广西百色盆地更新世樟科两种植物角质层研究

本文描述的具角质层的两块叶化石,产自广西百色盆地更新统长蛇岭组。经与现代植物的角质层对比研究后,确定这两块叶化石分属于樟科的两属两种,即油丹(近似种)(Alseoda-phne cf.hainanensis Merr.)和紫楠(近似种)[Phoebe cf.sheareri(Hemsl.)Gamble]。研究结果表明,角质层在鉴定被子植物化石中具有可靠的价值。     

Evolutionary theory and the foundation of moral principles

Evolutionary biology is supposed to be relevant to ethics by a number of authors. Some of them believe that it may provide and justify basic moral values. Others argue that evolutionary biology is relevant only in a negative way. They assume that it reveals the illusory nature of any attempt to justify basic moral values. In this paper one example of either approach is criticized. An analysis of examples can hardly offer sufficient grounds for a general conclusion. Nevertheless I believe that evolutionary theory is of little help when we deal with the most basic ethical questions. Three themes which are often though to provide a link between evolutionary biology and (meta)ethics — altruism, sociality and human nature — do not in fact establish that link.     

Testing some hypotheses on human evolution and sexual dimorphism

Research on human evolution and sexual dimorphism motivates an interesting test problem. In studying hominid phylogeny it is of interest to test whether parallel evolution plays a role. With regard to sexual dimorphism it is of interest to known whether the directions of sexual dimorphism in the populations being compared are the same. We show that testing these two problems gives rise to the same type of hypothesis testing, viz. the problem of testing the hypothesis that the means of independent, normally distributed random vectors with unit covariance matrices are situated on a straight line through the origin. A test is proposed and applied to study the sexual dimorphism of 20 recent skull populations. In this example the hypothesis of equal directions of sexual dimorphism is rejected. The classical theory of constructing multiple discriminant functions (canonical variates) is adapted to the problem of comparing sexual dimorphisms.     

Multiple episodes of induced secretion of human growth hormone from recombinant AtT-20 cells

Recombinant AtT-20 cells expressing human growth hormone (hGH) secreted the hormone at a constant, basal rate of 0.3–0.5 ng/10⁵ cells-hour when exposed to medium without secretagogues. When triggered with 8 bromo-cyclic AMP, cells secreted hGH at an initial rate of 1.7 ng/10⁵ cells-hour while intracellular hGH declined sharply. Upon extended exposure to secretagogue, secretion decreased gradually to the basal rate and intracellular hGH stabilized at a value 40% the initial. In cells switched from secretion to growth medium, the total rate of hGH accumulation intracellularly and in medium was 2.2 times that observed with cells never exposed to secretagogue; however, only a fraction of the hormone was stored intracellularly and the rest was secreted. When cells were exposed alternately to growth and secretion medium, induced cells secreted at rates at least two times higher than uninduced controls during the first five cycles. The induced response deteriorated with time, however, in parallel with outgrowth of attached cells by foci of round cells, and by the eighth cycle induced secretion did not occur. Operational modifications that may improve the performance of cycling schemes are discussed.     

Purification and characterization of immunoglobulin production stimulating factor derived from human B lymphoblastoid HO-323 cells

An immunoglobulin (Ig) production stimulating factor (IPSF) for hybridomas was found in spent medium of the human B lymphoblastoid cell line, HO-323. The IPSF was purified by serial use of DEAE chromatography, ultrafiltration, gel filtration and HPLC-DEAE chromatography. Purified IPSF was estimated to be a 410 k macro molecule by gel filtration, and contained three types of isomers which were separated from each other by native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. All of the isomers were, however, assumed to have the same protein components by SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.The IPSF was effective for human-human and mouse-mouse hybridomas producing IgM, but not for IgG producers in the experimental condition used here. Human-human hybridoma HF10B4, cultured in IPSF-containing medium, produced 20 times more IgM than in IPSF-free medium under serum-free conditions. The IPSF showed very little proliferation stimulating activity on HF10B4 cells.     

Conformational characterization of human angiogenin by limited proteolysis

The primary structure of angiogenin is 33% identical to that of bovine pancreatic ribonuclease (RNase), but the enzymatic activities of the two proteins differ markedly. Similarly, their susceptibilities to limited proteolysis differ as well. In contrast to RNase, angiogenin totally resists proteolysis by subtilisin. Indeed, among 16 proteases examined, only endoprotease Lys-C, trypsin, and pepsin are able to cleave angiogenin. Even with prolonged incubation, endoprotease Lys-C selectively cleaves the Lys-60-Asn-61 bond; the product retains full ribonucleolytic activity. Initially, trypsin also cleaves this same bond, but with time it causes extensive degradation. Pepsin, atpH 2, cleaves the Phe-9-Leu-10 bond, to give angiogenin (10–123), which displays 15% of the native activity toward ribosomal RNA (rRNA). The susceptibility to proteolysis and/or the sites of cleavage of angiogenin and bovine RNase differ markedly despite their structural homology. These differences are considered in terms of the amino acid sequences of the two proteins.     

A reevaluation of the amino acid sequence of human follitropin beta-subunit

A collaborative study from two laboratories has been undertaken to re-evaluate the human follitropin -subunit sequence (hFSH), since areas of uncertainty remain in the wake of two earlier reports. The first report was by Shome and Parlow (1974). The second, by Saxena and Rathnam (1976), proposed revisions for sequence not definitively placed in the first study, as well as some differences in other placements. We have re-examined the sequence of the hFSH with more recent methodology. This has led to revision of certain areas of the sequence and resolution of differences between the two earlier proposals. Specifically, an-Ile-Ser- is established at 21–22, Asp at 41, Arg at 44, Lys at 46, and Glu at 111. These were areas of disagreement in the earlier proposals. A definitive placement of the residues around tryptophan-27 has now been obtained by three laboratories. C-terminal heterogeneity was observed with subunits ending at residue 107, 109, or 111. N-terminal heterogeneity has been observed in all preparations examined to date. A significant population of molecules with a proteolytic nick between residues 38–39 is noted. This is very likely an artifact of the collection and processing. The preparations examined in the present studies showed no evidence of residues 112–118 proposed by Saxena and Rathnam.     

The Upper Cave at Zhoukoudian and the origins of the Mongoloids

The best evidence for identifying the inhabitants of northeast Asia in the terminal Pleistocene or early Holocene periods is provided by the human burials from the Upper Cave at Zhoukoudian, and in particular the “Old Man”. Apart from the Minatogawa finds on Okinawa, all Late Pleistocene human remains from East Asia that are reasonably well published are poorly preserved and often have equivocal dates. Since the time the Upper Cave was excavated it has been supposed that the human remains were the link between “Peking Man” and the modern Mongoloid complex. We have carried out multivariate analyses of the “Old Man” cranium employing new measurements of Weidenreich's cast of the skull and comparative data from Howells' survey of modern human groups. Despite our expectations the analyses have not shown the “Old Man” to be closely linked with the Mongoloids. Considering all the evidence available we conclude that the common belief of a close biological relationship between the people buried in the Upper Cave and the modern Mongoloids is not yet adequately demonstrated. Of crucial importance in interpreting the Upper Cave burials is their antiquity, which is still commonly thought to be in the order of at least 18 000 years. We believe that recent C-14 dates of about 11 000 years, determined from animal bones, indicate the earliest possible date for the burials. The time span between the Upper Cave burials and the earliest known modern Mongoloids in north China is in the order of about 4–5000 years. It is possible that a major population shift has occurred in north China between the terminal Pleistocene and the mid Holocene, when farming first appears. If this is so, the Upper Cave people may not have been closely allied to the Mongoloid groups that now inhabit East Asia and the Americas.     

以点杂交方法对人β型血珠蛋白基因的染色质结构与功能进行的研究

我采用点杂交的方法,对人β型血珠蛋白基因簇的染色质结构与基因转录活性之间的关系进行了研究。以对DNase Ⅰ消化的敏感性作为染色质的结构参数,我将β型血珠蛋白基因簇中11个区域之间以及其与不表达基因区(乳糖白蛋白和免疫球蛋白不变区λ轻链基因)的染色结构进行比较。实验的细胞系统为K 562红白血病细胞与人胚皮肤细胞株(HES)。所获得的结果提示,在细胞核内,表达基因的染色质结构疏松,对DNase Ⅰ消化的敏感性远较不表达基因区的为高。此外,本文还对有关点杂交的方法学问题进行了较为详尽的讨论。     

Species specificity of iron delivery in hybridomas

Summary Studies with Human x Human (HxH), Human x Mouse (HxM), and Mouse x Mouse (MxM) hybridomas have enabled us to define specific factors that affect hybridoma growth in a species-specific manner. Three transferrins and three lipophilic iron chelates have been tested for their ability to support hybridoma proliferation and antibody production. The results of these studies demonstrate that HxH hybridomas do not respond to bovine transferrin a⁺ concentrations up to 100 μg/ml and are approximately 100-fold less responsive to mouse transferrin than to human transferrin. HxM and MxM hybridomas respond equally to human or mouse transferrin but are 100-fold less sensitive to bovine transferrin. An antibody to the human transferrin receptor inhibited the growth-promoting activity of human or mouse transferrin on HxH hybridomas but was ineffective on HxM hybridomas. This semonstrated the functionality of the human transferrin receptor in HxH hybridomas and that human, mouse, and bovine transferrin were interacting through the mouse transferrin receptor in HxM hybridomas. HxH and HxM hybridomas respond similarly to three different iron chelates exhibiting 80 to 110% of the growth response to human transferrin. MxM hybridomas fail to respond to the iron chelates at similar concentrations, suggesting that the human genome present in the other hybridoma species confers a unique ability for utilizing iron when delivered in this form.