Molecular cloning of five individual stage- and tissue-specific mRNA sequences from sea urchin pluteus embryos.

Five developmentally regulated sea urchin mRNA sequences which increase in abundance between the blastula and pluteus stages of development were isolated by molecular cloning of cDNA. The regulated sequences all appeared in moderately abundant mRNA molecules of pluteus cells and represented 4% of the clones tested. There were no regulated sequences detected in the 40% of the clones which hybridized to the most abundant mRNA, and the screening procedures were inadequate to detect possible regulation in the 20 to 30% of the clones presumably derived from rare-class mRNA. The reaction of 32P[cDNA] from blastula and pluteus mRNA to dots of the cloned DNAs on nitrocellulose filters indicated that the mRNAs complementary to the different cloned pluteus-specific sequences were between 3- and 47-fold more prevalent at the pluteus stage than at the blastula stage. Polyadenylated RNA from different developmental stages was transferred from electrophoretic gels to nitrocellulose filters and reacted to the different cloned sequences. The regulated mRNAs were undetectable in the RNA of 3-h embryos, became evident at the hatching blastula stage, and reached a maximum in abundance by the gastrula or pluteus stage. Certain of the clones reacted to two sizes of mRNA which did not vary coordinately with development. Transfers of RNA isolated from each of the three cell layers of pluteus embryos that were reacted to the cloned sequences revealed that two of the sequences were found in the mRNA of all three layers, two were ectoderm specific, and one was endoderm specific. Four of the regulated sequences were complementary to one or two major bands and one to at least 50 bands on Southern transfers of restriction endonuclease-digested total sea urchin DNA

Real-time analysis of cAMP-mediated regulation of ciliary motility in single primary human airway epithelial cells

Airway ciliary beat frequency regulation is complex but in part influenced by cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)-mediated changes in cAMP-dependent kinase activity, yet the cAMP concentration required for increases in ciliary beat frequency and the temporal relationship between ciliary beat frequency and cAMP changes are unknown. A lentiviral gene transfer system was developed to express a fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based cAMP sensor in ciliated cells. Expression of fluorescently tagged cAMP-dependent kinase subunits from the ciliated-cell-specific foxj1 promoter enhanced expression in fully differentiated ciliated human airway epithelial cells, and permitted simultaneous measurements of ciliary beat frequency and cAMP (represented by the FRET ratio). Apical application of forskolin (1 microM, 10 microM, 20 microM) and, in permeabilized cells, basolateral cAMP (20 microM, 50 microM, 100 microM) caused dose-dependent, albeit similar and simultaneous-increases in cAMP and ciliary beat frequency. However, decreases in cAMP preceded decreases in ciliary beat frequency, suggesting that either cellular cAMP decreases before ciliary cAMP or the dephosphorylation of target proteins by phosphatases occur at a rate slower than the rate of cAMP hydrolysis

Rail Operations and Energy Management

A global important ecological and economical aspect is the reduction of energy consumption. This aim has to be fulfilled also in the transport sector. Although the rail transportation is a very ecological transport system itself, it is faced with request to save energy and costs, too. Measures have to be taken to stay competitive with developments in other transport sectors, like road traffic. Modern traffic management systems can help to decrease energy consumption. Rail operation needs command and control like any complex transport system, anyway. Thus, a modern rail operation and traffic management system can reflect the energy saving and other customer needs beside the common tasks of securing an unobstructed operation corresponding to timetables and handling disruptions

Evolvix BEST Names for semantic reproducibility across code2brain interfaces

Names in programming are vital for understanding the meaning of code and big data. We define code2brain (C2B) interfaces as maps in compilers and brains between meaning and naming syntax, which help to understand executable code. While working toward an Evolvix syntax for general‐purpose programming that makes accurate modeling easy for biologists, we observed how names affect C2B quality. To protect learning and coding investments, C2B interfaces require long‐term backward compatibility and semantic reproducibility (accurate reproduction of computational meaning from coder‐brains to reader‐brains by code alone). Semantic reproducibility is often assumed until confusing synonyms degrade modeling in biology to deciphering exercises. We highlight empirical naming priorities from diverse individuals and roles of names in different modes of computing to show how naming easily becomes impossibly difficult. We present the Evolvix BEST (Brief, Explicit, Summarizing, Technical) Names concept for reducing naming priority conflicts, test it on a real challenge by naming subfolders for the Project Organization Stabilizing Tool system, and provide naming questionnaires designed to facilitate C2B debugging by improving names used as keywords in a stabilizing programming language. Our experiences inspired us to develop Evolvix using a flipped programming language design approach with some unexpected features and BEST Names at its core