Insolubility of Cr2O3 in Bioaccessibility Tests Points to Requirement for a New Human Oral Reference Dose for Trivalent Chromium

Bioaccessibility measurements have the potential to improve the accuracy of risk assessments and reduce the potential costs of remediation when they reveal that the solubility of chemicals in a matrix (e.g., soil) differs markedly from that in the critical toxicity study (i.e., the key study from which a toxicological or toxicity reference value is derived). We aimed to apply this approach to a brownfield site contaminated with chromium, and found that the speciation was Cr^III, using a combination of alkaline digestion/diphenylcarbazide complexation and X-ray absorption near edge structure analysis. The bioaccessibility of Cr₂O₃, the compound on which a reference dose for Cr^III is based, was substantially lower (<0.1%) than that of the Cr^III in the soils, which was a maximum of 9%, giving relative bioaccessibility values of 13,000% in soil. This shows that the reference dose is based on essentially an insoluble compound, and thus we suggest that other compounds be considered for toxicity testing and derivation of reference dose. Two possibilities are CrCl₃·6H₂O and KCr(SO₄)₂·12H₂O, which have been used for derivation of ecological toxicity reference values and are soluble at a range of dosing levels in our bioaccessibility tests.     

The Neural Basis of Responsibility Attribution in Decision-Making

Social responsibility links personal behavior with societal expectations and plays a key role in affecting an agent’s emotional state following a decision. However, the neural basis of responsibility attribution remains unclear. In two previous event-related brain potential (ERP) studies we found that personal responsibility modulated outcome evaluation in gambling tasks. Here we conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study to identify particular brain regions that mediate responsibility attribution. In a context involving team cooperation, participants completed a task with their teammates and on each trial received feedback about team success and individual success sequentially. We found that brain activity differed between conditions involving team success vs. team failure. Further, different brain regions were associated with reinforcement of behavior by social praise vs. monetary reward. Specifically, right temporoparietal junction (RTPJ) was associated with social pride whereas dorsal striatum and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) were related to reinforcement of behaviors leading to personal gain. The present study provides evidence that the RTPJ is an important region for determining whether self-generated behaviors are deserving of praise in a social context.     

原位椭圆偏振术研究牛血清清蛋白在固/液界面的吸附

用原位椭圆偏振术系统研究了硅片表面因素及缓冲液环境因素对牛血清清蛋白在固/液界面吸附的影响。在生理条件下,疏水表面与亲水表面相比BSA吸附量较大。随着硅片表面电荷密度增加,BSA吸附量增加。BSA吸附量当体溶液pH值等于BSA等电点时达到最大。而随着体溶液离子强度增加,BSA吸附量亦上升。实验结果提示:除了熵驱动作用之外,硅片表面与BSA分子及BSA分子之间的静电作用在BSA吸附中起着十分重要的作用。     

狗的无氧阈与骨骼肌某些特征在锻炼、脱锻炼动态变化中的关系

本实验在体力锻炼与脱锻炼过程中观察了五条成年雄性杂种狗的无氧阈(AT)、骨骼肌毛细血管密度(cap/mm~2)、毛细血管数与肌纤维数之比(C:F)、肌纤维组成——慢肌纤维百分比(％ST)以及毛细血管弥散距离(弥散距离)的变化。结果表明:锻炼前AT与cap/mm~2、C:F,％ST及弥散距离均分别有显著相关。锻炼后第五周,AT、cap/mm~2、C:F和％ST分别增加了40.9％、12.2％、22.9％和2.4％,弥散距离降低6.3％,其中只有AT的增加有显著意义,锻炼十周后,AT增加68.2％(P<0.001)、cap/mm~2增加37.8％(P<0.05)、C:F增加78.1％(P<0.001),弥散距离降低17.0％(P<0.01)而％ST无显著变化。停止锻炼后第五周,AT等各指标都有降低的趋势,但无显著意义,停止锻炼后第12周,AT、cap/mm~2,C:F,％ST分别降低了18.9％、10.9％、10.5％、2.9％,弥散距离增加5.1％,其中除AT的降低有显著意义外,其余指标的变化均无显著意义。与锻炼前相比,这些指标的变化。除％ST外,仍有显著变化。在锻炼与脱锻炼的过程中,AT与cap/mm~2、C:F、弥散距离在各期或整个过程中均呈显著相关,但与％ST相关不显著。实验结果提示,骨骼肌的毛细血管供应状况是决定无氧阈的重要因素之一。     

流行性感冒病毒重组株京生75-29 R2 T1及冷适应株31-广的基因分析

用聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳方法分析了流行性感冒病毒重组株京生75-29R2 T1(H3N2)及冷适应株31-广(H3N2)的RNA及多肽。重组株京生75-29R2 T1的HA及M基因系来自流行病毒亲本株/甲/北京/29/75(H3N2),而P_2、NA、NP及NS基因则来自温度敏感母株福R3(H2N2)。流行病毒株甲/穗/03/68(H3N2)在低温条件下经鸡胚尿囊腔传递24代而获得的冷适应疫苗毒株31-广(H3N2)其基因型与野毒株一致。     

关于猫颌下腺神经支及其节前神经元的观察

用逆行溃变（Kohnstamm,1902;Yagita,et al.,1909;Torvik,1957）局部电刺激中枢（Chatfield,1942;Magoun et al.,1942;Wang,1943）等方法进行唾液中枢的定位,所得到结果很不一致。近年Satomi（1979）等用辣根过氧化酶（HRP）浸泡猫中间一面神经或鼓索神经,观察了脑干中逆行标记细胞的分布。但用HRP直接浸泡支配猫颌下腺的神经分支尚未见报道。此外,只见到关于鼓索神经纤维类别和数量的分析的光学显微镜研究（Foley,1945）,用光镜和电镜相结合分析颌下腺神经支中的纤     

狗在运动中的肌糖原消耗与无氧阈的关系

本实验测定了5条狗的无氧阈值,运动耐受时间、衰竭时的血乳酸浓度及运动中的肌糖原消耗量。结果如下:无氧阈值,1.与运动耐受时间呈正相关(r=0.947,P<0.02);2.与运动中肌糖原消耗量呈负相关(r=-0.959,P<0.01);3.与衰竭时的血乳酸浓度呈负相关(r=-0.942,P<0.02)。实验结果提示,无氧阈值是反映机体耐力的可靠指标。而运动中肌糖原消耗少,血乳酸积累程度轻,可能是无氧阈值之所以能够反映机体耐力的物质基础。     

地高辛标记探针用于人白细胞基因定位

用地高辛标记探针在人染色体上进行了基因定位。使用了酶显色和荧光显色,两者得到了相同的定位结果,特异区阳性率分别为11.6％和19.8％’荧光显色特异性较高,说明基因定位效果受显示系统效率的影响,地高辛标记探针用于基因定位有比放射性探针、生物素探针更多的优越性。又讨论了几个影响效果的因素,提出以SDC代替甲酰胺洗涤;紫外照射于杂交前R显带方法能取得较好的基因定位效果。     

影响大肠杆菌中外源基因表达的因素

大肠杆菌已经被广泛地应用于表达各种外源基因,但是,不同的外源基因在表达效率上却有很大的差异,文章综述了影响大肠杆菌中外源基因表达的因素,这将有助于认识大肠杆菌中外源基因表达的规律,以便采取有效的方法提高外源基因在大肠杆菌中的表达效率．     

Carbon uptake in Eurasian boreal forests dominates the high-latitude net ecosystem carbon budget

Arctic-boreal landscapes are experiencing profound warming, along with changes in ecosystem moisture status and disturbance from fire. This region is of global importance in terms of carbon feedbacks to climate, yet the sign (sink or source) and magnitude of the Arctic-boreal carbon budget within recent years remains highly uncertain. Here, we provide new estimates of recent (2003–2015) vegetation gross primary productivity (GPP), ecosystem respiration (R_eco), net ecosystem CO₂ exchange (NEE; R_eco − GPP), and terrestrial methane (CH₄) emissions for the Arctic-boreal zone using a satellite data-driven process-model for northern ecosystems (TCFM-Arctic), calibrated and evaluated using measurements from >60 tower eddy covariance (EC) sites. We used TCFM-Arctic to obtain daily 1-km² flux estimates and annual carbon budgets for the pan-Arctic-boreal region. Across the domain, the model indicated an overall average NEE sink of −850 Tg CO₂-C year⁻¹. Eurasian boreal zones, especially those in Siberia, contributed to a majority of the net sink. In contrast, the tundra biome was relatively carbon neutral (ranging from small sink to source). Regional CH₄ emissions from tundra and boreal wetlands (not accounting for aquatic CH₄) were estimated at 35 Tg CH₄-C year⁻¹. Accounting for additional emissions from open water aquatic bodies and from fire, using available estimates from the literature, reduced the total regional NEE sink by 21% and shifted many far northern tundra landscapes, and some boreal forests, to a net carbon source. This assessment, based on in situ observations and models, improves our understanding of the high-latitude carbon status and also indicates a continued need for integrated site-to-regional assessments to monitor the vulnerability of these ecosystems to climate change.