Impaired amylase release from the parotid gland of rats treated with reserpine

Summary Using an automated system for the analysis of amylase, the release of this enzyme was compared in superfused parotid gland segments from control and reserpine treated rats. Stimulant-evoked amylase release was delayed and of smaller magnitude in the glands of the treated animals and a reduction of the transmembrane K⁺ gradient caused a smaller and short lasting reduction in Ach-evoked release of amylase in the glands from these animals.This work was supported by grants from the Cystic Fibrosis Research Trust (U.K.), Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (USA) and University of Missouri.     

用于消除区域间电力系统内振荡的最优鲁棒模型匹配控制器的设计

在大型电力系统中存在有自生的甚低频系统振荡。它一旦产生,就会不断增强,从而导致发电机组丧失同步以致使系统解体。本文推出一种新颖的最优控制对策,用以消除低频振荡,而又不损伤鲁棒数值特性。数字模拟结果表明,所推出的控制器可作为消除低频振荡的有效手段。     

Giordano Bruno and the heresy of many worlds

This paper analyses the importance of Giordano Bruno's belief in many worlds, including the Moon, the planets and the stars, in the context of his trial by the Inquisitions in Venice and Rome. Historians have claimed that this belief was not heretical and therefore was not a major factor in Bruno's trial or execution. On the contrary, by examining neglected treatises on theology, heresies and Catholic canon law, I show that the belief in many worlds was formally heretical. Multiple Christian authorities denounced it. A systematic analysis of the extant primary sources shows that Bruno's belief in many worlds was, surprisingly, of primary importance in his trial and execution. The evidence includes recent and newly discovered primary sources.     

热释放速率的不确定性对可用安全疏散时间的影响

基于室内火灾烟气层高度和温度模型,使用拉丁超立方抽样方法研究了火灾增长系数和最大热释放速率的不确定性对可用安全疏散时间(ASET)的影响.结果表明,对于相当于民用建筑一个防火分区的单室无排烟房间,当最大热释放速率在0～1MW时,其不确定性对ASET影响较大;当最大热释放速率为1～4MW时,火灾增长系数对ASET的影响大于最大热释放速率对ASET的影响;当最大热释放速率在4～8MW取值,仅考虑最大热释放速率的不确定性时,ASET为一确定值,此时热释放速率的不确定性对ASET的影响仅由火灾增长系数产生.     

Unified spatial scaling of species and their trophic interactions

Two largely independent bodies of scaling theory address the quantitative relationships between habitat area, species diversity and trophic interactions. Spatial theory within macroecology addresses how species richness scales with area in landscapes, while typically ignoring interspecific interactions. Complexity theory within community ecology addresses how trophic links scale with species richness in food webs, while typically ignoring spatial considerations. Recent studies suggest unifying these theories by demonstrating how spatial patterns influence food-web structure and vice versa. Here, we follow this suggestion by developing and empirically testing a more unified scaling theory. On the basis of power-law species-area relationships, we develop link-area and non-power-law link-species models that accurately predict how trophic links scale with area and species richness of microcosms, lakes and streams from community to metacommunity levels. In contrast to previous models that assume that species richness alone determines the number of trophic links, these models include the species' spatial distribution, and hence extend the domain of complexity theory to metacommunity scales. This generality and predictive success shows how complexity theory and spatial theory can be unified into a much more general theory addressing new domains of ecology.     

C. elegans ORFeome version 1.1: experimental verification of the genome annotation and resource for proteome-scale protein expression

To verify the genome annotation and to create a resource to functionally characterize the proteome, we attempted to Gateway-clone all predicted protein-encoding open reading frames (ORFs), or the 'ORFeome,' of Caenorhabditis elegans. We successfully cloned approximately 12,000 ORFs (ORFeome 1.1), of which roughly 4,000 correspond to genes that are untouched by any cDNA or expressed-sequence tag (EST). More than 50% of predicted genes needed corrections in their intron-exon structures. Notably, approximately 11,000 C. elegans proteins can now be expressed under many conditions and characterized using various high-throughput strategies, including large-scale interactome mapping. We suggest that similar ORFeome projects will be valuable for other organisms, including humans.