Angelman Syndrome Protein UBE3A Interacts with Primary Microcephaly Protein ASPM, Localizes to Centrosomes and Regulates Chromosome Segregation

Many proteins associated with the phenotype microcephaly have been localized to the centrosome or linked to it functionally. All the seven autosomal recessive primary microcephaly (MCPH) proteins localize at the centrosome. Microcephalic osteodysplastic primordial dwarfism type II protein PCNT and Seckel syndrome (also characterized by severe microcephaly) protein ATR are also centrosomal proteins. All of the above findings show the importance of centrosomal proteins as the key players in neurogenesis and brain development. However, the exact mechanism as to how the loss-of-function of these proteins leads to microcephaly remains to be elucidated. To gain insight into the function of the most commonly mutated MCPH gene ASPM, we used the yeast two-hybrid technique to screen a human fetal brain cDNA library with an ASPM bait. The analysis identified Angelman syndrome gene product UBE3A as an ASPM interactor. Like ASPM, UBE3A also localizes to the centrosome. The identification of UBE3A as an ASPM interactor is not surprising as more than 80% of Angelman syndrome patients have microcephaly. However, unlike in MCPH, microcephaly is postnatal in Angelman syndrome patients. Our results show that UBE3A is a cell cycle regulated protein and its level peaks in mitosis. The shRNA knockdown of UBE3A in HEK293 cells led to many mitotic abnormalities including chromosome missegregation, abnormal cytokinesis and apoptosis. Thus our study links Angelman syndrome protein UBE3A to ASPM, centrosome and mitosis for the first time. We suggest that a defective chromosome segregation mechanism is responsible for the development of microcephaly in Angelman syndrome.

MIMO Precoding With X- and Y- Codes

We consider a slow fading multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system with channel state information at both the transmitter and receiver. A well-known precoding scheme is based upon the singular value decomposition (SVD) of the channel matrix, which transforms the MIMO channel into parallel subchannels. Despite having low maximum likelihood decoding (MLD) complexity, this SVD precoding scheme provides a diversity gain which is limited by the diversity gain of the weakest subchannel. We therefore propose X- and Y-Codes, which improve the diversity gain of the SVD precoding scheme but maintain the low MLD complexity, by jointly coding information across a pair of subchannels. In particular, subchannels with high diversity gain are paired with those having low diversity gain. A pair of subchannels is jointly encoded using a 2 2 real matrix, which is fixed a priori and does not change with each channel realization. For X-Codes, these rotation matrices are parameterized by a single angle, while for Y-Codes, these matrices are left triangular matrices. Moreover, we propose X-, Y-Precoders with the same structure as X-, Y-Codes, but with encoding matrices adapted to each channel realization. We observed that X-Codes/Precoders are good for well-conditioned channels, while Y-Codes/Precoders are good for ill-conditioned channels.

New La2CuO4 derivatives La(2-2x)Sr(2x)Cu(1-x)M(x)O(4) (M=Ti, Mn, Fe, or Ru): A study of linear Cu-O-M electronic interaction in two dimensions

Oxides of the general formula La2-2xSr2xCu1-xII,M(x)(IV)O(4) (M = Ti, Mn, Fe, or Ru), crystallizing in the tetragonal K,NIF, structure, have been synthesized. For M=Ti, only the x=0,5 member could be prepared, while for M=Mn and Fe, the composition range is 0 Cu(III)-O-Fe(III) valence degeneracy. Increasing the strontium content at the expense of lanthanum in La2-2xSr2xCu1-xFexO4 for x less than or equal to 0.20 renders the samples metallic but not superconducting. (C) 1997 Academic Press.

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray studies of a galactose-specific lectin from the seeds of Spatholobus parviflorus

A galactose-specific seed lectin was purified from the legume Spatholobus parviflorus and crystallized using the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion technique. The crystals belonged to space group P1, with unit-cell parameters a = 60.998, b = 60.792, c = 78.179 angstrom, alpha = 101.32, beta = 91.38, gamma = 104.32 degrees. X-ray diffraction data were collected under cryoconditions (100 K) to a resolution of 2.04 angstrom using a MAR image-plate detector system mounted on a rotating-anode X-ray (Cu K alpha) generator. Molecular replacement using legume-lectin coordinates as a search model gave a tetrameric structure.

Theoretical analysis of x-ray-absorption near-edge fine structure at the O and metal K edges of LaFeO3 and LaCoO3

We present experimental x-ray-absorption spectra at the oxygen and 3d transition-metal K edges of LaFeO3 and LaCoO3. We interpret the experimental results in terms of detailed theoretical calculations based on multiple-scattering theory. Along with providing an understanding of the origin of various experimental features, we investigate the effects of structural distortions and the core-hole potential in determining the experimental spectral shape. The results indicate that the core-hole potential as well as many-body effects within the valence electrons do not have any strong effect on the spectra suggesting that the spectral features can be directly interpreted in terms of the electronic structure of such compounds.

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic investigations of Cu-Ni, Au-Ag, Ni-Pd, and Cu-Pd bimetallic clusters

Core-level binding energies of the component metals in bimetallic clusters of various compositions in the Ni-Cu, Au-Ag, Ni-Pd, and Cu-Pd systems have been measured as functions of coverage or cluster size, after having characterized the clusters with respect to sizes and compositions. The core-level binding energy shifts, relative to the bulk metals, at large coverages or cluster size, Delta E(a), are found to be identical to those of bulk alloys. By substracting the Delta E(a) values from the observed binding energy shifts, Delta E, we obtain the shifts, Delta E(c), due to cluster size. The Delta E(c) values in all the alloy systems increase with the decrease in cluster size. These results establish the additivity of the binding energy shifts due to alloying and cluster size effects in bimetallic clusters.

X-ray reflectivity study of semiconductor interfaces

The results of an X-ray reflectivity study of thick AlAs-AlGaAs and thin GeSi-Ge multilayers grown using metal-organic vapour-phase epitaxy and ion-beam sputtering deposition techniques, respectively, are presented. Asymmetry in interfaces is observed in both of these semiconductor multilayers. It is also observed that although the Si-on-Ge interface is sharp, an Si0.4Ge0.6 alloy is formed at the Ge-on-Si interface. In the case of the III-V semiconductor, the AlAs-on-AlGaAs interface shows much greater roughness than that observed in the AlGaAs-on-AlAs interface. For thin multilayers it is demonstrated that the compositional profile as a function of depth can be obtained directly from the X-ray reflectivity data.

Local environmental structures of Mo in the superionic conducting glass (AgI)(0.6)(Ag2MoO4)(0.4) by anomalous X-ray scattering

The anomalous X-ray scattering (AXS) method using Mo K absorption edges has been employed for obtaining the local structural information of superionic conducting glass having the composition (AgI)(0.6)(Ag2MoO4)(0.4). The possible atomic arrangements in the near-neighbor region of this glass were estimated by coupling the results with the least-squares variational analysis so as to reproduce the differential intensity profile for Mo as well as the ordinary scattering profile. The coordination number of oxygen around Mo is found to be about 4 at the distance of 0.180 mn. This implies that the most probable structural entity in the glass is the MoO4 tetrahedral unit which has been proposed based on infrared spectroscopy. The value of the coordination number of I- around Ag+ is estimated as 4.4 at 0.287 nm, suggesting an arrangement similar to that of crystalline or molten AgI.

Magnetocaloric effect in La1-xSrxCoO3 (0.05 <= x <= 0.40)

We report studies of magnetocaloric effect in lanthanum cobaltate doped with different Sr-concentrations, La1-xSrxCoO3 (0.05 less than or equal to x less than or equal to 0.4). The study has revealed that La0.6Sr0.4CoO3, which exhibits a moderately large value of maximum entropy change of about 1.45 J/kg/K in 1.5 T DC-fieid around its Curie temperature (of 235 K), can be used as an active magnetic refrigerant (AMR) material at similar to 2.35 K. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. Al rights reserved.

Magneto-structural correlation in (mu-alkoxo/hydroxo)(mu-carboxylato)dicopper(II) systems: Synthesis, X-ray structure and magnetic properties of aquo(mu-hydroxo) (mu-arylcarboxylato)bis(N,N,N ',N '-tetramethylethane-1,2-diamine)dicopper(II) diperchlorate

Asymmetrically dibridged dicopper(II) complexes, [Cu-2(OH)(O2CC6H4-p-Me)(tmen)(2)(H2O)](ClO4)(2) (1) and [Cu-2(OH)(O2CC6H4-p-OMe)(tmen)(2)(H2O)](ClO4)(2) (2) (tmen = N,N,N',N'-tetramethylethane-1,2-diamine), were prepared and structurally characterized. Complex 1 crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2(1)/a with a = 17.718(2), b = 9.869(1), c = 19.677(2) Angstrom, beta = 115.16(1)degrees, V = 3114.3(6) Angstrom(3) and Z = 4. The structure was refined to R(wR(2)) = 0.067(0.178). Complex 2 crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2(1)/a with a = 17.695(3), b = 9.574(4), c = 20.104(2) Angstrom, beta = 114.18(1)degrees, V = 3107(1) Angstrom(3) and Z = 4. The final residuals are R(wR(2)) = 0.067(0.182). The complexes have a [Cu-2(mu-OH)(mu-OH)(mu-O2CAr)](2+) core with tmen Ligands occupying the terminal sites of the core. In addition, one copper is axially bound to a water molecule. The Cu ... Cu distances and the Cu-OH Cu angles in the core are 3.394(1) Angstrom, 124.4(2)degrees for 1 and 3.374(1) Angstrom, 123.3(3)degrees for 2. The complexes show axial X-band EPR spectral features in methanol glass at 77 K giving g(perpendicular to) = 2.02, g(parallel to) = 2.3 (A(parallel to) = 165 x 10(-4) cm(-1)) and a visible band near similar to 630 nm in methanol. The complexes are weakly antiferromagnetic. A theoretical fit of the magnetic susceptibility data in the temperature range 40-295 K gives -J = 10 cm(-1), g = 2.05 for 1 and -J = 10 cm(-1), g = 2.0 for 2. Plots of -2J versus the Cu-OH-Cu angle (phi) in this class of asymmetrically dibridged dicopper(II) complexes having d(x2-y2)-d(x2-y2) magnetic orbitals show a linear magneto-structural correlation: -2J(cm(-1)) = 11.48 phi(deg) - 1373.

Role of Hetero-Halogen (F center dot center dot center dot X, X = Cl, Br, and I) or Homo-Halogen (X center dot center dot center dot X, X = F, Cl, Br, and I) Interactions in Substituted Benzanilides

A series of halogen-substituted benzanilides have been synthesized and characterized, and crystallization studies directed toward generation of polymorphs have been performed to delineate the importance of interactions involving halogens. The effect of halogen substitution on the molecular conformation and supramolecular packing has been investigated. The N-H center dot center dot center dot O H-bond is a key structure-directing element acting in conjunction with C-H center dot center dot center dot O and C-H center dot center dot center dot pi interactions. In addition, it is of importance to note that organic fluorine prefers Type I F center dot center dot center dot F contacts, whereas Cl, Br, and I prefer Type II contacts. Hetero-halogen center dot center dot center dot halogen interactions on the other hand are predominately of Type II geometry, and this is due to the greater polarizability of the electron density associated with the heavier halogens. It is of importance to evaluate the contributing role of these interactions in crystal structure packing and the co-operativity associated with such interactions in the solid state.

Molybdenum tetracarbonyl complexes of (aryloxy) lambda(3)-cyclotriphosphazanes; X-ray crystal structure of [Mo(CO)(4){EtNP(OC6H4Br-4)}(3)]

Treatment of the lambda(3)-cyclotriphosphazanes, cis-{EtNP(OR)}(3) [R = C6H4Br-4 (L-1) or C6H4Br-2 (L-2)] with [Mo(CO)(4)(NBD)] (NBD = norbornadiene) yields the mononuclear complexes [Mo(CO)(4)L-1] (1) and [Mo(CO)(4)L-2] (2). which have been characterised by IR, NMR (P-31 and H-1) and FAB mass spectral data. The structure of 1 has been confirmed by single crystal X-ray analysis. The structural and conformational changes brought about by complexation are discussed in terms of a bonding model based on "negative hyperconjugation". (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Synthesis, X-ray structure and properties of (eta(6)-p-cymene)ruthenium(II) Schiff-base complexes of vinylpyridine and vinylimidazole ligands

Complexes of the formulation [(eta(6)-p-cymene)Ru(O-2-C6H4-CH=NC6H4-4-CH3)(L)](ClO4), where L is gamma-picoline, 4-vinylpyridine, 1-methylimidazole and 1-vinylimidazole have been prepared and characterised. The molecular structure of the vinylpyridine adduct has been determined by X-ray crystallography. The crystal belongs to the monoclinic space group P2(1) with the following cell dimensions for the C31H33CIN2O5Ru(M = 650.11): a = 10.890(2)Angstrom, b = 22.295(9)Angstrom, c = 12.930(2)Angstrom, beta = 109.30(2)degrees(3), V = 2964(l)Angstrom 3, Z = 4; D-c = 1.457g cm(-3), lambda(Mo-K alpha) = 0.7107 Angstrom; mu(Mo-K alpha)= 6.61 cm(-1); T = 293 K; R = 0.0359 (wR(2) = 0.0981) for 4819 reflections with I > 2 sigma(I). The structure shows the non-bonding nature of the double bond of the 4-vinylpyridine ligand in the complex in which the metal is bonded to the eta(6)-p-cymene, the N, O-bidentate chelating schiff-base and the unidentate N-donor pyridine ligands.

Structural phase transitions in Bi2V1-xGexO5.5-x/2 (x=0.2, 0.4, and 0.6) single crystals: X-ray crystallographic study

Single crystals of Bi2V1-xGexO5.5-x/2 (x = 0.2, 0.4, and 0.6) were grown by slow cooling of melts. Bismuth vanadate transforms from an orthorhombic to a tetragonal structure and subsequently to an orthorhombic system when the Ge4+ concentration was varied from x = 0.2 to x = 0.6. All of these compositions crystallized in polar space groups (Aba2, F4mm, and Fmm2 for x = 0.2, 0.4, and 0.6, respectively). The structures were fully determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction studies, (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd.