质粒超螺旋比例对其细胞转染效率及表达的影响

检测质粒开环、闭环比例不同时对其细胞转染效率及表达的影响。构建携带人肝细胞生长因子基因的质粒(pcDNA3-HGF)及携带LacZ报告基因的质粒(pcDNA3-LacZ),用核酸纯化试剂盒提取开环、闭环比例不同的质粒,然后用LipofectAMINE介导它们分别转染NIH3T3细胞,采用X-Gal染色和ELISA法分别观察转染效率和表达活性。结果表明,用超螺旋比例分别为85.45%和48.44%的质粒pcDNA3-LacZ转染生长旺盛的NIH3T3细胞,48h检测转染效率分别为23.4%±3.8%和9.3%±2.5%,前者约是后者的2.5倍。用超螺旋比例分别为93.28%和40.53%的质粒pcDNA3-HGF转染1×106NIH3T3细胞,ELISA法检测48h细胞培养上清中HGF的表达量分别为46.5±6.3ng和25.6±4.2ng,前者是后者的1.8倍。初步认为质粒开环、闭环比例不同对其细胞转染效率及表达有一定影响,超螺旋比例高时其转染效率及表达量较高。     

蒙古国喀尔喀部蒙古族4项群体指趾遗传学特征研究

在内蒙古民族大学调查了160例(男66例,女94例)来自蒙古国的喀尔喀蒙古族留学生的拇指类型、环食指长、指甲形状、足趾长4项群体指趾遗传学特征。研究结果:1)直型拇指率为44.38%,环指长率78.13%,指甲形状长型率58.75%、方型率6.88%、扁型率34.38%,足趾类型拇趾长率35.00%;2)指甲形状出现率性别间差异具统计学意义,两两特征间均未表现出明显相关关系;3)与我国10个蒙古族族群相比,多数差异具有统计学意义。     

ERRATUM: New Body Mass Estimates for Omomys carteri,a Middle Eocene Primate From North America. Am J Phys Anthropol 109:41–52.

Payseur BA, Covert HA, Vinyard CJ, Dagosto M. 1999. New Body Mass Estimates for Omomys carteri, a Middle Eocene Primate From North America. Am J Phys Anthropol 109:41–52. This article included an incomplete Table 2. The final two columns, showing “Intercept” and “SEE” data were omitted. The complete Table 2, with these two columns included, is provided below.     

Double intratibial injection of human tonsil-derived mesenchymal stromal cells recovers postmenopausal osteoporotic bone mass

Background and aims

Osteoporosis, which is a disease characterized by weakening of the bone, affects a large portion of the senior population. The current therapeutic options for osteoporosis have side effects, and there is no effective treatment for severe osteoporosis. Thus, we urgently need new treatment strategies, such as topical therapies and/or safe and effective stem cell therapies.

Inhibition of germination of dormant barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) grains by blue light as related to oxygen and hormonal regulation

Germination of primary dormant barley grains is promoted by darkness and temperatures below 20 °C, but is strongly inhibited by blue light. Exposure under blue light at 10 °C for periods longer than five days, results in a progressive inability to germinate in the dark, considered as secondary dormancy. We demonstrate that the inhibitory effect of blue light is reinforced in hypoxia. The inhibitory effect of blue light is associated with an increase in embryo abscisic acid (ABA) content (by 3.5‐ to 3.8‐fold) and embryo sensitivity to both ABA and hypoxia. Analysis of expression of ABA metabolism genes shows that increase in ABA mainly results in a strong increase in HvNCED1 and HvNCED2 expression, and a slight decrease in HvABA8′OH‐1. Among the gibberellins (GA) metabolism genes examined, blue light decreases the expression of HvGA3ox2, involved in GA synthesis, increases that of GA2ox3 and GA2ox5, involved in GA catabolism, and reduces the GA signalling evaluated by the HvExpA11 expression. Expression of secondary dormancy is associated with maintenance of high embryo ABA content and a low HvExpA11 expression. The partial reversion of the inhibitory effect of blue light by green light also suggests that cryptochrome might be involved in this hormonal regulation.     

RevSex duplication-induced and sex-related differences in the SOX9 regulatory region chromatin landscape in human fibroblasts

It was recently shown that duplications of the RevSex element, located 0.5 Mb upstream of SOX9, cause XX-disorder of sex development (DSD), and that deletions cause XY-DSD. To explore how a 148 kb RevSex duplication could have turned on gonadal SOX9 expression in the absence of SRY in an XX-male, we examined the chromatin landscape in primary skin fibroblast cultures from the index, his RevSex duplication-carrier father and six controls. The ENCODE project supports the notion that chromatin state maps show overlap between different cell types, i.e., that our study of fibroblasts could be of biological relevance. We examined the SOX9 regulatory region by high-resolution ChIP-on-chip experiments (a kind of “chromatin-CGH”) and DNA methylation investigations. The RevSex duplication was associated with chromatin changes predicting better accessibility of the SRY-responsive TESCO enhancer region 14–15 kb upstream of SOX9. Four kb downstream of the TESCO evolutionary conserved region, a peak of the enhancer/promoter-associated H3K4me3 mark was found together with a major dip of the repressive H3K9me3 chromatin mark. Similar differences were also found when three control males were compared with three control females. A marked male/female difference was a more open chromatin signature in males starting ~400 kb upstream of SOX9 and increasing toward the SOX9 promoter. In the RevSex duplication-carrier father, two positions of DNA hypomethylation were also found, one corresponding to the H3K4me3 peak mentioned above. Our results suggest that the RevSex duplication could operate by inducing long-range epigenetic changes. Furthermore, the differences in chromatin state maps between males and females suggest that the Y chromosome or X chromosome dosage may affect chromatin conformation, i.e., that sex-dependent gene regulation may take place by chromatin modification.     

Complex temporal decay: a complete analysis

Relaxation dynamics is universal in science and engineering; its study serves to parameterize a system's response and to help identify a microscopic model of the processes involved. When measured data for a phenomenon cannot be fitted using one exponential, the choice of an alternative function to describe the decay becomes nontrivial. Here, we contrast two different, but fundamentally related approaches to fitting nontrivial decay curves; exponential decomposition and the gamma probability density function. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Extrapontine myelinolysis presenting as acute parkinsonism

Background

Extrapontine myelinolysis presenting with extra pyramidal features suggestive of parkinsonism may be a challenging clinical syndrome. Clinicians should maintain their vigilance while correcting electrolyte imbalances, especially with associated co-morbidity.

Case presentation

A 41-year-old woman presented with acute parkinsonism like features while on a holiday. This followed slow correction of hyponatraemia after repeated vomiting. MRI changes were suggestive of Extrapontine myelinolysis(EPM). This case is at variance with four previous cases reported in the medical literature in that the patient made a full clinical recovery and the MR changes resolved with symptomatic support alone.

Conclusion

Extrapontine myelinolysis could make a complete recovery with symptomatic support alone. During hyponatraemia correction, rapid osmotic shifts of fluid that cause hypernatremia, causes myelinolysis rather than absolute serum sodium level. Even gradual correction of hyponatraemia can produce myelinolysis, especially with pre-existing malnourishment, alcoholism, drug misuse, Addison's disease and immuno-suppression. Pallidial sparing is typical of EPM in MRI scans.     

隐喻加工复合模式的ERP研究

本研究使用S1→S2范式研究中国人大脑隐喻加工模式是否与"等级显性理论"一致。被试对隐喻匹配任务和不相关匹配模式进行"是"和"否"隐喻的判断,同时脑电设备记录他们进行任务加工时的事件相关电位(ERP)。通过对相关电极N400的分析发现,右脑加工两个任务时,激活程度呈递增的趋势,与"等级显性理论"一致。另外,两个任务中顶叶空间加工区参与程度的差异说明,隐喻意义的整合需要对相似性、熟悉度等确定后再进行空间联系。