Potentilla jiaozishanensis sp. nov. (sect. Leptostylae,Rosaceae) from southwest China

Potentilla jiaozishanensis, a distinct new species of Rosaceae from Yunnan, China, is described and illustrated. Morphologically, it is closely related to P. stenophylla var. stenophylla but clearly differs from the latter by its bidentate leaflets, lanceolate epicalyx‐segments that are longer than the sepals, villose ovaries and achenes. Moreover, the pollen grains of P. jiaozishanensis are markedly different from those of P. stenophylla var. stenophylla in size and shape. The newly described species is endemic to the Jiaozishan Mountains, southwest China.     

The endoplasmic reticulum stress induced by highly expressed OsrAAT reduces seed size via pre-mature programmed cell death

The high accumulation of a recombinant protein in rice endosperm causes endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and in turn dramatically affects endogenous storage protein expression, protein body morphology and seed phenotype. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying these changes in transgenic rice seeds, we analyzed the expression profiles of endogenous storage proteins, ER stress-related and programmed cell death (PCD)-related genes in transgenic lines with different levels of Oryza sativa recombinant alpha antitrypsin (OsrAAT) expression. The results indicated that OsrAAT expression induced the ER stress and that the strength of the ER stress was dependent on OsrAAT expression levels. It in turn induced upregulation of the expression of the ER stress response genes and downregulation of the expression of the endogenous storage protein genes in rice endosperm. Further experiments showed that the ER stress response upregulated the expression of PCD-related genes to disturb the rice endosperm development and induced pre-mature PCD. As consequence, it resulted in decrease of grain weight and size. The mechanisms for the detriment seed phenotype in transgenic lines with high accumulation of the recombinant protein were elucidated.     

Overexpression of acetyl-CoA synthetase increased the biomass and fatty acid proportion in microalga Schizochytrium

High acetate accumulation was produced during glucose fermentation in high cell density cultures, which is harmful to cell growth. In order to reduce the negative impact of acetate accumulation on the fermentation products, we introduced the Escherichia coli acetyl-CoA synthetase (ACS) gene into the marine microalga Schizochytrium sp. TIO1101, generating genetically modified ACS transformants. The results of PCR and blotting analyses showed that the exogenous ACS gene was incorporated into the genome and successfully expressed. The engineered Schizochytrium increased the pH value and reduced the acetate concentration in the final fermentation medium significantly. Furthermore, the ACS transformants exhibited faster growth and glucose consumption rates than the wild-type strain. The biomass and fatty acid proportion of ACS transformants increased by 29.9 and 11.3 %, respectively. Taken together, the data suggest that ACS overexpression in Schizochytrium might improve the utilization of carbon resource and decrease the production of acetate byproduct. These results demonstrate that application of ACS in metabolic genetic engineering could improve the properties of Schizochytrium significantly.     

Design and synthesis of 1-aryl-5-anilinoindazoles as c-Jun N-terminal kinase inhibitors

Starting from pyrazole HTS hit (1), a series of 1-aryl-1H-indazoles have been synthesized as JNK3 inhibitors with moderate selectivity against JNK1. SAR studies led to the synthesis of 5r as double digital nanomolar JNK3 inhibitor with good in vivo exposure.     

Effect of UV-B radiation on the synthesis of UV-absorbing compounds in a terrestrial cyanobacterium, Nostoc flagelliforme

Effects of two intensities (1 and 5 W?m^?2) of UV-B radiation on the synthesis of UV-absorbing compounds in a terrestrial cyanobacterium Nostoc flagelliforme were investigated. UV-B radiation resulted in lower biomass. Short period (less than 12 h) of UV-B radiation caused an increase of chlorophyll a content, but subsequent duration of treatment (more than 24 h) resulted in a rapid decrease. N. flagelliforme synthesized UV-absorbing compounds such as scytonemin and mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) in response to UV-B radiation. Upon 48 h of exposure to UV-B radiation, scytonemin content in cells increased by 103.8 and 164.0 % at 1 and 5 W?m^?2, respectively. Oligosaccharide-linked mycosporine-like amino acids increased by 145.5 % after 12 h at 5 W?m^?2 and 114.5 % after 48 h at 1 W?m^?2 UV-B radiation. HPLC analysis showed that nine MAAs existed in N. flagelliforme cells both from liquid suspension culture and field colony. But the concentration and kinds of them were different. At the two distinct levels of UV-B radiation, the content of particular MAAs increased, declined, or remained unchanged. Moreover, the appearance of two new MAAs was observed.     

金双歧联合丁螺环酮治疗肠易激综合征的临床疗效观察

目的 观察并分析金双歧联合丁螺环酮治疗肠易激综合征的临床疗效.方法 对80例门诊患者,年龄在18～70岁,采用随机数字表法,分为治疗组40例,采用金双歧联合丁螺环酮治疗;对照组40例,采用单用金双歧治疗,两组其他内科常规治疗相同,疗程4周,评估两组治疗前后临床疗效及汉密尔登焦虑(HAMA)和汉密尔登抑郁(HAMD)量表评分变化.结果 治疗前,两组IBS症状、肠外症状、生活质量、汉密尔登焦虑和抑郁量表评分比较差异无统计学意义.治疗后两组IBS症状、肠外症状、生活质量治疗后均较治疗前明显改善,联合治疗组较单用金双歧组更显著.汉密尔登焦虑和抑郁量表评分两药联合治疗后显著改善,但单用金双歧无明显改善.结论 金双歧联合丁螺环酮治疗肠易激综合征,安全、有效、不良反应少.     

MST3在颞叶癫痫模型小鼠海马的表达变化

目的观察海人酸(kainic acid,KA)所致癫痫(epilepsy,EP)小鼠海马Ste20蛋白激酵素(MST3)表达水平的变化,探讨MST3在癫痫发病过程中的可能作用。方法选用成年雄性小鼠,并随机分成模型组和对照组。模型组小鼠侧脑室注射2μL(100 ng/μL)KA,分别于术后3、8、24 h收集动物标本以进行检测。使用RT-PCR和Western Blot测定MST3 mRNA含量和MST3蛋白动态表达变化,应用免疫组化观察MST3在海马的表达分布与特点。结果与正常对照组相比,模型组海马组织内MST3mRNA的表达随时间持续升高,24 h达到高峰;MST3的蛋白表达也表现出同样的动态升高趋势;术后3～24 h的模型组海马免疫组化检测显示,模型组MST3主要以海马齿状回、门回区、CA3区域表达增加为主,并且这些区域表达逐渐递增。结论随着时间的推移,MST3表达水平呈现逐渐增加趋势,可能与神经元损伤造成的凋亡之间有密切的关系,提示MST3可能在癫痫发病过程中起重要作用。     

Gene cloning and functional analysis of yellow green leaf3 (ygl3) gene during the whole-plant growth stage in rice

Chlorophyll is an important photosynthetic pigment in the process of photosynthesis in plants and photosynthetic bacteria. Genes involved in chlorophyll biosynthesis in Arabidopsis and photosynthetic bacteria have been well documented. In rice, however, these genes have not been fully annotated. In this paper, a yellow-green leaf gene, yellow green leaf3 (ygl3) was cloned and analyzed. ygl3 encodes magnesium chelation ChlD (D) subunit, a key enzyme for chlorophyll synthesis, resulting in a yellow-green leaf phenotype in all growth stages in rice. Expression content of ygl3 is highest in the leaf blades, followed by the leaf sheaths, while there is virtually no expression of the gene in the stems and seeds. The sub-cellular structure and protein content of the photosynthetic system of the ygl3 mutant were revealed by transmission electron microscopy, BN-PAGE, and western blotting. The results show that the mutation of the ygl3 gene indirectly leads to a decrease in the protein content of the photosynthetic system and severely obstructs the formation of granum thylakoids.     

Assessing the Impact of the National Smoking Ban in Indoor Public Places in China: Evidence from Quit Smoking Related Online Searches

Background

Despite the tremendous economic and health costs imposed on China by tobacco use, China lacks a proactive and systematic tobacco control surveillance and evaluation system, hampering research progress on tobacco-focused surveillance and evaluation studies.

Methods

This paper uses online search query analyses to investigate changes in online search behavior among Chinese Internet users in response to the adoption of the national indoor public place smoking ban. Baidu Index and Google Trends were used to examine the volume of search queries containing three key search terms “Smoking Ban(s),” “Quit Smoking,” and “Electronic Cigarette(s),” along with the news coverage on the smoking ban, for the period 2009–2011.

Findings

Our results show that the announcement and adoption of the indoor public place smoking ban in China generated significant increases in news coverage on smoking bans. There was a strong positive correlation between the media coverage of smoking bans and the volume of “Smoking Ban(s)” and “Quit Smoking” related search queries. The volume of search queries related to “Electronic Cigarette(s)” was also correlated with the smoking ban news coverage.

Interpretation

To the extent it altered smoking-related online searches, our analyses suggest that the smoking ban had a significant effect, at least in the short run, on Chinese Internet users’ smoking-related behaviors. This research introduces a novel analytic tool, which could serve as an alternative tobacco control evaluation and behavior surveillance tool in the absence of timely or comprehensive population surveillance system. This research also highlights the importance of a comprehensive approach to tobacco control in China.