Uniaxial Strain Control of Bulk Ferromagnetism in Rare-Earth Titanates

The perovskite rare-earth titanates are model Mott insulators with magnetic ground states that are very sensitive to structural distortions. These distortions couple strongly to the orbital degrees of freedom and, in principle, it should be possible to tune the superexchange and the magnetic transition with strain. We investigate the representative system (Y,La,Ca)TiO_{3}, which exhibits low crystallographic symmetry and no structural instabilities. From magnetic susceptibility measurements of the Curie temperature, we demonstrate direct, reversible, and continuous control of ferromagnetism by influencing the TiO_{6} octahedral tilts and rotations with uniaxial strain. The relative change in T_{C} as a function of strain is well described by ab initio calculations, which provides detailed understanding of the complex interactions among structural, orbital, and magnetic properties in rare-earth titanates. The demonstrated manipulation of octahedral distortions opens up far-reaching possibilities for investigations of electron-lattice coupling, competing ground states, and magnetic quantum phase transitions in a wide range of quantum materials.

Coexistence and Interaction of Spinons and Magnons in an Antiferromagnet with Alternating Antiferromagnetic and Ferromagnetic Quantum Spin Chains

In conventional quasi-one-dimensional antiferromagnets with quantum spins, magnetic excitations are carried by either magnons or spinons in different energy regimes: they do not coexist independently, nor could they interact with each other. In this Letter, by combining inelastic neutron scattering, quantum Monte Carlo simulations, and random phase approximation calculations, we report the discovery and discuss the physics of the coexistence of magnons and spinons and their interactions in Botallackite-Cu_{2}(OH)_{3}Br. This is a unique quantum antiferromagnet consisting of alternating ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic spin-1/2 chains with weak interchain couplings. Our study presents a new paradigm where one can study the interaction between two different types of magnetic quasiparticles: magnons and spinons.

Analysis of the effects of -42 and -32 ampC promoter mutations in clinical isolates of Escherichia coli hyperproducing ampC

Escherichia coli usually produces only very small amounts of a constitutive AmpC beta-lactamase, but clinical strains overproducing this enzyme have been isolated. Three different ampC promoters of E. coli clinical strains were cloned upstream of the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) gene in the pKK232-8 reporter plasmid and their relative strengths were compared by two different methods. The strength of the promoters from AmpC hyperproducers was 70- to 120-fold higher than those from a low-level AmpC producer. One of the strong promoters, which differs from strain K12 at bases -88, -82, -42, -18, -1 and +58, was mutated to abolish the -42 mutation. This change resulted in a 43-fold decrease in CAT concentration. In another promoter, with eight different mutations at positions -88, -82, -32, -18, -1, +5, +24 and +58, the -32T-->A transversion, which created perfect homology with the -35 consensus sequence, was reverted; this led to a 13-fold decrease in CAT concentration. The -42 and -32 mutations play an important role in E. coli resistance to beta-lactams by increasing ampC transcription.

A Xenopus protein related to hnRNP I has a role in cytoplasmic RNA localization

Cytoplasmic localization of mRNA molecules is a powerful mechanism for generating cell polarity. In vertebrates, one paradigm is localization of Vg1 RNA within the Xenopus oocyte, a process directed by recognition of a localization element within the Vg1 3' UTR. We show that specific base changes within the localization element abolish both localization in vivo and binding in vitro by a single protein, VgRBP60. VgRBP60 is homologous to a human hnRNP protein, hnRNP I, and combined immunolocalization and in situ hybridization demonstrate striking colocalization of hnRNP I and Vg1 RNA within the vegetal cytoplasm of the Xenopus oocyte. These results implicate a novel role in cytoplasmic RNA transport for this family of nuclear RNA-binding proteins.

Two epidemiologically related cases of Rahnella aquatilis bacteremia

Rahnella aquatilis was isolated from the blood cultures of two patients who were in different units of the same hospital. Both isolates were susceptible to aminoglycosides, fluoroquinolones, cotrimoxazole, piperacillin, third generation cephalosporins and amoxicillin-clavulanate, but resistant to amoxicillin, ticarcillin, and first generation cephalosporins. The synergistic activity of amoxicillin and clavulanic acid suggested the presence of a beta-lactamase, confirmed by a positive nitrocefin test and by analytical isoelectric focusing. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and ribotyping with the pKK3535 probe showed that the isolates shared the same banding pattern. The results of an epidemiological study suggested that an in-house total parenteral nutrition solution might be the source of this unusual gram-negative rod.

Two copies of a subelement from the Vg1 RNA localization sequence are sufficient to direct vegetal localization in Xenopus oocytes

Localization of mRNA has emerged as a fundamental mechanism for generating polarity during development. In vertebrates, one example of this phenomenon is Vg1 RNA, which is localized to the vegetal cortex of Xenopus oocytes. Vegetal localization of Vg1 RNA is directed by a 340-nt sequence element contained within its 3′ untranslated region. To investigate how such cis-acting elements function in the localization process, we have undertaken a detailed analysis of the precise sequence requirements for vegetal localization within the 340-nt localization element. We present evidence for considerable redundancy within the localization element and demonstrate that critical sequences lie at the ends of the element. Importantly, we show that a subelement from the 5′ end of the Vg1 localization element is, when duplicated, sufficient to direct vegetal localization. We suggest that the Vg1 localization element is composed of smaller, redundant sequence motifs and identify one such 6-nt motif as essential for localization. These results allow insight into what constitutes an RNA localization signal and how RNA sequence elements may act in the localization process.

A subtle defect underlies altered lamellar orientation in the Gr16 chorion mutant of Bombyx mori

Gr16 (chromosome 2, 6.9 cM) is a dominant, grey egg mutation of the domestic silkmoth, Bombyx mori, which produces an opaque instead of a translucent chorion. To determine the underlying cause of this defect, we examined the effects of the mutation on chorion ultrastructure, protein accumulation, and biosynthesis patterns, and on the restriction patterns of early chorion structural genes, using the presumed wild-type progenitor strain, Old European 16 (OE16), for comparison. Cross-sections of mature chorions examined by scanning electron microscopy showed that the inner lamellae were oriented perpendicular, rather than parallel, to the egg surface, with a smaller vertical zone bordered by normally oriented lamellae in the heterozygote, suggestive of codominant expression. This defect first appeared in transmission electron micrographs early in choriogenesis, probably during framework formation and/or expansion stages. Mature chorion protein patterns resolved by isoelectric focusing or two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, synthetic profiles of virtually all chorion proteins following pulse-labeling with tritiated or [14C]glycine, and restriction patterns of early chorion genes examined by Southern blot hybridization were identical between mutant, wild-type, and heterozygote. These observations ruled out a major deletion of chorion structural genes or defects in the production and accumulation of normal chorion proteins as mechanisms underlying the mutation, unlike other putative Gr mutants mapping in its vicinity. The sole difference that we detected was a set of minor, early protein doublets of related size but differing isoelectric point, which showed reciprocal labeling intensities in Gr16 vs OE16 and were codominantly expressed. Preliminary pulse-chase experiments suggested that these proteins may be post-translationally modified forms which undergo differential processing in mutant and wild-type. Based on these observations, we postulate that the Gr16 mutation affects the primary structure of a minor, previously unidentified chorion or follicular cell component which is critical for determining lamellar orientation, and discuss models of how this might function.