Target mimicry provides a new mechanism for regulation of microRNA activity

MicroRNAs (miRNA) regulate key aspects of development and physiology in animals and plants. These regulatory RNAs act as guides of effector complexes to recognize specific mRNA sequences based on sequence complementarity, resulting in translational repression or site-specific cleavage. In plants, most miRNA targets are cleaved and show almost perfect complementarity with the miRNAs around the cleavage site. Here, we examined the non-protein coding gene IPS1 (INDUCED BY PHOSPHATE STARVATION 1) from Arabidopsis thaliana. IPS1 contains a motif with sequence complementarity to the phosphate (Pi) starvation-induced miRNA miR-399, but the pairing is interrupted by a mismatched loop at the expected miRNA cleavage site. We show that IPS1 RNA is not cleaved but instead sequesters miR-399. Thus, IPS1 overexpression results in increased accumulation of the miR-399 target PHO2 mRNA and, concomitantly, in reduced shoot Pi content. Engineering of IPS1 to be cleavable abolishes its inhibitory activity on miR-399. We coin the term 'target mimicry' to define this mechanism of inhibition of miRNA activity. Target mimicry can be generalized beyond the control of Pi homeostasis, as demonstrated using artificial target mimics.     

Involvement of small Ras GTPases and their effectors in chronic renal disease

The mechanisms involved in the development of renal fibrosis are poorly understood. Small Ras GTPases control cell proliferation, differentiation, cellular growth and apoptosis, with cell-specific expression in the kidney. Cytokines, high glucose medium or advanced glycation end-products activate Ras in different renal cells. Increased Ras activation has been found in experimental tubulointerstitial fibrosis. Transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) and Ras signalling pathways are close related: TGF-β1 overcomes Ras mitogenic effects, and Ras counteracts TGF-β signalling. However, Ras activation is also an intracellular signal transduction point for several molecules (e.g. TGF-β1) involved in kidney damage. Ras isoforms play different roles in regulating extracellular matrix synthesis in fibroblasts and mesangial cells. These data give evidence for a role for Ras in renal fibrosis, but no reviews are available on the role of p21 Ras in this process. Thus, our goal is to review the role of Ras activation and signalling in renal fibrosis. Received 7 June 2007; received after revision 17 September 2007; accepted 1 October 2007     

基于双向长短时记忆神经网络的步态时空参数脑肌电解码方法

针对脑电(EEG)信号对连续步态轨迹解码结果与实际轨迹相关性低的问题,提出一种基于双向长短时记忆(BiLSTM)神经网络的步态参数解码方法。首先,构建基于双向长短时记忆神经网络的步态时空参数解码模型,根据脑肌电信号特性设计解码模型的超参数;其次,同步采集脑电、下肢运动相关肌肉的表面肌电信号(sEMG)和下肢关节运动信号,并对脑电和表面肌电信号的步态相关特征进行分析;然后,以多通道脑电和下肢运动相关表面肌电信号作为解码模型的输入,自动提取脑肌电融合信号中步态相关特征并构建膝踝关节运动轨迹与特征之间的非线性回归模型;最后,以多通道脑电作为解码模型的输入,构建步态相关脑电信号和表面肌电信号之间的非线性回归模型。实验结果表明：所提方法与传统支持向量机方法相比,对踝关节解码轨迹与实测轨迹形状相似性Pearson相关系数提高了0.12;与单独采用脑电、表面肌电信号和脑肌电信号平均绝对值特征融合信号进行解码方法相比,对踝关节解码轨迹与实测轨迹形状相似性Pearson相关系数分别提高了0.81、0.19和0.63。该方法可实现从脑电信号中对部分表面肌电信号波形的解码,解码波形和实测波形的平均Pears...     

微量硼对形变TiAl

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Anisotropy and Corotation of Galactic Cosmic Rays

Based on some 40 billion cosmic ray events collected from 1997 to 2005 by the Tibet Air Shower Array experiment (a major scientific collaboration between China and Japan) operating at the YangBaJing Cosmic Ray Observatory (90.522 E, 30. 102 N; 4300 m above sea level) near Lhasa in Tibet, a two-dimensiondl cosmic-ray intensity map in the sky was obtained with very high directional granularity and unprecedented precision in intensity at a level of 10-4.     

The earliest dromaeosaurid theropod from South America

The evolutionary history of Maniraptora, the clade of carnivorous dinosaurs that includes birds and the sickle-clawed Dromaeosauridae, has hitherto been largely restricted to Late Jurassic and Cretaceous deposits on northern continents. The stunning Early Cretaceous diversity of maniraptorans from Liaoning, China, coupled with a longevity implied by derived Late Jurassic forms such as Archaeopteryx, pushes the origins of maniraptoran lineages back to Pangaean times and engenders the possibility that such lineages existed in Gondwana. A few intriguing, but incomplete, maniraptoran specimens have been reported from South America, Africa and Madagascar. Their affinities remain contested, however, and they have been interpreted as biogeographic anomalies relative to other faunal components of these land-masses. Here we describe a near-complete, small dromaeosaurid that is both the most complete and the earliest member of the Maniraptora from South America, and which provides new evidence for a unique Gondwanan lineage of Dromaeosauridae with an origin predating the separation between northern and southern landmasses.     

Genomic sequence of the pathogenic and allergenic filamentous fungus Aspergillus fumigatus

Aspergillus fumigatus is exceptional among microorganisms in being both a primary and opportunistic pathogen as well as a major allergen. Its conidia production is prolific, and so human respiratory tract exposure is almost constant. A. fumigatus is isolated from human habitats and vegetable compost heaps. In immunocompromised individuals, the incidence of invasive infection can be as high as 50% and the mortality rate is often about 50% (ref. 2). The interaction of A. fumigatus and other airborne fungi with the immune system is increasingly linked to severe asthma and sinusitis. Although the burden of invasive disease caused by A. fumigatus is substantial, the basic biology of the organism is mostly obscure. Here we show the complete 29.4-megabase genome sequence of the clinical isolate Af293, which consists of eight chromosomes containing 9,926 predicted genes. Microarray analysis revealed temperature-dependent expression of distinct sets of genes, as well as 700 A. fumigatus genes not present or significantly diverged in the closely related sexual species Neosartorya fischeri, many of which may have roles in the pathogenicity phenotype. The Af293 genome sequence provides an unparalleled resource for the future understanding of this remarkable fungus.