2004 Nissan Titan

Nothing like seeing a vehicle's engine made right before driving it. After touring the Echerd, Tennessee engine plant I was then tossed the keys to a 2004 Titan Kingcab. I was still taking a moment to consider the overall morale in the plant, which I found strikingly positive.

The positive attitudes of Nissan's workers in Tennessee really seem to translate to the product.

Like any truck the power plant is paramount to the overall feel of the vehicle and this one was as much fun as some rear-drive pony cars.

With the window open the exhaust noise is exactly what you'd expect a North American truck consumer would be seeking.

The exhaust tones aren't the only …

Springs appears unlikely for Redskins vs. Eagles

The Washington Redskins likely will be without two defensive starters for Sunday's NFC East game against the Philadelphia Eagles: Shawn Springs and Jason Taylor.

Cornerback Springs didn't practice Thursday because of a strained calf muscle. He joined defensive end Taylor as players receiving a pessimistic assessment from coach Jim Zorn.

"Just with his calf, it's not responding well yet," Zorn said. "The light is fading if we're expecting him to play on Sunday."

Springs contained Terrell Owens in last week's victory over the Cowboys before leaving in the second half. Carlos Rogers and Fred Smoot would be the starters if Springs …

Bont edged out in derby

KIDWELLY returned to Swalec National League action with a 19-5win over Pontyberem in the Gwendraeth Valley derby.

Jason Smith scored a try with Leighton Walters kicking 14 points.Casper Jones crossed for the …

Democrats Push Columbia on Terror Groups

BOGOTA, Colombia - Top Democratic lawmakers, including presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and Chris Dodd, have urged Colombia to reverse the "infiltration" of murderous paramilitary groups at high government levels or risk losing $700 million a year in aid.

In a strongly worded letter sent last month to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, eight senators expressed "grave concern regarding the infiltration of important Colombian state institutions by terrorists and drug traffickers."

A copy of the letter was released by Sen. Dodd's office on Friday, just before President Alvaro Uribe was to appear in New York for a dinner honoring former President Clinton, part of a …

Sharks-Ducks, Sums

San Jose 1 1 0 0_2
Anaheim 0 1 1 0_3
Anaheim won shootout 2-0
First Period_1, San Jose, Mitchell 1 (Grier, Roenick), 10:32. Penalties_Schneider, Ana (hooking), 5:23	Huskins, Ana (hooking), 8:03	Anaheim bench, served by Mowers (too many men), 16:02.
Second Period_2, Anaheim, Getzlaf 5 (Perry, Schneider), 12:30. 3, San Jose, Thornton 6 (Rivet, Pavelski), 19:15 (pp). Penalties_Vlasic, SJ (holding), 13:05	Getzlaf, Ana (tripping), 17:37.
Third Period_4, Anaheim, …

Fiery attack by football fans draws inquiry

Police in the northern Italian city of Bergamo were working Thursday to identify about 500 football fans who attacked a political rally to protest a controversial fan ID card system being introduced this season.

Atalanta supporters launched small bombs and flares late Wednesday night at the event, whose speakers included Interior Minister Roberto Maroni _ who pushed for the new ID system _ and two other ministers.

The ANSA news agency reported that two police cars and three other vehicles were set on fire.

One officer suffered a leg injury and two other police …

Activity of a Two-Domain Antifreeze Protein Is Not Dependent on Linker Sequence

ABSTRACT

The reported NMR structure of RD3, a naturally occurring two-domain antifreeze protein, suggests that the two nearly identical domains are oriented to allow simultaneous binding of their active regions to the ice surface. It is implied that the nine residues linking the two domains play a role in this alignment, but this has not been established. We have designed and expressed a modified form of RD3 that replaces the nine-residue linker with a generic sequence of one serine and eight glycine residues to test the importance of the linker amino acid sequence. The modified linker is shown to have significantly different characteristics compared to the original linker. …