The Contractile Proteins and Calcium Mediated Gelation and Contraction of Pollen Tube Extracts

The crude extracts of pollen tubes, like other nonmuscle ceils, showed gelation at Iow Ga2+ concentrations and ATP-dependent contraction at higher Ga2+ concentrations. The contracted cytoplasmic clots contained a lot of filaments which were mainly composed of actin, myosin, 105 kD, 67 kD, 48 kD, 38 kD, 34 kD and 28 kD proteins. It is likely that Ca2+ are able to mediate tranformation of acfin from a less ordered state to a more oriented filaments, which interact with actin-binding proteins to form the filamentous network, thus to induce the gel formation of cytoplasm, to regulate the interaction of actin and myosin which transform the chemical energy of ATP into mechanical work of contractile movement of cytoplasm.     

Implications of an early land plant spore assemblage for the late Silurian age of the Si Ka Formation,northern Vietnam

The first plant microfossil assemblage from the Si Ka Formation of the Song Cau Group, northern Vietnam is reported. It is composed of cryptospores in dyads and tetrads, trilete spores, tubular remains consisting of an association of smooth, banded, and externally thickened tubes, and cuticle-like fragments. The biostratigraphic assemblage of sporomorphs indicates a late Silurian (late Ludfordian) to Early Devonian (early Lochkovian) age. Further comparison with coeval reports using the characteristic features of the assemblage confines their age to the late Ludlow (late Ludfordian) to early Přídolí. This report presents the oldest spore assemblage from Vietnam and contributes to a broader understanding of its paleo-landscape during the late Silurian.     

Tubes and tube-building in a lotic Chironomid (Diptera) community

The use of particles for the construction of tubes by a community of stream-dwelling midge (Chironomidae) larvae was investigated. It was shown that the particles present in the larval tubes occurred in the same proportions as those present on the surfaces of stones in the stream. Small particles were principally of detritus, medium-sized particles mainly of detritus and diatoms, and a a variety of types of particles, including filamentous algae and sand grains, occurred in the large size category. The absence of particle selection in the field was reflected in laboratory experiments. It is suggested that competition for suitable available space in which to build tubes and the quantity of building material are likely to be of more significance to the larval community in upland streams than particle size or type.     

Assessment of cell concentration and viability of isolated hepatocytes using flow cytometry

The assessment of cell concentration and viability of freshly isolated hepatocyte preparations has been traditionally performed using manual counting with a Neubauer counting chamber and staining for trypan blue exclusion. Despite the simple and rapid nature of this assessment, concerns about the accuracy of these methods exist. Simple flow cytometry techniques which determine cell concentration and viability are available yet surprisingly have not been extensively used or validated with isolated hepatocyte preparations. We therefore investigated the use of flow cytometry using TRUCOUNT Tubes and propidium iodide staining to measure cell concentration and viability of isolated rat hepatocytes in suspension. Analysis using TRUCOUNT Tubes provided more accurate and reproducible measurement of cell concentration than manual cell counting. Hepatocyte viability, assessed using propidium iodide, correlated more closely than did trypan blue exclusion with all indicators of hepatocyte integrity and function measured (lactate dehydrogenase leakage, cytochrome p450 content, cellular ATP concentration, ammonia and lactate removal, urea and albumin synthesis). We conclude that flow cytometry techniques can be used to measure cell concentration and viability of isolated hepatocyte preparations. The techniques are simple, rapid, and more accurate than manual cell counting and trypan blue staining and the results are not affected by protein-containing media.     

Organomineralization of cirratulid annelid tubes-fossil and recent examples

Summary The calcareous housing tubes of fossil species of the polychaete wormsDiplochaetetes andDodecaceria from the Tertiary of Lower California (Mexico) are composed, as well as the tubes of recent species ofDodecaceria, by micritic, peloidal lamellae. The wall ofDiplochaetetes spp. consists of only a few, that ofDodecaceria spp. of numerous lamellae. They form a stromatolitic fabric with intercalated lenses of fibrous calcite/aragonite. Histological investigation of the tubes ofDodecaceria showed that the tube formation is related to two processes. The initial process is weakly controlled by the worm itself (matrix mediated). The worm produces acidic organic mucus substances which are enriched between the soft tissue and the tube wall. The entire mucus inhibits the mineralization of the mucus for a certain time. The mineralization events of the mucus are responsible for the stromatolitic microfabric. Within the spaces between the primary lamellae non-specific EPS (extracellular polymeric substances)-rich mucus is enriched, which controls the formation of fibrous aragonitic crystals and peloidal fabrics. This is a very characteristic organomineralization process which is not controlled directly by the organism. The entire process is comparable with those seen in complex rigid modern microbialites from salt and alkaline lakes in Western Australia and Nevada.     

The sclerobionts of the Bajocian Oolithe ferrugineuse de Bayeux Formation from Calvados (Paris Basin,Normandy, France)

Silicified fossils collected in ploughed fields at Gavrus (Calvados, France), mainly mollusc shells, are Bajocian in age, and come from the Oolithe ferrugineuse de Bayeux Formation. The entire formation is highly condensed and most fossils are reworked. Their silicification allowed treatment with dilute hydrochloric acid. This treatment brought to light numerous encrusting sclerobionts: Porifera (3 taxa), Bryozoa (n), Polychaeta (9), Brachiopoda (n), Bivalvia (5). The borings and bioerosional traces are described using the “categories of architectural design” as defined by Buatois et al. (2017). Among the 28 ichnotaxa described (corresponding to an ichnodisparity of 14), Planavolites wisshaki isp. nov., Kleithrichnus belemnophilus igen. nov., isp. nov. and Foggara foggara igen. nov., isp. nov. are new. Some Gastrochaenolites dijugus Kelly and Bromley, 1984 borings accommodate the shell of the presumed borer Lithophaga fabella J.-A. Eudes-Deslongchamps, 1838. A group of Nododendrina europaea (Fischer, 1875) on a belemnite rostrum provides a good instance of an ichnogenetic series. Encrusting sclerobionts and macroscopic boring and bioerosional trace-makers are dominantly suspension feeders. The ichnofacies is a peculiar Entobia-ichnofacies, found in deeper, lower-energy environments than the “classical” coastal Entobia-ichnofacies, on deep shell-grounds far from the coast, in the deep euphotic zone.     

新型复合血管制备过程中胶原管成熟过程的观察

本文对新型生物－人工复合血管制备过程中胶原管的成熟过程进行了观察,确定了成熟时间为３个月。作者发现胶原管的成熟过程是聚酯网和硅胶棒刺激增生的纤维结缔组织在聚酯周围及内侧围绕硅胶棒不断塑开始以细胞成分为主,以后随着胶原成分不断增多,到３个月时以胶原成分为主,胶原纤维变得粗大且有序,以聚酯为骨架的胶原管成熟。     

生物膜细管形成过程的研究*

我们都知道磷脂双亲分子在水或者油溶液中会形成各种不同的形状。现在我们探讨的是一种细的管状生物膜泡。它通常是指在磷脂双亲分子形成膜泡后,我们对它在显微镜下进行的一系列使用光镊施加拉力操作而形成的细的管状结构。实验显示,膜泡形成的管状结构在生物学中是普遍存在的。本文主要研究怎样应用数值计算的方法进行模拟细的管状膜泡,从而得到一些长短,粗细不同的管状生物膜泡。我们从极小曲面悬链面的角度出发,研究管状膜泡的形成结构特点。最后我们认为管状膜泡的形成不同形状是与对膜泡施加拉力、细管的半径、以及管子的长度等因素有着密切的联系。