Direct gene transfer into Actinidia deliciosa protoplasts: analysis of transient expression of the CAT gene using TLC autoradiography and a GC-MS-based method

Chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CAT) gene was used as a reporter gene to assess the conditions for polyethylene glycol (PEG)-mediated transfection of kiwifruit protoplasts. The effect of plasmid concentration and the presence of carrier DNA were each assessed by analysing CAT activity in transfected protoplasts using thin-layer chromatography (TLC) autoradiographic detection of acetylated chloramphenicol. A gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) non-radioactive method was developed for monitoring CAT gene activity. This method provides a high speed of analysis (30 min) and precise means of detecting acetylated products at the nanomolar level, enabling quantification at very low transfection rates. Using this method we optimized plasmid and PEG concentration and also assessed the effect of heat shock on transfection. The best CAT activity was obtained using 30% polyethylene glycol 4000 and by submitting protoplasts to heat shock (45 °C, 5 min) prior to transfection.     

A short history of nuclear activation analysis

The major developments in the field of nuclear activation analysis, from 1936 to 1989, are discussed. The developments are grouped into five consecutive time periods. The impact of various scientists on the development of the field in the first 35 years is also discussed.     

Frequency tuning curves of the dolphin's hearing: envelope-following response study

Simultaneous tone-tone masking in conjunction with the envelope-following response (EFR) recording was used to obtain tuning curves in dolphins (Turslops truncatus). The EFR was evoked by amplitude-modulated probes of various frequencies. A modulation rate of 600 Hz was found to fit the requirement to have a narrow spectrum and evoke EFR of large amplitude. Tuning curves were obtained within the frequency range from 11.2 to 110 kHz. The Q₁₀ values of the obtained tuning curves varied from 12–14 at the 11.2 kHz center frequency to 17–20 at the 64–90 kHz frequencies.Abbreviations ABR auditory brainstem response - EFR envelope following response - ERB equivalent rectangular bandwidth     

Enhanced ethylene production by primary roots of Zea mays L. in response to sub-ambient partial pressures of oxygen

Ethylene production by primary roots of 72–h-old intact seedlings of Zea mays L. cv. LG11 was studied under ambient and sub-ambient oxygen partial pressures (pO₂) using a gas flow-through system linked to a photoacoustic laser detector. Despite precautions to minimize physical perturbation to seedlings while setting-up, ethylene production in air was faster during the first 6h than later, in association with a small temporary swelling of the roots. When roots were switched from air (20–8kPa O₂) to 3 or 5kPa O₂ after 6h, ethylene production increased within 2—3 h. When, the roots were returned to air 16 h later, ethylene production decreased within 2—3 h. The presence of 10kPa CO₂ did not interfere with the effect of 3kPa O₂. Transferring roots from air to 12–5kPa did not change ethylene production, while a reduction to 1 kPa O₂ induced a small increase. The extra ethylene formed in 3 and 5 kPa O₂ was associated with plagiotropism, swelling, root hair production, and after 72 h, increased amounts of intercellular space (aerenchyma) in the root cortex. Root extension was also slowed down, but the pattern of response to oxygen shortage did not always match that of ethylene production. On return to air, subsequent growth patterns became normal within a few hours. In the complete absence of oxygen, no ethylene production was detected, even when anaerobic roots were returned to air after 16 h.     

ABR frequency tuning curves in dolphins

Tone-tone masking was used to determine auditory brain-stem response tuning curves in dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in a simultaneous-masking paradigm. The Q ₁₀ of the curves was as large as 16–19 in the frequency range 64–128 kHz. In the range 45–16 kHz, Q ₁₀ decreased proportionally to the frequency with the bandwidth of the curves being constant, about 3.5–4 kHz at the 10-dB level. Tuning curves below 45 kHz are supposed to reflect broad spectral bandwidth of the probe's effective part which is no longer than 0.5 ms, irrespective of actual probe duration. Tuning curves above 64 kHz are supposed to reflect the real frequency tuning of the dolphin's auditory system.Abbreviations ABR auditory brain stem response - AP action potential     

采用Reichardt运动检测器和Boltzmann Machine神经网络的运动计算

建立了一个探讨灵长类视皮层从Ｖ１区到ＭＴ区的运动信息加工原理的计算模型,这个过程的突出特征是视觉运动信息经过了从局部检测进步到整体感知。模型的第一层由用于抽提运动模式的局部速度以及结构性质的Ｒｅｉｃｈａｒｄｔ运动检测器组成,进一步的加工是通过Ｂｏｌｔｚｍａｎｎ Ｍａｃｈｉｎｅ神经网络来实现的。这种网络的学习算法具有局部更新的显著性质,在学习阶段,网络不断地修改联结权重以形成对于记录在网络的显单元上     

Anisakis simplex and Anisakis physeteris: physicochemical properties of larval and adult hemoglobins

To resolve the taxonomic relationship between two types of parasitic nematode larvae (Type I and II) and two species of parasitic nematode adults (Anisakis simplex and A. physeteris) of the aquatic ascarid genus Anisakis, collected in Japanese coastal water, a comparison was made of their hemoglobins' physicochemical properties. The larval hemoglobins were more similar to each other in electrophoretic pattern than to either adult, indeed there were few similarities whatsoever in these patterns of larval and adult hemoglobins. However, isoelectric points were 6.2 for the Type I larva and for A. simplex and 5.4 for the Type II larva and for A. physeteris. All samples showed identical patterns in spectrophotometric scanning. The circular dichroic spectra of the samples were also virtually identical, although slight differences were noted in the oxygenated hemoglobins; the Type II larva and A. physeteris exhibited a small positive peak at 575 nm but the Type I larva and A. simplex exhibited a much smaller peak (negative position). The sedimentation coefficients of the samples possessed essentially identical values (11.2–12.4). The molecular weights of the samples were estimated, roughly, to be in the range 33 to 43 × 10⁴ by thin-layer chromatography on Sephadex G-200. The evidence suggests that a relationship may exist between the Type I larva and A. simplex, and between the Type II larva and A. physeteris.     

Molecular Characteristics of Bovine Serum Albumin-Dextran Conjugates

Bovine serum albumin (BSA)-dextran conjugates were prepared by using the Maillard reaction; depending on the ratio of dextran to BSA used, about 0.5–1 mol of dextran could be bound to 1 mol of native BSA. SDS–PAGE patterns revealed that BSA and dextran had been covalently bonded. Structural analyses by fluorescence spectroscopy and circular dichroism indicated that the BSA surface in each conjugate was covered with dextran without any great disruption of the native conformation. The conjugates could be grouped into two fractions on the basis of the weight-average molecular mass measured: the main fraction at 1.95–2.35×10⁵ g/mol and a less-abundant fraction with aggregates greater than 1.50×10⁶ g/mol. High-performance size-exclusion chromatography in conjunction with multi-angle laser light scattering detection revealed that the BSA-dextran conjugates prepared by using the Maillard reaction had various molar masses and radii.     

基于地理探测器的中国农业生态效率时空分异及其影响因素

研究农业生态效率的时空分异及其影响因素对实现中国农业生态高质量发展具有重要意义。基于2000—2018年中国30个省/区/市的面板数据,采用超效率SBM模型测算省际农业生态效率,在时间序列、空间可视化及趋势面分析揭示农业生态效率时空演变规律的基础上,进一步利用地理探测器模型识别影响农业生态效率空间分异的主导因子及其交互作用。结果表明: 2000—2018年,中国农业生态效率整体呈现稳定上升的趋势,但仍然处于较低水平,存在较大提升空间;中国农业生态效率具有显著的空间分异特征,总体上呈现出东西部地区较高、而中部地区较低的空间分布格局;中国农业生态效率的空间分异受到农业资源禀赋、社会经济、自然生态环境等多种因素的影响,不同因子对农业生态效率空间分异的影响存在明显差异且因子间交互作用会增强其空间分异。综上,要关注农业生态效率时空分异的主导因子,并注重区域间的协同合作,以实现农业的高质量发展。