一种新型免疫层析技术在临床乳腺癌Her-2蛋白定量检测中的应用

建立一种靶点蛋白质快速定量检测方法。在原有侧向流动免疫层析技术的基础上,通过优化层析材料和纳米微球的均一性、改进检测区的检测方法,经逐点扫描技术,建立标准浓度曲线,以达到对临床靶点蛋白质的定量检测。以乳腺癌组织中的Her2表达为例,通过对已知浓度样品的检测,验证本技术方法的准确度大于96%。另外,以蛋白质免疫印迹作为组织中特定蛋白质检测金标准,分析临床肿瘤组织中Her2蛋白的含量,其准确率也达到95.5%,而免疫组织化学方法检测准确率仅为69.58%。新型免疫层析法检测结果与靶向治疗患者的愈后密切相关(P<0.01)。改进后的新型免疫层析方法能够准确地对临床靶点蛋白质进行定量检测,而且结合侧向流动技术的简单、快速和易用性,这种新型检测方法可以广泛应用于临床组织标本、血液标本和体液标本中靶点蛋白质的临场定量检测,在一定程度上可以替代免疫组化技术。     

Planning connectivity at multiple scales for large mammals in a human-dominated biodiversity hotspot

Connectivity for large mammals across human-altered landscapes results from movement by individuals that can be described via nested spatial scales as linkages (or zones or areas) with compatible land use types, constrictions that repeatedly funnel movement (as corridors) or impede it (as barriers), and the specific paths (or routes) across completely anthropogenic features (such as highways). Mitigation to facilitate animal movement through such landscapes requires similar attention to spatial scale, particularly when they involve complex topography, diverse types of human land use, and transportation infrastructure. We modeled connectivity for Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) and gaur (Bos gaurus) in the Shencottah Gap, a multiple-use region separating two tiger reserves in the Western Ghats, India. Using 840 km of surveys for animal signs within a region of 621 km², we modeled landscape linkages via resource selection functions integrated across two spatial resolutions, and then potential dispersal corridors within these linkages using circuit theoretical models. Within these corridors, we further identified potential small-scale movement paths across a busy transportation route via least-cost paths and evaluated their viability. Both elephants and gaur avoided human-dominated habitat, resulting in broken connectivity across the Shencottah Gap. Predicted corridor locations were sensitive to analysis resolution, and corridors derived from scale-integrated habitat models correlated best with habitat quality. Less than 1% of elephant and gaur detections occurred in habitat that was poorer in quality than the lowest-quality component of the movement path across the transportation route, suggesting that connectivity will require habitat improvement. Only 28% of dispersal corridor area and 5% of movement path length overlapped with the upper 50% quantile of the landscape linkage; thus, jointly modeling these three components enabled a more nuanced evaluation of connectivity than any of them in isolation.     

The binding,transport and fate of aluminium in biological cells

Aluminium is the most abundant metal in the Earth's crust and yet, paradoxically, it has no known biological function. Aluminium is biochemically reactive, it is simply that it is not required for any essential process in extant biota. There is evidence neither of element-specific nor evolutionarily conserved aluminium biochemistry. This means that there are no ligands or chaperones which are specific to its transport, there are no transporters or channels to selectively facilitate its passage across membranes, there are no intracellular storage proteins to aid its cellular homeostasis and there are no pathways which evolved to enable the metabolism and excretion of aluminium. Of course, aluminium is found in every compartment of every cell of every organism, from virus through to Man. Herein we have investigated each of the ‘silent’ pathways and metabolic events which together constitute a form of aluminium homeostasis in biota, identifying and evaluating as far as is possible what is known and, equally importantly, what is unknown about its uptake, transport, storage and excretion.     

Feeding ecology of western lowland gorillas in the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park,Congo

The feeding ecology of western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) living in the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park, northern Congo, was surveyed for one full year. This is the first record to make clear the seasonal changes in the feeding habits of gorillas in a whole year, living in the primary lowland forest almost completely undisturbed. Fecal contents, feeding traces, and direct observation were analyzed with reference to a fruit availability survey. Although the gorillas fed largely on fruits in the forest, their basic diet was fibrous parts of plants, including shoots, young leaves, and bark. Terrestrial herbaceous vegetation, such as monocotyledons of the Marantaceae and aquatic herbs having much protein content and minerals, were frequently eaten even in the fruiting season. As these highly nutritious fibrous foods were superabundant all year, the major foods of the Ndoki gorillas seemed to be those plants. However, they selected fruits as their alternative food resources in the fruiting season. Gorillas foraged on many fruit species, while showing strong preferences for some particular species. The swamp forest, including marshy grasslands, was an important and regular habitat for the Ndoki gorillas.     

Field Hypothesis on the Self-regulation of Gene Expression

The mechanism of the self-regulation of gene expression in living cells is generally explained by considering complicated networks of key-lock relationships, and in fact there is a large body of evidence on a hugenumber of key-lock relationships. However, in the present article we stress that with the network hypothesis alone it is impossible to fully explain the mechanism of self-regulation in life. Recently, it has been established that individual giant DNA molecules, larger than several tens of kilo base pairs, undergo a large discrete transition in their higher-order structure. It has become clear that nonspecific weak interactions with various chemicals, suchas polyamines, small salts, ATP and RNA, cause on/off switching in the higher-order structure of DNA. Thus, the field parameters of the cellular environment should play important roles in the mechanism of self-regulation, in addition to networks of key and locks. This conformational transition induced by field parameters may be related to rigid on/off regulation, whereas key-lock relationships may be involved in a more flexible control of gene expression.     

DNA replication stress: Causes,resolution and disease

DNA replication is a fundamental process of the cell that ensures accurate duplication of the genetic information and subsequent transfer to daughter cells. Various pertubations, originating from endogenous or exogenous sources, can interfere with proper progression and completion of the replication process, thus threatening genome integrity. Coordinated regulation of replication and the DNA damage response is therefore fundamental to counteract these challenges and ensure accurate synthesis of the genetic material under conditions of replication stress. In this review, we summarize the main sources of replication stress and the DNA damage signaling pathways that are activated in order to preserve genome integrity during DNA replication. We also discuss the association of replication stress and DNA damage in human disease and future perspectives in the field.