Multiple Ebola virus transmission events and rapid decline of central African wildlife

Several human and animal Ebola outbreaks have occurred over the past 4 years in Gabon and the Republic of Congo. The human outbreaks consisted of multiple simultaneous epidemics caused by different viral strains, and each epidemic resulted from the handling of a distinct gorilla, chimpanzee, or duiker carcass. These animal populations declined markedly during human Ebola outbreaks, apparently as a result of Ebola infection. Recovered carcasses were infected by a variety of Ebola strains, suggesting that Ebola outbreaks in great apes result from multiple virus introductions from the natural host. Surveillance of animal mortality may help to predict and prevent human Ebola outbreaks.     

Phylogenetic relations of humans and African apes from DNA sequences in the psi eta-globin region

Sequences from the upstream and downstream flanking DNA regions of the psi eta-globin locus in Pan troglodytes (common chimpanzee), Gorilla gorilla (gorilla), and Pongo pygmaeus (orangutan, the closest living relative to Homo, Pan, and Gorilla) provided further data for evaluating the phylogenetic relations of humans and African apes. These newly sequenced orthologs [an additional 4.9 kilobase pairs (kbp) for each species] were combined with published psi eta-gene sequences and then compared to the same orthologous stretch (a continuous 7.1-kbp region) available for humans. Phylogenetic analysis of these nucleotide sequences by the parsimony method indicated (i) that human and chimpanzee are more closely related to each other than either is to gorilla and (ii) that the slowdown in the rate of sequence evolution evident in higher primates is especially pronounced in humans. These results indicate that features (for example, knuckle-walking) unique to African apes (but not to humans) are primitive and that even local molecular clocks should be applied with caution.     

BLOOD GROUPS IN ANTHROPOID APES AND BABOONS

Tests on chimpanzees, orangutans, gibbons, baboons, and a gorilla, with blood grouping reagents prepared for human red cells, have disclosed patterns of reactions characteristic of each primate species. Determinations have been made of A-B-O groups and subgroups, M-N types, Rh-Hr types, secretor status, and Lewis types. Immunization experiments with ape and monkey blood are in progress.     

牦牛HSP27基因的克隆及其在雌性生殖器官中的表达

【目的】克隆牦牛热休克蛋白27(heat shock proteins27,HSP27)基因,分析其生物学特性,研究正常生理条件下HSP27基因在母牦牛主要生殖器官中的表达差异。【方法】采取卵泡期后期、黄体期后期同侧的卵巢、输卵管和子宫,以及妊娠期早期（胚胎约长2.3cm）妊娠侧的卵巢、输卵管和子宫组织,以其cDNA为模板,利用RT-PCR扩增牦牛HSP27基因,并将纯化的PCR产物克隆到pMDTM18-T Vector 载体中进行测序;利用生物信息学软件对HSP27基因的特征进行生物信息学分析,预测功能结构域;采用实时荧光定量 RT-qPCR 测定繁殖周期母牦牛主要生殖器官中的相对表达量,用SPSS19.0软件对试验数据进行差异显著性分析。【结果】成功克隆出包含完整编码区的牦牛HSP27基因序列,其编码区长450bp（GenBank 登录号：KP716832）,可编码149个氨基酸,其中含量最高的是亮氨酸Leu（10.7%）,含量最低的是色氨酸Trp（0.7%）。HSP27编码区蛋白原子个数为2 366,分子式为C747H1189N205O220S5,分子量为16.722kD,理论等电点为5.33;HSP27编码蛋白为非跨膜可溶性蛋白。同源性分析显示,牦牛HSP27基因的核苷酸序列与家牛、印度水牛、绵羊、藏羚羊、虎鲸、野骆驼、野猪、马、灰狼、人和猩猩的核苷酸序列同源性分别为99.8%、98.4%、97.8%、97.6%、90.3%、89.7%、89.7%、86.7%、86.7%、85.5%和85.3%,牦牛HSP27基因的氨基酸序列与家牛、印度水牛、绵羊、藏羚羊、虎鲸、野骆驼、野猪、马、灰狼、人和猩猩的氨基酸序列同源性分别为100%、100%、100%、100%、96.3%、100%、96.8%、100%、100%、96.3%和96.3%;系统进化树表明,牦牛HSP27基因与家牛、印度水牛、绵羊和藏羚羊的进化水平较为相近,与灰狼、猩猩和人类的较远。RT-qPCR结果表明,牦牛HSP27基因在卵泡期、黄体期、妊娠期不同时期的卵巢、输卵管和子宫组织中均有表达,其中在卵泡期卵巢中的表达量最高,在黄体期子宫中的表达量最低;在不同繁殖周期,牦牛HSP27基因在卵巢中的表达均极显著大于在子宫中的表达,其在卵巢、输卵管和子宫的表达因妊娠而发生了显著变化。【结论】通过与其他物种HSP27基因的同源性对比分析,发现HSP27基因在进化中具有高度保守性,同时也存在种属特异性;通过对HSP27在繁殖周期母牦牛主要生殖器官中的表达情况分析,推测出HSP27可能参与了母牦牛妊娠的调控,为进一步探讨HSP27在牦牛生殖过程中发挥的作用提供了参考资料。     

Mechanism of single-layer graphite oxidation: evaluation by electron microscopy

Etch-decoration reveals that the rate of removal of carbon atoms exposed at monolayer steps on graphite surfaces depends on the population density of these edge atoms (the rate is higher at a low-density surface) and that carbon removal continues for a prolonged period after the oxygen supply in the gas phase has been shut off. The edge carbons are removed by both oxygen from the gas phase and oxygen in the adsorbed oxides which migrate from the neighboring basal carbon atoms.     

A human Y-linked DNA polymorphism and its potential for estimating genetic and evolutionary distance

A human DNA sequence (p12f2), derived from a partial Y-chromosome genomic library and showing homology with the X and Y chromosomes and with an undetermined number of autosomes, detected two Y-specific restriction fragment length variants on male DNA that had been digested with Taq I and Eco RI. These variants may have been generated through a deletion-insertion mechanism and their pattern of holoandric transmission indicates that they represent a two-allele Y-linked polymorphism (RFLP). By means of DNA from patients with inborn deletions in chromosome Y, this polymorphic DNA site was mapped to the interval Yq11.1-Yq11.22. The frequency of the rarest allele was about 35 percent in Algerian and Sardinian human males, whereas it was only 4 percent among Northern Europeans. The p12f2 probe also detected Y-specific DNA fragments in the gorilla and chimpanzee. In view of the monosomy of the Y chromosome in mammalian species, Y-linked RFLP's may prove to be more useful than autosomal or X-linked markers in estimating genetic distances within and between species.     

我国地膜应用污染现状及其防治途径研究

地膜是农业生产的重要物质资料之一,我国每年地膜应用量近百万吨,地膜覆盖面积1 000多万hm2,覆盖作物达40多种.地膜技术的应用极大地促进了我国农业的发展,但随着地膜应用量和使用年限的不断增加,大量残留地膜造成的"白色污染"不但严重影响了农业生产的进行,而且对农业环境的安全与健康也构成了巨大的威胁.农田残留地膜已经成为影响农业环境、破坏土壤结构、危害作物正常生长发育并造成农作物减产的重要因素之一.通过对统计数据的整理分析,以及在国内外研究文献总结和归纳的基础上,对我国农用地膜应用、污染现状进行了全面的分析和论述.在此基础上,针对我国的地膜污染的现状,从地膜的标准化生产、节约使用、高效回收以及未来需要研发的新材料、新技术等方面提出相应的防治技术途径.     

基于GIS空间分析的汾河流域经济空间分异分析

以汾河流域各县域为研究单元,选取1994~2013年研究区人均GDP数据,以GIS空间分析方法为基础,分别从绝对差异、相对差异、空间分异特征等角度对其20年来的经济空间分异态势进行分析。结果表明:汾河流域县域经济发展两极分化态势明显;太原市作为区域核心,对周边县市的辐射带动作用逐渐减弱;流域中部经济发展速度较快,以孝义市为核心,依靠资源禀赋以及交通区位条件等,经济增速明显,成为新的高值聚集区;流域南部缺乏明显的中心城市,临汾市作为汾河流域南部人口最为集中的城市,但其经济发展相对较慢,对周边县域的辐射带动能力较弱,作为局部核心城市的作用不显著。     

Grain boundary decohesion by impurity segregation in a nickel-sulfur system

The sulfur-induced embrittlement of nickel has long been wrapped in mystery as to why and how sulfur weakens the grain boundaries of nickel and why a critical intergranular sulfur concentration is required. From first-principles calculations, we found that a large grain-boundary expansion is caused by a short-range overlap repulsion among densely segregated and neighboring sulfur atoms. This expansion results in a drastic grain-boundary decohesion that reduces the grain-boundary tensile strength by one order of magnitude. This decohesion may directly cause the embrittlement, because the critical sulfur concentration of this decohesion agrees well with experimental data on the embrittlement.     

Scientists implicated in atom test deception

Described here are the circumstances leading to a recent court ruling that Atomic Energy Commission officials suppressed data indicating a link between two 1953 atomic bomb tests in Nevada and sheep deaths in neighboring Utah, and then pressured scientific investigators to concur with the AEC position. In a 1956 trial, a federal judge denied compensation to the sheep owners. Evidence of the deception came to light in 1979 and 1980 and, on 24 August 1982, the same judge ordered a new trial, ruling that several AEC attorneys and scientists had indeed misrepresented the facts. His ruling has been appealed by the Department of Justice.     

Hominid humeral fragment from early Pleistocene of northwestern Kenya

The distal end of a hominoid humerus was recovered from early Pleistocene sediments in the Kanapoi drainage near the southern end of Lake Rudolf. Lava capping the sediments yielded a potassium/argon date of 2.5 million years. The fragment can be distinguished on inspection from gorilla and orangutan; discriminate analysis of humeri of Homo and Pan assigns it as hominid. From other evidence we consider it more likely to represent Australopithecus s.s. than Paranthropus.     

Optics of arthropod compound eye

The extent to which light can escape from one ommatidium into its neighbors in the compound eye has been examined by recording from single receptors during stimulation of single facets. In the "apposition" eye of the drone honeybee and locust, optical interaction is extremely small. In the "superposition" eye of the crayfish, more than half the light captured by the average cell gets in through neighboring facets, even when screening pigments are in the fully lightadapted position.     

居住位置和地块位置相邻关系对农户土地利用决策的影响

农户土地利用决策研究是从微观层面深入探讨宏观土地利用变化格局的重要方面。相邻关系作为影响农户土地利用决策的重要因素,还有待深入研究。该研究以陕西省米脂县孟岔村为例,将村域尺度上的相邻关系划分为居住位置相邻和地块位置相邻2种,分别探讨二者与农户土地利用决策的相关关系。结果表明：居住位置相邻与农户土地利用决策有微弱关系,不存在农户土地利用决策相似性随距离衰减的情况。农户土地利用决策与不同农户所属地块相邻无关,而与相同农户拥有地块是否相邻有关。     

Orientational dielectric relaxation of collisionless molecules

The generation of the orientation component of the polarization of matter in an electric field has previously been thought to require interaction of molecules with their neighbors. It is demonstrated that, even in the absence of collisions between neighboring molecules, hot isolated polyatomic molecules can reorient in response to an external field, thereby giving rise to the orientation component of polarization. This reorientation occurs through the interaction of rotation with molecular vibrations, which provides a heat bath to establish thermal rotational equilibrium. This effect is demonstrated for o-difluorobenzene, o-dichlorobenzene, and p-chlorotoluene, with an inhomogeneous electric field used to deflect molecular beams of these molecules.     

Mast cells can enhance resistance to snake and honeybee venoms

Snake or honeybee envenomation can cause substantial morbidity and mortality, and it has been proposed that the activation of mast cells by snake or insect venoms can contribute to these effects. We show, in contrast, that mast cells can significantly reduce snake-venom-induced pathology in mice, at least in part by releasing carboxypeptidase A and possibly other proteases, which can degrade venom components. Mast cells also significantly reduced the morbidity and mortality induced by honeybee venom. These findings identify a new biological function for mast cells in enhancing resistance to the morbidity and mortality induced by animal venoms.     

北部湾多鳞鱚生长与死亡参数的估算

利用2008年3-9月北部湾底拖网和刺网渔获物中采集的样本,对北部湾多鳞鱚的生长、死亡特性进行了初步研究,并利用单位补充量产量模型对多鳞鱚渔业的开发状态进行了评估。结果表明：北部湾多鳞鱚优势体长为100—130mm,占60．71％;优势体重为5～25g,占83．96％;雌性个体略大于雄性个体,性比为1：1．36,雌雄个体数量不平衡;von Bertalanffy生长方程的参数分别为：k=188．6mm,K=0．51,t0=-0．32;体重的生长拐点年龄为1．86龄;总死亡系数、自然死亡系数和捕捞死亡系数分别为2．58、1．217和1．36;渔业生物学参考点R0.1和Fmax的值分别为0.34和0．50,渔业资源已处于过度利用状态。     

县域农业生产集聚形成的影响因素——以环渤海区域蔬菜生产为例

为研究县域农业生产集聚形成的影响因素,采用空间杜宾模型,基于县域视角,运用环渤海区域5省市县域农业生产数据,对该区域农业生产空间集聚形成的影响因素进行分析。结果表明:第一,农业生产空间集聚具有正的空间溢出效应,表现为邻近县域农业生产集聚对本县集聚具有促进作用;第二,农业生产要素投入对本地区集聚具有促进作用,邻近县域农业资本投入对本县具有抑制作用;第三,市场需求、地区经济发展水平和交通条件对农业生产集聚具有显著影响。     

相邻位点碱基突变的熵性质

为了在分子水平上探讨2相邻位点碱基突变的熵性质,在双参数模型下建立有限长DNA序列2相邻位点碱基突变的微分方程模型,得出了16种碱基组成的概率随世代变化的函数关系式,证明2相邻位点碱基突变具有保熵性,生物是朝着熵增方向即多样性增加的方向进化的;阐明了在单参数模型下相邻位点碱基突变的熵性质亦是如此;该结论也适用于3个相邻位点以及更多相邻位点碱基突变的情况。并利用Matlab软件进行2相邻位点碱基突变的计算机模拟,直观地验证了所得的理论结果。     

Backward spreading of memory-retrieval signal in the primate temporal cortex

Bidirectional signaling between neocortex and limbic cortex has been hypothesized to contribute to the retrieval of long-term memory. We tested this hypothesis by comparing the time courses of perceptual and memory-retrieval signals in two neighboring areas in temporal cortex, area TE (TE) and perirhinal cortex (PRh), while monkeys were performing a visual pair-association task. Perceptual signal reached TE before PRh, confirming its forward propagation. In contrast, memory-retrieval signal appeared earlier in PRh, and TE neurons were then gradually recruited to represent the sought target. A reasonable interpretation of this finding is that the rich backward fiber projections from PRh to TE may underlie the activation of TE neurons that represent a visual object retrieved from long-term memory.