Constraints on the diameter and albedo of 2060 chiron

Asteroid 2060 Chiron is the largest known object exhibiting cometary activity. Radiometric observations made in 1983 from a ground-based telescope and the Infrared Astronomical Satellite are used to examine the limits on Chiron's diameter and albedo. It is argued that Chiron's surface temperature distribution at that time is best described by an "isothermal latitude" or "rapid-rotator" model. Consequently, Chiron has a maximum diameter of 372 kilometers and a minimum geometric albedo of 2.7%. This is much bigger and darker than previous estimates, and suggests that gravity may play a significant role in the evolution of gas and dust emissions. It is also found that for large obliquities, surface temperatures can vary dramatically on time scales of a decade, and that such geometry may play a critical role in explaining Chiron's observed photometric behavior since its discovery in 1977.     

Selenium biochemistry

The toxicity of selenium to animals and plants has been known and extensively documented since the 1930's, but it is only during the past 15 years that selenium has also been shown to be an essential micronutrient for animals and bacteria. Very little is known about the specific role or roles of selenium and, to date, there are only three enzyme-catalyzed reactions that have been shown to require the participation of a selenium-containing protein. These are the reactions catalyzed by (i) formate dehydrogenase of bacteria, (ii) glycine reductase of clostridia, and (iii) glutathione peroxidase of erythrocytes. The common denominator of these selenium-dependent processes is that they are all oxidation-reduction reactions. A fourth selenoprotein has been isolated from skeletal muscle of sheep but its catalytic function has not been identified. The form in which selenium occurs in these selenoproteins is unknown. The selenoprotein of clostridial glycine reductase contains selenium in a covalently bound form. Studies in progress indicate that this may be an organoselenium compound not previously detected in nature. Identification of the chemical nature of selenium in proteins participating in electron transport processes should enable us to determine its specific role and to understand the basic defects in certain cardiac and skeletal muscle degenerative diseases which are selenium-deficiency syndromes. The greater availability and ease of isolation of the selenoprotein of the bacterial glycine reductase system makes this the biological material of choice for studies on the mechanism of action of selenium. An added attractive feature of this system is that it can conserve the energy made available by the reductive deamination of glycine in a biologically useful form by synthesizing ATP.     

Patent disputes. Biotech giants butt heads over cancer drug

On 8 June, Chiron challenged Genentech's patent on an important new breast cancer drug called Herceptin and sued for a share of the profits. Chiron's 4-page complaint, filed in the federal district court in Sacramento, California, accuses Genentech of "willful, wanton, and deliberate" infringement of one of its patents. The case is being closely watched in the biotech industry not just because of the money at stake but also because it involves one of the first therapies to emerge from the burgeoning field of cancer genetics     

Isolating "uncultivable" microorganisms in pure culture in a simulated natural environment

The majority (>99%) of microorganisms from the environment resist cultivation in the laboratory. Ribosomal RNA analysis suggests that uncultivated organisms are found in nearly every prokaryotic group, and several divisions have no known cultivable representatives. We designed a diffusion chamber that allowed the growth of previously uncultivated microorganisms in a simulated natural environment. Colonies of representative marine organisms were isolated in pure culture. These isolates did not grow on artificial media alone but formed colonies in the presence of other microorganisms. This observation may help explain the nature of microbial uncultivability.     

Alga-like fossils from the early precambrian of South Africa

Micropaleontological studies of carbonaceouis chert from the Fig Tree Series of South Africa (> 3.1 x 10(9) years old) revealed the presence of spheroidal microfossils, here designated Archaeosphaeroides barbertonensis, interpreted as probably representing the remnants of unicellular alga-like organisms. The presumed photosynthetic nature of these primitive microorganisms seems corroborated by organic geochemical and carbon isotopic studies of the Fig Tree organic matter, and is consistent with the geologically and mineralogically indicated Early Precambrian environment. These alga-like spheroids, together with a bacterium-like organism previously described from the Fig Tree chert, are the oldest fossil orgisms now known.     

Nitrogen fixation by anaerobic cellulolytic bacteria

Four strains of anaerobic nitrogen-fixing, cellulose-fermenting bacteria were isolated in pure culture from freshwater mud and soil. Nitrogenase activity was demonstrated in these strains and also in several previously described anaerobic cellulolytic bacteria isolated from various natural environments. These are the first anaerobic bacteria known to use cellulose as an energy source for nitrogen fixation. Because cellulose is a plant polysaccharide that abounds in nature, these results raise the possibility that nitrogen-fixing, cellulose-fermenting bacteria may be widespread and thus play a major role in carbon and nitrogen cycling.     

Plaque reduction,a sensitive test for eastern encephalitis antibody

Serologic surveys of vertebrates to determine rates of eastern encephalitis infection were made to discover the most likely disseminators of virus in nature. Of the techniques available, neutralization is the most specific, and antibody is known to persist for many years. This communication reports a fivefold increase in sensitivity of neutralizing-antibody detection by the application of a plaquereducing technique.     

Dependence of EPSP efficacy on synapse location in neocortical pyramidal neurons

Neurons receive thousands of synaptic inputs throughout elaborate dendritic trees. Here we determine the somatic impact of excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) generated at known dendritic sites in neocortical pyramidal neurons. As inputs became more distal, somatic EPSP amplitude decreased, whereas use-dependent depression increased. Despite marked attenuation (>40-fold), when coactivated within a narrow time window (approximately 10 milliseconds), distal EPSPs could directly influence action potential output following dendritic spike generation. These findings reveal that distal EPSPs are ineffective sources of background somatic excitation, but through coincidence detection have a powerful transient signaling role.     

Impaired nociception and pain sensation in mice lacking the capsaicin receptor

The capsaicin (vanilloid) receptor VR1 is a cation channel expressed by primary sensory neurons of the "pain" pathway. Heterologously expressed VR1 can be activated by vanilloid compounds, protons, or heat (>43 degrees C), but whether this channel contributes to chemical or thermal sensitivity in vivo is not known. Here, we demonstrate that sensory neurons from mice lacking VR1 are severely deficient in their responses to each of these noxious stimuli. VR1-/- mice showed normal responses to noxious mechanical stimuli but exhibited no vanilloid-evoked pain behavior, were impaired in the detection of painful heat, and showed little thermal hypersensitivity in the setting of inflammation. Thus, VR1 is essential for selective modalities of pain sensation and for tissue injury-induced thermal hyperalgesia.     

Evidence for a high frequency of simultaneous double-nucleotide substitutions

Point mutations are generally assumed to involve changes of single nucleotides. Nevertheless, the nature and known mechanisms of mutation do not exclude the possibility that several adjacent nucleotides may change simultaneously in a single mutational event. Two independent approaches are used here to estimate the frequency of simultaneous double-nucleotide substitutions. The first examines switches between TCN and AGY (where N is any nucleotide and Y is a pyrimidine) codons encoding absolutely conserved serine residues in a number of proteins from diverse organisms. The second reveals double-nucleotide substitutions in primate noncoding sequences. These two complementary approaches provide similar high estimates for the rate of doublet substitutions, on the order of 0.1 per site per billion years.     

非编码RNA检测技术的研究进展

非编码RNA（non-coding RNA,ncRNA）广泛存在于生物体中,不编码蛋白质,以RNA的形式在许多生命过程中发挥着重要的作用。随着越来越多ncRNA生物学功能的揭示,检测ncRNA在不同生理和病理状态下表达谱的变化,已迅速成为研究的热点。为了将ncRNA更好地应用于农业生产和生物医学研究,笔者对ncRNA最新检测技术的原理与应用进行了综述。     

Defensive function of herbivore-induced plant volatile emissions in nature

Herbivore attack is known to increase the emission of volatiles, which attract predators to herbivore-damaged plants in the laboratory and agricultural systems. We quantified volatile emissions from Nicotiana attenuata plants growing in natural populations during attack by three species of leaf-feeding herbivores and mimicked the release of five commonly emitted volatiles individually. Three compounds (cis-3-hexen-1-ol, linalool, and cis-alpha-bergamotene) increased egg predation rates by a generalist predator; linalool and the complete blend decreased lepidopteran oviposition rates. As a consequence, a plant could reduce the number of herbivores by more than 90% by releasing volatiles. These results confirm that indirect defenses can operate in nature.     

两种自然保护区设计方法——数学建模和计算机模拟

传统的自然保护区设计方法是打分法和Gap分析法,这两种方法简单易行但可靠性不高;地理信息系统(GIS)在保护区设计领域的应用也为人熟悉。关注近年来快速发展而国内使用不多的两种方法——数学建模和计算机模拟。数学建模主要用来从一组备选地块中选择一部分组成自然保护区,包括线性和非线性模型,用启发式算法或最优化算法求解。启发式算法具有速度快、灵活等优点,但解通常不是最优的,不能保证稀缺资源的最优化利用。最优化算法运算效率低,变量较多比如数百时就可能遇到计算困难,但解是最优的。预计两种算法都将继续发展。计算机模拟主要用于保护区评价、功能区划分、预测特定环境比如空间特征和气候变化对物种的影响等,多用启发式算法,与其它软件结合把结果以图画显示出来。两种方法特别是计算机模拟均要求保护区设计者有较强的专业知识。讨论了两种方法面临的问题和新的研究方向,至少包括:1)基础数据依然需要完善;2)一些新的因素比如动态性和不确定性如何在模型中考虑并与其它因素结合;3)气候变化预景下模拟参数如何评估和调整;4)如何协调保护与发展的关系;5)方法的实际应用需要研究者与决策者之间建立交流机制;6)多领域专家和相关利益方应有机会参与保护区设计。     

PCR技术检测饲料中沙门氏菌的应用研究

用聚合酶链式反应穴PCR雪技术检测饲料中沙门氏菌,对已知被沙门氏菌污染的动物饲料的培养物均能检出阳性,说明PCR方法对检测饲料中沙门氏菌具有特异性高,且灵敏、快速等特点,适用于快速、准确地检测饲料中沙门氏菌的需要。     

3M纸片检测大肠菌群法与国标快速检测法的比较研究

[目的]比较用3M纸片法与用快速检测国标法(MEFH)对不同样品大肠菌群的检测结果。[方法]以花生、小米、玉米、大米和花生油为检测样品,以Aliz-gal和MUGal肉汤为培养基,设大肠菌群污染的自然状态未知浓度和模拟培养已知浓度的两种处理,进行3M纸片法与MEFH法对大肠菌群的检测结果对比试验。[结果]3M法与MEFH中MPN法检测自然状态的5种样品的大肠菌群结果比较符合率为90%,3M纸片法和MEFH中的平板法检测结果无明显差异。3M纸片法未出现假阳性现象,证明了3M纸片法有很强的选择性。[结论]3M纸片法操作简便,适合企业现场食品卫生检测。     

鸡传染性喉气管炎病毒PCR快速检测方法的建立

根据GenBank发表的传染性喉气管炎病毒(ILTV)TK基因序列(EF552578),设计合成了1对特异性引物,通过优化反应条件,成功地从ILTV疫苗株中扩增出329 bp特异性片段,而传染性支气管炎病毒、新城疫病毒及马立克病毒基因组均未扩增为出相应的片段。回收的PCR产物经EcoRⅠ酶切和测序鉴定,证实了该扩增片段的特异性。PCR检测ILTV DNA的最小检测量为30 pg。经临床初步应用表明,该方法的建立使传染性喉气管炎病毒的检测更为快速、简便、经济和实用。     

Astrocytes synthesize angiotensinogen in brain

Cell types associated with angiotensinogen mRNA in rat brain were identified in individual brain sections by in situ hybridization with tritiated RNA probes or with a sulfur-35--labeled oligonucleotide combined with immunocytochemical detection of either glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) for astrocytes or microtubule-associated protein (MAP-2) for neurons. Autoradiography revealed silver grains clustered primarily over GFAP-reactive soma and processes; most grain clusters were not associated with MAP-2--reactive cells. These results demonstrate that, in contrast to other known neuropeptide precursors, angiotensinogen is synthesized by glia.     

New light on dark matter

Dark matter, proposed decades ago as a speculative component of the universe, is now known to be the vital ingredient in the cosmos: six times more abundant than ordinary matter, one-quarter of the total energy density, and the component that has controlled the growth of structure in the universe. Its nature remains a mystery, but assuming that it is composed of weakly interacting subatomic particles, is consistent with large-scale cosmic structure. However, recent analyses of structure on galactic and subgalactic scales have suggested discrepancies and stimulated numerous alternative proposals. We discuss how studies of the density, demography, history, and environment of smaller-scale structures may distinguish among these possibilities and shed new light on the nature of dark matter.     

Humoral agent from calf lung producing pulmonary arterial vasoconstriction

Saline washings obtained in vivo from the lung of young calves produce pulmonary hypertension upon intrayascular (systemic or pulmonary) injection into either the dog or the calf. This pulmonary hypertension is produced by vasoconstriction of small, precapillary pulmonary vessels. The active agent, pulmonary arterial constrictor substance, differs chemically and physiologically from other substances which have been investigated with respect to vasomotor activity in the pulmonary circulation. Although the chemical nature of the active agent is not known it appears to have a relatively large molecular weight. Whether this agent plays a role in the physiological regulation of the pulmonary circulation is not known.