Re-evaluation of protein kinase CK2 pleiotropy: new insights provided by a phosphoproteomics analysis of CK2 knockout cells

CK2 denotes a ubiquitous and pleiotropic protein kinase whose holoenzyme is composed of two catalytic (α and/or α′) and two regulatory β subunits. The CK2 consensus sequence, S/T-x-x-D/E/pS/pT is present in numerous phosphosites, but it is not clear how many of these are really generated by CK2. To gain information about this issue, advantage has been taken of C2C12 cells entirely deprived of both CK2 catalytic subunits by the CRISPR/Cas9 methodology. A comparative SILAC phosphoproteomics analysis reveals that, although about 30% of the quantified phosphosites do conform to the CK2 consensus, only one-third of these are substantially reduced in the CK2α/α′^(?/?) cells, consistent with their generation by CK2. A parallel study with C2C12 cells deprived of the regulatory β subunit discloses a role of this subunit in determining CK2 targeting. We also find that phosphosites notoriously generated by CK2 are not fully abrogated in CK2α/α′^(?/?) cells, while some phosphosites unrelated to CK2 are significantly altered. Collectively taken our data allow to conclude that the phosphoproteome generated by CK2 is not as ample and rigidly pre-determined as it was believed before. They also show that the lack of CK2 promotes phosphoproteomics perturbations attributable to kinases other than CK2.     

Ciliary proteins Fap43 and Fap44 interact with each other and are essential for proper cilia and flagella beating

Cilia beating is powered by the inner and outer dynein arms (IDAs and ODAs). These multi-subunit macrocomplexes are arranged in two rows on each outer doublet along the entire cilium length, except its distal end. To generate cilia beating, the activity of ODAs and IDAs must be strictly regulated locally by interactions with the dynein arm-associated structures within each ciliary unit and coordinated globally in time and space between doublets and along the axoneme. Here, we provide evidence of a novel ciliary complex composed of two conserved WD-repeat proteins, Fap43p and Fap44p. This complex is adjacent to another WD-repeat protein, Fap57p, and most likely the two-headed inner dynein arm, IDA I1. Loss of either protein results in altered waveform, beat stroke and reduced swimming speed. The ciliary localization of Fap43p and Fap44p is interdependent in the ciliate Tetrahymena thermophila.     

A latent ability to persist: differentiation in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Toxoplasma gondii</Emphasis>

A critical factor in the transmission and pathogenesis of Toxoplasma gondii is the ability to convert from an acute disease-causing, proliferative stage (tachyzoite), to a chronic, dormant stage (bradyzoite). The conversion of the tachyzoite-containing parasitophorous vacuole membrane into the less permeable bradyzoite cyst wall allows the parasite to persist for years within the host to maximize transmissibility to both primary (felids) and secondary (virtually all other warm-blooded vertebrates) hosts. This review presents our current understanding of the latent stage, including the factors that are important in bradyzoite induction and maintenance. Also discussed are the recent studies that have begun to unravel the mechanisms behind stage switching.     

The Documentary Real: Thinking Documentary Aesthetics

In this article we consider the growing interest in recent years in the use of documentary strategies in the wold of contemporary art, film and performing arts and explore some of the central epistemological assumptions underpinning the persistent idea that the documentary should be equated with ‘non-fiction’. Following Stella Bruzzi we argue that if documentary theory maintains objectivity as the primary measure of value, it will inevitably and continuously arrive at the conclusion that the documentary genre is fundamentally flawed. Instead, we propose to move beyond the ‘realist epistemology’ of documentary theory and focus on the ‘documentary real’, i.e. the specific performativity of the reality constructed in and by the documentary genre. In the last paragraphs, we introduce the various articles that address the “documentary real” in this special issue.     

Preparation and electrochemical performance of double perovskite La_2CoMnO_6 nanofibers

Through electrospinning,La_2Co Mn O_6 nanofibers were prepared from a polyvinylpyrrolidone/lanthanum nitrate–cobalt acetate–manganese acetate(PVP/LCM)precursor and were used as electrode materials.The morphologies and structures of the samples were characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy(FE-SEM),transmission electron microscopy(TEM),X-ray diffraction(XRD),and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller(BET)specific surface area analysis.The results show that the prepared La_2Co Mn O_6 nanofibers are stable,one-dimensional structures formed from interconnected La_2Co Mn O_(6 )nanoparticles with a diamond-like crystal structure.The specific surface area of the fibers is 79.407 m~2·g~(-1).Electrochemical performance tests with a three-electrode system reveal the specific capacitance of the La_2Co Mn O_6 nanofibers as 109.7 F·g~(-1) at a current density of 0.5 A·g~(-1).After 1000 charge-discharge cycles at a current density of 1 A·g~(-1),the specific capacitance maintains 90.9%of its initial value,demonstrating a promising performance of the constraint capacitance and good cyclic stability.     

The Convergence of Least-Squares Progressive Iterative Approximation for Singular Least-Squares Fitting System

Data fitting is an extensively employed modeling tool in geometric design. With the advent of the big data era, the data sets to be fitted are made larger and larger, leading to more and more leastsquares fitting systems with singular coefficient matrices. LSPIA (least-squares progressive iterative approximation) is an efficient iterative method for the least-squares fitting. However, the convergence of LSPIA for the singular least-squares fitting systems remains as an open problem. In this paper, the authors showed that LSPIA for the singular least-squares fitting systems is convergent. Moreover, in a special case, LSPIA converges to the Moore-Penrose (M-P) pseudo-inverse solution to the leastsquares fitting result of the data set. This property makes LSPIA, an iterative method with clear geometric meanings, robust in geometric modeling applications. In addition, the authors discussed some implementation detail of LSPIA, and presented an example to validate the convergence of LSPIA for the singular least-squares fitting systems.     

Chaos and Nonlinear Feedback Control of the Arch Micro-Electro-Mechanical System

This paper addresses a nonlinear feedback control problem for the chaotic arch microelectro- mechanical system with unknown parameters, immeasurable states and partial state-constraint subjected to the distributed electrostatic actuation. To reflect inherent properties and design controller, the phase diagrams, bifurcation diagram and Poincare section are presented to investigate the nonlinear dynamics. The authors employ a symmetric barrier Lyapunov function to prevent violation of constraint when the arch micro-electro-mechanical system faces some limits. An RBF neural network system integrating with an update law is adopted to estimate unknown function with arbitrarily small error. To eliminate chaotic oscillation, a neuro-adaptive backstepping control scheme fused with an extended state tracking differentiator and an observer is constructed to lower requirements on measured states and precise system model. Besides, introducing an extended state tracking differentiator avoids repeated derivative for the virtual control signal associated with conventional backstepping. Finally, simulation results are presented to illustrate feasibility of the proposed scheme.