The importance of HLA-G expression in embryos,trophoblast cells,and embryonic stem cells

The nonclassical HLA-G molecule is a trophoblast-specific molecule present in almost every pregnancy. It differs from classical HLA class I molecules by the low degree of allelic variants and the high diversity of protein structures. HLA-G is reported to be a tolerogenic molecule that acts on cells of both innate and adaptive immunity. At the maternal–fetal interface HLA-G seems to be responsible largely for the reprogramming of local maternal immune response. This review will focus on the HLA-G gene expression profile in pregnancy, in preimplantation embryos, and in human embryonic stem cells with emphasis on the structural diversity of the HLA-G protein and its potential functional and diagnostic implications.     

Post-proteasomal and proteasome-independent generation of MHC class I ligands

Peptide ligands presented by MHC class I molecules are produced by intracellular proteolysis, which often involves multiple steps. Initial antigen degradation seems to rely almost invariably on the proteasome, although tripeptidyl peptidase II (TPP II) and insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE) may be able to substitute for the proteasome in rare cases. Recent evidence suggests that the net effect of cytosolic aminopeptidases is destruction of potential class I ligands, although a positive role in selected cases has been documented. This may apply particularly to the trimming of long precursors by TPP II. In contrast, trimming of ligand precursors in the endoplasmic reticulum is essential for the generation of suitable peptides and has a substantial impact on the repertoire of ligands presented. Trimming by the ER aminopeptidase (ERAP) enzymes most likely acts on free precursors and is adapted to the needs of class I molecules by way of a molecular ruler mechanism. Trimming by ERAP enzymes also occurs for cross-presented ligands, which can alternatively be processed in a special endosomal compartment by insulin-regulated aminopeptidase.     

Comparing Optimization Algorithms for Item Selection in Mokken Scale Analysis

Mokken scale analysis uses an automated bottom-up stepwise item selection procedure that suffers from two problems. First, when selected during the procedure items satisfy the scaling conditions but they may fail to do so after the scale has been completed. Second, the procedure is approximate and thus may not produce the optimal item partitioning. This study investigates a variation on Mokken’s item selection procedure, which alleviates the first problem, and proposes a genetic algorithm, which alleviates both problems. The genetic algorithm is an approximation to checking all possible partitionings. A simulation study shows that the genetic algorithm leads to better scaling results than the other two procedures.     

Contribution of anthropogenic and natural sources to atmospheric methane variability

Methane is an important greenhouse gas, and its atmospheric concentration has nearly tripled since pre-industrial times. The growth rate of atmospheric methane is determined by the balance between surface emissions and photochemical destruction by the hydroxyl radical, the major atmospheric oxidant. Remarkably, this growth rate has decreased markedly since the early 1990s, and the level of methane has remained relatively constant since 1999, leading to a downward revision of its projected influence on global temperatures. Large fluctuations in the growth rate of atmospheric methane are also observed from one year to the next, but their causes remain uncertain. Here we quantify the processes that controlled variations in methane emissions between 1984 and 2003 using an inversion model of atmospheric transport and chemistry. Our results indicate that wetland emissions dominated the inter-annual variability of methane sources, whereas fire emissions played a smaller role, except during the 1997-1998 El Ni?o event. These top-down estimates of changes in wetland and fire emissions are in good agreement with independent estimates based on remote sensing information and biogeochemical models. On longer timescales, our results show that the decrease in atmospheric methane growth during the 1990s was caused by a decline in anthropogenic emissions. Since 1999, however, they indicate that anthropogenic emissions of methane have risen again. The effect of this increase on the growth rate of atmospheric methane has been masked by a coincident decrease in wetland emissions, but atmospheric methane levels may increase in the near future if wetland emissions return to their mean 1990s levels.     

A microbial consortium couples anaerobic methane oxidation to denitrification

Modern agriculture has accelerated biological methane and nitrogen cycling on a global scale. Freshwater sediments often receive increased downward fluxes of nitrate from agricultural runoff and upward fluxes of methane generated by anaerobic decomposition. In theory, prokaryotes should be capable of using nitrate to oxidize methane anaerobically, but such organisms have neither been observed in nature nor isolated in the laboratory. Microbial oxidation of methane is thus believed to proceed only with oxygen or sulphate. Here we show that the direct, anaerobic oxidation of methane coupled to denitrification of nitrate is possible. A microbial consortium, enriched from anoxic sediments, oxidized methane to carbon dioxide coupled to denitrification in the complete absence of oxygen. This consortium consisted of two microorganisms, a bacterium representing a phylum without any cultured species and an archaeon distantly related to marine methanotrophic Archaea. The detection of relatives of these prokaryotes in different freshwater ecosystems worldwide indicates that the reaction presented here may make a substantial contribution to biological methane and nitrogen cycles.     

Quantum supercurrent transistors in carbon nanotubes

Electronic transport through nanostructures is greatly affected by the presence of superconducting leads. If the interface between the nanostructure and the superconductors is sufficiently transparent, a dissipationless current (supercurrent) can flow through the device owing to the Josephson effect. A Josephson coupling, as measured by the zero-resistance supercurrent, has been obtained using tunnel barriers, superconducting constrictions, normal metals and semiconductors. The coupling mechanisms vary from tunnelling to Andreev reflection. The latter process has hitherto been observed only in normal-type systems with a continuous density of electronic states. Here we investigate a supercurrent flowing through a discrete density of states-that is, the quantized single particle energy states of a quantum dot, or 'artificial atom', placed between superconducting electrodes. For this purpose, we exploit the quantum properties of finite-sized carbon nanotubes. By means of a gate electrode, successive discrete energy states are tuned on- and off-resonance with the Fermi energy in the superconducting leads, resulting in a periodic modulation of the critical current and a non-trivial correlation between the conductance in the normal state and the supercurrent. We find, in good agreement with existing theory, that the product of the critical current and the normal state resistance becomes an oscillating function, in contrast to being constant as in previously explored regimes.     

用于数据库新兴应用程序的逻辑

逻辑与数据库及信息系统之间的关系是广泛和长期存在的。对于数据库理论家而言，逻辑是一个统一的框架。在该框架内可以理解数据模型和查询语言的语义学；允许对它们的可表达性进行比较；并且应用高度开发的数学逻辑工具给出深入的理解。随着数据库系统管理的信息类型日益丰富．数据库和信息系统的逻辑价值也就更加突出。异构和分布式数据源包括了从遗传序列到具有丰富时态的结构；从结合文本与数据的半结构文件到有关复杂组织协同进程的信息。     

Magnetic Films on Self-assembled Nanospheres

1 Results Nanoparticle media using arrays of monodisperse nanoparticles with high magneticanisotropy are assumed to be the ideal future magnetic recording media. However,key requirements like control of the magnetic anisotropy orientation along with magnetic domain isolation have not been achieved so far. Here, we report on a combination of a two-dimensional topographic pattern formed of self-assembled nanoparticles with sizes as small as 20 nm and magnetic multilayer film deposition[1]. The so formed n...     

Turnover of sex chromosomes induced by sexual conflict

Sex-determination genes are among the most fluid features of the genome in many groups of animals. In some taxa the master sex-determining gene moves frequently between chromosomes, whereas in other taxa different genes have been recruited to determine the sex of the zygotes. There is a well developed theory for the origin of stable and highly dimorphic sex chromosomes seen in groups such as the eutherian mammals. In contrast, the evolutionary lability of genetic sex determination in other groups remains largely unexplained. In this theoretical study, we show that an autosomal gene under sexually antagonistic selection can cause the spread of a new sex-determining gene linked to it. The mechanism can account for the origin of new sex-determining loci, the transposition of an ancestral sex-determining gene to an autosome, and the maintenance of multiple sex-determining factors in species that lack heteromorphic sex chromosomes.