Structural transformations accompanying the assembly of bacteriophage P22 portal protein rings in vitro

The Salmonella typhimurium bacteriophage P22 assembles an icosahedral capsid precursor called a procapsid. The oligomeric portal protein ring, located at one vertex, comprises the conduit for DNA entry and exit. In conjunction with the DNA packaging enzymes, the portal ring is an integral component of a nanoscale machine that pumps DNA into the phage head. Although the portal vertex is assembled with high fidelity, the mechanism by which a single portal complex is incorporated during procapsid assembly remains unknown. The assembly of bacteriophage P22 portal rings has been characterized in vitro using a recombinant, His-tagged protein. Although the portal protein remained primarily unassembled within the cell, once purified, the highly soluble monomer assembled into rings at room temperature at high concentrations with a half time of approximately 1 h. Circular dichroic analysis of the monomers and rings indicated that the protein gained alpha-helicity upon polymerization. Thermal denaturation studies suggested that the rings contained an ordered domain that was not present in the unassembled monomer. A combination of 4,4'-dianilino-1,1'-binapthyl-5,5'-disulfonic acid (bis-ANS) binding fluorescence studies and limited proteolysis revealed that the N-terminal portion of the unassembled subunit is meta-stable and is susceptible to structural perturbation by bis-ANS. In conjunction with previously obtained data on the behavior of the P22 portal protein, we propose an assembly model for P22 portal rings that involves a meta-stable monomeric subunit.     

Platelet-derived growth factor C (PDGF-C), a novel growth factor that binds to PDGF alpha and beta receptor

We have characterized platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) C, a novel growth factor belonging to the PDGF family. PDGF-C is a multidomain protein with the N-terminal region homologous to the extracellular CUB domain of neuropilin-1, and the C-terminal region consists of a growth factor domain (GFD) with homology to vascular endothelial growth factor (25%) and PDGF A-chain (23%). A serum-sensitive cleavage site between the two domains allows release of the GFD from the CUB domain. Competition binding and immunoprecipitation studies on cells bearing both PDGF alpha and beta receptors reveal a high affinity binding of recombinant GFD (PDGF-CC) to PDGF receptor-alpha homodimers and PDGF receptor-alpha/beta heterodimers. PDGF-CC exhibits greater mitogenic potency than PDGF-AA and comparable or greater mitogenic activity than PDGF-AB and PDGF-BB on several mesenchymal cell types. Analysis of PDGF-CC in vivo in a diabetic mouse model of delayed wound healing showed that PDGF-CC significantly enhanced repair of a full-thickness skin excision. Together, these studies describe a third member of the PDGF family (PDGF-C) as a potent mitogen for cells of mesenchymal origin in in vitro and in vivo systems with a binding pattern similar to PDGF-AB.     

RCPs气候情景下珠江三角洲地区城市用地扩展的预测与模拟

随着社会经济的快速发展,中国城市规模和数量不断扩大,城市土地利用系统内部变化错综复杂.本研究以珠江三角洲地区城市群为例,研究了在自然环境条件和社会经济条件共同作用下城市化进程中城市用地动态变化的驱动机制,并设计了规划情景和RCPs气候情景,运用决策树元胞自动机模型对这几种情景下珠江三角洲地区城市用地的动态变化进行预测模拟.结果表明: 非农业人口和社会经济的增长对城市化过程起着决定性的推动作用,交通干线在整个城市化进程中始终起着重要的基础性作用,高程较高和坡度较大的区域制约了该地区的城市化进程.随着时间的推移,无论哪种情景,城市用地扩张的态势不变,但扩张速度到一定时间节点将会减缓,不同情景下减缓的时间点不同;规划情景、MESSAGE模式和AIM模式下的城市用地发展速度依次增加,但MESSAGE气候模式下的城镇发展较符合当前的城镇发展态势;城市用地扩张的区域主要集中在广州、东莞、佛山、珠海、深圳、湛江和潮汕等城市化相对较高的区域.
     

Sources of Variability in Metabolite Measurements from Urinary Samples

Background

The application of metabolomics in epidemiological studies would potentially allow researchers to identify biomarkers associated with exposures and diseases. However, within-individual variability of metabolite levels caused by temporal variation of metabolites, together with technical variability introduced by laboratory procedures, may reduce the study power to detect such associations. We assessed the sources of variability of metabolites from urine samples and the implications for designing epidemiologic studies.

Methods

We measured 539 metabolites in urine samples from the Navy Colon Adenoma Study using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). The study collected 2–3 samples per person from 17 male subjects (age 38–70) over 2–10 days. We estimated between-individual, within-individual, and technical variability and calculated expected study power with a specific focus on large case-control and nested case-control studies.

Results

Overall technical reliability was high (median intraclass correlation = 0.92), and for 72% of the metabolites, the majority of total variance can be attributed to between-individual variability. Age, gender and body mass index explained only a small proportion of the total metabolite variability. For a relative risk (comparing upper and lower quartiles of “usual” levels) of 1.5, we estimated that a study with 500, 1,000, and 5,000 individuals could detect 1.0%, 4.5% and 75% of the metabolite associations.

Conclusions

The use of metabolomics in urine samples from epidemiological studies would require large sample sizes to detect associations with moderate effect sizes.     

Metabolic acidosis and infant feeding.

Most cows'' milk based formulae for infant feeding present a greater acid load to the infant than breast milk. To determine the effect of this difference the acid base state of 180 healthy term infants was measured on the sixth day of life and related to the type of feed. Those infants fed on cows'' milk formula (SMA) had a mean pH of 7-34 +/- 0-05 and a base deficit of 8-8 +/- 3-1, while those fed on breast milk had a mean pH of 7-38 +/- 0-05 and a base deficit of 5-6 +/- 3-1. The difference between the two groups of infants was significant for both these measurements. Metabolic acidosis was defined as a base deficit greater than 10 mmol/l. Seventy-four per cent of the 34 infants who were acidotic at six days were bottle-fed. There was a significant correlation between the pH of the feed and the degree of acidosis in the infant as measured by the base deficit. The findings suggest that when breast milk is not available a pH-adjusted milk formula would be desirable for preventing and treating neonatal metabolic acidosis.     

线艺建兰的组织培养和快速繁殖(简报)

以线艺建兰茎尖、腋芽为外植体,接种在1/2MS 6-BA 3.0mg/L NAA 0.3mg/L培养基上形成原球茎,原球茎在1/2MS 6-BA 0.1mg/L NAA 1.0mg/L培养基上可大量增殖,并伸长生长形成丛生型根状茎;根状茎在MS 6-BA 2.0mg/L PP333 1.0mg/L NAA 0.5mg/L培养基上可分化成小苗,分化率达46.3%;小苗在MS IBA 1.0mg/L GA 0.5mg/L 香蕉泥100g/L的培养基上生根壮苗,生根率达100%.