Expression of a candidate sex-determining gene during mouse testis differentiation

The development of a eutherian mammal as a male is a consequence of testis formation in the embryo, which is thought to be initiated by a gene on the Y chromosome. In the absence of this gene, ovaries are formed and female characteristics develop. Sex determination therefore hinges on the action of this testis-determining gene, known as Tdy in mice and TDF in humans. In the past, several genes proposed as candidates for Tdy/TDF have subsequently been dismissed on the grounds of inappropriate location or expression. We have recently described a candidate for Tdy, which maps to the minimum sex-determining region of the mouse Y chromosome. To examine further the involvement of this gene, Sry, in testis development, we have studied its expression in detail. Fetal expression of Sry is limited to the period in which testes begin to form. This expression is confined to gonadal tissue and does not require the presence of germ cells. Our observations strongly support a primary role for Sry in mouse sex determination.     

Host-parasitoid associations in patchy environments

Studies of insect host-parasitoid interactions have contributed much to the consensus that spatial patchiness is important in the regulation of natural populations. A variety of theoretical models predict that host and parasitoid populations, although unstable in the absence of environmental heterogeneity, may persist at roughly steady overall densities in a patchy environment owing to variation in levels of parasitism from patch to patch. Observed patterns of parasitism, however, have a variety of forms (with variation in attack rates among patches depending directly or indirectly on host density, or showing variation uncorrelated with host density). There is some confusion about the dynamical consequences of these different forms. Here we first show how the dynamical effects of all these forms of environmental heterogeneity can be assessed by a common criterion. This 'CV2 greater than 1 rule' states that the overall population densities will remain roughly steady from generation to generation if the coefficient of variation squared (CV2) of the density of searching parasitoids in the vicinity of each host exceeds approximately unity. By partitioning CV2 into components, we show that both direct and inverse patterns of dependence on host density, and density-independent patterns, all contribute to population regulation in the same way. Second, we show how a maximum-likelihood method can be applied to the kind of field data that are usually available (that is, percentage parasitism versus local host density) to estimate the components of CV2. This analysis indicates that heterogeneity is large enough to stabilize dynamics in 9 of 34 published studies, and that density-independent heterogeneity is the main factor in most cases.     

Molecular cloning of the microtubule-associated mechanochemical enzyme dynamin reveals homology with a new family of GTP-binding proteins

A complementary DNA encoding the D100 polypeptide of rat brain dynamin--a force-producing, microtubule-activated nucleotide triphosphatase--has been cloned and sequenced. The predicted amino acid sequence includes a guanine nucleotide-binding domain that is homologous with those of a family of antiviral factors, inducible by interferon and known as Mx proteins, and with the product of the essential yeast vacuolar protein sorting gene VPS1. These relationships imply the existence of a new family of GTPases with physiological roles that may include microtubule-based motility and protein sorting.     

氨酯键和脲键对嵌段聚氨酯和嵌段聚脲性质影响的研究

用溶液聚合法合成了四种聚氨酯、聚脲模型化合物.并用凝胶渗透色谱,应力—应变,广角X射线衍射等手段检验了在相界面或在硬段微区,不同键对聚合物分子量、力学性质和聚合物形态的影响.     

s-单式环的交换性定理(英文)

本文将文献[3]的引理1推广到s-单式环上,并用迭代技术给出文献[4]的定理2一个简易的证明,将若干有1环的交换性定理推广到s-单式环上。     

一类周期拟环的结构

本文得到了拟环满足条件ｘｙ＝ｘｙ￣（ｎ（ｘ，ｙ）ｘ或ｘｙ＝ｙｘ￣（ｎ（ｘ，ｙ）ｙ的分解定理。     

Highly cooperative feedback control of retinal rod guanylate cyclase by calcium ions

Visual excitation in retinal rod cells is mediated by a cascade that leads to the amplified hydrolysis of cyclic GMP (cGMP) and the consequent closure of cGMP-activated cation-specific channels in the plasma membrane. Recovery of the dark state requires the resynthesis of cGMP, which is catalysed by guanylate cyclase, an axoneme-associated enzyme. The lowering of the cytosolic calcium concentration (Cai) following illumination is thought to be important in stimulating cyclase activity. This hypothesis is supported by the finding that the cGMP content of rod outer segments increases several-fold when Cai is lowered to less than 10 nM. It is evident that cGMP and Cai levels are reciprocally controlled by negative feedback. Guanylate cyclase from toad ROS is strongly stimulated when the calcium level is lowered from 10 microM to 10 nM, but only if they are excited by light. We show here that the guanylate cyclase activity of unilluminated bovine rod outer segments increases markedly (5 to 20-fold) when the calcium level is lowered from 200 nM to 50 nM. This steep dependence of guanylate cyclase activity on the calcium level in the physiological range has a Hill coefficient of 3.9. Stimulation at low calcium levels is mediated by a protein that can be released from the outer segment membranes by washing with a low salt buffer. Calcium sensitivity is partially restored by adding the soluble extract back to the washed membranes. The highly cooperative activation of guanylate cyclase by the light-induced lowering of Cai is likely to be a key event in restoring the dark current after excitation.     

A new A4 amyloid mRNA contains a domain homologous to serine proteinase inhibitors

The amyloid proteins isolated from neuritic plaques and the cerebrovasculature of Alzheimer's disease are self-aggregating moieties termed A4 protein and beta-protein, respectively. A putative A4 amyloid precursor (herein termed A4(695] has been characterized by analysis of a human brain complementary DNA. We report here the sequence of a closely related amyloid cDNA, A4(751), distinguished from A4(695) by the presence of a 168 base-pair (bp) sequence which adds 57 amino acids to, and removes one residue from, the predicted A4(695) protein. The peptide predicted from this insert is very similar to the Kunitz family of serine proteinase inhibitors. The two A4-specific messenger RNAs are differentially expressed: in a limited survey, A4(751) mRNA appears to be ubiquitous, whereas A4(695) mRNA has a restricted pattern of expression which includes cells from neuronal tissue. These data may have significant implications for understanding amyloid deposition in Alzheimer's disease.     

Insulin-stimulated MAP-2 kinase phosphorylates and activates ribosomal protein S6 kinase II

Ribosomal protein S6 is a component of the eukaryotic 40S ribosomal subunit that becomes phosphorylated on multiple serine residues in response to a variety of mitogens, including insulin, growth factors, and transforming proteins of many oncogenic viruses. Recently, an activated S6 kinase (S6 K II) has been purified to homogeneity from Xenopus eggs, and characterized immunologically and at the molecular level. Purified S6 K II can be deactivated in vitro by incubation with either protein phosphatase 1 or protein phosphatase 2A. Reactivation and phosphorylation of S6 K II occurs in vitro with an insulin-stimulated microtubule-associated protein-2 (MAP-2) protein kinase which is itself a phosphoprotein that can be deactivated by protein phosphatase 2A. These studies suggest that a step in insulin signalling involves sequential activation by phosphorylation of at least two serine/threonine protein kinases.