Computational Determination of the Binding Mode of α-Conotoxin to Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor

Conotoxins belong to the large families of disulfide-rich peptide toxins from cone snail venom, and can act on a broad spectrum of ion channels and receptors. They are classified into different subtypes based on their targets. The α-conotoxins selectively inhibit the current of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. Because of their unique selectivity towards distinct n ACh R subtypes, α-conotoxins become valuable tools in n ACh R study. In addition to the X-ray structures of α-conotoxins in complex with acetylcholine-binding protein, a homolog of the n ACh R ligand-binding domain, the high-resolution crystal structures of the extracellular domain of the α1 and α9 subunits are also obtained. Such structures not only revealed the details of the configuration of n ACh R, but also provided higher sequence identity templates for modeling the binding modes of α-conotoxins to n ACh R. This mini-review summarizes recent modeling studies for the determination of the binding modes of α-conotoxins to n ACh R. As there are not crystal structures of the n ACh R in complex with conotoxins, computational modeling in combination of mutagenesis data is expected to reveal the molecular recognition mechanisms that govern the interactions between α-conotoxins and n ACh R at molecular level. An accurate determination of the binding modes of α-conotoxins on ACh Rs allows rational design of α-conotoxin analogues with improved potency or selectivity to n ACh Rs.     

Identification of AOSC-binding proteins in neurons

Acidic oligosaccharide sugar chain （AOSC）, a D-mannuronic acid oligosaccharide, derived from brownalgaepolysaccharide, has been completed Phase I clinical trial in China as an anti-Alzheimer＇s Disease （AD） drug candidate. The identification of AOSC-binding protein（s） in neurons is very important for understanding its action mechanism. To determine the binding protein（s） of AOSC in neurons mediating its anti-AD activities, confocal microscopy, affinity chromatography, and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry （LC-MS/MS） analysis were used. Confocal microscopy analysis shows that AOSC binds to SH-SY5Y cells in concentration-, time-, and temperature-dependent fashions. The AOSC binding proteins were purified by affinity chromatography and identified by LC-MS/MS analysis. The results showed that there are 349 proteins binding AOSC, including clathrin, adaptor protein-2 （AP-2） and amyloid precursor protein （APP）. These results suggest that the binding/entrance of AOSC to neurons is probably responsible for anti-AD activities.     

The radular morphology of Nassariidae (Gastropoda: Caenogastropoda) from China

The family Nassariidae includes a number of species that are distributed throughout the world. Each species has a characteristic shell shape, tooth shape, and behavior. However, the classification of species in this family of the Rhachiglossa is controversial. We describe the radulae of 22 species from China in detail using optical and scanning electron microscopy. These species are considered to be representatives of two subfamilies, two genera, and 10 subgenera. Our results suggest that the morphology of the central tooth and the pair of lateral teeth and the presence or absence of a pair of intermediate accessory lateral teeth could be used to distinguish among species. We found no support for the subgeneric differentiation of the species. However, the presence or absence of the intermediate lateral accessory plate was characteristic of species divisions. We noted sexual dimorphism in the shape of the teeth in some species, and considerable variability of the shape of teeth within a single species. Based on our results, the genus Nassarius cannot be split into subgenera using radula morphology.     

Large-scale desiccation of the Aral Sea due to over-exploitation after 1960

The Aral Sea was one of the largest lakes in the world before it started to shrink in the 1960s due to water withdrawal for agricultural irrigation.Precipitation decreased from 9.4 km3 in 1960 to 3.2 km3 in 2009,and annual river inflow into the Aral Sea decreased from 31.5 km3 in 1998 to 5.2 km3 in 2009.Comparison on the hydrological data of the Aral Sea between 1960 and 2009 showed the evaporation,water surface area,and water volume decreased by 90%,80%,and 88%,respectively.This study employs the observed values of water volume,precipitation,runoff,evaporation,and salinity to estimate water volume and salinity from 1960 to 2009,and the efficiency coefficients for predicted water volume and salinity are 0.975 and 0.974,respectively.Regression equations calculated from the observed data are used to predict precipitation,runoff,evaporation,and salinity from 2010 to 2021,and the results are then applied in the estimation of water volume and salinity.Our estimates suggest that salinity will increase to around 200 g/L and water volume will decrease to around 83 km3 in 2021.     

Determination of lignin in marine sediment using alkaline cupric oxide oxidation-solid phase extraction-on-column derivatization-gas chromatography

Lignin serves as one of the most important molecular fossils for tracing Terrestrial Organic Matters (TOMs) in marine environment. Extraction and derivatization of lignin oxidation products (LOPs) are crucial for accurate quantification of lignin in marine sediment. Here we report a modification of the conventional alkaline cupric oxide (CuO) oxidation method, the modification consisting in a solid phase extraction (SPE) and a novel on-column derivatization being employed for better efficiency and reproducibility. In spiking blanks, recoveries with SPE for the LOPs are between 77.84% and 99.57% with relative standard deviations (RSDs) ranging from 0.57% to 8.04% (n=3), while those with traditional liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) are from 44.52% to 86.16% with RSDs being from 0.53% to 13.14% (n=3). Moreover, the reproducibility is greatly improved with SPE, with less solvent consumption and shorter processing time. The average efficiency of on-column derivatization for LOPs is 100.8% ± 0.68%, which is significantly higher than those of in-vial or in-syringe derivatization, thus resulting in still less consumption of derivatizing reagents. Lignin in the surface sediments sampled from the south of Yangtze River estuary, China, was determined with the established method. Recoveries of 72.66% to 85.99% with standard deviation less than 0.01mg/10g dry weight are obtained except for p-hydroxyben-zaldehyde. The lignin content Σ8 (produced from 10 g dry sediment) in the research area is between 0.231 and 0.587 mg. S/V and C/V ratios (1.028 ± 0.433 and 0.192 ± 0.066, respectively) indicate that the TOMs in this region are originated from a mixture of woody and nonwoody angiosperm plants; the high values of (Ad/Al) v suggest that the TOMs has been highly degraded.     

THE INDUCTION AND EXTRACTION OF METALLOTHIONEINS IN ARTEMIA

A small amount of heavy metal binding protein,identified by BioRad Protein Assay,has been iso-lated from the adult brine shrimp,Artemia franciscanus.This protein has an apparent molecular weight be-tween 6000 to 9000 dalton.a UV absorption peak at 260 instead of 280 nm like most proteins;andhas high affinity towards binding with radioactive labeled ~(109)Cd.These characteristics are similarto that of metallothioneins reported for many vertebrate and invertebrate,marine and terrestrialanimals.After the brine shrimp is exposed to a small amount of Cd~(2+)for 24 h,a large amount ofmetallothionein can be isolated,showing the inducibility of this detoxifying protein in the adult Artemiain a short period of time.     

UP-REGULATION OF HEPATIC RECEPTOR FOR GROWTH HORMONE IN THE FLOUNDER （PARALICHTHYS OLIVACEUS） AFTER ORAL ADMINISTRATION WITH EXOGENOUS GH

The iodination efficiency of salmon GH (sGH) was 38.82%,using a modification of the chloramine-T method. The specific activity of the ^125I-sGH was about 40 μCi/μg protein. The results of binding assay showed a single class of high affinity and low-capacity binding site in flounder liver. Long-term administration with exogenous GH can induce the up-regulation of hepatic GH receptor in total binding capacity though there was no significant difference of association constant among any groups. Con-sidering that there was no significant difference in capacity of free binding sites of livers from control and experimental fish, this result also indicated that the liver from experimental fish, compared to that from control fish, had more occupied binding sites.     

Autumn photoproduction of carbon monoxide in Jiaozhou Bay,China

Carbon monoxide(CO) plays a significant role in global warming and atmospheric chemistry. Global oceans are net natural sources of atmospheric CO. CO at surface ocean is primarily produced from the photochemical degradation of chromophoric dissolved organic matter(CDOM). In this study, the effects of photobleaching, temperature and the origin(terrestrial or marine) of CDOM on the apparent quantum yields(AQY) of CO were studied for seawater samples collected from Jiaozhou Bay. Our results demonstrat that photobleaching, temperature and the origin of CDOM strongly affected the efficiency of CO photoproduction. The concentration, absorbance and fluorescence of CDOM exponentially decreased with increasing light dose. Terrestrial riverine organic matter could be more prone to photodegradation than the marine algae-derived one. The relationships between CO AQY and the dissolved organic carbon-specific absorption coefficient at 254 nm for the photobleaching study were nonlinear, whereas those of the original samples were strongly linear. This suggests that: 1) terrestrial riverine CDOM was more efficient than marine algae-derived CDOM for CO photoproduction; 2) aromatic and olefinic moieties of the CDOM pool were affected more strongly by degradation processes than by aliphatic ones. Water temperature and the origin of CDOM strongly affected the efficiency of CO photoproduction. The photoproduction rate of CO in autumn was estimated to be 31.98 μmol m-2 d-1 and the total DOC photomineralization was equivalent to 3.25%- 6.35% of primary production in Jiaozhou Bay. Our results indicate that CO photochemistry in coastal areas is important for oceanic carbon cycle.     

Preliminary determination of calcium, phosphorus, and the calcium/phosphorus ratio in cortical bone of Chinstrap penguin using synchrotron X-ray fluorescence analysis

Synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence （SR-XRF） approach was applied to analyzing of Chinstrap penguin （ Pygoscelis Antarctica） cortical bone. The method enabled the in situ determination of Ca and P concentrations and the Ca/P ratio in cortical bone. The preliminary results show that ： （ 1 ） there is the bone site-related difference for Ca and P concentrations. The mean values for the investigated parameters （ on a dry-weight basis） are： 30.7% （Ca） and 14.9% （P） for the femoral cortical bone, 21.4% （Ca） and 11.5% （P） for wing cortical bone. （2） The variation for the Ca/P ratio in cortical bone is lower than those for Ca and P separately. This is in agreement with the previous report that the specificity of the Ca/P ratio is better than that of Ca and P concentrations and is more reliable for the diagnosis of bone disorders. The authors suggest that further studies be conducted to establish norreal values of Ca, P and Ca/P ratio for polar animals and provide a basis for the diagnosis of bone disorders.     

Genetic diversity of populations and clones of Rhopilema esculentum in China based on AFLP analysis

Amplified fragment length polymorphisms(AFLP) markers were developed to assess the genetic variation of populations and clones of Rhopilema esculentum Kishinouye(Scyphozoa,Rhizostomatidae).One hundred and seventy-nine loci from 56 individuals of two hatchery populations and two wild populations were genotyped with five primer combinations.The polymorphic ratio,Shannon’s diversity index and average heterozygosity were 70.3%,0.346 and 0.228 for the white hatchery population,74.3%,0.313,and 0.201 for the red hatchery population,79.3%,0.349,and 0.224 for the Jiangsu wild population,and 74.9%,0.328 and 0.210 for the Penglai wild population,respectively.Thus,all populations had a relatively high level of genetic diversity.A specific band was identified that could separate the white from the red hatchery population.There was 84.85% genetic differentiation within populations.Individual cluster analysis using unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic mean(UPGMA) suggested that hatchery populations and wild populations could be divided.For the hatchery populations,the white and red populations clustered separately;however,for the wild populations,Penglai and Jiangsu populations clustered together.The genetic diversity at the clone level was also determined.Our data suggest that there are relatively high genetic diversities within populations but low genetic differentiation between populations,which may be related to the long-term use of germplasm resources from Jiangsu Province for artificial seeding and releasing.These findings will benefit the artificial seeding and conservation of the germplasm resources.     

Quantitative comparison of the expression of myogenic regulatory factors in flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus)embryos and adult tissues

MyoD,Myf5,and myogenin are myogenic regulatory factors that play important roles during myogenesis.It is thought that MyoD and Myf5 are required for myogenic determination,while myogenin is important for terminal differentiation and lineage maintenance.To better understand the function of myogenic regulatory factors in muscle development of flounder,an important economic fish in Asia,real-time quantitative RT-PCR was used to characterize the expression patterns of MyoD,Myf5, and myogenin at early stages of embryo development,and in different tissues of the adult flounder.The results show that,Myf5 is the first gene to be expressed during the early stages of flounder development, followed by MyoD and myogenin.The expressions of Myf5,MyoD,and myogenin at the early stages have a common characteristic:expression gradually increased to a peak level,and then gradually decreased to an extremely low level.In the adult flounder,the expression of the three genes in muscle is much higher than that in other tissues,indicating that they are important for muscle growth and maintenance of grown fish.During embryonic stages,the expression level of MyoD might serve an important role in the balance between muscle cell differentiation and proliferation.When the MyoD expression is over 30%of its highest level,the muscle cells enter the differentiation stage.     

Precipitation type estimation and validation in China

The results from three methods aimed at improving precipitation type(e.g., rain, sleet, and snow) estimation are presented and compared in this paper. The methods include the threshold air temperature(AT), threshold wet bulb temperature(WBT) and Koistinen and Saltikoff(KSS) methods.Dot graphs are plotted to acquire the threshold air temperature or the threshold wet bulb temperature using daily averaged air temperature, wet bulb temperature and precipitation data at 643 stations from 1961 to 1979(precipitation types are not labeled in the database from 1980 to present) in China. The results indicate that the threshold AT or WBT methods are not able to differentiate rain, sleet and snow in the most regions in China; sleet is difficult to differentiate from other precipitation types based on the two threshold methods. Therefore, one threshold AT and WBT method was used in this study to differentiate rain and snow. Based on GaussianKriging interpolation of threshold air temperature(T0and wet bulb temperature(Tw), the T0 and Tw contour lines and contour surfaces are calculated for China.Finally, a comparison between the KSS, AT and WBT methods are provided in which the KSS method is calculated based on air temperature and relative humidity. The results suggest that the KSS method is more appropriate for water phase estimation than are the other methods; the maximum precision for rain and snow is 99% and 94%, respectively. The AT method performs better than the WBT method when the critical air temperature is 2°C.     

Non-point-source nitrogen and phosphorus loadings from a small watershed in the Three Gorges Reservoir area

Non-point-source pollution has become a major threat to the water quality of the Three Gorges Reservoir(TGR);however,nutrient loadings from terrestrial sources are unclear due to a lack of in situ monitoring.A representative small watershed in the central part of the TGR area was selected to monitor the loss of nitrogen(N) and phosphorous(P) continuously along with the runoff from 2007 through 2009 to understand the exact sources and loadings.Results show that the non-point-source nitrogen and phosphorus comes mainly from the storm runoff from residential areas,citrus orchards and sloping croplands,which contributes up to 76% of the loadings in this watershed.Thus,a crucial measure for controlling non-point-source pollution is to intercept storm runoff from the three sources.Paddy fields provide a sink for non-point-source N and P by intercepting the runoff and sediment along with their different forms of nitrogen and phosphorus.The N and P removal efficiency by paddy fields from residential areas is within the range of 56% to 98%.Paddy fields are an important land-use option for reducing the non-point-source loading of N and P in the TGR area.     

Provenance and Tectonic Implications of Paleozoic Strata in the South Yellow Sea Basin,China–Revealed from the Borehole CSDP-2

Well CSDP-2 is a fully coring deep drilling hole, penetrating the thick Paleozoic marine strata in the South Yellow Sea Basin(SYSB) in the lower Yangtze Block(LYB). Based on the petrological and geochemical analysis of 40 sandstone samples from the core CSDP-2, the provenance and tectonic features of Paleozoic detrital rocks from SYSB are analyzed and systematically delineated in this article. The results show that the Silurian – Carboniferous sandstones are mature sublitharenite, while the Permian sandstones are unstable feldspathic litharenite. The average CIA(chemical index of alteration) is 74.61, which reflects these sediments were derived from source rocks with moderate chemical weathering. The REE(rare earth element) patterns are characterized by LREE enrichment, flat HREE and obviously negative Eu anomaly, which are similar to that of the upper continental crust. Dickinson QFL discrimination results indicate the recycled orogeny provenance. Various diagrams for the discrimination of sedimentary provenance based on major and trace element data show all the sediments were derived predominantly from quartz sedimentary rocks, of which the Permian strata contain more felsic sedimentary rocks. Geochemical data for these detrital rocks suggest they occur at the passive continental margin and island arc settings, and the Permian sandstone presents active continental margin setting.     

Distribution of borehole temperature at four high-altitude alpine glaciers in Central Asia

The distribution of borehole temperature at four high-altitude alpine glaciers was investigated. The result shows that the temperature ranges from -13.4℃ to -1.84℃, indicating the glaciers are cold throughout the boreholes. The negative gradient （i.e., the temperature decreasing with the increasing of depth） due to the advection of ice and climate warming, and the negative gradient moving downwards relates to climate warming, are probably responsible for the observed minimum temperature moving to lower depth in boreholes of the Gyabrag glacier and Miaoergou glacier compared to the previously investigated continental ice core borehole temperature in West China. The borehole temperature at 10m depth ranges from -8.0℃ in the Gyabrag glacier in the central Himalayas to -12.9℃ in the Tsabagarav glacier in the Altai range. The borehole temperature at 10 m depth is 3-4 degrees higher than the calculated mean annual air temperature on the surface of the glaciers and the higher 10 m depth temperature is mainly caused by the production of latent heat due to melt-water percolation and refreezing. The basal temperature is far below the melting point, indicating that the glaciers are frozen to bedrock. The very low temperature gradients near the bedrock suggest that the influence of geothermal flux and ice flow on basal temperature is very weak. The low temperature and small velocity of ice flow of glaciers are beneficial for preservation of the chemical and isotopic information in ice cores.     

The contribution of trace elements from seawater to chimneys： a case study of the native sulfur chimneys in the sea area off Kueishantao, northeast of Taiwan Island

Hydrothermal fluid containing abundant matter erupts from seafloor, meets ambient cold seawater and forms chimneys. So the main matter origins of chimneys are seawater and matter which are taken by hydrothermal fluid from deep reservoir. However, because of seawater’s little contribution to the forming of chimneys, it is usually covered by the abundant matter which is taken by hydrothermal fluid. Therefore, chimneys formed in ordinary deep seawater hydrothermal activity, containing complex elements, cannot ...     

Socio-economic and Environmental Implications of the Hydroelectric Projects in Uttarakhand Himalaya, India

This paper deals with detailed analysis of the fiasco created by the Tehri High Dam in Uttarakhand, India, particularly in terms of resettlement and rehabilitation of the local inhabitants. Aspects pertaining to the environmental issues are also discussed. Currently, the river valleys in Uttarakhand state of India are the targets of increasing hydroelectric projects. Virtually all rivers are being exploited for generating environmental friendly power. Having being learned the hard lesson from Tehri Dam, it has been decided to opt for such schemes in which comparatively little submergence and tempering with the fragile eco-systems is involved.However, our observations suggest that even in such schemes if due care is not taken they may turn out to be a failure.