Menstrual cycle phase and oral contraceptive effects on triglyceride mobilization during exercise.

We examined the effects of menstrual cycle phase and oral contraceptive (OC) use on triglyceride mobilization during 90 min of rest and 60 min of leg ergometry exercise at 45 and 65% peak O(2) uptake (Vo(2 peak)) in eight moderately physically active, eumenorrheic women (24.8 +/- 1.2 yr). Subjects were tested during the follicular phase (FP) and the luteal phase (LP) before OC use and during the inactive phase (IP) and high-dose phase (HP) after 4 complete mo of OC use. Glycerol rate of appearance (R(a)), a measure of triglyceride mobilization, was determined in a 3-h postabsorptive state using a primed constant infusion of [1,1,2,3,3-(2)H]glycerol. Before OC use (BOC), there were no significant differences between FP and LP in any of the variables studied. Dietary composition, exercise patterns, plasma glycerol concentrations, growth hormone concentrations, and exercise respiratory exchange ratio did not change with OC use. However, 4 mo of OC use significantly (P < 0.05) increased glycerol R(a) in HP during exercise at 45% Vo(2 peak) (6.2 +/- 0.2, 6.5 +/- 0.4, and 7.7 +/- 1.1 micromol.kg(-1).min(-1) for BOC, IP, and HP, respectively) and in IP and HP at 65% Vo(2 peak) (6.6 +/- 0.1, 8.2 +/- 0.6, and 8.1 +/- 0.7 micromol.kg(-1).min(-1) for BOC, IP, and HP, respectively). Plasma cortisol concentrations were significantly higher with OC use at rest and during exercise at 45 and 65% Vo(2 peak). In summary, although fluctuations of endogenous ovarian steroids have little effect on triglyceride mobilization, the synthetic ovarian steroids found in OCs increase triglyceride mobilization and plasma cortisol concentrations in exercising women. We conclude that the hierarchy of effects of ovarian steroids and their analogs on triglyceride mobilization in exercising women is as follows: energy flux > OC use > recent carbohydrate nutrition, menstrual cycle effects.     

Building Blocks of Temporal Filters in Retinal Synapses

Sensory systems must be able to extract features of a stimulus to detect and represent properties of the world. Because sensory signals are constantly changing, a critical aspect of this transformation relates to the timing of signals and the ability to filter those signals to select dynamic properties, such as visual motion. At first assessment, one might think that the primary biophysical properties that construct a temporal filter would be dynamic mechanisms such as molecular concentration or membrane electrical properties. However, in the current issue of PLOS Biology, Baden et al. identify a mechanism of temporal filtering in the zebrafish and goldfish retina that is not dynamic but is in fact a structural building block—the physical size of a synapse itself. The authors observe that small, bipolar cell synaptic terminals are fast and highly adaptive, whereas large ones are slower and adapt less. Using a computational model, they conclude that the volume of the synaptic terminal influences the calcium concentration and the number of available vesicles. These results indicate that the size of the presynaptic terminal is an independent control for the dynamics of a synapse and may reveal aspects of synaptic function that can be inferred from anatomical structure.     

Discovery of Iliestheria (Crustacea: spinicaudatan) from the Lower Jurassic Sangonghe Formation in Junggar Basin,northwestern China

Iliestheria Li and Shen, 1995, was erected based on specimens of two co-occurring species from the Lower Jurassic Badaowan Formation in Nilka, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwestern China. Since then Iliestheria has not been reported in any other locality, partly because clam shrimp from the Lower Jurassic in western China have been reported with studies only based on the outline of the carapace, most of them as Euestheria or Palaeolimnadia components. Here we report a new species of Iliestheria from the Pliensbachian–Toarcian Sangonghe Formation, based on scanning electron microscopic characteristics of the carapace morphology. We also revise the diagnosis of the genus based on re-examination using SEM microscopy of the two species from the Badaowan Formation, to include spinicaudatans characterized by growth bands ornamented by radial lirae intercalated with 2–4 columns of puncta; radial lirae sporadically curved and branched to form fine reticulation on the growth bands in the anterior and upper parts of the carapace. This study indicates that the stratigraphic range of Iliestheria extends to late Early Jurassic.     

乳酸菌基因改造技术研究进展

乳酸菌是一类革兰氏阳性、不产芽孢、兼性厌氧、发酵多种碳源产乳酸的重要工业微生物之一,广泛应用于食品、医药及化学品的生产当中。随着乳酸菌工业化应用范畴的不断拓展,乳酸菌生理生化特性、酸耐受特性,代谢途径及产酸调控机理的研究受到广泛关注。因此,建立稳定、高效的乳酸菌基因编辑方法,借助基因编辑技术来解析代谢关键基因及基因网络的功能,调控代谢途径,十分必要。对乳酸菌基因编辑技术的研究进展做一综述,并对乳酸菌基因编辑技术的未来研究方向进行展望。     

一株特殊生境荒漠药用植物沙蓬内生真菌Rhinocladiella similis中苯甲酸大环内酯化合物

从一株特殊生境荒漠药用植物沙蓬的内生真菌Rhinocladiella similis中分离得到4个苯甲酸大环内酯化合物,包括2个新化合物rhinoclactones E（2）和F（1）、2个已知化合物8,9-dihyrogreensporone D（3）和8,9-dihydrogreensporone A（4）。基于高分辨质谱与核磁共振谱数据以及相关文献比对,确定了新化合物与已知化合物的结构。化合物1和2是一对立体异构体,在大环内酯环中并有一个呋喃环,这种环系统在自然界比较稀少。化合物1-4对3株肿瘤细胞株和植物病原真菌没有抑制活性。本结果进一步丰富了该真菌的化学成分研究,暗示特殊生境荒漠植物内生真菌具有产生结构新颖的次级代谢产物的潜力,是发现新活性天然产物的一个新的重要宝库;此外,根据化合物的结构特征与生物活性结果,本文还探讨了这些化合物潜在的生态学功能。     

Prognostic value and immune cell infiltration of hypoxic phenotype‐related gene signatures in glioblastoma microenvironment

Glioblastoma (GBM) is a malignant intracranial tumour with the highest proportion and lethality. It is characterized by invasiveness and heterogeneity. However, the currently available therapies are not curative. As an essential environmental cue that maintains glioma stem cells, hypoxia is considered the cause of tumour resistance to chemotherapy and radiation. Growing evidence shows that immunotherapy focusing on the tumour microenvironment is an effective treatment for GBM; however, the current clinicopathological features cannot predict the response to immunotherapy and provide accurate guidance for immunotherapy. Based on the ESTIMATE algorithm, GBM cases of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data set were classified into high‐ and low‐immune/stromal score groups, and a four‐gene tumour environment‐related model was constructed. This model exhibited good efficiency at forecasting short‐ and long‐term prognosis and could also act as an independent prognostic biomarker. Additionally, this model and four of its genes (CLECL5A, SERPING1, CHI3L1 and C1R) were found to be associated with immune cell infiltration, and further study demonstrated that these four genes might drive the hypoxic phenotype of perinecrotic GBM, which affects hypoxia‐induced glioma stemness. Therefore, these might be important candidates for immunotherapy of GBM and deserve further exploration.     

Brassica rapa Polysaccharides Ameliorate CCl4‐Induced Acute Liver Injury in Mice through Inhibiting Inflammatory Apoptotic Response and Oxidative Stress

Brassica rapa L., also called NIUMA, is used empirically in Tibetan medicine for its antioxidant, anti‐inflammatory and antiradiation activities. This study explored the hepatoprotective effects of B. rapa polysaccharides (BRPs) on acute liver injury induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) in mice and the underlying mechanisms. Mice were treated with CCl₄ after the oral administration of BRPs (55, 110 and 220 mg/kg) or bifendate (100 mg/kg) for 7 days. Blood and liver samples of mice were collected for analysis after 24 h. The ALP, ALT and AST levels and the biological activities of SOD, MDA and GSH?Px were measured. Histopathological changes in the liver were determined through hematoxylin and eosin staining. Moreover, TNF‐α, IL‐1β and IL‐6 expression levels were detected by commercial reagent kits. Finally, Western blot analysis was used to check the relative expression levels of caspase‐3, p‐JAK2 and p‐STAT3. The BRP pre‐treatment significantly decreased the enzymatic activities of ALT, ALP and AST in the serum, markedly increased the activities of SOD and GSH?Px in the liver and reduced the MDA concentration in the liver. BRPs alleviated hepatocyte injury and markedly inhibited the expression of TNF‐α, IL‐1β and IL‐6, also downregulating the CCl₄‐induced hepatic tissue expression of caspase‐3. Furthermore, BRPs inhibited the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway in a dose‐dependent manner in the liver. This study demonstrated that BRPs exert hepatoprotective effect against the CCl₄‐induced liver injury via modulating the apoptotic and inflammatory responses and downregulating the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway. Therefore, B. rapa could be considered a hepatoprotective medicine.     

An outcome model for human bladder cancer: A comprehensive study based on weighted gene co‐expression network analysis

The precision evaluation of prognosis is crucial for clinical treatment decision of bladder cancer (BCa). Therefore, establishing an effective prognostic model for BCa has significant clinical implications. We performed WGCNA and DEG screening to initially identify the candidate genes. The candidate genes were applied to construct a LASSO Cox regression analysis model. The effectiveness and accuracy of the prognostic model were tested by internal/external validation and pan‐cancer validation and time‐dependent ROC. Additionally, a nomogram based on the parameter selected from univariate and multivariate cox regression analysis was constructed. Eight genes were eventually screened out as progression‐related differentially expressed candidates in BCa. LASSO Cox regression analysis identified 3 genes to build up the outcome model in E‐MTAB‐4321 and the outcome model had good performance in predicting patient progress free survival of BCa patients in discovery and test set. Subsequently, another three datasets also have a good predictive value for BCa patients' OS and DFS. Time‐dependent ROC indicated an ideal predictive accuracy of the outcome model. Meanwhile, the nomogram showed a good performance and clinical utility. In addition, the prognostic model also exhibits good performance in pan‐cancer patients. Our outcome model was the first prognosis model for human bladder cancer progression prediction via integrative bioinformatics analysis, which may aid in clinical decision‐making.