Positive selection of a gene family during the emergence of humans and African apes

Gene duplication followed by adaptive evolution is one of the primary forces for the emergence of new gene function. Here we describe the recent proliferation, transposition and selection of a 20-kilobase (kb) duplicated segment throughout 15 Mb of the short arm of human chromosome 16. The dispersal of this segment was accompanied by considerable variation in chromosomal-map location and copy number among hominoid species. In humans, we identified a gene family (morpheus) within the duplicated segment. Comparison of putative protein-encoding exons revealed the most extreme case of positive selection among hominoids. The major episode of enhanced amino-acid replacement occurred after the separation of human and great-ape lineages from the orangutan. Positive selection continued to alter amino-acid composition after the divergence of human and chimpanzee lineages. The rapidity and bias for amino-acid-altering nucleotide changes suggest adaptive evolution of the morpheus gene family during the emergence of humans and African apes. Moreover, some genes emerge and evolve very rapidly, generating copies that bear little similarity to their ancestral precursors. Consequently, a small fraction of human genes may not possess discernible orthologues within the genomes of model organisms.     

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in attention circuitry: the role of layer VI neurons of prefrontal cortex

Cholinergic modulation of prefrontal cortex is essential for attention. In essence, it focuses the mind on relevant, transient stimuli in support of goal-directed behavior. The excitation of prefrontal layer VI neurons through nicotinic acetylcholine receptors optimizes local and top-down control of attention. Layer VI of prefrontal cortex is the origin of a dense feedback projection to the thalamus and is one of only a handful of brain regions that express the α5 nicotinic receptor subunit, encoded by the gene chrna5. This accessory nicotinic receptor subunit alters the properties of high-affinity nicotinic receptors in layer VI pyramidal neurons in both development and adulthood. Studies investigating the consequences of genetic deletion of α5, as well as other disruptions to nicotinic receptors, find attention deficits together with altered cholinergic excitation of layer VI neurons and aberrant neuronal morphology. Nicotinic receptors in prefrontal layer VI neurons play an essential role in focusing attention under challenging circumstances. In this regard, they do not act in isolation, but rather in concert with cholinergic receptors in other parts of prefrontal circuitry. This review urges an intensification of focus on the cellular mechanisms and plasticity of prefrontal attention circuitry. Disruptions in attention are one of the greatest contributing factors to disease burden in psychiatric and neurological disorders, and enhancing attention may require different approaches in the normal and disordered prefrontal cortex.     

Homology between Streptomyces genes coding for synthesis of different polyketides used to clone antibiotic biosynthetic genes

Many important antibiotics such as tetracyclines, erythromycin, adriamycin, monensin, rifamycin and avermectins are polyketides. In their biosynthesis, multifunctional synthases catalyse iterated condensation of thio-esters derived from acetate, propionate or butyrate to yield aliphatic chains of varying length and carrying different alkyl substituents. Subsequent modifications, including aromatic or macrolide ring closure or specific methylations or glycosylations, generate further chemical diversity. It has been suggested that, if different polyketide synthases had a common evolutionary origin, cloned DNA coding for one synthase might be used as a hybridization probe for the isolation of others. We show here that this is indeed possible. Study of a range of such synthase genes and their products should help to elucidate what determines the choice and order of condensation of different residues in polyketide assembly, and might yield, by in vitro recombination or mutagenesis, synthase genes capable of producing novel antibiotics. Moreover, because genes for entire antibiotic pathways are usually clustered in Streptomyces, cloned polyketide synthase genes are valuable in giving access to groups of linked biosynthetic genes.     

Greenhouse gas mitigation can reduce sea-ice loss and increase polar bear persistence

On the basis of projected losses of their essential sea-ice habitats, a United States Geological Survey research team concluded in 2007 that two-thirds of the world's polar bears (Ursus maritimus) could disappear by mid-century if business-as-usual greenhouse gas emissions continue. That projection, however, did not consider the possible benefits of greenhouse gas mitigation. A key question is whether temperature increases lead to proportional losses of sea-ice habitat, or whether sea-ice cover crosses a tipping point and irreversibly collapses when temperature reaches a critical threshold. Such a tipping point would mean future greenhouse gas mitigation would confer no conservation benefits to polar bears. Here we show, using a general circulation model, that substantially more sea-ice habitat would be retained if greenhouse gas rise is mitigated. We also show, with Bayesian network model outcomes, that increased habitat retention under greenhouse gas mitigation means that polar bears could persist throughout the century in greater numbers and more areas than in the business-as-usual case. Our general circulation model outcomes did not reveal thresholds leading to irreversible loss of ice; instead, a linear relationship between global mean surface air temperature and sea-ice habitat substantiated the hypothesis that sea-ice thermodynamics can overcome albedo feedbacks proposed to cause sea-ice tipping points. Our outcomes indicate that rapid summer ice losses in models and observations represent increased volatility of a thinning sea-ice cover, rather than tipping-point behaviour. Mitigation-driven Bayesian network outcomes show that previously predicted declines in polar bear distribution and numbers are not unavoidable. Because polar bears are sentinels of the Arctic marine ecosystem and trends in their sea-ice habitats foreshadow future global changes, mitigating greenhouse gas emissions to improve polar bear status would have conservation benefits throughout and beyond the Arctic.     

Initial sequencing and comparative analysis of the mouse genome

The sequence of the mouse genome is a key informational tool for understanding the contents of the human genome and a key experimental tool for biomedical research. Here, we report the results of an international collaboration to produce a high-quality draft sequence of the mouse genome. We also present an initial comparative analysis of the mouse and human genomes, describing some of the insights that can be gleaned from the two sequences. We discuss topics including the analysis of the evolutionary forces shaping the size, structure and sequence of the genomes; the conservation of large-scale synteny across most of the genomes; the much lower extent of sequence orthology covering less than half of the genomes; the proportions of the genomes under selection; the number of protein-coding genes; the expansion of gene families related to reproduction and immunity; the evolution of proteins; and the identification of intraspecies polymorphism.     

用脸谱图对太子河本溪市区段河流沉积物中重金属污染进行评价的研究

本文将沉积学原理及国际上新发展的两种重金属污染评价方法与多变量的图表示法——脸谱图相结合,对太子河本溪市区段河道沉积物中重金属的污染状况及潜在生态危害进行了综合性的评价研究。从脸谱图上可以直观地看出各采样点重金属的污染情况和潜在生态危害程度。从研究结果可以看出,太子河本溪市区段河道沉积物中重金属的污染是很严重的。     

寻找四元域上n维线性空间中n/2维自对偶子空间的方法

本文讨论F4上n维线性空间的k维子空间W，这些子空间都有特定的自同构群(实际上是典型群GLn(F4)的一个子群)，根据群中元素形式的不同可将子空间W分为两类，并对寻找n维空间中形如这两类的n／2维自对偶子空间提供了一种采用降低维数寻找的方法。     

多梯度复杂图像的分割

图像分割是一种重要的图像分析技术,它不仅得到人们广泛的重视和研究,也在实际中得到大量的应用。本文针对一些经典分割算法对多梯度复杂图像分割边缘定位不准确,易受噪声干扰的特点,提出了一种利用图像边缘区域对多梯度复杂图像进行自适应阈值分割的算法。通过对各种算法的比较,本算法抗干扰能力较强,稳定性好,而且完全自动,不需预先设定任何参数。对多种图像的实验表明本文方法十分有效。     

以专业实验室评估为契机积极推进学生素质教育

教育的目的就是为了全面提高人的素质，为适应素质教育的需要，积极推进专业实验室评估势在必行。本文就我院当前形势，结合专业实验室评估的实际工作，对以专业实验室评估为契机积极推进学生素质教育进行了深入的剖析。