Detection ofγ-crystallins in the developing amphibian lens by peroxidase-labelled antibodies

Zusammenfassung Antikörper, die entweder mit Fluoresceinisothiocyanat oder mit Peroxidase markiert waren, wurden auf ihre Spezifität im Erkennen von Linsen-Antigenen untersucht. Beide Markierer ergeben gleiche Resultate: die-Kristalline können in den Linsenfaserzellen lokalisiert werden, nicht aber in den Linsenepithelzellen.

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Supported by the Damon Runyon Memorial Fund for Cancer Research, New York; and by the Kredit zur Förderung des akademischen Nachwuchses an der Universität Zürich.

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This research was sponsored by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission under contract with the Union Carbide Corporation.     

A newly discovered species of living baleen whale

In the late 1970s eight Balaenoptera specimens of unknown identity were caught in the lower latitudinal Indo-Pacific waters by Japanese research whaling vessels. The combination of the allozyme patterns and physical maturity of the eight specimens separated them from all acknowledged Balaenoptera species. In September 1998 we collected a medium-sized baleen whale carcass on a coastal island in the Sea of Japan. This specimen and the previously collected eight specimens resembled Balaenoptera physalus (fin whale) in external appearance but were much smaller. Comparison of external morphology, osteology and mitochondrial DNA data grouped the nine specimens as a single species but separated them from all known baleen whale species. Therefore, here we describe a new species of Balaenoptera, which is characterized by its unique cranial morphology, its small number of baleen plates, and by its distant molecular relationships with all of its congeners. Our analyses also separated Balaenoptera brydei (Bryde's whale) and Balaenoptera edeni (Eden's whale) into two distinct species, raising the number of known living Balaenoptera species to eight.     

Domain-specific mutations in TGFB1 result in Camurati-Engelmann disease

Camurati-Engelmann disease (CED, MIM 131300) is an autosomal dominant, progressive diaphyseal dysplasia characterized by hyperosteosis and sclerosis of the diaphyses of long bones. We recently assigned the CED locus to an interval between D19S422 and D19S606 at chromosome 19q13.1-q13.3, which two other groups confirmed. As the human transforming growth factor-1 gene (TGFB1) is located within this interval, we considered it a candidate gene for CED.     

Innate partnership of HLA-B and KIR3DL1 subtypes against HIV-1

Allotypes of the natural killer (NK) cell receptor KIR3DL1 vary in both NK cell expression patterns and inhibitory capacity upon binding to their ligands, HLA-B Bw4 molecules, present on target cells. Using a sample size of over 1,500 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)+ individuals, we show that various distinct allelic combinations of the KIR3DL1 and HLA-B loci significantly and strongly influence both AIDS progression and plasma HIV RNA abundance in a consistent manner. These genetic data correlate very well with previously defined functional differences that distinguish KIR3DL1 allotypes. The various epistatic effects observed here for common, distinct KIR3DL1 and HLA-B Bw4 combinations are unprecedented with regard to any pair of genetic loci in human disease, and indicate that NK cells may have a critical role in the natural history of HIV infection.     

日本对数字化学习技术标准的推动

日本数字化学习行业认识到开放技术和开放标准的重要性，因此一直在努力推广它们；由供应商和用户机构联合成立的“日本数字化学习联盟”（e-Learning Consortium Japan）已经实施了一些项目，以推动数字化学习技术与开发的标准化工作.本文主要介绍，该联盟为实现“内容共享对象参考模型”（Sharable Content Object Reference Model, SCORM）标准方案而开展的软件模块开发项目和SCORM工程师认证项目.     

Enterotypes of the human gut microbiome

Our knowledge of species and functional composition of the human gut microbiome is rapidly increasing, but it is still based on very few cohorts and little is known about variation across the world. By combining 22 newly sequenced faecal metagenomes of individuals from four countries with previously published data sets, here we identify three robust clusters (referred to as enterotypes hereafter) that are not nation or continent specific. We also confirmed the enterotypes in two published, larger cohorts, indicating that intestinal microbiota variation is generally stratified, not continuous. This indicates further the existence of a limited number of well-balanced host-microbial symbiotic states that might respond differently to diet and drug intake. The enterotypes are mostly driven by species composition, but abundant molecular functions are not necessarily provided by abundant species, highlighting the importance of a functional analysis to understand microbial communities. Although individual host properties such as body mass index, age, or gender cannot explain the observed enterotypes, data-driven marker genes or functional modules can be identified for each of these host properties. For example, twelve genes significantly correlate with age and three functional modules with the body mass index, hinting at a diagnostic potential of microbial markers.