Differentiated cells are more efficient than adult stem cells for cloning by somatic cell nuclear transfer

Since the creation of Dolly via somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), more than a dozen species of mammals have been cloned using this technology. One hypothesis for the limited success of cloning via SCNT (1%-5%) is that the clones are likely to be derived from adult stem cells. Support for this hypothesis comes from the findings that the reproductive cloning efficiency for embryonic stem cells is five to ten times higher than that for somatic cells as donors and that cloned pups cannot be produced directly from cloned embryos derived from differentiated B and T cells or neuronal cells. The question remains as to whether SCNT-derived animal clones can be derived from truly differentiated somatic cells. We tested this hypothesis with mouse hematopoietic cells at different differentiation stages: hematopoietic stem cells, progenitor cells and granulocytes. We found that cloning efficiency increases over the differentiation hierarchy, and terminally differentiated postmitotic granulocytes yield cloned pups with the greatest cloning efficiency.     

Microfluidic systems: high radial acceleration in microvortices

Microfluidic systems can conveniently be used for rapid analysis of biological samples. Here we describe a single re-circulating flow, or microvortex, that can generate a maximum fluid rotational velocity of up to 12 m s(-1) and a corresponding radial acceleration in excess of 10(6)g. Such microvortices may be exploited in centrifugal microdevices to investigate the effects of high radial acceleration on biological and chemical processes.     

NO is necessary and sufficient for egg activation at fertilization

The early steps that lead to the rise in calcium and egg activation at fertilization are unknown but of great interest--particularly with the advent of in vitro fertilization techniques for treating male infertility and whole-animal cloning by nuclear transfer. This calcium rise is required for egg activation and the subsequent events of development in eggs of all species. Injection of intact sperm or sperm extracts can activate eggs, suggesting that sperm-derived factors may be involved. Here we show that nitric oxide synthase is present at high concentration and active in sperm after activation by the acrosome reaction. An increase in nitrosation within eggs is evident seconds after insemination and precedes the calcium pulse of fertilization. Microinjection of nitric oxide donors or recombinant nitric oxide synthase recapitulates events of egg activation, whereas prior injection of oxyhaemoglobin, a physiological nitric oxide scavenger, prevents egg activation after fertilization. We conclude that nitric oxide synthase and nitric-oxide-related bioactivity satisfy the primary criteria of an egg activator: they are present in an appropriate place, active at an appropriate time, and are necessary and sufficient for successful fertilization.     

Steps and fluctuations of Listeria monocytogenes during actin-based motility

The actin-based motility of the bacterium, Listeria monocytogenes, is a model system for understanding motile cell functions involving actin polymerization. Although the biochemical and genetic aspects of Listeria motility have been intensely studied, biophysical data are sparse. Here we have used high-resolution laser tracking to follow the trailing ends of Listeria moving in the lamellae of COS7 cells. We found that pauses during motility occur frequently and that episodes of step-like motion often show pauses spaced at about 5.4 nm, which corresponds to the spatial periodicity of F-actin. We occasionally observed smaller steps (<3 nm), as well as periods of motion with no obvious pauses. Clearly, bacteria do not sense cytoplasmic viscoelasticity because they fluctuate 20 times less than adjacent lipid droplets. Instead, bacteria bind their own actin 'tails, and the anchoring proteins can 'step' along growing filaments within the actin tail. Because positional fluctuations are unusually small, the forces of association and propulsion must be very strong. Our data disprove the brownian ratchet models and limit alternative models, such as the 'elastic' brownian ratchet or the 'molecular' ratchet.     

基于无人机的三维MIMO信道建模与仿真分析

针对无人机通信环境特点以及多输入多输出(multiple input multiple output,MIMO)系统,将三维空间相关法建模和机身遮挡现象相结合,提出一种无人机的三维移动空间信道模型(three dimensional dynamic spatial channel model, 3DD SCM)。〖JP2〗推导了无人机天线阵列的相关性表达式,同时提出一种遮挡控制器来表示无人机与地面在通信过程中受到机身遮挡的影响。通过仿真分别分析了无人机不同飞行方向和机身遮挡对信道性能的影响,验证了该信道模型的正确性和有效性。该无人机通信模型可用于指导无人机天线设计,研究编码技术。     

Radiation hardness characterization of low gain avalanche detector prototypes for the high granularity timing detector

The high granularity timing detector (HGTD) is a crucial component of the ATLAS phase II upgrade to cope with the extremely high pile-up (the average number of interactions per bunch crossing can be as high as 200). With the precise timing information (σ_t～30 ps) of the tracks, the track-to-vertex association can be performed in the “4-D” space. The Low Gain Avalanche Detector (LGAD) technology is chosen for the sensors, which can provide the required timing resolution and good signal-to-noise ratio. Hamamatsu Photonics K.K. (HPK) has produced the LGAD with thicknesses of 35 μm and 50 μm. The University of Science and Technology of China(USTC) has also developed and produced 50 μm LGADs prototypes with the Institute of Microelectronics (IME) of Chinese Academy of Sciences. To evaluate the irradiation hardness, the sensors are irradiated with the neutron at the JSI reactor facility and tested at USTC. The irradiation effects on both the gain layer and the bulk are characterized by I-V and C-V measurements at room temperature (20 ℃) or ?30 ℃. The breakdown voltages and depletion voltages are extracted and presented as a function of the fluences. The final fitting of the acceptor removal model yielded the c-factor of 3.06×10?16 cm?2, 3.89×10?16 cm?2 and 4.12×10?16 cm?2 for the HPK-1.2, HPK-3.2 and USTC-1.1-W8, respectively, showing that the HPK-1.2 sensors have the most irradiation resistant gain layer. A novel analysis method is used to further exploit the data to get the relationship between the c-factor and initial doping density.     

中国适应气候变化的政策及行动

 为理清中国适应气候变化的发展变化历程,梳理了中国适应气候变化制度的建设过程,国家、部门及地方等不同层面适应气候变化政策的发展脉络,以及重点脆弱领域农业农村地区适应政策的发展现状;针对不同领域适应气候变化行动,从农业、水资源、陆地生态系统、海岸带、人体健康等不同角度总结了国内所开展的具体适应行动及其成效,并重点分析了农业农村地区适应行动;根据中国适应气候变化政策与行动的发展特征,提出了适应政策行动的未来发展建议。     

等衰落轨道角动量索引调制系统的信道容量性能分析

射频轨道角动量(orbital angular momentum,OAM)提供了一种可以在同一载波频率物理信道上复用一组正交模式以提高信道容量的方法。现有研究大多专注于信道容量提升,对系统复杂度的研究相对较少。在基于均匀圆形阵列(uniform circular array,UCA)的OAM通信系统中,发射机需要完成大量调制运算以生成OAM信号。于是,提出了一种等衰落轨道角动量索引调制(equal fading orbital angular momentum index modulation,EOAM-IM)方案,其中,IM有效降低了OAM调制运算复杂度,且等衰落发射机也保证了不同模式OAM子信道传输增益。此外,还详细推导了所提EOAM-IM方案的系统信道容量。仿真结果表明,所提EOAM-IM方案能以更低的调制复杂度获得比传统OAM方案更高的信道容量。