N‐cadherin/catenin–based costameres in cultured chicken cardiomyocytes

N‐cadherin is a member of the Ca²⁺‐dependent cell adhesion molecules and plays an important role in the assembly of the adherens junction in chicken cardiomyocytes. In addition to being present at the cell‐cell junction, N‐cadherin is associated with costameres in extrajunctional regions. The significance of the N‐cadherin‐associated costameres and whether catenins are components of costameres in chicken cardiomyocytes are not known. In this study, double‐labeling immunofluorescence microscopy was used to determine the extrajunctional distribution of both N‐cadherin and its cytoplasmic associated proteins, α‐ and β‐catenins, and their relationship to myofibrillar Z‐disc α‐actinin. N‐cadherin, α‐, and β‐catenins were all found to be present at the extrajunctional region and, in some cases, were codistributed with myofibrillar α‐actinin exhibiting a periodic staining pattern. Confocal microscopy confirmed that both N‐cadherin and β‐catenin colocalized with peripheral myofibrillar α‐actinin on the dorsal surface of cardiomyocytes as components of the costameres. Intracellular application of antibodies specific for the cytoplasmic portions of N‐cadherin, α‐, and β‐catenin, either by electroporation or microinjection, resulted in myofibril disorganization and disassembly. These results suggest the existence of N‐cadherin/catenin‐based costameres in the dorsal surface of cultured chicken cardiomyocytes in addition to the integrin/vinculin‐based costameres found in the ventral surface and indicate that the former set of costameres is essential for cardiac myofibrillogenesis. J. Cell. Biochem. 75:93–104, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Self‐Powered Wireless Sensor Node Enabled by a Duck‐Shaped Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Harvesting Water Wave Energy

This paper presents a fully enclosed duck‐shaped triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) for effectively scavenging energy from random and low‐frequency water waves. The design of the TENG incorporates the freestanding rolling mode and the pitch motion of a duck‐shaped structure generated by incident waves. By investigating the material and structural features, a unit of the TENG device is successfully designed. Furthermore, a hybrid system is constructed using three units of the TENG device. The hybrid system achieves an instantaneous peak current of 65.5 µA with an instantaneous output power density of up to 1.366 W m^?2. Following the design, a fluid–solid interaction analysis is carried out on one duck‐shaped TENG to understand the dynamic behavior, mechanical efficiency, and stability of the device under various water wave conditions. In addition, the hybrid system is experimentally tested to enable a commercial wireless temperature sensor node. In summary, the unique duck‐shaped TENG shows a simple, cost‐effective, environmentally friendly, light‐weight, and highly stable system. The newly designed TENG is promising for building a network of generators to harvest existing blue energy in oceans, lakes, and rivers.     

A quadratic correlation between long‐term mean group size and group density in a cooperatively breeding passerine

Both mean group size (MGS) and mean group density (MGD) are critical indices to characterize a population of cooperatively breeding birds. When a population reaches its carrying capacity, both long‐term MGS and long‐term MGD will remain relatively stable. However, there has been little study of how these two variables relate. The Masked laughingthrush Garrulax perspicillatus is a cooperatively breeding bird living in fragmented habitats. During 2010 and 2012‐2016, we used song playback to observe and confirm the group sizes and territory ranges of the birds and the data of bird presence to determine habitat suitability. By grouping the nearest territories according to their geographical coordinates, we divided the whole study area into 12 subareas and the whole population into 12 subpopulations. Then, we calculated both MGS and MGD for different time durations for each subpopulation. Finally, using MGD as independent variable and MGS as the dependent variable, we explored the correlations between MGS and MGD by fitting quadratic functions and modeling quadratic regression. Both MGS and MGD were averaged for different time durations and were cross‐related. Our results show that the MGS for more than 2 years significantly correlated with MGD for more than 3 years in a reverse parabolic shape, differing from that of short‐term effects. Our findings suggest that long‐term MGD is a better predictor of long‐term habitat quality and that long‐term MGS is determined by long‐term habitat quality in Masked Laughingthrushes. Based on above findings, we can infer that: (1) Long‐term habitat quality determines the long‐term MGS, but it sets no prerequisite for the status and source of group members; (2) Long‐term MGS in certain populations is adapted to the corresponding level of long‐term habitat quality, it facilitates us to predict the helper effects on current or future survival or reproduction in different situations. These findings and inferences are both helpful for us to understand the evolution of cooperative breeding.     

Autophagy protects LNCaP cells under androgen deprivation conditions

Androgen plays a critical role in the development and progression of prostate cancer. However, the regulatory role of androgen in the autophagic process and the function of the increased autophagosomes following androgen deprivation remain poorly understood. We found that autophagosomes, which were induced upon serum deprivation in LNCaP cells, can be significantly suppressed by dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Pharmacological inhibition of autophagy by 3-methyladenine led to increased apoptosis of LNCaP cells in serum-free medium compared to the medium with DHT or serum. Additionally, depletion of Beclin 1 to inhibit autophagy by small interfering RNA resulted in a slower proliferation of LNCaP cells in the medium depleted of serum than in the medium with DHT. Altogether, these findings suggested that LNCaP cells can resort to the autophagic pathway to survive under androgen deprivation conditions, which can be a novel mechanism involved in the transition of prostate cancer cells from an androgen-dependent to an androgen-independent cell type.     

Purification and characterization of Moschatin, a novel type Ⅰ ribosomeinactivating protein from the mature seeds of pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata), and preparation of its immunotoxin against human melanoma cells

A novel ribosome-inactivating protein designated Moschatin from the mature seeds of pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) has been successively purified to homogeneity, using ammonium sulfate precipitation, CM-cellulose 52 column chromatography, Blue Sepharose CL-6B Affinity column chromatography and FPLC size-exclusion column chromatography. Moschatin is a type 1 RIP with a pI of 9.4 and molecular weight of～29 kD. It is a rRNA N-glycosidase and potently blocked the protein synthesis in the rabbit reticulocyte lysate with a IC_(50) of 0.26 nM. Using the anti-human melanoma McAb Ng76, a novel immunotoxin Moschatin-Ng76 was prepared successfully and it efficiently inhibited the growth of targeted melanoma cells M_(21) with a IC_(50) of 0.04 nM, 1500 times lower than that of free Moschatin. The results implied that Moschatin could be used as a new potential anticancer agent.     

林业入侵植物假苍耳对Cu^2＋的吸附性

选取林业入侵植物假苍耳（Iva xanthifolia）叶片匀浆体（LSI）和茎匀浆体（SSI）作为生物吸附材料,考察了溶液pH值、吸附时间、Cu^2＋浓度对吸附性能的影响,确定了最佳吸附pH值为6．0-7．0,吸附平衡时间为30分钟,处理水体中的Cu^2＋浓度应不超过800mg·L^-1。采用Langmuir和Freundlich等温吸附模型进行线性拟合,推算出LSI和SSI的饱和吸附率分别为28．68mg·g^-1和13．06mg·g^-1。通过对吸附Cu^2＋前后的LSI和SSI进行傅立叶红外光谱和X射线衍射分析可知,假苍耳参与Cu。’吸附的主要物质是纤维素类和糖类,并且可能是由它们具有的-OH、-CONH2及-C=O等官能团提供结合位点。研究结果显示假苍耳有可能成为一种具有开发潜力的新型重金属生物吸附材料。     

Microbial reduction of ethyl acetoacetate to ethyl (R)-3-hydroxybutyrate in an ionic liquid containing system

A hydrophilic ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([BMIM]BF₄) was successfully employed as co-solvent for asymmetric bioreduction of ethyl acetoacetate (EOB) to ethyl (R)-3-hydroxybutyrate (R-EHB) catalyzed by Pichia membranaefaciens Hansen ZJPH07 cells. The results demonstrated that the addition of [BMIM]BF₄ in reaction system can markedly reduce the substrate inhibition and moderately improve the enantioselectivity compared to that in monophasic aqueous system. Among different alcohols and carbohydrates tried as co-substrate, glucose was a proper electron donor. Although isopropanol gave the best enantioselectivity with the highest yield, S-enantiomer was obtained. To optimize the bioreduction, some reaction parameters for the biosynthesis of R-EHB in this IL-containing system were investigated, such as temperature, buffer pH, shaking speed, substrate concentration, wet cells concentration and reaction time. Under the optimum conditions, best conversion of 77.8% and product enantiomeric excess (e.e.) of 73.0% were obtained. A comparative study was performed either in the presence or in the absence of [BMIM]BF₄, higher reaction yield (77.8% versus 68.5%) and product e.e. (73.0% versus 65.1%) were observed in IL-containing system with 0.55 M of the substrate, but 0.35 M of substrate concentration for the reduction in aqueous system without the addition of [BMIM]BF₄.     

表达O型口蹄疫病毒VPl基因的重组病毒BHV-1的构建与鉴定

[目的]为了构建表达口蹄疫病毒(O/china/99)VP1基因的牛疱疹病毒1型,将人工合成的口蹄疫病毒VP1基因插入到巨细胞病毒(CMV)启动子之下构建gE基因缺失转移载体.[方法]利用磷酸钙介导转染法将该转移载体与亲本病毒BHV-1/gE-/LacZ+的基因组DNA共转染牛鼻甲细胞后收获增殖的病毒.通过筛选白色病毒蚀斑,得到重组病毒BHV-1/gE-/VP1.[结果]PCR检测结果表明VP1基因已经插入到了重组病毒BHV-1/gE-的基因组中,间接免疫荧光试验和Westem blot证实了BHV-1/gE-/VP1中的VP1基因在感染的细胞中获得了表达.[结论]本研究成功地构建了表达口蹄疫病毒VP1基因的重组病毒BHV-1/gE-/VP1,为研制口蹄疫及其他重要牛传染病的BHV-1病毒载体疫苗奠定了基础.