Effect of continuous cropping and fertilizer use on the organic nitrogen fractions in a typic ustochrept soil

Summary The influence of continuous cropping and soil test based fertilizer use on the organic nitrogen fractions in the plough layer has been studied in a Typic Ustochrept soil. Seven years of multiple cropping without manuring caused marked depletion in all the hydrolysable fractions except unidentified hydrolysable N namely, hexosamine (48.8%), hydrolysable ammonium (23.9%) and amino acid (7.3%) as compared to an adjacent fallow. Fertilizer nitrogen application maintained the levels of various forms of N as in the fallow plots and nitrogen in conjunction with phosphorus raised the status of amino acid N. Phosphate improved the contents of hydrolyzable ammonium and total hydrolyzable N whereas farmyard manure enhanced the latter only. The system of intensive cropping followed with appreciably high doses of fertilizers favoured greater immobilization of N in hydrolyzable ammonium and total hydrolyzable fractions. Original not seen     

Effects of Detergents, Proteins, and Lipids on 2'':3''-Cyclic-Nucleotide 3''-Phosphodiesterase Activity

The myelin marker 2':3'-cyclic-nucleotide 34'-phosphodiesterase (CNPase) was isolated to a lipid- and phosphate-free stage. The effects of exogenously added lipids were tested on this preparation and compared to the known stimulation of the enzyme by detergents and proteins. CNPase could be stimulated 2-3 fold by these various agents which appeared to be additive in their effect. Enzyme-protein and enzyme-lipid interactions and possible medical use of the improved assay conditions for CNPase employed in the study are discussed.     

Are “multiple cross-multiple pollen hybrids’ an answer for productive populations in Brassica campestris var. ‘brown sarson’?

Summary A set of complex crosses with multiple crosses as female parents were made using multiple pollen in turnip rape (Brassica campestris L.). These multiple cross — multiple pollen hybrids (mucromphs) were evaluated for a large number of quantitative characters including yield. New methods were proposed to study such genetic material in depth so as to formulate suitable strategies to breed for attractive seed yield.Part of the Ph. D. Thesis of junior author submitted to Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi     

Induction of multiple embryos with NaHCO3 or calcium free sea water in the horseshoe crab

Summary When horseshoe crab embryos were treated with NaHCO₃ at the developmental stage when the germ disc appears, multiple embryos were formed. NaHCO₃ may effect the formation of multiple embryos by binding Ca²⁺ ions of the embryo since multiple embryos were also formed by treatment with Ca²⁺ free sea water.The treatment caused the blastoderm layer to tear. When the embryos were returned to normal sea water after the treatment, the blastoderm recovered. Some cell masses, probably derived from the germ disc or its prospective cells, formed during the process of the recovery. Each cell mass developed into an embryo.Contributions from the Shimoda Marine Research Center, Nor. 348     

Selective genotyping to detect quantitative trait loci affecting multiple traits: interval mapping analysis

 Segregating quantitative trait loci can be detected via linkage to genetic markers. By selectively genotyping individuals with extreme phenotypes for the quantitative trait, the power per individual genotyped is increased at the expense of the power per individual phenotyped, but linear-model estimates of the quantitative-locus effect will be biased. The properties of single- and multiple-trait maximum-likelihood estimates of quantitative-loci parameters derived from selectively genotyped samples were investigated using Monte-Carlo simulations of backcross populations. All individuals with trait records were included in the analyses. All quantitative-locus parameters and the residual correlation were unbiasedly estimated by multiple-trait maximum-likelihood methodology. With single-trait maximum-likelihood, unbiased estimates for quantitative-locus effect and location, and the residual variance, were obtained for the trait under selection, but biased estimates were derived for a correlated trait that was analyzed separately. When an effect of the QTL was simulated only on the trait under selection, a “ghost” effect was also found for the correlated trait. Furthermore, if an effect was simulated only for the correlated trait, then the statistical power was less than that obtained with a random sample of equal size. With multiple-trait analyses, the power of quantitative-trait locus detection was always greater with selective genotyping. Received: 23 February 1998 / Accepted: 15 May 1998     

量子点免疫荧光技术在病理诊断中的初步应用

目的利用量子点(quantum dots,QDs)免疫荧光技术检测石蜡包埋组织中不同蛋白的定位与免疫酶法进行比较,以及两种蛋白的共表达,并探讨其初步应用价值。方法利用QDs免疫荧光和免疫酶组织化学方法分别检测正常阑尾组织LCA、乳腺肌上皮组织Calponin、肺癌组织p53蛋白的表达,并利用QDs免疫荧光双标法同时检测了宫颈上皮内瘤变组织内CK和PCNA蛋白、乳腺癌组织内Her-2和CK蛋白的共表达。结果QDs免疫荧光和免疫酶组织化学技术分别检测LCA、Calponin和p53蛋白的定位完全一致。QDs免疫荧光双标法结合多光谱成像可同时观察到宫颈上皮内瘤变组织内CK和PCNA蛋白、乳腺癌组织内Her-2和CK蛋白的共表达。结论QDs免疫荧光组织化学法具有与免疫酶法等同的应用价值。QDs免疫荧光双标法可同时检测不同蛋白的共定位。     

N-Acetylcysteine ameliorates lipopolysaccharide-induced organ damage in conscious rats

Lipopolysaccharide is strongly associated with septic shock, leading to multiple organ failure. It can activate monocytes and macrophages to release proinflammatory mediators such as tumor necrosis factor- (TNF-), interleukin-1 (IL-1), and nitric oxide (NO). The present experiments were designed to induce endotoxin shock by an intravenous injection ofKlebsiella pneumoniae lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 10 mg/kg) in conscious rats. Arterial pressure and heart rate (HR) were continuously monitored for 48 h after LPS administration. N-Acetyl-cysteine was used to study its effects on organ damage. Biochemical substances were measured to reflect organ functions. Biochemical factors included blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine (Cre), lactic dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine phosphokinase (CPK), aspartate transferase (GOT), alanine transferase (GPT), TNF-, IL-1, methyl guanidine (MG), and nitrites/nitrates. LPS caused significant increases in blood BUN, Cre, LDH, CPK, GOT, GPT, TNF-, IL-1, MG levels, and HR, as well as a decrease in mean arterial pressure and an elevation of nitrites/nitrates. N-Acetylcysteine suppressed the release of TNF-, IL-1, and MG, but enhanced NO production. These actions ameliorate LPS-induced organ damage in conscious rats. The beneficial effects may suggest a potential chemopreventive effect of this compound in sepsis prevention and treatment.     

Incidence of haemolysin-positive and drug-resistant Aeromonas hydrophila in freshly caught finfish and prawn collected from major commercial fishes of coastal South India

The incidence of Aeromonas hydrophila in freshly caught finfish and prawns from four major commercial fish landing sites of coastal South India was studied for a period of one year. Among 514 analysed samples of seafood (410 finfish and 104 prawn), 37% of them (37.3% of finfish and 35.6% of prawn) were contaminated with A. hydrophila. A total of 255 strains of A. hydrophila were isolated. Of the total isolates, about 78.4% of them were producers of haemolysin. All strains were resistant to bacitracin and all were sensitive to chloramphenicol. The results indicate that the strains originated from high-risk sources. The presence of A. hydrophila is an indication of marine contamination. The increasing presence of haemolysin-producing multiple drug-resistant A. hydrophila in fish and prawn may become a potential human health hazard.     

南丰蜜桔可溶性固形物近红外检测的多元线性回归变量筛选

文章采用反向区间偏最小二乘法结合连续投影算法,筛选南丰蜜桔近红外检测的多元线性回归变量。对南丰蜜桔近红外光谱进行多元散射校正后,利用反向间隔偏最小二乘法,从500～1750 nm中初选出7个光谱区间,用于多元线性回归变量筛选。利用通过遗传算法和连续投影算法筛选出的变量建立了多元线性回归模型。经比较发现,利用反向区间偏最小二乘法结合连续投影算法筛选出的变量建立的多元线性回归模型,预测结果最优,模型预测相关系数为0.937,模型预测均方根误差为0.613 oBrix。结果表明,反向区间偏最小二乘法结合连续投影算法,可以有效地筛选近红外光谱的多元线性回归变量,提高南丰蜜桔可溶性固形物模型的预测精度。     

A high-throughput genome-walking method and its use for cloning unknown flanking sequences

We developed a PCR-based high-throughput genome-walking protocol. The novelty of this protocol is in the random introduction of unique walker primer binding sites into different regions of the genome efficiently by taking advantage of the rolling circle mode of DNA synthesis by Phi29 DNA polymerase after annealing the partially degenerate primers to the denatured genomic DNA. The inherent strand-displacement activity of the Phi29 DNA polymerase displaces the 5′ ends of downstream strands and DNA synthesis continues, resulting in a large number of overlapping fragments that cover the whole genome with the unique walker adapter attached to the 5′ end of all the genomic DNA fragments. The directional genome walking can be performed using a locus-specific primer and the walker primer and Phi29 DNA polymerase-amplified genomic DNA fragments as template. The locus-specific primer will determine the position and direction of the genome walk. Two rounds of successive PCR amplifications by locus-specific and walker primers and their corresponding nested primers effectively amplify the flanking DNA fragments. The desired PCR fragment can be either cloned or sequenced directly using another nested, locus-specific primer. We successfully used this protocol to isolate and sequence 5′ flanking regions/promoters of selected plant genes.