First chemical synthesis of a scorpion alpha-toxin affecting sodium channels: the Aah I toxin of Androctonus australis hector.

Aah I is a 63-residue alpha-toxin isolated from the venom of the Buthidae scorpion Androctonus australis hector, which is considered to be the most dangerous species. We report here the first chemical synthesis of Aah I by the solid-phase method, using a Fmoc strategy. The synthetic toxin I (sAah I) was renatured in DMSO-Tris buffer, purified and subjected to thorough analysis and comparison with the natural toxin. The sAah I showed physico-chemical (CD spectrum, molecular mass, HPLC elution), biochemical (amino-acid composition, sequence), immunochemical and pharmacological properties similar to those of the natural toxin. The synthetic toxin was recognized by a conformation-dependent monoclonal anti-Aah I antibody, with an IC50 value close to that for the natural toxin. Following intracerebroventricular injection, the synthetic and the natural toxins were similarly lethal to mice. In voltage-clamp experiments, Na(v) 1.2 sodium channel inactivation was inhibited by the application of sAah I or of the natural toxin in a similar way. This work describes a simple protocol for the chemical synthesis of a scorpion alpha-toxin, making it possible to produce structural analogues in time.     

Simplified methods for monitoring petroleum‐contaminated ground water and soil vapor

Portable meters and simplified gas Chromatographic (GC) techniques were investigated for monitoring volatile hydrocarbon (HC), CO₂, and O₂, concentrations in groundwater, exhaust gases, and soil vapor during in situ remediation using soil vapor extraction (SVE) and air sparging (AS). Results of groundwater samples analyzed in‐house using a headspace technique compared well to split samples analyzed by a certified analytical laboratory (r² = 0.94). SVE exhaust gas HC and CO₂ concentrations measured using a GT201 portable HC/O₂ meter and a RA‐411A meter (GasTech), respectively, were highly correlated with in‐house laboratory GC analyses (r² = 0.91). O₂ concentrations fell in a small range and meter analyses were not well correlated with laboratory analyses. Results of soil gas monitoring were not as well correlated as those for exhaust gases for HC, CO₂, or O₂, perhaps due to environmental conditions such as changes in relative humidity or the wider range of soil gas values. Overall, the meters were good indicators of vapor contamination, they greatly simplified estimates of total HC mass removal, and they allowed estimates of the biological contribution to contaminant removal during the remediation process.     

Cone penetrometer testing,hydropunch®, and borehole geophysics applications for environmental investigations

An effective groundwater monitoring system can be implemented by the combined utilization of cone penetrometer (CPT), HydroPunch^® sampling, and borehole geophysical methods. The combined techniques provide a cost‐effective method for the design of a groundwater monitoring system for geologists or hydrogeologists assessing a site. With the relatively high costs associated with determining groundwater quality for site assessments, coupled with regulatory agency compliance, these combined methods can provide an effective edge in an increasingly competitive environmental industry. CPT combined with HydroPunch sampling can delineate the horizontal and vertical extent and concentration of a contaminant plume, define the extent and thickness of a free product plume, define soil and aquifer characteristics, and aid in the proper selection of well location and screen placement. The use of borehole geophysics further enhances the interpretation provided from the CPT. The interpretation of borehole geophysics provides additional information about the deposition regime of the area of investigation and a more detailed investigation of the stratigraphy. The CPT and HydroPunch can be used in unconsolidated sediments, and HydroPunch sampling can be combined with a hollow‐stem auger system. Borehole geophysics can be run in almost any environment. CPT and borehole geophysics provide information on specific lithologic characteristics necessary to obtain a groundwater sample from vertically separated aquifers. The HydroPunch can obtain a discrete, chemically representative groundwater sample from the targeted aquifer. CPT and borehole geophysics can also be used to determine lithology and for correlation of equivalent stratas from one borehole or well to the next. Borehole geophysical interpretation also provides a means of determining not only the stratigraphy and lithology but also the aquifer parameters and the type of fluids in the aquifer. Hydrogeologic and geologic data obtained from using these three methods can be employed to maximize the cost‐effectiveness and design efficiency of a groundwater monitoring system. Proper location of wells and screened interval placements are determined by a coherent design process rather than by random chance. Two studies demonstrating the combined applications of CPT, HydroPunch, and borehole geophysics for the design and placement of groundwater monitoring wells are presented in the following discussion.     

Epistatic,additive and dominance variation in a triple test cross of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Summary Triple test cross progenies resulting from the crossing of three testers (Kloka, UP 368 and an f₁ intermediate between them) and 24 varieties of bread wheat have been studied for plant height (cm), peduncle length (cm), ear length (cm), number of spikelets per spike and harvest index (ratio between economic and total yield). Epistasis was not significant for any of the characters studied. The testers were inadequate for plant height and for peduncle length although the testers varied considerably for these traits. Additive variance played a significant role in the inheritance of all the characters except number of spikelets per spike. The dominance variance was important for plant height, ear length and harvest index. The degree of dominance was in the over-dominance range for plant height. Complete dominance was operative for ear length, number of spikelets per spike and harvest index whereas for peduncle length only partial dominance was observed. The possibility of the isolation of the recombinants with high harvest index has been stressed.     

Carbohydrate binding activity of a lectin-like glycoprotein from stems and leaves of Dolichosbiflorus

A glycoprotein from the stems and leaves of the $\text{Dolichos}$$\text{biflorus}$ plant that cross reacts with antibodies to the seed lectin has been found to bind to affinity columns of blood group A + H substance covalently linked to Sepharose. This binding of the cross reactive material to the affinity resin differs from that of the seed lectin in that it is easily dissociated with 0.15 M NaCl. Affinity electrophoresis using entrapped blood group A + H substance shows that the carbohydrate binding activity of the cross reactive material is weakly inhibited with N-acetyl-D

-galactosamine and N-acetyl-D

-glucosamine. Glucose, mannose and galactose gave no inhibition when tested at concentrations of 50 mM. These data indicate that the specificity of the cross reactive material is somewhat different from the N-acetyl-D

-galactosamine specificity of the seed lectin. The significance of these findings is discussed in relation to the structural similarities of the cross reactive material and the seed lectin.     

近60年秦岭山地旱涝变化规律

随着极端气候变化,山地灾害频发。基于秦岭山地32个气象站点的实测数据,以标准化降水蒸散指数(SPEI)为旱涝量化指标,研究了过去60年秦岭山地旱涝时空变化特征、频率、周期等变化规律,结果表明：(1)1960—2019年,秦岭山地年SPEI指数以0.124/10a的速度下降,其中,90.23%的面积呈显著下降趋势,1.96%的面积呈显著上升趋势,并在1990年发生干旱突变;秦岭北坡的干旱化趋势大于南坡,且高海拔地区干旱化更为明显。(2)突变前秦岭山地湿润比例平均值为36.94%,突变后下降为18.19%;干旱比例由突变前的17.64%急剧上升到突变后的38.19%;突变前30年秦岭山地极端干旱事件、严重干旱事件极少发生,发生频率几乎为0;突变后30年严重干旱和极端干旱事件发生频率增加,秦岭南北坡极端湿润和严重湿润事件近乎销声匿迹。(3)整体上,太阳黑子与秦岭山地旱涝变化以显著负相关关系为主;ENSO事件对秦岭山地的旱涝变化影响较大,在La Nina年易发生洪涝事件,在El Ni1o年易发生干旱事件;在不同时域范围内,海表温度距平(SSTA)对秦岭山地旱涝变化的影响不同：1990年以前,S...     

缺氧预适应研究的进展与展望

缺氧预适应这一生物进化上的内源性细胞保护机制,可被机体、器官、组织和细胞的重复缺氧暴露所激发。缺氧预适应的效应已由对重复缺氧局部／原位器官组织的保护（局部／原位缺氧预适应）发展到既保护远隔的各种异位器官组织（远程／异位缺氧预适应）又抗御其它种种非缺氧性应激（交叉／多能缺氧预适应）。在现有进展的基础上,缺氧预适应研究以及其可操作性和可应用性将有更大的发展空间。     

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CELL CYCLE AND LIGHT‐LIMITED GROWTH RATE IN OCEANIC PROCHLOROCOCCUS (MIT9312) AND SYNECHOCOCCUS (WH8103) (CYANOBACTERIA)1

The relationships between growth rate, cell‐cycle parameters, and cell size were examined in two unicellular cyanobacteria representative of open‐ocean environments: Prochlorococcus (strain MIT9312) and Synechococcus (strain WH8103). Chromosome replication time, C, was constrained to a fairly narrow range of values (～4–6 h) in both species and did not appear to vary with growth rate. In contrast, the pre‐ and post‐DNA replication periods, B and D, respectively, decreased with increasing growth rate from maxima of ～30 and 10–20 h to minima of ～4–6 and 2–3 h, respectively. The combined duration of the chromosome replication and postreplication periods (C+D), a quantity often used in the estimation of Prochlorococcus in situ growth rates, varied ～2.4‐fold over the range of growth rates examined. This finding suggests that assumptions of invariant C+D may adversely influence Prochlorococcus growth rate estimates. In both strains, cell mass was the greatest in slowly growing cells and decreased 2‐ to 3‐fold over the range of growth rates examined here. Estimated cell mass at the start of replication appeared to decrease with increasing growth rate, indicating that the initiation of chromosome replication in Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus is not a simple function of cell biomass, as suggested previously. Taken together, our results reflect a notable degree of similarity between oceanic Synechococcus and Prochlorococcus strains with respect to their growth‐rate‐specific cell‐cycle characteristics.     

EZYprep LC‐coupled MALDI‐TOF/TOF MS: An improved matrix spray application for phosphopeptide characterisation

The quality of MALDI‐TOF mass spectrometric analysis is highly dependent on the matrix and its deposition strategy. Although different matrix‐deposition methods have specific advantages, one major problem in the field of proteomics, particularly with respect to quantitation, is reproducibility between users or laboratories. Compounding this is the varying crystal homogeneity of matrices depending on the deposition strategy used. Here, we describe a novel optimised matrix‐deposition strategy for LC‐MALDI‐TOF/TOF MS using an automated instrument that produces a nebulised matrix “mist” under controlled atmospheric conditions. Comparisons of this with previously reported strategies showed the method to be advantageous for the atypical matrix, 2,5‐DHB, and improved phosphopeptide ionisation when compared with deposition strategies for CHCA. This optimised DHB matrix‐deposition strategy with LC‐MALDI‐TOF/TOF MS, termed EZYprep LC, was subsequently optimised for phosphoproteome analysis and compared to LC‐ESI‐IT‐MS and a previously reported approach for phosphotyrosine identification and characterisation. These methods were used to map phosphorylation on epidermal growth factor‐stimulated epidermal growth factor receptor to gauge the sensitivity of the proposed method. EZYprep DHB LC‐MALDI‐TOF/TOF MS was able to identify more phosphopeptides and characterise more phosphorylation sites than the other two proteomic strategies, thus proving to be a sensitive approach for phosphoproteome analysis.