An HTLV-III peptide produced by recombinant DNA is immunoreactive with sera from patients with AIDS

Human T-cell lymphotropic retrovirus type III (HTLV-III), also called lymphadenopathy-associated virus (LAV), has been identified as the aetiological agent of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). The sera of most patients with AIDS or AIDS-related complexes, and of asymptomatic individuals infected with HTLV-III, contain antibodies against antigens of HTLV-III. The characterization of these antibodies and their corresponding viral antigens is important not only for understanding immunity against HTLV-III and the pathology of AIDS, but also for the development of diagnostic methods and preventive vaccine for AIDS. Following the successful establishment of a long-term T-cell line permissive for HTLV-III replication, large quantities of virus have been produced, facilitating the purification of viral proteins and the development of mouse monoclonal antibodies against several viral antigens. More recently, the structure of HTLV-III proviral DNA has been elucidated. We now report the production, by genetic engineering methods, of a peptide encoded by a gene segment of HTLV-III. A 1.1-kilobase (kb) EcoRI DNA segment from an isolate of HTLV-III was inserted into a lpp and lac promoter-coupled expression vector, pIN-III-ompA. Escherichia coli transformants of this plasmid produced a peptide of relative molecular mass (Mr) 15,000 (15K) which was strongly immunoreactive with anti-HTLV-III antibodies present in sera from AIDS patients. Lysates of the clones expressing this 15K peptide inhibited the reactivity of the p31 virion protein with AIDS sera, suggesting that it is a fragment of the viral p31 protein. The peptide reacted with sera from all 20 AIDS patients but none of the 8 normal controls tested. These results suggest that the peptide may be useful for detecting anti-HTLV-III antibodies in blood samples.     

Molecular cloning of the fibroin light chain complementary DNA and its use in the study of the expression of the light chain gene in the posterior silk gland of Bombyx mori

Fibroin light chain (L-chain) mRNA (mol. wt 4.0 X 10(5) daltons) was purified from the posterior silk gland of the silkworm, Bombyx mori (J-131 strain). Double-stranded complementary DNA was synthesized and inserted into the PstI site of pBR322 employing the oligo(dC)-oligo(dG) tailing method. Several recombinant plasmids containing the inserts of about 800 base pairs were isolated. Hybridization-translation assay demonstrated that these clones hybridized specifically with the fibroin L-chain mRNA. One of these clones (pLA23) was used as a probe to investigate relative concentrations of the fibroin L-chain gene and mRNA in the posterior silk glands at different stages of late larval development.     

Seasonality in the reproductive phenology ofFicus: Its evolution and consequences

Summary Ficus can only reproduce if they are pollinated by mutualistic wasps that breed within the figs. Pollen-loaded wasps enter the figs when the female flowers are receptive. Several weeks later, their offspring load pollen within the fig and then emerge. As individual trees typically produce crops of synchronous figs at long intervals, the shortlived wasps have to move to another, receptive, tree. The wasp population can only survive, and hence the fig population reproduce, if there are trees fruiting all over the year. When only few trees are present within a population gaps in the flowering sequence may lead to the extinction of the local pollinator population. Two models are presented. One investigates the number of trees necessary in order to sustain a local pollinator population when the tree population has a seasonal pattern of fruiting. The second model investigates how such a seasonal pattern may evolve within a fig population as a result of individual selection on the trees. It is shown that pollinator populations are fragilized under seasonal conditions. Hence, the breeding system ofFicus limits their expansion into highly seasonal habitats. Seasonal habitats may also lead to seasonal adjustment of male versus female investments and to the evolution of dioecy.     

Streptozotocin induced diabetic nephropathy and renal tumors in the rat

Summary Adult Wistar rats rendered diabetic by a single dose of streptozotocin develop renal morphological changes which show subtle differences compared to those seen in human diabetic renal disease. The early tubular degeneration is sited in the distal rather than the proximal convoluted tubule and subsequent glomerular lesion shows linear deposits of IgG and albumin in the basement membrane rather than in the mesangium. The carcinogenicity of streptozotocin in the rat is reconfirmed.Acknowledgements. We wish to thank Mr S.G. Watkins and Mrs D. Greening for technical assistance.     

Effect of high anodic polarization on the passive layer properties of superduplex stainless steel friction stir welds at different chloride electrolyte pH values and temperatures

The conditions used for friction stir welding of duplex stainless steels determine the resulting mechanical and corrosion performance of the material.This study investigates the corrosion resistance of UNS S32750 and S32760 superduplex stainless steels(SDSSs)joined by friction stir welding,employing cyclic polarization,Mott–Schottky,and microscopy techniques for analysis.The microscopy images indicated the presence of a deleterious intermetallic phase after electrolytic etching of S32760,as well as decreased corrosion resistance.The presence of molybdenum in the steels promoted better passive behavior at low pH.The Mott–Schottky curves revealed p-n heterojunction behavior of the passive oxide.Images acquired after the polarization test by scanning electron microscopy showed higher passivation propensity with increases of temperature and pH.     

咪唑类离子液体的亲疏水性对电润湿器件性能的影响

文中研究离子液体应用于电润湿显示器件的导电流体性能. 选取极性较大的乙基咪唑为离子液体的阳离子,改变阴离子的亲疏水性,对比了几种离子液体的温度窗口、粘度等物理性质,并重点研究了离子液体亲疏水性对电润湿特性、油墨萃取、器件响应等方面的影响. 同时,在1-乙基-3-甲基咪唑四氟硼酸盐离子液体的阳离子上添加羟基基团,得到具有更强亲水性的离子液体. 结果表明：亲水性高的离子液体在介电材料含氟聚合物表面的初始接触角比较大,对油墨中染料的萃取程度比疏水性离子液体弱,证明了电润湿器件更适合选取亲水性高的离子液体作为导电流体. 最后,以1-乙基-3-甲基咪唑二腈胺盐离子液体作为导电流体制备的电润湿器件得到了较佳的电学和光学响应性能.     

室温低功率紫外光辐照法制备聚苯乙烯微球

以偶氮二异丁腈（AIBN）为光引发剂,甲醇为溶剂,聚乙烯吡咯烷酮 (PVP)为稳定剂,通过抽真空取代氮气保护,利用8 W 365nm波长的紫外灯光照,环境温度下引发分散聚合制备聚苯乙烯微球。这种真空状态下的聚合只适合于光聚合,当紫外光照射反应体系时,AIBN将吸收光子使C-N键断裂而形成自由基,进一步引发苯乙烯单体聚合。研究表明引发剂、稳定剂和单体用量以及光强度和反应时间对微球尺寸和单分散性有规律性影响,适当调节这些参数可获得一定尺寸和单分散度的微球,例如溶剂与单体的比值3:1,引发剂与稳定剂的比为3:1,光照时间为24 h,光照强度为（0.71 mW/cm2）时可获得一定尺寸的单分散性较好的微球。这种方法成本低廉、操作简便、具有一定的普适性,可适用于其它聚合物微球和功能化有机-无机复合微球的制备,例如PMMA、PMAA微球及P(MMA-co-MAA)共聚微球等。     

Effect of Slope Plate Variable and Reheating on the Semi-Solid Structure of Ductile Cast Iron

Semi-solid metal casting and forming is a promising production method for a wide range of metal alloys, In spite of many applications for semi-solid processed light alloys, few works have reported on the semi-solid processing of iron and steel. In this research, an inclined plate was used to change the dendritic structure of iron to globular. The effects of the length and slope of the plate on the casting structure were examined. The results show that the process effectively changes the dendritic structure to globular. A sloped plate angle of 7.5° and length of 560 mm with a cooling rate of 67 K· s^-1 gave the optimum graphite nodu- larity and solid particle globularity. The results also show that the sloped plate more easily prevents inoculant fading since the total time processing is rather short. In addition the semi-solid ductile cast iron prepared using the inclined plate method was reheated to examine the effect of reheating conditions on the microstructure and coarsening kinetics of the alloy. The solid fractions at different reheating temperatures and holding times were used to find the optimum reheating temperature range.