Recombinant interleukin-2 directly augments the cytotoxicity of human monocytes

Interleukin-2 (IL-2), originally described as a growth factor required for sustained proliferation of T cells in vitro is a glycoprotein hormone of known structure which appears to be important for the generation of immune responses in vivo. As well as T lymphocytes, B lymphocytes and large granular lymphocytes with natural killer activity (NK cells) can also respond to IL-2. The action of IL-2 seemed to be limited specifically to lymphocytes, however, and the term 'T-lymphocytotrophic hormone' was used. Here we provide evidence that human monocytes display a substantially increased cytotoxic activity as a direct and rapid response to human recombinant IL-2 but not to human recombinant glycosylated interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) or lipopolysaccharide. Our results reveal a previously unknown function of IL-2 and suggest its possible involvement in monocyte-T cell interactions.     

Inter-locus allozyme mobility correlations and species divergence

Summary An analysis of allozyme data from numerous sets of related vertebrate andDrosophila species shows that species divergence does not generally seem to be accompanied by an overall increase or decrease in enzyme charge. The 2 significant results came from vertebrate inter-generic comparisons.     

Communication arising. Is coral bleaching really adaptive?

From an experiment in which corals are transplanted between two depths on a Panamanian coral reef, Baker infers that bleaching may sometimes help reef corals to survive environmental change. Although Baker's results hint at further mechanisms by which reef-building corals may acclimatize to changing light conditions, we do not consider that the evidence supports his inference.     

Copepod hatching success in marine ecosystems with high diatom concentrations

Diatoms dominate spring bloom phytoplankton assemblages in temperate waters and coastal upwelling regions of the global ocean. Copepods usually dominate the zooplankton in these regions and are the prey of many larval fish species. Recent laboratory studies suggest that diatoms may have a deleterious effect on the success of copepod egg hatching. These findings challenge the classical view of marine food-web energy flow from diatoms to fish by means of copepods. Egg mortality is an important factor in copepod population dynamics, thus, if diatoms have a deleterious in situ effect, paradoxically, high diatom abundance could limit secondary production. Therefore, the current understanding of energy transfer from primary production to fisheries in some of the most productive and economically important marine ecosystems may be seriously flawed. Here we present in situ estimates of copepod egg hatching success from twelve globally distributed areas, where diatoms dominate the phytoplankton assemblage. We did not observe a negative relationship between copepod egg hatching success and either diatom biomass or dominance in the microplankton in any of these regions. The classical model for diatom-dominated system remains valid.     

高原鼢鼠油脂中油酸含量定量分析

用气象色谱和气象色谱-质谱联用方法对高原鼢鼠油脂中油酸含量进行了定量分析,并对方法的准确度进行了检验。结果发现,高原鼢鼠油脂中油酸含量为18.57%±0.43%,皂化和酯化最佳时间分别为15min和7min,油酸甲酯标准曲线回归系数r=0.9999,油酸甲酯色谱峰面积的相对偏差为0.0171,样品中油酸甲酯回收率为94.08%。