生物可降解塑料单体二元羧酸的生物合成研究进展北大核心CSCD

塑料是最重要的聚合物材料之一,需求量巨大,但存在处理困难、污染大等缺点。环境友好型的生物可降解塑料有望成为目前塑料的替代品,以满足社会各界对于塑料制品日益增长的需求。二元羧酸是生物可降解塑料中重要的单体之一,可降解性强,应用广泛,并且可以通过全生物法合成。因此,本文重点选取了几种比较有代表性的二元羧酸,总结它们的生物合成途径以及其代谢改造手段,以期为中长链等复杂二元羧酸的生物法合成提供借鉴。     

People’s desire to be in nature and how they experience it are partially heritable

Nature experiences have been linked to mental and physical health. Despite the importance of understanding what determines individual variation in nature experience, the role of genes has been overlooked. Here, using a twin design (TwinsUK, number of individuals = 2,306), we investigate the genetic and environmental contributions to a person’s nature orientation, opportunity (living in less urbanized areas), and different dimensions of nature experience (frequency and duration of public nature space visits and frequency and duration of garden visits). We estimate moderate heritability of nature orientation (46%) and nature experiences (48% for frequency of public nature space visits, 34% for frequency of garden visits, and 38% for duration of garden visits) and show their genetic components partially overlap. We also find that the environmental influences on nature experiences are moderated by the level of urbanization of the home district. Our study demonstrates genetic contributions to individuals’ nature experiences, opening a new dimension for the study of human–nature interactions.

Nature experiences have been linked to mental and physical health. This twin study reveals genetic influences on an individual’s orientation towards nature and nature experiences, opening a new dimension to understanding human-nature interactions.     

城乡景观中土壤生态系统微塑料的来源、迁移特征及其风险

土壤微塑料污染的持久性、复杂性及其对土壤生态系统的影响受到越来越广泛的关注,但对其来源、迁移过程等仍有许多问题尚未理清。从复合生态系统的角度,通过对城乡景观中土壤微塑料的来源、迁移过程及其风险等相关研究进展进行了系统梳理,分析了城乡不同景观中土壤微塑料的主要来源和特点,讨论了土壤微塑料在城乡景观中的迁移特征及其驱动力,探讨了土壤微塑料在城乡景观中的生态和健康风险。今后需进一步明确城乡景观中土壤微塑料污染的物质流过程与环境归趋特征,加强微塑料对土壤生态系统的作用过程及生态系统服务影响的研究,揭示土壤微塑料对人类健康的直接或间接影响,建立城乡复合生态系统土壤微塑料污染预测模型,以维护土壤生态安全与人居环境健康。     

GSK-3β inhibition protects human nucleus pulposus cell against oxidative stress-inducing apoptosis through mitochondrial pathway

Molecular Biology Reports - Oxidative stress in the intervertebral disc leads to nucleus pulposus (NP) degeneration by inducing cell apoptosis. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying this...     

Treatment of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy in mouse by transplantation of embryonic stem cell-derived cells

A 7-day-old hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) mouse model was used to study the effect of transplantation of embryonic stem (ES) cell-derived cells on the HIE. After the inducement in vitro, the ES cell-derived cells expressed Nestin and MAP-2, rather than GFAP mRNA. After transplantation, ES cell-derived cells can survive, migrate into the injury site, and specifically differentiate into neurons, showing improvement of the learning ability and memory of the HIE mouse at 8 months post-transplantation. The non-grafted HIE mouse brain showed typical pathological changes in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex, where the number of neurons was reduced, while in the cell graft group, number of the neurons increased in the same regions. Although further study is necessary to elucidate the precise mechanisms responsible for this functional recovery, we believe that ES cells have advantages for use as a donor source in HIE.     

Case study for identification of potentially indel-caused alternative expression isoforms in the rice subspecies japonica and indica by integrative genome analysis

Alternative splicing (AS) is one of the most significant components of the functional complexity of the eukaryote genome, increasing protein diversity, creating isoforms, and affecting mRNA stability. Recently, whole genome sequences and large microarray data sets have become available, making data integration feasible and allowing the study of the possible regulatory mechanism of AS in rice (Oryza sativa) by erecting and testing hypotheses before doing bench studies. We have developed a new strategy and have identified 215 rice genes with alternative expression isoforms related to insertion and deletion (indel) between subspecies indica and subspecies japonica. We did a case study for alternative expression isoforms of the rice peroxidase gene LOC_Os06g48030 to investigate possible mechanisms by which indels caused alternative splicing between the indica and the japonica varieties by mining of array data together with validation by RT-PCR and genome sequencing analysis. Multiple poly(A) signals were detected in the specific indel region for LOC_Os06g48030. We present a new methodology to promote more discoveries of potentially indel-caused AS genes in rice, which may serve as the foundation for research into the regulatory mechanism of alternative expression isoforms between subspecies.