Loss of ACTN3 gene function alters mouse muscle metabolism and shows evidence of positive selection in humans

More than a billion humans worldwide are predicted to be completely deficient in the fast skeletal muscle fiber protein alpha-actinin-3 owing to homozygosity for a premature stop codon polymorphism, R577X, in the ACTN3 gene. The R577X polymorphism is associated with elite athlete status and human muscle performance, suggesting that alpha-actinin-3 deficiency influences the function of fast muscle fibers. Here we show that loss of alpha-actinin-3 expression in a knockout mouse model results in a shift in muscle metabolism toward the more efficient aerobic pathway and an increase in intrinsic endurance performance. In addition, we demonstrate that the genomic region surrounding the 577X null allele shows low levels of genetic variation and recombination in individuals of European and East Asian descent, consistent with strong, recent positive selection. We propose that the 577X allele has been positively selected in some human populations owing to its effect on skeletal muscle metabolism.     

Wnt-beta-catenin signaling initiates taste papilla development

Fungiform taste papillae form a regular array on the dorsal tongue. Taste buds arise from papilla epithelium and, unusually for epithelial derivatives, synapse with neurons, release neurotransmitters and generate receptor and action potentials. Despite the importance of taste as one of our five senses, genetic analyses of taste papilla and bud development are lacking. We demonstrate that Wnt-beta-catenin signaling is activated in developing fungiform placodes and taste bud cells. A dominant stabilizing mutation of epithelial beta-catenin causes massive overproduction of enlarged fungiform papillae and taste buds. Likewise, genetic deletion of epithelial beta-catenin or inhibition of Wnt-beta-catenin signaling by ectopic dickkopf1 (Dkk1) blocks initiation of fungiform papilla morphogenesis. Ectopic papillae are innervated in the stabilizing beta-catenin mutant, whereas ectopic Dkk1 causes absence of lingual epithelial innervation. Thus, Wnt-beta-catenin signaling is critical for fungiform papilla and taste bud development. Altered regulation of this pathway may underlie evolutionary changes in taste papilla patterning.     

Telomeres and meiosis in health and disease

Beyond their role in replication and chromosome end capping, telomeres are also thought to function in meiotic chromosome pairing, meiotic and mitotic chromosome segregation as well as in nuclear organization. Observations in both somatic and meiotic cells suggest that the positioning of telomeres within the nucleus is highly specific and believed to be dependent mainly on telomere interactions with the nuclear envelope either directly or through chromatin interacting proteins. Although little is known about the mechanism of telomere clustering, some studies show that it is an active process. Recent data have suggested a regulatory role for telomere chromatin structure in telomere movement. This review will summarize recent studies on telomere interactions with the nuclear matrix, telomere chromatin structure and factors that modify telomere chromatin structure as related to regulation of telomere movement.     

Dynamic Latent Class Model Averaging for Online Prediction

We consider the problem of online prediction when it is uncertain what the best prediction model to use is. We develop a method called dynamic latent class model averaging, which combines a state‐space model for the parameters of each of the candidate models of the system with a Markov chain model for the best model. We propose a polychotomous regression model for the transition weights to assume that the probability of a change in time depends on the past through the values of the most recent time periods and spatial correlation among the regions. The evolution of the parameters in each submodel is defined by exponential forgetting. This structure allows the ‘correct’ model to vary over both time and regions. In contrast to existing methods, the proposed model naturally incorporates clustering and prediction analysis in a single unified framework. We develop an efficient Gibbs algorithm for computation, and we demonstrate the value of our framework on simulated experiments and on a real‐world problem: forecasting IBM's corporate revenue. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

月地高速再入返回器热控设计及实现

针对月地高速再入返回器不同阶段大功率散热、小功率保温与高速返回过程中高温隔热之间的突出矛盾,以及狭小、局促空间内设备热量的收集、传输、排散与阻断等技术难题,首次构建一种基于柔性自适应"热开关"的小型再入返回类航天器热控体系,成功研制出一套基于异构式环路热管的一体化柔性、高效热管理系统.在轨飞行数据表明:核心热控产品环路热管控温运行模式下实际传热能力超过65 W,阻断模式下漏热量小于2 W,"热导比"大于30,能够很好地实现"热开关"功能,确保了返回器所有设备的温度水平优于指标要求.     

怎样利用Visual Basic制作PowerPoint多媒体课堂时间显示器

针对现代多媒体课堂教学中,PowerPoint全屏放映时无法看到系统时间,影响教学效率这一问题,本文介绍了利用V isual Basic制作PowerPoint多媒体课堂时间显示器的设计思想和方法.     

XML在嵌入式环境下的应用

由于嵌入式系统平台种类繁多,在不同平台间进行互操作需要自定义规范,新规范的引入可能导致系统复杂性增加并降低扩展能力。该文针对上述问题,通过引入可扩展标记语言XML来统一对嵌入式设备的访问,降低了异构平台间互操作的复杂性,提高了扩展性;使用expat对嵌入式XML解析器进行了实现。     

基于图像特征的双目测距系统的研究

针对双目视觉测距中测量误差大、图像信息单一、实时性差等问题,提出一种基于ORB(oriented fast and rotated brief)特征的双目测距方法。对视频帧进行中值滤波处理,提取图像ORB特征,通过实验选出匹配效果最好的汉明距离。对筛选后的匹配点进行RANSAC(random sample consensus)模型估计,去除误匹配,分析视差和真实距离的模型关系,构建最优的测距模型并在实验平台上进行验证。结果表明:所提方法比其他双目测距方法具有测距精确、运行速度快、鲁棒性强的优势,能够实时显示图中特征的距离信息。