Heparan sulfate dissociates serum amyloid A (SAA) from acute-phase high-density lipoprotein, promoting SAA aggregation

Inflammation-related (AA) amyloidosis is a severe clinical disorder characterized by the systemic deposition of the acute-phase reactant serum amyloid A (SAA). SAA is normally associated with the high-density lipoprotein (HDL) fraction in plasma, but under yet unclear circumstances, the apolipoprotein is converted into amyloid fibrils. AA amyloid and heparan sulfate (HS) display an intimate relationship in situ, suggesting a role for HS in the pathogenic process. This study reports that HS dissociates SAA from HDLs isolated from inflamed mouse plasma. Application of surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy and molecular modeling suggests that HS simultaneously binds to two apolipoproteins of HDL, SAA and ApoA-I, and thereby induce SAA dissociation. The activity requires a minimum chain length of 12-14 sugar units, proposing an explanation to previous findings that short HS fragments preclude AA amyloidosis. The results address the initial events in the pathogenesis of AA amyloidosis.     

Information‐theoretic model selection affects home‐range estimation and habitat preference inference: a case study of male Reeves’s Pheasants Syrmaticus reevesii

Reeves’s Pheasant Syrmaticus reevesii is a vulnerable forest bird inhabiting broadleaved habitats dominated by oaks Quercus spp. in central China. Identifying home‐ranges and habitat associations is important for understanding the biology of this species and developing effective management and conservation plans. We used information‐theoretic criteria to evaluate the relative performance of four parametric (exponential power, one‐mode bivariate normal, two‐mode bivariate normal and two‐mode bivariate circle) and two non‐parametric models (adaptive and fixed kernel) for estimating home‐ranges and habitat associations of Reeves’s Pheasants. For parametric models, Akaike’s information criterion (AIC_c) and the likelihood cross‐validation criterion (CVC) were relatively consistent in ranking the bivariate exponential power model the least acceptable, whereas the two‐mode bivariate models performed better. The CVC suggested that kernel models, particularly the adaptive kernel, performed best among all six models evaluated. The average core area and 95% contour area based on the model with greatest support were 6.1 and 54.9 ha, respectively, and were larger than those estimated from other models. The discrepancy in estimates between models with highest and the lowest support decreased as the contour size increased; however, home‐range shapes differed between models. Minimum convex polygons that removed 5% of extreme data points (MCP95) were roughly half the size of home‐ranges based on kernel models. Estimates of home‐range and model evaluation were not affected by sample size (> 50 observations for each bird). Inference about habitat preference based on composition analysis and home‐range overlap varied between models. That with strongest support suggested that Reeves’s Pheasants selected mature fir and mixed forest, avoided farmland, and had mean among‐individual home‐range overlaps of 20%. We recommend non‐parametric methods, particularly the adaptive kernel method, for estimating home‐ranges and core areas for species with complex multi‐polar habitat preferences in heterogeneous environments with large habitat patches. However, we caution against the traditional convenience of using a single model to estimate home‐ranges and recommend exploration of multiple models for describing and understanding the ecological processes underlying space use and habitat associations.     

研究生在基础与临床相结合科研项目中培养方法的几点思考

随着我国科研创新的开展与推进,学生进入实际科研项目已逐渐成为研究生培养的重要方式。基础与,临床相结合的科研项目立论均来自于临床问题,把在患者身上无法实现的方法通过基础实验的手段加以实施和验证,从而达到发现和揭示病因与发病机制的目的,结果甚或对临床产生指导意义。首都医科大学病理与病理生理学系研究生培养点结合这类研究项目的推进,在规范的方法和流程中引导和培养研究生从临床现象中设问、从海量数据中分析和论证的能力,并通过这些训练,使研究生为进一步深入研究奠定基础,共同为转化医学研究做出贡献。     

木糖高效生物转化的新出路

木糖的高效利用是影响木质纤维资源生物炼制经济效益的关键因素之一,也是构建其工业化生产体系的必要前提,但是木糖生物转化面临着重要的技术瓶颈,必须寻求新的思路。基于对木糖利用的现状及产业发展的综合分析,提出了木糖高效发酵制取木糖酸的新出路,论述了本领域首要的科学和技术问题是发酵抑制物的控制与消除;针对抑制物的问题,提出了细胞生理生化、代谢流分析及分子生物学的多层次和多尺度解析的研究方法;在此基础上,基于系统论的观点提出了菌种选育、原料预处理、抑制物控制与脱除、木糖酸高效发酵的技术集成的研究思路。     

树干毕赤酵母和酿酒酵母混合糖发酵产乙醇

以树干毕赤酵母和酿酒酵母为发酵菌株,酸性蒸汽爆破玉米秸秆预水解液和纯糖模拟液为C源,采用固定化酵母细胞的方法,研究了酸爆玉米秸秆预水解液初始pH、N源种类及其浓度、3种发酵模式对树干毕赤酵母戊糖发酵的影响。结果表明:玉米秸秆预水解液适合发酵的初始pH范围为6.0～7.0;1.0 g/L的(NH4)2SO4作为N源,在40 g/L葡萄糖和25 g/L木糖培养基中发酵24 h,糖利用率达到99.47%,乙醇质量浓度为24.72 g/L,优于尿素和蛋白胨作为N源;3种模式的发酵体系中,以游离树干毕赤酵母和固定化酿酒酵母发酵性能最好,糖利用率和乙醇得率分别为99.43%和96.39%。     

利用回交导入系剖析水稻苗期和分蘖期耐盐性的遗传重叠

以籼稻品种IR64为受体,来自伊朗的粳稻农家品种Binam为供体培育的99个BC2F8回交导入系为材料,定位了水稻在2叶1心期和分蘖期控制耐盐相关性状的数量性状基因座（QTL）．共检测到影响苗期叶片盐害级别、幼苗存活天数和地上部钾、钠离子浓度的QTL 13个,影响分蘖期株高、分蘖数和地上部鲜重的QTL 22个．多数分蘖期QTL对盐胁迫表现出明显的表达差异,根据表达情况将这些QTL分成3组,第1组为在对照条件下表达的11个QTL;第2组为在对照和盐胁迫条件下共同表达的5个QTL,其中有3个（QPh5,QPh8,QTn9）在两种环境下的基因效应大小和方向一致,其表达受盐胁迫影响较小;第3组为受盐胁迫诱导表达的6个QTL．检测到13个影响胁迫与对照差值即性状稳定性的QTL,除QPh4,QTn2和QFw2a外,其余10个基因座增加性状稳定性或提高耐盐性的等位基因均来自Binam．上述受盐胁迫影响较小的3个QTL和影响性状稳定性的13个QTL对耐盐性有贡献,属耐盐QTL．比较苗期和分蘖期耐盐QTL的分布,发现多数（69％）影响苗期和分蘖期的耐盐QTL在遗传上相互独立,仅在第1,2,8和11染色体的4个相同或相邻区域定位到影响两个时期的耐盐QTL,表明苗期和分蘖期的耐盐性存在部分的遗传重叠．通过标记辅助选择将苗期和分蘖期的重要耐盐QTL进行累加,或针对苗期和分蘖期的重叠耐盐QTL进行选择,有可能培育出苗期和分蘖期均耐盐的水稻品种．     

Membrane-bound pyrroloquinoline quinone-dependent dehydrogenase in Gluconobacter oxydans M5, responsible for production of 6-(2-hydroxyethyl) amino-6-deoxy-L-sorbose

A membrane-bound protein purified from Gluconobacter oxydans M5 was confirmed to be a pyrroloquinoline quinone-dependent D-sorbitol dehydrogenase. Gene disruption and complementation experiments demonstrated that this enzyme is responsible for the oxidation of 1-(2-hydroxyethyl) amino-1-deoxy-D-sorbitol (1NSL) to 6-(2-hydroxyethyl) amino-6-deoxy-L-sorbose (6NSE), which is the precursor of an antidiabetic drug, miglitol.     

Simultaneous quantification of four active schisandra lignans from a traditional Chinese medicine Schisandra chinensis(Wuweizi) in rat plasma using liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry

A simple, rapid and sensitive method was developed for the simultaneous quantification of four active schisandra lignans (schisandrin, schisantherin A, deoxyshisandrin and gamma-schisandrin) from a traditional Chinese medicine Schisandra chinensis(Wuweizi) in rat plasma using a high-performance liquid chromatography system coupled to a positive ion electrospray mass spectrometric analysis. The plasma sample preparation was a simple deproteinization by the addition of three volumes of methanol followed by centrifugation. The analytes and internal standard (IS) bicyclol were separated on a Zorbax SB-C18 column (3.5 microm, 2.1 mm x 100 mm) with mobile phase of methanol/water (70:30, v/v) containing 0.1% formic acid at a flow rate of 0.2 mL/min with an operating temperature of 25 degrees C. Detection was performed on a Trap XCT mass spectrometer equipped with an electrospray ionization (ESI) source operated in selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode. Positive ion ESI was used to form sodium adduct molecular ions at m/z 455 for schisandrin, m/z 559 for schisantherin A, m/z 439 for deoxyshisandrin, m/z 423 for gamma-schisandrin, and m/z 413 for the internal standard bicyclol. Linear detection responses were obtained for the four test compounds ranging from 0.010 to 2.0 microg/mL and the lower limits of quantitation (LLOQs) for four lignans were 0.010 microg/mL. The intra- and inter-day precisions (R.S.D.%) were within 12.5% for all analytes, while the deviation of assay accuracies was within +/-13.0%. The average recoveries of analytes were greater than 80.0%. All analytes were proved to be stable during all sample storage, preparation and analytic procedures. The method was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study of the four lignans after oral administration of Schisandra chinensis extraction to rats.     

应用实验种群生命表评价巴氏新小绥螨对西花蓟马的控制能力

以西花蓟马Frankliniella occidentalis（Pergande）（Thysanoptera,Thripidae）一龄若虫为猎物组建巴氏新小绥螨Neoseiulus barkeri（Hughes）（Acari：Phytoseiidae）实验种群生命表,获得净生殖力Ro=27．37,世代平均历期T=22．17天,内禀增长率rm=0．15,周限增长率λ=1．16,种群倍增所需时间t=4．64天等参数。将获得参数值与西花蓟马的相关参数值进行比较,巴氏新小绥螨瞬间增长率大于西花蓟马的瞬间增长率（0．14）,雌成螨日取食7～12头西花蓟马一龄若虫,表明巴氏新小绥螨可以作为控制西花蓟马种群数量的有效天敌。