The insecticidal potential of venom peptides

Pest insect species are a burden to humans as they destroy crops and serve as vectors for a wide range of diseases including malaria and dengue. Chemical insecticides are currently the dominant approach for combating these pests. However, the de-registration of key classes of chemical insecticides due to their perceived ecological and human health risks in combination with the development of insecticide resistance in many pest insect populations has created an urgent need for improved methods of insect pest control. The venoms of arthropod predators such as spiders and scorpions are a promising source of novel insecticidal peptides that often have different modes of action to extant chemical insecticides. These peptides have been optimized via a prey–predator arms race spanning hundreds of millions of years to target specific types of insect ion channels and receptors. Here we review the current literature on insecticidal venom peptides, with a particular focus on their structural and pharmacological diversity, and discuss their potential for deployment as insecticides.     

Overactive bone morphogenetic protein signaling in heterotopic ossification and Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are important extracellular cytokines that play critical roles in embryogenesis and tissue homeostasis. BMPs signal via transmembrane type I and type II serine/threonine kinase receptors and intracellular Smad effector proteins. BMP signaling is precisely regulated and perturbation of BMP signaling is connected to multiple diseases, including musculoskeletal diseases. In this review, we will summarize the recent progress in elucidation of BMP signal transduction, how overactive BMP signaling is involved in the pathogenesis of heterotopic ossification and Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and discuss possible therapeutic strategies for treatment of these diseases.     

混合约束非凸规划拟锥条件下的同伦方法

使用同伦算法研究混合约束的非凸非线性规划问题. 当规划问题为混合约束（带有等式约束）时, 可行域变成一个边界区域, 并没有内点. 通过对可行域定义新的拟锥条件, 给出相应同伦方程, 并证明此同伦算法在此拟锥条件下具有全局收敛性.     

东濮凹陷胡庆地区原油地球化学特征与油源分析

研究东濮凹陷胡庆地区原油地球化学特征及其来源.利用有机地球化学分析方法,对原油与烃源岩进行饱和烃色谱、饱和烃与芳烃色谱-质谱分析,剖析了两者的分子地球化学特征及油源.研究表明:胡庆地区发育3类原油,第一类原油具有极高伽马蜡烷,质量色谱图中甾烷呈"L"形特征,来自第二台阶的沙一段烃源岩,在沙一段储层中富集形成自生自储常温...     

法锥条件下非凸规划的非内点同伦方法

利用不可行的内点同伦方法(CHIIP)求解非凸规划问题的KKT点. 证明了当非凸规划问题的可行域满足法锥条件时, 跟踪同伦方程产生的同伦曲线可得到非凸规划问题的KKT点, 且该算法具有全局收敛性.     

湘西更新世哺乳动物化石痕迹考察研究

目的 考察湘西土家族苗族自治州古丈县断龙乡猛虎洞更新世哺乳动物群骨化石断裂痕迹的状态与原因,探索湘西地区古人类活动的遗迹.方法 观测哺乳动物群骨化石断裂痕迹剖面的形态结构,以区别食肉类动物群的咬痕与人类打造的印迹.结果 经40件东方剑齿象、中国犀、鹿等残骨化石标本断裂痕迹剖面的观测,发现有部分骨化石断裂剖面圆钝,似啮齿动物的咬痕,但大部分骨化石断端剖面呈锥形切削改造,有的双面削刮呈锐利器型,有的存在明显打击或铲刮的 “印记”,初步认为属早期人类制作骨器的遗迹.结论 结合地理环境和地学结构分析,猛虎洞可能属晚更新世(10～5)万年前旧石器人类穴居的营地或系同生代古脊椎动物的遗址.     

Strong association of de novo copy number mutations with sporadic schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is an etiologically heterogeneous psychiatric disease, which exists in familial and nonfamilial (sporadic) forms. Here, we examine the possibility that rare de novo copy number (CN) mutations with relatively high penetrance contribute to the genetic component of schizophrenia. We carried out a whole-genome scan and implemented a number of steps for finding and confirming CN mutations. Confirmed de novo mutations were significantly associated with schizophrenia (P = 0.00078) and were collectively approximately 8 times more frequent in sporadic (but not familial) cases with schizophrenia than in unaffected controls. In comparison, rare inherited CN mutations were only modestly enriched in sporadic cases. Our results suggest that rare de novo germline mutations contribute to schizophrenia vulnerability in sporadic cases and that rare genetic lesions at many different loci can account, at least in part, for the genetic heterogeneity of this disease.