Biochemistry: a cadmium enzyme from a marine diatom

The ocean biota contains a vast reservoir of genomic diversity. Here we present the sequence and preliminary characterization of a protein that is a cadmium-containing carbonic anhydrase from the marine diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii. The existence of a cadmium enzyme in marine phytoplankton may indicate that there is a unique selection pressure for metalloenzymes in the marine environment, and our discovery provides a long-awaited explanation for the nutrient-like behaviour of cadmium in the oceans.     

Effects of Eriobotrya japonica (Lindl.) flower extracts on mercuric chloride-induced hepatotoxicity in rats

Mercury(II) is an important factor in hepatotoxicity that can enter the body through marine diets and amalgams.In the present study,the protective effect of the Eriobotrya japonica flower extract(EJFE) on HgCl 2-induced hepatotoxicity was investigated.Five mg/kg of mercuric chloride in drinking water was given to rats either with saline or EJFE(100 and 200 mg/kg as intraperitoneal(IP)) for 30 d.The mercury levels in different groups of liver tissues of the rats were measured with flameless atomic absorption spectroscopy(F-AAS).Also,mercury accumulation in the liver of the rats was modeled by using a parallel chemical kinetic model.The results showed that HgCl 2-induced oxidative damage led to a significant decrease in glutathione(GSH) and the total antioxidant capacity(TAC) levels,and to a significant increase in lipid peroxidation level.Accumulated mercury was 14.47% more in the livers of the stress groups than in those of the control groups(P<0.001),whereas the amount of Hg was adjusted to 13.49% and 13.93% in groups treated with 100 and 200 mg/kg of EJFE respectively,as compared with stress groups(P<0.001).HPLC analysis of EJFE revealed that hesperetin and gallic acid are the major antioxidants in EJFE.Results demonstrate that flowers of the Eriobotrya japonica cause a significant protection against HgCl 2 induced hepatotoxicity in all diagnostic parameters by strengthening the antioxidant defense mechanisms and they may have a therapeutic function in free radical mediated diseases.     

Massive glycosaminoglycan-dependent entry of Trp-containing cell-penetrating peptides induced by exogenous sphingomyelinase or cholesterol depletion

Among non-invasive cell delivery strategies, cell-penetrating peptide (CPP) vectors represent interesting new tools. To get fundamental knowledge about the still debated internalisation mechanisms of these peptides, we modified the membrane content of cells, typically by hydrolysis of sphingomyelin or depletion of cholesterol from the membrane outer leaflet. We quantified and visualised the effect of these viable cell surface treatments on the internalisation efficiency of different CPPs, among which the most studied Tat, R₉, penetratin and analogues, that all carry the N-terminal biotin-Gly₄ tag cargo. Under these cell membrane treatments, only penetratin and R₆W₃ underwent a massive glycosaminoglycan (GAG)-dependent entry in cells. Internalisation of the other peptides was only slightly increased, similarly in the absence or the presence of GAGs for R₉, and only in the presence of GAGs for Tat and R₆L₃. Ceramide formation (or cholesterol depletion) is known to lead to the reorganisation of membrane lipid domains into larger platforms, which can serve as a trap and cluster receptors. These results show that GAG clustering, enhanced by formation of ceramide, is efficiently exploited by penetratin and R₆W₃, which contains Trp residues in their sequence but not Tat, R₉ and R₆L₃. Hence, these data shed new lights on the differences in the internalisation mechanism and pathway of these peptides that are widely used in delivery of cargo molecules.     

Short-run wavelet-based covariance regimes for applied portfolio management

Decisions on ass et allocations are often determined by covariance estimates from historical market data. In this paper, we introduce a wavelet-based portfolio algorithm, distinguishing between newly embedded news and long-run information that has already been fully absorbed by the market. Exploiting the wavelet decomposition into short- and long-run covariance regimes, we introduce an approach to focus on particular covariance components. Using generated data, we demonstrate that short-run covariance regimes comprise the relevant information for periodical portfolio management. In an empirical application to US stocks and other international markets for weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly holding periods (and rebalancing), we present evidence that the application of wavelet-based covariance estimates from short-run information outperforms portfolio allocations that are based on covariance estimates from historical data.     

基于近似观测和最小熵约束的SAR稀疏自聚焦方法

当采样率较低以及重建散射点数量较多时, 基于两步优化的稀疏自聚焦方法收敛速度较慢且容易陷入误差较大的局部最优解, 导致自聚焦失败。针对此问题，提出了一种基于近似观测和最小熵约束的稀疏自聚焦方法。首先, 为解决测量矩阵规模大、内存占用高的问题, 构建了一种基于近似观测的稀疏自聚焦模型, 在聚焦图像的傅里叶变换域引入误差相位。然后, 在采用最大似然估计器估计误差相位时增加了最小熵约束, 同时采用相位梯度自聚焦法提供误差相位的初始解, 有效降低了迭代次数并使迭代结果更接近全局最优解。机载合成孔径雷达的实测数据成像结果表明, 与常规自聚焦方法相比, 所提方法具有更快的收敛速度和更稳定的自聚焦性能。     

基于PSR和物元可拓模型的跨界河流健康评价 ——以太浦河干流为例

以太浦河为例,基于PSR模型构建针对水体和河岸带的多指标评价体系,运用熵权法计算指标权重,通过PSR模型和物元可拓模型对太浦河进行分段分类分级评价.结果表明:上游江苏吴江段分类结果为"高压力-较好状态-低响应能力"类型;中游浙江嘉善段为"低压力-中等状态-低响应能力"类型;下游上海青浦段为"低压力-中等状态-高响应能力"类型.吴江段河流健康状况评估结果为Ⅲ级(差),嘉善段和青浦段均为Ⅱ级(一般),且倾向于Ⅰ级(好),表明虽然河流目前的健康状态一般,但由于制定的政策在一定程度上有效,可通过进一步加大保护水源地力度逐步实现水源地健康状况恢复.研究结果可为太浦河分区治理和河岸带生态化建设提供决策支持.