Genetic diversity and chloroquine selective sweeps in Plasmodium falciparum

Widespread use of antimalarial agents can profoundly influence the evolution of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Recent selective sweeps for drug-resistant genotypes may have restricted the genetic diversity of this parasite, resembling effects attributed in current debates to a historic population bottleneck. Chloroquine-resistant (CQR) parasites were initially reported about 45 years ago from two foci in southeast Asia and South America, but the number of CQR founder mutations and the impact of chlorquine on parasite genomes worldwide have been difficult to evaluate. Using 342 highly polymorphic microsatellite markers from a genetic map, here we show that the level of genetic diversity varies substantially among different regions of the parasite genome, revealing extensive linkage disequilibrium surrounding the key CQR gene pfcrt and at least four CQR founder events. This disequilibrium and its decay rate in the pfcrt-flanking region are consistent with strong directional selective sweeps occurring over only approximately 20-80 sexual generations, especially a single resistant pfcrt haplotype spreading to very high frequencies throughout most of Asia and Africa. The presence of linkage disequilibrium provides a basis for mapping genes under drug selection in P. falciparum.     

Research on effects of hydrostatic pressure on the dielectric property of Pb(Zn<Subscript>1/3</Subscript>Nb<Subscript>2/3</Subscript>)O<Subscript>3−</Subscript>BaTiO<Subscript>3−</Subscript> PbTiO<Subscript>3</Subscript> relaxor ferroelectric ceramics

The dielectric properties of Pb(Zn1_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃₋ BaTiO₃₋PbTiO₃ relaxor ferroelectric ceramics near the rhombohedral and tetragonal phase boundary were investigated under hydrostatic pressure. It was found that hydrostatic pressure made their phase transition temperature T _c and the peak temperature T _m decreased, and the frequency dispersion and relaxor behavior enhanced. In these disorder systems of composite pervoskite structures, there appeared polar clusters or nanodomains. The unique physical characteristics, which made the relaxor behavior enhanced, is that the correlation length among these nanodomains decreases greatly with the pressure increasing.     

从山西民居观传统居住文化之基本精神

传统民居是传统文化的一种表现形式,对形式的准确把握应站在对文化本质更为透彻理解的基础之上,本文以山西传统民居为例,从“天人合一”的哲学观,血缘与宗法,风水及阴阳理论3个方面论述了传统居住文化的基本精神。     

An amino-acid taste receptor

The sense of taste provides animals with valuable information about the nature and quality of food. Mammals can recognize and respond to a diverse repertoire of chemical entities, including sugars, salts, acids and a wide range of toxic substances. Several amino acids taste sweet or delicious (umami) to humans, and are attractive to rodents and other animals. This is noteworthy because L-amino acids function as the building blocks of proteins, as biosynthetic precursors of many biologically relevant small molecules, and as metabolic fuel. Thus, having a taste pathway dedicated to their detection probably had significant evolutionary implications. Here we identify and characterize a mammalian amino-acid taste receptor. This receptor, T1R1+3, is a heteromer of the taste-specific T1R1 and T1R3 G-protein-coupled receptors. We demonstrate that T1R1 and T1R3 combine to function as a broadly tuned L-amino-acid sensor responding to most of the 20 standard amino acids, but not to their D-enantiomers or other compounds. We also show that sequence differences in T1R receptors within and between species (human and mouse) can significantly influence the selectivity and specificity of taste responses.     

Evidence for ubiquitous strong electron-phonon coupling in high-temperature superconductors

Coupling between electrons and phonons (lattice vibrations) drives the formation of the electron pairs responsible for conventional superconductivity. The lack of direct evidence for electron-phonon coupling in the electron dynamics of the high-transition-temperature superconductors has driven an intensive search for an alternative mechanism. A coupling of an electron with a phonon would result in an abrupt change of its velocity and scattering rate near the phonon energy. Here we use angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to probe electron dynamics-velocity and scattering rate-for three different families of copper oxide superconductors. We see in all of these materials an abrupt change of electron velocity at 50-80 meV, which we cannot explain by any known process other than to invoke coupling with the phonons associated with the movement of the oxygen atoms. This suggests that electron-phonon coupling strongly influences the electron dynamics in the high-temperature superconductors, and must therefore be included in any microscopic theory of superconductivity.     

古耀州瓷着色元素的中子活化分析

运用中子活化分析(NAA)技术,测定耀州瓷釉中29种元素的质量含量,从中选取24种着色元素．通过对比分析,最后确定铁是耀州瓷的着色主元素,证明了考古界“耀州瓷以铁为着色主元素”的说法．     

Design and implementation of WebGIS based on SOAP

0　IntroductionTheWorldWideWebisconsideredasalargedistributedin formationsystemthatprovidesaccesstoshareddataob jects.AsoneofthemostpopularapplicationscurrentlyrunningontheInternet,theWorldWideWebisofanexponentialgrowthinsize,whichresultsinnetworkcongestionandserveroverloading .Inthefieldsofspatialinformationsystems,therehavethesameproblems.Recently ,attentionhasbeenpaidtoefficientintegra tionoftheWebandGIS(GeographicInformationSystem)appli cation .ThisisbecausetheWebhasmanyadvantages,i…     

Formation of the inclusion complex of Orange II with β-Cyclodextrin and its photostability

Inclusion complex of Orange II with β-Cyclodextrin (β-CD) and the anti-photolysis effect under UV-light were investigated. The molar ratio of inclusion complex of β-Cyclodextrin and Orange II is 1∶1. The formation constantK = 1.236×10³ L/mol was determined by the UV and Fluorescence spectra respectively, which was quite in accordance with the calculation with a modified Benesi-Hildbrand equation. The inclusion complex was characterized by the IR spectra and the molar ratio of inclusion complex is 1∶1 too. The formation constantK = 1.266×10³ L/mol was determined by¹H NMR analysis and was nearly the same by UV and fluorescence spectra. The photocatalytic decolorization rate of Orange II solutions containing β-CD and TiO₂ was smaller by 51.9% than that of the Orange II solutions only containing TiO₂, while in the case of direct photolysis of Orange II solutions, β-CD can lower the photolysis rate by 48.1% under UV-light. This result indicates β-CD can inhibit the photolysis and photocatalytic decolorization of Orange II under UV-light. The β-CD inclusion complex was found to be persistent to UV-light photolysis. Foundation item: Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (20177017) Biography: Lu Ping (1958), male. Associate professor, research direction: environmental photochemistry.     

CUL-4 ubiquitin ligase maintains genome stability by restraining DNA-replication licensing

To maintain genome stability, DNA replication is strictly regulated to occur only once per cell cycle. In eukaryotes, the presence of 'licensing proteins' at replication origins during the G1 cell-cycle phase allows the formation of the pre-replicative complex. The removal of licensing proteins from chromatin during the S phase ensures that origins fire only once per cell cycle. Here we show that the CUL-4 ubiquitin ligase temporally restricts DNA-replication licensing in Caenorhabditis elegans. Inactivation of CUL-4 causes massive DNA re-replication, producing cells with up to 100C DNA content. The C. elegans orthologue of the replication-licensing factor Cdt1 (refs 2, 3) is required for DNA replication. C. elegans CDT-1 is present in G1-phase nuclei but disappears as cells enter S phase. In cells lacking CUL-4, CDT-1 levels fail to decrease during S phase and instead remain constant in the re-replicating cells. Removal of one genomic copy of cdt-1 suppresses the cul-4 re-replication phenotype. We propose that CUL-4 prevents aberrant re-initiation of DNA replication, at least in part, by facilitating the degradation of CDT-1.     

Study of apolipoprotein E genetic polymorphism in patients with atherosclerotic cerebral infarction

Objective: To explore the frequency and significance of ApoE gene polymorphisms in Chinese patients with atherosclerotic cerebral infarction (ACI). Methods: Polymerase chain reaction and gene sequencing, single nucleotide polymorphisms of ApoE gene were used to analyze 33 cases of patients with ACI and 35 controls. Results: The frequencies of ApoE gene single nucleotide polymorphisms 465C/G, 462C/G and 451delC in the ACI group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P<0.05). The prevalence of polymorphism 486G/T in the control group was significantly higher than that in the ACI group (P=0.011). Conclusions: 465C/G,462C/G and 451delC polymorphisms might be associated with ACI.486GT allele might have protective effect on the pathogenesis of ACI.