The Methodology of Probe Design with Better Resolution and Less Resistive Donut Probe to Achieve the Best Performance

Probes are the interface between microsystems and bio-cells.The ideal interface is one-to-one interface.Though variousresearch groups have been able to establish some sort of interfaces after many years of research,they are very crude.Neurons aremillions in numbers,whereas the prostheses successfully built so far have only a few hundred probes at best.Creating an ef-fective interface is still far away.Though we have micro-and nano-technologies,we couldn’t build a prosthesis with an effectiveresolution.Main reasons behind it are the type of probe being used and the poor design of the probe.To address this problem,wedeveloped a methodology to design a probe and an array of probes with better resolution and less resistive donut probe.Thismethodology helps us to design a probe optimizing all the parameters.We presented our methodology through a design that iscapable of 70 μm penetration inside the tissue.The tissue heating by our designed probe is only 0.411 °C.We also characterizedthe donut probe,which could be used by any research group to design a donut probe of their specific need.     

Interactions between extraradical ectomycorrhizal mycelia, microbes associated with the mycelia and growth rate of Norway spruce (Picea abies) clones

Despite their ecological relevance, field studies of the extraradical mycelia of ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi are rare. Here we examined in situ interactions between ECM mycelia and host vigour. Ectomycorrhizal mycelia were harvested with in-growth mesh bags buried under Norway spruce (Picea abies) clones planted in 1994 in a randomized block design. Mycelial biomass was determined and fungal species were identified by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) region. Microbial community structure in the mycelium was investigated by phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) profiling. Compared to slow-growing spruce clones, fast-growing clones tended to support denser mycelia where the relative proportions of Atheliaceae fungi and PLFAs indicative of Gram-positive bacteria were higher. Ascomycetes and PLFAs representative of Gram-negative bacteria were more common with slow-growing clones. In general, the ECM mycelial community was similar to the ECM root-tip community. Growth rate of the hosts, the ECM mycelial community and the microbes associated with the mycelium were related, suggesting multitrophic interactions between trees, fungi and bacteria.     

Measuring external mycelia production of ectomycorrhizal fungi in the field: the soil matrix matters

Assessing mycorrhizal fungi production in field settings has been hindered by the inability to measure external mycelia. Recently, external mycelia production was measured in the field using a novel in-growth core technique with acid-washed sand as the in-growth matrix. Here, we tested the assumption that external mycelia production in acid-washed sand is representative of that in native soil. External mycelia production was estimated as the difference in fungal growth between closed (allowing only saprotrophic fungal production) and open (allowing mycorrhizal and saprotrophic fungal production) cores using a factorial design of soil matrices (acid-washed sand vs native) and fertilization treatments (control vs nitrogen (N)) in a longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) plantation. In native soils, the ectomycorrhizal to saprotrophic fungal biomass signal was strong and consistent facilitating the assessment of external mycelia production, which was 300% higher than corresponding rates in acid-washed sand and inversely correlated with soil N. These results demonstrate the efficacy and importance of using native soil as the in-growth matrix to measure ectomycorrhizal fungi external mycelia production in field settings.     

土壤增温对杉木幼苗细根生长量及形态特征的影响

为了揭示杉木人工林对全球变暖的地下响应,在福建省三明市陈大国有林场开展杉木(Cunninghamia lanceolata)幼苗土壤增温试验,采用内生长环法探讨增温实验开始后第2年(2015年1月、7月取样)和第3年(2016年1月、7月取样)杉木幼苗细根生长量和形态特征(比根长,SRL;比表面积,SRA;组织密度,RTD)的变化。结果表明:(1)随着苗木的生长,土壤增温对细根生长量的影响趋势是先抑制,再无显著影响,最后促进。(2)土壤增温对细根形态特征的影响在不同取样时间有差异:土壤增温对7月份(夏季)取样的细根SRL或SRA有显著促进作用,对1月份(冬季)取样的细根SRL、SRA均无显著影响。(3)土壤增温对第二、第三次取样的1—2 mm细根RTD有促进作用。表明土壤增温对杉木幼苗细根生长量的影响与苗木生长阶段有关;同时苗木可通过细根形态的调整(增大SRL和RTD)以适应土壤增温引起的土壤资源变化和环境胁迫,维持自身的生长。     

Mitochondrial fragmentation and donut formation enhance mitochondrial secretion to promote osteogenesis

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