Intrinsic differences in the growth rate of early nerve fibres related to target distance

Target field innervation in the developing vertebrate nervous system coincides with the onset of important trophic interactions. Two factors that determine the timing of this event are the distance axons have to grow to reach their targets, which are known to vary, and the rate at which they grow. There have been few studies of axonal growth rate at this stage of development and no comparative study of the relationship between growth rate and target distance. Embryonic chick cranial sensory neurons are located in discrete ganglia and the distance axons have to grow to reach their targets is different for each ganglion, ranging from several hundred to several thousand microns. Here, I show that these neurons differ in their in vivo growth rates; neurons with more distant targets growing faster. In vitro, single isolated neurons from each of these populations grow at a similar rate to that observed in vivo, indicating that growth rate is an intrinsically determined property of neurons before they reach their targets.     

A precision measurement of the mass of the top quark

The standard model of particle physics contains parameters--such as particle masses--whose origins are still unknown and which cannot be predicted, but whose values are constrained through their interactions. In particular, the masses of the top quark (M(t)) and W boson (M(W)) constrain the mass of the long-hypothesized, but thus far not observed, Higgs boson. A precise measurement of M(t) can therefore indicate where to look for the Higgs, and indeed whether the hypothesis of a standard model Higgs is consistent with experimental data. As top quarks are produced in pairs and decay in only about 10(-24) s into various final states, reconstructing their masses from their decay products is very challenging. Here we report a technique that extracts more information from each top-quark event and yields a greatly improved precision (of +/- 5.3 GeV/c2) when compared to previous measurements. When our new result is combined with our published measurement in a complementary decay mode and with the only other measurements available, the new world average for M(t) becomes 178.0 +/- 4.3 GeV/c2. As a result, the most likely Higgs mass increases from the experimentally excluded value of 96 to 117 GeV/c2, which is beyond current experimental sensitivity. The upper limit on the Higgs mass at the 95% confidence level is raised from 219 to 251 GeV/c2.     

基于建构主义的计算机网络教学案例设计

建构主义认为事物的意义不能与受众完全独立,其来源于受众建构,不同的人均按照自己的方式来理解事物.将其应用在计算机网络教学当中则表现为学习者通过与教师的合作以自己的方式建构对于知识的理解,使理解更加丰富和全面.设计了一系列教学案例,在实际教学检验中取得了良好的效果.     

高职生实习期的学习特点分析

高职生进入实习期后,学习内容以隐性知识为主,学习方式以参与实践为主,这与学校教育的集中授课式的传授显性知识的学习模式存在区别.在分析隐性知识学习特点和高职生实习期学习观不足的基础上,可从企业知识获取、知识获取机制的把握和学习能力提升三个角度探讨学生实习期转变学习思维的方法.     

Structure of the cross-beta spine of amyloid-like fibrils

Numerous soluble proteins convert to insoluble amyloid-like fibrils that have common properties. Amyloid fibrils are associated with fatal diseases such as Alzheimer's, and amyloid-like fibrils can be formed in vitro. For the yeast protein Sup35, conversion to amyloid-like fibrils is associated with a transmissible infection akin to that caused by mammalian prions. A seven-residue peptide segment from Sup35 forms amyloid-like fibrils and closely related microcrystals, from which we have determined the atomic structure of the cross-beta spine. It is a double beta-sheet, with each sheet formed from parallel segments stacked in register. Side chains protruding from the two sheets form a dry, tightly self-complementing steric zipper, bonding the sheets. Within each sheet, every segment is bound to its two neighbouring segments through stacks of both backbone and side-chain hydrogen bonds. The structure illuminates the stability of amyloid fibrils, their self-seeding characteristic and their tendency to form polymorphic structures.     

Experimental measurement of the photonic properties of icosahedral quasicrystals

Quasicrystalline structures may have optical bandgap properties-frequency ranges in which the propagation of light is forbidden-that make them well-suited to the scientific and technological applications for which photonic crystals are normally considered. Such quasicrystals can be constructed from two or more types of dielectric material arranged in a quasiperiodic pattern whose rotational symmetry is forbidden for periodic crystals (such as five-fold symmetry in the plane and icosahedral symmetry in three dimensions). Because quasicrystals have higher point group symmetry than ordinary crystals, their gap centre frequencies are closer and the gaps widths are more uniform-optimal conditions for forming a complete bandgap that is more closely spherically symmetric. Although previous studies have focused on one-dimensional and two-dimensional quasicrystals, where exact (one-dimensional) or approximate (two-dimensional) band structures can be calculated numerically, analogous calculations for the three-dimensional case are computationally challenging and have not yet been performed. Here we circumvent the computational problem by doing an experiment. Using stereolithography, we construct a photonic quasicrystal with centimetre-scale cells and perform microwave transmission measurements. We show that three-dimensional icosahedral quasicrystals exhibit sizeable stop gaps and, despite their quasiperiodicity, yield uncomplicated spectra that allow us to experimentally determine the faces of their effective Brillouin zones. Our studies confirm that they are excellent candidates for photonic bandgap materials.     

Domain structure of human glucocorticoid receptor and its relationship to the v-erb-A oncogene product

The interaction of steroids with their nuclear receptors induces a cascade of regulatory events that results from the activation of specific sets of genes by the hormone/receptor complex. Steroids, either acting alone or possibly synergistically with other growth factors, can influence the DNA synthesis and proliferation of specific target cells, initiate developmental pathways and activate expression of the differentiated phenotype. Moreover, steroid hormones have been implicated in abnormal growth regulation both in tumours and tumour-derived cell lines. The identification of complementary DNAs encoding the human glucocorticoid receptor (hGR) predicts two protein forms (alpha and beta; 777 and 742 amino acids long, respectively) which differ at their carboxy termini. We report here that both forms of the receptor are related, with respect to their domain structure, to the v-erb-A oncogene product of avian erythroblastosis virus (AEV), which suggests that steroid receptor genes and the c-erb-A proto-oncogene are derived from a common primordial regulatory gene. Therefore, oncogenicity by AEV may result, in part, from the inappropriate activity of a truncated steroid receptor or a related regulatory molecule encoded by v-erb-A. This suggests a mechanism by which transacting factors may facilitate transformation. We also identify a short region of hGR that is homologous with the Drosophila homoeotic proteins encoded by Antennapedia and fushi tarazu.     

中西方思维差异对英语写作教学和CET写作测试的影响

写作能力是语言能力的综合体现。然而由于深受汉语思维习惯的影响，学生的英文写作和考生的英语作文题中，不可避免地出现了不同程度的“Chinglish”。有鉴于此，在教学中有必要对中西思维方式进行对比，分析思维方式对语言句式及其结构的影响，帮助学生树立英语思维能力，减少母语干扰，以致达到理想的写作成绩。     

论元代爱情剧中宗教观念的世俗化特征及其文化意蕴

元代爱情剧中的宗教观念有着鲜明的世俗化特征。其中形神二元的宗教观念被借为实现世俗现世愿望的工具，当中的神灵形象带有明显的世俗化色彩，而宗教圣地和佛寺长老等也被揭下了神圣的面纱，烙下了世俗的印记。剧作这一特点映照出当时的文人被迫远离权力中心，接近下层普通大众，因而具有独立文化品格的生存状态和直面世俗欲望的文化心理。     

Chemotropic effect of specific target epithelium in the developing mammalian nervous system

Developing nerve fibres are guided to their targets by specific directional cues which are thought to be expressed in the tissues along the route and may involve the extracellular matrix. Another possibility, that directional cues emanate from the target itself, is consistent with the recent demonstration of homing behaviour by ectopic retinal ganglion axons and our previous demonstration that early trigeminal neurites grow directly to their virgin peripheral target in vitro. Here we show that this chemotropic effect is precisely limited to the trigeminal system; trigeminal ganglion neurites grow directly to their own target field but not to the adjoining field, normally innervated by the geniculate ganglion; furthermore, the trigeminal field does not influence the growth of geniculate neurites. Also, when trigeminal ganglia are co-cultured with isolated tissue layers of their target, neurites grow only towards the epithelial and not the mesenchymal component. These findings suggest that trigeminal epithelium is specified to attract correct innervation and that pathway mesenchyme, in which preformed guidance cues have been postulated, may provide favourable conditions for nerve fibre growth but not govern its direction.     

政治课教学中学生主体作用的发挥浅析

发挥学生的主体作用 ,把过去以知识传授为本转变为以学生个性发展为本。引导学生树立正确的自我观念 ,调节好学生的情绪。使学生活动目标具体化 ,更具主动进取性。课堂教学实行民主化 ,允许学生对某个观点或知识发表自己的看法 ,教学环节要有针对性。让学生在学习中切实体验到成功的喜悦。要注意让学生走出封闭的课堂 ,通过开展社会调查活动 ,培养学生的实践能力     

恒星结构的稳定性研究

恒星是一个热核反应体系,已有很多学者对其结构稳定性做过研究.作为粒子数可变的体系,宏观性质可以用下述动力学方程组描述:(1) 分析系统的定态解是否稳定以及在什么条件下由稳定转变为不稳定,一个有效而简便的方法是小扰动简正模方法.     

旋转鸭式导弹洗流气动力干扰分析与计算

研究了旋转鸭式导弹前翼涡迹的扭曲变化,提出了计算洗流气动力干扰的数值方法。根据实验观测和分析,建立了计算扭曲涡迹的数学模型。由于导弹绕纵轴旋转,涡强和起始位置均随时间变化。计算旋涡洗流对后体和尾翼的气动力干扰效应有两种方法:一种采用细长体理论,适合于小展弦比尾翼;另一种采用反流定理,适合于中等展弦比尾翼。计算表明:前翼旋涡洗流除降低尾翼升力外,在旋转导弹上还要产生侧向力、偏航力矩和滚动力矩。这种现象可归入攻角和旋转的耦合气动力效应成为马格努斯效应的一个组成部分。     

Chemotropic guidance of developing axons in the mammalian central nervous system

In the developing nervous system, axons project considerable distances along stereotyped pathways to reach their targets. Axon guidance depends partly on the recognition of cell-surface and extracellular matrix cues derived from cells along the pathways. It has also been proposed that neuronal growth cones are guided by gradients of chemoattractant molecules emanating from their intermediate or final cellular targets. Although there is evidence that the axons of some peripheral neurons in vertebrates are guided by chemotropism and the directed growth of some central axons to their targets is consistent with such a mechanism, it remains to be determined whether chemotropism operates in the central nervous system. During development of the spinal cord, commissural axons are deflected towards a specialized set of midline neural epithelial cells, termed the floor plate, which could reflect guidance by substrate cues or by diffusible chemoattractant molecules. Here we provide evidence in support of chemotropic guidance by demonstrating that the rat floor-plate cells secrete a diffusible factor(s) that influences the pattern and orientation of commissural axon growth in vitro without affecting other embryonic spinal cord axons. These findings support the hypothesis that chemotropic mechanisms guide developing axons to their intermediate targets in the vertebrate CNS.     

嘻笑怒骂,皆成文章——谈20世纪40年代国统区的讽刺歌曲创作的艺术特点

20世纪40年代国统区的讽刺歌曲在国统区的涌现不是偶然的,考察国统区讽刺歌曲的时代背景和艺术特点,不仅能发现国统区歌曲创作不同于解放区的独特特点,而且能看出它在自身发展过程中所取得的成绩和不足,这对今天讽刺歌曲创作仍然有着启示作用。     

En passant neurotrophic action of an intermediate axonal target in the developing mammalian CNS.

During development, neurons extend axons to their targets, then become dependent for their survival on trophic substances secreted by their target cells. Competition for limiting amounts of these substances is thought to account for much of the extensive naturally-occurring cell death that is seen throughout the nervous system. Here we show that spinal commissural neurons, a group of long projection neurons in the central nervous system (CNS), are also dependent for their survival on trophic support from one of their intermediate targets, the floor plate of the spinal cord. This dependence occurs during a several-day-long period when their axons extend along the floor plate, following which they develop additional trophic requirements. A dependence of neurons on trophic support derived en passant from their intermediate axonal targets provides a mechanism for rapidly eliminating misprojecting neurons, which may help to prevent the formation of aberrant neuronal circuits during the development of the nervous system.     

腐殖酸与稀土元素的结合点位及其表征研究

采用红外光谱(FTIR)与核磁共振波谱(1H NMR和13C NMR)技术,对来自森林土壤和湖泊沉积物的两种腐殖酸及其与三价稀土离子(RE3 )沉淀反应的产物进行对比研究.结果表明,腐殖酸结构中活性官能团特征以及它的拥有量因腐殖化程度不同而存在较大差异.腐殖酸与RE3 沉淀反应产物在性质上属于一种有机弱酸盐,羧基-COOH和酚羟基-OH为主要结合点位,结合反应过程中它们的质子被RE3 交换出来.     

Discovery of molecular hydrogen in a high-velocity cloud of the Galactic halo

The Milky Way's halo contains clouds of neutral hydrogen with high radial velocities which do not follow the general rotational motion of the Galaxy. Few distances to these high-velocity clouds are known, so even gross properties such as total mass are hard to determine. As a consequence, there is no generally accepted theory regarding their origin. One idea is that they result from gas that has cooled after being ejected from the Galaxy through fountain-like flows powered by supernovae; another is that they are composed of gas, poor in heavy elements, which is falling onto the disk of the Milky Way from intergalactic space. The presence of molecular hydrogen, whose formation generally requires the presence of dust (and therefore gas, enriched in heavy elements), could help to distinguish between these possibilities. Here we report the discovery of molecular hydrogen absorption in a high-velocity cloud along the line of sight to the Large Magellanic Cloud. We also derive for the same cloud an iron abundance which is half of the solar value. From these data, we conclude that gas in this cloud originated in the disk of the Milky Way.     

Image statistics and the perception of surface qualities

The world is full of surfaces, and by looking at them we can judge their material qualities. Properties such as colour or glossiness can help us decide whether a pancake is cooked, or a patch of pavement is icy. Most studies of surface appearance have emphasized textureless matte surfaces, but real-world surfaces, which may have gloss and complex mesostructure, are now receiving increased attention. Their appearance results from a complex interplay of illumination, reflectance and surface geometry, which are difficult to tease apart given an image. If there were simple image statistics that were diagnostic of surface properties it would be sensible to use them. Here we show that the skewness of the luminance histogram and the skewness of sub-band filter outputs are correlated with surface gloss and inversely correlated with surface albedo (diffuse reflectance). We find evidence that human observers use skewness, or a similar measure of histogram asymmetry, in making judgements about surfaces. When the image of a surface has positively skewed statistics, it tends to appear darker and glossier than a similar surface with lower skewness, and this is true whether the skewness is inherent to the original image or is introduced by digital manipulation. We also find a visual after-effect based on skewness: adaptation to patterns with skewed statistics can alter the apparent lightness and glossiness of surfaces that are subsequently viewed. We suggest that there are neural mechanisms sensitive to skewed statistics, and that their outputs can be used in estimating surface properties.     

暗纹东方鲀线粒体若干tRNA基因的克隆及序列分析

利用分离纯化的暗纹东方鲀肝脏mtDNA为模板，按照红鳍东方纯（Takifugu rubripes）mtDNA序列设计合成特异引物进行PCR扩增，首次克隆并测定了暗纹东方纯mtDNA的Cytb、COⅠ、COⅡ、COⅢ、D-loop等5个重要基因及其侧翼的8个tRNA基因。上述基因均已在GenBank登录。8个tRNA基因含有69-72个碱基。推定了各个tRNA的二级结构并进行了初步的序列分析。结果表明：8个tRNA基因具有较为典型的三叶草型结构，各臂的碱基配对率大多数较高，稳定性较好.