Protein-protein recognition: The neonatal Fe receptor and immunoglobulin G

The neonatal Fe receptor (FeRn) binds the Fe portion of immunoglobulin G (IgG) at the acidic pH of endosomes or the gut and releases IgG at the alkaline pH of blood. FeRn is responsible for the maternofetal transfer of IgG and for rescuing endocytosed IgG from a default degradative pathway. We investigated how FeRn interacts with IgG by constructing a heterodimeric form of the Fe (hdFc) that contains one FeRn binding site. This molecule was used to characterize the interaction between one FeRn molecule and one Fe and to determine under what conditions FeRn forms a dimer. The hdFc binds one FeRn molecule at pH 6.0 with a K_d of 80 nM. In solution and with FeRn anchored to solid supports, the heterodimeric Fe does not induce a dimer of FeRn molecules. FcRnhdFc complex crystals were obtained and the complex structure was solved to 2.8 Å resolution. Analysis of this structure refined the understanding of the mechanism of the pH-dependent binding, shed light on the role played by carbohydrates in the Fe binding, and provided insights on how to design therapeutic IgG antibodies with longer serum half-lives. The FcRn-hdFc complex in the crystal did not contain the FeRn dimer. To characterize the tendency of FeRn to form a dimer in a membrane we analyzed the tendency of the hdFc to induce cross-phosphorylation of FeRn-tyrosine kinase chimeras. We also constructed FeRn-cyan and FeRn-yellow fluorescent proteins and have analyzed the tendency of these molecules to exhibit fluorescence resonance energy transfer. As of now, neither of these analyses have lead to conclusive results. In the process of acquiring the context to appreciate the structure of the FcRn-hdFc interface, we developed a study of 171 other nonobligate protein-protein interfaces that includes an original principal component analysis of the quantifiable aspects of these interfaces.

Contribution à l'étude de la croissance de la fougère aquatique Salvinia molesta (Mitchell), Salviniaceae

The growth of the primary and the tertiary forms of the water fern Salvinia molesta was studied during 60 days in 0.06 m2 glass containers containing fresh water. The growth of this plant as a function of time is exponential. The two forms have growth rates statistically identical. The main daily growth rate, expressed in number of leaves, is equal to 6.40% per day for primary forms and 5.90% per day for tertiary form, with doubling time of 10.78 + 1.08 days and 11.64 + 0.15 days.

Efficiency and catch dynamics of collapsible square and conical pots used in the red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus) fishery

We compared the capture efficiency and catch dynamics of collapsible square and conical pots used in resource assessment and harvesting of red king crabs (Paralithodes camtschaticus [Tilesius, 1815]) in the Barents Sea. After two days of soaking, square pots caught three times as many crabs as conical pots, and their catches consisted of a higher proportion of male crabs and male crabs larger than 160 mm carapace length compared to the catches in the conical pots. Catches in the square pots did not increase as soak times were increased beyond two days, which indicates equilibrium between the rate of entries into and the rate of exits from the pots. Catches in conical pots, however, increased with increasing soak times up to eight days, the longest soak time examined in this study. These findings demonstrate the higher efficiency of square pots and the importance of understanding catch dynamics when making population assessments based on catchper-unit-of-effort data. The favorable catch characteristics and handling properties of the collapsible square pot may make this pot design suitable for other crab fisheries, as well.

Integrating fish and azolla into rice-duck farming in Asia

Several countries in Asia practice integrated rice-duck farming. On-farm resources such as duck manure and feed waste are not adequately used and recycled in the system. This indicates the potential for research to increase the productivity of the rice-duck system. The integration of fish and the nitrogen-fixing aquatic fern azolla show promise for increasing the production potential of the system. Fish, azolla and ducks integrated with rice farming can result in nutrient enhancement, pest control, feed supplementation and biological control. Some of the results of a case study on integrated rice-fish-azolla-duck farming systems conducted in the Philippines are presented in this paper.

蕨类植物配子体发育及化感作用的研究

我国的蕨类植物资源十分丰富，约有2600多种，占全世界12000种的1/5强，其中许多种具有很高的观赏价值。在欧美的一些国家，蕨类植物已经成为花卉行业的一个重要组成部分，早已进入家庭居室、宾馆、商场、办公楼和其它公共场所，绿化和美化人们的生活环境。到目前为止，全世界共已栽培成功观赏蕨类植物700多种（品种），而我国仅有十多种投入花卉市场作为盆景和切花配叶，尚未形成一定的规模。繁殖技术不过关是造成蕨类植物在我国花卉市场难以迅速发展的障碍之一。目前国内对蕨类植物的需求主要靠野外采挖得以满足，对野生蕨类植物资源造成严重的破坏，再加上自然生态环境的恶化，致使许多物种濒临灭绝。因此，加强相关的基础研究、繁殖技术和外界环境对蕨类植物影响的研究，对蕨类植物资源的利用和保护具有重要的研究价值和现实意义。 作者在近五年的研究过程中，建立了蕨类植物孢子无菌培养技术，观察记录了蕨类植物配子体的形态发育，为建立蕨类植物快速有效的繁殖技术体系打下了良好的基础。在此研究基础上，探讨了对蕨类植物生长发育构成威胁的外界环境之一—外来入侵植物紫茎泽兰对蕨类植物的生长发育的化感作用。紫茎泽兰为目前国际上研究的热点入侵植物之一，对我国农业、林业等已造成很大破坏，并对蕨类植物资源构成一定威胁。蕨类植物配子体发育过程是蕨类植物生活史中相对脆弱的环节，最容易受化感作用的影响。但迄今为止，国际上尚未开展任何紫茎泽兰对蕨类植物（包括孢子体阶段和配子体阶段）的化感作用的研究。为保护蕨类植物自然资源，填补这一研究领域的空白，开展了紫茎泽兰对蕨类植物配子体发育过程的化感作用的研究。实验结果如下： （1）建立了金毛狗（已被列入《濒危野生动植物种国际贸易公约》（CITES）附录II 名单）、凤尾蕨属植物如傅氏凤尾蕨、剑叶凤尾蕨、蜈蚣草、银脉凤尾蕨、溪边凤尾蕨、疏裂凤尾蕨、西南凤尾蕨等多种蕨类植物的孢子无菌培养技术体系。 （2）采用无机培养基培养、土壤培养和滤纸培养三种培养方法，显微镜下观察傅氏凤尾蕨、剑叶凤尾蕨、蜈蚣草、银脉凤尾蕨、溪边凤尾蕨、疏裂凤尾蕨、西南凤尾蕨、三角鳞毛蕨、乌毛蕨、普通针毛蕨、金毛狗的孢子萌发及配子体形态发育的整个过程，研究了上述蕨类植物孢子萌发的类型、配子体各发育阶段的形态特征以及到达每个发育阶段所需的时间，为蕨类植物的繁殖技术提供了科学的依据，同时为蕨类植物系统进化和形态分类学研究提供了重要的基础资料。 （3）以金毛狗、普通针毛蕨、疏裂凤尾蕨为受体植物，研究了紫茎泽兰对这三种蕨类植物的配子体发育的化感作用。选择蕨类植物孢子萌发、假根生长、配子体形态、配子体发育各阶段及所占比例为测定指标，结果表明：紫茎泽兰根、茎、叶提取液可以对这三种蕨类植物的配子体发育产生不同程度的化感作用。表现为：延迟这三种蕨类植物的孢子萌发，降低其孢子萌发率，抑制假根的伸长，并且上述抑制作用随紫茎泽兰提取液浓度的升高而增强。随着紫茎泽兰叶水提液浓度的升高，金毛狗配子体发育阶段会滞后。在紫茎泽兰根提取液处理下，普通针毛蕨配子体上的假根发生畸变。随着时间的推移，这种现象削弱或基本消失。随着根和叶提取液的浓度升高，普通针毛蕨配子体发育阶段将会滞后。高浓度的紫茎泽兰根提取液能改变疏裂凤尾蕨的配子体的形态，并使疏裂凤尾蕨的配子体发育阶段滞后，浓度越高效果越显著。这三种蕨类植物在受到紫茎泽兰化感作用的影响后表现不同，推测与它们对紫茎泽兰所含有的化感物质的不同敏感度有关。

蕨类植物铁芒萁（Dicranopteris dichotoma）体内稀土元素的分布及其光合特性的研究

为了阐明蕨类植物铁芒萁(Dicranopteris dichotoma Bernh.)体内稀土元素的分布及其光合特性，采用电感耦合等离子质谱分析了中国江西省龙南县轻、重稀土矿区和非矿区铁芒萁植物体内的稀土元素含量，并采用透射电子显微镜对其叶片细胞内的稀土元素进行精确定位。还比较系统的研究了自然条件下的铁芒萁与高浓度稀土元素处理条件下的非稀土元素富集植物黄瓜(Cucumis sativus Linn)的光合特性。结果表明： 1、0.5 mmol•L-1 LaCl3处理黄瓜后，可以诱导激发能向PS II分配。1和2 mmol•L-1 LaCl3处理黄瓜后，对黄瓜幼苗抑制作用表现在对其生长率，光合放氧活性和叶绿体完整率的抑制。这是由于LaCl3对黄瓜细胞结构和叶绿体膜结构的破坏所致。其表现为对类囊体膜结构的破坏，而导致PS II光合活性下降，并最终抑制黄瓜生长。 2、铁芒萁可以富集稀土元素，轻、重稀土矿区铁芒萁植物稀土元素的分布规律为叶片>根>土壤>茎>叶柄，非矿区铁芒萁植物稀土元素的分布规律为叶片>根>茎>叶柄。稀土元素在铁芒萁体内的运输和迁移过程中，发生了明显的分异作用，茎、叶柄、叶片中的重稀土相对贫乏，叶片中可以富集高浓度的轻稀土元素。 3、稀土元素可以进入完整的铁芒萁表皮细胞和叶肉细胞中，但多以沉淀的形式聚集在一起。非矿区铁芒萁叶绿体中的稀土元素含量约占其叶片中含量的5％。轻稀土矿区铁芒萁叶绿体中的稀土元素含量约占其叶片中含量的10％。部分稀土元素定位于富含PS II的基粒片层上。 4、铁芒萁富集稀土元素受环境和遗传特性的双重影响，但主要由其自身的生理、生化特性决定。其富集稀土元素的机制是隔离稀土元素在细胞壁、液泡中和分泌结合物质使稀土元素成为沉淀沉积下来，从而避免对光合活性的破坏。 5、与非矿区铁芒萁相比，轻稀土矿区植物叶绿体膜的全链电子传递速率增加了34.9％，PS II的电子传递活性增高了252.9％，PS I的电子传递活性增加了16.8％。轻稀土矿区铁芒萁全链电子传递活性的增加主要来自PS II电子传递活性的大幅提高，这可能与其调节激发能更多向PS II分配，提高PS II反应中心色素蛋白复合体（67.0％）和捕光色素蛋白复合体的含量相关。 6、与非矿区铁芒萁相比，重稀土矿区植物叶绿体膜的全链电子传递速率增加了46.3％，PS II的电子传递活性增高了23.8％，PS I的电子传递活性增加了60.4％。重稀土矿区铁芒萁电子传递活性的提高主要来自PS I电子传递活性的大量增加，这可能与其PS I反应中心蛋白复合体含量的提高（60.0％）有关。 铁芒萁富集并吸收稀土元素主要是由自身的理化特性决定的。它能够将稀土元素以沉淀的形式固定在细胞内部，并通过改变生理代谢来避免高浓度稀土元素对其光合作用的影响。可以在治理稀土元素污染的环保工程中用作植物修复材料。

Lista de peces de la provincia de Mendoza.

Esta serie tiene como finalidad dar a conocer las especies presentes en los diferentes estados provinciales. Tomando como base los trabajos de López et al. (2003), Reis et al. (2003), y Liotta (2006), mencionamos para cada territorio los cambios y novedades posteriores a estas publicaciones. Consideramos que este modesto aporte contribuirá a precisar el conocimiento ictiofaunístico regional, ya que, además de las listas de especies, adjuntamos bibliografía de referencia y el marco biogeográfico e hídrico correspondientes, que podrán ser de utilidad para quienes hagan uso de este trabajo. Por otra parte entendemos que la participación de autores involucrados en la región considerada, le da un verdadero sentido federal a esta contribución, además de reforzar vínculos en los protagonistas de nuestra especialidad. En este nuevo número presentamos la provincia de Mendoza que se encuentra limitada al norte por San Juan, al este por San Luis, al sur La Pampa y Neuquén y al oeste por Chile. A las 14 especies citadas por Liotta 2006 para la provincia de Mendoza debemos agregar nuevas citas de especies introducidas (Tabla I y II). Cabe destacar que un alto porcentaje de las 24 especies presentes en la provincia, un total de 11, se corresponde a especies introducidas tanto de origen exótico como autóctono.

Wetlands and riparian zones as buffers and critical habitats for biotic communities in Lake Victoria

Despite their ecological and socio-economic importance, Lake Victoria's adjoining "swamps" and lake interface are among the least investigated parts of the lake. The "swamps" a term commonly equated to "wastelands" and the difficult working environment they present in comparison to open water, are major factors for the low level of attention accorded to shoreline wetlands. Moreover, definitions of wetlands highlighted for example in the Ramsar Convention as "areas of marsh, fern, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh or brackish, or salt, including areas of marine water, the depth of which does not exceed six metres" (Ramsar, 1971) were designed to protect birds (water fowl) of international importance. The Ramsar definition, which also includes oceans, has till recently been of limited use for Lake Victoria, because itdoes not fully recognise wetlands in relation to other public concerns such as water quality, biodiversity and the tisheries that are of higher socioeconomic priority than waterfowl. Prior to 1992, fishery research on Lake Victoria included studies of inshore shallow habitats of the lake without specific reference to distance or the type of vegetation at the shore. Results of these studies also conveniently relied heavily on trawl and gill net data from the 5-10 m depth zones as the defining boundary of shallow inshore habitats. In Lake Victoria, such a depth range can be at least one kilometre from the lake interface and by the 10m depth contour, habitats are in the sub-littoral range. Findings from these studies could thus not be used to make direct inferences on the then assumed importance of Lake Victoria wetlands in general.

Layered Architecture for Secure E-Commerce Applications

We present a layered architecture for secure e-commerce applications and protocols with fully automated dispute-resolution process, robust to communication failures and malicious faults. Our design is modular, with precise yet general-purpose interfaces and functionalities, and allows usage as an underlying secure service to different e-commerce, e-banking and other distributed systems. The interfaces support diverse, flexible and extensible payment scenarios and instruments, including direct buyer-seller payments as well as (the more common) indirect payments via payment service providers (e.g. banks). Our design is practical, efficient, and ensures reliability and security under realistic failure and delay conditions.

Natural hybridization between genera that diverged from each other approximately 60 million years ago.

A fern from the French Pyrenees-×Cystocarpium roskamianum-is a recently formed intergeneric hybrid between parental lineages that diverged from each other approximately 60 million years ago (mya; 95% highest posterior density: 40.2-76.2 mya). This is an extraordinarily deep hybridization event, roughly akin to an elephant hybridizing with a manatee or a human with a lemur. In the context of other reported deep hybrids, this finding suggests that populations of ferns, and other plants with abiotically mediated fertilization, may evolve reproductive incompatibilities more slowly, perhaps because they lack many of the premating isolation mechanisms that characterize most other groups of organisms. This conclusion implies that major features of Earth's biodiversity-such as the relatively small number of species of ferns compared to those of angiosperms-may be, in part, an indirect by-product of this slower "speciation clock" rather than a direct consequence of adaptive innovations by the more diverse lineages.