澳门青洲山翻白叶树群落特征及物种多样性研究

根据样方调查结果,对澳门青洲山翻白叶树(Pterospermum heterophyllum)群落的种类组成、外貌、结构特征与动态及物种多样性进行分析.结果表明:(1)在1 600 m2样地中,有维管束植物47种,隶属于29科44属;对乔木层和灌木层主要物种的重要值以及频度分析结果显示,该群落是以翻白叶树为主的单优种群落,群落种类组成多样性和水平分布不均匀,其外貌终年常绿;对优势种种群的年龄结构分析显示,该种群处于增长状态;(2)整个群落的物种丰富度Margalef指数为13.72,Shannon-Wiener指数为1.15,Simpson指数为0.875,均匀度指数为0.34,该群落的层次格局为:灌木层>藤本层>乔木层>草本层;(3) 与其他5个不同类型地区森林群的物种多样性比较结果显示,澳门翻白叶树群落的物种多样性明显低于其他5个森林群落.     

捕食者有无限时滞效应的两种群系统的全局渐近稳定性

本文用Liapunov泛函方法研究捕食者有无限时滞效应的捕食-被捕食系统的平衡状态的稳定性．文章提供了判定系统的平衡状态全局渐近稳定的简单条件,不要求积分核指数衰减.     

凝血瀑布机制的序结构分析方法

凝血系统的瀑布机制揭示了凝血因子间的酶促级联反应过程。在级联反应中,各个因子间明显地存在着序关系,而这种序关系的全体构成了系统的序结构。从系统论的观点看,系统的结构是系统性质与功能的基础,因此,通过模型化方法以及利用凝血因子序结构图建立的序结构分析方法,是分析凝血系统各因子相互作用的有用的工具。对蛋白Ｃ及ＴＦＰＩ进行序结构分析,进一步阐明了这两种抑制剂对外源途径凝血的作用特点。     

Short-term in vitro culture of purity and highly functional rat bone marrow-derived mast cells

Mast cells (MCs) are responsible for the innate immune response. Rat MCs are more suitable than mouse MCs as models of specific parasite infection processes and ovalbumin-induced asthma. Rat peritoneum-derived MCs and RBL-2H3 cells (an MC cell line) are widely used in disease studies. However, the application of rat bone marrow-derived MCs (BMMCs) are poorly documented in terms of the methodology of rat BMMC isolation. Here, we describe a relatively rapid, efficient, and simple method for the cultivation of rat BMMCs. As compared to previous protocols, rat BMMCs produced with the proposed protocol exhibited advantages in differentiation, proliferation, lifespan, and functionality, which should prove useful for studies of mucosal MC diseases in specific rat models.     

Insights into the fluoride-resistant regulation mechanism of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans</Emphasis> ATCC 23270 based on whole genome microarrays

Acidophilic microorganisms involved in uranium bioleaching are usually suppressed by dissolved fluoride ions, eventually leading to reduced leaching efficiency. However, little is known about the regulation mechanisms of microbial resistance to fluoride. In this study, the resistance of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans ATCC 23270 to fluoride was investigated by detecting bacterial growth fluctuations and ferrous or sulfur oxidation. To explore the regulation mechanism, a whole genome microarray was used to profile the genome-wide expression. The fluoride tolerance of A. ferrooxidans cultured in the presence of FeSO₄ was better than that cultured with the S⁰ substrate. The differentially expressed gene categories closely related to fluoride tolerance included those involved in energy metabolism, cellular processes, protein synthesis, transport, the cell envelope, and binding proteins. This study highlights that the cellular ferrous oxidation ability was enhanced at the lower fluoride concentrations. An overview of the cellular regulation mechanisms of extremophiles to fluoride resistance is discussed.     

Discovery and SAR analysis of phenylbenzo[d][1,3]dioxole-based proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 inhibitors

Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) has emerged as a novel therapeutic target for the development of cholesterol-lowering drugs. In the discovery of PCSK9/LDLR (low-density lipoprotein receptor) protein-protein interaction (PPI) impairing small molecules, a total of 47 phenylbenzo[d][1,3] dioxole-based compounds were designed and synthesised. The result revealed that the 4-chlorobenzyl substitution in the amino group is important for the PPI disrupting activity. In the hepatocyte-based functional tests, active compounds such as A12, B1, B3, B4 and B14, restored the LDLR levels on the surface of hepatic HepG2 cells and increased extracellular LDL uptake in the presence of PCSK9. It is notable that molecule B14 exhibited good performance in all the evaluations. Collectively, novel structures targeting PCSK9/LDLR PPI have been developed with hypolipidemic potential. Further structural modification of derived active compounds is promising in the discovery of lead compounds with improved activity for the treatment of hyperlipidaemia-related disorders.     

Conserved Non-Coding Regulatory Signatures in Arabidopsis Co-Expressed Gene Modules

Complex traits and other polygenic processes require coordinated gene expression. Co-expression networks model mRNA co-expression: the product of gene regulatory networks. To identify regulatory mechanisms underlying coordinated gene expression in a tissue-enriched context, ten Arabidopsis thaliana co-expression networks were constructed after manually sorting 4,566 RNA profiling datasets into aerial, flower, leaf, root, rosette, seedling, seed, shoot, whole plant, and global (all samples combined) groups. Collectively, the ten networks contained 30% of the measurable genes of Arabidopsis and were circumscribed into 5,491 modules. Modules were scrutinized for cis regulatory mechanisms putatively encoded in conserved non-coding sequences (CNSs) previously identified as remnants of a whole genome duplication event. We determined the non-random association of 1,361 unique CNSs to 1,904 co-expression network gene modules. Furthermore, the CNS elements were placed in the context of known gene regulatory networks (GRNs) by connecting 250 CNS motifs with known GRN cis elements. Our results provide support for a regulatory role of some CNS elements and suggest the functional consequences of CNS activation of co-expression in specific gene sets dispersed throughout the genome.     

Glyphosate-resistant goosegrass. Identification of a mutation in the target enzyme 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase

The spontaneous occurrence of resistance to the herbicide glyphosate in weed species has been an extremely infrequent event, despite over 20 years of extensive use. Recently, a glyphosate-resistant biotype of goosegrass (Eleusine indica) was identified in Malaysia exhibiting an LD(50) value approximately 2- to 4-fold greater than the sensitive biotype collected from the same region. A comparison of the inhibition of 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) activity by glyphosate in extracts prepared from the resistant (R) and sensitive (S) biotypes revealed an approximately 5-fold higher IC(50)(glyphosate) for the (R) biotype. Sequence comparisons of the predicted EPSPS mature protein coding regions from both biotypes revealed four single-nucleotide differences, two of which result in amino acid changes. One of these changes, a proline to serine substitution at position 106 in the (R) biotype, corresponds to a substitution previously identified in a glyphosate-insensitive EPSPS enzyme from Salmonella typhimurium. Kinetic data generated for the recombinant enzymes suggests that the second substitution identified in the (R) EPSPS does not contribute significantly to its reduced glyphosate sensitivity. Escherichia coli aroA- (EPSPS deficient) strains expressing the mature EPSPS enzyme from the (R) biotype exhibited an approximately 3-fold increase in glyphosate tolerance relative to strains expressing the mature EPSPS from the (S) biotype. These results provide the first evidence for an altered EPSPS enzyme as an underlying component of evolved glyphosate resistance in any plant species.