Influence of polyelectrolyte multilayer films on the ICAM-1 expression of endothelial cells

Recently, the use of polyelectrolyte films has been suggested as a new versatile technique of surface modification aimed at tissue engineering. In the present study, we evaluated the expression of intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1 of endothelial cells (ECs) seeded on two types of polyelectrolyte multilayer films either terminated by poly(D-lysine) (PDL) or poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH). This work showed that chemical stimulations with tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha induced the ICAM-1 expression of ECs differently depending largely on the film architecture employed. Compared with PAH-ending films, the PDL-ending ones upregulated the ICAM-1 expression of the ECs after a prolonged exposition to TNF-alpha, rendering this film type less favorable in tissue engineering. Cytochalasin D (an F-actin disrupting agent) showed the involvement of the cytoskeleton in the upregulation of ICAM-1 for cells deposited on films terminated by PDL. The PAH-ending films did not perturb the ICAM-1 expression of ECs and might thus enhance the seeding of ECs in vascular engineering.     

Incidence of and risks associated with <Emphasis Type="Italic">Giardia</Emphasis> infections in herds on dairy farms in the New York City Watershed

Background  

The primary aims of this study were to determine the incidence of Giardia infections in dairy herds on farms in the New York City Watershed region and to evaluate risk factors associated with infections. Because co-infections of Giardia and Cryptosporidium spp. are common in this population, we also evaluated the effect of herd infection status on Giardia infections.     

Plant Vascular Biology and Agriculture

The evolution of animal and plant vascular systems played a pivotal role in the advancement from simple to complex organisms, through the provision of a delivery system for the distribution     

No cross-sectional and longitudinal association of ferritin and symptoms of attention-deficit-/hyperactivity disorder in a large population-based sample of children: results from the GINIplus and LISAplus studies

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been associated with alterations in iron metabolism, and low ferritin concentrations in peripheral blood have inconsistently been reported in clinically referred samples of children with ADHD. This study examined whether higher peripheral concentrations of ferritin, the major iron storage protein, are associated with decreased symptoms of ADHD in 2,805 children aged 10 years participating in two large population-based birth cohorts (GINIplus and LISAplus). Whether high ferritin concentrations at age 4 months predict lower ADHD symptoms at age 10 years was also investigated using a longitudinal approach in a subsample of 193 children. No indications for an association between peripheral ferritin concentrations and ADHD symptoms were found in this large population-based study. Re-evaluating iron substitution as a therapeutic measure for ADHD may be warranted.     

不同术式的经内镜下行乳头括约肌切开术（EST）对肠胆反流的影响

目的：目前认为,十二指肠胆道反流是引起胆道反复感染,进而导致胆道结石再发和胆道狭窄的原因之一。近年来应用以内镜下逆行胆胰管造影术（endoscopicretrogradecholangiopancreatography,ERCP）为基础的微创治疗胆总管结束的技术开展颇为广泛。它主要包括ERCP、Oddi括约肌切开术（endoscopicsphincterotomy,EST）、十二指肠乳头球囊扩张术（endoscopicpapillarybal—Iondilation,EPBD）、胆管结石碎石取石术、胆总管支架植入术和鼻胆管引流术六大技术。本文主要研究了采用不同术式的EST,即EST中切口和EST小切口＋EPBD术,在术后早期对患者十二指肠胆道反流的影响。方法：63例胆总管结石患者,男30例,女33例,予行经内镜下逆行的胆胰管造影（ERCP）后分别采用不同术式EST,术后安放胆总管引流管。术后l周留取胆汁采用口服核素和测定胆汁中的胃蛋白酶I、II的浓度,对十二指肠胆道反流进行定量和定性的测定。结果：EST中切口术组、EST小切口＋球囊扩张（EPBD）组分别与无EST组相比,年龄和性别无统计学意义（P=0．07,P=0．416）。行EST中切开和小切开＋球囊扩张患者胆汁中的锝计数明显高于无EST组,且这两组不同术式的患者锝计数存在显著的统计学差异（P〈0．05）。行EST中切口者、EST小切口＋球囊扩张术者胆汁中的PGII质量浓度明显低于无EST组（P〈0．05）,但是EST中切口者和EST小切口＋球囊扩张术后两组间胆汁中PGII的质量浓度无统计学差异。结论：行EST中切口取胆总管结石的患者在手术早期较易发生十二指肠胆道的反流。因此,建议对于胆总管结石患者尽量选择行EST小切口＋球裳扩张术（EPBD）的手术方式。     

苎麻光合生理生态特性研究

以大田栽培的苎麻植株为材料,用TPS-2便携式光合作用测定系统测定自然条件下生长的苎麻叶片的光合气体交换参数,以及光响应曲线和CO2响应曲线,并通过回归和相关法分析探讨净光合速率与主要生理、生态因子间的关系.结果表明:(1)苎麻叶片的净光合速率(Pn)日变化曲线呈现双峰型,2个光合峰高度接近,其净光合速率具有典型的午休"现象;蒸腾速率(Tr)日变化曲线呈现单峰型,其走势与气孔导度(Gs)日变化一致.(2)苎麻叶片光合作用的光饱和点(LSP)为1 568.5μmol?m-2?s-1,光补偿点(LCP)为54.18μmol?m-2?s-1,表观量子效率(AQY)为0.025 8 mol?mol-1;而其CO2补偿点(CCP)、饱和点(CSP)和羧化效率(CE)分别为49.25、1 746.9μmol?mol-1和0.045;因此,苎麻属于喜光性阳生植物,且对强光有一定的耐受能力.(3)苎麻叶片Pn日变化的主要限制因子是胞间CO2浓度(Ci),主要决定生理因子是气孔导度(Gs).     

Solving the autism puzzle a few pieces at a time

In this issue, a pair of studies (Levy et al. and Sanders et al.) identify several de novo copy-number variants that together account for 5%-8% of cases of simplex autism spectrum disorders. These studies suggest that several hundreds of loci are likely to contribute to the complex genetic heterogeneity of this group of disorders. An accompanying study in this issue (Gilman et al.), presents network analysis implicating these CNVs in neural processes related to synapse development, axon targeting, and neuron motility.     

E. coli chaperones DnaK,Hsp33 and Spy inhibit bacterial functional amyloid assembly

Amyloid formation is an ordered aggregation process, where β-sheet rich polymers are assembled from unstructured or partially folded monomers. We examined how two Escherichia coli cytosolic chaperones, DnaK and Hsp33, and a more recently characterized periplasmic chaperone, Spy, modulate the aggregation of a functional amyloid protein, CsgA. We found that DnaK, the Hsp70 homolog in E. coli, and Hsp33, a redox-regulated holdase, potently inhibited CsgA amyloidogenesis. The Hsp33 anti-amyloidogenesis activity was oxidation dependent, as oxidized Hsp33 was significantly more efficient than reduced Hsp33 at preventing CsgA aggregation. When soluble CsgA was seeded with preformed amyloid fibers, neither Hsp33 nor DnaK were able to efficiently prevent soluble CsgA from adopting the amyloid conformation. Moreover, both DnaK and Hsp33 increased the time that CsgA was reactive with the amyloid oligomer conformation-specific A11 antibody. Since CsgA must also pass through the periplasm during secretion, we assessed the ability of the periplasmic chaperone Spy to inhibit CsgA polymerization. Like DnaK and Hsp33, Spy also inhibited CsgA polymerization in vitro. Overexpression of Spy resulted in increased chaperone activity in periplasmic extracts and in reduced curli biogenesis in vivo. We propose that DnaK, Hsp33 and Spy exert their effects during the nucleation stages of CsgA fibrillation. Thus, both housekeeping and stress induced cytosolic and periplasmic chaperones may be involved in discouraging premature CsgA interactions during curli biogenesis.Key words: chaperone, curli, functional amyloid, CsgA, DnaK, Hsp33, Spy