Platelets, endothelium and blood vessel wall

Aggregating platelets cause contraction of vascular smooth muscle, because they release serotonin and thromboxane A2. If the platelets aggregate in a blood vessel with intact intima, the platelet-products cause endothelium-dependent relaxation of the underlying smooth muscle. Hence, the presence of an intact intima considerably reduces the vasospastic response to platelet-aggregation. The major platelet products which trigger endothelium-dependent relaxations are the adenine nucleotides and serotonin. The ability of the endothelium to prevent platelet-induced vasospasm is augmented after chronic intake of cod liver oil, but is reduced after previous intimal injury.     

Comparison of the responsiveness of isolated arteries and veins taken from the same dogs 17 days apart

Summary The present experiments demonstrate that isolated arteries and veins taken from the same dogs before and after an interval of 17 days show comparable responses to adrenergic nerve stimulation, exogenous norepinephrine and depolarizing solution. They provide an acceptable model for the in vitro study of chronic influences on canine vascular responsiveness.     

Aggregation and vesiculation of membrane proteins by curvature-mediated interactions

Membrane remodelling plays an important role in cellular tasks such as endocytosis, vesiculation and protein sorting, and in the biogenesis of organelles such as the endoplasmic reticulum or the Golgi apparatus. It is well established that the remodelling process is aided by specialized proteins that can sense as well as create membrane curvature, and trigger tubulation when added to synthetic liposomes. Because the energy needed for such large-scale changes in membrane geometry significantly exceeds the binding energy between individual proteins and between protein and membrane, cooperative action is essential. It has recently been suggested that curvature-mediated attractive interactions could aid cooperation and complement the effects of specific binding events on membrane remodelling. But it is difficult to experimentally isolate curvature-mediated interactions from direct attractions between proteins. Moreover, approximate theories predict repulsion between isotropically curving proteins. Here we use coarse-grained membrane simulations to show that curvature-inducing model proteins adsorbed on lipid bilayer membranes can experience attractive interactions that arise purely as a result of membrane curvature. We find that once a minimal local bending is realized, the effect robustly drives protein cluster formation and subsequent transformation into vesicles with radii that correlate with the local curvature imprint. Owing to its universal nature, curvature-mediated attraction can operate even between proteins lacking any specific interactions, such as newly synthesized and still immature membrane proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum.     

Synaptotagmin I is necessary for compensatory synaptic vesicle endocytosis in vivo

Neurotransmission requires a balance of synaptic vesicle exocytosis and endocytosis. Synaptotagmin I (Syt I) is widely regarded as the primary calcium sensor for synaptic vesicle exocytosis. Previous biochemical data suggest that Syt I may also function during synaptic vesicle endocytosis; however, ultrastructural analyses at synapses with impaired Syt I function have provided an indirect and conflicting view of the role of Syt I during synaptic vesicle endocytosis. Until now it has not been possible experimentally to separate the exocytic and endocytic functions of Syt I in vivo. Here, we test directly the role of Syt I during endocytosis in vivo. We use quantitative live imaging of a pH-sensitive green fluorescent protein fused to a synaptic vesicle protein (synapto-pHluorin) to measure the kinetics of endocytosis in sytI-null Drosophila. We then combine live imaging of the synapto-pHluorins with photoinactivation of Syt I, through fluorescein-assisted light inactivation, after normal Syt I-mediated vesicle exocytosis. By inactivating Syt I only during endocytosis, we demonstrate that Syt I is necessary for the endocytosis of synaptic vesicles that have undergone exocytosis using a functional Syt I protein.     

Analysis of the DNA sequence and duplication history of human chromosome 15

Here we present a finished sequence of human chromosome 15, together with a high-quality gene catalogue. As chromosome 15 is one of seven human chromosomes with a high rate of segmental duplication, we have carried out a detailed analysis of the duplication structure of the chromosome. Segmental duplications in chromosome 15 are largely clustered in two regions, on proximal and distal 15q; the proximal region is notable because recombination among the segmental duplications can result in deletions causing Prader-Willi and Angelman syndromes. Sequence analysis shows that the proximal and distal regions of 15q share extensive ancient similarity. Using a simple approach, we have been able to reconstruct many of the events by which the current duplication structure arose. We find that most of the intrachromosomal duplications seem to share a common ancestry. Finally, we demonstrate that some remaining gaps in the genome sequence are probably due to structural polymorphisms between haplotypes; this may explain a significant fraction of the gaps remaining in the human genome.     

Reduction of soil carbon formation by tropospheric ozone under increased carbon dioxide levels

In the Northern Hemisphere, ozone levels in the troposphere have increased by 35 per cent over the past century, with detrimental impacts on forest and agricultural productivity, even when forest productivity has been stimulated by increased carbon dioxide levels. In addition to reducing productivity, increased tropospheric ozone levels could alter terrestrial carbon cycling by lowering the quantity and quality of carbon inputs to soils. However, the influence of elevated ozone levels on soil carbon formation and decomposition are unknown. Here we examine the effects of elevated ozone levels on the formation rates of total and decay-resistant acid-insoluble soil carbon under conditions of elevated carbon dioxide levels in experimental aspen (Populus tremuloides) stands and mixed aspen-birch (Betula papyrifera) stands. With ambient concentrations of ozone and carbon dioxide both raised by 50 per cent, we find that the formation rates of total and acid-insoluble soil carbon are reduced by 50 per cent relative to the amounts entering the soil when the forests were exposed to increased carbon dioxide alone. Our results suggest that, in a world with elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations, global-scale reductions in plant productivity due to elevated ozone levels will also lower soil carbon formation rates significantly.     

智能现场仪表在水库大坝自动化系统中应用

传感器的选用是对水库大坝渗漏进行长期监测的关键技术之一，对Endress Hauser公司的DB53型静压式液位传感器的传感原理、特殊封装结构、技术特点及现场应用情况作了详细分析，同时对这种现场总线型智能化仪表使用的现场总线技术Profibus-PA基础作了介绍。采用智能现场总线仪表的南城子水库自动化系统，可靠性和自动化程度大大提高，这对大坝安全和库区调度决策将起到重要的作用。     

An improved spatially aware routing algorithm for mobile ad hoc network in inter-vehicle communication

A new algorithm called spatially aware routing algorithm with enhanced learning (SAREL) is proposed to guarantee the rationality of route selecting in inter-vehicle communication scenario. Firstly, the traffic model is discussed and set up by using Poisson distribution. Then we analyze the process of traffic evaluation with enhanced learning, and exploit movement estimation to assist state memorization. The improvement of algorithm is provided at last compared with our previous work. Simulation results show that SAREL algorithm could achieve better performance in packet delivery ratio, especially when network connection ratio is average.