Russia and France Mistral talks on deadend

From Weapons and technology

Talks between Russia and France on the purchase of Mistral class helicopter carriers have come to a dead end over Russia's demands on the transfer and licensed production of sensitive electronics.

Mistral class ships are equipped with a NATO-standard SENIT-9 naval tactical data system and SIC-21 fleet command system. France is strongly opposed to delivering the SENIT-9 to Russia with a production license, and apparently does not want to deliver the SIC-21 at all.

The Russian side wants to get all advanced technologies together with the ship...and the future of the contract totally depends on whether France would agree to part with these systems. The official confirmed that talks were tough-going and their format was constantly changing.

Russia completely replaced its team of negotiators on May 5 hoping to change the course of the talks by literally starting from scratch. Experts believe that the controversial issues of such a highly-publicized and politically-charged deal could be resolved only through a compromise between the Russian and French leaders. Russia and France in January signed an intergovernmental agreement to jointly build two Mistral-class helicopter carriers at the STX shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France. Another two are planned to be constructed later at the Admiralty Shipyards in St. Petersburg.

A Mistral-class ship is capable of carrying 16 helicopters, four landing vessels, 70 armored vehicles, and 450 personnel.

Source: http://weapons.technology.youngester.com/2011/05/russia-and-france-mistral-talks-on.html

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Absence of Mitochondrial Translation Control Proteins Extends Life Span by Activating Sirtuin-Dependent Silencing

A SOV1 Deletion Extends Life Span without Affecting Steady-State Levels of ROS or Oxidative Damage

Mitochondria are the body's energy producers, the power stations inside our cells. Researchers at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have now identified a group of mitochondrial proteins, the absence of which allows other protein groups to stabilise the genome. This could delay the onset of age-related diseases and increase lifespan.

A research team has now identified a group of mitochondrial proteins that are involved in this type of aging regulation. The researchers found that a group of proteins called MTC proteins, which are normally needed for mitochondrial protein synthesis, also have other functions that influence genome stability and the cell's capacity to remove damaged and harmful proteins.

Molecular Cell journal - Absence of Mitochondrial Translation Control Proteins Extends Life Span by Activating Sirtuin-Dependent Silencing



Highlights
* Yeast mitochondrial translation control (MTC) proteins affects aging
* Absence of MTCs extends life span and enhances nuclear silencing
* MTCs affects life span through the sirtuin, Sir2p
* MTC deficiency boosts Msn2/4p-dependent homeostatic performance

Summary

Altered mitochondrial functionality can extend organism life span, but the underlying mechanisms are obscure. Here we report that inactivating SOV1, a member of the yeast mitochondrial translation control (MTC) module, causes a robust Sir2-dependent extension of replicative life span in the absence of respiration and without affecting oxidative damage. We found that SOV1 interacts genetically with the cAMP-PKA pathway and the chromatin remodeling apparatus. Consistently, Sov1p-deficient cells displayed reduced cAMP-PKA signaling and an elevated, Sir2p-dependent, genomic silencing. Both increased silencing and life span extension in sov1? cells require the PKA/Msn2/4p target Pnc1p, which scavenges nicotinamide, a Sir2p inhibitor. Inactivating other members of the MTC module also resulted in Sir2p-dependent life span extension. The data demonstrate that the nuclear silencing apparatus senses and responds to the absence of MTC proteins and that this response converges with a pathway for life span extension elicited by reducing TOR signaling.

Some theories of human aging suggest that the power generators of the cell, the mitochondria, play a part in the process. In addition to supplying us with energy in a usable form, mitochondria also produce harmful by-products -- reactive oxyradicals that attack and damage various cell components. Eventually these injuries become too much for the cell to cope with, and it loses its capacity to maintain important functions, so the organism starts to age. That's the theory anyway. Oddly enough, several studies have shown that certain mitochondrial dysfunctions can actually delay aging, at least in fungi, worms and flies. The underlying mechanisms have yet to be determined.

"When a certain MTC protein is lacking in the cell, e.g. because of a mutation in the corresponding gene, the other MTC proteins appear to adopt a new function. They then gain increased significance for the stabilisation of the genome and for combating protein damage, which leads to increased lifespan," says Thomas Nystr�m of the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology.

He adds, "These studies also show that this MTC-dependent regulation of the rate of aging uses the same signalling pathways that are activated in calorie restriction -- something that extends the lifespan of many different organisms, including yeasts, mice and primates. Some of the MTC proteins identified in this study can also be found in the human cell, raising the obvious question of whether they play a similar role in the regulation of our own aging processes. It is possible that modulating the activity of the MTC proteins could enable us to improve the capacity of the cell to delay the onset of age-related diseases. These include diseases related to instability of the genome, such as cancer, as well as those related to harmful proteins, such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. At the moment this is only speculation, and the precise mechanism underlying the role of the MTC proteins in the aging process is a fascinating question that remains to be answered."

If you liked this article, please give it a quick review on ycombinator or StumbleUpon. Thanks

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/advancednano/~3/dk3kLgI52wI/absence-of-mitochondrial-translation.html

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Terrorist Trends: Four recent reports

Germany: Homegrown Terror Takes on New Dimensions (Spiegel Online) May 9, 2011 – Osama bin Laden may be dead, but al-Qaida is alive and well in Germany. Each month, an average of five Islamists leave the country for terrorist training camps in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border area. Recent arrests in D�sseldorf show just how dangerous homegrown [...]

Source: http://www.hlswatch.com/2011/05/09/terrorist-trends-four-recent-reports/

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Pakistani Spy Chief Defends His Agency to Parliament

The head of Pakistan�s powerful spy service, Lt. Gen. Ahmad Shuja Pasha, told parliament he had a �shouting match� with the head of the CIA, Leon E....

Source: http://www.defence.pk/forums/pakistans-war/108269-pakistani-spy-chief-defends-his-agency-parliament.html

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Why is there irrational fear of radiation?

Four perspectives on the need to change the way the significance of radiation numbers are explained to the public

The crisis at the Fukushima nuclear reactor complex in Japan (right), caused by a record earthquake and equally record shattering tsunami, has created a maelstrom of fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) when it comes to radiation measurements.

At a private online discussion forum on nuclear energy, there has been considerable debate about the cause of FUD over radiation and what to do about irrational public fears over radiation. 

I asked four members of the list to offer their perspectives on the issue.  You can read their public comments now online at the ANS Nuclear Cafe.  Here?s a preview.

It?s more complicated than just counting

For instance, the importance of distinctions between fast and slow decaying isotopes of iodine and cesium are sometimes lost on media and the public.

Worse, the differences between accounting for the sheer amount of radiation and giving an assessment of the potential health effects of uncontrolled releases takes place using different sets of measurement units. Is it any wonder that mainstream news media editors get headaches when their reporters file stories about radiation?

It hasn?t helped that Japanese and American nuclear experts have called for different distances for evacuation zones around the plant site. Can we fault the public for concluding that any report about radiation at a nuclear reactor is bad news?

Organizations with agendas that call for removing nuclear reactors from the energy mix have been known to exploit public fears of radiation. In doing so, they?ve sometimes failed to understand the scientific basis for the measurements.

Use of radiation statistics colored by perspective

In one case, a critic of a reactor relicensing application, writing in a political news magazine, said that a tritium release was 500 times more than expected, which was none. What he failed to realize is that the measured quantity was still 500 times less than the EPA drinking water standard.

Calling this type of mistake ?junk science? misses an important point. What the public thinks is that regardless of how much radiation you are talking about, it is colorless, odorless, and tasteless. FUD fosters fear.

On the other hand, people in the nuclear energy field, who routinely work with some of the most dangerous radioactive materials in the universe, are quite calm about it, citing and practicing the principles of time, distance, and shielding. In fact, some can?t understand what all the panic is about because they know, by the numbers, that the risk isn?t commensurate with the noise level.

What we have here is a failure to communicate

Is it time for a change in the way radiation measurements are communicated and explained to the public? At the discussion list, I asked four contributors to share their views on this question.

These four people have deep insights into the world of nuclear energy, but they also have very different takes on the current systems of radiation measurement and how they are used to explain risk to the public and the press. 

In this multi-author guest blog post, an ecologist, a chemist, an energy expert, and a public affairs consultant offer ideas about what to do about making radiation numbers more understandable and, in doing so, foster better public understanding about what they mean.

All four contributors, coming at the problem from very different perspectives, nevertheless find fault with the way current radiation measurement systems explain their results. The fault finding is not with the internationally accepted scientific measurement units, but rather in communication of the numbers to a skeptical and fearful public.

Until risk communication practice by nuclear regulatory agencies catches up with the public?s needs for understanding, the nuclear industry may paradoxically continue to find itself sliced and diced in the news media by its own measurement precision.

# # #

Idaho Samizdat ~ http://djysrv.blogspot.com

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/Yiuo/~3/nME9SCcG5X4/why-is-there-irrational-fear-of.html

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Ice Cream Advertising Fail

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RetailHellUnderground/~3/MvAEcVT3h0E/ice-cream-advertising-fail.html

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My Shopping Conquest #122

Below: The closest I will probably come to getting a 'tattoo'...:-P Love my new Louis Vuitton x Scott Campbell Spring Summer 2011 �tole tattoo bleu. 'Chinese Mafia' LV style?

Below: One of the key pieces in LV's Spring Summer 2011 mens collection... the cotton stole is fabulous under blazers and sweaters!

Louis Vuitton x Scott Campbell Spring Summer 2011 Mens �tole Tattoo Bleu

Louis Vuitton is the king of collaborations. You have to applaud Marc Jacobs for his unusually acute sense of successful collaborative projects with famous artists. From Murakami to Richard Prince, Rei Kawakubo and now for Spring Summer 2011... celebrity tattoo artist Scott Campbell. I am usually not a fan of tattoos. I can tolerate seeing them in small amounts on other people (gives them a cool edge I must say, when done right), but never on myself. I will just get tired of the design very soon and regret it for life:-(

But it was love at first sight for this Louis Vuitton x Scott Campbell Spring Summer 2011 Mens �tole Tattoo Bleu after I first saw Bagaholicboy flaunt his on twitter. I immediately got smitten by Scott's highly original style! His work for LV is street vs. fine art vs. fashion... all done with lots of personality and attitude. What's more, the oriental theme motif is what I deemed a contemporary take on chinese mafia style, 'bad boy' cool anyone?:-P

I told myself I must track one down. The LV gods heard my wishes and and I managed to find the seasonal-release cotton stole at Ngee Ann City's LV store. Only 2 pieces were available... of course one came home with me. I grabbed at the chance to own this fashion piece cum collectible art:-) (My friend said Scott Campbell is going to get even more famous:-) So this might be a highly sought after collectible in the future.)

Below: Oriental dragons and tattoo style LV monogram flowers... a cool intepretation of contemporary body art... Scott Campbell's work is amazing!

The stole features subdued colours of pale blues, brown tones and greys with motifs of chinese dragons and a series of reinterpreted tattoo style LV monogram. I also love the extreme creasing which give the scarf a used and nonchalant look. Perfect to peek out from under your blazers and sweaters, definitely a conversational piece at events:-)

Below: Close-up look at the prints on the extreme creased stole... lovely colour combination!

Can't wait to head to cooler climates soon to put this stole to good use:-) It's been so long since LV has gotten my 'shopping adrenaline' pumping this much... Very pleased with my purchase and love Scott Campbell!

Source: myMANybags, Style, Louis Vuitton

Source: http://mymanybags.blogspot.com/2011/04/my-shopping-conquest-122.html

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