Self-organizing optic-cup morphogenesis in three-dimensional culture

Balanced organogenesis requires the orchestration of multiple cellular interactions to create the collective cell behaviours that progressively shape developing tissues. It is currently unclear how individual, localized parts are able to coordinate with each other to develop a whole organ shape. Here we report the dynamic, autonomous formation of the optic cup (retinal primordium) structure from a three-dimensional culture of mouse embryonic stem cell aggregates. Embryonic-stem-cell-derived retinal epithelium spontaneously formed hemispherical epithelial vesicles that became patterned along their proximal-distal axis. Whereas the proximal portion differentiated into mechanically rigid pigment epithelium, the flexible distal portion progressively folded inward to form a shape reminiscent of the embryonic optic cup, exhibited interkinetic nuclear migration and generated stratified neural retinal tissue, as seen in vivo. We demonstrate that optic-cup morphogenesis in this simple cell culture depends on an intrinsic self-organizing program involving stepwise and domain-specific regulation of local epithelial properties.     

氦浴温度对超流氦噪声沸腾压力振动的影响

噪声沸腾是超流氦传热中的一个特殊现象，对这种现象的充分认识有助于超流氦在诸如超导磁体的冷却等方面的实际应用．氦浴温度是影响噪声沸腾的一个重要因素．本文运用脉冲电流加热一个大小为２．５ｃｍ×２．５ｃｍ的小试样，同时用一个压力传感器测量了在不同氦浴温度下噪声沸腾时的压力振动，并对不同氦浴温度下噪声沸腾的压力振动曲线进行了详细的分析．实验结果显示在过冷态超流氦的沸腾中，一个极薄的气膜在小试样上振动，几乎没有什么噪声；而在饱和态超流氦的沸腾中，一个小试样大小相当的气泡在其表面上反复振动，并伴随着巨大的噪声和强烈的机械振动．氦浴温度对噪声沸腾的影响主要体现在对噪声沸腾的特征频率和沸腾状态发生改变时的临界静压液柱等方面．     

Thyrotrophin in the pars tuberalis triggers photoperiodic response

Molecular mechanisms regulating animal seasonal breeding in response to changing photoperiod are not well understood. Rapid induction of gene expression of thyroid-hormone-activating enzyme (type 2 deiodinase, DIO2) in the mediobasal hypothalamus (MBH) of the Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) is the earliest event yet recorded in the photoperiodic signal transduction pathway. Here we show cascades of gene expression in the quail MBH associated with the initiation of photoinduced secretion of luteinizing hormone. We identified two waves of gene expression. The first was initiated about 14 h after dawn of the first long day and included increased thyrotrophin (TSH) beta-subunit expression in the pars tuberalis; the second occurred approximately 4 h later and included increased expression of DIO2. Intracerebroventricular (ICV) administration of TSH to short-day quail stimulated gonadal growth and expression of DIO2 which was shown to be mediated through a TSH receptor-cyclic AMP (cAMP) signalling pathway. Increased TSH in the pars tuberalis therefore seems to trigger long-day photoinduced seasonal breeding.     

Plastid proteins crucial for symbiotic fungal and bacterial entry into plant roots

The roots of most higher plants form arbuscular mycorrhiza, an ancient, phosphate-acquiring symbiosis with fungi, whereas only four related plant orders are able to engage in the evolutionary younger nitrogen-fixing root-nodule symbiosis with bacteria. Plant symbioses with bacteria and fungi require a set of common signal transduction components that redirect root cell development. Here we present two highly homologous genes from Lotus japonicus, CASTOR and POLLUX, that are indispensable for microbial admission into plant cells and act upstream of intracellular calcium spiking, one of the earliest plant responses to symbiotic stimulation. Surprisingly, both twin proteins are localized in the plastids of root cells, indicating a previously unrecognized role of this ancient endosymbiont in controlling intracellular symbioses that evolved more recently.     

Novel and sensitive noncompetitive enzyme immunoassay for kassinin in rat plasma

Summary A novel and sensitive noncompetitive enzyme immunoassay for kassinin is described. Kassinin was biotinylated using sulfosuccinimidyl-6-(biotinamido)hexanoate. The biotinylated kassinin was trapped on antikassinin IgG-coated polystyrene balls and, after washing to eliminate other biotinylated substances, was eluted with HCl. The biotinylated kassinin eluted was reacted with anti-kassinin Fab'-peroxidase conjugate and trapped onto streptavidin-coated polystyrene balls. Peroxidase activity bound to the polystyrene balls was assayed by fluorimetry. The detection limit of kassinin was 0.13 pg (0.1 fmol)/tube or 0.065 g/l of rat plasma, which was 750-fold or 15-fold lower than that for competitive radioimmunoassay.     

Slip zone and energetics of a large earthquake from the Taiwan Chelungpu-fault Drilling Project

Determining the seismic fracture energy during an earthquake and understanding the associated creation and development of a fault zone requires a combination of both seismological and geological field data. The actual thickness of the zone that slips during the rupture of a large earthquake is not known and is a key seismological parameter in understanding energy dissipation, rupture processes and seismic efficiency. The 1999 magnitude-7.7 earthquake in Chi-Chi, Taiwan, produced large slip (8 to 10 metres) at or near the surface, which is accessible to borehole drilling and provides a rare opportunity to sample a fault that had large slip in a recent earthquake. Here we present the retrieved cores from the Taiwan Chelungpu-fault Drilling Project and identify the main slip zone associated with the Chi-Chi earthquake. The surface fracture energy estimated from grain sizes in the gouge zone of the fault sample was directly compared to the seismic fracture energy determined from near-field seismic data. From the comparison, the contribution of gouge surface energy to the earthquake breakdown work is quantified to be 6 per cent.     

针对医院采用太阳能热水系统的模型分析

以坐落于北九州八幡区的一家医院作为研究对象，采用太阳能热水系统进行数据模型计算．医院的热水需求量通过九州的消费原单位进行计算，并采用经验公式对太阳能热水器的实际热水供给量进行计算．结果表明，太阳能热水系统基本上能满足用户的热水需求，与天然气锅炉供热水系统相比，太阳能热水系统能够减少天然气消费1054640立方米，减排2177吨二氧化碳，并且每年能够节省39000美元的碳素税．     

Exploitation of shape memory alloy actuator using resistance feedback control and its development

The relationship between phase transformation and electric re sistivity of Ti-42.6Ni-7Cu SMA was investigated. In the isothermal tensile tests, stress—strain curve shows large hysteresis and nonlinearity, whereas the resistivity—strain curve can be fitted by linearity. The resistivity of SMAs can be determined from the volume fractions of the martensitic and austenitic phas es. This characteristics leads to that the resistance of the SMAs is used as a parameter of strain of SMAs. A SMA actuator using resistance feedback control system was proposed, which can control and retain positioning at any positions without using sensor devices, and the deviation of position of this system was less than 3 μm.     

Adaptive filtering enhances information transmission in visual cortex

Sensory neuroscience seeks to understand how the brain encodes natural environments. However, neural coding has largely been studied using simplified stimuli. In order to assess whether the brain's coding strategy depends on the stimulus ensemble, we apply a new information-theoretic method that allows unbiased calculation of neural filters (receptive fields) from responses to natural scenes or other complex signals with strong multipoint correlations. In the cat primary visual cortex we compare responses to natural inputs with those to noise inputs matched for luminance and contrast. We find that neural filters adaptively change with the input ensemble so as to increase the information carried by the neural response about the filtered stimulus. Adaptation affects the spatial frequency composition of the filter, enhancing sensitivity to under-represented frequencies in agreement with optimal encoding arguments. Adaptation occurs over 40 s to many minutes, longer than most previously reported forms of adaptation.