Electrochemical Quantification of Neurotransmitters in Single Live Cell Vesicles Shows Exocytosis is Predominantly Partial

Exocytosis plays an essential role in the communication between cells in the nervous system. Understanding the regulation of neurotransmitter release during exocytosis and the amount of neurotransmitter content that is stored in vesicles is of importance, as it provides fundamental insights to understand how the brain works and how neurons elicit a certain behavior. In this minireview, we summarize recent progress in amperometric measurements for monitoring exocytosis in single cells and electrochemical cytometry measurements of vesicular neurotransmitter content in individual vesicles. Important steps have increased our understanding of the different mechanisms of exocytosis. Increasing evidence is firmly establishing that partial release is the primary mechanism of release in multiple cell types.     

Colostrum source and passive immunity transfer in dairy bull calves

Colostrum is essential for good neonate health; however, it is not known whether different calves absorb the nutrients from colostrum equally well. In this study, the absorption of protein, IgG, and γ-glutamyl transferase was compared in newborn dairy bull calves for 1 wk after feeding colostrum from different sources. Thirty-five Holstein-Friesian bull calves were randomly allocated into 3 groups and fed colostrum within 4 h after birth. Group A calves (n = 12) were bottle fed colostrum from their own dam for 3 d. Colostrum from these group A cows was also used as foster cow colostrum for the group B calves (n = 12), such that each group A and B calf pair received identical colostrum from each milking of the respective group A dam (10% of birth weight per day). The group C calves (n = 11) were fed 1 bottle (2 L) of pooled colostrum and transition milk (referred to as pooled colostrum), as was the standard practice on the dairy farm. The pooled colostrum was collected from the other dairy cows on the farm 0 to 4 d postpartum and stored at 4°C for less than 12 h. Blood was sampled from calves before the first feeding and at 1, 2, 3, and 7 d after birth. Levels of total solids, total protein, and IgG were higher in the dam colostrum than in the pooled colostrum. At birth, there were no differences between the calf groups for any measurements, and all calves had very low IgG levels. After receiving colostrum, the glucose, plasma γ-glutamyl transferase, serum total protein, and IgG concentrations increased significantly in all calves. There were no differences in any blood measurements at any time point between the pairs of group A and group B calves that received colostrum from the same cow except for the IgG concentration 2 d after birth. However, the group A calves had a higher total serum protein level and IgG concentration than the group C calves for all the time points after the first feeding. The group B calves had a higher IgG concentration than the group C calves on d 1, 2, and 7 after birth. Compared with groups A and B, there was no difference in the proportion of calves in group C that failed to have passive immunity transferred adequately based on the IgG threshold (<10 g/L). Thus, the calves receiving identical colostrum from the same cow had the same levels of IgG, and even the pooled colostrum provided sufficient transfer of IgG as the calves were fed within 4 h after birth.     

Polarity Effect and Electromagnetic Radiation of Partial Discharge Accompanying Growth of Electrical Tree

We have investigated the characteristics of radiated electromagnetic (EM) waves from positive and negative partial discharges (PD) in epoxy resin and cross‐linked polyethylene. We found that there is a correlation among the EM level from PD, the positive PD current, and electrical trees. Therefore, the growth of an electrical tree produces a lot of positive PD. We have also investigated the characteristics of the frequency region of EM waves from PD in air, insulating oil, and liquid epoxy in addition to the above insulators. EM waves were detected in the frequency region of 40 MHz to 300 MHz from positive and negative PD in epoxy resin and cross‐linked polyethylene. EM waves were also detected in the frequency region of 40 MHz to 150 MHz from positive and negative PD in air. In the case of insulating oil and liquid epoxy, EM waves were detected in the frequency regions of 40 MHz to 150 MHz from positive PD, and 40 MHz to 250 MHz from negative PD. The frequency region differed depending on the material and the discharge polarity. Our investigation indicates that the cause is differences in electric field strength at the time of PD occurrence.     

Macrophage Immunomodulation Through New Polymers that Recapitulate Functional Effects of Itaconate as a Power House of Innate Immunity

Itaconate (ITA) is an emerging powerhouse of innate immunity with therapeutic potential that is limited in its ability to be administered in a soluble form. A library of polyester materials that incorporate ITA into polymer backbones resulting in materials with inherent immunoregulatory behavior is developed. Harnessing hydrolytic degradation release from polyester backbones, ITA polymers result in the mechanism specific immunoregulatory properties on macrophage polarization in vitro. In a functional assay, the polymer-released ITA inhibits bacterial growth on acetate. Translation to an in vivo model of biomaterial associated inflammation, intraperitoneal injection of ITA polymers demonstrate a rapid resolution of inflammation in comparison to a control polymer silicone, demonstrating the value of sustained biomimetic presentation of ITA.     

红外光谱法用于快速测定车用柴油酸度等性质的研究

针对车用柴油酸度等性质测定过程繁琐，采用衰减全反射样品池测定车用柴油的红外光谱，用偏最小二乘法（PLS）建立红外光谱测定车用柴油酸度、密度、闪点和凝点的4个校正模型，验证标准误差分别为0.46 mg/(100 mL),0.77kg/m3,2.60 ℃,2.77 ℃，该方法符合标准方法再现性要求。与标准方法相比，该方法具有无需预处理、操作简单、测量快速、重复性好等优点。     

基于PC机群的大地电磁Occam反演并行计算研究

Occam反演以其稳定收敛和不依赖于初始模型的特性被广泛应用于大地电磁数据的处理，但偏导数矩阵的计算和拉格朗日乘子的求取导致大量的模型正演，使得反演速度较低。为此，研究了用基于PC机群的并行计算来解决这一问题的方法。首先对Occam反演方法进行了阐述；然后，分析了反演方法中各计算耗费的时间，提出对约占计算量90％的偏导数和拉格朗日乘子进行并行计算的思想，即偏导数计算采用频点计算一级的大粒度并行，拉格朗日乘子扫描和一维搜索分别采用弘值计算一级的大粒度并行和频点计算一级的小粒度并行；给出了并行计算的实现方法，即在PC机群上，利用主一从编程模式实现Occam反演的整体并行计算。在计算中，采用任务组合方式，减少了通信量，较好地实现了负载均衡。在4节点PC机群上，对应于拉格朗日乘子的扫描和一维搜索方式，整体加速比分别达到3．36和2．83。     

基于属性相关表的关系模式全部候选关键字求法

本文提出了属性相关表这样一种新的概念，定义了相应的运算并研究了它的有关性质及定理，在此基础上提出了用属性相关表求关系模式全部主属性的等级，并给出了用主属性来组合关系模式全部候选关键字的算法，上述算法的时间复杂度均为Ｏ（ｎ＾２）。