Isoprenaline-like effects of the phosphodiesterase inhibitor 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine on mechanical, biochemical and electrophysiological parameters in the mammalian heart

The phosphodiesterase inhibitor 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX) mimicked the effects of isoprenaline on the force of contraction, the cAMP content and the slow Ca++ inward current (Isi) in isolated guinea pig papillary muscles. The results support the hypothesis that phosphodiesterase inhibitors and beta-adrenoceptor agonists exert their positive inotropic effects by increasing Isi via the common mediator cAMP.     

Light-dependent antibody labelling of photoreceptors

Monoclonal antibodies are tools widely used to analyse the structure of the nervous system. Whereas some labelling patterns are highly reproducible, others appear to vary from one preparation to the next, as we noticed in particular for some antibodies with respect to photoreceptor labelling. To establish whether some of this variability can be linked to functional criteria, we tested for light-dependence. We found two antibodies that label photoreceptor outer segments, only when the retina has been illuminated, and a third antibody that has a selective affinity for dark-adapted outer segments. The two antibodies against light-activated sites are primarily directed against the highly phosphorylated neurofilament subunit at relative molecular mass 200,000 (200K). One of them, RT97, recognizes on immunoblots, in addition to neurofilaments, a light-activated epitope on a protein that resembles the photopigment rhodopsin, presumably a phosphorylation-dependent site. Antibodies like those described here may allow the study of physiological processes such as light and dark adaptation using morphological techniques.     

改进元胞遗传算法的转塔式贴片机贴装优化

研究了转塔式贴片机的贴装过程优化问题,将其分解为元件贴装顺序和供料器布置,建立以组装时间最短为目标的贴装过程优化模型,然后采用元胞遗传算法对模型进行求解,基于问题的特点提出二维分段式的十进制编码方式,在遗传操作过程中运用改进的顺序交叉和自适应的变异操作,并在算法中结合局部搜索策略,实现了贴装顺序和供料槽布置的同时优化.实例求解和对比结果表明本算法在求解效率和求解结果上都优于传统遗传算法,从而证明了该算法的有效性.     

Pinning Synchronization of Coupled Oscillators with Paired Topologies

This paper investigates the pinning synchronization of a group of coupled oscillators, where both the dissipative and restorative interactions are taken into consideration. The paired coupling topologies are introduced to capture this feature of the dynamics. To realize the synchronization of the coupled oscillators, the pinning control is introduced, and two pinning criteria are proposed to ensure the synchronization. Both these two proposed criteria provide sufficient and necessary conditions for pinning synchronization of the coupled oscillators with paired topologies. Simulation examples are illustrated to verify the proposed theoretical results.

     

Lack of long-term cortical reorganization after macaque retinal lesions

Several aspects of cortical organization are thought to remain plastic into adulthood, allowing cortical sensorimotor maps to be modified continuously by experience. This dynamic nature of cortical circuitry is important for learning, as well as for repair after injury to the nervous system. Electrophysiology studies suggest that adult macaque primary visual cortex (V1) undergoes large-scale reorganization within a few months after retinal lesioning, but this issue has not been conclusively settled. Here we applied the technique of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to detect changes in the cortical topography of macaque area V1 after binocular retinal lesions. fMRI allows non-invasive, in vivo, long-term monitoring of cortical activity with a wide field of view, sampling signals from multiple neurons per unit cortical area. We show that, in contrast with previous studies, adult macaque V1 does not approach normal responsivity during 7.5 months of follow-up after retinal lesions, and its topography does not change. Electrophysiology experiments corroborated the fMRI results. This indicates that adult macaque V1 has limited potential for reorganization in the months following retinal injury.     

Copy number variation and selection during reprogramming to pluripotency

The mechanisms underlying the low efficiency of reprogramming somatic cells into induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells are poorly understood. There is a clear need to study whether the reprogramming process itself compromises genomic integrity and, through this, the efficiency of iPS cell establishment. Using a high-resolution single nucleotide polymorphism array, we compared copy number variations (CNVs) of different passages of human iPS cells with their fibroblast cell origins and with human embryonic stem (ES) cells. Here we show that significantly more CNVs are present in early-passage human iPS cells than intermediate passage human iPS cells, fibroblasts or human ES cells. Most CNVs are formed de novo and generate genetic mosaicism in early-passage human iPS cells. Most of these novel CNVs rendered the affected cells at a selective disadvantage. Remarkably, expansion of human iPS cells in culture selects rapidly against mutated cells, driving the lines towards a genetic state resembling human ES cells.     

烧结?Al?B4C 复合材料的往复滑动磨损性能

采用粉末冶金法制备了不同 B₄C 含量（1wt%、6wt%、15wt% 和 30wt%）的碳化硼增强铝基复合材料（Al?B₄C）,并研究了 B4C 含量对其力学性能和摩擦学行为的影响。在7 N载荷下, Al?30B₄C 复合材料的密度最高 (~2.54 g/cm3)、孔隙率最低 (4%)、维氏硬度最高 (HV ~75)、重量损失最低 (0.4 mg) 和比磨损率最低 (0.00042 mm3/ (N·m)),与纯铝相比,硬度提高167%,失重降低75.8%,比磨损率降低76.7%。此外,磨损表面的扫描电镜图像显示,Al?B₄C复合材料在7 N载荷下的最窄磨损槽为0.85 mm,主要磨损机制为磨粒磨损机制。根据摩擦分析,表面之间的摩擦系数随着碳化硼含量的增加和外加载荷的减少而增加。总之,就 Al?B₄C 复合材料的摩擦学和力学性能而言,B₄C 是一种有效的增强材料。     

Ultraviolet-radiation-induced methane emissions from meteorites and the Martian atmosphere

Almost a decade after methane was first reported in the atmosphere of Mars there is an intensive discussion about both the reliability of the observations--particularly the suggested seasonal and latitudinal variations--and the sources of methane on Mars. Given that the lifetime of methane in the Martian atmosphere is limited, a process on or below the planet's surface would need to be continuously producing methane. A biological source would provide support for the potential existence of life on Mars, whereas a chemical origin would imply that there are unexpected geological processes. Methane release from carbonaceous meteorites associated with ablation during atmospheric entry is considered negligible. Here we show that methane is produced in much larger quantities from the Murchison meteorite (a type CM2 carbonaceous chondrite) when exposed to ultraviolet radiation under conditions similar to those expected at the Martian surface. Meteorites containing several per cent of intact organic matter reach the Martian surface at high rates, and our experiments suggest that a significant fraction of the organic matter accessible to ultraviolet radiation is converted to methane. Ultraviolet-radiation-induced methane formation from meteorites could explain a substantial fraction of the most recently estimated atmospheric methane mixing ratios. Stable hydrogen isotope analysis unambiguously confirms that the methane released from Murchison is of extraterrestrial origin. The stable carbon isotope composition, in contrast, is similar to that of terrestrial microbial origin; hence, measurements of this signature in future Mars missions may not enable an unambiguous identification of biogenic methane.