Torres Strait Islanders Stories from an Exhibition

Preparations for a centenary exhibition to mark the 1898 Cambridge Anthropological Expedition to the Torres Strait incorporated cross-cultural collaborative work, reflecting the changing roles of museums as sites for contact and research combining curatorial expertise and indigenous knowledge. Specific objects in the collections of the University of Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology continue to be active intermediaries in the relationship between museum staff and Torres Strait Islanders and the museum itself has become an important field site. This paper provides an ethnography of the process of creating the exhibition and explores different ways that many of the objects displayed have resonance for Islanders today.     

The distribution of benthic marine algae

Hitherto only gametangial and carposporangial phases of Thuretellopsis peggiana Kylin have been reported. A study of this rare member of the Dumontiaceae (Cryptonemiales) in culture has disclosed the existence of an encrusting tetrasporangial phase, previously unknown, whilst the life history has been shown to be of the ‘Bonnemaisonia’ type.     

Antifungal effect of CopA3 monomer peptide via membrane-active mechanism and stability to proteolysis of enantiomeric d-CopA3

In our previous study, coprisin, a 43-mer defensin-like peptide, was derived from the dung beetle, Copris tripartitus, and a 9-mer CopA3 (monomer), truncated coprisin analog peptide, was designed. However, the antifungal effects of CopA3 are not known yet. In this study, the antifungal activity and mechanism of CopA3 were investigated and to develop a more effective antimicrobial peptide under physiological conditions, the enantiomeric d-CopA3 was designed. l- and d-CopA3 had a similar antifungal activity without chiral selectivity, and their activity was more potent than that of melittin used as a positive control. Furthermore, l- and d-CopA3 did not even show any hemolysis against human erythrocytes. Membrane studies using propidium iodide and bis-(1,3-dibutylbarbituric acid) trimethine oxonol [DiBAC₄(3)], suggested that the antifungal effect of l- and d-CopA3 was due to the membrane-active mechanism, by contrast with coprisin possessing apoptotic mechanism without membrane permeabilization. Finally, the proteolytic resistance and antifungal activity of l- and d-CopA3 against trypsin was analyzed by HPLC and colony count assay. The results showed that only d-CopA3 maintained a potent antifungal activity despite the proteolytic condition. Therefore, this study suggests that d-CopA3 has potential as a novel antimicrobial agent.     

Neoaplectana glaseri: essential amino acids

Required for a nematode's reproduction in a chemically defined medium are the nine mammalian essential amino acids (sensu strictu). Needed in addition to lysine, tryptophane, histidine, phenylalanine, leucine, isoleucine, threonine, methionine, and valine is arginine which is marginally essential for mammals. Tyrosine, nonessential for mammals, is not absolutely required by the nematode but is beneficial in terms of onset time and quantity of reproduction. Aspartic acid, nonessential for the nematode and mammals, is toxic for adult nematodes at and above 4.8 mg/ml medium. The nematode, Neoaplectana glaseri, is parasitic in insect grubs but the strain used has been cultivated in species isolation on kidney slices continuously since (1944).     

W135群脑膜炎球菌发酵工艺的研究

为研究A、C、Y、W 135群流脑多糖疫苗,针对W 135群脑膜炎球菌的生长特性,采用国产50L发酵罐,针对流脑半综合液体培养基中葡萄糖浓度;培养温度、菌种接种浓度、pH、通氧量及搅拌速度等因素对W 135群脑膜炎球菌生长的影响,选择最适的培养条件。结果表明,选择半综合培养基中补加1%的葡萄糖培养效果良好,菌种接种浓度直接影响多糖复合物产量;最适pH值6.5~7.5的范围可维持W 135群链球菌快速生长;温度控制在36.5±0.2℃可得到较高的培养产物;培养过程中加大通气量及搅拌速度对培养结果有明显改善。确立了W 135群脑膜炎球菌的最适培养条件,在确定培养条件后连续进行3批500L罐放大中试培养,达到规模化生产要求。     

SARS病毒NS-1株稳定性及培养条件的研究

用SARS病毒NS-1株接种Vero细胞,37℃培养,于培养1、2、3、4d收获病毒液,分别置-70℃冻融和4℃释放,于不同时期取样进行病毒滴定。结果显示,SARS病毒NS-1株各代次培养特性和形态学变化完全相同,有较好的抗原特异性,病毒滴度稳定,4℃保存125d,滴度下降2．25lgCCID50／ml,-70℃保存6个月,滴度未见明显下降。SARS病毒NS-1株未经冻融或释放,1d收获的病毒滴度比2、3、4d收获的病毒滴度低,经冻融或释放,1、2、3、4d收获的病毒滴度无明显区别,病毒收获时的病毒滴度与形态学变化成正相关。不同接种条件收获的病毒液,病毒滴度无明显区别。SARS NS-1株有较好的遗传稳定性和保存稳定性,培养2d,4℃释放收获病毒液,细胞悬液与病毒混合接种更简单,易操作,更适合疫苗规模生产。     

不同培养条件对拟南芥根细胞膜片钳记录的影响

本文以沙培养法、蛭石培养法、土培养法、水培养法和MS培养基等不同的方法培养拟南芥(Arabidopsis thaliana),分析了不同培养方法对根生长发育的影响,并分别分离根的原生质体.在膜片钳记录中对不同来源的根原生质体状态进行了比较.结果表明,土培养法分离的原生质体最适于膜片钳记录.     

从代谢流量分析角度探讨培养条件改变下对放射型根瘤茵WSH2601合成辅酶Q10的影响

分析了放射型根瘤菌(R．radiobacter)WSH2601生物合成辅酶Q10的代谢途径网络,并在溶氧条件改变和培养基中添加玉米浆条件下对辅酶Q10发酵细胞内代谢途径流量变化作定量的分析,结果表明：提高溶氧浓度(20％)5-磷酸核酮糖(RuSP)物流(r7)增加26．6,即糖酵解途径(EMP)途径向磷酸戊糖途径(HMP)转移;添加1％玉米浆r7增加17．2,EMP与HMP途径物流比值与三羧酸循环(TCA)途径物流都下降,而癸异戊烯基焦磷酸(DPP)生成物流通量(绝对值)变化都较小,即辅酶Q10的生物合成更大程度地取决于辅酶Q10生物合成途径中催化DPP的合成和4-羟基苯甲酸(PHB)与DPP的缩合反应的两种关键酶活性。6-磷酸葡萄糖(G6P)节点是辅酶Q10生物合成代谢途径的柔性节点,而丙酮酸节点是半柔性节点。细胞生物量的提高与HMP途径物流增加有关。     

小鼠体外发育成熟卵母细胞的胞浆成熟度评估

研究通过检测卵母细胞直径、谷胱甘肽含量和皮质颗粒分布来评估其胞浆成熟度。培养小鼠窦前卵泡13 d,得到258个体外发育MⅡ期卵母细胞;控制性超排得到205个体内发育的MⅡ期卵母细胞。测量卵母细胞直径,用免疫荧光染色、共聚焦显微镜观察卵母细胞皮质颗粒分布,化学法测定卵母细胞谷胱甘肽含量。结果发现,体外发育的卵母细胞直径(69.6±5.7)μm,体内发育卵母细胞直径(84.2±3.0)μm,两组间存在显著性差异(P<0.01)。体外发育成熟卵母细胞谷胱甘肽含量(4.3±0.7)pmol,体内发育的卵母细胞谷胱甘肽含量(6.1±1.0)pmol,两组间存在显著性差异(P<0.05)。体外发育卵母细胞皮质颗粒环状分布率36%,体内发育卵母细胞皮质颗粒环状分布率90%,两组间存在显著性差异(P<0.01)。本实验认为,体外发育成熟的卵母细胞胞浆成熟度与体内发育成熟的卵母细胞存在差异,可能是其发育潜能降低的原因之一。体外培养的卵泡内分泌结构改变可能影响卵母细胞胞浆成熟。