Enhanced welan gum production using a two-stage agitation speed control strategy in Alcaligenes sp. CGMCC2428

Batch fermentative production of welan gum by Alcaligenes sp. CGMCC2428 was investigated under various oxygen supply conditions using regulating agitation speed. Based on a three kinetic parameters analysis that includes specific cell growth rate (μ), specific glucose consumption rate (q _s), and specific welan formation rate (q _p), a two-stage agitation speed control strategy was proposed to achieve high concentration, high yield, and high viscosity of welan. During the first 22 h, the agitation speed in 7.5 L fermenter was controlled at 800 rpm to maintain high μ for cell growth. The agitation was then reduced step-wise to 600 rpm to maintain a changing profile with stable dissolved oxygen levels and obtain high qp for high welan accumulation. Finally, the maximum concentration of welan was reached at 26.3 ± 0.89 g L⁻¹ with a yield of 0.53 ± 0.003 g g⁻¹ and the welan gum viscosity of 3.05 ± 0.10 Pa s, which increased by an average of 15.4, 15.2, and 20.1% over the best results controlled by constant agitation speeds.     

阿德福韦酯联合拉米夫定治疗乙型肝炎DNA阳性肝硬化疗效观察

目的：探讨阿德福韦酯联合拉米夫定治疗HBV DNA阳性乙型肝炎肝硬化的疗效。方法：46例HBV DNA阳性乙肝肝硬化患者随机分为对照组及观察组。在保肝等对症治疗基础上,观察组22例患者联用阿德福韦酯与拉米夫定,对照组24例患者予阿德福韦酯,总疗程均为48周。结果：在治疗12周后,观察组与对照组HBV DNA转阴率分别为54.5%、20.8%（P〈0.05）,ALT复常率分别为63.6%、33.3%（P〈0.05）。治疗24周、48周后上述指标无统计学差异。两组患者未见明显药物不良反应。结论：阿德福韦酯联合拉米夫定治疗HBV DNA阳性乙型肝炎肝硬化起效快,降低病毒载量疗效佳,安全性好。     

N-糖基化移位对乙型肝炎病毒表面抗原中蛋白核酸疫苗的表达及免疫原性的影响

目的：研究N-糖基化移位对乙型肝炎病毒表面抗原中蛋白核酸疫苗体外蛋白表达及小鼠体内体液免疫及细胞免疫应答的影响。方法：通过基因工程中定点突变技术,将乙型肝炎病毒表面抗原中蛋白（MHBs）中第4位氨基酸上连接的糖链去除,或将糖链依次移位至第5、6或7位氨基酸,来构建N-糖基化去除及移位的核酸疫苗,分别命名为Adr—dN4、Adr-N4—5、Adr—N4．6、Adr—N4．7。用上述核酸疫苗与野生型MHBs核酸疫苗（pSW3891／MHBs／Adr,简称Adr）及空载体质粒pSW3891分别用脂质体瞬时转染293T细胞,应用蛋白印迹法检测MHBs的表达。采用肌肉注射法,以各组疫苗分别对BALB／c小鼠于第0、2、4和6周进行免疫．用ELISA法检测小鼠血清中抗．HBs抗体、ELISPOT法检测小鼠表面抗原多肽特异性分泌IFN-T的脾细胞数量。结果：蛋白印迹法结果显示Adr、Adr-dN4、Adr—N4．5、Adr—N4—6、Adr-N4—7体外转染293T细胞后,均可以在293T细胞内表达,且Adr、Adr-N4—5、Adr-N4—7可将表达产物分泌到细胞外。ELISA及EISPOT结果表明：Adr免疫组小鼠抗-HBs终点滴度及表面抗原特异性分泌IFN-γ的脾细胞数量,均略高于其他免疫组小鼠,但与Adr—N4—5、Adr．N4—7相比无统计学差异（P〉0．05）,与Adr-dN4和Adr—N4—6组相比有显著的统计学差异（P〈0．05）。结论：在第5或7位氨基酸附加N-连接糖链,能修补或替代Asn4连接糖链引导MHBs分泌的功能。HBs表达蛋白分泌到细胞外对诱导机体产生特异性细胞和体液免疫是至关重要的。     

Electrochemical analysis of Clostridium propionicum and its acrylic acid production in microbial fuel cells

Currently, acrylic acid is produced at a low yield by the resting cells of Clostridium propionicum with the supplement of extra electron acceptors. As an alternative way, acrylic acid production coupled with electricity generation was achieved by C. propionicum‐based microbial fuel cells (MFCs). Electricity was generated in the salt‐bridge MFCs with cysteine and resazurin in the anode chamber as mediators, and K₃Fe(CN)₆ as the cathode electron acceptor. Power generation was 21.78 mW/m² with an internal resistance of 9809 Ω. Cyclic voltammograms indicated the main mechanism of power production was the electron transfer facilitated by mediators in the system. In the salt‐bridge MFC system, 0.694 mM acrylic acid was produced together with electricity generation.     

乌司他丁联合连续性血液净化治疗重症脓毒症临床研究

目的：研究连续性血液净化联合乌司他丁对重症脓毒症患者炎症反应的影响及其临床疗效。方法：70例重症脓毒症患者随机分为对照组（n=22例）、CBP组（n=23例）和CBP＋乌司他丁组（n=25例）,其中对照组采用经典治疗方案,CBP组在此基础上加用连续性血液净化,CBP＋乌司他丁组在CBP组基础上加用乌司他丁治疗。观察比较患者病情发展,分别于治疗前后进行血液生化指标、凝血功能检测和动脉血气分析,ELISA法检测血清CRP水平。结果：①与对照组和CBP组相比,CBP＋鸟司他丁纽患者病死率、ICU住院时间、MODS发生率均明显下降（P〈0．05）。②经过治疗,CBP＋乌司他丁组患者APACHEⅡ评分降至15．46±3．96,与对照组（18．06±4．25）和CBP组（17．14±5．55）比较差异有统计学意义（P〈0．05）。③治疗后,患者BUN、HR降低程度依次为CBP＋乌司他丁组〉CBP组〉对照组,组问比较差异有显著性（P〈0．05）,而治疗前后PH值、HCO3-、MAP比较差并不明显（P〉0．05）。④CBP＋乌司他丁纽血清CRP含量下降,WBC数量减少,其变化程度明显大于CBP组和对照组（P〈0．05）。⑤对照组、CBP组和CBP＋乌司他丁组患者PT、TT和APTT时间延长,血小板数量下降,其中CBP＋鸟司他丁组PT、APTT时间短于CBP组和对照组（P〈0．05）。结论：连续性血液净化联合乌司他丁可有效抑制脓毒症患者炎症反应,缓解病情,改善患者预后。     

Bacillus amyloliquefaciens ES-2发酵产抗菌脂肽消泡剂的筛选及脂肽的提取和纯化

将大豆油、有机硅消泡剂和聚醚类消泡剂3种消泡剂分别用于Bacillus amyloliquefaciens ES-2抗菌脂肽发酵,研究表明大豆油既可以实现消泡,又有利于抗菌脂肽的发酵,使其产量达到了2497.67mg/L。经过提取得到纯度为55.68%的产品,提取率达到88.72%。此外还比较了不同大孔树脂对抗菌脂肽吸附和解吸附效果,发现大孔树脂X-5最适合抗菌脂肽的纯化。纯化的工艺参数为:上样浓度14.4mg/ml、上样速率1ml/min,洗脱速率2ml/min、洗脱剂用量2.5BV,产品的回收率达90.01%,纯度达74.4%。     

Revisiting the hetero-fertilization phenomenon in maize

Development of a seed DNA-based genotyping system for marker-assisted selection (MAS) has provided a novel opportunity for understanding aberrant reproductive phenomena such as hetero-fertilization (HF) by observing the mismatch of endosperm and leaf genotypes in monocot species. In contrast to conventional approaches using specific morphological markers, this approach can be used for any population derived from diverse parental genotypes. A large-scale experiment was implemented using seven F(2) populations and four three-way cross populations, each with 534 to 1024 individuals. The frequency of HF within these populations ranged from 0.14% to 3.12%, with an average of 1.46%. The highest frequency of HF in both types of population was contributed by the pollen gametes. Using three-way crosses allowed, for the first time, detection of the HF contributed by maternal gametes, albeit at very low frequency (0.14%-0.65%). Four HF events identified from each of two F(2) populations were tested and confirmed using 1032 single nucleotide polymorphic markers. This analysis indicated that only 50% of polymorphic markers can detect a known HF event, and thus the real HF frequency can be inferred by doubling the estimate obtained from using only one polymorphic marker. As expected, 99% of the HF events can be detected by using seven independent markers in combination. Although seed DNA-based analysis may wrongly predict plant genotypes due to the mismatch of endosperm and leaf DNA caused by HF, the relatively low HF frequencies revealed with diverse germplasm in this study indicates that the effect on the accuracy of MAS is limited. In addition, comparative endosperm and leaf DNA analysis of specific genetic stocks could be useful for revealing the relationships among various aberrant fertilization phenomena including haploidy and apomixis.     

Recent progress in the study of brown adipose tissue

Adult organ-specific stem cells are essential for organ homeostasis and repair in adult vertebrates. The intestine is one of the best-studied organs in this regard. The intestinal epithelium undergoes constant self-renewal throughout adult life across vertebrates through the proliferation and subsequent differentiation of the adult stem cells. This self-renewal system is established late during development, around birth, in mammals when endogenous thyroid hormone (T3) levels are high. Amphibian metamorphosis resembles mammalian postembryonic development around birth and is totally dependent upon the presence of high levels of T3. During this process, the tadpole intestine, predominantly a monolayer of larval epithelial cells, undergoes drastic transformation. The larval epithelial cells undergo apoptosis and concurrently, adult epithelial stem/progenitor cells develop de novo, rapidly proliferate, and then differentiate to establish a trough-crest axis of the epithelial fold, resembling the crypt-villus axis in the adult mammalian intestine. We and others have studied the T3-dependent remodeling of the intestine in Xenopus laevis. Here we will highlight some of the recent findings on the origin of the adult intestinal stem cells. We will discuss observations suggesting that liganded T3 receptor (TR) regulates cell autonomous formation of adult intestinal progenitor cells and that T3 action in the connective tissue is important for the establishment of the stem cell niche. We will further review evidence suggesting similar T3-dependent formation of adult intestinal stem cells in other vertebrates.     

Yeast two hybrid analyses reveal novel binary interactions between human cytomegalovirus-encoded virion proteins

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is the largest human herpesvirus and its virion contains many viral encoded proteins found in the capsid, tegument, and envelope. In this study, we carried out a yeast two-hybrid (YTH) analysis to study potential binary interactions among 56 HCMV-encoded virion proteins. We have tested more than 3,500 pairwise combinations for binary interactions in the YTH analysis, and identified 79 potential interactions that involve 37 proteins. Forty five of the 79 interactions were also identified in human cells expressing the viral proteins by co-immunoprecipitation (co-IP) experiments. To our knowledge, 58 of the 79 interactions revealed by YTH analysis, including those 24 that were also identified in co-IP experiments, have not been reported before. Novel potential interactions were found between viral capsid proteins and tegument proteins, between tegument proteins, between tegument proteins and envelope proteins, and between envelope proteins. Furthermore, both the YTH and co-IP experiments have identified 9, 7, and 5 interactions that were involved with UL25, UL24, and UL89, respectively, suggesting that these "hub" proteins may function as the organizing centers for connecting multiple virion proteins in the mature virion and for recruiting other virion proteins during virion maturation and assembly. Our study provides a framework to study potential interactions between HCMV proteins and investigate the roles of protein-protein interactions in HCMV virion formation or maturation process.     

Abnormal brain default-mode network functional connectivity in drug addicts

Background

The default mode network (DMN) is a set of brain regions that exhibit synchronized low frequency oscillations at resting-state, and is believed to be relevant to attention and self-monitoring. As the anterior cingulate cortex and hippocampus are impaired in drug addiction and meanwhile are parts of the DMN, the present study examined addiction-related alteration of functional connectivity of the DMN.

Methodology

Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data of chronic heroin users (14 males, age: 30.1±5.3 years, range from 22 to 39 years) and non-addicted controls (13 males, age: 29.8±7.2 years, range from 20 to 39 years) were investigated with independent component analysis to address their functional connectivity of the DMN.

Principal Findings

Compared with controls, heroin users showed increased functional connectivity in right hippocampus and decreased functional connectivity in right dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and left caudate in the DMN.

Conclusions

These findings suggest drug addicts'' abnormal functional organization of the DMN, and are discussed as addiction-related abnormally increased memory processing but diminished cognitive control related to attention and self-monitoring, which may underlie the hypersensitivity toward drug related cues but weakened strength of cognitive control in the state of addiction.