Although the mechanisms of apoptotic cell death have been well studied in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, it is unclear whether such mechanisms are conserved in other distantly related species. Using degenerate primers and PCR, we cloned a proapoptotic gene homologous to Head involution defective (Hid) from the Scuttle fly, Megaselia scalaris (MsHid). MsHid cDNA encodes a 197-amino acid-long polypeptide, which so far is the smallest HID protein. PCR analyses revealed that the MsHid gene consists of four exons and three introns. Ectopic expression of MsHid in various peptidergic neurons and non-neuronal tissues in Drosophila effectively induced apoptosis of these cells. However, deletion of either conserved domain, N-terminal IBM or C-terminal MTS, abolished the apoptogenic activity of MsHID, indicating that these two domains are indispensable. Expression of MsHid was found in all life stages, but more prominently in embryos and pupae. MsHid is actively expressed in the central nervous system (CNS), indicating its important role in CNS development. Together MsHID is likely to be an important cell death inducer during embryonic and post-embryonic development in this species. In addition, we found 2-fold induction of MsHid expression in UV-irradiated embryos, indicating a possible role for MsHid in UV-induced apoptosis.
Energy storage system (ESS) plays a significant role in increasing the reliability and the performance of electricity generation, transmission, and distribution. Because of its positive relevance to the electric grid, renewables, and grid security, many developed countries enhance their efforts to develop the ESS technologies. A comparative study on global ESS competitiveness helps researchers to identify leading and lagging countries in ESS field while providing the key indicators to explain the differences. To develop a model index to measure the ESS competitiveness, we, first, devises a competitiveness framework of categories and indicators based on theories of science and technology innovation. Second, we set up the model indexes, both theoretical and experimental, by conducting analytic hierarchy process analysis and collecting experts' review. Then, we measure the ESS competitiveness of 11 OECD countries and China, and find that the United States is an outstanding first-runner in the ESS sector. China is the second while Japan, Germany, and South Korea belong to the next competitive group. Research findings in this paper provide policy implications for ESS technological development and commercialization. FIGURE 1 | Overall research methodology and diagram. AHP, analytic hierarchy process; ESS, energy storage system. WIREs Energy and Environment Global competitiveness analysis of energy storage system Volume 6, /energy 2011 2012 FIGURE 4 | Technology mix of announced energy storage projects. Source: Ref 76, p. 3. Advanced Review wires.wiley.com/energy
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.