Linear viscoelastic properties of the vertex model for epithelial tissues

Epithelial tissues act as barriers and, therefore, must repair themselves, respond to environmental changes and grow without compromising their integrity. Consequently, they exhibit complex viscoelastic rheological behavior where constituent cells actively tune their mechanical properties to change the overall response of the tissue, e.g., from solid-like to fluid-like. Mesoscopic mechanical properties of epithelia are commonly modeled with the vertex model. While previous studies have predominantly focused on the rheological properties of the vertex model at long time scales, we systematically studied the full dynamic range by applying small oscillatory shear and bulk deformations in both solid-like and fluid-like phases for regular hexagonal and disordered cell configurations. We found that the shear and bulk responses in the fluid and solid phases can be described by standard spring-dashpot viscoelastic models. Furthermore, the solid-fluid transition can be tuned by applying pre-deformation to the system. Our study provides insights into the mechanisms by which epithelia can regulate their rich rheological behavior.     

内生真菌对羽茅生长及光合特性的影响

通过温室栽培实验,以感染两种内生真菌(Neotyphodium sibiricum和Neotyphodium gansuence)和未感染内生真菌的羽茅(Achnatherum sibiricum)为实验材料,分析感染不同种内生真菌对宿主植物的生长及光合特性的影响。结果表明,感染两种内生真菌羽茅的株高和CO₂补偿点显著低于未染菌的羽茅,而染菌羽茅的蒸腾速率和气孔导度显著高于未染菌羽茅,但对于感染不同种内生真菌的羽茅,无论是分蘖数与生物量的积累还是光合生理值之间均无显著差异。     

浙江省生境质量时空演变与生态红线评估

生境质量是反映生物多样性状况与局地生态功能的重要指标,在高质量发展背景下研究区域生境质量的时空演变具有重要意义。以浙江省为研究区,基于InVEST模型、热点分析及地理探测器模型探究生境质量的时空演变与影响因素,并利用生境质量结果对浙江省生态红线开展了定量评估。结果表明:(1)2000-2015年,浙江省生境质量均值呈减速下降趋势,空间上形成了西北、西南、中东高和东北、中部低的分布格局;生境退化度呈现"中心-外围"的圈层辐射结构。(2)热点分析显示,生境质量与生境退化度在乡镇尺度上集聚特征相似、冷热点空间分布趋势相反。(3)地理探测分析发现,地形(高程、坡度)是影响浙江省生境质量的主要因素,植被因素(NPP、NDVI)的贡献度随时间推移逐渐增大;浙江省生境质量空间分异受到自然因子与社会经济因子的协同作用。(4)浙江省生态红线的生境质量整体较高且稳定,不同红线类型的生境质量存在差异;高生境质量区与生态红线的错位区域主要分布在浙西南、西北部山区,而北部、中部以及东部相对较少。基于此,对生态红线调整、区域生态功能区划提出对应的策略,以期提升浙江省生态空间管控。     

Caveolin-1 identified as a key mediator of acute lung injury using bioinformatics and functional research

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a potentially life-threatening, devastating disease with an extremely high rate of mortality. The underlying mechanism of ALI is currently unclear. In this study, we aimed to confirm the hub genes associated with ALI and explore their functions and molecular mechanisms using bioinformatics methods. Five microarray datasets available in GEO were used to perform Robust Rank Aggregation (RRA) to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and the key genes were identified via the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. Lipopolysaccharide intraperitoneal injection was administered to establish an ALI model. Overall, 40 robust DEGs, which are mainly involved in the inflammatory response, protein catabolic process, and NF-κB signaling pathway were identified. Among these DEGs, we identified two genes associated with ALI, of which the CAV-1/NF-κB axis was significantly upregulated in ALI, and was identified as one of the most effective targets for ALI prevention. Subsequently, the expression of CAV-1 was knocked down using AAV-shCAV-1 or CAV-1-siRNA to study its effect on the pathogenesis of ALI in vivo and in vitro. The results of this study indicated that CAV-1/NF-κB axis levels were elevated in vivo and in vitro, accompanied by an increase in lung inflammation and autophagy. The knockdown of CAV-1 may improve ALI. Mechanistically, inflammation was reduced mainly by decreasing the expression levels of CD3 and F4/80, and activating autophagy by inhibiting AKT/mTOR and promoting the AMPK signaling pathway. Taken together, this study provides crucial evidence that CAV-1 knockdown inhibits the occurrence of ALI, suggesting that the CAV-1/NF-κB axis may be a promising therapeutic target for ALI treatment.Subject terms: Cell signalling, Respiratory tract diseases     

凡纳滨对虾各月龄性状的主成分与判别分析

为了研究凡纳滨对虾各性状增长规律和判定最佳生长季节凡纳滨对虾的体格与月龄的关系,选择1～6月龄凡纳滨对虾各1000只,选择全长、体长、第一腹节背高、第三腹节背高、第一腹节背宽、头胸甲长和体重共7个性状,进行主成分与判别分析.结果表明:各月龄凡纳滨对虾性状之间均呈现显著的正相关(P<0.01), 其中以全长与体长的相关性最为明显,1月龄凡纳滨对虾体重与形态性状的相关系数较小.各月龄凡纳滨对虾的主成分有所不同,1～2月龄凡纳滨对虾的第一主成分为长度因子,第二主成分为宽度因子,第三主成分为高度因子;3月龄凡纳滨对虾的第一主成分与1～2月龄凡纳滨对虾一致,但第二主成分为高度因子,第三主成分为体重因子;4～6月龄凡纳滨对虾的第一主成分为体重因子,第二主成分为高度因子,第三主成分为宽度因子.1～3月龄凡纳滨对虾形态性状的增长优先于体重, 4～6月龄凡纳滨对虾体重优先于形态性状的增长.错过最佳生长季节的凡纳滨对虾的与体格大小相符的月龄可通过建立的判别式来判断,总的判别准确率为98.98%,其中2～4月龄凡纳滨对虾的判别准确率为100%.     

蓝细菌病毒A-4L在鱼腥藻(Anabaena variabilis)藻苔中形成同心圆噬斑的成因

摘要:【目的】分析蓝细菌病毒A-4L在鱼腥藻(Anabaena sp.) PCC 7120藻苔中形成同心圆噬斑的原因,阐明A-4L的一个重要生物学特征,为分离、鉴定和筛选新的水华蓝藻病毒提供借鉴。【方法】用初始滴度为2.8×1010PFU/mL的A-4L悬液感染鱼腥藻,在不同时间点收集裂解液绘制一步生长曲线,获得A-4L对鱼腥藻的潜伏期和释放量。将适量A-4L悬液感染不同培养时间的藻苔,逐日观察和记录藻苔病变情况。培养藻苔并接种适量A-4L悬液,分别置于完全持续光照(Light:Dark=24 h:0 h,L:D=24 h:0 h)条件;完全周期光照(L:D=14 h:10h)条件;或前3 d周期光照转后3 d持续光照的条件下,比较不同光照条件对同心圆噬斑形成的影响。然后挑取单个噬斑进行扩大培养,纯化后,负染电镜观察A-4L的超微形态。【结果】A-4L的潜伏期为0.5－2h,释放量约为247 IU/cell (Infectious Units)。在周期光照条件下,藻苔接种A-4L 3－4 d后,出现同心圆噬斑,且同心圆数量与攻毒后的天数(n)有相关性,为“n－1”;同心圆间距约为3 mm。与周期光照条件相比,在持续光照条件下未形成同心圆噬斑。而在周期光照条件转持续光照条件下,由先周期光照时所形成的同心圆在转持续光照后逐渐消失,证实同心圆噬斑的形成依赖于周期光照。负染电镜观察显示A-4L具有一个近似球形的头部,直径约为50 nm以及长度约为10 nm的尾部,形态与短尾蓝细菌病毒相似。【结论】A-4L是一株能形成同心圆噬斑的蓝细菌病毒,并揭示其同心圆噬斑形成的关键条件是周期光照。     

黑色素母细胞沿神经的迁移

黑色素细胞是皮肤中的特殊细胞,它产生黑色素,并将其传递给周围的角质形成细胞,从而决定皮肤的颜色等,其来源于黑色素母细胞.因此,了解黑色素母细胞如何迁移至靶点,对改善个体肤色以及诊断和治疗黑色素瘤等都具有重要意义.文章通过对黑色素母细胞沿神经迁移这一模式的过程和相关机制进行综述,希望为个体肤色改善以及黑色素瘤术后复发机制...     

sGLP-1对Ⅱ型糖尿病大鼠治疗效果的研究

目的 研究人工合成胰高血糖素样截短肽(sGLP-1)对Ⅱ型糖尿病大鼠的治疗效果.方法 Ⅱ型糖尿病GK大鼠随机分为三组,以合成的GLP-1为阳性对照,观察sGLP-1对Ⅱ型糖尿病GK大鼠血糖水平、胰岛素分泌以及糖耐量的影响,通过MTT法测定sGLP-1对胰岛β细胞系β-TC3增殖作用.结果 与GLP-1相比sGLP-1能够长效控制的血糖水平,明显改善糖尿病大鼠的糖耐量(P<0.01).同时sGLP-1能促进胰岛素分泌和胰岛β-TC3细胞的增殖,使得胰岛体积增大,数量增多.结论 sGLP-1控制血糖的长效能力优于GLP-1,可能从刺激胰岛素分泌和促进胰岛β细胞增殖两个方面对Ⅱ型糖尿病具有治疗作用.     

致倦库蚊对登革Ⅱ型病毒的中肠感染屏障作用

为探讨致倦库蚊对登革Ⅱ型病毒的中肠感染屏障作用,通过病毒分离、逆转录聚合酶链反应、透射电镜等技术进行了相关研究。结果表明：吸食感染性血液后,登革Ⅱ型病毒能侵染白纹伊蚊中肠上皮细胞并大量复制,但不能侵染致倦库蚊中肠上皮细胞。以上研究证明致倦库蚊对登革Ⅱ型病毒存在中肠感染屏障。