耐用品动态古诺模型的建立及分析

依据耐用品的市场容量随着时间发生变化的特点,对多个企业同时博弈的动态古诺模型进行修正,建立了适用于耐用品市场的动态古诺模型,并得到新的产量均衡解.通过与合作情形下的最优产量解的比较与分析,得到非合作情形下的产量均衡解和合作情形下的最优产量解都随着阶段数的增加而单调下降,并且前者依旧劣于后者等结论.     

Fibronectin and VLA-4 in haematopoietic stem cell-microenvironment interactions

The self-renewal and differentiation of haematopoietic stem cells occurs in vivo and in vitro in direct contact with cells making up the haematopoietic microenvironment. In this study we used adhesive ligands and blocking antibodies to identify stromal cell-derived extracellular matrix proteins involved in promoting attachment of murine haematopoietic stem cells. Here we report that day-12 colony-forming-unit spleen (CFU-S12)5 cells and reconstituting haematopoietic stem cells attach to the C-terminal, heparin-binding fragment of fibronectin by recognizing the CS-1 peptide of the alternatively spliced non-type III connecting segment (IIICS) of human plasma fibronectin. Furthermore, CFU-S12 stem cells express the alpha 4 subunit of the VLA-4 integrin receptor, which is known to be a receptor for the CS-1 sequence, and monoclonal antibodies against the integrin alpha 4 subunit of VLA-4 block adhesion of CFU-S12 stem cells to plates coated with the C-terminal fibronectin fragment. Finally, polyclonal antibodies against the integrin beta 1 subunit of VLA-4 inhibit the formation of CFU-S12-derived spleen colonies and medullary haematopoiesis in vivo following intravenous infusion of antibody-treated bone marrow cells.     

Ecosystem-level patterns of primary productivity and herbivory in terrestrial habitats

Ecosystems are structurally organized as food webs within which energy is transmitted between trophic levels and dissipated into the environment. Energy flow between two trophic levels is given by the amount of production at the lower level and by the proportion of production that is consumed, assimilated and respired at the higher level. Considerable evidence indicates that food-web structure varies predictably in different habitats, but much less is known about quantitative relationships among food web fluxes. Many of the energetic properties of herbivores in African game parks are associated with rainfall and, by inference, with net primary productivity. Respiratory costs per unit production at the consumer trophic level are higher for homeotherms than for heterotherms. Plant secondary chemicals affect herbivore dietary choices and the allocation of plant resources to those chemicals varies with resource availability. How these phenomena are translated into ecosystem fluxes is unknown. We present evidence that herbivore biomass, consumption and productivity are closely correlated with plant productivity, suggesting that the latter is a principal integrator and indicator of functional processes in food webs.     

Peripheral neuropathy associated with inhalation of methyl-n-butyl ketone

Résumé Dix-sept rats sont exposés pendant 6 semaines 5 jours par semaine, 8 h par jour, à une atmosphère contenant soit du méthyl-n-butyl kétone seul soit un mélange de MnBK et de méthyl-éthyl kétone. Tous les rats présentèrent une faiblesse musculaire généralisée après l'inhalation qui dura de quelques h à 24 h avec récupération motrice totale. En dépit de cette apparence normale, l'examen histologique révéla une hypertrophie, un ballonement en grains de chapelet, et une dégénérescence des axones, associée à une démyélination secondaire, habituellement située dans la région des nodes de Ranvier. La toxicité du MnBK est prouvée, celle du MEK est encore à l'étude.     

Acceptors for botulinum neurotoxin reside on motor nerve terminals and mediate its internalization

Botulinum neurotoxin (BoNY) type A, a causative agent of botulism, is a di-chain protein (molecular weight 140,000) from Clostridium botulinum, and the most neurotoxic substance known. Some cases of sudden infant cot deaths have been attributed to such a neuroparalytic condition. BoNT inhibits irreversibly the release of acetylcholine from peripheral nerves in a highly selective manner. Hence, it is potentially an invaluable probe for studying the mechanism of transmitter release. Here we demonstrate specific labelling of murine motor nerve terminals with neurotoxic, 125I-labelled BoNT (type A) by autoradiography. We observed saturable, temperature-sensitive binding of BoNT to sites which reside solely on the nerve terminal membrane; these were distributed on all unmyelinated areas, at an average density of 150-500 per micron2 of membrane. The binding was mediated by the larger subunit of the toxin and was inhibited partially by tetanus toxin, another microbial protein. No specific binding was detectable on any other cell types examined, including noradrenergic terminals. Following binding, internalization of radioactivity was observed; this process was energy-dependent as it could be prevented totally by azide or dinitrophenol (DNP). This direct demonstration of separable steps, including highly selective binding and acceptor-mediated internalization, is reconcilable with the unique potency and the multiphasic inhibitory action of BoNT on transmitter release, as shown electrophysiologically.     

Sterilising activity of methoprene and hydroprene inTribolium castaneum (Herbst)

Summary The productivity ofT. castaneum adults, previously reared in flour incorporating either the IGR methoprene or hydroprene, was found to be impaired depending on the concentration of the IGR in the flour, whether or not the individual was morphologically deformed, and its sex.The authors are indebted to Mr P. B. Du Guesclin for technical assistance, and Dr J. Diekman, Zoecon Corporation, California, for supplying the IGRs. This work was financed in part by the Australian Wheat Industry Research Council.