全合成3α-羟类固醇脱氢酶基因密码子优化及酶性质研究

以NCBI报道的Comamonas testosteroni ATCC11996中3α-羟类固醇脱氢酶基因(3α-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase gene,3α-hsd,AF092031.2)为模板,通过改变碱基序列但不影响酶的氨基酸序列,将该基因相对于大肠杆菌的密码子适用指数由0.78提高到0.87,GC含量由原来的63.17降低到56.46,大幅度减少了GC簇及寡聚A和T局域的存在,提高3α—hsd的可表达性。全合成基因定向克隆到pET28a载体中,并转化至大肠杆菌B121(DE3)中表达。采用乳糖诱导后,SDS—PAGE检测在约27 kD处有一高效表达的蛋白条带。采用Ni螯合柱分离纯化3α-HSD,获得了较高纯度及较高的产率。酶学性质初步分析表明,全基因合成表达的3α-HSD的性质与原始的3α-HSD基本相同。     

Electromyographic analysis of rectus femoris activity during seated to standing position and walking in water and on dry land in healthy children and children with cerebral palsy

Purpose: To analyze rectus femoris activity during seated to standing position and walking in water and on dry land comparing a group of children with the spastic diparesis type of cerebral palsy (CP) and a group of children without neurological disorders. Methods: This study included a group of nine children with CP and a control group of 11 children. The study compared the electromyographic activity of the rectus femoris during seated to standing position and walking, in water and on land. Results: A greater activation of the rectus femoris was observed in the group of children with CP compared with the control group when moving from a seated position to a standing position in water (p = 0.0039) and while walking on land (p = 0.0014) or in the pool (p = 0.007). Conclusion: This study demonstrated the activation of the rectus femoris while walking or standing up from a seated position in water was greater in the group of children with CP. Further studies should be performed to better understand the extent of muscular activation during body immersion in individuals with neurological disorders.     

Genetic influences on the development of grip strength in adolescence

Enhanced physical strength is a secondary sex characteristic in males. Sexual dimorphism in physical strength far exceeds sex differences in stature or total body mass, suggesting a legacy of intense sexual selection. Upper‐body strength is a particularly promising marker of intrasexual competitiveness in young men. Consequently, it is assumed that sex‐influenced gene expression contributes to the development of physical strength. It is unclear, however, whether the underlying sources of individual differences in strength development are comparable across sex. We obtained three measurements of hand‐grip strength (HGS) over a six‐year period spanning adolescence in male and female same‐sex twins (N = 2,513). Biometrical latent growth models were used to partition the HGS variance at age 11 (intercept) and its growth over time (slope) into genetic and environmental components. Results demonstrated that variance around the intercept was highly heritable in both males and females (88% and 79%, respectively). In males, variance around the slope exceeded that of the intercept, while the reverse held for females. Additive genetic effects accounted for most (80%) of the variance around the slope in males, but were of less importance in females (heritability = 28%). Absolute genetic variance around the slope was nearly nine‐fold higher in males. This striking disparity suggests that the developmental processes shaping HGS growth are different between the sexes. We propose that this might account for the sex‐specific pattern of associations between HGS and external measures (e.g., digit ratio and physical aggression) typically reported in the literature. Our results underscore the role of endogenous androgenic influences in the development of physical strength. Am J Phys Anthropol 154:189–200, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Electron Collection as a Limit to Polymer:PCBM Solar Cell Efficiency: Effect of Blend Microstructure on Carrier Mobility and Device Performance in PTB7:PCBM

The poor photovoltaic performance of state‐of‐the‐art blends of poly[4,8‐bis[(2‐ethylhexyl)oxy]benzo[1,2‐b:4,5‐b′]dithiophene‐2,6‐diyl][3‐fluoro‐2‐[(2‐ethylhexyl)carbonyl]thieno[3,4‐b]thiophenediyl] (PTB7) and [6,6]‐phenyl‐C61‐butyric acid (PCBM) at large active layer thicknesses is studied using space‐charge‐limited current mobility and photovoltaic device measurements. The poor performance is found to result from relatively low electron mobility. This is attributed to the low tendency of PTB7 to aggregate, which reduces the ability of the fullerene to form a connected network. Increasing the PCBM content 60–80 wt% increases electron mobility and accordingly improves performance for thicker devices, resulting in a fill factor (FF) close to 0.6 at 300 nm. The result confirms that by improving only the connectivity of the fullerene phase, efficient electron and hole collection is possible for 300 nm‐thick PTB7:PCBM devices. Furthermore, it is shown that solvent additive 1,8‐diiodooctane (DIO), used in the highest efficiency PTB7:PCBM devices, does not improve the thickness dependence and, accordingly, does not lead to an increase in either hole or electron mobility or in the carrier lifetime. A key challenge for researchers is therefore to develop new methods to ensure connectivity in the fullerene phase in blends without relying on either a large excess of fullerene or strong aggregation of the polymer.     

聚乙烯醇复合水凝胶外用膜剂的制备与性能

目的：考察PVA／葡聚糖／羧甲基纤维素钠复合水凝胶外用膜剂的制备方法,并与纯PVA水凝胶贴膜进行对比,考察本膜剂在物理性能和药物体系的体外释放行为上所具备的优越性。方法：利用冷冻-解冻物理交联方法制备水凝胶装载胰岛素模型药物的外用膜剂,通过万能拉力机和差示扫描量热法考察膜剂的物理性能,利用高效液色谱法考察该膜剂的体外释放行为。结果：PVA复合水凝胶外用贴膜相较于纯PVA水凝胶贴膜的韧性减小、刚性增加,体外释放变好。结论：通过将具有材料友好性的PVA和多糖葡聚糖、羧甲基纤维素钠合并使用制备胰岛素复合水凝胶贴膜,既能保证贴膜具有良好的物理性能,又具有较好地释放行为,优于目前文献报道的纯PVA水凝胶贴膜性能,有望继续研究优化性能。     

Study on the Hydrophobic Property of Shark-Skin-Inspired Micro-Riblets

This paper aims to characterize the hydrophobic property of shark-skin-inspired riblets with potential engineering appli- cations. Based on the hydrophobic theory, a new hydrophobic model which is consistent with the special structure of shark-skin-inspired micro-riblets was proposed. Then, the contact angles of different droplets were measured by optical contact angle measuring device on the shark-skin-inspired micro-riblets and the smooth surface, respectively. The results show that the surface of micro-riblets possesses obvious hydrophobicity, and the actual contact angles of different droplets residing on the riblets decrease with the increase in the droplet volume. According to the new hydrophobic model and the measurement of contact angle, it was found that the arrangement and structure of the shark-skin-inspired micro-riblets significantly affect the surface hydrophobic property. Using the new hydrophobic model, the prediction error of contact angle can be less than 3% compared with the measured one. The research on hydrophobic property of biomimetic micro-riblets is proved to be necessary and important to well explain drag reduction and microbe-resistant property of micro-riblets.     

Combined effects of resource heterogeneity and simulated herbivory on plasticity of clonal integration in a rhizomatous perennial herb

Previous lines of investigation assuming potential advantage of clonal integration generally have neglected its plasticity in complex heterogeneous environments. Clonal plants adaptively respond to abiotic heterogeneity (patchy resource distribution) and herbivory‐induced heterogeneity (within‐clone heterogeneity in ramet performance), but to date little is known about how resource heterogeneity and simulated herbivory jointly affect the overall performance of clones. Partial damage within a clone caused by herbivory might create herbivory‐induced heterogeneity in a resource‐homogeneous environment, and might also decrease or increase the extent of heterogeneity under resource‐heterogeneous conditions. We conducted a greenhouse experiment in which target‐ramets of Leymus chinensis segments within homogeneous or heterogeneous nutrient treatments were subject to clipping (0% or 75% shoot removal). In homogeneous environments with high (9:9) nutrient availability, ramet biomass of L. chinensis with intact or severed rhizomes is 0.70 or 0.69 g. Conversely, target‐ramet biomass with intact rhizomes is obviously lower than that of the severed target‐ramets in the homogeneous environments with medium (5:5) and low (1:1) nutrient availability. High resource availability and the presence of herbivory can alleviate negative effects of rhizome connection under homogeneous conditions, by providing copious resource or creating herbivory‐induced heterogeneity respectively. Herbivory tolerance of clonal fragments with connected rhizomes was higher than that of fragments with severed rhizomes under heterogeneous conditions. These findings confirmed the unconditional advantage of clonal integration on reproduction under the combined influence of resource heterogeneity and simulated herbivory. Moreover, our results made clear the synergistically interactive effects of resource heterogeneity and simulated herbivory on costs and benefits of clonal integration. This will undoubtedly advance our understanding on the plasticity of clonal integration under complex environmental conditions.     

碧峰峡常绿阔叶林不同群落物种多样性和土壤理化性质

为了解四川碧峰峡景区常绿阔叶林群落物种多样性和土壤理化性质现状,提出利于森林经营管理及生物多样性保护的可靠方法,采用典型抽样法调查样地27个,通过聚类和排序将样地归类,探究不同类型群落物种多样性特征和土壤理化性质.结果 表明:Bray-Curtis距离为0.53时共聚出6类,山矾栲群落(Ⅰ)、山矾青冈群落(Ⅱ)、木荷山...