Yeast genes that enhance the toxicity of a mutant huntingtin fragment or alpha-synuclein

Genome-wide screens were performed in yeast to identify genes that enhance the toxicity of a mutant huntingtin fragment or of alpha-synuclein. Of 4850 haploid mutants containing deletions of nonessential genes, 52 were identified that were sensitive to a mutant huntingtin fragment, 86 that were sensitive to alpha-synuclein, and only one mutant that was sensitive to both. Genes that enhanced toxicity of the mutant huntingtin fragment clustered in the functionally related cellular processes of response to stress, protein folding, and ubiquitin-dependent protein catabolism, whereas genes that modified alpha-synuclein toxicity clustered in the processes of lipid metabolism and vesicle-mediated transport. Genes with human orthologs were overrepresented in our screens, suggesting that we may have discovered conserved and nonoverlapping sets of cell-autonomous genes and pathways that are relevant to Huntington's disease and Parkinson's disease.     

Attention and psychological change in the young child

This article began by suggesting that different processes are likely to mediate alterations in behavior and cognitive structure and that conditioning principles do not seem sufficient to explain all the classes of change. Although the acquisition of conditioned responses, the potentiation of inborn capacities, and the establishment of schemata probably implicate different processes, all three involve selective attention to sensory events, whether these events function as conditioned stimuli, releasers of innate response dispositions, or the bases for mental representations. Hence, better understanding of the forces that control selectivity and duration of attention should provide insights into the nature of psychological growth, especially the lawful alterations in cognitive structure that seem to occur continually as a function of the child's encounter with discrepant events. The heart of this article was devoted to this theme. It was argued that events that possessed a high rate of change in their physical characteristics, that were moderately discrepant from established schemata, and that activated hypotheses in the service of assimilation had the greatest power to recruit and maintain attention in the young child.     

铁岭、南昌夜蛾科昆虫区系结构比较

本文从夜蛾科各工科在辽宁铁岭、江西南昌两地的种数及比重;夜蛾科昆虫区系类型及所占比重;两地夜蛾科昆虫在中国动物地理区划中的归属及所占比重以及两地与国内外几个地点的夜蛾科昆虫比较等四个方面来说明铁岭、南昌两地夜蛾科昆虫区系结构的异同。结果可以明显地看出:铁岭夜蛾科昆虫,绝大多数属于古北界种,所占比重几乎接近100％;而南昌则以东洋界种占较大优势,所占比重约72.9％。与国内几个地点比较,铁岭与黑龙江的共有种最多,占87.01％;而南昌同四川的共有种最多,占60.24％。与国外比较,铁岭、南昌两地均与日本共有种较多,分别占80.23％及78.71％。     

Specificity of Drosophila cytonemes for distinct signaling pathways

Cytonemes are types of filopodia in the Drosophila wing imaginal disc that are proposed to serve as conduits in which morphogen signaling proteins move between producing and target cells. We investigated the specificity of cytonemes that are made by target cells. Cells in wing discs made cytonemes that responded specifically to Decapentaplegic (Dpp) and cells in eye discs made cytonemes that responded specifically to Spitz (the Drosophila epidermal growth factor protein). Tracheal cells had at least two types: one made in response to Branchless (a Drosophila fibroblast growth factor protein, Bnl), to which they segregate the Bnl receptor, and another to which they segregate the Dpp receptor. We conclude that cells can make several types of cytonemes, each of which responds specifically to a signaling pathway by means of the selective presence of a particular signaling protein receptor that has been localized to that cytoneme.     

两种微生物制剂对猪粪堆肥的效果

为解决猪粪出路,应用两种微生物制剂进行了堆肥试验研究。结果表明,两种微生物制剂对堆肥发酵是有利的。Ａ菌对有机质的分解率约为５０％,比对照快,Ｂ菌分解率只有２５％左右,比对照慢;Ａ菌对腐殖质的分解速率与有机质一致,Ｂ菌的分解速率比对照低一成左右而有利于腐殖质的保存;Ａ菌肥的总氮量比对照少一成左右,Ｂ菌肥比对照略好;ＮＨ４＿Ｎ,Ａ菌肥与对照一致,Ｂ菌肥比对照多一成左右;猪粪堆制后,ＮＨ４＿Ｎ占全氮的比例,两个加菌处理都比对照高;全磷量,Ｂ菌肥与对照相近,Ａ菌肥比对照少一成左右。盆栽青菜,Ａ菌肥比对照增产一成以上。     

Regulation of calcium release is gated by calcium current, not gating charge, in cardiac myocytes

In skeletal muscle, intramembrane charge movement initiates the processes that lead to the release of calcium from the sarcoplasmic reticulum. In cardiac muscle, in contrast, the similarity of the voltage dependence of developed tension and intracellular calcium transients to that of calcium current suggests that the calcium current may gate the release of calcium. Nevertheless, a mechanism similar to that of skeletal muscle continues to be postulated for cardiac muscle. By using rapid exchange (20 to 50 milliseconds) of the extracellular solutions in rat ventricular myocytes in which the intracellular calcium transients or cell shortening were measured, it has now been shown that the influx of calcium through the calcium channel is a mandatory link in the processes that couple membrane depolarization to the release of calcium. Thus, intramembrane charge movement does not contribute to the release of calcium in heart muscle.     

中国稻飞虱发生面积与大气环流特征指数的关系(英文)

[目的]建立稻飞虱发生面积的预测模型,从大气环流的角度对每年的发生面积进行预测,指导稻飞虱的防治工作。[方法]分析历年的大气环流特征量的资料,选取与中国稻飞虱发生面积显著相关的大气环流因子,采用逐步回归法,建立预测模型。[结果]筛选出了与稻飞虱发生面积呈显著相关的因子,并分别建立了基于当年10月大西洋欧洲环流型W、当年10月太平洋区极涡面积指数、当年8月北美副高强度指数、当年6月大西洋欧洲环流型W、当年2月北美大西洋副高北界、当年10月大西洋欧洲区极涡强度指数和上年11月亚洲区极涡强度指数的白背飞虱发生面积预测模型和基于当年7月东太平洋副高强度指数、上年10月北半球极涡面积指数、上年11月亚洲区极涡强度指数、当年9月北美大西洋副高北界、当年1月北非大西洋北美副高北界、上年9月太阳黑子和当年9月东太平洋副高面积指数的褐飞虱发生面积预测模型。[结论]通过逐步回归法建立的基于大气环流因子的模型拟合效果较好,可用于实际预测。     

论我国行政强制执行模式的重构

不同行政强制执行模式的选择对于实现行政管理目标和保护行政相对人的合法权益具有不同的法律意义。笔者在评价我国现行的司法主导型模式优劣的基础上，提出重建一种“以行政机关自行强制执行为原则，以申请人民法院强制执行为例外”的行政主导型的混合模式。     

Interstellar polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and carbon in interplanetary dust particles and meteorites

Both interplanetary dust particles (IDP(s)) and meteorites may contain material that is similar to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAH(s)). The Raman spectra of IDP(s) and meteorites show features that are similar in position and relative strength to interstellar infrared emission features that have been attributed to vibrational transitions in free, molecular-sized PAH(s). The Raman spectra of some IDP(s) also show red photoluminescence that is similar to the excess red emission seen in some astronomical objects and that has also been attributed to PAH(s) and hydrogenated amorphous carbon. Moreover, a part of the carbonaceous phase in IDP(s) and meteorites contains deuterium to hydrogen ratios that are greater than those for terrestrial samples. Deuterium enrichment is expected in small free PAH(s) that are exposed to ultraviolet radiation in the interstellar medium. Taken together, these observations suggest that some of the carbonaceous material in IDP(s) and meteorites may have been produced in circumstellar dust shells and only slightly modified in interstellar space.     

Replication-dependent loss of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine in mouse preimplantation embryos

Although global erasure of DNA methylation has been observed in zygotes and primordial germ cells, the responsible enzyme(s) have been elusive. The demonstration that members of the Tet (ten eleven translocation) family of proteins are capable of catalyzing conversion of 5-methylcytosine (5mC) of DNA to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) raises the possibility that Tet proteins may participate in this process. Indeed, recent studies have implicated the involvement of Tet3 in the conversion of 5mC to 5hmC in zygotes. This result, combined with the demonstration that Tet proteins can further oxidize 5hmC to 5-carboxylcytosine followed by excision by thymine-DNA glycosylase, raises the possibility that active demethylation may take place in a process that involves Tet3-mediated oxidation followed by base excision repair. We demonstrated by immunostaining of mitotic chromosome spreads of preimplantation embryos that the 5hmC associated with the paternal genome in zygotes is gradually lost during preimplantation development. Our study suggests that, although the conversion of 5mC to 5hmC in zygotes is an enzyme-catalyzed process, loss of 5hmC during preimplantation appears to be a DNA replication-dependent passive process.     

我国实现既定碳排放强度的预测分析

基于1991—2011年的数据,采用多项式和趋势移动平均预测模型预测了2012—2020年我国的GDP和CO2排放量,并经过一定修正,预测2020年我国的单位GDP的碳排放量为1.68 t/万元,比2005年减排45%,达到我国提出的到2020年单位GDP的碳排放比2005年减排40%⁴5%的目标.     

Age and infertility

Direct evidence on age patterns of infecundity and sterility cannot be obtained from contemporary populations because such large fractions of couples use contraception or have been sterilized. Instead, historical data are exploited to yield upper bounds applicable to contemporary populations on the proportions sterile at each age. Examination of recent changes in sexual behavior that may increase infecundity indicates that sexually transmitted infections, the prime candidate for hypothesized rises in infertility, are unlikely to have added to infecundity to any great extent. These results imply that a woman in a monogamous union faces only moderate increases in the probability of becoming sterile (or infecund) until her late thirties. Nevertheless, it appears that recent changes in reproductive behavior were guaranteed to result in the perception that infecundity is on the rise.     

The inheritance of epigenetic defects

Evidence from many sources shows that the control of gene expression in higher organisms is related to the methylation of cytosine in DNA, and that the pattern of methylation is inherited. Loss of methylation, which can result from DNA damage, will lead to heritable abnormalities in gene expression, and these may be important in oncogenesis and aging. Transformed permanent lines often lose gene activity through de novo methylation. It is proposed that epigenetic defects in germline cells due to loss of methylation can be repaired by recombination at meiosis but that some are transmitted to offspring.     

The formation and fragmentation of disks around primordial protostars

The very first stars to form in the universe heralded an end to the cosmic dark ages and introduced new physical processes that shaped early cosmic evolution. Until now, it was thought that these stars lived short, solitary lives, with only one extremely massive star, or possibly a very wide binary system, forming in each dark-matter minihalo. Here we describe numerical simulations that show that these stars were, to the contrary, often members of tight multiple systems. Our results show that the disks that formed around the first young stars were unstable to gravitational fragmentation, possibly producing small binary and higher-order systems that had separations as small as the distance between Earth and the Sun.     

Scaling data on inter-nation action

We conclude (i) that the marker-card method is as reliable a measure as the ordinary Q-sort method; (ii) that Q and the marker-card score are measuring very nearly the same thing-in this case, presumably conflict; and (iii) that the use of marker cards permits comparison of judgments about a given quantity in the context of different situations and may even permit comparison of results obtained by different research teams if the different teams use the same marker decks. A fundamental issue involved in scoring the entries on the cards in this study by either Q-sort or marker cards is the "judgability" of the items as indicators of conflict. We noted above that items with the highest variances in scoring, from judge to judge, were concentrated at the low-conflict end of the scale. A possible explanation is that judges are able to make finer distinctions concerning an attribute when it is present than when it is absent. Differences in scoring could also arise from a lack of unidimensionality in the attribute being scaled. If juidges find that conflict has several distinct aspects, the task of placing items in a single order becomes more difficult. Difficulties in making judgments also arose from the fact that the actions were being judged out of context, or in contexts that varied from judge to judge, since no standard context was supplied. But these difficulties lie outside our problem, which was to find an alternative to Q-sorting which would permit intersituational comparisons. Our sLIccess in finding an alternative is apparent in our results, but problems of judgability remain with both techniques. Beyond providing a standard for intersitLiational comparisons, the markercard technique has other advantages. It is possible that the use of marker decks will be of help in training judges to score such a variable as conflict. In our study it permitted identification of a judge inadequately trained to do so. Possibly the marker cards will be useful in assigning scale values to hatches of data too small for Q-sort, or even to individual items. It further appears that the marker cards should be useful in discriminating among highconflict items which heretofore would all have tended to appear in the top Q-sort category. The marker-card technique has given us a reliable alternative to Q-sort for scaling conflict. The method should be capable of extension to dimensions other than conflict.     

番茄品种抗性与青枯菌和土壤微生物的关系

对青枯菌（Ralstonia solanacearum）在番茄（Lyoopersicon esculentum Mill）抗、感品种根际土壤和根系组织中的数量变化，以及青枯菌与番茄相互作用后，抗、感品种根际微生物数量的变化进行了研究．结果表明，根际土壤中青枯菌数量与番茄品种抗性之间的关系不显著（P〉0．05），而根组织内青枯菌数量与番茄品种抗性密切相关；土壤接种青枯菌后第4d，抗病品种根际土壤真菌、细菌和放线菌数量均高于感病品种，并达到最高峰，第4d后微生物数量下降，并低于感病品种，而不接种青枯菌的对照组，抗病品种根际微生物的数量几乎都高于感病品种．     

Context modularity of human altruism

Whereas altruism drives the evolution of human cooperation, ethno-religious diversity has been considered to obstruct it, leading to poverty, corruption, and war. We argue that current research has failed to properly account for the institutional environment and how it affects the role diversity plays. The emergence of thriving, diverse communities throughout human history suggests that diversity does not always lead to cooperation breakdown. We conducted experiments in Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina with Catholic Croats and Muslim Bosniaks at a critical historic moment in the city's postwar history. Using a public goods game, we found that the ability to sanction is key to achieving cooperation in ethno-religiously diverse groups, but that sanctions succeed only in integrated institutional environments and fail in segregated ones. Hence, we show experimentally for the first time in a real-life setting that institutions of integration can unleash human altruism and restore cooperation in the presence of diversity.     

Instrumentation for bioengineering

A tremendous range of physical science problems and techniques, from all branches of engineering, are involved in bioengineering instrumentation. The examples I have cited typify the problems that arise, but the techniques we have used represent only an infinitesimal fraction of the resources that we must exploit. The main challenge to the bioengineer is that of defining the problem in terms of what is useful and economically justified. One must understand the possibilities of engineering development and the probability that an effort will reach any assignable goal within a given time. Only then is it possible to work out a practical solution to the instrumentation problem. It is very easy to become so absorbed in the engineering development that we lose sight of the final goal and the purpose of the development. It is also easy, in working out an experiment, to become obsessed with the need for a particular bit of data, or of too great a degree of precision, without considering that the cost of obtaining these data might not be justified by their value to the full development. Thus, the only principles that can be generally applied to a bioengineering problem are those which would apply to making any decision that leans heavily on judgment.