The Theoretical-Biological Concept of Nikolai K. Kol'tsov

The theoretical-biological views of N.K. Kol'tsov are considered as an integral concept with a common approach to the analysis of the form of living structures successively applied to the cell, molecule, developing egg, and organism.     

Why Procreative Preferences May be Moral – And Why it May not Matter if They Aren't

There has been much argument over whether procreative selection is obligatory or wrong. Rebecca Bennett has recently challenged the assumption that procreative choices are properly moral choices, arguing that these views express mere preferences. This article challenges Bennett's view on two fronts. First, I argue that the Non‐Identity Problem does not show that there cannot be harmless wrongs – though this would require us to abandon the intuitively attractive ‘person‐affecting principle’, that may be a lesser cost than abandoning some more firmly‐held intuition. But, even if we accept Bennett's claim that these choices are not moral, that does not show them to be mere personal preferences. I argue that there is a class of non‐moral ‘categorical preferences’ that have much the same implications as moral preferences. If a moral preference for able‐bodied children is problematic (as Bennett claims), then so is a non‐moral categorical preference. Thus, showing that these preferences are not moral does not show that they are not problematic, since they may still be categorical.     

Reflections on the Principle of Non-Cut Off: A Growing Concept in Maritime Boundary Delimitation Law

The application of the principle of non-cut off is a significant tool in maritime delimitation to provide an equitable solution. Unfortunately, scholars and experts have paid scant attention to this principle of maritime delimitation. This article analyzes the growing role of the principle of non-cut off in the law of maritime boundary delimitation and examines the related jurisprudence on the issue.     

Innocent invaders? A preliminary assessment of Cecropia,an American tree,in Java

Background: Invasive alien species receive little attention in many tropical countries.

Aims: We examine the Neotropical tree genus Cecropia in West Java and ask how eradication decisions should be judged given limited resources.

Methods: The distribution was determined based on field searches. The history, impacts and perceptions of Cecropia were examined through official records, observations, interviews and published literature.

Results : At least four Cecropia species were planted in the Bogor Botanic Gardens, West Java Province, Indonesia, during the twentieth century but only C. peltata appears to have naturalised extensively. Since 1943 Cecropia has spread over 1290 km². Implied mean rates of spread range from 0.13 km year^?1 to 0.68 km year^?1, with the fastest rates occurring down-slope and along river valleys. It has reached Jakarta to the north and the Mount Gede-Pangrango National Park to the south. It occurs only in open and disturbed locations. Local farmers consider Cecropia only a minor nuisance. We review 15 other reports of Cecropia naturalised outside the Neotropics.

Conclusions: Without control, Cecropia may eventually become common throughout Java. There is no evidence that any serious problem will, or will not result. We call for the development and implementation of low-cost and decisive assessment procedures for evaluating the control and management of naturalised organisms.     

The Hardy-Weinberg principle and its applications in modern population genetics

The discovery of the Hardy-Weinberg principle marked the beginning of the field of population genetics. Over the past hundred years, it has provided a starting point for many population genetic investigations. In this review, the Hardy-Weinberg principle, its statistical testing, and several of its applications in various modern population genetic research areas, including allelic variability and selection in the human leukocyte antigen region, microsatellite genotyping error detection, and accuracy of haplotype estimation, are discussed.     

A mixed program for parasitic disease control

Summary In this paper we are concerned with the control of a parasitic disease by a permanent, time-continuous mixed program of vector reduction (reduction of the contact rate) and drug application.We shall use the model developed in [1] with two control functions: one for the reduction of the contact rate and another for the administration of drugs to the population. This model takes into account the possibility that there may be a certain fraction of the population which cannot be covered by any drug application. Optimal control policies for reduction of the contact rate and for the protected proportion of the population by drugs are derived by using Pontryagin's maximum principle. A cost-optimal strategy is deduced for the maintenance of the affected proportion of the population below a given level. Some numerical examples are computed.Research supported in part by a grant of the U.T.E.     

Competitive solid phase enzyme-linked immunoassay for the quantification of limonin in citrus

A solid-phase enzyme immunoassay for the quantitative determination of the bitter triterpenelactone, limonin, in citrus juice samples is described. As little as 0.1 ppm of limonin can be detected. Quantitative results are available within 1 h of total assay time. The assay makes use of a limonin-alkaline phosphatase tracer of high immunoreactivity and has been semiautomated using antibody-coated polystyrene microcuvettes, a vertical light path photometer, and a forcedair microplate incubator.     

原子力显微镜技术检测几种骨组织细胞力学性能

为了探究几种骨组织细胞系的力学性能及其与细胞功能的关系,该文采用原子力显微镜压陷法分别检测了前成骨细胞系（2T3和MC3T3-E1）、前骨细胞系（MLO-A5）和骨样细胞系（MLO-Y4）的杨氏模量,利用激光共聚焦显微镜观察了这几种细胞微丝和微管的排布。结果显示,2T3、MC3T3-E1、MLO-A5和MLO-Y4细胞的杨氏模量分别为（7000±2015）Pa、（6600±2024）Pa、（4700±644）Pa和（4500±1622）Pa,与原代骨组织细胞的杨氏模量及变化趋势保持一致,但两种前成骨细胞的杨氏模量要显著高于前骨细胞和骨细胞。细胞荧光染色结果表日月＇前成骨细胞细胞核周围的微丝和微管分布密度要高于前骨细胞和骨细胞,而前骨细胞MLO-A5,尤其是骨细胞MLO-Y4的骨架主要集中于细胞突触和边缘,这可能是导致几种细胞力学性能差异的原因。该研究从生物力学的角度为进一步深入理解骨组织细胞结构与功能的关系提供了实验依据。     

七彩红竹二氢黄酮醇4-还原酶基因IhDFR1的克隆及表达分析

二氢黄酮醇4-还原酶（DFR）是植物花色素苷合成途径中的关键酶,在植物花色的形成过程中起重要作用。依据七彩红竹转录组数据设计特异引物,采用ImPcR技术从七彩红竹中克隆获得了一个新的DFR基因cDNA全长,命名为IhDFR1（登录号为KF728205）。序列分析结果表明,IhDFR1基因cDNA全长945bp,编码314个氨基酸。生物信息学预测显示,该基因编码的蛋白具有典型的DFR蛋白功能结构域,存在2个特异结合位点,属于非Asn／Asp型DFR酶,与禾本科植物中的DFR具有较高的相似性。对不同发育时期七彩红竹的IhDFR1基因进行时空表达的结果显示,只有在竹秆颜色呈现红紫色时,IhDFR1基因才有表达。以上结果初步显示IhDFR1蛋白可能作为一个重要的酶参与竹秆花色素苷的代谢调控,同时为进一步研究七彩红竹花色素苷产生的分子机理和综合开发利用奠定了基础。     

晚熟脐橙果实发育过程中抗坏血酸含量及相关酶活性的变化

以‘鲍威尔’脐橙为试材, 研究了果实发育期间果皮和果肉中抗坏血酸（AsA）含量及相关酶活性的变化。结果表明, 果皮中总抗坏血酸（T-AsA）和AsA含量显著高于果肉, 且在发育期间T-AsA和AsA的变化趋势一致; 果皮中L-半乳糖内酯脱氢酶（g·LLDH）活性与T-AsA和AsA积累速率的变化趋势基本一致, 呈显著正相关关系, 而在果肉中的变化趋势却不明显; 在发育过程各阶段中果皮的抗坏血酸氧化酶（AAO）、抗坏血酸过氧化物酶（APX）、脱氢抗坏血酸还原酶（DHAR）和单脱氢抗坏血酸还原酶（MDHAR）活性均高于果肉; 相关性分析显示, 果皮中AsA含量积累主要取决于g·LLDH活性, 而果肉中AsA含量水平可能取决于AsA的再生循环系统。