Lysis of Aphanizomenon flos-aquae (Cyanobacterium) by a bacterium Bacillus cereus

A phytoplankton-lytic (PL) bacterium, Bacillus cereus, capable of lysing the bloom-forming cyanobacterium. Aphanizomenon flos-aquae was isolated from Lake Dianchi of Yunnan province, China. This bacterium showed lytic activities against a wide range of cyanobacteria/algae, including A. flos-aquae, Microcystis viridis, Microcystis wesenbergi, Microcystis aeruginosa, Chlorella ellipsoidea, Oscillatoria tenuis, Nostoc punctiforme, Anabaena flos-aquae, Spirulina maxima, and Selenastrum capricornutum. Chlorophyll a contents, phycocyanin contents, and photosynthetic activities of the A. flos-aquae decreased evidently in an infected culture for a period. Bacterium B. cereus attacked rapidly A. flos-aquae cells by cell-to-cell contact mechanism. It was shown that the lysis of A. flos-aquae began with the breach of the cyanobacterial cell wall, and the cyanobacterial cell appeared abnormal in the presence of the PL bacterium. Moreover, transmission electron microscope examinations revealed that a close contact between the bacterium and the cyanobacterium was necessary for lysis. Some slime extrusions produced from B. cereus assisted the bacterial cells to be in close association with and lyse the cyanobacterial cells. These findings suggested that this bacterium could play an important role in controlling the Aphanizomenon blooms in freshwaters. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Characterization of the Rana grylio virus 3 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase and its novel role in suppressing virus-induced cytopathic effect

The 3 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3 beta-HSD) isoenzymes play a key role in cellular steroid hormone synthesis. Here, a 3 beta-HSD gene homolog,was cloned from Rana grylio virus (RGV), a member of family Iridoviridae. RGV 3 beta-HSD gene has 1068 bp, encoding a 355 aa predicted protein. Transcription analyses showed that RGV 3 beta-HSD gene was transcribed immediate-early during infection from an initiation site 19 nucleotides upstream of the translation start site. Confocal microscopy revealed that the 3 beta-HSD-EGFP fusion protein was exclusively colocalized with the mitochondria marker (pDsRed2-Mito) in EPC cells. Upon morphological observation and MTT assay, it was revealed that overexpression of RGV 3 beta-HSD in EPC cells could apparently suppress RGV-induced cytopathic effect (CPE). The present studies indicate that the RGV immediate-early 3 beta-HSD gene encodes a mitochondria-localized protein, which has a novel role in suppressing virus-induced CPE. All these suggest that RGV 3 beta-HSD might be a protein involved in host-virus interaction. @ 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Biotransfer of persistent organic pollutants from a large site in China used for the disassembly of electronic and electrical waste

Samples of groundwater, river water, river sediment, paddy soil, rice seeds, hen eggs, fish, umbilical cord blood, and newborn meconium were collected from October 2002 to October 2003 near a large site in China used for the disassembly of obsolete transformers and other electronic or electrical waste. Six indicator PCB congeners, three non-ortho dioxin-like PCB congeners, and six organochlorine pesticides were determined in the samples by GC with electron capture detector. The results demonstrated that the local environment and edible foods had been seriously polluted by toxic PCBs and organochlorine pesticides. The actual daily intakes (ADIs) of these pollutants were estimated for local residents living in the area. The intake data showed that the contents of PCBs in these local residents were substantial, as the ADI estimates greatly exceed the reference doses set by the World Health Organization and the United States Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. The presence of the indicator PCB congeners in the cord blood and the meconium samples, as well as significant correlations (r(2) > 0.80, p < 0.05) between these levels, suggests a potential biotransfer of these indicators from mothers to their newborns. This preliminary study showed that obsolete transformers and other electronic or electrical waste can be an important source for the emission of persistent organic pollutants into the local environment, such as through leakage, evaporation, runoff, and leaching. Contamination from this source appears to have reached the level considered to be a serious threat to environmental and human health around the disassembly site.

Changes of Leptodora kindti abundance (1957-1996) in a planktivorous fishes-dominated subtropical Chinese lake (Lake Donghu)

The changes of L. kindti density from 1957 to 1996 were studied in a shallow, eutrophic Chinese lake, Lake Donghu. Despite the fact that the fish yield of planktivorous fish (silver carp and bighead carp) has increased steadily, the population density of L. kindti has also increased since 1957 and peaked in 1982/1983, The increase of both fish and L. kindti densities during this period may have benefitted from a considerable increase in the densities of their zooplankton prey. and fish predation on L. kindti might have been minor. As the fish yield increased further, their predation began to suppress most zooplankton prey including L. kindti. The largely increased fish predation on L. kindti is also evidenced by the remarkable decline of their body length after 1984. The density of L. kindti was significantly higher at the pelagic station (II) than at the littoral station (I), although for L. kindti, the littoral zone was significantly more resource profitable than the pelagic zone. The gradient of fish predation (more fish in the littoral zone) is the most likely explanation, since L. kindti is reported to be a preferred prey for many planktivorous fishes. The maximum density of L. kindti was 1.78 ind./I (on Aug. 17, 1984) at Station I and 1.55 ind./I (on Sep. 13, 1985) at Station II, respectively, which are close to those in several other eutrophic lakes.

The effect of the AlxGa1-xN/AIN buffer layer on the properties of GaN/Si(111) film grown by NH3-MBE

We describe the growth of GaN on Si(111) substrates with AlxGa1-xN/AlN buffer layer by ammonia gas source molecular beam epitaxy (NH3-GSMBE). The influence of the AlN and AlxGa1-xN buffer layer thickness and the Al composition on the crack density of GaN has been investigated. It is found that the optimum thickness is 120 and 250 nm for AlN and AlxGa1-xN layers, respectively. The optimum Al composition is between 0.3 < x < 0.6. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Magnetism and luminescence evolution due to nitrogen doping in manganese-gallium oxide nanowires

We report a new method for large-scale production of GaMnN nanowires, by annealing manganese-gallium oxide nanowires in flowing ammonia at high temperature. Microstructure analysis indicates that the GaMnN nanowires have wurtzite GaN structure without Mn precipitates or Mn-related second phases. Magnetism evolution due to nitrogen doping in manganese-gallium oxide nanowires was evaluated by magnetic measurements. Magnetic measurement reveals that the magnetization increases with the increase of nitrogen concentration. Ferromagnetic ordering exists in the GaMnN nanowires, whose Curie temperature is above room temperature. Luminescence evolution was investigated by the cathodoluminesence measurement for a single nanowire and photoluminescence measurement in a temperature range between 10 and 300 K. Experimental results indicate that optical properties can be modulated by nitrogen doping in manganese-gallium oxide nanowires. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Investigation of defects in low-temperature-grown GaAs using optical transient spectroscopy

Optical transient current spectroscopy (OTCS) has been used to investigate defects in the low-temperature-grown GaAs after postgrowth rapid thermal annealing (RTA). Two samples A and B were grown at 220 degreesC and 360 degreesC on (001) GaAs substrates, respectively. After growth, samples were subjected to 30s RTA in the range of 500-800 degreesC. Before annealing, X-ray diffraction measurements show that the concentrations of the excess arsenic for samples A and B are 2.5 x 10(19) and 1 x 10(19) cm(-3), respectively. It is found that there are strong negative decay signals in the optical transient current (OTC) for the annealed sample A. Due to the influence of OTC strong negative decay signals, it is impossible to identify deep levels clearly from OTCS. For a comparison, three deep levels can be identified for sample B before annealing. They are two shallower deep levels and the so-called As-Ga antisite defect. At the annealing temperature of 600 degreesC, there are still three deep levels. However, their structures are different from those in the as-grown sample. OTC strong negative decay signals are also observed for the annealed sample B. It is argued that OTC negative decay signals are related to arsenic clusters. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

combining cfg and recursive functions to get a new language

We propose a new functional programming language(FPL) which differs in some aspects from most well known FPLs[l].We descrihc the prohlmm domain,the language,explain why we need it.

一种计算求精网页主题抽取结果的方法

传统的主题抽取方法单纯依靠分析网页内容的来自动获取网页主题,其分析结果并不十分精确.在WWW上,网页之间通过超链接来互相联系,而链接关系紧密的网页趋向于属于同一主题.基于这一思想,本文提出了一种利用Web链接结构信息来对主题抽取结果进行求精的方法,其通过所链接网页对本网页的影响来修正本网页的主题权值.本文还通过一个实际应用例子,分析了这一方法的特点.

激光衍射法与吸管法对东北黑土区土壤粒径分布测定的差异性研究

目前激光衍射法(laser diffraction method,LD)逐步被用于土壤颗粒粒径分布(particle size distribution, PSD)的分析,为了对比LD法和吸管法测定东北黑土区土壤PSD的差异性,采用LD法和吸管法分别对东北黑土区宾州河流域36个土壤剖面不同层次178个土壤样品的PSD值进行了测定与分析。结果表明,同吸管法相比,LD法低估了土壤的黏粒含量,平均低估幅度19.69%,而高估了土壤的粉粒和砂粒含量,平均高估幅度分别为14.66%和5.13%。LD法所得PSD结果依据美国土壤质地分类制判定的土壤质地,相对于吸管法总体由粉黏质偏向粉砂质方向。建立了LD法与吸管法测定PSD结果的转换模型,将LD法测定的PSD结果利用转换模型校正后,其测定的各土壤粒级同吸管法相比,准确度达96.97%～98.71%,判定土壤质地的准确率也达83.15%。

镍-金属氢化物电池新型负极材料研究

贮氢合金是镍一金属氢化物电池的核心材料，其综合性能的改善是提高镍一金属氢化物电池性能的关键。本研究以探索镍一金属氢化物电池新型负极材料为目的，以非ABS型贮氢合金为研究对象，采用X射线衍射、Rietveld分析、恒电流充／放电、P-C-T曲线及线性微极化等方法，从基础和潜在应用等方面详细研究了非ABS型合金的结构与电化学性能。对La-Ni体系中非ABS型二元合金的结构和电化学性能的研究表明，LaNi_(228)具有最优异的高倍率充电性能；La_2Ni_7合金电极的高倍率放电性能最佳；La_7Ni_3在低温条件下表现出较好的放电性能。然而，所有得到的La-Ni合金电极容量远低于其理论容量。因此，必须通过进一步研究，如元素取代、热处理、表面处理等来提高其电化学容量。对RENi_3（RE＝La，Ce，Pr，Nd，Sm，Gd，Th，Dy，Ho，Er，Y）研究表明：YNi_3合金因其具有最大的晶胞体积，最小的密度，而表现出最好的高倍率充／放电性能及低温放电性能，但其高温放电性能需要进一步提高，以满足实际应用的要求。用Al、Mn、Ti、Fe、Sn、Si、Cr、M。、Cu和Co十种元素取代Ni进行了大量的配方筛选工作。得到了大量的实验数据，并发现LaNi_(3.7)Al_(0.3)合金电极电化学放电容量最高，达290.8mAh／g；LaNi_(3.7)Mo_(0.3)合金电极的高倍率放电性能最好，在以4200mA/g的电流密度下进行放电时，其放电容量仍达到145.8mA/g；而I镍一金属氢化物电池新型负极材料研究镍一金属氢化物电池新型负极材料的研究Al的取代会使合金电极性能对温度不敏感。以我们的实验为基础，进一步进行合金配方的微调，具有可能开发出具有实用价值的贮氢合金的潜力。在Ar保护下用真空电弧炉熔炼合成了四种Lal一xMg：（NICoAI）3．6体系贮氢合金，制成姐卜Ni电池负极，通过恒电流充／放电方法研究了其电化学性能。结果表明：Lal一xMg：（NiCoAI）3．6体系金属氢化物电极较容易活化，室温下具有优异的高倍率放电性能，在以4200mA／g电流放电时，La卜汉gx（NICoAI）36合金电极的放电容量是ABS型合金电极的3倍，达152hah／g，显示出良好的动力学特性。R，入1兮Ni（R：raree田劝，Ca，Y）型合金因能吸引／释放1．8一1．87％质量的HZ而被认为是种很有希望的贮氢合金。但其吸／放氢平台过高，循环寿命短。如何提高Rh厦g剑19循环稳定性是这类合金能否成功商业化的关键。研究发现，Co能够显著提高ABS型合金电极的循环寿命，但其价格太贵。人们发现Al在提高电极寿命方面与C。有类似的作用，但Al元素的添加因其在碱性电解质的作用下在电极表面易生成致密的氧化膜而不利于氢的扩散，进而对高倍率放电性能不利。入物在提高电极表面活性，改善其高倍率放电性方面作用明显。本工作在前面的基础上用Al和MO联合取代Ni，以期待同时改善La一Mg一Ni一Co合金的循环稳定性和高倍率放电性能。详细研究了La07Mg03Ni切一（A105Mo05）x（x：o，0．2，0．4，0．6，0．8）系列贮氢合金的晶体结构和电化学性能。X射线衍射及Rietveld分析发现：所有La07Mg03Ni4D一x（A105Mo05）x合金均为包含PuNi3结构的六方LaZMgNig相、CaCus结构的LaNis主相及L匆Ni7，LaN儿和LaNi杂相的多相结构。合金中La（La，Mg）剑19相及LaNis相的晶格参数及晶胞体积均随合金中Al和Mo含量的增加而增大。用电化学方法测得的RC一T曲线显示：Al和'fo部分取代Ni降低了氢的平台压力。随合金中Al和Mo含量的增加，电极的电化学容量从329．7（x＝0）、徽橇毓孺鑫盆一11瀚加至365．物A吨（＝0．6）后又降低到351．3毗吨（x＝0．8）。当以1200m刀g的电流密度进行放电时，其I｛RD从62．0％沁0）增加到82．1％沁0．8）。线性微极化结果显示：Al和Mo的添加增大了合金表面的交换电流密度，因而也改善了合金电极的高倍率放电性能。另外，Al和M。取代合金中的Ni增大了氢在电极合金中的扩散系数（D），改善了La07Mgo3Ni4。一x（Alo5M。。5）x（X＝o，0．2，0．4，0．6，0．8）合金电极的低温放电性能（LTD）。