Comparison of micrometer‐ and scanning electron microscope‐based measurements of avian eggshell thickness

ABSTRACT The study of avian eggshell structure, including composition, pigmentation, thickness, and strength, has important ecological and economic implications. Previous investigators have used a variety of techniques to derive either direct measures or indirect estimates of eggshell thickness. Assessing the repeatability and method agreement of different techniques is necessary to permit comparison of eggshell thickness values from different studies on various genetic stocks, populations, and species. We recorded and analyzed measurements of eggshell thickness using two methods, micrometers and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), for several Palaeognathae and Neognathae taxa, including nonpasserines and passerines. Applying a tolerance‐interval approach, we found that repeatability of measurements for eggs with thinner shells (<300 μm, all Neognathae taxa) was worse than for eggs with thicker shells (Palaeognathae taxa), but was still statistically and biologically reasonable given that the relative magnitude of intramethod agreements was <11%. Our results support previous predictions that measurements made using a micrometer are comparable to those made using SEM. This finding is particularly important given the relative ease and cost efficiency of the micrometer method. Importantly, these new analyses can be used to validate the use of published data from previous studies of micrometer‐based eggshell thickness for both intra‐ and interspecific comparisons.     

"两步法"体外培养山羊卵母细胞的超微结构观察

有假说认为,卵母细胞在体外培养过程中,如果延长GV期,可促进卵母细胞进一步成熟,因而提高发育潜能。采用山羊半卵泡和卵母细胞共培养,抑制卵母细胞GVBD发生,从而延长GV期。比较了共培养前后和恢复成熟培养后卵母细胞的超微结构变化,其目的从亚细胞水平寻找卵母细胞进一步成熟的证据。研究发现,常规成熟培养:有卵周隙存在,但不贯通,局部区域卵膜与透明带结合紧密;部分皮质区尚有细胞器存在;微绒毛大部分从透明带中撤出,倒伏于质膜表面,数量较多,形态较为粗大;皮层颗粒质膜下部分单层分布,部分散布于皮质区;线粒体均匀散布于卵质中央区。共培养前:卵母细胞的卵周隙尚未形成,微绒毛没有从透明带中撤出;线粒体等细胞器分布于皮质区,皮层颗粒成簇状分布,皮质区富含细胞器。共培养后:局部形成卵周隙,微绒毛已自透明带中撤出,数量较多,垂直或倒伏于卵膜表面;线粒体以簇状分批开始内移,皮层颗粒已部分单层分布于质膜下,部分皮质区缺乏细胞器。恢复成熟培养后:卵周隙进一步扩大并且贯通,微绒毛数量减少并且绝大多数垂直于卵膜;线粒体在卵质中央区均匀分布,皮层颗粒卵膜下单层分布,大部分皮质区无细胞器存在。利用“两步法”培养得到的卵母细胞与体外常规成熟培养的卵母细胞相比,更有利于皮层颗粒的质膜下单层分布,卵母细胞卵周隙的形成与贯通,微绒毛数量减少和垂直于卵膜表面,无细胞器皮层区的进一步形成。因此,更有利于卵母细胞胞质的进一步成熟。     

广西蕨类植物孢子形态的研究Ⅰ.水龙骨科

该文是广西蕨类植物孢子形态研究的第一部分。首次利用光学显微镜和扫描电子显微镜对广西产水龙骨科6属9种植物的孢子形态进行了观察研究。对每个种的孢子形态特征及表面纹饰进行了描述。水龙骨科6属9种植物孢子都为单裂缝类型孢子,孢子外壁表面具有皱状、细孔状、蠕虫状、瘤状、光滑、索状条纹和颗粒状纹饰7种纹饰类型。讨论了各属、种问的差异,为水龙骨科系统分类及孢粉学研究提供资料。     

广西蕨类植物孢子形态的研究Ⅱ.铁角蕨属

利用光学显微镜和扫描电子显微镜对广西产9种铁角蕨属植物即拟狭翅铁角蕨、黑柄铁角蕨、剑叶铁角蕨、长生铁角蕨、岭南铁角蕨、石生铁角蕨、阴湿铁角蕨、半边铁角蕨和细裂铁角蕨植物的孢子形态进行了观察,对每个种的形态特征进行了详细描述,其中5种铁角蕨属植物孢子的表面纹饰为首次报道。结果如下:9种铁角蕨属植物孢子都为单裂缝,两侧对称,极面观为椭圆形或近圆形,赤道面观为肾形、椭圆形或近圆形。主要纹饰类型有翅脊状纹饰、翅状纹饰和脊状纹饰类型。讨论了各种间的差异。为铁角蕨属的分类和系统演化研究提供孢粉学的资料。     

Cu2‐xS Surface Phases and Their Impact on the Electronic Structure of CuInS2 Thin Films – A Hidden Parameter in Solar Cell Optimization

The surface properties of CuInS₂ (CIS) thin‐film solar cell absorbers are investigated by a combination of electron and soft X‐ray spectroscopies. Spatially separated regions of varying colors are observed and identified to be dominated by either CuS or Cu₂S surface phases. After their removal by KCN etching, the samples cannot be distinguished by eye and the CIS surface is found to be Cu‐deficient in both regions. However, a significantly more pronounced off‐stoichiometry in the region initially covered by Cu₂S can be identified. In this region, the resulting surface band gap is also significantly larger than the E_g^Surf of the initially CuS‐terminated region. Such variations may represent a hidden parameter which, if overlooked, induces irreproducibility and thus prevents systematic optimization efforts.     

Ab initio fragment molecular orbital calculations on the specific interactions between human,mouse and rat PPARα and GW409544

To elucidate the specific interactions between the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPARα) and ligand GW409544 (GW), we obtained the solvated structures of the PPARα+GW complexes for human, mouse and rat by classical molecular mechanics calculations, and investigated their electronic properties by ab initio fragment molecular orbital calculations. The results indicate that the positively charged amino acids (Lys and Arg) of PPARα make a major contribution to the binding between PPARα and GW. In addition, it was clarified that Ser280 and Tyr314 of human and rat PPARα have a large attractive interaction with GW, while Ser280, Tyr314 and His440 of mouse PPARα have large interaction. These results on the difference in specific interactions between human and mouse/rat PPARα will be useful for predicting the effects of new chemicals on the human body based on the biomedical studies for the experimental animals such as mouse and rat.     

Artificial vision with wirelessly powered subretinal electronic implant alpha-IMS

This study aims at substituting the essential functions of photoreceptors in patients who are blind owing to untreatable forms of hereditary retinal degenerations. A microelectronic neuroprosthetic device, powered via transdermal inductive transmission, carrying 1500 independent microphotodiode-amplifier-electrode elements on a 9 mm² chip, was subretinally implanted in nine blind patients. Light perception (8/9), light localization (7/9), motion detection (5/9, angular speed up to 35 deg s⁻¹), grating acuity measurement (6/9, up to 3.3 cycles per degree) and visual acuity measurement with Landolt C-rings (2/9) up to Snellen visual acuity of 20/546 (corresponding to decimal 0.037 or corresponding to 1.43 logMAR (minimum angle of resolution)) were restored via the subretinal implant. Additionally, the identification, localization and discrimination of objects improved significantly (n = 8; p < 0.05 for each subtest) in repeated tests over a nine-month period. Three subjects were able to read letters spontaneously and one subject was able to read letters after training in an alternative-force choice test. Five subjects reported implant-mediated visual perceptions in daily life within a field of 15° of visual angle. Control tests were performed each time with the implant''s power source switched off. These data show that subretinal implants can restore visual functions that are useful for daily life.     

Amyloplast displacement is necessary for gravisensing in Arabidopsis shoots as revealed by a centrifuge microscope

The starch‐statolith hypothesis proposes that starch‐filled amyloplasts act as statoliths in plant gravisensing, moving in response to the gravity vector and signaling its direction. However, recent studies suggest that amyloplasts show continuous, complex movements in Arabidopsis shoots, contradicting the idea of a so‐called ‘static’ or ‘settled’ statolith. Here, we show that amyloplast movement underlies shoot gravisensing by using a custom‐designed centrifuge microscope in combination with analysis of gravitropic mutants. The centrifuge microscope revealed that sedimentary movements of amyloplasts under hypergravity conditions are linearly correlated with gravitropic curvature in wild‐type stems. We next analyzed the hypergravity response in the shoot gravitropism 2 (sgr2) mutant, which exhibits neither a shoot gravitropic response nor amyloplast sedimentation at 1  g . sgr2 mutants were able to sense and respond to gravity under 30  g conditions, during which the amyloplasts sedimented. These findings are consistent with amyloplast redistribution resulting from gravity‐driven movements triggering shoot gravisensing. To further support this idea, we examined two additional gravitropic mutants, phosphoglucomutase (pgm) and sgr9, which show abnormal amyloplast distribution and reduced gravitropism at 1  g . We found that the correlation between hypergravity‐induced amyloplast sedimentation and gravitropic curvature of these mutants was identical to that of wild‐type plants. These observations suggest that Arabidopsis shoots have a gravisensing mechanism that linearly converts the number of amyloplasts that settle to the ‘bottom’ of the cell into gravitropic signals. Further, the restoration of the gravitropic response by hypergravity in the gravitropic mutants that we tested indicates that these lines probably have a functional gravisensing mechanism that is not triggered at 1  g .     

A simple method for using silicone elastomer masks for quantitative analysis of cell migration without cellular damage or substrate disruption

Cell migration is fundamental to many biological processes, including development, normal tissue remodeling, wound healing, and many pathologies. However, cell migration is a complex process, and understanding its regulation in health and disease requires the ability to manipulate and measure this process quantitatively under controlled conditions. This report describes a simple in vitro assay for quantitative analysis of cell migration in two-dimensional cultures that is an inexpensive alternative to the classic “scratch” assay. The method described utilizes flexible silicone masks fabricated in the lab according to the research demands of the specific experiment to create a cell-free area for cells to invade, followed by quantitative analysis based on widely available microscopic imaging tools. This experimental approach has the important advantage of visualizing cell migration in the absence of the cellular damage and disruption of the substrate that occurs when the “wound” is created in the scratch assay. This approach allows the researcher to study the intrinsic migratory characteristics of cells in the absence of potentially confounding contributions from cellular responses to injury and disruption of cell–substrate interactions. This assay has been used with vascular smooth muscle cells, fibroblasts, and epithelial cell types, but should be applicable to the study of practically any type of cultured cell. Furthermore, this method can be easily adapted for use with fluorescence microscopy, molecular biological, or pharmacological manipulations to explore the molecular mechanisms of cell migration, live cell imaging, fluorescence microscopy, and correlative immunolabeling.     

Nanomoulding of Functional Materials,a Versatile Complementary Pattern Replication Method to Nanoimprinting

We describe a nanomoulding technique which allows low-cost nanoscale patterning of functional materials, materials stacks and full devices. Nanomoulding combined with layer transfer enables the replication of arbitrary surface patterns from a master structure onto the functional material. Nanomoulding can be performed on any nanoimprinting setup and can be applied to a wide range of materials and deposition processes. In particular we demonstrate the fabrication of patterned transparent zinc oxide electrodes for light trapping applications in solar cells.