Algal biomass as a global source of transport fuels: Overview and development perspectives

As a result of the global fuel crisis of the early 1970 s,coupled with concerns for the environment,the use of biofuel has been on the increase in many regions throughout the world.At present,a total of approximately 30 billion(30×109) liters of biofuel are utilized worldwide annually,although most countries rely hugely on the first generation biofuel.The limitations of the first and second generation biofuel gave rise to current interest in algae as a promising alternative to these conventional biofuel sources.Algal biomass could provide a lion’s share of the global transport fuel requirements in future.The present review highlights some important developments in,and potentials of algaculture as a major biomass resource of the future.However,the major constraint to commercial-scale algae farming for energy production is the cost factor,which must be addressed adequately before its potentials can be harnessed.     

Back to the tubule: microtubule dynamics in Parkinson’s disease

Cytoskeletal homeostasis is essential for the development, survival and maintenance of an efficient nervous system. Microtubules are highly dynamic polymers important for neuronal growth, morphology, migration and polarity. In cooperation with several classes of binding proteins, microtubules regulate long-distance intracellular cargo trafficking along axons and dendrites. The importance of a delicate interplay between cytoskeletal components is reflected in several human neurodegenerative disorders linked to abnormal microtubule dynamics, including Parkinson’s disease (PD). Mounting evidence now suggests PD pathogenesis might be underlined by early cytoskeletal dysfunction. Advances in genetics have identified PD-associated mutations and variants in genes encoding various proteins affecting microtubule function including the microtubule-associated protein tau. In this review, we highlight the role of microtubules, their major posttranslational modifications and microtubule associated proteins in neuronal function. We then present key evidence on the contribution of microtubule dysfunction to PD. Finally, we discuss how regulation of microtubule dynamics with microtubule-targeting agents and deacetylase inhibitors represents a promising strategy for innovative therapeutic development.     

Interaction between ERAP1 and HLA-B27 in ankylosing spondylitis implicates peptide handling in the mechanism for HLA-B27 in disease susceptibility

Ankylosing spondylitis is a common form of inflammatory arthritis predominantly affecting the spine and pelvis that occurs in approximately 5 out of 1,000 adults of European descent. Here we report the identification of three variants in the RUNX3, LTBR-TNFRSF1A and IL12B regions convincingly associated with ankylosing spondylitis (P < 5 × 10(-8) in the combined discovery and replication datasets) and a further four loci at PTGER4, TBKBP1, ANTXR2 and CARD9 that show strong association across all our datasets (P < 5 × 10(-6) overall, with support in each of the three datasets studied). We also show that polymorphisms of ERAP1, which encodes an endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidase involved in peptide trimming before HLA class I presentation, only affect ankylosing spondylitis risk in HLA-B27-positive individuals. These findings provide strong evidence that HLA-B27 operates in ankylosing spondylitis through a mechanism involving aberrant processing of antigenic peptides.     

The Origins of Time-Asymmetry in Thermodynamics: The Minus First Law

This paper investigates what the source of time asymmetry is in thermodynamics, and comments on the question whether a time-symmetric formulation of the Second Law is possible.     

中国、澳大利亚小麦、蔬菜以及棉花根部土传病害生物防治研究进展

土传病害是作物产量的经常性限制因素。在禾谷类生产中,某些病害在少耕制度下异常严重。因此,有利于保护土壤侵蚀的管理措施(例如减少耕作、保留农作物残体等)能导致病害发生更为严重,从而造成作物减产,这要求研究新的病害防治措施,而不能依靠农业耕作措施或轮作进行防治。生物防治是病害防治措施的一种,在中国和澳大利亚都已进行了研究。蔬菜和棉花的苗期病害一般是利用化学杀菌剂进行防治,或者病害严重发生导致毁种后重新播种。在这些病害防治方面,人们探索了生物防治措施,旨在发展安全、无残留的防治方法,本文介绍的合作研究,主要是在田间和盆栽条件下筛选、评价一系列澳大利亚和中国的土壤细菌和真菌在中国和澳大利亚东南部对土传病害的防治作用,从而建立有效可靠的作物病害生物防治方法。在两国进行的实验研究中,对象作物为小麦、蔬菜(番茄、黄瓜和辣椒)以及棉花。另外,还对枯草芽孢杆菌的作用机理以及重要植物病原菌如腐霉菌的生态学进行了研究。     

Forecast evaluation tests in the presence of ARCH

We consider tests for the equality of prediction mean squared errors and for forecast encompassing. It is shown that, if forecast errors exhibit ARCH, size distortions are induced in the usual tests. Adjusted test statistics are suggested to alleviate this problem. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mutations in the gene encoding GlyT2 (SLC6A5) define a presynaptic component of human startle disease

Hyperekplexia is a human neurological disorder characterized by an excessive startle response and is typically caused by missense and nonsense mutations in the gene encoding the inhibitory glycine receptor (GlyR) alpha1 subunit (GLRA1). Genetic heterogeneity has been confirmed in rare sporadic cases, with mutations affecting other postsynaptic glycinergic proteins including the GlyR beta subunit (GLRB), gephyrin (GPHN) and RhoGEF collybistin (ARHGEF9). However, many individuals diagnosed with sporadic hyperekplexia do not carry mutations in these genes. Here we show that missense, nonsense and frameshift mutations in SLC6A5 (ref. 8), encoding the presynaptic glycine transporter 2 (GlyT2), also cause hyperekplexia. Individuals with mutations in SLC6A5 present with hypertonia, an exaggerated startle response to tactile or acoustic stimuli, and life-threatening neonatal apnea episodes. SLC6A5 mutations result in defective subcellular GlyT2 localization, decreased glycine uptake or both, with selected mutations affecting predicted glycine and Na+ binding sites.     

Modelling trends in central England temperatures

Trends are extracted from the central England temperature (CET) data available from 1723, using both annual and seasonal averages. Attention is focused on fitting non‐parametric trends and it is found that, while there is no compelling evidence of a trend increase in the CET, there have been three periods of cooling, stability, and warming, roughly associated with the beginning and the end of the Industrial Revolution. There does appear to have been an upward shift in trend spring temperatures, but forecasting of current trends is hazardous because of the statistical uncertainty surrounding them. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A bibliographical study of the Galvani and the Aldini writings on animal electricity

William Harvey's theoretical commitment to the primacy of the blood developed from his study of the chick in the hen's egg. Harvey's original contribution, that the blood was the first material embodiment of the soul, is shown to be a crucial departure that enabled him to conceive of the general circulation of the blood.     

In vitro stimulation of chicken pituitary growth hormone and prolactin secretion by chicken hypothalamic extract.

The effect of an acid extract of chicken hypothalami on the in vitro secretion of prolactin and growth hormone (GH) by dispersed chicken pituitary cells has been investigated. Both prolactin and GH release were stimulated in a dose related manner in the presence of the hypothalamic extract (HE). Somatostatin had no effect on the basal or HE stimulated release of prolactin although it did inhibit the HE induced release of GH.