Resolving the Conflicts Between Biodiversity Conservation and Socioeconomic Development in China: Fuzzy Clustering Approach

Resolving the conflicts between biodiversity conservation and socioeconomic development is a global pursuit for the long-run prospects of the human species. Based on Wenchuan County, a typical county in southwestern China, a group of 20 indicators quantifying regional biodiversity and socioeconomic development was established to classify and evaluate the county area spatially. A fuzzy c-means clustering (FCM) algorithm was used as the classification method. Three indices including BD, DL and DR characterizing the value of biodiversity, the level and rate of socioeconomic development of the delineated regions were formulated. The results indicated that Wenchuan County was optimally classified into 4 types of regions (region I to IV). The area percentages of the regions vary widely from 4.3 to 65.7%. The sequences of the regions on biodiversity, socioeconomic development level, and socioeconomic development rate were, respectively, IV > II > III > I, I > III > II > IV and III >I >II >IV. The spatial strategy on coordinating biodiversity conservation and regional development is to develop mainly from the east(I, II, III) and to conserve mainly in the west(IV). Eco-industry, such as eco-tourism and eco-agriculture, need to be emphasized in the process of regional development. The quantitative methods used here may have a wide applicability.     

Ecology and community dynamics of Kubo people in the tropical lowlands of Papua New Guinea

Kubo producer-units (families and independent bachelors) could have been self-sufficient in the production of bananas but chose not to be. Nor did they seek self-sufficiency in the production of any combination of staple carbohydrate foods (bananas, tubers, sago flour) or, in the long term, strive for balance in the exchange of food with other producer-units. Despite the fact that bananas, which provided 50% of people's energy needs, were a delayed-return crop Kubo communities were very unstable. This instability and the failure to choose the option of self-sufficiency were connected and were mediated through intense intracommunity sharing that, ultimately, served to negotiate a concern with sorcery. The people grew bananas in the way they did, not out of environmental necessity, but to accommodate the crop to the needs of sharing and, thereby, facilitate community living.     

4',6-Dichloroflavan (BW683C): Enantiomeric separation by hplc/dad and antirhinovirus activity

Racemic 4',6-dichloroflavan (BW683C), a highly effective inhibitor of rhinovirus serotype 1B in vitro, was resolved by high-performance liquid chromatography on a chiral stationary phase. The enantiomers were separately collected and circular dichroism curves were obtained, in order to determine the absolute configuration of the two enantiomers. The activity of the isomers was studied on human rhinovirus serotype 1B multiplication in HeLa cell cultures, by means of the plaque reduction assay. Both enantiomers were potent inhibitors of virus replication; by comparing the IC₅₀ values, the S form was 3.5 times more effective than the R form.     

Multiple conformations of amino acid residues in ribonuclease A

The highly refined 1.26 A structure (R = 0.15) of phosphate-free bovine pancreatic ribonuclease A was modeled with 13 residues having discrete multiple conformations of side chains. These residues are widely distributed over the protein surface, but only one of them, Lys 61, is involved in crystal packing interactions. The discrete conformers have no unusual torsion angles, and their interactions with the solvent and with other atoms of the protein are similar to those residues modeled with a single conformation. For three of the residues--Val 43, Asp 83, and Arg 85--two correlated conformations are found. The observed multiple conformations on the protein surfaces will be of significance in analyzing structure-function relationships and in performing protein engineering.     

Leishmania mexicana amazonensis: Surface charge of amastigote and promastigote forms

The surface charge of Leishmania mexicana amazonensis was evaluated by means of the binding of colloidal iron hydroxyde particles at pH 1.8 and cationized ferritin particles at pH 7.2 to the cell surface, visualizated by electron microscopy and by direct measurements of the electrophoretic mobility of cells suspended in solutions of different pH. The following forms of the parasite were analysed: amastigotes (surrounded or not by the membrane of the endocytic vacuole, isolated from lesions), transitional forms, and infective (5 passages) and noninfective (176 passages) promastigotes. The results obtained indicate that the surface of L. m. amazonensis contains both negatively and positively charged dissociating groups and that changes occur in the surface charge during amastigote-promastigote transformation. Treatment of the parasite with neuraminidase significantly reduced the electrophoretic mobility of the cells. Neuraminidase-treated cells recovered their normal electrophoretic mobility when incubated for 8 hr in fresh culture medium by a process that is inhibited by puromycin.     

核盘菌可溶性蛋白质及同工酶电泳研究

为了研究核盘菌的分类和生理分化问题,对供试的28个核盘菌株进行了可溶性蛋白质,芳香基酯酶和酸性磷酸酯酶同工酶电泳谱带以及紫外光吸收峰图形的试验研究,其结果,可分为五种类型。其中属于核盘菌属有四个种,即核盘菌Sclerotinia sclerotiorum(Lib.)de Bary(=Whetzelinia sclerotiorum(Lib.)Korf & Dumont),三叶草核盘菌S.trifoliorum Erikss.,细辛核盘菌(S.asari Wu et C.R.Wang和人参菌核病菌Sclerotinia sp。人参菌核病的另一分离菌和油菜菌核病的一个分离菌其谱带与灰葡萄孢(Botrytis cinerea)谱带相似,应归属于与葡萄孢属(Botrytis)相应的核盘菌。在核盘菌S.sclerotiorum种群中,南方菌系与北方菌系的可溶性蛋白质稍有差异,芳香基酯酶和酸性磷酸酯酶活性强度也稍有不同,可能存在生理分化现象。     

Stereoisomeric flavour compounds XXXV: Chiral aroma compounds of sherry I. Optically pure stereoisomers of solerone and solerole

The enantioseparation of the sherry aroma components 5-oxo-4-hydroxyhexanoic acid γ-lactone (solerone) and 4,5-dihydroxyhexanoic acid γ-lactone (solerole) is achieved, using Chiraspher (Merck) as the chiral HPLC phase and the optical purity ascertained directly by HRGC with heptakis(3-O-acetyl-2,6-di-O-pentyl)-β-cyclodextrin (Lipodex D) as the chiral stationary phase. The absolute configurations of 4,5-dihydroxyhexanoic acid γ-lactones are assigned by ¹H-NMR spectral data of diastereomeric α-methoxy-α-trifluoromethylphenylacetic acid (MTPA) esters, according to Mosher's model. Sensory qualities of the isomers are given.     

Chiral stationary phase high-performance liquid chromatographic resolution and absolute configuration of enantiomeric benzo[a]pyrene diol-epoxides and tetrols

Enantiomers of diastereomeric benzo[a]pyrene (BP) diol-epoxides, r-7,t-8-dihydroxy-t-9,10-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydro-BP (BP 7,8-diol-anti-9,10-epoxide), r-7,t-8-dihydroxy-c-9,10-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydro-BP (BP 7,8-diol-syn-9,10-epoxide), r-9,t-10-dihydroxy-t-7,8-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydro-BP (BP 9,10-diol-anti-7,8-epoxide), and several 7,8,9,10-tetrahydroxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrenes (BP tetrols) were resolved by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using columns packed with either (R)-N-(3,5-dinitrobenzoyl)phenylglycine[(R)-DNBPG] or (S)-N-(3,5-dinitrobenzoyl)leucine [(S)-DNBL], which is either ionically or covalently bonded to gamma-aminopropylsilanized silica. Resolution of enantiomers was confirmed by ultraviolet-visible absorption and circular dichroism spectral analyses. Resolved enantiomers of BP diol-epoxides were each hydrolyzed in acidic solution to a pair of diastereomeric tetrols which were separated by reversed-phase HPLC. Absolute stereochemistries of enantiomeric diol-epoxides were deduced by the absolute configuration of their hydrolysis products.     

德巴利汉逊酵母的两个变种及其相关种的脉冲电泳核型比较分析

摘要:用CHEF(钳位均匀电场)脉冲电泳系统分析了德巴利汉逊酵母的两个变种及两个相关种的脉冲电泳核型。对每个分类群的染色体条数,染色体DNA的分子量大小范围及整个基因组大小作出了估算,结果如下:Debaryomyces hansenii(Zopf) Lodder et Kreger-van Rij var. hansenii具有6-7条染色体,分子量范围为1.2-2.6(个别3.5)Mb,整个基因组大小为I 0.6-14.9Mb;D. hansenii var. fabryi (Ota) Nakase et Suzuki具有7条染色体,分子量范围为0.7-2.4M b,整个基因组大小为12.0-12.7Mb;D. nepalensis Goto et Sugiyama具有6-8条染色体,分子量范围为(个别0.2)1.1-2.7Mb,整个基因组大小为10.6-11.0Mb;Candida saitoana Nakase et Suzuki具有10-11条染色体,分子量范围为0.6-3.6Mb,整个基因组大小为18.1-18.9Mb.本研究表明C. saitoana与上述德巴利酵母属的三个分类群在脉冲电泳核型上具有明显差异,而后三者之间在染色体DNA带型上却没有发现有价值的区别之处.     

1.56 Å structure of mature truncated human fibroblast collagenase

The X-ray crystal structure of a 19 kDa active fragment of human fibroblast collagenase has been determined by the multiple isomorphous replacement method and refined at 1.56 Å resolution to an R-factor of 17.4%. The current structure includes a bound hydroxamate inhibitor, 88 waters and three metal atoms (two zincs and a calcium). The overall topology of the enzyme, comprised of a five stranded β-sheet and three α-helices, is similar to the thermolysin-like metalloproteinases. There are some important differences between the collagenase and thermolysin families of enzymes. The active site zinc ligands are all histidines (His-218, His-222, and His-228). The presence of a second zinc ion in a structural role is a unique feature of the matrix metalloproteinases. The binding properties of the active site cleft are more dependent on the main chain conformation of the enzyme (and substrate) compared with thermolysin. A mechanism of action for peptide cleavage similar to that of thermolysin is proposed for fibroblast collagenase. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.