The earliest known eutherian mammal

The skeleton of a eutherian (placental) mammal has been discovered from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of northeastern China. We estimate its age to be about 125 million years (Myr), extending the date of the oldest eutherian records with skull and skeleton by about 40 50 Myr. Our analyses place the new fossil at the root of the eutherian tree and among the four other known Early Cretaceous eutherians, and suggest an earlier and greater diversification of stem eutherians that occurred well before the molecular estimate for the diversification of extant placental superorders (104 64 Myr). The new eutherian has limb and foot features that are known only from scansorial (climbing) and arboreal (tree-living) extant mammals, in contrast to the terrestrial or cursorial (running) features of other Cretaceous eutherians. This suggests that the earliest eutherian lineages developed different locomotory adaptations, facilitating their spread to diverse niches in the Cretaceous.     

Polycystins 1 and 2 mediate mechanosensation in the primary cilium of kidney cells

Several proteins implicated in the pathogenesis of polycystic kidney disease (PKD) localize to cilia. Furthermore, cilia are malformed in mice with PKD with mutations in TgN737Rpw (encoding polaris). It is not known, however, whether ciliary dysfunction occurs or is relevant to cyst formation in PKD. Here, we show that polycystin-1 (PC1) and polycystin-2 (PC2), proteins respectively encoded by Pkd1 and Pkd2, mouse orthologs of genes mutated in human autosomal dominant PKD, co-distribute in the primary cilia of kidney epithelium. Cells isolated from transgenic mice that lack functional PC1 formed cilia but did not increase Ca(2+) influx in response to physiological fluid flow. Blocking antibodies directed against PC2 similarly abolished the flow response in wild-type cells as did inhibitors of the ryanodine receptor, whereas inhibitors of G-proteins, phospholipase C and InsP(3) receptors had no effect. These data suggest that PC1 and PC2 contribute to fluid-flow sensation by the primary cilium in renal epithelium and that they both function in the same mechanotransduction pathway. Loss or dysfunction of PC1 or PC2 may therefore lead to PKD owing to the inability of cells to sense mechanical cues that normally regulate tissue morphogenesis.     

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.     

Real time monitoring of nucleic acids ligation based on molecular beacon

The replication, ligation and repair of nucleic acids are essential life processes that based the survival, pro-creation and evolution of creatures. These interactions involving proteins (enzymes) and nucleic acids have fas-cinated great interest of scientists[1]. The nucleic acids ligation has been revealed that it is catalyzed by ligase and co-enzyme (ATP or NAD)[2—4]. Along with in-depth re-search, the nucleic acids ligation becomes a significant and common tool employed in bioengineerin…     

The protein Aly links pre-messenger-RNA splicing to nuclear export in metazoans

In metazoans, most pre-messenger RNAs contain introns that are removed by splicing. The spliced mRNAs are then exported to the cytoplasm. Recent studies showed that splicing promotes efficient mRNA export, but the mechanism for coupling these two processes is not known. Here we show that Aly, the metazoan homologue of the yeast mRNA export factor Yralp (ref. 2), is recruited to messenger ribonucleoprotein (mRNP) complexes generated by splicing. In contrast, Aly does not associate with mRNPs assembled on identical mRNAs that already have no introns or with heterogenous nuclear RNP (hnRNP) complexes. Aly is recruited during spliceosome assembly, and then becomes tightly associated with the spliced mRNP. Aly shuttles between the nucleus and cytoplasm, and excess recombinant Aly increases both the rate and efficiency of mRNA export in vivo. Consistent with its splicing-dependent recruitment, Aly co-localizes with splicing factors in the nucleus. We conclude that splicing is required for efficient mRNA export as a result of coupling between the splicing and the mRNA export machineries.     

Crystal structure of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli intimin-receptor complex

Intimin and its translocated intimin receptor (Tir) are bacterial proteins that mediate adhesion between mammalian cells and attaching and effacing (A/E) pathogens. Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) causes significant paediatric morbidity and mortality world-wide. A related A/E pathogen, enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC; O157:H7) is one of the most important food-borne pathogens in North America, Europe and Japan. A unique and essential feature of A/E bacterial pathogens is the formation of actin-rich pedestals beneath the intimately adherent bacteria and localized destruction of the intestinal brush border. The bacterial outer membrane adhesin, intimin, is necessary for the production of the A/E lesion and diarrhoea. The A/E bacteria translocate their own receptor for intimin, Tir, into the membrane of mammalian cells using the type III secretion system. The translocated Tir triggers additional host signalling events and actin nucleation, which are essential for lesion formation. Here we describe the the crystal structures of an EPEC intimin carboxy-terminal fragment alone and in complex with the EPEC Tir intimin-binding domain, giving insight into the molecular mechanisms of adhesion of A/E pathogens.     

Water activity as the determinant for homogeneous ice nucleation in aqueous solutions

The unique properties of water in the supercooled (metastable) state are not fully understood. In particular, the effects of solutes and mechanical pressure on the kinetics of the liquid-to-solid phase transition of supercooled water and aqueous solutions to ice have remained unresolved. Here we show from experimental data that the homogeneous nucleation of ice from supercooled aqueous solutions is independent of the nature of the solute, but depends only on the water activity of the solution--that is, the ratio between the water vapour pressures of the solution and of pure water under the same conditions. In addition, we show that the presence of solutes and the application of pressure have a very similar effect on ice nucleation. We present a thermodynamic theory for homogeneous ice nucleation, which expresses the nucleation rate coefficient as a function of water activity and pressure. Recent observations from clouds containing ice are in good agreement with our theory and our results should help to overcome one of the main weaknesses of numerical models of the atmosphere, the formulation of cloud processes.     

基于Call Center的银行交互式语音服务系统设计

基于呼叫中心技术,研究并给出一个银行语音服务系统的设计与实现方案.通过自动呼叫分配系统(ACD)和座席调度队列算法设计,实现了自动交互式语音应答模式座席服务,实现了电话银行、座席服务和网上银行3种基本服务.与传统的语音应答系统相比,该系统设计中应用了交换技术(CTI前置机/后台机)、智能话务分配(自动呼叫分配)、计算机网络、综合数据集成技术等先进技术手段,实现了现代CallCenter的功能和业务,使银行语音信息数据能够及时、远程、安全的处理.