MTOR regulates autophagic flux in the glomerulus

Sirolimus (rapamycin), an inhibitor of the mechanistic target of rapamycin (MTOR), was originally proposed as an immunosuppressant to prevent rejection of solid organ transplants. There were expectations that MTOR inhibitors would replace nephrotoxic calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs). Despite its potential advantages, evidence that sirolimus causes de novo or worsening proteinuria is unequivocal. Given the well-recognized proteinuric effect of MTOR inhibitors, we were interested in understanding its role in maintaining the glomerular filtration barrier. To investigate this in vivo, we developed a mouse model with a podocyte selective deletion of the Mtor gene (Mtor pod-KO).     

Antioxidative Responses and Morpho-anatomical Alterations for Coping with Flood-Induced Hypoxic Stress in Grass Pea (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Lathyrus sativus</Emphasis> L.) in Comparison with Pea (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Pisum sativum</Emphasis>)

Flooding stress constrains crop growth and yield because most agricultural species are flood-sensitive. However, many of the plant species that live in permanently or temporarily flooded habitats have evolved specific traits to cope with these harsh conditions. Grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) is a legume that tolerates stresses such as drought, diseases, and pests; however, it is unclear whether grass pea has a tolerance mechanism for flooding stress. To understand if grass pea tolerates hypoxia and how it deals with hypoxic stress, the effects of hypoxia on root tip death, physiological, and morpho-anatomical alterations in grass pea and pea (Pisum sativum), which is sensitive to hypoxia, were compared. The results showed that activities of antioxidant enzymes, namely superoxide dismutase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, and glutathione content in grass pea were greater than in pea during hypoxia, which protected the root tip from oxidative damage and reduced ion leakage, which helped maintain membrane integrity. Furthermore, aerenchyma and lateral root development accompanied by ethylene production, moderate ROS accumulation-mediated cell death, and Ca²⁺ spatial-temporal heterogeneity developed well in grass pea compared to pea, which may not only facilitate internal gas diffusion but also promote removal of toxic by-products under hypoxic conditions. These results demonstrate that grass pea is more tolerant to hypoxic stress induced by flooding than garden pea seedlings. This discovery not only provides significant information for understanding the hypoxia-tolerant mechanisms in plants, but also promotes the usability of grass pea in flood-prone areas.     

A rapid and effective method for purification of a heat-resistant lectin from potato (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Solanum tuberosum</Emphasis>) tubers

The potato lectin has been identified to consist of two chitin-binding modules, each containing twin hevein domains. Based on the thermotolerance of the hevein polypeptide, a simple, rapid, and effective protocol for the small-scale purification of the potato lectin has been developed in this study. The method involves only one anion exchange chromatographic step beyond the ammonium sulfate precipitation and the heating treatment. With this method, the potato lectin, a glycoprotein with molecular mass of approximately 60 kDa was found and purified to homogeneity with 9513.3 u/mg of specific hemagglutination (HA) activity in 76.8% yield. The homogeneity was confirmed by SDS-PAGE electrophoresis and reverse-phase HPLC analysis. The purified lectin was identified using MS-based peptide sequencing (MALDI-TOF/TOF) and showed a 100% Confidence Interval as being homologous to hevein domains in potato lectin. The periodic acid-Schiff staining and ferric-orcinol assay for pentose, as well as its HA activity inhibition by chitosan oligomers further confirmed the purified lectin as a potato chitin-binding lectin. It is noteworthy that the purified potato lectin exhibited heat resistance, by which, together with a short time precipitation by ammonium sulfate, more than 96% of the total proteins in the crude extract were removed. The lectin therefore was easily resolved from the other remining proteins on a DEAE-methyl polyacrylate column.     

Does climate directly influence NPP globally?

The need for rigorous analyses of climate impacts has never been more crucial. Current textbooks state that climate directly influences ecosystem annual net primary productivity (NPP), emphasizing the urgent need to monitor the impacts of climate change. A recent paper challenged this consensus, arguing, based on an analysis of NPP for 1247 woody plant communities across global climate gradients, that temperature and precipitation have negligible direct effects on NPP and only perhaps have indirect effects by constraining total stand biomass (M_tot) and stand age (a). The authors of that study concluded that the length of the growing season (l_gs) might have a minor influence on NPP, an effect they considered not to be directly related to climate. In this article, we describe flaws that affected that study's conclusions and present novel analyses to disentangle the effects of stand variables and climate in determining NPP. We re‐analyzed the same database to partition the direct and indirect effects of climate on NPP, using three approaches: maximum‐likelihood model selection, independent‐effects analysis, and structural equation modeling. These new analyses showed that about half of the global variation in NPP could be explained by M_tot combined with climate variables and supported strong and direct influences of climate independently of M_tot, both for NPP and for net biomass change averaged across the known lifetime of the stands (ABC = average biomass change). We show that l_gs is an important climate variable, intrinsically correlated with, and contributing to mean annual temperature and precipitation (T_ann and P_ann), all important climatic drivers of NPP. Our analyses provide guidance for statistical and mechanistic analyses of climate drivers of ecosystem processes for predictive modeling and provide novel evidence supporting the strong, direct role of climate in determining vegetation productivity at the global scale.     

A high-efficiency,two-dimensional gel electrophoresis platform for mature leaves of grass pea (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Lathyrus sativus</Emphasis> L.)

Grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) is the most drought-tolerant legume crop rich in dietary protein. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms of its drought resistance. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) is an important experiment technique in proteomics, which has been applied extensively in studies on plant resistance to abiotic stress. To establish an effective 2-DE platform and further study the drought-resistance mechanisms of grass pea using proteomic approaches, three protein extraction methods, different isoelectric focusing (IEF) conditions and various types of gel strips were evaluated using mature leaves. The results showed that the trichloroacetic acid (TCA)/acetone protein extraction method, extending time at low voltage for IEF and using 18 cm gel strip with pH 4.0–7.0 were optimum conditions for 2-DE analysis of grass pea leaves. Applying these optimized 2-DE conditions, 1,481 total protein spots were detected in control leaves and 1,346 spots in polyethylene glycol -treated leaves, of which 67 differentially expressed protein spots were obtained relative to the control. These data suggested that an efficient 2-DE platform with high repeatability and resolution for grass pea mature leaves had been established for the first time here, which could be further used to investigate the drought-resistance molecular mechanisms of grass pea.     

山黧豆160年研究历程及进展

在全球范围内曾多次发生因过量食用山黧豆导致神经中毒事件,使得国内外对于山黧豆的种植和利用存在一定的误解和偏见,山黧豆的优良农艺价值和潜在功能食品利用价值也受到一定限制。但山黧豆适应性强、分布范围广,是全球气候变化条件下农业可持续发展和地力维持的优选作物,在食品安全、生态文明建设和乡村振兴新形势下,进一步研究和挖掘利用这一古老的优良作物具有重要的战略意义。山黧豆相关研究报道可追溯到1861年,距今已有160年的历史。在同行学者的不懈努力下,山黧豆基础研究及种质资源利用等方面均取得了显著的阶段性成果。该文系统回顾了山黧豆研究160年以来的发展历程,依托历史文献进行了梳理和分析。首先,基于山黧豆神经活性物质β ODAP的分离和鉴定、神经山黧豆中毒机制的探索、β ODAP生物合成途径解析等重要研究节点将整个山黧豆研究进程划分为山黧豆中毒因素的探索、神经山黧豆中毒机理解析和神经山黧豆中毒及β ODAP生物学功能的再认识等三个阶段。其次,总结了山黧豆在毒理学研究、种质资源利用、品质改良基础研究等方面取得的重要进展。特别是以兰州大学为代表的中国学者在β ODAP的分析检测、生物合成途径、山黧豆生理生态学研究及种质资源利用等方面进行了深入探讨,确立了中国在国际山黧豆研究中的主流地位。最后,针对目前山黧豆分子生物学基础研究相对滞后、种质资源缺乏系统利用等问题进行了展望,提出了未来的重点发展方向,为山黧豆种质资源的进一步深入挖掘和应用提供参考。     

Utility and Necessity of Repeat Testing of Critical Values in the Clinical Chemistry Laboratory

Context

Routine repeat testing of critical values is a long-standing practice in many clinical laboratories; however, its usefulness and necessity remain to be empirically established and no regulatory requirements yet exist for verification of the critical value results obtained by repeat analysis.

Objective

To determine whether repeat testing of critical values is useful and necessary in a clinical chemistry laboratory.

Methods

A total of 601 chemistry critical values (potassium, n = 255; sodium, n = 132; calcium, n = 108; glucose, n = 106) obtained from 72,259 routine clinical chemistry specimens were repeat tested. The absolute value and the percentage of difference between the two testing runs were calculated for each of the four critical values and then compared with the allowable error limit put forth in the College of American Pathologists (CAP).

Results

Among the repeat data for the 601 critical values, a total of 24 showed large differences between the initial result and the repeated result which exceeded the CAP limits for allowable error. The number and rates (%) of large differences for within and outside the analytical measurement range (AMR) were 12 (2.1%) and 12 (41.4%), respectively. For the 572 critical values within the AMR for each test category, the mean absolute difference (mmol/L) and difference(%) between the two testing runs were: potassium, 0.1 mmol/L (2.7%); sodium, 2.1 mmol/L (1.7%); calcium, 0.05 mmol/L (3.0%); glucose, 0.18 mmol/L (2.6%).

Conclusions

When the initial chemistry critical values are within the AMR, repeated testing does not improve accuracy and is therefore unnecessary. When the initial chemistry critical values are outside the AMR, however, the benefit of repeated testing justifies its performance and makes it necessary. Performing repeat clinical testing on a case-by-case, rather than routine, basis can improve patient care by delivering critical values more rapidly while providing savings on reagent costs associated with unnecessary repeat testing.     

星座链球菌引发脑脓肿1例

本文报道1例星座链球菌感染引发脑脓肿的病例。患者,男,54岁,视物成双19天,根据磁共振成像检查结果,不排除结核感染形成的结核球,予以抗结核治疗。同时对脑脊液进行宏基因组测序,结果提示直肠弯曲菌、福赛斯坦纳菌为主要致病菌。追问病史,患者有牙周病,近期左侧上颌疼痛明显。查阅文献有直肠弯曲菌引起颅内脓肿的报道,遂停用抗结核治疗,改用莫西沙星抗菌治疗。患者头痛不适加重,再次复查磁共振成像,提示病灶逐步扩大,病情变化较快,急诊行小脑占位性病变清除术,术中明确为脑脓肿;脑脓肿组织培养提示为星座链球菌。根据药敏给予利奈唑胺抗感染治疗,经综合治疗,患者病情平稳出院。本病例提示,星座链球菌作为一种口腔颌面部的常见感染菌,有可能引发脑脓肿,应引起临床工作者的注意。     

Different categories of biodiversity explain productivity variation after fertilization in a Tibetan alpine meadow community

The relationship between productivity and biodiversity has long been an important issue in ecological research. However, in recent decades, most ecologists have primarily focused on species diversity while paying little attention to functional diversity and phylogenetic diversity (PD), especially in alpine meadow communities following fertilization. In this study, a fertilization experiment involving the addition of nitrogen, phosphorus, and a mixture of both was implemented in an alpine meadow on the Tibetan Plateau. Species diversity, functional diversity, and PD were measured, and the responses of these parameters to the variation in productivity were analyzed. We found that the productivity of alpine plant communities was colimited by N and P, with N being the principal and P being the secondary limiting nutrient. Our results supported the prediction of both the mass ratio hypothesis and niche complementarity hypothesis in fertilized communities, but these hypotheses were not mutually exclusive. The combination of different aspects of biodiversity not only provides a crucial tool to explain the variation in productivity and to understand the underlying mechanisms but also plays an important role in predicting the variation in productivity of alpine meadow communities, which are sensitive to nutrient enrichment in the context of global change.