Myosin I can act as a molecular force sensor

The ability to sense molecular tension is crucial for a wide array of cellular processes, including the detection of auditory stimuli, control of cell shape, and internalization and transport of membranes. We show that myosin I, a motor protein that has been implicated in powering key steps in these processes, dramatically alters its motile properties in response to tension. We measured the displacement generated by single myosin I molecules, and we determined the actin-attachment kinetics with varying tensions using an optical trap. The rate of myosin I detachment from actin decreases >75-fold under tension of 2 piconewtons or less, resulting in myosin I transitioning from a low (<0.2) to a high (>0.9) duty-ratio motor. This impressive tension sensitivity supports a role for myosin I as a molecular force sensor.     

A programmable dual-RNA-guided DNA endonuclease in adaptive bacterial immunity

Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated (Cas) systems provide bacteria and archaea with adaptive immunity against viruses and plasmids by using CRISPR RNAs (crRNAs) to guide the silencing of invading nucleic acids. We show here that in a subset of these systems, the mature crRNA that is base-paired to trans-activating crRNA (tracrRNA) forms a two-RNA structure that directs the CRISPR-associated protein Cas9 to introduce double-stranded (ds) breaks in target DNA. At sites complementary to the crRNA-guide sequence, the Cas9 HNH nuclease domain cleaves the complementary strand, whereas the Cas9 RuvC-like domain cleaves the noncomplementary strand. The dual-tracrRNA:crRNA, when engineered as a single RNA chimera, also directs sequence-specific Cas9 dsDNA cleavage. Our study reveals a family of endonucleases that use dual-RNAs for site-specific DNA cleavage and highlights the potential to exploit the system for RNA-programmable genome editing.     

Building programmable jigsaw puzzles with RNA

One challenge in supramolecular chemistry is the design of versatile, self-assembling building blocks to attain total control of arrangement of matter at a molecular level. We have achieved reliable prediction and design of the three-dimensional structure of artificial RNA building blocks to generate molecular jigsaw puzzle units called tectosquares. They can be programmed with control over their geometry, topology, directionality, and addressability to algorithmically self-assemble into a variety of complex nanoscopic fabrics with predefined periodic and aperiodic patterns and finite dimensions. This work emphasizes the modular and hierarchical characteristics of RNA by showing that small RNA structural motifs can code the precise topology of large molecular architectures. It demonstrates that fully addressable materials based on RNA can be synthesized and provides insights into self-assembly processes involving large populations of RNA molecules.     

Anabaena sensory rhodopsin: a photochromic color sensor at 2.0 A

Microbial sensory rhodopsins are a family of membrane-embedded photoreceptors in prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. Structures of archaeal rhodopsins, which function as light-driven ion pumps or photosensors, have been reported. We present the structure of a eubacterial rhodopsin, which differs from those of previously characterized archaeal rhodopsins in its chromophore and cytoplasmic-side portions. Anabaena sensory rhodopsin exhibits light-induced interconversion between stable 13-cis and all-trans states of the retinylidene protein. The ratio of its cis and trans chromophore forms depends on the wavelength of illumination, thus providing a mechanism for a single protein to signal the color of light, for example, to regulate color-sensitive processes such as chromatic adaptation in photosynthesis. Its cytoplasmic half channel, highly hydrophobic in the archaeal rhodopsins, contains numerous hydrophilic residues networked by water molecules, providing a connection from the photoactive site to the cytoplasmic surface believed to interact with the receptor's soluble 14-kilodalton transducer.     

程序降温法冷冻犬细管精液的实验

分别将6条公犬每次采集的精液(每条采6次),按同样的方法稀释、平衡、分装,而后将分装的细管分为两组,分别采用程序Ⅰ和程序Ⅱ进行冷冻,其冻后活率分别为0.47±0.10和0.34±0.05(P<0.01);复苏率分别为57.86±8.85和42.27±3.80(P<0.01);顶体完整率分别为34.47±5.20和29.77±4.37(P<0.01)。结果表明:程序Ⅰ的冷冻效果明显优于程序Ⅱ。     

Membrane insertion of a potassium-channel voltage sensor

The mechanism of voltage gating in K+ channels is controversial. The paddle model posits that highly charged voltage-sensor domains move relatively freely across the lipid bilayer in response to membrane depolarization; competing models picture the charged S4 voltage-sensor helix as being shielded from lipid contact by other parts of the protein. We measured the apparent free energy of membrane insertion of a K+-channel S4 helix into the endoplasmic reticulum membrane and conclude that S4 is poised very near the threshold of efficient bilayer insertion. Our results suggest that the paddle model is not inconsistent with the high charge content of S4.     

Kinematic correction for a spatial offset between sensor and position data in on-the-go sensor applications

On-the-go data collection is the basis for many applications that require spatially referenced information at a sub-field scale. A spatial or temporal offset can occur between sensor and position measurements (mostly obtained with global navigation satellite systems such as the Global Positioning System, GPS), e.g. if the antenna of the navigation system cannot be placed on top of the sensor. To correct for such an offset, we present a kinematic model that accounts for the mechanisms underlying the offset. Our model considers a sensor on a cart or sledge towed by a drawing vehicle equipped with a positioning system. The model was applied to a soil electrical conductivity survey on a 135 ha site with over 100 000 measured positions. Application of the model halved a nugget effect in semivariograms, significantly (p < 0.01) reduced prediction errors and thus substantially improved map quality. The model allows offset correction between sensors and a positioning system mounted independently on agricultural machinery, even retrospectively from the geometric configuration of the positioning system-sensor combination. Thus we propose the model for use in research and practical applications of sensor based mapping.     

Turbidity currents: monitoring their occurrence and movement with a three-dimensional sensor network

Detailed field data on the occurrence, flow pattern, and internal dynamics of both surge and continuous turbidity currents have been obtained with a three-dimensional array of optical and thermal sensors. The array, operated in a glacial lake in southeastern British Columbia, collected detailed information on the character of surge events with velocities reaching 110 centimeters per second and continuous underflows exceeding 90 centimeters per second. Thefindings (i) indicate that such currents are frequent events, occurring with density differences between the incoming stream water and the lake water as low as 0.19 kilogram per cubic meter of water; (ii) document the differences in the initiation and internal characteristics of the continuous and surge events; and (iii) support the concept of erosion by turbidity currents.     

Extended-altitude, aerial mapping of crop NDVI using an active optical sensor: A case study using a Raptor™ sensor over wheat

Recently reported testing of active, optical crop sensors in low-level aircraft have demonstrated a new class of airborne sensing system that can be deployed under any ambient illumination conditions, including at night. A second-generation, high-powered, light-emitting diode system has been assembled and tested over a 80 ha field of wheat (Triticum aestevum) by mapping the normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) at altitudes ranging from 15 to 45 m above the canopy; significantly higher altitudes than existing systems. Comparisons with a detailed on-ground NDVI survey indicated the aerial sensor values were highly correlated to the on-ground sensor (0.79 < R² < 0.85), with close to unity slope and zero offset. The maximum average deviation between aerial and on-ground NDVI values was 0.04. Sample calculations involving two exemplar algorithms, one for estimating monoculture pasture biomass and the other for estimating wheat yield, indicate such deviations to have no significant effect on prediction accuracy. The subsequent NDVI maps proved to be invariant to sensor height over the 15-45 m altitude range meaning this new sensor configuration can be deployed over undulating crops and pastures and in areas with nearby obstacles such as trees and buildings.     

Reaction of the antitumor antibiotic CC-1065 with DNA: structure of a DNA adduct with DNA sequence specificity

Sequence-dependent variations in DNA revealed by x-ray crystallographic studies have suggested that certain DNA-reactive drugs may react preferentially with defined sequences in DNA. Drugs that wind around the helix and reside within one of the grooves of DNA have perhaps the greatest chance of recognizing sequence-dependent features of DNA. The antitumor antibiotic CC-1065 covalently binds through N-3 of adenine and resides within the minor groove of DNA. This drug overlaps with five base pairs for which a high sequence specificity exists.     

可编程控制器的教学改革探索

可编程控制器的教学要适应时代发展的需要,改变过去单纯讲理论的教学模式,教学应以提高学生PLC系统综合应用能力为主线,运用合适的教学手段,充分调动学生主观能动性,从而提高学生对PLC的掌握应用能力,以进一步提高该课程的教学质量和教学效果.     

High-resolution NMR spectroscopy with a portable single-sided sensor

We report construction of a portable nuclear magnetic resonance sensor with a single-sided open probe design. The resulting magnetic field inhomogeneity is compensated by a pulse sequence that takes advantage of parallel inhomogeneity in the applied radio frequency field. We can thereby acquire fluorine-19 spectra of liquid fluorocarbons with 8 parts per million resolution, surmounting the long-standing obstacle of obtaining chemical shift information with open probe instruments.     

Air force takes aim at a big bird

Early this year, the U.S. land-based force of nuclear missiles became vulnerable to destruction in a preemptive attack by the Soviet Union. The Air Force has worried about this situation for a long time, searching high and low for a better place to put both the existing silo-based missiles and a new missile, the MX. The first article in this series examined the reasons that U.S. officials became alarmed about missile vulberability, and the second examined the short-term plan to put missiles into silos. This article explores the Ait Force's least favourite long-term basing mode. Subsequent articles will explore the alternatives.