水经济学新论--淡水全球化和私有化的利弊分析

近十年来，国际上有关淡水资源及相关服务的私有化，既发展成为一种趋势，也形成了焦点。水具有重要的社会、文化和生态功能，要求给予直接而强有力的政府支持和保护，而且其私有化的一些后果可能是不可逆转的。因此，对水进行私有化和商品化的任何措施，都应该保证遵循一定的原则，支持特定的社会目标。公开、透明和强有力的政府管理和调控是基本要求；从私营部门获取利益的措施必须与解决其缺陷的措施相平衡。     

Fibrinolytic system,fibrinogen degradation products and soluble fibrin monomer complexes of renal venous and aortal blood

Zusammenfassung Im durch Katheterisierung gewonnenen Nieren- und Aortenblut wurden Euglobulinfibrinolyse, Fibrinogen, Plasminogen, Antiplasmin, Fibrinogendegradationsprodukte und deren lösbare Fibrinmonomerenkomplexe bestimmt. Signifikante Unterschiede bezÜglich des Verhaltens sämtlicher Komponenten des fibrinolytischen Systems konnten in den untersuchten Gefäss-gebieten nicht festgestellt werden.     

The draft genome of the transgenic tropical fruit tree papaya (Carica papaya Linnaeus)

Papaya, a fruit crop cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions, is known for its nutritional benefits and medicinal applications. Here we report a 3x draft genome sequence of 'SunUp' papaya, the first commercial virus-resistant transgenic fruit tree to be sequenced. The papaya genome is three times the size of the Arabidopsis genome, but contains fewer genes, including significantly fewer disease-resistance gene analogues. Comparison of the five sequenced genomes suggests a minimal angiosperm gene set of 13,311. A lack of recent genome duplication, atypical of other angiosperm genomes sequenced so far, may account for the smaller papaya gene number in most functional groups. Nonetheless, striking amplifications in gene number within particular functional groups suggest roles in the evolution of tree-like habit, deposition and remobilization of starch reserves, attraction of seed dispersal agents, and adaptation to tropical daylengths. Transgenesis at three locations is closely associated with chloroplast insertions into the nuclear genome, and with topoisomerase I recognition sites. Papaya offers numerous advantages as a system for fruit-tree functional genomics, and this draft genome sequence provides the foundation for revealing the basis of Carica's distinguishing morpho-physiological, medicinal and nutritional properties.     

RNA interference screen for human genes associated with West Nile virus infection

West Nile virus (WNV), and related flaviviruses such as tick-borne encephalitis, Japanese encephalitis, yellow fever and dengue viruses, constitute a significant global human health problem. However, our understanding of the molecular interaction of such flaviviruses with mammalian host cells is limited. WNV encodes only 10 proteins, implying that it may use many cellular proteins for infection. WNV enters the cytoplasm through pH-dependent endocytosis, undergoes cycles of translation and replication, assembles progeny virions in association with endoplasmic reticulum, and exits along the secretory pathway. RNA interference (RNAi) presents a powerful forward genetics approach to dissect virus-host cell interactions. Here we report the identification of 305 host proteins that affect WNV infection, using a human-genome-wide RNAi screen. Functional clustering of the genes revealed a complex dependence of this virus on host cell physiology, requiring a wide variety of molecules and cellular pathways for successful infection. We further demonstrate a requirement for the ubiquitin ligase CBLL1 in WNV internalization, a post-entry role for the endoplasmic-reticulum-associated degradation pathway in viral infection, and the monocarboxylic acid transporter MCT4 as a viral replication resistance factor. By extending this study to dengue virus, we show that flaviviruses have both overlapping and unique interaction strategies with host cells. This study provides a comprehensive molecular portrait of WNV-human cell interactions that forms a model for understanding single plus-stranded RNA virus infection, and reveals potential antiviral targets.     

Evolution of indirect reciprocity

Natural selection is conventionally assumed to favour the strong and selfish who maximize their own resources at the expense of others. But many biological systems, and especially human societies, are organized around altruistic, cooperative interactions. How can natural selection promote unselfish behaviour? Various mechanisms have been proposed, and a rich analysis of indirect reciprocity has recently emerged: I help you and somebody else helps me. The evolution of cooperation by indirect reciprocity leads to reputation building, morality judgement and complex social interactions with ever-increasing cognitive demands.     

Regulation of feeding in leeches

Résumé Des essais de nutrition ont montré que la sangsueHirudo medicinalis qui boit le sang absorbe aussi des solutions de l'arginine-l, ou de glucose dans 0.15M de NaCl. La durée de nutrition avec l'arginine-l dépend de la quantité bue, tandis qu'avec la glucose la nutrition se termine plutôt, probablement à cause d'une adaptation des chémo-récepteurs.     

Effects of grass bug feeding and drought stress on selected lines of crested wheatgrass

The sequential effects of feeding by grass bugs ( Irbisia pacifica [Hemiptera: Miridae]) and of drought stress on the growth of 2 crested wheatgrasses (the hybrid Agropyron cristatum × desertorum and A. cristatum cv. 'Fairway') were investigated in a controlled greenhouse experiment. Growth rates of genotypes that were previously selected for resistance to grass bug feeding were not consistently greater than those of unselected genotypes when plants were exposed to bug feeding. Thus, the mechanism of resistance to bug feeding for the selected genotypes does not appear to be ""tolerance,"" i.e., rapid growth rates that allow the resistant genotypes to compensate for damage to green leaves caused by bug feeding. In addition, previous bug feeding did not exacerbate the effects of drought stress on plant growth rates; droughted plants generally had lower growth rates, independent of the presence or absence of prior bug feeding. Thus, we suspect that the selection process may have inadvertently favored green, robust plants rather than true resistance to bug feeding.