Trench connection

'Trench Connection' was the first international symposium focusing primarily on the hadal zone (depths greater than 6000 m). It was held at the University of Tokyo's Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute in November 2010. The symposium was successful in having attracted an international collective of scientists and engineers to discuss the latest developments in the exploration and understanding of the deepest environments on Earth. The symposium sessions were categorized into three themes: (i) new deep-submergence technology; (ii) trench ecology and evolution; and (iii) the physical environment. Recent technological developments have overcome the challenges of accessing the extreme depths, which have in turn prompted an international renewed interest in researching physical and biological aspects of the hadal ecosystems. This bringing together of international participants from different disciplines led to healthy discussions throughout the symposium, providing potential opportunities and realizations of where the future of unravelling hadal ecology lies. Hadal science is still at relatively rudimentary levels compared with those of shallower marine environments; however, it became apparent at the symposium that it is now an ever-expanding scientific field.     

木本油料植物麻疯树的研究进展

近来,麻疯树(Jatropha curcas L.)因可以作为生物柴油的原料而受到广泛关注。虽然麻疯树具有含油量高且可在边际土地种植的优势,但同时存在理想品种缺乏、种植面积限制、基础研究薄弱等方面的问题。为了使常规育种和生物技术改良工作者更好地了解麻疯树的研究进展,确定日后麻疯树育种和遗传改良的方向,综述了麻疯树种质资源与遗传多样性分析、生理及对环境适应性、组学研究、油脂合成功能基因研究、育种等方面国内外的最新进展。     

羊肚菌多糖提取及其抗氧化活性研究

为了探讨碱法提取羊肚菌多糖的工艺条件并测定其抗氧化活性,该研究以四川北川羊肚菌为原料,采用碱法提取羊肚菌多糖,利用苯酚-硫酸法对羊肚菌多糖得率进行测定,并通过单因素探讨提取温度(70、80、90、100℃)、提取时间(2、4、6、8 h)、碱液浓度(0.4、0.6、0.8、1.0 mol·L~(-1))、料液比(1∶15、1∶20、1∶25、1∶30 g·mL~(-1))对羊肚菌多糖得率的影响,同时采用正交试验优化提取工艺,对其抗氧化活性进行测定。结果表明:在提取温度90℃、提取时间5 h、碱液浓度0.7 mol·L~(-1)、料液比1∶20(g·mL~(-1))条件下得到的羊肚菌多糖得率为5.39%。羊肚菌多糖具有较强的清除DPPH自由基、羟自由基、超氧阴离子的能力和较好的还原能力,其IC50分别为0.468、0.208、0.022、0.014 mg·mL~(-1),抗氧化能力依次为还原能力超氧阴离子清除能力羟自由基清除能力DPPH自由基清除能力。优化后的羊肚菌多糖提取工艺合理、可行,且羊肚菌多糖具有较强的抗氧化活性。     

Delivering sustainable crop protection systems via the seed: exploiting natural constitutive and inducible defence pathways

To reduce the need for seasonal inputs, crop protection will have to be delivered via the seed and other planting material. Plant secondary metabolism can be harnessed for this purpose by new breeding technologies, genetic modification and companion cropping, the latter already on-farm in sub-Saharan Africa. Secondary metabolites offer the prospect of pest management as robust as that provided by current pesticides, for which many lead compounds were, or are currently deployed as, natural products. Evidence of success and promise is given for pest management in industrial and developing agriculture. Additionally, opportunities for solving wider problems of sustainable crop protection, and also production, are discussed.     

井冈霉素研究概况(综述)

对井冈霉素的生产、应用、检测技术和作用机理等方面的研究进展进行综述,并就未来井冈霉素的研究方向提出建议。     

Health Concerns Versus Mobile Data Needs: Conjoint Measurement of Preferences for Mobile Communication Network Scenarios

As demands for mobile broadband services and ubiquitous network coverage in our societies are increasing, the mobile communication network infrastructure has to be expanded. Concurrently, the technical infrastructure of mobile communication technologies (base stations) raises the public's concerns about health risks due to electromagnetic fields (EMF). By applying conjoint analyses, the study empirically investigates the relationship between mobile data demands, different base station locations, the prevalence of perceived health complaints, and the impact of compensation payments. Findings show that health concerns are the most critical factor for mobile network communication scenario preferences, followed by data rate availability. In the decision scenarios, base station location and compensation payments played a minor role. Two user groups, cellphone and smart phone users who differ in their sensitivity regarding health concerns and data demands, were identified by segmentation analysis. By means of a sensitivity analysis, different mobile communication network scenarios were analyzed. Outcomes show the importance of integrating users’ preferences into the design of mobile communication networks. This especially refers to an increased sensitivity regarding health concerns in cellphone users and minimum requirements for data rates at least sufficient for the usage of mobile Internet services for smart phone users.     

发现微生物药物的新途径:从基因到新化合物

本文介绍一种基于基因组扫描(鸟枪法)和生物信息学相结合的寻找微生物新化合物的平台.基因组扫描发现新的合成基因,通过对新的次生代谢产物合成途径基因的分析,预测化合物的结构、物理化学性质参数,指导该化合物的分离与纯化.     

抗人呼吸道合胞病毒融合糖蛋白单克隆抗体的制备及体外鉴定

目的:获得能稳定分泌抗人呼吸道合胞病毒(human respiratory syncytial virus, RSV)融合糖蛋白(fusion glycoprotein, F)单克隆抗体(monoclonal antibody, mAb)的杂交瘤细胞株,以期用于RSV感染的早期诊断和被动免疫治疗研究。方法:通过杂交瘤技术制备可特异性识别RSV F的单抗,体外鉴定生物学特性。结果:获得了可分泌抗RSV F蛋白的杂交瘤细胞株F8,体外连续传代培养2个月,能稳定分泌抗体F8,培养上清效价为1∶1000,亲和常数(Ka)为6.8×10⁸ L/mol。F8属IgG1型抗体,可特异性识别RSV F1亚单位的AA 205-222。免疫酶法蚀斑减少中和实验证实F8具有体外中和活性及融合抑制活性。结论:获得具有中和活性的抗RSV F蛋白的单克隆抗体,为RSV感染的早期诊断及被动免疫治疗等奠定了基础。     

Chip devices for miniaturized biotechnology

Chip devices were introduced in chemistry and molecular biology to improve the read-out of information from molecular systems by efficient analytical procedures and to organize automated experiments. Biochips and chip reactor systems are of interest for cellular processes, too, and can be regarded as components in interfaces for the information exchange between living nature and digital electronic systems. In this minireview, different types of chip reactors for biotechnological applications like nanotiterplates, chip thermocyclers and devices for segmented flow operations are discussed. Finally, an outlook is given on the application of chip reactor systems, which are promising tools for automated experiments with highly parallelized screening procedures, for artificial microcompartmentation, cell analogue systems, micro-ecological studies, investigations on modulated morphogenesis, and for a bioanalogue molecular nanotechnology.     

Transformation of animal genomics by next-generation sequencing technologies: a decade of challenges and their impact on genetic architecture

For more than a quarter of a century, sequencing technologies from Sanger’s method to next-generation high-throughput techniques have provided fascinating opportunities in the life sciences. The continuing upward trajectory of sequencing technologies will improve livestock research and expedite the development of various new genomic and technological studies with farm animals. The use of high-throughput technologies in livestock research has increased interest in metagenomics, epigenetics, genome-wide association studies, and identification of single nucleotide polymorphisms and copy number variations. Such studies are beginning to provide revolutionary insights into biological and evolutionary processes. Farm animals, such as cattle, swine, and horses, have played a dual role as economically and agriculturally important animals as well as biomedical research models. The first part of this study explores the current state of sequencing methods, many of which are already used in animal genomic studies, and the second part summarizes the state of cattle, swine, horse, and chicken genome sequencing and illustrates its achievements during the last few years. Finally, we describe several high-throughput sequencing approaches for the improved detection of known, unknown, and emerging infectious agents, leading to better diagnosis of infectious diseases. The insights from viral metagenomics and the advancement of next-generation sequencing will strongly support specific and efficient vaccine development and provide strategies for controlling infectious disease transmission among animal populations and/or between animals and humans. However, prospective sequencing technologies will require further research and in-field testing before reaching the marketplace.