Saccadic oscillations facilitate ocular perfusion from the avian pecten

THE evolution of the eye is constrained by two conflicting requirements--good vascular perfusion of the retina, and an optical path through the retina that is unobstructed by blood vessels. Birds are interesting in that they have higher metabolic rates and thicker retinas than mammals, but have no retinal blood vessels. Nutrients and oxygen must thus reach the neurons of the inner retina either from the choroid through 300 micron of metabolically very active retina, or from the pecten, a pleated vascular structure protruding from the head of the optic nerve into the vitreous chamber, and more than a centimetre away from some retinal neurons. Despite the diffusional distance involved, several lines of evidence indicate that the pecten is the primary source of nutrients for the inner retina: the presence of an oxygen gradient from pecten to retina, the large surface area produced by macroscopic folds and by microscopic infoldings of the luminal and external surfaces of the capillary endothelium, extrusion of circulating fluorescein, high content of carbonic anhydrase and alkaline phosphatase, and retinal impairments after pecten ablation. Another peculiarity of birds, their saccadic oscillations, occur with a large cyclotor-sional component during every saccadic eye movement. In different species, saccades, which occur at intervals of 0.5-40 s, have up to 13 oscillations with frequencies of 15-30 Hz and ampliá-tudes of about 10 degrees. Therefore, as much as 12% of some birds' total viewing time may be subject to the image instability caused by the oscillations. Using fluorescein angiography, we show here that during every saccade, the pecten acts as an agitator which propels perfusate towards the central retina much more effectively than is observed during intersaccadic intervals.     

消除电磁搅拌连铸坯中“白亮带”的试验研究

针对电磁搅拌连铸坯中的“白亮带”问题进行试验研究和理论分析．结果表明：铸坯凝固过程中电磁搅拌引起的钢液运动特点是能否产生“白亮带”的关键．特殊的电磁搅拌方式有效地抑制“白亮带”的产生．     

Sex pheromone of the pine sawflyDiprion pini (Hymenoptera: Diprionidae): Chemical identification,synthesis and biological activity

The main component of the sex pheromone secretion of femaleDiprion pini L. (Hymenoptera: Diprionidae) from insects collected both in Finland and in France has been identified as athreo-3,7-dimethyl-2-tridecanol (8 ng per female) stereoisomer by GC-MS and synthesis. The secretion also contains lower and higher homologues in small amounts (1–4% of the main component). Combined gas chromatographic-electroantennographic detection showed activity in both natural and esterified extracts (acetates and propionates); the esters of the main component gave the largest responses. The acetates and propionates of the eight stereoisomers of 3,7-dimethyl-2-tridecanol were synthesized from enantiomerically highly enriched (>99% ee) building blocks. The stereochemistry of the main component was established to be (2S,3R,7R)-3,7-dimethyl-2-tridecanol by GC analysis of the natural material. It was purified by liquid chromatography prior to the GC analysis of both its pentafluorobenzoates and its isopropylcarbamates on a non-chiral polar column (ECD) and a chiral column (NPD), respectively. Field tests demonstrated that both the acetate and propionate of the main component (100 g of each applied on cotton roll dispensers) were active in attracting males, with or without the presence of several of the minor compounds. Experiments with smaller amounts of the acetate and the propionate (1 g in France and 50 g in Finland) demonstrated that the propionate was more active than the acetate, and that it also caught more males than a blend of the two compounds.     

The first known use of vermillion

Vermillion has been shown to be useful in preserving human bones from 5000 years ago. Remarkably well-preserved human bones have been found in the dolmenic burial La Velilla in Osorno (Palencia, Spain), carefully covered by pulverized cinnabar (vermillion) which ensured their preservation even in non-favorable climatic conditions. We believe the red powder was deliberately deposited for preservative use because no cinnabar mine is to be found within 160 km, because of the large amount (hundreds of kilograms) used, and because its composition, red mercuric sulphide, is similar to that of preparations used in technical embalming. This finding pushes back the data of the use of mercury ore for preservation by four millennia in South America, and by at least one millennium in the Old World. Chemical and thermal analyses of vermillion in La Velilla have demonstrated its great purity and shown that the cinnabar was pulverized and washed (but not heated), producing a bright red-orange tone.     

满江红鱼腥藻glnA基因上游调控区的克隆及其序列分析

以满江红鱼腥藻（Ａａｃ）提取总ＤＮＡ为模板,通过ＰＣＲ技术,扩增得到其谷氨酰胺合成酶基因（ｇｌｎＡ）上游区．经酶切得到４０９ｂｐ的片段,并将其连接到ｐＢｌｕｅｓｃｒｉｐｔⅡｋｓ＋上测序．将测序结果与Ａｎａｂａｅｎａ７１２０调控序列比较,有９８２％的同源性．在上游调控中也具有ｎｉｆｌｉｋｅ和Ｅ．ｃｏｌｉｌｉｋｅ启动子,值得注意的是,调节蛋白ＶＦ１的结合位点正好位于ｎｉｆｌｉｋｅ启动子上．所克隆的片段不但对蓝藻固氮、泌氨的基因调控研究具有意义,也对表达载体的构建具有实用价值．     

一类不确定非线性系统的鲁棒镇定

讨论了在自由系统和输入通道都带有有界不确定性的仿射非线性系统的鲁棒镇定问题。本文指出如果一个相应的Ｈａｍｉｌｔｏｎ－Ｊａｃｏｌｂｉ不等式有非负光滑解,则该不确定仿射非线性系统可鲁棒镇定。     

甘蔗联合固氮菌对甘蔗叶片养分含量的影响

分析从广西不同地方、不同品种的甘蔗分离到的甘蔗联合固氮菌若干株的固氮酶活性,并将这些菌株接种甘蔗,分析接种了甘蔗联合固氮菌的甘蔗根组织的固氮酶活性,研究它们对甘蔗叶中氮、磷、钾及微量元素含量的影响。     

基于小波分析的被动声纳信号宽带噪声包络调制分析

采用小波分析理论建立了一种新的被动声纳信号宽带噪声包络调制分析算法。通过被动声纳的海上实际信号的分析实验,取得了良好的检测效果且可以节省计算时间,具有很好的应用前景。     

BP神经网络用于函数逼近的最佳隐层结构

研究采用反向传播算法的人工神经网络用于函数逼近时的支结构。方法,以典型的ｎ输入、单输出的多层ＢＰ网为例,在几种不同的网络隐层结构下对典的连续函数进行逼近训练。,分析各网络输出的全局误差。