Multipartite symbioses in fungus-growing termites (Blattodea: Termitidae,Macrotermitinae) for the degradation of lignocellulose

Fungus-growing termites are among the most successful herbivorous animals and improve crop productivity and soil fertility. A range of symbiotic organisms can be found inside their nests. However, interactions of termites with these symbionts are poorly understood. This review provides detailed information on the role of multipartite symbioses (between termitophiles, termites, fungi, and bacteria) in fungus-growing termites for lignocellulose degradation. The specific functions of each component in the symbiotic system are also discussed. Based on previous studies, we argue that the enzymatic contribution from the host, fungus, and bacteria greatly facilitates the decomposition of complex polysaccharide plant materials. The host–termitophile interaction protects the termite nest from natural enemies and maintains the stability of the microenvironment inside the colony.     

Reconstruction of Surface Porous PEEK Decorated with Strontium-doped Calcium Phosphate Coatings for Enhancing Osteogenic Activity

The aim of this study was to reconstruct surface porous structure with hundreds of micrometers and then bio-mineralize Sr-doped Calcium Phosphate(Sr-doped CaP)o...     

Cryo-EM structure of glycoprotein C from Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) is a causative agent of serious hemorrhagic diseases in humans with high mortality rates. CCHFV glycoprotein Gc plays critical roles in mediating virus-host membrane fusion and has been studied extensively as an immunogen. However, the molecular mechanisms involved in membrane fusion and Gc-specific antibody-antigen interactions remain unresolved largely because structural information of this glycoprotein is missing. We designed a trimeric protein including most of the ectodomain region of Gc from the prototype CCHFV strain, IbAr10200, which enabled the cryo-electron microscopy structure to be solved at a resolution of 2.8 ?. The structure confirms that CCHFV Gc is a class II fusion protein. Unexpectedly, structural comparisons with other solved Gc trimers in the postfusion conformation revealed that CCHFV Gc adopted hybrid architectural features of the fusion loops from hantaviruses and domain III from phenuiviruses, suggesting a complex evolutionary pathway among these bunyaviruses. Antigenic sites on CCHFV Gc that protective neutralizing antibodies target were mapped onto the CCHFV Gc structure, providing valuable information that improved our understanding of potential neutralization mechanisms of various antibodies.     

A single dose of recombinant VSV-RABVG vaccine provides full protection against RABV challenge

Highlights:
1. A replication-competent recombinant VSV with RABV-G protein replacement was generated.
2. Single dose of VSV-RABVG immunization induce potent antigen-specific humoral immune response, especially the virus neutralizing antibodies.
3. Mice intranasally immunized with single dose of VSV-RABVG were 100% protected upon RABV challenge.     

泌尿系统感染高龄患者大肠埃希菌耐药性分析

目的:探究高龄患者泌尿系统感染大肠埃希菌对常用药物的耐药性,指导临床医生合理用药。方法:按照标准操作规程采集我院泌尿系统感染高龄患者的尿液,作常规尿标本培养和分离,应用微生物分析仪进行细菌鉴定,采用纸片扩散法进行药物敏感试验,采用纸片扩散法和双纸片确证法完成产超广谱β-内酰胺酶菌株的检测。结果:129株大肠埃希菌中,检测出产超广谱β-内酰胺酶菌株有62株,占48.1%;在17种常用抗生素敏感试验中,亚胺培南敏感性最高(100%),无耐药株出现,对第一、二、三和四代头孢类抗生素均出现了不同程度的耐药性,对氨苄西林、四环素和哌拉西林高度耐药(均超过了95%)。结论:泌尿系统感染高龄患者大肠埃希菌对临床常用抗生素耐药性逐年升高,且产超广谱β-内酰胺酶菌株也逐渐增多,这就要求临床医生严格合理应用抗生素,尽量避免耐药菌株的出现。     

薄荷化学成分及其药理作用研究进展

对国内外有关薄荷的化学成分和药理作用的研究进行了综述,为进一步研究和开发利用薄荷提供了依据。     

Modeling activity patterns of wildlife using time‐series analysis

The study of wildlife activity patterns is an effective approach to understanding fundamental ecological and evolutionary processes. However, traditional statistical approaches used to conduct quantitative analysis have thus far had limited success in revealing underlying mechanisms driving activity patterns. Here, we combine wavelet analysis, a type of frequency‐based time‐series analysis, with high‐resolution activity data from accelerometers embedded in GPS collars to explore the effects of internal states (e.g., pregnancy) and external factors (e.g., seasonal dynamics of resources and weather) on activity patterns of the endangered giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). Giant pandas exhibited higher frequency cycles during the winter when resources (e.g., water and forage) were relatively poor, as well as during spring, which includes the giant panda's mating season. During the summer and autumn when resources were abundant, pandas exhibited a regular activity pattern with activity peaks every 24 hr. A pregnant individual showed distinct differences in her activity pattern from other giant pandas for several months following parturition. These results indicate that animals adjust activity cycles to adapt to seasonal variation of the resources and unique physiological periods. Wavelet coherency analysis also verified the synchronization of giant panda activity level with air temperature and solar radiation at the 24‐hr band. Our study also shows that wavelet analysis is an effective tool for analyzing high‐resolution activity pattern data and its relationship to internal and external states, an approach that has the potential to inform wildlife conservation and management across species.     

大棚黄瓜霜霉病气候生态防治方法研究再报——高温控制与病情和产量关系及其防治指标

本文采用田间温度控制试验资料,用数理统计的方法分析高温控制范围、控制时间和控制频率与大棚黄瓜霜霉病的发生期、流行期、发生程度以及产量的关系,并建立了统计相关模式,确定了高温控制生态防治方法的技术指标。最高温度、高温控制时间和控制频率这3个主要指标与病情和黄瓜产量的关系非常密切,最高气温每升高1℃,发病期和流行期将推迟3—5天,病叶率降低13—15％,黄瓜产量可增长10％左右。在一定范围内,控制时间越长,频率越高,则发病期和流行期越晚,病情越轻,产量越高。研究证明,高温控制方法是一个有效的生态防治方法,具有明确的气候生态学依据。     

Quorum Sensing System Used as a Tool in Metabolic Engineering

Quorum sensing (QS) is a ubiquitous cell–cell communication mechanism in microbes that coordinates population‐level cell behaviors, such as biofilm production, virulence, swarming motility, and bacterial persistence. Efforts to engineer QS systems to take part in metabolic network regulation represent a promising strategy for synthetic biology and pathway engineering. Recently, design, construction, and implementation of QS circuits for programmed control of bacterial phenotypes and metabolic pathways have gained much attention, but have not been reviewed recently. In this article, the architectural organizations and genetic contributions of the naturally occurring QS components to understand the mechanisms are summarized. Then, the most recent progress in application of QS toolkits to develop synthetic networks for novel cell behaviors creation and metabolic pathway engineering is highlighted. The current challenges in large‐scale application of these QS circuits in synthetic biology and metabolic engineering fields are discussed and future perspectives for further engineering efforts are provided.     

Pattern recognition analysis to the variation of nasal-pharynx cancer patients' trace element levels in samples of hair,whole blood,and tissue

Pattern recognition has been used in this paper to analyze trace element levels in patients diagnosed with nasal-pharynx cancer (NPC) and in healthy control subjects. Trace elements such as Zn, Cu, Fe, Mn, and Mg have been tested in samples of hair and whole blood. Through Mahalanobis Distance Decision analysis, we have achieved good classification effects in whole blood samples: Efficiency for distinguishing patients is 96% and that of healthy controls is 90%. Classification hair samples is inferior to whole blood: Decision accuracy for patients is 58% and healthy controls is 90%. These results are also shown in a nonlinear mapping figure. At the same time, we have also determined 5 trace element levels in 16 other cancer patients' nonneoplastic and cancerous tissue, with no significant difference between them: Decision accuracy of cancerous tissue is 63%, and in nonneoplastic tissue is 50%, hence, we cannot identify them. It can be inferred that there is no idiosyncratic change of trace elements in cancer patients' neoplastic tissue, the change of a cancerous person may occur in the whole body.