Distribution of α-MSH -like immunoreactive cells in the nervous system, Hatschek’s pit and other tissues of amphioxus, Branchiostoma belcheri

Immunohistochemical localization of α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH) in the nervous system, Hatschek’s pit and other tissues of amphioxus (Branchiostoma belcheri) was performed using the antibody against synthetic α-MSH. The results revealed that α-MSH-like immunoreactive cells were distributed at the dorsal side and ventral side of the brain vesicle, the dorsal side and the surrounding of central tube in the nerve tube, the epithelial cells of Hatschek’s pit, and zones 1, 3 and 6 in endostyle and hindgut. The immunoreactive substance was also found in the primary oocytes of the small and large growth stage of ovary and early stage spermatogenic cells in testis. These findings indicate that α-MSH is an ancient and highly conserved hormone and it is extensively distributed in amphioxus. Although Hatschek’s pit in amphioxus do not have a structure of the intermediate lobe of vertebrate adenohypophysis, it has already hosted α-MSH-like endocrine cells, implying that the functional differentiation of α-MSH-like cells occurred earlier than the differentiation of the tissue structure. The results of present study provided new evidence for the endocrinology of Hatschek’s pit and the origin and evolution of vertebrate adenphypophysis.     

Distribution of α-MSH-like immunoreactive cells in the nervous system, Hatschek''''s pit and other tissues of amphioxus, Branchiostoma belcheri

Immunohistochemical localization of a-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH) in the nervous system, Hatschek's pit and other tissues of amphioxus (Branchiostoma belcheri) was performed using the antibody against synthetic α-MSH. The results revealed that α-MSH-like immunoreactive cells were distributed at the dorsal side and ventral side of brain vesicle, the dorsal side and the surrounding of nerve tube, and in the epithelial cells of Hatschek's pit, the zone 1, 3, and 6 of endostyle and gut. The immunoreactive substance was also found in the primary oocytes of the small and large growth stage of ovary and early stage spermatogenic cells in testis. These findings indicate that α-MSH is an ancient and highly conserved hormone and it is extensively distributed in amphioxus. Although Hatschek's pit in amphioxus does not have a structure of the intermediate lobe of vertebrate adenohypophysis, it has already hosted α-MSH-like endocrine cells, implying that the functional differentiation of α-MSH-like cells occurred earlier than the differentiation of the tissue structure. The results of the present study provided a new evidence for the endocrinology of Hatschek's pit and for the origin and evolution of vertebrate adenohypophysis.     

Distribution of ghrelin-like immunoreactive cells in amphioxus, Branchiostoma belcheri – A study of immunohistochemistry

The distribution of ghrelin-like immunoreactive cells in amphioxus （Branchiostoma belcheri） was investigated by using immunohistochemical staining with rabbit antiserum against synthetical mammalian ghrelin. The results showed that ghrelin-like immunoreactive cells were distributed widely in the nervous system, Hatschek＇s pit, wheel organ, digestive tract and gonads （ovary and testis）. In nervous system, ghrelin-like immunoreactive neurons and their protrusions were distributed specifically on the dorsal side, ventral side and funnel part of brain vesicle, with a few dispersive immunoreactive nerve cells and their fibers in nerve tube. Ghrelin-like immunoreactivities were also detected in Hatschek＇s pit epithelial cells and wheel organ cells, with positive substance located along cell membrane. In digestive tract, ghrelin-like immunoreactive cells existed in hepatic diverticulum, anterior and posterior region of midgut, and could be classified into two types, closed- and opened-type endocrine cells. The number of positive cells was most in hepatic diverticulum, secondary in posterior region of midgut and least in anterior region of midgut. In gonads, ghrelin-like immunoreactive substance was detected in oogonia, oocytes and follicle cells in ovary at the small and large growth stages and in early spermatogenic cells and Sertoli cells in testis. The extensive distribution of ghrelin-like cells in amphioxus suggested that these kinds of cells are conservative in evolution and diversified in function. At the same time, we found for the first time that ghrelin-like immunoreactive cells existed in brain vesicle and Hatschek＇s pit, which provided new morphological evidence for the existence of an activation pathway between brain vesicle and Hatschek＇s pit for the regulation of growth hormone excretion.     

Distribution of ghrelin-like immunoreactive cells in amphioxus, Branchiostoma belcheri – A study of immunohistochemistry

The distribution of ghrelin-like immunoreactive cells in amphioxus (Branchiostoma belcheri) was investigated by using immunohistochemical staining with rabbit antiserum against synthetical mammalian ghrelin. The results showed that ghrelin-like immunoreactive cells were distributed widely in the nervous system, Hatschek’s pit, wheel organ, digestive tract and gonads (ovary and testis). In nervous system, ghrelin-like immunoreactive neurons and their protrusions were distributed speci?cally on the dorsal side, ventral side and funnel part of brain vesicle, with a few dispersive immunoreactive nerve cells and their ?bers in nerve tube. Ghrelin-like immunoreactivities were also detected in Hatschek’s pit epithelial cells and wheel organ cells, with positive substance located along cell membrane. In digestive tract, ghrelin-like immunoreactive cells existed in hepatic diverticulum, anterior and posterior region of midgut, and could be classified into two types, closed- and opened-type endocrine cells. The number of positive cells was most in hepatic diverticulum, secondary in posterior region of midgut and least in anterior region of midgut. In gonads, ghrelin-like immunoreactive substance was detected in oogonia, oocytes and follicle cells in ovary at the small and large growth stages and in early spermatogenic cells and Sertoli cells in testis. The extensive distribution of ghrelin-like cells in amphioxus suggested that these kinds of cells are conservative in evolution and diversified in function. At the same time, we found for the ?rst time that ghrelin-like immunoreactive cells existed in brain vesicle and Hatschek’s pit, which provided new morphological evidence for the existence of an activation pathway between brain vesicle and Hatschek’s pit for the regulation of growth hormone excretion.     

Distribution of growth hormone-like immunoreactive cells and somatostatin receptors in the nervous system and Hatschek''''s pit of amphioxus, Branchiostoma belcheri

Using immunohistochemical method and double staining technique, the localization of growth hormone (GH) and somatostatin receptors in the nervous system and Hatschek's pit of amphioxus has been investigated. The results showed that the growth hormone-like nerve cells and endocrine cells as well as three subtypes of somatostatin receptors exist in the nervous system and Hatschek s pit, and GH-like nerve cells and endocrine cells co-exist with three subtypes of somatostatin receptors in the brain vesicle and Hatschek s pit. It is suggested that a primitive control system of inhibitory growth hormone secretion in Hatschek s pit could have been developed in amphioxus, as in vertebrates. The present study provides new evidence for the endocrinology and the evolution of Hatschek's pit.     

Distribution of CRH- and ACTH-like immunoreactive cells in amphioxus, Branchiostoma belcheri

Immunocytochemical studies on the nervous system, Hatschek’s pit，digestive tract and gonads tissues of an amphioxus (Branchiostoma belcheri) were performed using polyclonal antibodies against human corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) and human adrenocorticotropin (ACTH). The results showed that many CRH-like immunoreactive neurons were distributed specifically on the dorsal side and ventral side of brain vesicle, while a few CRH-like neurons and their fibers in spinal cord. At the same time, the epithelial cells in the basic region of Hatschek’s pit were shown immunopositive to CRH antibody. In gonads (ovary and testis), CRH-immunopositive substance was localized in the cytoplasm near oocyte nucleus and in early spermatogenic cells. ACTH-like immunoreactivities were observed specially in the neurons and their protrusions localized on the ventral side of the brain vesicle and in spinal cord, and also in epithelial cells of Hatschek’s pit, enteric neurons of digestive tract, oocytes in ovary and in early spermatogenic cells as well. It was found for the first time that CRH-like neurons existed in the middle region of brain vesicle (corresponding to the hypothalamus of vertebrates) and ACTH-like immunopositive cells existed in Hatschek’s pit, implying that a control mechanism between brain vesicle and Hatschek’s pit maybe had been already built in amphioxus as that in vertebrates. The present study will provide new morphological evidence for the origin and evolution of ACTH. In addition, the immunoreactivities of CRH and ACTH in the digestive tract and gonads suggested other physiological function of CRH and ACTH in amphioxus.     

Distribution of CRH-and ACTH-like immunoreactive cells in amphioxus,Branchiostoma belcheri

Immunocytochemical studies on the nervous system,Hatschek's pit,digestive tract and gonads tissues of an amphioxus(Branchiostoma belcheri)were performed using polyclonal antibodies against human corticotrophin-releasing hormone(CRH)and human adrenocorticotropin(ACTH).The results showed that many CRH-like immunoreactive neurons were distributed specifically on the dorsal side and ventral side of brain vesicle,while a few CRH-like neurons and their fibers in spinal cord.At the same time,the epithelial cells in the basic region of Hatschek's pit were shown immunopositive to CRH antibody.In gonads(ovary and testis),CRH-immunopositive substance was localized in the cytoplasm near oocyte nucleus and in early spermatogenic cells.ACTH-like immunoreactivities were observed specially in the neurons and their protrusions localized on the ventral side of the brain vesicle and in spinal cord,and also in epithelial cells of Hatschek's pit,enteric neurons of digestive tract,oocytes in ovary and in early spermatogenic cells as well.It was found for the first time that CRH-like neurons existed in the middle region of brain vesicle(corresponding to the hypothalamus of vertebrates)and ACTH-like immunopositive cells existed in Hatschek's pit,implying that a control mechanism between brain vesicle and Hatschek's pit maybe had been already built in amphioxus as that in vertebrates.The present study will provide new morphological evidence for the origin and evolution of ACTH.In addition,the immunoreactivities of CRH and ACTH in the digestive tract and gonads suggested other physiological function of CRH and ACTH in amphioxus.     

Distribution of growth hormone-like immunoreactive cells and somatostatin receptors in the nervous system and Hatschek's pit of amphioxus, Branchiostoma belcheri

Using immunohistochemical method and double staining technique, the localization of growth hormone (GH) and somatostatin receptors in the nervous system and Hatschek's pit of amphioxus has been investigated. The results showed that the growth hormone-like nerve cells and endocrine cells as well as three subtypes of somatostatin receptors exist in the nervous system and Hatschek's pit, and GH-like nerve cells and endocrine cells co-exist with three subtypes of somatostatin receptors in the brain vesicle and Hatschek's pit. It is suggested that a primitive control system of inhibitory growth hormone secretion in Hatschek's pit could have been developed in amphioxus, as in vertebrates. The present study provides new evidence for the endocrinology and the evolution of Hatschek's pit.     

Distribution of growth hormone-like immunoreactive cells and somatostatin receptors in the nervous system and Hatschek''s pit of amphioxus, Branchiostoma belcheri

Using immunohistochemical method and double staining technique, the localization of growth hormone (GH) and somatostatin receptors in the nervous system and Hatschek's pit of amphioxus has been investigated. The results showed that the growth hormone-like nerve cells and endocrine cells as well as three subtypes of somatostatin receptors exist in the nervous system and Hatschek's pit, and GH-like nerve cells and endocrine cells co-exist with three subtypes of somatostatin receptors in the brain vesicle and Hatschek's pit. It is suggested that a primitive control system of inhibitory growth hormone secretion in Hatschek's pit could have been developed in amphioxus, as in vertebrates. The present study provides new evidence for the endocrinology and the evolution of Hatschek's pit.     

Neuroendocrine regulation of structure and function in the endostyle of amphioxus, Branchiostoma belcheri

Using histological and histochemical methods the structure of the endostyle in amphioxus at different gonadal developmental stages is studied, and the immunocytochemical localization of thyroglobulin (Tg) and thyrotropin (TSH) in the endostyle, Hatschek's pit and brain vesicle is investigated. The results not only confirm the previous report that the endostyle is composed of 6 zones and the cells of zone 5 are thyroid hormone synthesizing cells, but also find the thyroxine synthesis in and secretion from zone 3. In addition, the epithelial cells in Hatschek's pit and the neural cells in brain vesicle are immunopositive for TSH, and the immunoactivity is correlated with gonadal cycle. The present study may provide morphological proof for the hypothesis that the secretory activity of thyroid cells is regulated by TSH from Hatschek's pit and brain vesicle.     

World English and the Future of English Language Teaching in China

The development and wide spread of English language has led to the internationalization and localization of English language, during which English language is widely used in international communications by people with different mother tongues, in addition, English variations on different levels and local varieties have emerged. In consideration to the changes above, this paper aims to, firstly, examine the status of English language as an international language （EIL）; secondly, explore the future of English language teaching （ELT） in China under a global context.     

三种食用菌营养成分分析（简报）

竹荪（Dictyophora indusiata）、金针菇（Flammulina velutipe Singer）、猴头菇（Hericium erinaceus）属于担子菌亚门（Basidiomycotina），为食用真菌。竹荪又名竹笙、竹参，属鬼笔科，是一种珍贵的食用真菌，被国际社会公认为是“十分良好的蛋白质来源食品”，享有“现代保健食品”、“人类植物性食品的顶峰”等美誉。     

Growth mechanism of liquid Hg/solid β-HgS metal-semiconductor heterostructures

Density functional theory （DFT） was utilized to simulate the reactions occurred in the mixture solution of cysteine and Hg（II） ions with the ratio 〈 2. Simulation result shows that Hg ions will coordinate to cysteine by the thiol groups with the form of S-Hg2 and S-Hg3; and moreover, the content of free Hg ions can only be reduced by these two forms. OH- plays an important role in the growth of β-HgS, because its nucleophilic substitution reaction supplies plenty of Hg-S-Hg radicals, which will be adsorbed onto the surface of liquid mercury ball and form the precursor of 13-HgS（111） plane. Three valent bonds adsorption of Hg-S-Hg radicals onto the surface of Hg ball has more adsorption energy （-32.768 kcal mol-1） than that of two valent bond adsorption （-20.882 kcal - mol-1）. Hg balls will stop growing after completely covered with Hg-S-Hg radicals and their size will be limited. The growth direction of β-HgS is parallel to the ＂repel- ling＂ force, that is [111] direction in β-HgS lattice. The calculated results are in good agreement with the experimental observations, demonstrating that the DFT method can be taken as a very useful tool to interpret the solution reactions that cannot be solved by conventional methods.     

Prediction and calculation for new energy development

Some important questions for new energy development were discussed, such as the prediction and calculation of sea surface temperature, ocean wave, offshore platform price, typhoon track, fire status, vibration due to earthquake, energy price, stock market＇ s trend and so on with the fractal methods （ including the four ones of constant dimension fractal, variable dimension fractal, complex number dimension fractal and fractal series） and the improved rescaled range analysis （R/S analysis）.     

Multi-criteria assessment of offshore wind turbine support structures based on dynamic property optimization

Increasing size of wind turbine and deep water deployment have raised the issue of appropriate selection of the most suitable support structure to make offshore wind energy cost competitive.The paper presents an optimization methodology for decision making process of bottom mounted supports of offshore wind turbines （OWTs） through reasonable engineering attributes derivation.Mathematic models of support structures are reduced by the generalized single-degree-of-freedom theory with relatively fewer structural parameters.Soft-stiff design optimization based on dynamic properties of OWTs is performed for monopile and lattice supports with different wind turbines,water depth and hub height.Attributes of support structures,wind turbines and environment conditions are applied in the multi-criteria decision making method——TOPSIS for benchmarking of those options.The results illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed optimazation methodology combined with economical and environmental attributes together.     

Description of rotational properties of the superheavy nucleus ^256,258,260Rf by projected shell model

Band structure of the Z = 104 nucleus 256Rf has been a recent research focus in nuclear physics. We performed projected shell model calculations for this and some other neighboring Rf isotopes. Specifically, we studied rotational properties of these nuclei and showed that variations in dynamic moment of inertia were sensitive to single-particle structures, which may be useful information for locating the anticipated island of stability. Electromagnetic transition properties were also calculated, and measurable quantities were predicted for further experimental test.     

Comparison of Parallelization Strategies for Min-Sum Decoding of Irregular LDPC Codes

Low-Density Parity-Check （LDPC） codes are powerful error correcting codes. LDPC decoders have been implemented as efficient error correction codes on dedicated VLSI hardware architectures in recent years. This paper describes two strategies to parallelize min-sum decoding of irregular LDPC codes. The first implements min-sum LDPC decoders on multicore platforms using OpenMP, while the other uses the Compute Unified Device Architecture （CUDA） to parallelize LDPC decoding on Graphics Processing Units （GPUs）. Empirical studies on data with various scales show that the performance of these decoding processes is improved by these parallel strategies and the GPUs provide more efficient, fast implementation decoder.     

Significant isostatic imbalance near the seismic gap between the M8.0 Wenchuan and M7.0 Lushan earthquakes

A gravity network with 302 observation points has been established in the western Sichuan Foreland Basin （SFB） to explore Bouguer gravity anomalies （BGAs）. Our observational results reveal that the BGAs are negative as a whole, with a maximum value of -220 mGal （10^-5m s^-2） at the northwest region of the study area. The real Moho depths beneath the SFB revealed by BGA data change smoothly from 39.5 km in the southeast to 43.7 km in the northwest of the monitoring region. However, the isostatic ones deduced from Airy isostatic model and topographical data vary approximately 39.5-42.0 km. The maximum differences of 2.7 km between the real and isostatic Moho depths are found near the seismic gap between the M8.0 Wenchuan and M7.0 Lushan earthquakes, where the crust is in the greatest isostatic imbalance of the monitoring region. Analysis of the isostatic state indicates that the deep dynamic environment near the seismic gap between these two earthquakes indicates an M ≥ 7.0 earthquake in the future. This study indicates that we can use isostasy as a potential approach to study the dynamic process of crustal material movement and to analyze regional potential seismic risks.     

A novel method of systematic error compensation for a position and orientation system

A novel method is introduced for self-calibration and elimination of systematic errors for a position and orientation system （POS）. The method uses a combined bundle block adjustment with POS data （named the POS-supported bundle block adjustment） without a calibration field. On the basis of delivering strict observation equations for POS data, the specific scheme of compensating the translation and drift systematic errors in a POS is given, and a prototype system WuCAPS is developed. The effects of eliminating POS systematic errors using the POS-supported bundle block adjustment for different ground control conditions are tested using two sets of actual aerial photos. The first set was taken over a fiat region in the suburbs of the city of Yingkou in China and tested at a scale of 1：2500. The second set was taken over a high mountainous region in the desert region of Xinjiang in China and tested at a scale of 1：32,000. The empirical results verified that the POS systematic errors can be completely eliminated and the photo elements of exterior orientation obtained by the POS-supported bundle block adjustment can satisfy the requirements of aerial photogrammetric topographic mapping when four full ground control points （GCPs） are emplaced in the comers of the adjustment block for large-scale images of flat regions, but only one full GCP emplaced in the center of the adjustment block is needed for medium-small scale images of mountainous regions. This not only demonstrates the validity of the established mathematical model and the feasibility of the method proposed in this paper, but also avoids the use of a special calibration field. Therefore, it can simplify the existing POS operation rules and dramatically save on practical application costs, laying the theoretical foundation for widesoread use of POS.     

A method to compress vibration signals using wavelet packet transformation combined with sub-band vector quantization

A novel compression method for mechanical vibrating signals,binding with sub-band vector quantization （SVQ） by wavelet packet transformation （WPT） and discrete cosine transformation （DCT） is proposed.Firstly,the vibrating signal is decomposed into sub-bands by WPT.Then DCT and adaptive bit allocation are done per sub-band and SVQ is performed in each sub-band.It is noted that,after DCT,we only need to code the first components whose numbers are determined by the bits allocated to that sub-band.Through an actual signal,our algorithm is proven to improve the signal-to-noise ratio （SNR） of the reconstructed signal effectively,especially in the situation of lowrate transmission.