川西牧区自然发酵酸乳中几株优良乳酸菌的分离及鉴定

从川西牧区采集的自然发酵酸乳中分离到109株乳酸细菌,通过在牛乳中的传代发酵试验、冷藏过程中活菌数的测定、产乙醛和双乙酰能力的测定及感官综合评价等试验,筛选出6株遗传性状稳定、凝乳状态好、风味独特且后酸性好的乳酸菌菌株,其中杆菌2株,球菌4株,经形态特征、生理生化特性和唯一碳源试验的测定,将这6株细菌初步鉴定为德氏乳杆菌保加利亚亚种(L.delbrueckiisubsp.bulgaricus)、肠乳杆菌(L.intestinalis)、嗜热链球菌(S.thermophilus)、乳酸乳球菌(Lactococcuslactic)、肠膜明串珠菌葡聚糖亚种(L.mesentaroidssubsp.dextran icum.)。     

Phase-matched generation of coherent soft X-rays

Phase-matched harmonic conversion of visible laser light into soft x-rays was demonstrated. The recently developed technique of guided-wave frequency conversion was used to upshift light from 800 nanometers to the range from 17 to 32 nanometers. This process increased the coherent x-ray output by factors of 10(2) to 10(3) compared to the non-phase-matched case. This source uses a small-scale (sub-millijoule) high repetition-rate laser and will enable a wide variety of new experimental investigations in linear and nonlinear x-ray science.     

Effects of aggregate structure and organic C on wettability of Ustolls

Soil wettability is especially important for rainfed agriculture in climates with a dry period during the growing season. The effect of aggregate structure and soil organic C content on wettability of soil aggregates was determined for grassland (grass) and tilled fields (tillage). Soil organic C, plastic limit, aggregate total porosity, and wettability at 100 mm (rapid wetting) and 300 mm (slow wetting) water tension were measured on soil at 0–0.2 m depth. Natural aggregates from tillage and grass were compared to soil pellets formed by remolding aggregates. At both tensions, wettability of grass aggregates was significantly greater than that of tillage aggregates (P ≤ 0.001). Pellets were significantly less wettable than natural aggregates at 300 mm tension and during the initial wetting at 100 mm tension, but became significantly more wettable with time at 100 mm tension. Cumulative water uptake during 60 min exceeded the initial total porosity of pellets and natural tillage aggregates, suggesting incipient failure (formation of microcracks) during fast wetting. Grass aggregates contained twice as much organic C as tillage aggregates (26 g kg⁻¹ versus 13 g kg⁻¹). Organic C was linearly and positively related to plastic limit, total porosity, and the wettability of natural aggregates at 300 mm tension. At 100 mm tension, organic C was negatively related to wettability of natural aggregates under grass, but unrelated to wettability under tillage. Aggregate wettability was positively related to organic carbon content, except when the arrangement of soil constituents reduced or prevented incipient failure and soil dispersion during rapid wetting resulted in cumulative water uptake (60 min) similar to initial aggregate total porosity. Organic C increased wettability of grass aggregates when compared to tillage aggregates and also stabilized natural aggregates during fast wetting (100 mm tension). Both soil organic C content and aggregate structure were key factors controlling aggregate stability and wettability.     

四川花生根瘤菌的遗传多样性

用IAR、RAPDs和16S-23S PCR-RFLP 3种方法对采集自四川省4个不同地点的22株慢生型花生根瘤菌的遗传多样性进行了研究。供试菌株对8种抗生素的抗药性测定表明,22个菌株中存在7个抗药性类群。来自同一采集地的菌株天然抗药性存在着差异。IAR的结果证明了四川花生根瘤菌表型性状的多样性。4个随机引物的扩增图谱有明显的多态性。聚类分析的结果表明菌株内部存在不同水平的遗传多样性。全部菌株在58%的相似性水平上被分为6群,采集地相同的菌株聚为一类,表明环境对根瘤菌的系统发育和遗传分化有影响。用PHR和P23S R01这一对引物对供试菌株16S-23S rDNA基因间隔区进行了扩增,得到2.0kb和2.1kb两种大小不同的片段。用3种内切酶酶切后的图谱分为6种类型。根据各菌株带型相似性进行的聚类分析结果表明,供试菌株的16S-23S rDNA PCR-RFLP相似性很高,说明16S-23S rDNA基因保守,在进化过程中受环境的影响比其它基因组序列相对要小。     

Feline paraneoplastic syndrome associated with thymoma

CASE HISTORY: A 6-year-old, spayed, female, domestic short-haired cat presented with severe erythroderma and scaling skin. She showed disturbed gait and mild behavioural changes.

CLINICAL FINDINGS: The cat had a generalised, erythematous, scurfy dermatitis with marked, multifocal crusting and skin thickening. The skin was painful and contracted, which appeared to prevent normal freedom of movement.

DIAGNOSIS: The cat was suspected to have a paraneoplastic syndrome. A mediastinal mass was located and histologically confirmed as thymoma. The cat was diagnosed with a thymoma-associated cutaneous paraneoplastic syndrome.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This is a rare condition with few reports in the literature. The skin changes, both grossly and histologically, were considered to be different from those described in cases of paraneoplastic dermatosis associated with pancreatic neoplasia. The clinical presentation was characteristic and more cases may occur in practice than are recognised. In this case, as in previous reports, the tumour was grossly resectable, which could lead to cure of the clinical condition.     

Effects of crocin on frozen-thawed sperm apoptosis,protamine expression and membrane lipid oxidation in Yanbian yellow cattle

Glycerol is used as a bovine semen osmotic cryoprotectant that greatly improves the quality of frozen and thawed bovine sperm. However, high glycerol concentrations can have a toxic effect on frozen and thawed bovine sperm. Therefore, this experiment investigated the effect of replacing a portion of the glycerol in a cryoprotectant solution with crocin on the sperm apoptosis, protamine deficiency and membrane lipid oxidation of frozen and thawed Yanbian yellow cattle sperm. The experiment included a control group (6% glycerol) and four treatment groups: I (3% glycerol), II (3% glycerol +0.5 mM crocin), III (3% glycerol + 1 mM crocin) and IV (3% glycerol + 2 mM crocin). Computer assisted semen analysis was used to detect sperm motility, Hoechst 33,342, propidium iodide, and JC-1 staining were used to analyse sperm viability and mitochondrial membrane potential, chromomycin A3 staining was used to detect protamine deficiency and DNA damage, flow cytometry was used for sperm membrane lipid disorder detection and analysis, and real-time quantitative RT-qPCR was used to detect the mRNA expression levels of protamine-related genes (PRM2, PRM3), sperm acrosome-associated genes (SPACA3), oxidative stress-related genes (ROMO1) and apoptosis-related genes (BCL2, BAX). Compared to the control group, replacing a portion of glycerol with 1 mM crocin significantly improved sperm motility, plasma membrane integrity, membrane lipid disorders (p < .05) and viability, mitochondrial membrane potential, protamine deficiency (p < .01). The expression level of PRM2, PRM3, SPACA3 and BCL2 significantly increased (p < .05), while the expression levels of ROMO1 and BAX significantly decreased (p < .05). Accordingly, the BCL2/BAX ratio significantly increased (p < .05). In summary, the substitution of a portion of glycerol with crocin in cryoprotective solution improved the quality of Yanbian yellow cattle sperm after freezing and thawing.     

Resveratrol metabolites do not elicit early pro-apoptotic mechanisms in neuroblastoma cells

Resveratrol, a nontoxic polyphenol, has been shown to inhibit tumor growth in a xenograft mouse model of neuroblasoma. However, resveratrol is rapidly metabolized, mainly to its glucuronidated and sulfated derivatives. This study demonstrates that resveratrol alone, and not the glucuronidated or sulfated metabolites, is taken up into tumor cells, induces a rise in [Ca(2+)](i), and ultimately leads to a decrease in tumor cell viability. A new water-soluble resveratrol formulation was delivered directly at the site of the tumor in a neuroblastoma mouse model. The amount of unmodified resveratrol associated with the tumor increased more than 1000-fold. The increase of unmodified resveratrol associated with the tumor resulted in tumor regression. The number of residual tumor cells that remained viable also decreased as the ratio of the metabolites relative to unmodified resveratrol declined.     

Biosynthesis of the Torpedo californica acetylcholine receptor alpha subunit in yeast

Yeast cells were transformed with a plasmid containing complementary DNA encoding the alpha subunit of the Torpedo californica acetylcholine receptor. These cells synthesized a protein that had the expected molecular weight, antigenic specificity, and ligand-binding properties of the alpha subunit. The subunit was inserted into the yeast plasma membrane, demonstrating that yeast has the apparatus to express a membrane-bound receptor protein and to insert such a foreign protein into its plasma membrane. The alpha subunit constituted approximately 1 percent of the total yeast membrane. The alpha subunit constituted approximately 1 percent of the total yeast membrane proteins, and its density was about the same in the plasma membrane of yeast and in the receptor-rich electric organ of Electrophorus electricus. In view of the available technology for obtaining large quantities of yeast proteins, it may now be possible to obtain amplified amounts of interesting membrane-bound proteins for physical and biochemical studies.