The coming paradigm shift in forensic identification science

Converging legal and scientific forces are pushing the traditional forensic identification sciences toward fundamental change. The assumption of discernible uniqueness that resides at the core of these fields is weakened by evidence of errors in proficiency testing and in actual cases. Changes in the law pertaining to the admissibility of expert evidence in court, together with the emergence of DNA typing as a model for a scientifically defensible approach to questions of shared identity, are driving the older forensic sciences toward a new scientific paradigm.     

RELATION OF SEVERAL PEDOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS TO ENGINEERING QUALITIES OF SOIL

An attempt to predict engineering qualities which are needed in soil evaluation and to enhance nonagricultural use of soil survey data was made. Data from a variety of soils were subjected to simple correlation and multiple regression analyses to relate three pedologic characteristics: clay content, cation-exchange capacity (CEC), and organic matter content to two engineering qualitites: plasticity index, and optimum moisture. Simple correlation coefficients showed that clay content and CEC correlated significantly with the engineering determinations. The relationship between organic matter content and these engineering determinations was weaker. Multiple regression analyses showed that the three pedologic characteristics accounted for most of the variation in each of the engineering qualities, and that prediction was feasible.     

EMS诱变对鹰嘴紫云英种子萌发及幼苗表型特征的影响

【目的】筛选适宜鹰嘴紫云英的 EMS 诱变条件。【方法】以鹰嘴紫云英品种甘绿 2 号种子为试验材料,采用不同浓度（0、0. 2%、0. 4%、0. 6%、0. 8%）的甲基磺酸乙酯（EMS）进行不同时间（2、4、 6、8 h）的诱变处理,探究 EMS 对鹰嘴紫云英种子萌发特征及表型变化的影响。【结果】低浓度和短时间 EMS 处理促进鹰嘴紫云英种子的萌发,随 EMS 浓度升高和诱变时间的增加,对鹰嘴紫云英种子萌发产生抑制作用。种子浸出液电导率随诱变条件的加深呈上升趋势,在 2~6 h 时,萌发期发芽率、发芽势、幼苗苗长和根长均随处理时间和诱变浓度的增加呈先升高后降低的趋势,在 8 h 处理下,随 EMS 浓度的增加呈逐渐降低趋势,EMS 浓度在 0. 8% 时,种子发芽率和发芽势均达到最低,较对照分别降低了 54. 45% 和 56. 67%;经形态学筛选,发现有鹰嘴紫云英幼苗表现出幼苗矮小、停滞生长、叶片黄化、宽叶、窄叶、叶片发紫、诸多病斑等特殊变异性状。【结论】0. 8%EMS 处理 6 h 可作为最佳诱变组合;幼苗的生长随诱变时间和浓度增加而明显受到抑制,且表型变异类型也逐步增多。     

17种报春苣苔属植物的组培苗移栽季节研究

探讨不同季节对报春苣苔属植物组培苗移栽成活的影响,为其今后组培苗工厂化、规模化生产提供技术支持.以17种报春苣台属植物的组培生根苗为材料,研究季节对移栽成活的影响,分析不同物种间在同一季节的移栽成活差异以及同一物种在4个不同季节的移栽成活差异.大部分种类在春季移栽具有较高的成活率;成活率最高与最低的种类为三苞报春苣苔和...     

Ecological fitness and strategies of adaptation of Bartonella species to their hosts and vectors

Bartonella spp. are facultative intracellular bacteria that cause characteristic host-restricted hemotropic infections in mammals and are typically transmitted by blood-sucking arthropods. In the mammalian reservoir, these bacteria initially infect a yet unrecognized primary niche, which seeds organisms into the blood stream leading to the establishment of a long-lasting intra-erythrocytic bacteremia as the hall-mark of infection. Bacterial type IV secretion systems, which are supra-molecular transporters ancestrally related to bacterial conjugation systems, represent crucial pathogenicity factors that have contributed to a radial expansion of the Bartonella lineage in nature by facilitating adaptation to unique mammalian hosts. On the molecular level, the type IV secretion system VirB/VirD4 is known to translocate a cocktail of different effector proteins into host cells, which subvert multiple cellular functions to the benefit of the infecting pathogen. Furthermore, bacterial adhesins mediate a critical, early step in the pathogenesis of the bartonellae by binding to extracellular matrix components of host cells, which leads to firm bacterial adhesion to the cell surface as a prerequisite for the efficient translocation of type IV secretion effector proteins. The best-studied adhesins in bartonellae are the orthologous trimeric autotransporter adhesins, BadA in Bartonella henselae and the Vomp family in Bartonella quintana. Genetic diversity and strain variability also appear to enhance the ability of bartonellae to invade not only specific reservoir hosts, but also accidental hosts, as shown for B. henselae. Bartonellae have been identified in many different blood-sucking arthropods, in which they are typically found to cause extracellular infections of the mid-gut epithelium. Adaptation to specific vectors and reservoirs seems to be a common strategy of bartonellae for transmission and host diversity. However, knowledge regarding arthropod specificity/restriction, the mode of transmission, and the bacterial factors involved in arthropod infection and transmission is still limited.     

Regional distribution and integrity of equine ovarian pre‐antral follicles

The goal of this study was to determine the distribution of pre‐antral follicles in the ovarian parenchyma of mares. For Experiment 1, each ovary was cut longitudinally at the greater curvature, performing two hemiovaries. After that, six fragments from each hemiovary were obtained, resulting in 12 fragments, which were divided into the innermost region of the parenchyma, the middle region and the outermost region. All the three obtained sections were cut transversally to obtain two fragments from each one. For Experiment 2, each ovary also submitted to a longitudinal cut on the greater curvature, forming two hemiovaries. Each hemiovary was sectioned into four symmetrical fragments, resulting in eight fragments per ovary. The fragments were related as being near to or far from the ovulatory fossa. The fragments of both experiments were immediately fixed in Carnoy for 12 hr and kept in 70% ethanol for 24 hr. Follicles were classified according to the stages of development and for morphological integrity according to oocyte morphology and granulosa cells. After the histological assessment, a total of 1,130 follicles were visualized from Experiment 1, being 1,054 (93.3%) primordial follicles and 76 (4.7%) follicles in development. The innermost region had the highest percentage of pre‐antral follicles compared to the other regions (p < .05). The middle and outermost regions showed higher percentages of intact primordial and developing follicles than the innermost region (p < .05). Considering Experiment 2, 938 follicles were found, being 894 (95.3%) primordial and 44 (4.7%) follicles in development. The region near the ovulatory fossa presented higher (58.7%; 551 of 938) follicular concentration compared to the region far from the ovulatory fossa (41.3%; 387 of 938; p < .05). As a conclusion, distribution of pre‐antral follicles in the equine ovary has a specific pattern through the parenchyma. Also, the follicular integrity differed in the studied ovarian areas.     

不同处理方法对美国截叶胡枝子种子发芽的影响

截叶胡枝子(Lespedezacunecta)是原产于亚洲东部的一种多年生的豆科植物,在我国南方地区野生分布很广。它具有耐瘠、耐旱、耐酸、耐热、固土能力强、适应性广等特性,在国外也颇受重视。我国于1983年从美国引种,通过对其生物学和生态学特性、经济性状和栽培技术研究证明,引进的美国截叶胡枝子在人工栽培条件下,表现出良好的经济性状,是南方草地改良的希望种子。但是在生产中,由于其硬实的存在,使得种子的发芽率很低,往往造成出苗困难和草地建植缓慢,甚至出现严重缺苗断垄的现象,直接影响田间产量,限制了它的进一步推广应用。试验采用不同处…