Expressing the yeast HAL1 gene in tomato increases fruit yield and enhances K+/Na+ selectivity under salt stress

The yeast HAL1 gene facilitates K⁺/Na⁺ selectivity and salt tolerance of cells. Ectopic expression of HAL1 in transgenic tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) plants minimized the reduction in fruit production caused by salt stress. Maintenance of fruit production by transgenic plants was correlated with enhanced growth under salt stress of calli derived from the plants. The HAL1 transgene enhanced water and K⁺ contents in both leaf calli and leaves in the presence of salt, which indicates that HAL1 functions in plants using a similar mechanism to that in yeast, namely by facilitating K⁺/Na⁺ selectivity under salt stress.     

Kinetics of Veratryl Alcohol Oxidation by Lignin Peroxidase and in situ Generated Hydrogen Peroxide in an Electrochemical Reactor

The cathodic reduction of oxygen to hydrogen peroxide, the current efficiency for the production of H₂O₂ and the oxidation of veratryl alcohol with an in situ generated hydrogen peroxide‐lignin peroxidase complex were studied in this paper. The complex was prepared by utilizing a novel preparation technique in an electrochemical reactor. The oxidation of veratryl alcohol (VA; 3,4‐dimethoxybenzyl alcohol) was carried out with or without lignin peroxidase under an electric field. The redox properties of veratryl alcohol on a carbon electrode in the presence of lignin peroxidase have been investigated using cyclic voltammetry. The kinetics of veratryl alcohol oxidation in an electrochemical reactor were compared to the oxidation when hydrogen peroxide was supplied externally. Further, the oxidation of veratryl alcohol by lignin peroxidase was optimized in terms of enzyme dosage, pH, and electrical potential. The novel electroenzymatic method was found to be effective using in situ generated hydrogen peroxide for the oxidation of veratryl alcohol by lignin peroxidase.     

Fine Structure of Blue-Green Algae and the Cells Lined along the Endophyte Cavity in the Coralloid Root of Cycas

The ultrastructure of vegetative cells of blue-green alga, Anabaena cycadae, in the coralloid root of Cycas revoluta has the general characteristics of the cyanophycean cells. Their heterocysts are characterized by heavy envelope deposition, well developed pore channel with its plug, absence of large granules as inclusions and reduced and flattened photosynthetic thylakoids. By these characteristical features, the frequency of heterocysts occurring in this algal population of the coralloid root may be estimated to ca. 40%. This high heterocyst frequency is a sign of relatively high activity of nitrogen fixation in this symbiont. The ultrastructure of the cells lined along the endophyte cavity in the coralloid root shows that they have the function to maintain vigorous nutritional transport in short distance. These cells are especially characterized by the presence of numerious outgrowths on the cell wall into the endophyte cavity. Correspondingly, there are abundant mitochondria, dictyosomes and numerious vesicles in the cytoplasm. The plasma membrane becomes tortuous along the cell wall and many secretory granules are present between the plasma membrane and cell wall in the cytoplasm amyloplasts and starch granules also occur constantly. The ultrastructure observed above indicates the fact that there is sound structural basis for the metabolic relationship between the host cells and the symbiont.     

洪湖主要沉水植物群落的定量分析II.微齿眼子菜+穗花狐尾藻+轮藻群落

微齿眼子菜＋穗花狐尾藻＋轮藻群落是洪湖的一个特殊沉水植物群落类型,其形成和维持与圈养活动及特殊的环境条件密切相关。该群落种类组成简单,组成种分布均一。群落生物量秋季峰值为251g m     

在昆虫细胞中高效表达蓝舌病毒VP7蛋白作为组特异性诊断抗原

对蓝舌病毒结构蛋白ＶＰ７作为组特异性诊断抗原进行了研究,将编码ＢＴＶ１３主要组特异性抗原ＶＰ７的Ｓ７ｃＤＮＡ插入杆状病毒表达载体ｐＦａｓｔＢａｃ１,通过同源重组获得了重组杆状病毒ｅｖＢａｃＢＴＶＰ７。用此重组病毒感染昆虫细胞获得ＶＰ７蛋白的高效表达,表达量可占细胞蛋白总量的１２．４％。     

恶性疟原虫抗原表位的亚单位疫苗与DNA疫苗的联合免疫

构建了含有恶性疟原虫抗原基因 ( AWTE)的真核表达质粒 p CMV- AWTE,以及能在大肠杆菌中得到分泌性表达的原核表达质粒 p MC0 5 ,表达的蛋白 AWTE保持了疟原虫抗原的抗原性。将 p CMV- AWTE以及 AWTE两者混合各 1 0μg鼻腔免疫小鼠 ,一次后诱导机体产生了较高水平的体液免疫及细胞免疫     

Effects of glossopharyngeal insufflation on cardiac function: an echocardiographic study in elite breath-hold divers.

Glossopharyngeal insufflation (GI), a technique used by breath-hold divers to increase lung volume and augment diving depth and duration, is associated with untoward hemodynamic consequences. To study the cardiac effects of GI, we performed transthoracic echocardiography, using the subcostal window, in five elite breath-hold divers at rest and during GI. During GI, heart rate increased in all divers (mean of 53 beats/min to a mean of 100 beats/min), and blood pressure fell dramatically (mean systolic, 112 to 52 mmHg; mean diastolic, 75 mmHg to nondetectable). GI induced a 46% decrease in mean left ventricular end-diastolic area, 70% decrease in left ventricular end-diastolic volume, 49% increase in mean right ventricular end-diastolic area, and 160% increase in mean right ventricular end-diastolic volume. GI also induced biventricular systolic dysfunction; left ventricular ejection fraction decreased from 0.60 to a mean of 0.30 (P = 0.012); right ventricular ejection fraction, from 0.75 to a mean of 0.39 (P < 0.001). Wall motion of both ventricles became significantly abnormal during GI; the most prominent left ventricular abnormalities involved hypokinesis or dyskinesis of the interventricular septum, while right ventricular wall motion abnormalities involved all visible segments. In two divers, the inferior vena cava dilated with the appearance of spontaneous contrast during GI, signaling increased right atrial pressure and central venous stasis. Hypotension during GI is associated with acute biventricular systolic dysfunction. The echocardiographic pattern of right ventricular systolic dysfunction is consistent with acute pressure overload, whereas concurrent left ventricular systolic dysfunction is likely due to ventricular interdependence.     

Natural Monoterpenes: Much More than Only a Scent

Terpenes are a widespread group of secondary metabolites that can be found in various family plants such as the Lamiaceae. In view of their numerous valuable biological activities, the industrial production of concrete terpenes and essential oils rich in the substances is intensively studied. Monoterpenes constitute a significant part of the whole group of the aforementioned secondary metabolites. This is due to their numerous biological activities and their ability to permeate the skin. Despite the fact that these substances have gain popularity, they are not comprehensively characterized. The presented review is based on studies of the biological activities of the most important monoterpenes and the essential oils rich in these compounds. The authors focused attention on antioxidant activity, inhibition towards acetyl‐ and butyrylcholinesterase, and α‐amylase and α‐glucosidase, antifungal, hepatoprotective, sedative properties, and their skin permeation enhancement.     

Aeroecology meets aviation safety: early warning systems in Europe and the Middle East prevent collisions between birds and aircraft

The aerosphere is utilized by billions of birds, moving for different reasons and from short to great distances spanning tens of thousands of kilometres. The aerosphere, however, is also utilized by aviation which leads to increasing conflicts in and around airfields as well as en‐route. Collisions between birds and aircraft cost billions of euros annually and, in some cases, result in the loss of human lives. Simultaneously, aviation has diverse negative impacts on wildlife. During avian migration, due to the sheer numbers of birds in the air, the risk of bird strikes becomes particularly acute for low‐flying aircraft, especially during military training flights. Over the last few decades, air forces across Europe and the Middle East have been developing solutions that integrate ecological research and aviation policy to reduce mutual negative interactions between birds and aircraft. In this paper we 1) provide a brief overview of the systems currently used in military aviation to monitor bird migration movements in the aerosphere, 2) provide a brief overview of the impact of bird strikes on military low‐level operations, and 3) estimate the effectiveness of migration monitoring systems in bird strike avoidance. We compare systems from the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Poland and Israel, which are all areas that Palearctic migrants cross twice a year in huge numbers. We show that the en‐route bird strikes have decreased considerably in countries where avoidance systems have been implemented, and that consequently bird strikes are on average 45% less frequent in countries with implemented avoidance systems in place. We conclude by showing the roles of operational weather radar networks, forecast models and international and interdisciplinary collaboration to create safer skies for aviation and birds.     

Temporal variation in abundance of male and female spruce budworms at combinatory associations of light traps and pheromone traps

A 3‐year study (2014–2016) was conducted at Rocky Harbour near the west coast of Newfoundland, Canada, to record the abundance and phenology of adult spruce budworms captured at traps, using a factorial design (light traps and pheromone traps deployed contiguously or segregated spatially). Budworms were most abundant and occurred seasonally earlier in 2014 than in 2015 and 2016; these findings held generally true for males and females. The geographic setting of Newfoundland (large island isolated from the mainland by an oceanic barrier of >100 km across) provides an ideal location to discriminate local flight from long‐range immigrations; in our study, however, immigrations cannot be ruled out for any single day of trapping due to broad overlap in emergence patterns at Rocky Harbour relative to forest stands with known populations of budworms on the mainland. Based on moderate daily variation in adult abundance, however, major immigration events (defined as external deposition of budworms with large numerical amplitude) likely did not take place at Rocky Harbor between 2014 and 2016. Males were more abundant at light traps coupled with pheromone traps, whereas abundance of males at pheromone traps was similar with or without contiguous light traps. This outcome may be mediated by lower range of attraction for light traps (usually <100 m) and (generally assumed to be several hundreds of meters). Females were equally abundant at light traps with or without pheromone traps. As expected, males were captured earlier in the season at pheromone traps than at light traps, and females occurred later in the season due to protandry. The onset of flight observed at light traps or pheromone traps in 2015 and 2016 occurred 10–15 days later than simulated predictions; caution is thus warranted as to conclusions derived on computer modeling of adult emergence.