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.     

Meta-analysis of genome-wide association data and large-scale replication identifies additional susceptibility loci for type 2 diabetes

Genome-wide association (GWA) studies have identified multiple loci at which common variants modestly but reproducibly influence risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D). Established associations to common and rare variants explain only a small proportion of the heritability of T2D. As previously published analyses had limited power to identify variants with modest effects, we carried out meta-analysis of three T2D GWA scans comprising 10,128 individuals of European descent and approximately 2.2 million SNPs (directly genotyped and imputed), followed by replication testing in an independent sample with an effective sample size of up to 53,975. We detected at least six previously unknown loci with robust evidence for association, including the JAZF1 (P = 5.0 x 10(-14)), CDC123-CAMK1D (P = 1.2 x 10(-10)), TSPAN8-LGR5 (P = 1.1 x 10(-9)), THADA (P = 1.1 x 10(-9)), ADAMTS9 (P = 1.2 x 10(-8)) and NOTCH2 (P = 4.1 x 10(-8)) gene regions. Our results illustrate the value of large discovery and follow-up samples for gaining further insights into the inherited basis of T2D.     

SLC2A9 is a newly identified urate transporter influencing serum urate concentration, urate excretion and gout

Uric acid is the end product of purine metabolism in humans and great apes, which have lost hepatic uricase activity, leading to uniquely high serum uric acid concentrations (200-500 microM) compared with other mammals (3-120 microM). About 70% of daily urate disposal occurs via the kidneys, and in 5-25% of the human population, impaired renal excretion leads to hyperuricemia. About 10% of people with hyperuricemia develop gout, an inflammatory arthritis that results from deposition of monosodium urate crystals in the joint. We have identified genetic variants within a transporter gene, SLC2A9, that explain 1.7-5.3% of the variance in serum uric acid concentrations, following a genome-wide association scan in a Croatian population sample. SLC2A9 variants were also associated with low fractional excretion of uric acid and/or gout in UK, Croatian and German population samples. SLC2A9 is a known fructose transporter, and we now show that it has strong uric acid transport activity in Xenopus laevis oocytes.     

一种改善雷达收发隔离的新方法

针对连续波体制雷达的特点,提出了采用光子晶体高阻表面提高雷达收发隔离的新方法.该方法利用光子晶体频率带隙与周期结构尺寸之间的关系,可灵活设计出雷达工作频段的高阻表面.将光子晶体高阻表面加装到某型连续波雷达的天线上,提高雷达收发隔离度达15 dB,证明了该方法的有效性.     

飞行巡线机器人悬停控制系统仿真与设计

针对通讯线路和电力传输线快速发展的趋势,提出使用旋翼直升机作为飞行式巡线机器人的设想。在刚体、非完整假设和飞行原理基础上,建立了巡线机器人以翻滚、俯仰和偏航角为广义坐标的动力学方程。采用线性化方法得到以三个姿态量为输出,以俯仰、翻滚通道输入量、旋翼升力和尾桨配平力为控制输入的悬停状态空间和控制方程。同时,使用极点配置法得到所需的控制输入,并设计了以TMS320F2812DSP为主控芯片的控制系统。Matlab仿真和实验证实了本方法的可行性和易实现性。     

Improving moving average trading rules with boosting and statistical learning methods

We present a system for combining the different types of predictions given by a wide category of mechanical trading rules through statistical learning methods (boosting, and several model averaging methods like Bayesian or simple averaging methods). Statistical learning methods supply better out‐of‐sample results than most of the single moving average rules in the NYSE Composite Index from January 1993 to December 2002. Moreover, using a filter to reduce trading frequency, the filtered boosting model produces a technical strategy which, although it is not able to overcome the returns of the buy‐and‐hold (B&H) strategy during rising periods, it does overcome the B&H during falling periods and is able to absorb a considerable part of falls in the market. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Endocrine-dependent expression of circadian clock genes in insects

Current models state that insect peripheral oscillators are directly responsive to light, while mammalian peripheral clock genes are coordinated by a master clock in the brain via intermediate factors, possibly hormonal. We show that the expression levels of two circadian clock genes, period (per) and Par Domain Protein 1 (Pdp1) in the peripheral tissue of an insect model species, the linden bug Pyrrhocoris apterus, are inversely affected by contrasting photoperiods. The effect of photoperiod on per and Pdp1 mRNA levels was found to be mediated by the corpus allatum, an endocrine gland producing juvenile hormone. Our results provide the first experimental evidence for the effect of an endocrine gland on circadian clock gene expression in insects. Received 31 October 2007; received after revision 7 January 2008; accepted 9 January 2008 D. Dolezel, L. Zdechovanova: These authors contributed equally to this work.     

Cholera toxin structure, gene regulation and pathophysiological and immunological aspects

Many notions regarding the function, structure and regulation of cholera toxin expression have remained essentially unaltered in the last 15 years. At the same time, recent findings have generated additional perspectives. For example, the cholera toxin genes are now known to be carried by a non-lytic bacteriophage, a previously unsuspected condition. Understanding of how the expression of cholera toxin genes is controlled by the bacterium at the molecular level has advanced significantly and relationships with cell-density-associated (quorum-sensing) responses have recently been discovered. Regarding the cell intoxication process, the mode of entry and intracellular transport of cholera toxin are becoming clearer. In the immunological field, the strong oral immunogenicity of the non-toxic B subunit of cholera toxin (CTB) has been exploited in the development of a now widely licensed oral cholera vaccine. Additionally, CTB has been shown to induce tolerance against co-administered (linked) foreign antigens in some autoimmune and allergic diseases. Received 25 October 2007; accepted 12 December 2007     

Bile Acids: Chemistry, Pathochemistry, Biology, Pathobiology, and Therapeutics

Bile acids and bile alcohols in the form of their conjugates are amphipathic end products of cholesterol metabolism with multiple physiological functions. The great variety of bile acids and bile alcohols that are present in vertebrates are tabulated. Bile salts have an enterohepatic circulation resulting from efficient vectorial transport of bile salts through the hepatocyte and the ileal enterocyte; such transport leads to the accumulation of a pool of bile salts that cycles between the liver and intestine. Bile salt anions promote lipid absorption, enhance tryptic cleavage of dietary proteins, and have antimicrobial effects. Bile salts are signaling molecules, activating nuclear receptors in the hepatocyte and ileal enterocyte, as well as an increasing number of G-protein coupled receptors. Bile acids are used therapeutically to correct deficiency states, to decrease the cholesterol saturation of bile, or to decrease the cytotoxicity of retained bile acids in cholestatic liver disease.