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Caenorhabditis elegans has been an important model system for biological research since it was introduced in 1963. However, C. elegans has not been fully utilized in the biochemical study of biological reactions using its nuclear extracts such as in vitro transcription and DNA replication. A significant hurdle for using C. elegans in biochemical studies is disrupting the nematode's thick outer cuticle without sacrificing the activity of the nuclear extract. While several methods are used to break the cuticle, such as Dounce homogenization or sonication, they often lead to protein instability. There are no established protocols for isolating active nuclear proteins from larva or adult C. elegans for in vitro reactions. Here, the protocol describes in detail the homogenization of larval stage 4 C. elegans using a Balch homogenizer. The Balch homogenizer uses pressure to slowly force the animals through a narrow gap breaking the cuticle in the process. The uniform design and precise machining of the Balch homogenizer allow for consistent grinding of animals between experiments. Fractionating the homogenate obtained from the Balch homogenizer yields functionally active nuclear extract that can be used in an in vitro method for assaying transcription activity of C. elegans.

This ScienceBrief Review examines the link between climate change and tropical cyclones (TCs, including tropical storms, hurricanes, and typhoons). It synthesises findings from more than 90 peer−reviewed scientific articles gathered using ScienceBrief.Warming of the surface ocean from anthropogenic (human-induced) climate change is likely fuelling more powerful TCs. The destructive power of individual TCs through flooding is amplified by rising sea level, which very likely has a substantial contribution at the global scale from anthropogenic climate change. In addition, TC precipitation rates are projected to increase due to enhanced atmospheric moisture associated with anthropogenic global warming. The proportion of severe TCs (category 3 & 5) has increased, possibly due to anthropogenic climate change. This proportion of very intense TCs (category 4 & 5) is projected to increase, yet most climate model studies project the total number of TCs each year to decrease or remain approximately the same. Additional changes such as increasing rates of rapid intensification, the poleward migration of the latitude of maximum intensity, and a slowing of the forward motion of TCs have been observed in places, and these may be climate change signals emerging from natural variability. While there are challenges in attributing these past observed changes to anthropogenic forcing, models project that with global warming in coming decades some regions will experience increases in rapid intensification, a poleward migration of the latitude of maximum intensity or a slowing of the forward motion of TCs.

Additional file 1: Table S1. Sequences of template DNA and primers for PCR and qRT-PCR

Damping and noise-reducing have become a popular topic nowadays. Two of the main noise source of Pump unit are from the pump and the motor. People have done a great deal of work in the two aspects for reducing the noise of pumps and air cooling motors. According to the related research, the noise which is generated by air-cooling motor is much higher than that in water-cooled motor. If the air-cooled motor in the pump unit is changed into a water-cooled motor, the noise level of the unit would be greatly reduced. Based on the theory about resistance muffler of the multiple chamber, the authors design a reactive muffling chamber for water cooling motor and the simulation results prove it has a great advantages in middle-high frequency band.

In this paper, we reported that a new approach for the treatment of sarcoma - electroporation therapy (EPT). Electroporation can accelerate molecules like anticancer drugs into cytoplasm by transient electromagnetic pulses (EMP). The electroporation are used to treat the S/sub 180/ sarcomas of the KunMing mice by intratumoral injection of low dosage of drugs. From the experiment, we discovered that this approach could obtain remarkable effect. The technique is very easy to control. Especially, it is very efficient to cure the flat tumor. It provided a new approach to cure the tumor in the clinic.

This ScienceBrief Review examines the link between climate change and tropical cyclones (TCs, including tropical storms, hurricanes, and typhoons). It synthesises findings from more than 90 peer−reviewed scientific articles gathered using ScienceBrief. Warming of the surface ocean from anthropogenic (human-induced) climate change is likely fuelling more powerful TCs. The destructive power of individual TCs through flooding is amplified by rising sea level, which very likely has a substantial contribution at the global scale from anthropogenic climate change. In addition, TC precipitation rates are projected to increase due to enhanced atmospheric moisture associated with anthropogenic global warming. The proportion of severe TCs (category 3 & 5) has increased, possibly due to anthropogenic climate change. This proportion of very intense TCs (category 4 & 5) is projected to increase, yet most climate model studies project the total number of TCs each year to decrease or remain approximately the same. Additional changes such as increasing rates of rapid intensification, the poleward migration of the latitude of maximum intensity, and a slowing of the forward motion of TCs have been observed in places, and these may be climate change signals emerging from natural variability. While there are challenges in attributing these past observed changes to anthropogenic forcing, models project that with global warming in coming decades some regions will experience increases in rapid intensification, a poleward migration of the latitude of maximum intensity or a slowing of the forward motion of TCs.