Complex patterns formed by motile cells of Escherichia coli

When chemotactic strains of the bacterium Escherichia coli are inoculated on semi-solid agar containing mixtures of amino acids or sugars, the cells swarm outwards in a series of concentric rings: they respond to spatial gradients of attractants generated by uptake and catabolism. Cells also drift up gradients generated artificially, for example by diffusion from the tip of a capillary tube or by mixing. Here we describe conditions under which cells aggregate in response to gradients of attractant which they excrete themselves. When cells are grown in semi-solid agar on intermediates of the tricarboxylic acid cycle, they form symmetrical arrays of spots or stripes that arise sequentially. When cells in a thin layer of liquid culture are exposed to these compounds, spots appear synchronously, more randomly arrayed. In either case, the patterns are stationary. The attractant is a chemical sensed by the aspartate receptor. Its excretion can be triggered by oxidative stress. As oxygen is limiting at high cell densities, aggregation might serve as a mechanism for collective defence.     

果形识别中果梗判别与果轴确定方法

果梗判别在果形判别中是很关键的一步，利用图像形态学运算和果实边界形状特征相结合的方法来判别果梗的位置，并确定对果形识别起关键作用的果轴，试验表明，果梗识别正确率达到80．5％．     

生理盐水中TiNi基形状记忆合金耐蚀机理研究

采用电化学测试技术对 Ti Ni基形状记忆合金在生理盐水中的腐蚀机理进行了研究 .结果表明 ,Ti Ni合金与 Ti Ni Cu合金相比 ,阳极钝化区拓宽、孔蚀电位正移、腐蚀率减小 .通过EDX分析和 SEM观察发现 ,Ti Ni基形状记忆合金蚀孔内存在富 Ti贫 Ni的 Ti2 Ni析出相 ,是萌生孔蚀的敏感位置 .在生理盐水中 Ti Ni Cu合金的耐蚀性比 Ti Ni合金劣 ,是由于 Ti Ni Cu合金存在不同晶体结构区域 ,造成电化学性质不均匀 ,加之晶界疏松状态的 Cu的表面富集 ,促进阳极溶解过程所致     

Electrokinetic shape changes of cochlear outer hair cells

Rapid mechanical changes have been associated with electrical activity in a variety of non-muscle excitable cells. Recently, mechanical changes have been reported in cochlear hair cells. Here we describe electrically evoked mechanical changes in isolated cochlear outer hair cells (OHCs) with characteristics which suggest that direct electrokinetic phenomena are implicated in the response. OHCs make up one of two mechanosensitive hair cell populations in the mammalian cochlea; their role may be to modulate the micromechanical properties of the hearing organ through mechanical feedback mechanisms. In the experiments described here, we applied sinusoidally modulated electrical potentials across isolated OHCs; this produced oscillatory elongation and shortening of the cells and oscillatory displacements of intracellular organelles. The movements were a function of the direction and strength of the electrical field, were inversely related to the ionic concentration of the medium, and occurred in the presence of metabolic uncouplers. The cylindrical shape of the OHCs and the presence of a system of membranes within the cytoplasm--laminated cisternae--may provide the anatomical substrate for electrokinetic phenomena such as electro-osmosis.     

The genome of a motile marine Synechococcus

Marine unicellular cyanobacteria are responsible for an estimated 20-40% of chlorophyll biomass and carbon fixation in the oceans. Here we have sequenced and analysed the 2.4-megabase genome of Synechococcus sp. strain WH8102, revealing some of the ways that these organisms have adapted to their largely oligotrophic environment. WH8102 uses organic nitrogen and phosphorus sources and more sodium-dependent transporters than a model freshwater cyanobacterium. Furthermore, it seems to have adopted strategies for conserving limited iron stores by using nickel and cobalt in some enzymes, has reduced its regulatory machinery (consistent with the fact that the open ocean constitutes a far more constant and buffered environment than fresh water), and has evolved a unique type of swimming motility. The genome of WH8102 seems to have been greatly influenced by horizontal gene transfer, partially through phages. The genetic material contributed by horizontal gene transfer includes genes involved in the modification of the cell surface and in swimming motility. On the basis of its genome, WH8102 is more of a generalist than two related marine cyanobacteria.     

无接触熔炼电磁约束压强计算及熔体外形确定

在对高导电率材料提纯过程中引入无接触电磁约束熔炼技术,可以避免熔体与坩埚接触,有效地阻止坩埚带来的杂质污染.从熔体局部径向压强平衡方程出发,提出电磁约束压强的概念和计算方法,通过模拟计算确定熔体外部形状.使用自制水冷铜坩埚,以铝为原料,在大气条件下实现了无接触电磁约束熔炼实验.结果表明被约束的熔体外部形状与计算结果相符,说明所提出电磁约束压强的计算方法是正确的.     

甘草细胞悬浮培养初期褐化发生的机理研究

利用植物细胞培养技术直接生产药用成分是解决甘草资源问题的有效途径,但该技术在产业化过程中存在一系列的问题,其中包括最普遍且贯穿于放大过程始终的细胞褐化问题.研究以鄂尔多斯高原乌拉尔甘草细胞为研究对象,通过测定固-液转化之初细胞多酚氧化酶(Polyphenol oxidase,PPO)活性、胞内外总酚含量、细胞膜通透性、线粒体活性,确定该褐化反应发生的类型.通过测定不同初始蔗糖质量浓度的液体培养基与不同摇床转速下细胞褐化程度、PPO活性与胞内外总酚含量分析悬浮体系的环境因素与细胞酶促褐化发生之间的关系,了解主要影响因素并探析其引发褐化反应的途径,推动甘草细胞大规模培养的工业化进程.     

Nature of the motor element in electrokinetic shape changes of cochlear outer hair cells

It is the prevailing notion that cochlear outer hair cells function as mechanical effectors as well as sensory receptors. Electrically induced changes in the shape of mammalian outer hair cells, studied in vitro, are commonly assumed to represent an aspect of their effector process that may occur in vivo. The nature of the motile process is obscure, even though none of the established cellular motors can be involved. Although it is known that the motile response is under voltage control, it is uncertain whether the stimulus is a drop in the voltage along the long axis of the cell or variation in the transmembrane potential. We have now performed experiments with cells partitioned in differing degrees between two chambers. Applied voltage stimulates the cell membrane segments in opposite polarity to an amount dependent on the partitioning. The findings show, in accordance with previous suggestions, that the driving stimulus is a local transmembrane voltage drop and that the cellular motor consists of many independent elements, distributed along the cell membrane and its associated cortical structures. We further show that the primary action of the motor elements is along the longitudinal dimension of the cell without necessarily involving changes in intracellular hydrostatic pressure. This establishes the outer hair cell motor as unique among mechanisms that control cell shape.     

确定轮廓形状匹配中形状描述函数的方法

提出一种确定形状描述函数的方法．先利用模板累加确定形状匹配参考点,再用确定的形状中心点和边界匹配起始点构造形状描述函数．该方法的特点是算法原理简单,两种点的提取采用同一算法,基于同一过程产生．实验证明本算法确定的固定点具有平移、旋转和伸缩不变性．将该形状描述函数用于形状匹配,所经历的匹配次数较边界点总长是很少的,而速度较一般匹配算法大有提高．结果表明该方法用于形状识别是可行和有效的．     

尼古丁诱导人脐带间充质干细胞凋亡的机制

目的:探讨尼古丁作用人脐带间充质干细胞(MSCs)前后,一氧化氮(NO)、细胞内钙离子(Ca2+)的变化及α7 nAchR的表达情况.方法:采用硝酸还原酶法检测不同质量浓度尼古丁作用于MSCs后24、36、48h,MSCs内NO的释放情况;尼古丁作用MSCs 24 h,fluo - 3/AM染色,流式细胞仪检测MSCs内Ca2+变化;用RT - qPCR检测尼古丁作用后α7 nAchR的表达情况.结果:尼古丁作用MSCs 24、36 h后,各实验组NO水平显著高于对照组(P＜0.05),呈时间、质量浓度依赖性,但在48 h,质量浓度0.8与1.0 mg/mL组,NO水平低于对照组.尼古丁作用后,各实验组质量浓度(0.6、0.8、1.0 mg/mL)的Ca2+荧光强度分别为( 141.26±16.01)、(164.90±18.39)、(198.76±17.63),均高于对照组(119.30±14.14),其中质量浓度0.8、1.0 mg/mL组与对照组相比有显著差异(P＜0.05).MSCs可表达α7 nAchR,且尼古丁作用后表达水平增高,呈时间浓度依赖性.结论:尼古丁可上调人脐带MSCs的α7nAchR表达,并通过刺激MSCs释放NO、升高细胞内Ca2+从而致MSCs凋亡.