Wireless microphone for studies of animal vocalizations

Summary A microphone collar for obtaining good quality recordings of animal vocalizations is described. An inexpensive, commercially available wireless microphone was modified and mounted on a collar with a hearing-aidbattery pack. The complete assembly weighs, 25 g, and is readily accepted by domestic cats.     

Allotransplantation of rat parathyroid glands: Effects of organ culture and transplantation into the adrenal gland

Summary Allotransplantation of fresh, 1 or 2 week cultured parathyroid glands from Wistar rats (AgB²) to Fischer rats (AgB¹) resulted in prompt rejection of the transplant in the muscle site; whereas transplantation into the adrenal site offered slightly prolonged survival, suggesting that the latter is a privileged transplantation site.Acknowledgments. The authors thank Mrs Barbara Lovett for her secretarial assistance.     

放电等离子烧结Al20Cr20Fe25Ni25Mn10高熵合金的硬度和腐蚀性能研究

采用放电等离子烧结(SPS)技术在不同温度（800、900和200°C）下保温不同时间（4、8和12 min）合成了Al₂₀Cr₂₀Fe₂₅Ni₂₅Mn₁₀高熵合金（HEA）。通过扫描电子显微镜、能谱仪（EDS）、维氏显微硬度计、极化曲线等对合金的微观结构、显微硬度和腐蚀进行了实验研究。X-射线衍射（XRD）表征了所制备合金的成分。EDS结果显示不论烧结参数如何变化,合金均由原始合金元素组成。XRD、EDS和扫描电子显微镜的结果说明所制备的合金具有球形微观结构,呈现出面心立方结构相,这是基于固溶机制形成的。这表明SPS合金具有HEAs的特征。在1000°C保温 12 min生产的合金显微硬度最高,为HV 447.97,热处理后其硬度降至HV 329.47。同一合金表现出优异的耐腐蚀性能。烧结温度升高,Al₂₀Cr₂₀Fe₂₅Ni₂₅Mn₁₀合金可具有更高的密度、显微硬度和耐腐蚀性。     

The Cl-/H+ antiporter ClC-7 is the primary chloride permeation pathway in lysosomes

Lysosomes are the stomachs of the cell-terminal organelles on the endocytic pathway where internalized macromolecules are degraded. Containing a wide range of hydrolytic enzymes, lysosomes depend on maintaining acidic luminal pH values for efficient function. Although acidification is mediated by a V-type proton ATPase, a parallel anion pathway is essential to allow bulk proton transport. The molecular identity of this anion transporter remains unknown. Recent results of knockout experiments raise the possibility that ClC-7, a member of the CLC family of anion channels and transporters, is a contributor to this pathway in an osteoclast lysosome-like compartment, with loss of ClC-7 function causing osteopetrosis. Several mammalian members of the CLC family have been characterized in detail; some (including ClC-0, ClC-1 and ClC-2) function as Cl--conducting ion channels, whereas others act as Cl-/H+antiporters (ClC-4 and ClC-5). However, previous attempts at heterologous expression of ClC-7 have failed to yield evidence of functional protein, so it is unclear whether ClC-7 has an important function in lysosomal biology, and also whether this protein functions as a Cl- channel, a Cl-/H+ antiporter, or as something else entirely. Here we directly demonstrate an anion transport pathway in lysosomes that has the defining characteristics of a CLC Cl-/H+ antiporter and show that this transporter is the predominant route for Cl- through the lysosomal membrane. Furthermore, knockdown of ClC-7 expression by short interfering RNA can essentially ablate this lysosomal Cl-/H+ antiport activity and can strongly diminish the ability of lysosomes to acidify in vivo, demonstrating that ClC-7 is a Cl-/H+ antiporter, that it constitutes the major Cl- permeability of lysosomes, and that it is important in lysosomal acidification.