Differential expression of TAR DNA-binding protein (TDP-43) in the central nervous system of horses afflicted with equine motor neuron disease (EMND): a preliminary study of a potential pathologic marker

Equine motor neuron disease (EMND) is a neurodegenerative disorder of unknown etiology affecting horses worldwide. Trans-Active Response DNA Binding Protein of 43?kDa (TDP-43) has been reported in the central nervous system (CNS) of several neurodegenerative conditions in humans including Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and assumed to play role in the disease. We examined whether horses afflicted with EMND express the TDP-43 in CNS. Ten horses with EMND and 6 controls of different ages and breed we enrolled. Detection of presence of TDP-43 protein in the CNS was analyzed by immunohistochemical staining using rabbit anti-human TARDBP (TDP-43) polyclonal antibody. Formalin fixed neuronal tissues from medulla, cervical, and lumbar spinal cord were harvested from EMND and from control horses. Sections were assigned randomly to TDP-43 treated or rabbit anti-IgG as control. Nuclear staining of TDP-43 was detected in one of the neural tissues of 75?% of EMND-positive and 0 of 0?% of control horses in the central nervous system (medulla, and/or cervical spinal cord and/or lumbar spinal cord). TDP-43 antibody was detected in the nucleus of EMND horses and no cytoplasmic staining was noted. As in ALS, there was no pattern of age clustering associated with the detection of TDP-43. This is the first report on the staining of TDP-43 in neuronal tissues of horses and suggests that TDP-43 may play a role in the pathogenesis of EMND. Further studies are needed to elucidate the etiologic role of this protein in the diseases.     

Use of electrical conductivity to estimate effects of competing ions on radionuclide distribution coefficients

The distribution coefficient (K _d) between the soil solid phase and the liquid phase is a commonly used parameter to evaluate radionuclide behavior in soil. For reliable evaluation, the variability of the K _ddue to changes of environmental conditions should be clarified. In the present study, applicability of electrical conductivity (EC) to estimate effects of competing ions on K _dwas examined in batch experiments. The K _dof five radionuclides (⁶⁰Co, ⁵⁴Mn, ⁸⁵Sr, ¹³⁷Cs, ⁶⁵Zn) were found to be in inverse proportion to the supernatant EC. The K _dof ⁶⁰Co and ⁵⁴Mn were increasing at 7 days and no stable K _dcould be determined. For ⁸⁵Sr, ¹³⁷Cs, and ⁶³Zn, the regression equations obtained between the K _dof the equilibrium state and the supernatant EC were validated in another experiment; it is expected that their K _ds can be determined accurately using the EC. Because of its simplicity in measurements, using EC should be very practical for estimating effects of competing ions on K _dof selected radionuclides.     

The Sequence Variations of Intron-3 of the α-Amylase Gene in Adzuki Bean

This study describes variation of intron-3 of a-amylase gene from 156 breeds of adzuki beansusing SSCP(single-strand conformation polymorphism)analysis. Based on a-amylase gene structure and se-quence, A pair of PCR primers, F (CCTACATTCTAACACACCCT) and R (GCATATTGTGCCAGTACAAT)were designed to amplify intron-3 fragments of a-amylase gene. 14 variant types were detected, including 13,9, 10, 4 variant types in the wild, weed, locally cultivated and modern brought-up adzuki beans respectively,9, 8, 7 variant types of the wild adzuki beans from Japan, China and Korea respectively, and some other va-riant types in the local adzuki beans from China and Bhutan. 60 % of subjects of cultivated races were found tobe EE type in the experiment. In addition, sequence analysis of intron-3 of α-amylase gene from 8 varianttypes reveals the evolution process of various variant types in adzuki beans.     

Asynchronous climate changes in the North Atlantic and Japan during the last termination

Pollen records from the annually laminated sediment sequence in Lake Suigetsu, Japan, suggest a sequence of climate changes during the Last Termination that resembles that of the North Atlantic region but with noticeable differences in timing. An interstadial interval commenced a few centuries earlier [approximately 15,000 years before the present (yr B.P.)] than the North Atlantic GI-1 (B?lling) event. Conversely, the onset of a Younger Dryas (YD)-like cold reversal (12,300 to 11,250 yr B.P.) postdated the North Atlantic GS-1 (YD) event by a few centuries. Climate in the Far East during the Last Termination reflected solar insolation changes as much as Atlantic influences.     

几种坡度的台阶式溢洪道消能特性试验研究

对3种斜坡(5.7°,19°和30°)的台阶式溢洪道进行了模型试验研究。结果表明,当堰上相对临界水深yc/h≤2.5时,滑行水流、过渡水流和跌落水流消能率的大小不受堰上相对临界水深的限制,而只是相对坝高Hdam/yc和斜坡角度的函数,即随坡度变缓或相对坝高Hdam/yc增加,消能率增大;当坝坡相同坝高相等时,滑行水流、过渡水流和跌落水流之间的消能率差异很小,并且其消能率大小与台阶个数无关;此外,文中还给出了计算消能率的经验公式。     

A Mixed-Integer Optimization Technique for Developing a Sulfur Emission Control Strategy for China

The economical development and increasing population of China and other East Asian countries is expected to be accompanied by an increase in the emission of air pollutants. The objective of this study is to develop an effective and economical emission control strategy for sulfur in East Asia. There are existing methods for controlling sulfur emission, such as changing to lower sulfur content fuel, introducing desulfurization devices for emission sources, and promoting efficient energy use. The applicability of such measures is restricted by both energy supply and control cost, amongst other concerns. As a case study, an optimal control strategy based on the estimated sulfur emission for China in 2010, is simulated using a Mixed-Integer Linear Programming technique with several restrictions that satisfies, among other constraints, the atmospheric environment requirements for SO₂ and the soil load limit for SO₄ deposition.     

Evidence for the biosynthetic pathway from sinapic acid to syringyl lignin using labeled sinapic acid with stable isotope at both methoxy groups in Robinia pseudoacacia and Nerium indicum

A tracer experiment using synthesized labeled lignin precursors was designed to confirm the actual biosynthetic pathway for syringyl lignin. Tetradeuteroferulic acid-[8-D, 3-OCD(3)] and heptadeuterosinapic acid-[8-D, 3,5-OCD(3)] were synthesized and fed to shoots of robinia (Robinia pseudoacacia) and oleander (Nerium indicum) trees. The incorporation of each labeled precursor into lignin was traced by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The synthesized sinapic acid, in which both methoxy groups were labeled, was useful in monitoring the conversion of sinapic acid into syringyl lignin. When heptadeuterosinapic acid was fed, syringyl units containing seven deuterium labels were detected. The results of this study support the traditionally accepted pathway that sinapic acid is converted to sinapyl alcohol via sinapoyl-CoA in robinia and oleander.