Two classes of metabolites fromTheonella swinhoei are localized in distinct populations of bacterial symbionts

The marine spongeTheonella swinhoei (lithistid Family Theonellidae, Order Astrophorida) has yielded many important, bioactive natural products, most of which share structural features with bacterial natural products. The presence of microbial symbionts inT. swinhoei has been reported, and it was originally suggested that the cytotoxic macrolide swinholide A and many of the bioactive cyclic peptides fromT. swinhoei were all produced by symbiotic cyanobacteria. By transmission electron microscopy, we found four distinct cell populations to be consistently present inT. swinhoei: eukaryotic sponge cells, unicellular heterotrophic bacteria, unicellular cyanobacteria and filamentous heterotrophic bacteria. Purification and chemical analyses of each cell type showed the macrolide swinholide A to be limited to the mixed population of unicellular heterotrophic bacteria, and an anti-fungal cyclic peptide occurred only in the filamentous heterotrophic bacteria. Contrary to prior speculation, no major metabolites were located in the cyanobacteria or sponge cells.     

山西省水资源可持续开发利用问题浅析

在对山西省水资源开发利用所面临的问题进行剖析的基础上。提出了合理开发地下水资源、拉制水资源污染、发展节水工程和实行水资源的统一管理等科学、合理开发利用水资源的对策。     

Experimental Study and Numerical Simulation of the Casting-Forging Complex Near Net Forming of Alternator Claw-pole

As a newly developed precision technology, casting-forging complex near net forming process is utilized to produce complex components with a short lead time, low cost and high precision, thus to accelerate the response speed of the market and enhance the competitive power of products. In this paper, the casting-forging complex near net forming process of alternator claw pole was developed and investigated with a combination of experimental and numerical simulation method. Qualified near net workpiece was manufactured, mechanical parameter and relative field information during the forming process was also obtained. While the alternator claw-pole is processed with this technology, the forming force is small, the process is short and the quality of forgings is perfect. Therefore, the complex casting-forging near net forming process of claw-pole is an energy and material saving technology, which will have a vast developing and application prospect in the future.     

Purification and cloning of amyloid precursor protein beta-secretase from human brain

Proteolytic processing of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) generates amyloid beta (Abeta) peptide, which is thought to be causal for the pathology and subsequent cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease. Cleavage by beta-secretase at the amino terminus of the Abeta peptide sequence, between residues 671 and 672 of APP, leads to the generation and extracellular release of beta-cleaved soluble APP, and a corresponding cell-associated carboxy-terminal fragment. Cleavage of the C-terminal fragment by gamma-secretase(s) leads to the formation of Abeta. The pathogenic mutation K670M671-->N670L671 at the beta-secretase cleavage site in APP, which was discovered in a Swedish family with familial Alzheimer's disease, leads to increased beta-secretase cleavage of the mutant substrate. Here we describe a membrane-bound enzyme activity that cleaves full-length APP at the beta-secretase cleavage site, and find it to be the predominant beta-cleavage activity in human brain. We have purified this enzyme activity to homogeneity from human brain using a new substrate analogue inhibitor of the enzyme activity, and show that the purified enzyme has all the properties predicted for beta-secretase. Cloning and expression of the enzyme reveals that human brain beta-secretase is a new membrane-bound aspartic proteinase.     

Bias in the estimation of non‐linear transformations of the integrated variance of returns

Volatility models such as GARCH, although misspecified with respect to the data‐generating process, may well generate volatility forecasts that are unconditionally unbiased. In other words, they generate variance forecasts that, on average, are equal to the integrated variance. However, many applications in finance require a measure of return volatility that is a non‐linear function of the variance of returns, rather than of the variance itself. Even if a volatility model generates forecasts of the integrated variance that are unbiased, non‐linear transformations of these forecasts will be biased estimators of the same non‐linear transformations of the integrated variance because of Jensen's inequality. In this paper, we derive an analytical approximation for the unconditional bias of estimators of non‐linear transformations of the integrated variance. This bias is a function of the volatility of the forecast variance and the volatility of the integrated variance, and depends on the concavity of the non‐linear transformation. In order to estimate the volatility of the unobserved integrated variance, we employ recent results from the realized volatility literature. As an illustration, we estimate the unconditional bias for both in‐sample and out‐of‐sample forecasts of three non‐linear transformations of the integrated standard deviation of returns for three exchange rate return series, where a GARCH(1, 1) model is used to forecast the integrated variance. Our estimation results suggest that, in practice, the bias can be substantial. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cloning of a representative genomic library of the human X chromosome after sorting by flow cytometry

A library of 50,000 recombinants representative of the human X chromosome has been constructed. Human X chromosomes were physically separated using a fluorescence-activated cell sorter. The DNA was purified from the chromosomes, digested to completion with the restriction enzyme EcoRI and cloned into the phage lambda gtWES.lambda B. The X-derived nature of the recombinants was confirmed by hybridization to rodent/human cell line DNA containing only the human X chromosome. Such libraries will be particularly useful for the investigation of genetic diseases such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy, where the basic defect has not been elucidated, and of neoplasia, where several specific chromosomal anomalies, particularly for the leukaemias, have been identified.     

Bone marrow cells regenerate infarcted myocardium

Myocardial infarction leads to loss of tissue and impairment of cardiac performance. The remaining myocytes are unable to reconstitute the necrotic tissue, and the post-infarcted heart deteriorates with time. Injury to a target organ is sensed by distant stem cells, which migrate to the site of damage and undergo alternate stem cell differentiation; these events promote structural and functional repair. This high degree of stem cell plasticity prompted us to test whether dead myocardium could be restored by transplanting bone marrow cells in infarcted mice. We sorted lineage-negative (Lin-) bone marrow cells from transgenic mice expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein by fluorescence-activated cell sorting on the basis of c-kit expression. Shortly after coronary ligation, Lin- c-kitPOS cells were injected in the contracting wall bordering the infarct. Here we report that newly formed myocardium occupied 68% of the infarcted portion of the ventricle 9 days after transplanting the bone marrow cells. The developing tissue comprised proliferating myocytes and vascular structures. Our studies indicate that locally delivered bone marrow cells can generate de novo myocardium, ameliorating the outcome of coronary artery disease.     

Coherent spin manipulation without magnetic fields in strained semiconductors

A consequence of relativity is that in the presence of an electric field, the spin and momentum states of an electron can be coupled; this is known as spin-orbit coupling. Such an interaction opens a pathway to the manipulation of electron spins within non-magnetic semiconductors, in the absence of applied magnetic fields. This interaction has implications for spin-based quantum information processing and spintronics, forming the basis of various device proposals. For example, the concept of spin field-effect transistors is based on spin precession due to the spin-orbit coupling. Most studies, however, focus on non-spin-selective electrical measurements in quantum structures. Here we report the direct measurement of coherent electron spin precession in zero magnetic field as the electrons drift in response to an applied electric field. We use ultrafast optical techniques to spatiotemporally resolve spin dynamics in strained gallium arsenide and indium gallium arsenide epitaxial layers. Unexpectedly, we observe spin splitting in these simple structures arising from strain in the semiconductor films. The observed effect provides a flexible approach for enabling electrical control over electron spins using strain engineering. Moreover, we exploit this strain-induced field to electrically drive spin resonance with Rabi frequencies of up to approximately 30 MHz.     

Transgenic DNA introgressed into traditional maize landraces in Oaxaca, Mexico.

Concerns have been raised about the potential effects of transgenic introductions on the genetic diversity of crop landraces and wild relatives in areas of crop origin and diversification, as this diversity is considered essential for global food security. Direct effects on non-target species, and the possibility of unintentionally transferring traits of ecological relevance onto landraces and wild relatives have also been sources of concern. The degree of genetic connectivity between industrial crops and their progenitors in landraces and wild relatives is a principal determinant of the evolutionary history of crops and agroecosystems throughout the world. Recent introductions of transgenic DNA constructs into agricultural fields provide unique markers to measure such connectivity. For these reasons, the detection of transgenic DNA in crop landraces is of critical importance. Here we report the presence of introgressed transgenic DNA constructs in native maize landraces grown in remote mountains in Oaxaca, Mexico, part of the Mesoamerican centre of origin and diversification of this crop.