Structure and dynamics of model pore insertion into a membrane

A cylindrical transmembrane molecule is constructed by linking hydrophobic sites selected from a coarse grain model. The resulting hollow tube assembly serves as a representation of a transmembrane channel, pore, or a carbon nanotube. The interactions of a coarse grain di-myristoyl-phosphatidyl-choline hydrated bilayer with both a purely hydrophobic tube and a tube with hydrophilic caps are studied. The hydrophobic tube rotates in the membrane and becomes blocked by lipid tails after a few tens of nanoseconds. The hydrophilic sites of the capped tube stabilize it by anchoring the tube in the lipid headgroup/water interfacial region of each membrane leaflet. The capped tube remains free of lipid tails. The capped tube spontaneously conducts coarse grain water sites; the free-energy profile of this process is calculated using three different methods and is compared to the barrier for water permeation through the lipid bilayer. Spontaneous tube insertion into an undisturbed lipid bilayer is also studied, which we reported briefly in a previous publication. The hydrophobic tube submerges into the membrane core in a carpetlike manner. The capped tube laterally fuses with the closest leaflet, and then, after plunging into the membrane interior, rotates to assume a transbilayer orientation. Two lipids become trapped at the end of the tube as it penetrates the membrane. The hydrophilic headgroups of these lipids associate with the lower tube cap and assist the tube in crossing the interior of the membrane. When the rotation is complete these lipids detach from the tube caps and fuse with the lower leaflet lipids.     

Distribution of F-actin and Microtubules in Pollen and Pollen Tube of Lilium davidii

F-actin and microtubules are important components of pollen tube, which have very important function in cytoplasm streaming of pollen tube. The authors observed the distribution of Factin and microtubules in the pollen tube of Lilium davidii Duch. by immunofluorescence technique and confocol laser scanning microscopy, through which some new results were obtained. 1. Chemical fixation could preserve F-actin well in pollen tube, so the relation between F-actin and microtubules could be studied by the methods of chemical fixation and fluorescence labelling in pollen tube. 2. F-actin bundles were absent near the pollen tube tip, while microtubules were abundant and web formed in the pollen tube tip. The authors found that the terminal of microtubules was closely associated with the plasma membrane in the pollen tube tip. 3. Only a few F-actin bundles co-exist with the microtubules in the pollen tube of Lilium davidii. The results provided new evidence for the fimction and relationship between F-actin and microtubules in the pollen tube.     

The active tube clearance system: a novel bedside chest-tube clearance device

OBJECTIVE:: Chest-tube clogging can lead to complications after heart and lung surgery. Surgeons often choose large-diameter chest tubes or place more than one chest tube when concerned about the potential for clogging. The purpose of this report is to describe the design and function of a proprietary active tube clearance system, a novel device that clears clots and debris from chest tubes. DEVICE DESCRIPTION:: The active tube clearance system is a novel chest tube clearance apparatus developed to maintain chest tube patency. Chest tube clearance is achieved by advancing the specially designed clearance member back and forth within the chest tube under sterile conditions, breaking down and pulling clots back toward the drainage receptacle, thereby leaving the inner portion of the chest tube clear of any obstructing material. CONCLUSIONS:: By maintaining chest tube patency, chest tube drainage can be performed more safely, and this apparatus may possibly lead to the use of smaller chest tubes and less invasive insertion techniques.     

乙醇与常规肝素封管在血液透析长期留置导管中的比较研究

目的:比较乙醇封管和常规肝素封管两种方法在长期留置导管维持性血液透析患者中的效果,为临床维持性血液透析患者深静脉置管患者封管方式提供依据。方法:选择长期留置导管的维持性血透患者28例作为研究对象,随机分成实验组和对照组,实验组采用乙醇封管,对照组采用常规肝素封管,观察两组导管相关菌血症及血栓的发生情况及患者微炎症状态,观察48周。结果:乙醇封管组导管相关性感染及炎症指标明显降低,尤其在25-48周(P<0.05);两组患者血栓发生率无明显差别(P>0.05)。结论:乙醇封管比常规肝素封管可有效降低维持性血液透析患者导管相关感染的发生率,且不易导致管腔内凝血,是一种安全、有效的封管方式。     

荞麦水合花粉和花粉管中的被膜小泡

荞麦水合花粉粒和生长中的花粉管中内质网潴泡形成的囊袋状结构较少见,但内质网囊袋中含有丰富的被膜小泡,直径约为100－150nm。刚刚形成的花粉管中,被膜小泡主要来自于花粉粒营养细胞的细胞质。生长中的花粉管的被膜小泡可由高尔基体分泌形成。另外还观察到内质网的碎裂也是荞麦花粉管中产生被膜小泡的一种机制。花粉管的被膜小泡中含有花粉管壁的前体物质,与花粉管的壁融合参与花粉管的生长。被膜小泡可能含有与脂体和造粉质体水解有关的酶,参与此类物质的降解。荞麦花柱和柱头细胞内含物的解体物质参与花粉管的生长。     

百合花粉及花粉管内微丝和微管的分布

利用免疫荧光定位及荧光定位方法,结合共焦激光扫描显微镜,对百合（ＬｉｌｉｕｍｄａｖｉｄｉＤｕｃｈ．）花粉及花粉管内微丝及微管的分布进行了观察,得出了一些新的结果：１化学固定方法可以较好地保存花粉和花粉管内的微丝,从而可以在此条件下较好地进行微管和微丝的双标记,并进行两者相互关系的研究;２在距花粉管顶端１０～２０μｍ的范围内,用化学固定及ＴＲＩＴＣ鬼笔碱标记显示微丝的存在是很微弱的,基本上无法看到明显的微丝束,而同时用免疫荧光法标记却发现此部位微管很丰富,在花粉管顶端微管形成浓密的网状,而且其末端与花粉管顶端质膜相连;３在花粉管中,只有少数微丝与微管相互平行排列,而其中大多数微丝骨架与微管骨架并不存在共分布现象。为了解花粉管内微管和微丝的功能及相互关系提供了新的证据。     

Physical modeling of the batocrinid anal tube: functional analysis and multiple hypothesis testing

Baumiller, T. K. 1990 10 15: Physical modeling of the batocrinid anal tube: functional analysis and multiple hypothesis testing. Lethaia , VOL 23, pp. 399–408. Oslo. ISSN 0024–1164.
Three hypotheses related to the function of the batocrinid anal tube were tested using physical models: (1) the anal tube served as a 'rudder', allowing the crinoid to passively maintain an effective feeding posture in moving water, (2) the tube served as a splitter 'plate', reducing the drag on the organism while it was in its feeding posture, and (3) the anal tube functioned as a 'chimney' by moving the anus downstream of the arms and thus reducing the risk of the organism ingesting its own wastes and/or gametes. Results of experiments performed in a recirculating flow tank suggested that the tube was well suited for the 'chimney' function: it reduced the concentrations of excreted matter in the proximity of the feeding appendages. Differences in rotational torques between models with a tube versus those without a tube implied that a large tube may have increased the rotational stability of the feeding posture in environments with variable current directions. No differences were detected between drag measurements on models with and without the anal tube; thus the 'splitter-plate' function of the tube was rejected. ▭ Batocrinid anal tube, functional morphology, physical modeling .     

Genetic Characterization of Tube and Pelle, Genes Required for Signaling between Toll and Dorsal in the Specification of the Dorsal-Ventral Pattern of the Drosophila Embryo

tube and pelle are two of the maternally transcribed genes required for dorsal-ventral patterning of the Drosophila embryo. Females homozygous for strong alleles of tube or pelle produce embryos that lack all ventral and lateral embryonic pattern elements. By analyzing the phenotypes caused by 24 pelle and 9 tube alleles, we have defined characteristic features of the two genes, including the extremely variable phenotypes of a number of tube alleles and the antimorphic character of a number of pelle alleles. Double mutant females carrying dominant ventralizing alleles of Toll and dorsalizing alleles of tube or pelle produce dorsalized embryos, suggesting that tube and pelle act downstream of the membrane protein Toll in the signaling pathway that defines the embryonic dorsal-ventral pattern. Both tube and pelle are also important zygotically for survival: at least 30% of the zygotes lacking either tube or pelle die before adult stages, while 90-95% of tube(-) pelle(-) double mutant zygotes die. We discuss the phenotypes of tube-pelle double mutants in the context of whether the two proteins interact directly.     

机械阻断神经管的闭合影响爪蟾神经管辐射状切入及神经嵴细胞定向迁移(英文)

神经管闭合缺陷 (NTDs)是一种严重的先天畸形疾病,在新生儿中有千分之一的发病率。神经管融合前后,多种组织参与形态发生运动。神经管一经融合,神经嵴细胞就会向背侧中线方向产生单极突出并向此方向迁移形成神经管的顶部。与此同时,神经管从腹侧开始发生辐射状切入以实现单层化。在此,我们在非洲爪蟾的移植体中机械阻断神经管的闭合以检测其细胞运动及随后的图式形成。结果显示神经管闭合缺陷的移植体不能形成单层化的神经管,并且神经嵴细胞滞留在侧面区域不能向背侧中线迁移,而对神经前体标记基因的检测显示神经管的背腹图式形成并未受到影响。以上结果表明神经管的融合对于辐射状切入和神经嵴细胞向背侧中线方向的迁移过程是必需的,而对于神经管的沿背腹轴方向的图式形成是非必需的。     

改良胃管置入法在昏迷气管切开病人护理中的应用研究

目的:探讨改良后胃管置入法在昏迷气管切开病人护理中的应用。方法:患者采取平卧位,保持头部、颈项、躯干在同一水平线上。置入胃管之前,先清理口、鼻、气管内分泌物。根据患者情况,选择合适型号硅胶胃管。操作者量好胃管置入长度后,用液体石蜡充分润滑胃管,左手托住胃管后端,右手持镊子夹住胃管前端,沿一侧鼻孔鼻中隔缓慢插入到合适距离,固定胃管。胃管末端连接注射器抽吸,如有胃液抽出,表示已插到胃内。结果:所有病例,均采用此种方法。24例病例中,一次性操作成功18例(占75.0%),4例(占16.7%)病例应用此法两次后成功置入胃管,2例(占8.3%)患者应用传统昏迷病人胃插管术三次均未获成功,改用此法后一次即成功。结论:改良胃管置入法操作简单、实用、安全,在昏迷气管切开病人护理中是促进患者早日康复的重要措施。     

Cell–cell communications and molecular mechanisms in plant sexual reproduction

Sexual reproduction is achieved by precise interactions between male and female reproductive organs. In plant fertilization, sperm cells are carried to ovules by pollen tubes. Signals from the pistil are involved in elongation and control of the direction of the pollen tube. Genetic, reverse genetic, and cell biological analyses using model plants have identified various factors related to the regulation of pollen tube growth and guidance. In this review, I summarize the mechanisms and molecules controlling pollen tube growth to the ovule, micropylar guidance, reception of the guidance signal in the pollen tube, rupture of the pollen tube to release sperm cells, and cessation of the tube guidance signal. I also briefly introduce various techniques used to analyze pollen tube guidance in vitro.     

Aerosol deposition in the airway model with excessive mucus secretions

Aerosol deposition in the airways with excessive mucus secretions was investigated utilizing an in vitro airway model lined with various mucus simulants of differing rheological properties. The airway model was made with a straight glass tube (1.0 cm ID and 20 cm in length) and positioned vertically. The mucus simulants were supplied into the tube at a constant rate and made to move upward through the tube as a thin layer (0.6-1.7 mm) undergoing a random wave motion by means of upward airflow. Aerosols (3.0 and 5.0-micron diam) were passed through the mucus-lined tube at flow rates of 0.33-1.17 l/s, and the deposition of the aerosols in the tube was determined by sampling the aerosols at the inlet and the outlet of the tube on filters. During the sampling, pressure drop across the tube model was also measured. Deposition efficiency in the 20-cm-long mucus-lined tube ranged from 13 to 92% with 3.0-micron-diam particles and from 66 to 98% with 5.0-micron-diam particles. This deposition was 25-300 times higher than that in the dry tube. The deposition was higher with increasing viscosity of mucus but was lower with increasing elasticity of mucus. Pressure drop across the mucus-lined tube was much higher than that in the dry tube, and the increase was more prominent with mucous layers with higher viscosity but lower elasticity values. Therefore, aerosol deposition showed a good positive relationship with pressure drop. However, percent increase of aerosol deposition in the mucus-lined tube was 2-5 times higher than that of pressure drop.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

The neural tube patterns vessels developmentally using the VEGF signaling pathway

Embryonic blood vessels form in a reproducible pattern that interfaces with other embryonic structures and tissues, but the sources and identities of signals that pattern vessels are not well characterized. We hypothesized that the neural tube provides vascular patterning signal(s) that direct formation of the perineural vascular plexus (PNVP) that encompasses the neural tube at mid-gestation. Both surgically placed ectopic neural tubes and ectopic neural tubes engineered genetically were able to recruit a vascular plexus, showing that the neural tube is the source of a vascular patterning signal. In mouse-quail chimeras with the graft separated from the neural tube by a buffer of host cells, graft-derived vascular cells contributed to the PNVP, indicating that the neural tube signal(s) can act at a distance. Murine neural tube vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) expression was temporally and spatially correlated with PNVP formation, suggesting it is a component of the neural tube signal. A collagen explant model was developed in which presomitic mesoderm explants formed a vascular plexus in the presence of added VEGFA. Co-cultures between presomitic mesoderm and neural tube also supported vascular plexus formation, indicating that the neural tube could replace the requirement for VEGFA. Moreover, a combination of pharmacological and genetic perturbations showed that VEGFA signaling through FLK1 is a required component of the neural tube vascular patterning signal. Thus, the neural tube is the first structure identified as a midline signaling center for embryonic vascular pattern formation in higher vertebrates, and VEGFA is a necessary component of the neural tube vascular patterning signal. These data suggest a model whereby embryonic structures with little or no capacity for angioblast generation act as a nexus for vessel patterning.     

Numerical simulation of noninvasive blood pressure measurement

In this paper, a simulation model based on the partially pressurized collapsible tube model for reproducing noninvasive blood pressure measurement is presented. The model consists of a collapsible tube, which models the pressurized part of the artery, rigid pipes connected to the collapsible tube, which model proximal and distal region far from the pressurized part, and the Windkessel model, which represents the capacitance and the resistance of the distal part of the circulation. The blood flow is simplified to a one-dimensional system. Collapse and expansion of the tube is represented by the change in the cross-sectional area of the tube considering the force balance acting on the tube membrane in the direction normal to the tube axis. They are solved using the Runge-Kutta method. This simple model can easily reproduce the oscillation of inner fluid and corresponding tube collapse typical for the Korotkoff sounds generated by the cuff pressure. The numerical result is compared with the experiment and shows good agreement.     

Genetic control of epithelial tube size in the Drosophila tracheal system

The proper size of epithelial tubes is critical for the function of the lung, kidney, vascular system and other organs, but the genetic and cellular mechanisms that control epithelial tube size are unknown. We investigated tube size control in the embryonic and larval tracheal (respiratory) system of Drosophila. A morphometric analysis showed that primary tracheal branches have characteristic sizes that undergo programmed changes during development. Branches grow at different rates and their diameters and lengths are regulated independently: tube length increases gradually throughout development, whereas tube diameter increases abruptly at discrete times in development. Cellular analysis and manipulation of tracheal cell number using cell-cycle mutations demonstrated that tube size is not dictated by the specific number or shape of the tracheal cells that constitute it. Rather, tube size appears to be controlled by coordinately regulating the apical (lumenal) surface of tracheal cells. Genetic analysis showed that tube sizes are specified early by branch identity genes, and the subsequent enlargement of branches to their mature sizes and maintenance of the expanded tubes involves a new set of genes described here, which we call tube expansion genes. This work establishes a genetic system for investigating tube size regulation, and provides an outline of the genetic program and cellular events underlying tracheal tube size control.     

Structural aspects of in vitro pollen tube growth and micropylar penetration inGasteria verrucosa (Mill.) H. Duval andLilium longiflorum Thunb.

Summary In vitro penetration of the micropyle of freshly isolatedGasteria verrucosa ovules by pollen tube was monitored on agar medium. 40–60% of the micropyles were penetrated, comparable with in vivo penetration percentages. When germinated on agar,Gasteria pollen tube elongation lasts for up to 8 h while plasma streaming continues for about 20–24 h. The generative cell divides between 7 and 20 h after germination, and after 20 h the pollen tube arrives at one of the synergids. The sperm cells arrive after 22 h. The whole process takes more time in vitro than in vivo. In fast growing pollen tubes, a pulsed telescope-like growth pattern of tube elongation is observed. The formation of pollen tube wall material precedes tube elongation and probably prevents regular enlargement of the pollen tube tip-zone. Rapid stretching of the new pollen tube wall material follows, probably due to gradually increased osmotic pressure and the use of lateral wall material below the tip. The stretching ceases when the supplies of plasma membrane and excretable wall material are exhausted. Multiple pollen tube penetration of the micropyle occurs in vitro as it does in vivo. Most pollen tube growth ceases within the micropyle but, if it continues, the pollen tubes curl. Inside the micropyle the pollen tube shows haustorial growth. At the ultrastructural level, the wall thickening of in vitro pollen tubes is quite similar to that in vivo. Before transfer of pollen tube cytoplasm a small tube penetrates one of the synergids. Sperm nuclei with condensed chromatin are observed in the pollen tube and the synergid. In vivo prometaphase nuclei are found in the most chalazal part of a synergid, against the egg cell nucleus and nucleus of the central cell at a later stage. Using media forLilium ovule culture,Gasteria ovules were kept alive for at least 6 weeks. Swelling of the ovule depends on pollen tube penetration. The conditions for fertilization to occur after in vitro ovular pollination seem to be present.     

Quantitative Measurement ed Pollen Tube Growth and Particle Movement

The growth of pollen tube and the cytoplasmic particle movements in pollen tube of Aloe zebrina Haw. were recorded by micro-video and measured by computer image analysis. The saltatory growth of pollen tube was observed. The movement velocity, diameter and the rate of flux of forward particles towards pollen tube tip were greater than those of backward particles. The results indicate that the cytoplasmic particle movements may play a role in transporting “building blocks” for pollen tube growth.     

Ecology and behaviour of a free-swimming tube-dwelling rotifer Cephalodellaforficula

SUMMARY. 1. Cephalodella for ficula (Ploima, Rotifera) lives in tubes it constructs itself. These tubes are built of mueus in detritus-rich environments. The tubes are often closed at both ends, arc not used as sieves, and are not eaten directly.
2. The rotifer swims back and forth in its tube and apparently lives on bacteria which are shed from the inner walls of the tubes. Because of surface-to-volume considerations, this feeding strategy is probably only possible for animals smaller than roughly 1 mm. Under low food conditions, rotifers inside a tube have a distinctly higher fitness than rotifers removed from their tube.
3. Given high food conditions, rotifers removed from a tube immediately build another. Grazing on particles outside the tube appears to take place when a tube is being lengthened. Rotifers do not leave the tube for routine feeding, but under conditions of starvation or very low oxygen concentration they will leave the tube and swim about.     

CYTOLOGICAL BASIS FOR CYTOPLASMIC INHERITANCE IN PSEUDOTSUGA MENZIESII. I. POLLEN TUBE AND ARCHEGONIAL DEVELOPMENT

Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) ovules were used to study the method of pollen tube formation and penetration of the nucellus, the movement of the body cell down the pollen tube and development of the archegonia. No pollination drop forms but nucellar tip cells produce a minute secretion that may initiate pollen tube formation. Pollen tubes penetrate the nucellus causing degeneration of nucellar cells in contact with the pollen tube tip. The body cell becomes highly lobed and the tube cytoplasm forms thin sheets between the lobes. This may be the mechanism by which the large body cell is pulled down the narrow pollen tube. Body cell plastids and mitochondria remain unaltered during pollen tube growth, whereas tube cell organelles show signs of degeneration. The pollen tube penetrates the megaspore wall and settles in the archegonial chamber. During pollen elongation and pollen tube growth the egg matured. Egg cell plastids were transformed into large inclusions which filled the periphery of the egg while mitochondria migrated to the perinuclear zone. The neck cells, ventral canal cell and archegonial jacket cells are described. The significance of the body cell and egg cell ultrastructure is discussed in light of recent restriction fragment length polymorphism studies of plastid and mitochondrial inheritance in the Pinaceae.