Highly Heterogeneous Bacterial Communities Associated with the South China Sea Reef Corals Porites lutea,Galaxea fascicularis and Acropora millepora

Coral harbor diverse and specific bacteria play significant roles in coral holobiont function. Bacteria associated with three of the common and phylogenetically divergent reef-building corals in the South China Sea, Porites lutea, Galaxea fascicularis and Acropora millepora, were investigated using 454 barcoded-pyrosequencing. Three colonies of each species were sampled, and 16S rRNA gene libraries were constructed individually. Analysis of pyrosequencing libraries showed that bacterial communities associated with the three coral species were more diverse than previous estimates based on corals from the Caribbean Sea, Indo-Pacific reefs and the Red Sea. Three candidate phyla, including BRC1, OD1 and SR1, were found for the first time in corals. Bacterial communities were separated into three groups: P. lutea and G. fascicular, A. millepora and seawater. P. lutea and G. fascicular displayed more similar bacterial communities, and bacterial communities associated with A. millepora differed from the other two coral species. The three coral species shared only 22 OTUs, which were distributed in Alphaproteobacteria, Deltaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, Chloroflexi, Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria and an unclassified bacterial group. The composition of bacterial communities within each colony of each coral species also showed variation. The relatively small common and large specific bacterial communities in these corals implies that bacterial associations may be structured by multiple factors at different scales and that corals may associate with microbes in terms of similar function, rather than identical species.     

The primary structure of human apolipoprotein A-IV

Human apolipoprotein (apo) A-IV was purified from chylous ascites fluid. Proteolytic peptides produced by trypsin and Staphylococcus aureus V8 proteinase digestions were purified by high-performance liquid chromatography and sequenced. Human apoA-IV contains 376 amino acid residues. The peptide-derived sequence generally matches two previously reported DNA-derived amino acid sequences except for discrepancies in five positions. In order to examine these discrepancies further, one complete apoA-IV cDNA clone and another partial clone were sequenced. Comparison of all the available information indicates that the peptide-derived sequence reported here is accurate. Sequencing errors probably account for some of the discrepancies between the two primary sequences predicted by earlier nucleotide analyses. In certain positions, however, bona fide sequence heterogeneity or cloning artifact cannot be excluded.     

玫瑰微球菌中treZ基因在毕赤酵母中的表达研究

首次将玫瑰微球菌中麦芽寡糖基海藻糖水解酶(MTHase)treZ基因序列连接到表达载体pPICZαA中,通过电转化法将构建好的表达载体分别转入巴斯德毕赤酵母GS115和KM71菌株中.利用含有Zeocin的YPD平板筛选到阳性转化子,并经PCR、SDS-PAGE电泳以及Western blot最终验证海藻糖水解酶基因treZ已经整合到巴斯德毕赤酵母的基因组上,并且得到了预期的表达.     

Comprehensive gene and microRNA expression profiling reveals the crucial role of hsa-let-7i and its target genes in colorectal cancer metastasis

Accumulating evidence has demonstrated that miRNAs play important roles in the occurrence and development of colorectal cancer (CRC). However, whether miRNAs are associated with the metastasis of CRC remains largely unexplored. The aim of the current study is to profile miRNAs in different CRC metastatic cell lines to identify the biomarkers in CRC metastasis. Gene and miRNA expression profiling was performed to analyze the global expression of mRNAs and miRNAs in the four human CRC cell lines (LoVo, SW480, HT29 and Caco-2) with different potential of metastasis. Expression patterns of mRNAs and miRNAs were altered in different CRC cell lines. By developing an integrated bioinformatics analysis of gene and miRNA expression patterns, hsa-let-7i was identified to show the highest degree in the microRNA-GO-network and microRNA-Gene-network. The expression level of hsa-let-7i was further validated by qRT-PCR in CRC cells. In addition, the targets of hsa-let-7i were predicted by two programs TargetScan and PicTar, and target genes were validated by expression profiling in the most epresentative LoVo and Caco-2 cell lines. Eight genes including TRIM41, SOX13, SLC25A4, SEMA4F, RPUSD2, PLEKHG6, CCND2, and BTBD3 were identified as hsa-let-7i targets. Our data showed the power of comprehensive gene and miRNA expression profiling and the application of bioinformatics tools in the identification of novel biomarkers in CRC metastasis.     

甲状腺功能减退孕妇糖代谢、肾功能指标的变化及临床意义

目的:探究妊娠期甲状腺功能减退患者糖代谢及肾功能变化及临床意义。方法:选择2015年6月至2019年8月来我院就诊的甲状腺功能减退孕妇60例作为甲减组及同期健康孕妇60例作为对照组。比较两组患者甲状腺功能[促甲状腺激素(TSH)、游离三碘甲状腺原氨酸(FT_3)及游离甲状腺素(FT_4)]、糖代谢指标[空腹血糖水平(FBG)、糖化血红蛋白(HbA1C)、餐后2 h抽取肘静脉血测定餐后2 h葡萄糖水平(2hPG)、胰岛素抵抗指标(HOMA-IR)]及肾功能[血清肌酐(Cr)、血清尿酸(UA)、血尿素氮(BUN)],分析甲状腺功能与糖代谢及肾功能的关系,比较两组患者的妊娠结局。结果:甲减组孕妇的TSH、糖代谢、肾功能各指标水平较对照组显著升高,FT_4较对照组明显降低(P0.05)。TSH与糖代谢各指标均呈正相关(P0.05);FT_4与糖代谢各指标均呈负相关(P0.05),FT_3与Cr呈负相关(P0.05),TSH、FT_4与Cr、UA、BUN均无明显相关性(P0.05)。甲减组的不良妊娠结局率为20.00%,显著高于对照组(6.67%,P0.05)。结论:妊娠期甲状腺功能减退患者存在糖代谢紊乱、肾功能异常,可能导致不良妊娠结局。     

βII spectrin (SPTBN1): biological function and clinical potential in cancer and other diseases

βII spectrin, the most common isoform of non-erythrocyte spectrin, is a cytoskeleton protein present in all nucleated cells. Interestingly, βII spectrin is essential for the development of various organs such as nerve, epithelium, inner ear, liver and heart. The functions of βII spectrin include not only establishing and maintaining the cell structure but also regulating a variety of cellular functions, such as cell apoptosis, cell adhesion, cell spreading and cell cycle regulation. Notably, βII spectrin dysfunction is associated with embryonic lethality and the DNA damage response. More recently, the detection of altered βII spectrin expression in tumors indicated that βII spectrin might be involved in the development and progression of cancer. Its mutations and disorders could result in developmental disabilities and various diseases. The versatile roles of βII spectrin in disease have been examined in an increasing number of studies; nonetheless, the exact mechanisms of βII spectrin are still poorly understood. Thus, we summarize the structural features and biological roles of βII spectrin and discuss its molecular mechanisms and functions in development, homeostasis, regeneration and differentiation. This review highlight the potential effects of βII spectrin dysfunction in cancer and other diseases, outstanding questions for the future investigation of therapeutic targets. The investigation of the regulatory mechanism of βII spectrin signal inactivation and recovery may bring hope for future therapy of related diseases.     

Total HIV/AIDS Expenditures in Dehong Prefecture,Yunnan Province in 2010: The First Systematic Evaluation of Both Health and Non-Health Related HIV/AIDS Expenditures in China

Objective

We assessed HIV/AIDS expenditures in Dehong Prefecture, Yunnan Province, one of the highest prevalence regions in China, and describe funding sources and spending for different categories of HIV-related interventions and at-risk populations.

Methods

2010 HIV/AIDS expenditures in Dehong Prefecture were evaluated based on UNAIDS’ National AIDS Spending Assessment methodology.

Results

Nearly 93% of total expenditures for HIV/AIDS was contributed by public sources. Of total expenditures, 52.7% was allocated to treatment and care, 24.5% to program management and administration and 19.8% to prevention. Spending on treatment and care was primarily allocated to the treatment of opportunistic infections. Most (40.4%) prevention spending was concentrated on most-at-risk populations, injection drug users (IDUs), sex workers, and men who have sex with men (MSM), with 5.5% allocated to voluntary counseling and testing. Prevention funding allocated for MSM, partners of people living with HIV and prisoners and other confined populations was low compared to the disproportionate burden of HIV/AIDS in these populations. Overall, people living with HIV accounted for 57.57% of total expenditures, while most-at-risk populations accounted for only 7.99%.

Conclusions

Our study demonstrated the applicability of NASA for tracking and assessing HIV expenditure in the context of China, it proved to be a useful tool in understanding national HIV/AIDS response from financial aspect, and to assess the extent to which HIV expenditure matches epidemic patterns. Limited funding for primary prevention and prevention for MSM, prisoners and partners of people living with HIV, signal that resource allocation to these key areas must be strengthened. Comprehensive analyses of regional and national funding strategies are needed to inform more equitable, effective and cost-effective HIV/AIDS resource allocation.     

超滤膜技术在多糖提取方面的应用

超滤膜技术广泛应用于各类多糖的分离、浓缩、纯化等研究中,包括中药药源多糖如灵芝多糖、大黄多糖、六味地黄汤多糖、黄芪多糖、紫芝多糖、人参多糖,海洋活性多糖如鲨鱼软骨粘多糖、褶纹冠蚌多糖、紫菜多糖、褐藻糖胶、卡拉胶,发酵多糖如蜜环菌菌索多糖、PS-9415发酵液多糖、冬虫夏草多糖,食用植物多糖如茶多糖、香菇多糖、金针菇多糖、芦荟多糖、枸杞多糖等.采用超滤膜技术处理多糖具有收率高、不易破坏多糖的生物活性、能耗低等特点,适于工业化生产.     

Design and Optimization of a Graphene Modulator Based on Hybrid Plasmonic Waveguide with Double Low-Index Slots

Plasmonics - Graphene modulators based on surface plasmonic waveguides enable a strong interaction between light and graphene because great electric field enhancement occurs in the sub-wavelength...