Revealing the Circadian Rhythm of Taliang Crocodile Newt(Liangshantriton taliangensis) During Breeding Migration Using a Novel Monitoring Technique

Many animals migrate during the breeding season. It is important to study the patterns of breeding migration of wild animals, especially rare and endangered species. However, current data acquisition methods are too coarse and imprecise for investigating the circadian rhythms of migrations in amphibians. Based on the frustrated total reflection image(FTRI), we developed a new device and recorded the precise migration time of an endangered salamander, Liangshantriton taliangensis.During the breed...     

六种鲤科鱼类核仁组织者区的研究

采用银染及荧光染色技术,对6种鲤科鱼的NORs进行了研究。结果表明：这6种鲤科鱼中瓦氏雅罗鱼、花 、麦穗鱼、白甲鱼具有2个NORs,长春鳊、墨头鱼具有4个NORs。根据实验研究结果对鲤科鱼类NORs多态性及演化等进行了讨论。 The NORs were examined in 6 species of Cyprinidae by both silver nitrate and chromomycin A3,which led to the detections of 2 NORs in 4 species(Leuciscus waleckii,Hemibarbus maculates,Pseudorasbora parva,and Varicorhinus simus)and of 4 NORs in 2 species (Parabramis pekinensis,and Garra pingi pingi).Based on our results,the variation and evolution of fish NORs were discussed.     

Effect of vitrification on meiotic maturation and expression of genes in immature goat cumulus oocyte complexes

The aim of the study was to evaluate meiotic maturation, and expression of genes coding for oocyte secreted factors (GDF9, BMP15, TGFBR1, and BPR2) and apoptosis (BCL2, BAX and P53) after vitrification of immature goat cumulus oocyte complexes (COCs) and in vitro maturation. COCs were vitrified in a solution containing ethylene glycol, dimethyl sulfoxide and sucrose using either a conventional straw (CS), open pulled straw (OPS), cryoloop (CL), hemistraw (HS) or cryotop (CT). Freshly collected COCs (Control), COCs exposed to vitrification and dilution solutions without cryopreservation (EC) and vitrified-warmed COCs were matured in vitro for 27h. The viability of vitrified-warmed COCs 2 h post warming and in vitro maturation was similar for CL, HS and CT. The proportion of oocytes that extruded a 1st polar body and reached TI/MII was significantly higher with CT and HS followed by CL, OPS and CS. Gene expression of GDF9, BMP15, BMPR2, BAX and P53 were comparable to control levels for OPS, CL, HS and CT. The gene expression pattern in CS vitrified COCs was by contrast changed in that GDF9, BMP15, TGFBR1 and BAX were up regulated and BMPR2, BCL2 and P53 down regulated. In conclusion immature goat COCs vitrified using CT and HS showed that viability, maturation rates and expression of genes coding for oocyte secreted factors and apoptosis were similar to non-vitrified controls.     

不良孕产夫妇着丝粒-动粒复合体的细胞遗传学研究

为研究不良孕产夫妇染色体着丝粒-动粒复合体(centromerekinetochorecomplex,CKC)变异与不良孕产的相关性,探索不良孕产中非整倍体形成的细胞遗传学基础,应用改良的着丝粒点-核仁组织区(Cd-NOR)同步银染技术,分别对53对不明原因的不良孕产夫妇和57对已生育正常儿的正常夫妇外周血淋巴细胞染色体CKC变异类型及频率进行研究和分析.结果发现,不良孕产夫妇其小Cd、Cd消失、Cd迟滞和Cd-NOR融合频率均较正常对照组明显增高,两者相比有显著性差异(P＜0.05).CKC变异频率增高可能是导致不良孕产非整倍体形成的主要原因之一。 Abstract:To search the cytogenctic mechanism of adverse pregnancy,a study was carried out on 110 couples,57 of them with unexplained adverse pregnancy and 57 served as a control.A technique for the simultaneous staining of both nucleolar organizer regions and kinetochores of human chromosomes with silver was used.The results showed that the variations of chromosomal centromere kinetochore complex (CKC) in couples with adverse pregnancy were significantly high than of the control.The variations of CKC may be the main reason for the chromosomal nondisjunction during meiosis that is attributed to the adverse pregnancy.     

Evolutionary trace analysis of eukaryotic DNA topoisomerase I superfamily: Identification of novel antitumor drug binding site

During protein evolutionary processes, protein fam-ily members undergo extensive random mutations and a long period of natural selections, and thus induce the functional evolution and the emergence of subfamily. The evolutionary variation events were recorded in the sequences of protein family members. Therefore, identification of functionally important residues can be achieved by studying residue conservation in protein sequence families. Generally, the residues conserved across the family of…     

Current progress of China＇s free ART program

China＇s Free ART Program was initiated in 2002 as an emergency response to save and improve the lives of AIDS patients living mainly in impoverished rural regions of central China. With little experience in HIV/AIDS treatment and care and resource limitations, China＇s efforts to provide widespread access to free antiretroviral therapy has been a process fraught with difficulty. However, the Free ART Program is progressing from an emergency response to a standardized treatment and care system. The development of national guidelines, training programs, a laboratory support network, a national patient database, programs for special populations such as children and patients living with coinfections, and operational research has improved the scope and quality of the free treatment program. As of June 30, 2005, a total of 19,456 patients in 28 provinces, autonomous regions, and special municipalities had received free ART. Challenges stemming from the nature of China＇s health system and patient population persist, but with strong government support and a diverse set of resources, China has the capacity to overcome these challenges and to provide nationwide access to high quality treatment and care.     

10E8-like neutralizing antibodies against HIV-1 induced using a precisely designed conformational peptide as a vaccine prime

Recent studies have demonstrated that the membrane-proximal external region(MPER)of human immunodeficiency virus 1(HIV-1)glycoprotein 41 contains a series of epitopes for human monoclonal antibodies,including 2F5,Z13e1,4E10,and10E8,which were isolated from HIV-1-infected individuals and show broad neutralizing activities.This suggests that MPER is a good target for the development of effective HIV-1 vaccines.However,many studies have shown that it is difficult to induce antibodies with similar broad neutralizing activities using MPER-based peptide antigens.Here,we report that 10E8-like neutralizing antibodies with effective anti-HIV-1 activity were readily induced using a precisely designed conformational immunogenic peptide containing the 10E8-specific epitope.This immunogenic peptide(designated T10HE)contains a 15-mer MPER-derived 10E8-specific epitope fused to T-helper-cell epitopes from tetanus toxin(tt),which showed a significantly stabilized-helix structure after a series of modifications,including substitution with an(S)--(2-pentenyl)alanine containing an olefin-bearing tether and ruthenium-catalyzed olefin metathesis,compared with the unmodified T10E peptide.The stabilized-helix structure of T10HE did not affect its capacity to bind the 10E8 antibody,as evaluated with an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA)and surface plasmon resonance binding assay(SPR assay).The efficacies of the T10HE and T10E epitope vaccines were evaluated after a standard vaccination procedure in which the experimental mice were primed with either the T10HE or T10E immunogen and boosted with HIV-1 JRFL pseudoviruses.Higher titers of 10E8-like antibodies were induced by T10HE than that by T10E.More importantly,the antibodies induced by T10HE showed enhanced antiviral potency against HIV-1 strains with both X4 and R5 tropism and a greater degree of broad neutralizing activity than the antibodies induced by T10E.These results indicate that a 10E8-epitope-based structure-specific peptide immunogen can elicit neutralizing antibodies when used as a vaccine prime.