Endothelial tubes assemble from intracellular vacuoles in vivo

The formation of epithelial tubes is crucial for the proper development of many different tissues and organs, and occurs by means of a variety of different mechanisms. Morphogenesis of seamless, properly patterned endothelial tubes is essential for the development of a functional vertebrate circulatory system, but the mechanism of vascular lumenization in vivo remains unclear. Evidence dating back more than 100 years has hinted at an important function for endothelial vacuoles in lumen formation. More than 25 years ago, in some of the first endothelial cell culture experiments in vitro, Folkman and Haudenschild described "longitudinal vacuoles" that "appeared to be extruded and connected from one cell to the next", observations confirmed and extended by later studies in vitro showing that intracellular vacuoles arise from integrin-dependent and cdc42/Rac1-dependent pinocytic events downstream of integrin-extracellular-matrix signalling interactions. Despite compelling data supporting a model for the assembly of endothelial tubes in vitro through the formation and fusion of vacuoles, conclusive evidence in vivo has been lacking, primarily because of difficulties associated with imaging the dynamics of subcellular endothelial vacuoles deep within living animals. Here we use high-resolution time-lapse two-photon imaging of transgenic zebrafish to examine how endothelial tubes assemble in vivo, comparing our results with time-lapse imaging of human endothelial-cell tube formation in three-dimensional collagen matrices in vitro. Our results provide strong support for a model in which the formation and intracellular and intercellular fusion of endothelial vacuoles drives vascular lumen formation.     

高斯杂波中距离扩展目标的模糊CFAR检测

为提高高分辨雷达的检测性能,提出了一种高斯杂波背景下距离扩展目标的模糊检测方法。该方法采用模糊恒虚警率(constant false alarm rate, CFAR)检测器代替传统的二进制CFAR检测器,将距离单元值转换成映射到虚警空间的模糊隶属函数值,然后采用模糊积累准则进行积累,得到检测统计量。研究了模糊代数积、模糊代数和两种积累准则,推导出这两种方法虚警概率的数学解析式。仿真结果表明,高斯杂波背景下模糊代数积积累较双门限二进制积累可获得近2 dB的性能改善。同时,模糊检测方法只采用单个检测门限,具有易于调节的优点。     

Event-horizon-scale structure in the supermassive black hole candidate at the Galactic Centre

The cores of most galaxies are thought to harbour supermassive black holes, which power galactic nuclei by converting the gravitational energy of accreting matter into radiation. Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), the compact source of radio, infrared and X-ray emission at the centre of the Milky Way, is the closest example of this phenomenon, with an estimated black hole mass that is 4,000,000 times that of the Sun. A long-standing astronomical goal is to resolve structures in the innermost accretion flow surrounding Sgr A*, where strong gravitational fields will distort the appearance of radiation emitted near the black hole. Radio observations at wavelengths of 3.5 mm and 7 mm have detected intrinsic structure in Sgr A*, but the spatial resolution of observations at these wavelengths is limited by interstellar scattering. Here we report observations at a wavelength of 1.3 mm that set a size of 37(+16)(-10) microarcseconds on the intrinsic diameter of Sgr A*. This is less than the expected apparent size of the event horizon of the presumed black hole, suggesting that the bulk of Sgr A* emission may not be centred on the black hole, but arises in the surrounding accretion flow.     

Isolation of cDNA clones encoding T cell-specific membrane-associated proteins

Of 10 distinct cloned DNA copies of mRNAs expressed in T lymphocytes but not in B lymphocytes and associated with membrane-bound polysomes, one hybridizes to a region of the genome that has rearranged in a T-cell lymphoma and several T-cell hybridomas. These characteristics suggest that it encodes one chain of the elusive antigen receptor on the surface of T lymphocytes.     

Pr3+/Tm3+共掺LaF3纳米体系中能量转移效应的光谱学研究

在较低的温度下用水热法制备了分散性良好的Pr³⁺/Tm³⁺共掺的LaF₃纳米颗粒. X射线衍射、原子力显微镜和透射电子显微镜等技术对纳米颗粒进行表征的结果显示, 纳米颗粒呈六方相, 平均粒径为30 nm. 通过激光激发LaF3:Pr³⁺/Tm³⁺共掺纳米体系中的Tm3+离子, 实现了Tm³⁺离子到Pr³⁺离子的能量转移, 观测到了因此而产生的荧光辐射. 运用光谱学方法对共掺纳米体系的荧光辐射性质进行了研究分析, 并对相应的能量转移机理进行了探讨.     

直波导耦合输出AlGaInAs多量子阱环形激光器研究

采用InP基InAlGaAs多量子阱激光器外延材料结构, 利用感应耦合等离子体(ICP)干法刻蚀技术和聚酰亚胺介质平坦化工艺, 研制了多量子阱半导体环形激光器样品. 该器件通过加正偏压的环形结构谐振腔实现光激射, 然后借助紧邻的直线波导耦合将光信号输出. 环形谐振腔直径为700 μm, 波导宽度为3 μm. 用光纤对准直线波导端口耦合测试了环形激光器的光功率-电流特性曲线和激射光谱, 其阈值电流为120 mA, 在注入电流160 mA时从直波导耦合输出得到激射光谱的中心波长为1602 nm, 并结合光功率-电流特性曲线对环形激光器中的工作模式进行了初步分析.     

中华绒螯蟹首次排卵后卵巢发育的组织学研究

利用组织切片技术,结合外观特征,在光学水平对江苏南通地区第一次排卵后18天内（即卵巢的二次发育）的中华绒螯蟹的卵巢发育进行组织学和细胞学的观察研究．本实验可以观察到卵细胞发育的四个不同时期：初级卵母细胞小生长期、初级卵母细胞大生长期、成熟期以及退化时期的卵细胞．排卵后的卵巢在营养贫乏的情况下,出现直接退化现象;而在营养丰富的情况下,处于大生长前期的卵细胞则会迅速生长,为二次排卵做好准备．     

Interplay of magnetism and high-Tc superconductivity at individual Ni impurity atoms in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta.

Magnetic interactions and magnetic impurities are destructive to superconductivity in conventional superconductors. By contrast, in some unconventional macroscopic quantum systems (such as superfluid 3He and superconducting UGe2), the superconductivity (or superfluidity) is actually mediated by magnetic interactions. A magnetic mechanism has also been proposed for high-temperature superconductivity. Within this context, the fact that magnetic Ni impurity atoms have a weaker effect on superconductivity than non-magnetic Zn atoms in the high-Tc superconductors has been put forward as evidence supporting a magnetic mechanism. Here we use scanning tunnelling microscopy to determine directly the influence of individual Ni atoms on the local electronic structure of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta. At each Ni site we observe two d-wave impurity states of apparently opposite spin polarization, whose existence indicates that Ni retains a magnetic moment in the superconducting state. However, analysis of the impurity-state energies shows that quasiparticle scattering at Ni is predominantly non-magnetic. Furthermore, we show that the superconducting energy gap and correlations are unimpaired at Ni. This is in strong contrast to the effects of non-magnetic Zn impurities, which locally destroy superconductivity. These results are consistent with predictions for impurity atom phenomena derived from a magnetic mechanism.     

Complete genome sequence of a multiple drug resistant Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi CT18.

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (S. typhi) is the aetiological agent of typhoid fever, a serious invasive bacterial disease of humans with an annual global burden of approximately 16 million cases, leading to 600,000 fatalities. Many S. enterica serovars actively invade the mucosal surface of the intestine but are normally contained in healthy individuals by the local immune defence mechanisms. However, S. typhi has evolved the ability to spread to the deeper tissues of humans, including liver, spleen and bone marrow. Here we have sequenced the 4,809,037-base pair (bp) genome of a S. typhi (CT18) that is resistant to multiple drugs, revealing the presence of hundreds of insertions and deletions compared with the Escherichia coli genome, ranging in size from single genes to large islands. Notably, the genome sequence identifies over two hundred pseudogenes, several corresponding to genes that are known to contribute to virulence in Salmonella typhimurium. This genetic degradation may contribute to the human-restricted host range for S. typhi. CT18 harbours a 218,150-bp multiple-drug-resistance incH1 plasmid (pHCM1), and a 106,516-bp cryptic plasmid (pHCM2), which shows recent common ancestry with a virulence plasmid of Yersinia pestis.