Mechanistic studies of perfluorooctane sulfonate, perfluorooctanoic acid uptake by maize (Zea mays L. cv. TY2)

Aims

There is a need to predict trace metal concentration in plant organs at given development stages. The aim of this work was to describe the Cd hyperaccumulation kinetics in the different plant organs, throughout the complete cultivation cycle, independently of a possible soil effect.

Methods

Plants of Noccaea caerulescens were exposed in aeroponics to three constantly low Cd concentrations and harvested at 6 to 11 dates, until siliquae formation.

Results

Dry matter allocation between roots and shoots was constant over time and exposure concentrations, as well as Cd allocation. However 86 % of the Cd taken up was allocated to the shoots. Senescent rosette leaves showed similar Cd concentrations to the living ones, suggesting no redistribution from old to young organs. The Cd root influx was proportional to the exposure concentration and constant over time, indicating that plant development had no effect on this. The bio-concentration factor (BCF), i.e. [Cd]_plant/[Cd²⁺]_solution for the whole plant, roots or shoots was independent of the exposure concentration and of the plant stage.

Conclusions

Cadmium uptake in a given plant part could therefore be predicted at any plant stage by multiplying the plant part dry matter by the corresponding BCF and the Cd²⁺ concentration in the exposure solution.     

青年咽部菌群分布状况

目的调查健康青年上呼吸道的微生物群分布,寻找优势菌群,为微生态方法治疗呼吸道感染性疾病提供科学依据。方法随机自愿原则选取沈阳医学院学生61名,采集咽后壁标本分离培养并生化鉴定。结果青年咽后壁共检出19个菌属,42个菌种。需氧菌的95％可信区间为（4．7×10^6,6．8×10^6）CFU／mL,厌氧菌的95％可信区间为（5．9×10^6,8．4×10^6）CFU／mL;需氧菌菌群密度为4．8816±1．0251,厌氧菌菌群密度为5．1347±0．9118。需氧菌中链球菌属检出率为100％,其次为奈瑟球菌属（77．4％）、葡萄球菌属（33．9％）。链球菌中缓症链球菌和口腔链球菌、奈瑟球菌属中的灰色奈瑟球菌的检出率与构成比均较高。厌氧菌中检出率与构成比较高是的韦荣球菌属、拟杆菌属、孪生球菌和放线杆菌属。结论青年上呼吸道菌群种类复杂多样;需氧菌中的口腔链球菌、缓症链球菌、灰色奈瑟球菌,厌氧菌中的韦荣球菌属、拟杆菌属、孪生球菌属为优势菌群,对于维护上呼吸道微生态平衡可能起重要的作用。     

马兜铃水提液对斑马鱼胚胎的致畸作用和心脏毒性的研究

目的：探索马兜铃水提液对斑马鱼胚胎的致畸作用和心脏毒性.方法：分别用不同浓度的马兜铃水提液和马兜铃酸A（AA）处理斑马鱼胚胎,观察致畸作用和对心脏发育影响.结果：给药组的斑马鱼胚胎出现畸形和死亡;当水提液中AA含量为0.5 μg/mL时,胚胎心率明显减慢;AA含量为5μg/mL时,胚胎在24～48 hpf之间全部死亡;水提液的LC50为1.43 μg/mL.结论：与AA相比,马兜铃水提液对斑马鱼胚胎有着更强的致畸和心脏毒性,且毒性作用具有时间和浓度依赖性.     

Preparative Separation of Enantiomers Based on Functional Nucleic Acids Modified Gold Nanoparticles

The preparative‐scale separation of chiral compounds is vitally important for the pharmaceutical industry and related fields. Herein we report a simple approach for rapid preparative separation of enantiomers using functional nucleic acids modified gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). The separation of _DL‐tryptophan (_DL‐Trp) is demonstrated as an example to show the feasibility of the approach. AuNPs modified with enantioselective aptamers were added into a racemic mixture of _DL‐Trp. The aptamer‐specific enantiomer (_L‐Trp) binds to the AuNPs surface through aptamer‐_L‐Trp interaction. The separation of _DL‐Trp is then simply accomplished by centrifugation: the precipitate containing _L‐Trp bounded AuNPs is separated from the solution, while the _D‐Trp remains in the supernatant. The precipitate is then redispersed in water. The aptamer is denatured under 95 °C and a second centrifugation is then performed, resulting in the separation of AuNPs and _L‐Trp. The supernatant is finally collected to obtain pure _L‐Trp in water. The results show that the racemic mixture of _DL‐Trp is completely separated into _D‐Trp and _L‐Trp, respectively, after 5 rounds of repeated addition of fresh aptamer‐modified AuNPs to the _DL‐Trp mixture solution. Additionally, the aptamer‐modified AuNPs can be repeatedly used for at least eight times without significant loss of its binding ability because the aptamer can be easily denatured and renatured in relatively mild conditions. The proposed approach could be scaled up and extended to the separation of other enantiomers by the adoption of other enantioselective aptamers. Chirality 25:751–756, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

黔产昆明山海棠化学成分及其抑菌活性研究

该研究采用硅胶柱色谱、Sephadex LH-20凝胶柱色谱、半制备型高效液相色谱和重结晶等方法分离纯化,从黔产昆明山海棠乙醇提取物中分离得到11个化合物,并采用96孔板微量稀释法对化合物进行抑菌活性测定。结果表明:利用NMR,MS等现代波谱技术以及化合物的理化性质并结合参考文献分别鉴定为3-O-乙酰基齐墩果酸(1),雷酚萜(2),3-氧代齐墩果酸(3),β-谷甾醇(4),木栓酮(5),β-谷甾醇棕榈酸酯(6),雷公藤红素(7),大黄素(8),雷公藤内酯甲(9),雷藤二萜醌B(10),ent-kauran-16β,19-diol(11)。抑菌活性结果显示,化合物3、7和8具有较好的抑菌作用,MIC值为2~16μg·mL-1。其中,化合物6、11为首次从该植物中分离得到,化合物11为首次从雷公藤属植物中分离得到,且首次发现了化合物3、7对绿脓杆菌和青枯菌具有明显的抑制作用。     

中国兰科独蒜兰属植物增补

报道了中国兰科独蒜兰属2个未详知种:藏南独蒜兰(Pleione arunachalensis Hareesh, P.Kumar M.Sabu)和矮小独蒜兰[P.humilis (Sm.) D.Don],并提供了详细的形态描述和照片。凭证标本保存于云南省林业和草原科学院植物标本馆(YAF)。     

3,3′,4,4′,5-Pentachlorobiphenyl influences mitochondrial apoptosis pathway in granulosa cells

3,3′,4,4′,5-Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB126) is a persistent organic environmental pollutant which can affect various biological activities of organisms, such as immunity, neurological function, and reproduction. In our study, we aimed to investigate the effects of PCB126 on granulosa cells (GCs). GCs were collected from ovaries in PMSG-treated mice, after 24 hours culture. GCs were then incubated with 10 pg/mL, 100 pg/mL, and 10 ng/mL of PCB126 for another 24 hours. Following these steps, exposed GCs were collected for further experimentation. Our data showed that the number of GCs in the 10 ng/mL PCB126 decreased. Meanwhile, pyknotic nuclei and condensed chromatin increased, while the apoptotic cells in the 10 ng/mL PCB126 group were significantly increased. Furthermore, the expression of the apoptotic executive protein caspase-3 increased after PCB126 treatment. The expression of Bax, Bcl-2, and Bim related to the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway were also influenced to different degrees. Thus, our data suggested that PCB126 affect the GCs apoptosis, and mitochondrial apoptosis pathway was involved in this process.     

Iturin A-like lipopeptides from Bacillus subtilis trigger apoptosis,paraptosis, and autophagy in Caco-2 cells

This study revealed that iturin A-like lipopeptides produced by Bacillus subtillis induced both paraptosis and apoptosis in heterogeneous human epithelial colorectal adenocarcinoma (Caco-2) cells. Autophagy was simultaneously induced in Caco-2 cells treated with iturin A-like lipopeptides at the early stage and inhibited at the later stage. A western blot analysis showed that the lipopeptides induced apoptosis in Caco-2 cells via a mitochondrial-dependent pathway, as indicated by upregulated expression of the apoptotic genes bax and bad and downregulated expression of the antiapoptotic gene bcl-2. The induction of paraptosis in Caco-2 cells was indicated by the occurrence of many cytoplasmic vacuoles accompanied by endoplasmic reticulum (ER) dilatation and mitochondrial swelling and dysfunction. ER stress also occurred with significant increases in reactive oxygen species and Ca²⁺ levels in cells. Autophagy was detected by a transmission electron microscopy analysis and by upregulated expression of LC3-II and downregulated expression of LC3-I. The inhibition of autophagy at the later stage was shown by upregulated expression of p62. This study revealed the capability of iturin A-like B. subtilis lipopeptides to simultaneously execute antitumor potential via multiple pathways.     

Blocking P2X7 receptor ameliorates oxidized LDL-mediated podocyte apoptosis

Molecular Biology Reports - The purpose of our research is to elucidate whether oxLDL activates P2X7R in cultured human podocytes and if the activation of P2X7R leads to podocyte apoptosis....