Chronic cigarette smoking causes hypertension, increased oxidative stress, impaired NO bioavailability, endothelial dysfunction, and cardiac remodeling in mice

Cigarette smoking is a major independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. While the association between chronic smoking and cardiovascular disease is well established, the underlying mechanisms are incompletely understood, partly due to the lack of adequate in vivo animal models. Here, we report a mouse model of chronic smoking-induced cardiovascular pathology. Male C57BL/6J mice were exposed to whole body mainstream cigarette smoke (CS) using a SCIREQ "InExpose" smoking system (48 min/day, 5 days/wk) for 16 or 32 wk. Age-matched, air-exposed mice served as nonsmoking controls. Blood pressure was measured, and cardiac MRI was performed. In vitro vascular ring and isolated heart experiments were performed to measure vascular reactivity and cardiac function. Blood from control and smoking mice was studied for the nitric oxide (NO) decay rate and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. With 32 wk of CS exposure, mice had significantly less body weight gain and markedly higher blood pressure. At 32 wk of CS exposure, ACh-induced vasorelaxation was significantly shifted to the right and downward, left ventricular mass was significantly larger along with an increased heart-to-body weight ratio, in vitro cardiac function tended to be impaired with high afterload, white blood cells had significantly higher ROS generation, and the blood NO decay rate was significantly faster. Thus, smoking led to blunted weight gain, hypertension, endothelial dysfunction, leukocyte activation with ROS generation, decreased NO bioavailability, and mild cardiac hypertrophy in mice that were not otherwise predisposed to disease. This mouse model is a useful tool to enable further elucidation of the molecular and cellular mechanisms of smoking-induced cardiovascular diseases.     

Proteomic Analysis of Interactions Between the Generalist Herbivore <Emphasis Type="Italic">Spodoptera exigua</Emphasis> (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Arabidopsis thaliana</Emphasis>

In this study, comparative proteomics was used to investigate the interaction of Spodoptera exigua and Arabidopsis thaliana. By using 2-D electrophoresis of differentially expressed proteins, combined with high-throughput matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and MALDI-TOF/TOF MS, the changes in the abundance of proteins induced by insect feeding were studied in A. thaliana. More than 1,100 protein spots were reproducibly detected on each gel. The intensities of 30 protein spots in particular changed significantly, showing differences in volume of at least twofold. Among these, 17 protein spots were upregulated, and 13 were downregulated following an 8-h insect feeding period. Nineteen insect-feeding-responsive proteins were identified, all of which were involved in metabolic regulation, binding functions or cofactor requirement of protein, cell rescue, and defense and virulence, as assessed by Munich Information Center for Protein Sequences function category. About 50% of these were involved in metabolism, including transketolase, S-adenosylmethionine synthase 3, 2,3-biphosphoglycerate-independent phosphoglycerate mutase, beta-ureidopropionase, GDP-d-mannose 3′,5′-epimerase, and fatty acid synthase. The identification of insect-feeding-responsive proteins on Arabidopsis provides not only new insights into insect stress but also a good start for further investigation of their functions. Understanding how the plant responses to insects in the proteomic level will provide tools for a better management of insect pest in the field.     

Localization and synthesis of entactin in seminiferous tubules of the mouse.

Localization and synthesis of entactin in seminiferous tubules of mouse testis was studied by immunocytochemistry. Frozen sections from adult mice testes were subjected to anti-entactin and anti-laminin immunofluorescence. Both entactin and laminin were localized within the seminiferous tubule basement membrane and intertubular region of the testis. The addition of excess amount of entactin (but not fibronectin), premixed with anti-entactin antiserum, abolished the immunostain. Western blotting showed that a protein extract from a seminiferous tubule basement membrane preparation was recognized by anti-entactin anti-serum and comigrated with recombinant entactin. Enriched fractions of isolated primary Sertoli cells and peritubular myoid cells cultured for 6 days on a glass coverslip were able to synthesize and secrete entactin as detected by immunofluorescence microscopy. Entactin was also produced by TM3 (Leydig-like) and TM4 (Sertoli-like) cell lines as detected by both immunofluorescence and Western blotting. The distribution of entactin vs. laminin within both the cultured primary cells and the TM3 and TM4 cell lines differed. Entactin appeared mainly localized extracellularly. In contrast, laminin was mainly localized intracellularly. The above findings suggested that 1) entactin existed in the seminiferous tubule basement membrane and intertubular region of adult mice testis, co-localized with laminin; 2) entactin was synthesized by the cultured primary Sertoli cells and peritubular myoid cells and the TM3 and TM4 cell lines; 3) entactin was exocytosed with little intracellular accumulation, in contrast to an intracellular accumulation of laminin.     

New pollen classification of Chenopodiaceae for exploring and tracing desert vegetation evolution in eastern arid central Asia

Members of the Chenopodiaceae are the most dominant elements in the central Asian desert. The different genera and species within this family are common in desert vegetation types. Should it prove possible to link pollen types in this family to specific desert vegetation, it would be feasible to trace vegetation successions in the geological past. Nevertheless, the morphological similarity of pollen grains in the Chenopodiaceae rarely permits identification at the generic level. Although some pollen classifications of Chenopodiaceae have been proposed, none of them tried to link pollen types to specific desert vegetation types in order to explore their ecological significance. Based on the pollen morphological characters of 13 genera and 24 species within the Chenopodiaceae of eastern central Asia, we provide a new pollen classification of this family with six pollen types and link them to those plant communities dominated by Chenopodiaceae, for example, temperate dwarf semi‐arboreal desert (Haloxylon type), temperate succulent halophytic dwarf semi‐shrubby desert (Suaeda, Kalidium, and Atriplex types), temperate annual graminoid desert (Kalidium type), temperate semi‐shrubby and dwarf semi‐shrubby desert (Kalidium, Iljini, and Haloxylon types), and alpine cushion dwarf semi‐shrubby desert (Krascheninnikovia type). These findings represent a new approach for detecting specific desert vegetation types and deciphering ecosystem evolution in eastern central Asia.     

少数民族中医体质类型研究现状

中医体质学以人为研究对象,为了研究不同体质构成特点、演变规律、影响因素、分类标准,从而指导疾病的预防、诊治、康复与养生。目前关于生理和病理状态下的中医体质研究日益受到关注,因为对其研究符合中医”治未病”的理念,而关于少数民族的中医体质类型研究开展较少,但对少数民族之间和汉族之间中医体质的比较研究及与生活习惯,生活环境的联系将能更好地说明先天因素和后天环境对中医体质形成的影响。本文就这一领域的研究现状进行总结,对少数民族中医体质的研究一方面可为少数民族人群的疾病防治提供依据,另一方面有助于中医体质形成机理的阐明。     

Regulation of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor function by adenine nucleotides

1. Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR)4 from BC3H1 cells (which express a skeletal muscle-type receptor) and from Torpedo californica electric organ were expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes and studied with a voltage-clamp technique. 2. We found that bath application of ATP in the micromolar to millimolar range increased the ACh-elicited current in both muscle and electrocyte receptors. The effect of ATP increased with successive applications. This "use-dependent" increase in potentiation was Ca2+ dependent, while the potentiation itself was not. 3. Four other nucleotides were tested on muscle nAChR: ADP, AMP, adenosine, and GTP. Of these, only ADP was a potentiator, but its effect was not use dependent. Neither ATP nor ADP affected the resting potential of the oocyte membrane. 4. ADP potentiated the response to suberyldicholine and nicotine, as well as ACh. 5. Finally, ADP reversed the phencyclidine-induced block of ACh currents in oocytes expressing muscle nAChR.     

棉铃虫发生与北太平洋海温的遥相关 及其长期灾变预警

本文分析了山东郓城26年（1974～1999）、德州22年（1978～1999）和江苏丰县20年（1980～1999）棉铃虫百株累计卵量与北太平洋海温的遥相关关系及其时空动态规律,并选出相关显著程度P<0.05概率水平、空间分布范围较大、持续时间较长而稳定的组合作为关键预测因子组建了郓城、德州棉铃虫三代卵,丰县棉铃虫二代卵的预测模型,并筛选出最优长期灾变预警模型。结果表明：① 北太平洋海温场与棉铃虫种群数量消长存在显著或极显著的遥相关区域,其位置及范围随时间变化,但存在若干呈现出空间稳定性和时间持续性的大面积相关显著区域。② 郓城棉铃虫三代卵量和丰县棉铃虫二代卵量与北太平洋海温场的相关区分布形式很相似,与前两年1月份北太平洋月平均海温场存在大片相关显著的区域（35°～ 55°N,135°E～135°W）,持续时间达4个月之久;而德州棉铃虫三代卵量与前两年7～9月份北太平洋低纬度海温有大范围相关显著区（1°～17°N,165°E～120°W）。 ③ 用前两年1～11月份北太平洋海温场相关显著区内各格点的月平均海温距平的平均值做因子建立了棉铃虫长期灾变预警模型,预测检验结果表明：郓城棉铃虫三代卵6年（1994～1999）中报准5年,丰县棉铃虫二代卵5年（1995～1999）中报准3年,德州棉铃虫三代卵5年（1995～1999）全部符合。据此可提前20～27个月做棉铃虫的长期灾变预警。     

Relevance of Global Forest Change Data Set to Local Conservation: Case Study of Forest Degradation in Masoala National Park,Madagascar

A global data set on forest cover change was recently published and made freely available for use (Hansen et al. 2013. Science 342: 850–853). Although this data set has been criticized for inaccuracies in distinguishing vegetation types at the local scale, it remains a valuable source of forest cover information for areas where local data is severely lacking. Masoala National Park, in northeastern Madagascar, is an example of a region for which very little spatially explicit forest cover information is available. Yet, this extremely diverse tropical humid forest is undergoing a dramatic rate of forest degradation and deforestation through illegal selective logging of rosewood and ebony, slash‐and‐burn agriculture, and damage due to cyclones. All of these processes result in relatively diffuse and small‐scale changes in forest cover. In this paper, we examine to what extent Hansen et al.'s global forest change data set captures forest loss within Masoala National Park by comparing its performance to a locally calibrated, object‐oriented classification approach. We verify both types of classification with substantial ground truthing. We find that both the global and local classifications perform reasonably well in detecting small‐scale slash‐and‐burn agriculture, but neither performs adequately in detecting selective logging. We conclude that since the use of the global forest change data set requires very little technical and financial investment, and performs almost as well as the more resource‐demanding, locally calibrated classification, it may be advantageous to use the global forest change data set even for local conservation purposes.     

高通量RNA甲基化测序数据处理与分析研究进展

随着高通量测序技术快速发展,Me RIP-seq(methylated RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing)测序技术开启了RNA表观遗传学研究新局面,能够在全基因组范围内描述RNA甲基化.从Me RIP-seq高通量数据中挖掘RNA甲基化模式,有助于揭示m RNA甲基化在调控基因表达、剪切等方面所发挥的潜在功能,有效指导癌症的干预治疗.本文从Me RIP-seq测序原理出发,较全面地综述Me RIP-seq数据处理和分析方法研究现状,并对其所面临的计算问题进行讨论和展望.