Microsatellite Variations of Elite Setaria Varieties Released during Last Six Decades in China

Crop improvement is a multifaceted micro-evolutionary process, involving changes in breeding approaches, planting configurations and consumption preferences of human beings. Recent research has started to identify the specific genes or genomic regions correlate to improved agronomic traits, however, an apparent blank between the genetic structure of crop elite varieties and their improving histories in diverse modern breeding programs is still in existence. Foxtail millet (Setaria italica) was one of the earliest cereal crops to be domesticated and served as a staple crop for early civilizations in China, where it is still widely grown today. In the present trial, a panel of foxtail millet elite varieties, which were released in the last sixty years in different geographical regions of China, was characterized using microsatellite markers (SSRs). A clear separation of two subpopulations corresponding to the two eco-geographical regions of foxtail millet production in China was identified by the dataset, which also indicated that in more recently released elite varieties, large quantities of accessions have been transferred from spring-sowing to summer-sowing ecotypes, likely as a result of breeding response to planting configurations. An association mapping study was conducted to identify loci controlling traits of major agronomic interest. Furthermore, selective sweeps involved in improvement of foxtail millet were identified as multi-diverse minor effect loci controlling different agronomic traits during the long-term improvement of elite varieties. Our results highlight the effect of transition of planting configuration and breeding preference on genetic evolvement of crop species.     

L‐Cysteine capped CdTe–CdS core–shell quantum dots: preparation,characterization and immuno‐labeling of HeLa cells

Functionalized CdTe–CdS core–shell quantum dots (QDs) were synthesized in aqueous solution via water‐bathing combined hydrothermal method using L‐cysteine (L‐Cys) as a stabilizer. This method possesses both the advantages of water‐bathing and hydrothermal methods for preparing high‐quality QDs with markedly reduced synthesis time, and better stability than a lone hydrothermal method. The QDs were characterized by transmission electronic microscopy and powder X‐ray diffraction and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The CdTe–CdS QDs with core–shell structure showed both enhanced fluorescence and better photo stability than nude CdTe QDs. After conjugating with antibody rabbit anti‐CEACAM8 (CD67), the as‐prepared l ‐Cys capped CdTe–CdS QDs were successfully used as fluorescent probes for the direct immuno‐labeling and imaging of HeLa cells. It was indicated that this kind of QD would have application potential in bio‐labeling and cell imaging. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Selection and Characterization of a Peptide Specifically Targeting to Gastric Cancer Cell Line SGC-7901 Using Phage Display

Peptides selected from phage display have great potential to become probes for the imaging detection of the cancer. To develop the peptide probe for diagnosis of GC, a 12-mer phage display library was used to select peptides that bind specifically to the human GC cell line SGC-7901. After four rounds of in vitro selection, five phage clones that bound specifically to the SGC-7901 cells were selected. The phage clone GP-5 had a particularly high affinity and specificity for SGC-7901 cells. This clone was identified using a series of methods. The peptide GP-5 that was displayed on phage GP-5 exhibited high specificity to SGC-7901 cells and gastric tissues. Thus, the peptide GP-5 displays excellent potential for imaging detection of human gastric cancer.     

黑色素母细胞沿神经的迁移

黑色素细胞是皮肤中的特殊细胞,它产生黑色素,并将其传递给周围的角质形成细胞,从而决定皮肤的颜色等,其来源于黑色素母细胞.因此,了解黑色素母细胞如何迁移至靶点,对改善个体肤色以及诊断和治疗黑色素瘤等都具有重要意义.文章通过对黑色素母细胞沿神经迁移这一模式的过程和相关机制进行综述,希望为个体肤色改善以及黑色素瘤术后复发机制...     

重组腺相关病毒载体相关性杂质

可以稳定表达治疗基因而无明显不良反应的重组腺相关病毒(rAAV)载体被认为是最有发展前景的基因治疗载体。但如何建立可以有效去除rAAV载体内具有潜在致病危害的杂质、产品质量符合临床使用要求的纯化工艺是研究人员面临的巨大挑战。其中针对载体相关性杂质的纯化工艺尤为关键,因为该类杂质的性质与真正的rAAV载体极其相似,一旦存在便难以去除,且会引起严重不良反应。以下总结了该类杂质形成的过程及有别于rAAV载体的特点,并对可以防止其生成或将其与rAAV载体有效分离的技术手段进行了评价。     

Elevated 12-Month and Lifetime Prevalence and Comorbidity Rates of Mood,Anxiety, and Alcohol Use Disorders in Chinese Men Who Have Sex with Men

Background

This study aimed to assess whether Chinese men who have sex with men (MSM) had a significantly elevated prevalence of psychiatric disorders compared to urban males in China.

Methods

807 MSM were recruited using a respondent-driven sampling (RDS) method in urban area of northeast China. Psychiatric disorders were assessed employing the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI. Version 1.0) according to the criteria of the DSM-III-R.

Results

Chinese MSM had a significantly elevated standardized prevalence ratios (SPR) for lifetime prevalence of any disorder (SPR = 2.8; 95%CI: 2.5–3.2), mood disorder (SPR = 3.0; 95%CI: 2.3–3.7), anxiety disorder (SPR = 5.5; 95% CI: 4.6–6.5), alcohol use disorder (SPR = 2.4, 95%CI: 2.0–2.8), and combination of disorders (SPR = 4.2; 95%CI: 3.4–5.1).

Conclusions

Chinese MSM had significantly elevated prevalence and comorbidity of psychiatric disorders. RDS is a suitable sampling method for psychiatric epidemiological survey in MSM population.     

Assembly of Plasmid DNA into Liposomes After Condensation by Cationic Lipid in Anionic Detergent Solution

A novel strategy to prepare negatively charged and small DNA-containing liposomes after condensation of plasmid DNA by a cationic lipid in deoxycholate micelle environment is described. The average diameter of resulting complexes was 62±8 nm. DNA-containing liposomes were then prepared by dialysis. The shape of the resulting liposomes was spherical. The average diameter and the surface charge of the liposomes were 86±6 nm and −24±3 mV, respectively. The plasmid DNA inside liposomes remained in a supercoiled form after incubation with DNase.     

Stereoselective degradation of fungicide benalaxyl in soils and cucumber plants

The enantioselective degradation of benalaxyl has been investigated to elucidate its behavior in several agricultural soils and plants (cucumber). Racemic benalaxyl was fortified into five types of agricultural soils and sprayed leaves of cucumber plants, respectively. The degradation kinetics and the enantiomer fraction (EF) were determined by normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with diode array detection (DAD) on the chiral column filled cellulose-tri-(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate)-based chiral stationary phase (CDMPC-CSP). The process of the degradation of benalaxyl enantiomers followed pseudo-first-order kinetics in cucumber plant. However, the dissipation phases of benalaxyl enantiomers in soils were biphasic ("slow-fast-slow" process). It has been shown that the degradation of benalaxyl was stereoselective. The results indicated that the (+)-S-benalaxyl showed a faster degradation in plants, while the (-)-R-benalaxyl showed a faster degradation in Soils 3, 4, and 5. No stereoselective degradation was observed in other soils.