Anaerobic ammonium oxidation by anammox bacteria in the Black Sea

The availability of fixed inorganic nitrogen (nitrate, nitrite and ammonium) limits primary productivity in many oceanic regions. The conversion of nitrate to N2 by heterotrophic bacteria (denitrification) is believed to be the only important sink for fixed inorganic nitrogen in the ocean. Here we provide evidence for bacteria that anaerobically oxidize ammonium with nitrite to N2 in the world's largest anoxic basin, the Black Sea. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequences shows that these bacteria are related to members of the order Planctomycetales performing the anammox (anaerobic ammonium oxidation) process in ammonium-removing bioreactors. Nutrient profiles, fluorescently labelled RNA probes, 15N tracer experiments and the distribution of specific 'ladderane' membrane lipids indicate that ammonium diffusing upwards from the anoxic deep water is consumed by anammox bacteria below the oxic zone. This is the first time that anammox bacteria have been identified and directly linked to the removal of fixed inorganic nitrogen in the environment. The widespread occurrence of ammonium consumption in suboxic marine settings indicates that anammox might be important in the oceanic nitrogen cycle.     

弹点散布方差的动态修正Bayes估计

针对小样本情形下用传统方法对参数进行估计难以得到满意结果,在采用矩法由历史数据估计先验分布参数的基础上,将先验信息和后验信息相对化,采用动态修正Bayes估计法,对零均值正态分布的方差进行估计,建立了动态递推模型．并用蒙特卡罗法进行仿真模拟,结果表明,所采用的方法提高了估计精度．     

Algae acquire vitamin B12 through a symbiotic relationship with bacteria

Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) was identified nearly 80 years ago as the anti-pernicious anaemia factor in liver, and its importance in human health and disease has resulted in much work on its uptake, cellular transport and utilization. Plants do not contain cobalamin because they have no cobalamin-dependent enzymes. Deficiencies are therefore common in strict vegetarians, and in the elderly, who are susceptible to an autoimmune disorder that prevents its efficient uptake. In contrast, many algae are rich in vitamin B12, with some species, such as Porphyra yezoensis (Nori), containing as much cobalamin as liver. Despite this, the role of the cofactor in algal metabolism remains unknown, as does the source of the vitamin for these organisms. A survey of 326 algal species revealed that 171 species require exogenous vitamin B12 for growth, implying that more than half of the algal kingdom are cobalamin auxotrophs. Here we show that the role of vitamin B12 in algal metabolism is primarily as a cofactor for vitamin B12-dependent methionine synthase, and that cobalamin auxotrophy has arisen numerous times throughout evolution, probably owing to the loss of the vitamin B12-independent form of the enzyme. The source of cobalamin seems to be bacteria, indicating an important and unsuspected symbiosis.     

重金属镉对花背蟾蜍蝌蚪生长发育的影响

研究了镉质量浓度在0.0015,0.0300和0.1500mg/L时对花背蟾蜍(Bufo raddei)蝌蚪生长发育的影响。结果表明:不同质量浓度镉能缩短花背蟾蜍蝌蚪50％出膜时间,但对蝌蚪最终孵化率没有影响;镉能影响蝌蚪的生存率,对蝌蚪的生长发育具有明显的抑制作用(P<0.01),但组间差异均不显著(P>0.05);同时各质量浓度水平均导致蝌蚪头部泡状膨大、‘S’型尾和体形奇小(为正常体长的0.50～0.67)等,致畸率0.1500 mg/L质量浓度水平最高(2.25％),0.0300 mg/L水平次之(2.00％),0.0015 mg/L水平最低(0.50％)。     

Extraction of a weak climatic signal by an ecosystem

The complexity of ecosystems can cause subtle and chaotic responses to changes in external forcing. Although ecosystems may not normally behave chaotically, sensitivity to external influences associated with nonlinearity can lead to amplification of climatic signals. Strong correlations between an El Ni?o index and rainfall and maize yield in Zimbabwe have been demonstrated; the correlation with maize yield was stronger than that with rainfall. A second example is the 100,000-year ice-age cycle, which may arise from a weak cycle in radiation through its influence on the concentration of atmospheric CO2 (ref. 5). Such integration of a weak climatic signal has yet to be demonstrated in a realistic theoretical system. Here we use a particular climatic phenomenon-the observed association between plankton populations around the UK and the position of the Gulf Stream-as a probe to demonstrate how a detailed marine ecosystem model extracts a weak signal that is spread across different meteorological variables. Biological systems may therefore respond to climatic signals other than those that dominate the driving variables.     

现场总线技术及其在火电厂中的应用

介绍了现场总线的结构、技术特点以及与DCS相比具有的优势.对现场总线在电厂应用中存在的问题及解决办法进行了讨论,对于现场总线在电厂中的应用前景阐明了看法.     

MRT-2 checkpoint protein is required for germline immortality and telomere replication in C. elegans

The germ line is an immortal cell lineage that is passed indefinitely from one generation to the next. To identify the genes that are required for germline immortality, we isolated Caenorhabditis elegans mutants with mortal germ lines--worms that can reproduce for several healthy generations but eventually become sterile. One of these mortal germline (mrt) mutants, mrt-2, exhibits progressive telomere shortening and accumulates end-to-end chromosome fusions in later generations, indicating that the MRT-2 protein is required for telomere replication. In addition, the germ line of mrt-2 is hypersensitive to X-rays and to transposon activity. Therefore, mrt-2 has defects in responding both to damaged DNA and to normal double-strand breaks present at telomeres. mrt-2 encodes a homologue of a checkpoint gene that is required to sense DNA damage in yeast. These results indicate that telomeres may be identified as a type of DNA damage and then repaired by the telomere-replication enzyme telomerase.     

贯通节理岩体等效模型与弹性参数确定

提出了一种研究贯通节理岩体等效弹性参数的近似模型,导出了贯通节岩体基本弹性常数的解析估算公式,在此模型基础上编写了相应的较为通用计算程序,分析了多组节理的存在以及节理的倾角对岩体性能的影响,预测得到的节理岩体弹性矩阵和弹性常数与节理有限元数值方法的结果十分接近,是一种预测贯通节理岩体等效弹性参数的简单而实用的方法。     

多用户多径环境下DOA估计算法研究

针对移动通信中多用户多径环境下的DOA估计问题，提出利用CARE算法求出各用户的空间循征矢量，进而利用基于对称阵列的改进MUSIC算法求出各用户对应多径信号DOA的联合算法，仿真结果表明：结合CARE算法，基于对称阵列的改进MUSIC算法能自动对多用户的DOA进行分组，并能对每个用户的多径相干信号进行DOA估计，不需要做平滑计算，不需要判断多径信号的个数，不增加计算量。     

The genome sequence of the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe grisea

Magnaporthe grisea is the most destructive pathogen of rice worldwide and the principal model organism for elucidating the molecular basis of fungal disease of plants. Here, we report the draft sequence of the M. grisea genome. Analysis of the gene set provides an insight into the adaptations required by a fungus to cause disease. The genome encodes a large and diverse set of secreted proteins, including those defined by unusual carbohydrate-binding domains. This fungus also possesses an expanded family of G-protein-coupled receptors, several new virulence-associated genes and large suites of enzymes involved in secondary metabolism. Consistent with a role in fungal pathogenesis, the expression of several of these genes is upregulated during the early stages of infection-related development. The M. grisea genome has been subject to invasion and proliferation of active transposable elements, reflecting the clonal nature of this fungus imposed by widespread rice cultivation.