Metabolic priming by a secreted fungal effector

Maize smut caused by the fungus Ustilago maydis is a widespread disease characterized by the development of large plant tumours. U. maydis is a biotrophic pathogen that requires living plant tissue for its development and establishes an intimate interaction zone between fungal hyphae and the plant plasma membrane. U. maydis actively suppresses plant defence responses by secreted protein effectors. Its effector repertoire comprises at least 386 genes mostly encoding proteins of unknown function and expressed exclusively during the biotrophic stage. The U. maydis secretome also contains about 150 proteins with probable roles in fungal nutrition, fungal cell wall modification and host penetration as well as proteins unlikely to act in the fungal-host interface like a chorismate mutase. Chorismate mutases are key enzymes of the shikimate pathway and catalyse the conversion of chorismate to prephenate, the precursor for tyrosine and phenylalanine synthesis. Root-knot nematodes inject a secreted chorismate mutase into plant cells likely to affect development. Here we show that the chorismate mutase Cmu1 secreted by U. maydis is a virulence factor. The enzyme is taken up by plant cells, can spread to neighbouring cells and changes the metabolic status of these cells through metabolic priming. Secreted chorismate mutases are found in many plant-associated microbes and might serve as general tools for host manipulation.     

The role of Epac in the heart

As one of the most important second messengers, 3′,5′-cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) mediates various extracellular signals including hormones and neurotransmitters, and induces appropriate responses in diverse types of cells. Since cAMP was formerly believed to transmit signals through only two direct target molecules, protein kinase A and the cyclic nucleotide-gated channel, the sensational discovery in 1998 of another novel direct effecter of cAMP [exchange proteins directly activated by cAMP (Epac)] attracted a great deal of scientific interest in cAMP signaling. Numerous studies on Epac have since disclosed its important functions in various tissues in the body. Recently, observations of genetically manipulated mice in various pathogenic models have begun to reveal the in vivo significance of previous in vitro or cellular-level findings. Here, we focused on the function of Epac in the heart. Accumulating evidence has revealed that both Epac1 and Epac2 play important roles in the structure and function of the heart under physiological and pathological conditions. Accordingly, developing the ability to regulate cAMP-mediated signaling through Epac may lead to remarkable new therapies for the treatment of cardiac diseases.     

Photonics: lasers producing tailored beams

Compact lasers that can produce a range of beam patterns are important for progress in several areas, including the improvement of optical tweezers, ultra-high-density optical memory and microfluidics. Here we engineer photonic crystals to generate semiconductor lasers that produce a range of beam patterns while maintaining stable single-mode oscillation. Our results could contribute to the realization of compact lasers that are capable of producing diverse beam patterns on demand.     

Asymmetric Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering Algorithms and Their Evaluations

This paper presents asymmetric agglomerative hierarchical clustering algorithms in an extensive view point. First, we develop a new updating formula for these algorithms, proposing a general framework to incorporate many algorithms. Next we propose measures to evaluate the fit of asymmetric clustering results to data. Then we demonstrate numerical examples with real data, using the new updating formula and the indices of fit. Discussing empirical findings, through the demonstrative examples, we show new insights into the asymmetric clustering.     

弹性体材料拌合的离散元模拟及拌合装置的改进

为了现实有效地离散弹性体材料拌合的数值模拟,采用离散元法,开发了离散弹性体材料拌合离散元模拟系统.通过塑料球落下拌合实验对数值模拟系统进行了验证.实验结果与计算结果接近,表明该系统具有可信性.应用数值模拟系统对现有拌合装置的拌合原理进行了分析,阐明了现有拌合装置的问题,开发了一种新型拌合装置,并对其进行了实验验证和数值模拟.结果表明新型拌合装置的拌合能力高.该材料拌合离散元模拟系统与参数确定方法能够合理地模拟离散体的拌合.     

p53-induced inhibition of Hif-1 causes cardiac dysfunction during pressure overload

Cardiac hypertrophy occurs as an adaptive response to increased workload to maintain cardiac function. However, prolonged cardiac hypertrophy causes heart failure, and its mechanisms are largely unknown. Here we show that cardiac angiogenesis is crucially involved in the adaptive mechanism of cardiac hypertrophy and that p53 accumulation is essential for the transition from cardiac hypertrophy to heart failure. Pressure overload initially promoted vascular growth in the heart by hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (Hif-1)-dependent induction of angiogenic factors, and inhibition of angiogenesis prevented the development of cardiac hypertrophy and induced systolic dysfunction. Sustained pressure overload induced an accumulation of p53 that inhibited Hif-1 activity and thereby impaired cardiac angiogenesis and systolic function. Conversely, promoting cardiac angiogenesis by introducing angiogenic factors or by inhibiting p53 accumulation developed hypertrophy further and restored cardiac dysfunction under chronic pressure overload. These results indicate that the anti-angiogenic property of p53 may have a crucial function in the transition from cardiac hypertrophy to heart failure.     

Properties of garnet-type Li6La3ZrTaO12 solid electrolyte films fabricated by aerosol deposition method

The garnet-type Li_6La_3ZrTaO_(12)(LLZT) solid electrolyte films were fabricated by aerosol deposition(AD)method.Ball-milled LLZT powder with a cubic garnet structure and a particle size of 1-2 urn was used as raw material and deposited directly on a SUS316L or a glass substrate via impact consolidation.As-deposited LLZT film has a cubic garnet structure but contains Li_2CO_3 and La_2Zr_2O_7 phases.SEM observation revealed that the film consists of LLZT particles fractured into submicron size.The impurity phase formation during AD process was caused by the local heating by the collision between LLZT particles and deposition surface and reaction with CO_2.The Li~+ ion conductivity of LLZT film was estimated to be 0.24 × 10~(-5)S cm~(-1) at room temperature.Electronic conductivity of LLZT film was confirmed to be around 10~(-12) S cm~(-1),indicating the dominant Li~+ ion conduction of LLZT film.     

我国典型垃圾焚烧飞灰物化特性对比

对我国不同地区生活垃圾焚烧厂焚烧飞灰的物理、化学特性进行了分析研究,探讨了飞灰中总氯、可溶氯含量以及重金属分布与原始垃圾组分的相关性,结果表明,飞灰中重金属的含量与进厂原始垃圾的组成及垃圾收集方式密切相关;飞灰中所含氯的质量分数高达5.21%～14.49%,其中可溶氯占总氯质量的40.60%～83.96%;不同城市焚烧飞灰中氯的含量差异较大,经济发展水平较高的城市焚烧飞灰中氯的含量也相对较高,厨余垃圾所占比例是影响飞灰中氯(特别是可溶氯)含量的重要因素.     

Heterozygous TGFBR2 mutations in Marfan syndrome

Marfan syndrome is an extracellular matrix disorder with cardinal manifestations in the eye, skeleton and cardiovascular systems associated with defects in the gene encoding fibrillin (FBN1) at 15q21.1 (ref. 1). A second type of the disorder (Marfan syndrome type 2; OMIM 154705) is associated with a second locus, MFS2, at 3p25-p24.2 in a large French family (family MS1). Identification of a 3p24.1 chromosomal breakpoint disrupting the gene encoding TGF-beta receptor 2 (TGFBR2) in a Japanese individual with Marfan syndrome led us to consider TGFBR2 as the gene underlying association with Marfan syndrome at the MSF2 locus. The mutation 1524G-->A in TGFBR2 (causing the synonymous amino acid substitution Q508Q) resulted in abnormal splicing and segregated with MFS2 in family MS1. We identified three other missense mutations in four unrelated probands, which led to loss of function of TGF-beta signaling activity on extracellular matrix formation. These results show that heterozygous mutations in TGFBR2, a putative tumor-suppressor gene implicated in several malignancies, are also associated with inherited connective-tissue disorders.     

Reactive ion etching of poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) copolymer for flexible piezoelectric devices

A microfabrication process for poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene)(P(VDF-TrFE)) based flexible piezoelectric devices is proposed using heat controlled spin coating and reactive ion etching(RIE) techniques.Dry etching of P(VDF-TrFE) in CF 4 +O2 plasma is found to be more effective than that using SF 6 +O2 or Ar+O2 feed gas with the same radiofrequency power and pressure conditions.A maximum etching rate of 400 nm/min is obtained using the CF 4 +O2 plasma with an oxygen concentration of 60% at an antenna power of 200 W and a platen power of 20 W.The oxygen atoms and fluorine atoms are found to be responsible for the chemical etching process.Microstructuring of P(VDF-TrFE) with a feature size of 10 m is achieved and the patterned films show a high remanent polarization of 63.6mC/m 2.