The tropomyosin fraction of shrimp proteins is potentially responsible for allergic reaction in individuals with genetic predisposition to allergy. However, there are no efficient and safe methods to reduce its allergenicity. High intensity ultrasound is known to change the structure of proteins. This study is aimed at assessing high intensity ultrasound’s effect on the allergenicity of shrimp allergen. Shrimp and purified shrimp allergen were treated with high intensity ultrasound for 30~180 min. Extracts of treated samples were analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with pool serum of shrimp allergy patients and polyclonal anti-allergen antibodies and by immunoblotting after polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Shrimp treated with high intensity ultrasound showed a decrease in allergenicity measured with ELISA. A linear relationship between the immune response induced by treated shrimp allergen and the applied treatment time was observed. The decrease in allergenicity was confirmed by immunoblot assays with shrimp allergic patients serum. Allergenicity of shrimp allergen extracted from treated shrimp was higher than that of purified shrimp allergen with the same treatment time. Gel-filtration HPLC was applied for analysis of shrimp allergen after treatment with high intensity ultrasound. Some fractions were appeared with increasing treatment time. The results suggested that high intensity ultrasound could be used to reduce the allergenicity of shrimp.

This study explores the Chinese public’s perceptions of, and attitudes to, agriculture and food applications of biotechnology; and investigates the effect of socio-demographic factors on attitudes. A questionnaire survey and interviews were used in an attempt to combine quantitative analysis with qualitative review. The main finding of this study is that the Chinese population has a superficial, optimistic attitude to agricultural biotechnology; and that, in accordance with public attitudes, a cautious policy, with obligatory labelling, should be adopted. The study reveals that education is the factor among socio-demographic variables with the strongest impact on public attitudes. Higher education leads to a more positive evaluation of GM (genetically modified) foods and applications of biotechnology with respect to usefulness, moral acceptability, and suitability for encouragement. In addition, public attitudinal differences depend significantly on area of residence. Compared with their more urban compatriots, members of the public in less developed areas of China have more optimistic attitudes, perceive more benefits, and are more risk tolerant in relation to GM foods and agricultural biotechnology. Finally we obtained a very high rate of “don’t know” answers to our survey questions. This suggests that many people do not have settled attitudes, and correspondingly, that the overall public attitude to agricultural biotechnology and GM foods in China is at present somewhat unstable.

To reveal the possible mechanism of silica deposition in higher plants, lignin was isolated from rice straw following a modified method to conduct a simulation experiment in vitro. UV and infrared absorption spectra showed that the substance had the unique characteristics of pure lignin. The presence of silicon in the precipitation was revealed by TEM (transmission electron microscopy) with EDXA (energy dispersive X-ray analysis) device. It was found that in the borax solution where lignin precipitation occurred silica-lignin co-precipitation was produced but not in the DMSO solution where lignin was broken into its composition compounds and did not precipitate. This means that it is macromolecular lignin itself but not its compounds that could induce silica deposition in higher plants.

Elaeagnus angustifolia Linn. has various ecological, medicinal and economical uses. An approach was established using RP-HPLC (reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography) to classify and analyse the intra-specific genetic relationships of seventeen populations of E. angustifolia, collected from the Xinjiang areas of China. Chromatograms of alcohol-soluble proteins produced by seventeen populations of E. angustifolia, were compared. Each chromatogram of alcohol-soluble proteins came from a single seed of one wild plant only. The results showed that when using a Waters Delta Pak. C18, 5 μm particle size reversed phase column (150 mm×3.9 mm), a linear gradient of 25%~60% solvent B with flow rate of 1 ml/min and run time of 67 min, the chromatography yielded optimum separation of E. angustifolia alcohol-soluble proteins. Representative peaks in each population were chosen according to peak area and occurrence in every seed. The converted data on the elution peaks of each population were different and could be used to represent those populations. GSC (genetic similarity coefficients) of 41% to 62% showed a medium degree of genetic diversity among the populations in these eco-areas. Cluster analysis showed that the seventeen populations of E. angustifolia could be divided into six clusters at the GSC=0.535 level and indicated the general and unique biochemical markers of these clusters. We suggest that E. angustifolia distribution in these eco-areas could be classified into six variable species. RP-HPLC was shown to be a rapid, repeatable and reliable method for E. angustifolia classification and identification and for analysis of genetic diversity.

Forest plays very important roles in global system with about 35% land area producing about 70% of total land net production. It is important to consider both elevated CO₂ concentrations and different soil moisture when the possible effects of elevated CO₂ concentration on trees are assessed. In this study, we grew Cinnamomum camphora seedlings under two CO₂ concentrations (350 μmol/mol and 500 μmol/mol) and three soil moisture levels [80%, 60% and 40% FWC (field water capacity)] to focus on the effects of exposure of trees to elevated CO₂ on underground and aboveground plant growth, and its dependence on soil moisture. The results indicated that high CO₂ concentration has no significant effects on shoot height but significantly impacts shoot weight and ratio of shoot weight to height under three soil moisture levels. The response of root growth to CO₂ enrichment is just reversed, there are obvious effects on root length growth, but no effects on root weight growth and ratio of root weight to length. The CO₂ enrichment decreased 20.42%, 32.78%, 20.59% of weight ratio of root to shoot under 40%, 60% and 80% FWC soil water conditions, respectively. And elevated CO₂ concentration significantly increased the water content in aboveground and underground parts. Then we concluded that high CO₂ concentration favours more tree aboveground biomass growth than underground biomass growth under favorable soil water conditions. And CO₂ enrichment enhanced lateral growth of shoot and vertical growth of root. The responses of plants to elevated CO₂ depend on soil water availability, and plants may benefit more from CO₂ enrichment with sufficient water supply.

Wild cotton species can contribute a valuable gene pool for agronomically desirable cultivated tetraploid cultivars. In order to exploit diploid cotton a regeneration system is required to achieve transformation based goals. The present studies aimed at optimizing the conditions for regeneration of local varieties as well as wild species of cotton. Different callus induction media were tested with varying concentrations of hormones in which sucrose was used as nutritional source. Different explants (hypocotyls, cotyledon, root) were used to check the regeneration of both local cotton plants and wild relatives using T & G medium, BAP medium, CIM medium, EMMS medium, and cell suspension medium. Different stages of embryogenicity such as early torpedo stage, late torpedo stage, heart stage, globular stage and cotyledonary stage were observed in wild relatives of cotton. The results of this study pave the way for establishing future transformation methods.

This study on the band structures and charge densities of nitrogen (N)-, carbon (C)- and boron (B)-doped titanium dioxide (TiO₂) by first-principles simulation with the CASTEP code (Segall et al., 2002) showed that the three 2p bands of impurity atom are located above the valence-band maximum and below the Ti 3d bands, and that along with the decreasing of impurity atomic number, the fluctuations become more intensive. We cannot observe obvious band-gap narrowing in our result. Therefore, the cause of absorption in visible light might be the isolated impurity atom 2p states in band-gap rather than the band-gap narrowing.

Several fundamental problems in hydrophobic force measurements using atomic force microscope (AFM) are discussed in this paper. A novel method for colloid probe preparation based on chemical etching technology is proposed, which is specially fit for the unique demands of hydrophobic force measurements by AFM. The features of three different approaches for determining spring constants of rectangular cantilevers, including geometric dimension, Cleveland and Sader methods are compared. The influences of the sizes of the colloids on the measurements of the hydrophobic force curves are investigated. Our experimental results showed that by selecting colloid probe with proper spring constant and tip size, the hydrophobic force and the complete hydrophobic interaction force curve can be measured by using AFM.

Bentonite is a kind of natural clay with good exchanging ability. By exchanging its interlamellar cations with various soluble cations, such as quaternary ammonium cations and inorganic metal ions, the properties of natural bentonite can be greatly improved. In this study, hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HDTMA), CaCl₂, MgCl₂, FeCl₃, AlCl₃ were used as organic and inorganic pillared materials respectively to produce several kinds of Ca-, Mg-, Fe-, Al-organo pillared bentonites. Sorption of reactive red X-3B on them was studied to determine their potential application as sorbents in wastewater treatment. The results showed that these pillared bentonites had much improved sorption properties, and that the dye solutions’ pH value had some effect on the performance of these inorgano-organo pillared bentonites. Isotherms of reactive X-3B on these pillared bentonites suggested a Langmuir-type sorption mechanism.

In this experiment conducted to study the inactivation dynamics of infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) by binary ethylenimine (BEI) in comparison with formalin, IBDV was isolated from the bursa of infected chickens and its confirmation was done by agar gel precipitation test. Viral suspensions were subjected to inactivation with BEI and formalin for pre-set time intervals. BEI was employed at concentrations of 0.001 and 0.002 mol/L while formalin was used at 0.1% and 0.2%. Sampling was done at 6, 12, 24, 36 and 48 h of incubation and samples were tested for their inactivation status in 9-day-old embryonated eggs and 3-week-old broiler chickens. IBDV was completely inactivated by 0.001 and 0.002 mol/L BEI after 36 h of incubation at 37 °C, whereas formalin at 0.1% and 0.2% concentrations inactivated IBDV in 24 h.

To develop a gene therapy strategy for treating bovine mastitis, a new mammary-specific vector containing human lysozyme (hLYZ) cDNA and kanamycin resistance gene was constructed for intramammary expression and clinical studies. After one time acupuncture or intracisternal infusion of healthy cows with 400 μg of the p215C3LYZ vector, over 2.0 μg/ml of rhLYZ could be detected by enzymatic assay for about 3 weeks in the milk samples. Western blotting showed that rhLYZ secreted into milk samples from the vector-injected cows had molecular weight similar to that of the natural hLYZ in human colostrums. Twenty days after the primary injection, the quarters were re-injected with the same vector by quarter acupuncture and even higher concentrations of rhLYZ could be detected. Indirect competitive ELISA of milk samples showed that the vector injection did not induce detectable humoral immune response against hLYZ. Clinical studies showed that twice acupuncture of quarters with the p215C3LYZ vector had overt therapeutic effect on clinical and subclinical mastitis previously treated with antibiotics, including disappearance of clinical symptoms and relatively high microbiological cure rates. These data provide a solid rationale for using the vector to develop gene therapy for treating bovine mastitis.

An underground heat storage system in a double-film-covered greenhouse and an adjacent greenhouse without the heat storage system were designed on the basis of plant physiology to reduce the energy consumption in greenhouses. The results indicated that the floor temperature was respectively 5.2 °C, 4.6 °C and 2.0 °C higher than that of the soil in the adjacent reference greenhouse after heat storage in a clear, cloudy and overcast sky in winter. Results showed that the temperature and humidity were feasible for plant growth in the heat saving greenhouse.

During the routine impurity profile of lisinopril bulk drug by HPLC (high-performance liquid chromatography), a potential impurity was detected. Using multidimensional NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) technique, the trace-level impurity was unambiguously identified to be 2-(-2-oxo-azocan-3-ylamino)-4-phenyl-butyric acid after isolation from lisinopril bulk drug by semi-preparative HPLC. Formation of the impurity was also discussed. To our knowledge, this is a novel impurity and not reported elsewhere.