微滤膜部分堵塞过滤模型的建立和机理探讨

膜过滤机理是目前膜过滤工艺需要研究解决的关键问题之一。为描述微滤过程的速率变化数学模型,通过假设膜通道均为连通的网络型通道,将Kozeny-Carman方程与Darcy方程联立,建立了微滤膜部分堵塞过滤机理模型,并以孔隙率与水力半径为关键因素,推导了基于Darcy方程的微滤速率变化规律。在恒压条件下,通过醋酸纤维素(CA)平板膜死端过滤实验对上述模型进行了验证,在线测定了微滤速率和滤液量随时间的变化关系。结果表明:实验测得的数据和推导的模型基本吻合;且微滤存在Hermans-Bredee的3种机理(即机理指数n=2,3/2,1)以外的堵塞过滤机理,即n=4/3次方的机理。本文提出的部分堵塞过滤机理,可以与传统精密过滤中的基于Poiseuilles方程的堵塞过滤理论一起,应用于包括微-超滤的精密过滤研究中。     

α-Amanitin: Inactivation by bovine lactoperoxidase

Summary The principle amatoxin, -amanitin, is found to be extremely sensitive toward lactoperoxidase catalyzed degradation, rather than iodination, of the indole nucleus. Extensive attenuation of inhibitor potency against eukaryotic DNA-dependent RNA polymerase II accompanies the treatment of -amanitin with lactoperoxidase, iodide and hydrogen peroxide.This work was supported in part by NIH grant 22147 and a grant from the University of Illinois.     

alpha-Amanitin: inactivation by bovine lactoperoxidase.

The principle amatoxin, alpha-amanitin, is found to be extremely sensitive toward lactoperoxidase catalyzed degradation, rather than iodination, of the indole nucleus. Extensive attenuation of inhibitor potency against eukaryotic DNA-dependent RNA polymerase II accompanies the treatment of alpha-amanitin with lactoperoxidase, iodide and hydrogen peroxide.     

和谐伦理:和谐发展的伦理学基础

所谓和谐发展,就是以心和、人和、天和为特征和向度的发展模式。和谐发展的伦理学基础理应是和谐伦理。和谐伦理,就是调节自我、人我、物我之间的道德规范。“三和”——心和、人和、天和,是和谐伦理的终极指向。心和指自我身心的和谐,是和谐发展的微观伦理基础;人和包括人与人的和谐以及人与社会的和谐,是和谐发展的中观伦理基础;天和指人与自然界万有存在之间的和谐,是和谐发展的宏观伦理基础。实现了“三和”,方能求得人类需要和非人类需要的和谐,达致“保合太和”的境界。     

High mutation rate and predominance of insertions in the Caenorhabditis elegans nuclear genome

Mutations have pivotal functions in the onset of genetic diseases and are the fundamental substrate for evolution. However, present estimates of the spontaneous mutation rate and spectrum are derived from indirect and biased measurements. For instance, mutation rate estimates for Caenorhabditis elegans are extrapolated from observations on a few genetic loci with visible phenotypes and vary over an order of magnitude. Alternative approaches in mammals, relying on phylogenetic comparisons of pseudogene loci and fourfold degenerate codon positions, suffer from uncertainties in the actual number of generations separating the compared species and the inability to exclude biases associated with natural selection. Here we provide a direct and unbiased estimate of the nuclear mutation rate and its molecular spectrum with a set of C. elegans mutation-accumulation lines that reveal a mutation rate about tenfold higher than previous indirect estimates and an excess of insertions over deletions. Because deletions dominate patterns of C. elegans pseudogene variation, our observations indicate that natural selection might be significant in promoting small genome size, and challenge the prevalent assumption that pseudogene divergence accurately reflects the spontaneous mutation spectrum.     

Constant elevation of southern Tibet over the past 15 million years

The uplift of the Tibetan plateau, an area that is 2,000 km wide, to an altitude of about 5,000 m has been shown to modify global climate and to influence monsoon intensity. Mechanical and thermal models for homogeneous thickening of the lithosphere make specific predictions about uplift rates of the Tibetan plateau, but the precise history of the uplift of the plateau has yet to be confirmed by observations. Here we present well-preserved fossil leaf assemblages from the Namling basin, southern Tibet, dated to approximately 15 Myr ago, which allow us to reconstruct the temperatures within the basin at that time. Using a numerical general circulation model to estimate moist static energy at the location of the fossil leaves, we reconstruct the elevation of the Namling basin 15 Myr ago to be 4,689 +/- 895 m or 4,638 +/- 847 m, depending on the reference data used. This is comparable to the present-day altitude of 4,600 m. We conclude that the elevation of the southern Tibetan plateau probably has remained unchanged for the past 15 Myr.     

Extreme sexual dimorphism in a Miocene hominoid

Some Miocene hominoids may have been extremely sexually dimorphic for body size, inferred from the apparent dimorphism of dental and gnathic remains. But this has never been demonstrated convincingly for any fossil species because of small sample sizes, uncertainties about the number of species in most fossil samples, and the inability to reliably sex individual specimens. Here we demonstrate a case of extreme dental dimorphism, and presumed body-size dimorphism, in a Miocene hominoid sample in which these limitations have been overcome. Lufengpithecus lufengensis from the late Miocene site of Lufeng, China, was more dimorphic than the most dimorphic living hominoid, the orangutan, and may have been more dimorphic than any living anthropoid.     

Intravenous delivery of a multi-mechanistic cancer-targeted oncolytic poxvirus in humans

The efficacy and safety of biological molecules in cancer therapy, such as peptides and small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), could be markedly increased if high concentrations could be achieved and amplified selectively in tumour tissues versus normal tissues after intravenous administration. This has not been achievable so far in humans. We hypothesized that a poxvirus, which evolved for blood-borne systemic spread in mammals, could be engineered for cancer-selective replication and used as a vehicle for the intravenous delivery and expression of transgenes in tumours. JX-594 is an oncolytic poxvirus engineered for replication, transgene expression and amplification in cancer cells harbouring activation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)/Ras pathway, followed by cell lysis and anticancer immunity. Here we show in a clinical trial that JX-594 selectively infects, replicates and expresses transgene products in cancer tissue after intravenous infusion, in a dose-related fashion. Normal tissues were not affected clinically. This platform technology opens up the possibility of multifunctional products that selectively express high concentrations of several complementary therapeutic and imaging molecules in metastatic solid tumours in humans.