The medaka draft genome and insights into vertebrate genome evolution

Teleosts comprise more than half of all vertebrate species and have adapted to a variety of marine and freshwater habitats. Their genome evolution and diversification are important subjects for the understanding of vertebrate evolution. Although draft genome sequences of two pufferfishes have been published, analysis of more fish genomes is desirable. Here we report a high-quality draft genome sequence of a small egg-laying freshwater teleost, medaka (Oryzias latipes). Medaka is native to East Asia and an excellent model system for a wide range of biology, including ecotoxicology, carcinogenesis, sex determination and developmental genetics. In the assembled medaka genome (700 megabases), which is less than half of the zebrafish genome, we predicted 20,141 genes, including approximately 2,900 new genes, using 5'-end serial analysis of gene expression tag information. We found single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at an average rate of 3.42% between the two inbred strains derived from two regional populations; this is the highest SNP rate seen in any vertebrate species. Analyses based on the dense SNP information show a strict genetic separation of 4 million years (Myr) between the two populations, and suggest that differential selective pressures acted on specific gene categories. Four-way comparisons with the human, pufferfish (Tetraodon), zebrafish and medaka genomes revealed that eight major interchromosomal rearrangements took place in a remarkably short period of approximately 50 Myr after the whole-genome duplication event in the teleost ancestor and afterwards, intriguingly, the medaka genome preserved its ancestral karyotype for more than 300 Myr.     

路面不平度的时频小波分析

本文在路面不平度数值模拟基础上利用离散二进小波变换对路面不平度进行了多层小波时域分析、统计分析和频域分析,得到了路面不平度较为深入的结果。本文为车辆动力响应分析、零部件疲劳试验及整车可靠性试验提供参考。     

频变系统特征问题及其灵敏度分析的扩阶法

当振动系统的物理矩阵（刚度矩阵和／或质量矩阵）是频率的函数时,该特征问题就变为非线性特征问题．由于振型的非正交性,使得非线性特征问题及其灵敏度分析存在困难．针对可展成幂级数形式的非线性特征问题,提出了一种通过初始系统矩阵的扩阶来使原非线性问题线性化的扩阶方法．该方法的优点是：由于在线性化过程中未引入任何误差,因而是精确的;可适用于强非线性特征问题;可求得系统的所有特征值及其灵敏度．数值示例表明,该方法虽很简单,但十分有效．     

拱坝表面温度裂缝的成因及稳定性分析

结合混凝土材料特性，分析了拱坝表面温度裂缝的成因，对其混凝土温度过程、温度应力过程进行了分析计算。在此基础上，应用线性断裂力学的方法对表面温度裂缝的稳定性进行了分析，提出了相关的结论。     

波壁管内Cu-醇基纳米流体的强化换热研究

随着科技的进步,热交换设备的热负荷与传热强度不断增大,传统的醇类冷却剂不足以满足换热设备的冷却要求,通过向传统醇类冷却剂中加入Cu纳米粒子从而形成Cu-醇基纳米流体。对Cu-乙醇、Cu-乙二醇、Cu-丙二醇三种Cu-醇基纳米流体在波壁管中的换热特性进行数值模拟研究,同时采用分子动力学计算了Cu-醇基纳米流体的导热系数,分析了雷诺数Re与纳米颗粒体积分数φ对纳米流体的换热特性的影响。结果表明,在相同条件下,纳米流体的导热系数比基液大,且随着φ的增加而增大,通过比较这三种Cu-醇基纳米流体的导热系数,发现Cu-丙二醇纳米流体的导热系数的增幅最大;同时发现纳米流体的对流换热系数与基液相比有所提高,且随着φ的增加而增大;Cu-醇基纳米流体在强化传热的同时也会产生更大的阻力损失,且该损失随着φ的增大而增大;用性能评价因子PEC对波壁管内流体的对流换热系数与摩擦阻力系数进行综合分析。发现在三种Cu-醇基纳米流体中,Cu-丙二醇纳米流体具有最好的综合换热性能。     

温度控制系统的无超调模糊-PID控制器设计

文章提出一种针对典型温度控制系统的模糊-PID控制策略,使得系统在无超调的情况下获得最短的调节时间,以节省设备投资。对传统模糊控制方法与PID参数整定进行了改进,以适应本文所述情况。仿真结果表明本文的控制器设计方法简单实用,并有良好的控制效果。     

焊接工艺对6005A-T6铝合金焊接接头晶间腐蚀性能的影响

采用激光填丝焊（laser wire filler welding,LFW）、冷金属过渡（cold metal transfer,CMT）焊和熔化极惰性气体保护（melt inert-gas,MIG）焊方法对6005A-T6铝合金板材进行焊接,研究不同焊接方法得到的焊接件的接头处、焊缝区、热影响区的抗晶间腐蚀能力。研究结果表明：在相同晶间腐蚀环境下,LFW接头处较CMT焊、MIG焊接头处的抗晶间腐蚀能力强;CMT焊焊缝区较MIG焊焊缝区的抗晶间腐蚀能力强,但热影响区抗晶间腐蚀的能力相反;3种接头各自热影响区的抗晶间腐蚀能力均弱于各自焊接接头处和焊缝区的抗晶间腐蚀能力。     

Liquid marbles.

The transport of a small amount of liquid on a solid is not a simple process, owing to the nature of the contact between the two phases. Setting a liquid droplet in motion requires non-negligible forces (because the contact-angle hysteresis generates a force opposing the motion), and often results in the deposition of liquid behind the drop. Different methods of levitation-electrostatic, electromagnetic, acoustic, or even simpler aerodynamic techniques-have been proposed to avoid this wetting problem, but all have proved to be rather cumbersome. Here we propose a simple alternative, which consists of encapsulating an aqueous liquid droplet with a hydrophobic powder. The resulting 'liquid marbles' are found to behave like a soft solid, and show dramatically reduced adhesion to a solid surface. As a result, motion can be generated using gravitational, electrical and magnetic fields. Moreover, because the viscous friction associated with motion is very small, we can achieve quick displacements of the droplets without any leaks. All of these features are of potential benefit in microfluidic applications, and also permit the study of a drop in a non-wetting situation-an issue of renewed interest following the recent achievement of super-hydrophobic substrates.     

The ribosome uses two active mechanisms to unwind messenger RNA during translation

The ribosome translates the genetic information encoded in messenger RNA into protein. Folded structures in the coding region of an mRNA represent a kinetic barrier that lowers the peptide elongation rate, as the ribosome must disrupt structures it encounters in the mRNA at its entry site to allow translocation to the next codon. Such structures are exploited by the cell to create diverse strategies for translation regulation, such as programmed frameshifting, the modulation of protein expression levels, ribosome localization and co-translational protein folding. Although strand separation activity is inherent to the ribosome, requiring no exogenous helicases, its mechanism is still unknown. Here, using a single-molecule optical tweezers assay on mRNA hairpins, we find that the translation rate of identical codons at the decoding centre is greatly influenced by the GC content of folded structures at the mRNA entry site. Furthermore, force applied to the ends of the hairpin to favour its unfolding significantly speeds translation. Quantitative analysis of the force dependence of its helicase activity reveals that the ribosome, unlike previously studied helicases, uses two distinct active mechanisms to unwind mRNA structure: it destabilizes the helical junction at the mRNA entry site by biasing its thermal fluctuations towards the open state, increasing the probability of the ribosome translocating unhindered; and it mechanically pulls apart the mRNA single strands of the closed junction during the conformational changes that accompany ribosome translocation. The second of these mechanisms ensures a minimal basal rate of translation in the cell; specialized, mechanically stable structures are required to stall the ribosome temporarily. Our results establish a quantitative mechanical basis for understanding the mechanism of regulation of the elongation rate of translation by structured mRNAs.     

Hedgehog/Wnt feedback supports regenerative proliferation of epithelial stem cells in bladder

Epithelial integrity in metazoan organs is maintained through the regulated proliferation and differentiation of organ-specific stem and progenitor cells. Although the epithelia of organs such as the intestine regenerate constantly and thus remain continuously proliferative, other organs, such as the mammalian urinary bladder, shift from near-quiescence to a highly proliferative state in response to epithelial injury. The cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying this injury-induced mode of regenerative response are poorly defined. Here we show in mice that the proliferative response to bacterial infection or chemical injury within the bladder is regulated by signal feedback between basal cells of the urothelium and the stromal cells that underlie them. We demonstrate that these basal cells include stem cells capable of regenerating all cell types within the urothelium, and are marked by expression of the secreted protein signal Sonic hedgehog (Shh). On injury, Shh expression in these basal cells increases and elicits increased stromal expression of Wnt protein signals, which in turn stimulate the proliferation of both urothelial and stromal cells. The heightened activity of this signal feedback circuit and the associated increase in cell proliferation appear to be required for restoration of urothelial function and, in the case of bacterial injury, may help clear and prevent further spread of infection. Our findings provide a conceptual framework for injury-induced epithelial regeneration in endodermal organs, and may provide a basis for understanding the roles of signalling pathways in cancer growth and metastasis.