Biology, ecology and the fishery of Mukene, Rastrineobola argentea

Food and feeding, condition factor, breeding periods, growth and size at first maturity of a small pelagic cyprinid Rastrineobola argentea (P.) in Lake Victoria are determined. Fishing gears and methods that have been used in the exploitation of the species and could be harmful to the fishery are outlined. Management measures leading to possible sustainable exploitation of the fishery are suggested. Adult R. argentea feed on zooplankton during daytime. Juveniles feed on planktonic early instars of lakefly larvae. Although the species breeds throughout the year, two breeding peaks were observed during the drier months of August and December January. Least breeding was observed in the rainy months of April-May and October November. Fishes from the open water station at Bugaia showed higher numbers of breeding individuals than those from inshore areas. The mean monthly condition factor of fish from Napoleon Gulf confirmed breeding peaks as obtained from the number of fish with ripe gonads. The species showed a mean instantaneous growth rate (K) of 1.75 and attains length infinity (Lx) of 54mm. Females of the species in these waters show a reduced size at maturity as compared to ten years ago when exploitation of the species was at minimal levels. The males have however not changed much.

家马核基因组中线粒体核内插入序列分析

在各种真核生物核基因组中,存在一些由线粒体基因组转移进入核基因组中的DNA片段,这些被认为是分子化石的片段叫做线粒体核内插入序列(Numt).由于Numt与真实的线粒体序列高度相似,因此它的存在必然会成为PCR扩增线粒体DNA的不利因素.利用已经公布的家马(Equus caballus)基因组序列(2007年9月公布,GenBank登录号为NC 009144--NC 009175)对家马Numt进行了深入分析,其发现200个可能的Numt,长度范围为29到3727bp,其中有10个的长度大于800bp.分析结果显示由于不存在线粒体控制区域的疑似Numt,因此对基于此区域的群体遗传学研究不会产生影响.本研究还发现在家马进化过程中,第1号和27号染色体更倾向于接受线粒体序列的转移.以上结果将为今后马科动物的研究提供重要的参考信息,有助于避免在线粒体DNA研究中由于Numt污染的存在而得出错误的实验结果.

Characterization of the porcine differentially expressed PDK4 gene and association with meat quality

To investigate the differential expression of genes in the skeletal muscle between Yorkshire and Chinese indigenous breed Meishan pigs, suppression subtractive hybridization was carried out and many genes were proved to be expressed significantly different in the two breeds. One gene highly expressed in Meishan but lowly expressed in Yorkshire specific library, shared strong homology with human pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4 (PDK4). Using semi-quantity and quantity PCR, We confirmed its differential expression between the two breeds. Temporal and spatial expression analysis indicated that porcine PDK4 gene is highly expressed in skeletal muscle and the highest in neonatal pigs. Complete cDNA cloning and sequence analysis revealed that porcine PDK4 gene contains an open reading frame of 1,221 bp. The deduced amino acid sequence showed conservation in evolution. A G/A mutation in intron 9 was identified and association analysis showed that it was significantly associated with intramuscular fat, muscle water content.

Syntheses of fully sulfonated polyaniline nano-networks and its application to the direct electrochemistry of cytochrome c

Fully sulfonated polyaniline nano-particles, nano-fibrils and nano-networks have been achieved for the first time by electrochemical homopolymerization of orthanilic acid using a three-step electrochemical deposition procedure in a mixed solvent of acetonitrile (ACN) and water. The diameter of the uniform nano-particles is about 60nm, and the nano-fibrils can be organized in two-dimensional (21)) or three-dimensional (313) non-periodic networks with good electrical contact. Average distance between contacts is about 850 and 600 nm for a 2D and 3D system, respectively. The details of the poly(orthanilic acid) (POA) nano-structure were examined with a field emission scanning electron microscope (SEM). The structure and properties of POA were characterized with FTIR, UV-vis and electrochemical methods. The 3D POA nano-networks coated platinum electrode gave a direct electrochemical behavior of horse heart cytochrome c (Cyt c) immobilized on this electrode surface, a pair of well-defined redox waves with formal potential (E-ol) of -0.032 V (versus Ag/AgCl) was achieved. The interaction between Cyt c and POA makes the formal potential shift negatively compared to that of Cyt c in solution. Spectrophotometric and electrochemical methods were used to investigate the interaction of Cyt c with POA.

Dynamic spectroelectrochemical measurement for the conformational transition of cytochrome c induced by bromopyrogal red

The conformational transition of horse heart cytochrome c induced by bromopyrogal red (BPR) in very low concentration has been firstly investigated by dynamic spectroelectrochemical technique, both at the BPR adsorbed platinum gauze electrode and at a bare platinum gauze electrode in a solution containing BPR. The effect of BPR on the structure of cytochrome c was studied by UV-visible and Fourier transform IR spectroscopy. The unfolded cytochrome c behaves simply as an electron transfer protein with a formal potential of -142 mV vs. a normal hydrogen electrode. The difference between the formal potentials of the native and unfolded cytochrome c is coupled to a difference in conformational energy of the two states of about 40 kJ mol(-1), which agrees well with the result reported. The stability and slow refolding of the unfolded cytochrome c are discussed.

The direct electrochemistry of cryo-hydrogel immobilized myoglobin at a glassy carbon electrode

A cryo-hydrogel membrane (CHM) immobilized at a glassy carbon (GC) electrode is reported for the direct electron transfer of redox proteins. The most attractive characteristics of this CHM were its hydrophilic micro-environment for incorporated proteins to retain their activities, its high ability for protection against interference of denatured and adsorbed proteins at the electrode, its potential applications for various proteins or enzymes, as well as its high mechanical strength and thermal stability. A clear well developed and stable redox wave was obtained for commercially available horse heart myoglobin without further purification, giving a peak to peak separation Delta E(p) = 93 mV at 5 mV s(-1) and the formal electrode potential E(0)' = -0.158 V (vs. Ag/AgCl). The formal heterogeneous electron transfer rate constant was calculated as k(0)' = 5.7 X 10(-4) cm s(-1) at pH 6.5, showing rapid electron transfer was achieved. The pH controlled conformational equilibria, acid state --> natural state --> basic I state --> basic II state, of myoglobin at the CHM GC electrode in the pH range 0-13.8 were also observed and are discussed in detail.

A cryo-hydrogel immobilized protein electrode for direct electron transfer of myoglobin

The direct electron transfer process of horse heart myoglobin, which was immobilized into a new type of cryo-hydrogel membrane on a glassy carbon electrode surface, was studied and the characteristics of this cryo-hydrogel immobilized protein electrode were discussed.

MEDIATORLESS HYDROGEN-PEROXIDE ELECTRODE BASED ON HORSERADISH-PEROXIDASE ENTRAPPED IN POLY(O-PHENYLENEDIAMINE)

A mediatorless H2O2 sensor based on coelectropolymerization of horse radish peroxidase (HRP) and o-phenylenediamine (o-PD) is described. The electrode responds to H2O2 in a few seconds and gives a current density of 73.3 nA 1 mu mol(-1) cm(-2) at -100 mV

REDOX THERMODYNAMICS OF CYTOCHROME-C AT THE BARE GLASSY-CARBON ELECTRODE

Investigation of the redox thermodynamics of horse heart cytochrome c at bare glassy carbon electrodes has been performed using cyclic voltammetry with a nonisothermal electrochemical cell. The thermodynamic parameters of the electron-transfer reaction of cytochrome c have been estimated in different component buffer solutions. The change DELTAS(re)-degrees in reaction center entropy and the formal potential E-degrees' (at 25-degrees-C, vs. standard hydrogen electrode (SHE)) for cytochrome c are found to be -64.1 J K-1 mol-1 and 0.251 V in phosphate buffer, -64.8 J K-1 mol-1 and 0.257 V in Tris + HCl buffer, -65.6 J K-1 mol-1 and 0.261 V in Tris+CH3COOH buffer (pH 7.0, ionic strength 100 mM). The temperature dependence of the formal potential obtained in phosphate buffer with or without NaCl in the range 5-55-degrees-C shows biphase characteristics in an alkaline solution with an intersection point at ca. 44-degrees-C or 42-degrees-C, which should be due to a structural change in the protein moiety of cytochrome c. However, in acidic and neutral solutions only a monotonic relationship between E-degrees' and temperature is observed. The effect of the buffer component on E-degrees' for cytochrome c is also discussed.

Molecular cloning and characterization of a putative lipopolysaccharide-induced TNF-alpha factor (LITAF) gene homologue from Zhikong scallop Chlamys farreri

LPS-induced TNF-alpha factor (LITAF) is a novel transcriptional factor that was first discovered in LPS-stimulated human macrophage cell line THP-1. LITAF can bind to TNF-a promoter to regulate its expression. The first scallop LITAF (named as CfLITAF) was cloned from Zhikong scallop Chlamys farreri by Expressed Sequence Tag (EST) and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) techniques. The cDNA of CfLITAF was of 1240 bp and consisted of a 5' untranslated region (UTR) of 112 bp, a 3' UTR of 678 bp and an open reading frame (ORF) of 450 bp encoding a polypeptide of 149 amino acids with an estimated molecular mass of 16.08 kDa and theoretical isoelectric point of 6.77. A typical conserved LITAF-domain was identified in CfLITAF by SMART analysis. Homology analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence of CfLITAF with other known sequences by using the BLAST program revealed that CfLITAF was homologous to the LITAF from human and rat (Identity = 46%), cattle, horse, mouse and chicken (Identity = 48%), western clawed frog (Identity = 42%), and zebrafish (Identity = 50%). The mRNA expression of CfLITAF in different tissues including haemocytes, muscle, mantle, heart, gill and gonad, and the temporal expression in haemocytes challenged by LPS or peptidoglycan (PGN) were measured by Real-time RT-PCR. CfLITAF mRNA transcripts could be detected in all tissues examined and be up-regulated in haemocytes after LPS challenge. No significant changes were observed after PGN stimulation. All these data indicated the existence of LITAF in scallop and also provided clue on the presence of TNF-alpha-like molecules in invertebrates. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

国营企业中激励机制的个案研究

This research objective was to investigate the working motivation in a large state-owned enterprise, Luoyang White Horse Company Group in Henan Province. Some standard methods, such as in-depth interview, questionnaire were employed. This research is divided into two parts: 1. The first is to investigate the factor structure of working motivation, by the way of survey questionnaire. 2. The second is to do a case study to the White Horse Company, by using survey questionnaire and interview methods. The results shows that: 1. Eight factors are extracted by the Exploring Factor Analysis. These factors include: material reward factor, leader factor, fairness factor, goal factor, mental reward factor, development factor, job factor, participation factor. The overall explanation is 56.0%. 2. By the One-Way ANOVA and Multiple Comparison, it is found that: working age, age, sex, education background, income and assignment all have a notable effect on some of the eight factors. 3. By the case study to the White Horse Company, it is found that there still is no a perfect motivating mechanism in the White Horse Company and the disproportion of reward and punishment has a disadvantageous effect on the worker's productivity.

通过对心理学期刊的几项统计分析看我国十年来儿童发展教育心理学研究状况与动向

In this study, bibliometric method was usded in the investigation of 2274 papers concerning child developmental and educational psychology, which were published during the ten years of 1979-1988, in 14 psychological journals and 97 other scientific journals. According to the quantitative and qualitative analyses, the results are as follows: 1979-1988 saw the rapid development and prosperous period in China's child developmental and educational psychology, During which more papers were published and more fields couched than in the psvious thirty years. The number of literature publications increased and went to the peak in 1983 and 1984, and came down since 1985. The trend was found to result from the decrease in popular science introductions of psychology, which reflected that a heat of psychology had appeared in 1983 and started to cool in 1985. At the mean time, the number of research reports had been holding a steady increase by 1987 and decreased obviously in 1988, especially in the fields of cognitive and social development. There could be several possible explanations of this phenonemon: Piagetian studies are becoming fewer and the eakening of Piaget's influence might predict a period of standstill in the field of developmental psychology in China; As researches become more and more difficult, researchers have turned to be more cautious in lay out their reports; the cutdown of fees and staff could also be one of reasons for less publication in 1988. As the factors mentioned above still exist and their influences last, the number of papers are not expected to increase in the near future. The field of thinking and menory is closely connected with that of artificial intelligence. The downhill situations in these two fileds should be taken seriously. 2. The types of research work are divided on the bases of their problem raising. The trends show that the deepening studies, which represent a comaratively higher level of exploration, are waving fewer, while repeated studies and creative studies are becoming more as the years go along. This fact is worth being further analysed. Big progress could be seen from research methods. The methods currently used are mainly experiment, psychological measurement and assessment, and theoretical reasoning. There is a rapid increase of research by using scales. Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Binet Scale and Baley Scale have been revised andstandardized. Chinese researchers have also developed several good scales of their own, some of which are valuable and need to be standardized. In the papers investigated, the amount of citation is significantly lower than the world average level as well as the average citation number of whole China's scientific literature. Among the papers cited, most are of Chinese and English languages, and only a small rate were published in resently five years. The renewal of literature cited seems to stay at a low level in the ten years. Tremendous work could be reflected by the number of subjects used the research work in those ten years: 362665. A lot of studies piled on the period of 4-16 year olds. Compared with the previous thirty years, the age range was much enlarged and there were quite a few studies about preschool, school and adolescent periods. The study of newborn of 0-3 has been a weak point so far and it is a field to which chinese developmental psychologists should pay more attention. The progress in using statistics is one of the most obvious part in the development in the research work of child developmental and educational psychology. The one tendency that should be awared and avoid is to put the cart before the horse: seeking for more sophisticated statistic method while neglecting the meanings of research problems. 3. Citation analysis was used in selecting scholars who had great influence in the field of child developmental and educational psychology. Among the often cited and famous scholars, 31 are Chinese researchers and 12 are Western psychologists. The authoritative journal for child developmental psychology and educational psychology is Acta Psychologica Sinica.

Le Cheval de Mazeppa, un cas d'intertextualit? franco-anglaise

Sibona, Bruno, Le Cheval de Mazeppa, un cas d'intertextualit? franco-anglaise (L'Harmattan, 2006)