Trichomonas hydrogenosomes contain the NADH dehydrogenase module of mitochondrial complex I

Hydrogenosomes are double-membraned ATP-producing and hydrogen-producing organelles of diverse anaerobic eukaryotes. In some versions of endosymbiotic theory they are suggested to be homologues of mitochondria, but alternative views suggest they arose from an anaerobic bacterium that was distinct from the mitochondrial endosymbiont. Here we show that the 51-kDa and 24-kDa subunits of the NADH dehydrogenase module in complex I, the first step in the mitochondrial respiratory chain, are active in hydrogenosomes of Trichomonas vaginalis. Like mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase, the purified Trichomonas enzyme can reduce a variety of electron carriers including ubiquinone, but unlike the mitochondrial enzyme it can also reduce ferredoxin, the electron carrier used for hydrogen production. The presence of NADH dehydrogenase solves the long-standing conundrum of how hydrogenosomes regenerate NAD+ after malate oxidation. Phylogenetic analyses show that the Trichomonas 51-kDa homologue shares common ancestry with the mitochondrial enzyme. Recruitment of complex I subunits into a H2-producing pathway provides evidence that mitochondria and hydrogenosomes are aerobic and anaerobic homologues of the same endosymbiotically derived organelle.     

一种用于结构动态过程数值模拟的广义有限元法

提出了一种能同时处理连续体和离散体动态过程的有限元法. 该法通过构造接触力模型, 将传统的离散元当做标准的一节点有限单元来看待. 新构造的一节点单元与常规有限单元具有同样物理特征, 包括应力和应变. 从而, 将离散元算法与有限元算法紧密结合在一起, 形成了统一的、与现有有限元系统兼容的广义有限元计算模型. 这种模型不仅简化了计算过程, 还可最大限度地发挥现有有限元代码的功能. 数值算例表明, 新方法可以更加有效地模拟大量离散体与连续体相互作用的复杂动力学过程.     

A low density of 0.8 g cm(-3) for the Trojan binary asteroid 617 Patroclus

The Trojan population consists of two swarms of asteroids following the same orbit as Jupiter and located at the L4 and L5 stable Lagrange points of the Jupiter-Sun system (leading and following Jupiter by 60 degrees ). The asteroid 617 Patroclus is the only known binary Trojan. The orbit of this double system was hitherto unknown. Here we report that the components, separated by 680 km, move around the system's centre of mass, describing a roughly circular orbit. Using this orbital information, combined with thermal measurements to estimate the size of the components, we derive a very low density of 0.8(- 0.1)+0.2 g cm(-3). The components of 617 Patroclus are therefore very porous or composed mostly of water ice, suggesting that they could have been formed in the outer part of the Solar System.     

A laser frequency comb that enables radial velocity measurements with a precision of 1 cm s(-1)

Searches for extrasolar planets using the periodic Doppler shift of stellar spectral lines have recently achieved a precision of 60 cm s(-1) (ref. 1), which is sufficient to find a 5-Earth-mass planet in a Mercury-like orbit around a Sun-like star. To find a 1-Earth-mass planet in an Earth-like orbit, a precision of approximately 5 cm s(-1) is necessary. The combination of a laser frequency comb with a Fabry-Pérot filtering cavity has been suggested as a promising approach to achieve such Doppler shift resolution via improved spectrograph wavelength calibration, with recent encouraging results. Here we report the fabrication of such a filtered laser comb with up to 40-GHz (approximately 1-A) line spacing, generated from a 1-GHz repetition-rate source, without compromising long-term stability, reproducibility or spectral resolution. This wide-line-spacing comb, or 'astro-comb', is well matched to the resolving power of high-resolution astrophysical spectrographs. The astro-comb should allow a precision as high as 1 cm s(-1) in astronomical radial velocity measurements.     

钢筋混凝土构件斜截面强度划算

在混凝土及钢筋混凝土科学研究所进行的调查研究的基础上,研究制定了一种新的计算方法。这种新方法比较全面地考虑了构件沿斜截面破坏前的应力状态,同时也考虑了七五年设计规范(-21-75)所没有考虑的对承载力能产生巨大影响的某些重要因素(如予应力,T形截面等)。除此而外,还比较精确地考虑到了混凝土的强度、横向和纵向配筋以及弯矩和剪力的共同作用等。     

完备格中的超因子

给出了超因子元的概念,然后讨论了完备格中超因子的性质,得到了一个超因子元是连续并既约元的一些等价条件.运用超因子刻画了有补模格的部分结构,并得到了一个完备格L是Boole格的充要条件是格L是下连续的分配格,且任意非零元只有零超因子.     

Stability of discrete Hopfield neural networks with delay

1.INTRODUCTION DiscreteHopfieldneuralnetwork(DHNN)isoneof thefamousneuralnetworkswithawiderangeofap plications,suchascontentaddressablememory,pat ternrecognition,andcombinatorialoptimiza tion[1～5].ThestabilityofDHNNmeansthatevery trajectorymustconvergetowardsanequilibrium point,oralimitcycle.Becausethestabilityof DHNNisthefoundationofthenetwork’sapplica tionsandisthemostbasicandimportantproblem,thestabilityanalysisoftheDHNNhasattractedcon siderableinterest.Manyresearchershavefocu…     

Senescence surveillance of pre-malignant hepatocytes limits liver cancer development

Upon the aberrant activation of oncogenes, normal cells can enter the cellular senescence program, a state of stable cell-cycle arrest, which represents an important barrier against tumour development in vivo. Senescent cells communicate with their environment by secreting various cytokines and growth factors, and it was reported that this 'secretory phenotype' can have pro- as well as anti-tumorigenic effects. Here we show that oncogene-induced senescence occurs in otherwise normal murine hepatocytes in vivo. Pre-malignant senescent hepatocytes secrete chemo- and cytokines and are subject to immune-mediated clearance (designated as 'senescence surveillance'), which depends on an intact CD4(+) T-cell-mediated adaptive immune response. Impaired immune surveillance of pre-malignant senescent hepatocytes results in the development of murine hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs), thus showing that senescence surveillance is important for tumour suppression in vivo. In accordance with these observations, ras-specific Th1 lymphocytes could be detected in mice, in which oncogene-induced senescence had been triggered by hepatic expression of Nras(G12V). We also found that CD4(+) T cells require monocytes/macrophages to execute the clearance of senescent hepatocytes. Our study indicates that senescence surveillance represents an important extrinsic component of the senescence anti-tumour barrier, and illustrates how the cellular senescence program is involved in tumour immune surveillance by mounting specific immune responses against antigens expressed in pre-malignant senescent cells.     

法国防止大气污染的政策

法国防止大气污染的政策包括以下三大类活动:(1)预防与减少大气污染的活动;(2)大气质量的监察活动。这些活动可以理解为减少污染物排放的临时性特定措施;(3)科研活动。制定全国范围的预防、减少与监察大气污染的方针政策的权限,属于法国环境保护与生活范围部、预防污染管理局、大气问题服务处,此外,后者还负责部际之间的协调。在各个地区,主要是由省际工矿服务处在地方行政长官的领导下负责实行这一方针政策。这一组织结构随着1979年在梅斯建立了全国大气保护办事处而完整了,这是一个行政性的国家管理机关,其任务包括以下三个方面:(1)提供公共情报;(2)加强大气质量的监察;(3)向有关预防大气     

有机硫对维多利亚褐煤液化的催化作用之穆斯堡尔研究

我们以Morwell和Coolungoolun两种维多利亚褐煤进行实验,对铁和锡在煤的液化中的催化作用进行了比较,发现锡对低硫的Morwell煤较为有效,而铁则更适合于高硫的Coolungoolun煤。对液化余渣的穆斯堡尔分析的结果,使我们可以用低硫煤中元素态锡的形成以及在高硫煤中磁黄铁矿（Fe_(0.92)S）的形成来对观察到的现象作出解释。硫的损耗数据表明,磁黄铁矿的存在使得煤中的硫转化为气相的量增加了。