大沙河水库冬季浮游植物群落结构与水华分析

于2009年12月、2010年1月和2月对广东省大沙河水库湖泊区距水表层0.5m、5m和10m三个水层的浮游植物进行了定性与定量分析,同时对环境变量进行了测定.采样期间三个月的总降雨量为263mm,水温范围在15.5～19.4℃之间,水体处于混合状态.三次采样中,共检测出浮游植物69种(属),隶属于6个门,浮游植物丰度范围在4.1×10⁶～14.8×10⁶cells·L^-1之间.三个水层的浮游植物优势种类差异不显著(p>0.05),丰度的主要优势种为蓝藻门的卷曲鱼腥藻(Anabaena circinalis)、铜绿微囊藻(Microcystis aeruginosa),这两个种的丰度之和占总丰度的70%以上,在2009年12月和2010年2月的表层出现了轻度鱼腥藻和微囊藻水华.蓝藻自身的浮力调节机制和适应低磷的生活策略是其成为优势种的重要原因,相对稳定的外部条件、水体混合与富营养共同导致的光的可获得性的减少是形成蓝藻水华的关键外部因子.     

Flavonolignans from Hyparrhenia hirta

Leaves of Hyparrhenia hirta yielded the rare diastereoisomeric flavonolignans tricin 4'-O-(erythro-beta-guaiacylglyceryl) ether and tricin 4'-O-(threo-beta-guaiacylglyceryl) ether together with their 7-O-glucosides, which are the first flavonolignan glycosides to be isolated as natural products. A complete set of (1)H and (13)C NMR resonance assignments obtained for both flavonolignan aglycones indicates the need for revision of data published previously for these compounds and for a reassessment of their original stereochemical designation.     

Molecular characterization of DSR-E,an alpha-1,2 linkage-synthesizing dextransucrase with two catalytic domains

A novel Leuconostoc mesenteroides NRRL B-1299 dextransucrase gene, dsrE, was isolated, sequenced, and cloned in Escherichia coli, and the recombinant enzyme was shown to be an original glucansucrase which catalyses the synthesis of alpha-1,6 and alpha-1,2 linkages. The nucleotide sequence of the dsrE gene consists of an open reading frame of 8,508 bp coding for a 2,835-amino-acid protein with a molecular mass of 313,267 Da. This is twice the average mass of the glucosyltransferases (GTFs) known so far, which is consistent with the presence of an additional catalytic domain located at the carboxy terminus of the protein and of a central glucan-binding domain, which is also significantly longer than in other glucansucrases. From sequence comparison with family 70 and alpha-amylase enzymes, crucial amino acids involved in the catalytic mechanism were identified, and several original sequences located at some highly conserved regions in GTFs were observed in the second catalytic domain.     

An Atomic Force Microscope Study Revealed Two Mechanisms in the Effect of Anticancer Drugs on Rate-Dependent Young’s Modulus of Human Prostate Cancer Cells

Mechanical properties of cells have been recognized as a biomarker for cellular cytoskeletal organization. As chemical treatments lead to cell cytoskeletal rearrangements, thereby, modifications of cellular mechanical properties, investigating cellular mechanical property variations provides insightful knowledge to effects of chemical treatments on cancer cells. In this study, the effects of eight different anticancer drugs on the mechanical properties of human prostate cancer cell (PC-3) are investigated using a recently developed control-based nanoindentation measurement (CNM) protocol on atomic force microscope (AFM). The CNM protocol overcomes the limits of other existing methods to in-liquid nanoindentation measurement of live cells on AFM, particularly for measuring mechanical properties of live cells. The Young’s modulus of PC-3 cells treated by the eight drugs was measured by varying force loading rates over three orders of magnitude, and compared to the values of the control. The results showed that the Young’s modulus of the PC-3 cells increased substantially by the eight drugs tested, and became much more pronounced as the force load rate increased. Moreover, two distinct trends were clearly expressed, where under the treatment of Disulfiram, paclitaxel, and MK-2206, the exponent coefficient of the frequency- modulus function remained almost unchanged, while with Celebrex, BAY, Totamine, TPA, and Vaproic acid, the exponential rate was significantly increased.     

AUDIT,AUDIT-C,and AUDIT-3: Drinking Patterns and Screening for Harmful,Hazardous and Dependent Drinking in Katutura,Namibia

Objectives

To describe alcohol drinking patterns among participants in Katutura, Namibia, and to evaluate brief versions of the AUDIT against the full AUDIT to determine their effectiveness in detecting harmful drinking.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey was conducted in four constituencies and 639 participants, 18 years or older, completed a sociodemographic survey and the AUDIT. The effectiveness of the AUDIT-C (first three questions) and the AUDIT-3 (third question) was compared to the full AUDIT.

Results

Approximately 40% were identified as harmful, hazardous or likely dependent drinkers, with men having a higher likelihood than women (57.2% vs. 31.0%, p<.0001). Approximately 32% reported making and/or selling alcohol from home. The AUDIT-C performed best at a cutoff ≥ 3, better in men (sensitivity: 99.3%, specificity: 77.8%) than women (sensitivity: 91.7%, specificity: 77.4%). The AUDIT-3 performed poorly (maximum sensitivity: < 90%, maximum specificity: <51%). According to AUROC, the AUDIT-C performed better than the AUDIT-3.

Conclusions

A large proportion of participants met criteria for alcohol misuse, indicating a need for screening and referral for further evaluation and intervention. The AUDIT-C was almost as effective as the full AUDIT and may be easier to implement in clinical settings as a routine screening tool in resource-limited settings because of its brevity.     

褶纹冠蚌和背角无齿蚌对水体营养盐和浮游植物的影响

2009年5月31日-6月20日在广东省大沙河水库利用微型生态系统比较不同放养密度的褶纹冠蚌(Cristaria plicata)和背角无齿蚌(Anodonta woodiana)对水体氮、磷及浮游植物的影响,探讨两种蚌在控制南亚热带水库富营养化水体藻类水华上的可行性。实验结果表明,在褶纹冠蚌和背角无齿蚌处理组中,总氮、总磷和叶绿素a浓度显著增加,而铵氮的浓度显著下降;褶纹冠蚌和背角无齿蚌导致了浮游植物群落组成结构的改变和数量的增加,实验过程中绿藻所占的比例迅速上升。两种蚌之间没有显著的差异,只是在不同的作用强度下,时间上的响应不同。综合实验结果,褶纹冠蚌和背角无齿蚌难以有效地运用于我国华南地区水库的水质改善与富营养化控制。     

Classical anticytokinins do not interact with cytokinin receptors but inhibit cyclin-dependent kinases

Cytokinins are a class of plant hormones that regulate the cell cycle and diverse developmental and physiological processes. Several compounds have been identified that antagonize the effects of cytokinins. Based on structural similarities and competitive inhibition, it has been assumed that these anticytokinins act through a common cellular target, namely the cytokinin receptor. Here, we examined directly the possibility that various representative classical anticytokinins inhibit the Arabidopsis cytokinin receptors CRE1/AHK4 (cytokinin response 1/Arabidopsis histidine kinase 4) and AHK3 (Arabidopsis histidine kinase 3). We show that pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine and pyrazolo[4,3-d]pyrimidine anticytokinins do not act as competitors of cytokinins at the receptor level. Flow cytometry and microscopic analyses revealed that anticytokinins inhibit the cell cycle and cause disorganization of the microtubular cytoskeleton and apoptosis. This is consistent with the hypothesis that they inhibit regulatory cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) enzymes. Biochemical studies demonstrated inhibition by selected anti-cytokinins of both Arabidopsis and human CDKs. X-ray determination of the crystal structure of a human CDK2-anticytokinin complex demonstrated that the antagonist occupies the ATP-binding site of CDK2. Finally, treatment of human cancer cell lines with anticytokinins demonstrated their ability to kill human cells with similar effectiveness as known CDK inhibitors.     

Quantitative determination of trans-polydatin, a natural strong anti-oxidative compound, in rat plasma and cellular environment of a human colon adenocarcinoma cell line for pharmacokinetic studies

A simple, accurate, precise, specific and reproducible high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was developed for determination of trans-polydatin, a natural strong anti-oxidative compound, in rat plasma and cell suspension. The assay procedure involved simple liquid-liquid extraction, the supernatant liquid was added an equal volume of water to avoid solvent effect. The detection of the analyte peak was achieved by monitoring the eluate using a UV detector set at 303 nm. The analysis used a Hypersil ODS2 C18 column (5 microm, 4.6 mm x 250 mm) and methanol/distilled water as the mobile phase (flow rate=1 mL/min). A total analytical run was achieved within 6.0 min and calibration curve was linear over a wide concentration range of 0.25-40 microg/mL for plasma sample and 1.0-500 microM for cell suspension, the coefficients of correlation were 0.9997 and 0.9999 or better, respectively. There was 80.7+/-7.86%, 96.8+/-3.20% and 102.7+/-9.72% recovery from 0.5, 10, and 40 microg/mL plasma samples, respectively. Intra- and inter-batch accuracy and precision were acceptable for the both matrices. The RSD of intra- and inter-day assay variations were all less than 10%. Both analyte and IS were stable in the battery of stability studies, freeze-thaw cycles. The described assay method was applied to pharmacokinetic studies in rats and a human colon adenocarcinoma cell line (Caco-2) successfully. The application of the assay to determine the pharmacokinetic is described.