吉林青山头遗址哺乳动物群及其地质时代

近年来在吉林省前郭县青山头第四纪地层中陆续发现了旧石器时代晚期的人类化石、新时器时代早期的人类遗骸和大量文化遗物及共生的动物群。本文着重讨论该遗址的两个不同哺乳动物群的性质及时代,这将对确定该区更新世与全新世地层界线、探索猛犸象-披毛犀动物群后期的演化提供了新的资料。     

定量蛋白质组学揭示酵母去泛素化酶Ubp14生物学功能

泛素化是一种动态可逆的蛋白质翻译后修饰,泛素分子在泛素激活酶、泛素结合酶和泛素连接酶的级联酶促反应催化下共价连接到底物蛋白上。去泛素化酶将泛素分子从底物上移除,动态可逆地调控泛素化修饰,在成熟泛素的生成、泛素链的移除与修剪、游离泛素链的回收等过程中发挥着关键的调控作用。本文的研究对象是酵母中泛素特异性蛋白酶（ubiquitin specific protease,USP）家族成员Ubp14,负责回收细胞内游离的泛素链。本研究定量比较了酵母细胞中Ubp14缺失对全蛋白质组的影响,进而找出其潜在的调控通路和分子功能。首先,通过同源重组技术构建了ubp14Δ菌株,发现其生长速度低于野生型酵母。利用稳定同位素氨基酸代谢标记技术结合深度覆盖的蛋白质组学分析技术,系统比较了ubp14Δ菌株相对于野生型菌株的差异蛋白,共计鉴定3 685个蛋白,通过统计学分析筛选得到109个差异蛋白。基因本体论分析发现,Ubp14缺失引起的差异蛋白主要参与了包括氨基酸代谢、氧化还原和热应激等生物学过程。本研究为深入探究去泛素化酶Ubp14的生物学功能,进而深刻理解游离泛素的稳态平衡与生物学过程调控提供了高可信的蛋白质组学数据信息。     

固态发酵预处理木屑对其制备成型燃料的影响

为了解决生物质成型产业存在的成型燃料密度低、强度低、抗吸水能力弱、不耐存储等问题,采用黄孢原毛平革菌Phanerochaete chrysosporium BKMF21767对黧蒴栲木屑(Castanopsis fissa Rehd.et Wils)进行固态发酵预处理,固态发酵木屑在含水率15%和最大压强98 MPa的条件下制备成型燃料。以成型能耗(挤压和推动能耗)、成型燃料密度、Meyer强度和吸水性等表征发酵时间对黧蒴栲木屑成型行为及成型燃料性能的影响。结果表明:与由新鲜黧蒴栲木屑制备的成型燃料相比,经固态发酵的黧蒴栲木屑成型燃料的燃烧热值几乎不变,虽然在成型过程中的挤压能耗最高升高6.98%,但推动能耗最高可降低32.19%。同时,固态发酵预处理能够提高成型燃料的密度、Meyer强度和抗吸水能力,有利于成型燃料在长时间储运中保持品质,其中由固态发酵48 d左右的木屑制备的成型燃料品质最佳。     

广西崇左泊岳山巨猿洞早更新世的鼠科化石

最近在广西崇左泊岳山巨猿洞采集到大量步氏巨猿、猩猩、长臂猿等高等灵长类及伴生的属种丰富的哺乳动物化石。本文系统记述了该化石点小哺乳动物群中的优势群体——鼠科化石:似锡金小鼠(Mus cf.M.pahari)、似大林姬鼠(Apodemus cf.A.peninsulae)、细狨鼠(Hapalomys gracilis)、狭齿狨鼠(Hapalomys angustidens)、先社鼠(Niviventer preconfucianus)、安氏白腹鼠(Niviventer andersoni)、拟爱氏巨鼠(Leopoldamys edwardsioides)和似始家鼠(Rattus cf.R.pristinus)共6属8种,其中包括了5个绝灭种。研究表明,泊岳山巨猿洞鼠类主要属种的形态特征显然要比同地区的三合大洞显得原始,而较相似于重庆巫山龙骨坡的相关鼠类,因此推测其时代为早更新世早期,这与古地磁的测年结果(距今约180万年)相吻合。泊岳山巨猿洞的鼠类大部分均为东洋界成员以及树栖、半树栖及林地生活的种类,反映当时的自然景观为热带-亚热带的森林-林灌环境。泊岳山巨猿洞鼠科化石的研究丰富了我国南方早更新世巨猿-中华乳齿象动物群中小哺乳动物化石的记录,这对于探讨我国南方第四纪生物地层的划分将提供重要的信息。     

Let-7a elevates p21 levels by targeting of NIRF and suppresses the growth of A549 lung cancer cells

Down-regulation of let-7 microRNA (miRNA) is a key event in lung cancer. Despite recent advances in survival signaling, the roles of let-7 in the context of lung cancer are not fully clear. In this study, we showed that let-7a, a member of let-7 family, negatively regulated the expression of NIRF through NIRF 3′ UTR. We also showed that NIRF was required for the let-7a-mediated elevation of p21^WAF1. These findings suggest that growth-inhibitory effect of let-7a on the A549 cells in vitro and in vivo may be explained in part by le-7a-induced suppression of NIRF and elevation of p21^WAF1. This work reveals a novel regulatory mechanism for let-7a in the control of cellular proliferation and lung carcinogenesis.     

Liposome containing cinnamon oil with antibacterial activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus biofilm

The global burden of bacterial disease remains high and is set against a backdrop of increasing antimicrobial resistance. There is a pressing need for highly effective and natural antibacterial agents. In this work, the anti-biofilm effect of cinnamon oil on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus was evaluated. Then, cinnamon oil was encapsulated in liposomes to enhance its chemical stability. The anti-biofilm activities of the liposome-encapsulated cinnamon oil against MRSA biofilms on stainless steel, gauze, nylon membrane and non-woven fabrics were evaluated by colony forming unit determination. Scanning electron microscopy and laser scanning confocal microscopy analyses were employed to observe the morphological changes in MRSA biofilms treated with the encapsulated cinnamon oil. As a natural and safe spice, the cinnamon oil exhibited a satisfactory antibacterial performance on MRSA and its biofilms. The application of liposomes further improves the stability of antimicrobial agents and extends the action time.     

The Contributory Role of Angiotensin Receptor-Like 1 Gene Multiple Polymorphisms in Hypertension among Northeastern Han Chinese

Background and Objective

Via direct sequencing, we have recently identified six common polymorphisms in angiotensin receptor-like 1 (AGTRL1) gene, and found only two polymorphisms were significantly associated with hypertension in a family-based analysis on 1,015 southern Han Chinese. Extending our previous work and considering the ubiquity of epistasis in determining disease susceptibility, we, in this study, sought to explore the potential interaction of AGTRL1 gene six polymorphisms with hypertension in a large northeastern Han Chinese population.

Methods and Results

This was a case-control study involving 1,009 sporadic hypertensive patients and 756 normotensive controls. Data were analyzed by Haplo.Stats and multifactor dimensionality reduction (MDR) softwares. There were no deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium for all polymorphisms. The genotypes and alleles of rs7119675 and rs11544374 differed significantly between the two groups (P<0.0005), even after the Bonferroni correction. Under three genetic models, significant association was consistently observed for rs7119675 and rs11544374, and this association was independent of confounding factors. Taking rs7119375 as an example, the odds of having hypertension was 2.46 (95% confidence interval (95% CI): 2.06–2.94), 2.82 (95% CI: 2.29–3.46) and 3.97 (95% CI: 2.37–6.64) under additive, dominant and recessive models (P<0.001), respectively, whereas the adjusted risk estimates were slightly attenuated but still significant. The frequencies of most derived haplotypes differed significantly between patients and controls. Haplotype-phenotype analyses indicated marginal association for triglyceride (P_Sim = 0.011) and total cholesterol (P_Sim = 0.025) in patients and for triglyceride in controls (P_Sim = 0.023). The overall best MDR model included rs11544374, rs7119375 and rs948847 with the maximal testing accuracy of 0.737 and cross-validation consistency of 10 out of 10 (P<0.0001). Further interaction entropy graph suggested that the interaction of rs7119375 with rs11544374 and rs948847 was strongly antagonized.

Conclusions

Our findings demonstrate that AGTRL1 genetic polymorphisms might contribute to the development of hypertension independently and/or through complex interaction.