Technical approaches to induce selective cell death of pluripotent stem cells

Despite the recent promising results of clinical trials using human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-based cell therapies for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the risk of teratoma formation resulting from residual undifferentiated hPSCs remains a serious and critical hurdle for broader clinical implementation. To mitigate the tumorigenic risk of hPSC-based cell therapy, a variety of approaches have been examined to ablate the undifferentiated hPSCs based on the unique molecular properties of hPSCs. In the present review, we offer a brief overview of recent attempts at selective elimination of undifferentiated hPSCs to decrease the risk of teratoma formation in hPSC-based cell therapy.     

Elevational patterns and determinants of plant diversity in the Baekdudaegan Mountains, South Korea: Species vs. functional diversity

The elevational gradient present in mountainous areas provides the most powerful natural experimental system available to clarify the ecological and evolutionary responses of living organisms to geophysical influences. In this study, we explored the elevational patterns of plant species and functional diversity and the effects of area, mid-domain effect, climatic variables and net primary productivity on the observed diversity patterns along the ridge of the Baekdudaegan Mountains, South Korea. Rapoport’s elevational rule was also evaluated by examining the relationship between elevational range size of plant species and elevation. A total of 802 plant species from 97 families and 342 genera were found in 1100 plots along a 200–-1900-m elevational gradient along the ridge. The elevational patterns of plant species diversity along the ridge of the Baekdudaegan depicted distinctly hump-shaped patterns, whereas the functional diversity decreased monotonically with elevation. The mid-domain effect was the most powerful explanatory variable for species diversity patterns. However, climatic variables were better predictors for functional diversity. Moreover, Rapoport’s elevational rule was not supported. Our study suggests that different elevational patterns may be observed among different diversity measurements even in the same taxon and that there may be fundamental differences in the mechanisms underlying these diversity patterns.     

Development of a Measurement System Far-IR Using a MCT Sensor

The far-infrared radiation （Far-IR） has good effects on us, promoting the circulation of the blood and metabolic. So textile products including far-IR have been developed. But it is very difficult to measure the amount of far-IR in the textile quicHy and correctly. Newly developed Mercury Cadmium Telluride （MCT） sensor system could solve this problem.     

TMEM16A confers receptor-activated calcium-dependent chloride conductance

Calcium (Ca(2+))-activated chloride channels are fundamental mediators in numerous physiological processes including transepithelial secretion, cardiac and neuronal excitation, sensory transduction, smooth muscle contraction and fertilization. Despite their physiological importance, their molecular identity has remained largely unknown. Here we show that transmembrane protein 16A (TMEM16A, which we also call anoctamin 1 (ANO1)) is a bona fide Ca(2+)-activated chloride channel that is activated by intracellular Ca(2+) and Ca(2+)-mobilizing stimuli. With eight putative transmembrane domains and no apparent similarity to previously characterized channels, ANO1 defines a new family of ionic channels. The biophysical properties as well as the pharmacological profile of ANO1 are in full agreement with native Ca(2+)-activated chloride currents. ANO1 is expressed in various secretory epithelia, the retina and sensory neurons. Furthermore, knockdown of mouse Ano1 markedly reduced native Ca(2+)-activated chloride currents as well as saliva production in mice. We conclude that ANO1 is a candidate Ca(2+)-activated chloride channel that mediates receptor-activated chloride currents in diverse physiological processes.     

A study of the suppression of the high-temperature helium embrittlement in an oxide-particle dispersion strengthened alloy

In this paper, an investigation on the micro-structure of an Fe-base oxide-dispersion-strengthened （ODS） alloy irradiated with high-energy ^20Ne ions to different doses at a temperature around 0.5Tin （Tin is the melting point of the alloy） is presented. Investigation with the transmission electron microscopy found that the accelerated growth of voids at grain-boundaries, which is usually a concern in conven- tional Fe-base alloys under conditions of inert-gas implantation, was not observed in the ODS alloy irradiated even to the highest dose （12000 at.ppm Ne）. The reason is ascribed to the enhanced recombination of point defects and strong trapping of Ne atoms at the interfaces of the nano-scale oxide particles in grains. The study showed that ODS alloys have good resistance to the high-temperature inter-granular embrittlement due to inert-gas accumulation, exhibiting prominence of application in harsh situations of considerable helium production at elevated temperatures like in a fusion reactor.     

Optimization of Casting Process for Heat and Abrasion Resistant Large Gray Iron Castings

Numerical simulations were used to optimize the casting design and conditions for large cast iron castings for marine engines, Simulations of the mold filling and solidification sequences were used to analyze the problems of previous casting conditions with marked improvements for large cylinder liner parts, The amount and positions of chills were optimized to improve the mechanical properties and to minimize the shrinkage and micro porosity in the castings. Ultra sonic testing, penetration testing, and mechanical property testing show no defects in the castings with the productivity significantly increased.     

Robust digital receiver for EPC sensor network

A robust digital receiver based on a matched filter (MF) is proposed for the radio frequency identification (RFID) reader system to enhance the reliability of signal processing in the electronic product code (EPC) sensor network (ESN). The performance of the proposed receiver is investigated by examining the anti-collision algorithm in the EPC global Class1 Generation2 protocol. The validity and usefulness are demonstrated by both computer simulations and experiments. Based on the verification  results, comparing with the conventional zero crossing detector (ZCD) based receiver, the proposed receiver is very robust against strong amplitude distortions and considerable frequency deviations happening on the backscattered signal from a passive tag.     

Genome-wide mapping with biallelic markers in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Single-nucleotide polymorphisms, as well as small insertions and deletions (here referred to collectively as simple nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs), comprise the largest set of sequence variants in most organisms. Positional cloning based on SNPs may accelerate the identification of human disease traits and a range of biologically informative mutations. The recent application of high-density oligonucleotide arrays to allele identification has made it feasible to genotype thousands of biallelic SNPs in a single experiment. It has yet to be established, however, whether SNP detection using oligonucleotide arrays can be used to accelerate the mapping of traits in diploid genomes. The cruciferous weed Arabidopsis thaliana is an attractive model system for the construction and use of biallelic SNP maps. Although important biological processes ranging from fertilization and cell fate determination to disease resistance have been modelled in A. thaliana, identifying mutations in this organism has been impeded by the lack of a high-density genetic map consisting of easily genotyped DNA markers. We report here the construction of a biallelic genetic map in A. thaliana with a resolution of 3.5 cM and its use in mapping Eds16, a gene involved in the defence response to the fungal pathogen Erysiphe orontii. Mapping of this trait involved the high-throughput generation of meiotic maps of F2 individuals using high-density oligonucleotide probe array-based genotyping. We developed a software package called InterMap and used it to automatically delimit Eds16 to a 7-cM interval on chromosome 1. These results are the first demonstration of biallelic mapping in diploid genomes and establish means for generalizing SNP-based maps to virtually any genetic organism.