剑桥导游太阳系

本书以最新的视角描述了行星和月亮。开始用短短的篇幅介绍行星的观测和发现历史，然后介绍行星及其卫星的共同特点、演化过程和状况。在各章节中讲述各个行星和太阳系其它天体，包括新近的多种空间任务，从阿波罗探月到近期的木星和火星探测。书中充满了至关重要的事实和信息，以及极其精美的彩色照片。     

The Shwachman-Bodian-Diamond syndrome protein mediates translational activation of ribosomes in yeast

The autosomal recessive disorder Shwachman-Diamond syndrome, characterized by bone marrow failure and leukemia predisposition, is caused by deficiency of the highly conserved Shwachman-Bodian-Diamond syndrome (SBDS) protein. Here, we identify the function of the yeast SBDS ortholog Sdo1, showing that it is critical for the release and recycling of the nucleolar shuttling factor Tif6 from pre-60S ribosomes, a key step in 60S maturation and translational activation of ribosomes. Using genome-wide synthetic genetic array mapping, we identified multiple TIF6 gain-of-function alleles that suppressed the pre-60S nuclear export defects and cytoplasmic mislocalization of Tif6 observed in sdo1Delta cells. Sdo1 appears to function within a pathway containing elongation factor-like 1, and together they control translational activation of ribosomes. Thus, our data link defective late 60S ribosomal subunit maturation to an inherited bone marrow failure syndrome associated with leukemia predisposition.     

Population-based resequencing of ANGPTL4 uncovers variations that reduce triglycerides and increase HDL

Resequencing genes provides the opportunity to assess the full spectrum of variants that influence complex traits. Here we report the first application of resequencing to a large population (n = 3,551) to examine the role of the adipokine ANGPTL4 in lipid metabolism. Nonsynonymous variants in ANGPTL4 were more prevalent in individuals with triglyceride levels in the lowest quartile than in individuals with levels in the highest quartile (P = 0.016). One variant (E40K), present in approximately 3% of European Americans, was associated with significantly lower plasma levels of triglyceride and higher levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in European Americans from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study and in Danes from the Copenhagen City Heart Study. The ratio of nonsynonymous to synonymous variants was higher in European Americans than in African Americans (4:1 versus 1.3:1), suggesting population-specific relaxation of purifying selection. Thus, resequencing of ANGPTL4 in a multiethnic population allowed analysis of the phenotypic effects of both rare and common variants while taking advantage of genetic variation arising from ethnic differences in population history.     

Alcohol dehydrogenase 2 is a major hepatic enzyme for human retinol metabolism

The metabolism of all-trans- and 9-cis-retinol/ retinaldehyde has been investigated with focus on the activities of human, mouse and rat alcohol dehydrogenase 2 (ADH2), an intriguing enzyme with apparently different functions in human and rodents. Kinetic constants were determined with an HPLC method and a structural approach was implemented by in silico substrate dockings. For human ADH2, the determined K_m values ranged from 0.05 to 0.3 μM and k_cat values from 2.3 to 17.6 min⁻¹, while the catalytic efficiency for 9-cis-retinol showed the highest value for any substrate. In contrast, poor activities were detected for the rodent enzymes. A mouse ADH2 mutant (ADH2Pro47His) was studied that resembles the human ADH2 setup. This mutation increased the retinoid activity up to 100-fold. The K_m values of human ADH2 are the lowest among all known human retinol dehydrogenases, which clearly support a role in hepatic retinol oxidation at physiological concentrations. Received 12 October 2006; received after revision 6 December 2006; accepted 8 January 2007     

Recombination and linkage disequilibrium in Arabidopsis thaliana

Linkage disequilibrium (LD) is a major aspect of the organization of genetic variation in natural populations. Here we describe the genome-wide pattern of LD in a sample of 19 Arabidopsis thaliana accessions using 341,602 non-singleton SNPs. LD decays within 10 kb on average, considerably faster than previously estimated. Tag SNP selection algorithms and 'hide-the-SNP' simulations suggest that genome-wide association mapping will require only 40%-50% of the observed SNPs, a reduction similar to estimates in a sample of African Americans. An Affymetrix genotyping array containing 250,000 SNPs has been designed based on these results; we demonstrate that it should have more than adequate coverage for genome-wide association mapping. The extent of LD is highly variable, and we find clear evidence of recombination hotspots, which seem to occur preferentially in intergenic regions. LD also reflects the action of selection, and it is more extensive between nonsynonymous polymorphisms than between synonymous polymorphisms.     

Ionic Conductivity and Dielectric Properties of the PAN-Ion Conducting Polymers

1 Results In this work, the ion conducting films of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) containing lithium triflate (LiCF3SO3) and sodium triflate (NaCF3SO3) were prepared by the solution casting technique. The ionic conductivity measurements were carried out using impedance spectroscopy. The room temperature conductivity for pure polyacrylonitrile film is 1.51×10-11 S·cm-1. The room temperature conductivity for the highest conducting film in the PAN-LiCF3SO3 and PAN-NaCF3SO3 systems is 1.51×10-5 and 7.99×10-6 S·cm-1, respectively. The conductivity-temperature studies were performed in the temperature range between 303 and 373 K. The results for the variation of the conductivity with temperature obeys the VTF law. The increase and decrease in the number of ions can be implied from the plots of dielectric constant, εr-frequency and dielectric loss, εi-frequency.     

A genome-wide association study for celiac disease identifies risk variants in the region harboring IL2 and IL21

We tested 310,605 SNPs for association in 778 individuals with celiac disease and 1,422 controls. Outside the HLA region, the most significant finding (rs13119723; P = 2.0 x 10(-7)) was in the KIAA1109-TENR-IL2-IL21 linkage disequilibrium block. We independently confirmed association in two further collections (strongest association at rs6822844, 24 kb 5' of IL21; meta-analysis P = 1.3 x 10(-14), odds ratio = 0.63), suggesting that genetic variation in this region predisposes to celiac disease.     

Cellular internalization of proinsulin C-peptide

Proinsulin C-peptide is known to bind specifically to cell membranes and to exert intracellular effects, but whether it is internalized in target cells is unknown. In this study, using confocal microscopy and immunostained or rhodamine-labeled peptide, we show that C-peptide is internalized and localized to the cytosol of Swiss 3T3 and HEK-293 cells. In addition, transport into nuclei was found using the labeled peptide. The internalization was followed at 37°C for up to 1 h, and was reduced at 4°C and after preincubation with pertussis toxin. Hence, it is concluded to occur via an energy-dependent, pertussis toxin-sensitive mechanism and without detectable degradation within the experimental time course. Surface plasmon resonance measurements demonstrated binding of HEK-293 cell extract components to C-peptide, and subsequent elution of bound material revealed the components to be intracellular proteins. The identification of C-peptide cellular internalization, intracellular binding proteins, absence of rapid subsequent C-peptide degradation and apparent nuclear internalization support a maintained activity similar to that of an intracrine peptide hormone. Hence, the data suggest the possibility of one further C-peptide site of action. Received 31 October 2006; received after revision 27 December 2006; accepted 30 December 2006     

范德华力：生物学家、化学家、工程师和物理学家手册

分子间的范德华力是十分微弱的，但可以说普遍的存在着，在很多体系中起着巨大的作用，在物理学、化学、生物学等学科中得到了广泛的研究。但怎样计算范德华力？如何考虑各种条件对范德华力的影响？