Showing papers by "Academia Sinica published in 1995"
TL;DR: The rice Xa21 gene, which confers resistance to Xanthomonas oryzae pv. race 6, was isolated by positional cloning and the sequence of the predicted protein, which carries both a leucine-rich repeat motif and a serine-threonine kinase-like domain, suggests a role in cell surface recognition of a pathogen ligand and subsequent activation of an intracellular defense response.
Abstract: The rice Xa21 gene, which confers resistance to Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae race 6, was isolated by positional cloning. Fifty transgenic rice plants carrying the cloned Xa21 gene display high levels of resistance to the pathogen. The sequence of the predicted protein, which carries both a leucine-rich repeat motif and a serine-threonine kinase-like domain, suggests a role in cell surface recognition of a pathogen ligand and subsequent activation of an intracellular defense response. Characterization of Xa21 should facilitate understanding of plant disease resistance and lead to engineered resistance in rice.
2,023 citations
TL;DR: The authors examined grain-size data from Chinese loess and intercalated accretionary palaeosols of last-glacial age for evidence of similar climate signals remote from the North Atlantic region.
Abstract: EPISODES of massive iceberg release (Heinrich events)1-3 into the North Atlantic Ocean during the last glaciation were associated with recurring episodes of unusually cold North Atlantic surface water (Bond cycles)4 and cold air temperatures over Greenland (Dansgaard-Oeschger events)5,6. Four of the youngest of these cold events have also been reported in climate records from sites outside the North Atlantic region7, but until now the entire suite has been identified only in North Atlantic marine sediments, Greenland ice-core records and, tentatively, in French lake sediments8. Here we examine grain-size data from Chinese loess and intercalated accretionary palaeosols of last-glacial age for evidence of similar climate signals remote from the North Atlantic region. We see grain-size maxima with ages that match those of the last six Heinrich events, which we interpret as an indication of the changing strength of the East Asian winter monsoon, which largely controls the transport and deposition of central Asian aeolian dust. Thus it seems that these Heinrich events have left their signature in the Chinese loess record. This is consistent with simulations of the glacial climate9, which imply that the climates of the North Atlantic and China were linked by the effect of westerly winds.
1,171 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the existence of the top quark was established using a data sample of collisions at the Fermilab National Ensemble (CDF) collected with the Collider Detector.
Abstract: We establish the existence of the top quark using a $67{\mathrm{pb}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ data sample of $\overline{p}p$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}=\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}1.8\mathrm{TeV}$ collected with the Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF). Employing techniques similar to those we previously published, we observe a signal consistent with $t\overline{t}$ decay to $\mathrm{WWb}\overline{b}$, but inconsistent with the background prediction by $4.8\ensuremath{\sigma}$. Additional evidence for the top quark is provided by a peak in the reconstructed mass distribution. We measure the top quark mass to be $176\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}8(\mathrm{stat})\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}10(\mathrm{syst})\mathrm{GeV}{/c}^{2}$, and the $t\overline{t}$ production cross section to be ${6.8}_{\ensuremath{-}2.4}^{+3.6}\mathrm{pb}$.
1,022 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, Wang et al. showed that the Ailao and Diancang Shan metamorphic cores are composed of strongly foliated and lineated mylonitic gneisses.
991 citations
Journal Article•
TL;DR: A dose-response relationship was observed between the long-term arsenic exposure from drinking artesian well water and the incidence of lung cancer, bladder cancer, and cancers of all sites combined after adjustment for age, sex, and cigarette smoking through Cox's proportional hazards regression analysis.
Abstract: In order to elucidate the dose-response relationship between ingested inorganic arsenic and internal cancers, a total of 263 patients with blackfoot disease and 2293 healthy residents in the endemic area of arseniasis were recruited and followed up for 7 years. The information on consumption of high-arsenic artesian well water, sociodemographic characteristics, life-style and dietary habits, and personal and family history of cancers was obtained through standardized interviews. The occurrence of internal cancers among study subjects was determined through annual health examinations, home visit personal interviews, household registration data checks, and national death certification and cancer registry profile linkages. A dose-response relationship was observed between the long-term arsenic exposure from drinking artesian well water and the incidence of lung cancer, bladder cancer, and cancers of all sites combined after adjustment for age, sex, and cigarette smoking through Cox's proportional hazards regression analysis. Blackfoot disease patients had a significantly increased cancer incidence after adjustment for cumulative arsenic exposure.
445 citations
TL;DR: It is hypothesized that the amylose content of rice endosperm is regulated at the level of Wx transcript processing, and, more specifically, at the stage of intron I excision from the Wx pre-mRNA.
Abstract: The waxy (Wx) gene of rice encodes a granule-bound starch synthase (GBSS = waxy protein) required for the synthesis of amylose in endosperm. An analysis of Wx transcripts, Wx protein, and amylose content of 31 rice cultivars revealed that endosperm amylose and Wx protein contents are correlated with the ability of the cultivar to excise intron I from the leader sequence of the Wx transcript. Cultivars with high endosperm amylose content (group I) contain high levels of amylose, Wx protein, and the mature 2.3 kb Wx mRNA. Cultivars with intermediate amylose content (group II) produce substantial amounts of a large 3.3 kb Wx pre-mRNA, with intron I still present, in addition to the mature Wx mRNA, and intermediate levels of Wx protein. Glutinous rice (group III cultivars) contains no amylose, no Wx protein, and no mature Wx mRNA; only the incompletely spliced 3.3 kb Wx pre-mRNA is present in group III cultivars. Based on these results, it is hypothesized that the amylose content of rice endosperm is regulated at the level of Wx transcript processing, and, more specifically, at the stage of intron I excision from the Wx pre-mRNA.
410 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the FT-IR and Raman spectra of 27 hydrated borates are recorded and reexamined on the basis of the spectra by Janda and Heller with boron isotope substitution and by Zha at different temperatures.
384 citations
TL;DR: All unknown parameters for describing this system can be determined by fitting the experimental data to the algebraically explicit equation without any data transformations, using a commercially available non‐linear regression program.
365 citations
15 Sep 1995
TL;DR: This work presents an efficient and uniform approach for the automatic reconstruction of surfaces of CAD (computer aided design) models and scalar fields defined on them, from an unorganized collection of scanned point data.
Abstract: We present an efficient and uniform approach for the automatic reconstruction of surfaces of CAD (computer aided design) models and scalar fields defined on them, from an unorganized collection of scanned point data. A possible application is the rapid computer model reconstruction of an existing part or prototype from a three dimensional (3D) points scan of its surface. Color, texture or some scalar material property of the physical part, define natural scalar fields over the surface of the CAD model. Our reconstruction algorithm does not impose any convexity or differentiability restrictions on the surface of the original physical part or the scalar field function, except that it assumes that there is a sufficient sampling of the input point data to unambiguously reconstruct the CAD model. Compared to earlier methods our algorithm has the advantages of simplicity, efficiency and uniformity (both CAD model and scalar field reconstruction). The simplicity and efficiency of our approach is based on several novel uses of appropriate sub-structures (alpha shapes) of a three-dimensional Delaunay Triangulation, its dual the three-dimensional Voronoi diagram, and dual uses of trivariate Bernstein-Bezier forms. The boundary of the CAD model is modeled using implicit cubic Bernstein-Bezier patches, while the scalar field is reconstructed with functional cubic Bernstein-Bezier patches. CR
364 citations
TL;DR: It is confirmed that white spot syndrome associated virus (MJSSV) is a member of genus NOB (Non-Occluded Baculovirus) of the subfamily Nudibaculovirinae of Baculviridae and proposed the use of WSBV (BacULovirus associated with White Spot syndrome) to indicate PmNOBIII related agents.
Abstract: The causative viral agent was purified from diseased shrimp Penaeus monodon with white spot syndrome. Negatively stained preparations show that the virus is pleiomorphic. It is fusiform or rod-shaped. In negatively stained preparations, the virion measures 70 to 150 nm at its broadest point and is 250 to 380 nm long. In some virions, a tail-like projection extends from one end. The capsid is apparently composed of rings of subunits in a stacked series. The rings are aligned perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the capsid. The genome of the virus is a double-stranded DNA molecule which produces at least 22 Hind 111 fragments. The full length of the DNA is estimated to be longer than 150 kbp. Based on the morphological characteristics and genomic structures of the virus, we confirm that white spot syndrome associated virus (MJSSV) is a member of genus NOB (Non-Occluded Baculovirus) of the subfamily Nudibaculovirinae of Baculoviridae, name the present isolate PmNOBIII, and propose the use of WSBV (Baculovirus associated with White Spot syndrome) to indicate PmNOBIII related agents.
357 citations
TL;DR: Despite the widely different rates of depressive illness and alcoholism in different cultures previously reported, the psychiatric antecedents of suicide are the same in the West and the East.
Abstract: Background: As part of the Taiwan Aboriginal Study Project, a case-control study of suicide among two aboriginal groups and the Han Chinese was carried out in East Taiwan. Methods: Biographical reconstructive interviews were conducted for consecutive suicides from each of the three ethnic groups (a total of 116 suicides), 113 of whom were matched with two controls for age, sex, and area of residence. Results: In all three groups, a high proportion of suicides suffered from mental illness before committing suicide (97% to 100%). The two most prevalent psychiatric disorders were depression and alcoholism, and the most common comorbid pattern was depression with substance use disorders. The risk for suicide was significantly associated with all of these psychiatric conditions, previous suicide attempts, and a family history of suicide and depression. Fifty-one percent of all suicides had consulted medical professionals in the previous month. Conclusion: Despite the widely different rates of depressive illness and alcoholism in different cultures previously reported, the psychiatric antecedents of suicide are the same in the West and the East.
TL;DR: The results suggest that increased expression of cyclin D1 is necessary but not sufficient for the transforming activity of v-H-Ras, and activation of an additional Ras-independent pathway was suggested to be responsible for the further acceleration of the G1 phase in Src transformants.
Abstract: Ectopic overexpression of v-H-Ras protein in NIH 3T3 cells resulted in cellular transformation and an acceleration of G1 progression of these cells. A shortened G1 phase was found to be associated with an increased level of cyclin D1 but not cyclin E protein. Using an antisense blocking method, reduced synthesis of cyclin D1 in v-H-Ras transformants resulted in a slower G1 progression rate of these cells. Although constitutive overexpression of cyclin D1 in NIH 3T3 cells accelerated G1 progression, cells remained untransformed. Furthermore, inhibition of cyclin D1 synthesis greatly impaired the soft-agar cloning efficiency of v-H-Ras transformants. These results suggest that increased expression of cyclin D1 is necessary but not sufficient for the transforming activity of v-H-Ras. Similar effect on cell cycle progression was also observed in Raf-transformed cells. In addition to cyclin D1, cyclin E protein was found to be elevated in Src transformants. This may account for the further shortening of the G1 phase of these cells. Activation of an additional Ras-independent pathway was suggested to be responsible for the further acceleration of the G1 phase in Src transformants.
TL;DR: In the Su-Lu ultrahigh-P terrane, eastern China, many coesite-bearing eclogite pods and layers within biotite gneiss occur together with interlayered metasediments now represented by garnet-quartz-jadeite rock and kyanite quartzite.
Abstract: In the Su-Lu ultrahigh-P terrane, eastern China, many coesite-bearing eclogite pods and layers within biotite gneiss occur together with interlayered metasediments now represented by garnet-quartz-jadeite rock and kyanite quartzite. In addition to garnet + omphacite + rutile + coesite, other peak-stage minerals in some eclogites include kyanite, phengite, epidote, zoisite, talc, nyboite and high-Al titanite. The garnet-quartz-jadeite rock and kyanite quartzite contain jadeite + quartz + garnet + rutile ± zoisite ± apatite and quartz + kyanite + garnet + epidote + phengite + rutile ± omphacite assemblages, respectively. Coesite and quartz pseudomorphs after coesite occur as inclusions in garnet, omphacite, jadeite, kyanite and epidote from both eclogites and metasediments. Study of major elements indicates that the protolith of the garnet-quartz jadeite rock and the kyanite quartzite was supracrustal sediments. Most eclogites have basaltic composition; some have experienced variable ‘crustal’contamination or metasomatism, and others may have had a basaltic tuff or pyroclastic rock protolith.
The Su-Lu ultrahigh-P rocks have been subjected to multi-stage recrystallization and exhibit a clockwise P-T path. Inclusion assemblages within garnet record a pre-eclogite epidote amphibolite facies metamorphic event. Ultrahigh-P peak metamorphism took place at 700–890° C and P>28 kbar at c. 210–230 Ma. The symplectitic assemblage plagioclase + hornblende ± epidote ± biotite + titanite implies amphibolite facies retrogressive metamorphism during exhumation at c. 180–200 Ma. Metasedimentary and metamafic lithologies have similar P-T paths. Several lines of evidence indicate that the supracrustal rocks were subducted to mantle depths and experienced in-situ ultrahigh-P metamorphism during the Triassic collision between the Sino-Korean and Yangtze cratons.
TL;DR: In this paper, a simple-shear model was proposed to explain the asymmetric development of extensional structures around the South China Sea Basin, which can be summarized into three stages with dominating influences of the retreat of the West Pacific subduction zone in the Late Cretaceous, the hard collision and impinging of India to Tibet since the Late Eocene, and the fast northward subduction of the Indian Ocean-Australian plate since the late Early Miocene.
TL;DR: A U-shaped relation was observed between temperature and mortality from coronary artery disease and cerebral infarction and these results imply a pathophysiological difference between thromboembolic and haemorrhagic cardiovascular diseases.
TL;DR: The hominid dentition and stone tools from Longgupo Cave are comparable in age and morphology with early representives of the genus Homo (H. habilis and H. ergaster) and the Oldowan technology in East Africa.
Abstract: THE site of Longgupo Cave was discovered in 1984 and excavated in 1985–1988 by the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (Beijing) and the Chongqing National Museum (Sichuan Province). Important finds include very archaic hominid dental fragments, Gigantopithecus teeth and primitive stone tools. Palaeomagnetic analysis and the presence of Ailuropoda microta (pygmy giant panda) suggested that the hominid-bearing levels dated to the earliest Pleistocene1. In 1992, joint Chinese–American–Canadian geochronological research corroborated the age using electron spin resonance (ESR) analysis. We report here that the hominid dentition and stone tools from Longgupo Cave are comparable in age and morphology with early representives of the genus Homo (H. habilis and H. ergaster) and the Oldowan technology in East Africa. The Longgupo dentition is demonstr-ably more primitive than that seen in Asian Homo erectus. Long-gupo's diverse and well preserved Plio-Pleistocene fauna of 116 species provide a sensitive contextual base for interpreting the early arrival of the genus Homoin Asia.
TL;DR: The findings imply that liver function and nutritional status may affect the metabolism of inorganic arsenic and the development of subsequent skin cancers.
Abstract: In order to evaluate the prevalence and multiple risk factors of arsenic-induced skin cancer among residents in Taiwanese villages in which chronic arseniasis is hyperendemic, a total of 1571 subjects aged 30 or more years were recruited between September 1988 and March 1989. All of them were interviewed personally by a public health nurse using a structured questionnaire, and 1081 interviewed study subjects, including 468 men and 613 women, participated in physical examination, giving a participation rate of 68.8%. The overall prevalence of skin cancer was as high as 6.1%, showing an increase with age in both men and women. There was a significant dose-response relation between skin cancer prevalence and chronic arsenic exposure as indexed by duration of residence in the endemic area, duration of consumption of high-arsenic artesian well water, average arsenic exposure in parts per million (p.p.m.) and cumulative arsenic exposure in p.p.m.-years. Chronic carriers of hepatitis B surface antigen with liver dysfunction had an increased prevalence of skin cancer. Undernourishment, indexed by a high consumption of dried sweet potato as a staple food, was also significantly associated with an increased prevalence of arsenic-induced skin cancer. All these risk factors remained statistically significant in the multiple logistic regression analysis. Consistent with animal experiments, the findings imply that liver function and nutritional status may affect the metabolism of inorganic arsenic and the development of subsequent skin cancers.
TL;DR: In this paper, the structural transformation of polycrystalline Si induced by high energy ball milling has been studied and two phase amorphous and nanocrystalline si has been produced.
Abstract: The structural transformation of polycrystalline Si induced by high energy ball milling has been studied. The structure and property characteristics of the milled powder have been investigated by x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, Raman scattering, and infrared absorption spectroscopy. Two phase amorphous and nanocrystalline Si has been produced by ball milling of polycrystalline elemental Si. The nanocrystalline components contain some defects such as dislocations, twins, and stacking faults which are typical of defects existing in conventional coarse-grained polycrystalline materials. The volume fraction of amorphous Si is about 15% while the average size of nanocrystalline grains is about 8 nm. Amorphous elemental Si without combined oxygen can be obtained by ball milling. The distribution of amorphous Si and the size of nanocrystalline Si crystallites is not homogeneous in the milled powder. The amorphous Si formed is concentrated near the surface of milled particles while the grain size of nanocrystalline Si ranges from 3 to 20 nm. Structurally, the amorphous silicon component prepared by ball milling is similar to that obtained by ion implantation or chemical vapor deposition. The amorphous Si formed exhibits a crystallization temperature of about 660 °C at a heating rate of 40 K/min and crystallization activation energy of about 268 kJ/mol. Two possible amorphization mechanisms, i.e., pressure-induced amorphization and crystallite-refinement-induced amorphization, are proposed for the amorphization of Si induced by ball milling.
TL;DR: In this article, the ages for the Neogene of East Asia are defined based on updated large and small mammal faunas and replace or redefine the land mammal stages erected by Li et al. (1984).
TL;DR: The most negative oxygen isotope compositions for eclogite and quartzite interlayers have been reported for metamorphic rocks in the Sulu terrain, eastern China.
TL;DR: The primary forest vegetation and the secondary plant communities in Xishuangbanna, an important region for the conservation of biodiversity in China, are discussed with comments and suggestions for nature conservation as mentioned in this paper.
TL;DR: Protein disulfide-isomerase (PDI) in near stoichiometric concentrations promotes reactivation and prevents aggregation of guanidine-hydrochloride-denatured rhodanese during refolding upon dilution.
Abstract: Protein disulfide-isomerase (PDI) in near stoichiometric concentrations promotes reactivation and prevents aggregation of guanidine-hydrochloride-denatured rhodanese during refolding upon dilution. PDI also suppresses aggregation of rhodanese during thermal inactivation. The above-mentioned properties displayed by PDI completely satisfy the definition of chaperone and provide additional evidence to confirm the hypothesis proposed previously [Wang, C. C. & Tsou, C. L. (1993) FASEB J. 7, 1515–1517] that PDI is both an enzyme and a chaperone. Since rhodanese contains no disulfide bonds, the chaperone-like activity of PDI acting on rhodanese is independent of its disulfide-isomerase activity.
TL;DR: The pleiotropic effects of cam1 and gi suggest that they may play regulatory roles in starch metabolism and floral initiation, and suggest that starch accumulation and floral Initiation may share a common regulatory pathway.
Abstract: A recessive Arabidopsis mutation, carbohydrate accumulation mutant1 (cam1), which maps to position 22.8 on chromosome 3, was identified by screening leaves of ethyl methanesulfonate-mutagenized M2 plants stained with iodine for altered starch content. Increased starch content in leaves of the cam1 mutant was observed at the onset of flowering. This mutant also had a delayed floral initiation phenotype with more rosette leaves than the parental line. In addition, activities of several enzymes associated with starch metabolism were altered in the cam1 mutant. The late-flowering mutant gigantea (gi) also manifested an elevated starch level in leaves. However, not all late-flowering mutants had increased leaf starch content. Double mutants cam1 adg1 (for ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase), cam1 pgm (for phosphoglucomutase), and gi pgm had no observable starch in leaves but showed the late-flowering phenotype, demonstrating that the elevated starch content is not the cause of late floral initiation. The pleiotropic effects of cam1 and gi suggest that they may play regulatory roles in starch metabolism and floral initiation. These data suggest that starch accumulation and floral initiation may share a common regulatory pathway.
TL;DR: In southwest China, the major Cathaysian-Gondwana divide (the Palaeo-Tethyan suture) is very well delineated by a narrow north-south zone of oceanic siliceous sedimentary rocks and dismembered ophiolite complexes including probable remains of reef-capped oceanic islands as mentioned in this paper.
TL;DR: In this paper, a review of the optical properties of fluoride glasses is presented, focusing on the refractive-index dispersion and multiphonon absorption of the fluorophores.
Abstract: Current research activities on optical properties of fluoride glasses are reviewed; emphasis is given to the refractive-index dispersion and multiphonon absorption. The dependence of optical properties of fluoride glasses on their chemical composition has been summarized and interpreted under consideration of fluoride glasses as ionic substances in nature. The methods for calculating optical properties of fluoride glasses have been reviewed and a new calculation system for refractive-index dispersion and multiphonon absorption of fluoride glasses is proposed.
TL;DR: A new technique, wavelet network, is introduced to predict chaotic time series from chaotic attractors, where the correlation dimensions of predicted attractors are calculated and are found to be almost identical to those of actual attractors.
TL;DR: The perturbative QCD formalism including Sudakov effects for semi-leptonic meson decays is developed, and the value of the matrix element of the pion is extracted which is roughly $2.7\times 10^{-3}$.
Abstract: We develop the perturbative QCD formalism for semileptonic {ital B} meson decays, which includes Sudakov suppression on the spatial extent of a heavy meson containing a light valence quark. We show that the perturbative calculation for the spectrum of the decay {ital B}{r_arrow}{pi}{ital l}{nu} is reliable for the energy fraction of the pion above 0.3. Combining predictions from soft pion theorems, we obtain an upper limit of the matrix element {vert_bar}{ital V}{sub {ital ub}}{vert_bar} of roughly 3.5{times}10{sup {minus}3}.
TL;DR: In this article, the spin-lattice coupling coefficient G(11) for Mn2+ in the cubic phase of a CsCaCl3 crystal has been calculated from the three microscopic mechanisms which contribute to zero-field splitting.
Abstract: In this paper, the spin-lattice coupling coefficient G(11) for Mn2+ in the cubic phase of a CsCaCl3 crystal has been calculated from the three microscopic mechanisms which contribute to zero-field splitting. Based on this, the local rotation angle phi(T) for Mn2+ in the tetragonal phase of a CsCaCl3 crystal is estimated from the EPR zero-held splitting b(2)(0)(T). The reasonableness of the local rotation angle is discussed.