ICAM-1 expression in vaginal cells as a potential biomarker for inflammatory response

This study aimed to elucidate the mechanisms that may lead to an efficient strategy to induce a suitable host response of the vaginal mucosa upon exposure to intravaginally delivered exogenous compounds. It was hypothesized that the upregulation of intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1 gene expression may reflect the inflammatory response evoked by exogenous compounds. Major emphasis was placed on ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) which was added as a synergistic agent to conventional spermicidal agents or anti-HIV drugs. The levels of ICAM-1 mRNA were examined as a surrogate marker for inflammatory response in human vaginal epithelial cells upon exposure to EDTA or interleukin (IL)-1β (i.e. positive control, 25 mM). The effects of estrogen on EDTA-induced ICAM-1 expression were also evaluated for the estrogen involvement in the inflammatory process of the vaginal mucosa. ICAM-1 expression in human vaginal cells (VK2/E6E7 cells) increased as EDTA concentration added to human vaginal cell lines increased. The effects of estrogen on EDTA-induced ICAM-1 expression in human vaginal epithelial cells were estrogen-concentration dependent; estrogen at lower concentrations (∼1-10 nM) did not affect ICAM-1 expression, whereas estrogen at higher concentrations (∼100 nM-1 µM) attenuated ICAM-1 expression. The influence of estrogen in ICAM-1 expression suggests the beneficial effects of estrogen on the regulation of vaginal homeostasis. Identification and quantification of specific surrogate markers for the inflammatory response evoked by exogenous compounds and their regulation by estrogen will lead to an efficient strategy against sexually transmitted diseases including AIDS.     

IgE against food and respiratory allergens in healthy and allergic mothers and their children

IgE against mixtures of common food or respiratory allergens were determined by ELISA in healthy (n = 38) and allergic (n = 62) mothers and their children. Significantly higher level of IgE against respiratory allergens was found in sera of allergic mothers and in cord blood of their children. No correlation between antibody level in maternal and newborn's sera was found; this argues against the transfer of IgE from mother to fetus and points rather to offspring's intrauterine sensitization. Specific IgE level in cord blood was higher in children who developed later allergy than in children who did not. Specific IgE level in colostrum was low both in healthy and allergic mothers; there was no correlation between high concentration of IgE against respiratory allergens in sera of allergic mothers and their colostrum, which does not support the idea of IgE transport from blood to mammary gland. Only slightly increased colostral IgE was detected in allergic mothers whose children manifested allergy later. Allergy of the mother and high level of anti-allergen IgE in her serum and in cord blood are the main predictive factors of future occurrence of allergy in the offspring. A combination of several predictive factors could have higher prognostic value.     

种子脱水耐性与糖的关系

糖类在植物种子中的累积随种子的发育阶段和种子类型不同而不同,并与种子脱水耐性的变化相联系。许多正常性植物种子的发育伴随着某些糖的累积,这些糖的累积已被认为在种子脱水耐性获得中起重要作用。但糖对种子脱水耐性的影响不是单独的,而是与ABA和蛋白质等物质协同作用。种子脱水耐性不仅与糖的种类和含量有关,而且与种子所处的生理状态和发育进程有关。本文综述了种子脱水耐性与糖关系的研究进展。     

利用GeneHub软件分析人类染色体相邻基因的表达相关性

利用我们研制的基因信息融合分析软件GeneHub,按染色体开窗的方法将人类基因组沿着染色体划分为一系列基因群,用不同的相关测度(Pearson相关、Spearman秩相关、欧氏距离)考察这些基因群中所有基因间在二套独立的基因表达谱数据中的平均表达相关性。实验结果表明,与随机基因群相比,染色体上的邻近基因具有显著的表达相关性。约有40％的被检测基因包含于我们检测到的邻近相似表达基因群中。该现象提示真核生物中的基因存在模块化的共表达趋势。     

Connectivity and resilience of coral reef metapopulations in marine protected areas: matching empirical efforts to predictive needs

Design and decision-making for marine protected areas (MPAs) on coral reefs require prediction of MPA effects with population models. Modeling of MPAs has shown how the persistence of metapopulations in systems of MPAs depends on the size and spacing of MPAs, and levels of fishing outside the MPAs. However, the pattern of demographic connectivity produced by larval dispersal is a key uncertainty in those modeling studies. The information required to assess population persistence is a dispersal matrix containing the fraction of larvae traveling to each location from each location, not just the current number of larvae exchanged among locations. Recent metapopulation modeling research with hypothetical dispersal matrices has shown how the spatial scale of dispersal, degree of advection versus diffusion, total larval output, and temporal and spatial variability in dispersal influence population persistence. Recent empirical studies using population genetics, parentage analysis, and geochemical and artificial marks in calcified structures have improved the understanding of dispersal. However, many such studies report current self-recruitment (locally produced settlement/settlement from elsewhere), which is not as directly useful as local retention (locally produced settlement/total locally released), which is a component of the dispersal matrix. Modeling of biophysical circulation with larval particle tracking can provide the required elements of dispersal matrices and assess their sensitivity to flows and larval behavior, but it requires more assumptions than direct empirical methods. To make rapid progress in understanding the scales and patterns of connectivity, greater communication between empiricists and population modelers will be needed. Empiricists need to focus more on identifying the characteristics of the dispersal matrix, while population modelers need to track and assimilate evolving empirical results.     

Significant Deviations in the Configurations of Homologous Tandem Repeats in Prokaryotic Genomes

We explored the possibilities of whole-genome duplication (WGD) in prokaryotic species,where we performed statistical analyses of the configurations of the central angles between homologous tandem repeats (TRs) on the circular chromosomes.At first,we detected TRs on their chromosomes and identified equivalent tandem repeat pairs (ETRPs); here,an ETRP is defined as a pair of tandem repeats sequentially similar to each other.Then we carried out statistical analyses of the central angle distributions of the de...     

在墨尔本召开的第18届国际植物学大会做出的有关名称发表要求的变化——电子出版物对你意味着什么？

《国际植物命名法规》的修订由每六年一次的国际植物学大会（IBC）命名分会来决定。第18届国际植物学大会在澳大利亚墨尔本举行;命名分会于2011年7月18日至22日召开,其决议获得7月30日的全体会议通过。“墨尔本法规”有几个重要的变化,将影响新名称的发表。这些变化中的两个将在“墨尔本法规”出版前的几个月,即于2012年1月1日起生效。通过以移动文档格式（Portable Document Format;pdf）在线发表的具有国际标准连续出版物号（ISSN）或国际标准图书编号（ISBN）的电子出版物,将构成有效发表。新分类群名称的合格发表所必须的拉丁文描述或特征集要将更改为拉丁文或英文描述或特征集要。此外,自2013年1月1日起,被处理为真菌的生物的新名称必须在原始资料（某一名称合格发表时与之有关的所有资料）中引证一个由一家公认的存储库（例如MycoBank）签发的标识码,才构成合格发表。本文提供了有关电子出版物的新规则的草案文本,并概述了相应的最佳做法。     

Allelic Analyses of the Arabidopsis YUC1 Locus Reveal Residues and Domains Essential for the Functions of YUC Family of Flavin Monooxygenases

Flavin monooxygenases(FMOs) play critical roles in plant growth and development by synthesizing auxin and other signaling molecules.However,the structure and function relationship within plant FMOs is not understood.Here we defined the important residues and domains of the Arabidopsis YUC1 FMO,a key enzyme in auxin biosynthesis.We previously showed that simultaneous inactivation of YUC1 and its homologue YUC4 caused severe defects in vascular and floral development.We mutagenized the yuc4 mutant and screene...     

Possible Influence of B Chromosomes on Genes Included in Immune Response and Parasite Burden in Apodemus flavicollis

Genetic background underlying wild populations immune response to different parasites is still not well understood. We studied immune response to multiple infections and to competition between different parasite species at different developmental stages in population of yellow-necked mouse, Apodemus flavicollis. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to investigate associations of MHC II-DRB, IL-10 and Tgf-β genes expressions with presence of intestinal parasites at different developmental stages. Furthermore, we were interested whether the host related characteristics (sex, age, body condition, presence of B chromosomes or expression of other genes) or characteristics of present parasites (number of adult parasites of each identified species, egg count of each parasite genus, total number of nematode individuals) affect differential expression of the studied genes. A significant invert association between the expression of MHC II-DRB and Tgf-β gene was found, which together with absence of IL-10 association confirmed modified Th2 as the main type of immune response to nematode infections. Effect of recorded parasites and parasite life-cycle stage on expression levels of MHC II-DRB gene was detected only through interactions with host-related characteristics such as sex, age, and the presence of B chromosomes. The presence of B chromosomes is associated with lower expression level of Tgf-β gene. Although the influence of host genetic background on parasite infection has already been well documented, this is the first study in mammals that gave presence of B chromosomes on immune response full consideration.     

Prevalence of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus in Healthy Population,Livestock and Ticks in Kosovo

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is an acute, tick borne disease often associated with hemorrhagic presentations and high case fatality rate. Kosovo is a highly endemic area for CCHF, with a significant case fatality rate. The aim of our study was to determine the prevalence of CCHF in Kosovo. We tested 1105 serum samples from healthy population in both endemic and non-endemic areas in the country. Our results revealed a seroprevalence of 4.0% (range 0–9.3%) which is comparable to the seroprevalence in other countries. We show that seroprevalence is correlated to the disease incidence in each studied municipality. We also tested 401 animal sera (353 cow, 30 sheep, 10 goat and 8 chicken) in four endemic municipalities in Kosovo. We detected specific antibodies in all animals except in chicken. Seroprevalence in cows is comparable to other endemic areas and correlates to the seroprevalence in humans. No CCHF RNA could be detected in 105 tick samples obtained in 2012 and 2013. Sequencing of CCHFV positive ticks from 2001 revealed that the virus is most closely related to viral strains that were detected in CCHF patients from Kosovo. Results suggest that mild CCHF cases are most probably underdiagnosed and consequently that the burden of disease is higher than reported. Our study provides key information for CCHF surveillance and raises awareness for possible imported cases in CCHF non-endemic countries.