血清脂联素水平对老年维持性血液透析患者心脑血管事件发生风险及预后的影响

目的:探讨老年维持性血液透析(MHD)患者血清脂联素(adiponectin,ADPN)水平与其心脑血管事件发生风险及其预后的关系。方法:采用酶联免疫吸附实验(ELISA)检测76例老年MHD患者血清ADPN水平,以5 mg/L为界,以5 mg/L为低ADPN组,≥5 mg/L为高ADPN组。随访观察两组心脑血管事件的发生情况及预后。采用Cox回归分析血清ADPN水平和心脑血管事件对老年MHD患者的预后影响。结果:76例老年MHD患者的血清ADPN水平为(11.10±10.68)mg/L,其中低ADPN组患者有33例,高ADPN组患者有43例。与低ADPN组相比,高ADPN组患者的心脑血管事件发生率明显下降,而生存时间明显延长(P0.05)。Cox回归分析显示低ADPN水平和发生心脑血管事件是老年MHD患者生存时间的危险因素(P0.05)。结论:血清ADPN水平可作为老年MHD患者心脑血管事件的预测指标,并与患者的预后相关,有较好的临床应用价值。     

Behavioral thermoregulation in a tropical gastropod: links to climate change scenarios

Tropical species are vulnerable to global warming because they live at, or near to, their upper thermal threshold limits. Therefore, the predicted increase in the frequency of warming events in the tropics is expected to be critical for the survival of local species. This study explored the major environmental variables which were thought to be correlated with body temperatures (BTs) of the tropical snail Littoraria scabra at the niche level. A correlation between BT and substrate temperature (ST) was detected from field observations which suggests a possible causal relationship between both substrate and BTs. In contrast, there was no correlation between BT and air temperature. Field observations suggest that 33.4 °C may be L. scabra upper limit of substrate surface temperature, although further experiments are needed to assess if the upper limit of physiological tolerance is actually different. As L. scabra individuals were free to choose their substrata, the observed distribution pattern at the niche level is related to L. scabra's behavior. Additionally, substrate surface temperatures were very heterogeneous at centimeter scale (i.e. from 22.5 to 53.1 °C) and L. scabra was shown to select specific STs (i.e. between 22.5 and 33.4 °C) rather than microhabitat type. Therefore, L. scabra did not seem to behaviorally thermoregulate through microhabitat selection nor aggregation. In contrast, behavioral experiments showed that L. scabra has the ability to actively select a thermally favorable site over short temporal scale (i.e. individual average speed of 1.26 cm min^?1) following exposure to high temperatures above 33.4 °C. Hence, this study supports the crucial need to integrate intertidal invertebrate behavioral responses to thermal constraints in climate change studies.     

植物抗寒及其基因表达研究进展

植物经过逐渐降低的温度从而提高抗寒能力 ,这个过程被人们称为低温驯化。植物低温驯化过程是一个复杂的生理、生化和能量代谢变化过程 ,这些变化主要包括膜系统的稳定性、可溶性蛋白的积累和小分子渗透物质 ,比如脯氨酸、糖等 ,这些变化中的一些是植物抗寒必需的 ,而另外一些变化不是必需的。主要对冷害和低温生理生化变化、低温诱导表达基因的功能和作用、低温驯化的调节机制及其信号转导方面进行了综述。通过差别筛选 c DNA文库的方法已经鉴定了许多低温诱导表达、进而提高植物抗寒能力的基因 ,其中有脱水素、COR基因和 CBF1转录因子等。低温信号的感受、转导和调节表达是低温驯化的关键环节 ,低温信号的转导过程与干旱胁迫之间具有一定的交叉 ,这为利用 ABA等来提高植物抗寒能力成为可能 ,相信不久的将来人们可以通过提高植物抗寒能力从而增加经济产量成为现实。     

Time of germination and establishment success after fire of three obligate seeders in a Mediterranean shrubland of central Spain

Aim Determining how differences in time of germination can affect plant establishment in plant communities that, after a disturbance, must reestablish from seeds under climatic conditions subject to extremes, such as the Mediterranean. Although early germination may be beneficial for survival in summer, when drought is severe, this may expose the seedlings to winter extremes, thus to higher mortality. Understanding how sensitive is the establishment of different species to temporal patterns of germination will help to understand the factors that control species distribution and community stability in disturbance‐prone environments, as well as its sensitivity to changes in weather patterns as climate changes. Methods An experimental fire was made in early fall in an old Cistus–Erica shrubland in Toledo (central Spain). After fire, germination, survival and growth of the three dominant seeder species (Cistus ladanifer, Erica umbellata and Rosmarinus officinalis) were monitored during the first 3 years after fire. Seedlings were tagged to identify their time of emergence, and divided into cohorts according to their month of germination. Differences in survival of the various cohorts were evaluated by means of a Wilcoxon (Gehan) statistic. Height of surviving, tagged plants was compared among cohorts by means of a Kolmogorov–Smirnov test. Results The year following fire was one of the driest on record, while the next one was one of the wettest. Germination was more abundant during the first than during the second year. Establishment was mainly from first‐year germination, as the majority of second‐year germinated seedlings died. Temporal patterns of germination within a year and between years varied between species. Seedling mortality was highest immediately following germination, not in summer. Mortality was related to time of germination: during a given period of time, the mortality of younger seedlings was higher than that of older ones. However, survival was not highest for the first cohorts. In general, the earlier the seedlings germinated the more vigourous they became, more clearly so for Cistus than for Rosmarinus, but differences tended to disappear with time. Overall, time of germination varied between species and affected differently seedling survival and vigour of the various species. Rosmarinus and Cistus had sufficient survivors to reestablish the initial population. Erica, despite abundant germination, suffered a strong population reduction. Main conclusions Mediterranean shrub species differ in their temporal patterns of germination and survival after fire. The effect of time of germination is complex: germinating early is advantageous since old seedlings fared better than younger ones when confronted with the same rigours. However, germinating early might expose the seedlings to greater hazards and the first cohort might not survive best. The temporal window for establishment is narrow and mainly restricted to the first year after fire. Second year seedlings, irrespective of most favourable conditions, survived very little. Missing the window of establishment might virtually lead to a population collapse, despite having very high germination, as found for Erica.     

Accumulation of pathogenesis-related (PR) 10/Bet v 1 protein homologues in mulberry (Morus bombycis Koidz.) tree during winter

Seasonal evaluation of total soluble protein fractions extracted from cortical parenchyma cells of mulberry (Morus bombycis Koidz.) tree identified a predominant 18 kDa protein that was directly correlated to periods of cold acclimation. The 18 kDa protein, designated as WAP18 (winter accumulating 18 kDa proteins) increased from September to December and then gradually decreased until June. The maximum levels of WAP18 were detected in mid‐winter, which corresponds to the maximum freeze tolerance in cortical parenchyma cells of mulberry tree. Two‐dimensional gel electrophoresis confirmed that WAP18 consists of at least three proteins that range between an isoelectric point of 5.0 and 6.0. All three proteins reacted with anti‐WAP18 antibodies, thereby suggesting that they represent individual isoforms. Furthermore, N‐terminal amino acid sequence analysis demonstrated that all three proteins contain high sequence similarity to each other and high homology to pathogenesis‐related (PR) ?10/Bet v 1 protein families. The purified WAP18 exhibited in vitro cryoprotective activity for the freeze labile l ‐lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) enzyme. These results suggest that WAP18 may function in the freezing tolerance mechanism of cortical parenchyma cells of mulberry tree during winter.     

北京山区侧柏-荆条系统水分来源对降雨事件的响应

分析了北京鹫峰山区侧柏、荆条枝条水及其潜在水分来源的氢氧同位素特征,运用IsoSource模型解析侧柏、荆条系统水分利用来源的季节变化及其对降雨事件的响应.结果表明:旱季初期(4月)研究区0～20 cm土层富集土壤水¹⁸O值,20 cm以下该值则随着土层深度增加逐渐减小,侧柏主要利用前2～3 d降雨补充的0～30 cm层土壤水;旱季末期(6月)侧柏和荆条分别利用当天雨水补充的0～10和10～30 cm层土壤水;雨季(7月)侧柏利用前期降水补给的0～40 cm层土壤水(59.3%)和近期降水(12.5%),荆条则利用近期降雨供给的0～30 cm层土壤水;侧柏的土壤水分来源逐月加深,至生长季末(11月)其主要利用60～80 cm层土壤水(前2～3 d降雨补给),而荆条枝条水δ¹⁸O值远离各水分来源δ¹⁸O值.两物种对水分的竞争压力小,适应本区域气候特征,尤其在应对特大暴雨等极端天气时,植物系统垂直分布的水分来源能够有效分流洪峰,减小暴雨瞬时破坏力.     

Peptide backbone circularization enhances antifreeze protein thermostability

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) are a class of ice‐binding proteins that promote survival of a variety of cold‐adapted organisms by decreasing the freezing temperature of bodily fluids. A growing number of biomedical, agricultural, and commercial products, such as organs, foods, and industrial fluids, have benefited from the ability of AFPs to control ice crystal growth and prevent ice recrystallization at subzero temperatures. One limitation of AFP use in these latter contexts is their tendency to denature and irreversibly lose activity at the elevated temperatures of certain industrial processing or large‐scale AFP production. Using the small, thermolabile type III AFP as a model system, we demonstrate that AFP thermostability is dramatically enhanced via split intein‐mediated N‐ and C‐terminal end ligation. To engineer this circular protein, computational modeling and molecular dynamics simulations were applied to identify an extein sequence that would fill the 20‐Å gap separating the free ends of the AFP, yet impose little impact on the structure and entropic properties of its ice‐binding surface. The top candidate was then expressed in bacteria, and the circularized protein was isolated from the intein domains by ice‐affinity purification. This circularized AFP induced bipyramidal ice crystals during ice growth in the hysteresis gap and retained 40% of this activity even after incubation at 100°C for 30 min. NMR analysis implicated enhanced thermostability or refolding capacity of this protein compared to the noncyclized wild‐type AFP. These studies support protein backbone circularization as a means to expand the thermostability and practical applications of AFPs.     

Roles of ST2, IL‐33 and BNP in predicting major adverse cardiovascular events in acute myocardial infarction after percutaneous coronary intervention

This study investigated roles of serum ST2, IL‐33 and BNP in predicting major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Blood samples were collected from the included AMI patients (n = 180) who underwent PCI. All patients were divided into the MACEs and MACEs‐free groups. Enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay was performed to measure serum levels of ST2, IL‐33 and BNP. Severity of coronary artery lesion was evaluated by Gensini score. Pearson correlation analysis was used. A receiver operating characteristics curve was drawn to evaluate the potential roles of ST2, IL‐33 and BNP in predicting MACEs, and Kaplan–Meier curve to analyse the 1‐year overall survival rate. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to analyse the independent risk factors for MACEs. Compared with the MACEs‐free group, the serum levels of ST2, IL‐33 and BNP were significantly higher in the MACEs group. Serum levels of ST2, IL‐33 and BNP were positively correlated with each other and positively correlated with Gensini score. The area under curves of ST2, IL‐33 and BNP, respectively, were 0.872, 0.675 and 0.902. The relative sensitivity and specificity were, respectively, 76.27% and 85.92%, 69.49% and 58.68%, as well as, 96.61% and 77.69%. Serum levels of ST2, IL‐33 and BNP were independent risk factors for MACEs. The 1‐year overall survival rate was higher in AMI patients with lower serum levels of ST2, IL‐33 and BNP. In conclusion, serum levels of ST2, IL‐33 and BNP have potential value in predicting MACEs in AMI patients undergoing PCI.     

内蒙古半干旱草原土壤水分对降水格局变化的响应

在全球气候变化背景下, 未来我国北方半干旱地区的降水格局将呈现出季节与年际间降水波动增强和极端降水事件增加的趋势。水分是半干旱草原的主要限制因子, 降水格局变化导致的土壤水分状况的改变必然对生态系统的结构和功能产生显著的影响。该研究选取内蒙古多伦和锡林浩特两个典型半干旱草原群落, 通过分析2006-2013年的降水和多层次土壤(0-10 cm, 10 cm, 20 cm, 30 cm和50 cm)含水量连续观测数据, 研究降水格局变化对土壤水分状况及其垂直分布的影响, 特别是土壤水分对降水事件的脉冲响应过程。结果表明: 两个站点的土壤含水量均呈现显著的季节及年际间波动, 其中土壤表层 0-10 cm水分波动更剧烈。锡林浩特50 cm处土壤含水量波动较大, 主要由于春季融雪的影响。年际间多伦和锡林浩特生长季土壤表层0-10 cm土壤含水量与降水量存在显著的正相关关系, 下层(10-50 cm)土壤含水量与降水量相关性不显著。研究发现小至2 mm的降水事件就能够引起两个站点表层0-10 cm土壤含水量的升高, 即该地区有效降水为日降水量> 2 mm。表层0-10 cm土壤含水量对独立降水事件的脉冲响应可通过指数方程很好地拟合。降水事件的大小决定了降水后表层0-10 cm土壤含水量的最大增量和持续时间, 同时这个脉冲响应过程还受到降水前土壤含水量的影响, 但该过程中并未发现植被因子(叶面积指数)的显著影响。降水后水分下渗深度及该深度的土壤含水量增量主要由降水事件的大小主导, 同时受到降水前土壤含水量的影响。在多伦和锡林浩特, 平均每增加1 mm降水, 下渗深度分别增加1.06和0.79 cm。由此作者认为, 在内蒙古半干旱草原, 降水事件大小和降水前土壤干湿状况是影响土壤水分对降水响应的主要因素, 而植被因子的影响较小。