Ancient co-speciation of simian foamy viruses and primates

Although parasite-host co-speciation is a long-held hypothesis, convincing evidence for long-term co-speciation remains elusive, largely because of small numbers of hosts and parasites studied and uncertainty over rates of evolutionary change. Co-speciation is especially rare in RNA viruses, in which cross-species transfer is the dominant mode of evolution. Simian foamy viruses (SFVs) are ubiquitous, non-pathogenic retroviruses that infect all primates. Here we test the co-speciation hypothesis in SFVs and their primate hosts by comparing the phylogenies of SFV polymerase and mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit II from African and Asian monkeys and apes. The phylogenetic trees were remarkably congruent in both branching order and divergence times, strongly supporting co-speciation. Molecular clock calibrations revealed an extremely low rate of SFV evolution, 1.7 x 10(-8) substitutions per site per year, making it the slowest-evolving RNA virus documented so far. These results indicate that SFVs might have co-speciated with Old World primates for at least 30 million years, making them the oldest known vertebrate RNA viruses.     

Effect of temperature and pH value on cation exchange performance of a natural clay for selective (Cu2t, Co2t) removal: Equilibrium, sorption and kinetics

This work aims at investigating the strain effect,created by varying pH solution and continuous heating cycle,on the cation exchange process in the case of Na-rich montmorillonite sample in contact with bi-ionic solution with variable concentration,saturated respectively by Co2+ and Cu2+ cations.The ionic exchange process is characterized using XRD analysis obtained through the comparison of experimental XRD patterns with calculated ones,which allowed us to determine several structural parameters related to the nature,abundance,size,position and organization of exchangeable cation and water molecule in the interlamellar space along the caxis.Indeed,the proposed theoretical models,for the stressed samples,show that the structure presents an interstratified hydration character and proves the coexistence of more than two ’’crystallite’’ specie in the structure.The perturbation types have an obvious effect on the selective exchange process for all stressed samples,where the interlayer space is characterized by the coexistence of more one exchangeable cation.     

The dynamic effect of macroeconomic news on the euro/US dollar exchange rate

This study investigates the impact of 70 US and EU macroeconomic news announcements on euro/dollar returns and volatility from November 2004 to April 2014. We use regime smooth transition regression to endogenously define recession and expansion. Our sample period includes the US mortgage crisis and EU sovereign debt crisis. Most news is unstable as its effect varies between these economic states. There are asymmetrical effects between recession and expansion states for both US and EU news, with most US news having a larger impact and nearly double the number of significant EU announcements. Volatility increases for over 85% of news coefficients, with more than half still being significantly different between states.     

Alteration of the serine protease PRSS56 causes angle-closure glaucoma in mice and posterior microphthalmia in humans and mice

Angle-closure glaucoma (ACG) is a subset of glaucoma affecting 16 million people. Although 4 million people are bilaterally blind from ACG, the causative molecular mechanisms of ACG remain to be defined. High intraocular pressure induces glaucoma in ACG. High intraocular pressure traditionally was suggested to result from the iris blocking or closing the angle of the eye, thereby limiting aqueous humor drainage. Eyes from individuals with ACG often have a modestly decreased axial length, shallow anterior chamber and relatively large lens, features that predispose to angle closure. Here we show that genetic alteration of a previously unidentified serine protease (PRSS56) alters axial length and causes a mouse phenotype resembling ACG. Mutations affecting this protease also cause a severe decrease of axial length in individuals with posterior microphthalmia. Together, these data suggest that alterations of this serine protease may contribute to a spectrum of human ocular conditions including reduced ocular size and ACG.     

复合推进剂预制裂纹扩展试验研究

采用快速升压法模拟研究固体复合推进剂预制裂纹在火箭发动机点火过程中裂纹扩展情况。建立了快速升压试验装置,开展了密闭升压、有喷管升压条件下固体推进剂裂纹扩展实验,研究了锲型块对裂纹扩展程度的影响。实验结果表明:密闭升压实验中,随着压强的增大,裂纹扩展越剧烈,裂纹深度逐渐加深,宽度加大;增加楔形块,自由体积变小,固体推进剂裂纹扩展程度降低。有喷管升压实验中,随着压强的增大,裂纹扩展加大,但与密闭升压实验相比,裂纹扩展程度变弱。实验表明裂纹扩展随着升压速率的变化而变化,升压速率越大,裂纹扩展现象越明显。