Plant circadian clocks increase photosynthesis, growth, survival, and competitive advantage

Circadian clocks are believed to confer an advantage to plants, but the nature of that advantage has been unknown. We show that a substantial photosynthetic advantage is conferred by correct matching of the circadian clock period with that of the external light-dark cycle. In wild type and in long- and short-circadian period mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana, plants with a clock period matched to the environment contain more chlorophyll, fix more carbon, grow faster, and survive better than plants with circadian periods differing from their environment. This explains why plants gain advantage from circadian control.     

Energetics of load carrying in Nepalese porters

Nepalese porters routinely carry head-supported loads equal to 100 to 200% of their body weight (Mb) for many days up and down steep mountain footpaths at high altitudes. Previous studies have shown that African women carry head-supported loads of up to 60% of their Mb far more economically than army recruits carrying equivalent loads in backpacks. Here we show that Nepalese porters carry heavier loads even more economically than African women. Female Nepalese porters, for example, carry on average loads that are 10% of their Mb heavier than the maximum loads carried by the African women, yet do so at a 25% smaller metabolic cost.     

Improved climate control for potato stores by fuzzy controllers

The main tasks for climate controllers in potato bulk stores are to keep the storage climate in an appropriate condition for quality conservation. To avoid extra energy costs by using cooling systems the internal climate of potato bulk stores is controlled with outdoor air. A conventionally designed controller is difficult to adapt for an optimal climate control to reduce quality loss. However, a controller designed with fuzzy logic is found as advantageous for adapting control parameters to improve the control process. A test stand is built to ventilate and to control two samples of potato bulks simultaneously with the same outdoor weather conditions for comparisons. Several experiments were carried out to compare climate controllers with different control algorithms, i.e. conventional to a different conventional and conventional to fuzzy.     

淫羊藿苷分离方法的研究

以淫羊藿甲醇粗提物为原料,以研究规模化分离提纯淫羊藿苷的方法为目的,研究了4种分离方法的分离效果和可行性。结果表明最佳的分离方法为:用30%乙醇对淫羊藿甲醇粗提取物进行超声波辅助提取两次,提取液直接流经聚酰胺柱,并用相同溶剂洗柱,浓缩洗脱液至小体积后依次用氯仿和乙酸乙酯分别萃取,乙酸乙酯萃取物中淫羊藿苷的含量为60%,淫羊藿苷的总收率为74.11%。经60%乙醇重结晶一次,得90.94%含量的淫羊藿苷,总收率为36.30%。该方法工艺简单,生产成本低,产品收率高,纯度好,是工业化生产淫羊藿苷的理想方法。     

Prevention of organ allograft rejection by a specific Janus kinase 3 inhibitor

Because of its requirement for signaling by multiple cytokines, Janus kinase 3 (JAK3) is an excellent target for clinical immunosuppression. We report the development of a specific, orally active inhibitor of JAK3, CP-690,550, that significantly prolonged survival in a murine model of heart transplantation and in cynomolgus monkeys receiving kidney transplants. CP-690,550 treatment was not associated with hypertension, hyperlipidemia, or lymphoproliferative disease. On the basis of these preclinical results, we believe JAK3 blockade by CP-690,550 has potential for therapeutically desirable immunosuppression in human organ transplantation and in other clinical settings.     

红麻杆栽培平菇试验

本试验是根据目前平菇主要栽培料棉籽壳资源少,价格高而红麻杆资源丰富,价格低。我国有很多地区种植红麻,每年有大量的红麻杆当成柴烧。为了充分利用这一资源,我们将红麻杆粉碎进行平菇栽培试验,试验结果表明红麻杆栽培平菇是可行的,生物学效率也很高,有推广价值。     

A gain-of-function mutation in a cytokinin receptor triggers spontaneous root nodule organogenesis

Legume root nodules originate from differentiated cortical cells that reenter the cell cycle and form organ primordia. We show that perception of the phytohormone cytokinin is a key element in this switch. Mutation of a Lotus japonicus cytokinin receptor gene leads to spontaneous development of root nodules in the absence of rhizobia or rhizobial signal molecules. The mutant histidine kinase receptor has cytokinin-independent activity and activates an Escherichia coli two-component phosphorelay system in vivo. Mutant analysis shows that cytokinin signaling is required for cell divisions that initiate nodule development and defines an autoregulated process where cytokinin induction of nodule stem cells is controlled by shoots.     

Atom collision-induced resistivity of carbon nanotubes

We report the observation of unusually strong and systematic changes in the electron transport in metallic single-walled carbon nanotubes that are undergoing collisions with inert gas atoms or small molecules. At fixed gas temperature and pressure, changes in the resistance and thermopower of thin films are observed that scale as roughly M(1/3), where M is the mass of the colliding gas species (He, Ar, Ne, Kr, Xe, CH4, and N2). Results of molecular dynamics simulations are also presented that show that the maximum deformation of the tube wall upon collision and the total energy transfer between the colliding atom and the nanotube also exhibit a roughly M(1/3) dependence. It appears that the transient deformation (or dent) in the tube wall may provide a previously unknown scattering mechanism needed to explain the atom collision-induced changes in the electrical transport.