基于不同浓度变量的温带落叶阔叶林CO2储存通量的误差分析

利用帽儿山温带落叶阔叶林通量塔8层CO₂/H₂O浓度廓线的测定数据,比较分析了基于不同浓度变量\[密度(ρ_c)、摩尔分数(c_c)和混合比(χ_c)\]计算CO₂储存通量(F_s)的误差.结果表明： 通量观测的控制体积内部干空气储存量不为常数,其波动可引起CO₂分子进出控制体积,即干空气储存通量调整项(F_sd)的变化.在夜间以及昼夜转换期,F_sd相对于涡动通量而言较大,忽略F_sd将为森林与大气之间净CO₂交换量的计算带来误差.大气水热过程对F_s计算引起的误差包括3方面：空气温度变化引起的误差最大,比大气压强(P)的影响高1个数量级;水蒸气的影响在温暖湿润的夏季大于P的影响,但在寒冷干燥的冬季则相反; P的效应在全年均较低.基于ρ_c、c_c和χ_c计算F_s分别平均高估CO₂有效储存通量(F_{s_E})8.5%、0.6%和0.1%.在通量计算过程中,建议选择对大气水热过程守恒的χ_c计算F_s.     

F43Y及I354M,L358F定点突变对植酸酶热稳定性及酶活性的改善

对重组酵母PPNPm8的植酸酶phyAm基因进行PCR介导的定点突变,即将植酸酶43位的苯丙氨酸替换为酪氨酸(F43Y),将其354、358位的异亮氨酸、亮氨酸分别替换为甲硫氨酸和苯丙氨酸(I354M,L358F),得到了2个突变体PPNPm-1(F43Y)及PPNPm-2(I354M,L358F).含突变基因的重组表达载体pPIC9kphyAm-1,pPIC9kphyAm-2在毕赤酵母GS115中表达,对表达产物进行酶活性测定及热稳定性检测.结果表明:突变体PPNPm-1最适反应温度比未突变体PPNPm8上升了3℃,75℃处理10min,热稳定性提高15%,比活力提高11%;PPNPm-2最适反应温度未改变,热稳定性比PPNPm8仅提高3%,比活力降低6.5%.对突变前后的植酸酶空间结构进行比较预测,发现突变氨基酸Tyr43与空间位置相邻的Asn416之间形成氢键,增强了酶的热稳定性.     

不同供氮水平的水稻叶尖的傅里叶转换红外光谱

四个氮素水平处理的盆栽水稻(Oryza sativa L.)的叶尖在不同生育期均表现出明显的傅里叶转换红外光谱差异.新定义的光谱指数((A3400-A1653)/(A3400+A1653),A为某频率处的吸收值)随着施氮水平的提高而降低.结果表明,傅里叶转换红外光谱可用于诊断植物的氮素状况.     

The Effect of Sterilization Methods on the Physical Properties of Silk Sericin Scaffolds

Protein-based biomaterials respond differently to sterilization methods. Since protein is a complex structure, heat, or irradiation may result in the loss of its physical or biological properties. Recent investigations have shown that sericin, a degumming silk protein, can be successfully formed into a 3-D scaffolds after mixing with other polymers which can be applied in skin tissue engineering. The objective of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of ethanol, ethylene oxide (EtO) and gamma irradiation on the sterilization of sericin scaffolds. The influence of these sterilization methods on the physical properties such as pore size, scaffold dimensions, swelling and mechanical properties, as well as the amount of sericin released from sericin/polyvinyl alcohol/glycerin scaffolds, were also investigated. Ethanol treatment was ineffective for sericin scaffold sterilization whereas gamma irradiation was the most effective technique for scaffold sterilization. Moreover, ethanol also caused significant changes in pore size resulting from shrinkage of the scaffold. Gamma-irradiated samples exhibited the highest swelling property, but they also lost the greatest amount of weight after immersion for 24 h compared with scaffolds obtained from other sterilization methods. The results of the maximum stress test and Young’s modulus showed that gamma-irradiated and ethanol-treated scaffolds are more flexible than the EtO-treated and untreated scaffolds. The amount of sericin released, which was related to its collagen promoting effect, was highest from the gamma-irradiated scaffold. The results of this study indicate that gamma irradiation should have the greatest potential for sterilizing sericin scaffolds for skin tissue engineering.     

Multi-Stability and Multi-Instability Phenomena in a Mathematical Model of Tumor-Immune-Virus Interactions

Recent advances in virology, gene therapy, and molecular and cell biology have provided insight into the mechanisms through which viruses can boost the anti-tumor immune response, or can infect and directly kill tumor cells. A recent experimental report (Bridle et al. in Molec. Ther. 18(8):1430–1439, 2010) showed that a sequential treatment approach that involves two viruses that carry the same tumor antigen leads to an improved anti-tumor response compared to the effect of each virus alone. In this article, we derive a mathematical model to investigate the anti-tumor effect of two viruses, and their interactions with the immune cells. We discuss the conditions necessary for permanent tumor elimination and, in this context, we stress the importance of investigating the long-term effect of non-linear interactions. In particular, we discuss multi-stability and multi-instability, two complex phenomena that can cause abrupt transitions between different states in biological and physical systems. In the context of cancer immunotherapies, the transitions between a tumor-free and a tumor-present state have so far been associated with the multi-stability phenomenon. Here, we show that multi-instability can also cause the system to switch from one state to the other. In addition, we show that the multi-stability is driven by the immune response, while the multi-instability is driven by the presence of the virus.     

Develope Monoclonal Antibody against Foot-and-mouth Disease Virus A Type

In order to develop an anti-FMDV A Type monoclonal antibody (mAb),BABL/c mice were immunized with FMDV A type.Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) 7B11 and 8H4 against Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) serotype A were produced by fusing SP2/0 myeloma cells with splenocyte from the mouse immunized with A/AV88.The microneutralization titer of the mAbs 7B11 and 8H4 were 1024 and 512,respectively.Both mAbs contain kappa light chains,the mAbs were IgG1.In order to define the mAbs binding epitopes,the reactivity of the...     

Development and validation of a UPLC/MS method for a nutritional metabolomic study of human plasma

In order to study the effect of a diet on metabolites found in body fluids such as plasma, we have developed and validated a UPLC/MS method. While methods using NMR have been well established to analyse different biological tissues, recent studies have described robust untargeted UPLC-MS methods for plasma analysis. One major concern when profiling plasma is the presence of an important quantity of proteins which have to be precipitated without any loss of metabolites prior to LC/MS analysis. The utilization of untargeted approaches in nutritional metabolomics still suffers from the lack of identification of specific biomarkers. We therefore suggest an alternative method still using a global approach but focusing at the same time on metabolites previously described in human plasma in order to detect biomarkers of metabolic dysregulations. Thus, to fulfil our objectives, analytical parameters were tested (i) the anticoagulant type for sample collection, (ii) the protein precipitation method and (iii) UPLC/MS analytical conditions. Three protein precipitation methods and two anticoagulants were tested and compared. The method utilizing blood collection on heparin and methanol precipitation was chosen for giving the most reproducible results while keeping the complexity of the sample. Finally, a validation was proposed to evaluate the stability of this analytical method applied to a large batch of samples for nutritional metabolomic studies.     

Opposing roles of cell death-inducing DFF45-like effector B and perilipin 2 in controlling hepatic VLDL lipidation

Regulation of hepatic very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) assembly and maturation is crucial in controlling lipid homeostasis and in the development of metabolic disorders, including obesity, hepatic steatosis, and insulin resistance. Cideb, a member of cell death-inducing DFF45-like effector (CIDE) protein family, has been previously shown to promote VLDL lipidation and maturation. However, the precise subcellular location of Cideb-mediated VLDL lipidation and the factors modulating its activity remain elusive. In addition to its localization to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and lipid droplets (LD), we observed that Cideb was also localized to the Golgi apparatus. Mature and lipid-rich VLDL particles did not accumulate in the Golgi apparatus in Cideb(-/-) livers. Interestingly, we observed that hepatic perilipin 2/adipose differentiation-related protein (ADRP) levels were markedly increased in Cideb(-/-) mice. Liver-specific knockdown of perilipin 2 in Cideb(-/-) mice resulted in the reduced accumulation of hepatic triglycerides (TAG), increased VLDL-TAG secretion, and the accumulation of mature TAG-rich VLDL in the Golgi apparatus. These data reveal that Cideb and perilipin 2 play opposing roles in controlling VLDL lipidation and hepatic lipid homeostasis.     

Nucleotide Binding Domain Interactions During the Mechanochemical Reaction Cycle of ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters

ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters serve as importers and exporters for a wide variety of solutes in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes, and are implicated in microbial drug resistance and a number of significant human genetic disorders. Initial crystal structures of the soluble nucleotide binding domains (NBDs) of ABC transporters, while a significant step towards understanding the coupling of ATP binding and hydrolysis to transport, presented researchers with important questions surrounding the role of the signature sequence residues, the composition of the nucleotide binding sites, and the mode of NBD dimerization during the transport reaction cycle. Recent studies have begun to address these concerns. This mini-review summarizes the biochemical and structural characterizations of two archaebacterial NBDs from Methanocaldococcus jannaschii, MJ0796 and MJ1267, and offers current perspectives on the functional mechanism of ABC transporters.