CO2 uptake by the cultivated hemiepiphytic cactus, Hylocereus undatus

The climate of the native tropical forest habitats of Hylocereus undatus, a hemiepiphytic cactus cultivated in 20 countries for its fruit, can help explain the response of its net CO2 uptake to environmental factors. Under wet conditions, about 85% of the total daily net CO₂ uptake occurs at night via Crassulacean acid metabolism, leading to a high water‐use efficiency. Total daily net CO₂ uptake is reduced 57% by only 10 days of drought, possibly involving stomatal closure induced by abscisic acid produced in the roots, which typically occupy a small substrate volume. Total daily net CO₂ uptake for H. undatus is maximal at day/night air temperatures of 30/20°C, optimal temperatures that are higher than those for desert cacti but representative of ambient temperatures in the tropics; its total daily net CO₂ uptake becomes zero at day/night air temperatures of 42/32°C. Stem damage occurs at 45°C for H. undatus, whose photosynthetic cells show little acclimation to high temperatures compared with other cacti and are also sensitive to low temperatures, ‐1.5°C killing half of these cells. Consistent with its shaded habitat, total daily net CO2 uptake is appreciable at a total daily PPF of only 2 mol m2 day' and is maximal at 20 mol m^?2 day^?1, above which photoinhibition reduces net CO₂ uptake. Net CO₂ uptake ability, which is highly correlated with stem nitrogen and chlorophyll contents, changes only gradually (halftimes of 2–3 months) as the concentration of applied N is changed. Doubling the atmospheric CO₂ concentration raises the total daily net CO₂ uptake of H. undatus by 34% under optimal conditions and by even larger percentages under adverse environmental conditions.     

Effect of mercaptoethylamine on DNA degradation in thermophilic bacteria Bac. stearothermophilus exposed toγ-, UV-radiation or methyluitrosourea

Summary The effect of mercaptoethylamine (MEA) on degradation of DNA in thermophilic bacteria Bac. stear. exposed to-, UV-rays or methylnitrosourea (MNU) was studied. Using centrifugation on alkaline and neutral sucrose gradients, it was shown that MEA inhibits the accumulation of breaks in the DNA of Bac. stear. It also lowers the level of DNA degradation in toluene-treated cells of Bac. stear. under the action of the intrinsic nuclease, reduces the activity of the endonuclease specific for apurinic DNA, as well as that of S₁-nuclease and DNase-I in vitro. The inhibition in the accumulation of DNA breaks is assumed to be due to a decrease of the endonuclease activity in the cells of thermophilic bacteria.     

基于网络药理学的谷糠结合态多酚抗乳腺癌机制研究

本研究旨在探讨谷糠结合态多酚(bound phenol of inner shell,BPIS)发挥抗乳腺癌细胞活性的作用机制。首先采用细胞计数法检测BPIS对乳腺癌细胞以及正常乳腺细胞活性的影响;然后综合运用SEA、SIB以及GeneCards等数据库获得BPIS和乳腺癌的相关靶点,并分析活性成分与作用靶点的互作网络以及通路。本研究筛选得到BPIS抗乳腺癌相关靶点39个,主要涉及糖脂代谢和细胞自噬等生物过程以及MAPK、PI3K/AKT、FoxO等多条信号通,表明BPIS抗乳腺癌是多成分、多靶点、多通路协同作用的过程,而与细胞死亡相关的细胞自噬很可能在BPIS抑制乳腺癌过程中发挥主要作用。     

Study of the structural changes in irradiated erythrocyte membranes using 2,6-toluidinonaphthalene sulfonate

It was shown that 2,6-tolyidinonaphthalene sulfonate (2,6-TNS) is localized mainly at the bilayer-water border of the erythrocytic membranes. Under the effect of gamma-radiation the rearrangements occur in the membrane which bring about changes in the distribution of the probe between the membrane and the medium. The lifetime of the excited state of 2,6-TNS after irradiation varies slightly.