Control of a key transition from prostrate to erect growth in rice domestication

The transition from the prostrate growth of ancestral wild rice (O. rufipogon Griff.) to the erect growth of Oryza sativa cultivars was one of the most critical events in rice domestication. This evolutionary step importantly improved plant architecture and increased grain yield. Here we find that prostrate growth of wild rice from Yuanjiang County in China is controlled by a semi-dominant gene, PROG1 (PROSTRATE GROWTH 1), on chromosome 7 that encodes a single Cys(2)-His(2) zinc-finger protein. prog1 variants identified in O. sativa disrupt the prog1 function and inactivate prog1 expression, leading to erect growth, greater grain number and higher grain yield in cultivated rice. Sequence comparison shows that 182 varieties of cultivated rice, including 87 indica and 95 japonica cultivars from 17 countries, carry identical mutations in the prog1 coding region that may have become fixed during rice domestication.     

能量存储:基于全新原理的“纳米弹簧”

许多机械装置如钟表、玩具等都采用弹簧来驱动,其能量的存储与释放是通过弹簧内部原子间距的变化来实现的。但是这种原子间距的变化(即弹性变形)所能存储的体能量密度相对很低,如何提高能量的转换效率以及材料存储的能量密度是当前材料科学理论和实验研究共同关注的一个问题。本研究利用金属钨单晶纳米线在加载时独特的孪晶变形行为,提出了一个可以在纳米尺度下高效存储与释放机械能的新原理,并据此设计了相应的纳米装置——纳米弹簧。与块体弹簧不同,本文提出的纳米弹簧通过表面原子的重构来实现能量的存储与释放。进一步的计算还表明,由于金属钨孪晶界面的移动阻力非常小,金属钨纳米弹簧的能量转换效率可以达到98%;同时该纳米弹簧存储的体能量密度可以超过钟表发条的1600倍,并具有30%的应变以及3GPa的驱动应力。     

Genome-wide association and linkage identify modifier loci of lung disease severity in cystic fibrosis at 11p13 and 20q13.2

A combined genome-wide association and linkage study was used to identify loci causing variation in cystic fibrosis lung disease severity. We identified a significant association (P = 3.34 × 10(-8)) near EHF and APIP (chr11p13) in p.Phe508del homozygotes (n = 1,978). The association replicated in p.Phe508del homozygotes (P = 0.006) from a separate family based study (n = 557), with P = 1.49 × 10(-9) for the three-study joint meta-analysis. Linkage analysis of 486 sibling pairs from the family based study identified a significant quantitative trait locus on chromosome 20q13.2 (log(10) odds = 5.03). Our findings provide insight into the causes of variation in lung disease severity in cystic fibrosis and suggest new therapeutic targets for this life-limiting disorder.     

Frequent mutations of chromatin remodeling genes in transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder

Transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) is the most common type of bladder cancer. Here we sequenced the exomes of nine individuals with TCC and screened all the somatically mutated genes in a prevalence set of 88 additional individuals with TCC with different tumor stages and grades. In our study, we discovered a variety of genes previously unknown to be mutated in TCC. Notably, we identified genetic aberrations of the chromatin remodeling genes (UTX, MLL-MLL3, CREBBP-EP300, NCOR1, ARID1A and CHD6) in 59% of our 97 subjects with TCC. Of these genes, we showed UTX to be altered substantially more frequently in tumors of low stages and grades, highlighting its potential role in the classification and diagnosis of bladder cancer. Our results provide an overview of the genetic basis of TCC and suggest that aberration of chromatin regulation might be a hallmark of bladder cancer.     

Genome-wide association study of leaf architecture in the maize nested association mapping population

US maize yield has increased eight-fold in the past 80 years, with half of the gain attributed to selection by breeders. During this time, changes in maize leaf angle and size have altered plant architecture, allowing more efficient light capture as planting density has increased. Through a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of the maize nested association mapping panel, we determined the genetic basis of important leaf architecture traits and identified some of the key genes. Overall, we demonstrate that the genetic architecture of the leaf traits is dominated by small effects, with little epistasis, environmental interaction or pleiotropy. In particular, GWAS results show that variations at the liguleless genes have contributed to more upright leaves. These results demonstrate that the use of GWAS with specially designed mapping populations is effective in uncovering the basis of key agronomic traits.     

五味子有效成分保护心室重构的研究进展

五味子对心血管、免疫系统及CNS具有调节作用,阐述了五味子中有效成分木脂素和多糖保护心室重构的作用.     

Preparation of rare-earth-modified medical stone powders and their application as conductive fillers

Traditional metal conductive fillers are expensive and prone to oxidation. Thus, the development of new conductive powders as fillers is urgently needed. A novel gaseous penetration technology was adopted to prepare La-doped medical stone powders(La-MSPs), which are inexpensive mesoporous materials, as a new kind of conductive filler material. The prepared La-MSPs attained a resistivity of 450 ?·m and were used as a filler to prepare conductive coatings with epoxy resin as the resin matrix. The influence of the La-MSPs dosage on the resistance and hardness of the coatings was also determined. The resistance and the hardness both decreased with increasing filler dosage. Finally, the optimum recipe of the conductive coatings with the most suitable fillers dosage(55 wt%) was obtained. The hardness and resistance of the coatings with 55 wt% La-MSPs were HV 4 and 5.5 × 10~7 ?, respectively.     

WWW服务器与数据库接口的应用研究

本文对Windows NT Internet Information Server与SQL数据库接口技术进行了较深入的分析研究，并应用于贵州大学人事查询系统，介绍了应用程序界面ISAPI（应用程序编程接口），数据库连接器文件（.idc)和HTML扩展名（.htx)文件等。