Metal-ion coordination by U6 small nuclear RNA contributes to catalysis in the spliceosome

Introns are removed from nuclear messenger RNA precursors through two sequential phospho-transesterification reactions in a dynamic RNA-protein complex called the spliceosome. But whether splicing is catalysed by small nuclear RNAs in the spliceosome is unresolved. As the spliceosome is a metalloenzyme, it is important to determine whether snRNAs coordinate catalytic metals. Here we show that yeast U6 snRNA coordinates a metal ion that is required for the catalytic activity of the spliceosome. With Mg2+, U6 snRNA with a sulphur substitution for the pro-Rp or pro-Sp non-bridging phosphoryl oxygen of nucleotide U80 reconstitutes a fully assembled yet catalytically inactive spliceosome. Adding a thiophilic ion such as Mn2+ allows the first transesterification reaction to occur in the U6/sU80(Sp)- but not the U6/sU80(Rp)-reconstituted spliceosome. Mg2+ competitively inhibits the Mn2+-rescued reaction, indicating that the metal-binding site at U6/U80 exists in the wild-type spliceosome and that the site changes its metal requirement for activity in the Sp spliceosome. Thus, U6 snRNA contributes to pre-messenger RNA splicing through metal-ion coordination, which is consistent with RNA catalysis by the spliceosome.     

An ISS-OFDM based adaptive filtering mechanism for interference suppression in wireless multi-hop communication network

The negative impact on communication performance in wireless multi-hop communication net-work caused by limited bandwidth,high bit eror rate （BER）,fading,noise and interference is alleviated by an adaptive filtering game based on frequency subbands selection and predetemined threshold.Such threshold is being obtained in Gaussian and multipath fading channel according to the frequency-matching principle and BER performance.The dynamic selection of subbands will obtain high use efficiency without the help of frequency hopping,and propound a new thought to improve band limited communication for wireless multi-hop communication network.The effectiveness of the adaptive filtering method has been verified by interleaving spread spectrum orthogonal frequency division multiplexing （ISS-OFDM） in different interference conditions,and the simulating results based on network simulator 2 （NS2） indicate that system BER can be improved greatly.     

DNMT3L connects unmethylated lysine 4 of histone H3 to de novo methylation of DNA

Mammals use DNA methylation for the heritable silencing of retrotransposons and imprinted genes and for the inactivation of the X chromosome in females. The establishment of patterns of DNA methylation during gametogenesis depends in part on DNMT3L, an enzymatically inactive regulatory factor that is related in sequence to the DNA methyltransferases DNMT3A and DNMT3B. The main proteins that interact in vivo with the product of an epitope-tagged allele of the endogenous Dnmt3L gene were identified by mass spectrometry as DNMT3A2, DNMT3B and the four core histones. Peptide interaction assays showed that DNMT3L specifically interacts with the extreme amino terminus of histone H3; this interaction was strongly inhibited by methylation at lysine 4 of histone H3 but was insensitive to modifications at other positions. Crystallographic studies of human DNMT3L showed that the protein has a carboxy-terminal methyltransferase-like domain and an N-terminal cysteine-rich domain. Cocrystallization of DNMT3L with the tail of histone H3 revealed that the tail bound to the cysteine-rich domain of DNMT3L, and substitution of key residues in the binding site eliminated the H3 tail-DNMT3L interaction. These data indicate that DNMT3L recognizes histone H3 tails that are unmethylated at lysine 4 and induces de novo DNA methylation by recruitment or activation of DNMT3A2.     

C5L2 is critical for the biological activities of the anaphylatoxins C5a and C3a

Complement-derived anaphylatoxins regulate immune and inflammatory responses through G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR)-mediated signalling. C5L2 (also known as GPR77) is a relatively new GPCR thought to be a non-signalling receptor binding to C5a, on the basis of sequence information and experimental evidence. Here we show, using gene targeting, that C5L2 is required to facilitate C5a signalling in neutrophils, macrophages and fibroblasts in vitro. Deficiency of C5L2 results in reduced inflammatory cell infiltration, suggesting that C5L2 is critical for optimal C5a-mediated cell infiltration in certain in vivo settings. C5L2 is also involved in optimizing C3a-induced signals. Furthermore, like mice incapable of C3a/complement 3a receptor (C3aR) signalling, C5L2-deficient mice are hypersensitive to lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced septic shock, show reduced ovalbumin (OVA)-induced airway hyper-responsiveness and inflammation, and are mildly delayed in haematopoietic cell regeneration after gamma-irradiation. Our data indicate that C5L2 can function as a positive modulator for both C5a- and C3a-anaphylatoxin-induced responses.     

Improvements and New Evaluation of NIM4 Cesium Fountain Clock and Construction of NIM5 Clock in 2006

The NIM４cesium fountain clock has been operating stably and sub-continually since Aug．２００３．In this paper we present improvements on NIM４in２００５－２００６and the most recent evaluation for its shifts with an uncertainty of５E-１５．A ２２０days comparison between NIM４and GPS showed an agreement offrequency ２E-１４．Finally the construction of a NIM５transportable cesium fountain clock is briefly reported．     

ω_o phase precipitation in annealed high Nb containing TiAl alloys

The ordered ω phases in high Nb containing Ti Al(Nb-Ti Al) alloys have been garnering increasing attention in the recent years. However, the investigations on the Nb dependence on the ωoprecipitation are scarce. In this study, the effect of Nb content on the ωoprecipitation in high Nb(6–10 at%) containing Ti Al alloys after long-time annealing at 850 1C has been studied. The results show that small ordered ω particles in the retained βophase cannot be discerned under scanning electron microscope(SEM) but can be observed using transmission electron microscopy(TEM). Although the Nb segregation can be eliminated after the homogenization heat treatment, the ωophase precipitated in all the alloys studied after annealing at 850 1C. TEM examination reveals that the orientation relationship between the ωoand α2phases can be derived as: [0001]ωo//[1120]α2;(1120)ωo//(0001)α2, which indicates that the ωophase is directly transformed from the parent α2phase. Small γ particles are also observed within the ωoareas. The α2-ωot γ decomposition process is expected during annealing. It is concluded that ωophase is an equilibrium phase in high Nb-Ti Al alloys at 850 1C.     

Research progress in interface modification and thermal conduction behavior of diamond/metal composites

Diamond/metal composites are widely used in aerospace and electronic packaging fields due to their outstanding high thermal conductivity and low expansion. However, the difference in chemical properties leads to interface incompatibility between diamond and metal,which has a considerable impact on the performance of the composites. To improve the interface compatibility between diamond and metal, it is necessary to modify the interface of composites. This paper reviews the experimental research ...     

Links between erosion, runoff variability and seismicity in the Taiwan orogen

The erosion of mountain belts controls their topographic and structural evolution and is the main source of sediment delivered to the oceans. Mountain erosion rates have been estimated from current relief and precipitation, but a more complete evaluation of the controls on erosion rates requires detailed measurements across a range of timescales. Here we report erosion rates in the Taiwan mountains estimated from modern river sediment loads, Holocene river incision and thermochronometry on a million-year scale. Estimated erosion rates within the actively deforming mountains are high (3-6 mm yr(-1)) on all timescales, but the pattern of erosion has changed over time in response to the migration of localized tectonic deformation. Modern, decadal-scale erosion rates correlate with historical seismicity and storm-driven runoff variability. The highest erosion rates are found where rapid deformation, high storm frequency and weak substrates coincide, despite low topographic relief.     

The combined effects of the ENSO and the Arctic Oscillation on the winter climate anomalies in East Asia

With the warm/cold phases of the El Ni o and Southern Oscillation (ENSO) as a background, the impacts of monthly variation in the Arctic Oscillation (AO) on the winter climate anomalies in East Asia are studied with the NCEP/DOE Reanalysis 2 data and the Chinese station data regarding temperature and rainfall. The combined effects of ENSO and the AO indicate that the winter climate anomalies are mainly influenced by the AO in northern China and the ENSO in southern China, when an El Ni o couples with a negative AO month or a La Ni a couples with a positive AO month. These climate anomalies in China are consistent with the mechanisms proposed in previous studies. However, most of China presents a different pattern of climate anomalies if an El Ni o couples with a positive AO month or a La Ni a couples with a negative AO month, with the exception of the temperature anomalies in northern China, which are still affected dominantly by the AO. Further analysis suggests that the causes are attributed to the differences in both the stratosphere-troposphere interaction and the extratropics-tropics interaction. In the former cases, zonal symmetric circulation prevails in the winter and the extratropics-tropics interaction is weakened. Thus, the influences of the ENSO and the AO on the East Asian climate mainly present linear combination effects. On the contrary, an annular mode of atmospheric circulation is not favored in the latter cases and the extratropics-tropics interaction is strong. Hence, the combined effects of the ENSO and the AO on the winter climate in East Asia present nonlinear characteristics.