A ubiquitin-like system mediates protein lipidation

Autophagy is a dynamic membrane phenomenon for bulk protein degradation in the lysosome/vacuole. Apg8/Aut7 is an essential factor for autophagy in yeast. We previously found that the carboxy-terminal arginine of nascent Apg8 is removed by Apg4/Aut2 protease, leaving a glycine residue at the C terminus. Apg8 is then converted to a form (Apg8-X) that is tightly bound to the membrane. Here we report a new mode of protein lipidation. Apg8 is covalently conjugated to phosphatidylethanolamine through an amide bond between the C-terminal glycine and the amino group of phosphatidylethanolamine. This lipidation is mediated by a ubiquitination-like system. Apg8 is a ubiquitin-like protein that is activated by an E1 protein, Apg7 (refs 7, 8), and is transferred subsequently to the E2 enzymes Apg3/Aut1 (ref. 9). Apg7 activates two different ubiquitin-like proteins, Apg12 (ref. 10) and Apg8, and assigns them to specific E2 enzymes, Apg10 (ref. 11) and Apg3, respectively. These reactions are necessary for the formation of Apg8-phosphatidylethanolamine. This lipidation has an essential role in membrane dynamics during autophagy.     

Trapping and emission of photons by a single defect in a photonic bandgap structure

By introducing artificial defects and/or light-emitters into photonic bandgap structures, it should be possible to manipulate photons. For example, it has been predicted that strong localization (or trapping) of photons should occur in structures with single defects, and that the propagation of photons should be controllable using arrays of defects. But there has been little experimental progress in this regard, with the exception of a laser based on a single-defect photonic crystal. Here we demonstrate photon trapping by a single defect that has been created artificially inside a two-dimensional photonic bandgap structure. Photons propagating through a linear waveguide are trapped by the defect, which then emits them to free space. We envisage that this phenomenon may be used in ultra-small optical devices whose function is to selectively drop (or add) photons with various energies from (or to) optical communication traffic. More generally, our work should facilitate the development of all-optical circuits incorporating photonic bandgap waveguides and resonators.     

Induction of delayed hypersensitivity by carrageenan

Zusammenfassung Nachweis einer Sensibilisierung des Meerschweinchens durch intradermale Injektion von Carrageenan, was zu «passiv übertragbaren» Spätreaktionen führte.

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The authors wish to thank to MissI. Kawana, MissA. Saito and MissA. Chida for their technical assistance and Prof.Y. Horiuchi for his advice.     

Stability of magnesite and its high-pressure form in the lowermost mantle

Carbonates are important constituents of marine sediments and play a fundamental role in the recycling of carbon into the Earth's deep interior via subduction of oceanic crust and sediments. Study of the stability of carbonates under high pressure and temperature is thus important for modelling the carbon budget in the entire Earth system. Such studies, however, have rarely been performed under appropriate lower-mantle conditions and no experimental data exist at pressures greater than 80 GPa (refs 3-6). Here we report an in situ X-ray diffraction study of the stability of magnesite (MgCO(3)), which is the major component of subducted carbonates, at pressure and temperature conditions approaching those of the core-mantle boundary. We found that magnesite transforms to an unknown form at pressures above approximately 115 GPa and temperatures of 2,100-2,200 K (depths of approximately 2,600 km) without any dissociation, suggesting that magnesite and its high-pressure form may be the major hosts for carbon throughout most parts of the Earth's lower mantle.     

隔震桥梁地震响应非线性分析

使用铅芯橡胶支座（LRB）作为隔震设备，分析了一个典型3跨连续梁桥在4种地震作用下的系统响应。采用Bouc-Wen模型模拟LRB的力一变形非线性行为，使用有限单元方法建立系统刚度矩阵、质量矩阵和阻尼矩阵，使用龙格库塔法求解非线性方程。研究的重要参数包括桥墩的刚度、支座的屈服强度及屈服后周期，评价的主要依据是主梁振动加速度、桥墩支座位移、桥台支座位移及桥墩底部剪力和弯矩。结果表明：桥墩刚度对地震响应的隔震效果有很大的影响，随着桥墩刚度的减小，隔震效果降低，而LRB对桥墩刚度较大的桥梁有很好的隔震效果；LRB的屈服强度和屈服后周期均对隔震效果有一定的影响，不同的地震激励对系统的影响不同，对某种地震激励，存在一个最优的LRB屈服强度。     

Repeated injections of energy in the first 600 ms of the giant flare of SGR 1806-20

The massive flare of 27 December 2004 from the soft gamma-ray repeater SGR 1806-20, a possible magnetar, saturated almost all gamma-ray detectors, meaning that the profile of the pulse was poorly characterized. An accurate profile is essential to determine physically what was happening at the source. Here we report the unsaturated gamma-ray profile for the first 600 ms of the flare, with a time resolution of 5.48 ms. The peak of the profile (of the order of 10(7) photons cm(-2) s(-1)) was reached approximately 50 ms after the onset of the flare, and was then followed by a gradual decrease with superposed oscillatory modulations possibly representing repeated energy injections with approximately 60-ms intervals. The implied total energy is comparable to the stored magnetic energy in a magnetar (approximately 10(47) erg) based on the dipole magnetic field intensity (approximately 10(15) G), suggesting either that the energy release mechanism was extremely efficient or that the interior magnetic field is much stronger than the external dipole field.     

Existence of distinct sodium channel messenger RNAs in rat brain

The sodium channel is a voltage-gated ionic channel essential for the generation of action potentials. It has been reported that the sodium channels purified from the electric organ of Electrophorus electricus (electric eel) and from chick cardiac muscle consist of a single polypeptide of relative molecular mass (Mr) approximately 260,000 (260K), whereas those purified from rat brain and skeletal muscle contain, in addition to the large polypeptide, two or three smaller polypeptides of Mr 37-45K. Recently, we have elucidated the primary structure of the Electrophorus sodium channel by cloning and sequencing the DNA complementary to its messenger RNA. Despite the apparent homogeneity of the purified sodium channel preparations, several types of tetrodotoxin (or saxitoxin) binding sites or sodium currents have been observed in many excitable membranes. The occurrence of distinguishable populations of sodium channels may be attributable to different states of the same channel protein or to distinct channel proteins. We have now isolated complementary DNA clones derived from two distinct rat brain mRNAs encoding sodium channel large polypeptides and present here the complete amino-acid sequences of the two polypeptides (designated sodium channels I and II), as deduced from the cDNA sequences. A partial DNA sequence complementary to a third homologous mRNA from rat brain has also been cloned.     

Structural homology of Torpedo californica acetylcholine receptor subunits

The nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AChR) from the electroplax of the ray Torpedo californica is composed of five subunits present in a molar stoichiometry of alpha 2 beta gamma delta (refs 1-3) and contains both the binding site for the neurotransmitter and the cation gating unit (reviewed in refs 4-6). We have recently elucidated the complete primary structures of the alpha-, beta- and delta-subunit precursors of the T. californica AChR by cloning and sequencing cDNAs for these polypeptides. Here, we report the whole primary structure of the gamma-subunit precursor of the AChR deduced from the nucleotide sequence of the cloned cDNA. Comparison of the amino acid sequences of the four subunits reveals marked homology among them. The close resemblance among the hydrophilicity profiles and predicted secondary structures of all the subunits suggests that these polypeptides are oriented in a pseudosymmetric fashion across the membrane. Each subunit contains four putative transmembrane segments that may be involved in the ionic channel. The transmembrane topology of the subunit molecules has also been inferred.     

In Vitro Mitral Simulator to Evaluate Effectiveness of Valvoplasty Technique

The edge-to-edge technique is one of the surgical procedures for anterior mitral leaflet prolapse. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of this technique by using an in vitro mitral simulator. The results provide a useful suggestion and can be contributed to evidence-based medicine (EBM).