Body plan innovation in treehoppers through the evolution of an extra wing-like appendage

Body plans, which characterize the anatomical organization of animal groups of high taxonomic rank, often evolve by the reduction or loss of appendages (limbs in vertebrates and legs and wings in insects, for example). In contrast, the addition of new features is extremely rare and is thought to be heavily constrained, although the nature of the constraints remains elusive. Here we show that the treehopper (Membracidae) 'helmet' is actually an appendage, a wing serial homologue on the first thoracic segment. This innovation in the insect body plan is an unprecedented situation in 250 Myr of insect evolution. We provide evidence suggesting that the helmet arose by escaping the ancestral repression of wing formation imparted by a member of the Hox gene family, which sculpts the number and pattern of appendages along the body axis. Moreover, we propose that the exceptional morphological diversification of the helmet was possible because, in contrast to the wings, it escaped the stringent functional requirements imposed by flight. This example illustrates how complex morphological structures can arise by the expression of ancestral developmental potentials and fuel the morphological diversification of an evolutionary lineage.     

Primitive agriculture in a social amoeba

Agriculture has been a large part of the ecological success of humans. A handful of animals, notably the fungus-growing ants, termites and ambrosia beetles, have advanced agriculture that involves dispersal and seeding of food propagules, cultivation of the crop and sustainable harvesting. More primitive examples, which could be called husbandry because they involve fewer adaptations, include marine snails farming intertidal fungi and damselfish farming algae. Recent work has shown that microorganisms are surprisingly like animals in having sophisticated behaviours such as cooperation, communication and recognition, as well as many kinds of symbiosis. Here we show that the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum has a primitive farming symbiosis that includes dispersal and prudent harvesting of the crop. About one-third of wild-collected clones engage in husbandry of bacteria. Instead of consuming all bacteria in their patch, they stop feeding early and incorporate bacteria into their fruiting bodies. They then carry bacteria during spore dispersal and can seed a new food crop, which is a major advantage if edible bacteria are lacking at the new site. However, if they arrive at sites already containing appropriate bacteria, the costs of early feeding cessation are not compensated for, which may account for the dichotomous nature of this farming symbiosis. The striking convergent evolution between bacterial husbandry in social amoebas and fungus farming in social insects makes sense because multigenerational benefits of farming go to already established kin groups.     

Abnormal mast cells in mice deficient in a heparin-synthesizing enzyme.

Heparin is a sulphated polysaccharide, synthesized exclusively by connective-tissue-type mast cells and stored in the secretory granules in complex with histamine and various mast-cell proteases. Although heparin has long been used as an antithrombotic drug, endogenous heparin is not present in the blood, so it cannot have a physiological role in regulating blood coagulation. The biosynthesis of heparin involves a series of enzymatic reactions, including sulphation at various positions. The initial modification step, catalysed by the enzyme glucosaminyl N-deacetylase/N-sulphotransferase-2, NDST-2, is essential for the subsequent reactions. Here we report that mice carrying a targeted disruption of the gene encoding NDST-2 are unable to synthesize sulphated heparin. These NDST-2-deficient mice are viable and fertile but have fewer connective-tissue-type mast cells; these cells have an altered morphology and contain severely reduced amounts of histamine and mast-cell proteases. Our results indicate that one site of physiological action for heparin could be inside connective-tissue-type mast cells, where its absence results in severe defects in the secretory granules.     

Leptin reverses insulin resistance and diabetes mellitus in mice with congenital lipodystrophy.

Congenital generalized lipodystrophy (CGL) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterized by a paucity of adipose (fat) tissue which is evident at birth and is accompanied by a severe resistance to insulin, leading to hyperinsulinaemia, hyperglycaemia and enlarged fatty liver. We have developed a mouse model that mimics these features of CGL: the syndrome occurs in transgenic mice expressing a truncated version of a nuclear protein known as nSREBP-1c (for sterol-regulatory-element-binding protein-1c) under the control of the adipose-specific aP2 enhancer. Adipose tissue from these mice was markedly deficient in messenger RNAs encoding several fat-specific proteins, including leptin, a fat-derived hormone that regulates food intake and energy metabolism. Here we show that insulin resistance in our lipodystrophic mice can be overcome by a continuous systemic infusion of low doses of recombinant leptin, an effect that is not mimicked by chronic food restriction. Our results support the idea that leptin modulates insulin sensitivity and glucose disposal independently of its effect on food intake, and that leptin deficiency accounts for the insulin resistance found in CGL.     

基于WWW信息系统的连接技术及其一种实现

对两层客户机／服务器（ｃｌｉｅｎｔ／ｓｅｒｖｅｒ）结构与客户机／服务器／服务器３ 层体系结构进行了比较和分析,讨论了目前采用 Ｗ Ｗ Ｗ 技术的信息系统的一些常用连接技术,重点阐述了 Ｃｏｌｄ Ｆｕｓｉｏｎ这样一种简捷、高效的连接技术,并用 Ｃｏｌｄ Ｆｕｓｉｏｎ 实现了一个 Ｗ Ｗ Ｗ 上的应用系统     

浅谈新型墙体材料——煤矸石空心砖

煤矸石空心砖是一种新型环保墙体材料，符合国家及山西省出台的限制生产和使用实心黏土砖，鼓励发展新型建筑材料的政策。利用煤矸石制造的空心砖可以作为保温材料，既可节约建筑能耗，又可节约土地资源，减少环境污染。煤矸石空心砖同黏土实心砖相比，具有高强、轻质、隔音、隔热、保温、防震等优点，市场前景良好。     

BOD-DO模型参数估计的一种新方法及其意义

在水库水质模型中,BOD-DO浓度的经验求解公式用到的数据太多,且数据不易获取,在实际应用中有局限,所以本文从多元线性回归出发,给出了模型参数估计的一种实用方法。     

浅议中小企业的财务管理

财务管理在企业经营管理决策中起着重要的作用，分析了目前中小企业财务管理中存在的问题，从投资模式、管理控制和人员素质等3方面提出了解决这些问题的对策。     

世界优秀男子110 m栏运动员成绩变化分析

采用文献资料调查、数理统计等科研方法, 对1997年世界田径锦标赛男子110 m栏前 7 名运动员的成绩进行相关分析, 揭示当今男子110 m栏全程速度变化的规律和特点, 并对近 4 年来世界优秀男子 110 m栏运动员与我国男子110 m栏运动员的成绩进行对比分析, 希望能对我国男子110 m栏的训练提供一些新的参考和启示.     

科技期刊审稿人应维护现有学术范例还是引导未来科技发展

本刊2005年第5期发表的冯长根教授“学术期刊编辑应该承担起科技创新的历史责任”一文,在国内外引起了反响。远在美国的一位物理学家法瑞斯·E·威廉斯先生专门发来电子邮件对此问题进行讨论,并发表了自己的意见。本刊特将此信翻译发表,以期引起更多读者关注并参与讨论,促使我国科技期刊在科技创新中发挥更大的作用。