Development of software for human muscle force estimation

Muscle force estimation (MFE) has become more and more important in exploring principles of pathological movement, studying functions of artificial muscles, making surgery plan for artificial joint replacement, improving the biomechanical effects of treatments and so on. At present, existing software are complex for professionals, so we have developed a new software named as concise MFE (CMFE). CMFE which provides us a platform to analyse muscle force in various actions includes two MFE methods (static optimisation method and electromyographic-based method). Common features between these two methods have been found and used to improve CMFE. A case studying the major muscles of lower limb of a healthy subject walking at normal speed has been presented. The results are well explained from the effect of the motion produced by muscles during movement. The development of this software can improve the accuracy of the motion simulations and can provide a more extensive and deeper insight in to muscle study.     

辽西半干旱地区深松中耕对作物产量的影响及其作用机理研究

对辽宁西部半干旱地区深松中耕对作物产量影响及作用机理的研究表明,深松打破了犁底层,减小了土壤容重及穿透阻力,增加了表层及亚表层土壤的孔隙度．深松土壤水分人渗可达８０ｃｍ,大豆根系深度增加３．６～４．０ｃｍ,大豆产量和水分利用效率分别增加２７．７～３４．５％和１６．１％,在干旱年份玉米增产７．９％．     

小球藻中类胡萝卜素类化合物的高效液相色谱分离条件的优化

采用超声破碎法和甲醇:二氯乙烷=2:1(v/v)溶剂来萃取小球藻中类胡萝卜素类化合物.分别采用了3种不同的色谱分离方法,最后确定小球藻中类胡萝卜素类化合物的最优色谱分离条件为甲醇(A):乙氰(B)=90:10(v/v),柱温为室温,流速1ml/min.用ZOBAX SB-C18色谱柱和ZOBAX Eclipse plus C18色谱柱进行分离试验时发现,ZOBAX Eclipse plus C18色谱柱的分离效果良好.最后确定小球藻中叶黄素含量为2.312mg/g.     

Engineering mouse apolipoprotein A-I into a monomeric, active protein useful for structural determination

Apolipoprotein AI (apoAI), the major protein component of HDL, is one of the best predictors of coronary artery disease (CAD), with high apoAI and HDL levels being correlated with low occurrences of CAD. The primary function of apoAI is to recruit phospholipid and cholesterol for assembly of HDL particles. Like other exchangeable apolipoproteins, lipid-free apoAI forms a mixture of different oligomers even at 1.0 mg/mL. This self-association property of the exchangeable apolipoproteins is closely associated with the lipoprotein-binding activity of this protein family. It is unclear if the self-association property of apolipoprotein is required for its lipoprotein-binding activity. We developed a novel method for engineering an oligomeric protein to a monomeric, biologically active protein. Using this method, we generated a monomeric mouse apoAI mutant that is active. This mutant contains the first 216 residues of mouse apoAI and replaces six hydrophobic residues with either polar or smaller hydrophobic residues at the defined positions (V118A/A119S/L121Q/T191S/T195S/T199S). Cross-linking results show that this mutant is greater than 90% monomeric at 8 mg/mL. CD, DSC, and NMR results indicate that the mutant maintains an identical secondary, tertiary structure and stability as those of the wild-type mouse apoAI. Lipid-binding assays suggest that the mutant shares an equal lipoprotein-binding activity as that of the wild-type apoAI. In addition, both the monomeric mutant and the wild-type protein make nearly identical rHDL particles. With this monomeric mouse apoAI, high-quality NMR data has been collected, allowing for the NMR structural determination of lipid-free apoAI. On the basis of these results, we conclude that this apoAI mutant is a monomeric, active apoAI useful for structural determination.     

Construction of a recombinant BHV-1 expressing the VP1 gene of foot and mouth disease virus and its immunogenicity in a rabbit model

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR) are two important infectious diseases of cattle. Using bovine herpesvirus type 1 (BHV-1) as a gene delivery vector for development of live-viral vaccines has gained widespread interest. In this study, a recombinant BHV-1 was constructed by inserting the synthetic FMDV (O/China/99) VP1 gene in the the gE locus of BHV-1 genome under the control of immediately early gene promoter of human cytomegalovirus (phIE CMV) and bovine growth hormone polyadenylation (BGH polyA) signal. After homologous recombination and plaque purification, a recombinant virus named BHV-1/gE⁻/VP1 was acquired and identified. The immunogenicity was confirmed in a rabbit model by virus neutralization test and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The result indicated that the BHV-1/gE⁻/VP1 has the potential for being developed as a bivalent vaccine for FMD and IBR.     

不同光强下红松幼树光合作用和营养物质含量的季节模式

一、前言原始红松林下幼树生长缓慢,死亡率高,若干文献通过与桦木林光照和水热条件的对比观察,认为光是影响生长的主要原因。但同时也发现,在植物一切代谢活动最旺盛的生长季(6—9月),上述二种林下的光强(lx)     

Aptamer selection for the detection of Escherichia coli K88

In this study, the first group of single-stranded DNA aptamers that are highly specific to enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) K88 was obtained from an enriched oligonucleotide pool by the SELEX (Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential Enrichment) procedure, during which the K88 fimbriae protein was used as the target and bovine serum albumin as counter targets. These aptamers were applied successfully in the detection of ETEC K88. They were then grouped under different families based on the similarity of their secondary structure and the homology of their primary sequence. Four sequences from different families were deliberately chosen for further characterization by fluorescence analysis. Having the advantage of high sensitivity, fluorescence photometry was selected as single-stranded DNA quantification method during the SELEX process. Aptamers with the highest specificity and affinity were analyzed to evaluate binding ability with E. coli. Since ETEC K88 is the only type of bacterium that expressed abundant K88 fimbriae, the selected aptamers against the K88 fimbriae protein were able to specifically identify ETEC K88 among other bacteria. This method of detecting ETEC K88 by aptamers can also be applied to bacteria other than ETEC K88.     

Bone marrow-derived stem cells contribute skin regeneration in skin and soft tissue expansion

Skin and soft tissue expansion stimulates the proliferation of skin epidermal basal cells and increase the dermal collagen deposition and angiogenesis. To explore the contribution of bone marrow‐derived stem cells (BMSCs) to the generation of “new” skin during the expansion, we used a chimeric mouse model in which the donor C57BL mice were engrafted with the bone marrow of enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) transgenic mice. BMSCs were collected from the tibia and femur of EGFP⁺ transgenic mice, and then injected into normal C57BL mice via the tail vein (chimeric mice). Skin was obtained at different times (days 0, 7, 14, 21, 28, and 35). Skin stromal‐derived factor‐1 (SDF‐1) expression was evaluated. The number, distribution, and phenotype changes of EGFP⁺ cells in the skin were also evaluated by means of fluorescent microscopy. EGFP⁺ cells were present stably in the normal skin. The number of EGFP⁺ cells of the Group A mice changed with the tension, and reached the peak on day 21(17.1 ± 6.7%), as compared with either Group B (5.5 ± 1.0%) or Group C (5.1 ± 0.9%). The SDF‐1 expression in the expanded skin was significant increased (≈11‐fold, P < 0.01) compared to non‐expanded skin on day 21. Immunofluorescence showed EGFP⁺ cells were converted into vascular endothelial cells, epidermal cells, and spindle‐shaped dermal fibroblasts. Strain can promote the expression of SDF‐1 and facilitate the differentiation and proliferation of BMSCs in the expanded skin. J. Cell. Physiol. 226: 2834–2840, 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Proteomic Analysis of Interactions Between the Generalist Herbivore <Emphasis Type="Italic">Spodoptera exigua</Emphasis> (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Arabidopsis thaliana</Emphasis>

In this study, comparative proteomics was used to investigate the interaction of Spodoptera exigua and Arabidopsis thaliana. By using 2-D electrophoresis of differentially expressed proteins, combined with high-throughput matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and MALDI-TOF/TOF MS, the changes in the abundance of proteins induced by insect feeding were studied in A. thaliana. More than 1,100 protein spots were reproducibly detected on each gel. The intensities of 30 protein spots in particular changed significantly, showing differences in volume of at least twofold. Among these, 17 protein spots were upregulated, and 13 were downregulated following an 8-h insect feeding period. Nineteen insect-feeding-responsive proteins were identified, all of which were involved in metabolic regulation, binding functions or cofactor requirement of protein, cell rescue, and defense and virulence, as assessed by Munich Information Center for Protein Sequences function category. About 50% of these were involved in metabolism, including transketolase, S-adenosylmethionine synthase 3, 2,3-biphosphoglycerate-independent phosphoglycerate mutase, beta-ureidopropionase, GDP-d-mannose 3′,5′-epimerase, and fatty acid synthase. The identification of insect-feeding-responsive proteins on Arabidopsis provides not only new insights into insect stress but also a good start for further investigation of their functions. Understanding how the plant responses to insects in the proteomic level will provide tools for a better management of insect pest in the field.