A new, fast response CO2 sensor

The inability of emissions reduction methods to meet upcoming legislation without an unacceptable increase in vehicle cost is a major problem of automobile manufacturer. This work aims to develop a cost-effective reduction of automobile emissions. A prototype CO2 sensor with 5 msec response time was built and bench tested, then used on an engine. The sensor design was based on standard emissions measurement technology using non-dispersive IR absorption. An improved sensor has now been completed with significant improvements in terms of signal to noise ratio and long-term stability. The improved sensor will be used to measure CO2 concentrations on three different engines. The results will then be used to validate engine and catalyst models and to propose control strategies aimed at reducing overall emissions. A brief description of the sensor itself was presented. Original is an abstract.

Dog chromosome-specific paints reveal evolutionary inter- and intrachromosomal rearrangements in the American mink and human

Forty chromosome-specific paint probes of the domestic dog (Canis familiaris, 2n = 78) were used to delineate conserved segments on metaphase chromosomes of the American mink (Mustela vison, 2n = 30) by fluorescence in situ hybridisation. Half of the 38 canine autosomal probes each painted one pair of homologous segments in a diploid mink metaphase, whereas the other 19 dog probes each painted from two to five pairs of discrete segments. In total, 38 canine autosomal paints highlighted 71 pairs of conserved segments in the mink. These painting results allow us to establish a complete comparative chromosome map between the American mink and domestic dog. This map demonstrates that extensive chromosome rearrangements differentiate the karyotypes of the dog and American mink. The 38 dog autosomes could be reconstructed from the 14 autosomes of the American mink through at least 47 fissions, 25 chromosome fusions, and six inversions. Furthermore, comparison of the current dog/mink map with the published human/dog map discloses 23 cryptic intrachromosomal rearrangements in 10 regions of conserved synteny in the human and American mink genomes and thus further refined the human/mink comparative genome map. Copyright (C) 2000 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Construction of a BAC library for Chinese amphioxus Branchiostoma belcheri and identification of clones containing Amphi-pax genes

Amphioxus is a crucial organism for the study of vertebrate evolution. Although a genomic BAC library of Branchiostoma floridae has been constructed, we report here another BAC library construction of its distant relative species Branchiostoma belcheri. The amphioxus BAC library established in present study consists of 45,312 clones arrayed in one hundred and eighteen 384-well plates. The average insert fragment size was 120 kb estimated by Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) analysis of 318 randomly selected clones. The representation of the library is about 12 equivalent to the genome, allowing a 99.9995% probability of recovering any specific sequence of interest. We further screened the library with 4 single copied Amphi-Pax genes and identified total of 26 positive clones with average of 6.5 clones for each gene. The result indicates this library is well suited for many applications and should also serve as a useful complemental resource for the scientific community.

The ADH1B Arg47His polymorphism in East Asian populations and expansion of rice domestication in history

Background: The emergence of agriculture about 10,000 years ago marks a dramatic change in human evolutionary history. The diet shift in agriculture societies might have a great impact on the genetic makeup of Neolithic human populations. The regionally restricted enrichment of the class I alcohol dehydrogenase sequence polymorphism (ADH1BArg47His) in southern China and the adjacent areas suggests Darwinian positive selection on this genetic locus during Neolithic time though the driving force is yet to be disclosed. Results: We studied a total of 38 populations (2,275 individuals) including Han Chinese, Tibetan and other ethnic populations across China. The geographic distribution of the ADH1B*47His allele in these populations indicates a clear east-to-west cline, and it is dominant in south-eastern populations but rare in Tibetan populations. The molecular dating suggests that the emergence of the ADH1B*47His allele occurred about 10,000 similar to 7,000 years ago. Conclusion: We present genetic evidence of selection on the ADH1BArg47His polymorphism caused by the emergence and expansion of rice domestication in East Asia. The geographic distribution of the ADH1B*47His allele in East Asia is consistent with the unearthed culture relic sites of rice domestication in China. The estimated origin time of ADH1B*47His allele in those populations coincides with the time of origin and expansion of Neolithic agriculture in southern China.

Reproductive biology of Otolithes cuvieri (Trewavas, 1974) from Mumbai waters

The reproductive biology of Otolithes cuvieri (Trewavas, 1974) is reported in the present communication. The size at first maturity for the females was estimated to be 275 mm. The spawning activity was observed throughout the year with two peaks occurring in April and June. Two prominent peaks of gonadosomatic index (April and June) also support the view of two major spawning. Relative fecundity ranged from 71,574 to 79,680 eggs per 100g of body weight. Relationship of fecundity with fish length, fish weight and ovary weight of the species has been established as F = -132971 + 1447.441 x L, F = 124195 + 468.798 x W and F = 250517.5 + 3369.029 x OW, respectively. Study of sex ratio by random sampling of the catches indicated the dominance of females in commercial catches of Mumbai coast.

无指盘臭蛙皮肤活性肽及其基因和在制药中的应用

本发明涉及一种无指盘臭蛙皮肤活性肽及及其基因和在制药中的应用，属于生物医学领域。无指盘臭蛙皮肤活性肽是无指盘臭蛙皮肤活性肽基因编码的一种单链多肽，分子量3015.63道尔顿，等电点10.3，多肽全序列一级结构为： Ala Thr Ala Leu Gly Leu Ser Ser Arg Gly Leu Leu Pro Ile Gly Phe Met Phe Lys Asp Thr Ile Arg Cys Arg Lys Tyr(ATALGLSSRGLLPIGFMFKDTIRCRKY)。编码无指盘臭蛙皮肤活性肽的基因由312个核苷酸组成，其中编码成熟无指盘臭蛙皮肤活性肽为第141-222位核苷酸。人工合成的无指盘臭蛙皮肤活性肽具有很强的抑制细菌和真菌生长的作用，可以作为制备病原微生物感染疾病的治疗药物被应用。无指盘臭蛙皮肤活性肽具有结构简单、人工合成方便、抗菌谱系广、抗菌活性强的特点。

无指盘臭蛙臭蛙肽及其基因和在制药中的应用

本发明涉及一种无指盘臭蛙臭蛙肽及其基因和在制药中的应用，属于生物医学领域。无指盘臭蛙臭蛙肽是无指盘臭蛙臭蛙肽基因编码的一种单链多肽，分子量1814.11道尔顿，等电点8.08，多肽全序列一级结构为： Gly Cys Ser Arg Trp Ile Ile Gly Ile His Gly Gln Ile Cys Arg Asp。(GCSRWIIGIHGQICRD)。编码无指盘臭蛙臭蛙肽的基因由312个核苷酸组成，其中编码成熟无指盘臭蛙臭蛙肽为第141-189位核苷酸。人工合成的无指盘臭蛙臭蛙肽具有很强的抑制细菌和真菌生长的作用，可以作为制备病原微生物感染疾病的治疗药物被应用。本发明的无指盘臭蛙臭蛙肽具有结构简单、人工合成方便、抗菌谱系广、抗菌活性强的特点。

双峰驼线粒体DNA地高辛标记探针的制备及其应用

利用地高辛标记技术，对从双峰驼肝脏和肾脏提纯的线粒体ＤＮＡ进行了标记，制成探针，并用它检测了包含于白细胞总ＤＮＡ中的微量线粒体ＤＮＡ。结果表明这一技术完全可以成功地用于微量线粒体ＤＮＡＲＦＬＰ的分析。

Genetic diversity and population history of golden monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana)

Golden monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana), namely the snub-nosed monkey, is a well-known endangered primate, which distributes only in the central part of mainland China. As an effort to understand the current genetic status as well as population history of this species, we collected a sample of 32 individuals from four different regions, which cover the major habitat of this species. Forty-four allozyme loci were surveyed in our study by allozyme electrophoresis, none of which was found to be polymorphic. The void of polymorphism compared with that of other nonhuman primates is surprising particularly considering that the current population size is many times larger than that of some other endangered species. Since many independent loci are surveyed in this Study, the most plausible explanation for our observation is that the population has experienced a recent bottleneck. We used a coalescent approach to explore various scenarios of population bottleneck and concluded that the most recent bottleneck could have happened within the last 15,000 years. Moreover, the proposed simulation approach could be useful to researchers who need to analyze the non- or low-polymorphism data.

Molecular phylogeny of Rhacophoridae (Anura): A framework of taxonomic reassignment of species within the genera Aquixalus, Chiromantis, Rhacophorus, and Philautus

Phylogenetic relationships among representative species of the family Rhacophoridae were investigated based on 2904 bp of sequences from both mitochondrial (12S rRNA, 16S rRNA, the complete t-RNA for valine), and nuclear (tyrosinase, rhodopsin) genes. Max

In vitro construction of a recombinant human embryonic brain-derived neurotrophin-4 gene and pEGFP-N1 vector

BACKGROUND: Neurotrophin-4 (NT-4) can promote neuronal growth, development, differentiation, maturation, and survival. NT-4 can also improve recovery and regeneration of injured neurons, but cannot pass through the blood-brain barrier, which limits its ac

17种植物中蛋白质提取物的抗HIV-1活性

以化合物对ＨＩＶ１诱导Ｃ８１６６细胞形成合胞体的抑制实验和化合物对ＨＩＶ１感染细胞的保护实验作为初筛方法，筛选了来源于７科１７种植物的４７个样品，其中８个样品经测定是核糖体失活蛋白（ＲＩＰｓ），其余为粗提蛋白。进而测定了初筛有抗ＨＩＶ活性的化合物对共培养、急性和慢性感染的ＨＩＶ１ｐ２４抗原表达水平的影响，用间接荧光染色检测这些化合物对ＨＩＶ抗原阳性细胞率的影响，以确证其抗ＨＩＶ活性。天花粉蛋白（ＴＣＳ）、南方栝楼蛋白峰Ⅴ、南方栝楼蛋白峰Ⅵ均显著地抑制合胞体的形成；巴Ⅱ、丝瓜子蛋白、油瓜根蛋白、木盍藤子蛋白有一定的抑制作用。老鼠拖瓜蛋白、大叶木鳖子根蛋白、西双版纳根Ⅱ等粗提蛋白有显著的抑制作用。ＲＩＰｓ不能保护ＨＩＶ１感染细胞的死亡。ＴＣＳ显著地抑制了ＨＩＶ１急性感染中ｐ２４抗原的表达，减少了ＨＩＶ抗原阳性细胞数，但它们均不影响共培养细胞融合、ＨＩＶ１慢性感染中ｐ２４抗原表达水平。结果表明，除ＴＣＳ等已知ＲＩＰｓ外，还有一些新的ＲＩＰｓ具有不同程度的抗ＨＩＶ活性。