Coma measurement by use of an alternating phase-shifting mask mark with a specific phase width

The correlation between the coma sensitivity of the alternating phase-shifting mask (Alt-PSM) mark and the mark's structure is studied based on the Hopkins theory of partially coherent imaging and positive resist optical lithography (PROLITH) simulation. It is found that an optimized Alt-PSM mark with its phase width being two-thirds its pitch has a higher sensitivity to coma than Alt-PSM marks with the same pitch and the different phase widths. The pitch of the Alt-PSM mark is also optimized by PROLITH simulation, and the structure of p - 1.92 lambda/NA and pw = 2p/3 proves to be with the highest sensitivity. The optimized Alt-PSM mark is used as a measurement mark to retrieve coma aberration from the projection optics in lithographic tools. In comparison with an ordinary Alt-PSM mark with its phase width being a half its pitch, the measurement accuracies of Z(7) and Z(14) apparently increase. (C) 2009 Optical Society of America

Characterization of TRPC2, an Essential Genetic Component of VNS Chemoreception, Provides Insights into the Evolution of Pheromonal Olfaction in Secondary-Adapted Marine Mammals

Pheromones are chemical cues released and sensed by individuals of the same species, which are of major importance in regulating reproductive and social behaviors of mammals. Generally, they are detected by the vomeronasal system (VNS). Here, we first investigated and compared an essential genetic component of vomeronasal chemoreception, that is, TRPC2 gene, of four marine mammals varying the degree of aquatic specialization and related terrestrial species in order to provide insights into the evolution of pheromonal olfaction in the mammalian transition from land to water. Our results based on sequence characterizations and evolutionary analyses, for the first time, show the evidence for the ancestral impairment of vomeronasal pheromone signal transduction pathway in fully aquatic cetaceans, supporting a reduced or absent dependence on olfaction as a result of the complete adaptation to the marine habitat, whereas the amphibious California sea lion was found to have a putatively functional TRPC2 gene, which is still under strong selective pressures, reflecting the reliance of terrestrial environment on chemical recognition among the semiadapted marine mammals. Interestingly, our study found that, unlike that of the California sea lion, TRPC2 genes of the harbor seal and the river otter, both of which are also semiaquatic, are pseudogenes. Our data suggest that other unknown selective pressures or sensory modalities might have promoted the independent absence of a functional VNS in these two species. In this respect, the evolution of pheromonal olfaction in marine mammals appears to be more complex and confusing than has been previously thought. Our study makes a useful contribution to the current understanding of the evolution of pheromone perception of mammals in response to selective pressures from an aquatic environment.

用氯仿-甲醇抽提法测定鱼体脂肪含量的研究

<正> 脂肪含量的测定,是鱼类能量学及营养学的重要环节。目前最常用的测定方法,是用氯仿一甲醇(2:1)混合液(下面简称C-M液)抽提。这一方法的基本步骤见图1。不同研究者采用的具体步骤有所差异。如崔奕波引用的方法系将样品用C-M液匀浆后直接离心,而Hopkins等对样品不匀浆,仅用C-M液浸泡半小时后离心。这一方法最初是用于医学检验;在生态学研究中。常需要测定大量样品,故方法的简化尤为重要。本研究的目的是探讨不同抽提步骤对测定结果的影响,以期对原方法进行简化;同时将C-M抽提法与我国常用的索氏乙醚抽提法进