Effects of zinc on microalgal biofilms in intertidal and subtidal habitats

Microalgal biofilms are sensitive to environmental conditions. Impacts of contaminants on assemblages of marine biofilm are often investigated in laboratories or in mesocosms. Such experiments are rarely representative of the effects of contaminants on biofilms under natural conditions. Studies in field situations, with enough power to detect impacts, are necessary to develop a better understanding of the effects of contaminants on ecological processes. Metals are a common contaminant of marine systems and can cause disturbances to assemblages. Using a new technique to experimentally deliver contaminants to microalgal assemblages, hypotheses were tested regarding the effects of zinc on microalgal biofilms growing on settlement panels in subtidal and intertidal habitats. PAM fluorometry was used to assess the amount and physiological state of biofilms on panels. Control panels deployed for 1 month in each habitat had significantly greater amounts of biofilm than those exposed to zinc. After deployment for 3 months, the results varied with location. The observed effects on the biofilm did not, however, cause significant changes in the macro-invertebrate assemblages that developed on the panels.     

Pulse Disturbances to the Colonization of Hard-substrates and in situ Determination of Copper using Diffusive Gradients in Thin-films (DGT): Quantifying Dose and Response in the Field

Studies conducted in Port Philip Bay, Victoria, Australia are described that examined the effect of experimentally elevated copper concentrations on the recruitment of epifauna to settlement plates. Simultaneous measurement of the copper concentration using diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) allowed direct comparisons to be made between the labile copper concentration measured at the settlement surface, and the biological effects observed. Copper concentrations created by the field dosing technique were between 20?–?30?μg?l^?1 for the first 2 d, but then dropped considerably for the following 4 d (3?μg?l^?1), and were indistinguishable from background for the final 7 d. The first 2 d of a copper pulse reduced the recruitment of barnacles, ascidians, serpulid worms, an encrusting bryozoan, and didemnid ascidians. The impacts occurred despite the copper pulse being much less than published LC₅₀ values for similar species. The impacts were no longer obvious by day 7 or 14, having been obscured by either high mortality of early settlers, or large settlement events that took place after day 2. Thus the greatest impact of the pollution event occurred during the period of highest toxicant concentration. The value of this study lies in the correlation of toxicity effects with bio-available metal concentrations under realistic (natural, in situ) conditions.     

Rational development of a serum-free medium and fed-batch process for a GS-CHO cell line expressing recombinant antibody

A serum-free medium (CHO-SFM) together with a fed-batch process was developed for the cultivation of a recombinant GS-CHO cell line producing TNFR-Fc. According to the metabolic characteristics of GS-CHO cell, a basal medium was prepared by supplementing DMEM:F12:RPMI1640 (2:1:1) with amino acids, insulin, transferrin, Pluronic F68 and some other ingredients. Statistical optimization approaches based on Plackett–Burman and central composite designs were then adopted to identify additional positive determinants and determine their optimal concentrations, which resulted in the final CHO-SFM medium formulations. The maximum antibody titer reached was 90.95 mg/l in the developed CHO-SFM, which was a 18 % and 10 fold higher than that observed in the commercial EX-CELL™ 302 medium (76.95 mg/l) and basal medium (8.28 mg/l), respectively. Subsequently, a reliable, reproducible and robust fed-batch strategy was designed according to the offline measurement of glucose, giving a final antibody yield of 378 mg/l, which was a threefold improvement over that in conventional batch culture (122 mg/l) using CHO-SFM. In conclusion, the use of design of experiment (DoE) method facilitated the development of CHO-SFM medium and fed-batch process for the production of recombinant antibody using GS-CHO cells.     

我国旱地小麦区域试验精确度及其环境综合评价

选用2003-2009年我国4个麦区、233个品种(系)、82个试点组成的全国旱地冬春小麦区域试验产量资料,研究了我国旱地小麦国家区域试验点的精确度、环境鉴别力和代表性,并对试验环境进行综合评价．结果表明：一年一点试验平均试验误差变异系数(CV)为6.1%,平均相对最小显著差数(RLSD)为10.5%,一年多点试验的CV值均在8.2%以内,大多数试点的CV和RLSD控制得较好,试验精确度和品种比较精确度均较高．试点分辨力以西北春小麦组最强,其他3个产区差别不大．试点代表性以东北春小麦组最好、西北春小麦组最差．在综合考虑试点分辨力和代表性基础上,借助GGE模型构建环境综合评价参数（r_g-h）,结果显示,我国旱地小麦理想试点比例只有32.4%,产区间比较,理想试点的比例依次为：西北春小麦旱地组（40.9%）＞东北春小麦旱地组（33.3%）＞黄淮冬小麦旱地组（30.4%）＞北部冬小麦旱地组（21.4%）.     

超声波辅助提取山茱萸多糖的实验研究

在单因素实验基础上,采用正交设计和方差分析,研究超声时间、提取温度、料液比对山茱萸多糖提取得率的影响,以山茱萸多糖提取得率作为评价指标,筛选出最佳提取条件为:超声波预处理40 min,提取温度80℃,料液比1∶30。在此条件下,山茱萸多糖平均提取得率为5.29%;超声法提取与传统热水醇沉法比较,山茱萸多糖提取得率无显著性差异,但耗能较少,提取效率更高。超声波辅助提取法可作为山茱萸多糖提取的一种有效方法。     

面向多专业应用型人才的微生物实验教学体系探索

根据各专业特点对微生物实验教学体系进行优化,是为了满足应用型人才培养的需要。将综合性实验和课外科研活动融入到实验教学中来,有助于提高学生实验技能和综合素质,弥补传统实验教学的不足。另外,不断加强软件和硬件条件建设,保证微生物实验教学质量的稳步提高。     

综合设计性实验在医学微生物实验教学中的应用

在医学微生物实验教学中选择合适的时机、安排合理的实验内容来开展综合设计性实验有效的调动了学生的学习积极性、培养了学生的临床思维能力,为培养新型医学人才奠定了基础.     

生物医学动物实验中的实验设计和统计分析

实验设计和统计分析在动物实验研究的启动、实施和结果评价中起着关键的作用。我们对实验设计的因素、原则及实验设计类型进行了综述,阐明了统计分析在整个研究所有环节中的重要意义,并提出在生物医学动物实验中容易忽视的统计学分析的问题。     

Resisting flow–laboratory study of rheotaxis of the estuarine copepod Pseudodiaptomus annandalei

Rheotaxis is a ubiquitous phenomenon among aquatic animals and thought to be an adaptation to maintain populations in flowing waters. While many estuarine copepods can retain their populations in estuaries with net seaward flow, rheotaxis of individual copepods has not been reported before. In this study, the behavior of a calanoid copepod Pseudodiaptomus annandalei in flow was examined in a recirculating laboratory flume. This estuarine copepod displayed different responses to ambient flow fields while swimming in the water column or attaching to the flume bed (walls). Copepods in the water column showed vigorous countercurrent swimming by occasional bounding when flow velocity was increased up to 2.1 cm s^?1, but none of the individuals in the water column were retained in the flume when flow speeds were higher than 4 cm s^?1. This indicates P. annandalei profits little from rheotaxis to withstand flow when they were swimming in the water column. Instead, more individuals attempted sinking downwards to the slow flow region near the flume bed (walls) and showed active substrate attachment to avoid being flushed out by the high-velocity channel flow. The results suggest that P. annandalei benefits from rheotaxis and association with the substrate which allows them to hold position well at ambient flow velocities up to 3 cm s^?1. These adaptive responses might be important for population maintenance.     

Nanomechanical strength mechanisms of hierarchical biological materials and tissues

Biological protein materials (BPMs), intriguing hierarchical structures formed by assembly of chemical building blocks, are crucial for critical functions of life. The structural details of BPMs are fascinating: They represent a combination of universally found motifs such as α-helices or β-sheets with highly adapted protein structures such as cytoskeletal networks or spider silk nanocomposites. BPMs combine properties like strength and robustness, self-healing ability, adaptability, changeability, evolvability and others into multi-functional materials at a level unmatched in synthetic materials. The ability to achieve these properties depends critically on the particular traits of these materials, first and foremost their hierarchical architecture and seamless integration of material and structure, from nano to macro. Here, we provide a brief review of this field and outline new research directions, along with a review of recent research results in the development of structure–property relationships of biological protein materials exemplified in a study of vimentin intermediate filaments.