The suppression of mouse spontaneous locomotor activity by the ingestion of deuterium oxide.

The spontaneous locomotor activity of the laboratory mouse is significantly depressed by the ingestion of deuterium oxide. The response, which is reversible, is a retilinear one with up to 70% reduction in activity with the administration of 25% heavy water.     

Effect of heat treatment on the ATPase activity of various sarcoplasmic reticulum preparations.

Ca2+-stimulated ATPase activity of sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) preparations is activated after a short period of preincubation at temperatures between 40 and 45 degrees C, but for temperatures higher than 48 degrees C pronounced denaturation is observed. Heat denaturation is decreased if Mg2+ or K+ are present during heat treatment.     

Organization of myosin molecules in the muscle thick filament

Summary Tryptic treatment of muscle thick filaments reveals the underlying backbones of aggregatedl-meromyosin as a coli of 3 secondary filaments (helical repeat 130 nm) each in turn a coli of a 3 finer ones.     

Blood plasma investigations by resonance raman spectroscopy: Detection of carotenoid pigments

Summary Using Raman spectroscopy, we demonstrate that low levels of -carotene, lycopene, and xanthophyll give rise to resonance enhanced bands in blood plasma. These results explain the significance of previously unidentified spectral maxima which have been related to the state of health of the blood donor.     

Predicting returns and volatility with macroeconomic variables: evidence from tests of encompassing

Tests of forecast encompassing are used to evaluate one‐step‐ahead forecasts of S&P Composite index returns and volatility. It is found that forecasts over the 1990s made from models that include macroeconomic variables tend to be encompassed by those made from a benchmark model which does not include macroeconomic variables. However, macroeconomic variables are found to add significant information to forecasts of returns and volatility over the 1970s. Often in empirical research on forecasting stock index returns and volatility, in‐sample information criteria are used to rank potential forecasting models. Here, none of the forecasting models for the 1970s that include macroeconomic variables are, on the basis of information criteria, preferred to the relevant benchmark specification. Thus, had investors used information criteria to choose between the models used for forecasting over the 1970s considered in this paper, the predictability that tests of encompassing reveal would not have been exploited. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reproductive Biology and Prospects for Conservation of Caldesia parnassifolia (Alismataceae)——A Threatened Monocot in China

0　ＩｎｔｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎＡｌｉｓｍａｔａｃｅａｅｉｓａｃｏｓｍｏｐｏｌｉｔａｎｆａｍｉｌｙｔｈａｔｃｏｎｓｉｓｔｓｏｆ 11ｇｅｎｅｒａａｎｄａｐｐｒｏｘｉｍａｔｅｌｙ 95ｓｐｅｃｉｅｓ[1] .Ａｌｌｔｈｅｓｐｅｃｉｅｓｉｎｔｈｉｓｆａｍｉｌｙａｒｅａｑｕａｔｉｃｏｒｓｅｍｉ ａｑｕａｔｉｃｗｉｔｈｔｈｅｍａｊｏｒｉｔｙｏｃｃｕｒｒｉｎｇｉｎｔｈｅＮｅｗＷｏｒｌｄ .ＴｈｅｇｅｎｕｓＣａｌｄｅｓｉａｉｓｒｅｓｔｒｉｃｔｅｄｔｏｔｈｅＯｌｄＷｏｒｌｄｆｒｏｍＡｆｒｉｃａａｎｄＭａｄａｇａｓｃａｒａｎｄＳ…     

Land vehicle positioning using GPS and dead reckoning

To ensure reliable land vehicle positioning, the Global Positioning System (GPS) is one of the best techniques commonly used in present-day positioning systems. However, GPS signals are not available if line of sight with the satellites is lost. In this respect, the addition of the Dead Reckoning (DR) method to complement the GPS unit would enhance the reliability of land vehicle positioning system. For implementing the DR method, the magnetic sensor and accelerometer are used for obtaining heading and velocity or distance information. Calibration of two sensors' dynamic model and DR algorithm are also introduced in this paper. The test result utilizing the GPS and DR methods is analyzed in this paper. It utilize spositioning information from GPS receiver when GPSsignal is available, otherwise DR is started to compensate GPS outage with the GPS output as the original point. The results showed that the error in east and north produced by the DR algorithm for a short time interval can be limitedwithin an acceptable range.     

In-vehicle GPS/DR navigation system development and test results in Singapore

This paper introduces the in-car navigation system prototype development and test results under the context of Singapore. In the system, integrated GPS/DR is used for continuous vehicle positioning. A digital road network map database is built for the whole Singapore. The database is designed to support map matching, route determination, and route guidance functions. The prototype system demonstrates GPS positioning of the vehicle in real-time, tracking the vehicle onto a digital map with fix updates every one or two seconds.With the map matched vehicle location on the map, voice and/or text guidance is provide to the driver. The vehicle position can also be transferred to control centre through communication data link for the purpose of fleet management.     

A preliminary study of crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) in the endangered aquatic quillwortIsoetes sinensis Palmer in China

Isoetes sinensis Palmer (Isoetaceae) is an aquatic or amphibious plant that is critically endangered in China. Previous studies have revealed the crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM)-like photosynthetic pathway occurs commonly in submerged leaves in genusIsoetes. Water chemistry parameters and the titratable acidity content of the plant extract were measured from samples obtained in the early morning (7∶00) and late afternoon (15∶00) from twoI. sinensis populations in China. One population occurs in the eulittoral zone of a freshwater tidal river at low elevation (134 m) and another occurs in a densely vegetated, high elevation (1 100 m) alpine shallow pool. Significant differences in pH and titratable acidity of the plant extract were detected between the morning and afternoon samples. These changes are associated with diurnal changes in water chemistry. Our results provide the first evidence for the existence of the CAM pathway in the East Asian endemicIsoetes sinensis Palmer. The magnitude of fluctuations in the titratable acidity of the plant extract may be correlated with the severe carbon limitation imposed on the plants by its aquatic habitat. Foundation item: Supported by the State Key Basic Research and Development Plan (G2000046805) Biography:Pang Xin-an (1974-), male, Master candidate, research direction: conservation biology.