A Novel In Vitro Model for Microvasculature Reveals Regulation of Circumferential ECM Organization by Curvature

In microvascular vessels, endothelial cells are aligned longitudinally whereas several components of the extracellular matrix (ECM) are organized circumferentially. While current three-dimensional (3D) in vitro models for microvasculature have allowed the study of ECM-regulated tubulogenesis, they have limited control over topographical cues presented by the ECM and impart a barrier for the high-resolution and dynamic study of multicellular and extracellular organization. Here we exploit a 3D fibrin microfiber scaffold to develop a novel in vitro model of the microvasculature that recapitulates endothelial alignment and ECM deposition in a setting that also allows the sequential co-culture of mural cells. We show that the microfibers'' nanotopography induces longitudinal adhesion and alignment of endothelial colony-forming cells (ECFCs), and that these deposit circumferentially organized ECM. We found that ECM wrapping on the microfibers is independent of ECFCs'' actin and microtubule organization, but it is dependent on the curvature of the microfiber. Microfibers with smaller diameters (100–400 µm) guided circumferential ECM deposition, whereas microfibers with larger diameters (450 µm) failed to support wrapping ECM. Finally, we demonstrate that vascular smooth muscle cells attached on ECFC-seeded microfibers, depositing collagen I and elastin. Collectively, we establish a novel in vitro model for the sequential control and study of microvasculature development and reveal the unprecedented role of the endothelium in organized ECM deposition regulated by the microfiber curvature.     

Isolation and Characterization of Antifungal Substances from Burkholderia sp. Culture Broth

A new antagonistic Burkholderia strain, designated MP-1 and producing antifungal activities against various filamentous plant pathogenic fungi, was isolated from the rhizoshere in the Naju area. Cultural characteristic studies strongly suggested that this strain belongs to the genus Burkholderia. The nucleotide sequence of the 16S rRNA gene (1491 pb) of strain MP-1 exhibited close similarity (99% to 100%) with other Burkholderia 16S rRNA genes. Extraction of fermentation broth of Burkholderia sp. MP-1 and various separations and purification steps led to isolation of four pure active molecules. The chemical structure of these four compounds—named phenylacetic acid, hydrocinnamic acid, 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid, and 4-hydroxyphenylacetate methyl ester—was established on the basis on their gas chromatography–electron impact–mass spectrometry (GC-EI-MS) and trimethylsilation GC-EI-MS data. The four isolated compounds inhibited filamentous fungal growth on potato dextrose agar medium supplemented with 100 mg/L of phenylacetic acid, hydrocinnamic acid, 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid and 4-hydroxyphenylacetate methyl ester individually.     

白芷细胞外钙调素结合蛋白（ECBP21）免疫组化及金标定位分析

ECBP21是我们从白芷悬浮培养细胞外纯化及cDNA克隆的一种钙调素结合蛋白(CaMBP),亦是植物中首次报道的细胞外CaMBP。本实验以大肠杆菌表达的重组ECBP21蛋白为抗原,制备了高效价特异性抗体;随后,利用免疫组化及金标定位技术,研究了ECBP21蛋白组织特异性分布及亚细胞定位。免疫组化结果表明：ECBP21在白芷各组织中均有分布,但在叶、花、花序轴中较多,而在根中较少,并且ECBP21在细胞中多分布于细胞壁区域;免疫胶体金电镜定位结果显示：在白芷花序轴细胞中金颗粒主要分布在细胞壁,表明ECBP21蛋白主要定位于细胞壁区域,从而首次为细胞外CaMBP(ECBP21)的胞外存在提供了直观证据,并为进一步研究其在植物生长发育中的功能提供了初步信息。     

Optimization of the culture methods for nursing Chinese black sleeper (Bostrychus sinensis Lacépède, 1801) fry using an orthogonal array design

Chinese black sleeper (Bostrychus sinensis) is a burrow‐dwelling fish found in intertidal mudflats. As a commercially important fish in southern China, the nursing of B. sinensis fry is a critical step for its farming. The growth and survival of B. sinensis fry are closely related to the stocking density, shelter and diet. In this study, 1575 healthy fry were used to investigate the effects of three factors, namely: diet, stocking density, and shelter on the survival rate (SR), specific growth rate (SGR) and condition factor (CF). The optimal combinations of three levels of each of these three factors (A1‐3, B1‐3 and C1‐3) were also determined, using an orthogonal array design of OA₉ (3⁴). After 50 days of nursing, the results showed that: (i) the best combinations for the three factors at their optimal levels were A1B1C2 or A1B1C3; (ii) factor A was the most important factor and had significant effects (P < 0.05) on the SR and SGR of the fry, while the other factors had no significant effects (P > 0.05); (iii) the SGR, SR and CF of fry fed with commercial formulated feed (CFF) were significantly higher (P < 0.05) compared to those of fry fed with minced trash fish (MTF); and (iv) the fry fed with MTF mixed with antimicrobial peptides (MTF+AMP) showed higher SGR, SR and CF than those fed with MTF alone, which indicated that the antimicrobial peptides had positive effects on the growth and survival of the fry.     

Characterization of two novel KRAB-domain-containing zinc finger genes, ZNF460 and ZNF461, on human chromosome 19q13.1-->q13.4

This study reports the cloning and characterization of two novel human zinc finger protein cDNAs (ZNF460 and ZNF461) from a fetal brain cDNA library. The ZNF460 cDNA is 3,135 bp in length encoding a 562-amino-acid polypeptide and the ZNF461 cDNA is 2,548 bp encoding a 563-amino-acid protein. Both of the proteins contain a KRAB A+B box and eleven C2H2 type zinc finger motifs. ZNF461 shows high similarity with the rat GIOT-1 gene (GIOT1). The ZNF460 gene mapped to 19q13.4 with 3 exons, and ZNF461 mapped to 19q13.1 with 6 exons. Both of the two genes are ubiquitously expressed in normal human tissues and the abundance of the ZNF460 mRNA is relatively low.     

水稻飞虱的抗药性监测研究

1989-1993年选用有机磷、氨基甲酸酯和拟除虫菊酯三大粪12种常用杀虫剂,对水稻褐飞虱和白背飞虱进行了5年系统的抗药性监测研究,发现两种飞虱对药剂的敏感性年度间变化较大,分析可能与其迁飞习性有关。将我们所测的LD50与日本Nagata(1967)测定结果比较．褐飞虱对有机磷类的抗性倍数为3.22-16．12倍,对氨基甲酸酯类为5．59-9．12倍;白背飞虱对有机磷类的抗性为48．90-208.16倍．对氨基甲酸酯类为3．29-19．50倍．抗性发展速率明显高于褐飞虱。两种飞虱对菊酯类药剂的敏感性差异较大。抗马拉硫磷的褐飞虱种群对二氯苯醚菊酯表现较高交互抗性。     

Spatial phylogenetics of the Chinese angiosperm flora provides insights into endemism and conservation

The flora of China is well known for its high diversity and endemism. Identifying centers of endemism and designating conservation priorities are essential goals for biodiversity studies.However, there is no comprehensive study from a rigorous phylogenetic perspective to understand patterns of diversity and endemism and to guide biodiversity conservation in China. We conducted a spatial phylogenetic analysis of the Chinese angiosperm flora at the generic level to identify centers of neo-and pale...     

银缕梅叶器官的宏观与微观结构及系统意义

银缕梅〔Ｓｈａｎｉｏｄｅｎｄｒｏｎｓｕｂａｅｑｕａｌｅ（Ｃｈａｎｇ）Ｄｅｎｇ,ＷｅｉｅｔＷａｎｇ〕叶表皮毛为星状毛,气孔器为平列式中周缘型,叶缘齿型为弗特吉型,叶肉栅栏组织一层细胞厚,三叶隙三叶迹的节,从茎节到叶之间的维管束呈分离合并分离的变化格局,并且呈续次合并和续次分离发育模式。这些结果进而说明银缕梅属的独立性,也从一个侧面证明它应属于狭义的弗特吉族（Ｆｏｔｈｅｒｇｉｌｅａｅ）。     

Derivation of Mouse Haploid Trophoblast Stem Cells

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Determination of oxytetracycline hydrochloride in milk and egg white samples using Ru(bipy)32+–Ce(SO4)2 chemiluminescence

A novel, rapid and sensitive chemiluminescence (CL) method for the determination of oxytetracycline hydrochloride (OTCH) is described in this paper. The presented method was based on the fact that OTCH could immensely enhance the CL of the reaction of cerium sulfate and tris(2,2‐bipyridyl) ruthenium (II) in acidic medium. Under optimal experimental conditions, CL intensity was favorably linear for OTCH in the range 5.0 × 10^?7 to 5.0 × 10^?5 g/ml, with a detection limit of 1.5 × 10^?7 g/ml (S/N = 3). The relative standard detection was 4.76% for 5.0 × 10^?6 g/ml (n = 11). This method was successfully applied to the analysis of OTCH in milk and egg white samples. According to the results of the kinetic curves for OTCH in the Ru(bipy)₃²⁺–Ce(SO₄)₂ CL system, together with CL and ultraviolet (UV)–visible spectra, the possible mechanism of the CL reaction is discussed briefly.