基因快速检测仪的自动进样控制系统的研制

基因检测是遗传工程的重要技术之一,基因检测技术的自动化对工程的研究具有重要意义,而自动进样控制系统是基因快速检测仪的重要组成部分。该系统的硬件部分主要由液位检测电路及其接口电路组成;软件部分主要由VisualC 6．0编程对硬件实现其自动控制功能。该系统主要包括：控制清洗通道流程、排除废流流程和进样流程等功能,工作模式可根据人机对话方式设定,并能将扩增反应后的试样自动送到基因检测池中进行检测。系统具有快速、操作方便、智能化程度高、准确性高等特点。     

湖南省农作物种质资源收集保护和创新利用进展

根据湖南省第一次(1956-1957年)和第二次(1979-1983年)全国农作物种质资源调查、收集及研究利用的工作开展情况,总结了湖南省种质资源保护和利用的现状及取得的成果,特别是水稻、油菜、辣椒、茶叶等在资源创新利用上取得了优异成绩;分析了湖南省农作物种质资源保护仍存在地方品种资源日益减少、资源收集困难、农作物种质资源保存体系不够完善、资源专业团队缺乏、资源利用率低等限制本地区农作物种质资源创新利用的问题。提出了以"第三次全国农作物种质资源普查与收集行动"为契机,建立完善的种质资源保护体系、精准评价体系及共享共用机制等促进农作物种质资源保存与利用工作良性循环的建议。     

Impacto de las herramientas «Mapas de Conversaciones™» sobre el conocimiento de la diabetes en pacientes españoles con diabetes mellitus tipo 2: un estudio aleatorizado y comparativo

Background and aimThis paper presents results from the Spanish subpopulation of a study comparing Conversation Maps™ (CM)-based education with regular care (RC) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).Patients and methodsAdult patients with T2DM who were considered as not demonstrating ideal disease management were randomly assigned to CM or RC with assessments following (Visit 2), and at follow-up 6 months after (Visit 3), the final CM session. The primary endpoint was diabetes knowledge at Visit 3.Results310 patients were randomised to receive CM education (n=148) or RC (n=162). Median knowledge scores were ranked significantly higher in the CM group than the RC group at Visit 2 and Visit 3 (p<0.001). No significant differences in clinical and other outcomes were identified between the interventions, except satisfaction with care (p<0.001, Visit 2; p=0.055, Visit 3) and perception of goal attainment (p<0.001 and p = 0.046, respectively) that were both higher in the CM group.ConclusionsIn these patients from Spain, CM was superior to RC in terms of diabetes knowledge 6 months after education was completed, suggesting that CM should be considered for use in patients requiring diabetes education.     

Is human conversation more efficient than chimpanzee grooming?

Clique sizes for chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) grooming and for human conversation are compared in order to test Robin Dunbar’s hypothesis that human language is almost three times as efficient a bonding mechanism as primate grooming. Recalculation of the data provided by Dunbar et al. (1995) reveals that the average clique size for human conversation is 2.72 whereas that of chimpanzee grooming is shown to be 2.18. The efficiency of human conversation and actual chimpanzee grooming over Dunbar’s primate grooming model (always one-to-one and a one-way interaction) is 1.27 and 1.25, respectively, when we take role alternation into account. Chimpanzees can obtain about the same efficiency as humans in terms of quantity of social interactions because their grooming is often mutual and polyadic. The fieldwork was supported by a grant from the International Scientific Research Program (07041138 to T. Nishida) of the Monbusho (Japanese Ministry of Education, Science, Sports, and Culture). Michio Nakamura is a research fellow at Japan Monkey Centre. He received his Master of Science degree from Kyoto University in 1996. He is carrying out research on the grooming behavior of chimpanzees at Mahale, Tanzania, for his doctorate.     

Size and structure of freely forming conversational groups

Data from various settings suggest that there is an upper limit of about four on the number of individuals who can interact in spontaneous conversation. This limit appears to be a consequence of the mechanisms of speech production and detection. There appear to be no differences between men and women in this respect, other than those introduced by women’s lighter voices. Robin Dunbar, formerly Professor of BiologicalAnthropology at University College London, is currently Professor of Psychology at the University of Liverpool, where he carries out research on the behavior and ecology of human and nonhuman primates. Neil Duncan M.D. has recently qualified as a medical practitioner. Dan Nettle is carrying out doctoral research on the evolution of language.