零下温度时二维通道内界面活性剂减阻流动的实验研究

为了进行零下温度时区域供冷系统的界面活性剂减阻设计,测量了-5℃时以质量分数为20%的甘醇不冻液为溶剂的界面活性剂溶液油醇基二羟乙基甲基氯化铵在二维通道内的减阻特性,同时用粒子成像测速仪对减阻流动的湍流特性进行了测量.实验发现:质量分数为5×10-5~5×10-4的低浓度油醇基二羟乙基甲基氯化铵界面活性剂溶液在一定的雷诺数范围内均呈现减阻特性,且其减阻特性与质量分数和温度呈复杂关系,最大减阻值可高达70%以上;在湍流液体中只需加入少量该界面活性剂即可大幅度减少液体输送的动力消耗.与单独的质量分数为20%的甘醇不冻液湍流流动相比,添加界面活性剂抑制了湍流速度脉动,使雷诺应力完全消失.     

Identification of Tim4 as a phosphatidylserine receptor

In programmed cell death, a large number of cells undergo apoptosis, and are engulfed by macrophages to avoid the release of noxious materials from the dying cells. In definitive erythropoiesis, nuclei are expelled from erythroid precursor cells and are engulfed by macrophages. Phosphatidylserine is exposed on the surface of apoptotic cells and on the nuclei expelled from erythroid precursor cells; it works as an 'eat me' signal for phagocytes. Phosphatidylserine is also expressed on the surface of exosomes involved in intercellular signalling. Here we established a library of hamster monoclonal antibodies against mouse peritoneal macrophages, and found an antibody that strongly inhibited the phosphatidylserine-dependent engulfment of apoptotic cells. The antigen recognized by the antibody was identified by expression cloning as a type I transmembrane protein called Tim4 (T-cell immunoglobulin- and mucin-domain-containing molecule; also known as Timd4). Tim4 was expressed in Mac1+ cells in various mouse tissues, including spleen, lymph nodes and fetal liver. Tim4 bound apoptotic cells by recognizing phosphatidylserine via its immunoglobulin domain. The expression of Tim4 in fibroblasts enhanced their ability to engulf apoptotic cells. When the anti-Tim4 monoclonal antibody was administered into mice, the engulfment of apoptotic cells by thymic macrophages was significantly blocked, and the mice developed autoantibodies. Among the other Tim family members, Tim1, but neither Tim2 nor Tim3, specifically bound phosphatidylserine. Tim1- or Tim4-expressing Ba/F3 B cells were bound by exosomes via phosphatidylserine, and exosomes stimulated the interaction between Tim1 and Tim4. These results indicate that Tim4 and Tim1 are phosphatidylserine receptors for the engulfment of apoptotic cells, and may also be involved in intercellular signalling in which exosomes are involved.     

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.     

Nuclear cataract caused by a lack of DNA degradation in the mouse eye lens

The eye lens is composed of fibre cells, which develop from the epithelial cells on the anterior surface of the lens. Differentiation into a lens fibre cell is accompanied by changes in cell shape, the expression of crystallins and the degradation of cellular organelles. The loss of organelles is believed to ensure the transparency of the lens, but the molecular mechanism behind this process is not known. Here we show that DLAD ('DNase II-like acid DNase', also called DNase IIbeta) is expressed in human and murine lens cells, and that mice deficient in the DLAD gene are incapable of degrading DNA during lens cell differentiation--the undigested DNA accumulates in the fibre cells. The DLAD-/- mice develop cataracts of the nucleus lentis, and their response to light on electroretinograms is severely reduced. These results indicate that DLAD is responsible for the degradation of nuclear DNA during lens cell differentiation, and that if DNA is left undigested in the lens, it causes cataracts of the nucleus lentis, blocking the light path.     

Vegetation Spatial Heterogeneity of Different Soil Regions in Inner Mongolia, China

The vegetation spatial heterogeneity and ecological characteristics in different soil regions were analyzed by surveying the vegetation in 12 different soil regions of Inner Mongolia, China, including conifer- ous-broadleaf deciduous forests, shrub, grassland, and desert regions with 1122 large 2 cm × 2 cm quad- rats (actual size 30 km × 30 km, referred to as L-quadrat hereafter) in about 1.18 million km2. Each L- quadrat was divided into four small 1 cm × 1 cm quadrats (actual size 15 km × 15 km, S-quadrat). The vegetation was analyzed based on the beta-binomial distribution to describe the frequency of occurrence and spatial heterogeneity for each kind of vegetation. The weighted average of the heterogeneity of all vegeta- tion in the same soil region provides a measure of the soil regional landscape level heterogeneity which de- scribes the spatial complexity of the regional landscape composition of the existing vegetation. Comparison of the vegetation characteristics in the 12 soil regions shows that, the calcic gray soil has the highest average vegetation type per quadrat. The largest soil region is calcic chestnut soil and has the most vegetation types. Every soil region has its own dominant vegetation sequence which dominates in occurrence and dominant vegetation types which dominates in spatial heterogeneity. For the Inner Mongolian vegetation, the weighted average of the heterogeneity is 0.60 and the vegetation diversity index is 4.47.     

Cardiac-type excitation-contraction coupling in dysgenic skeletal muscle injected with cardiac dihydropyridine receptor cDNA

There are dihydropyridine (DHP)-sensitive calcium currents in both skeletal and cardiac muscle cells, although the properties of these currents are very different in the two cell types (for simplicity, we refer to currents in both tissues as L-type). The mechanisms of depolarization-contraction coupling also differ. As the predominant voltage-dependent calcium current of cardiac cells, the L-type current represents a major pathway for entry of extracellular calcium. This entry triggers the subsequent large release of calcium from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). In contrast, depolarization of skeletal muscle releases calcium from the SR without the requirement for entry of extracellular calcium through L-type calcium channels. To investigate the molecular basis for these differences in calcium currents and in excitation-contraction (E-C) coupling, we expressed complementary DNAs for the DHP receptors from skeletal and cardiac muscle in dysgenic skeletal muscle. We compared the properties of the L-type channels produced and showed that expression of a cardiac calcium channel in skeletal muscle cells results in E-C coupling resembling that of cardiac muscle.     

Primary structure of the receptor for calcium channel blockers from skeletal muscle

The complete amino-acid sequence of the receptor for dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers from rabbit skeletal muscle is predicted by cloning and sequence analysis of DNA complementary to its messenger RNA. Structural and sequence similarities to the voltage-dependent sodium channel suggest that in the transverse tubule membrane of skeletal muscle the dihydropyridine receptor may act both as voltage sensor in excitation-contraction coupling and as a calcium channel.     

Inhibition and enhancement of photically evoked responses by different doses ofl-DOPA

Summary Administration of small doses ofl-DOPA (10 and 20 mg/kg) resulted in reduction in amplitude of photically evoked responses in the primary visual, association, and cerebellar vermal cortices, while large doses (40 and 80 mg/kg) produced enhancement.Acknowledgment. We thank Prof.K. Kuriyama and Sr.M. McCormick for their help.     

Hierarchical hypergames and Bayesian games: A generalization of the theoretical comparison of hypergames and Bayesian games considering hierarchy of perceptions

This paper discusses the relationship of two independently developed models of games with incomplete information, hierarchical hypergames and Bayesian games. It can be considered as a generalization of the previous study on the theoretical comparison of simple hypergames and Bayesian games (Sasaki and Kijima, 2012) by taking into account hierarchy of perceptions, i.e., an agent’s perception about the other agents’ perceptions, and so on. The authors first introduce the general way of transformation of any hierarchical hypergames into corresponding Bayesian games, which was called as the Bayesian representation of hierarchical hypergames. The authors then show that some equilibrium concepts for hierarchical hypergames can be associated with those for Bayesian games and discuss implications of the results.     

Haemagglutinin mutations responsible for the binding of H5N1 influenza A viruses to human-type receptors

H5N1 influenza A viruses have spread to numerous countries in Asia, Europe and Africa, infecting not only large numbers of poultry, but also an increasing number of humans, often with lethal effects. Human and avian influenza A viruses differ in their recognition of host cell receptors: the former preferentially recognize receptors with saccharides terminating in sialic acid-alpha2,6-galactose (SAalpha2,6Gal), whereas the latter prefer those ending in SAalpha2,3Gal (refs 3-6). A conversion from SAalpha2,3Gal to SAalpha2,6Gal recognition is thought to be one of the changes that must occur before avian influenza viruses can replicate efficiently in humans and acquire the potential to cause a pandemic. By identifying mutations in the receptor-binding haemagglutinin (HA) molecule that would enable avian H5N1 viruses to recognize human-type host cell receptors, it may be possible to predict (and thus to increase preparedness for) the emergence of pandemic viruses. Here we show that some H5N1 viruses isolated from humans can bind to both human and avian receptors, in contrast to those isolated from chickens and ducks, which recognize the avian receptors exclusively. Mutations at positions 182 and 192 independently convert the HAs of H5N1 viruses known to recognize the avian receptor to ones that recognize the human receptor. Analysis of the crystal structure of the HA from an H5N1 virus used in our genetic experiments shows that the locations of these amino acids in the HA molecule are compatible with an effect on receptor binding. The amino acid changes that we identify might serve as molecular markers for assessing the pandemic potential of H5N1 field isolates.