Luminescence of carbon nanotube bulbs

Carbon nanotube (CNT) bulbs made of decimeter-scale double-walled carbon nanotube (DWCNT) strands and films were fabricated and their luminescence properties, including the lighting efficiency, voltage-current relation and thermal stability were investigated. The results show that the DWCNT bulb has a comparable spectrum of visible light with tungsten bulb and its average efficiency is 40% higher than that of a tungsten filament at the same temperature (1400―2300 K). The nanotube filaments show both resistance and thermal stability over a large temperature region. No obvious damage was found for a nanotube bulb illuminating at 2300 K for more than 24 hours in vacuum.     

Development of glomerular pattern visualized in the olfactory bulbs of living mice

Many regions of the mammalian brain are characterized by iterated ensembles of nerve cells which can be distinguished anatomically and physiologically. A particularly striking example is the pattern of glomeruli in the olfactory bulbs; other instances are columns and 'blobs' in the visual cortex, barrels and columns in the somatosensory cortex, and striasomes and cell islands in the neostriatum. Understanding the generation of these neuronal ensembles has a bearing on a variety of important neurobiological problems, including the nature of critical periods, the age-dependent response of the nervous system to injury and the manner in which neural information is stored. Analysis of these issues has usually been restricted to studies of the brains of different individuals at various ages. Many questions about the formation of such units, however, can only be answered by observing the same brain repeatedly in a living animal. This strategy would enable a direct assessment of how these units are assembled, whether the initial ensembles persist and whether units are lost or gained as an animal matures. We have succeeded in studying the pattern of glomeruli in the mouse olfactory bulb on two separate occasions during postnatal development. Comparison of the patterns observed at intervals of up to three weeks show that this part of the brain is gradually constructed by the addition of new glomeruli to a persisting population.     

露地越冬期间东方百合鳞茎生理指标的变化

试验对东方百合Tiber、Siberia和Sorbonne的鳞茎在西宁露地越冬期间的生理生化指标进行了观测分析。结果表明：露地越冬期间东方百合3个品种鳞茎的含水量,干物质含量、容重的变化无明显差异;3个品种鳞茎内的芽长、芽球比、可溶性糖含量、根系活力和呼吸强度在3月18日前稳定缓慢增长,之后急剧增长,但品种之间的变化差异明显,5项指标均以Sorbonne品种增长较快,Tiber品种较慢,Siberia品种介于二者之间。     

Conservation of total synaptic weight through balanced synaptic depression and potentiation

Memory is believed to depend on activity-dependent changes in the strength of synapses. In part, this view is based on evidence that the efficacy of synapses can be enhanced or depressed depending on the timing of pre- and postsynaptic activity. However, when such plastic synapses are incorporated into neural network models, stability problems may develop because the potentiation or depression of synapses increases the likelihood that they will be further strengthened or weakened. Here we report biological evidence for a homeostatic mechanism that reconciles the apparently opposite requirements of plasticity and stability. We show that, in intercalated neurons of the amygdala, activity-dependent potentiation or depression of particular glutamatergic inputs leads to opposite changes in the strength of inputs ending at other dendritic sites. As a result, little change in total synaptic weight occurs, even though the relative strength of inputs is modified. Furthermore, hetero- but not homosynaptic alterations are blocked by intracellular dialysis of drugs that prevent Ca2+ release from intracellular stores. Thus, in intercalated neurons at least, inverse heterosynaptic plasticity tends to compensate for homosynaptic long-term potentiation and depression, thus stabilizing total synaptic weight.     

Genetic evidence that relative synaptic efficacy biases the outcome of synaptic competition

Synaptic activity drives synaptic rearrangement in the vertebrate nervous system; indeed, this appears to be a main way in which experience shapes neural connectivity. One rearrangement that occurs in many parts of the nervous system during early postnatal life is a competitive process called 'synapse elimination'. At the neuromuscular junction, where synapse elimination has been analysed in detail, muscle fibres are initially innervated by multiple axons, then all but one are withdrawn and the 'winner' enlarges. In support of the idea that synapse elimination is activity dependent, it is slowed or speeded when total neuromuscular activity is decreased or increased, respectively. However, most hypotheses about synaptic rearrangement postulate that change depends less on total activity than on the relative activity of the competitors. Intuitively, it seems that the input best able to excite its postsynaptic target would be most likely to win the competition, but some theories and results make other predictions. Here we use a genetic method to selectively inhibit neurotransmission from one of two inputs to a single target cell. We show that more powerful inputs are strongly favoured competitors during synapse elimination.     

纵向差异与豪太林模型的横向差异"最小化原则"

文章将产品纵向差异引入豪太林模型,并在假设企业产品存在一定纵向差异条件下,得到位置——价格博弈的唯一子博弈精炼纳什均衡.由于纵向差异的存在增强了企业的市场力量,使得企业通过实施横向差异化战略以缓和价格竞争而带来的收益有所减少,从而弱化了企业在横向差异产品空间上实施差异化战略的动机.因此,均衡条件下,我们得到同现有大部分文献相异的结论:即企业在横向差异产品空间上的策略符合最小差异原则。     

宝坻大蒜气生鳞茎和花粉母细胞发育的细胞学研究

为了从细胞学角度探讨大蒜的不育性,对宝坻大蒜气生鳞茎的发育、花粉母细胞的减数分裂过程及染色体的异常行为进行观察.结果表明:(1)大蒜的气生鳞茎数量多、长势快;(2)大蒜的花粉母细胞减数分裂过程中有27.4%的细胞出现异常分裂现象,包括滞后染色体(7.6%)、染色体桥(9.3%)、染色体断片(1.7%)和微核(9.7%)等异常行为;(3)正常发育的花粉母细胞在形成花粉粒时逐渐干枯.花粉母细胞中高频率的染色体结构变异和花粉母细胞在形成花粉粒时的干枯可能是导致大蒜不育的重要原因.     

底层采用矩形柱的异形柱结构抗震性能分析

文章对底部采用矩形柱、上部为异形柱的结构和纯异形柱结构进行了抗震分析并进行对比,结果表明改进后的异形柱结构位移较小,各层刚度分布更为均匀,有利于抗震.     

The role of neuronal identity in synaptic competition

In developing mammalian muscle, axon branches of several motor neurons co-innervate the same muscle fibre. Competition among them results in the strengthening of one and the withdrawal of the rest. It is not known why one particular axon branch survives or why some competitions resolve sooner than others. Here we show that the fate of axonal branches is strictly related to the identity of the axons with which they compete. When two neurons co-innervate multiple target cells, the losing axon branches in each contest belong to the same neuron and are at nearly the same stage of withdrawal. The axonal arbor of one neuron engages in multiple sets of competitions simultaneously. Each set proceeds at a different rate and heads towards a common outcome based on the identity of the competitor. Competitive vigour at each of these sets of local competitions depends on a globally distributed resource: neurons with larger arborizations are at a competitive disadvantage when confronting neurons with smaller arborizations. An accompanying paper tests the idea that the amount of neurotransmitter released is this global resource.     

不同温度处理对郁金香鳞茎中水分及干物质含量的影响

为了探讨低温处理对郁金香鳞茎芽体发育和解除休眠的影响,取Apeldoorn品种周径8~10 cm的鳞茎为试验材料,分别置于2℃、5℃、9℃冷藏箱和10~18℃室温下贮藏,在0周、2周、4周、6周、8周、10周、12周、14周8个时间段,测定鳞茎体积、水分、干物质和还原糖含量的变化,间接揭示温度对芽体发育和解除休眠的作用。试验表明,在不同温度处理下,随贮藏时间延长鳞茎的体积减小,鲜重降低,总含水量、自由水含量均降低;干物质相对含量随处理时间的延长而呈上升趋势;还原糖含量伴随花芽分化、花芽发育和解除休眠呈现规律性变化。试验得出,在2℃、5℃下的贮藏处理,有利于鳞茎水分和干物质保存,有利于延长鳞茎的贮存寿命。     

钢管桩与砂桩多元复合地基室内模型试验

通过自行研发的试验装置,对钢管桩与砂桩多元复合地基进行一系列室内模型试验,得到其工作性状:钢管桩与砂桩多元复合地基的荷载沉降曲线特征,钢管桩、砂桩和土的应力特点,桩土应力比特点,各种桩和土的荷载分担比曲线特征.研究表明:本室内静载试验模型虽然不能完全模拟现场钢管桩与砂桩多元复合地基的工作性状,但从定性上分析钢管桩与砂桩多元复合地基的工作性状是可行的.从试验结果可见:当处理粉细砂类土时,钢管桩与砂桩多元复合地基明显优于砂桩复合地基.     

整合发放神经元模型突触输入参数估计

文章针对突触输入和噪声共同作用下的整合发放神经元模型,在不考虑放电阈值前提下,采用最小二乘法估计突触输入参数;当考虑神经元放电阈值特性时,将放电阈值看成一个吸收边界,导出膜电位转移概率密度函数,再利用极大似然法估计突触输入参数。结果表明:最小二乘估计仅适合阈下活动的参数估计,而对阈上活动无效;极大似然估计适用于神经元放电的阈值行为;无论是从适用范围还是估计精度来说,极大似然估计都要优于最小二乘估计。     

吞蛋白在神经元突触囊泡回收中的作用

脑内神经元间的信息交流依赖于神经递质的释放,这一过程的有效维持离不开神经细胞突触囊泡的回收.内吞蛋白(endophilin)是神经元突触囊泡回收过程中一个重要的辅助蛋白,通过C末端的SH3结构域,endophilin与包括发动蛋白(dynamin)和突触囊泡磷酸酶(synaptojanin)在内的多个内吞相关蛋白结合,在网格蛋白介导的内吞中参与了从早期的膜内陷到后期的囊泡剪切和脱包被等多个环节的调控.另外,endophilin也在受体转运和神经退行性疾病中扮演着重要角色.     

Peptidergic transmitters in synaptic boutons of sympathetic ganglia

In sympathetic ganglia of the bullfrog, a slow synaptic potential lasting for minutes--the late slow excitatory postsynaptic potential (e.p.s.p.)--was discovered. This slow response, unlike other previously known synaptic potentials in the autonomic nervous system, is not mediated by acetylcholine or monoamines. Similar non-cholinergic, non-adrenergic slow synaptic potentials have since been found in several other vertebrate autonomic ganglia. We found that the late slow e.p.s.p. is probably mediated by a peptide that is identical to, or closely resembles, mammalian luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LHRH), because (1) when applied directly to sympathetic neurones, LHRH and its agonists elicit a slow depolarization, associated with similar changes in membrane conductance and excitability as those occurring during the late slow e.p.s.p. Furthermore, both peptide-induced and nerve-evoked responses are blocked by antagonists of LHRH; and (2) radioimmunoassays indicate that a chain of sympathetic ganglia contains 100-800 pg of a LHRH-like peptide. Its distribution among spinal nerves, the great reduction of this substance following denervation, and its release from ganglia following isotonic KCl treatment or nerve stimulation suggest that the LHRH-like material is contained in preganglionic nerve fibres. Here we report that immunohistochemical staining of sympathetic ganglia shows that LHRH-like immunoreactivity is indeed present in synaptic boutons. We also show that the two types of ganglion cells (B cells and C cells) receive strikingly different patterns of peptidergic innervation.     

Kainate receptors are involved in synaptic plasticity

The ability of synapses to modify their synaptic strength in response to activity is a fundamental property of the nervous system and may be an essential component of learning and memory. There are three classes of ionotropic glutamate receptor, namely NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate), AMPA (alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole-4-propionic acid) and kainate receptors; critical roles in synaptic plasticity have been identified for two of these. Thus, at many synapses in the brain, transient activation of NMDA receptors leads to a persistent modification in the strength of synaptic transmission mediated by AMPA receptors. Here, to determine whether kainate receptors are involved in synaptic plasticity, we have used a new antagonist, LY382884 ((3S, 4aR, 6S, 8aR)-6-((4-carboxyphenyl)methyl-1,2,3,4,4a,5,6,7,8,8a-decahydro isoquinoline-3-carboxylic acid), which antagonizes kainate receptors at concentrations that do not affect AMPA or NMDA receptors. We find that LY382884 is a selective antagonist at neuronal kainate receptors containing the GluR5 subunit. It has no effect on long-term potentiation (LTP) that is dependent on NMDA receptors but prevents the induction of mossy fibre LTP, which is independent of NMDA receptors. Thus, kainate receptors can act as the induction trigger for long-term changes in synaptic transmission.