The in vivo expression of the globin genes of theβ cistron in γ-,δ-, andδβ-thalassemia heterozygotes

There is considerable evidence suggesting that the switch from to and chain production after birth is due, in part, to silencing of the genes by stage-specific factors which bind to their promoters and to the competition from the adult ( and ) genes for a common enhancer element located in the locus control region. As a consequence one can expect that the increased Hb F production in adults with hereditary persistence of fetal hemoglobin or -thalassemia is directed mainly by -globin genes in cis to the deletion(s) responsible for these conditions. Here we review data on heterozygotes with -, -, or -thalassemia, who also had an^AT mutation, in cis or in trans, which was used as a marker of gene expression. The results show that a deletion affecting adult genes favors the expression of genes in cis, while the deletion of a single gene does not affect the expression of the gene in cis but leads to a faster switch postnatally.     

Thrombospondin co-localises with TGFβ and IGF-I in the extracellular matrix of human osteoblast-like cells and is modulated by 17β estradiol

Thrombospondin (TSP) is a multifunctional glycoprotein which is synthesised by several cell types including osteoblasts, and incorporated into the extracellular matrix (ECM) of these cells. The function and regulation of TSP in bone is not clear. In this study, using a long term culture model of human osteoblast-like cells, we examined the distribution of TSP in the ECM and its modulation by added estradiol. In this model the osteoblast-like cells form a regular multilayer which continues to increase in depth up to 50 days post confluence. In the ECM of these cultures and in 19-week fetal bone, the bone markers osteocalcin and alkaline phosphatase were diffusely distributed in the matrix. In contrast, labelling for TSP was concentrated, confined to the banded collagen and its immediately adjacent ECM. This pattern of labelling resembled that of the growth factors transforming growth factor-I (TGF), and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), with which TSP label co-localised. Labelling intensities were comparable between fetal bone and the in vitro material for TSP, TGF and IGF-I. TSP label was present by 10 days post confluence, reached a maximum by 20 days, and declined slowly thereafter, a time course which was similar to that of IGF-I. Incubation of osteoblast-like cell cultures with 17 estradiol resulted in an increase in multilayer depth and a maximal 3-fold increase in TSP labeling at 30 days as well as approximately 2-fold increases for TGF and IGF-I. The dose-response relationship for these responses to estradiol treatment was biphasic with maximal increases at 10^–10 M–10^–11 M of added estradiol. Treatment with 17 estradiol produced labelling intensities that were not significantly different from controls. Studies with other cell types have suggested that TSP may be involved in modulation of growth factor activity. The similarities between TSP, TGF and IGF-I, in terms of their distribution and regulation by 17 estradiol treatment, may indicate a role for TSP in modulating bone cell proliferation and function through interaction with local growth factors.     

Sex pheromone of the pine sawflyDiprion pini (Hymenoptera: Diprionidae): Chemical identification,synthesis and biological activity

The main component of the sex pheromone secretion of femaleDiprion pini L. (Hymenoptera: Diprionidae) from insects collected both in Finland and in France has been identified as athreo-3,7-dimethyl-2-tridecanol (8 ng per female) stereoisomer by GC-MS and synthesis. The secretion also contains lower and higher homologues in small amounts (1–4% of the main component). Combined gas chromatographic-electroantennographic detection showed activity in both natural and esterified extracts (acetates and propionates); the esters of the main component gave the largest responses. The acetates and propionates of the eight stereoisomers of 3,7-dimethyl-2-tridecanol were synthesized from enantiomerically highly enriched (>99% ee) building blocks. The stereochemistry of the main component was established to be (2S,3R,7R)-3,7-dimethyl-2-tridecanol by GC analysis of the natural material. It was purified by liquid chromatography prior to the GC analysis of both its pentafluorobenzoates and its isopropylcarbamates on a non-chiral polar column (ECD) and a chiral column (NPD), respectively. Field tests demonstrated that both the acetate and propionate of the main component (100 g of each applied on cotton roll dispensers) were active in attracting males, with or without the presence of several of the minor compounds. Experiments with smaller amounts of the acetate and the propionate (1 g in France and 50 g in Finland) demonstrated that the propionate was more active than the acetate, and that it also caught more males than a blend of the two compounds.     

The first known use of vermillion

Vermillion has been shown to be useful in preserving human bones from 5000 years ago. Remarkably well-preserved human bones have been found in the dolmenic burial La Velilla in Osorno (Palencia, Spain), carefully covered by pulverized cinnabar (vermillion) which ensured their preservation even in non-favorable climatic conditions. We believe the red powder was deliberately deposited for preservative use because no cinnabar mine is to be found within 160 km, because of the large amount (hundreds of kilograms) used, and because its composition, red mercuric sulphide, is similar to that of preparations used in technical embalming. This finding pushes back the data of the use of mercury ore for preservation by four millennia in South America, and by at least one millennium in the Old World. Chemical and thermal analyses of vermillion in La Velilla have demonstrated its great purity and shown that the cinnabar was pulverized and washed (but not heated), producing a bright red-orange tone.     

Kinetic model for the smectite to illite transformation in active geothermal systems

The smectite to illite transformation in active geothermal systems of New Zealand can be simulated by a first-order reaction kinetic model, which provides direct estimates about the minumum ages of active geothermal systems themselves. The derived kinetic values show that the smectite to illite transformation is sensitive to both temperature and time.     

超滤法分级和纯化蛋白质的现状和前景(英文)

超滤法具有高产率、低成本、容易放大等显著优点,但其低选择性一直限制其在生物蛋白制品的分级和纯化中的应用。本文总结和分析了超滤法用于蛋白质分级和纯化的近期研究成果,对其低选择性的原因进行了分析,提出并论证了提高超滤选择性的技术途径。     

Symmetry perception in an insect

Symmetrical visual patterns have a salient status in human perception, as evinced by their prevalent occurrence in art, and also in animal perception, where they may be an indicator of phenotypic and genotypic quality. Symmetry perception has been demonstrated in humans, birds, dolphins and apes. Here we show that bees trained to discriminate bilaterally symmetrical from non-symmetrical patterns learn the task and transfer it appropriately to novel stimuli, thus demonstrating a capacity to detect and generalize symmetry or asymmetry. We conclude that bees, and possibly flower-visiting insects in general, can acquire a generalized preference towards symmetrical or, alternatively, asymmetrical patterns depending on experience, and that symmetry detection is preformed or can be learned as perceptual category by insects, because it can be extracted as an independent visual pattern feature. Bees show a predisposition for learning and generalized symmetry because, if trained to it, they choose it more frequently, come closer to and hover longer in front of the novel symmetrical stimuli than the bees trained for asymmetry do for the novel asymmetrical stimuli. Thus, even organisms with comparatively small nervous systems can generalize about symmetry, and favour symmetrical over asymmetrical patterns.     

A massive phytoplankton bloom induced by an ecosystem-scale iron fertilization experiment in the equatorial Pacific Ocean

The seeding of an expanse of surface waters in the equatorial Pacific Ocean with low concentrations of dissolved iron triggered a massive phytoplankton bloom which consumed large quantities of carbon dioxide and nitrate that these microscopic plants cannot fully utilize under natural conditions. These and other observations provide unequivocal support for the hypothesis that phytoplankton growth in this oceanic region is limited by iron bioavailability.     

Insect motion detectors matched to visual ecology

To detect motion, primates, birds and insects all use local detectors to correlate signals sampled at one location in the image with those sampled after a delay at adjacent locations. These detectors can adapt to high image velocities by shortening the delay. To investigate whether they use long delays for detecting low velocities, we compared motion-sensitive neurons in ten species of fast-flying insects, some of which encounter low velocities while hovering. Neurons of bee-flies and hawkmoths, which hover, are tuned to lower temporal frequencies than those of butterflies and bumblebees, which do not. Tuning to low frequencies indicates longer delays and extends sensitivity to lower velocities. Hoverflies retain fast temporal tuning but use their high spatial acuity for sensing low-velocity motion. Thus an unexpectedly wide range of spatio-temporal tuning matches motion detection to visual ecology.