Nrf2 activity is lost in the spinal cord and its astrocytes of aged mice

We report herein a study of aging using in vitro and in vivo models. Glial fibrillary acidic protein and ferritin expression levels increased, and the levels of glutamate transporter 1 and transferrin receptor 1 decreased in aging mouse spinal cord and its astrocytes. Mitochondrial transmembrane potential in astrocytes decreased after 60 d of culture. Given the relationship between aging and loss of antioxidant tolerance capacity, we examined the expression of heme oxygenase 1 (HO1) and NAD(P)H/quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) in the old mouse astrocytes and spinal cord. Indeed, both antioxidant enzymes decreased there. Total nuclear factor E2-related factor 2, which governs basal and inducible expression of HO1 and NQO1, decreased significantly. Significantly, epigallocatechin gallate restored the Nrf2 activity.     

Improvement of the respiration efficiency of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lactococcus lactis</Emphasis> by decreasing the culture pH

Objective

The growth characteristics and intracellular hemin concentrations of Lactococcus lactis grown under different culture pH and aeration conditions were examined to investigate the effect of culture pH on the respiration efficiency of L. lactis NZ9000 (pZN8148).

Results

Cell biomass and biomass yield of L. lactis grown with 4 μg hemin/ml and O₂ were higher than those without aeration when the culture pH was controlled at 5–6.5. The culture pH affected the respiratory efficiency in the following order of pH: 5 > 5.5 > 6 > 6.5; the lag phase increased as the culture pH decreased. Hemin accumulation was sensitive to culture pH. Among the four pH conditions, pH 5.5 was optimal for hemin accumulation in the cells. The highest intracellular hemin level in L. lactis resting cells incubated at different pH saline levels (5–6.5) was at pH 5.5.

Conclusion

The respiration efficiency of L. lactis under respiration-permissive conditions increases markedly as the culture pH decreases. These results may help develop high cell-density L. lactis cultures. Thus, this microorganism may be used for industrial applications.

     

Optimization of γ-polyglutamic acid synthesis using response surface methodology of a newly isolated glutamate dependent <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bacillus velezensis</Emphasis> Z3

A new glutamate-dependent γ-polyglutamic acid (γ-PGA) producer Z3 isolated from soil samples in Daxinganling forest region of China was identified, and its optimal medium components were investigated using response surface methodology. Strain Z3 was identified as Bacillus velezensis by physiology and biochemistry and 16S rDNA sequence analysis. This is the first report of glutamate-dependent B. velezensis with the ability to synthesize γ-PGA. Then, the optimum γ-PGA yield (5.58 g/L) was achieved with glutamate 86 g/L, glucose 36 g/L, yeast extract powder 5.5 g/L, and NaH₂PO₄ 7.5 g/L. Furthermore, activities of enzymes participating in glutamate synthesis were assessed, and the results showed that lower ketoglutaric dehydrogenase activity (KGDH) and higher glutamate dehydrogenase activity (GDH) resulted in higher γ-PGA yield. Identification of glutamate-dependent γ-PGA producer named B. velezensis Z3 enriches microbiological resources with γ-PGA-producing capacity. B. velezensis optimization of nutrients and analysis of enzymes activities will not only help to increase γ-PGA productivity but also to understand the γ-PGA synthesis mechanism in B. velezensis Z3.     

小黑瓢虫与其竞争种作用系统研究：种间竞争

Delphastus catalinae and Serangium japonicum are the important natural enemies of Bemisia tabaci, of which, the former is exotic, and the latter is indigenous. In this paper, the influence of interspecies competition on the population growth of D. catalinae and S .japonicum was studied under conditions of single and mixed rearing, and Lotka-Volterra equation was used to simulate the competition when more and less preys provided for the two ladybirds. The results showed that the population growth of D. catalinae was greater than that of S. japonicum when single rearing, and the population growth of S. japonicum was greater than that of D. catalinae when mixed rearing. In the competition system of the two ladybirds, S. japonicum was dominant, while D. catalinae could exist simultaneously.     

碳源对玫烟色虫草菌丝生长、芽生孢子产生及其耐热性的影响

提高虫生真菌孢子应对热胁迫的能力是生防菌应用研究的关键,为研究菌丝培养阶段碳源对玫烟色虫草Cordyceps fumosorosea IF-1106耐热性的影响,选择了麦芽糖、可溶性淀粉、蔗糖、葡萄糖、果糖、海藻糖为碳源的培养基对玫烟色虫草IF-1106进行液体培养,评估了不同碳源条件下菌丝的生长、产孢及所产芽生孢子的耐热性。结果表明,在菌株培养阶段,培养基中碳源的种类及浓度对菌丝产量、产孢量及所产芽生孢子的耐热性有显著影响,其中蔗糖为碳源时,所产芽生孢子的耐热性强,45 ℃热胁迫条件下LT₅₀为1.65 h;蔗糖浓度为40 g/L时,可产生大量耐热芽生孢子,液体培养3 d后产孢量可达3.43×10⁷个孢子/mL。为探索不同培养条件下所产芽生孢子耐热性不同的原因,提取了孢子内的海藻糖并采用离子色谱法对其进行了定量分析,发现耐热性高的芽生孢子胞内海藻糖含量普遍较低,可见海藻糖是与芽生孢子耐热性密切相关的内源物质。综上所述,选择适宜的培养基是调控孢子耐热性的有效途径,本研究为生产高耐热的玫烟色虫草生防制剂提供了有益的指导。     

利用代谢工程技术提高工业微生物对胁迫的抗性

代谢工程是工业微生物菌种改造的平台技术,不仅可用于改变微生物细胞内的代谢流向,也可以用于改善工业微生物的生理功能。在工业生产过程中,微生物细胞会面临多种胁迫作用,这些胁迫诱导的基因调节作用,都有可能影响细胞的许多重要生理功能,从而影响生物转化过程的效率。从工业应用的观点出发,选择生产性能良好、对发酵过程中的主要胁迫因素有较强耐受性的菌株至关重要。以下评述了借鉴传统代谢工程技术和反向代谢工程技术来提高工业微生物对胁迫抗性的若干研究策略,提出了该领域目前存在的问题,以及利用代谢工程技术改善微生物胁迫抗性——即微生物生理功能工程的发展方向。     

The Effect of Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System Blockade Medications on Contrast-Induced Nephropathy in Patients Undergoing Coronary Angiography: A Meta-Analysis

Background

Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) is the main complication of contrast media administration (CM) in patients undergoing coronary angiography (CAG) and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). There are inconsistent results in the literature regarding the effect of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) blockers (angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors [ACEIs] and angiotensin receptor blockers [ARBs]) on CIN. We evaluated the association between the administration of ACEI/ARBs and CIN, as well as the effect of ACEI/ARBs on post-procedural changes in renal function index, in patients undergoing CAG.

Methods

We searched Pubmed, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and ClinicalTrials.gov for relevant studies. The primary search generated 893 potentially relevant articles. A total of 879 studies were excluded because they did not meet the selection criteria. Finally, 14 studies were eligible for inclusion. There were 7,288 patients that received ACEI/ARBs and 8,159 patients that received placebo or naive to ACEI/ARBs in the study. A random or a fixed effect model was used to calculate the pooled odd ratios (ORs).

Results

The risk of CIN was significantly increased in the ACEI/ARBs group compared to the control group (OR= 1.50, 95%CI: 1.03-2.18, P =0.03). The magnitude of association was significantly reinforced in the observational studies (OR=1.84, 95%CI 1.19-2.85, P=0.006) but not in the randomized controlled trials (OR=0.88, 95%CI 0.41-1.90 P=0.74). The summary adjusted OR of 4 observational studies was 1.56 (95%CI 1.25-1.94, P<0.0001) and was weaker than the unadjusted OR.

Conclusions

Although there is some evidence to suggest that the administration of RAAS blockers was associated with the increased risk of CIN in patients undergoing CAG, the robustness of our study remains weak. The results are based on small observational studies and need further validation.     

黄河流域植被光合动态时空演变及归因分析——基于日光诱导叶绿素荧光数据

植被光合作用是维持区域生态平衡和气候稳定的关键过程之一,对了解区域生态系统的健康状况和应对气候变化具有重要意义。基于GOSIF数据,对2001-2021年黄河流域植被光合的时空变化规律及原因进行了分析。结果表明:(1)黄河流域植被光合总体呈上升趋势,在空间上表现为西部和东南部高、北部低的分布格局。其中关中平原、阿尼玛卿山、宁夏平原以及黄河三角洲地区的植被光合呈现出显著退化的趋势。(2)归因分析结果表明,不同气候要素对植被光合动态的影响具有显著差异,总体上降水和太阳辐射与黄河流域的植被光合动态呈现出正相关,而温度与植被光合动态呈现出负相关。气候变化和人类活动对黄河流域植被光合动态具有不同程度的影响。人类活动(76.24%)对植被改善区域的贡献远大于气候变化(23.76%)。在退化区域中,稀树草原和农田中的气候变化贡献大于人类活动,灌木、草地和湿地中的人类活动贡献大于气候变化,林地中的气候变化贡献与人类活动相当。研究结果有助于更好理解黄河流域植被光合作用的变化机制,为黄河流域生态保护和高质量发展以及气候变化研究提供了重要的参考依据。     

亚硒酸钠对巨噬细胞内游离Ca2+和Mg2+的影响

用单细胞阳离子测定系统研究了SeO^2-₃对巨噬细胞内游离Ca²⁺和Mg²⁺的影响.实验结果表明:SeO^2-₃高于10^-4mol/L时,有显著的细胞毒性.SeO^2-₃对细胞的毒性作用使细胞内游离Ca²⁺和Mg²⁺的浓度升高但Ca²⁺浓度的升高速率比Mg²⁺快.还有,高于10^-4mol/L的SeO^2-₃对红细胞膜上的Ca²⁺-ATP酶活性有明显抑制作用.