Molecular genetic basis for the rhino mouse from Chinese KM subcolony

Both the rhino mouse and hairless mouse resulted from hairless gene mutation, but they show different phenotypes of skin physiology. The rhino mouse has more similar histological characters to human papular alopecia.Therefore rhino mouse is a good experimental animal model for human papular alopecia. This study reports a hairless mouse named rhino KIZ, arose from KM colony in Kunming Institue of Zoology, by systematic studies on morphology,skin histopathology, gene sequence, pedigree and protein domain analysis. The results demonstrate that a C-to-T transition in exon 11 of hr gene (The mutant gene has been applied for a Chinese patent (patent No. 03135280)) results in the rhino KIZ. The rhino KIZ with clear genetic mechanism will be a useful animal model.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">In situ</Emphasis> synthesis of TiC reinforced Cu<Subscript>47</Subscript>Ti<Subscript>34</Subscript>Zr<Subscript>11</Subscript>Ni<Subscript>8</Subscript> bulk metallic glass composites

In situ synthesized TiC particles and β-Ti dendrites reinforced Cu47Ti34Zr11Ni8 bulk metallic glass (BMG) composite ingots were prepared by the suction casting method.The ingots with diameters from 1 up to 4mm were successfully obtained. It was shown that introducing TiC micro-sized particles into the amorphous matrix did not disturb the glass forming ability (GFA) of the matrix,while the yield strength and ductility could be well improved.The phase constitution, microstructure and elements distribution in the composites were studied by OM, XRD, SEM and EDS.It was shown that the in situ synthesized TiC particles acting as heterogeneous nucleation sites promoted the precipitation of β-Ti dendrites, resulting in the formation of the TiC particles and β-Ti dendrites co-reinforced BMG composites. The compressive tests were employed to probe the yield strength and ductility of BMG composites.     

Nonlinearity degree of short-term heart rate variability signal

A nonlinear autoregressive (NAR) model is built to model the heartbeat interval time series and the optimum model degree is proposed to be taken to evaluate the nonlinearity degree of heart rate variability (HRV). A group of healthy persons are studied and the results indicate that this method can effectively get nonlinear information from short (6—7 min) heartbeat series and consequently reflect the degree of heart rate variability, which supplies convenience in clinical application. Finally, a comparison with the traditional time domain method shows that the NAR model method can reflect the complexity of the whole signal and lessen the influence of noise and instability, in the signal.     

Early Cambrian phosphatized blastula- and gastrula-stage animal fossils from southern Shaanxi

Marine invertebrate animal embryos and their early developmental products are of great significance to the study of taxonomy and phylogeny of early animals. A great number of phosphatized globular fossils were collected fromthe early Cambrian Kuanchuanpu Member (upper Dengying Formation), southern Shaanxi, and a nearly complete develo-pmental sequence—from a fertilized egg, via blastodisc formation, blastula development, blastodisc enlargement toward gastrulae, to tissue differentiation—can be discerned in this collection. This discovery provides unmatchable material for studies on the origin, taxonomy, radiation, and ontogeny of early metazoans.     

Expression of lysine-rich protein gene and analysis of lysine content in transgenic wheat

Expression vector pBPC102, which carries winged bean lysine-rich protein (wblrp) gene and dihydropicolinate synthase (DHDPS) gene, was transferred into hexaploid winter wheat cv. Jinghua No.l, Jing411, You899 and Yangnongl5 explants of immature inflorescence and immature embryos by particle bombardment. More than 100 transgenic plants were obtained under the selection of s-(2-aminoethyl)-L-cysteine (AEC). Confirmed transgenic plants of To and TI generation by PCR and PCR-Southern blotting analyses showed successful integration of wblrp gene into wheat genome. Analysis of transgenic plant lines of T2 by Northern dot-blotting showed good expression of wblrp gene in offspring seed. The content of free lysine in leaves, contents of bound lysine and total proteins in seeds of T2 transgenie wheat lines were determined and analyzed. Among 34 tested transgenic lines, levels of free lysine content in leaves of 9 transgenic lines are 2~3times higher than un-trans-formed wild-type cultivars. Among 17 analyzed transgenic lines, bound lysine content of 4 transgenic lines is more than 10% higher than that of wild-type cultivars. Our research suggests that introducing wblrp gene into wheat is an effective way to improve its nutrition quality.     

Removal of NO<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript> by radical injection

Removal of NOx(DeNOx, NOx is the total of NO and NO2) from flue gas by radical injection has been investigated .the discharge characteristics were examined and the steady streamer corona was acquired hy adjusting the nozzle gases properly. It was Found that an increase in the voltage resulted in a decrease in the NO concentration and the concentration of the NO2 increased at tow voltages but decreased as the voltage rose to a certain level. The DeNOx efficiency increased as the applied voltage rose and reached a maximum of 70% when the voltage approached the breakdown voltage. The hypothetical mechanism of NOx removal suggested that the radicals formed in the discharge process converted the NO and NO2 into acidic species. The Monte Carlo method was used to calculate the rate coefficients and the productivity of the radicals, and then the concentrations of both NO and NO2 and the DeNOx effielencies were calculated with chemical kinetics. The calculated DeNOx efficiencies were coalparable with the experimental DeNOx efficiencies at low voltages, but were lower at high voltages.     

An early cretaceous<Emphasis Type="Italic">Ginkgo</Emphasis> ovule-bearing organ fossil from Liaoning,Northeast China and its evolutionary implications

Ginkgo is a very important gymnospermous genus that has only one surviving species, Ginkgo biloba L. As a so-called “living fossil“, wild Ginkgo was found only in China, but it once flourished well and had a world-wide distribution in the Mesozoic. The earliest Ginkgo has been known from the Middle Jurassic, based on ovule-bearin gorgans. In the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous, Ginkgo was one of the dominant gymnosperms in floras and possibly one of the coal-forming plants in North China. During the Early Tertiary, it reduced to a circumpolar distribution in the North Hemisphere; only a few reported from the South Hemisphere. From the Pliocene onwards, the Ginkgoales has been represented by the extant monotypic “living fossil“ Ginkgo biloba.     

Characterization of MASDs of surface soils in north China and its influence on estimating dust emission

Inordertoquantitivelyevaluateeffectsofdustaerosolonradiativeforcing[1],andtounderstandtheprocessofatmosphericchemistryandbiogeochemistry[2,3],modelingthedustemissionfluxisakindoffundamentalwork.TheDPMmodel[4—6]isidealforpredictingdustemission[7—10]becauseitconsiderseffectsofsurfacefea-tures(MASDofsurfacesoil,roughnesslengthandsoilmoisture,etc)andsandblastingprocess.Italsoprovidesanexplicitphysicalmechanismthatisvalidatedbywindtunnelandfieldexperiments[7—10].Themeandiameterofsurfacesoilsi…     

Transformation of the salt-tolerant gene of<Emphasis Type="Italic">Avicennia marina</Emphasis> into tobacco plants and cultivation of salt-tolerant lines

Salt-tolerant gene, CSRG1, which was isolated from a kind of salt-tolerant mangroves, Avicennia marina, constructed the transgenic plasmid, pGAM189/CSRG1. CSRG1, GUS, Kmr and Hyg^r could be transferred into tobacco genome by the ameliorated leaf discs method of agro-bacterium-mediate transformation. Thirteen stable resistant lines were obtained when fifty transgenic explants were selected through 50 mg/L hygromycin and 150 mg/L kanamycin. Assessments of PCR amplification, Southern blot analysis and GUS histochemical staining showed that CSRG1 has been integrated into the genome of the eleven transgenic lines (frequency of transformation was 22%). Northern bolt analysis revealed that CSRG1 had expressed in transgenic lines. The assessments of salt-tolerant ability and photosyn-thetic rates indicated that the survival rate of the transgenic lines is 80%—90% and the transgenic lines could increase by 30%—40% in plant height, even when they were cultivated in MS medium containing 2% NaCl and the total seawater (salinity 24). It is supposed that the special physiologic metabolic pathway formed by the products of CSRG1 can really endow the tobacco plants with the high salt-tolerant ability, not only to Na^ stress, but also to the comprehensive stress of various ions.     

Anion-exchangeable inorganic-organic hybrid materials synthesized without using templates

Inorganic-organic hybrid materials have been obtained at room temperature in aqueous solution without using the templates of surfactants. The materials are carefully characterized by anion-exchange measurement, elements analysis, X-ray diffraction, and infrared spectroscopy. Notably, the anion-exchange capacity of the samples (3.9mmol.g^-1) is even higher than anion-exchangeable resins. Interestingly, both small and large anions could be easily exchanged into the samples due to the plasticity of the samples, along with the phase transition.