The limits to tree height

Trees grow tall where resources are abundant, stresses are minor, and competition for light places a premium on height growth. The height to which trees can grow and the biophysical determinants of maximum height are poorly understood. Some models predict heights of up to 120 m in the absence of mechanical damage, but there are historical accounts of taller trees. Current hypotheses of height limitation focus on increasing water transport constraints in taller trees and the resulting reductions in leaf photosynthesis. We studied redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens), including the tallest known tree on Earth (112.7 m), in wet temperate forests of northern California. Our regression analyses of height gradients in leaf functional characteristics estimate a maximum tree height of 122-130 m barring mechanical damage, similar to the tallest recorded trees of the past. As trees grow taller, increasing leaf water stress due to gravity and path length resistance may ultimately limit leaf expansion and photosynthesis for further height growth, even with ample soil moisture.     

2019年熔盐电解法制备硅基能源材料热点回眸

介绍熔盐电解法制备硅材料及其在能源领域的应用,并回顾其2019年的基础研究进展。熔盐电解方法可以在较温和的温度下通过电化学还原氧化硅实现硅纳米材料的大规模制备,得到的硅纳米材料纯度和形貌可控,能够用于硅基光伏材料以及锂离子电池负极材料。     

Generation of functional multipotent adult stem cells from GPR125+ germline progenitors

Adult mammalian testis is a source of pluripotent stem cells. However, the lack of specific surface markers has hampered identification and tracking of the unrecognized subset of germ cells that gives rise to multipotent cells. Although embryonic-like cells can be derived from adult testis cultures after only several weeks in vitro, it is not known whether adult self-renewing spermatogonia in long-term culture can generate such stem cells as well. Here, we show that highly proliferative adult spermatogonial progenitor cells (SPCs) can be efficiently obtained by cultivation on mitotically inactivated testicular feeders containing CD34+ stromal cells. SPCs exhibit testicular repopulating activity in vivo and maintain the ability in long-term culture to give rise to multipotent adult spermatogonial-derived stem cells (MASCs). Furthermore, both SPCs and MASCs express GPR125, an orphan adhesion-type G-protein-coupled receptor. In knock-in mice bearing a GPR125-beta-galactosidase (LacZ) fusion protein under control of the native Gpr125 promoter (GPR125-LacZ), expression in the testis was detected exclusively in spermatogonia and not in differentiated germ cells. Primary GPR125-LacZ SPC lines retained GPR125 expression, underwent clonal expansion, maintained the phenotype of germline stem cells, and reconstituted spermatogenesis in busulphan-treated mice. Long-term cultures of GPR125+ SPCs (GSPCs) also converted into GPR125+ MASC colonies. GPR125+ MASCs generated derivatives of the three germ layers and contributed to chimaeric embryos, with concomitant downregulation of GPR125 during differentiation into GPR125- cells. MASCs also differentiated into contractile cardiac tissue in vitro and formed functional blood vessels in vivo. Molecular bookmarking by GPR125 in the adult mouse and, ultimately, in the human testis could enrich for a population of SPCs for derivation of GPR125+ MASCs, which may be employed for genetic manipulation, tissue regeneration and revascularization of ischaemic organs.     

欧洲联盟步入新世纪时所面临的问题

欧洲一体化运动兴起以来，欧洲联盟面临一第列严重的问题，其中台刀约的修订，欧共体成员国扩大而引起的矛盾，与高生活水平同时存在的高失业率等。由此说明，欧盟的组织结构已不适应新形势的需要，需对其进行彻底“检修”。     

The finished DNA sequence of human chromosome 12

Human chromosome 12 contains more than 1,400 coding genes and 487 loci that have been directly implicated in human disease. The q arm of chromosome 12 contains one of the largest blocks of linkage disequilibrium found in the human genome. Here we present the finished sequence of human chromosome 12, which has been finished to high quality and spans approximately 132 megabases, representing approximately 4.5% of the human genome. Alignment of the human chromosome 12 sequence across vertebrates reveals the origin of individual segments in chicken, and a unique history of rearrangement through rodent and primate lineages. The rate of base substitutions in recent evolutionary history shows an overall slowing in hominids compared with primates and rodents.     

烯-二炔”模型化合物前体：6-硫杂-13-氧杂双环［9．3．0］-3，8-十四二炔的合成

以顺 1,2 ,3,6 四氢邻苯二甲酸酐为原料 ,经还原 ,羟基保护 ,双键臭氧化开环 ,Wittig反应 ,双炔化 ,酯化 ,二醇化 ,二磺酸酯化 ,硫化 ,醇缩合共十步 ,合成了“烯 二炔”前体物 :6 硫杂 13 氧杂双环 [9.3.0 ] 3,8 十四二炔 .该合成法收率较高 ,反应条件温和 ,新化合物 ( 8) ,( 10 ) ,( 11)经元素分析 ,核磁 ,红外 ,质谱确证结构 .