Nanocapillarity and Chemistry in Carbon Nanotubes

Open carbon nanotubes were filled with molten silver nitrate by capillary forces. Only those tubes with inner diameters of 4 nanometers or more were filled, suggesting a capillarity size dependence as a result of the lowering of the nanotube-salt interface energy with increasing curvature of the nanotube walls. Nanotube cavities should also be less chemically reactive than graphite and may serve as nanosize test tubes. This property has been illustrated by monitoring the decomposition of silver nitrate within nanotubes in situ in an electron microscope, which produced chains of silver nanobeads separated by high-pressure gas pockets.     

热处理对水牛乳稳定特性的影响

为比较不同热处理条件对水牛乳稳定性的影响,实验采用不同条件热处理后的pH缓冲容量、总溶解固体（total dissolved solids,TDS）、蛋白沉淀量及表观黏度等指标研究杂交高代水牛乳样品。结果表明：与未经处理的水牛乳样品相比,水牛乳经不同条件热处理后,其pH缓冲容量、TDS、蛋白沉淀量及表观黏度皆发生显著变化。其中水牛乳分别在经121℃/15 min和95℃/5 min处理后,其pH缓冲容量、TDS、蛋白沉淀量及表观黏度分别达到最大值和最小值。因此,认为在本实验研究范围内,水牛乳经121℃/15 min及95℃/5 min处理后,对其稳定性影响最大。     

Comment on "Deep mixing of 3He: reconciling Big Bang and stellar nucleosynthesis"

Eggleton et al. (Reports, 8 December 2006, p. 1580) reported on a deep-mixing mechanism in low-mass stars caused by a Rayleigh-Taylor instability that destroys all of the helium isotope 3He produced during the star's lifetime. Observations of 3He in planetary nebulae, however, indicate that some stars produce prodigious amounts of 3He. This is inconsistent with the claim that all low-mass stars should destroy 3He.     

The Seismic Structure of the Sun

Global Oscillation Network Group data reveal that the internal structure of the sun can be well represented by a calibrated standard model. However, immediately beneath the convection zone and at the edge of the energy-generating core, the sound-speed variation is somewhat smoother in the sun than it is in the model. This could be a consequence of chemical inhomogeneity that is too severe in the model, perhaps owing to inaccurate modeling of gravitational settling or to neglected macroscopic motion that may be present in the sun. Accurate knowledge of the sun's structure enables inferences to be made about the physics that controls the sun; for example, through the opacity, the equation of state, or wave motion. Those inferences can then be used elsewhere in astrophysics.     

Transformation-mediated serogroup conversion of Dichelobacter nodosus

Dichelobacter nodosus is the essential causative agent of footrot in sheep. The type IV fimbriae of D. nodosus are required for virulence, are highly immunogenic and immunoprotective, and can be divided into 10 major serogroups. Fimbrial variation has been postulated to have arisen because of genetic recombination within the fimbrial gene region perhaps as a means of evading the immune response invoked by infection. To show that antigenic variation in these fimbriae could occur after natural transformation and subsequent homologous recombination, a suicide plasmid containing the fimbrial subunit gene, fimA, of a serogroup G strain was used to convert a serogroup I strain to serogroup G. The resultant mutants were shown by Western blotting and slide agglutination to produce serogroup G fimbriae, but by two independent methods to still have the genotype of the parent type I strain. These data have significant implications for the use of fimbrial vaccines for the control of ovine footrot and suggest that benign strains of D. nodosus could play an important role as a reservoir of alternative fimbrial antigens.     

高寒草甸草地水、土、草中氮硫含量冷暖季节的变化

根据青海高原特殊的气候分布特征，把高寒草甸草地绵羊放牧地划分为冷季和暖季。通过测定冷暖绵羊放牧地水、土壤、牧草中氮和硫含量的结果表明：水、土壤、牧草中氮和硫的含量暖季＞冷季（P＜0．05），其中地表水冷季含硫量分别为3．7mg/kg、5.1mg/kg，水中没有检测到氮；牧草中硫含量冷暖季分别为2952mg/kg,3262mg/kg，差异显著（P＜0．05）；牧草中氮含量冷暖季分别为0．62％、1．36％，差异显著（P＜0．05）；土壤氮含量冷暖季分别为0．22％、0．285％，差异显著（P＜0．05）；硫含量冷暖季分别为0．24％、0．37％。     

In Vitro Development of Bison Embryos Using Interspecies Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer

Interspecies somatic cell nuclear transfer (interspecies SCNT) has been explored in many domestic and non‐domestic animal species. However, problems arise during the development of these embryos, which may be related to species‐specific differences in nuclear–cytoplasmic communication. The objectives of this study were to investigate the possibility of producing bison embryos in vitro using interspecies SCNT and assess the developmental potential of these embryos. Treatment groups consisted of cattle in vitro fertilization (IVF) and cattle SCNT as controls and wood bison SCNT, plains bison SCNT and wisent SCNT as experimental groups. Cleavage and blastocyst rates were assessed, and blastocyst quality was determined using total cell number, apoptotic incidence and relative quantification of mitochondria‐related genes NRF1, MT‐CYB and TFAM. These results indicate that embryos can be produced by interspecies SCNT in all bison species/subspecies (13.34–33.54% blastocyst rates). Although increased incidence of apoptosis was observed in bison SCNT blastocysts compared to cattle SCNT controls (10.45–12.69 vs 8.76, respectively) that corresponded with significantly lower cell numbers (80–87 cells vs >100 cells, respectively), no major differences were observed in the expression of NRF1, MT‐CYB and TFAM. This study is the first to report the production of bison embryos by interspecies SCNT. Blastocyst development in all three bison species/subspecies was greater than the rates obtained in previous studies by IVF, which supports the potential role of SCNT for in vitro embryo production in this species. Yet, further investigation of developmental competence and the factors influencing blastocyst quality and viability is required.     

A device for studying the influence of declining water table on poplar growth and survival

Riparian poplar forests are declining downstream from many dams in the western prairie regions of North America. Drought-induced seedling and sapling mortality caused by abrupt drops in water table level following river flow regulation may be contributing to this forest decline. Here we describe a device, the rhizopod, for studying the influence of a changing water table on poplar seedling survival and growth. Seeds of a natural poplar hybrid (Populus deltoides x P. balsamifera) were planted in five rhizopods and treated to water table declines of 0, 1, 2, 4, or 8 cm day(-1). Each rhizopod consisted of 15 growth tubes connected to a central water reservoir through which the water level was regulated. Seedling survival was over 90% in rhizopods in which water table declined by 0, 1 or 2 cm day(-1), but was reduced to about 40% and less than 25% in rhizopods in which the water table level declined by 4 and 8 cm day(-1), respectively. Maximum shoot height, leaf number, and leaf area were observed in the rhizopod with a constant water table and decreased progressively with increasing rates of water table decline. Maximum root mass and length were observed in plants subjected to declines in water table level of 0 and 1 cm day(-1), respectively.     

瘤胃稳定性脂肪对产后奶牛奶产量、牛奶成份和外周血白细胞数量的影响

选择经产、胎次相同和产奶量相近的荷斯坦奶牛40头,配对分组设计分为对照组和试验组,每组20头。对照组全程饲喂基础日粮,试验组饲喂基础日粮 瘤胃稳定性脂肪。结果:瘤胃稳定性脂肪对奶牛采食量无显著影响(P>0.05);试验组牛产奶量显著升高(P<0.05),乳脂率呈上升趋势(P>0.05),但乳蛋白率未见显著变化(P>0.05);试验组奶牛外周血白细胞总数和淋巴细胞数轻度上升(P>0.05),牛奶SCC呈下降趋势(P>0.05)。结果表明,补充瘤胃稳定性脂肪可提高产奶量,对于改善机体免疫机能有一定的作用。