Mechanisms of collective cell movement lacking a leading or free front edge in vivo

Collective cell movement is one of the strategies for achieving the complex shapes of tissues and organs. In this process, multiple cells within a group held together by cell–cell adhesion acquire mobility and move together in the same direction. In some well-studied models of collective cell movement, the mobility depends strongly on traction generated at the leading edge by cells located at the front. However, recent advances in live-imaging techniques have led to the discovery of other types of collective cell movement lacking a leading edge or even a free edge at the front, in a diverse array of morphological events, including tubule elongation, epithelial sheet extension, and tissue rotation. We herein review some of the developmental events that are organized by collective cell movement and attempt to elucidate the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms, which include membrane protrusions, guidance cues, cell intercalation, and planer cell polarity, or chirality pathways.     

Variants in KCNQ1 are associated with susceptibility to type 2 diabetes mellitus

We carried out a multistage genome-wide association study of type 2 diabetes mellitus in Japanese individuals, with a total of 1,612 cases and 1,424 controls and 100,000 SNPs. The most significant association was obtained with SNPs in KCNQ1, and dense mapping within the gene revealed that rs2237892 in intron 15 showed the lowest Pvalue (6.7 x 10(-13), odds ratio (OR) = 1.49). The association of KCNQ1 with type 2 diabetes was replicated in populations of Korean, Chinese and European ancestry as well as in two independent Japanese populations, and meta-analysis with a total of 19,930 individuals (9,569 cases and 10,361 controls) yielded a P value of 1.7 x 10(-42) (OR = 1.40; 95% CI = 1.34-1.47) for rs2237892. Among control subjects, the risk allele of this polymorphism was associated with impairment of insulin secretion according to the homeostasis model assessment of beta-cell function or the corrected insulin response. Our data thus implicate KCNQ1 as a diabetes susceptibility gene in groups of different ancestries.     

ZnFe2O4与CaCl2氯化反应机理

利用CaCl2为氯源与含锌冶金粉尘的重要组分ZnFe2O4进行反应,并利用扫描电镜(SEM)和能量色散谱仪(EDS)分析了ZnFe2O4粉体与CaCl2反应面和反应产物微观形貌的变化,讨论了ZnFe2O4与CaCl2的反应机理.认为反应过程包括一个固液反应和气体挥发过程.ZnFe2O4颗粒被熔融CaCl2包裹,在固液界面发生氯化反应,生成的ZnCl2溶解在CaCl2液膜中,并在气液界面挥发逸出,而CaFe2O4的产物层不断增大,同时伴随着多个颗粒间的黏结和融合长大.     

Targets and dynamics of promoter DNA methylation during early mouse development

DNA methylation is extensively reprogrammed during the early phases of mammalian development, yet genomic targets of this process are largely unknown. We optimized methylated DNA immunoprecipitation for low numbers of cells and profiled DNA methylation during early development of the mouse embryonic lineage in vivo. We observed a major epigenetic switch during implantation at the transition from the blastocyst to the postimplantation epiblast. During this period, DNA methylation is primarily targeted to repress the germline expression program. DNA methylation in the epiblast is also targeted to promoters of lineage-specific genes such as hematopoietic genes, which are subsequently demethylated during terminal differentiation. De novo methylation during early embryogenesis is catalyzed by Dnmt3b, and absence of DNA methylation leads to ectopic gene activation in the embryo. Finally, we identify nonimprinted genes that inherit promoter DNA methylation from parental gametes, suggesting that escape of post-fertilization DNA methylation reprogramming is prevalent in the mouse genome.     

Early death of mice cloned from somatic cells

Here we report that the lifespan of mice cloned from somatic cells is significantly shorter than that of genotype- and sex-matched controls, most likely due to severe pneumonia and hepatic failure. This finding demonstrates the possibility of long-term deleterious effects of somatic-cell cloning, even after normal birth.     

LPA3-mediated lysophosphatidic acid signalling in embryo implantation and spacing

Every successful pregnancy requires proper embryo implantation. Low implantation rate is a major problem during infertility treatments using assisted reproductive technologies. Here we report a newly discovered molecular influence on implantation through the lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) receptor LPA3 (refs 2-4). Targeted deletion of LPA3 in mice resulted in significantly reduced litter size, which could be attributed to delayed implantation and altered embryo spacing. These two events led to delayed embryonic development, hypertrophic placentas shared by multiple embryos and embryonic death. An enzyme demonstrated to influence implantation, cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2) (ref. 5), was downregulated in LPA3-deficient uteri during pre-implantation. Downregulation of COX2 led to reduced levels of prostaglandins E2 and I2 (PGE2 and PGI2), which are critical for implantation. Exogenous administration of PGE2 or carbaprostacyclin (a stable analogue of PGI2) into LPA3-deficient female mice rescued delayed implantation but did not rescue defects in embryo spacing. These data identify LPA3 receptor-mediated signalling as having an influence on implantation, and further indicate linkage between LPA signalling and prostaglandin biosynthesis.     

An efficient spatio-temporal data structure for multi version managemeng of engineering drawings

In the engineering database system，multiple versions of a design including engineering drawings should be managed efficiently. The paper proposes an efficient spatial data structure，that is an expansion of the R-tree and HR-tree，for version management of engineering drawings. A novel mechanism to manage the difference between drawings is introduced to the HR-tree to eliminate redundant duplications and to reduce the amount of storage required for the data structurr. Data management mechanism and structural properties of our data structure called the MVR+-tree are described.     

Evaluation of power market designs on investment incentives and capacity adequacy

Electricity industry restructuring should not sacrifice supply security to pursue economic efficiency. Till now there is no academic consensus on which electricity market design provides the least distorting investment incentives. Alternative approaches that have been adopted around the world for ensuring the appropriate level of investment in electric generation capacity are discussed, and much attention is devoted on the evaluation of capacity payment systems. The finding is that on one hand, capacity payment systems have good effect on reducing spot market price volatility and increasing the volume of generating capacity at the costs of relatively high total electricity prices ; on the other hand, however, they are not robust against either the abuse of market power in the energy market or being manipulated.