2种石斛属植物和小叶石仙桃多糖的组织化学定位

为对不同年龄的铁皮石斛(Dendrobium candidum)、铜皮石斛(D.moniliforme)及石斛伪品-小叶石仙桃(Pholidota chinensis)不同器官中的多糖进行组织化学定位,选择具有较高药用价值的石斛类药用植物和药用部位,确定铁皮石斛的最佳采收期,根据多糖的理化性质,材料经冰冻切片,用改良的高碘酸-席夫试剂(PAS)对多糖进行组织化学定位;结果表明,多糖类物质主要存在茎的薄壁细胞、根的皮层细胞、叶的叶肉细胞中。其总多糖含量有如下顺序:二年生的铁皮石斛茎>铜皮石斛茎≈>小叶石仙桃茎,铁皮石斛根≈铜皮石斛根>小叶石仙桃根,铁皮石斛叶≈小叶石仙桃叶>铜皮石斛叶。另外,在不同的器官中,铜皮石斛的多糖含量呈现“茎≈根>叶”和小叶石仙桃的多糖含量呈现“叶>茎≈>根”的规律,而二年生的铁皮石斛则为“茎>叶>根”。这表明在种间及同种植物的不同器官、不同年龄,其多糖的含量存在差异。而3种兰科植物中,以二年生铁皮石斛茎的多糖含量最高,表明其药用价值也最高。     

Telomere reduction in human colorectal carcinoma and with ageing

We have hypothesized that end-to-end chromosome fusions observed in some tumours could play a part in genetic instability associated with tumorigenesis and that fusion may result from the loss of the long stretches of G-rich repeats found at the ends of all linear chromosomes. We therefore asked whether there is telomere loss or reduction in common tumours. Here we show that in most of the colorectal carcinomas that we analysed, there is a reduction in the length of telomere repeat arrays relative to the normal colonic mucosa from the same patient. We speculate on the consequences of this loss for tumorigenesis. We also show that the telomere arrays are much smaller in colonic mucosa and blood than in fetal tissue and sperm, and that there is a reduction in average telomere length with age in blood and colon mucosa. We propose that the telomerase is inactive in somatic tissues, and that telomere length is an indicator of the number of cell divisions that it has taken to form a particular tissue and possibly to generate tumours.     

绵刺(Potaninia mongolica)生长发育过程中抗氧化酶系统的变化

不同年龄段绵刺(Potaninia mongolica)内抗氧化酶系统的变化有以下规律：SOD活性的变化是未劈裂植株大于正在劈裂植株大于已劈裂植株，在每个年龄段的绵刺体内，叶片中SOD活性明显高于地下部分POD活性的变化是正在劈裂植株大于未劈裂植株大于正在劈裂植株；CAT活性的变化趋势与POD活性的差异较大，且没有规律性；MDA在未劈裂植株体内积累量最大；绵刺体内抗氧化酶系统出现严重的失衡现象，但脂膜过氧化程度不高．     

Tumorigenesis: RAF/RAS oncogenes and mismatch-repair status

Genes of the RAF family encode kinases that are regulated by Ras and mediate cellular responses to growth signals. Activating mutations in one RAF gene, BRAF, have been found in a high proportion of melanomas and in a small fraction of other cancers. Here we show that BRAF mutations in colorectal cancers occur only in tumours that do not carry mutations in a RAS gene known as KRAS, and that BRAF mutation is linked to the proficiency of these tumours in repairing mismatched bases in DNA. Our results not only provide genetic support for the idea that mutations in BRAF and KRAS exert equivalent effects in tumorigenesis, but also emphasize the role of repair processes in establishing the mutation spectra that underpin human cancer.     

A current filamentation mechanism for breaking magnetic field lines during reconnection

During magnetic reconnection, the field lines must break and reconnect to release the energy that drives solar and stellar flares and other explosive events in space and in the laboratory. Exactly how this happens has been unclear, because dissipation is needed to break magnetic field lines and classical collisions are typically weak. Ion-electron drag arising from turbulence, dubbed 'anomalous resistivity', and thermal momentum transport are two mechanisms that have been widely invoked. Measurements of enhanced turbulence near reconnection sites in space and in the laboratory support the anomalous resistivity idea but there has been no demonstration from measurements that this turbulence produces the necessary enhanced drag. Here we report computer simulations that show that neither of the two previously favoured mechanisms controls how magnetic field lines reconnect in the plasmas of greatest interest, those in which the magnetic field dominates the energy budget. Rather, we find that when the current layers that form during magnetic reconnection become too intense, they disintegrate and spread into a complex web of filaments that causes the rate of reconnection to increase abruptly. This filamentary web can be explored in the laboratory or in space with satellites that can measure the resulting electromagnetic turbulence.     

武功山高山草甸土壤微生物生物量碳及其影响因素

研究了武功山高山草甸3个不同坡向土壤微生物生物量碳及其影响因素,结果表明：东坡土壤微生物生物量碳含量与土壤有机质含量显著高于南坡和北坡土壤,南坡土壤高于北坡;土壤速效钾（K）浓度以东坡土壤最高,南坡土壤次之,北坡土壤最低,但3个坡面土壤速效钾K含量之间的差异不显著;东坡土壤有效磷（P）的浓度极显著地高于南坡土壤和北坡土壤有效P浓度;不同坡面土壤铵态氮含量依次为北坡〉南坡〉东坡。土壤土壤微生物量生物量碳与土壤有机质含量和P浓度之间存在显著的正相关性,与速效钾K浓度之间相关性不显著,土壤微生物量生物量碳随着土壤铵态氮含量的升高而减小。     

Developmental cheating in the social bacterium Myxococcus xanthus

Cheating is a potential problem in any social system that depends on cooperation and in which actions that benefit a group are costly to individuals that perform them. Genetic mutants that fail to perform a group-beneficial function but that reap the benefits of belonging to the group should have a within-group selective advantage, provided that the mutants are not too common. Here we show that social cheating exists even among prokaryotes. The bacterium Myxococcus xanthus exhibits several social behaviours, including aggregation of cells into spore-producing fruiting bodies during starvation. We examined a number of M. xanthus genotypes that were defective for fruiting-body development, including several lines that evolved for 1,000 generations under asocial conditions and others carrying defined mutations in developmental pathways, to determine whether they behaved as cheaters when mixed with their developmentally proficient progenitor. Clones from several evolved lines and two defined mutants exhibited cheating during development, being overrepresented among resulting spores relative to their initial frequency in the mixture. The ease of finding anti-social behaviours suggests that cheaters may be common in natural populations of M. xanthus.     

Interruption of a basal ganglia-forebrain circuit prevents plasticity of learned vocalizations

Birdsong, like speech, is a learned vocal behaviour that relies greatly on hearing; in both songbirds and humans the removal of auditory feedback by deafening leads to a gradual deterioration of adult vocal production. Here we investigate the neural mechanisms that contribute to the processing of auditory feedback during the maintenance of song in adult zebra finches. We show that the deleterious effects on song production that normally follow deafening can be prevented by a second insult to the nervous system--the lesion of a basal ganglia-forebrain circuit. The results suggest that the removal of auditory feedback leads to the generation of an instructive signal that actively drives non-adaptive changes in song; they also suggest that this instructive signal is generated within (or conveyed through) the basal ganglia-forebrain pathway. Our findings provide evidence that cortical-basal ganglia circuits may participate in the evaluation of sensory feedback during calibration of motor performance, and demonstrate that damage to such circuits can have little effect on previously learned behaviour while conspicuously disrupting the capacity to adaptively modify that behaviour.     

工科高校数学学院大学生学业状况统计分析

高考成绩作为衡量学生在高中阶段学习情况的一个重要指标．通过对合肥工业大学数学学院2006级毕业生的高考成绩与本科期问在校成绩进行统计分析研究,发现高考成绩对在校的各学期成绩有较大的相关性,但高考成绩对大学成绩的影响随着学期的后移而逐渐减弱,同时这种相关性因专业的不同而不同,进一步研究发现不同类型的课程成绩与高考成绩有着不同的相关性．在此基础上,建立了部分代表性课程与高考成绩、已学课程成绩之间的线性回归模型,并进行分析．     

Retinal pigmented epithelial cells induced to transdifferentiate to neurons by laminin

Although the regeneration of nervous tissue in the vertebrate is very limited, there are a few remarkable examples of this process. Understanding the factors that regulate CNS regeneration in those areas of the nervous system where it occurs, will doubtless provide generally applicable, essential information about the process. It has been known for some time that the amphibian retina regenerates following its destruction. Transplant studies, confirmed later by in vitro experiments, have shown that one source of new neurons in regenerating retina is the retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE). RPE cells can transdifferentiate to either neurons or lens cells in culture, but little is known about the factors that regulate this process. A recent study in vivo of retinal regeneration provided evidence that the association of RPE cells with the retinal vascular membrane is an important step in transdifferentiation. We report here that transdifferentiation in vitro is profoundly influenced by the substrate on which the cells are cultured; RPE cells plated on laminin-containing substrates frequently transdifferentiate into neurons. In addition, we have found a high concentration of laminin in the Rana retinal vascular membrane. Therefore, we propose that retinal regeneration is initiated by changes in the composition of the extracellular matrix that RPE cells contact early in the process.     

动态生成程序映象的新方法

介绍了1种新的代码优化的新方法－Just in Time Code Layout,它不同于传统的静态链接生成可执行程序映象文件的方法,而是在运行时通过动态链接生成招待程序的映象。对此研究了此方法对程度映象和传统方法生成的程序映象及用Pettis方法优化生成程序映象3者之间在运行时Cache性能的差异,证明了这种方法对程序运行的明显效果。     

西安市民用建筑室内氨污染现状分析

采用纳氏试剂分光光度法分别对西安市刚装修完的建筑、装修完3个月后准备入住的建筑和没有装修的毛坯房进行了室内氨气浓度检测。结果表明,毛坯房和刚装修完的建筑所有房间氨浓度均有不同程度的超标,而装修完3个月后的建筑室内氨浓度除个别样本外基本全部达标。通过持续跟踪检测发现,室内氨气浓度受通风时间和温度的影响显著,而相对湿度对氨气浓度变化影响较小。     

Neural correlates of decision variables in parietal cortex.

Decision theory proposes that humans and animals decide what to do in a given situation by assessing the relative value of each possible response. This assessment can be computed, in part, from the probability that each action will result in a gain and the magnitude of the gain expected. Here we show that the gain (or reward) a monkey can expect to realize from an eye-movement response modulates the activity of neurons in the lateral intraparietal area, an area of primate cortex that is thought to transform visual signals into eye-movement commands. We also show that the activity of these neurons is sensitive to the probability that a particular response will result in a gain. When animals can choose freely between two alternative responses, the choices subjects make and neuronal activation in this area are both correlated with the relative amount of gain that the animal can expect from each response. Our data indicate that a decision-theoretic model may provide a powerful new framework for studying the neural processes that intervene between sensation and action.     

A C. elegans Ror receptor tyrosine kinase regulates cell motility and asymmetric cell division.

Ror kinases are a family of orphan receptors with tyrosine kinase activity that are related to muscle specific kinase (MuSK), a receptor tyrosine kinase that assembles acetylcholine receptors at the neuromuscular junction. Although the functions of Ror kinases are unknown, similarities between Ror and MuSK kinases have led to speculation that Ror kinases regulate synaptic development. Here we show that the Caenorhabditis elegans gene cam-1 encodes a member of the Ror kinase family that guides migrating cells and orients the polarity of asymmetric cell divisions and axon outgrowth. We find that tyrosine kinase activity is required for some of the functions of CAM-1, but not for its role in cell migration. CAM-1 is expressed in cells that require its function, and acts cell autonomously in migrating neurons. Overexpression and loss of cam-1 function result in reciprocal cell-migration phenotypes, indicating that levels of CAM-1 influence the final positions of migrating cells. Our results raise the possibility that Ror kinases regulate cell motility and asymmetric cell division in organisms as diverse as nematodes and mammals.     

Homoeobox gene expression in mouse embryos varies with position by the primitive streak stage

Pattern formation in animal development requires that genes be expressed differentially according to position in the sheets of cells that make up the early embryo. The homoeobox-containing genes of Drosophila are control genes active both in the establishment of a segmentation pattern and in the specification of segment identity. In situ hybridization experiments confirm that these genes are expressed in a segmentally-restricted manner and that their expression presages morphological differentiation of segmental structures. Homoeobox genes have recently been isolated from the mouse and have been shown to be expressed during mouse development. Using in situ hybridization, we show here that expression of the mouse homoeobox gene Mo-10 (ref. 7) is spatially restricted in the developing embryo and that localization of expression is already evident within the germ layers before their morphological differentiation. These findings support the suggestion that the homoeobox genes of mammals, like those of Drosophila, may be important in pattern formation.     

猪卵母细胞体外成熟培养时间及去核方法的研究

对不同体外成熟培养时间的猪卵母细胞进行盲吸法去核及利用脱羧秋水仙碱(DC)和放线菌酮(CHX)的化学诱导法去核效率进行了比较研究.用盲吸法去核,体外成熟培养(IVM)39~41 h组卵母细胞去核率与IVM 36~38 h组差异显著(P<0.05),与42~44 h组差异不明显(P>0.05),但3组显著高于IVM 45~48 h组(P<0.05).化学诱导法去核结果,IVM 42~44 h组去核率最高,但与IVM 39~41 h组差异不显著(P>0.05),其他各组间均差异显著(P<0.05).在相同的体外成熟培养时间内,盲吸法的去核率比化学诱导法的去核率要高.猪卵母细胞IVM在39~44 h内去核率较高,且盲吸法去核效率高于化学诱导去核.     

Activation-induced cytidine deaminase turns on somatic hypermutation in hybridomas

The production of high-affinity protective antibodies requires somatic hypermutation (SHM) of the antibody variable (V)-region genes. SHM is characterized by a high frequency of point mutations that occur only during the centroblast stage of B-cell differentiation. Activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID), which is expressed specifically in germinal-centre centroblasts, is required for this process, but its exact role is unknown. Here we show that AID is required for SHM in the centroblast-like Ramos cells, and that expression of AID is sufficient to induce SHM in hybridoma cells, which represent a later stage of B-cell differentiation that does not normally undergo SHM. In one hybridoma, mutations were exclusively in G*C base pairs that were mostly within RGYW or WRCY motifs, suggesting that AID has primary responsibility for mutations at these nucleotides. The activation of SHM in hybridomas indicates that AID does not require other centroblast-specific cofactors to induce SHM, suggesting either that it functions alone or that the factors it requires are expressed at other stages of B-cell differentiation.     

Integration of floral inductive signals in Arabidopsis

Flowering of Arabidopsis is regulated by a daylength-dependent pathway that accelerates flowering in long days and a daylength-independent pathway that ensures flowering in the absence of inductive conditions. These pathways are genetically separable, as there are mutations that delay flowering in long but not short days. Conversely, mutations that block synthesis of the hormone gibberellin abolish flowering in short days, but have on their own only a minor effect in long days. A third pathway, the autonomous pathway, probably acts by modulating the other two pathways. Understanding where and how these pathways are integrated is a prerequisite for understanding why similar environmental or endogenous cues can elicit opposite flowering responses in different plants. In Arabidopsis, floral induction leads ultimately to the upregulation of floral meristem-identity genes such as LEAFY, indicating that floral inductive signals are integrated upstream of LEAFY Here we show that gibberellins activate the LEAFY promoter through cis elements that are different from those that are sufficient for the daylength response, demonstrating that the LEAFY promoter integrates environmental and endogenous signals controlling flowering time.     

不同放牧梯度上草原群落空间异质性的比较研究

以内蒙古呼伦贝尔草原为研究对象,利用幂函数法则定量地分析在轻度放牧、中度放牧和重度放牧3种不同利用方式下,群落的物种组成、物种多样性、群落空间异质性等群落特征。结果表明:随着放牧强度的增加,群落组成结构改变,群落丰富度逐渐降低,轻牧＞中牧＞重牧;不同放牧梯度上,各物种种群在实际分布上均具有较强的空间异质性,即偏离随机分布呈现集中分布趋势;不同放牧梯度上,群落总体空间异质性指数变化规律为轻牧=重牧＞中牧,均匀度指数的变化规律为中牧＞轻牧＞重牧。