罗霄山脉翼手目物种多样性及适生区预测

罗霄山脉位于中国大陆东南部, 是一条南北走向的大型山脉, 面积约6.76万km²。该山脉位于欧亚大陆东部季风区, 生物多样性丰富, 是亚洲东部第三纪冰期动物重要的避难所。为了解罗霄山脉翼手目物种多样性状况, 本研究组于2013-2018年, 使用雾网、手网和竖琴网等工具开展了针对性调查与标本采集, 同时运用形态分类学和分子系统发生学方法鉴定物种。根据调查结果并结合文献记载: 罗霄山脉地区现有翼手目物种4科14属40种, 其中罗霄山脉翼手目新记录种25种, 省级翼手目分布新记录种9种。同时, 本研究基于5年的调查采集位点, 使用生物多样 性与气候变化虚拟实验室(the Biodiversity & Climate Change Virtual Laboratory)在线生境预测平台, 对罗霄山脉翼手目物种当前的适生区, 以及3种不同量温室气体排放情景下(representative concentration pathway, RCP 2.6 / 6.0 / 8.5) 2050年的适生区进行预测, 其中随机森林算法(random forest)的模型解释力较优, 其预测结果显示: 影响该区域翼手目分布的主要环境因子为降水季节性和年平均温度; 山脉中部及南部为翼手目的高适生区, 面积约为罗霄山脉的30%; 与当前适生区相比, RCP 2.6情景下2050年该类群适生区有所扩增, RCP 6.0和RCP 8.5情景下均会导致翼手目适生区急剧缩减, 且分布区将迁移至高海拔区域以响应气候变化。而本项目的开展不仅初步掌握了罗霄山脉翼手目物种多样性本底状况, 也为开展后续的翼手目研究和保护管理提供了参考。     

Phenotypic and genetic dissection of cadmium accumulation in roots,nodes and grains of rice hybrids

Plant and Soil - Rice accumulates higher levels of cadmium (Cd) in grain than other cereals, and hybrid rice varieties cover around half of the total rice area in China. Therefore, understanding...     

Five candidate biomarkers associated with the diagnosis and prognosis of cervical cancer

Purpose: Cervical cancer (CC) is one of the most general gynecological malignancies and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. We aimed to select candidate genes related to the diagnosis and prognosis of CC.Methods: The mRNA expression profile datasets were downloaded. We also downloaded RNA-sequencing gene expression data and related clinical materials from TCGA, which included 307 CC samples and 3 normal samples. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained by R software. GO function analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis of DEGs were performed in the DAVID dataset. Using machine learning, the optimal diagnostic mRNA biomarkers for CC were identified. We used qRT-PCR and Human Protein Atlas (HPA) database to exhibit the differences in gene and protein levels of candidate genes.Results: A total of 313 DEGs were screened from the microarray expression profile datasets. DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1), Chromatin Assembly Factor 1, subunit B (CHAF1B), Chromatin Assembly Factor 1, subunit A (CHAF1A), MCM2, CDKN2A were identified as optimal diagnostic mRNA biomarkers for CC. Additionally, the GEPIA database showed that the DNMT1, CHAF1B, CHAF1A, MCM2 and CDKN2A were associated with the poor survival of CC patients. HPA database and qRT-PCR confirmed that these genes were highly expressed in CC tissues.Conclusion: The present study identified five DEmRNAs, including DNMT1, CHAF1B, CHAF1A, MCM2 and Kinetochore-related protein 1 (KNTC1), as potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers of CC.     

Reliable Method for Fabricating Tissue‐Mimicking Materials With Designated Relative Permittivity and Conductivity at 128 MHz

Artificial materials that can simultaneously mimic the relative permittivity and conductivity of various human tissues are usually used in medical applications. However, the method of precisely designing these materials with designated values of both relative permittivity and conductivity at 3 T MRI resonance frequency is lacking. In this study, a reliable method is established to determine the compositions of artificial dielectric materials with designated relative permittivity and conductivity at 128 MHz. Sixty dielectric materials were produced using oil, sodium chloride, gelatin, and deionized water as the main raw materials. The dielectric properties of these dielectric materials were measured using the open‐ended coaxial line method at 128 MHz. Nonlinear least‐squares Marquardt–Levenberg algorithm was used to obtain the formula, establishing the relationship between the compositions of the dielectric materials and their dielectric properties at 128 MHz. The dielectric properties of the blood, gall bladder, muscle, skin, lung, and bone at 128 MHz were selected to verify the reliability of the obtained formula. For the obtained formula, the coefficient of determination and the expanded uncertainties with a coverage factor of k = 2 were 0.991% and 4.9% for relative permittivity and 0.992% and 6.4% for conductivity. For the obtained artificial materials measured using the open‐ended coaxial line method, the maximal difference of relative permittivity and conductivity were 1.0 and 0.02 S/m, respectively, with respect to the designated values. In conclusion, the compositions of tissue‐mimicking material can be quickly determined after the establishment of the formulas with the expanded uncertainties of less than 10%. Bioelectromagnetics. 2021;42:86–94. © 2020 Bioelectromagnetics Society.     

Studies on the effects of bone marrow stem cells on mitochondrial function and the alleviation of ARDS

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry - Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can alleviate acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), but the mechanisms involved are unclear, especially about their...     

Astragaloside IV alleviates atherosclerosis through targeting circ_0000231/miR-135a-5p/CLIC4 axis in AS cell model in vitro

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry - Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) have shown to act as crucial mediators in atherosclerosis (AS) development. The purpose of our study was to explore the role of...     

SRC-3 Deficiency Exacerbates Neurological Deficits in a Mouse Model of Intracerebral Hemorrhage: Role of Oxidative Stress

Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) causes long term neurological abnormality or death. Oxidative stress is closely involved in ICH mediated brain damage. Steroid receptor cofactor 3 (SRC-3), a p160 family member, is widely expressed in the brain and regulates transactivation of Nrf2, a key component of antioxidant response. Our study aims to test if SRC-3 is implicated in ICH mediated brain injury. We first examined levels of SRC-3 and oxidative stress in the brain of mice following ICH and analyzed their correlation. Then ICH was induced in wild type (WT) and SRC-3 knock out mice and how SRC-3 deletion affected ICH induced brain damage, oxidative stress and behavioral outcome was assessed. We found that SRC-3 mRNA and protein expression levels were reduced gradually after ICH induction in WT mice along with an increase in oxidative stress levels. Correlation analysis revealed that SRC-3 mRNA levels negatively correlated with oxidative stress. Deletion of SRC-3 further increased ICH induced brain edema, neurological deficit score and oxidative stress and exacerbated ICH induced behavioral abnormality including motor dysfunction and cognitive impairment. Our findings suggest that SRC-3 is involved in ICH induced brain injury, probably through modulation of oxidative stress.