巢湖蓝藻与农业废弃物共热解制取生物质油研究

采用蔗渣、玉米秸秆和棉花秸秆3种废弃物与蓝藻进行混合共热解试验,考察废弃物的加入对蓝藻热解液体产率及组分的影响。结果表明:添加3种废弃物均使共热解液体产率呈下降趋势。当蓝藻与废弃物以1∶1混合共热解时,以蓝藻和玉米秸秆共热解液体产率最高,为61.8%,且除苯酚类以外,液体产物组分与单一蓝藻热解产物组分相近,含氮化合物含量明显降低,相对含量由18.49%降至8.15%。与其它2种废弃物相比,蓝藻与玉米秸秆在适当比例下的共热解有利于改善热解油品质。     

Prognostic Value of FDG PET Imaging in Patients with Laryngeal Cancer

Background and Purpose

To investigate the prognostic value of ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) in patients with laryngeal cancer.

Materials and Methods

The study included 51 patients of whom 30 underwent definitive radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy and 21 underwent radical surgery with or without adjuvant chemoradiation therapy. FDG uptake by both the primary lesion and the neck node was measured using the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax). The effects of clinicopathological factors including primary tumor SUVmax and nodal SUVmax on progression-free survival, local control, nodal progression-free survival, and distant metastasis-free survival were evaluated using the log-rank test and Cox method.

Results

The median duration of follow-up was 48.6 months (range 8 to 82.1 months). Univariate analysis showed that nodal SUVmax, N status, and tumor TNM stage were significantly associated with recurrence, whereas primary tumor SUVmax, age, treatment strategy and T status were not. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that only the nodal SUVmax was a significantly unfavorable factor for progression-free survival (p = 0.029, hazard ratio 0.54, 95% CI 0.38-0.87) and nodal progression-free survival (p = 0.023, hazard ratio 0.51, 95% CI 0.34-0.81). ROC curve analysis and log-rank test showed that patients with a high nodal SUVmax (≧4) had a significantly lower progression-free survival rate than those with a low SUVmax (<4; p<0.0001).

Conclusions

The pretreatment SUVmax of nodal disease in patients with laryngeal cancer is prognostic for recurrence.     

亚热带森林乔木树种DNA条形码研究——以哀牢山自然保护区为例

作为新一代植物志iFlora的重要组成部分,DNA条形码已经成为物种鉴定中重要且有效的方法。本研究以亚热带森林的乔木树种为研究对象,开展了DNA条形码的尝试性工作。为评估DNA条形码对鉴定亚热带森林树种的有效性,收集并研究了来自哀牢山自然保护区内5l科111属中204个树种的525个乔木个体。结果显示,所选4个DNA片段（rbcL,matK,trnH-psbA和ITS）的PCR扩增成功率都超过90％;测序成功率rbcL和matK最高,分别为90．7％和90．5％,trnH-psbA次之（83．6％）,ITS最低（73．5％）,表明4个片段在亚热带森林乔木中都具有较好的通用性。应用BLAST与NJ Tree两种方法,对物种和属水平的鉴别成功率进行统计,发现单片段中ITS最高,分别为68．4％-81．3％和99．0％～100％,核心条码rkL和matK组合的成功率是52．8％～60．2％和86．7％～90．5％,再与补充条码trnH-psbA和ITS联合,可以成功鉴别74．7％～79．6％哀牢山自然保护区亚热带森林中的乔木物种。由于ITS片段在亚热带森林部分重要树种类群（樟科和壳斗科等）中的测序成功率较差,所以对这些植物类群采用trnH-psbA作为DNA条形码是一个更好的选择。     

Spectroscopic studies of interactions of chondroitin sulfates with cisplatin

Complexation of cisplatin (CDDP) and chondroitin sulfate A (CSA) or C (CSC) has been reported to reduce the nephrotoxicity of CDDP. However the mechanism of interaction between CDDP and CSA or CSC was not known. In this study, spectroscopic analyses including NMR were carried out to examine the complexation interactions of CSA and CSC with CDDP. The time-dependent changes in the UV spectra indicate that CSA and CSC effectively complexes with CDDP in aqueous solution and that the reaction occurs subsequent to the hydrolysis of CDDP. The time-dependent change results measured by capillary electrophoresis showed that complexation of chondroitin sulfate (CS) followed first-order reaction kinetics and that the rate of CDDP hydrolysis in the complexation for both CSA and CSC was the same. These results suggested that the mechanism of complexation was a two-step process with monoaqua formation proved to be the first step, which was also the reaction rate controlling step. Moreover, NMR data suggested that the carboxylic and sulfate groups of CS played an important role in its interaction with CDDP.     

干旱与盐胁迫对花生根际土壤细菌群落结构和花生产量的影响

以花生品种花育25号为试验材料,采用盆栽试验研究了开花期干旱和盐分胁迫对花生生长发育和荚果产量的影响,并运用高通量测序技术分析干旱、盐胁迫及旱盐双重胁迫下,花生根际土壤细菌群落结构的变化特征。结果表明: 不同胁迫处理花生根际土壤细菌群落均以变形菌门、放线菌门、Saccharibacteria、绿弯菌门、蓝藻菌门和酸杆菌门为主。干旱、盐胁迫及旱盐双重胁迫均不同程度降低了变形菌门和放线菌门的相对丰度,但显著提高了蓝藻菌门的含量,且旱盐双重胁迫较其单一胁迫引起的根际蓝藻菌门丰度变化更显著。土壤细菌功能预测分析显示,信号转导机制、防御机制及翻译后修饰、蛋白质周转和分子伴侣等相关功能在旱盐双重胁迫的细菌中活性更强,可能对花生生长及胁迫应答具有重要影响。统计学分析显示,开花期干旱、盐胁迫和旱盐双重胁迫严重影响花生生长发育,并显著降低产量。研究结果可为通过改良土壤微生物环境来提高植物胁迫耐受性提供参考。     

Connexin 43 Astrocytopathy Linked to Rapidly Progressive Multiple Sclerosis and Neuromyelitis Optica

Background

Multiple sclerosis (MS) and neuromyelitis optica (NMO) occasionally have an extremely aggressive and debilitating disease course; however, its molecular basis is unknown. This study aimed to determine a relationship between connexin (Cx) pathology and disease aggressiveness in Asian patients with MS and NMO.

Methods/Principal Findings

Samples included 11 autopsied cases with NMO and NMO spectrum disorder (NMOSD), six with MS, and 20 with other neurological diseases (OND). Methods of analysis included immunohistochemical expression of astrocytic Cx43/Cx30, oligodendrocytic Cx47/Cx32 relative to AQP4 and other astrocytic and oligodendrocytic proteins, extent of demyelination, the vasculocentric deposition of complement and immunoglobulin, and lesion staging by CD68 staining for macrophages. Lesions were classified as actively demyelinating (n=59), chronic active (n=58) and chronic inactive (n=23). Sera from 120 subjects including 30 MS, 30 NMO, 40 OND and 20 healthy controls were examined for anti-Cx43 antibody by cell-based assay. Six NMO/NMOSD and three MS cases showed preferential loss of astrocytic Cx43 beyond the demyelinated areas in actively demyelinating and chronic active lesions, where heterotypic Cx43/Cx47 astrocyte oligodendrocyte gap junctions were extensively lost. Cx43 loss was significantly associated with a rapidly progressive disease course as six of nine cases with Cx43 loss, but none of eight cases without Cx43 loss regardless of disease phenotype, died within two years after disease onset (66.7% vs. 0%, P=0.0090). Overall, five of nine cases with Cx43 loss and none of eight cases without Cx43 loss had distal oligodendrogliopathy characterized by selective myelin associated glycoprotein loss (55.6% vs. 0.0%, P=0.0296). Loss of oligodendrocytic Cx32 and Cx47 expression was observed in most active and chronic lesions from all MS and NMO/NMOSD cases. Cx43-specific antibodies were absent in NMO/NMOSD and MS patients.

Conclusions

These findings suggest that autoantibody-independent astrocytic Cx43 loss may relate to disease aggressiveness and distal oligodendrogliopathy in both MS and NMO.     

Allelopathy of red pine: isolation and identification of an allelopathic substance in red pine needles

Since red pine (Pinus densiflora Sieb. et Zucc.) often forms sparse forest floors where herbaceous plants do not grow well, allelopathy of red pine was investigated. A growth inhibitory substance was isolated from an aqueous methanol extract of red pine needles and determined by spectral data as abscisic acid-β-d-glucopyranosyl ester (ABA-GE). This substance inhibited root and shoot growth of cress and E. crus-galli seedlings at concentrations greater than 0.1 μM. The concentrations required for 50% growth inhibition on roots and shoots of cress were 0.23 and 0.61 μM, respectively, and those of E. crus-galli were 1.1 and 2.8 μM, respectively. The activity of ABA-β-d-glucosidase, which liberates free ABA from ABA-GE, in cress and E. crus-galli seedlings was 13–29 nmol mg⁻¹ protein min⁻¹. Endogenous concentration of ABA-GE in the pine needles was 4.1–21.5 μmol kg⁻¹ and the concentration in soil water of the pine forest was 2.5 μM. The effectiveness of ABA-GE on growth inhibition and the occurrence of ABA-GE in pine needles and soil water suggest ABA-GE may play an important role in the allelopathy of red pine resulting in the formation of sparse forest floors.     

Syntheses and characterization of Co(III) binuclear complexes with bis(catecholate) ligands containing an acetylene linker

Three binuclear Co(III) complexes with 5,5′-(buta-1,3-diyne-1,4-diyl)bis(3-tert-butylcatechol) (L1), 5,5′-(2,5-dimethoxy-1,4-phenylene)bis(ethyne-2,1-diyl)bis(3-tert-butyl-catechol) (L2) and 5,5′-(4,4′-(buta-1,3-diyne-1,4-diyl)bis(2,5-dimethoxy-4,1-phenylene))bis(ethyne-2,1-diyl)bis(3-tert-butyl-catechol) (L3) have been prepared. The triple bond-containing L1, L2 and L3 ligands were synthesized by a cross-coupling reaction. These complexes were characterized by elemental analyses, electrochemical measurements, ¹H NMR and UV-Vis spectra. In [Co₂(bpy)₄(L1)]²⁺, electrochemical oxidation of the complexes occurs at the bridges as two closely spaced one-electron couples. UV-Vis spectra reveal that chemical oxidation of [Co₂(bpy)₄(L1)]²⁺ using Ag⁺ occurs as a two-electron process forming [Co₂(bpy)₄(L1^Cat,SQ)]³⁺ or [Co₂(bpy)₄(L1^SQ,SQ)]⁴⁺. On the other hand, [Co₂(bpy)₄(L2)]²⁺ and [Co₂(bpy)₄(L3)]²⁺ exhibit different oxidation behavior under the same experimental conditions. In this report we discuss the role of the distance between the two metal atoms on the oxidative behavior of binuclear Co(III) complexes.     

Phytotoxic substances with allelopathic activity may be central to the strong invasive potential of Brachiaria brizantha

The grass Brachiaria brizantha, native to eastern Africa, becomes naturalized and dominant quickly in the non-native areas. It was hypothesized that phytotoxic chemical interaction between this plant and native plants may play an important role in the invasion of B. brizantha. However, no potent phytotoxic substance has been reported in this species. Therefore, we investigated possible allelopathic activity and searched for phytotoxic substances with allelopathic activity in B. brizantha. An aqueous methanol extract of B. brizantha inhibited the growth of roots and shoots of garden cress (Lepidium sativum), lettuce (Lactuca sativa), timothy (Phleum pratense) and ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) seedlings. The extract was purified by several chromatographic runs and three allelopathically active substances were isolated and identified by spectral analysis as (6R,9R)-3-oxo-α-ionol, (6R,9S)-3-oxo-α-ionol and 4-ketopinoresinol. (6R,9R)-3-Oxo-α-ionol and (6R,9S)-3-oxo-α-ionol inhibited root and shoot growth of garden cress at concentrations greater than 30 and 10 μM, respectively. The activity of (6R,9S)-3-oxo-α-ionol was 5.3- to 6.2-fold that of (6R,9R)-3-oxo-α-ionol. The stereochemistry of the hydroxyl group at position C-9 may be important for the inhibitory activities of those compounds. 4-Ketopinoresinol inhibited root and shoot growth of garden cress at concentrations greater than 30 μM. The growth inhibitory activity of (6R,9S)-3-oxo-α-ionol was the greatest and followed by 4-ketopinoresinol and (6R,9R)-3-oxo-α-ionol. These results suggest that those phytotoxic substances may contribute to the allelopathic effect caused by B. brizantha and may be involved in the invasion of B. brizantha.     

Engineering large viral DNA genomes using the CRISPR‐Cas9 system

Manipulation of viral genomes is essential for studying viral gene function and utilizing viruses for therapy. Several techniques for viral genome engineering have been developed. Homologous recombination in virus‐infected cells has traditionally been used to edit viral genomes; however, the frequency of the expected recombination is quite low. Alternatively, large viral genomes have been edited using a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) plasmid system. However, cloning of large viral genomes into BAC plasmids is both laborious and time‐consuming. In addition, because it is possible for insertion into the viral genome of drug selection markers or parts of BAC plasmids to affect viral function, artificial genes sometimes need to be removed from edited viruses. Herpes simplex virus (HSV), a common DNA virus with a genome length of 152 kbp, causes labialis, genital herpes and encephalitis. Mutant HSV is a candidate for oncotherapy, in which HSV is used to kill tumor cells. In this study, the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat‐Cas9 system was used to very efficiently engineer HSV without inserting artificial genes into viral genomes. Not only gene‐ablated HSV but also gene knock‐in HSV were generated using this method. Furthermore, selection with phenotypes of edited genes promotes the isolation efficiencies of expectedly mutated viral clones. Because our method can be applied to other DNA viruses such as Epstein–Barr virus, cytomegaloviruses, vaccinia virus and baculovirus, our system will be useful for studying various types of viruses, including clinical isolates.