Species composition and diversity of soil animals in the oil shale dump in Maoming, Guangdong Province, China

Pollution from the oil shale dump in Maoming, Guangdong Province, China, was a major social problem due to the great amount of environmental damage it caused. Therefore, a great deal of attention needed to be paid for the ecological restoration and reconstruction. The objective of this study was to investigate the species composition of soil fauna and its diversity in oil shale dumps after the application of different ecological restoration schemes in order to understand the impact they had on ecological restoration. Three plots were selected on an oil shale dump near the city of Maoming. The “north plot” was a newly-planted young forest mixed with various tree species, while the “south plot” was a 20-year-old Acacia auriculaeformis forest, and the “control plot” was a 20-year-old naturally-recovering grassland. Soil animals, mainly including macro-meso groups, were collected by hand-sorting and Tullgren funnel extraction. They were then identified to family or genus level with only a small portion to order (e.g. Chllopoda) or species (e.g. Isopoda) level. The specimens obtained in the present study was 11164 individuals, belonging to 27 orders and 110 families or genera. The Shannon index (H′), DG_s (based on species) and DG_g (based on groups) were used to analyze the diversity of soil animals between different plots. The major results were as follows: A total of 33 families or genera belonging to nine orders were found in the “north plot”. The main group was Caritermes, accounting for 63.4% of the total, followed by Tetramorium with 21.3%. Hymenoptera, mainly Formicidae, had more genera than others, accounting for 80% of the total genera in this group. The diversity of soil animals in this plot was very low because the H′ index was only 1.2, while the DG_s index was 4.0 and the DG_g index was 1.3. A total of 61 families or genera belonging to 23 orders were found in the “south plot”. Malmcoangelia and Tetramorium were the main groups, which accounted for 60.3% and 10.2%, respectively. Two genera of Annelda and two genera of Isopoda only accounted for 2.6% and 1.9%, respectively, but they were considered to be major groups due to their large body sizes and the distinct characteristics of their habitat. Acarina had a greater number of individuals and families or genera with its individual number accounting for 67.5% of the total, and the number of families or genera of this group account for 70% in this plot. The diversity indexes (H′, DG_s and DG_g) in this plot were significantly higher than those in the “north plot”, and were 1.65, 16.7 and 7.75, respectively. In the “control plot”, there were 67 families or genera of soil animals belonging to 23 orders. The main groups were Tetramorium (20%), Lasius (17.1%), Bothriomymex of Formicidae (13.8%), and Malmcoangelia of oribatid mites (14.5%). Formicidae of Hymenoptera was the group with the maximum number of individuals, accounting for 51.0%, while Diplopoda had the most families or genera. The H′ and DG_s indexes, being 2.54 and 17.7, were higher than those in the “south plot”, while the DG_g index of 7.20 was lower than that in the “south plot”. The results showed that the species composition and diversity indexes were higher in the “south plot” than in the “north plot” and the “control plot”, which demonstrated that using Acacia auriculaeformis forest to restore the oil shale dump was an effective approach in terms of soil biodiversity.     

杜氏盐藻rbcS启动子的克隆和功能分析

为提高转基因盐藻的表达效率,利用基因组步行方法和巢式PCR,从盐藻中克隆了1,5-二磷酸核酮糖羧化酶/加氧酶（Rubisco）的小亚基基因rbcS 的5'上游调控序列,并对其进行序列分析和转基因功能分析。采用Dra I、EcoR V、Pvu II和Stu I四种平端限制内切酶分别酶切盐藻基因组DNA,并与接头连接,构建基因组步行文库GWL 1、GWL 2、GWL 3和GWL 4;设计特异引物从这四种文库中扩增rbcS基因的5'上游调控序列。在GWL 1、GWL 4中分别扩增出约1.2 kb的片段。对该序列的分析表明,它的3'端与已知盐藻rbcS cDNA 的5'端序列完全一致,说明是该基因的5'端上游区,并且包含多个与转录调控有关的保守序列（如TATA-box、CAAT-box）,富含GT的重复序列。此序列EcoR I下游的片段与除草剂抗性基因bar相融合,构建表达载体,电击法转化盐藻。通过对转化藻株的抗性筛选以及PCR和Southern blot检测,表明该区域能驱动外源基因bar在转基因盐藻中的表达,推断是盐藻rbcS基因的启动子调控区。     

Tracing the transition of methicillin resistance in sub-populations of Staphylococcus aureus, using SELDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry and Artificial Neural Network Analysis

Strains (n = 99) of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from a large number of clinical sources and tested for methicillin sensitivity were analysed by MALDI-TOF-MS using the Weak Cation Exchange (CM10) ProteinChip Array (designated SELDI-TOF-MS). The profile data generated was analysed using Artificial Neural Network (ANN) Analysis modelling techniques. Seven key ions identified by the ANNs that were predictive of MRSA and MSSA were validated by incorporation into a model. This model exhibited an area under the ROC curve value of 0.9147 indicating the potential application of this approach for rapidly characterising MRSA and MSSA isolates. Nearly all strains (n = 97) were correctly assigned to the correct group, with only two aberrant MSSA strains being misclassified. However, approximately 21% of the strains appeared to be in a process of transition as resistance to methicillin was being acquired.     

Binding,internalization, and degradation of antiproliferative heparan sulfate by human embryonic lung fibroblasts

Binding, internalization, and degradation of ¹²⁵I-labeled, antiproliferative, or nonantiproliferative heparan sulfate by human embryonic lung fibroblasts was investigated. Both L-iduronate-rich, antiproliferative heparan sulfate species as well as L-iduronate-poor, inactive ones were bound to trypsin-releasable, cell-surface sites. Both heparan sulfate types were bound with approximately the same affinity to one high-affinity site (K_d approximately 10⁻⁸ M) and to one (K_d approximately 10⁻⁶ M), respectively. Results of Hill-plot analysis suggested that the two sites are independent. Competition experiments with unlabeled glycosaminoglycans indicated that the binding sites had a selective specificity for sulfated, L-iduronate-rich heparan sulfate. Dermatan sulfate, which is also antiproliferative, was weakly bound to the cells. The antiproliferative effects of heparan and dermatan sulfate appeared to be additive. Hence, the two glycosaminoglycans probably exert their effect through different mechanisms. At concentrations above 5 μg/ml (approximately 10⁻⁷ M), heparan sulfate was taken up by human embryonic lung fibroblasts, suggesting that the low-affinity site represents an endocytosis receptor. The antiproliferative effect of L-iduronate-rich heparan sulfate species was also exerted at the same concentrations. The antiproliferative species was taken up to a greater degree than the inactive one, suggesting a requirement for internalization. However, competition experiments with dextran sulfate suggested that both the high-affinity and the low-affinity sites are involved in mediating the antiproliferative effect. Structural analysis of the inactive and active heparan sulphate preparations indicated that although sulphated L-iduronate appears essential for antiproliferative activity, it is not absolutely required for binding to the cells. Degradation of internalized heparan sulfate was analyzed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis using a sensitive detection technique. The inactive species was partially degraded, whereas the antiproliferative one was only marginally affected. J. Cell. Biochem. 64:595–604. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

N-Terminal Myristoylated VP5 is Required for Penetrating Cell Membrane and Promoting Infectivity in Aquareoviruses

正Dear Editor,Myristoylation is a naturally occurring post-translational modification for targeting cytoplasmic proteins to intracellular membranes.Unlike enveloped animal viruses,which enter host cells by membrane fusion,nonenveloped animal viruses must disrupt the cell membrane to initiate infection.Some animal viruses and several nonenveloped viruses such     

CuS Microspheres with Tunable Interlayer Space and Micropore as a High‐Rate and Long‐Life Anode for Sodium‐Ion Batteries

Layered transition metal sulfides (LTMSs) have tremendous commercial potential in anode materials for sodium‐ion batteries (SIBs) in large‐scale energy storage application. However, it is a great challenge for most LTMS electrodes to have long cycling life and high‐rate capability due to their larger volume expansion and the formation of soluble polysulfide intermediates caused by the conversion reaction. Herein, layered CuS microspheres with tunable interlayer space and pore volumes are reported through a cost‐effective interaction method using a cationic surfactant of cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB). The CuS–CTAB microsphere as an anode for SIBs reveals a high reversible capacity of 684.6 mAh g^?1 at 0.1 A g^?1, and 312.5 mAh g^?1 at 10 A g^?1 after 1000 cycles with high capacity retention of 90.6%. The excellent electrochemical performance is attributed to the unique structure of this material, and a high pseudocapacitive contribution ensures its high‐rate performance. Moreover, in situ X‐ray diffraction is applied to investigate their sodium storage mechanism. It is found that the long chain CTAB in the CuS provides buffer space, traps polysulfides, and restrains the further growth of Cu particles during the conversion reaction process that ensure the long cycling stability and high reversibility of the electrode material.     

Alisol A attenuates high‐fat‐diet‐induced obesity and metabolic disorders via the AMPK/ACC/SREBP‐1c pathway

Obesity and its associated metabolic disorders such as diabetes, hepatic steatosis and chronic heart diseases are affecting billions of individuals. However there is no satisfactory drug to treat such diseases. In this study, we found that alisol A, a major active triterpene isolated from the Chinese traditional medicine Rhizoma Alismatis, could significantly attenuate high‐fat‐diet‐induced obesity. Our biochemical detection demonstrated that alisol A remarkably decreased lipid levels, alleviated glucose metabolism disorders and insulin resistance in high‐fat‐diet‐induced obese mice. We also found that alisol A reduced hepatic steatosis and improved liver function in the obese mice model.In addition, protein expression investigation revealed that alisol A had an active effect on AMPK/ACC/SREBP‐1c pathway. As suggested by the molecular docking study, such bioactivity of alisol A may result from its selective binding to the catalytic region of AMPK.Therefore, we believe that Alisol A could serve as a promising agent for treatment of obesity and its related metabolic diseases.