日本

现在来看看G7成员国之一、亚洲的传统科技领袖——日本的表现.二战后,日本的重建进展迅猛,人口激增,在整个国家工业化环境塑造下的婴儿潮一代成长为推动上世纪六七十年代日本经济快速发展的中坚力量.日本以生产高质量创意工业产品为基础建立起良好的声誉,并在80年代达到经济巅峰,然而随后便进入了被称之为“丢失的10年”的发展停滞期...     

Hobbes on natural philosophy as “True Physics” and mixed mathematics

In this paper, I offer an alternative account of the relationship of Hobbesian geometry to natural philosophy by arguing that mixed mathematics provided Hobbes with a model for thinking about it. In mixed mathematics, one may borrow causal principles from one science and use them in another science without there being a deductive relationship between those two sciences. Natural philosophy for Hobbes is mixed because an explanation may combine observations from experience (the ‘that’) with causal principles from geometry (the ‘why’). My argument shows that Hobbesian natural philosophy relies upon suppositions that bodies plausibly behave according to these borrowed causal principles from geometry, acknowledging that bodies in the world may not actually behave this way. First, I consider Hobbes's relation to Aristotelian mixed mathematics and to Isaac Barrow's broadening of mixed mathematics in Mathematical Lectures (1683). I show that for Hobbes maker's knowledge from geometry provides the ‘why’ in mixed-mathematical explanations. Next, I examine two explanations from De corpore Part IV: (1) the explanation of sense in De corpore 25.1-2; and (2) the explanation of the swelling of parts of the body when they become warm in De corpore 27.3. In both explanations, I show Hobbes borrowing and citing geometrical principles and mixing these principles with appeals to experience.     

Comparative genomics of the neglected human malaria parasite Plasmodium vivax

The human malaria parasite Plasmodium vivax is responsible for 25-40% of the approximately 515 million annual cases of malaria worldwide. Although seldom fatal, the parasite elicits severe and incapacitating clinical symptoms and often causes relapses months after a primary infection has cleared. Despite its importance as a major human pathogen, P. vivax is little studied because it cannot be propagated continuously in the laboratory except in non-human primates. We sequenced the genome of P. vivax to shed light on its distinctive biological features, and as a means to drive development of new drugs and vaccines. Here we describe the synteny and isochore structure of P. vivax chromosomes, and show that the parasite resembles other malaria parasites in gene content and metabolic potential, but possesses novel gene families and potential alternative invasion pathways not recognized previously. Completion of the P. vivax genome provides the scientific community with a valuable resource that can be used to advance investigation into this neglected species.     

污泥龄对活性污泥处理微量磺胺类药物的影响

为了研究污泥龄对活性污泥系统处理微量磺胺类药物（5 μg/L）的影响,共运行了4个试验室规模（3L）的序批式活性污泥反应器（SBR）,其污泥龄分别为2、8、14、20 d。批次摇瓶试验通过设置3个工况（正常运行,加入生物抑制剂,无微生物）来讨论在1个运行周期（8 h）中对浓度惟5 μg/L磺胺甲恶唑的吸附作用、生物降解作用和挥发损失。试验结果显示对磺胺甲恶唑的总去除量为2.14 ± 0.60 μg/g SS,吸附作用占总去除量的63%;磺胺嘧啶为1.14 ± 0.63 μg/g SS,83%;磺胺间二甲氧为2.33± 0.67 μg/g SS, 35%;磺胺甲基嘧啶为2.45 ± 0.85 μg/g SS,55%;磺胺类药物的去除效果与污泥的污泥龄有着非常显著的关系（p<0.02）。通过运行加入磺胺甲恶唑（进水5 μg/L)的反应器60 d,4个反应器对磺胺甲恶唑的平均去除率分别为10%、41%、51%、58%,处理效果随着污泥龄的增加而变好,同时单位污泥去除率随着污泥龄的增加而降低,SRT=2 d的反应器由于存在大量的丝状菌,使得单位污泥对磺胺甲恶唑去除率大大高于其他3个反应器。通过分子生物学分析,发现微生物群落结构的变化不大,从而说明了影响磺胺类药物处理效果的主要因素在于更强的吸附能力,更高的污泥浓度。     

Mutations in the profilin 1 gene cause familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a late-onset neurodegenerative disorder resulting from motor neuron death. Approximately 10% of cases are familial (FALS), typically with a dominant inheritance mode. Despite numerous advances in recent years, nearly 50% of FALS cases have unknown genetic aetiology. Here we show that mutations within the profilin 1 (PFN1) gene can cause FALS. PFN1 is crucial for the conversion of monomeric (G)-actin to filamentous (F)-actin. Exome sequencing of two large ALS families showed different mutations within the PFN1 gene. Further sequence analysis identified 4 mutations in 7 out of 274 FALS cases. Cells expressing PFN1 mutants contain ubiquitinated, insoluble aggregates that in many cases contain the ALS-associated protein TDP-43. PFN1 mutants also display decreased bound actin levels and can inhibit axon outgrowth. Furthermore, primary motor neurons expressing mutant PFN1 display smaller growth cones with a reduced F/G-actin ratio. These observations further document that cytoskeletal pathway alterations contribute to ALS pathogenesis.