深圳湾近30年主要景观类型之演变

将深圳特区城市化过程划分为城市化初期、发展期、加速期和后期4个阶段,借助不同时期的遥感图像,包括1979年的MSS,1989、1998、2003、2009的TM,采用景观分类、景观转移和景观指数分析等一系列技术方法,分析了深圳湾地区基围、红树林和滩涂3种湿地景观类型的动态特征变化。结果表明:①深圳湾景观类型丰富,有较高多样性,但不同类型所占面积差异较大。人为干扰是深圳湾景观格局和景观类型发生改变的主要因素,围垦填海和城市建设严重破坏了深圳湾滨海湿地,海岸线不断向浅海延伸。②从1979年至2009年的30年间,研究区的城市建成区面积从508.95 hm2增加到2 072.52 hm2,最大斑块面积指数从2.94%增加到17.55%;③基围景观受人为干扰最严重,其面积在城市化初期表现为增长的趋势,1989年在景观中所占的比例达到了最高峰时的7.72%,此后城市化速度的加快使得基围景观逐渐演变为建成区或其他景观类型,且斑块形状趋于规则,由非正方形的形状趋于偏向正方形。在城市化的后两个阶段,基围景观发生转入和转出的斑块数量都很少,主要分布在进行了几次大规模围海工程的南山区;④城市化的前两个阶段红树林总面积持续减少,1998年后开始恢复增长,面积由52.65 hm2增加到2009年的81 hm2。景观指数分析表明,红树林景观没有趋于破碎化,反而形成了较大的景观斑块,景观连通性增加,保护区的建立对红树林的保护起着重要作用;⑤滩涂景观在过去30年间呈现较大幅度的波动和反复性,总的来说,面积从1979年的634.5 hm2减少至2009年的377.28 hm2,景观趋于破碎化,稳定性下降。     

我国物流企业生产效率发展分析

为分析我国物流企业生产效率的发展状况, 利用DEA CCR模型和Window Analysis技术对我国18家物流企业在2001--2006年间的生产效率进行发展分析.通过分析发现: 1) 我国物流市场缺乏有效的市场淘汰机制,物流企业生产效率的个体差异显著; 2)我国港口经营类企业的平均生产效率高于运输仓储类企业的平均生产效率;3) 我国物流企业整体生产效率水平较低,但在所研究的时间内呈稳定且上升的发展状态.     

Recapitulation of premature ageing with iPSCs from Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome

Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS) is a rare and fatal human premature ageing disease, characterized by premature arteriosclerosis and degeneration of vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs). HGPS is caused by a single point mutation in the lamin A (LMNA) gene, resulting in the generation of progerin, a truncated splicing mutant of lamin A. Accumulation of progerin leads to various ageing-associated nuclear defects including disorganization of nuclear lamina and loss of heterochromatin. Here we report the generation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from fibroblasts obtained from patients with HGPS. HGPS-iPSCs show absence of progerin, and more importantly, lack the nuclear envelope and epigenetic alterations normally associated with premature ageing. Upon differentiation of HGPS-iPSCs, progerin and its ageing-associated phenotypic consequences are restored. Specifically, directed differentiation of HGPS-iPSCs to SMCs leads to the appearance of premature senescence phenotypes associated with vascular ageing. Additionally, our studies identify DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit (DNAPKcs, also known as PRKDC) as a downstream target of progerin. The absence of nuclear DNAPK holoenzyme correlates with premature as well as physiological ageing. Because progerin also accumulates during physiological ageing, our results provide an in vitro iPSC-based model to study the pathogenesis of human premature and physiological vascular ageing.     

A simple interspike interval analyzer for study of neuronal spike trains.

A simple, low cost interspike interval analyzer for the analysis of trains of nerve impulses is described. The analyzer is built with readily available integrated circuits and has been used to analyze spike trains in the lateral vestibular nucleus of cats.     

Genome sequence of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum

The parasite Plasmodium falciparum is responsible for hundreds of millions of cases of malaria, and kills more than one million African children annually. Here we report an analysis of the genome sequence of P. falciparum clone 3D7. The 23-megabase nuclear genome consists of 14 chromosomes, encodes about 5,300 genes, and is the most (A + T)-rich genome sequenced to date. Genes involved in antigenic variation are concentrated in the subtelomeric regions of the chromosomes. Compared to the genomes of free-living eukaryotic microbes, the genome of this intracellular parasite encodes fewer enzymes and transporters, but a large proportion of genes are devoted to immune evasion and host-parasite interactions. Many nuclear-encoded proteins are targeted to the apicoplast, an organelle involved in fatty-acid and isoprenoid metabolism. The genome sequence provides the foundation for future studies of this organism, and is being exploited in the search for new drugs and vaccines to fight malaria.     

Sequence of Plasmodium falciparum chromosome 12

The human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum is responsible for the death of more than a million people every year. To stimulate basic research on the disease, and to promote the development of effective drugs and vaccines against the parasite, the complete genome of P. falciparum clone 3D7 has been sequenced, using a chromosome-by-chromosome shotgun strategy. Here we report the nucleotide sequence of the third largest of the parasite's 14 chromosomes, chromosome 12, which comprises about 10% of the 23-megabase genome. As the most (A + T)-rich (80.6%) genome sequenced to date, the P. falciparum genome presented severe problems during the assembly of primary sequence reads. We discuss the methodology that yielded a finished and fully contiguous sequence for chromosome 12. The biological implications of the sequence data are more thoroughly discussed in an accompanying Article (ref. 3).     

HIV-1 evades antibody-mediated neutralization through conformational masking of receptor-binding sites

The ability of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) to persist and cause AIDS is dependent on its avoidance of antibody-mediated neutralization. The virus elicits abundant, envelope-directed antibodies that have little neutralization capacity. This lack of neutralization is paradoxical, given the functional conservation and exposure of receptor-binding sites on the gp120 envelope glycoprotein, which are larger than the typical antibody footprint and should therefore be accessible for antibody binding. Because gp120-receptor interactions involve conformational reorganization, we measured the entropies of binding for 20 gp120-reactive antibodies. Here we show that recognition by receptor-binding-site antibodies induces conformational change. Correlation with neutralization potency and analysis of receptor-antibody thermodynamic cycles suggested a receptor-binding-site 'conformational masking' mechanism of neutralization escape. To understand how such an escape mechanism would be compatible with virus-receptor interactions, we tested a soluble dodecameric receptor molecule and found that it neutralized primary HIV-1 isolates with great potency, showing that simultaneous binding of viral envelope glycoproteins by multiple receptors creates sufficient avidity to compensate for such masking. Because this solution is available for cell-surface receptors but not for most antibodies, conformational masking enables HIV-1 to maintain receptor binding and simultaneously to resist neutralization.     

Climate change, social unrest and dynastic transition in ancient China

The alternation of war and peace accompanied bydynastic transitions was shown to be the rhythm of socialdevelopments throughout Chinese history. Western schol-ars attempted to use the “Dynastic Cycle” theory to expli-cate why the socio-economic development in China wasembedded in such a historical rhythm[1—4]. Dynastic cycletheory states that any dynastic rise-and-fall, social ac-cord-and-discord, and economic upturn-and-downturn areclosely related to the trend of societal development andt…     

Tumor cell membrane-targeting cationic antimicrobial peptides: novel insights into mechanisms of action and therapeutic prospects

There is an ongoing need for effective and targeted cancer treatments that can overcome the detrimental side effects presented by current treatment options. One class of novel anticancer molecules with therapeutic potential currently under investigation are cationic antimicrobial peptides (CAPs). CAPs are small innate immunity peptides found ubiquitously throughout nature that are typically membrane-active against a wide range of pathogenic microbes. A number of CAPs can also target mammalian cells and often display selective activity towards tumor cells, making them attractive candidates as novel anticancer agents warranting further investigation. This current and comprehensive review describes key examples of naturally occurring membrane-targeting CAPs and their modified derivatives that have demonstrated anticancer activity, across multiple species of origin and structural subfamilies. In addition, we address recent advances made in the field and the ongoing challenges faced in translating experimental findings into clinically relevant treatments.