Single-molecule transport across an individual biomimetic nuclear pore complex

Nuclear pore complexes regulate the selective exchange of RNA and proteins across the nuclear envelope in eukaryotic cells. Biomimetic strategies offer new opportunities to investigate this remarkable transport phenomenon. Here, we show selective transport of proteins across individual biomimetic nuclear pore complexes at the single-molecule level. Each biomimetic complex is constructed by covalently tethering either Nup98 or Nup153 (phenylalanine-glycine (FG) nucleoporins) to a solid-state nanopore. Individual translocation events are monitored using ionic current measurements with sub-millisecond temporal resolution. Transport receptors (Impβ) proceed with a dwell time of ～2.5 ms for both Nup98- and Nup153-coated pores, whereas the passage of non-specific proteins is strongly inhibited with different degrees of selectivity. For pores up to ～25 nm in diameter, Nups form a dense and low-conducting barrier, whereas they adopt a more open structure in larger pores. Our biomimetic nuclear pore complex provides a quantitative platform for studying nucleocytoplasmic transport phenomena at the single-molecule level in vitro.     

Texture segmentation along the horizontal meridian: Nonmonotonic changes in performance with eccentricity.

In 3 experiments, subjects were required to detect the presence of a small region of disparate texture embedded in a larger background at a range of eccentricities. Detection performance always peaked several degrees from fixation. Experiment 1 showed that the location of the peak was not retinally specific; scaling the display changed the location of the performance peak. Experiment 2 showed that poor foveal performance could not be explained by cross-frequency interference; filtering out high spatial frequencies did not lead to improved foveal performance. Experiment 3 showed that the effect is not unique to textures comprising left and right oblique line segments. A parsimonious account of these data is that, at the fovea, there is a mismatch between the scale of the texture and the scale of mechanisms responsible for encoding texture differences. This mismatch diminishes as the textures are moved further into the periphery. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Task planning and energy expended: Exploration of how goals influence performance.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 72(3) of Journal of Applied Psychology (see record 2008-10684-001). Table 1 on page 109 appeared with reversed labels for the high and low conditions. The corrected Table 1 is provided in the erratum.] Although many studies demonstrate the effectiveness of goal setting in organizations, it is unclear how goals actually influence performance. The present studies examined the effect of assigned goals and task information on performance, energy expended, and task planning or organizing. In Study 1, a 2&×&2 (Information&×&Goal) design was used. Subjects were 72 undergraduates working on a business simulation. In Study 2, 129 male and female workers from a service organization and a moving company responded to a survey assessing an individual's goal setting, job training, energy expended during a typical task performance, and task planning undertaken prior to performance. The results of both studies demonstrated that goal setting and task training influenced the dependent variables. In addition to influencing an individual's energy expended (effort and persistence), a specific goal led an individual to plan and organize more than did an individual given a general goal (i.e., "do your best"). The results of both studies suggest that goal setting and task-relevant information influence performance, in part, through their influence on energy expended and planning. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Are women always less aggressive than men? A review of the experimental literature.

Reviews the experimental literature on adult female and male aggression. Commonly held hypotheses that men are almost always more physically aggressive than women and that women display more indirect or displaced aggression were not supported. Evidence of the type of sex differences that sex role stereotypes would predict seemed to appear only in self-report measures of general hostility or aggressiveness. Factors that are related to observed sex differences include sex of the instigator and/or victim of aggression, empathy with the victim, guilt, and aggression anxiety. When aggression is perceived as justified or prosocial and when these other factors are controlled, women may act as aggressively as men. Some evidence suggests that men and women react differentially to external aggressive cues and provocation. What may be anger-provoking for men may be anxiety-provoking for women. The hypothesis that sex differences in aggression are biologically determined was not examined. The present discussion should be viewed as an attempt to lay the groundwork for an understanding of the phenotypic expression of whatever genetic differences may exist. (5 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Grammatical and nongrammatical contributions to closed-class word selection.

Closed-class word selection was investigated by focusing on determiner production. Native speakers from three different languages named pictures of objects using determiner plus noun phrases (e.g., in French "la table" [thefeminineA table], while ignoring distractor determiners printed on the pictures (e.g., "le" [themasculine]. The target and distractor expressed either shared or different grammatical and nongrammatical features (gender, number, and definiteness). A gender-facilitation effect was observed and attributed to noun processing. Crucially, across five experiments, distractors that shared a feature with the target determiner never resulted in longer naming latencies than distractors that were more different. These results indicate that activating related candidates is not detrimental for determiner retrieval, suggesting a noncompetitive mechanism of closed-class word selection. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Genome-wide association mapping for type and mammary health traits in French dairy goats identifies a pleiotropic region on chromosome 19 in the Saanen breed

Type traits and mammary health traits are important to dairy ruminant breeding because they influence animal health, milking ability, and longevity, as well as the economic sustainability of farms. The availability of the genomic sequence and a single nucleotide polymorphism chip in goats has opened up new fields of investigation to better understand the genes and mechanisms that underlie such complex traits and to be able to select them. Our objective was to perform a genome-wide association study in dairy goats for 11 type traits and somatic cell count (SCC) as proxies for mastitis resistance. A genome-wide association study was implemented using a daughter design composed of 1,941 Alpine and Saanen goats sired by 20 artificial insemination bucks, genotyped with the Illumina GoatSNP50 BeadChip (Illumina Inc., San Diego, CA). This association study was based on both linkage analyses and linkage disequilibrium using QTLmap software (http://dga7.jouy.inra.fr/qtlmap/) interval mapping was performed with the likelihood ratio test using linear regressions. Breeds were analyzed together and separately. The study highlighted 37 chromosome-wide significant quantitative trait loci (QTL) with linkage analyses and 222 genome-wide significant QTL for linkage disequilibrium, for type and SCC traits in dairy goats. Genomic control of those traits was mostly polygenic and breed-specific, suggesting that within-breed selection would be favored for those traits. Of note, Capra hircus autosome (CHI) 19 appeared to be highly enriched in single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with type and SCC, with 2 highly significant regions in the Saanen breed. One region (33–42 Mb) was significantly associated with SCC and includes candidate genes associated with response to intramammary infections (RARA, STAT3, STAT5A, and STAT5B). Another region of the CHI 19 (24.5–27 Mb) exhibited an adverse pleiotropic effect on milk production (milk, fat yield, and protein yield) and udder traits (udder floor position and rear udder attachment) that agreed with the negative genetic correlations that exist between those 2 groups of traits. These QTL were not found in the Alpine breed. In Alpine, the 2 most significant regions were associated with chest depth on CHI 6 (45.8–46.0 Mb) and CHI 8 (80.7–81.1 Mb). These results will be helpful for goat selection in the future and could lead to identification of causal mutations.     

巴拉瑞特美术馆

项目概况 巴拉瑞特美术馆是澳大利亚最古老的区域性艺术机构,收藏大量19世纪～20世纪初期的艺术作品以及最初的尤利卡旗。受该馆委托,PTW建筑师事务所设计了一座现代风格的扩建建筑,其中包括300m。的现代美术日光展区、300m^2的临时展区以及与前院相连的150m^2的功能区。     

Fabrication of nanoporous Sr incorporated TiO2 coating on 316L SS: Evaluation of bioactivity and corrosion protection

In this paper, nanoporous TiO₂ and Sr-incorporated TiO₂ coated 316L SS were prepared by sol–gel methodology. The effect of Sr incorporation into TiO₂ coating on bioactivity and corrosion resistance was investigated. Attenuated total reflectance–Fourier transform infrared (ATR–FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) results obtained after in vitro bioactivity test confirm the excellent growth of crystalline hydroxyapatite (HAp) over nanoporous Sr-incorporated TiO₂ coated 316L SS which may be attributed to the slow and steady release of Sr ions from the coatings. The electrochemical evaluation of the coatings confirms that Sr-incorporated TiO₂ coating offer excellent protection to 316L SS by acting as a barrier layer. The results showed that the incorporation of Sr enhanced both bioactivity and corrosion resistance of 316L SS. Hence Sr-incorporated TiO₂ coated 316L SS is a promising material for orthopaedic implant applications.     

Immobilization of Ferrocene-Modified SNAP-Fusion Proteins

The supramolecular assembly of proteins on surfaces has been investigated via the site-selective incorporation of a supramolecular moiety on proteins. To this end, fluorescent proteins have been site-selectively labeled with ferrocenes, as supramolecular guest moieties, via SNAP-tag technology. The assembly of guest-functionalized SNAP-fusion proteins on cyclodextrin- and cucurbit [7]uril-coated surfaces yielded stable monolayers. The binding of all ferrocene fusion proteins is specific as determined by surface plasmon resonance. Micropatterns of the fusion proteins, on patterned cyclodextrin and cucurbituril surfaces, have been visualized using fluorescence microscopy. The SNAP-fusion proteins were also immobilized on cyclodextrin vesicles. The supramolecular SNAP-tag labeling of proteins, thus, allows for the assembly of modified proteins via supramolecular host-guest interaction on different surfaces in a controlled manner. These findings extend the toolbox of fabricating supramolecular protein patterns on surfaces taking advantage of the high labeling efficiency of the SNAP-tag with versatile supramolecular moieties.