Design, synthesis, and biological activity of novel factor Xa inhibitors: 4-aryloxy substituents of 2,6-diphenoxypyridines

A novel series of triaryloxypyridines have been designed to inhibit factor Xa, a serine protease strategically located in the coagulation cascade. Inhibitor 5e has a K(I) against factor Xa of 0.12nM and is greater than 8000- and 2000-fold selective over two related serine proteases, thrombin and trypsin, respectively. The 4-position of the central pyridine has been identified as a site that tolerates various substitutions without deleterious effects on potency and selectivity. This suggests that the 4-position of the pyridine ring is an ideal site for chemical modifications to identify inhibitors with improved pharmacokinetic characteristics. This investigation has resulted in inhibitor 5d, which has an oral availability of 6% in dogs. The synthesis, in vitro activity, and in vivo profile of this class of inhibitors is outlined.     

Vitamin D receptor agonist/histone deacetylase inhibitor molecular hybrids

Incorporation of zinc-binding groups into the side-chain of 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D₃ (1,25D) fully bifunctional hybrid molecules which act both as vitamin D receptor agonists and histone deacetylase inhibitors. These bifunctional hybrids display in vitro antiproliferative activity against the AT84 squamous carcinoma cell line while lacking the in vivo hypercalcemic effects of 1,25D.     

Phenotypic Characteristics and Fatty Acid Composition of Seeds from Different Herbaceous Peony Species Native to China

Herbaceous peony has been widely cultivated in China due to its substantial ornamental and medicinal value. In the present study, the phenotypic characteristics, total fatty acid (FA) content, and nine FA compositions of herbaceous peony seeds from 14 populations belonging to six species and one subspecies were determined by normal test and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The results showed that the phenotypic characteristics of seeds varied dramatically among species. The concentrations of five major FAs in seed oils were as follows: linoleic acid (173.95–236.51 μg/mg), linolenic acid (227.82–302.71 μg/mg), oleic acid (135.32–208.81 μg/mg), stearic acid (6.52–11.7 μg/mg), and palmitic acid (30.67–47.64 μg/mg). Correlation analysis demonstrated that oleic acid had the highest partial correlation coefficient with total FAs and might be applied to develop a model of phenotypic characteristics. FAs were significantly influenced by the following environmental factors: latitude, elevation, and annual average temperature. Based on the FA levels in the seed oils, clustering analysis divided 14 populations into two clusters. It was found that the average contents of oleic acid, linoleic acid, and total FAs in cluster I (147.16 μg/mg, 200.31 μg/mg, and 671.24 μg/mg, respectively) were significantly lower than those in cluster II (196.65 μg/mg, 220.16 μg/mg, and 741.78 μg/mg, respectively). Cluster I was perfectly consistent with subsect. Foliolatae, while cluster II was in good agreement with subsect. Dissectifoliae. Therefore, the FA composition of wild herbaceous peony seed oil might be used as a chemotaxonomic marker.     

洞庭湖区重引入麋鹿的可行性研究

洞庭湖湖区湿地是麋鹿（Elaphurus davidianus)的古栖息地。为了使麋鹿重返洞庭湖,2000－2001年,我们考察了湖北石首天鹅洲麋鹿自然保护区,北京麋鹿苑和江苏大丰麋鹿自然保护区的麋鹿种群,勘察洞庭湖区岳阳市,常德市和益阳市的10处洲滩,发现湖南汉寿县枝桔林垸,华容县集成垸与湖北天鹅洲麋鹿自然保护区的自然条件相似,是洞庭湖区麋鹿重引入的适宜地点。于是,我们对桔林垸和集成垸的自然条件和动植物资源等进行了调查,并对麋鹿喜食植物的生物量进行了抽样调查,确定了环境容纳量。集成垸的植被有3个植被型组,有维管植物75科189属264种,可用于放养麋鹿的面积为2000hm^2,麋鹿夏季喜食植物有50种,其鲜重21158．4吨,麋鹿环境容纳量为1000余头。桔林垸在1998年退田还湖后,天然植被恢复很快,其植被类型有3个植被型组,有维管植物75科189属250余种,具有麋鹿夏季喜食的植物52种,其鲜重达18859．0吨,可供9408余头麋鹿生存。其适合放养麋鹿面积为1703．1hm^2,环境容纳量在850头麋鹿以上。无论从气候还是从食物,环境容纳量来看,桔林垸和集成垸均适合重新引入麋鹿。本文讨论了再引入麋鹿的人类协助性措施。保证生存空间,防治疾病,生境改造和种群与生境监测等,以期最终在洞庭湖湿地恢复麋鹿自然种群。     

三峡大老岭山地常绿落叶阔叶混交林林隙干扰研究 I．林隙基本特征

为探讨我国亚热带山地常绿落叶阔叶混交林的林隙干扰特征,对三峡大老岭地区这一植被类型进行调查,分析了植被中林隙的数量、类型及成因;林隙形成木（GM）的类型、数量、物种构成和径级结构,以及林隙和GM的多尺度空间格局特征。结果表明1）林隙密度为11.7个*hm-2;冠林隙和扩展林隙分别占森林面积的11.09%和27.06%。平均每个林窗的形成木为4.5株;单株GM形成的林隙只占17.46%,其中翻倒木集群性最强。对林隙形成的贡献大小次序是翻倒木>折干>枯立>折枝。2）林隙成因方面冬雪和春、秋冻雨的影响最大;病害影响其次;树木间的牵连和撞击扩大了林隙的范围;陡峭的地形增大林隙形成的机率;干旱的影响很小。3）68种GM主要是森林建群种;常绿树种形成林隙的平均机率高于落叶种。4）GM的胸径结构表明本地森林林隙干扰十分频繁。     

肝脏发育相关信号通路

肝脏发育从肝芽的出现开始,到肝祖细胞的形成,接着肝祖细胞的增殖、分化和迁移,直至最后器官的形成,经历了复杂的细胞信号调控过程。本文综述了肝脏发育过程中常见的信号调控作用,包括成纤维生长因子(fibroblast growth factor,FGF)、骨形态发生蛋白(bone morphogenetic protein,BMP)、β-转化生长因子(transforming growth factor-β,TGF-β)、肝细胞生长因子(hepatocyte growth factor,HGF)和Wnt等信号通路,并重点讨论了在胚胎阶段调控肝脏发育的信号途径以及肝细胞和胆管细胞发育成熟过程中的信号因子作用,最后对肝脏再生相关的信号调控进行了简要介绍。     

海菜花（水鳖科）-新变种-嵩明海菜花

报道了海菜花-新变种-嵩明海菜花（Ottelia acuminata var．songmingensis Z．T．Jiang,H．Li et Z．L．Dao）。该变种与原变种的区别在于叶片带状厚纸质,不透明,叶尖钝圆或具短尖。     

Characterization of fall armyworm mitochondrial DNA (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Mitochondrial DNA from the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith), was cloned and characterized using restriction enzyme mapping. Genome size is approximately 16.3 kilobase (Kb), consistent with that of most animals. Three fragments, 8.1 Kb, 6.2 Kb, and 2.0 Kb, were produced by digestion with restriction enzyme Xbal and cloned into a pUC19 vector. Twenty-nine restriction enzymes were used to generate a detailed physical restriction enzyme map of the three cloned fragments. These data represent the first detailed characterization of a lepidopteran mitochondrial genome. © 1992 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Association between Telomere Length and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Meta-Analysis

Background

Several epidemiological studies have examined the association between shortened telomere length and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), while the results remained conflicting. We conducted a meta-analysis to derive a more precise estimation of the relationship between them.

Methods

We systematically reviewed the databases of PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science for all studies on the association between telomere length and T2DM. We conducted this study assessed by STATA 11.0. Data were summarized using random-effects or fixed-effects meta-analysis. The heterogeneity and publication bias among studies were examined by using χ²-based Q statistic test and Egger’s test, respectively.

Results

Nine cohorts consisting of 5759 cases and 6518 controls were selected into the meta-analysis. The results indicated that shortened telomere length was significantly associated with T2DM risk (OR: 1.291; 95% CI: 1.112, 1.498; P<0.001) with heterogeneity (I² = 71.6%). When three cohorts responsible for the heterogeneity were excluded, the pooled OR for the remaining cohorts indicated a significant association between shortened telomere length and T2DM (OR: 1.117; 95% CI: 1.002, 1.246; P = 0.045) without heterogeneity.

Conclusion

We found a statistically significant association between shortened telomere length and T2DM.