A stereotaxic method and apparatus for the Gekko gecko

To study the modulation mechanism of the middle brain of the Gekko to the locomotion, we introduced a stereotaxic method first in literature and developed an apparatus suitable for Gekko gecko, the big-gest wall and ceiling climber in nature. We defined the bregma and nasal points as reference points, selected the bilateral infraorbital margin and top point of the maxillary tooth for locating and fixing, and set up the line passing through the bregma and paralleling to a line connecting the bilateral infraorbital margin as x axis. Then, we defined a horizontal plane in the stereotaxic instrument, passing through x axis and the certain point which is 4.8 mm exactly above the nasal point, as the XOY plane; the sagittal plane, i.e. the YOZ plane, is the plane which is perpendicular to x axis and passes through the bregma; the plane, i.e. the XOZ plane, which passes through x axis and is perpendicular to the horizontal plane is the coronal plane. We designed a set of head holder which includes three parts: bilateral infraorbital margin clamps, a gecko adaptor holding the rostral side of the upper jaw. The allocation and operation of the head holder is accurate and simple, and the device is low in cost and compatible with standard stereotaxic instrument.     

Convergence in the<Emphasis Type="Italic">r</Emphasis>-th mean and the Marcinkiewicz type weak law of large numbers for weighted sums of<Emphasis Type="Italic">L</Emphasis><Subscript>q</Subscript>-mixingale arrays

L _r convergence and convergence in probability for weighted sums ofL _q-mixingale arrays have been discussed and the Marcinkiewicz type weak law of large numbers forL _q-mixingale arrays has been obtained. Foundation item: Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (10071058) Biography: Gan Shi-xin (1939-), male, Professor, research direction; martingale theory, probability limiting theory and Banach space geometry theory.     

The R- and AR-indices： Complementing the h-index

Based on the foundation laid by the h-index we introduce and study the R- and AR-indices. These new indices eliminate some of the disadvantages of the h-index, especially when they are used in combina-tion with the h-index. The R-index measures the h-core’s citation intensity, while AR goes one step further and takes the age of publications into account. This allows for an index that can actually in-crease and decrease over time. We propose the pair (h, AR) as a meaningful indicator for research evaluation. We further prove a relation characterizing the h-index in the power law model.     

On vector quasi-variational inequality problems in<Emphasis Type="Italic">H</Emphasis>-space

The purpose to this paper is to study the existence problem of solutions to the vector quasivariational inequality for vector-valued functions inH-space. Foundation item: Supported by the Science Research Foundation of Xianning Teacher’s College (No. K9911) Biography: Mao Jian-feng (1960-), male, Lecturer, research direction: nonlinear functional analysis.     

Transpositional behaviour of the Ds element in the Ac/Ds system in rice

Insertional mutagenesis based on maize Activator/Dissociator (Ac/Ds) transposons is becoming a ma- jor approach used to produce a saturated mutant collection in rice. In this research, Ds-T-DNA trans- formed homozygotes were crossed with Ac-T-DNA transformed homozygotes in order to establish an Ac/Ds transposon system in rice. The successive investigation of Ds transposition from F1 to F5 gen- erations indicated that the frequencies of germinal transposition increased over successive genera- tions and reached 54.2% in F3 generation. The Ds transposition pattern revealed that a Ds transposition induced an approximately 170-bp deletion of T-DNA sequence and another Ds transposition carried a 272-bp T-DNA sequence. Using thermal asymmetric interlaced PCR (TAIL-PCR), some flanking se- quences of the Ds element were amplified. Analyses of 17 Ds-flanking sequences showed that five Ds were inserted into gene regions. The Ds could transpose not only to the linked sites but also to the unlinked sites. The frequency of inter-chromosomal transposition of Ds was 33.3%.     

Osmotically stress-regulated the expression of glutathione peroxidase 3 in Arabidopsis

Gene expression of glutathione peroxidase 3 (ATGPX3) in response to osmotic stress was analyzed in Arabidopsis using ATGPX3 promoter-glucuronidase (GUS) transgenic plants. High levels of GUS ex- pression were detected under osmotic stress in ATGPX3 promoter-GUS transgenic plants. Compared with the wild type, the growth and development of ATGPX3 mutants (atgpx3-1) were more sensitive to mannitol. In addition, the expression of RD29A, ABI1, ABI2 and RbohD in atgpx3-1 was induced by ABA stress. These results suggest that ATGPX3 might be involved in the signal transduction of osmotic stress.     

dr1127： A novel gene of Deinococcus radiodurans responsible for oxidative stress

The functional analysis of dr1127,a novel gene in Deinococcus radiodurans was performed in this pa-per. The dr1127 gene was found occasionally in our microarray and 2-DE gel experiments. Mutation of the dr1127 gene decreased the γ-radiation and H2O2 resistance of D. radiodurans,and weakened the scavenging abilities of cell extracts for free radicals (superoxide anion,hydrogen peroxide,and hy-droxyl radical). Further oxidative damage assays demonstrated that the purified DR1127 protein of D. radiodurans could bind to double stranded DNA in vitro and protect DNA from oxidative damage in this way. These results suggest that the dr1127 gene is an important gene that can maintain γ-radiation and oxidative resistance in D. radiodurans and may take part in the oxidative stress process.     

A new compressibility modification <Emphasis Type="Italic">k</Emphasis>-ε turbulence model with shock unsteadiness effect

A new compressibility modification k-ε model, including shock unsteadiness effect and the previous compressibility modification of pressure dilatation and dilatational dissipation rate, was developed with a simple formulation for numerical simulation in supersonic complex turbulent flows. The shock unsteadiness effect was modeled by inhibiting turbulent kinetic energy production in the governing equations of turbulent kinetic energy and the turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate. Sarkar＇s correction models were employed accounting for the dilatational compressibility effects in the new model. Two types of flows, the free supersonic mixing layers and complex supersonic flow with transverse injection were simulated with different flow conditions. Comparisons with experimental data of the free supersonic mixing layers showed that the new compressibility modification k-ε model significantly inhibited the excessive growth of turbulent kinetic energy and improved predictions. On the supersonic mixing layer flows, prediction results with the new model were in close agreement with experimental data, accurately predicting the decreasing trend of the mixing layer spreading rate with the increase of the convective Mach number. Due to the complicated flow field with flow separation, shock unsteadi- ness modification inhibited excessive growth of the turbulent kinetic energy in shock regions and wider shock regions are predicted, thereby significantly improving results of the flow with a strong separation forecast. The flow separation was stronger, which was the primary modification effect of the new model. Predictions accord with experimental results even in strong separation flows.     

A study on in vitro and in vivo bioactivity of nano hydroxyapatite/polymer biocomposite

When bioactive materials are implanted in vivo, a bone-like apatite layer can be found on their surfaces, which is critical to the establishment of bone-bonding between materials and living tissues. In this study, bone-like apatite formation in vitro and in vivo on surface of nano apatite/polyamide (n-HA/PA66) composite was investigated, and the interface between the implanted composite and surrounding bone tissue of rabbit were also examined. The results revealed that in both simulated body fluids (SBF) and dorsal muscles of rabbit, bone-like apatite could form on the biocomposite surface. When the samples were implanted in cortical bone, they combined directly with the natural bone without fibrous tissue in-between. The results showed that the n-HA/PA66 biocomposite had excellent bioactivity, which might be a good candidate for bone defect replacement.     

B-Valued Dyadic Derivative

The principles of the new maximal operator H＊ we defined are discussed. We prove that it is bounded from martingale Hardy-Lorentz L^Xp.q[0,1） to the Lorentz L^Xp.q[0,1） for 1/2〈 p〈∞, 0〈~ q ≤ ∞, where X is any Banach space. When the Banach space X has the RN property, the sequence dnHnf converges to f a.e. Meanwhile the convergence in L^Xp norm for 1≤p〈∞ is a consequence of that the family functions K （n∈N） is an approximate identity.     

Separation and Anti-Hantaan Virus Activity of Extracts from Alternanthera philoxcroides in vitro and in vivo

A water-soluble substance was extracted from the Chinese herb, Alternantheraphiloxcroides with hot water and alcohol. Aliquots of this initial extract were further fractionated by treatment with ether, ethyl acetate and alcohol respectively. The four extracts were assayed for anti-viral activity against three serum, Hantaan virus 114 （HV114）, HV435 and A9 strains. Results show that the four extracts are capable of inhibiting Hantaan virus propagation, of which extract No. 1 has the best efficiency. The three dosage of extract No. 1, which are used upon three Hantaan virus serum IC50, are 153, 157, 154 μg/mL. New-born mice were made to be infected with HV114 and then fed in vivo with extract No.l on the 3rd, 10th and 14th days after being infected by the virus. The treatment continued for 8 days with a dosage of 2.5 g/kg. Result shows that survival rates of mice were 75%, 50% and 0, respectively. The median time to death （MTDs） of the three groups were 37, 30, 23 days.     

Theoretic study of the reaction mechanism between （Me）3CO· radical and trans-3-hexene

The reaction mechanism between （Me）3CO· radical and trans-3-hexene in benzene was studied for the first time at the B3LYP/6-311＋＋G（d,p）//B3LYP/6-31G（d）＋ZPVE level. Two distinct elementary channels were identified as： （1） abstraction-addition; （2） addition-addition-elimination. Analysis of the potential energy surface demonstrates that for the title reaction, channels （1） and （2） have the major and minor contribution, respectively. Our calculated results can well explain the recently observed product distribution by Coseri et al. （J. Org. Chem. 2005, 70, 4629）. However, we found that the addition-abstraction channel proposed by Coseri et al. is kinetically infeasible.     

Cloning and Expression of BTB/POZ-Domain from Zebrafish gcl （Germ Cell-Less）, and Appraisement of Its Polyclonal-Antibody

In this study, a recombinant pET28c-gBTB/POZ was constructed by cloning the sequence of the BTB/POZ domain of the zebrafish gcl （germ cell-less） into the expression vector pET28c, and pET28c-gBTB/POZ was transformed into BL21（DE3） pLysS strain to express the fusion protein for the preparation of antibody. Polyclonal-antibody against the GCL-BTB/POZ domain was prepared by immunizing rabbit with the fusion protein, and the Western Blot and immuno-histochemical analysis were performed to detect the quantity of the polyclonal-antibody. The result indicates that the polyclonal-antibodies were of good quantity and specification. Further studies will be performed to demonstrate the function and expression pattern of the GCL protein during the development process of zebrafish with the polyclonal-antibody.     

Strong Law of Large Numbers and Complete Convergence for Sequences of φ-Mixing Random Var, ables

We give some theorems of strong law of large numbers and complete convergence for sequences of φ-mixing random variables. In particular, Wittmann＇s strong law of large numbers and Teicher＇s strong law of large nnumbers for independent random variables are generalized to the case of φ -minxing random variables.     

Research of Inclusion Complexation of 4,4＇-Thiodiphenol Effected by β-Cyclodextrin in Aqueous Solutions and the Effect on Photodegradation

The inclusion behavior of 4, 4＇ -Thiodiphenol （TDP）, a typical bisphenol and endocrine disruptor, reacts with β-cyclodextrin （β-CD） in aqueous solutions has been investigated by means of UV absorption spectrum and quantum-chemical calculation with Gaussian 98 software. The results show that the inclusion behavior of TDP is quite different in acidic solutions （pH 5.9） from that in alkaline solutions （pH 10.0）. This behavior difference is attributed to the different formula structures in aqueous solutions at acidic and alkaline pH values that are demonstrated by quantum- chemical modeling and calculation. TDP forms a 1 ： 1 fl-CD inclusion complex in aqueous solutions. The equiiibrium constant K was calculated to be 553.49 L/mol at pH 5.9 and 1 318.20 L/mol at pH 10.0 respectively for the inclusion complex reaction by using the modified Benesi-Heldbrand equation. After inclusion TDP＇s structure is changed especially at the inclusion part with the bond order becoming larger, which results in inhibitive photodegradation during direct photooxidation and H2O2 assisted photooxidation.