described cupin superfamily of proteins includes the germin and germinlike proteins, of which the cereal oxalate oxidase is the best characterized. This superfamily also includes seed storage proteins, in addition to several microbial enzymes and proteins with unknown function. All these proteins are characterized by the conservation of two central motifs, usually containing two or three histidine residues presumed to be involved with metal binding in the catalytic active site. The present study on the coding regions of Synechocystis PCC6803 identifies a previously unknown group of 12 related cupins, each containing the characteristic two-motif signature. This group comprises 11 single-domain proteins, ranging in length from 104 to 289 residues, and includes two phosphomannose isomerases and two epimerases involved in cell wall synthesis, a member of the pirin group of nuclear proteins, a possible transcriptional regulator, and a close relative-of a cytochrome c551 from Rhodococcus. Additionally, there is a duplicated, two-domain protein that has close similarity to an oxalate decarboxylase from the fungus Collybia velutipes and that is a putative progenitor of the storage proteins of land plants.

Influence of dynamics on the changes in tropical cloud radiative forcing during the 1998 El Niño

Satellite measurements of the radiation budget and data from the U.S. National Centers for Environmental Prediction–National Center for Atmospheric Research reanalysis are used to investigate the links between anomalous cloud radiative forcing over the tropical west Pacific warm pool and the tropical dynamics and sea surface temperature (SST) distribution during 1998. The ratio, N, of the shortwave cloud forcing (SWCF) to longwave cloud forcing (LWCF) (N = −SWCF/LWCF) is used to infer information on cloud altitude. A higher than average N during 1998 appears to be related to two separate phenomena. First, dynamic regime-dependent changes explain high values of N (associated with low cloud altitude) for small magnitudes of SWCF and LWCF (low cloud fraction), which reflect the unusual occurrence of mean subsiding motion over the tropical west Pacific during 1998, associated with the anomalous SST distribution. Second, Tropics-wide long-term changes in the spatial-mean cloud forcing, independent of dynamic regime, explain the higher values of N during both 1998 and in 1994/95. The changes in dynamic regime and their anomalous structure in 1998 are well simulated by version HadAM3 of the Hadley Centre climate model, forced by the observed SSTs. However, the LWCF and SWCF are poorly simulated, as are the interannual changes in N. It is argued that improved representation of LWCF and SWCF and their dependence on dynamical forcing are required before the cloud feedbacks simulated by climate models can be trusted.

The Finance Acts 1998 and 2000: can the owners of agricultural land continue to gain from their capital disposals?

This paper seeks to analyse and discuss, from the perspective of the owners of agricultural land, the main changes to the Capital Gains Tax regime introduced in the Finance Act 1998 and subsequently amended in the Finance Act 2000. The replacement of indexation with a new Taper relief is examined, along with the phasing out of Retirement relief, and the interaction of Taper relief with Rollover relief. The opportunity for tax mitigation by the owners of agricultural land is critically examined.

Why was urban overcrowding much more severe in Scotland than in the rest of the British Isles? Evidence from the first (1904) official household expenditure survey

This article presents an analysis of British urban working-class housing conditions in 1904, using a rediscovered survey. We investigate overcrowding and find major regional differences. Scottish households in the survey were more overcrowded despite being less poor. Investigating the causes of this overcrowding, we find little support for supply-side theories or for the idea that the Scottish households in our survey experienced particularly great variations in income, causing them to commit to overly modest accommodation. We present evidence that is consistent with idea that particularly tough Scottish tenancy and local tax laws caused excess overcrowding. We also provide evidence that Scottish workers had a relatively high preference for food, rather than housing, expenditure, which can be at least partly attributed to their inheritance of more communal patterns of urban living.