Erratum to: Exogenous Adipokine Peptide Resistin Protects Against Focal Cerebral Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury in Mice

Neurochemical Research -     

Profiling Murine Tau with 0N, 1N and 2N Isoform-Specific Antibodies in Brain and Peripheral Organs Reveals Distinct Subcellular Localization,with the 1N Isoform Being Enriched in the Nucleus

In the adult murine brain, the microtubule-associated protein tau exists as three major isoforms, which have four microtubule-binding repeats (4R), with either no (0N), one (1N) or two (2N) amino-terminal inserts. The human brain expresses three additional isoforms with three microtubule-binding repeats (3R) each. However, little is known about the role of the amino-terminal inserts and how the 0N, 1N and 2N tau species differ. In order to investigate this, we generated a series of isoform-specific antibodies and performed a profiling by Western blotting and immunohistochemical analyses using wild-type mice in three age groups: two months, two weeks and postnatal day 0 (P0). This revealed that the brain is the only organ to express tau at significant levels, with 0N4R being the predominant isoform in the two month-old adult. Subcellular fractionation of the brain showed that the 1N isoform is over-represented in the soluble nuclear fraction. This is in agreement with the immunohistochemical analysis as the 1N isoform strongly localizes to the neuronal nucleus, although it is also found in cell bodies and dendrites, but not axons. The 0N isoform is mainly found in cell bodies and axons, whereas nuclei and dendrites are only slightly stained with the 0N antibody. The 2N isoform is highly expressed in axons and in cell bodies, with a detectable expression in dendrites and a very slight expression in nuclei. The 2N isoform that was undetectable at P0, in adult brain was mainly found localized to cell bodies and dendrites. Together these findings reveal significant differences between the three murine tau isoforms that are likely to reflect different neuronal functions.     

Complementary Aluminum Nanopatch/Nanohole Arrays for Broad Palettes of Colors

Plasmonics - We investigate aluminum nanopatch/nanohole arrays surrounded by a dielectric material on plastic substrates for large area color printing. In this specific arrangement, metallic...     

Genome‐wide detection of CNVs associated with beak deformity in chickens using high‐density 600K SNP arrays

Beak deformity (crossed beaks) is found in several indigenous chicken breeds including Beijing‐You studied here. Birds with deformed beaks have reduced feed intake and poor production performance. Recently, copy number variation (CNV) has been examined in many species and is recognized as a source of genetic variation, especially for disease phenotypes. In this study, to unravel the genetic mechanisms underlying beak deformity, we performed genome‐wide CNV detection using Affymetrix chicken high‐density 600K data on 48 deformed‐beak and 48 normal birds using penncnv . As a result, two and eight CNV regions (CNVRs) covering 0.32 and 2.45 Mb respectively on autosomes were identified in deformed‐beak and normal birds respectively. Further RT‐qPCR studies validated nine of the 10 CNVRs. The ratios of six CNVRs were significantly different between deformed‐beak and normal birds (P < 0.01). Within these six regions, three and 21 known genes were identified in deformed‐beak and normal birds respectively. Bioinformatics analysis showed that these genes were enriched in six GO terms and one KEGG pathway. Five candidate genes in the CNVRs were further validated using RT‐qPCR. The expression of LRIG2 (leucine rich repeats and immunoglobulin like domains 2) was lower in birds with deformed beaks (P < 0.01). Therefore, the LRIG2 gene could be considered a key factor in view of its known functions and its potential roles in beak deformity. Overall, our results will be helpful for future investigations of the genomic structural variations underlying beak deformity in chickens.     

The Optimal Solution of a Non-Convex State-Dependent LQR Problem and Its Applications

This paper studies a Non-convex State-dependent Linear Quadratic Regulator (NSLQR) problem, in which the control penalty weighting matrix in the performance index is state-dependent. A necessary and sufficient condition for the optimal solution is established with a rigorous proof by Euler-Lagrange Equation. It is found that the optimal solution of the NSLQR problem can be obtained by solving a Pseudo-Differential-Riccati-Equation (PDRE) simultaneously with the closed-loop system equation. A Comparison Theorem for the PDRE is given to facilitate solution methods for the PDRE. A linear time-variant system is employed as an example in simulation to verify the proposed optimal solution. As a non-trivial application, a goal pursuit process in psychology is modeled as a NSLQR problem and two typical goal pursuit behaviors found in human and animals are reproduced using different control weighting . It is found that these two behaviors save control energy and cause less stress over Conventional Control Behavior typified by the LQR control with a constant control weighting , in situations where only the goal discrepancy at the terminal time is of concern, such as in Marathon races and target hitting missions.     

Plant genome studies: restriction fragment length polymorphism and chromosome mapping information.

The detection of sequence variation with restriction fragment length polymorphisms is advancing our knowledge of plant genetics on several fronts. In the past year, there has been progress in genetic map construction, phylogeny studies, and the dissection of multigenic traits. In addition, new methods that are independent of restriction sites are being developed for polymorphism detection.