Structure of the Sec23/24-Sar1 pre-budding complex of the COPII vesicle coat

COPII-coated vesicles form on the endoplasmic reticulum by the stepwise recruitment of three cytosolic components: Sar1-GTP to initiate coat formation, Sec23/24 heterodimer to select SNARE and cargo molecules, and Sec13/31 to induce coat polymerization and membrane deformation. Crystallographic analysis of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Sec23/24-Sar1 complex reveals a bow-tie-shaped structure, 15 nm long, with a membrane-proximal surface that is concave and positively charged to conform to the size and acidic-phospholipid composition of the COPII vesicle. Sec23 and Sar1 form a continuous surface stabilized by a non-hydrolysable GTP analogue, and Sar1 has rearranged from the GDP conformation to expose amino-terminal residues that will probably embed in the bilayer. The GTPase-activating protein (GAP) activity of Sec23 involves an arginine side chain inserted into the Sar1 active site. These observations establish the structural basis for GTP-dependent recruitment of a vesicular coat complex, and for uncoating through coat-controlled GTP hydrolysis.     

Normal faulting in central Tibet since at least 13.5 Myr ago

Tectonic models for the evolution of the Tibetan plateau interpret observed east-west thinning of the upper crust to be the result of either increased potential energy of elevated crust or geodynamic processes that may be unrelated to plateau formation. A key piece of information needed to evaluate these models is the timing of deformation within the plateau. The onset of normal faulting has been estimated to have commenced in southern Tibet between about 14 Myr ago and about 8 Myr ago and, in central Tibet, about 4 Myr ago. Here, however, we report a minimum age of approximately 13.5 Myr for the onset of graben formation in central Tibet, based on mineralization ages determined with Rb-Sr and 40Ar-39Ar data that post-date a major graben-bounding normal fault. These data, along with evidence for prolonged activity of normal faulting in this and other Tibetan grabens, support models that relate normal faulting to processes occurring beneath the plateau. Thinning of the upper crust is most plausibly the result of potential-energy increases resulting from spatially and temporally heterogeneous changes in thermal structure and density distribution within the crust and upper mantle beneath Tibet. This is supported by recent geophysical and geological data, which indicate that spatial heterogeneity exists in both the Tibetan crust and lithospheric mantle.     

木果楝挥发油成分的GC-MS分析

采用气相色谱-质谱联用技术,首次对木果楝叶子和果实挥发油进行了成分分析,从木果楝叶子和果实分别鉴定出了33和36种化合物,分别占挥发油的99.11%和97.63%.两个部位中挥发油化学组成各有异同,但其主要成分均是倍半萜类化合物b-桉叶烯和γ-桉叶烯.本研究结果可为木果楝的综合开发利用提供理论依据.     

海南岛东部地区砖红壤中微量元素含量的纵向分异研究

对海南岛东部地区发育典型的6个砖红壤剖面的微量元素的组成特征及其纵向变化规律进行研究发现,土壤母质是决定砖红壤微量元素含量的主要原因,区内花岗岩砖红壤中Cu、Sr、Zn、Pb含量明显高于砂页岩砖红壤,而砂页岩砖红壤中的As含量相对较高.砂页岩砖红壤剖面中的微量元素含量的纵向变化规律具有相似性,并显示出B层>C层>A层的特征,而花岗岩砖红壤微量元素在各层中的纵向分异规律不甚明显.区内的人类活动对海南岛东部砖红壤剖面中的部分微量元素的分布具有一定的影响,农药及老鼠药的大量使用,可致使大量的As元素进入土壤表层富集,并造成土壤中As含量超标,成为区内环境的重要隐患.     

生物材料应用于脊髓损伤修复的研究进展

脊髓损伤是人类致残率最高的疾患之一。治疗脊髓损伤的趋势是联合应用多种技术和手段,创造出最适宜神经细胞再生恢复的环境,达到功能恢复的目的。生物材料在结构和功能上的优良性质使得它在脊髓损伤和修复中具有很好的应用前景。近年来兴起的组织工程学方法更为脊髓损伤的治疗带来新思路,即通过种子细胞—支架材料—神经营养因子复合物修复受损脊髓。本文回顾了近年来组织工程支架和细胞载体系统在脊髓损伤修复中的应用,展示了生物材料在组织工程和细胞分子治疗策略中的优越性。     

磷酸三丁酯固一液萃取分离稀土元素的研究

以切片石蜡为溶剂，用固—液萃取法研究了HNO3介质中TBP－NH4SCN对稀土元素的萃取行为，考察了几种因素对萃取率的影响。结果表明：在[TBP]=2．4mol·L-1，[NH4SCN]＝37mol．L－1时，各稀土元素的分配比D均大于14，将该体系用于矿样中稀土总量分离，回收率达90．5～91．6％。     

是细菌,还是藻类？

蓝藻早年被认为是藻类植物,在系统学上早已建有蓝藻门,近年来,蓝藻又被确认为原核生物,并与某些细菌十分相似之后,即有许多科学家称之为蓝细菌,并建议将之归于细菌类,这是生物学界近年中发生的一件大事,引起许多人的重视。但到目前为止,此问题尚未获得一致意见,更未采取统一行动。本文简述此事的大体经过,并着重介绍双方各自主张的理论根据和工作方法上有何不同。     

四川栽培小麦幼胚培养再分化能力变异性的研究

以N6为基本培养基，对四川栽培小麦品种、品系以及农家品种共45个基因型的幼胚离体培养，进行了植株再生能力变异性的研究。结果表明，供试材料间的形态发生能力存在明显变异，表现为器官建成速度明显不同，芽器官和根器官再生率存在极显著差异，分别变异在15．00％－95．45％和0－95．45％之间，由每个幼胚外植体起源的愈伤组织再生出1．0cm以上的芽数及其芽长均存在极显著差异。     

RDⅢ型热导式量热系统的自动化研究

使用微机对国产ＲＤⅢ型热导式量热计的量热系统进行监控，实现了热动力学研究实验数据采集和处理的自动化，并利用所编程序测定了仪器常数并用已知的热数据进行了验证，取得了满意的效果