Current understanding of ZIP and ZnT zinc transporters in human health and diseases

Zinc transporters, the Zrt-, Irt-like protein (ZIP) family and the Zn transporter (ZnT) family transporters, are found in all aspects of life. Increasing evidence has clarified the molecular mechanism, in which both transporters play critical roles in cellular and physiological functions via mobilizing zinc across the cellular membrane. In the last decade, mutations in ZIP and ZnT transporter genes have been shown to be implicated in a number of inherited human diseases. Moreover, dysregulation of expression and activity of both transporters has been suggested to be involved in the pathogenesis and progression of chronic diseases including cancer, immunological impairment, and neurodegenerative diseases, although comprehensive understanding is far from complete. The diverse phenotypes of diseases related to ZIP and ZnT transporters reflect the multifarious biological functions of both transporters. The present review summarizes the current understanding of ZIP and ZnT transporter functions from the standpoint of human health and diseases. The study of zinc transporters is currently of great clinical interest.     

Moving average threshold heterogeneous autoregressive (MAT-HAR) models

We propose moving average threshold heterogeneous autoregressive (MAT-HAR) models as a novel combination of heterogeneous autoregression (HAR) and threshold autoregression (TAR). The MAT-HAR has multiple groups of lags of a target series, and a threshold term can appear in each group. The threshold is a moving average of lagged target series, which guarantees time-varying thresholds and simple estimation via least squares. We show via Monte Carlo simulations that the MAT-HAR has sharp in-sample and out-of-sample performance. An empirical application on the industrial production of Japan suggests that significant threshold effects exist, and the MAT-HAR has a higher forecast accuracy than the HAR.     

中国壮族与越南侬族的民族关系与交流

侬族来自广西的壮族地区。壮族与侬族的文化在诸多方面有许多共同点。但是,壮族的汉化在进行,而由于受国境划分,中国王朝和汉族的影响没有直接波及侬族,因此侬族保留了更古老的习俗。尽管受国境划分,但两者间往来还持续着。虽然民族政策渗透而人们受国家的制约,但是人们在日常生活中,未必意识到国家,他们的生活圈很容易超越带有政治色彩的国境线。这种在人的生活世界中产生的国境的意义的问题,今后有进一步思考的必要。     

Enzymatic production of RNAi libraries from cDNAs

RNA interference (RNAi) induced by small interfering (siRNA) or short hairpin RNA (shRNA) is an important research approach in mammalian genetics. Here we describe a technology called enzymatic production of RNAi library (EPRIL) by which cDNAs are converted by a sequence of enzymatic treatments into an RNAi library consisting of a vast array of different shRNA expression constructs. We applied EPRIL to a single cDNA source and prepared an RNAi library consisting of shRNA constructs with various RNAi efficiencies. High-throughput screening allowed us to rapidly identify the best shRNA constructs from the library. We also describe a new selection scheme using the thymidine kinase gene for obtaining efficient shRNA constructs. Furthermore, we show that EPRIL can be applied to constructing an RNAi library from a cDNA library, providing a basis for future whole-genome phenotypic screening of genes.     

Reductive evolution suggested from the complete genome sequence of a plant-pathogenic phytoplasma

The minimal gene set essential for life has long been sought. We report the 860-kb genome of the obligate intracellular plant pathogen phytoplasma (Candidatus Phytoplasma asteris, OY strain). The phytoplasma genome encodes even fewer metabolic functions than do mycoplasma genomes. It lacks the pentose phosphate cycle and, more unexpectedly, ATP-synthase subunits, which are thought to be essential for life. This may be the result of reductive evolution as a consequence of life as an intracellular parasite in a nutrient-rich environment.     

No high-mass protostars in the silhouette young stellar object M17-SO1

The birth of very massive stars is not well understood, in contrast to the formation process of low-mass stars like our Sun. It is not even clear that massive stars can form as single entities; rather, they might form through the mergers of smaller ones born in tight groups. The recent claim of the discovery of a massive protostar in M17 (a nearby giant ionized region) forming through the same mechanism as low-mass stars has therefore generated considerable interest. Here we show that this protostar has an intermediate mass of only 2.5 to 8 solar masses (M(o), contrary to the earlier claim of 20M(o) (ref. 8). The surrounding circumstellar envelope contains only 0.09M(o) and a much more extended local molecular cloud has 4-9M(o).