Biological weapons

Brucella has traditionally been considered a biological weapon. It was the subject of extensive offensive research in the past, and still belongs to category B pathogens on most lists. Its propensity for airborne transmission and induction of chronic debilitating disease requiring combined antibiotic regimens for treatment, its abundance around the world and its vague clinical characteristics defying rapid clinical diagnosis are some of the characteristics that apply to the pathogen's weapons potential. Yet minimal mortality, availability of treatment options, protracted inoculation period and the emergence of new, more virulent potential weapons means that its inclusion among agents of bioterrorism is nowadays mainly of historical significance. Nevertheless, in the interest of literacy and of avoiding panic, physicians and the public both should be aware of the most common zoonosis worldwide.     

Differentiated cells are more efficient than adult stem cells for cloning by somatic cell nuclear transfer

Since the creation of Dolly via somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), more than a dozen species of mammals have been cloned using this technology. One hypothesis for the limited success of cloning via SCNT (1%-5%) is that the clones are likely to be derived from adult stem cells. Support for this hypothesis comes from the findings that the reproductive cloning efficiency for embryonic stem cells is five to ten times higher than that for somatic cells as donors and that cloned pups cannot be produced directly from cloned embryos derived from differentiated B and T cells or neuronal cells. The question remains as to whether SCNT-derived animal clones can be derived from truly differentiated somatic cells. We tested this hypothesis with mouse hematopoietic cells at different differentiation stages: hematopoietic stem cells, progenitor cells and granulocytes. We found that cloning efficiency increases over the differentiation hierarchy, and terminally differentiated postmitotic granulocytes yield cloned pups with the greatest cloning efficiency.     

On the self-association potential of transmembrane tight junction proteins

Tight junctions seal intercellular clefts via membrane-related strands, hence, maintaining important organ functions. We investigated the self-association of strand-forming transmembrane tight junction proteins. The regulatory tight junction protein occludin was differently tagged and cotransfected in eucaryotic cells. These occludins colocalized within the plasma membrane of the same cell, coprecipitated and exhibited fluorescence resonance energy transfer. Differently tagged strand-forming claudin-5 also colocalized in the plasma membrane of the same cell and showed fluorescence resonance energy transfer. This demonstrates self-association in intact cells both of occludin and claudin-5 in one plasma membrane. In search of dimerizing regions of occludin, dimerization of its cytosolic C-terminal coiledcoil domain was identified. In claudin-5, the second extracellular loop was detected as a dimer. Since the transmembrane junctional adhesion molecule also is known to dimerize, the assumption that homodimerization of transmembrane tight junction proteins may serve as a common structural feature in tight junction assembly is supported. Received 6 October 2005; received after revision 14 December 2005; accepted 27 December 2005 †These authors contributed equally to this work.     

基于自适应神经网络的边坡位移预测

通过对边坡位移历史数据序列进行特征分析 ,计算出饱和嵌入维数和最大 Lyapunov指数 ,给出了边坡位移的最大可预报时间尺度。在此基础上 ,确定了神经网络的输入节点数 ,建立了基于自适应神经网络的边坡位移预报方法 .通过对三峡升船机高边坡和新滩滑坡实际位移数据进行预测 ,结果令人满意 .这对于建立边坡位移的实时监测 -预警系统有重要意义.     

一种基于神经网络的混沌控制方法

将神经网络(NN)与内模控制(IMC)相结合,提出了一种用基于BP神经网络的内模控制进行混沌抑制的方法,该方法既具有内模控制的特点,又引入了神经网络的在线自校正机制。应用所提出的方法,针对Duffing振荡器的混沌控制问题进行了仿真研究,仿真结果验证了该方法的有效性,同时还表明该方法具有很好的鲁棒性与自适应能力。     

Information processing along the course of a visual interneuron.

Locust ocellar retinal cells are innervated by giant second order cells, 2 mm long, which show discrete zones of integration along their course, including a major zone in the axonal length of the neuron. The complex synaptic arrangements which exist between higher-order afferent and efferent cells and these second order cells along their course suggests that transmission takes place by the electrotonic spread of slow potentials. The size and accessibility of these visual interneurons offers a unique preparation for examining mechanisms of graded synaptic transmission.     

Effect of ethanol on toxicity and metabolism of amphetamine in the mouse.

Ethanol, 3 g/kg i.p., did not significantly alter the acute toxicity of amphetamine in the mouse. However, the urinary metabolite pattern was changed, suggesting that ethanol suppressed metabolism of the stimulant during the initial 6 h period. After 24 h, the mouse metabolized the same fraction of a given dose of amphetamine, whether it was given as amphetamine alone or amphetamine mixed with 2,3 or 4 g/kg ethanol.     

放电电流对热阴极等离子体化学气相沉积金刚石膜影响

建立了快速沉积高品质金刚石膜的热阴极辉光放电等离子体化学气相沉积新方法. 相对于常规冷阴极辉光放电而言,热阴极辉光放电是一种新型放电形式,具有许多新的特性,其中重要一点是具有较高的放电电流(6.0～10.0 A). 较高的放电电流既是热阴极辉光放电本身的突出特点,同时对于化学气相沉积金刚石膜工艺也产生重要影响. 实验研究了放电电流于金刚石膜沉积速率、表面形貌和热导率的影响,发现由于放电电流影响辉光放电的等离子体区和阳极区,进而对金刚石膜的沉积速率和品质有很大影响. 特别是通过放电电流的提高,可以有效地提高金刚石膜的品质,这对于制备优质金刚石膜产品有重大意义.