Decoloration of Amaranth by the white-rot fungus Trametes versicolor. Part I. Statistical analysis

The white-rot fungus Trametes versicolor decolorized the mono-azo-substituted naphthalenic dye Amaranth. The relationship between the amount of enzymes present in the system and the efficiency of the decoloration process was investigated. The two responses used to quantify the process of decoloration (i.e., initial decoloration rate, v0, and the percent concentration of dye decolorized in 1 h, %c) were correlated with the amount of three enzymes considered for the study (lignin peroxidase, manganese peroxidase, and laccase) and analyzed through stepwise regression analysis (forward, backward, and mixed). The results of the correlation analysis and those of the regression analysis indicated that lignin peroxidase is the enzyme having the greatest influence on the two responses.     

PrrC, a Sco homologue from Rhodobacter sphaeroides, possesses thiol-disulfide oxidoreductase activity

PrrC is a Sco homologue in Rhodobacter sphaeroides that is associated with PrrBA, a two-component signal transduction system that induces photosynthesis gene expression in response to a decrease in oxygen tension. Although Sco proteins have been shown to bind copper the observation that they are structurally-related to thioredoxins suggested that they might possess thiol-disulfide oxidoreductase activity. Our results show that PrrC reduces Cu(2+) to Cu(+) and possesses disulfide reductase activity. These results indicate that some bacterial Sco proteins may have biochemical properties that are distinct from those of mitochondrial Sco proteins.     

药用植物刺山柑愈伤组织诱导及细胞生长代谢特征研究

本文研究了不同外植体及激素对刺山柑愈伤组织诱导的影响,不同激素配比对愈伤组织增殖培养以及悬浮细胞的生长与代谢特征。结果表明:以刺山柑叶片作为诱导愈伤组织的材料,效果较佳;愈伤组织诱导和继代的适宜培养条件是分别是MS 0.5mg/L 2,4-D 1.0mg/L6-BA和MS 1.0mg/L2,4-D 1.5mg/L6-BA。刺山柑悬浮培养细胞的生长周期为30天左右,细胞生长曲线呈"S"形,生物量增长2.8倍左右;细胞生长周期内,碳源消耗规律表现为蔗糖和可溶性总糖的浓度持续降低,而还原糖则表现为先升高后降低;过氧化物酶活测定显示酶活水平与蔗糖浓度的高低呈一定程度的正相关。     

Characterization of reemerging chikungunya virus

An unprecedented epidemic of chikungunya virus (CHIKV) infection recently started in countries of the Indian Ocean area, causing an acute and painful syndrome with strong fever, asthenia, skin rash, polyarthritis, and lethal cases of encephalitis. The basis for chikungunya disease and the tropism of CHIKV remain unknown. Here, we describe the replication characteristics of recent clinical CHIKV strains. Human epithelial and endothelial cells, primary fibroblasts and, to a lesser extent, monocyte-derived macrophages, were susceptible to infection and allowed viral production. In contrast, CHIKV did not replicate in lymphoid and monocytoid cell lines, primary lymphocytes and monocytes, or monocyte-derived dendritic cells. CHIKV replication was cytopathic and associated with an induction of apoptosis in infected cells. Chloroquine, bafilomycin-A1, and short hairpin RNAs against dynamin-2 inhibited viral production, indicating that viral entry occurs through pH-dependent endocytosis. CHIKV was highly sensitive to the antiviral activity of type I and II interferons. These results provide a general insight into the interaction between CHIKV and its mammalian host.     

Continuous delivery of IFN-beta promotes sustained maturation of intratumoral vasculature

IFNs have pleiotropic antitumor mechanisms of action. The purpose of this study was to further investigate the effects of IFN-beta on the vasculature of human xenografts in immunodeficient mice. We found that continuous, systemic IFN-beta delivery, established with liver-targeted adeno-associated virus vectors, led to sustained morphologic and functional changes of the tumor vasculature that were consistent with vessel maturation. These changes included increased smooth muscle cell coverage of tumor vessels, improved intratumoral blood flow, and decreased vessel permeability, tumor interstitial pressure, and intratumoral hypoxia. Although these changes in the tumor vasculature resulted in more efficient tumor perfusion, further tumor growth was restricted, as the mature vasculature seemed to be unable to expand to support further tumor growth. In addition, maturation of the intratumoral vasculature resulted in increased intratumoral penetration of systemically administered chemotherapy. Finally, molecular analysis revealed increased expression by treated tumors of angiopoietin-1, a cytokine known to promote vessel stabilization. Induction of angiopoietin-1 expression in response to IFN-beta was broadly observed in different tumor lines but not in those with defects in IFN signaling. In addition, IFN-beta-mediated vascular changes were prevented when angiopoietin signaling was blocked with a decoy receptor. Thus, we have identified an alternative approach for achieving sustained vascular remodeling-continuous delivery of IFN-beta. In addition to restricting tumor growth by inhibiting further angiogenesis, maturation of the tumor vasculature also improved the efficiency of delivery of adjuvant therapy. These results have significant implications for the planning of combination anticancer therapy.     

原、异位保存东乡野生稻主要农艺性状的比较研究

为了解原、异位保存东乡野生稻主要农艺性状的变化,对庵家山普通野生稻原、异位群体进行了考察和比较分析。结果表明,原、异位保存的东乡野生稻在每穗总粒数、每穗实粒数、结实率等方面存在较大的差异,如异位保存的东乡野生稻每穗总粒数平均为58.28粒,比原位多11.44粒,但其每穗实粒数却较少,为9.89粒,结实率降低了45.43%。从种植环境可以发现,异位保存圃的环境不适宜东乡野生稻的生长,应该选择与原生境相类似的种植环境,以便于东乡野生稻的保存、研究与利用。     

腰痹通胶囊与布洛芬缓释胶囊联合用药治疗慢性腰痛疗效的随机对照研究

摘要 目的：观察腰痹通胶囊与布洛芬缓释胶囊联合用药治疗慢性腰痛的临床疗效。方法：将168例在我院门诊接受治疗的慢性腰痛患者随机分为A组、B组与C组（各56例）,A组给予口服腰痹通胶囊 (3粒/次),3次/d,饭后服药;B组给予布洛芬缓释胶囊治疗 (300 mg/次),2次/d,饭后口服;C组同时口服腰痹通胶囊和布洛芬缓释胶囊（用法同前）,3组均治疗1个疗程。观察治疗前后3组患者的临床疗效、视觉模拟评分（VAS）、Oswestry功能障碍指数（ODI）评分、日本骨科协会腰椎治疗评价量表（JOA）评分、血清炎性因子和药物副作用等各项指标,并进行对比分析。结果：所有患者均完成了研究,没有退出或脱落病例。A组的总有效率为76.79%,B组的总有效率为82.14%,C组的总有效率为96.43%,经统计学分析,AB两组之间没有显著的统计学差异（P>0.05）,而C组与A组或B组之间均有显著性差异（P<0.05）。3组的VAS、ODI、JOA评分在治疗前后具有显著的统计学差异（P<0.05）,其中C组治疗后的相关评分优于其他两组（P<0.05）。C组患者治疗后的炎性因子包括C反应蛋白(CRP)、白介素-6(IL-6)、肿瘤坏死因子-α(TNF-α)水平均低于A组、B组(P<0.05)。A组的药物副作用最少,B组的药物副作用最多,A组和C组的不良反应发生率低于B组（P<0.05）。结论：腰痹通胶囊联合布洛芬缓释胶囊口服治疗慢性腰痛的疗效明显优于这两种药物单独使用,可缓解患者腰部疼痛,改善腰椎功能,降低血清炎性因子水平。     

昆虫多样性三十年研究进展

当前, 全球昆虫数量和多样性均处于下降趋势, 而导致这一趋势的原因主要包括人为干扰及气候变化。本文基于森林、草地、农业、水生和土壤生态系统, 以植食性、访花、捕食性、寄生性、食果以及食腐昆虫为重点功能昆虫群, 综述了近三十年来国内外昆虫多样性研究领域的主要进展, 并分析了发展趋势。近年来, 昆虫多样性的研究维度不断拓展, 形态多样性研究不断深入, 系统发生多样性、功能多样性和遗传多样性等研究也显著加强。此外, 昆虫多样性研究的空间尺度也逐步扩大, 大尺度区域性研究甚至全球范围的调查持续增长。昆虫进化历史也被引入多样性格局研究中, 并随着系统发生信息学方法的普及而被整合到生态系统建成和生物多样性形成机制研究中。未来需要加强关键昆虫类群整合分类学研究、功能性状多样性、林冠昆虫多样性、互作网络结构等方向的研究。     

岩溶区水生生态系统微藻的生物碳泵效应

微藻在水生生态系统的碳固定中扮演重要角色。本文综述了岩溶区水生生态系统生物碳泵的提出、岩溶区微藻生物碳泵作用、影响微藻固碳的主要环境因素以及岩溶区微藻固碳的研究进展,并提出了亟待解决的关键科学问题,为深入研究岩溶区水生生态系统微藻固碳能力及生物碳泵机制、科学认识岩溶生态系统的碳汇潜力、丰富和完善岩溶碳循环理论提供参考。