GUS gene remains stable in transgenic citrus callus recovered from cryopreservation

The conservation of transgenic materials is very important, paticularly for their potential future use in crop development. In this study, transgenic callus cultures of 'Newhall' navel orange (Citrus sinensis Osbeck) were cryopreserved by a vitrification method. Transgenic calluses survived cryopreservation and recovered under normal culture conditions. The results of PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) amplification, Southern blotting and SSCP (Single-Strand Conformation Polymorphism) assay showed that the GUS gene was still maintained in the genome of callus cultures recovered from cryopreservation. X-Gluc staining further indicated GUS gene expression in callus cultures recovered from cryopreservation.     

Mushroom cryopreservation and its effect on survival, yield and genetic stability

Mycelial stock cultures of Agaricus bisporus, A. Bitorquis, Pleurotus flabellatus, P. Sajor-caju, P. Ostreatus, P. Sapidus, Auricularia polytricha, Lentinula edodes, Morchella esculenta and Volvariella volvacea were maintained by frequent subculturing at an interval of two months and separately as wheat grain spawn in liquid nitrogen with 15 percent glycerol. Preservation of mushroom stock cultures as wheat grain spawn under liquid nitrogen proved to be the better method of maintenance. The percent recoveries of stored samples were unchanged from the first recovery after six months to the last recovery after 42 months in nine out of 11 stock cultures preserved under liquid nitrogen. However, a marginal decline in survival of 10 % was recorded in Auricularia polytricha and Volvariella volvacea. Yields before preservation of mushroom stock cultures and after 30 months of preservation exhibited static biological efficiency and fruitbody weight. The comparison of Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and Internal Transcribed Spacers (ITS) PCR amplified products did not exhibit DNA fragment variation in banding patterns at the intraspecific level during preservation of stock cultures by either method. The modified cryopreservation protocol and experimental demonstration of genetic stability of stock cultures reported here validate the use of mushroom cryopreservation techniques and supports studies on genetic stability of preserved biological materials.     

Zygotic and nucellar embryo survival following dehydration and cryopreservation of citrus intact seeds

A cryopreservation procedure by dehydration and direct immersion in liquid nitrogen was developed for seeds of four polyembryonic Citrus species, and the sexual or nucellar origin of the recovered seedlings was investigated. Seeds of three species could be desiccated in a sterile air flow to 16 percent (C. sinensis) or 10 percent (C. aurantium and C. limon) moisture content with a negligible reduction in germination levels. Differently, the germinability of C. deliciosa seeds dropped to 50 percent after drying to 15 percent moisture content. Following dehydration treatments, a reduction in the average number of seedlings per germinated seed was always observed. However, all four species benefited from desiccation in terms of protection during immersion in liquid nitrogen, with C. sinensis and C. aurantium showing the greatest survival (93 percent germination) after cryopreservation. The Inter-Simple Sequence Repeat analysis of seedlings recovered from cryopreserved seeds showed that the dehydration/cryopreservation procedure promotes the germination of zygotic embryos and reduces the number of apomictic seedlings per seed.     

Effect of cryopreservation protocols on the phenotypic stability of yeast

Eight cryopreservation protocols were assessed for their effects on the viability and phenotypic stability of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae during a five-year study. It is found that viability and phenotypic features have remained largely unchanged when the yeast was preserved in glycerol, dimethyl sulphoxide, or sucrose at -80 degrees C or in liquid nitrogen. When sorbitol was used as a cryoprotectant, yeast cells frozen and stored at -80 degrees C manifested great decreases in viability after six months in storage and concomitantly large fluctuations in the rate of the trpl auxotrophic reversion. This phenotypic reversion was stable passage after passage. Such a degree of phenotypic fluctuations, however, was not observed for yeast cells preserved in the same sorbitol solution that went through a controlled freezing program and were subsequently stored in liquid nitrogen. These results indicate that some combinations of cryoprotective agent, freezing program, and storage temperature disturb biomaterials more profoundly during cryopreservation and imply a genetic basis of this phenotypic change.     

Limits on stability of positive molecular ions

It is shown that a positive diatomic molecule consisting of N electrons and two nuclei with charges Z ₁ and Z ₂ is unstable with respect to breakup into two atomic subsystems if the nuclear charges are sufficiently large. Bounds on the critical charge are obtained in the limit as N .Research supported in part by NSF grants DMS-8709805 and DMS-8808112.     

Effects of the cryopreservation procedures on recovered rice cell populations

Cryogenic storage of plant cells allows the long-term maintenance of valuable genotypes. Cryopreservation of calli and cell suspensions is often performed using cryoprotectants and slow cooling rates. Rice calli (Oryza sativa L.) were cryopreserved by this procedure as well as by direct immersion in liquid nitrogen without cryoprotection. Subsequently, the characteristics of the recovered cells as well as the effects of putative cryoselection were investigated by microscopic observations and flow cytometric analyses. For this purpose, protoplasts were prepared from calli that had been cryopreserved by direct plunging into liquid nitrogen and from their unfrozen controls. Results show that direct immersion in liquid nitrogen of calli pre-treated with abscisic acid is a fast and highly efficient freezing procedure that maintains the main characteristics of the cell populations and appears to increase their metabolic activity     

Determination of genetic stability in surviving apple shoots following cryopreservation by vitrification

In vitro-grown apple shoot tips were successfully cryopreserved by vitrification, with an average survival and shoot formation of 80 percent and 76 percent respectively. Surviving shoots showed the same rate and regrowth patterns as those of non-treated controls. No significant differences (P < 0.05) were observed in morphological characteristics, including shoot length, leaf shape, leaf width/length ratio and root length, between the control and cryopreserved shoots. No different microsatellite alleles and ISSR fragments were detected between control and cryopreserved shoots using twelve pairs of microsatellites and eleven ISSR primers. These results show that cryopreservation using vitrification is a practical method for the long-term storage of apple germplasm.     

Structure and stability of the negative hydrogen molecular ion

We present the results of a Coulomb explosion experiment that allows for the imaging of the rovibrational wave function of the metastable H2- ion. Our measurements confirm the predicted large internuclear separation of 6 a.u., and they show that the ion decays by autodetachment rather than by spontaneous dissociation. Imaging of the resulting H2 products reveals a large angular momentum of J = 25 ± 2, quantifying the rotation that leads to the metastability of this most fundamental molecular anion.     

Study of molecular surface coating on the stability of maghemite nanoparticles

In this study γ-Fe₂O₃ nanoparticle, surface-coated with increasing amount of oleic acid, have been prepared while the stability against particle degradation under laser excitation intensity was investigated. Maghemite nanoparticle was obtained via oxidation of magnetite nanoparticle, the latter synthesized by co-precipitation of Fe (II) and Fe (III) ions in alkaline medium. By varying the experimental conditions of surface-coating maghemite nanoparticles with oleic acid, samples with different grafting coefficient were obtained and investigated using X-ray diffraction and different spectroscopic techniques, namely Raman, Mössbauer, and infrared. The amount of oleic acid adsorbed on the maghemite surface was estimated via the carbon content obtained from elemental analysis.     

Effects of cryoprotectant agents and equilibration methods on developmental competence of porcine oocytes

Chemical toxicity of cryoprotectants to in vitro developmental competence of porcine oocytes was examined. In vitro-matured oocytes were exposed to 40 percent ethylene glycol (EG), glycerol (GLY), or 1,2-propanediol (PD), fertilized with spermatozoa, and cultured for 8 days. Compared to treatment with other cryoprotectants, exposure to EG resulted in the development of significantly more blastocysts, but the rate was significantly lower than that of non-exposed control oocytes. In vitro-matured oocytes were also equilibrated in 40 percent EG by 3 multi-step methods, after which their developmental competence was evaluated. The rate of blastocyst development was higher in the 4-step method than in the 2- and 3-step methods of equilibrium. These results indicate that cryoprotectants and equilibration methods affect the developmental competence of porcine oocytes and that EG may be a superior cryoprotectant for vitrification of these cells.     

Limits on stability of positive molecular ions in a homogeneous magnetic field

The problem of stability of positive diatomic molecular ions with the nuclear chargesZ ₁ andZ ₂ andN electrons in a homogeneous magnetic fieldB is studied forZ ₁,Z ₂,N,B. The conditions of instability are obtained for different relations amongZ ₁,Z ₂,N andB. A new version of the HVZ theorem for systems in a homogeneous magnetic field is proved.Supported by the International Erwin Schrödinger Institute, Austria, International Science Foundation Grant N R 94000 and Grant of Russian Fond Fudament. Issled. 94-01-01376.     

Effects of surface step on molecular propane adsorption

We have studied the effects of surface step on molecular propane adsorption using molecular-dynamics simulations and a model stepped surface, Pt(6 5 5). Incidences along the step edge (smooth azimuth) and perpendicular to the step edge with upstairs momentum (upstairs azimuth) and downstairs momentum (downstairs azimuth) are considered. In general, the surface step enhances the initial trapping probability of propane except for the downstairs incidences. The most efficient zone in facilitating adsorption is near the bottom of the surface step on the lower terrace where incident molecules experience stronger attraction and an “additional-layer” effect when crossing the step. The least efficient zone is the top of the surface step on the upper terrace due to an opposite “missing-layer” effect. Surface step also creates steric effects such that more incident molecules along the upstairs azimuth but significantly less molecules along the downstairs azimuth impact the step-bottom zone. The latter steric effect, a shadowing effect, undermines the high trapping efficiency of the step-bottom zone to cause the downstairs incidences to have the lowest trapping probabilities. While the shadowing effect can be enhanced by larger incident angles and lower incident energies, the other steric effect on the upstairs incidences is relatively insensitive to the incident energy. Overall, the influence of surface step on molecular adsorption diminishes at low incident energies and large incident angles because longer contact times and less normal momenta result in high trapping probability across the entire stepped surface.     

Effects of ionization gradients on inertial-confinement-fusion capsule hydrodynamic stability

A linear perturbation analysis based on velocity potentials is adapted to include the regional, average-ion charge states (Z) in an imploding, inertial-confinement-fusion capsule and shown to lead to superclassical Rayleigh-Taylor growth following deceleration onset. The added instability is ascribed to an inverted ion-entropy gradient driven by the stepwise ionization mismatch DeltaZ across the fuel-pusher interface and is predicted to principally occur in low Atwood-number (<0.5) implosions associated with low-Z pushers. Similar instability enhancement may pertain to supernovae phenomena and ionization fronts in H II protostellar regions.     

莴苣种子的生长与低温保存研究

文中主要介绍高原莴苣种子生长和低温保存时的相关性,为保护保存该种子提供理论和实验依据。种子在低温和适宜温度两种不同情况下培养,进行实验比较,得出低温预培养的种子对于低温保存无作用;快速降温下,DSC曲线出现两个波峰HTE和LTE,当温度低于LTE时,无种子发芽存活;慢速降温下,DSC曲线只有一个波峰HTE;随着温度降低,种子发芽率降低,当温度低于-40℃时,无种子存活。     

动脉血管低温保存研究现状及展望

血管低温保存是满足临床移植的重要保证手段。从影响动脉血管低温保存的因素,低温保存后的活性恢复、细胞水平上的血管低温损伤机理、冻结/复温过程中的热物理性质和力学性质变化,以及低温断裂现象等方面综述了血管低温保存研究进展。     

Effects of oxygen vacancies on polarization stability of barium titanate

Oxygen vacancy, a kind of native point defects in ferroelectric ceramics, usually causes an increase of the dielectric loss. Based on experimental observations, it is believed that all of the oxygen vacancies are an unfavorable factor for energy saving. By using molecular dynamics simulations, we show that the increase of coercive and saturated electric fields is due to the difficulty to switch local polarization near an oxygen vacancy, and so that a ferroelectric device has to sustain the rising consumption of energy. The simulation results also uncover how oxygen vacancies influence ferroelectric properties.     

Role of interaction anisotropy in the formation and stability of molecular templates

Surface templating via self-assembly of hydrogen-bonded molecular networks is a rapidly developing bottom-up approach in nanotechnology. Using the melamine-PTCDI molecular system as an example we show theoretically that the network stability in the parameter space of temperature versus molecular coupling anisotropy is highly restricted. Our kinetic Monte Carlo simulations predict a structural stability diagram that contains domains of stability of an open honeycomb network, a compact phase, and a high-temperature disordered phase. The results are in agreement with recent experiments, and reveal a relationship between the molecular size and the network stability, which may be used to predict an upper limit on pore-cavity sizes.     

Effects of molecular gases on Xe electroluminescence and electron resonance trapping

Summary Xenon electroluminescence (EL) has been studied in the presence of small amounts of molecular gases and some results are reported. A theoretical model, which explains the EL in terms of a peak in the electron energy distribution near the energy of subexcitative resonance at 7.77 eV (electron resonance trapping), was developed to take into account the effects of a molecular gas present at low concentrations. The results obtained with air, at concentrations lower than 10³ p.p m., seem to fit well the developed model. Supported in part by GNEQP-C.N.R.     

Laser dye stability,part 10. Effects of DABCO on flashlamp pumping of coumarin dyes

1,4-Diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (DABCO) was tested as a flashlamp-pumped laser lifetime-extender with a variety of coumarin dyes and solvents under both air and argon. In a few cases, DABCO could be considered to have extended the lifetime as much as threefold; however, the selection of the appropriate cover gas and/or solvent could often yield a much greater improvement in the absence of DABCO. In general, DABCO was not found to be very valuable as a lifetime-extender. Furthermore, under some conditions DABCO was found to markedly reduce the laser lifetime and output.