Recent Advances in the use of Immobilized Lipases Directed Toward the Asymmetric Syntheses of Complex Molecules

Water-insoluble compounds can be substrates for enzymatic reactions when lipases are immobilized properly and suitable organic solvents are used. In this review, three type of lipase immobilization method and their application to the asymmetric syntheses of complex molecules are described. Lipases immobilized with Celite or synthetic prepolymers such as urethane prepolymer and photo-crosslinkable resin prepolymer have been applied for the kinetic resolution of many kinds of water-insoluble substrate.

Phospholipid-lipase aggregates with ether linkages are novel and have been found to function effectively as immobilized lipases in asymmetric hydrolysis or esterification reactions in water-saturated organic solvent. The phospholipid-lipase aggregates are considered to have a stacked bilayer based on X-ray diffraction analysis structure of the lipid in the crystalline phase.     

The influence of aggregate size and drannage potential on germination of barley seeds in flooded soil

Emergence and growth of barley was severely decreased by short periods (less than 24 hours) of pre-emergence waterlogging at 20°C. The extent of damage depended on a combination of duration of waterlogging, soil water potential and aggregate size. Potentials of less than—4kPa prevented loss of plants developing in aggregates of less than 2 mm diameter after a transitory period of waterlogging although some shoot and root damage occurred. By comparison seeds growing in soil consisting of aggregates greater than 2 mm in diameter were not damaged by transitory waterlogging even when drainage only occurred at−0.8kPa. The severity of damage increased with the period of waterlogging. A criterion obtained as the product of mean size grade and water potential gave a single value (−4NM⁻¹) below which emergence was satisfactory. Waterlogging halfway through germination gave more severe damage than near sowing date or near emergence.     

Effects of intravenous epinephrine on macaque platelets

Blood was obtained from three species of macaques for a study of platelets. A rapidly mobilizable platelet pool was demonstrated in rhesus macaques given intravenous epinephrine. The number of platelets/ml of blood increased about 30% 3 to 5 min after epinephrine was given. The size distributions of the platelets were similar before and after injection. Platelet aggregability was increased after injection. Basal platelet aggregabilities, as measured by platelet aggregate ratios, were similar in rhesus macaques. Celebes black macaques, and human subjects, but were significantly greater in cynomolgus macaques than in the other three species.     

Shuttle-like movements of Golgi vesicles in the tip of growingChara rhizoids

Summary In tip-growingChara rhizoids, the in-vivo saltatory movements of Golgi vesicles were recorded. The movements in radial direction back and forth between the ER aggregate and the plasma membrane occurred three times more often than movements passing the ER aggregate tangentially. The mean velocity of the class of Golgi vesicles observed (0.4–1 m in diameter) was approx. 0.3 m/s. Higher speed of 1–1.5 m/s occurred only in radial directions. Possibly, the ER aggregate is involved in guidance of the Golgi vesicles.Abbreviations DIC differential interference contrast - ER endoplasmic reticulum - OsFeCN osmium tetroxide-potassium ferricyanide Dedicated to the memory of Professor O. Kiermayer     

鲇鱼成鱼和幼鱼中含色素的巨噬细胞集结的诱导发生

通过腹腔注射不同剂量的牛血清白蛋白（ＢＳＡ）或墨汁以刺激巨噬细胞活动,研究了鲇鱼成鱼和幼鱼头肾、肾、脾和肝中含色素的巨噬细胞集结（ＰＭＡ）的发生。鲇鱼淋巴样组织中存在巨噬细胞的不均一性,可分网状／纤维状巨噬细胞,梭状巨噬细胞,圆形红色巨噬细胞,圆形黄红色巨噬细胞和含色素的巨噬细胞。注射ＢＳＡ或墨汁后,头肾、肾,脾和肝中ＰＭＡ和圆形巨噬细胞的数量最终均有不同程度的增加。通过诱导发生实验,表明含色素的     

Semiparametric estimation of the transformation model by leveraging external aggregate data in the presence of population heterogeneity

Leveraging information in aggregate data from external sources to improve estimation efficiency and prediction accuracy with smaller scale studies has drawn a great deal of attention in recent years. Yet, conventional methods often either ignore uncertainty in the external information or fail to account for the heterogeneity between internal and external studies. This article proposes an empirical likelihood-based framework to improve the estimation of the semiparametric transformation models by incorporating information about the t-year subgroup survival probability from external sources. The proposed estimation procedure incorporates an additional likelihood component to account for uncertainty in the external information and employs a density ratio model to characterize population heterogeneity. We establish the consistency and asymptotic normality of the proposed estimator and show that it is more efficient than the conventional pseudopartial likelihood estimator without combining information. Simulation studies show that the proposed estimator yields little bias and outperforms the conventional approach even in the presence of information uncertainty and heterogeneity. The proposed methodologies are illustrated with an analysis of a pancreatic cancer study.     

Restoration and management for cliff‐nesting birds in Mediterranean mining sites: the Sand Martin case study

Habitat enhancement for birds is frequently implemented during mine site restoration. Cliff‐nesting birds often colonize anthropogenic environments such as mining areas (aggregate sites and quarries for aggregate and cement production). Mining activity can compromise breeding success, causing cliff‐nesting birds to depend on the management and restoration of mining areas. The objective of our study is to assess the importance of mine site habitats for Sand Martin conservation and reconcile mining activity with breeding success in Mediterranean environments. We studied Sand Martin breeding habitat preferences in mining areas at three spatial scales. At the mining site scale, we compared 10 mining sites with Sand Martin burrows with 19 mining sites without burrows. At the colony scale (vertical structures with colonies), we evaluated the relationships between the number of breeding pairs, number of burrows, and colony characteristics within 30 distinct Sand Martin colonies. At the burrow scale, we compared the characteristics of the available vertical structure with the areas used by Sand Martins. At the mining site scale, Sand Martins preferred more surface of water bodies, shorter distances to flowing water, older sites, and mining sites which produce aggregates instead of cement. At the colony scale, Sand Martins preferred southwest orientations and stockpiles to vertical extraction faces. At the burrow scale, birds preferred the most vertical areas of the face. Our results support the need for effective habitat restoration and improved management for more effective Sand Martin conservation within mining areas. Simple interventions can enhance habitat quality and conservation of cliff‐nesting birds.     

不同熟化措施对黑土母质发育的新成土壤有机碳库的影响

基于8年田间定位试验,采用土壤团聚体分组和闭蓄态微团聚体分离技术,将土壤有机质分为总粗颗粒有机质(活性碳库)、总细颗粒有机质(慢性碳库)和总粉黏粒(惰性碳库) 3个组分,探讨不同熟化措施对黑土母质发育而成的新成土壤总有机碳库及不同活性有机碳库的影响,为黑土严重侵蚀地区母质表露后土壤肥力的快速恢复提供依据。试验设置自然恢复(NatF)、苜蓿种植(Alfa)、无肥(F0C0)、化肥(F1C0)、低量有机肥与化肥配施(F1C1)、高量有机肥与化肥配施(F1C2)等6个熟化处理。结果表明:黑土母质经过8年不同熟化处理后,土壤总有机碳和各组分有机碳含量均显著提高;与NatF相比,有机肥与化肥配施(F1C2和F1C1)对土壤总有机碳的提升作用最为明显,增幅分别为60.7%和41.2%;Alfa其次,增幅18. 2%;F0C0或F1C0处理土壤总有机碳与NatF间无显著差异;F1C2和F1C1处理土壤3个组分有机碳含量均显著高于其他熟化处理,与F1C1相比,F1C2处理对各组分有机碳提升作用更为明显;与NatF相比,Alfa处理土壤有机碳的增加主要表现为粉黏粒结合有机碳的增加;F1C0和F0C0处理土壤总细颗粒有机质和总粉黏粒中有机碳与NatF间无显著差异,总粗颗粒有机质中有机碳含量低于NatF。研究表明,在米豆轮作和传统耕作体系下,农田生态系统高量有机物料投入配施化肥能够加速黑土母质的熟化进程,快速提高土壤中活性碳库和惰性碳库的容量,是严重退化黑土有机质快速提升的有效措施。     

南亚热带人工林种植对赤红壤团聚体分布及稳定性的影响

本文选取南亚热带地区桉树、杉木、马尾松、米老排和红锥5种典型人工林为研究对象,采用Elliott湿筛法和Le Bissonnais(LB)法研究了人工林对土壤团聚体稳定性的影响。结果表明: 5种人工林土壤经湿筛法处理后,水稳性团聚体(WR_>0.25)均在62.2%以上,团聚体平均重量直径(MWD)和几何平均直径(GMD)分别介于1.58～3.71和0.57～2.02 mm,表现为杉木林最大,桉树林最小。各林分土壤团聚体结构破坏率(PAD)介于4.6%～31.5%之间;采用转移矩阵法评价5种人工林土壤团聚体,得出土壤团聚体稳定性指数(ASI)为杉木林>红锥林>米老排林>马尾松林>桉树林。在LB法3种处理下,快速湿润处理(FW)对土壤团聚体的破坏程度最大,说明消散作用是研究区团粒崩解的主要机制;预湿润振荡处理(WS)的破坏程度最小;慢速湿润处理(SW)介于两者之间,MWD和GMD值变化一致,均表现为WS>SW>FW,且随土层的加深,呈现逐渐降低的趋势。5种人工林土壤在LB法FW处理下团聚体GMD值与湿筛法ASI、MWD、GMD均达到显著正相关,表明湿筛法与LB法的FW处理具有很好的相关性,可用于表征南亚热带赤红壤地区土壤团聚体的稳定性。综合MWD、GMD、PAD和ASI等团聚体稳定性指标,杉木人工林比其他4种人工林更有助于土壤团聚水平的提高,其土壤结构相对较为稳定。     

黄土丘陵区人工柠条种植年限和坡位对土壤团聚体稳定性的影响

柠条(Caragana korshinskii Kom.)种植是黄土高原地区生态环境建设中重要的人工植被恢复措施。选择黄土丘陵区条带种植15、25和35年的柠条坡地,以荒草坡地为对照,运用Le Bissonnais法分析柠条种植不同年限和坡位对0—40 cm土层团聚体分布及其稳定性的影响。结果表明:长时间柠条种植对土壤团聚体稳定性的影响主要在0—20 cm土层;不同处理下土壤大团聚体(0.25 mm)含量总体表现为柠条35年柠条25年柠条15年荒草地,表明柠条种植年限增加促进了大团聚体的形成。从坡面尺度看,柠条平均重量直径整体表现为坡下坡上坡中;在上坡的柠条35年样地具有最大值(3.08 mm),但在下坡荒草地显著高于柠条林地(P0.05)。基于相对消散指数和相对机械破碎指数,上中坡土壤团聚体均对消散作用和机械破碎作用较敏感,而下坡的下层土壤团聚体对破碎作用更敏感。冗余分析表明,土壤有机碳和粘粒含量与柠条平均重量直径呈显著正相关关系(P0.05)。种植年限是影响土壤团聚体稳定性的主要因素,解释了30.4%的变异;其次是土层(2.75%)和坡位(0.61%)。总体而言,柠条种植年限增加有利于促进黄土丘陵区土壤团聚体稳定性提升,但这种影响在不同坡位具有差异:在上中坡团聚体稳定性均随种植年限增加而增强,在下坡则先降后增。