Advances in computational protein design

Computational protein design continues to experience a variety of methodological advances. Several improvements have been suggested for the objective functions used to quantify sequence/structure compatibility. Disparate design strategies based upon dead-end elimination, simulated annealing and statistical design have each recently yielded striking successes involving de novo designed proteins with sizes on the order of 100 residues or greater. Such methods may be used to design new proteins, as well as to redesign natural proteins to facilitate structural and biophysical studies.     

Theory for the design of apparatus for drying frozen tissues

A general theory for the design of apparatus for the low temperature drying of frozen tissues has been developed. Using this theory it is possible to compute drying rates for different materials in different apparatuses and to design an apparatus suitable for the required purpose. It is shown that for the drying of animal tissues in the laboratory, where the area is small, the requirements of the apparatus are not particularly critical. The same theory applied to the drying of biologicals and plasma indicates that the design is exceedingly critical and suggests directions in which existing apparatus might be modified. Aided by a grant from the Wallace C. and Clara A. Abbott Memorial Fund of the University of Chicago and from the Commonwealth Fund of New York.     

Functional design and evolution of the pharyngeal jaw apparatus in euteleostean fishes

Functional and structural patterns in the pharyngeal jaw apparatus of euteleostean fishes are described and analysed as a case study of the transformation of a complex biological design. The sequential acquisition of structural novelties in the pharyngeal apparatus is considered in relation to both current hypotheses of euteleostean phylogeny and patterns of pharyngeal jaw function. Several euteleostean clades are corroborated as being monophyletic, and morphologically conservative features of the pharyngeal jaw apparatus are recognized. Functional analysis, using cinematography and electromyography, reveals four distinct patterns of muscle activity during feeding in primitive euteleosts (Esox) and in derived euteleostean fishes(Perca, Micropterus, Ambloplites, Pomoxis). The initial strike, buccal manipulation, pharyngeal manipulation, and the pharyngeal transport of prey into the oesophagus all involve unique muscle activity patterns that must be distinguished in analyses of pharyngeal jaw function. During pharyngeal transport, the upper and lower pharyngeal jaws are simultaneously protracted and retracted by the action of dorsal and ventral musculoskeletal gill arch couplings. The levator externus four and retractor dorsalis muscles, anatomical antagonists, overlap for 70–90°of their activity period. Levatores externi one and two are the main protractors of the upper pharyngeal jaws in the acanthopterygian fishes studied. The major features of pharyngeal jaw movement in primitive euteleosts are retained in many derived clades in spite of a dramatic structural reorganization of the pharyngeal region. Homologous muscles have radically changed their relative activity periods while pharyngeal jaw kinematics have been modified relatively little. Patterns of transformation of activity may thus bear little direct relationship to the sequence of structural modification in the evolution of complex designs. Overall function of a structural system may be maintained, however, through co-ordinated modifications of the timing of muscle activity and anatomical reorientation of the musculoskeletal system. Deeper understanding of the principles underlying the origin and transformation of functional design in vertebrates awaits further information on the acquisition of both structural and functional novelties at successive hierarchical levels within monophyietic clades. This is suggested as a key goal of future research in functional and evolutionary morphology.     

Advances in computational structure-based antibody design

Antibodies are currently the most important class of biotherapeutics and are used to treat numerous diseases. Recent advances in computational methods are ushering in a new era of antibody design, driven in part by accurate structure prediction. Previously, structure-based antibody design has been limited to a relatively small number of cases where accurate structures or models of both the target antigen and antibody were available. As we move towards a time where it is possible to accurately model most antibodies and antigens, and to reliably predict their binding site, there is vast potential for true computational antibody design. In this review, we describe the latest methods that promise to launch a paradigm shift towards entirely in silico structure-based antibody design.     

Peripheral vascular apparatus in some aquatic oligochaetes with special references to haplotaxids

The organization of the peripheral vascular apparatus in two haplotaxids has been studied and compared with that of other microdriles. Considerable differences in the circulatory systems of Pelodrilus leruthi and Haplotaxis gordioides, especially in relationships to the body wall muscle fibers, separate and distinguish the two animals. Different organizations of the peripheral apparatus that can be observed in these microdriles are: in the first species, capillary vessels have no contact with the body wall; in the second species, capillaries extend between the longitudinal muscle fibers until they reach the body surface, thus approaching the situation in megadriles where circulation can become intraepithelial.Generally, vessels hanging in the coelom are of a large diameter. When a capillary network related to the body wall muscle develops, vessels are small in diameter and their walls have variable numbers of contractile elements, ensuring the forced circulation of the blood.     

我国古鸟类研究进展

我国是迄今早期鸟类数量和种类最多的国家,在研究早期鸟类起源、进化、辐射、生理及羽毛起源等方面占有重要的位置,得到了国际同行的认可,但也存在问题。     

Computerized tomographic imaging of cryosurgical iceball formation in brain

Computerized tomography (CT) was used to monitor the exact anatomical location and dimensions of the cryosurgical iceball within the brain. The gross and microscopic appearance of the tissue iceball was examined in both acute and chronic animals. Iceball formation was monitored in the brain of four dogs under a general anesthesia. The radiographic image of the iceball was that of a well-demarcated radiolucent sphere that disappeared upon thawing. The post-thaw contrast-enhanced CT scan revealed a zone of blood-brain barrier breakdown extending no more than 1 mm beyond the maximum diameter that the iceball had attained. Histological examination demonstrated a sharp transition from frankly necrotic brain within the iceball to the normal cytoarchitecture of the surrounding neuropil. The safety and efficacy of a neurosurgical ablative procedure depends on the precision with which it can be generated. The use of CT imaging to monitor the formation of the cryosurgical iceball offers the neurosurgeon a means to precisely control the size of the ablative lesion. Small deeply situated brain tumors can be incorporated into the iceball under direct CT observation, thereby ensuring the completeness of the cryoablation while minimizing damage to the surrounding brain.     

高温伤害光合机构原初位点的研究进展

本文介绍了高温伤害光合机构原初位点的研究进展,分析了不同观点产生的可能原因,为进一步研究高温对植物光合作用的影响提供思路。     

中国植物花粉形态的研究进展

中国植物花粉形态研究经历了3个发展阶段;从1953年建立国内第一个孢粉学实验室到1960年我国第一部花粉形态学专著的出版为起步阶段;1961-1980年由于历史的原因,国内的研究发展较慢;80年代以来,中国植物花粉形态学研究进入了一个高速发展阶段。迄今已系统研究过花粉形态的在中国裸子植物中占63.64%。在双子叶植物中占36.36%,在单子叶植物中占33.33%。     

Cold acclimation of Ilex aquifolium under natural conditions with special regard to the photosynthetic apparatus

Frost resistance of leaves of holly ( Ilex aquifolium L.) increased from about −9°C in late summer to −24°C in mid-winter. The gradual rise in cold hardiness occurred when the minimum air temperature dropped to 0°C or below and was closely related to increase in the cellular sap concentration. Predominantly, the decrease in the osmotic potential of the cellular sap was caused by sugar accumulation, mainly of sucrose. The capacity of net photosynthesis of the leaves, as well as the total lipid and protein content and the proportion of individual lipids of the thylakoid membranes, did not significantly change during cold acclimation. The gradual shift towards desaturation in the fatty acids of the thylakoid lipids during the hardening period was neither correlated with alterations in the frost resistance nor did it affect the potential efficiency for various light-induced chloroplast membrane reactions such as linear photosynthetic electron transport, photophosphorylation and the proton gradient (ΔpH). It is suggested that in holly leaves reduction in cell volume changes during freeze-thawing and cryoprotection by sugars could play a dominant role for the increase in frost resistance. Seasonal changes in the degree of unsaturation of polar lipids of the thylakoids could contribute to maintain optimal functional efficiency of the membranes at low temperatures rather than to avoid freezing damage.     

分子标记育种在我国的研究进展

现代生物技术的发展为利用外源基因培育优良作物品种提供了新的途径。简要综述了分子标记育种在我国研究的总体情况以及我国在分子标记育种领域取得的成就,并对分子标记育种的前景进行了展望。     

中国蜘蛛目物种编目研究进展

<正>蜘蛛是常见的中小型或极小型动物,隶属于节肢动物门(Arthropoda)蛛形纲(Arachnida)蜘蛛目(Araneae)。1935年王凤振根据文献,统计中国蜘蛛共566种。1936–1946年间他又到柏林、慕尼黑、维也纳、巴塞尔及巴黎等地的自然历史博物馆中查阅中国蜘蛛标本及有关文献,删去可疑种类,合并同种异名,尚余30科130属438种(李枢强,2004)。1962–1963年王凤振和朱传典补入1946–1963年在中国发现的蜘蛛新种,共得34科149属521种15亚种(王凤振和朱传典,1963)。1983年,朱传典发表新修