Psychometric properties of Youth Self-Rating Insomnia Scale (YSIS) in Chinese adolescents

Sleep and Biological Rhythms - Insomnia is prevalent in adolescents. Although several insomnia scales/questionnaires are available to assess insomnia symptoms and severity for adults, no insomnia...     

Progress and Challenges for Live-cell Imaging of Genomic Loci Using CRISPR-based Platforms

Chromatin conformation,localization,and dynamics are crucial regulators of cellular behaviors. Although fluorescence in situ hybridization-based techniques have been widely utilized for investigating chromatin architectures in healthy and diseased states,the requirement for cell fix-ation precludes the comprehensive dynamic analysis necessary to fully understand chromatin activ-ities. This has spurred the development and application of a variety of imaging methodologies for visualizing single chromosomal loci in the native cellular context. In this review,we describe currently-available approaches for imaging single genomic loci in cells,with special focus on clus-tered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-based imaging approaches. In addition,we discuss some of the challenges that limit the application of CRISPR-based genomic imaging approaches,and potential solutions to address these challenges. We anticipate that,with continued refinement of CRISPR-based imaging techniques,significant understanding can be gained to help decipher chromatin activities and their relevance to cellular physiology and pathogenesis.     

Lipolysis drives expression of the constitutively active receptor GPR3 to induce adipose thermogenesis

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Characterization of a salt-activated protease with temperature-dependent secretion in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Stenotrophomonas maltophilia</Emphasis> FF11 isolated from frozen Antarctic krill

Seafood is sometimes wasted due to the growth of psychrotolerant microbes which secrete proteases and break down proteins. Stenotrophomonas maltophilia FF11, isolated from frozen Antarctic krill, grows at a wide range of temperatures and secretes more proteases at low temperatures. According to zymogram analysis, two kinds of proteases were produced from this strain. A major protease was produced largely at 15 °C, but not at 37 °C. The temperature-dependent secreted protease was purified to homogeneity. Its molecular mass was determined at 37.4 kDa and its amino acid sequence was also obtained. This protease is a member of the subtilase group according to the NCBI blast analysis. The enzyme was highly stable at high salt concentration (4 M). Interestingly, its activity increased about 1.6-fold under high salt condition. The enzyme remains active and stable in different organic solvents (50 %, v/v) such as dimethylsulfoxide, dimethyl formamide, dioxane and acetone. These properties may provide potential applications in quality control for sea foods, in protein degradation at high salt concentration, in biocatalysis and biotransformation within non-aqueous media, such as detergent and transesterification.     

Doxorubicin Induces Sarcoplasmic Reticulum Calcium Regulation Dysfunction via the Decrease of SERCA2 and Phospholamban Expressions in Rats

This study aims to explore the changes in calcium regulation in the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) during doxorubicin (DOX) treatment. Sprague–Dawley rats were treated with intravenous DOX (1.5 mg/kg) twice weekly for 12 treatments. The hemodynamic changes, myocardial oxidative stress, levels of cardiac toxicity markers, and calcium handling of the myocardial SR were observed. When the accumulation of DOX reached 12 mg/kg, (1) heart weight, left ventricular mass, and lung congestion increased significantly, and ascites appeared; (2) SBP, DBP, MAP, +dP/dt, ?dP/dt, and LVSP decreased significantly, and LVEDP increased (p < 0.01); (3) the iNOS activity and MDA and NO concentrations significantly increased, while the SOD decreased (p < 0.05 or 0.01); (4) the serum level of the AST, LDH CPK, cTnI, and BNP increased significantly (p < 0.01); (5) during DOX treatment, the rat SR Ca²⁺ absorption function and Ca²⁺-stimulated ATPase activity declined dramatically, as did the SERCA2 and phospholamban levels (p < 0.01). As expected, all these changes became evident with DOX accumulation in vivo (p < 0.05 or 0.01). In conclusion, DOX induces SR calcium regulation dysfunction via the decrease of SERCA2 and phospholamban expressions in rats.     

Warming Induces Significant Reprogramming of Beige,but Not Brown,Adipocyte Cellular Identity

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糖脂生物表面活性剂——甘露糖赤藓糖醇脂的研究进展

甘露糖赤藓糖醇脂是一种糖脂类生物表面活性剂,主要由霉菌和酵母菌等微生物发酵生产,具有良好表面活性和特殊生物活性,其在食品、医药、化妆品等领域有着潜在的应用前景。近年来,其研究在国外备受关注,而国内却鲜有报道。文中综述了甘露糖赤藓糖醇脂的发酵生产、多样性结构及活性、构效关系、生物合成途径等方面的相关研究,对存在问题进行了分析,并探讨了今后的研究重点。     

鸡白痢沙门菌S06004株致病岛-2缺失株的构建及其生物学特性

摘要:【目的】了解致病岛-2(Salmonella Pathogenicity Island 2,SPI-2)对鸡白痢沙门菌致病性的影响,初步探讨研制安全有效的鸡白痢沙门菌减毒株的可行性。【方法】采用λ-red 同源重组系统构建鸡白痢沙门菌S06004株的SPI-2(约40 kb)缺失株S06004ΔSPI2。并与野生型相比较,对该缺失株的生长特性、生化特性、遗传稳定性和致病性等基本生物学特性进行鉴定。【结果】成功构建SPI-2缺失株S06004ΔSPI2,SPI-2的缺失不影响鸡白痢沙门菌的生长特性和生化特性,且该缺失株具有良好的遗传稳定性,其对2日龄雏鸡的LD50是野生株的252 倍。【结论】SPI-2的缺失引起鸡白痢沙门菌毒力的明显下降,这为进一步研究鸡白痢沙门菌SPI-2的功能及制备减毒疫苗奠定了基础。     

东北扁核木的开发利用与栽培技术

通过对野生植物东北扁核木的引种栽培,探讨它的繁育技术及病虫害防治措施,为其开发利用资源提供科学依据.     

Hrd1 participates in the regulation of collagen I synthesis in renal fibrosis

The production and accumulation of collagen-rich extracellular matrix are common hallmarks during the process of renal fibrogenesis. However, the mechanisms of the regulation of collagen synthesis in renal fibrosis are still unclear. Hrd1, an E3 ubiquitin ligase, plays important roles for protein folding in ER and transport to Golgi. Here, we examined the hypothesis that Hrd1 posttranslationally regulates collagen synthesis in renal interstitial fibrogenesis. Unilateral ureteral obstruction induced Hrd1 expression, predominantly in the renal interstitium and tubular epithelium of fibrotic kidneys. Transforming growth factor β1, as a key mediator in kidney fibrosis, significantly increased the expressions of Hrd1, α-smooth muscle actin, fibronectin as well as procollagen I and mature collagen I in dose-dependent manner in tubular epithelial cells, suggesting that collagen I maturation might be modulated during renal fibrosis. In cultured renal fibroblasts, Hrd1 knockdown decreased secreted collagen I ~60 % in the supernatant of NRK-49F cells. Conversely, Hrd1 overexpression increased secreted collagen I ~1.5-fold. Hrd1 overexpression significantly increased the expressions of both procollagen I and mature collagen I, ~2.2-fold and ~1.8-fold, respectively. However, Hrd1 knockdown markedly decreased the expression of mature collagen I ~80 %, while procollagen I expression only was decreased ~21 %. Moreover, short interfering RNA-induced knockdown of Sec23A blunted the increase in collagen I expression (both immature and mature form) by Hrd1 overexpression and returned collagen I expression toward control levels. These results indicate that Hrd1 plays an important role in the maturation of collagen I in renal fibrosis, and that Sec23A pathway is required for ER-to-Golgi procollagen trafficking to promote collagen synthesis.