A divergent lineage among Octopus minor (Sasaki, 1920) populations in the Northwest Pacific supported by DNA barcoding

Octopus minor (Sasaki, 1920) is an important economic fishery resource in China. In order to explore the stock information and the phylogeographic status of O. minor, mitochondrial DNA cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI, 565?bp) and 16S rRNA (493?bp) genes were amplified from 11 different sampling locations. Genetic diversity evaluated by haplotypic and nucleotidic diversity implied high diversity in Lianjiang, and relatively low diversity in Rongcheng, which suggests that effective measures to protect the O. minor resource in this area are urgently required. Private haplotypes and remarkable higher pairwise Φ_ST in Yilan are responsible for the deep genetic divergence between Yilan and the 10 other populations. Haplotypes networks and two clusters’ topological structure also support the distinct subgroups (lineages A and lineages B), which apparently possess smaller genetic variation than mean interspecies distance. Taiwan island and its strait may act as a natural barrier that restricts the gene flow from the mainland. Deep genetic divergence between mainland and Taiwanese east coasts suggests different genetic stock, indicating that different management strategies are required.     

A neural network study on the dynamic identification of a fermentation system

The objective of this paper is to propose neural networks for the study of dynamic identification and prediction of a fermentation system which produces mainly 2,3-butanediol (2,3-BDL). The metabolic products of the fermentation, acetic acid, acetoin, ethanol, and 2,3-BDL were measured on-line via a mass spectrometer modified by the insertion of a dimethylvinylsilicone membrane probe. The measured data at different sampling times were included as the input and output nodes, at different learning batches, of the network. A fermentation system is usually nonlinear and dynamic in nature. Measured fermentation data obtained from the complex metabolic pathways are often difficult to be entirely included in a static process model, therefore, a dynamic model was suggested instead. In this work, neural networks were provided by a dynamic learning and prediction process that moved along the time sequence batchwise. In other words, a scheme of two-dimensional moving window (number of input nodes by the number of training data) was proposed for reading in new data while forgetting part of the old data. Proper size of the network including proper number of input/output nodes were determined by trained with the real-time fermentation data. Different number of hidden nodes under the consideration of both learning performance and computation efficiency were tested. The data size for each learning batch was determined. The performance of the learning factors such as the learning coefficient η and the momentum term coefficient α were also discussed. The effect of different dynamic learning intervals, with different starting points and the same ending point, both on the learning and prediction performance were studied. On the other hand, the effect of different dynamic learning intervals, with the same starting point and different ending points, was also investigated. The size of data sampling interval was also discussed. The performance from four different types of transfer functions, x/(1+|x|), sgn(x)·x ²/(1+x ²), 2/(1+e ^{? x} )?1, and 1/(1+e ^{? x} ) was compared. A scaling factor b was added to the transfer function and the effect of this factor on the learning was also evaluated. The prediction results from the time-delayed neural networks were also studied.     

Caspase-2 Short Isoform Interacts with Membrane-Associated Cytoskeleton Proteins to Inhibit Apoptosis

Caspase-2 (casp-2) is the most conserved caspase across species, and is one of the initiator caspases activated by various stimuli. The casp-2 gene produces several alternative splicing isoforms. It is believed that the long isoform, casp-2L, promotes apoptosis, whereas the short isoform, casp-2S, inhibits apoptosis. The actual effect of casp-2S on apoptosis is still controversial, however, and the underlying mechanism for casp-2S-mediated apoptosis inhibition is unclear. Here, we analyzed the effects of casp-2S on DNA damage induced apoptosis through “gain-of-function” and “loss-of-function” strategies in ovarian cancer cell lines. We clearly demonstrated that the over-expression of casp-2S inhibited, and the knockdown of casp-2S promoted, the cisplatin-induced apoptosis of ovarian cancer cells. To explore the mechanism by which casp-2S mediates apoptosis inhibition, we analyzed the proteins which interact with casp-2S in cells by using immunoprecipitation (IP) and mass spectrometry. We have identified two cytoskeleton proteins, Fodrin and α-Actinin 4, which interact with FLAG-tagged casp-2S in HeLa cells and confirmed this interaction through reciprocal IP. We further demonstrated that casp-2S (i) is responsible for inhibiting DNA damage-induced cytoplasmic Fodrin cleavage independent of cellular p53 status, and (ii) prevents cisplatin-induced membrane blebbing. Taken together, our data suggests that casp-2S affects cellular apoptosis through its interaction with membrane-associated cytoskeletal Fodrin protein.     

Improvement of anther culture methods for doubled haploid production in barley breeding

There is potential to accelerate cultivar development with a doubled haploid system for breeding line production. Anther culture methodology was evaluated for U.S.A. spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) breeding applications. Gelrite was found to be an acceptable replacement for ficoll in the induction medium to reduce costs while maintaining embryoid and plant production levels. Beneficial effects of 28 d cold pretreatment of donor spikes for anther culture were confirmed with Pacific Northwest USA barley genotypes. A 3 d mannitol solution pretreatment of fresh anthers was shown to be less effective for green plant production compared to 28 d cold pretreatment of donor spikes. Extended donor spike cold pretreatment from 28 to 42 d did not reduce anther culture productivity. Based on this research, anther culture techniques show promise for economical and convenient application in spring barley breeding.Abbreviations DH doubled haploid - LS Linsmaier and Skoog basal medium - BAP benzylaminopurine - GLM Generalized Linear Model - SAS Statistical Analysis System     

Two independent growth factor-generated signals regulate c-fos and c-myc mRNA levels in Swiss 3T3 cells

Polypeptide growth factors that stimulate cell proliferation bind to cell surface receptors and activate intracellular signal transduction pathways. One major signalling pathway, initiated by phosphatidylinositol (PI) turnover, involves activation of protein kinase C. Some polypeptide growth factors, including mitogens that activate protein kinase C, induce a rapid increase in expression of the proto-oncogenes, c-myc and c-fos. In order to characterize the signal transduction pathways responsible for proto-oncogene activation, we treated Swiss 3T3 cells with the tumor promoter phorbol dibutyrate to generate cells deficient in protein kinase C. These cells were then stimulated with platelet extract, bombesin, or epidermal growth factor (EGF) and the levels of c-myc and c-fos mRNA were determined. Platelet extract or bombesin, which stimulate PI turnover, were substantially weaker inducers of c-myc and c-fos mRNA levels in the protein kinase C-depleted cells, although some variability with platelet extract was noted. EGF, which does not stimulate PI turnover in several cell systems, was by contrast a potent inducer of both proto-oncogenes whether or not the cells were deficient in protein kinase C. Pretreatment of cells with phorbol dibutyrate caused little or no change in the basal levels of c-myc or c-fos mRNA, but led to a small but significant increase in basal levels of ornithine decarboxylase mRNA. These results demonstrate that EGF and growth factors that activate PI turnover induce expression of the c-myc and c-fos proto-oncogenes through different pathways.     

江苏泗洪下草湾中中新世脊椎动物群——6.鸟纲

本文记述了近年来在江苏泗洪下草湾组中补采到的6种鸟类,其中包括天岗琵鹭 Platalea tiangangensis sp. nov.和松林庄古石鸡 Palaeoalectoris songlinensis gen. et sp. nov.,前者系琵鹭属迄今最早的记录,后者为雉科鹑族目前已知最早的成员.     

Boundary conditions at the cartilage-synovial fluid interface for joint lubrication and theoretical verifications

The objective of this study is to establish and verify the set of boundary conditions at the interface between a biphasic mixture (articular cartilage) and a Newtonian or non-Newtonian fluid (synovial fluid) such that a set of well-posed mathematical problems may be formulated to investigate joint lubrication problems. A "pseudo-no-slip" kinematic boundary condition is proposed based upon the principle that the conditions at the interface between mixtures or mixtures and fluids must reduce to those boundary conditions in single phase continuum mechanics. From this proposed kinematic boundary condition, and balances of mass, momentum and energy, the boundary conditions at the interface between a biphasic mixture and a Newtonian or non-Newtonian fluid are mathematically derived. Based upon these general results, the appropriate boundary conditions needed in modeling the cartilage-synovial fluid-cartilage lubrication problem are deduced. For two simple cases where a Newtonian viscous fluid is forced to flow (with imposed Couette or Poiseuille flow conditions) over a porous-permeable biphasic material of relatively low permeability, the well known empirical Taylor slip condition may be derived using matched asymptotic analysis of the boundary layer at the interface.     

Modeling with in vitro kinetic parameters for the elaboration of transfer RNA identity in vivo

A tRNA with "double identity" was created, and this tRNA was demonstrated in vitro to aminoacylate quantitatively with either of two amino acids. In contrast, acceptance of only one of these amino acids was observed in vivo, and a simple manipulation determined which one was accepted. Kinetic parameters were obtained for aminoacylation with each amino acid of the tRNA with double identity and of related tRNAs. Modeling with these parameters largely explains which amino acid specificity is observed in vivo. The results delineate some of the kinetic boundaries for the design and accommodation of tRNA sequence variations in the elaboration of identity in vivo.