光照强度对紫茉莉生长和镉积累的影响

采用土培实验研究了25mg／kg镉处理下全光照（HL）、50％全光照（ML）和10％全光照（LL）三种生长光强对紫茉莉生长、光合作用和镉积累相关指标的影响,结果表明,紫茉莉对镉具有较高的耐性,ML对紫茉莉的生长最为有利。镉胁迫下紫茉莉净光合速率和最大光化学效率降低,暗呼吸速率增高,生物量减小。特别在高光强条件下。ML植株镉积累量最大,对镉污染土壤的植物修复效果较好。     

15年前后细菌L型临床耐药性的变迁

目的检测15年前后细菌L型临床耐药性的变迁,分析影响因素,指导临床用药。方法对新乡市中心医院15年来临床检出的常见细菌L型菌株逐个进行药敏监测,逐年进行耐药性变化分析研究。结果1990年至1999年细菌L型常见菌株耐药性逐年上升,特别是青霉素类大部耐药;2000年至2005年,耐药性趋势变缓,青霉素类耐药率有所下降。结论合理应用抗生素,不滥用抗生素是细菌L型耐药性变迁的重要原因,药物敏感试验是良好的监测方法。     

Diversity and distribution of saprobic microfungi in leaf litter of an Australian tropical rainforest

The diversity and distribution of microfungal assemblages in leaf litter of a tropical Australian forest was assessed using two methods: (1) cultures were isolated using a particle filtration protocol (wet season 2001), and (2) fruit bodies were observed directly on leaf surfaces following incubation in humid chambers (wet and dry season of 2002). Four tree species were studied using both methods, namely Cryptocarya mackinnoniana (Lauraceae), Elaeocarpus angustifolius (Elaeocarpaceae), Ficus pleurocarpa (Moraceae), and Opisthiolepis heterophylla (Proteaceae). An additional two species, Darlingia ferruginea (Proteaceae) and Ficus destruens (Moraceae), were studied using direct observations. In total, fruiting bodies of 185 microfungal species were recorded on leaf surfaces (31–81 species per tree species), and 419 morphotypes were detected among isolates obtained by particle filtration (111–203 morphotypes per tree species). Although the observed microfungal diversity was higher with the particle filtration protocol, both methods concurred with respect to microfungal distributions. The overlap of microfungal species in pair wise comparisons of tree species was low (14–30 %), and only 2 and 3 % of microfungal species were observed in leaves of all tree species by particle filtration and by direct observations respectively. Multivariate analysis of data from direct observations confirmed the hypothesis that microfungal assemblages are strongly influenced by host phylogeny and are also affected by seasonal and site factors. The importance of host species in shaping microfungal distributions was also supported by the particle filtration data. Several taxa new to science, as well as some widespread saprotrophs, were detected on only one host. The underlying reasons for this affinity remain unclear, but we hypothesise that a number of factors may be involved such as fungal adaptation to plant secondary metabolites or the presence of a biotrophic phase in the fungus' life cycle.     

Methods for mycelial breakage and isolation of mitochondria and vacuoles of Neurospora

A new and inexpensive glass-bead blender allows rapid, easy, and controlled cell breakage of Neurospora, with good organellar survival. The yield of mitochondria and vacuoles is comparable to or better than methods involving sand grinding or snail-gut digestion of cell walls. A method for removing cell wall fragments from a crude homogenate is described. Isolation of mitochondria and vacuoles from the crude homogenate with little cross-contamination is accomplished by density-gradient centrifugation in a fixed-angle rotor (Sorvall).     

A model of the control of cellular regeneration in the intestinal crypt after perturbation based solely on local stem cell regulation

Abstract. The control mechanisms involved in regeneration of murine intestinal crypts after perturbations are presently not well understood. The existence of some feedback signals from the cells on the villus to the cells in the crypt has been suggested. However, some recent experimental data point to the fact that regeneration in the crypt starts very early after perturbation, at a time when the villus cell population has hardly changed. In particular, this early cell proliferative activity is seen specifically at the bottom of the crypt, i.e. in the presumed stem cell zone and furthest from the villus.
The objective of this study was to investigate whether a new concept of regulation operating solely at the stem cell level could explain the present mass of accumulated data on the post-irradiation recovery, which is an extensively studied perturbation from the experimental point of view. In order to check its validity, the new concept was formalized as a mathematical simulation model thus enabling comparison with experimental data. The model describes the cellular development from stem cells to the mature villus cells. As a basic feature it is assumed that the self-maintenance and the cell cycle activity of the stem cells are controlled by the number of these cells in an autoregulatory fashion. The essential features of the experimental data (i.e. the recovery with time and the consistency between different types of measurements) can be very well reproduced by simulations using a range of model parameters. Thus, we conclude that stem cell autoregulation is a valid concept which could replace the villus crypt feedback concept in explaining the early changes after irradiation when the damage primarily affects the crypt. The question of the detailed nature of the control process requires further investigation.     

Genome-Wide Identification of Epigenetic Hotspots Potentially Related to Cardiovascular Risk in Adult Women after a Complicated Pregnancy

Background

The physiological demands of pregnancy on the maternal cardiovascular system can catapult women into a metabolic syndrome that predisposes to atherosclerosis in later life. We sought to identify the nature of the epigenomic changes associated with the increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in adult women following pre-eclampsia.

Findings

We assessed the genome wide epigenetic profile by methyl-C sequencing of monozygotic parous twin sister pairs discordant for a severe variant of pre-eclampsia. In the adult twin sisters at risk for CVD as a consequence of a complicated pregnancy, a set of 12 differentially methylated regions with at least 50% difference in methylation percentage and the same directional change was found to be shared between the affected twin sisters and significantly different compared to their unaffected monozygous sisters.

Conclusion

The current epigenetic marker set will permit targeted analysis of differentially methylated regions potentially related to CVD risk in large cohorts of adult women following complicated pregnancies.