Biomass estimation of orange roughy: a summary and evaluation of techniques for measuring stock size of a deep-water fish species in New Zealand

A number of techniques have been employed to measure biomass of orange roughy in New Zealand. Time series of stratified random trawl surveys in a number of areas over periods of 5–10 years have given relative abundance indices, which have been used in stock reduction analyses to estimate true biomass. This has given confident results for the Chatham Rise stock, and surveys have also shown strong trends in other regions. Acoustic surveys have been carried out on three grounds. They can give relative indices of orange roughy abundance in areas of fiat or medium sloping bottom, and have the potential for estimation of absolute biomass from a single survey. Egg production surveys have been employed on two grounds on the east coast of the North Island, where conditions of tight spawning aggregations and steep bottom topography have limited the success of other methods. Both daily fecundity reduction and annual egg production methods have been used. These have given estimates of true biomass from one-off surveys, although results are imprecise. Both unstandardized and standardized analyses of commercial catch-per-unit-effort data have given relative indices of abundance, which have formed an important part of stock assessment for several fisheries. No single technique used to measure the size of orange roughy stocks has proven ideal or appropriate in all New Zealand situations. All have advantages and disadvantages, depending on the characteristics of the fishing area and fish behaviour. For two areas, a combination of methods have been applied, which has given more confident results than those from a single technique.     

Genome evolution of allopolyploids: a process of cytological and genetic diploidization

Allopolyploidy is a prominent mode of speciation in higher plants. Due to the coexistence of closely related genomes, a successful allopolyploid must have the ability to invoke and maintain diploid-like behavior, both cytologically and genetically. Recent studies on natural and synthetic allopolyploids have raised many discrepancies. Most species have displayed non-Mendelian behavior in the allopolyploids, but others have not. Some species have demonstrated rapid genome changes following allopolyploid formation, while others have conserved progenitor genomes. Some have displayed directed, non-random genome changes, whereas others have shown random changes. Some of the genomic changes have appeared in the F1 hybrids, which have been attributed to the union of gametes from different progenitors, while other changes have occurred during or after genome doubling. Although these observations provide significant novel insights into the evolution of allopolyploids, the overall mechanisms of the event are still elusive. It appears that both genetic and epigenetic operations are involved in the diploidization process of allopolyploids. Overall, genetic and epigenetic variations are often associated with the activities of repetitive sequences and transposon elements. Specifically, genomic sequence elimination and chromosome rearrangement are probably the major forces guiding cytological diploidization. Gene non-functionalization, sub-functionalization, neo-functionalization, as well as other kinds of epigenetic modifications, are likely the leading factors promoting genetic diploidization.     

Phage display in pharmaceutical biotechnology

Over the past year, methods for the construction of M13 phage-display libraries have been significantly improved and new display formats have been developed. Phage-displayed peptide libraries have been used to isolate specific ligands for numerous protein targets. New phage antibody libraries have further expanded the practical applications of the technology and phage cDNA libraries have proven useful in defining natural binding interactions. In addition, phage-display methods have been developed for the rapid determination of binding energetics at protein-protein interfaces.     

Expanded-capacity adenoviral vectors--the helper-dependent vectors

Significant advances have recently been made in the development of vectors and gene-delivery systems for gene therapy. Experiments performed over the past decade have revealed how vectors will have to be modified to make them a clinically viable treatment option. In the case of adenovirus (Ad) vectors, which have been particularly useful as gene delivery vehicles, the main drawback associated with their use is vector-mediated immunogenicity. Recent modifications of the Ad backbone have led to the development of helper-dependent (HD) Ad vectors, which are completely devoid of all viral protein-coding sequences. These modifications have significantly reduced the immunogenicity of Ad vectors and have enhanced their safety. It is expected that HD vectors will become important tools for future clinical gene therapy.     

Plant systems biology comes of age

'Omics' research approaches have produced copious data for living systems, which have necessitated the development of systems biology to integrate multidimensional biological information into networks and models. Applications of systems biology to plant science have been rapid, and have increased our knowledge about circadian rhythms, multigenic traits, stress responses and plant defenses, and have advanced the virtual plant project.     

《西北植物学报》2004～2006年载文来源基本信息分析

对《西北植物学报》2004~2006年载文来源基本信息进行统计分析,表明《西北植物学报》自2004年以来,投稿量逐年增加,稿源的地区分布范围进一步扩大,所载论文第一作者具有硕士以上学位的达55%,具有副高以上职称的占30.8%,40岁以下作者占76.4%,刊发论文的作者合作率达97%,论文项目的机构协作率达57%,基金论文达91%,学报影响因子逐年提高,2006年达到0.863.说明《西北植物学报》影响范围不断扩大,载文的作者具有较深厚的学术研究底蕴和较高的研究水平,论文能及时而真实地反映我国植物学领域的研究前沿动态和研究水平,载文的学术水平和影响力得到进一步提升.     

Host defense mechanisms of cephalopods

Humoral and cellular mechanisms of defense have been described for cephalopods, a relatively advanced group of mollusks. Typical of other mollusks, cephalopod agglutinins are the most documented component of humoral immunity. Lectins, which have agglutinating properties, have been described and characterized from octopuses. Agglutinins from cephalopod hemolymph have also been shown to agglutinate a variety of vertebrate red blood cells, as well as potential bacterial pathogens. Hemocytes are the primary component of cellular immunity. Although the hemocyte role in phagocytosis has been extensively studied in other mollusks, the mechanisms of phagocytosis have not been described extensively for cephalopods. Cephalopod hemocytes have phagocytic capabilities and may function in encapsulation and neutralization of foreign substances; however, the effects of environmental factors and the full extent of phagocytic capabilities of cephalopod hemocytes have not been reported. Hemocytes from cephalopods have a role in wound healing and inflammation which have been reported in detail by several investigators.     

Colorectal carcinoma antigens detected by hybridoma antibodies.

Hybridoma cells which secrete colorectal carcinoma-specific antibodies have been produced and used to study the antigenic structure of these tumor cells. Nineteen antibodies have been studied in detail, and 15 of these are colorectal carcinoma specific. Only two antibodies reactive with carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) have been discovered and five other antibodies that react with distinct epitopes on the cell surface have been defined. Several antigens with distinct molecular characteristics have been shown to exist by use of hybridoma antibodies. Six hybridoma antibodies have been shown to mediate antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC).     

Cyclooxygenase enzymes: catalysis and inhibition

Scientists working in the field of cyclooxygenase enzymes have witnessed several major advances in the past two years. Crystal structures of fatty acid substrate and prostaglandin product complexes have been elucidated. Elegant site-directed mutagenesis studies have pinpointed the roles of key amino acids within the active site. Together, these results have provided key insights into the overall reaction mechanism. Detailed kinetics, spectroscopic and crystallographic studies have shed new light on the complex mechanism of inhibition of these fascinating enzymes. Finally, novel substrates of cyclooxygenase-2 have been identified.     

Development of a gas chromatography mass spectrometry assay for the two eosinophil chemotactic factors of anaphylaxis

Gas chromatography mass spectrometry has been used for over a decade for the determination of the amino acid sequences of fragment peptides derived from larger parent molecules. The majority of these fragments have from four to seven residues and several different methods of derivatization have been devised. Few reports have been published in which similar techniques have been used for the quantification of such peptides, but there is a growing list of small peptides which have been shown to have biological activity in their own right. This report is concerned with the development of a gas chromatographic mass spectrometric assay for the two eosinophil chemotactic peptides, Val-Gly-Ser-Glu and Ala-Gly-Ser-Glu, which appear to have a role to play in the course of the inflammatory process in skin disorders.     

Comparing G matrices: are common principal components informative?

Common principal components (CPC) analysis is a technique for assessing whether variance-covariance matrices from different populations have similar structure. One potential application is to compare additive genetic variance-covariance matrices, G. In this article, the conditions under which G matrices are expected to have common PCs are derived for a two-locus, two-allele model and the model of constrained pleiotropy. The theory demonstrates that whether G matrices are expected to have common PCs is largely determined by whether pleiotropic effects have a modular organization. If two (or more) populations have modules and these modules have the same direction, the G matrices have a common PC, regardless of allele frequencies. In the absence of modules, common PCs exist only for very restricted combinations of allele frequencies. Together, these two results imply that, when populations are evolving, common PCs are expected only when the populations have modules in common. These results have two implications: (1) In general, G matrices will not have common PCs, and (2) when they do, these PCs indicate common modular organization. The interpretation of common PCs identified for estimates of G matrices is discussed in light of these results.     

Bioecological consequences of an accidental hydrocarbon discharge on the rocky shore of the high Normandy coast. Results one year after the oil pollution on the november 26th 1974]

We have followed, during one year, the ecological consequences of an accidental oil pollution on four rocky shores of the norman coast. In the shores where the detergents have not been used, the mussels have progressively excreted the hydrocarbons accumulated in their organism ; the other fixed animals have not been changed. In the shores where the detergents have been used their spreading had not only noxious demoecological consequences, but also synecological consequences with modifications of the fixed species which have colonized the rocks. These observations prove that the use of detergents to clean the polluted shores is not without care.     

Wallace P. Rowe lecture. Poxviruses of laboratory animals

Currently the subfamily Chordopoxvirinae, the poxviruses of vertebrates, is subdivided into eight genera, containing some 20-30 species; an inexact figure because the birdpox viruses have not yet been properly investigated taxonomically. I have discussed seven species belonging to three genera, all of which have caused infection and usually disease in mammals commonly used in the laboratory. The list could have been extended had I included chickens and swine as laboratory animals, for that would have meant that I would have spoken about the birdpox viruses and swinepox virus as well. However, I think I have said enough to remind you of the importance of this family of viruses to those of you concerned with laboratory animal medicine. I believe that Wally Rowe would have been interested, for every case I have described presents problems in the ecology of viruses, and like my mentor Macfarlane Burnet, Wally approached virology from an ecological point of view, whether he was thinking about the DNA provirus of retroviruses and the host chromosome, the pathogenesis of disease, or the spread of viruses in animal populations, all topics to which he made major contributions.     

Divergence of tRNA genes in chloroplast DNA of higher plants

The saturation hybridization between spinach chloroplast (ct) DNA and spinach ¹²⁵I-labelled chloroplast tRNA has shown that about 1.1% of the spinach ctDNA codes for tRNAs. The observed hybridization is a result of specific base-pairing as shown by competition hybridization experiments and thermal stability of the ctDNA-tRNA hybrids. The amount of hybridization shows that spinach ctDNA contains about 40 tRNA genes. Similar hybridization studies have shown that corn ctDNA contains about 28 tRNA genes. The cross-hybridizations between ctDNA and tRNAs of corn, spinach and pea have shown that tRNAs in chloroplasts of higher plants have undergone significant divergence. The pea and spinach tRNAs have been found to have 50% of the base sequences in common. The corn tRNAs have been found to have only about 30% of the base sequences in common with pea and spinach. These data have been confirmed by extensive heterologous competition experiments and thermal stability of the heterologous DNA-tRNA hybrids. The experiments have also shown that the base sequences of tRNAs common in all three plants are the same.     

Protein redesign.

It has been demonstrated that, for a number of proteins, it is possible to dramatically alter the connectivities between elements of secondary structure. Remarkably large loop insertions are tolerated and many redesigns have generated proteins that successfully fold to stable, active structures. Some redesigns have been entirely the choice of the investigators, whereas others have incorporated a randomization and selection step to identify optimal sequences. These studies have provided basic guidelines for the rational manipulation of protein structure and stability, they have allowed the dissection of folding pathways and they have generated proteins with the potential for practical therapeutic applications.     

小肠结肠炎耶尔耶尔森氏菌血清群的研究：Ⅱ.我国小肠...

Since 1980, we have collected 1120 strains of Yersinia enterocolitica, from the different parts of China. These strains have been obtained from various sources in man, animals and natural environment accompanied by their clinical or ecological information of Yersinia enterocolitica. The results of our tests have shown that the 747 strains have exhibited the clinical morphological and biochemical characteristics of Yersinia enterocolitica. Through comparing under the same conditions, out of the 747 strains 335 have been selected out with better antigenicity and have been produced antisera from their representative strains. This set of antisera is very satisfactory for its potency and specificity. This set of antisera is ready to supply and have good efficacy and application facilitated for control strains on identifying strains and their epidemiologic observation.     

Proteomic analysis of mitochondria from the Bos taurus heart. III. Identification of mitochondrial inner memrane proteins

We have conducted a research of mitochindrial internal membrane proteins. This fraction has been received in the form of submitochondrial particles (SMP). SMP have been processed by trypsinum, and the received peptides have been separated from so-called "smoothfaced vesicles". "Smoothfaced vesicles" were blasted, proteinse and peptides were processed by cyanogen bromide and trypsinum. We have received two groups of tryptic peptides and analyzed them separately with the help of proteomic methods, such as chromatography, mass spectrometry and protein identification in different databases. To identify more proteins and find minor components of mitochindrial proteome we have considered possible non-specific fragmentation of proteins. 298 proteins have been identified, we also have conducted the analisys of their functions and cell localization.     

Means and extremes: building variability into community‐level climate change experiments

Experimental studies assessing climatic effects on ecological communities have typically applied static warming treatments. Although these studies have been informative, they have usually failed to incorporate either current or predicted future, patterns of variability. Future climates are likely to include extreme events which have greater impacts on ecological systems than changes in means alone. Here, we review the studies which have used experiments to assess impacts of temperature on marine, freshwater and terrestrial communities, and classify them into a set of ‘generations’ based on how they incorporate variability. The majority of studies have failed to incorporate extreme events. In terrestrial ecosystems in particular, experimental treatments have reduced temperature variability, when most climate models predict increased variability. Marine studies have tended to not concentrate on changes in variability, likely in part because the thermal mass of oceans will moderate variation. In freshwaters, climate change experiments have a much shorter history than in the other ecosystems, and have tended to take a relatively simple approach. We propose a new ‘generation’ of climate change experiments using down‐scaled climate models which incorporate predicted changes in climatic variability, and describe a process for generating data which can be applied as experimental climate change treatments.     

Biodiversity among haptophyte algae

The division Haptophyta is represented only by about 300 extant species showing wide diversity in morphology, biochemistry and ecology. They have a world-wide distribution and are numerically important in phytoplankton populations in nearly all marine environments. Evidence from the geological record shows that they have been the major constituent of calcareous deposits since the Late Triassic and, as they have evolved quickly through time, their coccoliths have always shown wide morphological diversity. In today's oceans they occasionally produce extensive blooms, visible by satellite imagery, which have ecological impact. As a consequence of these blooms the haptophyte algae are now receiving greater attention, as their role in the global sulphur and carbon cycles may influence the world's climate, and their potential as nuisance bloom algae have implications for commercial fishing and the marine ecosystem. As it is likely that these organisms have always produced such blooms, these effects may have been in operation for the last 200 million years.     

Dynamics of the mammal fauna in steppes of the Volga-Ural interfluve over the past century

The steppe theriofauna of the Volga-Ural interfluve has been changing during the past century under the effect of both natural and anthropogenic factors. These changes have manifested themselves most clearly in the desert Caspian steppes and the dry steppes of the Transvolga Syrt Plain. A total of 66 mammal species are listed for this region. Some of them have disappeared while others have appeared anew, with their abundance ratio fluctuating significantly. Over the past 50 years, 15 new species have been recorded in the Transvolga fauna. One-third of them have come from the south and represent the desert faunal assemblage, while two-thirds are representatives of the forest assemblage that have come from the north.