Molecular organization of vomeronasal chemoreception

The vomeronasal organ (VNO) has a key role in mediating the social and defensive responses of many terrestrial vertebrates to species- and sex-specific chemosignals. More than 250 putative pheromone receptors have been identified in the mouse VNO, but the nature of the signals detected by individual VNO receptors has not yet been elucidated. To gain insight into the molecular logic of VNO detection leading to mating, aggression or defensive responses, we sought to uncover the response profiles of individual vomeronasal receptors to a wide range of animal cues. Here we describe the repertoire of behaviourally and physiologically relevant stimuli detected by a large number of individual vomeronasal receptors in mice, and define a global map of vomeronasal signal detection. We demonstrate that the two classes (V1R and V2R) of vomeronasal receptors use fundamentally different strategies to encode chemosensory information, and that distinct receptor subfamilies have evolved towards the specific recognition of certain animal groups or chemical structures. The association of large subsets of vomeronasal receptors with cognate, ethologically and physiologically relevant stimuli establishes the molecular foundation of vomeronasal information coding, and opens new avenues for further investigating the neural mechanisms underlying behaviour specificity.     

A product of the prune locus of Drosophila is similar to mammalian GTPase-activating protein.

The X-linked prune (pn) eye-colour mutation of Drosophila melanogaster has a highly specific, complementary lethal interaction with the conditional dominant Killer of prune (awdK-pn) mutation. Although awdK-pn flies have no apparent phenotype on their own, pn awdK-pn double mutants die as second or third larval instars. The awd locus encodes a nucleoside diphosphate kinase, an enzyme that catalyses the transfer of high-energy phosphate bonds between nucleoside diphosphates and nucleoside triphosphates, which is essential for the normal development of Drosophila. Analysis of the pn locus has suggested that the complementary DNA, TcD37, encodes a putative pn+ product. Here we report the nucleotide sequence of TcD37 and the similarity of its deduced protein product to the catalytic domain of mammalian GTPase-activating proteins (GAPs); GAPs stimulate the GTPase activity of Ras (ref. 6), which are plasma membrane-bound proteins involved in the regulation of cell proliferation and differentiation. These results suggest that the Drosophila TcD37 protein participates in a biochemical pathway similar to that of Ras and GAPs in mammals and yeast. We propose that the interaction between pn and awd is due to a neomorphic mutation that enhances the ability of AwdK-pn nucleoside diphosphate kinase to induce a regulatory GTPase into a GTP-bound 'on' state, whereas Pn modulates the activity of this GTPase either by switching it to a GDP-bound 'off' state or by interfering with its effector function.     

Evolution of the Cdk-activator Speedy/RINGO in vertebrates

Successful completion of the cell cycle relies on the precise activation and inactivation of cyclin-dependent kinases (Cdks) whose activity is mainly regulated by binding to cyclins. Recently, a new family of Cdk regulators termed Speedy/RINGO has been discovered, which can bind and activate Cdks but shares no apparent amino acid sequence homology with cyclins. All Speedy proteins share a conserved domain of approximately 140 amino acids called “Speedy Box”, which is essential for Cdk binding. Speedy/RINGO proteins display an important role in oocyte maturation in Xenopus. Interestingly, a common feature of all Speedy genes is their predominant expression in testis suggesting that meiotic functions may be the most important physiological feature of Speedy genes. Speedy homologs have been reported in mammals and can be traced back to the most primitive clade of chordates (Ciona intestinalis). Here, we investigated the evolution of the Speedy genes and have identified a number of new Speedy/RINGO proteins. Through extensive analysis of numerous species, we discovered diverse evolutionary histories: the number of Speedy genes varies considerably among species, with evidence of substantial gains and losses. Despite the interspecies variation, Speedy is conserved among most species examined. Our results provide a complete picture of the Speedy gene family and its evolution.     

外耦合布拉格光栅5μm量子级联激光器

窄带宽的A1GaAs／GaAs布拉格光栅耦合到InP的半导体量子级联激光器从而产生稳定的激光频谱，其激光谱线宽度在1纳米左右。如果不加光栅，非稳定的自由激射的激光器的谱线宽度有30nm左右。隔离的分布式布拉格光栅可以独立调谐几个纳米。     

A Switch Agent for Wireless Sensor Nodes with Dual Interfaces: Implementation and Evaluation

Data generation in wireless sensor networks could be bursty as it is dictated by the presence or absence of events of interest that generate these data. While conventional sensor nodes possessed only one radio interface, next generation sensor nodes are expected to have two (possibly more) radio interfaces, each with different ranges, capacities, and power consumptions. Equipping sensor nodes with dual radios has its own benefits and can be quite useful in handling bursty traffic while at the same time satisfying the application’s delivery requirements. In this paper, we propose an adaptive interface switch agent that intelligently selects the interface to be used for data transmission at a sensor node based on the data burst length or end-to-end delay while taking into consideration power consumption and throughput. The proposed work generalizes earlier works in this area to enable both the source nodes and intermediate data forwarding nodes to initiate the activation of high power radios so that they can be utilized to a higher degree for converge-cast communication. We have performed extensive simulations with sensor nodes containing both IEEE 802.15.4 and IEEE 802.11 compatible radios. Our simulation results indicate that the switch agent yields throughput, delay, and packet delivery ratio comparable to the higher bandwidth interface alone, without incurring much energy wastage.     

Zero-resistance states induced by electromagnetic-wave excitation in GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructures

The observation of vanishing electrical resistance in condensed matter has led to the discovery of new phenomena such as, for example, superconductivity, where a zero-resistance state can be detected in a metal below a transition temperature T(c) (ref. 1). More recently, quantum Hall effects were discovered from investigations of zero-resistance states at low temperatures and high magnetic fields in two-dimensional electron systems (2DESs). In quantum Hall systems and superconductors, zero-resistance states often coincide with the appearance of a gap in the energy spectrum. Here we report the observation of zero-resistance states and energy gaps in a surprising setting: ultrahigh-mobility GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructures that contain a 2DES exhibit vanishing diagonal resistance without Hall resistance quantization at low temperatures and low magnetic fields when the specimen is subjected to electromagnetic wave excitation. Zero-resistance-states occur about magnetic fields B = 4/5 Bf and B = 4/9 Bf, where Bf = 2pifm*/e,m* is the electron mass, e is the electron charge, and f is the electromagnetic-wave frequency. Activated transport measurements on the resistance minima also indicate an energy gap at the Fermi level. The results suggest an unexpected radiation-induced, electronic-state-transition in the GaAs/AlGaAs 2DES.     

Multiple forms of synaptic plasticity triggered by selective suppression of activity in individual neurons

The rules by which neuronal activity causes long-term modification of synapses in the central nervous system are not fully understood. Whereas competitive or correlation-based rules result in local modification of synapses, homeostatic modifications allow neuron-wide changes in synaptic strength, promoting stability. Experimental investigations of these rules at central nervous system synapses have relied generally on manipulating activity in populations of neurons. Here, we investigated the effect of suppressing excitability in single neurons within a network of active hippocampal neurons by overexpressing an inward-rectifier potassium channel. Reducing activity in a neuron before synapse formation leads to a reduction in functional synaptic inputs to that neuron; no such reduction was observed when activity of all neurons was uniformly suppressed. In contrast, suppressing activity in a single neuron after synapses are established results in a homeostatic increase in synaptic input, which restores the activity of the neuron to control levels. Our results highlight the differences between global and selective suppression of activity, as well as those between early and late manipulation of activity.     

Mutations in sodium-borate cotransporter SLC4A11 cause recessive congenital hereditary endothelial dystrophy (CHED2)

Congenital hereditary endothelial dystrophy (CHED) is a heritable, bilateral corneal dystrophy characterized by corneal opacification and nystagmus. We describe seven different mutations in the SLC4A11 gene in ten families with autosomal recessive CHED. Mutations in SLC4A11, which encodes a membrane-bound sodium-borate cotransporter, cause loss of function of the protein either by blocking its membrane targeting or nonsense-mediated decay.     

外耦合布拉格光栅5um量子级联激光器

窄带宽的AlGaAs/GaAs布拉格光栅耦合到InP的半导体量子级联激光器从而产生稳定的激光频谱,其激 光谱线宽度在1纳米左右。如果不加光栅，非稳定的自由激射的激光器的谱线宽度有30nm左右。隔离的分布式布 拉格光栅可以独立调谐几个纳米。     

Parameter Ecology for Feedback Vertex Set

This paper deals with the FEEDBACK VERTEX SET problem on undirected graphs, which asks for the existence of a vertex set of bounded size that intersects all cycles. Due it is theoretical and practical importance,the problem has been the subject of intensive study. Motivated by the parameter ecology program we attempt to classify the parameterized and kernelization complexity of FEEDBACK VERTEX SET for a wide range of parameters.We survey known results and present several new complexity classifications. For example, we prove that FEEDBACK VERTEX SET is fixed-parameter tractable parameterized by the vertex-deletion distance to a chordal graph. We also prove that the problem admits a polynomial kernel when parameterized by the vertex-deletion distance to a pseudo forest, a graph in which every connected component has at most one cycle. In contrast, we prove that a slightly smaller parameterization does not allow for a polynomial kernel unless NP coNP=poly and the polynomial-time hierarchy collapses.